Chapter 343: Match Point

[Chapter 343: Match Point]

After the awards ceremony, director Giuseppe Tornatore found Link through Monica and handed him a screenplay, inquiring about his investment interest.

Link was on familiar terms with director Tornatore; they had spoken a few times during the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and the Berlin Film Festival earlier that year, where he had also extended invitations to Tornatore and others.

Now, Tornatore had approached him for collaboration, which was a positive response to his previous invitations. Link glanced at the title of the script: The Legend of 1900.

It was adapted from Alessandro Baricco's literary play Novecento, telling the legendary story of an abandoned infant named "1900" who formed a bond with a piano aboard a transatlantic ocean liner, ultimately becoming a piano master.

The script was well-written and held investment value.

"Interesting story, what's the budget, and how much are you short?" Link closed the script and asked.

"The preliminary budget is $20 million, and we are $12 million short." Tornatore gave Link a look. "In truth, the film isn't lacking in investment; it's just that many investment companies want me to relinquish the editing rights, which I refuse. So I've decided to seek new investors."

Link smiled, understanding Tornatore's reluctance to give up editing rights. However, many of Tornatore's works had faced issues, such as Cinema Paradiso and The Legend of 1900, where the films' excessive lengths led to poor box office returns. Tornatore had previously clashed with Harvey Weinstein over editing problems with Cinema Paradiso.

The Legend of 1900 also had this problem. Link suggested that the home video could feature the director's cut, but the North American theatrical release version couldn't, as that would lead to losses.

However, to respect the director's artistic work, the release could be flexible: the director's version could be shown at art cinemas while Link's edited version would screen in commercial theaters.

"That's a great idea; audiences who go to art theaters generally have a higher appreciation ability, and they can better understand the director's vision. Meanwhile, the audiences at commercial theaters are mostly there for entertainment; Link's version would guarantee more audience contact while still allowing more people to experience the film's artistry," Monica chimed in with a smile.

Tornatore paused for a moment and insisted on maintaining an equal number of art and commercial cinemas during the film's release.

Link replied that this was impossible; since art and commercial films had different distribution methods, releasing two versions of one movie would significantly increase promotional costs. If the number of theaters screening each version was equal, the expenses would rise even more.

At the time of the film's release, the company would promote the film based on the box office profits from commercial theaters. The higher the box office revenue from commercial releases, the more the promotional budget would increase, which would also lead to a greater number of art theaters showing the film.

So, the profits earned from commercial theaters could subsidize losses at art cinemas; the more loss they could bear, the larger the distribution scale would be.

Hearing this, Tornatore's eyes brightened. He exchanged a few words with producer Marco Corimento and nodded in agreement, requesting that those terms be included in the contract.

Link agreed but urged him to start filming soon, preferably finishing by 1996, to avoid competing with the similarly themed blockbuster Titanic.

Originally, this movie shot aboard a big ship was quite good, refreshing in its outlook, but it faced a direct box office crushing from the more astonishing Titanic.

...

After parting ways with director Tornatore, Link and Monica found Sophie Marceau chatting with the new Venice Film Festival Best Actress Isabelle Huppert. Upon arriving, they noticed Woody Allen, who had just received a lifetime achievement award, was also present.

Woody Allen sat between them, animatedly discussing and gesturing like a peacock trying to show off.

"Woody Allen has a youthful spirit," Monica smiled slightly.

Link chuckled in agreement. From a professional standpoint, Woody Allen was a high-level director whose representative works like Annie Hall, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Hannah and Her Sisters, and Interiors were all regarded as excellent films, marking him as a maestro in art films.

However, his character was questionable; he had been married three times and had various romantic rumors with many actresses. In 1990, at age 55, he faced ethical scandal with his 18-year-old adopted daughter, whose photos made headlines on the front page of the New York Post. He divorced his third wife, Mia Farrow, in 1992, openly pursuing his adopted daughter.

He was also Jewish, closely connected with Harvey Weinstein and Epstein, and appeared frequently on the infamous list of public figures connected to the island.

...

Seeing Woody Allen enthusiastically sharing jokes, hoping to make Sophie and Isabelle laugh, Link and Monica didn't interrupt.

"Are you done chatting?" Sophie Marceau stood up with a smiling face and affectionately took Link's hand.

As Sophie stood up with a smile, Woody Allen's thin face instantly dropped. Adjusting his glasses, he looked at Link with a mix of annoyance and strong jealousy.

"What were you talking about?" Link asked while wrapping his arm around Sophie's slender waist.

"Director Allen mentioned during his time in Venice, he thought of a great love story he plans to film here," Sophie replied, smiling.

"Director Allen's writing talent is enviable," Link said with a grin as he greeted Allen and Huppert.

"Link, you're also a very talented screenwriter. Have you come up with any good stories to share since arriving in Venice?" Woody Allen asked.

Link pulled Monica and Sophie to sit down. "I'm a horror film director, and most of the scripts I write are horrors. Venice is a beautiful city, but it's not providing any horror inspiration for me."

"Why not think a little more? We're filmmakers; our daily work should focus on storytelling rather than anything else," Woody Allen replied, glancing enviously at the two beautiful women beside him: Monica, with her striking beauty and elegant figure, and Sophie, who possessed refined looks and an effortless charm. His jealousy towards Link intensified.

"Director Link, feel free to share any ideas; I can help refine them on the spot," Woody offered confidently.

"Let me give it a try; I also have thoughts on being a screenwriter," Sophie suggested cheerfully.

"If you have any ideas, you can tell me; I can help you refine your story," Link said, pulling Sophie into a playful banter.

"Do you have good ideas?" Monica asked with concern.

"Of course! I create four or five scripts every year; storytelling is my specialty," Link smiled, looking at Woody Allen. "I haven't gotten any inspiration while in Venice, but on the train from Monica's place to Florence, we encountered a young couple heading to Paris. Based on them and my experiences in Hollywood, I thought of a great story about luck."

"Yes, everyone knows director Link has good luck," Woody remarked.

"The male protagonist in my story also has great luck," Link began recounting the plot for the movie Match Point.

...

Match Point is a film directed by Woody Allen in 2005, starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Scarlett Johansson. The movie tells the story of a poor boy named Wilton who moves to the big city from the countryside. To change his impoverished fate, he works as a hitting partner at a tennis court in a wealthy area and meets the rich kid Tom, through whom he becomes acquainted with Tom's sister, Chloe.

Wilton passionately pursues Chloe, successfully winning her over. With Chloe's parents' help, he enters society's upper crust and becomes a well-paid white-collar worker. Just as he is about to marry Chloe, he meets his brother-in-law's girlfriend, a seductive beauty named Nola, who also strives to enter high society. They develop mutual feelings and begin an affair.

Despite marrying Chloe, Wilton continues dating Nola until she becomes pregnant. Wilton, wishing to preserve his family and status, suggests abortion, but Nola refuses and threatens him with their child to force him to divorce Chloe.

Wilton ultimately kills Nola, as well as their landlord, who heard the commotion, and steals the landlord's jewelry. Unsurprisingly, he becomes the prime suspect in the murder investigation.

However, because he has no criminal record and is polite and trustworthy, coupled with a stroke of luck where a robber who finds a gold ring is arrested as the actual murderer, he escapes punishment and continues living a wealthy life.

This film explores themes of luck and human nature and is considered one of Woody Allen's least typical movies but fits Link's style very well.

...

After he finished his pitch, Monica Bellucci and Sophie Marceau, along with Isabelle Huppert, broke into applause, and even Martin Scorsese and French actor Jean Reno, who had just arrived, clapped in praise of the story.

"Sounds a bit like The Talented Mr. Ripley; you must have borrowed elements from that work when crafting your story, right?" Woody Allen commented stiffly.

"Really? The Talented Mr. Ripley is an excellent thriller and crime novel, but its essence borrows primarily from Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Wilton is a modern version of Raskolnikov." Link explained.

...

The Talented Mr. Ripley is a famous crime novel by Patricia Highsmith from the 1950s, telling the tale of a poor boy who kills a rich son while traveling in Italy and uses his high intelligence to replace the rich boy, infiltrating Italian high society.

This novel was later adapted into a film of the same name starring Matt Damon and Jude Law. Dostoevsky was a Russian author whose Crime and Punishment published in the 1860s told the story of poor student Raskolnikov who, wanting to escape his miserable life, murders the loan shark Alyona and her innocent sister Lise, creating a shocking murder case. After experiencing an internal struggle for redemption, he confesses to the crime after being persuaded by his Christian neighbor Sonia.

The story delves into crime, humanity, faith, and redemption and has become a classical template for many crime novels and films thereafter.

...

"We discussed Dostoevsky the last time we met," Sophie Marceau said cheerfully, taking his hand.

"Yes, that's been a source of inspiration for me," Link smiled.

Woody Allen, after taking a sip of his drink, left the film festival party with a dark mood. Meanwhile, Sophie Marceau and Monica happily kissed Link's face.

...

"I envy Link; he's embracing two outstanding women. I wish to become like him in if there is a next life," Martin Scorsese remarked, raising his brows.

"Envy?" Jean Reno shook his head. "Having one girlfriend is already enough trouble; I can't even imagine the chaos with two!"

"From what I know, Link has over twenty, and I mean really over twenty, not just rumors. Isn't that impressive?" Martin Scorsese remarked, laughing.

"Over twenty?" Jean imagined living with twenty girlfriends and quickly shook his head, picturing a scene too horrifying to contemplate.

"Martin, I heard you bad-mouthing me from afar," Link said as he approached them.

*****

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