Hollywood What If Chapter 189
Two decades ago, Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual harassment, even though he was "innocent".
He never did anything bad like that, according to him. He was innocent! He was free from the sin of sexual harassment. He had many "friends" who could testify against the accusations.
However, the "friends" he had began to distance themselves from him because of the incident he had instigated right now.
Harvey Weinstein was cleverly avoiding the media, but he knew he would still get a backlash.
The Miramax team predicted that The Blair Witch Project would exceed $100 million at the North American box office, but it would be difficult for it to exceed $200 million.
In this regard, Harvey Weinstein knew that the publicity he did was fruitful.
Still, there would be cuts before he could get his share of the pie.
Cinema Alliance would, of course, take 40% of the box office.
On top of that, the distributor of The Blair Witch Project would also take a 30% cut. Miramax didn't dare to distribute the film because of the danger it might pose... But their meticulous planning was useless anyway.
Well, the remaining box office share would be 30%, at least $30 million.
Harvey Weinstein invested about $10 million in advertising and movie prints, so the profit would be at least $20 million.
Unfortunately for the fat guy, it seemed that this movie would bring him zero profit.
The four families of the deceased wanted $10 million each!
Harvey Weinstein was the mastermind behind the promotion of The Blair Witch Project. This unique viral marketing caused four deaths after the riot that happened in Burkittsville, Maryland.
Knowing that Harvey Weinstein would be implicated, he decided to settle the matter out of court. With money, he hoped the four families would drop the lawsuits.
Initially, the four families asked for $20 million! But this amount was too damaging for Harvey Weinstein and Miramax.
Even though the profits from the videotapes were plentiful, most of the money would be used to invest in more movies.
The available cash that Harvey Weinstein could take out of the bank was only $50 million. That was already a generous amount.
It was a good thing that his talented attorney lowered the amount to $10 million, any less and the four families would have continued the lawsuit instead.
Harvey Weinstein gritted his teeth and accepted the deal. The situation could send him to prison, so he had no choice but to accept reality.
Obviously, the profit he made from The Blair Witch Project was non-existent. In fact, he might lose about $50 million instead. Truly a pathetic endeavor.
Another thing, the current situation has caused the women around him to make trouble again. Just like what happened in the 1970s, the women who had accused him were reappearing... He recognized most of them, but his lips were tightly sealed.
Fortunately, this matter was overshadowed by the riot incident and The Blair Witch Project. The media focused more on The Blair Witch Project and the four families who lost their loved ones. Of course, the women who accused him were also interviewed in the media.
In those days, Harvey Weinstein felt like the world was against him. He wondered what he had done. If there was one good thing, it was that he was protected by his "loyal friends" for the time being. More specifically, his position in the industry protected him.
"Fuck the Blair Witch Project!"
Suddenly, Harvey Weinstein could not help but curse the film, blaming it for his own misdeeds.
This movie had brought him nothing but backlash. Now he had to lay low until the media forgot about it.
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Coincidence was all Kazir Grey could say. Actually, he had no intention of exaggerating the situation. He just wanted to tell the truth about The Blair Witch Project.
That is why Kazir decided to contact the people who had seen the movie to testify. That was his real intention.
He then found a couple who took a picture while watching the movie as evidence... Kazir Grey didn't expect Harvey Weinstein to be caught on camera! He had no idea that the fat guy actually watched the movie personally!
Kazir wanted to use the picture as a way to make trouble for Harvey Weinstein. Use it to show that Harvey Weinstein was actually the mastermind.
Kazir had a grudge against the fat guy and it was the right time to get back at him.
However, Kazir didn't expect a riot to break out and four people to be killed.
Kazir's attitude changed after that. He felt that this was no longer about him. This was not about him taking revenge.
People need to know the truth about the Blair Witch.
Even though it might get him into trouble, Kazir Grey decided to do the right thing.
He used his connections and contacted 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. These two giants had a close relationship with him and would likely cooperate.
The rest was history.
"I am sure that Harvey Weinstein has his own way of tracking down the leak. He will definitely know that I'm the one responsible for his problem. Heh, let's leave it at that. He fucked around, so he found out."
He was a little disheartened that Harvey didn't go to jail this time.
"He didn't kill the four people directly and he never incited violence. He just started a massive prank..."
As for the sexual harassment allegations, they were overshadowed.
Well, the feminist movement was still rising. As far as the #MeToo movement is concerned, it got a lot of recognition because of the internet, which was still in its infancy at the time.
Another fact was the people who protected Harvey Weinstein.
A lot of people in the industry knew what he did, they just kept quiet about it and act like nothing happened.
However, Kazir knew that Harvey Weinstein would go to jail in the future, and he would make sure that certain future was preserved.
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[Author's Note: See you tomorrow.]