The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 731

Los Angeles was exceptionally clear that Monday. In a corridor on the top floor of the Beverly Hilton, Steve stopped before a suite, checked his watch—nine in the morning—and then knocked cautiously on the door.

There was no answer from within.

Steve wasn't in a hurry. He waited another two minutes before knocking again.

This time, a voice came from behind the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Steve answered hastily. "Steve."

A moment later, the door swung open. A woman in a nightgown glanced at Steve before stepping aside to let him in.

Steve's gaze quickly swept over the woman, and he swallowed hard, then pretended not to notice her as he headed into the suite's living room.

But the image of the beautiful woman lingered in his mind. She looked familiar, like someone he had seen before. He couldn't place the name, but he was sure she was an actress.

As he entered the living room, Steve saw his boss, Harvey Weinstein, sitting on the sofa. He couldn't help but feel a pang of envy. The man wasn't just wealthy; he was a Hollywood kingpin who could make or break the careers of countless actors.

But while his title seemed lofty, whether it was at his old company, Dimension Films, or his current one, The Weinstein Company, Harvey Weinstein always had absolute control over film production. Even his own brother, Bob, couldn't interfere.Steve knew exactly what kind of man Harvey Weinstein was.

The women who willingly came to him to strike a bargain were never turned away. And those who were unwilling? He didn't leave them in peace, either.

Especially the minor starlets, whose careers could be snuffed out with a single word from him.

The Weinstein Company was planning a film about a female British Prime Minister, positioning it as a major future Oscar contender. And the famous actress set to star in it was also rumored to have a "connection" to Harvey Weinstein.

Harvey remained silent on the sofa. Steve knew his boss's habits and didn't speak.

Footsteps echoed from the bedroom, and the young woman emerged. She gave Harvey Weinstein a wave and a smile. "I'm heading out. Call me if you need anything."

Steve watched her leave. Girls these days were becoming more and more open, he thought. Few of them took this sort of thing seriously; instead, they were learning how to leverage their natural assets to secure resources for their careers.

What they failed to understand, unfortunately, was that Harvey Weinstein was not a man of his word.

Steve shook his head slightly.

Compared to Harvey, Matthew Horner had a much better reputation in that department. Essentially, every woman who'd had a dalliance with Matthew got what she wanted and had nothing but good things to say about him afterward.

After all, Matthew Horner was nothing like Harvey Weinstein. He wasn't married and didn't have a steady girlfriend, so who could blame him for seeing other people?

The media and the public had long ago crowned Matthew and Leonardo DiCaprio as Hollywood's two reigning playboys.

The click of the suite door closing sounded from the entryway. Only then did Harvey speak. "How are things with James Wan?"

Steve recalled how his boss had brazenly locked the director in a hotel room. He instinctively felt it could lead to trouble, but then again, Harvey had weathered countless scandals over the years. If he hadn't, would he still be sitting here, one of Hollywood's biggest players?

"He turned us down again," Steve replied without hesitation. "James Wan is set on collaborating with Matthew Horner."

Steve wanted to curse. All his boss had to do was persuade some small-time director, but instead, he'd tried to strong-arm the guy into submission.

If the director had been a nobody with no connections, he would have caved, willing or not. But the problem was his connection to Matthew Horner! And Matthew Horner was no ordinary Hollywood star.

Steve kept these thoughts to himself.

Harvey Weinstein's expression was unreadable. After a moment of thought, he spoke.

"Then drop it. Don't contact James Wan again."

The words were simple enough, but Steve was certain: his boss was furious.

"Understood," Steve answered.

"It's Monday." Harvey changed the subject abruptly. "Are the weekend box office numbers out yet?"

Steve replied quickly, "Yes, they've been released."

Harvey pressed on, "Is "Fast & Furious 4," starring Matthew Horner, the number one film in North America?"

Hearing his boss's question, Steve quickly confirmed, ""Fast & Furious 4" took the top spot at the North American box office with 130.1 million dollars. Last week's winner, "Star Trek," dropped to second with 41.2 million dollars. In third place was Twentieth Century Fox's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," but its weekend take plummeted to just 12 million dollars."

"130.1 million dollars?" Harvey's brow furrowed. "Already well into profit."

Steve nodded in agreement but kept silent, sighing to himself. Was there any film Matthew Horner had starred in and invested in that hadn't turned a massive profit?

The Weinstein Company, on the other hand, released five, six, or even more so-called "Oscar-bait" films every year. Then, come November, they would throw all their resources into Oscar campaigning. If one of them managed to win a major Academy Award, the winning film would slowly turn a profit through home video sales and licensing...

But even if a film managed to win both Best Director and Best Picture, the final profit would only be twenty to thirty million dollars. In comparison, a single Matthew Horner film could easily rake in hundreds of millions.

Steve knew perfectly well that Harvey couldn't match the profits of a film like "Fast & Furious 4" even with three or four successful awards seasons combined.

When it came to making money, not even his boss could compete.

As he considered this, an unsettling thought struck Steve. His boss was a domineering and incredibly vengeful man. And Matthew Horner had just snatched a project right out from under him. If that project did well, his boss would never let it go.

Steve stole a glance at Harvey Weinstein. He used to admire Harvey's authoritative nature, but now that he thought about it... his boss held grudges against Warner Brothers, Walt Disney, Universal Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, the Murdoch family... Wasn't that essentially making an enemy of the entire industry?

Suddenly, he felt that Harvey was a bit like one of Matthew Horner's on-screen heroes—a man who dared to challenge the world...

But Matthew Horner was genuinely capable of it. Three armed terrorists had been nothing to him.

But if he pictured Harvey Weinstein in that situation, trying to take on terrorists? An image of a large meatball rolling across the floor popped into his head.

"Steve? Steve!" Harvey Weinstein's voice cut through his thoughts. Steve snapped back to reality. "Yes, boss..."

"Have you contacted Warner Bros? Are they willing to give The Weinstein Company the same investment stake in the new "Hobbit" series that they had for "The Lord of the Rings"?"