Hollywood Director 1992

On Friday, Guess Pictures' first film of the year, "Very Odd Murder Case," premiered in North America.

In its opening week of limited release, it grossed $143,000 in 8 theaters, averaging less than $3,000 per screen, falling below the break-even point.

This performance would normally warrant pulling the film, but Link, not wanting to discourage director Steven Soderbergh, instructed the distribution department to continue showing "Very Odd Murder Case" in theaters.

After four weeks, the film grossed $783,000 in 143 North American theaters, with an average occupancy rate of less than 30%, and projected box office takings around $1 million.

With a production budget of $1.2 million and marketing costs of $500,000, the film needed to gross over $2 million to break even.

In short, the movie lost money, over a million dollars, making it Guess Pictures' first unprofitable film.

The news was subsequently reported by numerous media outlets.

The Los Angeles Times ran the headline, 'Guess Pictures' Film Encounters Cold Box Office Reception' that same day.

The Hollywood Reporter's headline read, 'Link's Investment in New Film Suffers First Box Office Defeat'.

Other media outlets, including USA Today, Newsday, and Variety, also provided prominent coverage of the news.

They claimed that "Very Odd Murder Case" set a new record for the lowest box office revenue for a Guess Pictures production, shattering the myth of Link's 100% success rate in film investments.

Some media outlets, noting the company's recent first round of financing, speculated that Guess Pictures, like other companies, was facing pressure from the board of directors after the financing, leading to increased internal strife and the film's distribution failure.

From this, the media concluded that Guess Pictures was beginning to decline and would find it difficult to replicate the success of the past two years.

"Damn it! Why didn't this lousy movie come out earlier?"

Michael Ovitz, upon hearing about Guess Pictures' film loss, felt a mix of surprise and anger. If the film had been released a few weeks earlier, Link would never have dared to quote a $500 million valuation during the financing round.

Now that the financing was complete, it was too late to say anything.

Vanguard Capital called Link to inquire why "Very Odd Murder Case" was still being widely released despite its poor limited release performance, arguing that the company wouldn't have lost millions if the release hadn't been expanded.

Link told them not to interfere with the company's management and that they were welcome to withdraw their investment at any time.

Vanguard Capital was left speechless.

Link was willing to lose money on the release of "Very Odd Murder Case" for two reasons: first, to invest in director Steven Soderbergh, who he believed had immense potential and would surpass Quentin in commercial film performance in the future, so supporting his film now would pay off in other films later.

Second, to set an example to attract talent. Independent directors are often proud and arrogant, and even when a film fails, they don't believe it's the film's fault. They blame the distribution company for inadequate promotion, insufficient screen time, and too short a release window.

The relatively poor limited release performance of "Very Odd Murder Case," coupled with Guess Pictures' continued support for the film, demonstrated that Guess Pictures was a company that didn't judge success solely based on data.

This was his intention, which outsiders didn't understand.

Steven Soderbergh looked very embarrassed when he saw Link at a party.

"Link, I felt good about directing 'Very Odd Murder Case,' but I didn't expect it to do so poorly at the box office."

In a bar, Steven Soderbergh sighed, shaking his reflective bald head.

"It's normal for movies to make or lose money. No one expects your films to be guaranteed moneymakers. Besides, it's an arthouse film, and nearly a million dollars isn't bad," Link reassured him.

Quentin, with his feet propped up on the table and smoking a cigarette, said, "Steven, don't feel bad that the movie lost money. Link approved this project, and he made the decision to expand the release. If it lost money, it means he has poor judgment, it has nothing to do with you."

Link laughed and said, "Although Quentin isn't the most tactful person, he's not wrong. I bear more of the responsibility in principle."

"No, no, it's because I didn't direct it well. I didn't realize it during filming, but when I watched the film in the theater and read other people's reviews, I suddenly realized the film had major problems. I really didn't direct this film well."

Steven Soderbergh said, touching his bald head, his face full of remorse.

"Don't be discouraged. Even if the box office performance isn't good, there's still video tape sales revenue and television rights revenue. This project may not necessarily lose money."

"But Guess Pictures used to have a 100% profit rate with its films, and now it's losing money on my film. What's up with that?"

Steven Soderbergh felt deeply guilty.

Link smiled. In reality, he didn't expect every film the company made to be profitable. Making ten films a year, with seven or eight being profitable and two or three losing money, was normal.

Quentin said, "Steven, don't worry about it. Link, this bastard, is worth over a billion dollars. A few hundred thousand dollars in losses is nothing to him."

Link laughed and said, "It's really nothing. Although 'Very Odd Murder Case' didn't have high box office numbers, it's of high quality, and its critical reception is better than 'Paranormal Activity' and 'The Blair Witch Project.' Plus, your progress on this film is obvious. I look forward to your next film."

"Link, I don't know what to say, thank you!"

Steven said, raising his glass to clink with his, deeply moved.

Quentin snorted softly, "Link, you've been pretty popular lately, from entertainment news to legal news to financial news, you're everywhere. You're a director, why aren't you making movies properly, why are you dabbling in everything?"

"I can understand financial news, but when has the legal news reported on me?"

"Robert Downey Jr. threatening you with a gun, then driving and running over Richard Gere, which of these news stories didn't involve you?"

"That happened several months ago, don't bring it up again, it's pointless."

Link waved his hand.

Quentin didn't want to let him go, "I just don't understand. Two years ago, we all lived in low-rent apartments, couldn't afford to eat or live, didn't even have girlfriends, and in the blink of an eye, you're worth over a billion dollars. What exactly happened in between? Why is it that everyone is making movies, but only you suddenly became a billionaire?"

Link laughed and said, "Investing in the stock market. You can also try putting your money in the stock market."

"The stock market is too risky. I don't want to lose the money I worked so hard to earn in the stock market. Link, I advise you not to invest in the stock market. Be careful of a financial crisis, or your stocks will become worthless paper," Quentin advised.

Link laughed and said, "I'm currently a shareholder in many companies. As long as a few companies don't go bankrupt, the financial crisis won't have much impact on me."

Director Richard Linklater said, "Quentin, haven't you seen the news? Link is a shareholder in Microsoft. The Wall Street Journal says Microsoft's market value may break a trillion in the future. Link's Microsoft shares will only become more valuable."

Quentin curled his lips, "What's the point of having so much money? A few hundred thousand dollars is enough to eat, drink, and pick up girls. Extra money is useless. No matter how much money Link has, he only has two kidneys, and Dick only has one dick. He can't necessarily pick up more girls than us."

Link was helpless, "Quentin, can you stop being so resentful of the rich? I didn't envy you when you won the Golden Bear award a while ago. Why are you nagging so much about me being on the Forbes rich list? If you're not happy, get on one too?"

Quentin shut his mouth and didn't speak.

Director Richard Linklater also had something to discuss with Link, about his new film, "Before Sunrise."

The script was based on Richard's real-life experiences, telling the story of him meeting a female college student on a train while traveling, and the two of them chatting about literature, music, life ideals, and gradually becoming soulmates. It was a very refreshing arthouse film, and also the first film in Richard's 'Before' trilogy.

The casting for the film had already been completed, but the male lead selected was Ethan Hawke, an artist under the CAA agency. He had initially auditioned for "Final Destination," but dropped out midway.

Richard Linklater had heard that Link had a conflict with CAA and was worried that Link would be dissatisfied with the choice of Ethan Hawke, so he came to him to explain the situation.

Link said he didn't care. He had a conflict with CAA, but he wouldn't refuse to work with actors under CAA. Currently, CAA owns almost half of the star actors in Hollywood, and it wouldn't be wise not to cooperate with CAA.

After the party ended, Quentin insisted on paying the bill, and Link thought Quentin had changed his nature and was no longer robbing him, the nouveau riche.

But after Steven and Richard left, Quentin secretly found him and said he also wanted to invest in the stock market and asked if he could put his money in Shining Capital and find a manager with good judgment to help him invest.

Link said that investing in the stock market was risky and that investment should be done with caution.

Quentin said he didn't care.

Link asked him how much capital he had.

Quentin said he didn't have any money for now, but he would have some when "Pulp Fiction" was released, as the film was getting good reviews.

Link directly told him to get out of his luxury car and come back and nag when he had money.