Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 393 Link is too cunning

While Link, Julie, Liv Tyler, Winona Ryder, and Gong Li were relaxing in their mansion, the competition for the North American summer box office was intensifying.

This situation is not only worrying the owners of small film companies, but also the top executives of the seven major film studios.

With so many blockbusters being released at the same time, many films suffered from insufficient promotion and screenings, which directly led to most films' box office revenue falling short of expectations.

If this situation continues to worsen, all film companies' revenues will decline, and poorly performing film companies may go bankrupt.

In a television interview, renowned producer Scott Rudin shared his thoughts on the matter.

Scott believes that North American cinemas are currently overcrowded with too many films showing at the same time, causing huge congestion and preventing many good films from attracting audiences, resulting in box office losses.

In the long run, this situation is very unfavorable and could easily undermine the confidence of investors and filmmakers.

At the same time, the homogenization of film themes in the market is becoming increasingly serious, with many films having similar content. This situation will not only dampen moviegoers' enthusiasm for watching movies, but also hinder the sustainable development of the film market.

Scott Rudin advocated that all film companies should not blindly follow trends in terms of subject matter, but focus on content innovation. He also suggested that the seven major film studios should make proper arrangements for the release of commercial films before promoting them to prevent a congestion of blockbuster films and a deterioration of the market environment.

Finally, Scott Rudin proposed that the film industry should pay more attention to independent films, give them more room to survive, and prevent the proliferation of commercial films.

In an interview, Daniel DeVito, executive producer of Guessing Movies, supported Scott Rudin's statement, arguing that the seven major studios, as key members of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), should play a greater role in the development of the film industry.

Daniel DeVito also criticized the seven major film studios for excessive competition, market manipulation, and monopolistic practices.

We hope that the seven major film studios will adopt a more open and inclusive attitude towards independent film companies such as Guess Movies, and not be hostile to independent film companies.

The film industry is a community of shared interests. Whether it's actors or producers, independent films or commercial films, practitioners are closely linked by their interests, forming complex cooperative relationships.

Helping independent film companies is helping the Big Seven studios themselves.

In this respect, the seven major film studios should learn from Guess Movies. In its development, Guess Movies has not only cooperated with the seven major film studios, but also with independent film companies such as New Line Cinema and Miramax, making it a role model in the film industry.

Daniel DeVito's words resonated with many of his peers. The current chaos in the North American film market and the inability of independent film companies to make money are mainly due to the oppression of the Big Seven studios and the inaction of the MPAA. The MPAA should bear the primary responsibility for this situation.

"What is Link up to?"

In his office, Michael Ovitz looked at the newspaper article with a puzzled expression.

Daniel DeVito is a big name in the industry, a top producer, and Link's right-hand man. The two are a golden duo. However, Daniel is relatively low-key in the industry and rarely expresses his opinions publicly.

This time, however, he publicly stood up to criticize the seven major film studios. It must have been Link's idea. Ovitz smelled a conspiracy.

Across from him, Michael Eisner wiped his glasses with a cloth, saying without looking up, "The film industry has become increasingly prosperous in recent years, and filmmakers are making money more easily. It's just that human desires are not easily satisfied; after making money, they want to make even more. And..."

The film industry is currently highly competitive, but the total box office is also increasing significantly. People are certainly very dissatisfied when they see other companies making huge profits while their films are losing money.

Daniel DeVito's public statement at this time is likely an attempt to unite independent film studios, direct their criticism at the Big Seven studios, and use public opinion to pressure them into being branded as monopolistic and exploitative.

"Damn it, the most profitable company in Hollywood these past few years is Guess Guess Studios, and Link Studios is the one that's taking the credit and making the seven major studios take the blame?"

Ovitz grumbled and cursed.

“Link is indeed very cunning. When it comes to making money, he’s a member of one of the Big Eight film studios, but when it comes to taking responsibility, he becomes an independent film company. His stance is very flexible.”

"That bastard has never been a good person. He's lecherous and treacherous, and he'll do anything to promote his movies, even using the dead. Yet, many media outlets often praise him as a good person and an inspirational idol. Ha!"

As Ovitz spoke, he suddenly narrowed his eyes. "When 'The Internet' was showing in theaters last time, he was shot in New York. Could this also be his conspiracy? Maybe he is the mastermind behind it all, and he hired the gunman to promote the movie and smear the executives of our seven major film studios to gain sympathy from the public. Otherwise, how could the gunman have fired several shots at close range without hitting anyone?"

The more Ovitz talked, the more he felt that Link had orchestrated the whole thing himself, even though he had previously suspected Harvey of being behind it.

"It's unlikely. The risks far outweigh the rewards. With Link's current net worth, there's no need for him to take such a risk."

Eisner put down the eyeglass cloth and put on his metal-framed glasses.

Ovitz thought for a moment and agreed. "If he hadn't orchestrated this himself, this matter wouldn't be over. Now that he's targeting our seven major film studios, he probably sees us as the mastermind. How do you plan to deal with it?"

Eisner thought for a moment, "We can let Guess Movies join the MPAA and become a true Big Eight, so they don't have the chance to switch sides, and Link can't continue to use this as an excuse."

Ovitz's eyes lit up, and he clapped his hands and laughed heartily. Shortly after Daniel DeVito's statement, the MPAA announced that it had approved Guess Movies' application to accept Link as a member of the MPAA Board of Trustees.

The Motion Picture Association of North America (MPAA) was founded in 1922, initially as a trade organization for the film industry. As the Hollywood film industry has grown rapidly, the association has played an increasingly important role in the film industry.

The main functions of the MPAA at present are to classify films, protect the freedom of artistic creation in film, maintain the diversity of the film market, guarantee the viewing rights of people of all ages, supervise monopolistic practices in the film industry, combat piracy and infringement, and promote American films to the world.

The governing body of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is the MPAA committee, whose main members are the chairmen or presidents of the seven major film studios; presidents of smaller film companies are not eligible to join.

Link is the only executive on the committee who did not come from one of the Big Seven studios.

Michael Eisner, the committee's rotating chairman, welcomed Link's joining the organization and expressed his hope that he would play a more important role in the North American Film Institute and provide more impetus for the development of the North American film industry.

Link expressed his gratitude over the phone.

Starting in 94, Link applied to join the MPAA committee multiple times, but was rejected each time on the grounds that Guess Movies was too young and too small to qualify for the committee.

Now that public opinion is starting to criticize the Film Association for its inaction, the association has brought Guess Movies into the committee, probably hoping to divert public attention and make Guess Movies the target of public criticism.

Sure enough, when Link announced his joining the MPAA committee, public opinion began to shift, and many articles criticizing him and Guess the Movie appeared in the newspapers.

It is claimed that after its establishment, Guess Movies acquired several poorly managed independent film companies, including Triangle Entertainment, Good Machines, Artisan Entertainment, and Carlock Pictures. Therefore, the rise of Guess Movies was built on the 'corpses' of many independent film companies.

Now that Guess Movies has become one of the Big Eight studios in Hollywood, it will likely exploit independent film companies in the future, just like the Big Seven studios. Guess Movies is the enemy of the independent film industry.

After the article was published, it received support from many filmmakers. Director Rob Reiner accused Guessing Pictures of being the biggest cancer in Hollywood and the biggest enemy of independent film companies. He said that without Guessing Pictures, everyone could make money.

Many filmmakers agree with this, and then turn around and criticize Link and Guess the Movies.

"Haha, Link shot himself in the foot. Let's see how he recovers this time."

When Ovitz saw the news in the newspaper, he slapped the table and burst into laughter.

Link was busy filming and didn't have time to pay attention to media matters.

After joining the MPAA, he submitted an initiative to the committee through his company, which included three proposals.

First, the eight major film studios and their subsidiaries focus on controlling the number of commercial films produced each year and increasing the proportion of art films. Second, they have attracted many independent film producers to join the MPAA to jointly explore the development of the American film industry.

Third, an independent film week will be set up during the summer season, during which no new commercial blockbusters will be released, thus providing more support for the promotion and distribution of independent films.

Every point in this initiative is designed with the development of the film industry in mind.

While following the proposed approach may slightly weaken the influence and revenue of the eight major film companies in the short term, it will greatly benefit the entire film industry and the eight film companies in the long run.

Link also mentioned in his proposal that Guess the Movies is willing to support the project no matter how much it costs.

However, his proposal was rejected shortly after it was submitted. The MPAA committee rejected his proposal, saying that it was impractical and not very feasible.

However, after the proposal was exposed by the media, many filmmakers praised Link and Guess the Movies for their sense of responsibility, taking the initiative to do something for independent films after becoming representatives of independent films.

Unfortunately, the seven major film studios still wield considerable power in Hollywood, so it's not easy for them to help independent films develop.

"Is this Link's goal: to use this proposal to sway public opinion?"

Ovitz flipped through the newspaper, frowning, and said, "What if the committee agrees to his proposal? Does he really want to pave the way for independent films?"

Eisner frowned as well. "Link and Guess the Movies aren't short of money. If the MPAA dares to agree to his proposal, he'll accept it. But the Big Seven studios have to pay dividends to their shareholders every year, so they don't have that much cash on hand. Link is using this method to cut off the Big Seven studios' cash reserves."

Furthermore, supporting independent and art-house films would be a losing proposition for the seven major studios, and their presidents would never agree to such a proposal. Link certainly knew this, which is why he dared to use this method to sway public opinion.

"That bastard is too cunning."

Ovitz was furious and cursed loudly. After Link joined the MPAA committee, he originally thought that Link would be attacked by public opinion and suffer great damage to his reputation. However, he did not expect that Link would use this move to fight back, and the effect was very good.

Ovitz had to admit that 24-year-old Link was sometimes more cunning and shrewd than he, a 51-year-old.

(End of this chapter)