Chapter 482 Assassination News Exposed
In its first week, "Armageddon" earned $100.3 million in 3,014 theaters in North America, setting a new first-week box office record for the summer season and also a single-week box office record for a film directed by Link.
The film's reputation is relatively good, although "Armageddon" has more commercial elements and cannot compare with literary and artistic films such as "The English Patient", "Saving Private Ryan" and "The Sixth Sense" in terms of artistic quality.
However, many film critics believe that "The Last Detective" is a very exciting science fiction film, which is innovative in the use of cameras and special effects, and is worthy of learning and reference by peers in the industry.
42 media outlets gave the film a score of 85 or above, with an average score of 88.
The audience was also quite satisfied with the film, calling it the most "luxurious" science fiction blockbuster of the summer season.
The second place at the box office this week is the suspense film "The X-Files: Conquer the Future" released by Fox Film. It tells the story of FBI agent Dana and her colleague Mulder investigating an alien virus and being obstructed by a mysterious organization. During the investigation, they discovered that the real culprit behind the scenes was related to a government department and even involved Washington. In order to save the world, the hero and heroine fought to the death.
This film is also a relatively interesting science fiction film.
The box office in the first week was 34.17 million US dollars, which was an above-average result.
Third place is the romantic comedy "As Good as It Gets", co-produced by Guess What and Columbia Pictures, which took in $19.74 million this week and a cumulative box office of $68.17 million in three weeks.
In addition, Guess What - "Stay Still", "There's Something About Mary", "Rush Hour 2" released by MGM Pictures, and another science fiction film "Godzilla" co-produced with Columbia, are still ranked in the top 12 of the weekly chart.
At a glance, the list is full of movies related to Guess What Pictures. The executives of Hollywood film companies sighed helplessly that Link made a lot of money again this year.
At the same time, the news that Link was assassinated on the red carpet was also exposed by the media.
This news was not leaked by Link.
Instead, several photographers at the scene captured the trajectory of the bullet fired from a distance, as well as the bullet holes left on the poster, and discovered the abnormality when developing the photos afterwards.
Although the media failed to find the bullet at the scene, after analysis by trace experts, it was most likely an assassination.
There was a killer aiming at Link with a sniper rifle on a high-rise building near the cinema, but Link was lucky and was not hit by the bullet.
Some reporters also recalled the scene at that time. After finishing the interview, Link hurriedly left the red carpet, and his speed was obviously faster, which also shows that he may have noticed the existence of the bullet.
After the news was exposed by the Los Angeles Times, it caused a sensation and discussion in North America and around the world.
Some people are condemning this extreme behavior, saying that no matter what hatred there is, it should not escalate to the level of assassination.
Some people are discussing who wants to kill Link, and senior executives from the seven major film studios are all suspects.
Some people also praised Link for his proper response. When he was assassinated, he did not lie on the ground in fear or hide around. Instead, he protected Liv Tyler beside him and quickly left the scene without causing chaos. This performance was very admirable.
After the relevant news was exposed, President Clinton expressed concern and condemnation in an interview, saying that the FBI and Los Angeles police had launched an operation to arrest the murderer and ensure Link's personal safety.
"Damn it! This bastard is so lucky."
After reading the report in the Los Angeles Times, Harvey couldn't hide the regret on his face.
If the assassination was successful and Link died on the red carpet, the landscape of Hollywood would change significantly.
The resources originally concentrated under Guess What - MGM Pictures will be redistributed and dispersed to other film companies, and the film market share originally monopolized by Guess What Pictures will also be dispersed to other film companies.
Miramax Films can also take this opportunity to revive and become the most important independent film company in Hollywood again, as well as the beauties around Link.
Unfortunately, the shot missed.
"It was just a few centimeters off. What a pity."
Harvey sighed a few times, picked up the phone and called Epstein, asking when the killer would strike next time. It would be best if it was quicker, as he didn't want to see Link or hear any news about him again.
Epstein told him to stay calm and not talk about the matter on the phone to prevent it from being monitored.
Harvey asked in a different way, asking why the goods had not arrived yet after he spent so much money on the order, and he hoped it would arrive faster.
Epstein asked him to wait a little longer. The matter was discovered by the owner of the goods, the media also received the news, and even official organizations began to investigate.
It would be too risky to continue causing trouble at this time. Even if the deliveryman is desperate, he would not do it.
Harvey asks how long it will take.
Epstein said he didn't know yet and would contact the middleman later.
Half an hour later, Harvey received a call from Epstein, telling him that something had happened. The two assassins who had tried to assassinate Link that day were both caught by Link's men, and perhaps they had already found out some information from them.
In addition, Link's people offered a reward of 1 million US dollars to reversely acquire the employer's identity information. The middleman said that although the killer organization is honest, they may sometimes betray their employer for money, so they should be on guard.
Harvey was startled, and the fat on his face kept shaking. "Jeffrey, will we be exposed? Will Link know that we are the ones who hired the killer?"
"Calm down, Harvey! There is a middleman between us and the killer organization. The killer organization doesn't know who the employer is, nor does it know the reason why we hired the killer to kill people, so we are safe."
Compared to Harvey, Epstein remained relatively calm.
"Is the middleman reliable? Will he be exposed? Will he betray you?"
"Don't worry, the middleman is from the same tribe as us and is not in the United States at the moment. After receiving the news, he has returned to Israel, where no one can find him."
"That's good!"
Harvey breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back on the sofa, only to find that his shirt was soaked without him noticing.
"but."
"But what?"
Hearing this turning point, Harvey's heart, which had just been at ease, began to hang in the balance again, and he straightened his back subconsciously.
"The middleman said that Link was too tough and caused considerable losses to the assassin organization. If we want the assassin organization to continue to send people to carry out assassination missions, we must increase the money."
"How much?"
"Five million dollars."
"Five million?!"
Harvey shouted with a cracked voice, "Last time I gave them 1 million, but they didn't complete the task. Now they want 5 million again? Are they robbing me?"
His career was at its peak around 1993, when his net worth exceeded $100 million.
In recent years, Miramax's performance has declined and turned into a negative asset. The total assets under his name have also shrunk seriously. Including several properties and deposits, there are only 10 or 20 million.
Five million is a huge expense for him.
"Harvey, you're right. They're just trying to get money. If we don't pay, the assassin organization will sell the middleman's information to Link. Once the middleman's identity is exposed, the possibility of us being exposed will increase infinitely. In addition, the assassin organization also stated that this is the final offer. As long as we pay 5 million, they will send assassins one after another until they successfully eliminate the target."
“But it’s 5 million.”
"Harvey, this matter is not only related to your safety, but also to me. This time you only need to pay 2 million US dollars, and I will pay the rest."
"Okay, Jeffrey, please."
Harvey quickly agreed to prevent Epstein from going back on his word.
Just thinking about transferring 2 million US dollars from the account, including the previous transaction, the total is 3 million, which is almost one-sixth of his assets. After taking out this money, his net worth will shrink by half.
Harvey was so heartbroken that he could hardly breathe. He hated Link even more in his heart. He hated why Link didn't just die quietly, but why he fought back and made him spend millions more.
"Harvey!"
Bob's voice came from outside the office door.
"Come in!"
Harvey quickly opened the file, frowned and thought, pretending to be busy at work.
"Harvey, have you read today's newspaper? Link was assassinated at the premiere of 'The Last Witch' last Friday."
"I know, what does this have to do with us?"
"Xavi, look at my eyes, is it really okay?"
Bob narrowed his eyes at Harvey.
"Of course not. Why are you looking at me like that? Do you suspect that I did it? What a joke. Link and I don't have much hatred. Why would I assassinate him?"
Harvey tried to remain calm and said that it was his idea to hire someone to assassinate Link, but he didn't tell Bob because he was worried that Bob would object.
"I'm glad it's not you. The police and the FBI are investigating this matter now. If it's related to you, this matter will be troublesome. By the way, have you called Link to express your condolences and condemn that extreme behavior?"
"Okay, I'll call him later. He should be very busy at this time."
Harvey said that Bob's reminder was reasonable. He and Link had cooperated many times. Now that he heard that Link had been assassinated, he had to call to express his condolences no matter what. At the same time, he could also take the opportunity to reduce his suspicion.
After Bob left, Harvey called Link, but unfortunately he guessed right. Link's phone line was very busy at that time and the call was always busy every time he called. He called six times before the call was connected.
The person who answered the phone was Link's assistant Aishwarya Rai, the beautiful and sexy Indian beauty.
"Hi Aishwarya, it's really nice to hear your voice."
Harvey flattered with a laugh.
However, Aishwarya's reaction was rather cold. She greeted him politely and said that Link was in a work meeting and had no time to answer the phone, and asked him what he wanted.
Harvey said he saw the news about Link being assassinated. He asked about Link's health, condemned such incidents, and asked Link to be safe and take care of himself.
Aishwarya thanked him and said she would tell Link to ask him if there was anything else.
Harvey said no.
Aishwarya said bye and then hung up the phone.
Harvey put down the phone with a gloomy face, and felt even angrier towards Link.
Before 1996, Link was not yet the king of Hollywood. At that time, if he had any problems, he would just call Link to talk.
By 1996, Link's status in the entertainment industry had risen sharply, and he became known as the "King of Hollywood". From then on, he could not get through to Link every time he called him, and every time he needed to discuss something with Link, he had to ask his assistant to convey the message.
When Lewinsky was around, some things could still be communicated, but now with Aishwarya taking over, communication between the two sides has become difficult.
The conflict between him and Link also became more intense.
He thinks Link is more responsible for the two sides becoming enemies.
If Link hadn't become arrogant after his success and hadn't put obstacles in their relationship, he might not have hated Link so much.
"snort!"
Harvey stared at Link's photo in the newspaper and gritted his teeth. He now only hoped that the people in the killer organization could be more efficient and kill Link as soon as possible.
(End of this chapter)
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