Long term plan

Faced with Roy's straightforward question, Renly, instead of continuing to smile, collected himself and said earnestly, "What if I were to say that both of these films will flop?"

Not a rejection of both films, but a statement that both films would flop?

What kind of answer was this? It wasn't about the scripts being terrible, nor was it about the films being unsuitable for him. It was about predicting that the box office of both films would fail? They weren't prophets; how could they foresee the future?

Although it was true that any commercial project carried risks—business was business, and there were no guaranteed profits— even "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", the third installment of the Harry Potter series, had faced setbacks. It was critically acclaimed but didn't perform as well at the box office. So, how could they claim with certainty that "Battleship" and "John Carter" would flop? More importantly, why was Renly saying this?

In the blink of an eye, Roy's mind underwent a sea change.

Renly could see the dilation of Roy's pupils, and he couldn't help but smile wryly. Smart people tended to overthink things, which could be good or bad. In this case, Renly had simply thought about the situation from his past life and linked it to the present. It was a feeling of inexplicable amusement, and he couldn't resist it.

In his previous life, the male lead for both "Battleship" and "John Carter" was the same person: Taylor Kitsch. Born in 1981, he was a rising young star with handsome looks, a model's physique, and a tall stature. He was like a younger version of Brad Pitt. After appearing in a few youth idol films and with strong support from his agent, he had the opportunity to lead in both "Battleship" and "John Carter", two super blockbusters. Many believed he could become the next Ryan Gosling—both were Canadian, after all.

From any perspective, "Battleship" and "John Carter" met the criteria for massive box office success. There seemed to be no reason for them to fail. Yet, the outcome was different.

"Battleship" had a budget of $210M but only earned $65M in North America, barely surpassing $300M globally. It incurred a loss of over $150M, and Universal Pictures was furious. As for its reception, there was no need to say more—it was a complete failure, both critically and with the audience.

Meanwhile, "John Carter" had a budget of $250M, earned $73M in North America, and didn't even reach $300M globally, settling at $280M. It incurred a loss of over $200M, leading to the resignation of the chairman of Disney Studios. It also marked the end of Andrew Stanton's live-action directing career. In terms of reception, it was almost on par with the first film.

For both film production companies, it was a catastrophe. But for Taylor Kitsch, it was an even bigger disaster. His career had just taken off, and everyone believed he would be the next super superstar. However, it all came to a sudden halt. After that, he had fewer opportunities, not to mention lead roles, and he was a handsome guy without much acting skill. His fall was even faster than Hayden Christensen's. To be precise, he didn't have time to shine before being extinguished.

Now, the opportunities that belonged to Taylor Kitsch were simultaneously on Renly's table. Renly couldn't help but make connections: if he took on these two films, would his dream come to an end? George and Elizabeth would probably be very pleased to see such an outcome.

Such a coincidence, corresponding to such a fate. Even the composed Renly couldn't help but let out a smile, including the teasing remark he had made just now; it was all irresistible.

Everyone says Henry Cavill is the unluckiest man in Hollywood. He missed out on "Superman Returns", missed out on "Twilight", missed out on James Bond's "007", and even missed out on "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". It wasn't until "Man of Steel" that he finally emerged. But in Renly's eyes, Taylor Kitsch's tumultuous career was no less remarkable. If he really took on these roles, he would become the "unfortunate" successor.

After the jest, Renly continued, "I was just thinking, why did you reject "Battleship" and choose "John Carter"? I mean, it's understandable to reject the former, but what's the reason for choosing the latter?"

During the pre-production phase of "Battleship", it followed the template of "Transformers", a type of film that didn't suit Renly. First, he wasn't Megan Fox. Second, he wasn't Shia LaBeouf. Third, the image of an idol vase didn't suit him. Rejecting "Battleship" was only natural.

In fact, "Battleship" wouldn't have considered Renly either.

Filming such blockbusters required actors who knew how to leverage their charisma to enhance the film's visual effects. This was why many super blockbusters were willing to use models as female leads; they shone brightly on the runway, making them the most captivating scenery in the film. If the male lead was a suitable choice, what was wrong with using a model?

Roy regained his focus and noticed a subtle detail in Renly's words. "So, do you have a different view of the "John Carter" script?" He knew Renly hadn't read the script, but his intuition suggested otherwise: Renly had his own judgment.

"First, the original novel is a hundred years old, and audience tastes have undergone a radical change. Without innovation, such a story wouldn't resonate with anyone. But the problem lies with Disney," Renly replied with a rhetorical question, making his point clear without further explanation. Among the six major Hollywood studios, Disney was the most conservative, traditional, and stubborn.

Before 2016, industry analysts believed Disney's primary audience consisted of families and children. They couldn't, and wouldn't, take bold creative risks. They clung to traditional values. However, in 2016, Variety magazine, desperate for content, compiled a statistical table based on data from the 21st century, tracking various aspects of filmmakers, including race, gender, sexual orientation, and more, across the films of the six major Hollywood studios.

The results revealed that Warner Bros. had the highest proportion of Asian directors, 20th Century Fox was the most willing to hire black directors, Sony Columbia Pictures and Universal Pictures were bold in using female directors. Of course, this was just a trend-based statistic. The most interesting fact was that Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Columbia Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount Pictures, all had employed Asian, black, female, and even openly LGBTQ+ directors to some extent, albeit in relatively low proportions.

The only exception was Disney. In the entire list, all of Disney's data remained a consistent "zero". Going further, after acquiring Lucasfilm, Marvel Entertainment, and Pixar, Disney never departed from its old path. To this day, they had yet to release a standalone film centered around a female superhero, let alone their complete line of classic animated films remade into live-action. Women's roles within the company hadn't changed either.

After the publication of Variety magazine's statistics, it caused a sensation throughout Hollywood, with Disney receiving the brunt of the criticism. Clearly, it wasn't just an issue with the primary audience demographic but a problem with the entire company culture.

Returning to the topic Renly had just discussed, the original novel of "John Carter" was written a century ago, in 1912. Without a contemporary adaptation, it would be hard to satisfy modern audiences. Yet, Disney was the least adept at keeping up with the times.

"Secondly, while the script for a blockbuster might not be the most crucial aspect, it doesn't mean the story can be ignored. Even in such works, the story can be simple but must be told by a master storyteller. "Avatar" had an exceedingly simple plot, yet James Cameron narrated it in an epic manner. This talent isn't possessed by just anyone," Renly said, wearing a smile on his face as he shared his second viewpoint. Once again, he didn't elaborate further, leaving behind a deep and lingering resonance.

Roy showed a puzzled expression. "Andrew Stanton is a great storyteller."

"No, Andrew Stanton is skilled at portraying characters and emotions but not at storytelling," Renly refuted, leaving Roy lost in thought.

"Finding Nemo" and "WALL-E", the stories of these two films were actually quite straightforward. However, what made them so moving was the rich and genuine emotions of the characters, which originated from the simplest, purest emotions. This was Andrew Stanton's specialty.

But ironically, "John Carter" didn't require character or emotion exploration.

Roy thought seriously for a moment, then collected his thoughts. He wasn't an actor; he was just an agent. His understanding of scripts couldn't compare to Renly's. He could only provide preliminary analysis based on the story, scale, cast, and theme. The deeper interpretation had to come from Renly himself.

"So, you mean you're rejecting both of these projects?" Roy needed further clarification, recalling Renly's joke from earlier.

Renly shook his head with a smile, "No, what I mean is that I need to read the scripts carefully first before making a decision. We should take our time and think this through."

Roy chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I see." His mindset was still somewhat anxious. Renly had just received the scripts; could he really make a decision so quickly?

He had originally wanted to inquire about Renly's current thoughts. He had spoken so much just now, and his throat was dry. Did Renly have a rough impression of his judgment, and did he agree with it? But when the words were on the tip of his tongue, he held back.

Whether he had passed today's assessment or not, and what kind of grade he had received, would become evident in their future interactions. There was no need to rush it at this moment.

With that in mind, Roy regained his composure, took a sip of coffee from his cup in one breath, and said, "I'll leave you to it then. Take a good nap. In the next few days, review the scripts and relax. We'll make further judgments once there are developments with Andy and Warner Bros."

Having said that, Roy didn't linger any longer. He casually picked up his motorcycle helmet and turned to leave.