Hollywood Director 1992

"It's not as good as you say."

Matt Damon shook his head. Originally, he thought that acting in Link's movie would give him a chance to become a big star, but things didn't go as planned.

Although the movie they starred in, "The Blair Witch Project," was a hit, the actors didn't gain much fame, especially him and Ben. Their roles were smaller than Renée Zellweger's, and they didn't get to show much acting skill in the film.

After the movie was released, they only managed to become recognizable to the audience.

Being recognizable has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, sometimes when they were out trying to pick up girls, they would suddenly be grabbed by people who wanted to take them to the police station, claiming that they had found the two missing college students from the movie and wanted to take them in for the reward.

And acquaintances, after seeing him and Ben, would tease them, saying, "Weren't you guys missing? How come you're here?" Or they would ask them what the Blair Witch looked like, whether they had learned any witchcraft from her, and ask them to perform some magic on the spot.

Matt was getting annoyed to death, and Ben was silent all day, looking depressed, as if someone owed him money and hadn't paid him back.

"Matt, the newspapers say that the director of this movie is Link, and Ed Merrick was just a shield he found. Is that true?"

Actor Edward Norton asked.

Hearing him ask this, everyone at the booth looked at Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

Affleck held his glass, still in a state of not wanting to talk.

"Don't ask. We signed a non-disclosure agreement. We can't talk about things on the set, not even to our family members," Matt Damon shook his head.

"What's there to say? Don't worry, I promise I won't tell anyone else," Joaquin Phoenix said jokingly.

"No need to ask. Matt said they signed a non-disclosure agreement, which just proves that Link is the director of 'The Blair Witch Project.' If he wasn't, there would be no need to sign such a thing, right, Matt?" Brendan Fraser said with a smile.

Matt Damon shrugged and didn't say anything.

"So it's true!"

"Link is really the director of 'The Blair Witch Project'? That's amazing. He's made three movies in a row, and they've all been huge hits, with box office returns more than a thousand times the cost. Link is an incredible person."

"The first movie had a production cost of $20,000 and a global box office of over $70 million. The second had a cost of $20,000 and a global box office of over $600 million. The third had a cost of $50,000 to $60,000 and a North American box office of over $100 million in its first four weeks. The total box office for the three movies is nearly $1 billion, and Link is only 21 years old. He's amazing, with higher total box office earnings than 99% of the directors in the industry."

Edward Norton, Joaquin Phoenix, Cole Hauser, and others praised him repeatedly.

"What's so great about it? His movies can only make money, they can't win awards, and the word-of-mouth is terrible. Haven't you seen the newspapers saying that he's not a director, but a movie businessman?" Ben Affleck said, curling his lips.

Matt Damon's expression changed, and he tugged at Ben's clothes, telling him not to talk nonsense in public, as it wouldn't be good if it reached Link's ears.

"They say that because they're jealous of Link. Back then, Link single-handedly used a camera to write, direct, act, and film 'Buried' with only $20,000. How many directors in the industry can do that? None."

"Yes, Link is a genius and a polymath. He was able to make powerful movies like 'Buried' and creative movies like 'Paranormal Activity' right from the start. If someone as talented as him wanted to win movie awards, it wouldn't be too difficult."

"That's right. Hollywood has many directors who have won Golden Globe and Oscar awards, but only a very few directors' movies have grossed over $100 million in North America, which shows that earning over $100 million is more difficult than winning an award."

The others spoke of Link with admiration, as if they were his die-hard fans.

Ben Affleck was about to say something else, but Matt Damon forcefully twisted his leg under the table. Affleck's expression immediately became distorted, and he had to swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

After the party ended, Edward Norton and the others left first. Matt Damon said to Affleck, "What were you going to say just now? How can you talk nonsense with so many people around?"

"Everyone's friends. What's wrong with just chatting?" Affleck shrugged.

"There are so many people here, and words spread easily. If it reaches Link's ears, he'll think you have a problem with him. How will you work with him in the future?"

"Is it that serious? Besides, Link's movies are all low-budget films like 'Paranormal Activity' and 'The Blair Witch Project.' The movies are popular, but the actors aren't. Do you still want to act in those kinds of movies?"

"Don't you want to? Even if 'The Blair Witch Project' doesn't bring us much fame, it's still much better than ordinary movies. If we make another movie like that, we can almost become second-tier actors, which is stronger than many actors who have been working in the industry for more than ten years," Matt Damon said.

"It's not that exaggerated. With our qualifications, we can become popular in other movies too," Affleck was saying when he suddenly stopped and looked at the booth next to them, his face becoming very unsightly.

Matt Damon turned his head to look. There were three girls chatting in the next booth, one of whom was wearing a polka-dot dress and had a golden ponytail. It was clearly Renée Zellweger, whom they had worked with on "The Blair Witch Project."

Seeing them looking over, Renée Zellweger raised her hand and waved with a smile.

Matt Damon and Affleck also waved in response.

"This is bad! This is bad!" After leaving the bar, Ben Affleck grabbed Matt Damon, looked around, lowered his voice, and said, "Renée must have heard what we just said. She's got something going on with Link. If she hears us saying bad things about Link, she'll definitely tell him. I was originally planning to audition for the male lead in 'Final Destination,' but now it's over."

Matt Damon looked at him strangely. "Didn't you say you didn't want to work with Link again? Why are you so nervous?"

"I was just saying that casually, it's not true. If Renée tells Link what I said, he'll definitely be angry," Ben Affleck said with a troubled expression.

"It's okay, we were just talking casually, and we didn't say anything too nasty. Renée won't tell Link, she's pretty cheerful and straightforward, not the kind of person who likes to gossip," Matt Damon comforted him.

"She definitely will. Renée and Link have something going on. I saw Renée going to Link's room late at night when we were filming. They even went on dates in the woods. The next time Renée and Link go on a date, she might mention today's events and say that I was badmouthing Link behind his back.

Maybe Link was originally planning to give me the male lead in 'Final Destination,' but now he won't anymore. This is really terrible, I really shouldn't have said those things," Ben Affleck said remorsefully, slapping his mouth.

Matt Damon rolled his eyes. Ben was just like that. When he wasn't talking, he was like a mute, but when he was talking, you wished he really was a mute.

"It's okay, I'll help you explain next time I see Link," Matt Damon put his arm around Ben's shoulder and patted him.