[Chapter 423: Link's Acceptance Speech]
After Jodie straightened her outfit and left, Link suddenly remembered he wanted to talk to her about managing the household affairs. He decided to finish his work first and find time later to discuss it with them.
--
On Saturday, the 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony took place.
This year's ceremony was again held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
Link and several of his girlfriends were invited to attend the awards, but since Michelle and Sandra were both pregnant, the main companions accompanying Link were Jennifer, Nicole, and others.
The Golden Globe Awards were hosted by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, with judges also being members of this association. Each year, there were over 300 judges from 76 countries and regions.
The Golden Globes were divided into two categories: film and television. The selection standards were mainly based on the artistic quality of the works, actors' performances, reputation, popularity, and influence.
Although the award's prestige wasn't quite on par with the Oscars and it had comparatively less influence, this was why fewer players in the film industry spent much money on lobbying for it, resulting in a relatively fair and reasonable selection.
...
Guess Pictures had seven films nominated this year, earning 19 nominations.
Among them, The English Patient received six nominations, including Best Drama Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Actress, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Original Score.
Dead Man Walking got five nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay.
The Net was nominated for Best Drama Screenplay and Best Actress.
Hachi: A Dog's Tale received nominations for Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay.
Toy Story had two nominations, for Best Musical/Comedy Film and Best Original Song.
Kolya got one nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
Dangerous Minds earned one nomination for Best Actress.
Additionally, Link's film Batman Forever earned two nominations, including Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Song.
Guess Pictures, together with Columbia Pictures, co-produced The Mask of Zorro, which got two nominations for Best Musical/Comedy Film and Best Actor.
Jerry Maguire received three nominations, including Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor and Actress.
There were 12 film awards in total at the Golden Globes, and Guess Pictures was heavily dominating almost all, including Best Actor and Actress in Drama, and Best Screenplay.
...
"Link, Guess Pictures is incredible," Harvey Weinstein said enviously at the ceremony.
"Last year, you released 13 films, and seven were nominated at the Golden Globes. Adding the two from Columbia Pictures, that's nine nominations, nearly a 60% hit rate for quality films. That's amazing!"
After the ceremony began, Harvey took a seat beside Link, hoping to chat. Since Link had left the production department of Guess Pictures, it had become hard for people to meet him.
"That's true, but your films aren't bad either," Link smiled and praised Miramax Pictures.
Last year, Miramax took the low-budget movie route and released 18 films, 12 of which were hits. The box office numbers for each were in the millions or tens of millions but overall remained profitable.
Competition in the North American film market was increasingly fierce. Even the Big Seven Studios were losing money. Miramax's ability to stay profitable proved Harvey's strong skills in film selection and company management.
"Haha, there is no comparison. Our company releases low-budget films; even ten hits don't match the box office of one of your films. Guess Pictures is the industry's model now," Harvey smiled but felt jealousy and anger inside.
Miramax's 18 films earned about $231 million in North America last year with a profit near $32 million. Those figures outperformed many companies but paled in comparison to Guess Pictures.
The total box office of those 18 barely matched The English Patient and Toy Story, and the net profit was much lower. After a year of hard work by Harvey and his team, their earnings didn't match Guess Pictures' one project. That was unfair.
He hoped powerful companies like Guess Pictures would be brought down.
"Link, I recently heard something about your company," Harvey whispered after looking around.
"Reliable sources say some Big Seven execs intentionally passed some problematic film projects to your company to cause losses and take advantage to beat you. Be cautious in picking projects."
"Oh?" Link raised an eyebrow, those words felt familiar.
Michael Ovitz mentioned last year, Robert Shaye from New Line Cinema warned him too, and now Harvey.
What were these guys up to?
"It's true," Harvey said seriously.
"I know of four or five projects, but only one for sure: your film last year, The Rock," Harvey added in a low voice.
"The script was handed to you by Donald Simpson, right? I know him well; his studio only cooperates with the Big Seven. This project coming to you voluntarily means trouble."
Link nodded but was puzzled.
The film was a potentially great project. With him directing, box office chances were high, and there were no disputes over script rights or distribution.
So where was the problem with The Rock?
...
Jodie Foster walked on stage with an envelope, announcing the winner for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy: Tom Cruise.
Loud applause followed.
Tom Cruise went on stage to accept the award and gave a speech. He thanked many people, including the crew, the company, and his family. Unexpectedly, he gave special thanks to Link, praising him as a respected director and expressing hope to work with him.
Link applauded with a smile.
...
"Link, is The Rock finished? When's the release?" Harvey asked after Tom stepped down.
Link nodded. The film was complete. They had an internal screening last October where Link's involvement was 73.1%, slightly higher than on The English Patient. The quality rating was 95.7%, two points lower than The English Patient, matching market demand at 86%.
The movie earned 2.6 times box office subsidies, 20% director experience bonus, 20% director stamina bonus, and 16% quality increment.
Overall, it was on par with The English Patient, indicating The Rock would also be a hit.
That was why Link remained calm despite Harvey's remarks.
"It's ready for a summer release," Link said.
"I suggest you be cautious with marketing expenses; start small," Harvey advised but then patted his mouth and laughed. "But I'm no expert in marketing; you are."
"It doesn't matter. You mean well."
"No problem, we're all indie companies naturally at odds with the Big Seven, so we should support each other," Harvey laughed warmly.
Link chuckled. Since Guess Pictures joined MPAA, it was excluded from the indie circle. And with Pixar Animation Studios going public, Guess Pictures was no longer an indie company. Miramax was now Disney's subsidiary, considered semi-independent.
...
Susan Sarandon took the stage to accept Best Actress in a Drama for Dead Man Walking from Tom Hanks.
In her speech, she especially thanked Link, noting that if it weren't for him seeing this script's value, she might have treated Tim's script as trash.
She praised Link as a charming man saying if she were twenty years younger, she'd rather date him than Tim. She teased Tim Robbins not to be mad because women loved Link -- and she was a woman too.
The audience burst into laughter and cheers.
The camera panned to Tim Robbins, who first feigned anger but later smiled and applauded warmly.
Link saw the camera and smiled while clapping.
...
"Link, I envy you. Nobody in Hollywood dislikes you now," Jim Carrey shouted from behind.
Jennifer Connelly, Jodie Foster, and Nicole Kidman smiled and looked at him with joy and affection.
Mel Gibson walked on stage to announce Best Director nominees: Link for The English Patient, Milos Forman for The People vs. Larry Flynt, Scott Hicks for Shine, Joel Coen for Fargo, and Tim Robbins for Dead Man Walking.
"The winner of the 54th Golden Globe for Best Director is The English Patient's Link! Congratulations!"
Cheers and applause erupted. Nearly everyone looked at Link, honoring him.
"Darling, you won! Congratulations!" Jennifer and Jodie hugged and kissed him on the cheek.
After embracing a few girlfriends, Link stepped on stage.
Harvey stared at his back with jealousy, wishing to overthrow Link.
But as soon as Link began his acceptance speech, Harvey smiled and applauded.
...
"Thank you! I'm honored by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for this award," Link held the globe-shaped trophy and spoke at the microphone.
"Since last year, many have praised me as a great director with remarkable ability, fast production pace, and films that easily become hits. I appreciate these compliments, but I accept only half. The other half is dedicated to the entire Hollywood film industry, to all my peers, and to audiences worldwide.
As a filmmaker, I know my achievements depend on Hollywood's advanced industrial film production system, cutting-edge film technology and theory, and a thriving Hollywood market.
Without these, our work and dreams would be like water without a source or a tree without roots.
So thank you to all my peers and audiences.
In the future, I look forward to collaborating with more colleagues to create higher artistic and more popular films, revitalizing Hollywood's glory from the 1930s and 40s, preserving Hollywood's global leadership and benefiting all who bear witness to this era.
Thank you!"
...
Applause erupted from hundreds of stars standing and cheering.
"Great speech! Link, you're the best orator," Harvey shouted, clapping enthusiastically, even more excited than Link's girlfriends.
"Great speech? Why does it bore me?" Bob Weinstein sniffed.
"Shut up!" Harvey glared and kept applauding.
Applause lasted over 100 seconds before stopping by Link and the host's signals.
...
"Talking about global industry leadership, this guy's got ambitions," Michael Ovitz commented watching from home.
Michael Eisner nodded, saying Link's words seemed ordinary and slightly hollow but they clearly indicated his intentions.
Link aimed to compete with the Big Seven and become the industry's true leader. His ambition went beyond Hollywood to leading the global film industry.
This was huge.
The Big Seven only wanted to make money through films and seize market share. They didn't care about the industry's future much since they were hired managers who might leave after their term.
Link's ambition wasn't just fame and fortune; he wanted to unite filmmakers, build a better film industrial system, develop comprehensive modern film theory, keeping Hollywood globally leading and making the film industry thrive worldwide.
Achieving this required more than just the film industry -- it also depended on politics, economy, and even the military.
Eisner suddenly understood why Link frequently mingled with politicians over the past few years.
"His ambition is indeed huge," Eisner said.
*****
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