Watching Harvey Weinstein "argue" with Kevin, Matthew wasn't worried. Now that he was working closely with Warner Bros., he knew Kevin wouldn't sever ties with a comrcial superstar like him.
As for whether Harvey Weinstein would hold any grudges, Matthew couldn't care less.
Harvey Weinstein had tried to steal Jas Wan's horror film project, which encroached on his core interests—sothing that was simply unacceptable.
Harvey could see that Kevin was difficult to persuade. His words grew progressively harsher, but Kevin, as the CEO of Warner Bros., remained as immovable as a rock.
"Kevin, I had an agreent with New Line Cinema back in the mid-nineties."
Harvey replied, his voice cold, "If you refuse to honor that agreent, then we'll have to settle this legally."
He looked at Kevin. "You know better than I do that if we involve lawyers, The Hobbit project will likely be stalled for a very long ti."
Kevin frowned. If Harvey was truly determined to go to court, Warner Bros. certainly wasn't afraid of him, but it would be an enormous hassle.
In Hollywood circles, no one enjoyed going through litigation unless it was absolutely necessary.
Matthew overheard Harvey's words. The man was truly insufferable.
Just when he'd taken the initiative to approach Warner Bros. about making a fortune together, Harvey had to show up and get in the way.
If they really did go through with a lawsuit, The Hobbit project could be shelved indefinitely.
Although he hadn't invested any money yet, he knew it was a golden opportunity, and any funds put into it would surely yield a handso return in the future.
First, Harvey had popped up to steal his project, and now he was here again to stop him from making money...
Matthew was just starting to mull this over when he suddenly rembered what Kevin Tsujihara had just said: Harvey had signed an agreent with New Line Cinema in the mid-nineties!
"Kevin, I made so specific inquiries, and Warner Bros. is still short about twenty percent of the budget for The Hobbit. The Weinstein Company can still make that investnt."
Kevin shook his head firmly. "Warner Bros. is not lacking for investors."
Matthew was still pondering the issue that had just occurred to him. Taylor Swift, holding his arm, could barely contain her irritation. This fat man was so annoying, just walking up and starting to drone on, and from the sound of it, he was trying to cut Matthew out of an investnt. But the CEO of Warner Bros. had already made a deal with Matthew.
Taylor glanced at Matthew, but he remained silent.
"Excuse ..." Taylor looked at Harvey and said, "Sir, don't you think you're being a bit rude? This is a charity reception, not your living room."
Matthew was a little surprised, not expecting Taylor Swift to take the initiative and stand up for his interests.
Harvey turned his head, seeing a vaguely familiar face, though he couldn't quite place her. In any case, his mood only soured. How could he not hear the mockery in her words? How dare so little actress jump out and sneer at him?
Matthew gently pulled Taylor closer, his mind working on the key question.
"And who are you, miss?" Harvey suppressed his anger and said, "You should be more careful with your words..."
"Harvey." Matthew heard the threat in his tone and cut him off flatly, emphasizing, "Don't forget, this is a charity reception, not your company."
Since she had taken the initiative to defend his interests, he naturally wasn't going to let Harvey harm her.
"Sir," Taylor mimicked Harvey's tone, "my na is Taylor Swift, and I'm a singer..."
Matthew gently pulled at Taylor again, and she, in turn, smiled at him. "I'm not an actor, and I don't work in the film industry."
Harvey frowned, finally recalling who this Taylor Swift was. All his power was concentrated in the film industry; pop music was outside his sphere of influence. Even if he tried to interfere, he had very little leverage over her.
At that mont, Kevin Tsujihara said slowly, "Harvey, this isn't the place to argue."
Matthew raised a hand, stopping Kevin. Looking at Harvey, he asked:
"Kevin, when Harvey signed that contract with New Line Cinema, was he still working at Miramax? In what capacity did he sign that contract?"
Hearing this, Harvey turned on him. "This has nothing to do with you. Stay out of it."
"That's right, Harvey, you were still at Miramax back then." Kevin Tsujihara had already grasped the key to Matthew's words. "When you signed the contract with New Line Cinema, you were the president of Miramax Studios."
"Matthew Horner!" Harvey ignored Kevin and glared at Matthew. "Are you sure you want to get involved in this?"
Matthew suddenly smiled, looked at Kevin Tsujihara, and said slowly:
"That twenty percent you ntioned—that's my investnt." He suddenly dropped his smile and asked coldly, "Are you sure you want to touch my investnt?"
Before Harvey could answer, Matthew added, "Kevin, there's sothing I don't quite understand, and I'd like to ask you, as a professional. If the president of a film company, responsible for its film business, signs an agreent with another company, does he represent himself as a private individual, or does he represent the company?"
Kevin, understanding what Matthew was getting at, said with a faint smile, "According to industry rules, in all matters related to film, he represents the company."
With that, he turned his head and looked at Harvey. "And not, by any ans, a private individual!"
Matthew asked again, "Harvey, you were the president of Miramax back then, weren't you?"
Harvey's grim expression slowly faded, replaced by a blank one: he had completely overlooked this point.
Not only him, but even Kevin Tsujihara hadn't considered it.
Many legal matters, even those that seem like common sense, can be easily overlooked when you're in the thick of it.
Matthew himself had only recently learned about this. Kevin Tsujihara's earlier words had ntioned both Harvey and Miramax. His own Studio 13 had signed an employnt contract with Bella Anderson so ti ago, hiring her as the studio's executive president, and he vaguely recalled a similar clause in her contract.
That was precisely what he had been thinking about.
"Kevin, let's schedule a eting another day," Matthew said, not even glancing at Harvey. "We can discuss the project's preparations."
Taylor chid in, "If you need one, I can sing the the song for free."
Kevin laughed. "Alright, alright, we'll talk about that later." Then he looked at Harvey. "Harvey, I'll have the company's legal departnt sort this out. If you want to file a lawsuit, you can take it up with them."
With that, he took the initiative and invited them, "Matthew, Taylor, you haven't seen today's auction yet, have you? Let's go take a look together."
Matthew nodded.
Taylor took Matthew's arm and followed Kevin.
Harvey was the only one left standing there.
Gazing at the backs of the three retreating figures, Harvey Weinstein's face was devoid of expression, but he knew he was out of the ga for The Hobbit investnt.
The point he had overlooked was a fatal one.
***
Matthew and Taylor browsed the charity auction. Most of the items were things donated by stars or celebrities, possessing little real value and serving more as morabilia.
For example, Steven Spielberg had donated several production sketches from the set of "Jurassic Park."
None of these items held much interest for Matthew, so after the auction began, he bid $200,000 to imdiately secure so sheet music once used by Shania Twain and gave it to Taylor Swift.
The charity event continued until ten o'clock that night. Matthew wrote a check, arranged to have the sheet music collected, and left with Taylor without waiting for the reception to officially end.
They didn't use the main entrance of the Four Seasons Hotel, instead heading straight to the underground parking garage, getting into their car, and hurrying back to the estate.
According to Taylor, she was leaving Los Angeles on Monday to embark on a world tour. She didn't know when she would be back, so their ti was extrely limited; not a single minute could be wasted.
Matthew had no important work commitnts over the next two days, so he could stay at ho with Taylor.
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