Chapter 232: Path to a Dream

"Tom, there's a rumor going around that your marriage with Nicole is in crisis and you two are about to get a divorce?"

Standing before the gala's red carpet, Tom Cruise tightly laced his fingers through Nicole Kidman's, seemingly unbothered by the question.

"How could that be? As you can see, we're doing wonderfully. We love each other, and we're working hard on our marriage and our family."

"What are your next plans?" a reporter affiliated with Warner Bros. asked.

Tom Cruise flashed a charming smile.

"I've poured a massive amount of time and energy into Chicago. Over the past year, I've spent far too little time with Mary..."

"Hmm..." He thought for a moment before continuing. "Now that Chicago is finished, I don't plan on taking any new jobs for the time being. I'll mainly focus on spending time with Mary. We've already discussed it, and it's time to build a complete family. We're planning to have a baby, a child that belongs entirely to the two of us."

The surrounding reporters broke into an uproar. Prompted by a few strategic plants in the crowd, the commotion quickly shifted into applause. In this country, family remained the most highly regarded value, especially a family hoping for a child...

The pre-planned script had perfectly achieved its intended effect. Feeling his public image grow towering in an instant, Tom Cruise beamed radiantly. Nicole Kidman frowned slightly, shot him a glance, and leaned in a little closer.

"You should kiss me now." Trying her best to keep her lips still, she squeezed the reminder through her teeth.

Jolted to his senses, Tom Cruise leaned over and planted a gentle kiss on Nicole Kidman's cheek. No matter how anyone looked at it, they were a deeply loving couple.

Instantly, the crowd of reporters surged forward. The clicking of camera shutters merged into a continuous roar, and strobing flashes lit the area as bright as day.

Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman happily struck various intimate poses for the cameras, only walking into the hotel long after.

This was a film breakdown session jointly hosted by Warner Bros. and Duke Studio. Even though the film's official release was still some time away, groundwork for the awards season had begun long ago. Duke didn't stay at the session for long, yielding the spotlight to Robin Grande, who would be pushing hard to secure Best Picture nominations across various awards.

As for Tom Cruise and Naomi Watts, securing an Oscar nomination would depend not only on their cooperation with the studio's campaigns, but also on the maneuvers pulled by their publicists and agents.

In an era before the internet had truly taken off, the Oscars had an obvious boosting effect on a film's box office. Moreover, Chicago was packed with visual impact; it wasn't the sort of film fundamentally unsuited for commercial theaters like The Shawshank Redemption.

Following the film breakdown session, a new wave of hype centered on Tom Cruise and Chicago swept through the media.

"We've fallen completely behind on the promotional front."

Inside the Miramax office, Bob Weinstein set down his newspaper. Recently, the media had been utterly saturated with news about Chicago, while The English Patient, releasing in the same window, garnered little interest.

"Warner Bros. is pushing their hype machine incredibly hard," he said.

"It can't be helped."

Harvey Weinstein looked completely composed.

"How could Ralph Fiennes possibly draw as much attention as Tom Cruise? Anthony Minghella's fame, image, and ability are nowhere near Duke Rosenberg's. Even if we employed the exact same tactics, there's no way we'd capture the same level of spotlight. Besides, Anthony Minghella is an old-school director. He would never personally throw himself into the fray the way Duke Rosenberg does."

"Do you think..."

Before Bob Weinstein could finish his sentence, Harvey Weinstein cut in.

"It's definitely a fake setup. Do you really think a playboy like Duke Rosenberg would genuinely fall head over heels for an actress? Don't be ridiculous."

He then shook his head at Bob.

"I know what you're thinking, but it wouldn't work. Both films are opening with limited releases, so there's no direct competition right now. If we reach out to the press and accuse them of staging a fake romance for publicity, it will inevitably provoke a counterattack from rival outlets. That kind of bickering would only generate more buzz for them and draw even more eyes to their movie. Besides, what proof could we possibly offer? The moment Duke Rosenberg and Catherine Zeta-Jones move in together, all our accusations will crumble on their own."

"Bob, our target is the Oscars," Harvey Weinstein said with firm conviction. "Everything we're doing revolves around the Academy. As long as we secure the heavyweight nominations, the film's profile and wider theatrical expansion will take care of themselves."

"Therefore, our focus needs to be on countering the threat Chicago poses to us at the Oscars!"

Over at the Paramount Pictures headquarters in the Hollywood District, Sherry Lansing reviewed the upcoming release schedule and couldn't help but shake her head.

"We're colliding with Duke Rosenberg's new film again!"

Despite her words, her expression showed no signs of worry.

"Though we don't have to worry this time."

A vice president chimed in, looking completely relaxed.

"Even with Duke Rosenberg directing, even with Tom Cruise as the lead, and even with all the massive hype they've stirred up, it doesn't change the fact that this is a niche musical! There's no way the commercial theater chains are going to dump massive resources into them on opening weekend!"

"We still need to keep a close eye on this film!" Sherry Lansing said seriously. "Don't forget, its director is Duke Rosenberg!"

Paramount Pictures' new film, Star Trek: First Contact, had also chosen the Thanksgiving weekend release window. However, they hadn't launched any promotional campaigns targeting Chicago. The two films catered to entirely different demographics and had a massive disparity in their opening screen counts, meaning they wouldn't form much of a direct rivalry anyway.

Duke Studio and Warner Bros. likewise had no intention of targeting other films in the same release window. They simply focused on executing their own promotional and distribution strategies: liaising with theaters, producing and shipping film prints, hiring polling and consulting firms, and managing media public relations. They ensured that Duke, Tom Cruise, and the rest of the core cast and crew made frequent appearances at various events, while actively negotiating with major corporate circuits and independent theater chains.

"The film's genre guarantees that we won't be able to secure a wide release of a thousand-plus theaters on opening weekend."

Doug Walter, the head of Warner Bros.' distribution department, stood in the Duke Studio conference room.

"We've spoken with multiple commercial theater chains," he said. "They insist on a limited release for Chicago in its first week, and they'll adjust their screen allocations based on the market's reaction afterward."

Hearing this, Duke wasn't surprised in the slightest. The audience word-of-mouth from Chicago's test screenings had been strong, and the film had even taken home the People's Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival, but none of that could erase the undeniable reality that the musical genre had been in steep decline.

Theater chains had thrown their full support behind him in the past because he was making massive summer blockbusters. Now, no one could accurately predict how the market would actually react once Chicago hit theaters. Coupled with the release of Paramount's commercial tentpole that same weekend, the theater chains barely even had to think about where they were going to allocate their resources.

"Because of these theatrical limitations, Warner Bros. has drawn up an appropriate distribution strategy."

Doug Walter continued.

"For the initial phase, we'll open with a 100-theater limited release. Our primary target will be the nostalgia crowd, using them to ignite the film's word-of-mouth. We'll concentrate these screenings in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Once word-of-mouth fully ferments and a certain level of market hunger builds up, we'll re-engage with the theater chains and demand a wide release."

Duke had known this all along and had no objections. Among the heavy-hitting new releases for Thanksgiving, Paramount's Star Trek: First Contact was opening across 2,812 theaters, making it indisputably the hottest and most commercially dominant film of the weekend. Miramax's The English Patient was also a serious contender; executing a distribution strategy remarkably similar to Chicago's, it was opening in 268 theaters. If his memory served him right, that film had historically been a massive winner at the Oscars. Chicago's screen count had been heavily squeezed, forcing a conservative approach with a mere 100 theaters for its opening week.

Opening on a limited release was a typical distribution strategy for niche films. It was only suited for genre pictures with relatively narrow target demographics, such as musicals and arthouse dramas. By their very nature, these types of films could rarely secure massive opening screen counts anyway.

Naturally, this was also the standard, highly effective distribution playbook leading into the awards season. Neither Duke nor Warner Bros. was going to use a production of this budget scale to run untested experiments.

The brief pre-release meeting came to a close. Penny Kalis called Duke and Catherine Zeta-Jones together, ushering them into an empty reception room next door.

"Once the film is out, you two can formally address the relationship." Penny Kalis's instructions were primarily aimed at Duke—after all, Zeta-Jones barely possessed the leverage to weigh in. "If Kate's role meets expectations, and her growing fame can draw even more press attention, she'll move into your mansion."

A sharp gleam flashed through Catherine Zeta-Jones's eyes. She looked as though she could hardly wait.

But Duke's next words brought her back to reality.

"I don't have a problem with any of that. What I want to know is, when does Kate move out? When does this temporary relationship end?"

Duke didn't even spare a glance at Catherine Zeta-Jones. The entire reason he said it right in front of her was to remind her that he wasn't an idiot. How could he possibly be blind to her wildly unrealistic fantasies?

This temporary relationship had indeed served its purpose in promoting the film, but Catherine Zeta-Jones's camp was reaping the benefits as well. Her publicists and agents had spent this entire period riding on Duke's fame and status to build her momentum!

To put it bluntly, it was nothing more than a mutually beneficial temporary relationship.

Penny Kalis perfectly understood what Duke was getting at. She gave him a reassuring look.

"I'll draw up an appropriate plan," she said. "Duke, you two should focus on getting ready for the film's premiere first. You need to walk the red carpet hand in hand. Don't let Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman steal all the spotlight."

"I'm just a director. No matter what I do, I'll never outshine a massive star like Cruise."

Turning around, Duke looked at Zeta-Jones, who was lost in thought.

"Kate, have you picked out a dress yet?" he asked. "If not, we can go pick one out together."