Fickle and capricious

"In the past, when you accompanied me to look at the moon, you called me 'Little Sweetie'. Now, with someone new replacing the old, you call me 'Madame Cow'."

This line from "A Chinese Odyssey" vividly depicted the state of the film market at that time.

With the release of the final commercial blockbuster for the Christmas season, "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", the fierce battle for the Christmas box office in 2002 came to an end.

This sequel, combined with the fan base built by Tolkien's books, replaced "Fury" and "Die Another Day" as the object of great media and audience attention once it premiered.

People were always fickle and capricious, and the same went for news headlines. Following the trend was the key.

Lyman understood this and agreed wholeheartedly.

Just like the time when "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" premiered earlier, it was no less popular than "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" then.

But after two weeks, "Fury" and "Die Another Day" entered the market, and they took away its box office crown, causing its popularity to drop significantly.

By that time, nobody cared about it anymore.

The market indeed lived up to the magical craze that had been promoted. "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" premiered in 3,622 theaters and earned $61.02M on its first day, surpassing the combined box office results of "Fury" and "Die Another Day".

However, it still didn't break any box office records.

Currently, the record for the highest single-day box office in the North American market was still held by Columbia Pictures' "Spider-Man".

Yes, it crossed the hundred million mark in two days.

The good performance of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" naturally triggered another round of media celebrations. Regardless of who won the market, they were always happy about it.

As expected, film critics began praising the movie, hailing director Peter Jackson as the "Master of Magical Epic."

In the media's eyes, this film was the best blockbuster of the year.

On the second day of its release, it continued to rake in $57.34M, while "Fury" could only maintain a single-day box office of $3.24M, decreasing day by day.

Thankfully, the decline in the film's market performance was relatively stable, allowing it to hang on for a while. However, "Die Another Day" was hit hard by this combination of films, its box office plummeting to just over two million, and the downward trend was swift. Presumably, it would be abandoned by theaters in just a week or two.

...

Recently, Lyman had been very busy.

Because he had become a sought-after talent in the eyes of others, everyone wanted to get close to him.

Of course, this popularity didn't reflect in the media or the public. They had long forgotten about him and his work "Fury". Instead, his popularity was within the film production and distribution circles in North America.

He could feel that his status and position had changed recently because the number of people calling to invite him had increased, and they were all difficult to refuse.

He didn't know who leaked his private phone number, leading to all sorts of inexplicable invitations finding him.

Paramount Pictures built a new studio and invited him to visit and hold a celebration party. He always had to accept, right? Bryan Lourd from CAA invited him personally to his daughter's birthday party, a private event. He would surely attend...

There were also a bunch of investment companies waving their checks, wanting to invest in his new movie. Many unknown artists and actors somehow got his contact information, showering him with flattery, praise, flattery, and suggestive remarks, which really annoyed him...

In the past, when "3 Idiots" performed well, he was also relatively popular, but not as much as now.

Originally, he planned to take a good rest after the stable release of "Fury", but now, where would he find the time?

So, who leaked my phone number? Who?

Actually, he vaguely knew the reason for this change. Ultimately, it was because he had just started with two niche subjects, and people thought he was that kind of eccentric director, leaning towards the artsy side. Although they recognized his talent, they didn't take him too seriously.

After all, in the artsy realm, no matter how sensational it was, the market's acceptance wouldn't be too high. Perhaps some fans would love it, but in terms of the entire mainstream audience, it wasn't that impressive.

But now, with the overwhelming success of "Fury", everyone saw a different Lyman. Unexpectedly, he could handle both commercial and artistic projects.

His attitude naturally changed.

Many producers and production companies came to him with scripts and checks, saying he could direct anything he wanted, and they would resolve any issues with the script.

"...If you're the director, if you're not satisfied with the script, just say it, and we'll change it immediately."

He felt so tempted.

Without a stable distribution partner, independent filmmakers or small companies were at a dead end in North America.

Look at Steven Spielberg, he ambitiously created DreamWorks, aiming to make it Hollywood's new shining star, but he was played to death by numerous distribution companies.

You say they didn't perform well? Oh, "Gladiator", "Catch Me If You Can", "The Ring", "The Tuxedo"... Almost every film was profitable and achieved good market results. You say they didn't have connections? They did, with Paramount, Warner Bros., Universal... They were almost involved with all major players. Besides, Steven Spielberg himself represented a vast network, but they still failed.

Sentiments are sentiments, interests are interests, and the adult world doesn't play games with you. Collaboration, yes, let's all make money together. Want a distribution partner? Go solo, sorry, you're out.

In 2005, DreamWorks, which had once ranked among the top ten movie studios in the US, was acquired by Viacom. As a result, DreamWorks' brand came under the ownership of Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Viacom.

Steven Spielberg was also disheartened and never touched distribution again.

How did the Big Six of Hollywood get their name? They stepped on the corpses of numerous movie studios to achieve that.

They weren't industry titans, who was?

Even EuropaCorp, when they wanted to enter the US market, opted for cooperation, finding a local partner.

When it came to core interests and resources, they would never leave the slightest gap. Don't even think about it. Though, later on, Disney did something amazing, breaking the customary pattern of the Big Six and becoming a solo ruler, but of course one couldn't rule out its deep foundation.

So, no matter what promises those small studios or producers made, they were just empty words. Lyman didn't pay any attention to them.

He was a director, most concerned about his work, and wanted his works to receive the recognition they deserved in the market. This wasn't contradictory.

Initially, he was a bit tired of socializing, but he could handle it. He went where he needed to, expressed politeness where necessary. But when December 28th came, the news of "Fury" breaking $400M in global box office spread, and more people came looking for him, with invitations that were so diverse, and not easy to refuse. Fortunately, he went directly to France.

I can't afford to provoke, but I also can't hide? Who do they think they are looking down upon?

However, there were also benefits. Luc Besson and the senior executives of EuropaCorp became increasingly friendly towards him.

Maybe, the next time they collaborate, his investment share would be greater, and his position would be better.

Moreover, CAA took the initiative to renegotiate an economic contract with him, not only reducing their percentage of commission but also upgrading the service team to a scale of ten people, specifically dedicated to handling various trivial matters for him.

Of course, his daily agent, John, remained unchanged.

...

"Is there something you need?"

On January 5, 2003, Lyman had just returned to France a few days ago. He spent his days writing outlines for his new movie and occasionally going out for leisure, enjoying his holiday. However, Kevin Huvane called him.

Whenever he called, it meant something busy.

And it turned out to be the case.

"...MGM wants to invite you to direct the next James Bond film. What do you think about it?"

What did he think? Joining in when he couldn't beat them? Not long ago, they were fierce competitors, smearing each other, and their movie was pulled out of theaters in the second week by "Fury", never regaining the lead. Now, they wanted him to direct the latest installment of the series. What an interesting turn of events.

Of course, competitors might also cooperate with each other. Everything depended on the consideration of interests.

Presumably, MGM had thoroughly analyzed and recognized Lyman's directing abilities, which was why CAA was discreetly inquiring about his thoughts.

But why should he go and direct a James Bond film?

For a director like him, even if it was a market success, it would only be an addition to his resume, nothing significant.

After all, for this mature style of film series, few would credit the director for its success; the fans' power is what gets recognized.

If he happened to fail... If such a widely popular movie could fail, it would be the destruction of the promising future of a good director.

Moreover, he had his own movies to direct; he had plans in mind.

"Help me decline. Say I'm interested but can't free up a shooting schedule."

The outline for his new movie was nearly completed during this period, waiting only for René's polishing. There was no need for him to take on another project.

Kevin Huvane naturally felt pleased to hear that. Clients under his management were highly productive; how could he not be happy?

He was directing one movie almost every year.

"Sure, can you reveal the genre and content of the new movie?"

"Wait until the script is finished. We haven't even signed the shooting contract yet."

"Oh, right, one more thing. Awards season is coming up; you need to come over to North America for that."

Time flew by, and January arrived. The previously agreed-upon plan to push "3 Idiots" for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars was about to begin...