Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 384 Summer Holiday Season Arrives

In late May, with the summer movie season approaching, film companies seized almost all media resources to promote their films. Newspapers and television were filled with movie announcements, interviews with directors and actors, and numerous scandals involving male and female actors.

The first major film of this summer's blockbuster season is "Batman Forever," distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Directed by Link, the film stars Ben Affleck, Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Nicole Kidman, and others.

It was released in 2614 theaters in North America on May 10, and grossed $65.1 million in its opening weekend. Although it did not break the opening weekend box office record of "The Sixth Sense", it was still a very good start.

After the opening week box office results were released, Miguel Goss, Richard Fox, Michael Ovitz, and others called one after another to congratulate him on another blockbuster film.

The film has also received very positive reviews.

The New York Times commented that it was a successful commercial film with high artistic merit, praising Link's technical skill in directing the film. Originally, when Warner Bros. was preparing a sequel, no one was willing to direct this film.

The reason is that the first two Batman films were heavily influenced by director Tim Burton and have a strong dark gothic style, making it difficult for other directors to create a decent sequel based on that.

After Link accepted the role, he faced a lot of skepticism. People didn't think he was capable of playing a superhero role well, especially with the success of films like "Batman" and "Batman Returns" preceding him. They felt the chances of this film succeeding were slim.

However, after the film's release, these doubts were cleanly and decisively dispelled. "Batman Forever" was completely unaffected by the dark style of the previous two films, and Link created his own unique style of "Batman," which is truly remarkable.

The Los Angeles Times also published a lengthy film review praising Jim Carrey's portrayal of the Riddler, calling the role irreplaceable.

Ben Affleck's Batman is praised as the most faithful to the original, handsome, tall, strong, and highly skilled, with a performance worthy of an 80 out of 100; Gary Oldman's Two-Face is no less impressive than Jack Nicholson's Joker, equally insane and terrifying.

Nicole Kidman's portrayal of Dr. Chase was praised as "charming" and "stunningly beautiful".

and many more.

After its release, "Batman Forever" received a score of 85 or higher from 38 media outlets.

It surpasses 1992's "Batman Returns" and is second only to the first "Batman" film's score of 88.

The second highest-grossing film this week is Columbia Pictures' "Witch Game," which opened with $925 million.

The third place went to Fox's romantic comedy "The Message," which grossed $676 million this week.

Guess what? Movie's "Dangerous Games" is ranked fourth. In its fourth week of release, it has grossed $6135 million in North America, and is expected to gross no less than $8000 million in North America.

Although the film did well at the box office, it performed worse than "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 2" in the same period last year. As of May, Guess the Movies had released six films, but none of them had grossed more than $5 million in North America. This situation has given the seven major film studios a sigh of relief.

Based on the box office performance of Guess Movies' six released films and information on several upcoming releases, Total Cinema magazine believes that Guess Movies will find it difficult to retain its title as the highest-grossing film this year, and that the seven major studios could seize the opportunity to overtake Guess Movies and reclaim some market share.

In its second week of release, "Batman Forever" grossed $5721 million in 2834 theaters across North America. However, with more than 200 more theaters showing the film than in its opening week, the box office dropped by less than $8 million this week.

With a cumulative box office of $1.22 million over two weeks, it once again topped the weekly box office charts.

The film is expected to gross no less than $3 million in North America, making it the highest-grossing film in the 'Batman' series.

Warner Bros. Pictures is expected to make a fortune.

Link will also make a fortune. According to the revenue-sharing agreement he signed with Warner Bros., if the film grosses more than $3 million in North America, Link will automatically receive 10% of the global box office revenue. In addition to his base salary of $1000 million, this income will be no less than $6000 million.

While the media hyped up the box office of "Batman Forever," they also hyped up the contract Link signed with Warner Bros. Pictures, praising Link as a money-printing machine with an astonishing speed of making money.

After the huge success of "Batman Forever," the seven major film studios became even more proactive in their approach to Link. Previously, they would only ask him to review the scripts, but now the seven studios have been sending people to contact him one after another, inviting him to direct blockbusters and offering him generous salaries.

After receiving numerous invitations, Link selected two promising films: Disney's sci-fi disaster film "Deep Impact" and Universal Pictures' "The Mummy," both of which are blockbusters with budgets exceeding $1 million.

These two film projects, along with the in-development films *Primal Fear* and *Saving Private Ryan*, MGM's *Tomorrow Never Dies* sequel to *007*, and the *Pirates of the Caribbean* series currently in the planning stages, are all part of this project.

For the next two years, Link won't have to worry about not having any big films to shoot.

"Link, the seven major film studios are the rivals of Guess the Film Studio. Would making movies for them be considered aiding the enemy?"

Sam Haskell chuckled in the office.

"No, I'm the chairman of Guess Pictures and also a freelance director. The film projects submitted by the seven major film studios are good, and the fees they offered are very generous. I have no reason not to agree."

Link shrugged.

"After the release of 'Batman Forever,' many media outlets believe that this movie has the potential to become the highest-grossing film of the year, and Warner Bros.' performance this year will also increase significantly. Guess what happens when Warner Bros. surpasses you in total box office? You will also lose your position as the highest-grossing film of the year. Wouldn't that be a pity?"

"It's okay. Hollywood belongs to everyone. Guess what? Pictures has no intention of dominating Hollywood or taking over the North American box office. If all the film companies in Hollywood can make money, it's a good thing for Guess what? Pictures."

Link said that this was also a truth he had recently come to understand.

Hollywood's immense success is the result of the collective efforts of all film studios since the 1920s; without any one of them, Hollywood wouldn't be where it is today. And for Hollywood to maintain its current prosperity and ensure the continued growth of its film market, the more studios like the Big Seven, the better.

Guess what? Hollywood is all about – the Big Seven studios and independent film companies either go bankrupt or decline.

In the short term, Guess what? Film Studios can make a lot of money.

However, in the long run, this approach also has many disadvantages.

A single tree cannot make a forest. If Guess Movies monopolizes the film market, other film companies will not have enough money to make movies, North American films will become monotonous, the film market will lose its vitality and competitiveness, the quality of works will decline, the number of moviegoers will decrease, and the films will become niche.

Furthermore, his purpose in becoming a director was to make movies and gain power through film rewards; making money was secondary. After his net worth reached billions, money became even less important to him.

Therefore, when making movies, he also considers the overall environment and tries his best to maintain the internal balance and sustainable development of the film industry.

"That's true. The more Hollywood film companies there are, the more capital enters the film industry, and the more prosperous the industry will be. Both film companies and talent agencies can make money."

Sam Haskell nodded.

Boom boom boom!
There was a knock at the door. Lewinsky opened it and ushered in a tall, blonde beauty, Charlize Theron.

The girl wore a sleeveless dress, her golden curly hair was permed into small curls and draped over her shoulders. She was tall with long legs and had an outstanding appearance.

The only drawback is that the bust, waist, and hip curves are not prominent enough, making it appear somewhat flat and straightforward.

"Sally, how did the audition go?"

"Sam Haskell asked."

"not bad."

Charlize Theron glanced cautiously at Link as she spoke, her cheeks flushing.

"Why are you looking at me? Our audition process is very fair, and we never give anyone special treatment."

Link joked.

"I didn't ask for your help. I performed well in the audition and have a high chance of success, so I don't need your help."

Charlize Theron pouted her red lips, her expression haughty.

Link smiled gently and wished her success in her audition.

Charlize Theron auditioned for the film "The Devil's Advocate" today. The role is a sexy and beautiful married woman who suffers from mental illness after her lawyer husband turns to the dark side, and ultimately commits suicide, which also brings a huge blow to the male lead.

Sam Haskell and Charlize Theron sat in the office for a while before leaving. Link called to inquire about the auditions for "The Devil's Advocate," and upon hearing that Charlize Theron had performed well, he didn't ask any further questions.

During this period, in addition to participating in the promotion of "Batman Forever", he was also writing a new script for "Pirates of the Caribbean" in his spare time, regarding this film series as a key project for the company's future development.

Jingle Bell!
"Nicole, what's wrong?"

Link answered the phone and asked.

"Link, Julie and I are keeping you company in the master bedroom tonight. When are you coming back?"

"I'm writing the director's script, it'll probably be past five o'clock."

"Okay, Monica and Sophia said they want to watch my performance tonight. Should I agree?"

Nicole Kidman's voice betrayed a mix of excitement and trepidation.

Link raised an eyebrow and smiled, "That's your freedom. If you mind, just refuse them. They're just joining in the fun; they won't blame you."

"I do not mind!"

Nicole Kidman said in a charming voice.

"Alright then, be prepared, tonight might be a bit tough."

Link smiled and continued with his work.

(End of this chapter)