Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 374 Richard Gere Apologizes, Public Opinion Reverses, Link Isn't a Traitor
"Boss, the first week's data for 'Hachiko' is out."

During a break in filming for Alcatraz, Lewinsky walked over carrying some documents.

How's the box office?

"Weekly box office champion".

Lewinsky smiled slightly.

Link took the document and looked at it.

Guess what? Film Studio released four movies in the first two months of the year.

The first film, "The Anatomy of Grey," grossed $25.7 in North America after eight weeks of release.

The second film is Paul Thomas Anderson's directorial debut, "Casino Tycoon," which grossed $21.2 in North America after six weeks of release.

The film cost $350,000 to produce and is expected to lose more than $100,000.

The first two films released by Guess the Movies this year have both suffered box office failures, which is very unusual.

Seeing an opportunity, the media outlets under the seven major media groups began to hype up the idea that Guess What Film Studio had made a directional mistake in film production, blindly increasing the quantity of films without paying attention to quality, resulting in many bad films, which they saw as a harbinger of decline.

The media also hyped up the story that after becoming famous, Link spent his days chasing women and using company resources to seduce female celebrities, leaving him no time to manage the company, leading to internal chaos and the company's demise.

Finally, media predictions suggest that Guess What Film's box office share will drop significantly this year, giving the entire film industry more opportunities for development.

Guess what? Films has not offered any explanation for this claim; they have simply continued making and releasing new films quietly.

The third movie is Trainspotting.

The film was released in early February and performed better at the box office.

The film grossed $262,000 in its opening week, playing in eight theaters across North America.

It grossed $122 million in 38 theaters in its second week.

After four consecutive weeks of release, the film has grossed $653 million, and its North American box office is projected to be no less than $1800 million.

The North American rights fee for this film was $300 million, and judging from the current box office performance, it is a blockbuster.

After the box office success of "Trainspotting," executives at Guessing Pictures breathed a sigh of relief. If the film had continued to lose money, Guessing Pictures' situation this year would likely have started to decline, as the media had suggested.

The fact that Trainspotting is now profitable shows that the company's marketing and distribution efforts were successful; the problem lies with the first two films and their directors.

Daniel DeVito and James Schamus advised Link that director Steven should be cautious about investing in his next film, given that he had lost money on two consecutive films.

Link refused, saying that these two films were Steven's practice projects, and it was understandable that they were low-budget and did not perform well at the box office. He added that with Steven's ability, the next film would definitely be better.

The fourth film of the year is "Hachi: A Dog's Tale," which was released in early March.

The film is directed by Jodie Foster, written and edited by Link, and stars Robin Williams, Joan Allen, Cameron Diaz, and others.

The production cost was $2200 million.

It grossed $1491 million in 2377 theaters across North America in its opening week, becoming the top-grossing film of the week.

The film has also received very good reviews, with positive comments dominating.

Los Angeles Times commentator Edward Porter remarked, "The film has a simple yet heartwarming plot, a simple yet profound theme, and a minimalist yet beautiful and touching cinematography. It's a very enjoyable animal-themed movie suitable for the whole family."

In his review, New York Times commentator Derek Adams praised Jodie Foster's directorial style, noting its significant improvement in this film. He described it as emotionally genuine, nuanced, and warm, with a more mature narrative approach, making her a promising female director.

Total Film magazine commented, "Jodie Foster's directing is delicate, using numerous depictions of everyday life to evoke emotional resonance in the audience and provide more room for reflection, thus avoiding excessive sentimentality. This story will deeply touch the hearts of dog lovers."

However, some negative reviews pointed out that the film's style is very similar to several of Link's films, and also mentioned Link's rumored affair with Jodie Foster, suggesting that he might have been the one to direct the film.

Link smiled when he saw this and instructed Lewinsky to notify the public relations department to issue a timely denial. He explained that Lewinsky was filming "Batman Forever" at the time and couldn't possibly have time to film "Hachi: A Dog's Tale." Besides, he was the screenwriter and editor of the film, so it was normal for it to have some of his style.

"Good boss!"

Lewinsky jotted down a note in her notebook, then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Boss, Ms. Crawford and Ms. Brooke Shields have arrived. Are you leaving early today?"

"No need. They're familiar with this place and can make their own arrangements. I'll spend time with them after I'm done with my work."

Link said without looking up.

"Okay, boss, take care of yourself and don't overwork yourself."

Lewinsky blinked her big eyes and smiled.

Link glared at her, handed the documents back to her, picked up the phone and called Jodie Foster to congratulate her on her film becoming a box office champion and to encourage her to keep up the good work and continue to make great films.

Judy was also very happy to receive the call, saying that she was coming to San Francisco the day after tomorrow to promote her new movie and would come to visit the set.

Link urged her to come quickly, saying he had been too busy lately and hadn't slept with her for a week, and he missed her body very much.

Jodie Foster called him a lecherous guy.

Link jokingly asked her if she didn't want to, then he wouldn't do it when she arrived.

Judy finally said, somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, that she wanted to.

Link smiled. Even though he couldn't see her, he could imagine the expression on a respectable woman's face when she said such a thing. Her cheeks would be flushed, she would be biting her lower lip, and her eyes would be filled with shyness and annoyance, just like Liu Xiaoli a couple of years ago, with a unique charm.

After hanging up, Link received another call from Jon Gordon.

Jon Gordon has been investigating the hacking incident.

An investigation has revealed that the mastermind behind the media hype surrounding his alleged misdeeds in February may be the Weinstein brothers.

There is evidence that media outlets such as Entertainment World received funds from Miramax Films' accounts before hyping the story.

Richard Gere also received a $20 transfer from Miramax Films before his interview with ABC.

This evidence was obtained by Jon Gordon's team through banking channels and is highly credible.

Based on the existing evidence, the Harvey Weinstein brothers are highly suspicious, but the possibility that they have accomplices or powerful backers cannot be ruled out.

In addition, during their investigation of Richard Gere, they obtained a great deal of dirt on him from private investigators, such as premarital infidelity, soliciting prostitutes after being discharged from the hospital, drug use while in a wheelchair, and making racist remarks.

This information is enough to ruin Richard Gere's reputation.

Jon Gordon asked him on the phone what to do.

Link thought for a moment and decided to leave the Harvey brothers alone for now.

The Harvey brothers have deep connections in Hollywood, so punishing them for this kind of thing won't be very effective. It would be better to squeeze Miramax Films' space for survival in the film industry and bankrupt the Harvey brothers sooner.

We can be more direct with Richard Gere. First, use this dirt to force him to admit his mistakes and apologize publicly. If he apologizes, we'll let him off this time; if he doesn't, we'll release this material.

Jon Gordon said he understood and would get on it immediately.

After hanging up the phone, Link continued making the film.
-
On Thursday, Richard Gere publicly apologized to Link during an interview with CBS.

He claimed that the reason for his divorce from Cindy Crawford was his extramarital affair, and that their relationship had already broken down before his incident, and that it was not Cindy Crawford's fault, nor had it have anything to do with Link.

On the contrary, after his accident, Cindy Crawford helped him contact the best hospitals and doctors, and took care of him in the hospital for a year without complaint, until he recovered and was discharged from the hospital before she filed for divorce again.

Cindy Crawford was a good woman and a good wife; missing out on her was the biggest loss of his life.

Richard Gere apologized to Link and Cindy Crawford on camera.

A CBS reporter asked him why he had previously publicly accused Link of interfering in his marriage.

Richard Gere said he was jealous of Link, and that he lost his mind when he saw the rumors of Link and Cindy Crawford vacationing in France, which led him to make those irrational remarks. He apologized to Link again.

“Wow, I see. I knew Link wasn’t that kind of person. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he try to seduce my beautiful wife?” Tim Robbins said with a laugh, putting his arm around Ms. Susan Sarandon’s shoulder.

Susan Sarandon glared at him and punched him, knocking him off balance on the sofa.

"Shit! How could this piece of trash say such a thing?"

When Harvey Weinstein saw Richard Gere's sincere apology on television, he couldn't help but burst into a tirade of profanities.

Last time, he spent $20 to persuade Richard Gere to come forward and make a tearful accusation against Link for stealing his wife.

The interview was very successful, but it brought Link a lot of criticism, making it impossible for Link's side to clear his name even if they wanted to pay money.

As long as Richard Gere refuses to budge, Link will forever be labeled as someone who seduces married women.

But now Richard Gere has suddenly changed his tune and admitted his mistake, saying that Link is innocent and Cindy Crawford is a good woman.

This rendered all his previous efforts futile.

Harvey glared hatefully at the person on TV, his face contorted with rage.

"This is not normal."

Bob chimed in, "Richard's injury and crippling are related to Link. He also hates Link intensely and wishes he could kill him. Why would he soften his stance and apologize to Link this time? Has Link controlled him?"

Harvey narrowed his eyes. "After he became paralyzed, no one offered him any roles, and his income plummeted. Now, he'll do anything for money. Link, that bastard, isn't short of money; he's very likely been bribed."

Jingle Bell!
The phone on the table rang.

Harvey answered the phone; it was Richard Gere's agent, Paul.

Last time, he persuaded Richard Gere to stand up and criticize Link through Paul, who acted as the middleman in this matter.

Paul told him on the phone that Link's side had dirt on Richard Gere, dirt that was serious enough to ruin Richard Gere's reputation, and Richard Gere had no choice but to change his story.

Harvey was about to make a sarcastic remark, "What does a cripple need a good reputation for?" when he heard Paul say that Link's men had checked Richard Gere's accounts and might have discovered their transactions.

Paul warned Harvey to be careful, as Link might trace it back to him.

Harvey cursed "bullshit" and put down the phone with a gloomy expression.

"what happened?"

Bob asked.

Harvey briefly explained the situation.

"Oh? What should we do then? Will Link retaliate against us? Ovitz said Link is petty and vindictive. What if he retaliates?"

"take it easy!"

Harvey glared at him. "We use middlemen to do things, so Link might not be able to trace it back to us. Even if he does, we can pin it on Ovitz, Langmeyer, and Baridiller, saying that we were instructed by them. This will let Link know the strength of our Jewish gang, and even if he knows this, he can't do anything to us."

Bob's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he looked at Harvey with admiration.

"Is this a plan you devised in advance?"

"Of course! I'm strategic in my work, and I never fight a battle I'm not prepared for."

Harvey snorted, picked up the half-smoked cigar from the ashtray, put it in his mouth, and stared coldly at the television screen.

After CBS broadcast the news of Richard Gere apologizing to Link, it instantly attracted the attention of people in North America.

The following day, many mainstream media outlets followed up with reports, recounting the feud between Link and Richard Gere, as well as the 'scandal' Link had encountered in the past few weeks.

Because the news involved several big stars and the story had a twist, it made the front page of many media outlets in less than a day.

Many fans have spoken out against Richard Gere's behavior, criticizing him for wrongly accusing an innocent person and causing Link to bear an undeserved reputation and suffer undeserved injustice.

The Hollywood Reporter believes that not only Richard Gere needs to apologize, but also the media outlets that reported on Link's negative news recently should apologize, restore Link's reputation as soon as possible, and compensate Link for his financial losses.

ABC News was the first to apologize, admitting that it had not maintained objectivity and neutrality in its reporting, which had a negative impact on Link. It apologized to Link and promised to punish the staff involved.

Many tabloids also issued written apologies.

Thanks to the efforts of the public relations department at Guessing Movies, many mainstream media outlets reprinted and reported on these apology news stories, expanding the influence of the related news.

The reputations of Link, Cindy Crawford, Nicole Kidman, and other involved parties are also rapidly recovering.

To thank him, Cindy Crawford stayed on set for three days afterward, letting him do whatever he wanted, giving him everything he hadn't been allowed to enjoy before.

Nicole Kidman also wanted to visit the set and become his real woman, but with the Oscars approaching, Link had to go back to attend the awards ceremony, so he postponed their date until after the Oscars.

"Link, I also want to apologize to you."

"When the crew was having lunch, Nicolas Cage was eating a sandwich and said..."

"What are you apologizing for?"

Link asked, flipping through the newspaper.

Nicolas Cage laughed and said, "When the media first broke those negative news stories, I thought they were true. I even joked about it at the poker table, talking about your scandals with Cindy and Nicole. Now I realize I was wrong. I shouldn't have doubted your character."

"Okay, I accept your apology."

Link shook his head.

Because of his numerous scandals, after the media broke the news in February that he was a good wife, not only Cage misunderstood, but also Quentin Tarantino, Sam, Ben Affleck, and many others.

During that period, negative news about him was everywhere in the media, with people calling him a playboy, manipulating women's feelings, and breaking up other people's families. There were many voices opposing him, and the momentum was huge.

Even a joint public relations effort between Guessing Movies and WMA Agency had no effect.

In the end, Link could only turn a deaf ear and let others criticize him.

Now that Richard Gere has apologized, his long-awaited justice has been served, and his name has been cleared.

"What a pity. The second round of Oscar voting is over now. If he had apologized earlier, you would still have had a chance to win some votes from the judges," Cage lamented.

"It's okay, I'm still young and in the early stages of my career. There's no rush to win an Oscar so soon."

Link said nonchalantly.

He received five Oscar nominations this year, including Best Director, Best Editing, and Best Original Screenplay for "The Sixth Sense," and Best Editing and Best Original Screenplay for "The Butterfly Effect."

Given his young age, the chances of the Oscar judges, who are mostly older white men, awarding him the Best Director award are extremely slim.

In addition, he won the 'Best Editing' Oscar last year for 'Seven', so the chances of him winning it again this year are slim.

In the end, only the 'Best Original Screenplay' award remained. If it weren't for the previous negative news, he would have had a good chance of winning this award.

The chances are slim now.

After finishing his meal, Link continued filming on the Alcatraz set.

This was our first time filming a large-scale popcorn movie, and there were many things we needed to learn and summarize, so the filming process was quite slow.

Filming has been going on for a month, and we're less than 40% done. It's expected to be finished by the end of April.

During filming, Monica Bellucci, Jodie Foster, Sandra Bullock, Gong Li, Maggie Cheung, Vivian Chow, Michelle Reis, and others took turns visiting the set. With Yu Feihong by his side, he was busy and tired on set, but he also had a very fulfilling time.

In late March, with the Academy Awards approaching, Link and Nicolas Cage temporarily put their work aside and returned to Los Angeles to attend the ceremony.

(End of this chapter)