Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 391 People Must Have Dreams

As CEO of Disney, Robert Iger is currently grappling with two things.

One issue is that the Golden Globe Awards, which are scheduled for just over a month, have been confirmed to be canceled due to the writers' strike.

NBC tried to salvage the situation by creating a live broadcast plan.

The press conference announcing the winners will be broadcast live at 6 p.m. on the 13th, along with coverage of the champagne party attended by the nominees. The winners will also appear at the press conference to share their acceptance speeches.

This is essentially a disguised awards ceremony, just modified to lack the title of Golden Globe Awards banquet, but the essence remains the same.

NBC's plan has the support of the Alliance of Film Producers.

Even though NBC is Disney's arch-rival ABC, Robert Iger voted in favor within the league and strongly supported NBC's live broadcast plan.

Robert Iger is also worried: what if the Writers Guild's boycott spreads to the Oscars?
Given the influence of the Oscars and the revenue generated from broadcasting rights, ABC will be bankrupt by then, losing at least a hundred million dollars in total.

If NBC's workaround plan works, it could set an example for ABC.

If those bastards boycott the Oscars, ABC's broadcasting plan can follow NBC's example, which would at least reduce its losses.

Robert Iger now hates the Writers Guild of America, and he hates the Screen Actors Guild even more.

Damn it, the writers' union strike has nothing to do with the actors' union! You guys even issued a notice to boycott the Golden Globes and called on union actors not to participate in order to support the writers' strike. That's outrageous!

What's even more infuriating is that the Writers Guild didn't even spare this "champagne party."

Their spokesperson stated, "This is a Golden Globe Awards ceremony disguised as a press conference. We will boycott any ceremony, no matter what it's called."

The Screen Actors Guild subsequently issued a similar statement, expressing support for the Writers Guild's decision and boycotting the "champagne party"...

He's fucking insane!
Robert Iger was furious.

He is now extremely worried that the Oscars will be boycotted by the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild, and they have already expressed this sentiment during negotiations with the Writers Guild.

The second thing Robert Iger was worried about was the box office performance of "Pirates of the Caribbean 2".

Currently, 25% of prime-time television programs have been suspended, including prime-time talk shows and late-night talk shows, which are regular programs that can promote movies.

This reduces film promotion channels, deprives important promotional platforms, and affects audience awareness of upcoming films.

And there's something even more infuriating.

Lead actors from films that have already been released or are about to be released have stated that they will not participate in the film's promotional activities in support of the screenwriters' strike.

This is what Robert Iger is most worried about.

The main channels for promoting a film have already been reduced considerably. If the main actors don't participate in the promotional work, then what's the point? The film's box office will definitely be greatly affected.

Especially when Robert Iger contacted several of the main actors from "Pirates of the Caribbean" recently, their agencies didn't say they wouldn't participate in the film's promotion—after all, no agency wants to directly offend Disney—but...

Johnny Depp is ill and is receiving treatment.

Jude Law has returned to England, saying that his uncle is seriously ill and may not be able to come back for a while.

Eva Green has sprained her ankle and is having difficulty moving around.

Casey Affleck isn't sick; his agent says he's going through a divorce with his wife, Summer Phoenix...

I'm going to fuck you!
Robert Iger was indignant, noting that Casey Affleck had just married Summer Phoenix last year and the two had always had a good relationship.

These bastards are just watching and waiting—that's the mindset of most actors right now.

The only one who promoted the film according to the agreement was Duan Yihong from China. However, although he had some fame in Hollywood, he didn't have any box office appeal.

In principle, Disney could sue these people for not promoting the movie in accordance with the agreement. Basically, every major movie character has a clause in their performance agreement stipulating that they should cooperate with the movie's promotion.

But then again, Disney really can't win the case.

They were cooperating with the actors' union, which is considered a force majeure event. The court is unlikely to rule against the actors at this time.

Robert Iger was deeply worried and especially hoped to reach an agreement with the Writers Guild without sacrificing his own interests, so that this damn strike could end as soon as possible.

The sooner the better.

Of course, Robert Iger also knew that this major strike, involving 12000 screenwriters, would not end without the alliance of film producers, representing the interests of the studios, swearing an oath.

This is also why the league wants to find a scapegoat; if possible, they certainly won't make even a single cent of concession.

However, it is clear that the "scapegoat" plan can only temporarily quell the anger of the writers' guild. Once they realize they have been deceived, they are likely to escalate their protests even further.

Therefore, this proposal from the alliance members representing smaller studios is extremely foolish, at least for the major Hollywood studios.

Robert Iger understands what those people are thinking.

These small studios only care about immediate profits, because they might go bankrupt at any time due to the failure of a film, and they just want to get all the profits first.

However, Hollywood studios like Disney are different. They can't just think about fooling the Writers Guild for a short time. This is why he jokingly revealed to Cao Yang on the phone that someone wanted to push Cao Yang out.

Of course, if pushing Cao Yang out to take the blame could quell this writers' strike and leave no hidden dangers, Robert Iger would certainly do so without hesitation.

The key issue is that even if someone is made to take the blame, it won't solve the problem and will only leave behind bigger hidden dangers.

Robert Iger just wants Cao Yang to come to Los Angeles as soon as possible. Although the writers' strike is also an urgent problem to be solved, the release of "Pirates of the Caribbean" is even more pressing.

So he would make time almost every day to call Cao Yang and urge him to come to the United States as soon as possible.

The box office performance of "Assembly" was much better than Xiao Gangpao had predicted.

Even though Cao Yang didn't deliberately highlight himself, this film was still a collaboration between him and Xiao Gangpao. Xiao Gangpao is one of the top directors in China who can guarantee box office success, not to mention Cao Yang's influence.

The collaboration of two top directors is incredibly appealing to audiences.

On its opening day, Saturday, "Assembly" generated a viewing frenzy, with box office revenue nearly breaking 3000 million yuan, reaching over 2800 million yuan.

This achievement directly set a new record for the highest opening day box office for a Chinese-language film. In fact, films like Zhang Yimou's "Curse of the Golden Flower" only grossed around 1500 million yuan on their opening day, but that was released on a Thursday, and weekday box office figures are definitely incomparable to those of Saturdays.

Of course, this achievement cannot compare with Cao Yang's "Inception" which grossed 4100 million on its opening day, but it is not comparable either. Hollywood blockbusters are inherently more attractive, and the fact that it was directed by Cao Yang further amplifies the advantage.

With a box office of 2800 million, Xiao Gangpao is already grinning from ear to ear.

This is a new record for Chinese-language films.

Besides awards, Little Cannon now seems to enjoy breaking records.

He specially drove to pick up Cao Yang and brought him to his home, where he and Xu Fan cooked a meal together and treated Cao Yang to a very thoughtful meal.

It's worth noting that Xiao Gangpao spent the whole day in Beijing promoting his movie at several cinemas, so he must have been exhausted. Yet, he still personally picked up Cao Yang and cooked for him in the evening, which shows his sincerity.

He had to continue his roadshow and promotional activities tomorrow, so he didn't drink with Cao Yang.

However, Xiao Gangpao still substituted tea for wine and said to Cao Yang:
"To be honest, many people look down on me, including those so-called academics and the circle I used to be in. They all say that I, Little Cannon, got ahead because of flattery, and I know it all too well..."

Even though I've become a big director in many people's eyes now, these same people still despise me, look down on me, and secretly belittle me, calling me Feng Xiaogang.

Cao Yang, I can sense that although you sometimes don't like me, you've never looked down on me or treated me like I'm not human...

"Alright, alright, you're already drunk before you've even had a drink?"

Cao Yang quickly interrupted Xiao Gangpao, clinked his water glass with his, and said, "I know what you want to say, it's all in the wine... water."

Little Cannon grinned, showing all his teeth, and emphasized, "Fine, it's all in this cup of water. From now on, Cao Yang, just say the word, and I'll go all out."

Perhaps the high box office success went to his head, or perhaps it was his heartfelt words; in any case, his words today were very emotional.

Cao Yang stayed in Beijing for two more days until he learned from Warner CEO Barry Mayer that the proposal to elect him as a member of the council of the Alliance of Film Producers had been approved with the support of Warner and Disney.

However, the proposal to have Cao Yang negotiate with the screenwriters' union as the person in charge was rejected.

Furthermore, the alliance has restarted negotiations with the Writers Guild. This decision was made jointly by the six major Hollywood studios, with a dedicated person in charge who is from the six studios, and the negotiations are being conducted with sincerity.

Cao Yang breathed a sigh of relief, but was still a little puzzled as to how he had become a council member of the Film and Television Producers Alliance.

Is he trying to take the blame again?
My suggestion to be in charge of the negotiations has been rejected, which I don't quite understand.

Cao Yang didn't completely believe Barry Mayer's words. Although he was working with Warner and Warner had no motive to harm him, who knew? What if there were conflicts of interest that he wasn't aware of?

He then called Tom Rothman, who had gone on to become the global vice president of Sony Pictures.

In any case, the reason this guy was able to rise from executive director at Columbia Pictures to global vice president of Sony Pictures Entertainment was largely due to the outstanding performance of the films he collaborated on with Cao Yang.

Although Tom Rothman is no longer employed by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment is still Columbia's parent company, so he must still know a lot of inside information.

Tom Rothman told Cao Yang that the Producers Alliance is under a lot of pressure this time and may partially meet the Writers Guild's conditions, but there probably won't be many concessions they can make.

He also told Cao Yang that some idiots within the alliance had suggested:
Find someone within the league who has close ties to the Writers Guild, agree to some of the Writers Guild's conditions first, then after a while, deny everything, claiming that this person acted on their own initiative and the league was unaware...

If they keep passing the buck and shirking responsibility, disagreements may arise within the writers' union, making it impossible to organize a proper strike.

The proposal was initially quite attractive and was discussed extensively within the alliance; however, it was recently rejected by representatives of the major studios.

Major studios need stability, not risky tactics or creating hidden dangers.

Cao Yang then asked Tom Rothman how he had become a council member of the league.

Tom Rothman laughed and said, "This is a lesson from the Big Six Hollywood studios to those small studios and independent producers."

After hanging up Tom Rothman's call, Cao Yang couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

Who is this person who is both a member of the Film Producers Alliance and has close ties with the Writers Guild?

The answer is ready to come out.

Cao Yang is a member of the Film and Television Producers Alliance and a council member of the Western Screenwriters Association of the Screenwriters Guild, and has close ties with both sides.

As for becoming a member of the Film Producers Alliance Council, Cao Yang did not entirely believe Tom Rothman's claim that it was a lesson for small studios and independent producers.

The first to suggest that Cao Yang take the blame were those small film studios and independent producers. This wasn't a lesson for them; it was a precondition for cutting off their cooperation with Cao Yang.

As long as Cao Yang still holds the title of director of the Film and Television Producers Alliance Council, he will certainly not forget how he got this position, and how he will continue to cooperate with those small and medium-sized production studios and independent producers who proposed it.

If he doesn't cooperate with them, Cao Yang has no choice but to cooperate with the Six Major powers.

Cao Yang thought a little further. He wanted to become a director of the alliance. Perhaps the six major Hollywood studios had other plans. If they couldn't reach an agreement with the Writers Guild for a long time, they might really push him out again if there was no other way!
Damn it, Cao Yang thought fiercely. If the alliance really wasn't willing to bleed and concede any benefits, and was going to push him out to take the blame, then it would cut off his path to making money in Hollywood.

What else is there to say? At worst, we'll fight to the death. Can't we team up with the writers' guild and screw over the league?

I can't even make it in Hollywood anymore, what else do I care about?
Because of the unique nature of the Film Producers Alliance, most of its members are executives from Hollywood studios. Cao Yang is just a popular director who can make money for them.

However, in the Screenwriters Guild, Cao Yang is a formally elected council member with a voice, which stems from his status as a bestselling author and screenwriter for every film.

By the time Cao Yang set off for Los Angeles, "Assembly" had already been showing for four days.

In four days, including two weekdays and two weekend days, "Assembly" grossed 88 million yuan at the box office, and it will definitely break 100 million yuan in five days.

Whenever the little cannon appears in the media, he always has a wide grin on his face.

He was so happy.

As a result, he took the initiative to request the addition of twelve more cities to the original twelve-city promotional plan, deciding to launch a roadshow in twenty-four cities.

He doesn't expect "Assembly" to break Cao Yang's record for "Inception," nor does he think "Assembly" can break 5 million yuan at the box office.

He only wants to break the box office record for Chinese-language films, and raise that record even higher.

For example, 400 million is a pretty good number. Although Xiaogangpao knows that 400 million is a bit difficult, with some effort and more roadshows, he might be able to achieve it.

(End of this chapter)