Chapter 228: The Game Begins

[Chapter 228: The Game Begins]

"Link, here's the data on recently released movies and their box office figures."

After Lily left, the new assistant, Monica Lewinsky, walked in and laid several files on his desk.

"How does it feel to be an assistant?"

Link asked as he took the folder from her.

"Pretty great, thanks for the promotion, Mr. Link," Lewinsky replied with a smile.

At 21 years old, Lewinsky was a junior at Lewis & Clark College, currently in her internship, standing at 5 feet 7 inches tall with long, sleek black hair. She wore a sharp white blazer that made her look quite professional.

Recently, she had requested to change roles within the company.

Link wanted to assess her capabilities, so he instructed her to organize the screenplay database first. After over a month, she had managed to catalog all the scripts and input them into the computer system, making it incredibly convenient to browse through them.

She excelled in this task.

Link facilitated her transfer to his office through Michael Leeson. His office included six assistants and secretaries, so adding Lewinsky wasn't an issue.

"Do well, and I hope you have an enjoyable internship," he said as he prepared to review the documents, but noticed Lewinsky still standing in front of his desk.

"Monica, do you need something else?"

"Mr. Link, my current workload is light. I finish organizing the data in less than two hours daily. Can you assign me more tasks?"

Lewinsky asked earnestly.

"Why on earth would you work so hard when you're just an intern?"

"I want to challenge myself and improve my skills," she said, clenching her fist.

Link was at a loss for this enthusiastic college student. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The company is planning to collaborate with Columbia Pictures to produce 8 to 10 films. We'll have control over the genres. Columbia will also give us access to their screenplay and rights library. Your task will be the same as before: lead two to three writers to Columbia's library, summarize all the storylines, and submit them to me in three months. Are you interested in taking on this role?"

Lewinsky blinked. "Mr. Link, may I bring the scripts to the office? I prefer this environment, and while reviewing them, I can also manage other work to assist you."

"Sure!"

"Thank you, Mr. Link. You're the most charismatic and charming man I've ever met."

Lewinsky smiled, revealing dimples, and exited the office in her high heels.

...

After seeing Lewinsky off, Link returned to examining the recent box office reports.

Summer blockbuster season began at the end of April and wrapped up by the end of August.

Among the current 37 released films, the top-grossing was the animated movie The Flinstones from Universal Pictures, which had made $86.79 million in North America over its three weeks in theaters, with an expected final tally of around $150 million.

Following that was the western film Maverick from Warner Bros., which had been out for four weeks and grossed $66.46 million, poised to cross $100 million.

In third place was The Crow from Miramax, a gothic action film with the late Brandon Lee's last performance, which had grossed $46.39 million after seven weeks in release.

Impressive, despite the tragedy of Brandon's untimely death missing out on the success of the film.

The fourth spot was held by the romantic movie When a Man Loves a Woman from Disney, which had earned $44.28 million in ten weeks.

There were 12 more films that had grossed over $10 million. The summer season was looking promising with two films on the verge of reaching $100 million and more than a dozen exceeding the $10 million mark.

However, Link was more focused on the upcoming releases surrounding Speed and Se7en.

Speed had been announced early, and there is not much change in the movies released at the same time, with its main competition being Disney's The Lion King.

When Guess Studios set the release date for Se7en, several films from Seven Studio adjusted their schedules, moving big blockbusters before and after while ramping up their marketing efforts to encroach upon their market share.

Originally, the lineup around Se7en included films like Forrest Gump, True Lies, The Client and Clear and Present Danger, but in light of the changes, things were tougher for his movie.

If Guess Studios wanted to achieve solid promotional results, it would require a larger budget.

...

Once Link finished reviewing the data, he called the heads of the marketing department, Jon Gordon, and the distribution manager, Mark Amin, to ask about the progress on Se7en's marketing.

After listening to their updates, he requested an increase in Se7en's promotional budget from the original $5 million to $15 million. If necessary, there would be no cap on the expense, striving to ensure everyone knew about this movie, anticipating Seven Studio's competition.

In terms of distribution, he wanted to maximize its release, aiming to get it into cinemas across North America, large and small.

Gordon and Fellerman gently expressed concern, reminding him that Se7en was an art film, with a production cost of $32 million. Increasing the marketing expenses could lead to a potential loss, posing great risk.

Link was unfazed.

With his recent status as a Microsoft shareholder, his net worth soared over a billion, freeing him from financial worries as he could focus on his career.

Even if the film company faced bankruptcy, he still held the shares, providing a safety net for a rebound.

This freedom allowed him to confidently challenge Seven Studio in the arena.

Additionally, Se7en came with a 2.9 times box office subsidy, meaning well-executed promotion could lead to even higher returns.

He wasn't worried about losing money.

Moreover, this tactic was a counterattack against Seven Studio's aggressive maneuvers.

If Guess Studios bolstered Se7en's marketing budget, films from Seven Studio would also need to up their marketing costs to suppress Se7en effectively.

This was akin to raising the stakes in a poker game.

In the first round, Link had chosen to up the ante.

If Seven Studio wanted to play, they'd have to match his bet; failing to do so would lead to losses.

Should they raise their stakes, a win would yield greater rewards -- but the risk of a larger loss would also come into play.

With Glimmer Capital backing him, despite Seven Studio's size, they had their share of issues and may not be able to parry his bold moves.

Seeing that Link was steadfast in his decision, Gordon and Fellerman ceased their attempts at persuasion and called for a meeting with their staff to reorganize the distribution strategy for Se7en, ensuring that the film's release went smoothly.

*****

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