Chapter 434: Lord of the Rings Would Surely Lose Money

[Chapter 434: Lord of the Rings Would Surely Lose Money]

On the second day of the Academy Awards, news spread through the media that Monica, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, and others were reportedly pregnant, and the father of these children was Link. This news quickly became the hot topic across North America.

The general public was eager to devour the gossip. The female audience didn't react much but secretly envied Monica and the others. After carrying Link's children, their relationship with him seemed secured. Even if they did nothing further, they could continue to live a refined and elegant lifestyle.

Meanwhile, male readers condemned Link for his chaotic private life, labeling him the most despicable playboy in the world. Yet, they also envied his incredible luck. Not only did he get to be with so many big stars, but he also got them to agree to have his children. It was truly enviable.

...

Elon Musk, then embarking on his Silicon Valley startups, read the news and told his brother Kimbal Musk he planned to learn from Link -- aiming to have dozens of girlfriends and over a hundred kids someday.

Kimbal urged him to stop dreaming. Link could find so many high-quality girlfriends because he was worth billions, a Hollywood mogul who could afford them all.

Elon didn't even have a million dollars yet -- how could he attract girlfriends?

Unconvinced, Elon said he would make a fortune, possibly even richer than Link, with more girlfriends and kids.

Kimbal shook his head, suggesting that maybe Elon was just repressing himself, which was why he set such ridiculous goals.

...

Harvey Weinstein saw the news and immediately contacted Ron Meyer and others, preparing to use this story to dig up dirt on Link and tarnish his reputation. The goal was to make Link's name stink so badly that his movies would be abandoned by fans.

"Ha! We were just worried about finding dirt on Link, and now he's handing it to us on a silver platter. What a guy!" Harvey laughed, patting his big belly.

"This kind of news probably won't hurt Link much," Bob Weinstein said, stroking his heavy chin thoughtfully. "He's a billionaire, unmarried, not unfaithful, hasn't abandoned any wives -- in fact, he's openly sharing news about his kids. His behavior is better than most. If this kind of thing was criticized, half the men in America would be implicated. It might even gain him more supporters."

Harvey waved dismissively. "No way. Link's a public figure and a role model for youth worldwide. A role model running around like this and fathering many children out of wedlock will definitely upset parents. With a little push from us, this will leave an indelible mark on his reputation."

He smirked. "Besides, no matter how strong a dam is, if there's an ant hole, it will erode and decay. We can envision that the illegitimate kids scandal might be Link's first step toward downfall."

Bob wanted to argue more, but Harvey waved him off impatiently. "Don't worry about it. I'll handle it personally. By the way, Link's movie The Rock is releasing this summer. That film's already a pit, and with this negative news, I don't believe it will do well."

Bob felt slightly relieved. With The Rock being a risky venture plus Link's scandal, it looked like Link might really take a hard fall this time.

...

Knock, knock, knock --

"Sir, director Peter Jackson is here," an assistant announced.

"Peter Jackson?" Harvey couldn't recall who that was initially.

The assistant reminded him that last month, Peter Jackson came by to pitch a new script for Lord of the Rings, hoping to cooperate with Miramax. Now a month had passed, and Peter Jackson was checking if they were interested.

"Lord of the Rings?" Harvey recalled. He had seen the script, an adaptation of British author J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Harvey thought the script was pretty good with some investment potential, but also saw issues.

"Bring in director Peter Jackson," he instructed.

...

Shortly after, the assistant returned with a short, stocky, bearded man -- Peter Jackson, a New Zealand director, who had started in 1987 making a few horror films like Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, and Heavenly Creatures, with mediocre results. He was considered third-tier in the industry.

Harvey warmly greeted Peter Jackson and invited him to sit.

Peter Jackson got straight to the point, asking Harvey's thoughts on the script and whether Miramax planned to invest.

Harvey said the Lord of the Rings script was good, but splitting it into two parts wasn't wise. Audiences wouldn't have time or patience to watch an unfinished story.

He hoped Jackson could trim the script and combine the two parts into one movie, even if it became a bit longer.

Peter Jackson shook his head, refusing. The script was the result of three years of painstaking work by him and his team. Every scene and line was crafted carefully. He wouldn't agree to cut it.

Harvey sighed, regretting this.

As Jackson got ready to leave, Harvey suddenly called out, "Peter, wait! Have you tried pitching the script to Guess Pictures? They have deep pockets and might be interested."

"Guess Pictures?" Peter frowned. He initially sought Miramax's help because Miramax was backed by Disney, known for animation and fantasy films -- a better fit for a fantasy project like Lord of the Rings.

He had thought about Guess Pictures, but they mainly produced horror films, not fantasy.

Harvey grinned, smoking a cigarette. "I heard from Link that Guess Pictures plans to expand into fantasy, so now's a good time to approach them. You might get lucky. Besides, Link's got a good eye. If you show him the script, you'll get more perspective on the project."

Peter Jackson nodded, said no more, and left with the script.

...

"Harvey, why would you let Peter Jackson take the script to Link? What if Link agrees to invest?" Bob asked suspiciously.

"Ha! If he doesn't, great. But if he does, even better. Jackson's script has big problems. First, splitting the film into two parts -- unlike The Godfather series, it's just splitting one story -- audiences won't be into that. Second, the film needs tons of special effects. Considering current technology, making this movie is hard and expensive. It might cost $300 or $400 million to make. To break even, it'd need to make $700 to $800 million worldwide. Do you think that's doable?"

Harvey laughed.

Bob thought about it. Fantasy films were niche at best; making that much at the box office would be tough.

"That's the point," Harvey said, laughing wickedly. "If Link invests in Lord of the Rings, Guess Pictures will face another major flop after The Rock. That's our chance. We just need to team up with the Big Seven studios and keep hitting Guess Pictures. They could be finished, maybe never recover."

Bob frowned, thinking Harvey might have lost his mind after previous failures. Whenever Link was involved, Harvey seemed to lose rationality, turning fantasies into facts.

For example, whether Lord of the Rings would lose money or not, it wouldn't impact Guess Pictures much. The company was valued over $6 billion; losing a few hundred million wasn't a big deal.

Also, Link was worth more than ten billion; the loss of a film or two wouldn't hurt him much.

Still, Bob didn't try to dissuade Harvey, as Miramax wasn't putting in any money. Whether Lord of the Rings succeeded or failed wouldn't affect the company.

Miramax could just watch from the sidelines.

"Maybe I should call Link and recommend Jackson's script, try to get him to invest," Harvey said, stroking his chin, then picked up the phone to call Link.

*****

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