American Fame and Fortune Chapter 898

Chapter 898 The Beginning of the Fall of the Warner Group

“The most embarrassing moment in Oscar history!”

This was the front page headline of almost all entertainment media the next day.

Although everyone present gave the college face and no one disclosed to the media what happened at the scene, various versions of speculation are still flying.

This year's Oscars ceremony has attracted attention unprecedented in the past decade.

Even giving people the illusion that the Oscars have returned to the 1990s.

Public opinion has gained momentum, but the negative impact cannot be ignored.

The Academy immediately held a press conference and announced the results of the internal investigation together with PricewaterhouseCoopers: the accountant handed the wrong envelope to the award presenter Warren Beatty that night, resulting in the Best Picture "own goal".

Faced with the huge dispute, Academy President Tom Sherak solemnly apologized and vowed: "This was not a prepared plan. We really made a serious mistake."

This statement seems to be quelling the controversy, but in the ears of many people, it seems to be leading the public to speculate on conspiracy theories.

The Academy's press conference did not calm the controversy, but made it more intense. For a time, the North American media and the Internet were all talking about the Oscars.

The popularity of the Oscars is finally back.

ˆAccording to relevant statistics from major organizations, at the moment when the Best Film incident occurred, the ratings of this awards ceremony reached the highest point in the new century.

The news and popularity after the awards ceremony reached a new high in the past 20 years!

The oolong incident grabbed the attention of many movie fans, but Martin won the second Best Actor statuette, which was also a hot spot in the media.

“The only deserving and undisputed winner of this Oscar is Martin Davis for Best Actor!”

“The award Martin received is one of the most uncontroversial best actors in the past thirty years.”

Leveraging on the Oscar-winning success, "Split" set off the last wave of movie-watching craze in theaters in North America and overseas, and then was completely withdrawn.

This R-rated psychological thriller was basically withdrawn from movie theaters around the world after two weeks, and the North American box office stayed at US$266 million.

The global box office has accumulated a total of 534 million U.S. dollars.

“The only question about the project is whether to shoot a sequel?”

In the post-production room of Disney Studio, Louise raised a question: ""Split" has a good reputation. Your character escaped the police pursuit, and the fans are very concerned about what will happen next."

Martin just came out of the editing room, rubbed his forehead and said: "There will definitely be a sequel, but not now. We will discuss the sequel after "Joker" is released."

Louis nodded slightly and asked, "The editing didn't go well?"

Martin said: "It's okay. Joel Negron has completed the third version of editing, but the length of the film is still more than 200 minutes. I plan to make the film less than two hours long."

Louise said: "This length also meets the needs of commercial screenings. Too long is not conducive to film arrangement."

Martin looked at the time: "Let's go and watch the soundtrack."

The two called the assistant director Steve Downton and went to a nearby theater together.

The crew hired British composer Rachel Portman to score the film. The latter has already composed a number of pieces of music, and has also created special background music for clowns on different occasions.

For example, the clown at the beginning is a small figure at the bottom of society, and the background music is mainly decadent and sad.

At the end of the climax, the soundtrack became impassioned, in line with the clown's characteristics of becoming a city hero.

The post-production of the film is quite cumbersome. Although Martin still mainly controls the overall situation, he is also following up on specific work.

He has already gained some experience in the work of directing, and naturally wants to continue to improve.

Discussed the score with Rachel Portman and asked for adjustments to several clips, and then went to Warner Pictures to confirm the specific schedule of "Joker" with Daniel.

Martin chose October this year among a series of schedules provided by Warner Pictures.

Without him, he is very familiar with this rhythm of screening and winning prizes, from the studio to the agency to the public relations team.

Due to the huge success of "Split", Warner Pictures is preparing to invest more than US$100 million in promotion and distribution expenses for "Joker".

In the reception room, Daniel glanced at Martin and said, "We must be prepared in advance. The project will not receive support from DC."

Martin was mentally prepared and said, "As long as they don't hold us back."

Daniel said: "DC is busy with the filming and production of "Justice League" and has no time to mess around. The success or failure of this project is not only related to the DC Justice League movie universe plan, but also involves Kevin Tsujihara and Hamada. Others' future at Warner Bros.”

Warner Studios had conflicts with Martin several times. In addition to Jon Berg, who was forced to resign, Kevin Tsujihara also sent a woman to the set to play a honey trap for Martin.

Martin has been looking for opportunities to continue working with Warner Bros., and asked: "The poor reputation of "Batman v Superman" among the audience has affected the crew of "Justice League"?"

He also quietly released news about Joss Whedon to DC through Louise, but he has been busy with the awards competition for "Split" and the post-production of "Joker" recently, so he didn't pay much attention to it: "Zach Snyder Is the progress there going smoothly?”

Daniel simply said: "You know the previous situation. The reputation of "Batman v Superman" was not ideal, and the box office and commercial revenue were far less than expected. Hamada and Kevin Tsujihara had considered replacing Zack Snyder, but the film was released. At that time, the preparations for "Justice League" were in the final stages, and the replacement might cause hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, so they chose to continue using Zack Snyder."

Martin nodded: “I've heard of these.”

Daniel added: "But Zack Snyder's ability has been questioned, and his power on the crew has also been restricted. As a result, you can probably think of their old methods."

He smiled: "In addition to the producer Charles Rowan, DC sent a vice president to the crew, and Kevin Tsujihara also sent a representative."

Martin also laughed when he heard it: "It seems that this crew is very lively."

Daniel said: "Overall, it's okay. Kevin Tsujihara learned the lesson of Jon Berg's failure and let his agent Silverman fully take charge of the crew. Although Zach is very dissatisfied, he understands the rules of Hollywood. , but there wasn't much of a conflict.”

Martin listened very carefully and asked again: "Is the film finished now?"

"The filming went very quickly. When "Batman v Superman" was released in July last year, the crew was almost finished with preparations." Daniel said roughly: "The filming started in August and was completed in less than October. Now we are in post-production. It's almost all done.”

Because Warner Pictures is responsible for distribution, he understands the situation there: "Warner and DC are becoming more and more dissatisfied with Zack Snyder. The director's cut version he submitted has another 250 minutes."

Martin couldn't help but said: "Zack Snyder needs enough film length to tell a story clearly."

Daniel said: "Whether the specifics have been made clear, we will know in a few days. DC will soon hold the first internal test screening of "Justice League", which is Zack Snyder's edited version."

Martin became interested: "Can we get a ticket?"

Daniel shook his head directly: "I am the representative of the publisher, and I will definitely attend. But you, you probably won't be able to get it, DC doesn't like you."

Martin sighed: "DC and Warner are going through an unprecedented adventure." Daniel pondered for a moment and continued: "But Warner and DC cannot accompany Zack Snyder to take risks. Once "Justice League" fails to meet expectations, It will be difficult for Hamada and Kevin Tsujihara to remain in their current position.”

Martin heard the hint from these words and deliberately said in a joking tone: "I will congratulate you then."

Daniel's face straightened: "Within Warner, my competition with them is almost open. If I were sitting in Kevin Tsujihara's position, Warner wouldn't be where it is today, and our cooperation can be normalized."

Many things are selective forgetting, or in other words, competition and cooperation are changing all the time in the face of interests.

Martin looked at the time and said, "It's almost time to get off work. I'll treat you to a guest tonight. Let's continue chatting somewhere else."

Daniel understood that it was not convenient to say some things here, and he was also afraid that the walls had ears, so he immediately responded: "It's rare for you to invite a guest, so I won't be polite."

The two left Warner Pictures and went straight to the restaurant chosen by Martin.

Subsequently, Louise also rushed over.

The three of them ate and chatted until about nine o'clock in the evening.

The Warner Building, the strictest security measures were adopted outside the large conference room that served as a temporary theater.

Those who have not accepted the invitation are strictly prohibited from entering.

This is also to prevent the risk of "Justice League" being leaked in advance.

Today, DC held an internal preview screening of Zack Snyder's cut version of "Justice League", including Kevin Tsujihara, Daniel, Hamada and Silverman, all present in the conference room.

But this preview to discuss the fate of Zack Snyder's version did not invite Zack Snyder and his wife to participate.

The box office and reputation of "Batman v Superman" fell short of expectations, leading to more serious consequences. The film's performance in the offline market was far from reaching the minimum expectations set by Warner Bros.

Fans have high expectations for "Justice League"

reduce.

To put it simply, this film made Zack Snyder lose the trust of Warner and DC.

Kevin Tsujihara arrived last, and his eyes swept over everyone in the conference room. In addition to the senior executives, there were also several film viewing experts specially hired by the company, headed by Blunt.

“Everyone is here?” Kevin Tsujihara sat down and gestured to Hamada.

Hamada turned off the lights and asked his assistant to play the movie.

The first test screening of "Justice League" has begun.

This edited version is nearly 250 minutes long. Except for a few shots that have not yet been added with special effects and soundtracks, the film is already very complete.

Zach Snyder's work efficiency and dedication are unquestionable.

But Kevin Tsujihara only watched about half of it and felt that the film was too long.

The length of "Batman v Superman" has been criticized and complained by countless fans, saying it is too long, boring and too slow.

In terms of business, it has also seriously affected film arrangement.

Four hours is quite long, and the screening had to be paused once in the middle to allow a group of big shots to take a rest in the bathroom.

After the test screening was over and the lights came back on, Kevin Tsujihara couldn't wait to say: "It's still the same problem. The film is too long and the pace is too slow. When can this shortcoming of Zack be corrected?"

Hamada responded: “It feels like half of the content of the film can be cut.”

Daniel completely agrees: "With such a length, the distribution company cannot negotiate with the theater companies to schedule the film. There are twice as many screenings as normal movies every day. Which theater company is willing to schedule more films?"

This is a very real problem. Kevin Tsujihara looked directly at Silverman and Charles Rowan: "The length of the feature film should not exceed two hours."

Hamada agrees: “120 minutes is most suitable.”

The length of the film is only the most obvious problem. There are also many other aspects that Kevin Tsujihara found inappropriate.

He said directly: "It seems that Zack made the mistake he made in the last "Batman v Superman" again."

Daniel said calmly: "Same style, same problem, he hasn't improved at all."

Everyone here has seen "Batman v Superman", and it is almost copied from the same mold as "Justice League".

There is no need for Daniel to say exaggerated words or lies: "You can imagine what will happen in terms of word-of-mouth if it is released in this style."

Kevin Tsujihara's words can still be heard, mainly because of the comparison with “Batman v Superman”.

He looked at the film experts and asked Blunt: "Express your opinion."

Blunt thought for a while and said: "As you have said, several points that caused a lot of bad reviews for "Batman v Superman" have appeared in large numbers in this "Justice League". First, the pace is too slow. The plot is unclear, too fan-oriented, the literary and action parts are severely separated, and it lacks the sense of social responsibility of a superhero!”

He had written an article before he came: "The second point is the abuse of slow motion. Almost all action scenes will have a lot of slow motion. I don't need to say more about this. The last movie was criticized by countless audiences when it was screened. !”

These words were recognized by Warner and DC executives.

Blunt's words continued: "The dark style and overly serious characters and plots are not suitable for a family-friendly movie-watching atmosphere. In the past few years, there have been so many superhero movies, except for Christopher Nolan's "Batman" III. "Which other superhero movie with a darker bent has been successful? I think the key to success is that it is family friendly."

Daniel glanced over there without any trace, but said nothing.

Executives at Warner Bros. and DC are mulling it over.

Blunt's words alone will naturally not have such an effect.

These are all based on several points that Zack Snyder has been criticized for.

After careful consideration, Kevin Tsujihara said: "We had already anticipated these, and we reminded Zach repeatedly during filming and post-production, but he still made inherent mistakes."

Silverman added: "Directors are stubborn guys who won't change even if they know they are wrong."

Kevin Tsujihara looked at Hamada: "What's your opinion?"

Hamada said: "I think the tone of the film can be lighter and not so serious and dark."

At this moment, he suddenly remembered that he had seen relevant news as early as last year. Joss Whedon, who single-handedly created "The Avengers", left Marvel Studios and Walt Disney.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter end

Report