Chapter 223: Hollywood Villain

"We producers hold the highest power in the crew. We are the gods of these actresses. If they want to become famous, want money, want honor, want an Oscar, then they must kneel in front of us, kiss our toes, and lick our asses!"

Harvey Weinstein didn't cover up at all, talking freely to Wu Yuchen.

Wu Yuchen knew Harvey was right. Hollywood has always been like this. Even the famous Marilyn Monroe admitted that she had been subjected to "hidden rules": "Everyone is like that. If you don't do it, there is another girl waiting outside."

However, this kind of thing is generally based on mutual consent. At most, it's just using this opportunity to tempt you.

Like the three women Wu Yuchen has a relationship with in Hollywood, all of them took the initiative to throw themselves into his arms, and they all received returns and benefits from Wu Yuchen. Therefore, both sides got what they needed and were very satisfied. Now Jennifer Connelly is reluctant to leave Wu Yuchen's side.

But the Harvey in front of him is different. He is very arrogant and domineering, using various means—coercion and inducement. For some actresses who didn't agree but had no fame, he would forcibly implement it, and he had even done things like forcibly locking people in hotel rooms for several days to intimidate them. It's not that no one has reported him, but it was useless; no media reported relevant things.

This guy's style is like this: he doesn't follow the rules, has no scruples, and some people privately call him a Hollywood villain. Of course, he wouldn't provoke some truly big figures. However, this kind of conduct also buried the seeds of disaster. More than ten years later, feminism became popular, and this guy Harvey was also sent to jail.

In short, Wu Yuchen and Harvey are not on the same path, and he didn't want to be denounced by the "Metoo" movement and involved in the notorious "Weinstein incident," so he didn't want to communicate with Harvey about these things at all.

"Oh, Wu, don't be so boring. Young people should be full of vitality and indulge in passion!"

Harvey Weinstein smiled and said: "David, don't be nervous, I was just joking~"

Wu Yuchen chuckled. Don't look at Harvey Weinstein cursing so fiercely, but what the relationship between him and Eisner really is, Wu Yuchen doesn't know.

Harvey Weinstein cursed without any scruples upon hearing this:

"I also hate Eisner. That guy is a son of a bitch! We have a consensus on this point. We should be friends, you shouldn't be wary of me!"

Wu Yuchen shook his head and didn't answer him directly, but said: "Harvey, you should know about the incident I encountered with the Best Director award. If you don't know, you can go and inquire. I hate Eisner."

Harvey expressed shared hatred and made an innocent expression, radiating his goodwill to Wu Yuchen.

Miramax has been acquired. The so-called withdrawal from Disney is just the Weinstein brothers withdrawing. Abandoning Miramax is impossible. And they are now relying on Disney's distribution channels, so it's even more impossible to withdraw.

Wu Yuchen looked at Harvey, not knowing what this fat guy wanted to do.

This made Harvey a bit annoyed, and he burst out with profanity again: "Principles of shit! Everyone comes out to make money. Why are you so stubborn? You sell to me, I film a good movie, and you get both fame and fortune. Isn't this good?!"

Seeing that Wu Yuchen kept not picking up the conversation, Harvey also knew that this topic couldn't continue. He picked up a tissue to wipe his mouth, and simply switched to a bewitching tone:

"Wu, how about we cooperate? With your directing talent, plus my ability as a gold-medal producer, the two of us combined can absolutely sweep through Hollywood!"

Wu Yuchen looked at Harvey. Only then did he finally understand his intention. This time, finding David Geffen to bridge the gap was to buy his script.

However, before Wu Yuchen could open his mouth, David Geffen frowned and interrupted him:

"Hey, hey, hey! Harvey, this is different from what you said when you first came. Wu now has a close cooperative relationship with our DreamWorks. It's impossible to cooperate with Miramax!"

Harvey burst out with a profanity, but thinking he still had to continue talking to Wu Yuchen about the script, he tugged at his collar, suppressed his anger, and then said to Wu Yuchen again:

"Hey, Wu, don't be like this. You don't do things like this in Hollywood. You shouldn't let Eisner affect the friendship between us. More friends, more paths. You have so many scripts, selling to anyone is selling. I won't treat you badly in terms of price!"

Harvey emphasized with open hands: "Wu, I think you misunderstood. Disney is Disney, Miramax is Miramax. We are completely independently operated!"

That is to say, they almost left Disney at the same time, or were driven out by Disney. The time difference between the front and back was at most no more than a month. You say how could it be such a coincidence?

Therefore, Wu Yuchen wouldn't be fooled by Harvey so simply, and opened his mouth to say: "I'm sorry, Harvey, I won't have any cooperation with Disney."

Harvey looked at Wu Yuchen with expectation, but what he got was his refusal: "Sorry, Harvey."

Wu Yuchen heard this and thought to himself that Harvey's vision was truly not blowing. These films were all boutique works of Miramax in his past life, and they were also Oscar-competing works for the next two years, bringing quite a lot of profit to Miramax.

"To be honest, your creative talent is truly surprising. I really don't know how your brain is composed, to write so many good scripts. Sell me a few, how about that?"

At this time, David Geffen opened his mouth with a dark face: "Harvey, I warn you, don't bring your set of conduct here!"

Harvey Weinstein shrugged: "Who knows? Wu, if you want to win an Oscar, cooperating with me is the best choice!"

"But you are helping Disney make money. Any film you produce, the profit earned will enter Disney's financial report and will become Michael Eisner's achievement." Wu Yuchen said seriously.

Wu Yuchen just revealed a polite smile and shook his head.

Wu Yuchen registered so many scripts just to occupy them first, and it's not that he has to film them all himself. As long as he doesn't let Disney film them, it's fine.

Harvey raised his hand: "Come on, Wu, business is business, private hatred is private hatred. You shouldn't bring your private hatred with Eisner into business. Do you still want to confront the entire Disney by yourself?"

Harvey glanced at David Geffen, held back from exploding, and then picked up the wine glass and took a gulp of wine. With a "bang," he put the wine glass on the table forcefully, and looked at Wu Yuchen again. However, this time the expression wasn't so friendly, but slightly gloomy:

"Fuck! I'm not Eisner's lackey!"

"oh, come on! You know this is impossible!"

Wu Yuchen indicated with one hand:

"The current Disney is Eisner's lackey, so during Eisner's tenure, I won't have any cooperation with Disney."

David Geffen glared at him: "Harvey, if you continue this topic, then I think there's no need to continue eating this meal today."

Harvey revealed a slightly disappointed expression and kept inciting Wu Yuchen. This is actually a means of his social interaction with people. Some producers or directors chat with him about these experiences of playing with actresses, which can significantly shorten the distance.

"Harvey, I don't need you to teach me how to act. This is not a question of money, this is a principle!" Wu Yuchen said firmly.

"'Iris,' 'The Hours,' 'Bridget Jones's Diary,' 'The Shipping News'—I like these very much. You should know my strength. I guarantee I won't waste them, and they can all make your scripts bloom with brilliance!"

"This joke is not funny at all. Say your main point!"

Harvey frowned and then asked: "How? Do you intend to film them yourself? You registered dozens of scripts, can you film them all?"

Regarding this, Wu Yuchen also said coldly, only revealing one word: "No!"

Before, he registered many scripts related to Disney in the next few years in one fell swoop, and Miramax, as a subordinate company of Disney, naturally had its produced films in the scope of Wu Yuchen's interception. As a result, Harvey Weinstein felt that quite a few scripts were very much to his taste after reading them, and he wanted to get them over to do them himself.

However, Wu Yuchen knew some public information. In his past life, Michael Eisner was forced to resign from Disney at the end of 2005, and the Weinstein brothers also left Miramax at the same time to create a new company.

Harvey Weinstein slammed the table, making a "bang" sound. He felt his attitude was good enough, but the result was that the other party still didn't give face, making him unable to help wanting to start cursing loudly.

Subsequently, Wu Yuchen revealed a smile again: "Harvey, if Miramax is willing to withdraw from Disney, then these scripts are all negotiable~"

Harvey Weinstein saw David Geffen's face was not good, and seeing that Wu Yuchen didn't seem to be very interested, he said: "Alright, alright."

Then he turned his head to look at Wu Yuchen: "Wu, actually coming this time is to make a deal with you."

Wu Yuchen shrugged: "Then I can't help you~"

"Wu, I don't want to make things difficult for you. Making a deal with me won't make you suffer a loss. You will gain the friendship of the Weinstein brothers and Miramax. Not much, I only want 3!"

Originally, Harvey saw quite a few good goods at Wu Yuchen's, and wanted to buy seven or eight scripts, but now he had lowered his target and only wanted 3.

Wu Yuchen looked directly at Harvey and still asked: "Will you withdraw from Disney?"

Harvey Weinstein clenched his hands, his face full of flesh tightened, and his voice was low and hoarse: "It seems you don't want to be friends with Weinstein."

Wu Yuchen didn't flinch at all, tit-for-tat: "It seems you won't withdraw. Then don't even want 1!"

Harvey Weinstein was just about to explode when, at that moment, David Geffen suddenly stood up and said to Harvey Weinstein:

"Harvey, since your deal with Wu didn't go through, I don't think there's any need for us to continue staying here."

Then he turned his head and said to Wu Yuchen, "Wu, let's go."

Wu Yuchen nodded, showing no intention of staying any longer. The two of them walked out of the room just like that. They hadn't gone more than a few steps from the room when they heard the sound of cups crashing inside, along with Harvey Weinstein's angry cursing.

As they walked, David Geffen apologized to Wu Yuchen: "Sorry, Wu. I originally thought everyone was sitting together to discuss buying and selling scripts in a friendly manner. I didn't expect him to be so unreasonable."

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head: "It's okay. I know there are some social obligations you can't push away, but I don't want to deal with him again in the future."

"Wu, there won't be a next time. Harvey has become increasingly bloated in the last two years, and his conduct in dealing with people has become more and more lacking in propriety!" David Geffen also said.

Then he said to Wu Yuchen: "Wu, don't worry. Harvey wouldn't dare do anything to you. Those underhanded tactics of his can only be used on some small-time characters."

Wu Yuchen nodded. Harvey Weinstein indeed has many connections with the top brass of major studios and is quite adept at playing the game, but his own strength is actually not that solid; he simply cannot cover the sky with one hand. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been thrown out as a scapegoat twenty years later and sentenced to 16 years in prison.

Although the lid on Hollywood's unspoken rules was lifted more than a decade later, Harvey was only the tip of the iceberg, used to appease the public's and feminists' anger. The real big shots were all watching the show from behind, and things continued as they always had.

Not to mention that Wu Yuchen's own influence is already quite significant now, he is also working closely with DreamWorks on one side and jointly developing the "Spider-Man" project with Sony on the other. If anything happens, both sides will help him; it's impossible for Harvey to really do anything to him.

That's how it is in Hollywood. Harvey is able to jump around because he brings benefits to others. And Wu Yuchen is the same; as long as he continues to succeed and bring benefits to people, there will be no problems.

The ringtone rang, and the fat hand immediately pressed the answer button and asked: "How did it go?"

"Harvey, I called Wu to consult him, and he agreed to sell the script to us."

Upon hearing this, Harvey Weinstein's fat face broke into a smile, but the next moment he heard the person on the other end of the phone say:

"However, he said we are not allowed to resell it, and we cannot cooperate with Disney to develop it; otherwise, he has the right to reclaim the script."

Harvey hung up the phone with a dark face. After returning, he still hadn't given up on those scripts of Wu Yuchen's; after all, they were all ones he favored for their money-making potential. So he found an acquaintance at Paramount to ask, thinking that if Wu Yuchen was willing to sell to someone else, and then he let that person resell it to him, it would still end up in his hands in the end. But clearly, Wu Yuchen had blocked this path for him, which made Harvey Weinstein truly quite annoyed.

After hanging up the phone, Harvey cursed angrily: "Fuck! That damn yellow-skinned monkey!"

Harvey's huge success at the Oscars over the past few years had also led him to be almost placed on a pedestal by those actors and directors pursuing Oscars. Everyone greeted him with a smiling face when they saw him, and some were even willing to tattoo his name on their private parts to express their gratitude to him.

As a result, this time he, Harvey, had taken the initiative to lower his status and nicely begged Wu Yuchen to sell him a script, only to encounter the other party's cold shoulder, which made him feel extremely frustrated.

"Stupid Eisner, a series of foolish decisions, and now he's going to drag me down with him!"

The more Harvey thought about it, the more unhappy he became. He grabbed the phone and dialed Eisner's number. Soon, a low voice came from the other end of the phone:

"Hello, Harvey, what is it?"

"Wow! Mr. Wise and Brilliant President, I send you my sincere greetings!" Harvey said with a sneer.

"If you have something to say, please say it directly."

"Nothing much, I just want to vent a little grievance to you. Two years ago, I wanted to develop 'The Lord of the Rings,' but it was killed by your own hands. It doesn't matter if you don't give me the money, but please don't cause me any more trouble, okay?"

Putting aside Harvey Weinstein's character, his eye for talent was accurate. Initially, Peter Jackson brought "The Lord of the Rings" to him, and at that time he wanted to develop it, but it was rejected by Eisner on the grounds that the funding was too large and the risk too high. This matter had always made him unhappy.

Although it is true that the risk of "The Lord of the Rings" was indeed very high, Harvey was currently in a state of extreme self-confidence. He believed he could have turned "The Lord of the Rings" into a successful project, but unfortunately, it didn't happen, and now it had fallen into the hands of New Line Cinema.

Eisner frowned and asked sharply: "Harvey, what kind of madness are you having?"

"It's not what's wrong with me, but that my business has been ruined again because of you! That Oriental kid, Wu Yuchen, because you ruined his Best Director Oscar, has taken his anger out on me!"

The relationship between Harvey and Eisner could be described as mutual utilization. In the past, he was relatively respectful to Eisner, but as he achieved brilliant results at the Oscars one after another in recent years, he became increasingly bloated and more and more presumptuous toward Eisner. However, he knew this was all within the other party's tolerance limit—who told him his ability was one of a kind?

"All my decisions are for Disney, show me some respect! Don't push things onto me! Also, just because you were bullied by an Oriental kid, you want to come to me crying and complaining, asking me to help you take revenge?" Eisner also said mockingly.

"Fuck! I'll handle it myself, but in the future, don't let me and Miramax suffer losses because of your decisions!" After finishing, Harvey slammed the phone down with a bang.

"Damn it! This fat pig is really getting more and more presumptuous!" Eisner cursed at the phone, then called his secretary and told him to go find out what had happened.

A moment later, the secretary returned and reported to him that Wu Yuchen was now selling scripts externally, selling them to anyone, but refusing to sell them to Disney, and Harvey was probably complaining to him because of this matter.

After listening, Eisner showed a contemptuous smile: "Harvey is really getting worse as he gets older, complaining about such things. And that Wu, who does he think he is? Does he think we at Disney really need his scripts? What an ignorant guy who doesn't know the height of the sky or the depth of the earth!"

There are plenty of screenwriters in Hollywood, and there are countless old scripts that have been accumulated and ignored. In Eisner's view, those dozens of scripts of Wu Yuchen's have absolutely no impact on Disney. If Disney were to fail because of one kid, then it would truly deserve to go bankrupt!

However, Eisner was still quite dissatisfied with this approach of Wu Yuchen's. He had a mind to teach this Oriental kid, who dared to be disrespectful to him and Disney, a lesson right now, but then he thought of the mutual promotion strategy for "Zhenzhugang" and "Pirates of the Caribbean."

He thought for a moment and dialed Miles's number: "Miles, after 'Zhenzhugang' crushes 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' arrange for public opinion to launch an attack on that Wu Yuchen, and let him recognize who he is!"

"Very well, Mr. President!"

At that time, let "Zhenzhugang" beat this arrogant Oriental kid back to his original form and teach him what humility is!

On the other side, after Harvey hung up the phone, part of the anger in his heart had been vented; after all, he felt that this time he was implicated by Eisner. However, more than half of his anger was still directed at Wu Yuchen.

This kid, does he really think that just because he filmed a few movies with high box office, he can disregard him, Harvey Weinstein?!

He, Harvey Weinstein, has roamed Hollywood for more than twenty years; what kind of big storms and waves hasn't he experienced? What kind of genius hasn't he seen? Does he really think that just because he became popular for a moment, he can give him attitude! He is the great Harvey whom everyone in Hollywood wants to please!

He must use practical actions to teach this kid what kind of place Hollywood is and let him recognize what Harvey Weinstein is!

However, Harvey also knew that Wu Yuchen currently has close cooperation with DreamWorks and Sony, so it is impossible to use some low-class methods to deal with him. Now, what can be used are upright and fair methods.

Harvey pondered in his mind, thinking about Wu Yuchen's weak point. Since he cares so much about Eisner ruining his Best Director Oscar, it means he values the Oscar statuette very much. And the Oscars are Harvey Weinstein's greatest strength!

Subsequently, Harvey Weinstein quickly made several more calls and learned that his Jewish compatriot, producer Grazer, had reached a cooperation with DreamWorks on a project called "A Beautiful Mind," and the director of this project was none other than Wu Yuchen.

After a little investigation, Harvey knew that this "A Beautiful Mind" was aimed at the Oscars. A biographical film, huh? It is indeed the favorite of the old men.

However, these old men's favorites are not just biographical films; nostalgic and retro styles can also evoke the old men's longing for the past. If you add classic adaptations and artistic processing, you can achieve great things at the Oscars!

Harvey let out a cold snort. This time he planned to take action personally to produce an Oscar-campaign film to snipe "A Beautiful Mind" head-on at the Oscars, letting that kid know who the King of the Oscars is! Let him watch with his own eyes as he defeats him and takes the stage to receive the award, regretting it until he cries his eyes out!

As for other companies coming to buy his scripts, Wu Yuchen didn't mind too much. Anyway, for some scripts he didn't plan to film himself, or that his Miracle Film and Television didn't plan to film, it didn't matter if he sold them. It's just that he specifically set terms so that it was impossible for them to end up at Disney through any roundabout way.

After Wu Yuchen returned, he still devoted most of his energy to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" project. In order to speed up the progress, in addition to Hans Zimmer, he also brought in a total of 15 composers to work together to quickly complete the orchestration of all the musical scores.

As he stretched, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" project, which had lasted for more than half a year, was finally finished!