[Chapter 217: THunting Link]
Since Dumb and Dumber was a Guess Picutres' movie, and Pulp Fiction was outwardly a Miramax project, some media outlets labeled the debate a rivalry between Guess Pictures and Miramax. Others reported that Quentin had severed ties with Link, turning from friends into competitors.
Amidst this controversy, both Dumb and Dumber and Pulp Fiction saw a surge in awareness, leading to increased ticket sales. In its fifth week, Pulp Fiction brought in $10.05 million, a 23% increase from the previous week, accumulating a total of $51.4 million.
Dumb and Dumber earned $25.74 million this week, with a total of $67.46 million, projected to surpass $100 million at the North American box office, making it the first film of 1994 to break the $100 million mark.
...
As the second week rolled around, Guess Pictures and Miramax planned to continue promoting both films, but the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Variety featured some disruptive comments.
Several papers claimed that both Pulp Fiction and Dumb and Dumber were funded by Guess Pictures. Last week, Quentin and Jim Carrey accused each other and Guess Pictures of orchestrating a publicity stunt to boost interest in both films, warning not to fall for it.
With the arrival of these disruptors, the promotion efforts seemed to become counterproductive, forcing Miramax and Guess Pictures to shelve their plans.
...
"Ha, Sheryl, I heard your new film suffered a loss. I'm sorry to hear that," Michael Ovitz said, putting down the newspaper and dialing Sheryl Lansing, the president of Paramount Pictures.
"Michael, just get to the point. I'm busy," Sheryl replied, staring at the reports on her desk, clearly displeased.
In April, Paramount had also released a film titled Jimmy Hollywood, a crime comedy about a man who seeks fame by orchestrating a robbery to attract media attention. The film had a production cost of $30 million but only made $3.52 million in its four weeks of release. Due to poor ticket sales and high promotional costs, it had to be pulled from theaters after just four weeks, resulting in a $30 million loss.
The board was unhappy with the financial loss, putting significant pressure on Sheryl as the head of the studio.
"Sheryl, can't you see? Link is getting back at Paramount. He knew you had a key project releasing soon, so he deliberately scheduled Pulp Fiction and Dumb and Dumber around Jimmy Hollywood to cut into its box office. Without those two films, Jimmy Hollywood wouldn't have performed as poorly," Michael noted.
Sheryl tapped her fingers on the desk, somewhat unconvinced by Michael's assertion. She believed Jimmy Hollywood's failure was primarily due to its lackluster plot and insufficient humor, not solely because of competing films. Still, it was true that without Pulp Fiction and Dumb and Dumber, Jimmy Hollywood could have earned more at the box office.
"Michael, why are you saying all this? I thought your bet with him had ended."
"Yes, but don't you think Link is annoying? He's like an alien species; since he entered Hollywood, the established order has been disrupted. The major studios aren't the cash cows they used to be, star power has diminished, good films aren't getting the box office they deserve, and poor films are raking in profits. Hollywood has become a mess. Have you ever thought of kicking Link and Guess Pictures out to restore order?"
"I haven't thought about that. I'm the president of Paramount, and my main task is to make money through films and keep shareholders happy. It's not my job to oust Link or Guess Pictures."
"That's not contradictory. Before 1992, the major studios controlled Hollywood tightly, but by 1993, Guess Pictures -- a studio only two years old -- had taken significant market share with a few mediocre films, breaking into the top seven. Although last year Guess Pictures ranked sixth in overall box office, Paramount was fourth.
At this rate, Guess Pictures was set to outperform its previous year, taking even more market share from the major studios while surpassing Paramount and 20th Century Fox to enter the top four, or even the top three of the industry. If Guess Pictures overtook you, Paramount's profitability would likely decline again. When that happens, how will you explain it to Sumner Redstone and those shareholders?"
Michael smirked confidently.
Sheryl couldn't find a rebuttal.
Out of more than forty films released in the first quarter, only two had a shot at breaking the $100 million mark: Pulp Fiction and Dumb and Dumber --both produced by Guess Pictures.
Among the Hollywood studios this year, Guess Pictures was leading in box office revenue and profits.
The film industry's annual profits were finite, around $5.5 billion, and before Guess Pictures' rise, 90% of that belonged to the major studios. Now, every additional dollar Guess Pictures made translated to one less for them.
Guess Pictures had essentially been siphoning off profits from the major studios.
Sheryl harbored her own disdain for Guess Pictures and wanted to see them falter to alleviate pressure on executives like herself, but Link was an exceptionally talented director, worth over a billion. She realized that neither she nor her company could achieve that alone.
"What do you want to do?"
"Let's team up to push Link out, and take Guess Pictures down."
"Team up?"
Sheryl shook her head. Michael Ovitz may have been the president and founder of CAA, with his considerable wealth and deep network within the industry, but Link was also formidable.
To take down such a rival, it would require cooperation from at least three of the major studios to suppress Guess Pictures' box office, effectively forcing Link out of Hollywood. Alone with Michael, success seemed unlikely.
"It's not just us; I've spoken with presidents from more than three major studios -- Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Carolco, and Castle Rock are all willing to join forces against Guess Pictures. MGM, Disney, and Columbia promised to remain neutral. If we unite, Link and Guess Pictures are bound to fail," Michael remarked confidently.
Sheryl contemplated, "Vanguard Capital and J.P. Morgan won't simply watch us attack Guess Pictures."
Upon hearing Sheryl say "us," Michael Ovitz laughed, "Don't worry, Vanguard and J.P. Morgan won't interfere in our rivalry. They're both shareholders in Guess Pictures as well as several other companies; even if Guess Pictures went under, it wouldn't significantly impact them.
But let's be honest: Link made a foolish move. If during the first round of financing he had sold most of his shares to Vanguard and J.P. Morgan, he'd have had protection from those two investment firms. There wouldn't be any other studio in Hollywood that would dare to challenge him. Unfortunately, his greed got the best of him."
Sheryl remained noncommittal, "I understand why the major studios want to take down Link -- it's because he's encroaching on our box office -- but Michael, what's your motive? I heard Guess Pictures doesn't oppose working with talent from CAA."
Michael Ovitz snorted, "I, of course, have my reasons."
His reasons were abundant; last year in their gamble, he lost over $20 million, and factoring in his networking resources and losses, the damages amounted to additional tens of millions.
On top of losing money, CAA also lost talent. Following the end of the gamble, Richard Gere, Robert Downey Jr., and Dustin Hoffman had all encountered issues. These individuals were once CAA's cash cows, but Link had ruined their reputations, leading to losses in CAA's standing and causing WMA and UTA to poach several key clients.
These incidents severely impacted CAA's revenue last year, with commission earnings at $240 million -- a drop of 8% from 1992 and the first decline in five years. According to company reports, the revenue drop was heavily tied to Michael Ovitz's participation in the gamble.
This led to dissatisfaction from the board, who confronted him at an early-year meeting, embarrassing him considerably. Had he not held sufficient shares as president, he could have very well been replaced.
And all of it was due to Link's actions.
This felt personal.
Additionally, he had received commitments from various studios that after dismantling Guess Pictures, they would pay him substantial commissions. That was the real goal.
Hearing that several studios were banding together, Sheryl also agreed to join the 'alliance' to take down Link and Guess Pictures, aiming to restore order in Hollywood.
*****
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