Chapter 445: Means of Retaliation
[Chapter 445: Means of Retaliation]
After returning to Los Angeles, the production of American Beauty officially began. It was a family drama, with all scenes shot on location in Los Angeles and the studios located within the city for convenience.
---
At the time American Beauty began filming, the North American summer box office entered its most competitive phase. That week, another blockbuster was released: Warner Bros. Pictures' disaster film Twister.
The film opened in 2,785 theaters, earning $54.02 million in its first week, easily surpassing Jurassic Park 2, The Rock, and Austin Powers, taking the weekly box office crown.
With Twister joining the race, the competition during summer became brutal. Many low-budget, art-house, and lower-quality commercial films performed miserably at the box office.
...
Harvey Weinstein could only describe the current film market as "stifled". Under the strong domination of three commercial blockbusters, other films could barely breathe. If this continued, the only end would be ruin.
"How much money do we have left in the account?" Harvey asked with a grim expression.
"After allocating funds for Velvet Goldmine, the production budget has only $8 million left. At most, we could invest in one more low-budget film," replied vice president Scott Greenstein.
"Only $8 million?!" Harvey almost had a heart attack hearing that number.
Before 1992, $8 million could fund two or three low-budget films, but with inflation, rising salaries of cast and crew, and increased production costs, $8 million didn't stretch far anymore.
Also, since Disney successfully acquired Miramax in 1993, investing $500 million into film productions, the intense competition in the North American market caused Miramax films to lose money more often than profit.
Within less than five years, the $500 million was spent with over $200 million debt owed to banks.
If the company's performance did not improve soon, Miramax would be fired by Disney and left as a business outcast.
"Harvey, don't worry. We'll find a way," Scott said.
Harvey snorted, "As long as Guess Pictures is still dominating, no one can make money. Our situation will only get worse."
"Hollywood studios are all seeking partnerships with Guess Pictures now. Since we've collaborated before, should we keep cooperating?" Scott suggested.
Harvey shook his head. Over the past two years, Miramax had co-produced Fight Club and Evita with Guess Pictures. The former barely cracked $30 million in North America, with a maximum gross of $40 million. With those numbers, Guess Pictures might break even through home video rights, but Miramax had no share of video sales, making it hard to recoup costs.
The latter had a production budget of $55 million, with Miramax investing $20 million. Harvey suspected it might be a trap.
Unless Evita became a big hit, earning him a large share from box office returns, he would never cooperate with Guess Pictures again.
"Damn Guess Pictures, they're the cancer of our entire industry. If one day this damn company went bankrupt, I'd be the first to thank whoever made it happen. But it's only growing stronger, and it's unlikely they'll fall anytime soon," Harvey sighed helplessly.
...
Bang!
While the two were talking, Bob Weinstein suddenly burst through the door, rushing in with a set of documents.
"Bob, what are you doing?" Harvey asked, displeased at his brother's anxious look.
"Harvey, there's trouble. The woman you assaulted back then, Lorna, has come forward. She told multiple media outlets about your assault and claims she will use legal means to protect herself and make sure you're punished. I just received interview material from USA Today, and they're preparing a story," Bob said, handing him the papers.
Harvey tried to stand but failed, trembling as he reached out to take the documents.
...
Lorna was his former assistant, a British woman who joined Harvey Weinstein's team in 1992 as his second assistant. Two months after joining, she traveled with Weinstein to the Venice Film Festival in Italy.
One night, Harvey tried to force himself on her. Lorna resisted and escaped the room. After the festival, she resigned and reported to the police.
But the police refused to process the case. Harvey then sent over a dozen lawyers to pressure Lorna into accepting hush money and signing a non-disclosure agreement, promising not to pursue the matter further.
After returning to the UK, Lorna struggled to find a suitable job and had a tough life. Last year, she returned to America to seek work but faced many obstacles because of Harvey.
Once, when she saw Harvey, he smugly yelled, "You lost."
Angry, Lorna turned to the media hoping to expose him and bring about justice.
...
Reading the files, Harvey's face flushed red with embarrassment and fury. He yelled, "Bitch! This damn bitch took my money and signed an NDA. Why dare she go public? Bob, get lawyers. I want this bitch ruined financially."
Bob didn't move. "Harvey, I'm thinking about something else. It's unusual for Lorna to come forward now. She's just an ordinary person without funding or connections; she couldn't have contacted so many media outlets alone. I suspect someone is behind this."
Harvey paused, his face turning worse. "Link! It has to be Link. He knows we're exposing his dark secrets and deliberately threatened me this way. Damn bastard, you underestimate me. Do you think I'm afraid of you?"
"Harvey, don't be so optimistic," Bob warned. "If Link is behind this, it's bad. He's wealthy and resourceful; if he's using this against you, things could get very complicated."
Harvey dismissed it, "This happened five years ago, no evidence. If Link is doing this, he won't succeed."
Bob said, "Harvey, I'm not as optimistic. You said Link is smart and likes conspiracies. If this is his tactic, Lorna wouldn't be the only witness. There could be others. Remember, you forced more than one woman."
Hearing this, Harvey's face changed.
Entering the industry in the 1970s, Harvey became a millionaire by the '80s as a famous producer and studio owner.
At first, he was cautious, doing little wrong. Later, as a big figure, he acted recklessly, abusing actresses, assistants, and even female producers, sometimes trading favors, other times forcing himself.
Over the past decade, he had assaulted many women. If Link found all these women to accuse him, it would be hard for Harvey to clear his name.
"Damn Link, I haven't offended you. Why do you keep going after me?" Harvey angrily cursed.
"Harvey, cut the swearing. We need to think about how to handle this quickly before it blows up," Bob advised.
Harvey gritted his teeth, trying to calm down. "What do you suggest?"
Bob offered some ideas: first, contact Lorna to pay her off to keep quiet.
Harvey disagreed, saying he'd already paid her and according to the contract, she breached it and should pay damages.
Bob urged calm, saying this was a special moment and they needed to stabilize victims first; if it blew up, it would be harder later.
Harvey reluctantly agreed.
Besides appeasing Lorna, they had to find other victims, promising benefits to stop them from joining the outrage.
Bob also suggested contacting Link to admit mistakes and promise no more actions against him or Guess Pictures. Previously, they had a cooperative relationship, and they should not make it hostile. If Link was willing to back off, everything could be resolved.
Harvey refused, unwilling to grovel and doubting Link would easily relent.
Bob proposed having Michael Ovitz act as intermediary to ease tensions and restore cooperation for movie production.
"Harvey, you should know Link is a billionaire. Compared to him, we're small potatoes. A small fry provoking a big shot is unwise and could ruin you and our business," Bob said earnestly.
Harvey accepted begrudgingly.
However, when they contacted Michael Ovitz for help, he immediately refused, saying he couldn't reach Link and couldn't broker peace. If they offended Link, they'd have to apologize directly.
Harvey rejected that idea, refusing to beg Link for forgiveness.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.