Chapter 445 Counterattack
After returning to Los Angeles, the crew of "American Beauty" officially started filming. This is an American family movie. All shots will be shot in Los Angeles and the sets are all located in the city, which will be very convenient for filming.
When "American Beauty" started filming, the North American summer season entered its most intense box office competition stage. Another blockbuster was released this week, which was the disaster movie "Twister" released by Warner Bros. Pictures.
The film grossed $54.02 million in 2,785 theaters in its first week, surpassing films like "Jurassic Park," "The Rock," and "Austin Powers" to take the weekly box office championship.
Also due to the addition of this movie, the competition in the summer season has become extremely fierce, and many low-cost films, art films, and low-quality commercial films have achieved even poorer box office results.
Harvey Weinstein used the word "suffocating" to describe the current film market. Under the strong blockade and monopoly of three commercial blockbusters, other films can hardly breathe. If this situation continues, there is only one way out for them, which is death.
"How much money do we have left in our account?"
Harvey asked grimly.
"After allocating funds to the Velvet Goldmine project, our production department only has $8 million left in its account, which can only be used to invest in one more low-budget film."
Vice President Scott Greenstein replied.
"Only 8 million?!"
Harvey wanted to vomit blood when he heard this number.
Before 1992, $8 million might be enough to invest in two or three low-cost films, but with severe economic inflation and increased salaries for cast and crew, the cost of filming a movie also increased significantly, and the value of $8 million also decreased.
In addition, after Disney successfully acquired Miramax in 1993, it allocated $500 million to allow them to make movies. However, due to the strong performance of Guess What Pictures' films and the fierce competition in the North American film market, Miramax's films suffered more losses than profits.
In less than five years, all $500 million was spent and the company owed more than $200 million to the bank.
If the company's performance does not improve, they will be kicked out by Disney and become homeless.
"Don't worry, Harvey. We'll find a way."
Scott Greenstein said.
Harvey sneered, "As long as Guess Pictures is around, none of us will be able to make any money, and the company's situation will only get worse and worse."
"Now Hollywood film companies are looking for Guess Pictures to cooperate. We have cooperated with Guess Pictures before and have a basis for cooperation. Do you want to continue the cooperation?" Scott Greenstein proposed.
Harvey shook his head. In the past two years, Miramax has collaborated with Guess What on two films: Fight Club and Evita.
The North American box office of the previous film has just exceeded 30 million, and the maximum North American box office is 40 million. According to this figure, Guess Films may be able to make a profit with the film video copyright, but they do not have a share of the video sales, so it is difficult for them to make a profit.
The latter film cost 55 million to produce, with Miramax investing 20 million. He now suspects that this film is also a trap.
Now, unless "Evita" becomes a big hit and the box office share can make him a fortune, he will never cooperate with Guess Pictures again.
"Damn Guess What? It's really a big cancer in our entire industry. If this damned company goes bankrupt one day, I will definitely prostrate myself and thank God. Unfortunately, this company is getting stronger and stronger, and it will be difficult to see it go bankrupt in a short period of time."
Harvey shook his head helplessly.
Bang!
While the two were chatting, Bob Weinstein suddenly burst open the door and walked in hurriedly with a document in his hand.
"Bob, what are you doing?"
Harvey looked at his anxious brother with dissatisfaction.
"Harvey, something has happened. Qiu Luowena, who was raped by you, has suddenly spoken out and told multiple media outlets about your bullying. She also said that she would use legal means to protect her rights and make you receive the punishment you deserve. This is the interview material I just received from the editorial department of USA Today, and they are also preparing to report it."
Bob Weinstein handed him the document.
Harvey tried to stand up but failed, and reached out a trembling hand to take the document.
Rovina Qiu is his former assistant, a British-Chinese who joined Harvey Weinstein's team in 1992 and became his second assistant. Two months after she joined the company, she and Weinstein went to Italy to attend the Venice Film Festival.
One night, Harvey became so horny that he forced her to have sex with him, saying that he had never slept with a Chinese woman and he wanted to give it a try.
Qiu Luowena fought back and escaped from the room. After the Venice Film Festival, she submitted her resignation letter and reported the case to the police.
However, the police did not accept the case. Harvey then arranged for more than a dozen lawyers to force Qiu Luovina to accept hush money and sign a contract, promising not to pursue the matter further.
After returning to the UK, Qiu Luowena was unable to find a suitable job and her life became very bad. Last year, she returned to the United States to look for a job, but encountered many obstacles because of Harvey. Once when she met Harvey, he proudly shouted at her, "You lose."
Qiu Luovina was very angry and went to the media to make the matter public, hoping that Harvey would receive the punishment he deserved.
After reading the information, Harvey's face turned red with embarrassment and anger. He shouted angrily, "Bitch! This damn bitch! She took my money and signed a confidentiality agreement, why did she dare to make it public? Bob, go find a lawyer. I want this bitch to lose everything."
Bob did not move. "Harvey, I'm thinking of another thing. It's not normal for Qiu Luovina to come out and accuse you at this time. She is just an ordinary person with no money or connections. It's impossible for her to contact so many media. I suspect someone is pushing this behind the scenes."
Harvey was stunned for a moment, his expression turned even worse, "Link! It must have been Link who did it. He knew we were hyping up his dirt, so he deliberately used this to threaten me. Hehe, damn bastard, you underestimated me too much. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
"Harvey, don't be too optimistic." Bob Weinstein warned, "If Link is the driving force behind this, then it's too bad. Link has money and resources. If he uses this kind of thing against you, this matter will become very complicated."
Harvey said nonchalantly, "It's been five years since this happened, and there's no evidence. If Link wants to use this method against me, he will never succeed."
Bob said, "Harvey, I'm not as optimistic as you are. You said that Link is a very smart man who likes to use conspiracies and tricks. If this was his method, he would not have only had Qiu Luowena as a witness. Maybe besides Qiu Luowena, he also found other victims. Harvey, I remember that you have forced more than one woman."
Hearing this, Harvey's face suddenly changed.
He entered the entertainment industry in the 1970s and gradually made his fortune in the 1980s, becoming a famous producer and film company owner in the entertainment industry with a net worth of over 100 million US dollars.
When he was still a small figure at first, he was very careful in doing things and did not do many bad things. After he became a big figure in the entertainment industry, he began to act recklessly and often took advantage of actresses, female assistants and even female producers, sometimes exchanging them for resources and sometimes directly forcing them.
Over the past decade or so, he has used this method to bully many women. If Link finds all these women and accuses him in order to deal with him, it would be difficult for him to explain himself at that time.
"Damn it Link, I haven't offended you, why do you always pick on me?"
Harvey cursed angrily.
"Harvey, stop cursing. Time is running out. We should think about how to handle this matter and not let it explode."
Bob reminded.
Harvey gritted his teeth in resentment, trying to calm himself down, "What do you think we should do?"
Bob thought about it and put forward several suggestions. The first one was to contact Qiu Luovina and give her some money to shut her up.
Harvey disagreed, saying that he had already given the money before and according to the contract, Qiu Luovina breached the contract and she should be the one to pay the compensation.
Bob asked him to calm down. This was a special moment. If he didn't calm the victim first, things would get out of hand and it would be more difficult to deal with later.
Harvey reluctantly agreed.
In addition to calming Qiu Luovina down, we also have to find ways to contact other victims, promise them certain benefits, and ask them not to follow suit.
At the same time, Bob also suggested that Harvey contact Link, take the initiative to admit his mistakes, and promise not to do anything against him and Guess What Pictures from now on. The two parties were partners before and had a good relationship, so they shouldn't make things too awkward now. As long as Link is willing to stop, everything will be fine.
Harvey also disagreed. He didn't want to beg Link in a humble manner, nor did he think that Link would give up easily.
Bob suggested that Michael Ovitz act as a middleman to try to ease the relationship between the two parties and prevent the conflict from becoming too intense, so that they could return to the state when they collaborated on the film.
"Harvey, you should know that Link is a billionaire. Compared to him, we are just small people. It is very unwise for a small person to take the initiative to provoke a big person. In the end, it will ruin you and our careers."
Bob said earnestly.
Harvey accepted his proposal sullenly.
However, when they contacted Michael Ovitz for help, Ovitz refused without a second thought, saying that he couldn't contact Link and couldn't act as a middleman. If they had offended Link, they would apologize to Link in person.
Harvey refused. He would never beg Link for forgiveness in a humble manner.
(End of this chapter)
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