Hollywood Director 1992

"Link, two Muscle Burgers, two cheese fries, and two iced colas for table 12!"

"Coming right up!"

In a Burger King on Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, Link, wearing a Burger King baseball cap and a green cartoon apron, walked from the counter to booth number twelve with a metal tray in his hand.

"Link, what are you doing here?"

"Hi, Matt, Ben, what a coincidence. It's a pleasure to serve you both."

Link chuckled and placed the tray of food on the table.

"Aren't you supposed to be directing? You don't exactly look like you're filming a movie."

Matt Damon sized him up and laughed.

"Directing doesn't bring in any income for now. I'm working here part-time. Do you guys live around here?"

"No, we're here today to study. We're auditioning for a role in a movie, and the character is a college student who works as a waiter in a burger joint off-campus during his studies. We're here to observe and learn."

Matt Damon pointed to his eyes.

"Scent of a Woman?"

"Oh, you know about this movie too?"

"Besides working here part-time, I also run bit parts in various film crews, so I'm quite aware of the recent movements of film crews."

Link shrugged and smiled.

"Too bad the supporting male role in this movie isn't for an Asian face; otherwise, you'd be perfect for it."

Matt Damon said.

"Haha, I think so too."

Link heard the order being called from the counter, gestured to the two of them, and went to the counter to continue taking orders and serving customers.

"He seems really special."

Matt Damon watched Link walking back and forth.

Ben Affleck took the iced cola and drank half of it in one go, letting out a long burp.

"What's so special about him?"

"He's very energetic and seems to be in a relaxed mood, as if he has no worries."

"Are you kidding me? How could someone working part-time here have no worries? He's at least short on money."

Ben Affleck chewed on a French fry, his eyes also sizing up Link.

"Money, who isn't short on it? It's because he's short on money and can still be so happy that makes him special. Okay, let's not talk about him anymore, Ben. Do you want to go with me to the 'Scent of a Woman' set for an audition tomorrow?"

"No, the supporting male character is too cowardly, not suitable for me. I wouldn't be able to play it well even if I tried."

Ben Affleck shrugged.

"It's better if you don't go; that's one less strong competitor for me."

---

After working six hours at the burger joint, he earned $60 in wages and $22 in tips.

In the afternoon, he returned to his small apartment, changed into a suit, and took the "Buried" videotape to New Line Cinema on Hollywood Boulevard.

New Line Cinema is a famous independent production company in Hollywood.

Founded in 1967, its primary business at the beginning was to distribute low-budget European and domestic horror films to American universities.

In 1979, it entered the production industry and invested in shooting low-budget horror films.

In 1990, it bought the Hong Kong film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" from Fox Pictures, which no one dared to release, and achieved great success, earning more than 100 million US dollars.

New Line Cinema also took this opportunity to become a more influential independent film distribution company in Hollywood, not much worse than Miramax Films.

The globally popular "Lord of the Rings" series in the future was produced by New Line Cinema.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm a director, and I have a very good film project that I'd like to discuss with your company. Who should I talk to?"

Arriving at the New Line Cinema office building, Link asked at the front desk.

"Film project? What specific project are you talking about?"

The receptionist was a blonde woman in her thirties with a pretty face.

When Link came to inquire, the woman was reading the fashion magazine "Vogue." Although she maintained a smile when he spoke, there was a clear hint of impatience.

"I have a film that is looking for a distributor. During the Sundance Film Festival, several film companies wanted to take the distribution rights of this film, but the offers they gave were too low. I hope to cooperate with a powerful distribution company like New Line Cinema."

Link said, taking out the videotape.

The blonde woman looked at him, picked up a box, and placed it on the counter. There was a folder in the box.

"Sir, you can put your videotape in this box, fill in your personal contact information, and I will forward the videotape to my colleagues in the distribution department later. If your movie is indeed good, the colleagues in the distribution department will contact you."

Link didn't do that.

First, the videotape was not backed up and was relatively precious.

Second, there were several other videotapes in this box, and it was unknown how long they had been placed there. Even if he put the videotape in the box, he didn't know when the people at New Line Cinema would watch it.

Whether it was a week, a month, or a year.

He had to wait in vain.

Link was unwilling to pin his hopes on a small probability event.

Leaving the front desk, Link went to the sofa area in the lounge to browse the newspaper. Around four o'clock in the afternoon, New Line Cinema President Robert Shaye came out of the elevator with his secretary.

President Shaye was in his sixties, balding, wearing a gray casual suit, with a serious expression and a stern face.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Shaye."

Link laughed and greeted him from afar.

"You are?"

Robert Shaye stopped and looked at him, adjusting his glasses.

"Mr. Shaye, my name is Link. I'm a director. I recently made a thriller. The plot is like this."

Link stopped two meters away from Robert Shaye and introduced the main plot of "Buried" in fluent language: A person who came to America to work unfortunately encounters an accident and is buried in an unknown sandpit with only a few simple tools.

Without any mistakes, every sentence is inside!

When his call for help to the police is unsuccessful, he can only save himself.

The beauty of this film lies in describing the struggle of people in desperate situations, the neglect of foreign immigrants by the American authorities, and the fact that the film only has one actor and one scene. This kind of film has never appeared before, so it is relatively novel.

"Are you saying that the entire film only has one actor, and all the scenes are shot in a wooden box?"

Robert Shaye said as he walked.

"That's right. This is an experimental film. Although I won't brag that the film will definitely cause a sensation after its release, I can guarantee that this film will definitely arouse the interest of many audiences after its release.

Mr. Shaye, I can also guarantee that the box office of this film in North America will exceed 5 million US dollars. As long as New Line Cinema is willing to distribute this film, I don't want even one cent of the box office share below 5 million US dollars."

Link followed Robert Shaye's pace and said.

Robert Shaye continued to walk forward and walked to a car waiting by the street.

Robert Shaye opened the car door and, as he was about to get in, turned his head to Link and said, "You told a good story. I hope your movie is also good. Give the videotape to the front desk, and I will arrange for internal staff to watch it in the next two days."

"Mr. Shaye, I hope my movie will impress you."

Link smiled.

Robert Shaye waved his hand and got into the car.

Link stood on the street watching the car drive away, touching the videotape in his pocket, caught in a dilemma.

If he left the videotape and it was accidentally lost by someone at New Line Cinema, he would have to climb to the Sundance Film Institute to find that copy. If he couldn't find it, the hard work of the previous four months would be in vain.

But if he didn't leave it, the people at New Line Cinema wouldn't be able to see the film, and film distribution would be out of the question.

After hesitating for a while, Link returned to the New Line Cinema front desk office area. The blonde woman was still reading the fashion magazine.

"Beautiful lady, hello, we meet again."

Link greeted.

The blonde woman glanced at him and pushed the box on the table forward a little, still unwilling to pay attention to people.

"Beautiful lady, I have a question I'd like to ask you. Just now, President Shaye told me to give the videotape to you, and he will arrange for someone to watch it in the next two days. As far as you know, does President Shaye's 'next two days' refer to tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, or an uncertain time?"

Link smiled.

"Sorry, this is a trade secret, I can't tell you."

The blonde woman said expressionlessly.

"Okay, lady, the first time I saw you, I knew it was impossible to get anything out of you."

"Why?"

The blonde woman blinked.

"I'm a director, and I'm good at observing people. I guess you're working here on the surface, but you're actually a secret agent planted here by the FBI, right? You've received confidentiality training, and no one will get even a little bit of news from you."

Link looked around and lowered his voice.

"Congratulations, you guessed it."

The blonde woman said with a smile.

Since he decided to leave the videotape, after making the decision, Link no longer hesitated, signed the register with a pen, and the woman took out a sticker, wrote the number and movie name on it, and stuck it on the videotape.

"Baby, don't be sad, we're just temporarily separated. After they've seen it, no matter where you are, I'll find you."

Link took the videotape, kissed it, reluctantly put it in the box, and to distinguish his videotape from the others, he drew a red heart on the sticker with a colored pen.

"Compared to being a director, I think you're more suitable to be an actor."

The blonde woman smiled.

"Good idea, I'll seriously consider your suggestion."

Link also smiled, said goodbye to the blonde woman, and left New Line Cinema with his hands in his pockets.