Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 372 Bedtime Conversation, Scandal Erupts (6K)

"How are you feeling? Still want to argue?"

Link looked at Winona and Angelina Jolie lying side by side on the bed and asked.

"I won't make a fuss anymore. From now on, I'll listen to Sophia on set. I'll act however she tells me to, and I promise I won't argue with Winona."

Julie wrapped herself in the blanket and shook her head. Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks were flushed, and her full lips were marked with many teeth marks, as red as strawberries.

Winona curled up in the blanket, blinked her big, watery eyes, and said in a hoarse voice that she wouldn't argue with Angela anymore.

Link shook his head and told Julie that Winona was the lead actress in "Girl, Interrupted," and that the company's main purpose in investing in the film was to help Winona win various awards.

If Winona wants to win an award, she must play the role well, so it would be best if Jolie and the other characters in the film could cooperate with Winona in their performances.

Link hopes that Jolie will play a supporting role in this film and will arrange other films for her in the future to help her compete for major awards.

Julie nodded and said she understood, expressing her willingness to play a supporting role to Winona and help her create a good character.

Link also told Winona that if she wanted to win an Oscar, she had to show real talent, deeply understand the character, and immerse herself in the role; otherwise, it would be useless for Angela and the others to cooperate with her performance.

Winona blinked her bright eyes and said she understood, adding that Jolie didn't need to be modest during filming and should instead use all her strength to overshadow Jolie.

She can perform better when she is under pressure; if she relaxes in her performance, it will be detrimental to her character portrayal.

Julie smiled slightly, "Winona, my acting skills have been repeatedly honed by Link, and they are no worse than those of veteran actors. Moreover, the character of Lisa is a perfect fit for me, and I can be more immersed in the performance. If I give it my all, you probably won't be able to handle it."

"Hmph! Angela, your acting is good, but mine isn't bad either. Just give it your all when you're filming, and I promise you won't surpass me." Winona Ryder wrinkled her delicate nose, looking rather cute.

"Okay, that's what you said."

Angelina Jolie smiled slightly and looked at Link, "See? This girl is very strong-willed. I don't even know how to cooperate with her."

"Then listen to Winona's all-out performance, put some pressure on her, and force her to show better acting skills. If you both perform very well, maybe you can both win awards."

Link said.

The reason he reminded Jolie to cooperate with Winona during the performance was because Jolie performed very well in the original "Girl, Interrupted," and even won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Sally. Winona's performance in the film was overshadowed by Jolie.

If the two are willing to help each other succeed and push the other to deliver a better performance, they may well both win awards in the future.

"Angela, I will never lose."

Winona, wrapped in a blanket, staggered out of bed, opened her bag, took out the script, and began to study it intently.

Julie chuckled and winked at Link, looking quite mischievous.

Link shook his head, not intending to continue trying to persuade them. The two were actors in the same production, and maintaining a proper level of competition during filming was beneficial for the production. As long as they didn't cause any major conflicts, there was nothing else to worry about.

After calming the two down, Link went to Sophia's room next door.
-
After the film crew finished get off work, Sofia was organizing film project materials in the hotel when she saw him come in and asked him if he had managed to win over the two of them.

Link said of course, and the two said they would no longer quarrel, but would continue to compete with each other during filming, putting pressure on each other, and striving to deliver better performances.

Sofia smiled and said that was even better.

While discussing the film with Sophia, Link receives a call from Annie, who suddenly reports a lot of negative stories about him in the newspapers.

Rumors, including those about his vacations with Cindy Crawford in France and Switzerland, have led to claims that he was the catalyst for Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere's divorce.

Given his conflict with Richard Gere, newspapers said he was a 'terrible avenger' who, in order to get revenge on Richard Gere, not only ruined his career but also stole his wife.

The News of the World also mentioned his rumored affair with Nicole Kidman during the filming of the Batman sequel. After Batman ended, Nicole Kidman immediately filed for divorce from Tom Cruise, and this matter seems to have something to do with Link.

The newspaper concluded that Link was a good wife but had character flaws.

In addition to the News of the World, major media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, and Entertainment Weekly also reported on the news.

Compared to smaller media outlets, mainstream media tend to be more cautious in their word choice when reporting.

They only reposted his rumored relationships with Nicole Kidman and Cindy Crawford, as well as news about Cindy Crawford's divorce from Richard Gere and Nicole Kidman's divorce from Tom Cruise.

Although mainstream media did not comment on the matter, this way of arranging news could lead people to mistakenly believe that he was involved in the divorce cases of the two couples.

Because the news involved a Hollywood tycoon and four Hollywood stars, it quickly gained immense popularity after it broke. Within a day, newspapers, radio, and television were all reporting on it.

This news also became the most talked-about entertainment news in February.
-
After the rumors broke, WMA's agency immediately launched an emergency public relations campaign.

He sued several media companies for defamation, claiming that Link met Cindy Crawford at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last November, became good friends, and traveled to France together. He also claimed that the two had no private relationship before Cindy's divorce and urged people not to spread rumors.

Regarding the rumors of his affair with Nicole Kidman, the public relations department stated that this was old news, and that Link, Nicole Kidman, and Tom Cruise all issued clarifications after the rumors broke last year.

The sudden rumors that he interfered in Nicole Kidman's marriage are baseless and are slanderous attempts to ruin Link's reputation.

Following WMA's clarification statement, Cindy Crawford and Nicole Kidman also came forward to explain.

She stated that she and Link are good friends and have worked together. She admires Link's talent. Although she is unsure whether their relationship will deepen in the future, she said that they are innocent at present. She asked everyone not to believe or spread rumors, and that rumors would stop with the wise.

After the three parties issued their statements, media discussions about their relationship did not decrease but increased. In public opinion, people did not believe their explanations and believed that they were having an affair.

The reason is that Link is a world-famous playboy who has been linked to dozens of female celebrities and has been exposed by the media for frequently living with several female celebrities in villas.

Cindy Crawford and Nicole Kidman are both top beauties in the entertainment industry.

A top-tier beauty meets a top-tier playboy, and they both claim to be innocent and that nothing happened, which everyone finds hilarious.

While Guess the Movies was preparing to refute the allegations, Richard Gere, sitting in a wheelchair, gave an interview to an ABC reporter, claiming that he had discovered a third party in his marriage before his injury, and that his subsequent serious injury and disability only strengthened Cindy Crawford's determination to divorce him.

When a reporter asked if the third party was Link, Richard Gere said with a ferocious expression that yes, Link not only ruined his career but also destroyed his family. Link is a damn bastard, and everyone should stand up against him.

Richard Gere's outburst of profanity and ferocious accusations against Link on camera were incredibly impactful.

It achieved extremely high ratings after airing on ABC News.

This interview further damaged Link's already less-than-stellar reputation.

In retaliation, lawyer Sean Don represented Link in a lawsuit against ABC and Richard Gere, charging them with defamation and serious damage to Link's reputation, demanding $5000 million in damages and a public apology.

"Haha, he actually sued a disabled person and demanded compensation from him. That's so bad! I bet after this, no Oscar judge will vote for him again."

Bob Weinstein, with his large belly sticking out, laughed heartily.

Harvey narrowed his heavy eye bags and sneered, "After something like this, not only will the Oscar judges not vote for him, but audiences will also stop supporting his movies. Link's movies will never receive as much support again."

"Haha, that would be even better. It would be perfect if Link were to be ruined because of this."

Bob grinned like a toad and laughed uncontrollably.

Link also saw the media's comments on this matter. Most media criticized him for being too ruthless and cruel, and advised him to turn back from his wrong path and become a good person.

But Link doesn't think so.

A person should be punished for making a mistake. Just because someone is disabled does not mean they should be allowed to commit crimes and act recklessly.

He demanded that Sean Tang continue to pursue the wrongdoings of Richard Gere and ABC, and hire private investigators to investigate Richard Gere's financial dealings and find out who was behind it all.

“Link, doing this might affect the recent Oscar selection. The Sixth Sense and The Butterfly Effect have received good reviews, and you originally had a chance to win an award.”

Sam Haskell cautioned.

Link shook his head. After this incident, his reputation had been greatly affected, and the judges wouldn't vote for him. He didn't expect to win any awards at this year's Oscars.

Prior to this, he had already asked the public relations department to abandon public relations efforts for "The Sixth Sense" and concentrate resources on public relations for "Sense and Sensibility".

Because of Richard Gere's and many unscrupulous media reports, he missed out on an Oscar, and the box office of "The Sixth Sense" will also be affected.

The loss is huge.

Someone has to bear this loss.

Richard Gere and the mastermind behind this are to be held responsible.

Link said, "I'm not in a rush for the Oscars. I'm still young and will have many more opportunities in the future. My most important task right now is to expose Richard Gere and the bad media's lies, eliminate the negative impact of those news reports, restore my honor and innocence, and punish those who made mistakes."

clean?

Sam Haskell glanced at him with his bright black eyes and asked tentatively, "You really have nothing to do with Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere's divorce?"

"No! I only met Cindy Crawford three or four times before their divorce, and we didn't talk much. Their divorce has nothing to do with me, and I would never use such methods to get a woman."

Link said.

Sam Haskell nodded, believing him.

Given Link's current status and position, such negative news has little impact on him, and he has no need to lie about it.

Jingle Bell!
The phone on the table rang.

It was a call from Miguel Goss, president of Warner Bros. Pictures. Goss asked him what his plans were in response to the current negative publicity.
Link said they are currently working on public relations.

Miguel Goss wanted him to quickly resolve the current negative news so as not to affect the box office of "Batman Forever".

The movie is scheduled to be released in June.

If viewers refuse to watch the movie because they dislike him, Warner Bros. will suffer huge losses.

This matter must be treated with utmost care.

Link said he was trying to find a way to help Warner Bros. with its media outlets.

Miggauss reluctantly agreed.

After hanging up the phone, Link thought for a moment, then picked it up again and called Michael Ovitz.

They said they knew he did it and advised him not to resort to such underhanded tactics. They pointed out that since they were partners, damage to his reputation would affect future collaborations.

Michael Ovitz opened his mouth on the other end of the phone, wanting to ask Link how he knew it was him, "No, Link, you've got it wrong. I didn't do this. I've never done anything to you since I joined Disney. I swear to God."

“Michael, I have a lot of connections in Hollywood. Apart from you, my former rival, I can’t think of anyone else who would resort to such shameless tactics against me.”

Link said.

"You're very popular?"

Ovitz found it unbelievable.

He didn't understand what gave Link the illusion that he was popular in Hollywood.

In reality, almost everyone in Hollywood's upper echelons wanted to tear him to pieces. If they could eliminate him, they could stop the development of Guess the Movies and everyone's lives would be better.

How could someone like that possibly have good interpersonal relationships?

“Mike, stop making excuses. This operation against me is almost exactly the same as the previous times you arranged for the media to hype up my playboy image. Even the media outlets that hyped these news stories are the same. And Richard Gere is one of your people. According to the public relations department's analysis, this operation is 80% your doing. I expect you to give me an explanation.”

Link said coldly.

“Link, I didn’t do it. I swear to God. I only found out about this through the media. This really has nothing to do with me.”

Michael Ovitz shouted, full of grievance.

“Mike, we are investigating this matter. No matter how much money or time it takes, we will find the mastermind behind it. If you are not involved, I will personally apologize to you afterwards and at the same time deepen our cooperation. If you are involved, I hope this kind of thing will not happen.”

After finishing the call, Link hung up and continued chatting with Sam Haskell about recent news and Charlize Theron's new movie role.
-
Meanwhile, at Disney, Michael Ovitz hung up the phone and started cursing at the air.

“Damn Link, you dare threaten me? Do you think I’m afraid of you? Do you think I can’t stand my ground at Disney without you? You’re such an arrogant and conceited bastard.”

Michael Ovitz berated him for three minutes before gradually calming down. With a gloomy face, he picked up the phone and called Harvey, urging him to stop.

After the rumors of Link being a "good wife" spread, Link's reputation suffered, and the Oscar voters stopped casting their votes for him.

Harvey has achieved his goal; there's no need for further hype.

"why?"

Harvey asked, puzzled, "Mike, our goal from the beginning has always been to ruin Link, discredit him, and get him out of Hollywood as soon as possible. This negative news has been more effective than last year's hype about Link being a playboy."

Continuing this hype will tarnish Link's reputation, further impacting his film's box office performance, and even Guess the Movies studio. Isn't that a good thing for our race? Why should we stop?

Harvey paused, then raised his voice and said, "Our attack has had a positive effect. At this point, we should not stop, but instead concentrate more resources on hyping this up, letting the whole world know about it, ruining Link's reputation, and getting him out of Hollywood as soon as possible."

"Can it be done?"

"Of course! As long as we have enough funds and enough media to hype it up, we can definitely ruin Link's reputation."

Harvey shouted excitedly.

“Harvey, calm down. Do you know who Link is? According to Wall Street media reports, Link is currently worth more than $40 billion, making him one of the richest people in the world. His Guessing Movies is also one of the most powerful film companies in the entertainment industry. He is also one of the most famous film directors in the world, and he also has connections in the political and legal circles.”

For people like this, let alone interfering in someone else's marriage, even murder and rape can escape legal punishment. There are all kinds of criminals in the entertainment industry: drug dealers, drug addicts, prostitutes, murderers, arsonists. Do you think you can use the charge of being a third party to overthrow a big figure like Link?
Are you oversimplifying the problem?

Before Harvey could answer, Ovitz continued, "The most crucial issue in this hype is the evidence. Do you have evidence that Link interfered in the marriages of Richard Gere and Tom Cruise and his wife? I mean solid evidence, not just speculation."

Harvey frowned. "If there's no evidence, we can fabricate it and then use the media to hype it up and make it seem like an undeniable fact. We've done this before."

“Harvey, I’m frustrated by your thinking. Let me say it again: Link is a billionaire, a world-class celebrity, the number one person on the Hollywood power list. He’s not a fool or an unknown nobody who can be bullied. He has more money and connections than you, and he knows how to create hype better than you.”

Instead of trying to bring him down with something that has no evidence, you should think about how to make a blockbuster movie and beat him at the box office.

Furthermore, Link is petty and vindictive. He suffered a loss this time, and he won't leave without investigating who was behind it and retaliating against you. Can you guarantee that Link's people won't trace it back to you? Do you want to break ties with Link now?

Ovitz questioned.

Harvey frowned and said, "Mike, I know you're right. Link is very powerful and not easy to take down, but no matter how powerful he is, he's still just a person with limited strength. If our people can unite and work together to deal with Link, we'll definitely have a chance to bring him down."

Ovitz paused for a moment after hearing Harvey's words, and suddenly felt exhausted.

"At the beginning of last year, in order to hype up Link's chaotic private life and bad character, I arranged for several beautiful women to seduce Link beforehand, and also arranged for several detectives and paparazzi to relentlessly investigate Link. In the end, it took half a year to obtain some evidence."

I thought this kind of thing would make Link look bad.

As a result, even the combined efforts of seven major media groups to spread these negative stories couldn't do anything to him.

Afterwards, Langmeyer, Baridil, and a few others complained that the 'weapons' I provided were too poor and blamed me for the mistake.

And now you're using a mere rumor as a deadly weapon against Link, and expect everyone to join forces against him?

Ovitz was speechless. If Link was so easy to deal with, would he, a former king of Hollywood, have fallen to the position of second-in-command at Disney?
Harvey made the same mistake he had made before—underestimating Link too much and overestimating the combined strength of the seven major studios.

“Mike, you’re right, but we can convince Cindy Crawford and Nicole Kidman to admit it.”

"Harvey!"

Before Harvey could finish speaking, Ovitz said impatiently, "If you want to contact other people to continue the hype and make this bigger, I have no objection, but afterwards you can't tell anyone it was my suggestion."

Although it was my suggestion to use this to target Link, my goal was to target Link at the Oscars and prevent him from winning, not to ruin him with these scandals.

Furthermore, we have a partnership with GuessGuessMovies. If this matter affects our cooperation on the Fight Club project, you will bear full responsibility.

After saying that, Ovitz hung up the phone and snorted unhappily.

When he was president of CAA, his word was law, and people like Harvey wouldn't dare to oppose him.

Now that he has lost power, Harvey and his ilk have begun to disrespect him.

What a bunch of snobs.

Jingle Bell!
His secretary called to tell him that Greg Davis, chief investment officer of Vanguard Capital, and Paul Hankerson, senior partner of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, had just spoken on the phone.

Ovitz frowned. These two investment companies were also shareholders of Disney, so Ovitz couldn't afford to be careless with their calls. He asked his secretary to return the calls.

Greg Davis and Paul Hankson approached him for the same reason: the film industry is booming, with profits increasing year after year. Last year, the film "The Sixth Sense" alone earned the company more than $500 million.

Shareholders at Guess the Movies earn more dividends than at Disney.

If "The Sixth Sense" wins several major awards at the Academy Awards, its global box office could rise further, and it might even have a chance to break the box office record of "Jurassic Park" and become the highest-grossing film in the world.

This could also boost the market value of Guess Movies.

At this critical moment, the two hoped that Ovitz would not cause trouble, as this would not only affect Link but also the shareholders' profits.

This is very bad.

Ovitz was taken aback for a moment, then quickly explained that he hadn't done it and that the rumors had nothing to do with him.

"Not you? Then who is it? Everyone in Hollywood wants to work with Link. Who has a conflict with him?"

"Greg Davis asked."

Ovitz opened his mouth but didn't say Harvey's name. He only said he would persuade the man to stop and stop slandering Link.

After hanging up the phone, Ovitz wiped the sweat from his face, cursing Harvey in his heart for messing things up and now making him take the blame.

Jingle Bell!
The phone on the table rang again.

Warner Bros. President Miguel Goss called to discuss Link's alleged involvement in the affairs of two celebrity couples.

Miguel asked if this scandal was his doing, and hoped that he would be lenient and let Link off the hook this time.

Once "Batman Forever" is released, he can hype it up however he wants, and Warner Bros. guarantees they won't interfere.

Ovitz nearly fainted from anger upon hearing his words, and he told Miggos again,
"I didn't do it! I swear!!"

(End of this chapter)