Hollywood Director 1992

"Tom Cruise is getting anxious," Michael Ovitz said, putting down the phone in the Death Star-like CAA headquarters.

"He's too competitive and cares too much about winning or losing. This mindset isn't good for his long-term development," Vice President Ron Meyer said casually, smoking a cigarette.

"He's young. Once he experiences more, he won't care so much about these little things involving tens of millions," Michael Ovitz said with a smile.

He was not only the founder of CAA but also its top agent. Many big-name actors were personally signed by him, including director Steven Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, and others.

Among them, Tom Cruise was a top star he had personally cultivated and one of CAA's flagship talents.

Both he and CAA didn't want any blemishes on Tom Cruise's reputation.

"Guess Again Pictures has another low-budget movie that's a big hit. I have to say, Link is really lucky," Ron Meyer said.

Ovitz shook his head. "'The Wedding Banquet' will probably make only ten or twenty million at the North American box office, not worth our attention. What we need to pay attention to is 'Final Destination.' This bet is just a small game, but no one wants to lose."

"What's your plan?"

"'Final Destination' didn't get great reviews during the test screenings, but Link is very lucky. If he gets lucky again when 'Final Destination' is released, and a few big news stories break in the media, we might lose this bet. To be safe, I suggest we boost the box office of 'The Firm' another step, preferably to over $200 million. With over $200 million in box office revenue, our chances of winning are greater."

"That would be quite costly."

Inflating box office numbers isn't difficult, but it costs money. Made-up numbers won't fool the media or the IRS; it has to be real money.

Also, irregular operations can easily give competitors ammunition for attacks and lead to public criticism.

Staged scenes also cost a lot of money.

Ovitz said, "I will personally discuss the plan to manipulate 'The Firm's' box office with Sherry Lansing, and try to get Paramount Pictures involved to reduce our investment. However, if we win this bet, the money spent can be earned back."

"Alright, I agree with your suggestion."

With the joint operation of Paramount Pictures and CAA, the box office of 'The Firm' rose against the trend, reaching $10.91 million this week, an increase of 40% compared to last week.

The film's cumulative North American box office reached $141 million.

However, what made Tom Cruise and others unhappy was that 'The Wedding Banquet' also did well this week, with $8.28 million, ranking third in the weekly box office, only behind 'In the Line of Fire' and 'The Firm'.

The film's production cost was only $750,000, and its current cumulative North American box office has reached $15.34 million, a box office return ratio of 20 times, a result that many people envy.

"Director Li, what are you planning to shoot for your next movie?"

In the company, Link met director Ang Lee and congratulated him on the big success of his new movie.

"The next film will still focus on urban men and women, using Chinese cuisine to present their relationships. The script is not yet finalized, and I hope director Lin can give me some guidance after it's finalized," Director Li Ang said modestly.

"Don't mention it!"

Link waved his hand and said, "We are two different types of directors. I can't make your movies, nor can I give you guidance, but I believe in your ability. No matter what movie you want to make, the company will support you. I heard that you have a good relationship with producer James Schamus, and James will continue to be the producer of your movies in the future."

"Thank you for your support, Director Lin," Director Li Ang said.

Link then talked to Director Li Ang about Chinese movies, hoping that he would have the opportunity to make more Chinese-themed movies.

The cost of making movies in China is generally not high, and if they are well-made, they can not only make money domestically but also achieve good box office results in North America.

Director Li Ang said that he also had this idea, but he didn't have a good idea for the time being. After finishing the movie at hand, he would consider shooting a Chinese movie as a trial.

Link supported his decision.

After seeing Director Li Ang off, Link shook his head and smiled. Both he and Director Li Ang were Chinese, introverted, and spoke more seriously. When two men like this chatted together, without a third person to liven up the atmosphere, it would be very awkward in the end.

Knock, knock, knock!

Before Link could start working, the new assistant brought in Joe Feller May.

Joe Feller May, who was in charge of Guess Again Pictures' distribution department, came in and gave Link a document with some data on the box office inflation of 'The Firm' last week.

According to the investigation, Paramount Pictures spent as much as $2 million in publicity funds on 'The Firm' last week. In addition, two of Paramount Pictures' films had abnormal box office numbers last week.

One was the erotic thriller 'Sliver', which had been released for more than three months, and its box office decline reached 80% compared to the previous two weeks.

The other was the comedy science fiction film 'Coneheads', which was released on July 23. The box office performance in the first four weeks was good, but after 'The Firm' was released, the box office decline increased, and last week it only earned $530,000, more than $2 million less than the previous two weeks, while the number of theaters showing the film remained unchanged.

From the box office data analysis, the box office decline of these two films is very abnormal.

Distribution department staff responsible for investigating market data suspected that Paramount Pictures secretly transferred the box office of the two films to 'The Firm' to increase the film's box office data.

In addition to these two films, there may be others, but there are too few data department staff to count too much film data changes.

After Link read the information, he felt that this matter was a bit tricky.

Although Paramount Pictures was stealing box office revenue, it was stealing from movies it produced itself. There was no victim in this matter, and it was impossible to launch an investigation through legal means.

In addition, the data changes in these two films were too small, and the data was not too outrageous. It was the kind of problem that looked problematic and was known to be problematic, but if a real investigation was conducted, nothing could be found.

Link could only let Joe Feller May continue to send people to keep an eye on 'The Firm's' box office, and strive to find more powerful evidence.

After Joe Feller May left, Link called Jerome Preston, told him about this matter, and asked him if he had any suggestions to expose Paramount Pictures' trick.

Jerome Preston believed that the box office issue was very complicated. Even if evidence was found, Paramount Pictures and the theater chains would have reasonable reasons to deny it. In this regard, do not doubt the accounting capabilities of PricewaterhouseCoopers and other accounting firms.

Jerome suggested that after he obtained solid evidence, he should use the media to expose it, to attract public attention, so that everyone would stare at 'The Firm's' box office, and Paramount Pictures could not ignore public opinion and unscrupulously manipulate the box office.

"Sounds very reasonable."

Link accepted Jerome's suggestion.

In its fourth week of release, 'The Wedding Banquet' earned $4.15 million, with a cumulative North American box office of $19.5 million. However, the decline was large this week, the film's occupancy rate was not high, and many theaters began to reduce the number of screenings.

The film is expected to have a North American box office of about $25 million, and with overseas box office, maybe $50 million.

The box office return ratio exceeds 60 times.

However, the film's marketing and distribution costs are as high as more than $6 million.

Including marketing and distribution costs, the return ratio is not high.

This week, 'The Firm's' box office decline was not large, earning $12.96 million in 1191 theaters, bringing the film's cumulative North American box office to $154 million.

At the same time, news broke in the media that 'The Firm' was stealing box office revenue.

It was said that the film fell to $6.58 million in its fifth week. According to the normal box office decline of the film, the sixth week's box office would be around $3 million, not $10.91 million, and this week's box office would not reach $12.96 million.