Chapter 727: Breaking Free from the Shadows

[Chapter 727: Breaking Free from the Shadows]

The call came directly from ICM's Kepler Hyde.

After Columbia decided to produce a Godzilla film, they eagerly began searching for a director. Joe Johnston, who had just successfully helmed Jurassic Park 2, was undoubtedly the best choice. On the other hand, many actors, directors, and producers who worked closely with Firefly had most of their contracts through ICM. Due to antitrust laws, although there were no direct financial ties between the two, ICM had always enjoyed a very close relationship with Firefly among the three major talent agencies.

Thus, news that Sony was trying to poach talent quickly reached Eric.

Bill Mechanic was a seasoned Hollywood manager, and details about him weren't hard to come by. His management style tended to be conservative, and he had a cautious personality. After Sony appointed Bill Mechanic as Columbia's CEO, Eric briefly thought that Sony would abandon their exorbitant spending strategy and instead adopt a more cautious approach. However, as soon as he learned that Sony planned to launch Godzilla, he knew they would return to their old ways.

In the original timeline, although they had fired Peter Guber and Jon Peters, Sony still maintained their reckless money-splashing strategy, seeking recognition. They not only offered Jim Carrey an unprecedented $20 million salary but also blindly invested in numerous big-budget flops, with the 1998 version of Godzilla being one of the most notorious failures.

With Godzilla's immense global popularity, Sony ambitiously aimed to turn the film into a trilogy from its early development stages and brought on board Roland Emmerich, who had achieved great box office success with Independence Day.

However, often the greater the expectations, the bigger the disappointments.

From memory, the 1998 version of Godzilla was criticized for its simplistic and absurd plot, as well as its lack of logic. Fans were particularly vocal in their critiques of Godzilla itself.

Godzilla was known as the "King of Monsters" primarily due to its formidable combat abilities. In its Japanese versions, Godzilla possessed indestructible skin and powerful attacks like atomic breath, capable of withstanding even nuclear blasts, occasionally emerging to fend off alien invasions as well. That was the true King of Monsters that dominated its realm.

In stark contrast, the 1998 Godzilla saw most fans reacting post-viewing with disbelief, often thinking, "Are you kidding me?" The iconic monster had ditched its classic image for a Tyrannosaurus rex with fins, and to have its power reduced to being ensnared by a bridge cable was almost laughable. Was Godzilla really that weak?

That wasn't the worst of it; the most infuriating aspect was that this fin-backed Tyrannosaurus fell victim to a few strikes from the U.S. military's missiles, dying with no struggle or fight. In its final moments, it exchanged a poignant gaze with the lead character, filled with a sense of longing and unfulfilled dreams, leaving behind a subtext that read: "You got his body, but I got his heart." After this emotional farewell, it simply passed away, leaving behind an audience bewildered and lamenting: "It was a pathetic 'Godzilla,' and dying like that just isn't enough to quell public outrage! And you still had to act like King Kong at the end? What kind of joke is that?"

Eric recalled that while Godzilla wasn't a total box office disaster, its reputation was so poor that even years later fans would bring it up in conversation just to criticize it.

The film received multiple nominations from the Golden Raspberries, including for Worst Remake, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, and Worst Supporting Actress, drawing ire from moviegoers worldwide.

Originally, Godzilla's rights holder, Toho, planned to completely retire the franchise after the 22nd film in 1995. However, after the release of the 1998 Godzilla, in an attempt to salvage the monster's image, they had to reboot the series, eventually releasing a total of 28 films before putting it to rest. In the end, the 1998 Godzilla even dropped the "God" prefix and was simply titled Zilla.

Upon learning that Sony planned to push ahead with the Godzilla project, Eric began considering how to steer this in the direction he wanted.

Under his influence, Hollywood was undergoing significant changes. Eric wasn't sure if the film would repeat its previous fate if a new director took over Godzilla. So, he quickly resolved to guide it down the same path as before.

While Sony's commitment to film production exceeded Panasonic's, Eric doubted they could remain persistent if they faced a string of big-budget failures. Furthermore, it seemed clear that Sony could no longer rely on the Spider-Man franchise as a lifeline.

Currently, there weren't many suitable directors for Godzilla in Hollywood. Cameron and Spielberg could be considered, and Eric himself would certainly be a possibility. Besides them, there were Joe Johnston, Roland Emmerich, Jan de Bont, and Paul Verhoeven - a select few, with most having ties to Firefly. After all, many of Hollywood's most successful special effects blockbusters in recent years had emerged from Firefly, with directors like Cameron and Emmerich gaining substantial experience through their steadfast support.

To replicate the success of Godzilla, pushing Roland Emmerich towards Sony was undoubtedly the most straightforward approach.

Thus, Eric's task was clear: block Sony from searching for other directors.

In this matter, he didn't need to worry about Cameron; he was busy making Titanic, leaving Sony with no options there. Joe Johnston had signed an option contract with Firefly before taking on Jurassic Park 2, so even if Sony could afford $20 million, they would have to pay hefty penalties for breach of contract, freeing him from their concerns. As for the others, Eric didn't think they would settle for second best before ruling out the bigger names.

The biggest wildcard, however, was Spielberg. The classic Jaws, which had catapulted him to fame, could also arguably be seen as a monster movie.

There was no doubt that even if Eric tried to make room, Sony would likely favor Spielberg over Emmerich.

Of course, nothing was absolute, and at that moment, Emmerich found himself with an ample opportunity to bolster his own "competitiveness." Independence Day surely marked the pinnacle of his directorial career.

...

While Eric closely monitored Sony's Godzilla preparations, the summer box office in Hollywood continued to blaze a trail, with Forrest Gump being particularly eye-catching.

On its first week, it grossed $47 million, which was impressive given it was playing on 1,500 screens and had an average of $30,000 per theater, far exceeding the standard $10,000 average expected from blockbuster films.

Then on June 16, Firefly's Toy Story 2 debuted, topping the box office with an impressive $69 million first-week gross. Jurassic Park 2 followed up with $77 million in its second week, taking a 45% hit and bringing its total earnings to $217 million. Its third-week gross saw a 49% drop to $39.25 million. Comparatively, Forrest Gump, in its second week, saw only an 18% drop, raking in $39.2 million, and Jurassic Park 2 narrowly held onto second place with just a $50,000 lead.

By June 23, even though Warner's Batman Forever split opinions, comic fans flocked to see their beloved villains on the big screen, while Forrest Gump's momentum truly began to shine.

After the box office figures for the week of June 23-29 came in, despite Batman Forever's impressive $78 million earnings at the top, all eyes turned to Forrest Gump's $35 million score -- a significantly minor drop of just 10%. Meanwhile, Toy Story 2's second week earnings fell to $33 million, landing it in third, and Jurassic Park 2 continued its pattern of commercial declines with a 40% drop to $23.5 million, finishing fourth.

Unnoticed, in just three weeks, Forrest Gump's box office drew together an unexpected total of over $122 million, fully entering the realm of the blockbuster.

Moreover, based on its growing buzz and marginal weekly revenue decline, box office forecasting agencies repeatedly revised Forrest Gump's expectations upward. By the time the third-week earnings were released, everyone was surprised to find that most forecasting agencies and media had subconsciously pegged Forrest Gump's box office at a staggering $300 million.

Although Jurassic Park 2 had reached $279 million by its fourth week, closing in on $300 million, few doubted that Forrest Gump was quietly emerging as a contender for the year's box office crown alongside Jurassic Park 2.

...

The production company Flower Films was undoubtedly ecstatic about Forrest Gump's box office success, while the party with the most complex feelings had to be Sony-Columbia, who lost the distribution rights to Forrest Gump and Night at the Museum due to the earlier disputes over Men in Black and Jumanji.

When Sony realized they were likely only going to scrape by on the two films they'd banked on - both of which had skyrocketing costs - while forgoing at least a $100 million profit from Forrest Gump, some shareholders openly criticized the U.S. division's decisions. Had it not been for Idei Nobuyuki's personal endorsement of Howard Stringer, the newly appointed U.S. division head might have faced calls to resign.

As winds shifted, Howard Stringer became ever more determined to escape the shadow of Firefly and turn Godzilla into a blockbuster franchise.

After his invitation to Joe Johnston to direct Godzilla was turned down, Howard Stringer quickly set his sights on Spielberg.

However, Howard Stringer was at least more astute than certain German film investors who only focused on big-name stars without considering their relevance. Given that Eric had pulled Jurassic Park from Spielberg, many of his recent films, while performing decently at the box office, hadn't been particularly groundbreaking. His box office hits Jaws and E.T. were relics of a bygone era.

Moreover, a few years back, Columbia's collaboration with Spielberg on Hook ended in an unremarkable box office disappointment despite initial praise. In recent years, Spielberg had maintained close ties with Universal, where he had partnered on the successful summer hit Casper; that fantasy family comedy had surprisingly achieved over $80 million at the box office despite being overshadowed by massive blockbusters like Jurassic Park 2.

Rumor had it that he was also about to establish a new production company in collaboration with David Geffen under Universal, which made Stringer less confident about inviting Spielberg to the project.

Amid this uncertainty, Independence Day premiered.

...

Debuting on June 30, Independence Day brought in $56 million over its three-day opening weekend. Thanks to the July 4th holiday landing on a weekday, ticket sales soared, resulting in an explosive opening of $85 million due to its strong marketing and word-of-mouth. In just one week, it more than recouped its $75 million production cost, and typically, production and distribution partners took away 90% of first-week gross, meaning, theoretically, Firefly had already recouped all its costs in its opening week.

With the success of Deep Impact, Roland Emmerich emerged as one of the top directors, and Independence Day's box office results further skyrocketed his reputation.

Moreover, Howard Stringer was pleasantly surprised to learn that Roland Emmerich had none of the contractual entrapments that held Joe Johnston back.

This meant that as long as Sony was willing to pay the price, they could hire Roland Emmerich to direct Godzilla.

The question now was, what would Firefly's response be if Sony reached out to Emmerich?

While Stringer aimed to break free from Firefly's shadow, he was acutely aware that completely escaping its influence was impossible. At the very least, this film would undeniably require technical support in digital effects.

*****

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