Chapter 196： Support or fall back

"Director Rosenberg, news is circulating recently that you want to bring the Broadway classic "Chicago" to the big screen. Is this true?"

As soon as Duke walked out of the Los Angeles International Airport building, a large group of reporters gathered around him, asking about various news related to "Chicago."

"Duke, is "Chicago" very different from your past style?"

"Excuse me, what do you think? Why did you choose the declining musical?"

"Will you make a "Chicago" full of explosions and shots? Are you planning to have the two heroines shoot at each other with a Chicago typewriter?"

The scale of the containment of dozens of reporters, and their special containment here, is enough to prove that the news has shocked the industry. After all, the explosive madness wants to shoot a musical, and it is said that others either do not believe it or think that Hollywood is crazy. , But the source of the news is very reliable.

Duke Rosenberg is going to shoot a song and dance film full of literary style! When these reporters got the news, they only felt that the end of the world had come.

Of course, Duke will not tell these media and reporters that the news was actually released by Pani Kellys for the purpose of hype and publicity, so as to let people know that his new film has been confirmed as soon as possible, and it is called "Chicago "!

The chaotic scene aroused the idea of ​​airport security personnel. Someone soon came to maintain order, but the reporters always surrounded Duke, seemingly not giving a clear answer, and resolutely refused to let him leave.

Duke raised a hand, and the reporters rarely quieted down when they saw him wanting to respond.

"My next movie is indeed a musical based on a Broadway show!"

As soon as this sentence fell, the reporter paparazzi was like a shark smelling blood, unable to keep quiet anymore, and came up again. All kinds of questions kept throwing up, and the chaotic situation no longer allowed Duke to say anything. With the assistance of security personnel, he finally rushed out of the reporters and got into the car parked outside.

Pani Kesley, who was sitting in the co-pilot position, motioned Tina Fei to quickly start the car and leave, turning her head and speaking to Duke. "It looks good."

"It's okay to do this once in a while," Duke said, sorting out his scattered clothes. "I'll go crazy after a few more visits."

"Hollywood, and even the entire North American film industry has gone crazy!" Penny Kelly said in a meaningful way, "I also think this world is crazy!"

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Duke thought that the response might be a bit fierce, but he didn't expect Kelly to say so crazy. "Isn't I the only director of Hollywood transformation? Don't talk about the failures, just say Spear. Berg, when shooting a series of commercial films. Didn't you also shoot films like "Empire of the Sun"?"

"Because there has never been a director in Hollywood with such a distinctive style and so successful as you!"

Turning his head, Penny Kelly looked at Duke, "If I hadn't been hypnotizing myself to believe in you, I'm afraid..."

She shook her head and did not say anything.

In fact, Duke also knows that such a change in style is indeed a bit big, no wonder the people around him who serve him are difficult to understand.

But he gave no explanation. There is no need to explain, the future film fails. The current explanations are all jokes. If the film is successful, what use are these words?

People who feel Duke crazy are not only Penny Kelly, but also many Hollywood insiders.

In the Fox Building in Century City, the head of the publishing department, Charlie Adam, hurriedly passed through the corridor and greeted the ceo's secretary desk. He walked to the door of an office, knocked on the door twice, pushed the door and walked in, and sat across from Townsend Rothman's desk.

"I just got the exact news from a reporter from Fox TV." He didn't talk nonsense, and directly talked about the topic he had been discussing in the last two days. "Duke Rosenberg has already admitted at the airport that his next film is "Chicago"!"

Townsend Rothman didn't seem to believe it yet, and asked, "Sure?"

"OK!" Charlie Adam said helplessly, "What the **** is Duke Rosenberg thinking?"

"Maybe only he knows." Townsend Rosman frowned. In the past three years, Duke Rosenberg's project has been a cash cow for the partners. Now this cash cow is going to make a literary movie. , It's about future performance, how can he be happy?

Charlie Adam also had a bitter face. It seemed that without Duke's commercial projects, the 20th Century Fox would go bankrupt.

"Should we invest?" he asked tentatively.

Townsend Rothman did not answer, but instead asked about other things, as if he wanted to increase his confidence, "How much has the box office of "Saving Private Ryan" accumulated?"

"There are 897 theaters left in North America, with a total box office of 275.82 million US dollars!"

These Duke-related data seemed to be deeply imprinted in my mind. Without even thinking about it, Charlie Adam said, "The global box office adds up to $541.77 million, according to Wall Street and our own investigative agency. According to predictions, the film’s final global box office may exceed the $600 million mark!"

"Obviously he has shown an absolute level of strength in the fields of popular action films, war films, and science fiction films..." Townsend Rothman's words were full of resentment and reluctance, "Why do you want to touch not many markets? Value, completely outdated musical?"

"Perhaps continuous success has made him self-confident." Charlie Adam said in a guessing tone, "I think he can do things that others can't."

He sighed, "If this is the case, then his situation is not good. When a director has such an idea, it is often the beginning of failure. Hollywood has too many examples of this in the past."

"Do you think we are going to give up investing in his new movie?"

Hearing Townsend Rothman’s question, Charlie Adam nodded slightly, "The risk is too high."

He curled his fingers and tapped the table slowly twice. Townsend Rothman seemed to be talking to himself, "James Cameron has asked for additional investment again, and our liquidity is on his ship. . There is no more power to take care of others."

"Fox will not participate in Duke Rosenberg's new project!" Townsend Rosman made the final decision based on practical interests.

It’s not just Tom Rothman and the 20th Century Fox who are hesitating. After getting the definitive news, Walt Disney’s management also hesitated. The glory of "Saving Private Ryan" made them feel that Duke would continue to succeed. Go on, but the new film has a completely different style. Let them worry about it again.

"I think we should continue to deepen our cooperation with Duke Rosenberg."

Just taking charge of the live-action film production department, Robert Iger also has a certain right to speak. He said to many executives, “Live-action film production has always been a weakness of Disney, and now it’s hard to pass "Saving Private Ryan" and Duke People who are skeptical of his new movie will be common after establishing a cooperative relationship. If Disney supports him at this time, it must be..."

"Bob, have you thought about it a little bit?"

CEO Michael Ovitz interrupted Robert Iger directly. Ignoring the displeasure flashing in his eyes completely, "This is a musical, a musical that has long since fallen! This is very likely to become a failed investment!"

"Michael, before saying these things," Robert Iger refused to give in, "please see the results of Duke's previous three movies! Do you need me to read it for you? I remember there are some projects that Caa doesn't like! You are not optimistic about good projects, but Duke has achieved success!"

"you……"

Michael Ovitz's eyes widened, if it was in caa. The meeting room will definitely become an ice cave, but Robert Iger doesn't eat his stuff at all. Instead, **** for tat.

The two executives disagreed, and the true controller of Disney, Chairman Michael Eisner had to speak.

He looked at his childhood friend Michael Ovitz, and asked directly, "Your decision is to give up working with Duke Rosenberg?"

The angry Michael Ovitz did not notice the trap in the words, "I decided to abandon Duke's new project."

Michael Eisner nodded. Without saying anything, CEO Ovitz's decision became Disney's final decision.

At the end of the meeting, when he walked out of the meeting room, Ovitz's anger aroused by Robert Iger gradually calmed down, and he immediately noticed Eisner's language trap. If Duke Rosenberg’s project fails, it’s okay to say. If it succeeds, it is bound to let him, the CEO, bear the responsibility for decision-making errors...

Can the explosive maniac succeed? He wanted to see the other party's transformation into a joke.

Not far from the Walt Disney headquarters, another building stands at the forefront of the wide studio. This is the headquarters of Warner on the west coast and the office of Warner Bros.

""Batman Forever" was not as successful as expected."

As the CEO, Jeff Robinoff is exchanging views with several executives, "In recent years, our most profitable film project is not the "Batman" series, but from the cooperation with Duke, Warner Brother’s performance growth is inseparable from his movies."

"I understand the importance of Duke to Warner." Robert Solomon frowned, and said, "But if a project knows that it may lose money, and has to participate in it, we cannot explain it to the group company."

"You may not know one thing."

Jeff Robinoff was not in a hurry to refute, his eyes swept from the executives present, "Before the filming of "Life and Death", Duke had come to Warner Bros. to deliver the script. I met him, then Shi was also the same idea, rejected...No, because he didn't pay attention to him at all, and then missed a project that I would regret for life."

"I don't want to have this kind of regret a second time."

The continuous success of that young director is Jeff Robinoff’s greatest source of confidence, "We must maintain close contact with Nancy Josephson!" (To be continued...)

ps: Tomorrow or three shifts~~~ I wish my friends who take the exam a perfect score