Chapter 318: People from Hong Kong
[Chapter 318: People from Hong Kong]
In the afternoon, Link arrived at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills to attend a celebration party hosted by Golden Harvest. Originally, Guess Pictures had planned to throw a party after the movie's release. However, Golden Harvest showed more enthusiasm and sought to use the event to network with peers and enhance their reputation in Hollywood.
Link brought along two senior executives from the company, Michael Leeson and Danny DeVito, to support the occasion. When they arrived at the hotel, Jackie Chan and the North America president of Golden Harvest, and CEO Raymond Chow, greeted them at the door and led them into the lobby.
"Mr. Link has arrived!" someone shouted in the hall.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Dozens of champagne bottles were uncorked, and confetti began to spray.
Hundreds of people gathered toward the entrance, each taking turns to greet Link. The atmosphere was lively.
With Jackie's introduction, Link also met various filmmakers from Hong Kong, including Golden Harvest's management, actors such as Chow Yun-fat and Sammo Hung, director John Woo, and other industry players.
There were many renowned local female stars, including Michelle Yeoh, Vivian Chow, Rosamund Kwan, Michelle Reis, Carina Lau, and Shu Qi.
[T/N: I have replaced Maggie Cheung with Michelle Yeoh.]
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At the party, several filmmakers from Hong Kong expressed their desire to strengthen collaboration with Guess Pictures to produce more films similar to Rumble in the Bronx, aiming to showcase Hong Kong cinema to the world.
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Raymond Chow hoped to obtain exclusive distribution rights for Guess Pictures' films in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, promising the most generous revenue share.
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The head of Sil-Metropole Organisation, Liao, indicated a wish to participate in Guess Pictures' second round of financing. Founded in the '80s through the merger of various companies, Sil-Metropole Organisation was one of the most powerful companies in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, backed by China connections, becoming a state-owned enterprise after '97.
Link briefly introduced the financing situation of Guess Pictures. Currently, firms like Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Carl Icahn Investments, and BlackRock had taken stakes in Guess Pictures. Investors purchasing over 5% equity, calculated based on the market value of 2.2 billion, could automatically join the board after the financing concluded, given the company a degree of influence.
Financing below 5% to 3% was valued at $2.1 billion, and below 3% at $2 billion. Since he aimed to attract more than ten new shareholders, he prohibited any individual shareholder from acquiring more shares.
The financing goal of 30% was now down to just 5%, which was held back for potential investors after Jackie had mentioned during their recent phone call that there were interests from Hong Kong.
After thinking for a few seconds, Liao announced he wanted to secure the last 5%, hoping for board membership at Guess Pictures and promising to fully support Link's endeavors.
Link agreed.
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After discussing business, the crowd began to mingle casually. Jackie Chan brought over some of the female stars and local beauty queens for introductions and humorously encouraged them to seize the opportunity to speak with Link, highlighting how hard it was for ordinary people to get a chance like this.
The actresses glanced curiously at Link. Some played it shyly while others were bold and warm. After Jackie finished introducing them, stars like Carina Lau, Rosamund Kwan, Michelle Reis, and others approached Link to raise a toast and offer various compliments.
However, Link remained somewhat aloof and distant. His surroundings consisted of beautiful women, each remarkable in their stature, fame, and allure.
Even though there might be women more beautiful in the world, encountering the Hong Kong beauties didn't overly excite him. The more indifferent he appeared, the more eager they became, almost crowding around him.
Link had no intention of flirting at such an event. After tossing a few pleasantries, he shifted conversations with familiar faces only.
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"Uncle He, it looks like Link isn't interested in those pretty girls," Jackie noted, observing from his seat with a drink in hand.
"He's a Hollywood mogul. After years in the industry, he's encountered every kind of beauty out there. It is impossible for him to just jump at a few beautiful girls; that would be rather ungentlemanly."
"Hmm. He seems to be enjoying the chat with Michelle Yeoh. Is he interested in her?" Jackie hesitated, then recalled, "I read somewhere that Link prefers older women. His past girlfriends have all been older than him, the oldest being Michelle Pfeiffer, who's over a decade his senior. If I'd known he had a thing for older women, I should have invited others like Chingmy Yau or Brigitte Lin!"
"Maybe another time," came the reply.
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As Link chatted with Maggie, he checked his watch and decided it was time to leave. He approached Jackie to mention a new project at Guess Pictures and asked if he could discuss it at a later date.
The film was about a Hong Kong official who, while on diplomatic duty in Los Angeles, had his daughter kidnapped by an arms dealer. The LAPD dispatched James Carter and Detective Lee to collaborate and rescue her. It was the premise of Rush Hour, a series originally set to be produced by New Line Cinema in collaboration with Jackie, which had grossed over $800 million worldwide. Now, Jackie was working with Guess Pictures, and they needed to prepare the script.
After hearing this, Jackie nodded repeatedly and said that he would definitely come.
Once Link left, he couldn't help but smile and pump his fist. After the success of Rumble in the Bronx, he had planned to approach Link about collaboration. Now, Link had invited him to discuss the next project.
Hollywood was buzzing about Link's eye for market trends and what made films successful. If this film with Link performed well, Jackie would be well-positioned to establish his brand further in Hollywood, raking in plenty of dollars -- a thrilling opportunity indeed.
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[T/N: Summary:
As Link exited the party, Vivian Chow asked him to introduce an agent for her art. Link helped her connect with Sam Haskel to help Vivian find an art agency. He met her the next day and gave her with a B-level contract. She expressed her gratitude and asked Link to dinner of Cantonese cuisine.
On Thursday, Link drove to Vivian's Malibu apartment for dinner. There he met Rosamund Kwan, Michelle Reis, Carina Lau, and Shu Qi. After a few drinks, everyone got impulsive.
Before he left, Link gave a sea view villa in the Malibu beach area to the five people to live in, and left 200,000 US dollars for them to recuperate and live in Los Angeles. He would come to see them when he has time.]
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