Conquer America, Start with a Boxing Champion

Chapter 422 Face Issue (1/10)

"Haha, Link, we meet again."

On East Seventh Street in Santa Monica, in a cafe not far from the headquarters of Lionsgate Pictures, Link met Bob Weinstein, the second-in-command of Weinstein Films.

In terms of body shape, the Weinstein brothers are all toad-shaped, with big heads, thick necks, big bellies, and a greedy appearance.

From the appearance point of view, Bob looks a bit gentler than Harvey. Harvey's face has too much flesh, which is unevenly distributed and uneven. He doesn't even need makeup to play a bad guy in a movie.

And Bob also has a fat and round face, but not that much flesh. He smiles when he meets people, which is not so scary. He just has a pair of triangular eyes that are half-open, making him look a bit sinister.

These two brothers are not easy people to deal with.

The two met at Harvey's party in March, and they were not strangers. They didn't need to exchange much greetings when they met again. Link asked Bob directly what happened.

"Haha, Link, I am friends with director Paul Anderson, Philip Hoffman, and Joaquin. I heard that the quality of your new project "The Master" is very good?"

Bob laughed.

"Yeah, it was a cool movie and Paul Anderson directed it, so when I saw the script I decided to invest in it."

Before coming here, he wasn't sure about Bob's intention to find him. When he heard the other party mention "The Master" and the main creative staff, he had some guesses in his mind.

"Link, we had a great time working together on the Silver Linings Playbook project. How about working together again?"

Bob chuckled while stroking the stubble on his chin.

"How to cooperate?"

"I am also optimistic about the project "The Master" and hope to have the opportunity to participate in it. In exchange, after the movie is released in the future, we will help publicize the Oscar awards. With our ability, as long as Director Anderson continues to maintain the top few rankings for this movie, It's of this level, it's not difficult to get a few nominations, and maybe there's a chance of winning an Oscar.

With Oscar nominations and award bonuses, the movie's box office performance is bound to be better. Link, this is a win-win cooperation. I hope you can seriously consider it. "

Bob said slowly.

Link raised his eyebrows, feeling amused.

After the success of "Bridesmaids", many Hollywood film companies called, hoping to have the opportunity to participate in Palm Beach Pictures' next film project, including David Ellison, who had previously said he was not interested in art films.

It’s just that Palm Beach Pictures currently has only three film projects this year.

The first one was "Beasts of the Southern Wild" that Catherine picked out. The production cost was only US$1.2 million and the script looked good.

The second one was the shelved project "The Master" that Joaquin came to with a script. He had heard of this movie, which was nominated for an Oscar and helped Joaquin get an Oscar nomination, but it failed at the box office. Seems very average.

In order to establish a good cooperative relationship with Joaquin and lay the foundation for future cooperation, he decided to invest in this movie.

The third film "Lawless" is a project taken by Megan Ellison. The movie is good and has investment value. There are also several movies that Megan will invest in in the future. They are also good and suitable as long-term partners.

Therefore, his main purpose of investing in the next two movies is to pave the way for subsequent cooperation.

At the same time, I also want to use these two high-quality movies to shape the reputation of Palm Beach Pictures in the industry and tell everyone that the movies invested by Palm Beach Pictures can not only make money, but also win awards.

But after the success of "Scandal Project" and "Bridesmaids", industry insiders began to be optimistic about Palm Beach movies, and they naturally believed that "The Master" and "Lawless" should do well at the box office.

Even their rivals, the Weinstein brothers, thought so, so they put aside their prejudices and proactively asked for cooperation, even offering to help publicize the Oscars as bait.

After thinking about it, Link was ready to accept it.

First of all, he is not sure whether "The Master" can be profitable. Multiple people are willing to pay and share the risks.

Secondly, he and Harvey were originally hostile, and Harvey threatened to block him. Many people in the industry knew about this, which also led to many people close to Harvey quarantining him and Palm Beach Pictures.

Now that he heard that the movies invested by Palm Beach Pictures were profitable, Harvey suddenly changed his stance and asked for cooperation.

It's a transformation that will puzzle those close to Harvey.

Originally, everyone followed Harvey's call and prepared to deal with Link, but now Harvey, the big brother who took the lead, remained silent and took the initiative to cooperate with Link. What will those who support Harvey think?

With Harvey taking the lead, others don't need to insist, and they don't have to worry about offending Harvey when working with Link.

Agreeing to cooperate with Weinstein Pictures can also break up part of Harvey's power, which will be more beneficial to the future development of Lionsgate Pictures and Palm Beach Pictures.

After all, Harvey has been involved in Hollywood for decades and has deep-rooted influence. Being isolated from this group of people will prevent the company from making money.

Finally, he wanted to take advantage of the Weinstein Films' initiative to ask for cooperation and make a request.

Link picked up the coffee and took a sip, letting the scent of caputino bloom between his lips and teeth.

"Bob, one thing I want to ask is whether this cooperation was your own idea or Harvey's."

"Haha, no need to worry, Harvey also knows about this."

Bob said.

Link nodded, "There is no problem with cooperation, but I have a request. To be more precise, it is a proposal."

"Speaking!"

Bob was very happy to hear that he was willing to cooperate, and the smile on his face became warmer.

Link has two proposals.

First, the filming of "Silver Linings Playbook" has been completed and is entering the post-production period. It is hoped that the film will be released within the year.

Second, after the movie is released, if Jennifer Lawrence performs well, he is ready to help Jennifer with public relations for the Oscar for Best Actress. Weinstein Films is professional in this regard and hopes they can help with public relations in the process.

"Oscar for Best Actress?!"

Bob was a little surprised when he heard what he said. Jennifer Lawrence is only 21 years old and has made four movies. She is a very new actress. Even if her acting skills are first-rate, she is not good enough to win an Oscar.

Not to mention the movie isn’t even finished yet.

Link, however, wanted to help her win the Oscar for Best Actress.

This is simply a dream.

"Link, the movie hasn't been released yet, is it too early to talk about this?"

Bob chuckled.

"Jennifer's acting skills are great. She is qualified to win the Oscar for Best Actress. In addition, this is just a proposal, provided that she performs well in this movie. If her performance is average, this proposal will be invalid."

Link said.

Bob thought for a while and agreed, but when discussing the investment share of "The Master", he hoped that Link could transfer more shares.

After careful consideration, Link transferred 30% of the investment share of Lionsgate Pictures to Weinstein Pictures "with great reluctance". The producer of the "Master" project also became Palm Beach Pictures and Annapurna Pictures. Industry, Weinstein International Pictures.

"Haha, Link, happy to work with you."

Bob said, holding out his hand.

“Happy to work with!”

Link shook hands with him, shook his fat palms and smiled, "Bob, do you believe it? Although Harvey is a top producer and has great ability in producing and distributing movies, I would rather cooperate with you. "

"Oh why?"

Bob narrowed his triangular eyes and smiled.

"I have read your exclusive interview report and know something about you. You are a relatively pure film businessman. I am also a businessman. Our purpose of investing in movies is to make money.

Mr. Harvey Weinstein is different. He is not entirely a businessman. He is also a genius producer. He also has the problems of artistic genius, pride, paranoia, and sensibility. At the same time, he is also the savior of modern movies, sometimes for the sake of film art. , giving up box office profits.

In comparison, Bob, you are more calm when it comes to film investment. The risk of working with you will be smaller and the possibility of making money will be greater. "

Link said.

Bob narrowed his eyes and chuckled, surprised by Link's comment about Harvey.

Link is right, Harvey was a filmmaking genius who made and successfully discovered hundreds of quality modern films during his career.

After these films were released, they had a significant impact on the entire film industry, and even affected the style and direction of modern films. This is why the media called him the 'savior of modern films'.

Because of Harvey's outstanding achievements in movies, and the fact that he has been highly praised in recent years, and people around him are constantly praising him, Harvey is arrogant and arrogant, his personality is getting more and more irritable, he is stubborn, and he cannot listen to others. advice.

Often do things that harm the company's interests.

For example, in 2004, they were still in Miramax, and Miramax was still a sub-brand of Disney Pictures.

At that time, Harvey ignored the obstruction of his parent company Disney and insisted on cooperating with Lionsgate Pictures to release the political documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11". The main purpose of this film was to criticize the Bush administration and the Republican Party, which was contrary to Disney's interests.

The consequence of this incident was that the cooperation between the two parties broke down, and the brothers had to leave Disney and start Weinstein Pictures.

Although "Fahrenheit 9/11" later became a hit, Harvey also entered the camp of the Democratic Party and was favored by the top leaders of the Democratic Party, which increased Harvey's power in Hollywood.

But for Bob, this was not a good thing. He was originally a shareholder of Miramax and relied on Disney to make a lot of money. Because of Harvey's stubbornness, the cooperation with Disney broke down, causing him to lose tens of millions of dollars. .

Without Disney's support and protection, Weinstein Pictures suffered a three-year low period from 2005 to 2009. It was not until last year that the company's development improved.

In the past few years, he has lost a lot of money following Harvey, and the company is still in debt.

These things made him very dissatisfied with Harvey, but Harvey was a genius in film. Without Harvey, he could not independently run a film project and ensure profitability. This situation made him love and hate Harvey.

Now hearing Link's comments about Harvey, he suddenly felt like he had met his soulmate.

Buzz!

The phone in his pocket vibrated, and Bob had to stop thinking. After finalizing the contract with Link, he stood up and left.

When he came outside the cafe, he took out his mobile phone and looked at it. It was Harvey's number.

"Harvey, what's going on?"

"Bob, stop negotiating with Link. We can't cooperate with Link."

Harvey yelled into the phone.

"Why?"

Bob asked in surprise. It was Harvey who took the initiative to cooperate with Link, but now suddenly went back on it, which made him a little confused.

"Bob, you are confused. We have a hostile relationship with Link. I also threatened to ban him, and now I suddenly cooperate with him. How will others see me if this matter is spread out? So we must not cooperate with Link."

Harvey shouted.

Bob was a little helpless. He had already considered what Harvey said, but he didn't care because he wanted to make money.

He originally thought that Harvey had already thought about it when he proposed cooperation, but he didn't expect that it would take him so long to react. It was really stupid.

"Harvey, I don't think now is a good time to ban Link and Palm Beach Pictures. First of all, Link has Lionsgate Pictures, a lot of cash, and a complete film promotion system. We simply can't ban him.

The movies produced by Palm Beach Pictures are currently selling well, and many people in the industry want to cooperate with him. There is no shortage of connections and funds. If we block him, he will be isolated by everyone.

And you are busy investing in movies every day, and you probably haven’t paid attention to the company’s situation. Although several movies released by the company last year and this year did well at the box office, the company is still losing money overall. There are still more than 100 million debts that have not been repaid. We need to make money. "

Bob said calmly.

Harvey was silent for a long time and gritted his teeth and said: "No, I have banned him before. Everyone knows that he and I are enemies. Now we have taken the initiative to find Link to cooperate. When the matter spreads, others will think that I have lost my face just to make money." No, this must not happen.”

"Harvey, have you ever thought about a question? Lionsgate is the eighth largest company in Hollywood and is an excellent partner. If we don't cooperate with it, we will need to cooperate with the six major companies. Cooperation with the six major companies will require Be prepared to be exploited.

In addition, I don’t think we have any unresolved conflicts with Link. The initial conflict between you and Link was because Link deceived you with fabricated black materials. This is not a big loss for us.

Later, because we intervened in Lions Gate's casting, Link rashly acquired Lions Gate and lost more than 200 million US dollars. I think this revenge is enough.

Now Link has the intention of relenting, and from the perspective of interests, we should accept it. "

Bob said.

"Even if you're right, we can't cooperate. I'm the number one person on the powerful list. If I see Link's movie making money, I ask for cooperation. What will others think of me if word gets out?"

Harvey said dissatisfied.

Bob was helpless. Link was right. Harvey was too paranoid and too shameless. This kind of person was not suitable for business.

"Harvey, I have convinced Link and got 30% of the investment share from him. If this movie is as good as "Bridesmaids" and "Scandal Project", the box office share will reach tens of millions of dollars. We need this to be able to Money-making projects.”

Bob insisted.

"Damn it, you have to cooperate with Link?"

Harvey said angrily.

Seeing Harvey getting angry, Bob didn't want to confront him, so he came up with a solution.

The two of them own not only Weinstein Pictures, but also Dimension Pictures, which is also a company that specializes in low-budget horror movies, and their representative works are the "Scream" series.

Bob proposed that he cooperate with Link on behalf of Dimension Pictures, so that he could make money and save Harvey's face.

In addition, we must first establish a cooperative relationship with Link before we have the opportunity to launch revenge and drag Link and Lionsgate into the trap of a big production. After all, in war, the knife from behind is the most deadly.

Harvey was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone, agreeing to his proposal.

But when Bob is asked by outsiders to ask about this matter, he takes the initiative to explain that cooperating with Link is his own initiative and has nothing to do with him. He is still hostile to Link.

Bob agreed.

When he got in the car and left, he looked back at the cafe and saw a woman sitting opposite Link, who seemed to be Kristen Stewart.

He couldn't help but shake his head. Link claimed to be a pure businessman before, but in fact he was not.

In order to promote women, he actually wants 21-year-old Jennifer Lawrence to become an Oscar-winning actress. It is so unrealistic and a waste of money.

From this point of view, Link is not a qualified businessman, he is just a playboy.

When working with Playboy, he has many ways to take advantage of him.

Beep!