[Chapter 496: A Perfect Life.]
By the end of March, Link's directed film The Truman Show premiered in North America.
The movie caused a sensation and sparked widespread discussion across the country.
Many critics praised The Truman Show, showering Link's directing skills and creativity with high compliments.
The New York Times published a lengthy review of over 3,000 words the day after its release in its arts section, extolling the film's qualities.
They claimed the movie skillfully combined surreal allegory with media criticism, exposing the contemporary society's blurring of reality and fiction through numerous metaphors.
Using a highly stylized audiovisual language, it translated Foucault's 'disciplinary society' theory into a narrative spectacle accessible to the public.
The film successfully anticipated the emotional alienation era of reality TV while balancing technical detail with philosophical reflection, making The Truman Show a rare 'thought-provoking entertainment masterpiece' in cinema history.
It was an exceptional film, and Director Link's talent and creativity amazed everyone.
The Chicago Tribune commented that the film not only powerfully satirized modern social morals, human relations, and the coldness of society, but also that the production structure and plot displayed the creators' great skills. The film's deep theme made it a classic example of black comedy.
It was hard to imagine Link producing another classic less than a year after American Beauty, truly proving his directing prowess.
Some media outlets also praised the lead actor Jim Carrey. The Los Angeles Times hailed his performance as innovatively subversive.
Jim Carrey's acting achieved a dialectical unity of comedy and tragedy. Though he often exaggerated his expressions traditionally associated with comedy, in the movie these became the character's weapon against false instincts.
This design, where the actor simultaneously embodied narrator, observer, and rebel, provided a new paradigm for method acting.
...
Because of the film's quality, the praise was widespread and it garnered high attention immediately upon release.
In its opening week, the film played in 1,664 theaters, grossing $38.41 million with over 90% seat occupancy.
The second week expanded to 2,207 theaters, earning $40.11 million while maintaining over 80% attendance.
In the third week, the release grew to 3,117 theaters, pulling in $75.02 million.
The three-week total hit $153 million, making it the first film to cross $100 million at the North American box office that year.
...
After The Truman Show's release, Link received numerous congratulations from acquaintances, who praised him for making another Oscar-level film.
Counting classics like Se7en, The Sixth Sense, The English Patient, Saving Private Ryan, and American Beauty, he had directed more iconic films than anyone else in history.
Many predicted he was likely to win the Academy Award for Best Director again.
Link wasn't overly concerned -- one Oscar for Best Director was enough; too many were unnecessary.
Only Quentin kept calling to criticize and suggest how to film better, and Link accepted all of it without objection.
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By April, the latest Forbes billionaire list came out, placing Link second with a net worth of $62 billion.
Bill Gates ranked first with $90 billion.
That year marked the peak of the internet bubble. Nearly all internet stocks surged, with Microsoft being the most valuable.
Microsoft had split its stock twice last year, turning one share into four. Although the price halved after each split, the stock rapidly recovered, currently priced at $42.38.
Its market cap reached $559 billion, with ongoing rapid growth projected to surpass $600 billion in the first half of the year, making it the world's most valuable company.
Bill Gates owned 16% of Microsoft shares, netting his $90 billion fortune.
Link's asset structure was more complex, with Forbes noting they only assessed his publicly known assets, totaling approximately $52.5 billion.
About $33 billion of that was domestic assets within the U.S.
His U.S. holdings mainly included Glimmer Capital, Guess Pictures, and other investment firms.
Glimmer Capital was the most valuable, holding shares in over 20 publicly traded companies.
These included 3.91% Microsoft, 3.15% Cisco, 3.13% Berkshire Hathaway, 2.3% Disney, 6.83% Pixar Animation Studios, 31.2% Apple, 8.4% Yahoo, and 18.4% Amazon.
New acquisitions included 2.3% Walmart (about $2.8 billion), 3.2% Pfizer ($1.5 billion), 1.8% ExxonMobil ($2.6 billion), and others.
The funds for new share purchases mainly came from selling some Microsoft, Yahoo, Cisco, and Apple shares.
He also owned shares in 21 private firms, such as 12.8% Guess-MGM Pictures, 15% eBay, 18% LTD Apparel (parent of Victoria's Secret), 95% Marvel Entertainment, 15% United Talent Agency, 3.5% Creative Artists Agency, and 25% Google.
Forbes estimated Glimmer Capital's overall value at around $58 billion, with Link's 74.5% stake worth about $43.3 billion.
The second main asset was Guess-MGM Pictures. After Guess Pictures acquired MGM, its value first dropped then rose.
Thanks to strong box office earnings last year, Wall Street valued it at about $11.5 billion at the start of the year.
Link owned 31.5% of the company, worth about $3.6 billion.
Additionally, Link held significant stakes in Rose Garden Investments and the Link Family Development Fund, valued at no less than $1 billion.
Thus, his U.S. assets totaled roughly $48 billion.
Overseas, his main assets were through Kingsoft Investments.
Their holdings included 11.35% Dell Computers ($8.1 billion), 3.5% Cisco Systems ($5.04 billion), and 14.34% LVMH ($3.2 billion).
Also, he owned shares in several major Hong Kong real estate firms and companies like China Petroleum, China Petrochemical, Eastwind Pictures, Wanda Real Estate, valued about $2.8 billion.
Link owned 22.5% of Kingsoft Capital, valued around $4.5 billion.
In total, Link's domestic and international assets summed to $52.5 billion.
Ranked third was Warren Buffett, with a $36 billion net worth. At the beginning of the year, Berkshire Hathaway's market cap surpassed $100 billion, with Buffett owning 36%.
Fourth was Paul Allen, Microsoft shareholder, worth $30 billion.
Others in the top ten included Microsoft shareholder Steve Ballmer, Michael Dell, Philip Anschutz, Robson Walton, Saudi Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, etc.
After Forbes released the global billionaire list, Link's net worth sparked fresh debate.
At just 27 years old, with $52.5 billion, he attracted countless admirers and envy.
Some media speculated he controlled far more assets, with allegedly transferred shares still under his influence, possibly exceeding $100 billion or even $200 billion.
Link offered no comment, merely strengthening security for his children while continuing philanthropy worldwide through the Diana Global Charity Foundation and the Link Family Foundation.
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In early May, the film A Beautiful Mind wrapped production, and Link led the crew back to Los Angeles to rest.
...
Ring-ring!
While enjoying the sun with Monica, Lily, Jennifer, and others in the villa's backyard, Link received a call from his lawyer Sean Tangney.
Sean informed him that the legal department, working with Blackwater's intelligence, had found evidence that Epstein bribed inmates to kill Harvey.
They planned to cooperate with Bob's team to file a lawsuit and swiftly put Epstein behind bars.
Link acknowledged.
...
"Darling, you've already accomplished so much. Are you still going to make movies?" Monica asked, leaning against him.
"Making movies is my profession. Without that, I'd have nothing to do," Link replied, ruffling her smooth shoulder and smiling.
"You could stay home and take care of the kids," Lily teased.
The other girlfriends laughed and agreed.
"No way. You ladies handle the kids. I'm the man -- I have to earn money for formula."
"We can earn money too. You don't have to do it yourself," Kate Winslet quipped.
"Got a lot of money? Show me!" Link joked, grabbing her to playfully tease.
Everyone laughed and played around.
Soon, the villa's backyard grass became a lively stage full of dazzling colors, resembling a paradise where gods and angels frolicked.
...
Hours later, as dusk fell, Monica and the others were sprawled asleep.
Link lay in the middle on the grass, resting his head on his arm, gazing at the night sky.
He recalled the dingy, damp motel in Park City eight years ago and the wildly vivid dream from then.
Compared to real life, the dream seemed less imaginative.
He chuckled softly, withdrew his arm from Monica's embrace, and waved goodbye to the twinkling stars spying overhead.
"Farewell!
Thank you for once lighting my way."
--The End--
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Afterwards, during the summer blockbuster season, Link's Pirates of the Caribbean, James Cameron's Spider-Man, the Wachowski Brothers' The Matrix, and Steven Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich all performed well, dominating box offices.
During the winter holidays, films like Lord of the Rings, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Shakespeare in Love continued to draw crowds.
Guess-MGM Pictures led the market ahead of other studios.
During the 2000 Academy Awards, Link won Best Director again for The Truman Show.
...
In March 2000, the internet bubble burst, and internet stock values plummeted by over 50%.
Thanks to advanced planning, Link had already shifted many holdings into other sectors before the stock crash, avoiding losses.
...
By 2002, after the internet crisis ended, he reinvested heavily back into internet stocks, purchasing large shares of Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, Apple, and Amazon.
That year, he topped Forbes with $88 billion, though his total assets reached $200 billion.
By 2002, stars including Charlize Theron, Kate Beckinsale, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Liv Tyler, Jessica Alba, Anne Hathaway, Eva Green, Aishwarya Rai, Monica Lewinsky, Rie Miyazawa, Izumi Sakai, Norika Fujiwara, Shizuka Kudo, and Akina Nakamori gave birth that year.
His number of children exceeded 100.
...
By 2025, Link had directed 100 films and reached an almost superhuman state, with assets hitting $2 trillion and over 500 children, with his family exceeding a thousand members.
In 2055, Link piloted a spaceship with his crew to Mars to shoot the space opera.
By 2072, while filming on Venus, he accidentally entered a spacetime wormhole and was never seen again.
Some said he died, others claimed aliens took him, and some believed he became a superhero soaring into deep space wearing a cape and red underwear.
His family and fans lost track of him forever.
The film world lost its greatest king.
*****
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