Hollywood Director 1992

"I heard that Link is an orphan who didn't finish much school and used to be a small-time gangster in El Monte."

"But look at him, he's so relaxed on stage, speaks clearly and logically, and keeps saying inspirational things. How could such a person come from the slums?"

In a bar in Los Angeles, Al Simmons, an entertainment reporter for the Los Angeles Times, pointed to the well-dressed, handsome, and eloquent man on TV and said to his companions.

"What do you mean?"

A reporter from the American Express asked.

"Do you think the success of 'Buried' might be a scam, a successful hype?"

"Hype? How?"

A reporter from USA Today asked.

"Maybe Link isn't from a poor family. Maybe he grew up in privileged circumstances, received a good education, and received professional guidance, especially in directing and acting, which gave him strong directing skills."

"And maybe the people behind him deliberately created the movie 'Buried' to help him create the aura of a 'genius director,' first letting a group of film companies be short-sighted, and then allowing the film to be released with difficulty, resulting in a global box office explosion and creating the highest revenue ratio record in film history."

"This huge contrast is extremely topical. With the media's publicity and reports, 'Buried' continues to sell well, and Link becomes famous in one fell swoop. Doesn't that sound reasonable?"

Al Simmons narrowed his eyes and said slowly.

"Al, are you going crazy trying to get a big story?

"The reason 'Buried' was a hit is because it was good quality. Initially, 'Buried' was only shown in one theater. Because the box office results were good, it gradually gained the support of the theater chains. It wasn't based on hype. You've got the cause and effect wrong."

A reporter from The Hollywood Reporter said.

"Then is it possible that 'Buried' wasn't directed by Link, or that it wasn't just two people as he said, but a group of people, with more professional filmmakers guiding him? That's the secret to the good quality of 'Buried'. Anyway, I don't believe that Link could make a masterpiece like 'Buried' with his first movie."

Al Simmons stroked his stubble, secretly pondering the possibility of this speculation.

After saying that, he wanted to hear his colleagues' opinions, but when he turned around, he found that several of them were gone.

He looked around and saw several colleagues surrounding Thomas Miller, a veteran reporter from the American Tribune, listening to Thomas explain the paranormal events that had recently occurred in Connecticut.

According to a survey report by the Tribune last year, a couple living in New York, the Campbells, moved to northern Connecticut, not far from the hospital, to treat their son's illness, where they found an old house that was just about to be rented out.

The house had a good environment, but there were often strange noises at night, and ghosts would appear at night, which was very scary.

They found out that the old house used to be a funeral home.

This news was initially reported by local media, and later Fox News Channel followed up and filmed some suspicious scenes.

This matter caused a stir last year and was called the 'Connecticut Haunted House Incident.' The Tribune also sent people to interview, and Thomas Miller was one of them.

When everyone saw Thomas coming over, they gathered around to ask about the situation.

Al Simmons was bored with this kind of thing and sat back at the bar to watch the TNT talk show 'Dialogue with Link, Director of Buried,' to see if he could dig up some useful news material.

On TV, host Billy Crystal interviewed Link. After 'Buried' became a hit, he was also given titles such as 'Genius Director' and 'Highest-Grossing Director in History' by the media. Billy Crystal asked him if he felt any pressure.

Link's answer was no. Instead of dwelling on whether he could bear these praises, he should focus on his current work, because no matter what, the level of a director's ability should be reflected in his film works, and his directing skills would not become more skilled just because he had the aura of a 'genius director.'

"Humph!"

Al Simmons took an unhappy sip of beer. This guy Link was only 20 years old, but he spoke so carefully that there was no chance to find any news material to hype.

"Link, after 'Buried' became a hit, many film critics said that the success of 'Buried' was impossible to replicate and was extremely accidental. Your future movies may not be better than 'Buried.' What do you think of this statement?"

Host Billy Crystal asked.

Hearing this question, Al Simmons perked up slightly to see if Link would admit that the success of 'Buried' was based on luck. Whether he admitted it or not, there were points worth exploring.

"Success? How do you define the success of a movie? Just taking the box office revenue ratio as the only standard, or the total box office revenue, the awards won, its position in film history, and its impact on the film industry? If you only take the box office revenue ratio as the only standard, it is indeed difficult to replicate, but if you take the other items as the standard for defining success, I may not be able to do better."

Clap clap clap!

A burst of applause came from the TV.

"Shit! He cleverly avoided the point again."

Al Simmons punched the counter.

Just as he was about to leave the bar and look for news outside, he suddenly heard Billy Crystal mention Robert Downey Jr. in the next question.

In the third week of 'Buried's' release, the North American box office surpassed 'Chaplin' and rushed to fourth place in the weekly box office chart. Robert Downey Jr. publicly accused 'Buried' of being shoddy and not a good movie, and also ridiculed Link for蹭the red carpet.

Al Simmons was also at that interview.

This matter caused a stir in the entertainment industry. Robert Downey Jr. was criticized by some people, and Link's public image was also somewhat affected.

Afterwards, many media outlets wanted to interview Link about his views on this matter and how he evaluated Robert Downey Jr.'s behavior.

Unfortunately, Link avoided talking about it every time.

Now Billy Crystal took the initiative to bring up this issue. Although it was reheated leftovers, if Link could reveal some fresh 'ingredients' here, it might be a delicious 'public opinion' feast.

Al Simmons took out his interview notebook and stared intently at the TV, just listening to the host's question, when he suddenly felt very crowded around him and his back was hot.

Looking back.

Good heavens!

Those guys who were listening to ghost stories with Thomas Miller all surrounded him in the blink of an eye, their ears more sensitive than dog ears.

"Link, when 'Buried' was a hit, Robert Downey Jr. and many filmmakers in the industry publicly accused 'Buried' of being of poor quality and shouldn't have received those box office numbers. They also mentioned that you borrowed the premiere ceremony of 'Chaplin' to release 'Buried.' I think you've seen this news. What were your feelings at the time?"

Billy Crystal asked.

"Is it gossip time now?"

No mistakes, one first, one hair, one inside, one content, one in one look!

Link joked.

"Stop talking nonsense and answer quickly!"

Al Simmons slapped the counter and roared at the TV.

"Okay, it felt very interesting. Mr. Robert Downey Jr. is a famous movie star, and can be called the number one among the younger generation of actors, or at least in the top three, while I was just an unknown person at that time.

The day the news came out, a partner held up the Los Angeles Times and shouted at me, Link, come and see, Robert Downey Jr. publicly scolded Buried as a bad movie and ridiculed you for蹭the Chaplin red carpet. You're going to be famous."

Hahaha!

Hearing Link change his voice to shout, everyone laughed.

"It was the report I wrote. Link must have seen the report I wrote."

Al Simmons clapped and laughed.

"Hush, don't talk, listen to Link."

Several reporters around him reminded him.

"So when you saw this news at the time, you weren't angry, but happy?"

Billy Crystal asked.

"Happy no, being scolded for no reason, naturally impossible to be happy, not angry either, because the newspaper said that Mr. Robert Downey Jr. said those unreasonable things under the influence of alcohol. It would be too petty to argue with a drunk person. I never mentioned this matter in public afterwards. The only thing that disappointed me was that Robert Downey Jr. has not made any explanation or apology since he woke up."

"Do you want Robert Downey Jr. to apologize to you?"

"If there is, it would be better. Everyone is in the entertainment industry and will inevitably meet or cooperate in the future. It is not conducive to building good relationships if the relationship is too stiff; if there is no apology, it doesn't matter. Having a big star-level hater is also a very interesting and rare experience. At least, Billy, your haters shouldn't have such big names."

"No, I don't have haters. My fans all love me. But I'm also very jealous that you have a big-name hater."

Hahaha!

The audience laughed.

"This Link is quite humorous."

In the bar, Al Simmons stroked his chin and said.

"Not only humorous and funny, but also a very smart guy."

"Indeed, he knows that Robert Downey Jr. has a great influence in the entertainment industry, has many fans, the Downey family has extremely strong connections in the industry, and is also a VIP client of CAA. Confronting him is not a beneficial thing for Link, a newcomer in the entertainment industry.

He avoided the important and focused on the light, avoided mentioning the film dispute, only mentioned that Robert Downey Jr. did not apologize, and behaved very rationally.

It is rare for him to be able to do this at his age, and he is indeed not an ordinary young man."

"Now the pressure has completely shifted to Robert Downey Jr. Guess, will Robert Downey Jr. apologize?"

Al Simmons looked at several colleagues and asked.