Chapter 292: Would You Like to Hear a Secret?

[Chapter 292: The Golden Globe Awards - Would You Like to Hear a Secret?]

In late January, Link, along with Monica and Jennifer, returned to Los Angeles to attend the 52nd Golden Globe Awards. The ceremony took place once again at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Guess Pictures had five films nominated, including Se7en, Good Will Hunting, Eat Drink Man Woman, The Mask, and Leon: The Professional, with a total of ten nominations.

Se7en received four nominations, including Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Screenplay.

Good Will Hunting received three nominations, including Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay.

Eat Drink Man Woman and Leon: The Professional were nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, while The Mask received a nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical.

However, the luck wasn't in their favor, as they went home empty-handed despite the nominations. The big winners of the night were Forrest Gump and The Lion King, with the former winning Best Motion Picture - Drama, Best Actor, and Best Director, while the latter won Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, Best Original Song, and Best Original Score.

Quentin Tarantino won Best Screenplay for Pulp Fiction.

...

"Ha! Link, look at my trophy. It seems like Lady Luck is really in my favor today!" Quentin chuckled, shaking his award.

"Yes, congratulations! You definitely deserve it," Link replied.

"Ha! You did well too, the youngest Best Director in the history of the Berlin Film Festival. You've really hit the jackpot," Quentin retorted with a hint of jealousy.

"Quentin, you're mistaken. Link isn't just the Berlin Film Festival's Best Director; he also won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. That means he wins awards not just by luck, but by talent," Jennifer Connolly chimed in as she looped her arm around Link's.

Link smiled at Jennifer's support, appreciating her words. Quentin grimaced, thinking, having a beautiful girlfriend isn't all that special.

Whenever he wanted to mock Link, it was always Jennifer or another woman who stepped in to defend him, which annoyed Quentin. He couldn't understand why these women would choose Link, who was a notorious playboy, over a talented and devoted guy like him.

"Link, you've got some nerve! You brought Jennifer to the Golden Globes before the media gossip about you even died down. Aren't you afraid?" Quentin pointed out, recalling that Link's only publicly acknowledged girlfriend was Monica Bellucci.

"Don't worry, I haven't done anything wrong," Link shrugged it off.

Hollywood was a chaotic scene, with people who had been in prison, used drugs, been arrested for DUI, or engaged in public scandals. Because of this chaos, the public had a high tolerance for celebrities.

There were quite a few playboys like Link in Hollywood. For example, Howard Hughes, the 'Iron Man prototype' from the 1940s and 50s, had over 164 rumored girlfriends, including Oscar-winner Katharine Hepburn and legendary star Jane Russell. Warren Beatty, an Oscar-winning director and famous actor, was said to have had 12,775 girlfriends, among them numerous stars like Elizabeth Taylor and Vivien Leigh. Despite their chaotic love lives, no one criticized them; instead, they found them charming and desirable.

Link was similarly characterized. After rumors about him surfaced, some media outlets referred to him as the "second Warren Beatty." If he had more money and influence, he might have been dubbed the "second Howard Hughes." However, Link aspired to be the best in the world.

...

After chatting with Quentin for a bit, Link noticed Harvey Weinstein approaching and congratulated him as well. This year, Miramax released 12 films, with three nominated and taking home two awards: Best Screenplay for Pulp Fiction and Best Supporting Actress for Bullets Over Broadway.

"Ha! Link, do you want to hear an insider tip?" Harvey grinned, his large belly bouncing as he spoke.

"Sure!" Link perked up.

"According to my sources, Guess Pictures' films were expected to win at least two awards, but the major studios didn't want to see your movies gain fame, so they worked secretly to convince the judges not to vote for Guess Pictures. That's why all four of your nominated films went home empty-handed," Harvey said, a knowing smile creeping across his face.

"Really? Link, did you hear about this?" Quentin asked, surprised.

Link nodded. During the Golden Globe voting, the PR department had received similar intel about the major studios trying to sabotage their chances.

However, Link wasn't too concerned. The main goal for Guess Pictures' PR team was the Academy Awards. Not spending money on publicity for the Golden Globes clearly indicated that getting snubbed by them was somewhat expected.

"Link, what if you sold the company? We're directors, our main job is to make movies, there's no need to own a film company. Look at you; Guess Pictures is practically becoming Hollywood's enemy," Quentin suggested.

"Isn't yours also a production company?" Link shot back.

"That's different. My company only funds the films I direct, while Guess Pictures earned around $800 million at the box office last year, more than the major studios. We can't really be compared," Quentin answered.

"If your production company also started making billions, would you sell it to the majors?"

Quentin thought for a moment, then shook his head decisively. If his company was making a couple hundred million, he would want to hold on as long as possible, considering it was a significant amount of money.

"Link, let's sit down and talk. I have other matters to discuss with you," Harvey said, wiping the sweat from his forehead after standing for a while.

...

As they sat down, Harvey informed Link that after the gossip controversy, the major studios had not given up their plans to suppress him and Guess Pictures. He warned that Guess Pictures would likely face challenges in production and distribution moving forward.

Thus, Harvey proposed that the two companies establish a closer collaboration for joint film investments, with Guess Pictures handling production and Miramax responsible for marketing and distribution. It could help them avoid direct attacks from the major studios.

Link smiled quietly. Recently, not only had Harvey reached out to him, but companies like New Line Cinema, Columbia Pictures' TriStar, and MGM's United Artists had expressed interest in distributing Guess Pictures' films, completely disregarding the pressure from the major studios.

Everyone knew that Guess Pictures' films could make a lot of money. Distributing their films would give those companies a chance to profit as well.

Link understood their motives and contemplated using this to counter the major studios. Therefore, he didn't immediately reject Harvey's offer but said he would consider it. If the major studios pushed too hard and disrupted normal releases, he would think about collaborating with Miramax.

Harvey immediately urged Link to hand over The Butterfly Effect to Miramax for distribution, promising it would be a big hit.

Link regretfully told Harvey that the film had already commenced its promotional work and was set for an April release. However, if Harvey was interested, he could discuss distributing other films.

Harvey chuckled awkwardly, indicating he was open to the idea.

...

After Link left, Harvey Weinstein took a drag from his cigarette, smirking to himself, "Looks like Michael Ovitz and the major studios haven't put enough pressure on Link, or he wouldn't still be holding onto his unrealistic hopes of resisting the studios' suppression."

"Are we going to help Link?" Bob Weinstein asked.

"Help him?" Harvey shook his head. "This time, the major studios are serious about dealing with Guess Pictures. They're planning to invest more resources into taking them down. With all seven of them united against him, Link and Guess Pictures stand no chance of winning. In this situation, Miramax can only side with the majors, not the guaranteed losers."

Bob nodded in agreement.

*****

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