C 29

In the following days, Luke had more exchanges with Zach Schneider. The latter, during his off-duty time, presented some of his commercials and scenic clips, as well as his work in several advertising teams. Luke recognized Zach's potential to a certain extent through his work diary.

After attending a dinner hosted by the Lauder Group with his mother, Luke returned to Los Angeles. He first registered as a member of the Screenwriting Association and filed the script he had on hand. Following negotiations with Nancy Josephson, after careful consideration, Luke finally signed his name on the ICM brokerage contract as June began.

At the same time, he handed over his second completed script to Nancy. That was what agents were for, after all.

Meanwhile, "Speed" had reached its eighth week of release in North America. As the intense summer season progressed, the film's potential was nearly exhausted. Its daily box office had dropped below $300,000, and the number of theaters showing it had decreased to fewer than 400, mostly in remote locations. Mainstream commercial theaters had more summer options, and by the seventh week, the box office decline was evident.

Still, the film's North American box office total reached $124.78 million! It became the second film of the year to surpass $100 million in North America, and more importantly, "Speed" had temporarily become the highest-grossing film of the year by the halfway point of 1992.

"Incredible," muttered Michael Ovitz, head of CAA, as he coldly glanced at those sitting around the conference table. "We made a major mistake. Not only did we let 'Speed,' a classic case of CAA packaging services, slip away, but we also failed with 'Alien 3'!"

His anger targeted Lovett, who sat at the end of the table. "How did Luke Rosenberg end up signing with Nancy Josephson and not you? Do you understand what it means for CAA to lose a director with a $100 million box office film?"

Ovitz's frustration was evident. "And your guy, Rick Solomon, should be done with important roles! Look at his performance in 'Alien 3.' He's no different from a clown in the circus!"

Lovett, feeling the weight of Ovitz's words, remained silent. He'd noticed a shift in his status within the company, from being one of the brightest rising stars with a reputation for sharp vision to feeling like he could be relegated to the mailroom at any moment.

He regretted not using all available resources, his own and CAA's, to go after "Speed." However, he knew the company would never risk damaging its relationship with Fox and Lucasfilm, even if CAA had stakes in other projects. The importance of CAA's relationship with George Lucas and the "Star Wars" series outweighed Fox's relationship with "Speed."

Lovett had hoped to co-manage Mel Gibson's career, but that now seemed out of reach.

Meanwhile, back at the table, Michael Ovitz asked, "Martin, are the theaters still refusing to extend the run of 'Alien 3'?"

"Yes," replied Martin Bob, the project director for "Alien 3," his tone heavy with disappointment. "Four weeks after its release, the film's North American box office is less than $35 million. The Empire Theaters and AMG Cinemas have already sent ultimatums to Fox that the film can stay in their theaters for a maximum of two more weeks."

CAA's packaging strategy wasn't entirely unsuccessful, but the failure of "Alien 3," despite its established fan base and reputation, cast doubt on their further promotion of similar projects.

During this period, 20th Century Fox underwent significant personnel changes. Following the success of "Speed" and the persuasive efforts of George Lucas to restart the "Star Wars" series, Tom Rothman secured the coveted position of CEO after a fierce internal competition.

In Rothman's newly renovated office, Nancy Rosenberg was passionately advocating for Luke's new script.

"Tom, do you think the script isn't good enough? Or was Luke's performance on 'Speed' not convincing enough?"

Nancy leaned forward, her posture slightly assertive. "The final North American box office for 'Speed' is likely to hit $130 million. That's a figure that will certainly rank in the top ten, if not the top five, this year! Luke's new script carries the same thrilling, intense, and action-packed elements as 'Speed,' only with more depth. This is the type of film Luke excels at. 'Speed' proves that. There's no reason this one won't succeed."

Tom Rothman glanced at the script on his desk. It was indeed better than "Speed," but he knew a great script didn't always guarantee a box office hit. Besides, Luke's projections indicated a much higher budget than "Speed," and that added to the risk.

"Nancy," Rothman said, after a moment's consideration, "I'm optimistic about this script. But you know Fox has a rigorous project review process. I'll push the script through for review as quickly as I can, but you and Luke will need to wait."

Nancy leaned back, satisfied. This was the result she'd hoped for. As an experienced agent, she understood that getting a project approved by a major studio wasn't a simple task. The bigger the company, the stricter the review. Even scripts by top Hollywood writers could sit in review for months.

Her goal was to speed up the process and get the script into active project negotiations.

Of course, neither Luke nor Nancy was relying solely on Fox. In the following week, Nancy arranged meetings with heads at Paramount, Touchstone, Universal, Warner Bros., and other major studios, ensuring Luke's script landed in their hands. With "Speed" as leverage, Luke's new work wouldn't sit on any desk gathering dust.

Although several studios expressed interest, none made any promises without first conducting risk assessments and market research. Hollywood's complex project review system also prevented quick decisions, even if a CEO was inclined to greenlight a script.

Warner Bros., for example, had an eight-person review committee, and any script or project needed to pass a majority vote before moving up for executive consideration. Even CEOs lacked the sole authority to greenlight projects.

Nonetheless, Luke and Nancy remained patient as the process moved forward.