I am Hollywood

Chapter 815: Chapter 816: Reverse Public Relations

[Chapter 816: Reverse Public Relations]

Along the coastal highway, a black Buick LeSabre pulled over to the side. Lucine casually sat on the hood of the car, legs crossed, presenting a relaxed and alluring demeanor. Selena and Jill leaned against the side of the vehicle, all three women dressed in similar tight-fitting outfits, their stunning faces and figures enough to make any man watching want to be the Buick parked beside them.

At that moment, the women gazed toward a nearby farewell taking place between two individuals -- a man and a woman, one older and one younger. It was none other than Bond and Angela.

With everything settled, Bond, as Vesper's lover, felt the responsibility of looking after Angela. However, he understood that his life, fraught with instability and danger, would not provide Angela with the peace she deserved. After considering this deeply, Bond decided to entrust Angela to the Charlie Detective Agency, which was also her request.

The camera captured Angela, who seemed to grasp the situation, handing the necklace back to Bond and saying, "I think you might need this more than I do."

Bond took the necklace, hesitated for a moment, then held it in his hand and told Angela, "Take care of yourself. If I have the chance, I'll come back to see you."

"Okay," Angela nodded obediently.

Not lingering, Bond nodded toward Selena and Jill, then turned and walked toward his Aston Martin. Angela watched him leave and suddenly remembered something crucial, calling out, "Hey, you still haven't told me your name!"

Bond raised a hand and waved, but without turning back, replied, "Bond, James Bond."

...

As Pierce Brosnan delivered that iconic line, customary in every 007 film, Eric smiled and nodded from behind the camera, raising his voice, "Good! I officially announce that the shooting of Casino Royale is wrapped!"

Everyone gathered for this scene spontaneously burst into applause, exchanging nods, hugs, and farewells. Eric shook hands with Michael Wilson and embraced Barbara Broccoli, saying, "Barbara, I hope we get a chance to work together again."

"Of course! I'm looking forward to our next endeavor," Barbara Broccoli smiled back.

After nearly a year, the Broccoli family had mostly accepted the reality that MGM had regained control of the 007 series. They no longer fixated on this, understanding that while they had lost control, their share of profits from the series had not been diminished by MGM. With Eric at the helm, the Broccoli family could actually benefit more.

Eric exchanged a few words with Barbara Broccoli, then turned to Pierce Brosnan. After completing Vesper's scenes, Cate Blanchett had already left the set ahead of schedule. Without the pressure of Cate's acting, Brosnan found the final stretch very relaxed, and the earlier minor tensions dissipated.

After chatting with everyone on set, the crew departed from the beach to return to Pinewood Studios, where a grand wrap party awaited them.

...

It was now November 3rd, just after Halloween in North America.

Following the wrap party, Eric headed back to Los Angeles with the post-production team and filming materials for Casino Royale. With just two weeks remaining until Thanksgiving, the release date for Mission: Impossible 2 was set for November 22.

During the post-production of Casino Royale, Eric's first task was to incorporate the Casino Royale Easter egg into the ending of Mission: Impossible 2. This practice had begun with the Easter egg from the first Charlie's Angels added to GoldenEye and had become customary in MGM's spy film universe. Fans had grown increasingly curious about every Easter egg in the series.

By November, winter had settled over London. When Eric left, the city had already seen its first snowfall of the year, while Los Angeles, located on the West Coast of the U.S., was still warm and spring-like, with daytime temperatures around a pleasant 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Even at night, temperatures rarely dipped below 50 degrees.

At Playa Vista, Firefly Studios, Eric emerged from the post-production studio with the film's editor.

Editing the movie's Easter egg wasn't an easy task. Unlike trailers, which can be lengthier, Easter eggs are often only a few brief shots, barely lasting a moment. Thus, how to provide the audience with enough information and intrigue without revealing the main plot became a considerable focus for both the director and editor.

Eric planned to set the scene where M would introduce 007 to the Phantom Protocol details he received from Ethan Hunt, but the specific content needed careful consideration. After two days of discussion in the editing room, he had roughly drafted a plan for a ten-second clip.

...

By the evening, after saying goodbye to the editor, Eric didn't leave the studio immediately but instead headed to Jeffrey Katzenberg's office in the lot. Earlier that day, Katzenberg had called, hoping to discuss upcoming Thanksgiving and Christmas movie releases. From his tone, Eric anticipated it was related to Titanic.

This holiday season, Firefly was slated to release two films: New Line's Rush Hour and Firefly's own Titanic.

Rush Hour had already undergone several test screenings, receiving positive feedback. The film was set to premiere on November 15th and was in its final stages of promotion. With a budget of only $30 million, it was less than a seventh of Titanic's budget, meaning the company didn't have to worry too much about it.

Upon arriving at Katzenberg's office, Eric waved off the secretary's call for him, walked in, and found Katzenberg looking up from some documents. Katzenberg nodded at Eric, checked his watch, and said, "Eric, let's head to the cafe outside to talk."

The two exited the administrative building and made their way to the studio cafe.

...

They casually ordered coffee and some snacks. Katzenberg began, "Eric, yesterday someone spotted Jim West dining with Theo Kinnard at Morton's." Before Eric could inquire further, Katzenberg continued, "Jim West is Sherry Lansing's assistant at Paramount, and Theo Kinnard is a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association."

Hearing Theo Kinnard's name made Eric understand the situation. Kinnard might be an ordinary Golden Globe judge now, but years later, he would become the youngest chairperson in the history of the awards.

"They truly wish for Firefly to fail," Eric sighed, shaking his head.

Eric knew the company had been working on PR for Titanic's Golden Globe nominations. The nomination criteria were similar to those for the Oscars; however, the Golden Globe nominations were generally announced around December 10th, whereas Titanic's wide release was set for December 20th. Before that, there would be a few limited screenings to satisfy the nomination requirements, but serious campaigning was needed to secure actual nominations.

Typically, other Hollywood studios refrained from engaging in reverse public relations against competing films. Such tactics almost invariably backfired, and the retaliatory strikes could be fierce. The competition tended to target their rivals' weaknesses and attack them publicly to deter judges from voting for a film. Rarely did any studio engage in outright reverse public relations, especially as Firefly faced this unprecedented situation with Titanic.

Eric understood that Firefly had taken a hard stance against the other major players in recent years. Even though the film market was growing, the overall size remained somewhat fixed; he couldn't hold back Firefly's box office performance simply to spare his competitors' feelings.

Katzenberg wore a serious expression and added, "We're also trying our best, but aside from Paramount, Warner Brothers and Universal are also making moves. Chances are, Titanic will only receive a few inconsequential nominations at the Golden Globes."

"We can only do our best," Eric replied. "Moreover, we must be cautious about using any extreme measures. So many eyes are watching; if we get caught, it would stir even more trouble."

"I certainly know," Katzenberg replied, nodding. He understood that extreme measures referred to voting manipulation tactics. Universal and Paramount were going all out against Firefly. At a time like this, it would be foolish to provide them with even the slightest excuse.

"Before you came back, Paramount moved Star Trek: First Contact from its Thanksgiving slot to December 13th, just a week before Titanic releases. They claimed it was to avoid competition with Mission: Impossible 2, but we all know the real reason," Katzenberg continued.

"With this move, there will be nine films premiering over three weeks around Titanic, each set to screen over 2000 theaters on average -- three films each week."

As Katzenberg spoke, he handed Eric a file he had just brought from his office.

It was a release schedule for films.

Upon reviewing the schedule, Eric noticed that in the weeks surrounding Titanic's release, there were one or two prominently marked films every week.

On December 13th, in addition to Paramount's Star Trek: First Contact, there was Sony's Jerry Maguire, starring Tom Cruise. Then on December 20th, going head-to-head with Titanic was Warner's Mars Attacks!, featuring Jack Nicholson. The following week would also see Universal's comedy My Fellow Americans.

On top of these, Fox and MGM had their new releases timed for the holiday season. Despite being allies, these studios couldn't afford to back down for the benefit of Titanic, which many believed wouldn't fare well.

Eric examined the film schedule, while Katzenberg continued sharing 'bad news', saying, "As for overseas releases, the only countries that can coincide with North America are the UK, Spain, and Australia. French and German distributors have little faith in Titanic's box office prospects; they only want to give us a slot around February, which I've turned down. Japan initially aimed for a simultaneous release with North America, but since we rejected Toho's offer for Titanic's distribution rights, things have soured. Plus, Sony's influence might play a role here. In sum, we're encountering roadblocks in Japan too, where they proposed a mid-March release, which is even later than what Germany and France offered. Additionally, the overseas distributors we're negotiating with are hoping we provide more guarantees, essentially wanting us to lower the profit-sharing ratio."

Eric couldn't help but rub his temples; the influx of information was quite overwhelming.

Katzenberg didn't say anything further; Eric treated him well, and putting pressure on his boss was not the right move.

"How about this?" After a moment of silence, Eric suggested, "If next month Titanic doesn't meet expectations at the box office, I'll call a senior management meeting to discuss it and propose a stricter budget policy for the company."

"Eric, you absolutely don't need to do that. Film companies need to try larger productions," Katzenberg quickly interjected.

During Michael Eisner's leadership at Disney, Katzenberg held significant responsibilities in the film studio. Much of his work often involved shielding Eisner from critique. If a movie that Eisner was involved in struggled, the criticisms would usually fall on Katzenberg to bear. To maintain Eisner's reputation, Katzenberg avoided explaining things too much.

Hollywood highly valued authority; Eric's proposal to apologize could damage his standing.

Everyone understood that over the years, Eric had been the soul of Firefly. Without his sharp vision for film production, Firefly couldn't have grown to its current scale.

"Let's settle on this for now," Eric said, shaking his head as he turned down Katzenberg's offer. "But before that, I expect all departments to remain undistracted by external information, focusing on marketing and releasing Titanic. And overseas? If we can't secure a good release date, and given that these distributors want to negotiate a lower revenue share, we can revisit this after the film releases."

If the box office in North America fell short of expectations, Firefly would need to lower its revenue share for overseas distribution; alternatively, the advantage would revert back to Firefly.

"No problem, I'll personally oversee this," Katzenberg assured him with seriousness.

*****

/Sayonara816.

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