Hollywood Director 1992

After leaving Jennifer's apartment, Link received calls from Navigator Capital and Morgan Investments.

Gregg Davis and Paul Hankson mentioned the news in the newspaper, saying that he spared no expense, spending over ten million on public relations for the Oscars. The two were very dissatisfied with this approach, saying that he was wasting the shareholders' money and that this behavior must be stopped.

Link said that public relations for the Oscars was to promote the movie, not for personal matters, and they had no right to interfere.

Besides, the largest shareholder of Guess Pictures was himself, and even if he spent money, it was his own money. Shareholders had no right to point fingers at this matter.

The two were so angry that they slammed the table, saying that some of that money was theirs.

Link told them that if they were optimistic about the development of Guess Pictures, they should not interfere in the company's affairs. If they were not optimistic, they could also withdraw their shares.

Guess Pictures was willing to redeem the original shares from the two companies at a market value of 600 million.

The two companies invested in Guess Pictures for less than a year and earned more than ten million, which was also a profitable investment.

The two did not agree to withdraw their shares.

Gregg Davis said that if they were to withdraw their shares, they should be redeemed at the market value of 1.5 billion he set, not 600 million.

Link agreed.

As long as they withdrew their shares, they could be redeemed at 1.5 billion. 10% of the shares was 150 million. Guess Pictures could afford this money, and he was willing to spend this money to kick out two uncooperative partners and find more suitable investors.

Gregg Davis was silent for a while and said that Navigator Capital would not withdraw its shares.

Paul Hankson also said that he would not withdraw his shares.

The first call ended unhappily.

A few days later, driven by the Oscars, the box office of 'Seven Deadly Sins' increased again, slowly increasing from the original 350 million to 360 million. The box office of 'Speed' and 'Good Will Hunting' also increased by tens of millions.

The media began to promote that Guess Pictures' investment in the Oscars was very cost-effective and a bold investment.

Gregg Davis and Paul Hankson called again to congratulate Link on the increase in the box office of several movies, and at the same time reminded him that the deadline for the second round of financing for Guess Pictures was approaching, and asked him what his plans were.

Link said he had no plans.

The two said that if there was no plan, the second round of financing would fail.

Link said that it would not fail. Even if it failed, it would not affect the company. The company had sufficient ammunition and did not need financing.

On the other end of the phone, Gregg Davis took a few heavy breaths and said through gritted teeth,

"Link, it's very unreasonable for you to think like this. If the company wants to develop, obtaining funds through financing and then expanding the company's scale is the most direct way.

Now that Guess Pictures has developed to a critical stage, completing the second round of financing will make Guess Pictures stronger. Navigator Capital is also willing to help you grow Guess Pictures."

"Oh, what suggestions do you have?"

"A market value of 1 billion is Navigator Capital's latest valuation of Guess Pictures. If you agree, Navigator Capital will help you complete the second round of financing."

"Gregg, I've said many times that 1.5 billion is the bottom line and I won't back down anymore."

Link insisted.

Bang bang bang ~ The sound of slamming the table came from the microphone again.

"Link, you should be more flexible and recognize the current situation. The seven major film companies and seven major media groups are joining forces to suppress Guess Pictures and squeeze Guess's market. The situation of Guess Pictures will be even worse in the future.

Secondly, the box office performance of the two films released by Guess Pictures at the beginning of the year was not outstanding, even worse than last year. I think 1 billion is a very suitable price."

Gregg Davis said, suppressing his anger.

Link smiled and said, "The seven major media groups joined forces to suppress me at the beginning of the year, hyping up my negative news, and wanted to use this method to defeat me, but they failed, and they will not succeed in the future.

The box office revenue of 'The Man from Earth' is more than 100 times, and the box office revenue ratio of 'Rumble in the Bronx' in North America alone has reached 4 times.

Such movies are projects that are worth opening champagne to celebrate in the seven major film companies, but you are telling me that these two movies are not outstanding?

I know that Navigator Capital is also a shareholder of the seven major film companies. Among the films released by the seven major film companies at the beginning of the year, are there any films with box office revenue ratios that can compare with these two?"

Gregg Davis had nothing to say. The investment cost of these two films was very low. Even if a lot of money was spent on publicity, Guess Pictures could still earn several times the cost overall.

The seven major film companies are large factory-style film production models with extremely high film production costs. In terms of revenue ratio, none of them can compare with 'Rumble in the Bronx' this year, let alone 'The Man from Earth'.

"Okay, Link, you're right, but I hope you'll reconsider."

"No need to reconsider, 1.5 billion is a very suitable price. If you don't take the opportunity to enter the market when the stock price is low, I dare to guarantee that they won't have a chance to enter the market after the company develops."

Link hung up the phone.

Two days later, Gregg Davis called him again and told him in an excited tone that after his repeated lobbying, the investment department of Navigator Capital agreed to participate in the second round of financing of Guess Pictures at a market value of 1.2 billion. He asked if he would accept it?

Link said no, Guess Pictures had increased its price, and now 1.6 billion was the bottom line.

"Why?! Why did it increase by another 100 million?"

Gregg Davis shouted irritably.

He tried his best to use psychological tactics and investment strategies to gradually test Link's bottom line. He thought he was about to test it, but when he took a step forward, Link took a big step back.

This made his previous efforts a joke.

"You can read today's newspaper. You should be able to find the answer on it. There is also one reason. Last year I said that I would give priority to investment companies that are more helpful to the company's development in the second round of financing. Unfortunately, Navigator Capital is not one of them."

"We also contributed to the seven major film companies joining forces to suppress Guess Pictures last year."

"Yes, it's a pity that you didn't persist."

Link said.

Gregg Davis gritted his teeth and hung up the phone unhappily.

He asked his assistant to send all the newspapers and magazines related to Link and Guess Pictures today.

The top newspaper was 'The Hollywood Reporter'.

It contained the 1994 Hollywood film box office chart, the list and information of the top 20 films, as well as the box office revenue of all Hollywood film companies last year and the company's profit comparison.

Last year's North American film box office champion was 'Seven Deadly Sins', with a North American box office of 363 million US dollars and a global box office of 836 million US dollars.

The second place was 'Forrest Gump', with a North American box office of 320 million and a global box office of 657 million.

The third place was 'The Lion King', with a North American box office of 306 million and a global box office of 852 million US dollars.

The fourth place was 'True Lies', with a North American box office of 146 million and a global box office of 368 million.

The fifth place was 'Good Will Hunting', with 138 million in North America and 225 million worldwide.

The sixth place was 'The Flintstones', with 130 million US dollars and 340 million worldwide.

The seventh place was 'Speed', with 125 million US dollars and 360 million worldwide.

The eighth place was 'Dumb and Dumber', with 122 million and 247 million worldwide.

The ninth place was 'Clear and Present Danger', with 122 million in North America and 215 million worldwide.

The tenth place was 'The Mask', with 119 million in North America and 357 million worldwide.

The eleventh place was 'Pulp Fiction', with 109 million in North America and 213 million worldwide.

The twelfth place was 'Interview with the Vampire', with 102 million in North America and 216 million worldwide.

According to the data released by 'The Hollywood Reporter'.

Among the top twelve, five and a half films belonged to Guess Pictures.

Including the films ranked first, fifth, seventh, eighth, and tenth.

The remaining half was 'Pulp Fiction', which ranked 11th.

Among the top twelve, Guess Pictures' films almost occupied half of the country.

The seven major film companies combined could not compare to Guess Pictures alone.

'The Hollywood Reporter' used direct mathematical formulas to express the shock in its report, namely Warner Bros. + Universal + Disney .+ Paramount \u003c Guess Pictures.

The newspaper published the profit situation of all mainstream film companies in Hollywood in 1994 on another page.

Guess Pictures released 9 films last year, and received a total of 924 million US dollars in North America.

The cumulative global box office is currently 2.07 billion US dollars.

Many films are still being screened overseas, and the total box office is expected to be higher.

Paramount Pictures ranked second, releasing a total of 18 films last year, with a total North American box office of 787 million US dollars and a global box office of 1.76 billion US dollars.

Disney ranked third, releasing a total of 21 films last year, with a North American box office of 682 million and a global box office of 1.83 billion US dollars.

Twentieth Century Fox, Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, and MGM Pictures ranked fourth to eighth.

A total of 261 films were released in North American theaters last year, with a total box office of 5.16 billion US dollars, an increase of 6.7% compared to 93 years.

Guess Pictures ranked first in the industry with 18.3% of the North American box office market share, and the total box office performance was equal to the sum of Columbia, Universal, and MGM.

'The Hollywood Reporter' called Guess Pictures the new overlord of the Hollywood film industry. The seven major film companies are the seven giants. The current Hollywood film industry pattern presents a pattern of 1 overlord + 7 giants, raising Guess Pictures to an extremely high position.

Seeing this, Gregg Davidson couldn't help but smack his lips a few times.

Even if he hated Link's money-grabbing style, he had to admit that under Link's leadership, Guess Pictures had created a very remarkable achievement and had also become a golden mountain, with infinite money-making ability.

This was probably also the reason why Link dared to raise the company's price to 1.6 billion even when facing an attack from the seven major film companies.

Gregg Davis stroked his chin and continued flipping through the next magazine.

The new issue of the Forbes Rich List was out.

Link's net worth had undergone a huge change this year.

In the latest issue of Forbes' \u003cGlobal Billionaires List\u003e, Link was ranked 102nd, with total assets of $3 billion, an increase of $1.55 billion from last year, moving up more than 300 places on the list.

According to Forbes, his assets mainly include three parts:

Shining Gold Capital Management Company and Guess Pictures, and personal income.

Shining Gold Capital is a large investment company that has suddenly risen in Wall Street in the past two years.

The shares managed by it include 4.38% of Microsoft shares, 2.42% of Cisco shares, 3.2% of Disney, 0.32% of Apple, and 1.21% of Berkshire Hathaway shares.

There are also more than a dozen unlisted companies, including 15% of Netscape, 95% of Marvel Entertainment shares, 20% of Guess Pictures, 15% of UTA brokerage company, and 18% of LTD Clothing Company (Victoria's Secret's parent company), etc.

Forbes estimates Shining Gold Capital to be worth $2.8 billion, with Link owning 96.3% of the shares.

Among them, Microsoft's shares are worth approximately $1.7 billion. At the end of last year, The Wall Street Journal released news that Microsoft would release a new generation of operating system Windows 95 this year. In the following two months, Microsoft's market value rapidly increased from $33 billion to $36 billion.

The 4.38% stake is worth $1.57 billion.

However, when Forbes calculates the assets of wealthy people, it uses Microsoft's market value at the end of last year.

In March, after Microsoft released the Windows 95 operating system, Microsoft's market value soared to $45 billion in half a month. According to the current trend, Microsoft's market value will continue to grow, reaching $50 billion or even more.

The value of Microsoft's shares under Shining Gold Capital will be higher, and Link's net worth will also be higher.

The second-ranked is Cisco shares. Affected by the rapid development of the Internet industry, Cisco, which produces Internet equipment, also saw a sharp increase in its market value this year, increasing to $18 billion at the end of last year.

The 2.42% stake is worth approximately $430 million.

The third-ranked is 3.24% of Disney shares.

Last year, affected by internal changes in the company, Disney's market value fell from a high of more than $18 billion to $12 billion, and it is still falling. Despite this, Shining Gold Capital's 3.2% Disney stake is as high as $380 million.

The shares of other companies are mostly around $100 million.

The second part of the assets is Guess Pictures.

Forbes estimates Guess Pictures to be worth $800 million, with 53% of the shares worth approximately $420 million.

In the third part, Link's income last year in terms of film salaries, box office revenue sharing, and book copyright revenue sharing was approximately $180 million.

The three parts of assets add up to approximately $3 billion.

However, Forbes magazine made a note at the end of the 'Link' article.

In the past few years, Link has bought many properties around the world, including Beverly Hills mansions, Hawaiian island resort estates, Hong Kong Island mid-levels mansions, French castles, New York Manhattan mansions, etc., as well as yachts, private jets, jewelry, large deposits, etc.

Link's true net worth is far higher than $3 billion.

On the list of the \u003cAmerica's 400 Richest People\u003e, Link is ranked 43rd.

On the \u003cChinese Rich List\u003e, Link's net worth is second only to Li Ka-shing's $8.5 billion, Li Zhaoji's $6.5 billion, and Cheng Yu-tung's $4.2 billion, ranking fourth.

On the \u003cForbes Celebrity Income List\u003e, Link is ranked first with an income of $180 million, surpassing all sports athletes, actors, singers, etc.

"$3 billion!"

Gregg Davis gnashed his back teeth a few times, feeling envious and shocked.

Link's net worth is more than $3 billion, ranking among the top 50 richest people in the United States, a giant in the industry.

It's just that Link doesn't put on much airs when he speaks, which often makes him forget this point and only regard Link as the boss of Guess Pictures. He even dares to lose his temper with him when making phone calls.

Now he feels it is necessary to change his attitude towards Link.

Regarding Guess Pictures, it has the number one total box office of the year, the number one total revenue, and its money-making ability is more than the seven major film companies with a market value of hundreds of billions.

In this case, investors are more enthusiastic about investing in Guess Pictures.

Wall Street investment companies will also have a better evaluation of Guess Pictures, and the market value assessment will probably exceed $1 billion.

But Link is asking for $1.6 billion.

Gregg Davis thought about it and decided to find the company's board of directors to specifically discuss whether to acquire Guess Pictures' shares at a premium.

After the release of the new annual box office chart and the Forbes Rich List, Link received congratulations from many people, including colleagues, friends, entertainment stars, political figures, Wall Street investment consultants, etc.

Especially in the political world, after he first appeared on the Forbes Rich List, many party members contacted him, hoping to get his funding.

Initially, Link didn't want to get involved in politics and only funded a few Justice Department officials. Now that he is famous and has strong capital, even the White House has sent people to contact him.

On the advice of the Shining Gold Capital consultant team, he moderately invested in several congressmen and politicians, including Schwarzenegger, who was preparing to enter politics, and Texas Governor Bush.

In America, when assets reach a certain level, personal careers will inevitably involve politics.

Striving for political support can, on the one hand, enhance one's own commercial interests and use political policy inclinations to obtain a policy environment conducive to the company's development;

On the other hand, it can also improve and consolidate one's position within the industry, expand social circles, obtain more resources, and gain political protection.

Compared with other industries, the entertainment industry is more closely connected with politics.

The number one person on Hollywood's power list in previous years has always stood up for the president.

Including the earliest Hollywood King Louis Mayer, the former Universal Pictures boss Lew Wasserman, who was the number one on the Hollywood power list in the 1970s and 1980s, Michael Ovitz, the number one person in Hollywood in the early 1990s, and Harvey Weinstein, the future Hollywood King, etc.

Link has been rated by many media as the most powerful person in Hollywood since last year.

After having this title, he can't isolate himself from politics, and getting involved in politics has become an inevitable choice.

But politics is a poison.

The first generation of Hollywood King Louis Mayer was not only the founder of MGM Pictures, but also the initiator of the Academy Awards. He rose in the 1920s and 1930s because he supported Herbert Hoover, and later lost power because Roosevelt came to power. He died of illness in his home in the mid-1950s, and no one cared about him.

The rise and fall of Michael Ovitz and Harvey and others are also greatly related to political factors.

In view of the fate of these people, although Link will get involved in politics, he will not participate too deeply. His main purpose in Hollywood is still to make movies, to make more movies.

"Hey, millionaire, congratulations on making it to Forbes. When are you going to have a party to celebrate? Let us help you spend some money."

Quentin called and said.

"I don't have time for the time being. I'll treat everyone to drinks when I finish filming and come back."

"That's more like it. Tsk tsk, I really don't understand how you guys can make so much money. $3 billion, can you spend it all?"

"It's all stocks. There's not much to convert to cash. I remember you said last year that you also wanted to speculate in stocks. The market is pretty good now. How much have you made?"

"I didn't speculate. I was going to speculate, but I didn't have much money. If I used it to speculate in stocks, I wouldn't have any money to spend."

Link chatted with Quentin for a few words about the movie.

Just as he hung up the phone, he received a call from Jackie Chan, who called him the God of Wealth, congratulated Guess Pictures on reaching the top of the industry, and also talked about the box office situation of Rumble in the Bronx.

The current North American box office is 35.53 million US dollars, overseas regions are about 16.03 million US dollars, and the total box office has exceeded 50 million US dollars, with a box office revenue ratio of seven to one.

The box office results are very good.

Jackie Chan is preparing to hold a celebration party in the villa, asking if he has time to attend, and also said it depends on his time.

Link said that Batman will probably be finished in three weeks.

Jackie Chan said he could wait for him, and also mentioned the second round of financing for Guess Pictures.

Investors in Hong Kong asked him to pass on a message, wanting to participate in the financing of Guess Pictures, asking if he had a chance.

Link thought about it and said he could talk about it.

In fact, in addition to obtaining more funds, the main purpose of the company's absorption of financing is to obtain the support of the investment company's related forces.

Funds from Hong Kong do not have much foundation in Hollywood, and introducing them to the company's board of directors will not have much effect.

However, if the capital from Hong Kong can afford a high price, he doesn't mind introducing a Chinese shareholder to the board of directors of Guess Pictures.

Just as he hung up the phone, Link received a call from Sophie Marceau in Paris.

Sophie said she missed him and asked if he would like to come to France in May to attend the Cannes Film Festival?

Link said he was filming and wasn't sure if he would go. If he didn't have time to go, Sophie Marceau could come over. The Braveheart starring her and Mel Gibson will be released in May, and she will come to Los Angeles to promote it then.

Sophie Marceau gently agreed.