Chapter 80: Business Cooperation

Monday morning, the start of a new work week, was supposed to be a lively time. This was especially true for a film studio; if the previous week's release had been a hit, the entire company would be filled with laughter and cheer. Right now, however, at the weekly meeting in the Fox Building, every face bore a heavy, oppressive expression.

Without the bloodsuckers from CAA and the creative team behind Interview with the Vampire present, the executives of Twentieth Century Fox—the film's primary investor—made no effort to hide their disappointment.

"AMG and Regal Entertainment rejected our request to expand the theater count for Interview with the Vampire and reduce screens for The Rock."

Tim Fisher, who had just taken over as head of the film distribution department, broke the silence in the conference room. "Without impressive box office numbers to back us up, we don't have the leverage to fight for it."

He glanced at Thomas Rothman, flipped open the latest statistical report in front of him, and read to the room. "Interview with the Vampire took in $6.21 million on Sunday, bringing its three-day opening weekend in North America to a total of $28.3 million."

Under normal circumstances, this result would practically guarantee the top spot on the weekly box office charts, but today it was clearly impossible.

"The Rock grossed $11.13 million on Sunday!" Tim Fisher continued, completely ignoring everyone else's expressions. "Its three-day opening weekend reached a staggering $36.79 million!"

As if wanting to remind the numerous executives present, Tim Fisher raised his voice slightly. "Gentlemen, this isn't just about the number one spot on the weekly box office charts. It means Interview with the Vampire will have to screen in its shadow!"

"Maybe it will suffer a massive drop in its second week."

Hearing such a clueless remark, Tim Fisher immediately retorted. "The audience 'A' rating for Duke Rosenberg's film has consistently stayed above 85 percent! That is a level of audience word-of-mouth that even Speed couldn't match after its wide release! Don't forget, the highest weekend box office for Speed was only $34.75 million, yet its final North American gross was over $130 million! Its global box office was a staggering $350 million!"

The person who had spoken fell silent, and the conference room descended into quiet once more. None of them were amateurs. Supported by such robust audience reception, The Rock was bound to maintain a healthy drop-off rate in the coming weeks. So what would its final box office be?

'A hundred million dollars definitely wouldn't be the end of the line for this film, right?'

Sitting at the head of the table, Thomas Rothman found himself unconsciously jumping to this thought. Based on its plummeting word-of-mouth and the forecasts of major agencies, the North American box office for Interview with the Vampire would top out at a hundred million. Meanwhile, as long as The Rock didn't suffer from excessive fatigue in the coming weeks, it was very likely to charge straight toward $150 million.

He was the one who had strongly advocated for acquiring Speed, yet he was also the one who had personally rejected The Rock...

In that moment, only Thomas Rothman himself could understand the bitter taste in his mouth. If he could roll out two or three films in a single Summer Season that broke a hundred million dollars at the North American box office, his position as CEO would undoubtedly be cemented!

He was starting to regret it. If he had chosen Duke Rosenberg back then instead of the CAA project, he would have had to accept Duke funding one-fifth of the investment. But judging by Duke's contract with Warner Brothers, the young director would only enjoy a short-term profit share proportional to his investment; he wouldn't be able to partake in the long-term revenue.

And CAA? Interview with the Vampire would definitely turn a profit. At first glance, CAA was only taking a ten percent commission on the film's total revenue—which seemed like half the share—but it was a long-term cut!

This meant that as long as Interview with the Vampire continued to generate revenue, one-tenth of it would forever belong to CAA.

It was almost a foregone conclusion that the earnings of Interview with the Vampire couldn't compare to The Rock. Add in the fact that they had to share long-term profits with the bloodsuckers at CAA, which project would have actually been the better deal?

Thomas Rothman couldn't figure it out at the moment. He was only certain of one thing: he shouldn't have given up on Duke Rosenberg so easily!

"I have a suggestion!"

The voice once again belonged to Tim Fisher, who seemed particularly proactive today. "I have reliable information that Duke Rosenberg has registered two scripts with the Writers Guild, and one of them—a sci-fi script—is already completely finished! The script features even more massive explosion scenes!"

At those words, the Fox executives in the room immediately perked up. Hollywood didn't believe in anything except profit and data. The back-to-back success of two films had already proven Duke Rosenberg's directing prowess, not to mention that this new one featured even crazier explosions! That maniac, brimming with a lust for destruction, was an absolute genius in this field!

Before anyone else could speak, Tim Fisher rapidly continued, "I suggest we reestablish contact with Duke Rosenberg! We should do everything possible to win him back to the Fox camp. At the same time, have the pre-production review department go to the Writers Guild to inspect his registered script so we can initiate the greenlight process at a moment's notice!"

"I agree!"

"I agree..."

Several people chimed in to voice their support. As long as it brought in a profit, they couldn't care less who their partner was!

Thomas Rothman folded his hands on the table and slowly rested his chin on them, seeming to ponder the idea. In truth, he knew very well that, just like Tim Fisher—who had previously clashed with Duke—face was never as important as performance when you were an executive at a commercial enterprise!

"If I remember correctly..." he said slowly. "Duke signed a one-plus-two contract with Warner Brothers?"

"It is a one-plus-two contract!" Tim Fisher had clearly done his homework. "But there's an addendum stating that Warner Brothers only has priority investment rights under equal conditions."

Hearing this, Thomas Rothman hesitated no longer. "Contact Nancy Josephson as soon as possible... Better yet, ask her out so I can talk to her personally. Also, once Duke returns to Los Angeles, invite him to a Fox party!"

"We don't have any parties planned right now," someone nearby suddenly pointed out.

"Then throw one specifically for him!" Thomas Rothman snapped.

It was also on this Monday that The Rock kicked off its North American promotional tour. Unlike the days of Speed when they had to scramble for commercial flights, the promotional team—consisting of key cast and crew like Duke, Lee, Cage, Harris, and Naomi Watts—flew on a corporate jet belonging to Warner Brothers. The outstanding opening weekend box office of The Rock had undoubtedly reassured the brass at Warner.

Just after arriving in Seattle, Duke received a call from Nancy Josephson. He wasn't surprised by Twentieth Century Fox's change in attitude. This was an industry driven by commercial interests. There was no irreconcilable conflict between him and Twentieth Century Fox, and frankly, as long as the potential profits were large enough, no business conflict was ever truly irreconcilable.

Even though his collaboration with Warner Brothers had been pleasant, Duke wasn't foolish enough to put all his eggs in one basket. Although he couldn't make any promises to Twentieth Century Fox, he instructed Nancy to go ahead and negotiate with them anyway. Even if nothing came of it in the short term, there might be opportunities to work together in the future. Moreover, it would put some pressure on Warner Brothers during the negotiations for his next film, allowing his side to fight for greater benefits.

That was just the nature of business cooperation—there were no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. If casting Tom Cruise would maximize his profits, Duke wouldn't hesitate for a second. He would praise Tom to the heavens, touting his acting skills just as highly as he was currently praising his four lead actors at the fan meet-and-greet in Seattle.

However, Duke's opportunities and time to speak during the promotional events were fairly limited. The campaign mostly centered around the actors and the film itself. Of course, a large number of fans still got to know him—the young director who, according to the media, was filled with a desire for explosions and destruction.

"Speaking of which, I have to thank you, Duke."

Returning to the hotel that night, the group headed down to the bar. As they sat around drinking, Nicolas Cage suddenly turned to him. "At the press event this afternoon, the fans were going crazy for me. That's never happened before."

"You'll gradually get used to it."

Raising his glass, Duke clinked it against Cage's and spoke before taking a sip. "Believe what I told you. If you keep going down this path, Nicolas, you can become one of the iconic figures of Hollywood in the nineties."

"Right now you sound exactly like a medieval charlatan!" Sofia, sitting nearby, ruthlessly shot him down.

"No, Sofia, I think Duke has a point."

Before Duke could respond, Cage argued back. Today he had experienced the sensation of being a superstar—something he had never felt before. "This is my first time working with Duke, and I really believe it's going to be the turning point of my career. I've had my ups and downs in Hollywood for nearly ten years. Even though my acting was somewhat recognized, I've never had a breakout hit at the box office. If I was just an unknown actor before, today I actually felt like a Hollywood movie star!"

"Here's to you, Duke!" Nicolas Cage raised his glass solemnly.

Duke had just finished his drink with Cage when Christopher Lee, sitting at the same table, raised his glass as well. "I'd like to toast you too, Duke."

The old man's expression was just as serious and solemn. Since choosing to step into this world of fame and fortune, there wasn't a single person who didn't want to become famous, to become a celebrity celebrated across America and even the world. The current Christopher Lee was undoubtedly relishing everything the role of John Mason had brought him.

"It looks like," Duke said as he clinked glasses with Lee, "you guys are planning to get me drunk today."

It was all a joke, of course. The group was under contract and had to fly to another city the next day for more promotions. None of them were alcoholics, so they certainly weren't going to drink themselves into a stupor.

According to the schedule, the crew was still moving from east to west, stopping at the most crucial box office hubs in North America one by one. The routine fan meet-and-greets and press conferences followed one after another, and the team quickly became the focal point of the entertainment media.

While running the promotional tour, Duke also noticed something else. After Twentieth Century Fox held their initial meeting with Nancy Josephson, the smear campaign against him and The Rock in the media had noticeably died down. Fox was clearly demonstrating its goodwill.