Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 476 Assassins on the Move

In its sixth week of release, "There's Something About Mary" earned another $1347 million at the box office, bringing its total North American box office to $1.41 million, demonstrating strong box office performance.

As the film's female lead, Cameron Diaz became a sensation again after "The Mask." Previously, she gained considerable fame in the entertainment industry due to her beautiful appearance, sexy figure, and status as Link's girlfriend.

Now that her starring films are box office hits, her superb acting skills, outstanding comedic talent, and strong box office appeal demonstrate her talent and potential as an actress.

Movie fans began to pay attention to her, admire her, and become her fans.

Film companies also extended offers to her, hoping to collaborate with her.

Her salary successfully surpassed the $1000 million mark.

Another film from Guess the Movies franchise performed admirably at the box office this week: the inspirational film "Stupid Go Forward," which has been in theaters for four weeks.

The film grossed $1510 million this week, bringing its North American total to $1.19 million. It is projected to gross at least $1.6 million in North America.

In addition, Rush Hour 2 officially surpassed the $2 million mark at the North American box office this week, becoming the second MGM film this year to exceed $2 million at the North American box office.

According to Total Film magazine, Guess what MGM's performance in the film market has overshadowed all other film companies, leaving them completely outmatched and powerless to fight back. MGM's status in the entertainment industry continues to rise.

In a recent commentary, The Hollywood Reporter stated that GuessGuess Movies has proven its effective filmmaking techniques over six years and with dozens of box office hits, boasting a 90% or higher success rate for any film they've produced. The best course of action for other film companies is to partner with GuessGuess Movies, learn from their techniques, or follow in their footsteps and produce similar films.

The Los Angeles Times' coverage was relatively negative.

The newspaper compiled data on Hollywood film companies over the past five years. In 1992, there were more than 2200 film and television production companies in Hollywood. By 1996, that number had increased to more than 3500, and this year it has increased to more than 3800.

Although there are more and more new film companies, their lifespan has been greatly shortened. In 92, the median was 32 months, but now the median is 8 months. This means that now half of the film companies face bankruptcy in less than a year after they are founded.

The newspaper also compiled statistics on the survival status of established film companies. In 92, there were 82 film production companies in Hollywood that had been established for more than 10 years. Now that number has dropped to 36, meaning that more than half of the established film companies have gone bankrupt or closed down in the past five years.

Twenty-one other small and medium-sized established film companies have reached their maximum debt ratio and are facing bankruptcy, such as Miramax, Regent Pictures, and Best Line Pictures.

The newspaper predicted that these 21 film companies would go bankrupt within three years.

"Damn it! It's all that bastard Link's fault."

In a luxurious villa in Los Angeles County, Harvey angrily tore up the newspaper, paced irritably in the living room, and after a moment, clenched his fists a few times before picking up the phone to call Jeffrey Epstein.

"Jeffrey, how did things go?"

"How about what?"

"The matter of killing Link."

Harvey gritted his teeth, his voice sounding fierce.

"Keep your voice down! Haven't you seen spy movies? To monitor us, the CIA and FBI collaborate with telecommunications companies to install listening devices in cell phones. If you say something like that, they'll hear you."

Epstein cursed over the phone.

“I know, I really can’t take it anymore. Now, whenever I see news about Link or hear his name, I want to kill him on the spot. My hatred for him is more intense than a volcanic eruption. All I want now is for him to disappear as soon as possible. I would not hesitate to spend another million dollars to make him disappear.”

Harvey roared, clenching his fist.

"Shut up! You have to endure it even if you can't stand it. Some time ago, there was an accident on the Pirates of the Caribbean set. Link suspected that someone was targeting him and even contacted the local police to investigate. From this point of view, it seems that he has realized that someone is targeting him."

Furthermore, according to the middleman, security measures around Link have become stricter recently, and a security company is investigating the matter. They have to be more careful in their work, so no matter how much you hate Link, you must restrain yourself.

If you can't control yourself and Link's men get hold of something against you, and Link retaliates, don't blame me for not warning you.

"Epstein said coldly."

Harvey gritted his teeth, making a grinding sound, picked up the wine bottle, tilted his head back and gulped down several mouthfuls. The deep red wine ran down his face, neck and into his pajamas, making a mess.

He asked in a low voice, "You say wait, but how long are we supposed to wait? Are we supposed to wait for years, decades? Don't forget that Link is younger than us; we might not be able to wait until then."

“Harvey, don’t be anxious. Link is a big shot, and it won’t be easy to deal with him. We need to be prepared for that. At the same time, we also need to have confidence. According to the middleman, there are several international elite assassins among the assassins who accepted the mission. They have successfully assassinated many people without being detected by the police, such as the ‘O.J. Simpson murder case’. I believe they can also successfully complete the mission against Link.”

Epstein advised.

"Okay, I'll wait a little longer. As long as it succeeds, I'm willing to wait another year. I have the patience, but the prerequisite is that it must succeed."

"Don't worry, we will definitely succeed."

After hanging up the phone, Epstein used another phone to contact the middleman and inquire about the progress of the matter.

The middleman told him that everything was going smoothly and he would definitely succeed within the year.

Epstein told him to be careful, even if it cost more money, and absolutely not to leave any evidence against him. If $50 wasn't enough, he could add another $50.

The middleman told him not to worry too much, as they were professionals at doing this kind of thing.

After hanging up the phone, the middleman, codenamed 'Jack,' went to the streets of Bangkok, Thailand, entered a public phone booth, and called the assassin's agent, 'Kate,' to inquire about the progress of the matter.

The agent told him that the last cleaner they sent had lost contact in South America and was suspected of being killed. He was now contacting other cleaners in the assassin organization to take over the mission, and it was expected to take two weeks to prepare.

The middleman, Jack, agreed, hoping they would send more elite 'cleaners' to increase the assassination's success rate. The agent, Kate, stated that the price he offered was only enough to hire 'cleaners' of this caliber; to hire top-tier cleaners, more money would be needed.

The middleman, Jack, said he was willing to add another $10.

The agent said it would cost at least 20, and they could send the organization's top cleaner.

The middleman, Jack, hesitated for a moment before agreeing, but on the condition that it must succeed, the sooner the better.

The assassin's agent, Kate, said it was fine and told him to wait for news.

After the call ended, the agent 'Kate' called Chicago and found the top janitor codenamed 'Jon,' offering him $10 to kill the target.

He would put the relevant information about the specific target in a locker at the Chicago train station.

The assassin, Jon, asked what level his target was; he didn't kill nobody.

His agent, Kate, told him that he was definitely a big shot, with influence and status in the United States not much less than that of the person in the White House.

The assassin, Jon, excitedly agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Jon walked out of the phone booth, got into a taxi, and went to 7th Street in the South Side of Chicago.

The South Side of Chicago is one of the areas with the highest crime rates in the United States, 297% higher than the average. Murders, robberies, and assaults are frequent occurrences here, making it one of the most unsafe areas in the country.

The southern district is mainly a heavy industrial area with a large number of steel mills, machinery manufacturing plants, etc. However, due to market influences, many of these factories have been abandoned. When it rains, the area appears rusty and the air is filled with the smell of rust and machine oil.

Due to severe unemployment, there are also numerous slums and dilapidated apartment buildings here.

These buildings housed more than thirty gangs and thousands of criminals in Chicago.

Assassin Jon stopped in front of apartment W-303, holding an umbrella. He knocked on the door, and the noise inside suddenly stopped. The door opened from the inside, and a bald head peeked out from the crack.

"Jon, what brings you here?"

"Let's go inside and talk."

Assassin Jon entered the apartment, and Bald Johnson shouted a few times, ordering the girls and men who were doing drugs and messing around in the room to leave.

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

Bald Johnson leaned back on the sofa, shirtless, his exposed body bearing more than a dozen hideous scars and a Marine Corps Delta Force dagger tattoo. Jon also had a similar tattoo on his left arm.

"We have a mission. This time, the target is a big shot."

"Oh, how much is the commission?"

"$10. Once it's done, we'll split it in half."

"Fifty thousand US dollars is not bad. Who is the target?"

"We don't know yet; they'll put the target's information in a locker at the train station."

"Alright, let's see who the damn one is this time."

Bald Johnson grinned menacingly, pulled a Desert Eagle equipped with a silencer from the sofa, and fired ten shots at a humanoid target ten meters away, shattering the target's head.

The next day they arrived at the train station and found a Forbes magazine in a locker. The cover featured Link, but he had a red 'X' mark on his head.

"Link?"

"It's actually him?"

Jon and Johnson knew their target was a big shot, but they didn't expect him to be this big. Link was worth over 20 billion, the fourth richest man in the world, the world's most talented film director, and a playboy that every man in the world envied.

This man is no less famous than Clinton. Clinton lived in the White House for a maximum of eight years, while Link, barring any unforeseen circumstances, could remain a billionaire for decades.

"Link's movies are very good, I'm practically a fan of his."

"Bald Johnson frowned and said."

"you mean"

"We have to pay more. Without Link, I'll miss out on a lot of fun going to the movies. It's a huge loss, and the employer has to pay more."

"10 US dollars is indeed too little."

Jon went back into the phone booth and called his agent, Kate, saying that $10 was too little and they wanted $20.

Kate didn't agree immediately, but replied half a day later that $20 was acceptable.

Give them 10 first, and the remaining 10 will be paid after the task is completed.

Jon agreed and began gathering intelligence on Link, changing his mission equipment, and preparing for the upcoming assassination.

(End of this chapter)