Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 467 - 384: Heart-to-Heart with Taylor
The meeting with Harvey lasted about half an hour, from meeting to parting, and the atmosphere was better than Link had anticipated, which made him even more puzzled about Harvey’s intentions.
All he could do was tell the producer Bent to be careful with the movie’s budget estimation and mentioned that he had a bit of a dispute with Harvey, implying their relationship wasn’t as harmonious as it appeared.
Producer Bent expressed his understanding.
After three days of calculation and consultation, the budget for "Silver Linings Playbook" was set at 22 million US dollars, nearly half less than the 40 million Harvey had initially mentioned, with both companies co-producing, each investing 11 million US dollars.
Since this movie was a Weinstein Company discovery, holding the dominant rights, they were entitled to an additional 5% of the North American and international box office revenues.
After discussing with Catherine, producer Bent, and producer Herrick, Link had no objections, but in order to share the risks, he proactively contacted David Ellison to inquire if he was interested in the project.
David Ellison, after reading the script, found it impressive and expressed great interest.
After negotiating with David Ellison, Link split his 11 million investment share into two: Palm Beach Films holding 60% and Skydance 40%, both investing jointly and sharing the post-release revenue and risks.
Since this change was an internal transaction within Palm Beach Films and unrelated to the Weinstein Company, it would not affect the overall project operation, thus the collaboration was smoothly established.
Having finalized "Silver Linings Playbook," Link had completed a major task and could now focus on filming and training in boxing.
Since arriving in Los Angeles, he had visited Taylor multiple times at her Beverly Hills villa, initially being turned away, but after Mrs. Andrea’s mediation, he finally saw Taylor.
During their meeting, Taylor did not treat him kindly, often turning her back on him without saying a word.
Link didn’t mind; whenever he had time, he would sit with Taylor in the sun-drenched yard and chat about his recent work.
He also mentioned that he had recently written a new song "Say Something" and was planning to include it on his fourth album, asking if she wanted to listen.
Taylor hummed dismissively, her head bowed as she looked at a magazine, ignoring him.
Link smiled, took his guitar, sat on the balcony, and played and sang by himself.
This song was released by A Great Big World in 2014 and became popular due to Christina Aguilera’s spotlight, reaching the top ten in the United States and number one in the UK, Belgium, Canada and other countries.
It was a very touching love song, later covered in Chinese by the singer Zhang Shaohan.
Say something I’m giving up on you
Won’t you hold on to me? I’m stepping onto the path of leaving you,
I’ll be the one if you want me to
Indeed, I would turn around with just one gesture from you,
Anywhere I would’ve followed you
Indeed, I always followed, always by your side,
Say something I’m giving up on you
Won’t you hold on to me? I’m stepping onto the path of leaving you.
And I am feeling so small
I feel increasingly insignificant in your world,
It was over my head
All around was your coldness and hardness,
Know nothing at all
Making me utterly at a loss.
...
When Taylor heard Link’s melancholic, low, and sorrowful singing, she couldn’t help but lift her head to look at him, her curled lashes flickering, her expression growing more and more surprised, and after the surprise, a trace of annoyance crossed her face, her white fists clenched tightly.
This bastard writes every song so passionately, as if he’s a great lover, but in reality, he cheats, flirts, and dates around — a universally recognized scoundrel.
This song was wasted on him.
Yet, annoyingly, he sang it so well, with so much feeling and engagement, it was compelling.
Taylor felt helpless and incapable, like facing a murderer but unable to arrest and jail him.
After singing, Link looked at Taylor and asked with a smile, "How did it feel?"
"Mediocre!"
Taylor continued to look down at her magazine.
"This song is suitable for a duet, it lacks expression with just me singing. Are you interested in collaborating with me? The two of us singing together would definitely create an amazing effect."
"No thanks, just let me read,"
Taylor said, brushing her long hair beside her ear.
Link shrugged his shoulders, not insisting further. He sat on the sun-drenched balcony, feet resting on the wrought-iron railing, tilting his head to look at Taylor’s glowing complexion and fuller figure. She seemed even prettier since getting pregnant.
"How have you been recently? It must be good, right? I heard from Selena that you guys party every day, hang out with a few girlfriends, go shopping, I heard you even went to a ranch for a vacation last time, I’m really envious,"
Link said.
Taylor blinked her eyes and ignored him.
"But I’ve been doing pretty badly, both at work and in life. It feels like everything went downhill after we broke up. It’s like I’m a train that has derailed, wildly speeding across the wilderness without knowing where the road is or where the end is."
Link rested his arm, looking at the blue sky and white clouds over Beverly Hills, occasionally spotting a few birds flying by, suddenly feeling somewhat exhausted.
Taylor glanced at him and saw his handsome profile, his brow marked by melancholy and wistfulness. Her heart felt as if it was being tugged at; it itched and ached. She took a deep breath and tossed a magazine at him.
"Don’t talk about your unhappiness with me; I’m not a trash can for negative emotions. Besides, isn’t this the life you chose for yourself? Attending high society parties every day, socializing with billionaires and tycoons from all walks of life.
Plus, you have money now. You can keep women all over the world, flirt with whoever you want, and no one will manage you. Isn’t this exactly what you wanted? Everything was your choice. Why are you pouring out your grievances to me?"
Taylor scoffed.
Link shook his head, gazing at the sky and the ivy hanging from the second-floor balcony, where the sunlight was mottled.
"Andrea told me you used to love desserts when you were little. She was worried you’d get cavities and become a little chubby, so she would stop you. When you couldn’t have them, you’d eat them secretly. Once you earned money, you achieved dessert freedom, eating as much as you liked, but then suddenly you didn’t want them anymore.
I’m the same as you. When you were controlling me, I always felt that women outside seemed tasty, and I couldn’t help wanting a taste. Now that no one’s controlling me, and I have snack freedom, I’ve realized everything isn’t as good as I imagined. But at this point, I’ve deviated too far from the right course, I can’t turn back; I can only close my eyes and blindly rush forward."
Link pointed at a plane crossing the sky, turning back with a smile, "But there is something very strange; no matter how frustrated or confused I am, every time I sit beside you, I feel as if I’m back on my original track, very relaxed and comfortable. Isn’t that strange?"
Taylor blinked her blue eyes, flipping through the magazine, and said, "You should be saying this to Eva, she is your girlfriend."
Link said, "My greatest confusion in life comes from her. She’s too smart, which makes it impossible for me to understand her, to know what she’s thinking, what she wants to do, or how she feels about me, whether she truly likes me. She treats me well, but I’m not sure if love is part of it.
I’ve also said before, we come from different backgrounds, our habits are vastly different, and so are our thoughts and ideas. She likes to hire chefs to cook while I prefer to cook myself. She likes to live in luxurious apartments hundreds of meters high.
I prefer to keep my feet on the ground, to stick my feet into the beach sand, feeling the warmth of the sand grains, and other things. These differences make me very uncomfortable with my current life, feeling like I’m always floating in the air."
"This is your own making; no one forced you to be with her."
Taylor said.
"It does seem so, but during the time we’ve been together, she hasn’t done anything wrong. She centers everything around me, acting as a partner in life and career, as if she’s my comrade-in-arms. Breaking up with her would hurt another person, a good woman... Okay, I’m too greedy. This is still my fault."
Link stood up and stretched, standing on the balcony and looking at the sky, the distant blue sea, and the bustling city of Los Angeles.
Seeing that the sun was setting, he didn’t want to bother Taylor and Mrs. Andrea any longer, and he offered to leave on his own.
Watching his car drive away from the villa, Taylor returned inside, saw the guitar he had left on the balcony, silently contemplated it, then her delicate fingers plucked the strings, softly singing the song he had just sung.
Say something I’m giving up on you
Won’t you try to stop me? I’m on the path of parting ways with you
I’m sorry that I couldn’t get to you
Sorry, I still couldn’t stop the tears in your eyes
Anywhere I would’ve followed you
Though, I’ve been following you all along
Say something I’m giving up on you
Won’t you try to stop me? I’m on the path of parting ways with you
And I will swallow my pride
Putting up with it quietly
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
You’re the one that I love
Deep down I love you
And I’m saying goodbye
Yet saying goodbye
...
As Taylor sang, Mrs. Andrea came in with a stack of documents, stood at the door and listened for a while, then after Taylor finished singing, asked, "Is this your new song? It sounds really good."
"No, it was written by that jerk Link,"
Taylor said irritably.
"Mind your words, why do you curse him?"
Mrs. Andrea said, trying to persuade her.
"He deserves it; we’ve broken up, yet he still won’t let me go, constantly turning up here acting like a romantic, trying to dominate me with such methods. Ugh, don’t let him come again; I get so annoyed just seeing him."
Taylor smoothed her hair and took her guitar upstairs.
Mrs. Andrea shook her head; she still thought they were the perfect match. Although Link was a bit flirty, he was still young and not beyond redemption. With some patience and effort, they could perhaps still harvest a perfect relationship.
Suddenly she remembered the documents in her hand and called out to Taylor, "Here are the documents from Nashville Hospital; they need your signature. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Yes!"
Taylor said firmly.
