Chapter 422: A Matter of Face (1/10)

"Haha, Link, we meet again."

In a cafe on East 7th Street in Santa Monica, not far from the Lionsgate headquarters, Link met Bob Weinstein, the second-in-command of The Weinstein Company.

In terms of physique, both Weinstein brothers were toad-like, with big heads, thick necks, and potbellies, looking greedy.

In terms of appearance, Bob was slightly more refined than Harvey. Harvey's face had too much flesh, unevenly distributed, and bumpy. He could play villains in movies without makeup.

Bob also had a round face, but without so much flesh. He smiled when meeting people, not so intimidating, except for a pair of triangular eyes, half-opened, looking a bit sinister.

Neither brother was easy to deal with.

The two had met at Harvey's party in March, so they weren't strangers. There was no need for small talk this time, and Link directly asked Bob what was the matter.

"Haha, Link, I'm friends with director Paul Anderson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Joaquin. I heard your new project 'The Master' is quite good?"

Bob laughed.

"Yes, this movie is cool, and director Paul Anderson is cool too, so I decided to invest in it when I saw the script."

Before coming, Link wasn't sure of Bob's intention. Hearing him mention "The Master" and the main creative team, he had a guess.

"Link, we had a pleasant collaboration on 'Silver Linings Playbook'. How about we collaborate again?"

Bob stroked his chin stubble and chuckled.

"How do we collaborate?"

"I'm also optimistic about 'The Master' and hope to have the opportunity to participate. In exchange, we will help with Oscar campaigning after the movie is released. With our capabilities, as long as director Anderson maintains the level of his previous films, it won't be difficult to get a few nominations. Maybe we have a chance to win an Oscar.

With Oscar nominations and awards, the box office results will definitely be better. Link, this is a win-win cooperation, and I hope you can seriously consider it."

Bob said slowly.

Link raised an eyebrow, finding it interesting.

After the success of "Bridesmaids," many film companies in Hollywood called, hoping to participate in Palm Beach Pictures' next film project, including David Ellison, who had previously said he wasn't interested in art films.

However, Palm Beach Pictures only had three film projects this year.

The first was "Beasts of the Southern Wild," chosen by Katherine, with a production budget of only 1.2 million dollars and a seemingly good script.

The second was the shelved project "The Master," which Joaquin brought to him with the script. Link had heard of this film, which had been nominated for Oscars and helped Joaquin get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, but the box office results seemed to be very average.

To establish a good working relationship with Joaquin and lay the foundation for future collaborations, Link decided to invest in this film.

The third film, "Lawless," was brought by Megan Ellison. The movie was good and worth investing in, and several of Megan's future films were also good, suitable for long-term partnership.

So, he invested in the latter two films mainly to pave the way for future collaborations.

At the same time, he wanted to use these two high-quality films to shape Palm Beach Pictures' reputation in the industry, telling everyone that Palm Beach Pictures' films could not only make money but also win awards.

However, after the big success of "Easy A" and "Bridesmaids," industry insiders began to be optimistic about Palm Beach's films and naturally believed that "The Master" and "Lawless" should have good box office results.

Even the rival Weinstein brothers thought so, which was why they put aside their prejudices and took the initiative to seek cooperation, even using Oscar campaigning as bait.

After some thought, Link decided to accept.

First, he wasn't sure if "The Master" could be profitable, and having more people willing to pay could also share the risk.

Second, he and Harvey were originally hostile, and Harvey had even threatened to boycott him, which was known to many people in the industry and led to many people close to Harvey isolating him and Palm Beach Pictures.

Now, hearing that Palm Beach Pictures' films were making money, Harvey suddenly changed his stance and asked for cooperation.

This change would make those close to Harvey feel confused.

Originally, everyone was following Harvey's call to deal with Link, but now the leader, Harvey, silently took the initiative to cooperate with Link. What would those who supported Harvey think?

With Harvey taking the lead, others wouldn't need to persist, and they wouldn't have to worry about offending Harvey when cooperating with Link.

Agreeing to cooperate with The Weinstein Company could also dismantle part of Harvey's power, which would be beneficial to the future development of both Lionsgate and Palm Beach Pictures.

After all, Harvey had been deeply rooted in Hollywood for decades, and being isolated by this group of people would hinder the company's ability to make money.

Finally, there was one more thing. Link wanted to take advantage of The Weinstein Company's initiative to seek cooperation and make a request.

Link took a sip of coffee, letting the aroma of cappuccino bloom between his lips and teeth.

"Bob, there's one thing I want to ask. Is this cooperation your own idea, or Harvey's?"

"Haha, don't worry, Harvey knows about this."

Bob said.

Link nodded, "There's no problem with the cooperation, but I have a request, or rather, a proposal."

"Please speak!"

Bob was happy to hear that he was willing to cooperate, and the smile on his face became warmer.

Link had two proposals.

First, "Silver Linings Playbook" was already filmed and in post-production, and he hoped to release the film within the year.

Second, after the film's release, if Jennifer Lawrence performed well, he intended to help her campaign for the Oscar for Best Actress. The Weinstein Company was professional in this regard, and he hoped they could help with the campaigning.

"Oscar for Best Actress?!"

Bob was surprised to hear this. Jennifer Lawrence was only twenty-one years old and had made four films. She was a very new actress, and even if her acting was top-notch, she wasn't at the level of winning an Oscar.

Not to mention that the film wasn't even finished yet.

But Link was thinking of helping her win the Oscar for Best Actress.

This was simply a dream.

"Link, the movie hasn't even been released yet. Isn't it too early to talk about this?"

Bob chuckled.

"Jennifer's acting is great. She's qualified to win the Oscar for Best Actress. Besides, this is just a proposal, on the premise that she performs well in this film. If her performance is average, this proposal is void."

Link said.

Bob thought for a moment and agreed. However, when discussing the investment share of "The Master," he hoped that Link could transfer more shares.

After careful consideration, Link 'very reluctantly' transferred 30% of Lionsgate's investment share to The Weinstein Company. The producers of "The Master" also became Palm Beach Pictures, Annapurna Pictures, and The Weinstein Company.

“Haha, Link, happy cooperation.”

Bob stretched out his hand and said.

“Happy cooperation!”

Link shook hands with him, shook his fat palm and smiled, “Bob, do you believe it, although Harvey is a top producer and has a strong ability to produce and distribute movies, I would rather cooperate with you.”

“Oh?Why?”

Bob squinted his triangular eyes and smiled.

“I have read your interview report and I have some understanding of you. You are a relatively pure film businessman, and I am also a businessman. The purpose of our investment in movies is to make money.

Unlike Mr. Harvey Weinstein, he is not exactly a businessman. He is also a genius producer. He also has the problems of artistic genius, pride, paranoia, and sensibility. At the same time, he is also the savior of modern movies. Sometimes for the sake of film art, give up box office profits.

In comparison, Bob, I am more calm in film investment, the risk of working with you will be less, and the possibility of making money is more likely.”

Link said.

Bob squinted his eyes and smiled, and Link's evaluation of Harvey surprised him.

Link is right. Harvey is a film-making genius who has produced and successfully discovered hundreds of high-quality modern movies in his career.

After the release of these films, they had a significant impact on the entire film industry, and even affected the style and direction of modern movies. This is why the media called him the ‘savior of modern movies’.

Because Harvey has achieved remarkable results in movies, and has been touted more harshly in recent years, people around him are also constantly touting him, causing Harvey to be arrogant, more and more irritable, stubborn, and unable to listen to other people's advice. Advice.

Often do things that harm the interests of the company.

For example, in 2004, they were still in Miramax, and Miramax was still a sub-brand of Disney Pictures.

At that time, despite the obstruction of the parent company Disney, Harvey insisted on uniting with Lionsgate to release the political documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11". The main thrust of this film was to criticize the Bush administration and the Republican Party, which was contrary to Disney's interests.

The consequence of this incident was that the cooperation between the two sides broke down, and the brothers had to leave Disney and start Weinstein Pictures.

Although "Fahrenheit 911" was sold out later, Harvey also entered the Democratic Party camp as a result, and was favored by the top of the Democratic Party, which took Harvey's power in Hollywood to the next level.

But for Bob, this is not a good thing. He was originally a shareholder of Miramax and relied on Disney to make a lot of money. Because of Harvey's stubbornness, the cooperation with Disney broke down, causing him to lose tens of millions of dollars.

Without Disney's support and protection, Weinstein Pictures suffered a three-year trough period from 2005 to 2009, and it was not until last year that the company's development improved.

In the past few years, he has lost a lot of money with Harvey, and the company is still in debt.

These things made him very dissatisfied with Harvey, but Harvey is a genius in film. Without Harvey, he could not independently operate a film project and guarantee profitability. This situation made him love and hate Harvey.

Now that he heard Link's evaluation of Harvey, he suddenly felt like he had met a confidant.

Buzzing!

The phone in his pocket vibrated, and Bob had to stop imagining. After finalizing the contract with Link, he got up and left.

When he came outside the cafe, he took out his mobile phone and looked at it. It was Harvey's phone.

“Harvey, what's the matter?”

“Bob, stop negotiating with Link, we can't cooperate with Link.”

Harvey shouted loudly on the phone.

“Why?”

Bob asked in surprise. Harvey had offered to cooperate with Link before, but now he suddenly regretted it, which made him a little confused.

“Bob, you are confused. We have a hostile relationship with Link, and I threatened to block him. Now I suddenly cooperate with him. What do others think of me when this matter spreads out?So we must not cooperate with Link.”

Harvey shouted.

Bob was a little helpless. He had considered what Harvey said a long time ago, but in order to make money, he didn't care.

Originally, he thought Harvey had already considered it when he proposed cooperation, but he didn't expect it to take so long to react. It was stupid.

“Harvey, I don't think it's a good time to block Link and Palm Beach Pictures. First of all, Link has Lionsgate, a lot of cash, and a complete film distribution system. We can't block him at all.

At present, the movies produced by Palm Beach Pictures are selling well, and many people in the circle want to cooperate with him. There is no shortage of contacts and funds. Only if we block him, we will be isolated by everyone.

Also, you are busy investing in movies every day, and you probably haven't paid attention to the company's situation. Although the box office results of several movies released by the company last year were good, the overall is still losing money, and there are more than 100 million debts that have not been repaid. We need to make money.”

Bob said calmly.

Harvey was silent for a long time, gritted his teeth and said, "No, I have blocked him before. Everyone knows that he and I are enemies. Now we take the initiative to find Link to cooperate. After the news comes out, others will think that I don't even want my face in order to make money. This kind of thing must not happen.”

“Harvey, have you ever thought about a question? Lionsgate is the eighth largest in Hollywood and is an excellent partner. If we don't cooperate with him, we need to cooperate with the six major, and we must be prepared to be exploited when we cooperate with the six Major. Be prepared to be exploited.

In addition, I don't think we have any difficult conflicts with Link. At first, you had a conflict with Link. It was Link who deceived you with fabricated black materials. This is not a big loss for us.

Later, because we intervened in Lionsgate's casting, Link took the risk of acquiring Lionsgate and lost more than 200 million U.S. dollars. I think this revenge is enough.

Now Link means to ease, and from the point of view of interests, we should accept it.”

Bob said.

“Even if you are right, you can't cooperate. I am the number one person on the power list. Seeing Link's movies to make money requires cooperation. What will others think of me when it comes out?”

Harvey said dissatisfied.

Bob was helpless, Link was right, Harvey was too paranoid and too embarrassed, this kind of person is not suitable for business.

“Harvey, I have convinced Link and got a 30% investment share from him. If this movie is as good as "Bridesmaids" and "Scandal Project", the box office share will reach tens of millions of dollars. We need such a profitable project.”

Bob insisted.

“Damn it, do you have to cooperate with Link?”

Harvey said angrily.

Seeing Harvey angry, Bob didn't want to fight him, so he came up with a solution.

The two of them not only have a company called Weinstein Pictures, but also Dimen Pictures, which is also a company that specializes in small-cost horror movies and represents the "Scream" series.

Bob proposed that he would cooperate with Link on behalf of Dimen Pictures, so that he could not only make money, but also save Harvey's face.

In addition, only by establishing a cooperative relationship with Link will there be a chance to retaliate and drag Link and Lionsgate into the trap of big production. After all, in the war, the knife from behind is the deadliest.

Harvey was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone and agreed to his proposal.

But when Bob was asked about this by outsiders, he took the initiative to explain that cooperating with Link was his own initiative and had nothing to do with him. He was still hostile to Link.

Bob agreed.

When he got in the car and left, he glanced back at the cafe and saw a woman sitting opposite Link, who seemed to be Kristen Stewart.

I couldn't help shaking my head. Link claimed to be a pure businessman before, but in fact he was not.

In order to hold a woman to the top, he wanted Jennifer Lawrence, who was only 21 years old, to become an Oscar winner. It was unrealistic and a waste of money.

From this point of view, Link is not a qualified businessman, he is just a playboy.

Working with Playboy, he has many ways to hold each other.

Didi!

(End of this chapter)