Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 412 The Crisis Brought by the Scream

No one died tonight, only people fainted.

Julie Delpy was the first, and Catherine was the second. They both liked playing games, but their combat skills were very poor.

Every time, I felt like I was dying and coming back to life.

The next day, she was very nervous and found it difficult to go downstairs. She complained that Link was not gentle enough.

But after they recover, they often revert to their old ways and return to being bedridden.

After calming down the women, Link continued to focus on filming. He had never filmed a large-scale war movie before, and while filming "Saving Private Ryan," he would learn, think, and summarize as he went, making it difficult to increase his filming speed.

Fortunately, he had less work at the end of the year, so he could devote all his time to the film.

Meanwhile, in Hollywood, the box office of several films released by Guess Movie Studios continues to rise steadily.

In its ninth week of release, "Dead Man Walking" has grossed $3709 million in North America and $4215 million overseas, for a total of $7924 million, a box office return of nearly 4 times.

In its sixth week of release, Final Destination 2 grossed $422 million in North America, bringing its total to $1.12 million. In its second week of release overseas, it grossed $5427 million.

This week's North American box office champion is "Scream," which opened in 2247 theaters in its second week. Due to Halloween, its box office revenue saw a significant increase, earning $3392 million this week and bringing its cumulative box office to $4497 million.

Following this week's box office figures, Total Film magazine predicts that Scream has a strong chance of grossing over $100 million in North America.

If this prediction comes true, Scream will become Guess Movies' fourth film to gross over $100 million at the North American box office this year.

According to the movie trailer, Guess What Films will release two more movies at the end of the year: Pixar Animation Studios' computer-animated film Toy Story and Link's The English Patient, which won the Golden Lion Award.

Leaving aside that animated film for now, there's a very high probability that "The English Patient" will gross over $100 million. Guess what? The film industry will have at least five films grossing over $100 million this year, a performance comparable to last year.

Although Warner Bros. and Fox Studios earned considerable box office revenue with films like "Batman Forever" and "Independence Day," their performance paled in comparison to that of Guess the Movies.

Total Film magazine predicted that Guess the Movies had an 80% chance of retaining its title as the highest-grossing film in North America in 1996.

"Michael, what are your thoughts after seeing this news?"

In the Disney president's office, Barrydiller pointed to Total Cinema magazine and asked.

Ovitz puffed on his cigar and sighed, "I admire Link. When I was working at CAA, I didn't think it was anything special when I saw Guess Movies' movies do well. If you put me as the president of a film company, I would do just as well as him."

Now that I'm co-president of Disney, overseeing the company's film production, I've realized that making movies is no easy task, finding a profitable film project is even more difficult, and creating a film that grosses over $100 million at the North American box office is the most challenging of all.

Guess what? Films releases five or six movies that gross over $100 million at the North American box office every year, and Link's movies almost all gross over $100 million at the North American box office.

That's amazing.

Ovitz shook his head in admiration.

Upon hearing his words, Barrydiller's face slowly darkened. "Michael, that's not what I'm asking, nor do I want to know how much you idolize Link. What I mean is, guess what? Disney's movies continue to conquer the North American film market, stealing box office share that originally belonged to the Big Seven studios. As the president of Disney, aren't you going to do anything to reverse this situation?"

"What? You've found a way to deal with Guess the Movies?"

Michael Ovitz asked.

"no!"

Seeing Ovitz laugh, he continued, "Even if we can't do anything, we won't give up easily. We will continue to fight against Guess Movies. For example, we were attacked before the release of Final Destination 2 and forced to postpone its release. Scream was criticized by the public after its release. These are all our methods, and they have achieved good results. And what are you doing? You are actively moving closer to Link."

Barrydiller shook his head in disappointment. "Michael, you used to be the most powerful person in Hollywood. You led the entire industry in the fight against Guess Guess Guess, and even when you failed, no one blamed you. But now you've given up on fighting Link, which is very disappointing."

Ovitz scoffed, "Trying to fight when you can't win, what kind of nonsense is that?"

“This is indomitable spirit!” Baridil said.

Ovitz scoffed, "Barry, we're hired by the company to manage it. Our main task is to make money for the company. Suppressing Guess Movies won't help the company make money, but cooperating with Guess Movies will."

Furthermore, what the media said is also true. After the rise of Guess Guess, the competition in the film industry has become fierce. In the next five years, it is expected that one or two of the seven major film studios will go bankrupt. Therefore, our most important task at present is not to defeat Guess Guess, but to find a way to keep the company alive.

Partnering with the rapidly growing Guess Movies is undoubtedly a good idea. Besides Disney, Columbia Pictures, MGM, Universal Pictures, and even your Fox Studios collaborated with Guess Movies on the Titanic project. So don't try to persuade me; I know what I'm doing.

Baridil couldn't refute him, and after a few seconds of silence, he said...

"How is the poison pill plan progressing?"

"Damn it, how did you know about this? Did Harvey tell you?"

"Hehe, Mike, haven't you confessed to Link yet? That's not good. You're negotiating with him about cooperation while stabbing him in the back. If he finds out, it could be very bad."

"Barry! Are you threatening me?"

"No! I just want to remind you that your cooperation with Guess the Movies can't last. One day Link will find out about this, and he'll see you as a mortal enemy. Will you have to face his revenge alone then?"

Baridil chuckled. Ovitz snorted, "I can go to Link and confess, and compensate him for his financial losses."

"Do you know?"

Barrydiller laughed and said, "Michael, I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to tell you that we are compatriots and allies. Whatever your plans are for Guess the Movies, we will fully support you as long as you need us."

Michael Ovitz said nothing and silently hung up the phone.

I feel a little irritated.

The poison pill plan was originally a secret, known only to a select few.

Last time, in order to appease Harvey, he revealed this matter, but unexpectedly Harvey turned around and told Balidil about it.

As more and more people learned about the 'poison pill plan,' he was worried that Link would also hear about it. Afterwards, 'The Rock' suffered huge box office losses, and Link would blame him for it and refuse to cooperate with him.

This also thwarted his plans.

Ovitz cursed Harvey a few times, then picked up the phone and called Link. He wanted to test whether Link had heard anything, and if he had, he would try to extricate himself from the situation to avoid a direct confrontation with Link.

Guess what? Films is currently performing strongly, and going against them is not a good idea.

After the call connected, his assistant Lewinsky told him that Link was filming and asked what was wrong, promising to report back to Link later.

Ovitz said it was about the movie and asked Link to call back when he was free.

At the Set of Them Park, Lewinsky hung up the phone, crossed her legs, and sat under the sunshade outside the set, continuing to watch Link filming on set, a charming smile on her lips.

When she was Link's assistant, she was busy every day but felt empty and had a sense of unease. After successfully confessing her feelings to Link in the office, she became Link's woman and suddenly settled down. Her life and heart were completely filled by Link, and she became very fulfilled.

If her previous attraction to Link was merely due to his looks, power, and status, after several deeper conversations, she realized she had fallen completely in love with this powerful man and was becoming increasingly inseparable from him.

"Cut!"

"That was a good game! Let's take a half-hour break."

"Props team, get ready! Hurry up and pay attention to the details."

"The production crew should do a thorough check and make sure I don't see any beer cans on set."

After arranging the next scene, Link came from behind the camera to the director's area, picked up the water glass on the table, and took a sip.

Lewinsky smiled slightly, took the folder, and walked over to Link to report.

She is Link's assistant. Although the two have a close relationship, she keeps her position in public and focuses on doing her job as an assistant, so as not to cause Link any trouble. Otherwise, Link is very likely to arrange for someone else to replace her.

"Boss, Michael Ovitz called 15 minutes ago and wants to talk to you about the movie."

"Okay, I'll reply to him after filming this afternoon."

Lewinsky flipped through the folders, then remembered something else. "Boss, the former Princess of Wales heard you're filming a movie here and wants to visit you. Should we accept?"

"Your Highness? Mrs. Spencer?"

Considering the former princess's great fame, it wouldn't be bad for her to visit the set. She could be used as promotional material to increase the film's exposure when it's released. Link nodded, "You arrange it. Ask them to be as low-key as possible when they come over, and not to attract the media and fans. Too many people will disrupt the normal filming."

"Okay, I know."

Lewinsky smiled slightly. Seeing that Link was busy, she didn't say anything more and swayed her ample hips as she left.

Link took a short break before continuing filming.

During lunch, he called Ovitz back to ask what was wrong.

Ovitz chuckled and said it was nothing. He asked about the progress of his new movie and when it would wrap up. He also congratulated him on the huge success of "Scream" and said that the company might retain its title as the highest-grossing film of the year, which was truly remarkable.

Link expressed his gratitude and prepared to hang up.

Ovitz went on to say that he had recently heard a bad rumor that someone from one of the seven major film studios was deliberately sending unprofitable film projects to Guessing Pictures, hoping to make Guessing Pictures lose money and thus destroy it.

Ovitz advised him to be careful when investing in films.

Link paused for a moment, having heard the rumor before. It was supposedly a scheme by Michael Ovitz, and the movie used to trick Guess was the already completed film, "The Rock."

Why did Michael Ovitz remind him at this time?

Could the rumors be false, and the "Road" project have nothing to do with Ovitz?
Link didn't understand, nor did he have time to think about it. After finishing his meal, he continued to busy himself with arranging the scenes for tomorrow. It wasn't until after 8 p.m., when he was urged by the three sisters from Friends and his new girlfriend Drew Barrymore, that he finally went to bed at a leisurely pace.

(End of this chapter)