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Chapter 112: Actions of CAA and Disney
🕑 Added 2024-11-13 18:13:41 +0000 UTCAlthough True Lies and The Mask are indeed impressive, this summer's box office champion is destined to be the man named Forrest Gump.
Since its premiere on July 6, Forrest Gump has continually set box office records.
The movie received unanimous praise from both critics and audiences.
This year, with Forrest Gump winning Best Actor at the Oscars and selling well in North America, Tom Hanks quickly ascended to the ranks of Hollywood's top male stars.
His agent, Ino Martin, gained confidence and began speaking with a louder voice due to Tom Hanks's success.
Shena Boone and young Gilbert previously mentioned that Ino Martin is working with Pat Kingsley to oust Martin Bob.
Each of them holds Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise under their management, making them quite formidable when combined.
However, Martin Bob's position is still somewhat secure. Although he lost ground due to issues involving young Gilbert, he still represents Mel Gibson, Sylvester Stallone, and other action stars, as well as the gentlemanly, elegant Sean Connery, a highly respected figure in Hollywood.
By the way, Warner's Maverick, starring Mel Gibson, is one of CAA's packaged projects this year.
The film performed decently, reaching over $90 million at the North American box office by the end of July, and it seems likely to break the $100 million mark.
However, the success of Real Steel and True Lies, two films that didn't rely on package deals, has left CAA feeling a bit embarrassed.
In reality, packaging services aren't exclusive to CAA; other talent agencies do it as well, including the company where Shena Boone, Gilbert's agent, works.
CAA just finds it easier to implement because of its extensive client base, allowing it to profit more from these services.
This success has led to CAA being viewed as a "vampire" by Hollywood studios. However, because package deals can bring in considerable returns, studios tolerate CAA's increasingly bold demands.
But now, with James Cameron and Gilbert Landrini challenging the package-deal model, the shine around these services is beginning to fade.
If things continue this way, package deals might only survive in the independent film industry.
As CAA's current president, Martin Bob is naturally unwilling to see the company's core business vanish.
In response, he has prepared two strategies. The first is Mel Gibson's upcoming project, Braveheart, which he aims to use to make a strong Oscar push.
The second strategy involves a director he recently brought in from the advertising world—Michael Bay.
Martin Bob entrusted the Sony Columbia project Bad Boys, another package deal by CAA, to this new, long-faced director from the ad industry.
In his office, Martin Bob welcomed Michael Bay.
"Michael, take a look at this." Martin handed a magazine to Michael Bay.
Michael Bay, unsure of the significance, looked at Martin Bob with confusion.
Martin Bob pointed to the person on the cover and said to Michael, "Your goal is to become the next Gilbert."
Michael Bay, looking at Gilbert's strikingly youthful face on the cover, replied arrogantly, "No, I want to surpass him..."
"Ha ha, good." Martin Bob clapped, cheering on Michael Bay.
Whether he can surpass Gilbert or not, the ambition and determination show Michael is mentally ready for Hollywood.
Gilbert, of course, has no idea there's a long-faced director aiming to surpass him.
While Real Steel is still in theaters, Gilbert soon submitted a new script to Warner and Touchstone Pictures, tentatively titled The Rock.
At Warner, Jeff Robinov quickly moved the script up to executive-level discussions.
However, Disney ran into some turbulence.
After passing the review stage, the script moved to Disney's higher management for discussion.
In Michael Eisner's office, Eisner frowned as he finished reading the story summary, expressing mild dissatisfaction.
"Bob, have you spoken with Gilbert? Explained Disney's philosophy?" Eisner asked.
Robert Iger nodded. "Of course, I did, but Gilbert said he only makes the movies he wants and won't conform to any particular philosophy."
Robert Iger had previously met with Gilbert, suggesting he create more family-friendly films like Real Steel, which aligned better with Disney's principles.
There was also an underlying reason. Seeing Real Steel's strong performance, Michael Eisner hoped to secure the production and distribution rights to Gilbert's future films for Disney's headquarters.
This would effectively reduce Robert Iger's power. However, as the chairman, he had no choice but to carry out the directive.
Robert Iger had warned Eisner that Gilbert wouldn't submit to Disney's constraints. Eisner, however, believed that Gilbert would see the benefits of working with Disney.
When Iger tried to discuss this, he indeed faced rejection, as Gilbert made it clear he wouldn't follow Disney's preferences.
Hollywood isn't run by Disney alone, but it only has one Gilbert. Currently, Gilbert is well-equipped to navigate the industry's ups and downs.
Disney's live-action film division has only recently seen improvement thanks to Gilbert. Losing him now would be a significant setback.
After hearing Robert Iger's report, Michael Eisner turned to another person in the room and asked, "What do you think, Nesses?"
Michael Nathanson Ovitz, who left CAA last year, had been taking a break.
This July, he accepted an offer from his old friend Michael Eisner to become Disney's CEO.
"Eisner, I don't think we should indulge Gilbert. He needs to realize that his current status owes a lot to our support," said Ovitz.
Ovitz's stance came from two motivations. First, there was a personal grudge.
Last year, it was Gilbert's actions that led to Ovitz's departure from CAA, and he wanted payback.
But in Hollywood, grudges mean little in the face of profit. If the reward were great enough, Ovitz would perform a comical tap dance for his worst enemy. Ego was never an issue for him.
So, the second reason was Eisner's viewpoint.
Disney's board had grown displeased with Eisner's autocratic style. To appease the board, Eisner was preparing to resign as CEO.
Yet, he didn't want to hand over control to someone else entirely.
Thus, Eisner had invited his childhood friend Ovitz to step in as CEO.
Ovitz, having learned his lesson from the previous year, would be more likely to act as a puppet, keeping the company under Eisner's influence.
For Ovitz, leading a major company like Disney would be a much greater opportunity than returning to CAA.
But to secure his position, he needed to win Eisner's favor.
So, he said what Eisner wanted to hear.
However, as soon as Ovitz finished, Robert Iger voiced his opposition: "Chairman, I disagree.
Gilbert isn't just any director. His latest work, Real Steel, earned $182 million in North America.
Its global earnings reached $425 million.
The North American VHS and TV rights sold for $8 million over seven years and $7 million over five years, respectively, with merchandise sales continuing to generate profits.
Such a high-value director would be highly sought after by any studio.
If we alienate Gilbert, Warner will be thrilled since he would then be fully in their camp."
Robert Iger's points forced Eisner to consider the matter carefully.
He understood the subtext. Gilbert was no longer a newcomer; he was a top-tier director of blockbuster films.
Any studio would welcome him with open arms, but Disney was attempting to control him, which was unwise.
Though dissatisfied, Eisner wasn't foolish. He knew he couldn't manipulate Gilbert easily anymore.
So, he casually waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's leave it as it is. Let Bob handle The Rock. Disney will continue to invest in the project."
Robert Iger was thrilled and quickly assured he would see the project through.
Keeping The Rock with Touchstone stabilized Iger's position.
But Iger wasn't entirely selfless; he had his own interests as well.
After Iger left, Ovitz said, "Eisner, Bob is quite busy managing Touchstone's other projects in addition to The Rock. Perhaps I could oversee it?"
Eisner knew what his friend meant. If Ovitz led The Rock, its success would bolster his CEO candidacy.
But Eisner saw him as a puppet, not a rival, so he declined: "Not necessary, Ovitz. Let Bob handle it."
Small project? Ovitz looked at the estimated $70 million budget for The Rock, hardly a minor endeavor.
Of course, Gilbert was unaware of Disney's internal discussions. Robert Iger wouldn't have shared that with him.
After the meeting, however, Iger informed Gilbert that they could proceed with the director's contract negotiations.
In Hollywood, no major project ever remains truly secret.
Especially not for a director like Gilbert, whose latest work was already highly anticipated.
Industry insiders marveled at his productivity. Still young, Gilbert had begun working on his next film while Real Steel was still in theaters.
One film a year, even faster than "fast-shooter" Spielberg.
Perhaps, as Gilbert aged, his pace would slow.
Meanwhile, actors hoped to get roles in Gilbert's new project.
Bruce Willis, Ryan Gosling, and Naomi Watts were all obvious choices.
And thanks to previous films, names like Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, Cameron Diaz, Matt Damon, and even Gwyneth Paltrow had gained more visibility.
Even Charlize Theron, who once had a minor role, had seen significant career growth, her name now appearing in the credits.
So, not only aspiring actors living in North Hollywood apartments but also A-list stars were eager to join Gilbert's films.
After Gilbert's new film project was revealed, Interview with the Vampire, which had already moved its release date to August, invited Gilbert to its premiere, with Tom Cruise extending the invitation.
Pat Kingsley, who had maintained a good relationship with Seena Boone before she left CAA, learned from Shena that there was a role quite suitable for Tom Cruise.
So, Tom Cruise decided to set aside his reservations and took the initiative to show goodwill toward Gilbert.
In Tom Cruise's view, since the great Tom Cruise had taken the first step, Gilbert would surely offer him the role.
However, Tom didn't know that the role he wanted had already been taken by Nicolas Cage, who was throwing a "silver party."
After hearing the news from Seena Boone, Gilbert had a rough idea of what Tom was thinking, but he accepted the invitation to attend the premiere of Interview with the Vampire anyway.
This film had almost gone head-to-head with his Real Steel. He knew that the movie had been quite famous in his previous life, but he had never actually seen it.
As a result, he was genuinely curious about it and planned to attend the premiere to see what the movie was like.
