Chapter 360: The Purpose of Filming The Lord of the Rings

After five days in Los Angeles, Duke returned to New Zealand. He left Tina Fey behind in the City of Angels to coordinate with Warner and relay any updates to Wellington.

Given how his past films had performed during the summer season, if The Lord of the Rings and Pearl Harbor clashed head-on, Duke's team wouldn't be the ones sweating.

Inside the Universal Pictures headquarters at Universal Studios, Martin Bob and Michael Ovitz filed into a large conference room. This was the pre-production meeting for the packaged project they had just signed.

Universal Pictures CEO Ron Meyer was also one of the founders of CAA. Unlike Michael Ovitz, Meyer's achievements as an agent were purely average, but his performance running a film studio was outstanding—putting him at least a tier above Ovitz in that arena.

Universal Pictures had agreed to work with the Artists Management Company, but Meyer and Ovitz's relationship had fractured years ago. Meyer didn't let personal feelings interfere with business, but he still only showed his face in the conference room briefly before leaving.

His history with Michael Ovitz was one reason; the film's modest 38-million-dollar budget was another.

Everything in Hollywood was formulaic, and this meeting was no exception. After brief greetings, Martin Bob introduced Universal's executives to the lead actors they had lined up for the film.

He started with a bald man.

"This is Mr. Vin Diesel. He will be playing Dominic Toretto..."

After briefly outlining Diesel's resume, Martin Bob introduced the rest of the main cast.

"This is Paul Walker..."

"This is Miss Michelle Rodriguez..."

"And this is Miss Jessica Alba..."

The Universal Pictures executives already knew the actors' backgrounds, of course; this was just a routine formality. Following Martin Bob's introductions came the next standard procedure: the table read.

As the four leads read through the condensed storyline, Michael Ovitz kept his brows tightly furrowed, looking as if he were wrestling with a major dilemma. But to Martin Bob, who knew him well, Ovitz was clearly just spacing out.

The production cost for the film was only 38 million dollars. It was a simple racing popcorn flick. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be hard for a movie like this to recoup its costs, and Michael Ovitz wasn't worried about it in the slightest. Instead, the 140-million-dollar war epic had become the focal point of his anxiety.

The reason was simple: he had received word that Duke Rosenberg's new project had also locked in next year's Memorial Day release window.

"Michael..."

The voice interrupted Ovitz's thoughts. He looked up to see the project's producer, Clayton Bellinger.

"The film's title has been officially finalized as Fast & Furious," Clayton asked. "Does that work for you?"

"No problem."

It was a minor project, so Michael Ovitz agreed without a second thought.

Throughout the rest of the meeting, Michael Ovitz remained absent-minded. He let Martin Bob handle all the work while he sat lost in thought.

As soon as they adjourned, Ovitz grabbed Martin Bob. Leaving Universal Studios, they headed straight for the Walt Disney headquarters in Burbank City to discuss the far more important Pearl Harbor.

The two did not go to Touchstone; they went directly to Michael Eisner's office. In the face of a 140-million-dollar investment, their past personal conflicts weren't worth mentioning.

Neither Eisner nor Ovitz brought up their old grievances. Their conversation revolved entirely around Pearl Harbor and the film it was on a collision course with: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring!

"The Lord of the Rings is notorious as the most difficult work to adapt."

In the chairman's reception room, a young executive from Walt Disney's film department spoke up. "Every previous film adaptation has failed, and there's no guarantee this one will succeed either..."

He trailed off, noticing that everyone's eyes were on him. They were looking at him like he was an idiot.

Michael Ovitz shook his head, clearly disdainful of the comment. He recognized the young executive—it was Roy Disney's beloved youngest son, John Disney.

'No wonder the Disney family has fallen this far,' Ovitz sighed inwardly.

"Am I wrong?"

Relying on his status as a direct descendant of the Disney family, John had entered management right out of college. He severely lacked experience and hadn't yet realized that Walt Disney had long ceased to belong solely to the Disneys.

Raising his voice, he pushed on. "According to my sources, a large number of The Lord of the Rings book fans have gone to Wellington to protest multiple times. The film clearly lacks support. On what grounds do you think it will definitively beat our Pearl Harbor? We can't—"

"Because its director is Duke Rosenberg!"

A cold voice cut John off. Michael Eisner's stern gaze swept across the young man's face. "Based on that alone, it deserves Disney's full attention!"

Ignoring the sheltered greenhouse flower, Eisner looked at his old friend Ovitz.

"What's your take?" Eisner asked.

Michael Ovitz didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Michael Bay, who had arrived earlier. When Eisner dropped Duke Rosenberg's name, Bay's expression had turned very sour.

No one wanted to be called an imitator, forever playing second fiddle.

Michael Bay was no exception; he was eager for a head-to-head clash!

However, he wasn't a fledgling like John Disney. He knew full well that, as the director, he actually had the least say in whether or not to change the release date. Keeping his mouth shut was the smartest move.

Michael Ovitz retracted his gaze, remaining silent. He was still calculating. In years past, even during the most fiercely competitive release windows, he had never feared an opponent. Now, he was forced to weigh the pros and cons. Competitors with that kind of immense market appeal could be counted on one hand, not just in Hollywood, but globally.

The Lord of the Rings was notoriously difficult to adapt, and every past attempt had failed completely. But with Duke Rosenberg's name attached as director, Michael Ovitz believed everything would be different.

To move or not to move? For a moment, even Ovitz couldn't be certain.

If they changed it, was there a better release window for Pearl Harbor than Memorial Day? If they didn't, could Pearl Harbor withstand direct competition from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring?

Even Ovitz himself hadn't realized that his only concern was whether Pearl Harbor could hold its own against The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Not once had he considered the possibility that Pearl Harbor might actually win!

He turned back to Michael Bay. Traces of reluctance and frustration hung on the long-faced director's features.

Looking at Bay, who was also a young director, Michael Ovitz gradually made up his mind. Explosion Maniac Number Two was still Explosion Maniac Number Two. He didn't think Michael Bay had what it took to surpass Duke Rosenberg anytime soon.

Even though he desperately wanted to salvage the prestige he had lost on Godzilla, Ovitz wasn't going to let his ego blind him.

"I think changing the release date is the wise choice," he said slowly.

The reception room fell completely silent. Michael Eisner remained impassive, the unwillingness on Michael Bay's face deepened, and traces of anger flickered in Martin Bob's eyes...

"I agree," Eisner finally said.

At those words, the other Walt Disney executives visibly breathed a sigh of relief. Clearly, none of them wanted their own major production clashing with that summer season madman.

For some unknown reason, Michael Ovitz felt his heavy heart suddenly lift. The anxiety that had plagued him for days vanished completely.

After a moment, he let out a bitter smile. The pressure radiating from Duke Rosenberg's name alone was staggering!

Pearl Harbor would lose the Memorial Day release window, but dodging Duke's film might actually be a stroke of luck. The thought surfaced unbidden in Ovitz's mind.

"Since we're changing the release window," Eisner said, "we need to finalize a new premiere date as soon as possible to coordinate with Disney's promotional plans."

He gestured toward his assistant, who immediately handed out a document to everyone present.

Looking at the tentative release schedule for next year's summer season, a trace of mockery curled the corner of Michael Ovitz's mouth. His old friend Eisner seemed perfectly calm and unconcerned, but in reality, he was just as terrified of a head-on collision with Duke Rosenberg. Otherwise, he wouldn't have prepared this document in advance.

The head of distribution, Dick Cook, spoke up. "The first weekend of next year's summer season belongs to Universal Pictures' The Mummy Returns. The second weekend has Paramount Pictures' war epic Enemy at the Gates. The third weekend is DreamWorks Animation Studio's Shrek, followed by Memorial Day weekend. After that is Paramount's Tomb Raider, and then the one you're handling, Michael: Fast & Furious..."

"I still think Pearl Harbor should be placed in May!" Michael Ovitz interrupted.

"The May weekends are already extremely crowded!" Dick Cook hesitated. "It's true that Shrek has a different audience from Pearl Harbor. But Michael, don't you think putting Pearl Harbor just two weeks before Duke's film is cutting it a little too close?"

"No, you misunderstand." Ovitz shook his head. "We'll take the weekend of Enemy at the Gates!"

"Why?"

The question came from John Disney again. "They're both World War II films. The audiences will overlap heavily!"

"Because Pearl Harbor is an American film, and Enemy at the Gates is a European film!"