Upon hearing the name Harvey Weinstein, Matthew nodded slightly. Of course, he knew who Harvey Weinstein was. The Weinstein brothers were undoubtedly top figures in Hollywood's independent film scene, one of the core members of the Producers Guild, and powerful individuals in all of Hollywood.
Their film company truly rose in the early 1990s, becoming a banner for the Hollywood independent film circuit, and then joined the Oscar game. Starting from the mid-1990s, Harvey Weinstein completely changed the rules of the Oscar game. If Oscar lobbying had influenced awards before, after Harvey Weinstein successfully campaigned for "The English Patient" to win Best Picture, the Oscars truly entered an era where lobbying determined the awards.
Among the most notable examples are "Shakespeare in Love" beating "Saving Private Ryan" and "Chicago" triumphing over "The Pianist." He also produced several of the most undeserving Oscar winners for Best Actor and Actress... Even now, people still mock and consider it a scandal when Gwyneth Paltrow won Best Actress for "Shakespeare in Love."
Of course, countless actresses wanted to emulate Gwyneth Paltrow; even the most undeserving Oscar Best Actress was still an Oscar winner, capable of greatly increasing their worth.
Naturally, Harvey Weinstein, who could propel people to Oscar nominations and even wins, became the target of countless male and female stars.
It is well known that the independent film scene is far more chaotic than Hollywood's mainstream commercial film circuit. As Harvey Weinstein wielded immense power, his lifestyle and work style were imaginable.
Large-scale commercial films have complex capital structures, and corresponding power checks and balances are more apparent. Moreover, the risk of a failed investment of hundreds of millions of dollars is enormous; once it fails, it can prevent the responsible director and producer from ever recovering.
Independent productions have relatively singular funding sources, smaller investment scales, and consequently less risk pressure. Power tends to be concentrated. For films operated by Harvey Weinstein, the primary focus is on Oscar campaigns. Each year, he typically assembles three or four films specifically tailored for the Academy to contend for Oscars. As long as one film wins a major award, even if all others fail, the added Oscar effect is enough to achieve profitability.
From the mid-1990s to the present, Harvey Weinstein has botched far more independent films than he has succeeded with at the Oscars. Yet, the film companies he and Bob Weinstein successively controlled have grown in size and influence, and the brothers' wealth has also steadily increased.
This business model is only suitable for small-budget independent films. If it were applied to commercial blockbusters, the failure of a single $200 million production could lead to utter ruin.
It's no exaggeration to say that, after years of development,
Harvey Weinstein has become the gold standard in Hollywood's independent film scene.
For instance, the famous Judi Dench, when collaborating with Harvey Weinstein on "Shakespeare in Love," to curry favor with him and win Best Supporting Actress, directly tattooed Harvey Weinstein's name on her buttocks and declared that she would display the tattoo on the Oscar red carpet if necessary... For all actors with Oscar ambitions, the name Harvey Weinstein held immense magic and appeal.
However, for stars focused on commercial development, Harvey Weinstein was merely a nobody. The Weinstein brothers rarely ventured into major commercial blockbusters.
To date, their deepest involvement in a major commercial production was only a small investment in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
Aside from his immense reputation in the Oscar and independent film circles, the most common rumors Matthew heard about Harvey Weinstein were his penchant for inviting actresses to hotels for auditions, meetings, and work discussions. Anyone who had spent a few months in Hollywood generally understood what this implied.
There were once rumors within the industry that most actresses who had worked with Harvey Weinstein, including Gwyneth Paltrow, had affairs with him.
It was said that when Gwyneth Paltrow was dating Brad Pitt, Brad Pitt once confronted Harvey Weinstein and almost beat the short, stout man.
Such quid pro quo transactions are common in Hollywood, but modern Hollywood is not the 1950s or 60s. Transactions are generally based on mutual consent, with rare instances of coercion. However, Matthew had heard rumors that Harvey Weinstein was promiscuous and sometimes forced himself on ordinary minor actresses.
Those minor actresses, pressured by his power or their own futures, could only swallow their anger.
However, if you walk too many roads, you will eventually encounter a pitfall.
In this era of highly fluid information, it's unrealistic for one person to suppress all news. Hollywood moguls and top stars who can provide opportunities value being romantic but not vulgar. Take Michael Bay, for example; he's also known for getting involved with actresses from his sets, but his reputation is far better than Harvey Weinstein's.
If he used force too many times, he would eventually encounter a woman unwilling to swallow her anger. Perhaps Harvey Weinstein could suppress it once or twice, but with increasing frequency, media and police pressure would mount. Then, if someone pushed from behind... In an era where information can spread globally in minutes, once entangled in such a scandal, it's impossible to wash clean.
Matthew was well aware that Hollywood was a very realistic and influential circle, and he himself was no exception.
If someone were embroiled in a major scandal, it was easy to imagine that everyone would come forward, eager to kick them while they were down and quickly distance themselves.
That's just how Hollywood is.
When he was a struggling actor, he once heard a temporary actor who had just entered the industry say that there were no unspoken rules in Hollywood, no power-for-sex transactions. Hollywood was as clean as a clear pond, and its sound system circumvented all illicit dealings... Matthew's only reply to that temporary actor at the time was: Hollywood is truly f***ing clean! So clean it doesn't seem like a human world.
I wonder what that temporary actor would think if they saw Harvey Weinstein?
Perhaps Harvey Weinstein and those rumored actresses and female stars had purely romantic relationships, though the romances were a bit short-lived.
Matthew considered himself not a good person, with no shortage of philandering, but he would never stoop to using force. Aside from anything else, the potential future troubles alone were a significant deterrent.
He never forgot his original intention, but that intention was for enjoyment, not for getting himself into trouble.
In just a few minutes, countless thoughts about Harvey Weinstein flashed through Matthew's mind.
"Did Helen say anything specific?" he asked.
Bella Anderson shook her head, "No, Helen only said it was related to '300.'" She immediately handed over her phone. "Helen wants you to call her back."
Matthew took the phone and dialed Helen Herman's number. "It's me, Helen."
Helen Herman's voice immediately came through, "Harvey Weinstein just came to the company to see me, about '300.'"
"What does he want?" Matthew frowned slightly. "We don't have any business dealings with him, do we?"
Helen Herman on the other end of the phone said directly, "Harvey Weinstein wants the distribution rights for '300.' I'm not familiar with him and have almost no dealings with him. Frank Miller introduced him."
Presumably, she guessed that Matthew wasn't very familiar with these overly complex personnel relationships, so she explained further, "Frank Miller has collaborated with Harvey Weinstein before.'Sin City' was produced by Dimension Films, a subsidiary of the Weinstein brothers, and distributed by Miramax."
Matthew asked in confusion, "Didn't the Weinstein brothers already leave Miramax?"
"When the distribution of'Sin City' was finalized, Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein were still at Miramax," Helen Herman explained over the phone. "They officially left Miramax this year to found The Weinstein Company. Now Dimension Films is a subsidiary of The Weinstein Company."
She paused, then continued, "After'Sin City's success, Harvey Weinstein recognized the value of Frank Miller's work. If he hadn't been busy with his split from Walt Disney, we probably wouldn't have secured the film rights for '300.' Now that the Weinstein brothers have left Miramax and cut ties with Walt Disney, they have the energy to handle film-related matters, but the rights to '300' are already in our hands."
Matthew smiled, "We're lucky."
According to Helen Herman, if not for the conflict between the Weinstein brothers and Walt Disney, they would have had difficulty obtaining the film rights for "300" from Frank Miller.
After all, Frank Miller had already collaborated with the Weinstein brothers on "Sin City."
He shook his head and asked, "Helen, isn't Harvey Weinstein only interested in independent films?"
Helen Herman calmly said, "'300' is essentially an independent film."
Matthew thought about it. With only Sky Dance Productions, a small film company, as the investor, "300" could indeed be classified as an independent film.
"What do you think about this?" Matthew asked again.
"Harvey Weinstein is very capable, and The Weinstein Company, which he founded, certainly has distribution capabilities, there's no doubt about that," Helen Herman's voice was still as indifferent. "But he's no match for Warner Bros., and we're not aiming for awards!"
"That's true," Matthew laughed. "What did you tell him?"
"Sky Dance Productions has already initialed a distribution agreement with Warner Bros.," Helen Herman said slowly. "We don't need to offend a big shot like Harvey Weinstein. I pushed all the responsibility onto Sky Dance Productions."
Matthew understood, "Let David Ellison deal with Harvey Weinstein? That's a good idea."
Helen Herman ignored Matthew's comment and instead offered a reminder, "You are key to this project, so be careful. Harvey Weinstein might come looking for you."