The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 383

"Harvey, I can point you to the right person."

In a private club in Malibu, Frank Miller, wearing a cowboy hat, told Harvey, "But I'm only responsible for making the introduction."

The short, portly Harvey Weinstein settled onto the sofa, took a cigar, and lit it. He took a long drag, exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, and said, "Frank, did I ask you to do anything else?"

Frank eased onto another sofa and fell silent.

He had accepted Harvey's invitation out of a sense of obligation and had previously introduced Helen to him, but he had no intention of getting any more involved than that.

Even though he was the author of the original graphic novel "300" and the screenwriter for the film adaptation, he was no fool. He couldn't make rash decisions about an investment worth tens of millions of dollars.

Frank was very clear about his role: he was merely introducing David Ellison and Jack to Harvey. How the two parties communicated was none of his business.

As the screenwriter, it made little difference to him whether "300" was distributed by Warner Brothers or Weinstein Pictures.

Harvey puffed on his cigar and glanced at his watch. The appointed time was almost upon them, but the two men had yet to appear.

If he hadn't happened to see some of the test footage at Frank's place, he wouldn't have been interested in "300" at all. The few scenes Zack Snyder had shot, starring Matthew, possessed an incredibly distinct style and a visual impact so powerful that, against a backdrop of high-speed slow-motion and heavily saturated, oil-painting-like visuals, it felt as if Matthew had descended from the heavens to become a god of war.As a veteran of the film industry, he understood the potential value of this film perfectly.

He'd heard the details from Frank; Matthew was definitely attached as the lead. And for the past few years, Matthew had been a box-office powerhouse, much like Tom Cruise in his prime, with every film he starred in becoming a massive hit.

Since this was a clear opportunity to make money, he naturally wanted to try and get his hands on it.

Besides, this son of Larry Ellison was just a newcomer to Hollywood.

A sudden knock came from outside the lounge. Harvey hastily extinguished his cigar, cleared his throat, and called out, "Come in."

The door opened, and a club employee entered, followed by two men. The one in front had medium-length, light brown hair, while the one behind sported a thick beard.

Harvey immediately surmised that the man in front was David, and the one behind was Jack, who was said to have once been Ridley Scott's assistant.

As the two approached, he remained seated, still slouched sullenly on the sofa.

David walked toward the sofa and then stopped abruptly, his brow furrowing. He could smell smoke, a very unpleasant odor of it.

He paused, and the bearded Jack did as well.

Harvey saw the two of them halt, and a flash of displeasure crossed his mind. But he was, after all, a Hollywood heavyweight, a titan of the industry for many years. He immediately pushed himself off the sofa and walked over to David.

Frank hurried over to make the introductions for both sides.

David shook Harvey's hand and exchanged a few pleasantries, but couldn't help coughing a couple of times. He turned to the club employee and asked, "Is there another room available?"

The employee didn't understand what he meant but had no choice but to answer honestly, "Yes."

David turned back to Harvey and said, "Let's talk somewhere else."

He added a casual explanation, "I don't like the smell of smoke."

The flesh on Harvey's face twitched, but he nodded in agreement.

The men quickly moved to an adjacent lounge. Frank was clever enough to make his apologies and leave early, allowing the remaining parties to dispense with the pleasantries and get straight to business.

"I heard from Helen that you want the distribution rights for '300,' the film I'm investing in?" David, a man born with a silver spoon in his mouth who couldn't care less about Harvey's reputation, was utterly direct. "If that's the case, we don't need to talk. My company, Skydance Pictures, has already reached an agreement with Warner Brothers on distribution."

This was Harvey's first time dealing with David, and after so many years in Hollywood, he found himself slightly uncomfortable with David's blunt manner of speaking.

"David, don't you want to hear my terms?" Harvey suppressed the irritation in his heart. "They are far more generous than what Warner Brothers is offering."

"There's no need." David shook his head decisively. "To me, money is just a numbers game."

Harvey held his tongue for a few seconds before saying, "Weinstein Pictures is sincere. We can guarantee you'll be satisfied."

In the old days, when Miramax was at its peak with a platform like Walt Disney, he wouldn't have given someone like David a second glance. But times were different. He had fallen out with Disney and left Miramax to start over. The newly formed Weinstein Pictures desperately needed resources, especially capital and film properties.

Everyone knew David was rich.

Hearing Harvey's words, however, David frowned at the condescending tone, as if it were an honor for people like him to work with Weinstein Pictures.

Harvey himself didn't even realize that, being accustomed to giving orders for years, he subconsciously adopted a senior's posture when dealing with younger people.

If it had been a young actor, they would certainly have been obsequious. But David Ellison wasn't about to swallow that.

"Warner Bros. will also fully cooperate with Skydance Pictures."

Harvey's tone irritated David, who retorted bluntly, "Harvey, can Weinstein Pictures even compare to Warner Brothers?"

Without waiting for Harvey's response, David added, "Let's put it this way. What you have, Warner Bros. has. What you don't have, Warner Bros. has. Why wouldn't I choose Warner Brothers?"

With that, he stood up. "Sorry, I have other business to attend to."

Harvey watched David, who delivered his farewells and turned toward the door with the same arrogant manner as his bastard of a father, Larry.

The bearded Jack also rose, gave Harvey a nod, and followed David out.

Harvey remained on the sofa, watching as David exited the room.

Had the world changed? Or had everyone forgotten his reputation? Since when had newcomers to Hollywood become so arrogant? Harvey's expression was grim.

Did the brat not know this was Hollywood, not Silicon Valley? Or did he think his old man Larry's arrogant way of doing business would work here too?

****

David walked out to the club's entrance, where his driver had already started the car.

Bearded Jack came up behind him and warned, "David, Harvey is a vengeful man."

David, however, couldn't care less.

Jack promptly fell silent.

"There was no way we were giving the distribution rights to Weinstein Pictures," David explained, considering Jack a talented associate. "That's what it all comes down to, so why not be direct? Should I waste my time just to save Harvey's face? My time is valuable."

He was aiming for big-budget commercial films and had already partnered with Warner Bros. He had no need for Harvey or Weinstein Pictures, so why waste time on something that offered no value?

He didn't even deign to look at people who were of no value to him. If he hadn't respected Frank, the original screenwriter, he wouldn't have shown up at all.

Valuable people, like Matthew for instance, he was happy to pay enormous sums to in order to show his sincerity.

As the two of them got into the car, Jack reminded him again, "You should probably talk to Matthew, Zack, and Helen. Harvey is very influential in Hollywood. There are few things he wants that he can't get."

"I know." David nodded.

He had enough confidence in Zack Snyder and Matthew. "300" was Zack's artistic vision, and Matthew was focused on profits. Could Harvey really offer them a better deal than they already had?

Shortly after David's car departed, Harvey also got into his own vehicle.

He first called Frank to ask a few questions about the rights to "300" and quickly determined that there was no way Weinstein Pictures could get Frank to break his contract and hand over the film rights.

After a moment of thought, he said to his assistant in the passenger seat, "Get me Matthew's phone number."

Harvey had his own judgment. Matthew was the key to this project. If he could win Matthew over, the problem would be much easier to solve.

"300" was an opportunity for Weinstein Pictures, and it was best to seize it himself.