Tentative schedule
Work is important, but it's also essential to ensure a certain amount of rest time. Therefore, after the party, Lyman also took two days off for himself.
Most of the crew members ended their collaboration after receiving the remaining remuneration. Apart from Thomas, René, and a few actors who needed post-production dubbing, there weren't many people involved in the post-production work.
During these two days, Lyman and René stayed at their respective homes in Cannes. They occasionally went out together for a meal, relieving the heavy pressure accumulated from the busy and intense filming.
The days without constantly thinking and worrying were quite leisurely, especially after experiencing three months of hustle and bustle. Sometimes, people really need to pause and give themselves some time to recover.
After enjoying two days of peace, the two returned to Paris and met Thomas, preparing to start the post-production editing work for "Fury". However, EuropaCorp had an announcement.
...
In a neatly decorated conference room, Luc Besson sat in the seat of honor, looking at a financial report on the meeting table.
The document contained the detailed expenditure list for the filming of "Fury". As the production company, it was easy to understand the specifics.
"Nicolas Cage's salary: $12M, Jon Bernthal's: $500,000, Eva Green's: $10,000..."
Luc Besson glanced over the section recording the cast and crew's salaries. In addition to the actors' remuneration, there were also salaries for Thomas and the rest of the filming team.
In the roles of producer, director, and screenwriter, there was a total expenditure of $7M. Film costs, accommodation expenses, location rentals... Luc Besson quickly reached the end. After the filming stage, the total expenditure amounted to over $48.7M.
Hmm, it's slightly better than expected, with some surplus.
Thinking this, he closed the document and put it aside. Smiling, he said to Lyman, "I didn't expect the final production cost to be lower than the initial project assessment budget."
Lyman shrugged and complained, "Of course, with Jonathan Gavin watching over us, I couldn't waste any time during the filming. He hit the jackpot as the guarantor." Even after so many days, Lyman still shuddered at the thought of Jonathan's tormenting language during the shoot.
"Haha, he wasn't our choice. Paramount Pictures demanded him because... as you know, they have a stake in this project." Luc Besson shrugged off the blame with a smile.
"Enough of that. Why did you call me here today? I need to start the post-production of "Fury" quickly." Everyone knew what Paramount Pictures was thinking—they wanted to ensure the flow of funds during the production. Presumably, by now, they had received a detailed report on the film's expenditure.
"Well, we need to confirm when "Fury" can be completed."
Today, he summoned Lyman for a small meeting to tentatively schedule the film's release date. After all, the filming work had been successfully completed, and the corresponding promotional work could be carried out in sync with the post-production. This way, by the time it was released in theaters, the promotional work would be almost complete. It would provide enough time for the audience to know the precise release date of the film and expand its influence to attract interested viewers to contribute to the box office.
After thinking for a while, Lyman gave an answer, "It should be completed before November, and if things go well, maybe by mid-October." Lyman, who had already edited two films, had abundant experience. Moreover, "Fury" wasn't much different from "3 Idiots", mainly focusing on the story and not involving a significant amount of post-production special effects.
The main work besides editing the raw footage was the routine process of adding music, sound effects, and voiceovers. It wouldn't take much time to produce, only attention to detail was required.
After receiving Lyman's answer, Luc Besson nodded and said, "Then our schedule is quite flexible. We can aim for the Thanksgiving release or even consider pushing it back a bit for a Christmas release."
Lyman shrugged and said, "You decide."
"Alright," Luc Besson said seriously, "Ross, please introduce the release plans of other film companies."
In the meeting room, a middle-aged man stood up, holding the prepared document in his hand.
"This year's release schedule will be lively." Ross, a middle-aged Caucasian man, opened the file and began introducing, "On November 15th, Warner Bros. will release "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets", with a production cost claimed to be $100M. On the 22nd, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer will release "Die Another Day", with a production cost of $142M. On the 27th, Columbia Pictures will release "Eight Crazy Nights", an animated comedy with a production cost of $34M..."
Following that, there were Leonardo DiCaprio's crime/biographical film "Catch Me If You Can", the epic fantasy film "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", the science fiction movie "Star Trek: Nemesis", and many others.
The Thanksgiving season has always been recognized as a hot and lucrative period in the market. It would never lack blockbusters or the presence of A-list stars. It was a time when the big players would go head-to-head. However, the market's rule was that good movies would stand out, while weaker ones would be left with scraps, and truly terrible films would be doomed, regardless of their release timing.
"Something that is slightly pleasing," Ross paused and analyzed, stating his opinion, "Our film belongs to the war genre, which makes it unique throughout the entire Thanksgiving season. So, we do have a competitive advantage."
Lyman silently nodded. It was indeed a clear advantage. Audiences have their own preferences, and if there's no competition in the war genre, as long as the film is well-promoted, firmly holding onto this advantage, there shouldn't be too much fear of the film performing poorly.
Luc Besson was also considering this, and he asked, "So, when do you all think would be a better time for the release?"
"The animated film "Eight Crazy Nights" has a different target audience, so we can skip that one."
"'As for "Harry Potter", it has an incredibly broad fan base. It would easily capture the attention of most viewers. We should avoid competing with it."
"To that, "The Lord of the Rings" is also definitely not something we should directly clash with. The first film had an immensely strong market response."
"Although "Catch Me If You Can" stars Leonardo DiCaprio, it primarily targets the awards route and poses no significant threat..."
In the conference room, EuropaCorp's executives analyzed for quite a while. Lyman only caught snippets: if "Fury" were to be released during the Thanksgiving period, around November 25th, there would be too much competition, making it unsuitable. They should push it back and aim to compete with "Catch Me If You Can" and other awards-oriented films.
However, what would be the point of such an arrangement?
It was well-known that the fourth Thursday in November is Thanksgiving, the most important traditional holiday in the United States and the beginning of what is traditionally known as the Christmas season in the American film market.
The reason why this over one-month-long period is highly regarded is mainly due to two important factors: the large audience base, which makes it easy to achieve good box office results, and the desire to attract the attention of Oscar judges.
Early next year, the highly anticipated Oscar nominations would be announced. The eligible films for consideration need to have been released between January 1st and December 31st of the previous year. That's why many award-contending films choose to release at the end of the year to compete for the Oscar awards in a hot and impactful manner.
The biggest advantage of releasing a film near the end of the year is to leave a lasting impression on Oscar judges. These films often receive more attention than those released earlier in the year, making it easier to secure nominations.
Therefore, if they pushed the release date back and competed with films like "Catch Me If You Can", which are aimed at awards contention, they would indeed have an advantage. However, near the end of the year, it wouldn't be a prime time for commercial films. At that time, people would be busy buying gifts for family and friends, decorating their homes for Christmas, and most of the potential moviegoers' spending power would be directed towards these activities.
That's why at the end of the year, theaters would primarily showcase adult-oriented films and those intended for Oscar contention. Because these films didn't rely on box office numbers alone, as long as they won awards, all their efforts would be rewarded, making it the most effective way to achieve fame and fortune.
"Naturally, we can't do that with "Fury". It needs market recognition in terms of box office."
"I suggest we release it on November 22nd, avoiding "Harry Potter" in advance and "The Lord of the Rings" afterward. Leaving a gap of about two weeks in between would be a perfect time for "Fury" to be released. We need a calm period to prove the film's quality," Lyman slowly expressed his viewpoint.
For a moment, the conference room fell silent as everyone contemplated the feasibility of this suggestion.
"You probably know that "Die Another Day" is the 20th installment in the "007" series and also happens to be on the 40th anniversary of this spy-themed saga. I've heard that Twentieth Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have started collaboration and will capitalize on this to attract the accumulated fan base from past films. I don't think it would be a wise choice to compete directly with this film," one of EuropaCorp's executives voiced their opposition first.
"What if we don't do that? Competing with "The Lord of the Rings", or actually pushing the release to the end of December. By that time, do you think the market can accommodate a commercial film with a production cost and promotion expenses totaling over $100M?"
The executive fell silent. Even he wasn't optimistic about what kind of results "Fury" would achieve when released near the end of the year. It was a limitation of market capacity, regardless of the film's quality.
What should they do then?