Made in Hollywood

In the Duke studio, Duke is communicating with his accountant, David. After the new year, 20th Century Fox's financial pressure has eased. Except for the $50 million Duke invested in "Titanic", their first The remaining balance of more than 17 million US dollars was paid off in a short time, and the interest was paid according to the bank rate.

Also unwilling to lag behind is Warner Bros. Because of the relationship with overseas distributors, the overseas share of "Saving Private Ryan" temporarily only paid Duke 30 million US dollars, but guaranteed that the remaining amount will be received within a month. .

They wanted to be part of Duke's new film.

There are two reasons why these people are so active. First, compared with Duke's previous works, "Chicago" is not a super hit, but it has achieved success. Second, Duke's new works are based on science fiction films, and they plan to return. Summer time!

"The king of the summer season is returning to the summer season. Is there any reason for Warner Bros. not to participate in it?"

On the Warner Bros. board, in the face of many independent and executive directors, CEO Jeff Robinoff made such a powerful statement.

Of course, this project is only a finished script, everything is in the initial stage, and Duke just let Nancy Josephson leak a little bit of information.

Although as early as 1994, the outline and characters of the script were filed by him at the Screenwriters Guild, but Duke still acquired the right to adapt a comic book, and it didn't cost much, which could reduce unnecessary troubles in the follow-up.

But that's just it. This kind of thing can never be avoided in Hollywood. Think about the successful films in the past. Which one did not have the so-called plagiarism sound and people who jumped out to get a piece of the pie after its big sales?

Even though these kinds of lawsuits are basically lose-lose endings, screenwriters and writers jump out one after another, desperately trying to get involved with these well-known films. Controversy to gain attention, and then promote their work.

The most typical example is a writer who once accused James Cameron of plagiarizing his 'human traitor' movie. After the media coverage, his works were sold out in a short period of time...

Interest is the biggest reason for attracting these people.

With a large amount of funds in hand, Duke took some of it and prepared to put it into Yahoo. After I noticed this website from Kelly the last time, I specially checked it. One of the founders did have a surname Yang, although I found a lot of specific information, but unfortunately it was useless to him, because he don't remember at all...

Duke is going to put the funds received from Twentieth Century Fox into the stock market, preferably if it can be invested directly. The team led by David will contact some of Yahoo's shareholders to see if they can buy shares from them, or wait for Yahoo's next share expansion financing.

If you really don't have the right to enter the cake, then you can buy as much as you can from the stock market.

He will temporarily hold down the remaining funds, and Charles Rowan has already agreed to serve as production manager for another project. The two will conduct specific discussions in the next period of time, and then a large amount of money will flow to New Zealand. Tolkien's epic masterpiece requires two years or more of preparation time.

These are the work in the next few months, and also need to be carried out step by step according to the plan. Nothing can be rushed.

Not only have Warners and Fox teamed up recently, but even Disney has tried to re-establish a good relationship with Nancy Joseph. "Chicago"'s rising box office has proven that Duke, out of the summer slot, can still stand out in the fierce competition, if not sweep all the opponents.

After entering 1997, the number of theaters in "Chicago" has fallen to less than 1,000. The box office on weekdays was even less than $1 million in a single day. By mid-January, the film’s North American box office had accumulated $139.81 million, and the number of theaters continued to shrink.

The other two films in the same period, "Star Trek: First Strike", have been forcibly taken down because the box office slipped too fast. The North American box office finally stopped at $91.75 million, which is more than adequate compared to "Chicago". Interpretation of the saying that winning first is not called winning.

The number of theaters in "The British Patient" has always adhered to the distribution strategy of award-winning films. The number of theaters has been maintained at around 500, and the North American box office has gradually approached 28 million US dollars.

Due to the limited investment of "Chicago" in winning awards, Miramax and "The English Patient" have obviously had an advantage in public relations recently, but Duke's goal is first and foremost Oscar nominations, "Chicago" wants to be nominated for Oscars Making a difference in the awards ceremony, although not impossible, has certain difficulties.

In late January, the 69th Oscar nominee luncheon was held on time at the Beverly Hills Regency Hotel. Duke did not attend, but Nancy Josephson attended on his behalf. Chicago" and "The English Patient" became the biggest winners in the nominations announced by Arthur Miller.

The English Patient wins Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Score, Best Sound Effects, Best Actor With a total of 11 nominations for Best Actress, Miramax was a big winner!

"Chicago" also won the best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best cinematography, best editing, best art direction, best costume design, best original song, best actor and Best Actress for a total of ten nominations.

Under the operation of Nancy Josephson, Naomi Watts got her first Oscar nomination for acting, and the attacked Tom Cruise also got his wish. After a lot of work, he finally won the Second Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

As for Catherine Zeta Jones, her performance is indeed no worse than Naomi Watts, but she is just a newcomer who has just entered Hollywood, and her agent Vivian is not in a large entertainment agency. She wants to be nominated , but also to boil a few years of seniority.

"Yes!"

In the mansion in Beverly Hills, Tom Cruise waved his fist excitedly. He also did not attend the nominee luncheon. He just got the nomination list passed by Pat Kingsley, and seemed to see the Oscar statuette. waving to him.

Nicole Kidman also saw this list. Sitting next to her with a pale face without saying a word, her mood seemed a little bad, and the reason was very simple - Naomi Watts was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress!

A person who once needed her help, or even relief, suddenly turned around and achieved far more than her achievements, the taste of which can only be experienced by myself.

Just because she climbed up the director Duke Rosenberg, she now ranks among the quasi-first-class actresses in Hollywood, and what about herself? Or a vase that relies on Tom Cruise? What's the difference between her and Naomi Watts? It's just that the man standing behind is different, which has caused a world of difference!

Eyes turned to Tom Cruise, he was still excited, but Nicole Kidman knew that if she counted on him, her future could not go further, even Tom Cruise himself, after a long absence To get the best actor nomination, still depends on Duke Rosenberg?

"Hey dear!" Tom Cruise turned to look this way, "Aren't you happy for me?"

Nicole Kidman forced a smile. "Of course I'm happy for you, congratulations, Tom."

"Abandoning previous conflicts to cooperate with Duke, this step is too right!"

Standing up and walking around the sofa, Tom Cruise was still talking to himself, "The North American box office of the film has approached 150 million US dollars, and we have also received 10 Oscar nominations. We are a veritable winner. !"

Although he was only paid $5 million and could not get a share of the box office, Tom Cruise was rarely satisfied, and his dream Oscar for best actor was just around the corner!

Looking at her excited husband, Nicole Kidman temporarily suppressed negative emotions such as jealousy and resentment. They are husband and wife after all. Although conflicts have been escalating in the past year or so, they are a real community of interests.

"Tom, should you make a call?" She couldn't help but remind her.

Cruise was stunned and asked strangely, "Call? Who to call?"

Nicole Kidman sighed in her heart, Cruise is still so ignorant, this Oscar nomination is already a victory, he thinks it is too difficult to win, and Duke Rosenberg's works can make him win. He is nominated once, and it is likely that he will have a second time. If we don't make a thank-you call at this moment, will we have to wait until after the Oscars?

"Shouldn't you call Duke?" Nicole Kidman said slowly, "We don't have any conflict with him now, don't say you can't see the need to befriend him!"

As long as someone reminds him, Tom Cruise is still very shrewd, he understands it immediately, hurried to the phone, and dialed a private number.

"Hi Duke, it's me."

Not a real idiot after all, Tom Cruise is also very nice when he says something nice, "It's nothing, I just want to say thank you! No, no, no, I must say, I am very grateful to you for giving me this Next chance, thank you very much for your help, if I can get the best actor, I will invite you to Las Vegas to have a party, that's it!"

Hanging up the phone, he turned to look at Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise nodded to her, which is more important, the previous contradiction or the actual gain?

This is what Tom Cruise is thinking about.

On the other hand, Duke had already thought about this issue. As long as the soup no longer violated his interests, he didn't bother to continue entanglement. After all, there was no irreconcilable conflict like Sean Connery and Mel Gibson between the two sides.

At this stage, he is considering how "Chicago" can be re-expanded and promoted overseas through the Oscar nomination list. (To be continued ~^~)

PS:  Ask for a recommendation ticket~~~