System in Hollywood

As Kirk Douglas's influence continues to wane, the Douglas family's clout within the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is also rapidly declining. After all, connections and influence require vested interests to be maintained.

With Harvey's current network and influence, taking down the Douglas family wouldn't be difficult. In fact, given his significant sway within the Academy, it would be easier for him than for others at his level.

Understanding the situation, Wayne couldn't help but shake his head at the filth and darkness of Hollywood.

Harvey, thinking Wayne was still worried, gave a suggestive smile and whispered, "If you feel awkward to bring it up, I can say it for you. I guarantee that woman will be in your bed tonight."

Wayne thought for a moment and then shook his head again.

This disappointed Harvey a bit. He had hoped to use this opportunity to strengthen his relationship with Wayne since such connections are just as valuable as an exchange of interests and almost cost him nothing.

However, Wayne's next words nearly made Harvey sprain his back: "Just Catherine Zeta-Jones isn't enough; I want Jennifer Connelly and Rachel Weisz too—all three of them!"

"Wait, are you serious?!"

"Of course. Why else do you think so many women are so hopelessly in love with me?" Wayne replied with a smile.

Harvey's jaw dropped, and he stared at him in shock, unsure of what to say.

After all, he'd heard rumors about Wayne's prowess in that department. Besides the women Wayne had been with for a long time, the likes of Natalie Portman and Liv Tyler, and later Julia Roberts and Kate Winslet, had all had some deep "interaction" with him.

"Alright, leave it to me!" Harvey snapped back to his senses and readily took on the task.

"Thanks, Harvey. I won't forget this favor!" Wayne said, patting him on the shoulder with a smile.

Though Wayne was nearly 30 years younger than Harvey, his aristocratic demeanor, along with his wealth and influence, made this gesture appear perfectly natural. Harvey, far from being displeased, only grinned more broadly.

"No problem, you go ahead and have fun; I won't bother you anymore." With that, Harvey turned and quickly walked toward Jennifer Connelly.

For him, getting Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rachel Weisz on board was easy—they came to the party with these intentions. Even if it involved all four of them together, as long as Wayne was in the mix, they likely wouldn't refuse.

The only slightly tricky one was Jennifer Connelly. Being a top-tier Hollywood actress, her status and standing were entirely different from the others below her.

"But right now, this woman is in between relationships, and Wayne is so handsome and strong; she probably won't refuse," Harvey thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Wayne watched Harvey's plump figure disappear and shook his head again.

If history follows its course, Harvey's year would be quite miserable.

This year, Miramax produced seven films. Except for "Kate & Leopold," starring Hugh Jackman and Meg Ryan, which just broke even, the rest—"Serendipity," "The Shipping News," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," "Birthday Girl," "Waking Up in Reno," and "40 Days and 40 Nights"—were complete flops.

"Serendipity" had a $22 million production budget and earned $19.9 million at the box office. "The Shipping News" cost $16 million but only made $4.54 million. "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" cost $22 million and grossed $33 million. "Birthday Girl" had a $6 million budget but grossed only $2.57 million. "Waking Up in Reno" cost $4 million to make and made only $6,000. "40 Days and 40 Nights" had a $38 million budget but brought in only $24 million.

Including marketing costs, these six films resulted in a loss of over $100 million combined.

If it weren't for the profits from distributing "Scary Movie 2" and the global $209 million box office hit "The Others," starring Nicole Kidman, Miramax could have gone bankrupt.

Harvey almost got kicked out of Miramax by Disney; it was a terrible year for him.

"Harvey must stay at Miramax so he can continue his disputes with Disney and keep them distracted," Wayne mused. "Then, after 'The Notebook' is filmed, I'll sell him the rights."

"After all, 'The Notebook' has a good chance at the awards."

Hollywood generally has two types of people who aim for awards.

One is like Leo DiCaprio, for whom making money is easy—a minimum of $20 million per movie—so they're not short on cash but on recognition.

The other type lacks resources for commercial films and isn't favored by the industry's bigwigs, so they can only gain fame through artistic films and winning awards, showcasing their acting skills to the industry's elite.

For example, Charlize Theron and Naomi Watts in the original historical timeline fit this category.

He and Jessica, however, aren't short on money or resources, nor do they care much about awards. But if they happen to get nominated, they wouldn't mind.

It's worth mentioning that Warner Bros. didn't flake on him.

According to Warner Bros., the movie "Accepted" was confirmed to receive a Golden Globe nomination for "Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical" and "Best Screenplay."

Additionally, at the Oscars on March 25th this year, he would also be nominated for "Best Actor" and "Best Original Screenplay."

It was all quite ironic to think about.

"Hello, Mr. Wayne, I'm Emmanuelle Chriqui. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Before he could reflect more on it, Wayne was soon surrounded by a group of beautiful women.

But unlike the last party, this time, many male stars also came up to greet him, leaving him somewhat puzzled.

It wasn't until his "old friend" Liv Tyler mentioned the names Liam Neeson and Matt Damon that he finally realized what was going on.

All four of the films previously released by Hesperia Pictures—"Accepted," "Happy Death Day," "The Bourne Identity," and the female-centric "Gifted," which didn't have a male lead—were all led by Wayne himself.

This led the industry to think he wouldn't choose anyone else as the lead in his studio's films.

It wasn't until "The Departed" had Matt Damon as the male lead and "Taken" was rumored to have Liam Neeson as the male lead that people realized Wayne was willing to cast other actors as leads.

Naturally, this made these male stars much more enthusiastic toward him.

(End of Chapter)