Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 558 - 428 Good Box Office (3/10)_3

If it had been when he first started out, he might have risked a bet, but not now.

After decades in Hollywood, having seen too many film companies go bankrupt from wrong bets, he knew the risks involved, and for safety's sake, it was better not to follow them.

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Although he knew it was the right thing to do, thinking about how Link and Lionsgate Films had made the right bet this time and earned millions of US dollars more, he felt very annoyed.

Harvey thought about finding someone to badmouth the movie, just like they did with "Bridesmaids," but "Mr. Tree" was already a niche film with low visibility; badmouthing it would only increase its exposure, undoubtedly aiding in promoting Link's movie.

He would never do such a foolish thing.

He thought for a while but couldn't come up with a good way to deal with Link.

Harvey loosened his tie and sent David Glaser back to work, then picked up the phone to call Bob, asking him to find a way to sabotage Link, as he couldn't stand the sight of Link right now.

Bob comforted him, saying "Mr. Tree" had performed well at the box office, proving that Link had a good eye, and that their movie "The Master" might also be a big hit, which could mean good earnings for the company, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Moreover, Link had spent over a million dollars promoting this movie for the sake of prestige, which showed that Link was a big gambler, perhaps something they could exploit in the future to set him up.

Harvey thought about it and felt there was some merit to it.

But accepting Bob's advice meant he would have to endure Link for a much longer time, which made him very uncomfortable.

Bob continued to advise that he was a top producer skilled in making movies, and he should use this expertise to produce more blockbuster films; as long as their movies were hits, there was no need to envy Link.

Bob also reminded him that he had been focusing too much on Link lately, wasting a lot of time and energy, which wasn't good and hoped he would spend more time on film production.

Harvey snorted coldly and hung up the phone with a scowl.

After sitting in the office for a while, he realized that Bob was right. To deal with Link, he needed to focus on the movies, and he cursed, "Damn Link," then summoned his secretary and driver saying he wanted to go to the studio and take a look.

Normally, he would never visit the set in such hot weather.

Because of Link, he now had to endure all of this.

——

"Link, it's incredible that you wrote a hit single specifically for promoting the movie," said Casey Affleck, sipping beer.

"Yes, Link, sometimes I feel like you're an alien, much stronger than the average human," Paul Walker said, patting Link on the shoulder a bit heavily, perhaps out of jealousy.

Link smiled lightly. A few days ago, to promote "Mr. Tree," he had borrowed a popular song from 2020, "Blinding Lights," which had lyrics somewhat similar to the plot of Mr. Tree. The song's music video was first released on YouTube, and within a week, views had surpassed 30 million.

By the second week, the audio version of the song officially hit iTunes, Amazon Music Store, Spotify, and other paid/free music platforms, and even with free resources available, the song still sold 1.45 million copies in the first week on various platforms, becoming a "Billboard" singles chart topper.

The song's popularity also increased the exposure of "Mr. Tree," contributing some box office revenue to the movie.

"This song is from my second album, not written specifically for the movie. Because the styles differed, it wasn't included in the second or third albums. This time, needing a gimmick for the movie's promotion, I released this song, though the effect was fairly average," Link explained.

The song was of excellent quality, but its style leaned towards pop, mixed with soul and had a strong rhythm, which actually didn't quite fit with the rural movie "Mr. Tree."

Some joked that the video was like dressing hillbillies in top fashion—it looked flashy but was somewhat mismatched.

After "Blinding Lights" was released, fans clamored for him to reshoot the MV with a more modern background, which would be cooler.

But Link was too busy lately to shoot an MV, and a new script for the MV was still in the works.

"Hey, Joaquin, how do you have the time to come here? Is the movie done?" Casey nudged himself up from the sand.

This was at Casey Affleck's Malibu villa beach, with Link invited over for a visit, and present were James Franco, Tobey Maguire, Summer Phoenix, Zac Efron, among others.

Seeing Joaquin Phoenix coming over, he waved and greeted.

"Heard you guys were drinking here, I had the afternoon free, so I came to have a drink. Hey, Link, seeing you here is really rare," Joaquin chuckled.

Link handed him a can of beer, "Joaquin, I haven't thanked you yet for promoting the movie; your word alone helped pull in millions at the box office."

"No need to thank me! What I told the reporters was all true; that Huaxia actor's acting is really good. If it wasn't for his natural role, based on his acting, he totally could be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor," Joaquin said, leaning against a palm tree, sipping beer.

Helping Wang Baoqiang campaign for an Oscar Best Actor award?

Link raised an eyebrow, not to mention that the chances of success were very slim.

If it really happened, the day of the Oscars ceremony, with Wang Baoqiang sitting among Leonardo, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, and others, that scene would be quite a novelty.