Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 400 Those Standing at the Forefront of Opportunity: Jealousy is a Good Medicine

After these news reports were published, media opinions on Link were mixed, with both praise and criticism.

The vast majority of comments praised him, saying he was young and wealthy, handsome and extraordinary, and exceptionally talented in film. It seemed that apart from his infidelity, he had almost no blemishes.

As a result of these reports, Rush Hour saw a significant increase in exposure and theater attendance.

Other films such as "Batman Forever," "The Internet," and "The Sixth Sense," which is still showing, have all seen significant increases in box office revenue.

"Hmph! Another publicity stunt! This guy can't promote a movie without hype."

In his office, Harvey Weinstein turned off the television with a somber expression.

After Link became the highest-grossing director in the world, almost all media outlets began to praise him, commending his exceptional talent and ability as a director, his injection of new vitality and surprises into world cinema, and his leadership in a new era of film trends.

Harvey was tired of seeing all this stuff.

Although what he said was true, he didn't think Link was that great. The main reason this guy was successful in movies was because he was lucky and seized the opportunities and trends in Hollywood film development.

If the US economy hadn't experienced a period of rapid growth after the Cold War, with people having more money and leisure time to watch movies, the Hollywood film market wouldn't have been so prosperous, and Link's films wouldn't have been able to sell so many movies at the box office.

Directors like Link, who rise to fame by riding the wave of a trend, will also fall when that trend disappears.

Harvey was looking forward to this day.

Jingle Bell!
The phone on the table rang a few times abruptly, startling the flies that were perched on it, which then flew up and hovered in the air.

Harvey answered the phone; the caller was Michael Ovitz.

Ovitz asked Miramax and Guess Movies if they had reached any new collaborations after filming Fight Club.

Since the release of films such as "Batman Forever," "The Sixth Element," and "The Mask of Zorro," all seven major film studios have approached Link or Guess Who to collaborate with.

Especially recently, after Link became the 'billion-dollar box office man' and 'highest-grossing director in the world,' other film companies have become more proactive.

Ovitz not only wanted to collaborate with Link on a film, but also urged Harvey to act quickly and reach a new cooperation agreement with Guessing Pictures as soon as possible, in order to establish a closer working relationship.

Ovitz is the head of Disney's film division, which oversees not only Disney's films but also its subsidiaries, including Miramax, Touchstone, and Hollywood Studios.

If the total box office revenue of the films released by the company increases after he takes over as head of the film division, it will indicate that he is a good leader and he can take the opportunity to gain more benefits at the board meeting.

However, Harvey wasn't very proactive, so he had to call and urge him several times.

Harvey said helplessly, "Mike, I've talked to Daniel DeVito about collaborating, but we haven't reached an agreement."

"Why? Are their demands too high? It's okay if they are. Many companies are seeking cooperation with them now. Guess what kind of film company they have the right to ask for. As long as their demands are not excessive, we can agree to them."

"Ovitz asked."

"That's not it, there aren't any suitable projects."

Harvey told him that Guess the Movies had many film projects in development, but low-budget films did not accept outside investment, while high-budget films required larger investments and carried greater risks.

He plans to decide whether to continue the collaboration based on the box office performance of "Fight Club" after its release.

"Harvey, be bold. Guess why the film company dares to invest in big projects; they must be confident of making a profit."

Ovitz reassured him not to worry, as Columbia Pictures and Guess Movies had been collaborating since 93, releasing seven films in succession. Although two films had underperformed at the box office, none of them had ever lost money.

This shows that Guessing Pictures has a knack for selecting movies.

Ovitz asked him to continue seeking collaborations with Guessing Movies, without considering the risks.

"Okay, then I'll talk to Link again."

Harvey said, barely suppressing his annoyance.

“Harvey, I know you envy the box office success of Guess Movies, and I do too. But Link is very capable, and Guess Movies is very powerful. That’s a fact. We need to learn to accept the facts. Only by accepting this can we find ways to benefit from it.”

Ovitz said.

“Mike, I understand. I’ll talk to Link about the collaboration later.” Harvey put down the phone with a sullen face, sat down in his chair and fell silent, like a sculpture with no artistic merit, until a fly landed on the tip of the sculpture’s nose. Harvey then angrily woke up, pointed at the fly that was flying away quickly and cursed loudly, using very foul language.

dong dong!

Assistant Simmons walked in with the documents. "Boss, last week's box office results are in."

Harvey suppressed his anger and asked in a deep voice, "How's our movie doing at the box office?"

"not bad!"

Harvey took the folder, flipped through it, and his face fell after just one glance. He glared at his assistant fiercely.

"You call this a good result?"

"Boss, our movie didn't lose money. The summer movie season is very competitive, so if a movie doesn't lose money, it's considered excellent."

"Assistant Simmons said cautiously."

Harvey snorted. Although Miramax's films did not lose money, they were far inferior to Rush Hour.

This week, "Rush Hour" retained its title as the top-grossing film, earning $3719 million in 2810 theaters across North America, a 12% increase, bringing its total box office to $7043 million.

This result exceeded Harvey's expectations.

The main characters in "Rush Hour" are Chen Long and Chris Tucker, who are not very famous in North America and are considered second-tier actors with average box office appeal.

In his prediction, Rush Hour's North American box office would be around $60 million.

However, the film grossed over $70 million in North America in just two weeks, and its total North American box office is at least $100 million.

The film's production cost was only $3000 million.

"Link is incredibly lucky."

Harvey gritted his teeth in jealousy.

If Rush Hour surpasses $100 million at the North American box office, and The Internet joins in, guess what? At least two films from the studio will surpass $100 million at the North American box office this year.

A while ago, the media joked that Guess What Films was going downhill, but less than a month later, another film from Guess What Films is about to break 100 million yuan at the box office.

Harvey had to admit that Ovitz was right; Guess the Movies had a knack for selecting film projects.

He continued looking down and saw that Miramax Films had three movies showing in theaters this week.

"Super Cop," ranked 13th, grossed $112 million in 1134 theaters this week, bringing its total to $916 million. The film cost $850 million to produce, and with its global box office, it should break even.

The second film is "Emma," which has been in theaters for two weeks. This week, it grossed $260 million in 235 theaters, bringing its total box office to $562 million. The average box office per theater was $1.3, which is a decent result, but its potential is limited.

The third film is the biographical movie "Reckless Youth," which was released last week. It grossed $8.6 in 18 theaters, with an average box office of less than $5000 per theater, far below expectations.

The combined box office of these three movies is not even a fraction of that of "Rush Hour".

After Harvey smoked a cigarette, he picked up the phone and called Link's assistant, Lewinsky, to ask when Link would have time to discuss a collaboration.

Lewinsky responded that her boss had stopped managing the production department since the beginning of the year, and that if anyone wanted to discuss a collaboration, they should contact Daniel DeVito and James Schamus, who were in charge of the company's production work.

Harvey readily agreed and asked Lewinsky if she had participated in any of her tribe's religious festivals since coming to work in Hollywood, suggesting they could go together if they had time.

Lewinsky refused, stating that she would no longer practice religion after starting university, and then hung up the phone.

"Bichi!"

Harvey gritted his teeth. He had learned that Lewinsky was also a member of the same race and had hoped to use this method to get closer to the two sides, and then secretly cause trouble for Link through Lewinsky.

Now that Lewinsky has explicitly rejected him, all his previous work has been in vain.

However, he was unwilling to give up, believing that every woman has weaknesses, and Lewinsky was no exception.

(End of this chapter)