Chapter 80: Business Collaboration

It was Monday morning, the start of a new workweek. This should have been a lively time, especially for a film company. If the movie released the previous week was a hit, the entire company would be filled with laughter and joy. But at the weekly meeting in the Fox Tower, the atmosphere was heavy and stifling.

Without CAA and the "Interview with the Vampire" creative team, the executives at 20th Century Fox, the film's primary investor, couldn't hide their disappointment.

"AMG and Emperor Entertainment have rejected our request to expand the 'Interview with the Vampire' release and cut down the screens for 'The Rock'."

Tim Fisher, the newly-appointed head of the film distribution department, broke the silence in the meeting room. "Without impressive box office numbers to back us, we don't have much leverage."

He glanced at Townsend and opened the latest data report in front of him, reading aloud to everyone, "On Sunday, 'Interview with the Vampire' grossed $6.21 million, with a three-day North American box office total of $28.3 million."

Under normal circumstances, this would be enough to secure a top spot at the weekend box office, but not this time.

"'The Rock' grossed $11.13 million on Sunday!" Tim Fisher continued, ignoring the expressions of those around him. "Its three-day weekend box office total is a staggering $36.79 million!"

As if trying to emphasize the point to the higher-ups, Fisher raised his voice. "This isn't just about a weekend box office leader; it means 'Interview with the Vampire' will be overshadowed during its entire run!"

"Maybe 'The Rock' will see a significant drop in the second week," someone remarked, trying to downplay the situation.

Tim Fisher quickly retorted, "The audience score for Duke Rosenberg's film has consistently stayed above 85%! Even 'Speed' couldn't maintain such strong word-of-mouth during its wide release! Don't forget, 'Speed' had a highest weekend gross of only $34.75 million, yet its final North American box office was over $130 million! And globally, it grossed more than $350 million!"

The person who had spoken earlier fell silent, and the meeting room was once again engulfed in quiet. None of them were novices; with such strong audience reception, 'The Rock' was sure to maintain healthy box office numbers in the following weeks. But how much would it make in the end?

A hundred million dollars wouldn't be the limit, right?

Sitting at the head of the table, Townsend couldn't help but entertain the thought. According to projections and the current trajectory, 'Interview with the Vampire' might barely cross $100 million in North America, while 'The Rock', if it avoided a major slump, could easily head towards $150 million or more.

He had personally championed the acquisition of 'Speed' but had turned down 'The Rock'...

At that moment, only Rossman could fully understand the emotions swirling in his mind. If he had two or three films grossing over $100 million during the summer, his position as CEO would be much more secure!

A pang of regret hit him. If he had chosen Duke Rosenberg over CAA's project, even though it would have meant accepting Duke's demand for a 20% investment, the short-term revenue sharing wouldn't have been an issue, given Duke's contract with Warner Bros.

As for CAA? Even though 'Interview with the Vampire' would turn a profit, CAA would only receive 10% of the total earnings in commission. While this might seem like a smaller share, it would be long-term revenue!

In other words, as long as 'Interview with the Vampire' continued to generate income, CAA would always get 10%.

It was already becoming clear that 'Interview with the Vampire' wouldn't match 'The Rock' in revenue, and they'd still have to share the long-term earnings with the vampires. So, which project had been the better choice?

Rossman wasn't sure, but he knew one thing: he shouldn't have so easily let Duke Rosenberg go!

"I have a suggestion!" Tim Fisher's voice cut through the silence again. He seemed unusually proactive today. "I have confirmed information that Duke Rosenberg has registered two scripts with the Writers Guild, one of which is a completed sci-fi script! And it features even bigger explosion scenes!"

This statement instantly lifted the spirits of the Fox executives in the room. In Hollywood, nothing spoke louder than numbers and profit. Two consecutive film successes had already proven Duke Rosenberg's talent as a director, and now he was offering even crazier explosion scenes! That destruction-obsessed maniac was undoubtedly a genius in that area!

Before anyone else could speak, Fisher continued quickly, "I propose we reopen talks with Duke Rosenberg! Let's do everything we can to bring him back into the Fox fold, and in the meantime, have the script review department check out his registered script at the Writers Guild so we can start the review process immediately!"

"I agree!"

"I agree..."

Several voices chimed in. As long as profits were involved, they didn't care who they had to collaborate with.

Rossman crossed his hands in front of him, propping his chin on them as if deep in thought. In reality, he knew, just like Tim Fisher who had previously clashed with Duke, that for a corporate executive, face was never more important than results!

"If I'm not mistaken..." Rossman began slowly, "Duke's contract with Warner Bros. is a 1+2 deal, right?"

"It's a 1+2 deal," Fisher responded immediately, clearly having done his homework. "But there's a clause: Warner Bros. only has the right of first refusal under equal conditions."

With that, Rossman hesitated no more. "Get in touch with Nancy Josephson right away... set up a meeting, I'll personally talk to her. And when Duke returns to Los Angeles, invite him to a Fox party!"

"We don't have any planned parties at the moment," someone pointed out.

"Then organize one!" Rossman barked.

That same Monday, 'The Rock' began its North American promotional tour. Unlike the hectic schedule during 'Speed', the promotional team, which included Duke, Lee, Cage, Harris, and Naomi Watts, traveled on Warner Bros.' private jet. 'The Rock's' impressive opening weekend results had clearly reassured the Warner team.

As soon as they arrived in Seattle, Duke received a call from Nancy Josephson. He wasn't surprised by Fox's change in attitude. In a business-driven society, there were no irreconcilable differences between him and 20th Century Fox. And where large enough profits were involved, there was no business conflict that couldn't be resolved.

Although he enjoyed working with Warner Bros., Duke wasn't naive enough to tie himself to one company. Even though he couldn't make any promises to Fox, he told Nancy to continue talks with them. Even if nothing came of it, future collaborations were still possible, and besides, it could add leverage in his next negotiations with Warner Bros. to secure better terms.

That's how business worked—there were no permanent friends or enemies. If casting Tom Cruise would bring him the most profit, Duke wouldn't hesitate, just like he wouldn't hesitate to praise the four lead actors during the fan meeting in Seattle, elevating their performances to the highest level.

Still, Duke didn't have much time to speak at the promotional events. The focus remained on the actors and the movie itself, although many fans did come to know him as the young director who the media claimed was obsessed with explosions and destruction.

"By the way, I owe you thanks, Duke."

Back at the hotel that evening, a few of them went down to the bar for drinks. Nicholas Cage suddenly spoke up. "At today's event, the fans were going wild for me. I've never experienced that before."

"You'll get used to it," Duke said, raising his glass. "Believe me, if you continue on this path, Nicholas, you'll be one of the defining figures in Hollywood in the '90s."

"You sound like some medieval charlatan!" Sophia quipped, unceremoniously mocking him.

"No, Sophia, I think Duke has a point," Cage interjected before Duke could respond. "This is my first time working with Duke, and I believe it's going to be a turning point in my career. I've been struggling in Hollywood for almost a decade. My acting skills have gained some recognition, but I've never had a major box office hit. If I was just an unknown actor before, today I felt like a Hollywood star!"

"This drink's for you, Duke!" Cage said, raising his glass solemnly.

Just after clinking glasses with Cage, Christopher Lee, sitting at the same table, also raised his glass. "I want to toast you as well, Duke."

The old man's expression was just as serious. After all, no one who entered the spotlight didn't want to become famous. Lee was clearly enjoying everything that the character of John Mason had brought him.

"It seems," Duke said, clinking glasses with Lee, "you all plan to get me drunk tonight."

It was all in good fun, though. They had contracts, flights to catch the next day, and promotional events to attend, and none of them were heavy drinkers, so they weren't going to drink themselves into oblivion.

According to the schedule, the promotional tour continued from east to west, hitting all the major cities with large box office potential. A series of fan meetings and press conferences followed, and the cast quickly became the focus of entertainment media.

While promoting the film, Duke also noticed something else. After 20th Century Fox had one meeting with Nancy Josephson, the negative press aimed at him and "The Rock" weakened a bit, and Fox was obviously showing goodwill.

...

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