Chapter 283: The Only Savior

"Although Sony Entertainment is an outsider, what they acquired was Columbia Pictures."

In the cafe, Doug Walter set down his coffee cup and looked across at Sony Columbia Pictures executive Mirko Ince.

"Warner Bros. and the other major film studios all acknowledge Sony Columbia Pictures' status in Hollywood," he said.

Mirko Ince nodded solemnly. "When it comes to safeguarding our mutual interests and market share, Sony Columbia Pictures stands completely aligned with Warner Bros. and the other major studios."

In fact, as early as last year, executives from the Big Six had met and reached a consensus on several matters. While Warner Brothers, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney, Sony Columbia, and Twentieth Century Fox collaborated and competed among themselves, they would never allow any new company outside their traditional sphere of influence to join their ranks and carve up the biggest piece of the pie.

In this regard, the Big Six—and even the declining MGM—naturally stood united.

"Mirko, Warner Bros. has already reached an agreement with Universal Pictures, Walt Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, and Paramount Pictures." Doug Walter cut straight to the point. "This summer, just like the past two years, we will do everything in our power to suppress DreamWorks, from marketing and distribution right down to the theater chains!"

"Sony Entertainment has no objections."

Clearly, Sony Entertainment had already made their decision before Mirko Ince even arrived.

"We will stand with you on this," he said.

Steven Spielberg was undoubtedly the most popular director in Hollywood, but DreamWorks was not just Spielberg's DreamWorks. And even if it had been, the major studios would still suppress it without mercy.

Now that even Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures—the studios that worked most closely with Spielberg—had joined the effort, Sony Columbia Pictures, represented by Mirko Ince, naturally wouldn't hesitate.

Doug Walter finished his coffee and continued.

"DreamWorks has been around for several years now. David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and Steven Spielberg are highly ambitious and want to expand the studio. They aren't just dabbling in live-action films, but also animated features, records, book publishing, and all sorts of merchandise. Warner Bros. and Time Warner refuse to sit back and watch a massive company rise up to snatch away the market share that rightfully belongs to us."

"Sony Entertainment doesn't want to see that either," Mirko Ince echoed.

"DreamWorks' major blockbuster this year is Deep Impact."

Ordering another cup of coffee, Doug Walter picked up the thread.

"The production budget is a massive 80 million dollars, and if you factor in the marketing and distribution costs, it exceeds 110 million. If this project fails, DreamWorks' cash flow is bound to suffer."

"Then we'll simply do our best to ensure it fails."

Although The Matrix, distributed by Warner Bros., was Sony Columbia Pictures' biggest competitor, their rivalry wouldn't affect their cooperation on this matter. Neither man brought it up, maintaining a tacit understanding. The clash between The Matrix and Godzilla was merely a matter of short-term profits, whereas the rise of DreamWorks posed a severe threat to their long-term interests.

This was just an ordinary microcosm of the constant push and pull of competition and cooperation in Hollywood.

After ending his brief meeting with the Sony Columbia Pictures executive, Doug Walter left the cafe. As he climbed into his car, he made consecutive calls to Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Twentieth Century Fox. Executives from all three studios were already networking in private, preparing to take aim at DreamWorks' major production.

It was the simplest, most direct, and most effective strategy. As long as that massive investment of over a hundred million dollars couldn't be recouped, even a studio like DreamWorks, which seemingly boasted ample funds, would inevitably face a severe cash flow squeeze—one that might even break them.

Inside a Universal Pictures office, CEO Ron Meyer spoke into his phone.

"Doug, I've said it many times," he said. "Universal Pictures will stay aligned with the other studios. We have only one stance regarding DreamWorks: unless they abandon their current ambitions and transition into a standard production company, Universal Pictures will absolutely not change its position!"

He had barely hung up the phone and hadn't even had a moment to think when his assistant alerted him.

"Mr. Spielberg is on the line."

"Steven?"

Ron Meyer frowned.

"Put him through!" he ordered immediately.

Universal Pictures participating in the suppression of DreamWorks was one thing, but maintaining a working relationship with Spielberg was entirely another. Ron Meyer had always hoped Spielberg would direct the third installment of Jurassic Park.

"Hi, Steven."

Top-tier directors were an incredibly scarce resource in Hollywood. Much like Jeff Robinov's attitude toward Duke, Ron Meyer didn't hold back a smile, even over the phone.

"I was actually just about to call and invite you out for a round of golf..."

"What? Oh, no problem at all, that's a trivial matter. Duke Rosenberg has had enough of the spotlight during the summer releases; it's about time he ran into some bad luck! Don't worry, Universal Pictures will absolutely stand with you when it comes to the MPAA rating for The Matrix. If his new film is anything like his last few, I guarantee it will get an R rating."

Ron Meyer was well aware that The Matrix was strictly a joint venture between Duke Studio and Warner Bros. Out of the other five major studios that held sway in the MPAA, how many actually wanted to see that partnership continue to flourish?

There were few true secrets in Hollywood, especially when it came to such an overt clash. A little while later, Doug Walter caught wind of the fact that Michael Ovitz and Steven Spielberg had joined forces, preparing to go head-to-head with Warner Bros. over their major summer opener, The Matrix.

However, he was neither shocked nor surprised by the news. Later, when he dropped by Duke Studio and brought it up, Duke wasn't surprised either.

This was simply the norm in Hollywood. In fact, Sony Columbia Pictures also viewed Deep Impact as a competitor; otherwise, they wouldn't have agreed to meet with Doug Walter so readily.

"We've been in contact with DreamWorks as well."

Sitting across from Duke, Doug Walter spoke matter-of-factly. "Although they haven't explicitly stated it, Godzilla opens during their third weekend in theaters. If Deep Impact's performance isn't up to par by that time, its theater count will inevitably take a massive hit from Godzilla."

"So..." Duke nodded. "As long as the timing is right, they'll strike at Sony Columbia Pictures too?"

Doug Walter was clearly well accustomed to such tactics.

"If you want to emerge completely victorious in the densely packed summer release window, you have to use every possible method to beat the competition," he said.

Duke was no rookie when it came to the summer season; naturally, he understood how things worked.

He frowned and asked, "Is securing a PG-13 rating going to be very difficult?"

"Unless you make massive cuts to the film." Doug Walter sighed softly. "Warner Bros. hasn't been in the MPAA for very long. And Duke..."

He gave a rather helpless smile. "Although the total box office for the North American market grows every year, the overall pie is still only so big. If we snatch up too large a slice, it means the profits of the other studios might shrink. The Matrix is exclusively a joint venture between Duke Studio and Warner Bros., so we aren't going to receive any support from the other players."

"Doug, just fight for it as best you can." Duke pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't make major cuts to The Matrix. If there's really no other way around it, then we'll just have to settle for an R rating."

Originally, The Matrix had been rated R anyway.

Doug Walter nodded.

"Don't worry, Duke," he said. "We won't make things easy for our two competitors either."

In truth, Warner Bros. was pulling just as many strings behind the scenes as DreamWorks and Sony Columbia Pictures.

Resting his chin in his left hand, Duke racked his brains to recall the relevant details about Godzilla and Deep Impact. However, both films had shifted quite a bit compared to his original timeline. This was especially true for Godzilla; although Roland Emmerich was still directing, the movie had evolved into one of Michael Ovitz's package deals. Would this introduce any unpredictable variables?

Although Michael Ovitz was an absolute mediocrity when it came to running a film studio, now that he was back in the agency game, he was a force no one dared to underestimate.

After thinking for a moment, Duke asked, "Doug, is Morgan Freeman starring in Deep Impact?"

"He's one of the leads." Doug Walter's eyes suddenly lit up. "Did you hear the rumors?"

Duke shrugged.

"Certain rumors can often prove fatal to both an actor and a film."

The veteran Black actor looked like a quintessential gentleman, but Duke distinctly remembered that some of the current, joke-like gossip circulating about him was entirely factual. His actions were even worse than Woody Allen's. This wasn't the twenty-first century; the tolerance of mainstream society and the general audience was nowhere near what it would become after the explosion of the internet age.

It wasn't uncommon for a lead actor embroiled in a scandal to drag an entire film down, prompting boycotts from certain demographics.

Deep Impact was scheduled to premiere the weekend right before The Matrix. If its box office performance faltered, its theater count the following weekend would inevitably plummet under the coordinated suppression of the Big Six. That, in turn, would allow The Matrix to secure an even larger share of screens.

The number of available screens directly correlated with a film's ultimate box office haul.

Moreover, Duke was very clear on where he stood. As the largest individual shareholder in Warner Bros., suppressing the rise of DreamWorks was simply the natural choice.

"Warner will handle that work." Doug Walter stood up, preparing to take his leave. "But Duke, Warner still hopes you can wrap up the film ahead of schedule, so we can get started on the test screenings and promotional push."

Duke nodded.

"It won't be any later than April tenth," he assured him.

"Are you going to attend this year's Oscar Awards Ceremony?" Doug Walter asked.

"Me? I'll pass."

Even though he knew Warner Bros. was only asking for the sake of publicity, Duke shook his head. Instead, he offered a suggestion.

"Find a way to secure two award presenter spots for Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. The male and female leads generate much more buzz than the director."

Behind the Oscar presenter spots, there was a similar web of maneuvering between the various film studios and talent agencies.