Chapter 372: Conversation in bed, scandal breaks out (6K)
"How do you feel? Are you still going to be upset?"
Link asked as he looked at Winona and Angelina Jolie lying side by side on the bed.
"No more trouble. From now on, I will listen to Sophia on the set. I will act the way she wants me to act, and I promise not to cause trouble with Winona."
Julie wrapped herself in the blanket and shook her head. Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks were flushed, and her plump lips were bitten by her teeth, leaving many red marks like strawberries.
Winona also curled up in the blanket, blinked her big watery eyes, and said in a hoarse voice that she would not quarrel with Angela anymore.
Link shook his head and said to Julie that the protagonist of "Girl, Interrupted" is Winona, and the main purpose of the company's investment in this film is to help Winona win major awards.
If Winona wants to win the award, she must play the role well, so Jolie and other characters in the play should cooperate with Winona in their performance.
Link hopes that Jolie can play a good supporting role in this movie, and will arrange other movies for her in the future to help her win major awards.
Julie nodded and said she understood, and was willing to play a supporting role to Winona and help her shape the role well.
Link also told Winona that if she wanted to win an Oscar, she had to show her real ability, deeply understand the role, and immerse herself in the role, otherwise it would be useless for Angela and others to cooperate with her in the performance.
Winona blinked her bright eyes and explained it clearly, and told Julie that she didn't need to be humble when filming, and it would be better for her to use all her strength to dominate her role.
She can perform better when she endures the pressure, but if she relaxes in her performance, it will be detrimental to her characterization.
Julie smiled slightly, "Winona, my acting skills have been repeatedly trained by Link, and they are not worse than those veteran actors. Moreover, the role of Lisa is very suitable for me, and I can be more devoted when performing. If I use all my strength to perform, you may not be able to catch up."
"Hmph! Angela, your acting skills are good, but mine isn't bad either. Just go for it and give it your all during the filming. I promise I won't let you surpass me." Winona Ryder wrinkled her delicate nose, looking a little cute.
"Okay, that's what you said."
Angelina Jolie smiled slightly and looked at Link, "See, this girl is very strong-willed. I don't know how to cooperate with her."
"Then listen to Winona and perform your best. Put some pressure on her and force her to perform better. If you both perform well, maybe you can both win awards."
Link said.
The reason why he reminded Julie to cooperate with Winona during the performance was because Julie performed very well in the original version of "Girl, Interrupted" and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her role as "Sally". Winona's performance in the play was suppressed by Julie.
If the two are willing to achieve each other's success and force each other to give better performances, it is not impossible for them to both win awards in the future.
"Angela, I will never lose."
Winona staggered out of bed wrapped in a blanket, opened her bag, took out the script and studied it attentively.
Julie giggled and winked at Link, looking very naughty.
Link shook his head and didn't intend to continue persuading them. The two were actors in the same crew, and maintaining appropriate competitiveness during the performance would be beneficial to the filming of the movie. As long as they didn't cause too big a conflict, there was nothing else to worry about.
After calming the two of them down, Link went to Sophia's room next door.
——
After the crew got off work, Sophia was sorting out film project materials in the hotel. When she saw him come in, she asked him if he had dealt with the two people.
Link said of course, the two said they would no longer have conflicts, but they would continue to compete during filming, put pressure on each other, sharpen each other, and strive to give better performances.
Sophia smiled and said it was better this way.
While discussing the movie with Sophia, Link received a call from Annie, saying that there were suddenly a lot of negative reports about him in the newspapers.
Including rumors that he and Cindy Crawford vacationed in France and Switzerland, and that he was the instigator of Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere's divorce.
Given his conflict with Richard Gere, the newspapers said that in order to take revenge on Richard Gere, he not only destroyed his career but also wanted to steal his wife, making him a "terrible avenger."
The News of the World also mentioned his affair with Nicole Kidman during the filming of the Batman sequel. After the filming of Batman ended, Nicole Kidman immediately filed for divorce from Tom Cruise. This matter seems to be related to Link.
Finally, the newspaper concluded: Link is a good wife, but his character is problematic.
In addition to the World News, other major media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, and Entertainment Weekly also reported the news.
Compared with small media, mainstream media use more cautious words when reporting.
It only reposted news about his scandals with Nicole Kidman and Cindy Crawford, as well as the divorce news between Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere, and Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.
Although the mainstream media has not commented on this matter, the way of arranging the news can lead people to misunderstand that he is related to the divorce cases of two couples.
Since this news involved a Hollywood tycoon and four Hollywood stars, it gained extremely high popularity in a short period of time after it broke out. In less than a day, everything from newspapers to radio and television were reporting related news.
This news also became the hottest entertainment news in February.
——
After the scandal broke out, WMA agency immediately launched emergency public relations.
He sued several media companies for defamation, saying that Link and Cindy Crawford met at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last November, became good friends, and traveled to France together. Before Cindy's divorce, the two did not have a private relationship, and asked everyone not to spread rumors.
Regarding his scandal with Nicole Kidman, the public relations department said that this was old news. After the scandal broke out last year, Link, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise successively made clarifications.
Now suddenly there are rumors that he interfered in the marriage of Nicole Kidman and her husband, which is nonsense. Someone is slandering Link and wants to ruin his reputation.
After WMA agency issued a clarification statement, Cindy Crawford and Nicole Kidman also came out to explain.
They said they were good friends with Link and had worked together before, and they admired his talent. Although they were not sure whether their relationship would deepen in the future, they were innocent for now. Please do not believe in rumors or spread them, as rumors stop at the wise.
After the three parties made their statements, the discussion about their relationship in the media did not decrease, but instead increased. In public opinion, people did not believe their explanation and thought they were having an affair.
The reason is that Link is a world-famous playboy who has been involved in scandals with dozens of female stars. The media has also revealed that he often lives with several female stars in villas.
Cindy Crawford and Nicole Kidman are both top beauties in the entertainment industry.
When top beauties meet top playboys, they say they are innocent and nothing happened, and everyone finds it funny.
While Guess What Pictures was still preparing to refute, Richard Gere was interviewed by an ABC reporter in a wheelchair, claiming that he had discovered the presence of a third party between him and his wife before he was injured, and that his serious injury and disability made Cindy Crawford more determined to divorce him.
When the reporter asked if the third party was Link, Richard Gere said with a grim expression that yes, Link not only ruined his career, but also destroyed his family. Link was a damn bastard and everyone should stand up against him.
The scene where Richard Gere swore in front of the camera and accused Link with a ferocious look on his face was very contagious.
After being broadcast on ABC News Channel, it received extremely high ratings.
This interview also made Link's already bad reputation even worse.
In response, attorney Sean Tang sued ABC and Richard Gere on behalf of Link, alleging defamation and serious damage to Link's reputation, demanding $50 million in damages and a public apology from both parties.
"Haha, he actually sued a disabled person and asked the disabled person to pay him money. That's too bad. I bet that after this incident, no Oscar judge will vote for him."
Bob Weinstein laughed with his big belly sticking out.
Harvey narrowed his heavy eye bags and sneered, "After something like this, not only will the Oscar judges not vote for him, but the audience will no longer support his movies. In the future, Link's movies won't be supported by so many people anymore."
"Haha, this is even better. It would be great if Link were to be ruined because of this."
Bob laughed with his toad-like mouth.
Link also saw the media's comments on this incident. Most of the media criticized him for being too ruthless and cruel, and advised him to turn back and be a good person.
But Link doesn't think so.
A person who makes a mistake should be punished. We cannot allow him to commit crimes and do whatever he wants just because he is disabled.
He asked Sean Tang to continue to hold Richard Gere and ABC TV accountable, and to hire a private detective to investigate Richard Gere's financial dealings to see who was behind the scenes.
"Link, doing this might affect the recent Oscar selection. The Sixth Sense and The Butterfly Effect have good reputations, and you originally had a chance to win an award."
Sam Haskell reminded.
Link shook his head. After such an incident, his reputation was greatly affected. The judges would not vote for him, and he did not expect to win any awards at this year's Oscars.
Prior to this, he had asked the public relations department to abandon the public relations investment in "The Sixth Sense" and concentrate resources on the public relations of "Sense and Sensibility".
Because of Richard Gere and many unscrupulous media reports, he missed the Oscar and the box office of "The Sixth Sense" will also be affected.
The loss is huge.
Someone must bear this loss.
Richard Gere and those behind this are responsible.
Link said, "I don't need to worry about the Oscar. I'm still young and there will be many opportunities in the future. The most important task now is to expose the lies of Richard Gere and the bad media, eliminate the negative impact of those news, restore my honor and innocence, and punish those who made mistakes."
clean?
Sam Haskell looked at him with his bright black eyes and asked tentatively, "Is it true that the divorce case between Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere has nothing to do with you?"
"No! I only met Cindy Crawford three or four times before their divorce, and we didn't communicate much. Their divorce has nothing to do with me, and I wouldn't use such means to get a woman."
Link said.
Sam Haskell nodded, believing what he said.
Given Link's current identity and status, this kind of negative news has little impact on him, and there is no need for him to lie about this matter.
Ding-a-ling!
The phone on the desk rang.
It was a call from Miguel Goss, president of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Miggoth asked him what plans he had regarding the current negative news?
Link said it was in the process of public relations.
Miggoth asked him to deal with the current negative news as soon as possible so as not to affect the box office of "Batman Forever".
The film is scheduled to release in June.
If audiences refuse to watch the movie because they hate him, Warner Bros. will suffer a huge loss.
This matter must be treated with caution.
Link said he was trying to find a solution and hoped that Warner Bros. would use its media to help with public relations.
Miggoth reluctantly agreed.
After hanging up the phone, Link thought for a moment, then picked it up again and called Michael Ovitz.
They said they knew he did it and advised him not to resort to such tricks. Both parties are partners, and if his reputation is damaged, it will also affect future cooperation.
Michael Ovitz opened his mouth on the other end of the phone, wanting to ask Link how he knew it was him. "No, Link, you misunderstood. I didn't do this. After I joined Disney, I never did anything against you. I swear to God."
"Michael, I have a lot of connections in Hollywood. Apart from you, my former rival, I can't think of anyone else who would use such a shameless method to deal with me."
Link said.
"Are you popular?"
Ovitz was incredulous.
He didn't understand what had given Link the illusion that he was popular in Hollywood.
In fact, almost everyone in the Hollywood executives wanted to cut him into pieces. As long as he was eliminated, the development of Guess What Pictures could be stopped, and everyone's life would be better.
How could such a person be popular?
"Mike, stop making excuses. This action against me is almost exactly the same as the previous times you arranged the media to hype that I was a playboy. Even the media that hyped these news are the same, and Richard Gere is also your man. According to the analysis of the public relations department, 80% of this action is your handiwork. I hope you can give me an explanation."
Link said coldly.
"Link, it wasn't me. I swear to God. I only found out about this through media reports. This matter really has nothing to do with me."
Michael Ovitz shouted with grievance.
"Mike, we are investigating this matter. No matter how much money or time it takes, we will find out who is behind it. If it has nothing to do with you, I will personally apologize to you and deepen our cooperation. If it has something to do with you, I hope this will not happen again."
After the chat, Link hung up the phone and continued chatting with Sam Haskell about recent news and Charlize Theron's new movie role.
——
On the Disney side, Michael Ovitz hung up the phone and cursed at the air.
"Damn it Link, you dare to threaten me, do you think I'm afraid of you, do you think I can't gain a foothold in Disney without you? You are such an arrogant bastard."
Michael Ovitz cursed for three minutes before he gradually calmed down. With a gloomy face, he picked up the phone and called Harvey, urging him to stop.
After the rumor about 'Link's Good Wife' came out, Link's reputation became worse and Oscar voters would no longer vote for Link.
Harvey has achieved his goal, so there is no need to hype it up further.
"Why?"
Harvey asked in confusion, "Mike, our goal from the beginning to the end was to bring down Link, to ruin his reputation, and to get him out of Hollywood as soon as possible. The effect of this negative news is better than last year's hype that Link is a playboy.
Continuing to hype up the issue will ruin Link's reputation, further affecting his movie's box office performance and even Guess What? Isn't this a good thing for our race? Why stop?"
Harvey paused, then said in a high-pitched voice, "Our attack has produced positive results. We should not stop at this time, but instead we should focus more resources on hyping this matter, let the whole world know about it, ruin Link's reputation, and get him out of Hollywood as soon as possible."
“Can you do that?”
"Of course! As long as we have enough funds and mobilize enough media to hype it up, we will definitely bring Link to ruin."
Harvey shouted excitedly.
"Harvey, calm down. Do you know who Link is? According to Wall Street media reports, Link is currently worth more than 4 billion US dollars and is one of the richest people in the world. The Guess What Pictures he founded is also one of the most powerful film companies in the entertainment industry. He himself is also the most famous film director in the world, and he also has connections in the political and judicial circles.
For such people, let alone interfering in other people's marriages, even murder and rape can escape legal sanctions. In the entertainment industry, there are all kinds of criminals, drug dealers, drug addicts, prostitutes, murderers and arsonists. Do you want to overthrow a big figure like Link with the crime of being a third party?
Are you thinking too simply? "
Without waiting for Harvey to answer, Ovitz continued, "In this hype, the most critical issue is evidence. Do you have evidence that Link interfered with the marriages of Richard Gere and Tom Cruise? I'm talking about solid evidence, not imaginary."
Harvey frowned. "If there is no evidence, we can fabricate it and hype it up in the media to make it an ironclad fact. We have done this before."
"Harvey, I am helpless to think like this. Let me say it again, Link is a billionaire, a world-class celebrity, and the most powerful person in Hollywood. He is not a fool or an unknown person who can be bullied. He has more money and connections than you, and he knows how to hype things up better than you.
Instead of trying to bring him down with something without evidence, you might as well think about how to make a hit movie and beat him in the box office market.
Besides, Link is a petty person who will never let go of his enemies. He will definitely investigate who is behind this incident and will definitely take revenge on you. Can you guarantee that Link's people will not find out about you? Do you want to break up with Link now?"
Ovitz questioned.
Harvey frowned and said, "Mike, I know you are right. Link is very powerful and it is not easy to bring him down. But no matter how powerful he is, he is only one person and his power is limited. If our people can unite and take action against Link together, we will definitely have a chance to bring him down."
When Ovitz heard Harvey's words, he was stunned for a moment and suddenly felt tired.
"In order to hype up Link's chaotic private life and bad behavior at the beginning of last year, I arranged for many beautiful women to seduce Link, and also arranged for many detectives and paparazzi to investigate Link relentlessly. In the end, after spending half a year, I got some evidence.
I thought this kind of thing would make Link look bad.
As a result, even if the seven major media groups joined forces to hype up these negative news, they couldn't do anything to him.
Afterwards, Longmeyer, Barry Diller and others complained that the "weapons" I provided were too poor and blamed the mistake on me.
And now you just heard a little rumor and used it as a deadly weapon against Link, and you want everyone to join forces to deal with Link?"
Ovitz was speechless. If Link was so easy to deal with, would he, the former king of Hollywood, fall to the position of second-in-command at Disney?
Harvey made the same mistake he had made before - he underestimated Link and overestimated the strength of the seven major film studios combined.
"Mike, you're right, but we can convince Cindy Crawford and Nicole Kidman to admit it."
"Harvey!"
Without waiting for Harvey to finish his words, Ovitz said impatiently, "If you want to contact other people to continue hyping this up and make it bigger, I have no objection, but you can't tell anyone afterwards that it was my suggestion.
Although it was I who suggested using this incident to target Link, my purpose was to target Link at the Academy Awards and prevent him from winning, not to bring him down with these scandals.
In addition, we have cooperation with Guess Pictures. If this incident affects the cooperation between the two parties on the Fight Club project, you will bear full responsibility. "
After saying that, Ovitz hung up the phone and snorted in dissatisfaction.
When he was the president of CAA, his words were final and people like Harvey didn't dare to object.
Now that he has lost his power, people like Xavi are starting to disrespect him.
What a bunch of snobs.
Ding-a-ling!
The secretary called and told him that Greg Davis, chief investment officer of Vanguard Capital, and Paul Hankerson, senior partner of Morgan Investments, had just called.
Ovitz frowned. These two investment companies were also shareholders of Disney, so Ovitz had to treat their calls seriously. He asked his secretary to call back.
Greg Davis and Paul Hankerson approached him for the same purpose. Now the Guess What film industry is developing at a good pace, with profits increasing year by year. Last year, the movie "The Sixth Sense" alone helped the company earn more than 500 million US dollars.
Shareholders have earned more in dividends from Guess What? than from Disney.
If "The Sixth Sense" wins a few major awards at the Academy Awards, the film's global box office will increase further, and it may have a chance to break the box office record of "Jurassic Park" and become the highest-grossing film in the world.
It will also increase the market value of Guess the Movie.
At this critical moment, the two hoped that Ovitz would not cause trouble, as this would not only affect Link, but also the shareholders' returns.
This is very bad.
Ovitz was stunned for a moment, and quickly explained that he did not do it and that those scandals had nothing to do with him.
"If it's not you? Then who is it? Now everyone in Hollywood wants to cooperate with Link. Who has a conflict with him?"
Greg Davis asked.
Ovitz opened his mouth but did not say Harvey's name. He just said that he would persuade the man to stop slandering Link.
After hanging up the phone, Ovitz wiped the sweat from his face and cursed Harvey in his heart for messing around and now asking him to take the blame.
Ding-a-ling!
The phone on the table rang again.
Miguel Goss, president of Warner Bros., called and talked about Link's involvement in the affairs of two celebrity couples.
Miguel asked if this scandal hype was his method, hoping that he would show mercy and let Link go for once.
After "Batman Forever" is released, he can hype it up however he wants, and Warner Bros. promises not to interfere.
Ovitz almost fainted when he heard his words. He told Miggoth again,
"It wasn't me! I swear!!"
(End of this chapter)
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