Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 525 - 413: Box Office Fraud and Pregnancy
"Haha, Link, congratulations, another film you invested in has hit big. What's the next movie? I want to invest with you."
At the global box office success party for "Bridesmaids" held by Palm Beach Films, David Ellison put his arm around his shoulder and said affectionately.
"Penalty Kick to Gold, you invested in that one too, right?"
Link smiled, hearing David attribute the film's success to him, he didn't act modest.
Having the label of a 'film investor with a good eye' in Hollywood not only gained respect from colleagues but also made attracting investments for future films easier.
"Just that one? Bring on a couple more, preferably only our two companies investing."
"At this stage, investments for various movie projects are already in place, new projects won't start until next year, there's nothing suitable at the moment."
"Alright, just remember to call me for the next movie, if we make money, I'll treat you to some beautiful ladies."
David Ellison said, winking.
Link just smiled and agreed. Among the Ellison siblings, David liked to invest in commercial movies, such as "Mission Impossible 4" and the upcoming "Jack Reacher", focusing more on box office profits, while Megan preferred art films, especially those with strong female leads, targeting major film awards.
It was good for everyone as newcomers to the film industry to collaborate.
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"Hey, Link!"
Stallone and Schwarzenegger also came over from the crowd to congratulate him, and they discussed investing in "The Expendables 2" with him.
"The Expendables 1" had been released for six months, grossing $141 million in North America, $207 million overseas, and $348 million worldwide, ranking 14th in the North American annual box office rankings and 12th in the global annual rating rankings.
The film, with a production cost of $86 million, had a profit margin of 4:1, which was quite a box office success.
It also made tens of millions in dividends for the distribution company, Lionsgate Films, and acquired some rights to "The Expendables".
The box office results were good. Stallone suggested filming "The Expendables 2", inviting Lionsgate Films to invest, with a current investment budget of about $100 million, inviting Lionsgate Films to collaborate.
After discussions, the production department of Lionsgate Films believed the project had decent reputation and potential for investment and production, and they wanted to try to secure the rights to the film.
Stallone and Schwarzenegger were not just pulling him in for investment but also hoping he would continue to act in the sequel.
They also mentioned that in the script creation, they would increase his role, tentatively as the male secondary lead, still a handsome, skilled mercenary, adept in strategic tactics, a versatile warrior.
The only downside was his flirtatious nature. They planned to pair him with a spicy lady with good fighting skills in the movie as his fixed love interest.
If there was a third part, they planned for him to take over The Expendables, becoming the main character, with other veteran action stars playing supporting roles to him.
Link liked what he heard and asked about the shooting schedule. He had three films in the second half of the year; if it was planned within this year, he might not have time.
Stallone said they could adjust it according to his schedule, showing a lot of enthusiasm.
Schwarzenegger also urged him to participate, mentioning that his action scenes were impressive and he had potential to become a successor in action films.
Link also understood the reasons the two were holding onto him; after "The Expendables" was released, the approval rating was less than 55%.
Most of the positive reviews were because of Link.
Movie fans commented that he was the only highlight of the entire movie.
Other veteran action actors appeared too slick, whether in style or appearance, as if they had stepped out of a '90s action movie, not appealing to the younger generation of viewers.
Only Link's performance could appeal to this demographic.
According to surveys by media outlets like "Hollywood Reporter" and "Complete Movie", Link's contribution to the film's box office was estimated between 22%-35%, nearly a third of it. Although this figure might be exaggerated, it also partly showed Link's importance to the film.
In fact, rather than hardcore action films like "The Expendables", Link would prefer to act in solo action films like the "007 series", "Bourne series", "Mission Impossible series".
It's just that these films didn't lack male leads, and new spy action movie IPs weren't hot enough to have much potential.
He hadn't found a suitable project yet, so he could only continue in the "The Expendables" series, meanwhile building a reputation in the action film circle, becoming a top-tier action star and preparing for future major action movies.
"Haha, Link, congratulations on the film's big success."
After seeing off the two tough guys, Ryan Cavano of Relativity Media came over with his new companion, a young, fit olive-skinned African American model.
"Thank you!"
Seeing Cavano, Link took initiative to ask about the method of investing in films using big data models, hoping to learn from him.
Seeing his interest in this method of film investment, Cavano gladly shared his enthusiasm and began to explain.
He told him that before using this method, it was necessary to collect a large amount of movie data, analyze reasons for a film's success or failure, and said the more movie materials collected, the better. He also mentioned that Relativity Media had collected data on more than twenty thousand films, which they used to build models and similar tools.
Link listened carefully to the explanation, his purpose was simple: use this method as a guise to tell the public how he invested in films, why every investment he made was on a sleeper hit, the reason being the use of Cavano's 'big data movie investment technique'.
