Hollywood Director 1992

After spending some time in Hawaii, Link returned to Los Angeles to handle some work matters.

First, he reviewed the box office revenue of several movies.

"Dumb and Dumber," released half a year ago, has grossed $127 million in North America and $247 million worldwide.

"Speed" has grossed $132 million in North America and currently totals $324 million worldwide.

Overseas audiences have shown even greater enthusiasm for "Speed" than for "Dumb and Dumber."

This movie has also become the hottest teen idol film globally this year, with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock becoming the new generation of teen idols.

"Seven" currently has a North American box office of $293 million and is projected to surpass $300 million in two weeks.

Its global box office stands at $682 million and is expected to exceed $700 million next week, becoming the second film this year to surpass $700 million globally after "The Lion King."

Guess Pictures also released Ang Lee's "Eat Drink Man Woman" in August, which currently has a North American box office of $4.72 million and a global box office of $8.03 million.

It is projected to gross around $10 million in total, with a box office-to-cost ratio of 3:1, making it a successful film.

Following the summer blockbuster season, Guess Pictures has four movies scheduled for release.

The first is "Léon: The Professional" directed by Luc Besson, the second is "Before Sunrise" directed by Richard Linklater, the third is "The Mask" starring Jim Carrey, and the fourth is "Good Will Hunting."

The release dates for all four movies have been set, and the company has begun promotional work for the first two films.

The third task.

After several rounds of negotiations, he and Warner Bros. Pictures signed a cooperation agreement at the WMA agency, officially confirming him as the director and producer of "Batman," giving him complete control over the film project.

The news caused a sensation in Hollywood.

Rumor had it that Warner Bros. had participated in suppressing Link and Guess Pictures' films during the summer blockbuster season, and everyone originally thought they were adversaries who would continue to fight.

Unexpectedly, the summer season had just ended when they suddenly shook hands and reached a cooperation agreement on the major film project "Batman" sequel.

This change was too sudden, catching many people off guard.

The collaboration between Warner Bros. and Link also revealed some information.

Firstly, Link is currently the most bankable director in Hollywood, wielding tremendous appeal in the film market, while Warner Bros. Pictures is the most powerful distribution company in the film industry.

The joint production of the highly popular "Batman" film project is undoubtedly a win-win situation.

If this project succeeds, the two parties are likely to establish a closer cooperative relationship, Link's position in Hollywood will inevitably be even stronger than before, and Warner Bros. Pictures will have the opportunity to continue dominating the film industry.

Secondly, the improved relationship between Warner Bros. Pictures and Link is expected to ease the pressure on Guess Pictures, and its future development will likely be smoother.

If it can maintain the development speed of the past two years, Guess Pictures will become one of the most competitive film companies in Hollywood, a veritable 'Eighth Major of Hollywood'.

Finally, after Columbia Pictures and MGM, Warner Bros. has also chosen to cooperate with Link, meaning that three of the seven major studios have established cooperative relationships with Link.

This shift has also greatly impacted the landscape of the Hollywood film industry.

It remains to be seen how Universal Pictures, Fox Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Disney will respond to Guess Pictures, whether they will continue to suppress it or follow Warner Bros.' example.

Whether the 'Anti-Guess Pictures Alliance' led by Michael Ovitz will continue to exist is currently unknown.

"Entertainment Weekly" published an article on the matter, stating that the collaboration between Warner Bros. Pictures and Link was a product of their failed competition during the summer blockbuster season.

During the summer season, Warner Bros. Pictures and other media companies jointly put pressure on Guess Pictures, forcing Link to increase his bets on film promotion.

If Link's gamble failed, Guess Pictures' development would be greatly affected.

Fortunately, Link succeeded, and "Speed" and "Seven" achieved excellent results in the global film market.

Conversely, Warner Bros. Pictures released five films with production costs exceeding $50 million during the summer blockbuster season, with only "Maverick" grossing over $100 million in North America, while most of the other films were unsuccessful.

Warner Bros. Pictures' defeat in the summer blockbuster season forced the company's executives to change their attitude and turn to cooperate with Link.

This collaboration is essentially a product of Link's victory in the summer box office competition.

At the same time, "Entertainment Weekly" also reminded film industry professionals not to assume that the attitude of Warner Bros. Pictures and other film companies towards Guess Pictures has changed, and that the suppression of Guess Pictures will be eased, and that internal competition in the Hollywood film market will become more moderate in the future.

On the contrary, internal competition in the film industry will become more intense in the next three years.

Previously, Hollywood had seven major studios, and with the addition of Guess Pictures, there are now eight.

These eight film companies are like eight sharks, opening their mouths to devour more than 90% of the box office revenue in the film market.

Small and medium-sized film companies will not be able to obtain more funds through films, and survival will become more difficult.

At the same time, the rise of Guess Pictures will also lead to more intense internal competition among the eight major film companies.

"Entertainment Weekly" predicts that many small and medium-sized production companies will go bankrupt in the competition within the next five years, and even the less competitive of the eight major film companies will be at risk of bankruptcy.

"Michael, have you seen this report?"

In the Death Star building, CAA Vice President Ron Meyer waved the "Hollywood Reporter" in his hand, "Rumor has it that after Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures and Fox Pictures are also preparing to cooperate with Link.

Even if Disney and Paramount don't cooperate with Link, I'm afraid they won't suppress him anymore."

Michael Ovitz stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window smoking, his face shrouded in smoke, looking uncertain.

His voice also became hoarse, with a thick phlegm sound when he spoke.

"It doesn't matter, Link is Link, Guess Pictures is Guess Pictures.

They see that Link can make money by making movies, and it's normal to find Link to cooperate, but the rise of Guess Pictures always threatens the status and interests of the seven major studios.

They can let Link go, but they will never let Guess Pictures go."

"So the seven major studios will still suppress Guess Pictures?"

"Of course.

I've talked to Warner Group executives, and from a macro perspective, continuing to suppress Guess Pictures and inhibit its growth is more in line with the interests of Time Warner Group, so they said they will continue to suppress Guess Pictures in distribution channels, forcing them to hand over film distribution rights, or invest more funds to promote movies, just like the summer season.

This time he was lucky and succeeded by chance, but next time it's not certain.

As long as he fails once, Guess Pictures' development will encounter a huge setback, and the seven major studios will attack him together."

Michael Ovitz waved his arms, his expression also becoming excited, "Universal Pictures, Fox Pictures, and Paramount Pictures are the same.

They will consider cooperating with Link to make movies, but they will never sit idly by as Guess Pictures grows stronger.

They want Link to become a money-making tool in their hands, not an equal opponent."

"This may be a very long process.

Guess Pictures has currently completed the merger and integration of Good Machine and TriStar Entertainment, greatly improving its production and distribution capabilities.

In addition, Guess Pictures won the summer box office war, obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars in box office revenue, and its capital reserves and risk resistance capabilities have both increased.

Given the current situation of Guess Pictures, even if the seven major studios join forces to suppress it, it will be difficult to win, let alone the fact that the seven major studios cannot truly join forces.

Given this situation, I suggest you withdraw from the action against Guess Pictures, which is good for you and CAA."

Ron Meyer asked.

Michael Ovitz put down his cigarette, his expression also becoming silent.

Last year, he participated in the bet between Robert Downey Jr. and Link with an entertainment mindset, originally thinking that he had the advantage in numbers and could easily win, giving Link, this Chinese kid, a lesson.

As a result, he lost.

He was not reconciled.

This year, he once again joined forces with the seven major studios and several independent production companies, making full preparations, determined to give Link and Guess Pictures an unforgettable lesson during the summer season.

As a result, just as he was about to succeed, the O.J. Simpson case broke out, and "Seven"'s box office soared.

Failure at the last moment!

Now almost everyone in the circle knows that he has lost to Link twice in a row.

He, the number one on Hollywood's power list, lost to a young man who has been in the industry for less than three years.

He also thought about giving up on targeting Link, but he couldn't.

Once he gives up, then the stain of losing to Link twice in a row will accompany him for the rest of his life and will never be erased.

In the future, when people talk about the former number one on Hollywood's power list, they will ridicule him for the fact that he lost to Link twice.

Michael Ovitz is unwilling to leave such a serious blemish in the most glorious period of his career.

He must defeat Link and turn Link into a complete failure before he can retire with peace of mind, leaving a wonderful mark in Hollywood.

In order to achieve this goal, he can even put the development of CAA in a secondary position.

"Michael, Seagram Group has completed the acquisition of Universal Pictures, and they have invited me to serve as CEO, and I have agreed."

Ron Meyer said.

Michael Ovitz frowned upon hearing this news.

Ron Meyer is his right-hand man at CAA.

Without Ron Meyer, his control over the board of directors and management will inevitably decline.

This is not good news for him.

He suddenly thought that Ron Meyer was going to Universal Pictures to serve as CEO.

If Ron Meyer is willing to join forces to deal with Link, plus Sherry Lansing, president of Paramount Pictures, and Rupert Murdoch and Barry Diller of Fox Pictures, the forces against Guess Pictures will be stronger.

This is also good news.

"Ron, I support you going to Universal Pictures, and I hope you have better development there."

Michael Ovitz said magnanimously.

"Thank you!"

The two shook hands.