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Chapter 159: Weinstein Brothers' Oscar Strategy
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 09:49:17 +0000 UTCAlthough the internal struggle within Disney was quite intense, it did not affect Gilbert's movie production. By this point, Gilbert had naturally obtained the highest level of authority, including final cut rights. As a result, he was able to make movies in the way he desired without any hindrance.
Of course, this was also because the three main investors in the film trusted Gilbert, believing that he would not go against the mainstream and create a film that deviated from it. This was inevitable.
Any director who is unprofessional and loves to do things differently would not create a film with an 80-million-dollar production budget that diverges from the mainstream. Let alone someone like Gilbert, a mainstream commercial film director.
Of course, there are always eccentric people who, after getting the opportunity to direct a commercial film, suddenly come up with some non-mainstream elements.
Such directors often lose the trust of film companies after one or two films and then disappear from Hollywood.
Although Saving Private Ryan was a commercial blockbuster, it was not the same kind of popcorn film as The Rock that usually dominates the summer blockbusters.
How to balance the commercial aspect and the message of the film became a key issue.
The vast majority of summer blockbuster audiences enter the cinema not to ponder the meaning of saving or explore the purpose of life, but to enjoy themselves.
It could be said that watching a movie is a process of seeking happiness.
Once a film makes the audience feel pain, even if the film is well-made, its box office will not perform well.
Therefore, in the summer blockbuster season, happiness is a very important element, and enjoyable films always achieve success during this time.
Trying to use a movie to educate or tell people a lesson is quite difficult.
But if a movie can make the audience think while enjoying themselves, then that movie is truly excellent.
On Michael Ovitz's side, after receiving the opportunity to manage Disneyland Paris from the board, he was quite excited.
He saw this as an opportunity to consolidate his power, so he actively contacted the Paris city government and the French Ministry of Culture.
Hearing that Gilbert was somewhat famous in France, and that French movie fans liked his films, Michael Ovitz used Gilbert's name to get closer to the French.
Had Gilbert not been busy with post-production on Saving Private Ryan, Ovitz had even considered inviting him to France.
Nevertheless, even though Gilbert was rumored to have a close relationship with Sophie Marceau, Ovitz directly invited the French rose to become the spokesperson for Disneyland Paris.
In terms of marketing, it must be said that Michael Ovitz had some ability.
However, Ovitz forgot that the proud Gallic rooster was not easily impressed. Even with Sophie Marceau as the spokesperson, there were still no significant improvements.
In fact, apart from the French, due to the establishment of the European Union in 1993, regional restrictions between European countries had become less obvious.
Although the French locals were not interested, people from other EU countries still enjoyed visiting Disneyland Paris.
Thus, when Disneyland Paris opened, it did not lack visitors.
The real resistance came from the French government's restrictions on Disneyland Paris.
The Gallic rooster was dissatisfied with America's control over Europe's order. Although the petty French did not dare to challenge America on major issues, they would always make things difficult for Americans on smaller matters.
Moreover, the most important peripheral business for Disneyland, the Disney merchandise town, was not handed over.
Michael Ovitz did not realize that it was not the Disneyland park that made the money, but rather the Disneyland merchandise town.
This was a small trap set by Michael Eisner. He performed weakly in the board meetings, retreating to advance, creating a pit for Michael Ovitz.
The internal struggle at Disney was something that nearly everyone in Hollywood could feel.
It seemed that every company and every giant had its own internal battles, and whenever there were internal conflicts, it was always during a period of poor performance for the company.
Other Hollywood giants were waiting, hoping for an opportunity to take a bite out of Disney.
However, the reason these companies were giants was that even during internal conflicts, their businesses could continue as usual. Companies whose internal battles severely affected performance had long been eliminated.
Disney had always been strong in animation, but for live-action films, Disney was counting on Gilbert.
During post-production, Gilbert even met the famous Harvey Weinstein.
This big, fat man remained arrogant when meeting Gilbert, the top-tier Hollywood director.
"Do you know, Gilbert, I originally wanted to invite Naomi Watts to star in The English Patient, but I heard you stopped her," Harvey Weinstein seemed to express his displeasure.
Gilbert gave him a glance before replying, "I did not stop her from taking the role; I only gave her some advice. It was her own decision not to take it."
"You're obstructing her from winning the Oscar. You and I both know she is an excellent actress."
Harvey Weinstein said, getting a little closer and speaking in a voice only they could hear, "The English Patient is aiming for next year's Oscar, and I heard your film is also targeting the Oscar. Would you like me to help you with public relations?"
"Thank you for your kind offer, Harvey," Gilbert firmly rejected, "but I believe my public relations team is already excellent and doesn't need your help."
"Really?" Harvey Weinstein returned to his arrogant demeanor, "If you don't cooperate with me, Gilbert, getting an Oscar won't be so easy for you."
After speaking, he did not wait for Gilbert's response and left immediately.
Harvey Weinstein's words made Gilbert think. In fact, Gilbert never had high expectations of winning an Oscar. His goal from the beginning was just to get nominated.
If the film could be nominated for Best Picture and win Best Director and Best Actor nominations, that would already be a great success.
Gilbert had observed The English Patient during his time at the film academy and was familiar with its history.
In terms of brilliance and excitement, The English Patient was certainly not as captivating as Saving Private Ryan, but it was at least better than Shakespeare in Love.
In his past life, Saving Private Ryan lost to Shakespeare in Love, so it wouldn't be surprising if it lost to The English Patient as well.
In this, Harvey Weinstein played a pivotal role. Since founding Miramax Films, Weinstein had shown the power of an Oscar public relations expert.
Miramax Films often produced films that were frequent contenders for the Oscars.
Because Miramax was a shortcut to the Oscars, many stars treated Harvey Weinstein as a VIP, and some even engaged in behind-the-scenes deals.
Every year, Miramax spent hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars on Oscar public relations, raising the cost of winning an Oscar by several levels.
Later, Miramax was acquired by Disney, becoming one of its subsidiaries responsible for independent film production and distribution, clearly distinct from Touchstone Pictures.
It seemed that next year at the Oscars, two films from the same group, under different subsidiaries, would compete against each other.
Since the condition for the acquisition was that Disney would not interfere with Miramax's internal operations, Harvey Weinstein was likely to remain unaffected by Disney and would not make concessions, going all out for the Oscars.
For Miramax Films, the Oscars were everything, but for Saving Private Ryan, without the Oscar, there was still the summer market.
Harvey Weinstein cared about Saving Private Ryan, but unfortunately, his hands couldn't reach the project, so he had to find other ways to gauge the film's quality.
Fortunately, following the usual custom over the years, Gilbert's films would have trailers shown during the Super Bowl halftime show, so Weinstein would be able to see the trailer.
"Harvey, are we really going to compete with Gilbert? I heard he's ruthless enough to get Mel Gibson jailed. Maybe we shouldn't offend him," Bob Weinstein expressed his concern.
Harvey Weinstein remained confident, "Don't worry, Bob. Gilbert is a man of rules. Mel Gibson broke the rules, so he paid the price. But I won't."
Bob Weinstein still worried, "We're still under Disney, both of us are part of the same group. If we upset the higher-ups at Disney, it could hurt us."
Harvey Weinstein remained confident, "Gilbert is important to Disney, and we are also important to Disney. Michael Eisner treats us as a trump card, a secret weapon."
Now that Disney was full of internal conflicts, Harvey Weinstein and his brother naturally stood by Michael Eisner, believing that Eisner would be the ultimate victor.
Executives from Disney's subsidiaries seemed to be choosing sides, and choosing the right camp was crucial during this key period.
Harvey Weinstein analyzed for his brother, "Michael Eisner has given Gilbert a few subtle hints, asking him to come out and publicly support him, but Gilbert ignored him."
"With Eisner's character, even if he still supports Gilbert, the trust he once had is no longer there."
"I also heard that Eisner wants Gilbert to change his production style and make films more in line with Disney's values, but Gilbert hasn't agreed."
"Do you mean, kick Gilbert out of Disney?"
"No," Harvey Weinstein replied, "Disney won't give up its live-action film business's marquee. Robert Iger will remind Michael Eisner of that."
"We just need to use this to our advantage to achieve our goals."
Harvey Weinstein left an unsaid thought: since Michael Ovitz could become Disney's president, why couldn't he?
Being the CEO of an independent film production company was not as satisfying as becoming the president of Disney. That was one of the most powerful positions in Hollywood.
Thinking about the beautiful actresses who would fawn over him once he became the president of Disney, Harvey Weinstein became excited, and a sinister smile appeared on his face.
But as much as he dreamed, the road still had to be walked step by step.
Super Bowl, an annual celebration day in North America, even if one is not interested in the sport, many people choose to sit in front of the TV to watch the Super Bowl commercials and halftime show.
Just like Chinese viewers watch the Spring Festival Gala every year on New Year's Eve, it's not just because the Gala is fun and interesting, or because the festive atmosphere is strong, but because it has long become a habit.
Harvey Weinstein naturally watched the Super Bowl. He wasn't interested in American football, so when the halftime commercial break came, Harvey Weinstein switched to ABC TV to watch the ads.
As a major summer release, Saving Private Ryan had already prepared its trailer, a 30-second spot aired during the halftime show.
In just thirty seconds, the trailer had no unnecessary dialogue, it simply showed the beach landing scene. When the landing craft opened, soldiers rushed out and were mowed down like wheat.
The graphic scene of blood and flesh flying could also show soldiers dragging their intestines forward. One second they were marveling at their luck, and the next, they were shot dead.
This trailer was intense and exciting.
It was still Gilbert's specialty with explosive scenes, but compared to his past films, Saving Private Ryan used a more realistic filming technique, unlike the exaggerated style of The Rock.
Harvey Weinstein noticed that with Saving Private Ryan, Gilbert had abandoned his past style.
The characters in the film had no protagonist halo, no quick cuts of short shots, and there were very few wide-angle shots that looked poetic and picturesque.
Even the character played by Tom Hanks appeared insignificant during the landing battle.
"This is a film of high quality, quite different from Gilbert's past style, not the kind of feel-good popcorn movie," Harvey Weinstein concluded.
He said to Bob Weinstein, "I previously said that if Gilbert stuck to his past style, he would only be a top-notch popcorn commercial director. The audience would quickly get bored with his style and switch to other directors.
But now it seems that Gilbert's filmmaking style has changed, which gives him the chance to step up to a higher level."
Bob Weinstein expressed his doubt, "From this trailer, the film's bloody war scenes are very realistic, a style that Oscar judges might like.
As long as the dramatic parts maintain quality, this film looks promising. Can we compete with The English Patient and Saving Private Ryan?"
"Don't worry, Bob, that's why we exist." Harvey Weinstein looked at the Disney headquarters building and whispered, "We need to get an internal screening opportunity first to devise a targeted strategy."
