Hollywood Director 1992

[Chapter 189: Refusing the Gamble]

"Cut!"

"That's a wrap!"

In the morning at the New York set of Se7en, Link was filming a scene where the killer tortured and killed drug dealer Victor. Suddenly, his assistant Annie hurried over, quietly sharing some troubling news.

At 1:51 AM last night, renowned actor River Phoenix had died from a drug overdose at the Viper Room. The medical report revealed that the levels of heroin and cocaine in his system were eight times the lethal dose. He was only 23 years old.

"Drugs really ruin lives," Link thought to himself. He knew River had died from an overdose but was unaware of the exact time. Although he and River were not close, Link felt a sense of somber obligation.

This incident had nothing to do with him personally, but River's brother, Joaquin Phoenix, was out promoting a film. With such tragic news breaking, their promotional plans were likely to change.

He dialed Jon Gordon and Lily, directing them to pause the marketing for the Final Destination promotional campaign and have Joaquin return to Los Angeles to handle his brother's affairs. They would assess the situation for everything else later.

Right now, the marketing for Final Destination was achieving 92% effectiveness, and the correlation with the market stood at 89%. The film's box office bonuses had surged to 2.8 times, with North American box office tracking around $224 million. Breaking the $200 million mark within 15 weeks didn't seem a far-fetched goal. Thus, Link felt no worry about losses.

...

As the news reached Link, many media outlets quickly swapped their front-page stories, replacing them with headlines about the untimely death of the beloved star, River Phoenix.

River had been a breakout star in Hollywood, earning numerous awards and nominations over his decade-long career, including Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival, Best Supporting Actor from the National Board of Review, an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and a Golden Globe nomination. He was considered one of the most talented and handsome actors of the younger generation.

In addition, River was known for his philanthropic efforts, having released two charity albums and championing environmental causes. Now he was gone, dead at the age of 23 from drugs, leaving many feeling a profound sense of loss.

Among the multitude of reports regarding River's passing, one particular story incited outrage -- as the ambulance attempted to transport River for emergency care, a drunken truck driver collided with a nearby street, blocking their path. It wasn't until more than ten minutes later, when the vehicle was finally cleared, that the ambulance was able to carry River to the hospital.

Doctors noted that had they arrived ten minutes sooner, River's chances of survival would have increased.

Fans of River harshly criticized the truck driver. However, compared to this incident, another story emerging from River's death captured even greater attention and sparked immense controversy. The day after his passing, many gossip tabloids claimed that River had been "killed" by his brother Joaquin.

...

In Final Destination, Joaquin played the role of Tod, a character whose brother had died in a plane crash. Just as he had completed this role, his real-life brother passed away from a drug overdose. The headlines spun this as a curse -- that Joaquin had brought death into their lives and that it was somehow his fault River had died.

The bizarre nature of the report piqued public interest. People began to find a twisted sense of logic in it. Joaquin had just wrapped filming a character mourning a brother's death, and now, a couple of months later, his real brother had passed unexpectedly. It felt eerily coincidental.

Some media outlets even assigned blame to Link, suggesting that if he hadn't written such a dark script and cast Joaquin as Tod, River might not have lost his life. They called for a boycott of Link's new film, Final Destination.

...

After these reports emerged, Guess Pictures held a small press conference. Lily expressed her sorrow at River's death during the interviews while condemning the tabloids for their reckless accusations toward Joaquin and Final Destination, demanding they cease their slander immediately or face legal actions from the company's legal team.

...

Despite Guess Pictures and Joaquin's agency publicly refuting many of the tabloid rumors, countless others continued to peddle false narratives that River's death was somehow linked to Joaquin and Final Destination.

Adding fuel to the fire, there was another set of reports alleging that all these wild headlines -- even the ones about Joaquin being responsible for River's death -- were part of Link's marketing strategy. They claimed Link was exploiting River's tragic death to promote Final Destination, breaking the promise to end media manipulation. He was painted as a greedy individual willing to do anything for box office success.

The publications urged audiences not to go see Final Destination, insisting they shouldn't allow Link to benefit from this tragedy.

...

Amidst the chaos of rumors and the suspension of the Final Destination promotional tour, the film's eleventh-week box office earnings plummeted to just $8.68 million. In its first four days, it had only managed $4.52 million, with the latter three days -- including the weekend -- pulling in a mere $4.16 million, far below expectations.

After eleven weeks, Final Destination had grossed $179 million, leaving a gap of $21 million to reach the elusive $200 million mark. If the trends continued downward over the next few weeks, it might not even reach that milestone by week fifteen.

...

"YES! YES!" Robert Downey Jr. exclaimed with excitement upon seeing the box office numbers.

They had manipulated the situation perfectly. Whether Link used River to boost publicity ultimately left him vulnerable, splattered with controversy and blame.

It felt satisfying to watch Link potentially face dire consequences.

Ding-a-ling!

His phone rang. Robert glanced at the display; it was Richard Gere calling him.

On the line, Richard informed him that although they had won a battle, the outlook was still grim. If Link ramped up his promotional efforts, there was a significant chance Final Destination would surpass $200 million over the next four weeks.

"We should press the advantage, continue using public sentiment to undermine the film, and keep slandering Link and Joaquin. We must drive the box office down to below $5 million per week if we truly want to win this war," Richard suggested.

"Okay, I'm on board. Let's keep tearing into Link for exploiting River's death and capitalizing on tragedy. It'd be perfect if the theaters pulled Final Destination early; that movie is a total jinx," Robert replied, clenching his fists.

"That's our plan, but we need funds."

"Funds? You're talking about fundraising?!" Robert exclaimed.

"Yes. Without financial backing for PR, the media won't follow our directives, and we won't successfully suppress Final Destination."

"How much do we need?"

"Ovitz says we need $12 million; you will need to pitch in about $3 million."

"Three million?" Robert shrieked. "I really don't have that kind of cash! I've mortgaged everything and I'm down to my last hundred bucks."

"Robert, figure something out. If we win this, we can recoup all our earlier investments."

"But I really have no money left or any assets to leverage."

"You could ask your dad for a loan. This money is crucial. It's our last shot at fundraising. If we can't come up with this, over $10 million will go down the drain. Robert, are you willing to lose to Link like this?"

"I need to think it over; give me some time."

"Alright. Do two days work? I've already spoken to Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, and Kiefer; you're the last on the list. Hurry; we can't afford to delay."

"I understand."

Robert hung up, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and called his father for a loan.

*****

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