Chapter 437: Career Crisis

[Chapter 437: Career Crisis]

After the box office rankings were announced, people in the film industry looked at the data for Guess Pictures' box office earnings with envy, jealousy, and also deep concern.

Including the past two years, Guess Pictures had maintained its position as the top annual box office earner for three consecutive years. Their performance was remarkably consistent, showing no signs of decline.

Among the Hollywood Big Seven Studios, Warner Brothers had the best box office performance last year in North America, earning $733 million, which was over $500 million less than Guess Pictures. The rest of the studios were even further behind, showing a clear downward trend in their overall box office market share compared to 1995.

From this situation, Guess Pictures had become the dominant force in the North American film industry, while the Hollywood Big Seven Studios began fighting for survival to avoid becoming the first to drop out of the elite eight studios.

...

"Haha, luckily we established a partnership with Guess Pictures early on, or we'd be under a lot of pressure in the next few years," Michael Ovitz laughed, smoking in the Disney Studios president's office.

Michael Eisner said, "There are indeed many benefits to working with Guess Pictures. Without Guess's productions, Columbia Pictures would have performed worse than Universal and MGM last year. We definitely should strengthen our cooperation. But, Mike, I've heard a rumor that you have a plan targeting Guess Pictures. Is that true?"

"Uh... cough, cough," Ovitz choked on his smoke, coughing violently. His mind was racing. How did Eisner know about the poison pill plan? Had it been leaked? Even his name? If Eisner heard about it, would Link know too? And if he did, what might be his reaction? Would the partnership between Guess Pictures and Disney become unstable? If that happened, wouldn't Ovitz be the fall guy?

Wiping sweat off his forehead, Ovitz hesitated but eventually confessed the poison pill plan.

Eisner frowned. "Are you sure the script for The Rock is really that bad?"

"It's average at best -- hollow content and a boring plot. There's almost no chance it would be a box office hit," Ovitz replied confidently.

Eisner shook his head, "Link is a world-class director and screenwriter. His taste surpasses all of ours. So far, none of the scripts he has backed have resulted in a loss, and he is directing this film himself, making a loss even less likely. What you see as a definite failure might turn into a box office dark horse in his hands. Link has achieved such feats before."

Ovitz's expression changed dramatically. Could his two years of planning have been a mistake? "No, he's made bad calls on a few films like The Underneath, Before Sunrise, and Gray's Anatomy. Those all lost money."

"Those were art-house films with good reviews, so losses were acceptable."

As Ovitz wanted to argue further, Eisner waved him off. "No need to debate. If this information reached me, it probably reached Link too. Since he hasn't responded, it means both Link and Guess Pictures are confident about the film and not worried about losses.

If the film releases without losses, Link probably won't hold this against you. But if it does lose money and Guess Pictures' revenue shrinks, the Big Seven might benefit.

However, our partnership with Guess Pictures will definitely be impacted. So before The Rock's release, I suggest you apologize to Link, persuade him not to release the film, and offer to cover some losses. Link is proud and confident in his vision. He will most likely insist on going forward with the release. At that point, the main responsibility will lie with Link. Even if the film loses money, it won't be your fault, nor will it affect our companies' cooperation. What do you think of this advice?"

Ovitz sighed silently. His sigh wasn't about confessing to Link but rather the sense of inadequacy he felt when facing Eisner and Link. He used to consider himself the top in talent management, commanding great influence in Hollywood, able to move the industry at will. But now, in the broader film industry, he had to admit his vision had been narrow and naive. Film involved more complex interests, fiercer competition, and was harder to master.

He had thought after becoming Disney Studios co-president, he could easily handle the role and maybe even replace Eisner as Disney's real leader. But this incident showed Eisner was wiser. Upon hearing the poison pill plan, he quickly thought of solutions -- even if it meant sending him out to be humiliated by Link to avoid a direct clash between the companies. And Ovitz had no choice but to agree.

If he didn't, once The Rock flopped, Link would harbor hostility towards him and might end cooperation with Disney altogether. Disney might tolerate losing a co-president to keep good terms with Guess Pictures. Knowing Eisner, he would have no mercy even to his own team if it preserved the company's interests.

Ovitz chuckled bitterly. What he considered a clever trap to hurt Link was now about to fail before even being set. The film industry was truly treacherous.

"Alright, I'll call Link, explain, and apologize. I'll try to prevent the partnership from being damaged," Ovitz said.

Eisner smoked and nodded. "Don't use tricks on Link again. Someone of his caliber isn't affected by petty schemes. Even if his films lose hundreds of millions, it won't affect his status or billionaire wealth. If you want to take him down..."

Eisner sighed. "Forget it. We're not on his level. Our ideas seem naive and ridiculous to him. Instead of plotting ways to beat him, focus on strengthening our collaboration."

"Understood!" Ovitz nodded like a schoolboy.

...

Back in his office, Ovitz sat gloomily on his couch, then angrily kicked over a small table, shattering a crystal vase with white carnations all over the floor. After a while, he tried calling Link twice but couldn't reach him.

Fuming, he slammed the desk. Half an hour later, Monica Lewinsky called. She told him Link was busy filming and couldn't answer. If it was important, she could pass on messages.

Ovitz smiled and said no big deal, asked about the weather in London, advised her to take care of her health and skin, and mentioned they shared a heritage. He asked if she'd ever been to Israel. Before he could say more, Lewinsky interrupted, saying she was busy and couldn't chat. She asked if he had other business, then hung up.

"Bitch!" Ovitz cursed, slamming the phone on his desk.

He was furious. Once the king of Hollywood, no one dared disrespect him; not even a presidential secretary. Now, a mere assistant, a woman who maneuvered her way beside Link, dared hang up on him. It was a massive insult. If not for Link's sake, he would have found a way to ruin her.

...

Then the phone rang. He forced a smile and answered. It was Barry Diller. Ovitz's face darkened again as he lazily asked what he wants.

Diller said he wanted to discuss teaming up against Guess Pictures. Ron Meyer and Harvey were also involved. Ovitz declined immediately.

He agreed with Eisner: Link and Guess Pictures were on a different level. Their clever tricks probably didn't even register to Link. Instead of scheming, better to watch and wait. After all, Disney wasn't really his; Link was a shareholder. Even if Disney failed, it wouldn't affect Ovitz as co-CEO. No need to risk himself for this.

*****

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