"It's Pearl Harbor!"
On a terrace of the Duke's Manor facing the sea, Duke sipped his afternoon tea and remarked to Nancy Josephson, who held a cup of coffee, "So even you can have people poach your clients?"
"Michael Ovitz may no longer be with CAA, but his influence is still formidable," Nancy Josephson replied with a calm demeanor. "Don't forget, this is a leading role in a major A-list production. Even if it were me, I would have made the same choice."
"So, you agreed to terminate the contract?"
Actor jumping between agents was commonplace, but dumped agents often resorted to some behind-the-scenes tactics. The most typical example in Duke's memory was Tom Cruise and Pat Kingsley.
"Just an insignificant actress."
Nancy set down her coffee cup, and Tina Fey, seated on the other side, promptly refilled it for her. After expressing her thanks, Nancy continued to Duke, "Initially, I thought she had a decent appearance and some potential, maybe enough to mold her into a secondary-tier vase actress, but..."
She shook her head. "Her performance in Critical Emergency was so poor. I believe the resources required to promote her wouldn't be worth the future returns."
Nancy suddenly laughed. "Though your acting skills are abysmal, I trust your judgment when it comes to evaluating actors. Since you think she's not worth investing in, I believe her future accomplishments will be extremely limited."
"Hey, darling," Duke lightly tapped the porcelain teacup, producing a crisp sound, and asked, "Is that a compliment or an insult?"
"Take it however you like." Nancy opened a sugar jar, added two cubes to her coffee, and said, "Just like CAA, ICM also has evaluation standards. Our assessment of Kate Beckinsale was merely a 'C.'"
Thinking about Kate Beckinsale's future—aside from starring in Pearl Harbor and then Van Helsing, barely squeezing into the second tier—most of her other time was spent struggling to be categorized as a second-tier star.
If memory serves, she didn't play any significant roles in first-tier productions thereafter. Her most notable films were small-budget B-movies, with North American box office revenues hovering around $50 million.
Agents might be furious when fired by megastars like Tom Cruise, but for a minor player like her, few would care enough to retaliate.
For someone like this, it wasn't worth emulating Pat Kingsley's collaboration with Paramount to take down Tom Cruise.
Nancy Josephson wasn't a particularly magnanimous person. Adding milk to her coffee, she stirred it and said, "Touchstone Pictures has reached a package deal with Michael Ovitz..."
"Robert Iger is working with him?" Duke frowned slightly.
Though no longer collaborating with Walt Disney, Duke maintained contact with Robert Iger.
"You've been in Australia too long; you're out of the loop," Nancy said as she lifted her coffee cup. "Due to conflicts with Michael Eisner, Robert Iger lost his position as CEO of Touchstone Pictures. The current head is one of Eisner's confidants."
After a moment's thought, Duke said, "So Michael Eisner and Michael Ovitz are collaborating again?"
The two had been at odds at Disney, practically like fire and water, leading to Michael Ovitz's greatest career defeat.
"Ovitz is no longer a Disney executive, so his conflicts with Eisner have come to an end," Nancy explained briefly, knowing Duke would quickly piece it together. "Duke, don't forget—Ovitz was the one who introduced packaged services to Hollywood and achieved repeated success. Even though Godzilla was crushed by your The Matrix, it still generated enough profit."
"Michael Ovitz's abilities in this area are trusted by any film company," she added.
Duke nodded. In the face of anticipated profits, personal grudges were trivial.
"Who's directing?" Duke asked.
"Michael Bay," Nancy Josephson said after setting down her coffee cup. "Reliable sources say Ovitz has reached an agreement with Bay, and the little explosion maniac is about to leave William Morris for Ovitz's camp."
It seemed everything was aligning with Duke's memory.
As Duke pondered this, Nancy reminded him, "There's something you must pay attention to. The production budget for Pearl Harbor is as high as $140 million, and it's likely to be released during next year's Memorial Day weekend!"
"Oh?" Duke raised an eyebrow.
For a film depicting the attack on Pearl Harbor, the best release date was undoubtedly the weekend before Memorial Day. Disney and Michael Ovitz were simply making the most logical choice.
But Nancy emphasized it because Duke had planned for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring to release on the same date!
Among summer release weekends, there were also ranks. The best slots included the first two weekends of May, Memorial Day weekend, Independence Day weekend, and a few others.
After some thought, Duke said to Tina Fey, "Discuss this with Warner Bros."
Tina Fey nodded and asked, "Our..."
"We'll avoid changing the date as much as possible!" Duke replied.
He never shied away from competition, especially against Pearl Harbor. If anyone should change dates, it should be Pearl Harbor.
"Michael Ovitz is ambitious and determined to build a new agency empire," Nancy said, then mentioned a name deliberately, "Martin Bob joined him after leaving CAA. While history shows Martin Bob may not be a qualified decision-maker, he's an excellent supporting player."
Hearing this almost-forgotten name, Duke sipped his tea and said, "Would ICM, William Morris, and CAA allow a new company to share the pie?"
"Of course not," Nancy Josephson said matter-of-factly. "So, ICM and CAA teamed up to thwart Ovitz's collaboration with Paramount Pictures?"
Duke looked at her inquisitively, and Nancy confirmed, "Michael Ovitz tried to package Paramount's latest Star Trek film, but I and Ino Martin intercepted it."
Nancy sighed, "Still, Ovitz's influence is formidable. After losing Star Trek, he persuaded Universal Pictures with a new racing project, which will soon enter formal pre-production."
Racing? Universal Pictures? Duke racked his brain for related films and finally remembered something after a while.
"Do you know the project's name?" he asked.
Nancy shook her head. "Universal has temporarily given it the code name Speed. Oh, and James Cameron is somewhat involved."
"Doesn't Cameron dislike Michael Ovitz?" Duke asked in surprise.
"Cameron isn't directly involved in the project," Nancy quickly clarified, realizing her earlier statement was misleading. "He only recommended a female lead from a TV series he produced."
Although Anna Prince was temporarily overseeing matters in New Zealand, Duke couldn't stay in Los Angeles for long. Over the next two days, he frequently met with Warner Bros. executives and had two discussions with Jeff Robinov, primarily concerning The Matrix sequels, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring marketing, and the filming locations for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
The Harry Potter series was the first to be settled. With J.K. Rowling proactively making concessions and Duke mediating, Warner Bros. finally agreed after a few days that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone would be filmed entirely in the UK.
Duke's enthusiasm stemmed from Rowling's concession on one point.
In Hollywood, profit always came first. Although Duke admired Rowling's sacrifice to keep the project in her homeland, he wouldn't let emotions dictate commercial decisions.
Next were the two sequels to The Matrix. Zack Snyder wouldn't have the same level of directorial authority as Duke, but thanks to Duke, Snyder's voice in the project was much stronger than that of typical rookie directors.
Finally, there was the release date for The Fellowship of the Ring.
"Duke's stance is clear," Tina Fey said, displaying her sharp and capable demeanor among Warner Bros. executives. "We must avoid changing The Fellowship of the Ring release date unless absolutely necessary..."
"I agree with Duke," Doug Walter firmly stated. "We have no reason to fear competition from Pearl Harbor!"
Nancy Josephson slowly added, "If Duke were to back down, it would harm his reputation."
Although The Fellowship of the Ring release date hadn't been officially announced, related information leaking later wouldn't be unusual.
Following her comment, Warner Bros. executives fell silent. They could disregard Nancy's opinion, but they couldn't overlook Duke's feelings. Duke had become deeply tied to Warner Bros.
The idea that the "Explosion Master fears the Little Explosion Man" would be humiliating not only to Duke but also to Warner Bros.' leadership.
More importantly, Duke was a guaranteed moneymaker for Warner Bros. Did they really need to worry about competition from an imitator?
"We're staying put!" Jeff Robinov declared. "Announce The Fellowship of the Ring release date and see how Disney and Michael Ovitz react."
Doug Walter and others smiled knowingly. They had no reason to back down!
....
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (30 chpater)
MV Director (30 chapter)....
Douluo Dalu:Breaking Clan(30 chapter)
Made In Hollywood (50 Chapters)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter (30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu