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Burbank, Davis Studio.
Thomas entered Martin’s office, pulled out a chair, and sat across from him, saying, "I just got the news that Depp, through his agent, has been telling several collaborators that if they want to work with Johnny Depp, they can’t work with us."
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Martin didn’t care much about Depp’s speculations and simply asked, "What’s Disney’s reaction?"
Thomas replied, "Disney Studios hasn’t given Depp any response."
Martin could roughly guess what Disney was thinking, let them fuss over their issues, I’ll operate my own, and as for the outcome, commercial results will speak.
If Depp’s "Transcendental Hacker" and "Lone Ranger" become massive hits, and Martin’s subsequent films perform poorly, Disney will definitely choose Depp over Martin.
The reverse is also true.
If Martin and Davis Studio were in the same position, they would do the same.
Thomas asked, "Should we respond?"
"No need," Martin directly said, "We rarely collaborate with outside production companies."
Indeed, except for Disney Studios, the companies he worked with had basically no intersection with Depp.
The films starring Martin were mostly invested by Davis Studio, and others, like "Escape from Tehran" and such, involving people like Graham King, also had no intersection with Depp.
Now, Depp’s reputation with the general public had been thoroughly ruined by their threesome.
Online criticism was incessant, Depp’s side made many efforts and attempts, but they were ineffective.
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Mainly because in the past two years Depp had offended too many people.
While Martin had pre-emptively dug a pit for Anna Purna’s business, he did not sit idly by waiting for the failure of Megan Ellison and Depp’s films, but instead actively played a subjective role, doing everything possible to pull the two films down.
At this point, Thomas said, "I got some news about Christopher Nolan."
Martin asked, "He’s breaking away from CAA and making contact with WMA?"
"Yeah, the company has been wanting to lure Nolan for over a year," said Thomas, now a partner at WMA, who had plenty of insights into the company’s dynamics, "After a long effort, we finally have results."
He detailed, "Nolan’s contract with CAA expires this year, after which he won’t renew but will join WMA."
These were no surprise to Martin; earlier that year during a private chat with Nolan, Nolan had mentioned that he would not renew his contract with CAA after fulfilling his last year.
Martin asked, "Who’s the agent Nolan has chosen?"
"Ari Emanuel," Thomas said, with no particular thoughts on Nolan. Over the years, he had come to see more clearly why he had achieved today’s success.
It wasn’t about having outstanding abilities, but about serving Martin with all his heart.
He had no plans to develop other top clients in the short term, devoting nearly all his energy and resources to Martin.
Thomas left Martin’s office and immediately headed to Warner Bros. Studios to discuss the Joker’s appearance in "The Dark Knight Rises."
In the film’s post-production editing, Nolan planned to insert a small amount of footage shot for "The Dark Knight" but not used, into the third installment.
In fact, unrelated to the storyline, this marketing genius wanted to use Martin and the Joker to further promote and hype "The Dark Knight Rises."
Martin had only signed for the single film "The Dark Knight," which did not include a licensing agreement, so naturally, they would have to negotiate a separate fee for his appearance in the third film.
The discussion between Thomas and the project’s producer, Charles Roven, was not smooth, as the latter claimed that the final edit had not been determined and it was premature to discuss these matters now.
After Martin ended his collaboration with Warner Bros., it was inevitably somewhat difficult to deal with cooperation and fund transfers.
Thomas, on Martin’s behalf, firmly stated that using his image without Martin’s consent in the film constituted infringement.
Charles Roven wasn’t unwilling to negotiate, but the micromanagers above had intervened, leaving no room for discussion at the moment.
Not far from here, in an office building dedicated to post-production of movies, several producers belonging to the "Jack the Giant Slayer" crew were busy directing their teams of editors.
Every few days, Jon Berg, the president of Warner Bros., would come to inspect, and today, after making his rounds and seeing the progress of several editing teams, he was quite satisfied.
In one of the post-production studios, a producer from Castle Rock Entertainment said, "Darken the background tone, I want the background color to have a dense, epic feel like an oil painting."
The colorist worked nimbly with the footage.
The producer, looking at the edited segment, said dissatisfiedly, "Emphasize again, I don’t want any comedic shots, the giants invading the human world is a very serious event, even if it’s a fairytale adaptation, it needs to have a solid sense of epicness."
In another post-production studio on the same floor, a producer representing Legendary Pictures also watched the completed editing.
After watching it for a while, he shook his head and said, "This is supposed to be a fun fairy tale for the whole family, don’t make it so serious. We need more laughter, to lift the atmosphere for the audience."
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The editor, as per the producer’s request, added scenes that served as comedic relief in the edited footage.
The producer would voice opinions from time to time.
Not only these two post-production studios, but several others were also doing similar work.
Jon Berg, the President of Warner Bros., had given them such authority, and naturally, they completed their respective versions of the edits according to their own understanding, preferences, and styles.
As for what the final film would look like, that was a decision only Jon Berg had the authority to make.
After McDonald finished supervising the editing work, he hurried out to meet with his immediate superior.
Jon Berg asked, "Can you complete it on time?"
McDonald assured, "Give us one more half month, and we will submit our respective editing versions to the company for professional review."
Jon Berg was quite satisfied with this, "I will organize a professional review panel."
The professional review panel would then examine each editing version to identify all the outstanding scenes, and then use those scenes as a foundation to edit a film that aligned with the main storyline.
McDonald knew his superior’s strategy, flattering, "Boss, you’ve created a brand new movie production model that will surely be remembered in the annals of Hollywood history."
This statement greatly pleased Jon Berg, who, when he first took office as President of Warner Bros., faced skepticism and criticism from many who believed he was an outsider compared to Ellen Horn when it came to movie production.
The commercial disaster of "Gods of Egypt," which he co-led with Daniel, only increased the skepticism from both inside and outside of the company.
Even though he blamed Ridley Scott and Christian Bale, it did little to lessen the critical voices.
Naturally, Jon Berg wanted to fight for a comeback.
After leaving the post-production building, Jon Berg returned to his office to contact company executives, media, critics, and cinema experts who were invited to screen the film.
They would come to view the film, rate it, and describe the good and bad in detail.
Jon Berg would then personally control the final edit of the film based on these reviews.
...
"Escape from Tehran" was about to begin shooting, and Martin had been studying Tony Mendez’s autobiography in the last few days, occasionally visiting the production studio to communicate face-to-face with Tony Mendez.
Louise also got in touch with the CIA’s Hollywood liaison office.
In the film, the CIA is portrayed entirely in a positive light; Langley responded positively, allowing the production team to shoot directly at CIA headquarters.
The plan to shoot in Washington, Los Angeles, and Istanbul posed certain difficulties for the film’s application for tax incentives.
California, Virginia where Langley is located, and Turkey currently have no corresponding tax incentive policies.
Tax incentives can often save a film 10-15% of its production cost.
While Louise and others were working on strategies, Jennifer Siebel, the wife of California’s Lieutenant Governor, came to visit Martin.
In the reception room, Jennifer Siebel joked, "I was talking to Elizabeth on the phone the other day; she mentioned the movie tax rebate issue. I have some news that you might find interesting."
Martin reacted quickly, "Is California also going to have a tax incentive policy? It failed at the state legislature in ’09."
Jennifer Siebel mentioned, "Gavin is preparing to push the bill again. If all goes well, there’s a high chance it will pass the state legislature in November. You must do at least some shooting and all post-production in Los Angeles. For projects over 50 million US Dollars, as long as most filming and production are done in Los Angeles, getting a 10% tax rebate should not be difficult."
Martin smiled and responded, "Jen, thank you very much for the good news."
Jennifer Siebel smiled, "Friends help each other, don’t mention it."
Martin was astute, asking, "It’s been a while since ’The Trouble with Romance’ was completed; do you have any new ideas lately?"
"I have an idea," Jennifer Siebel detailed, "The Harvey Weinstein incident was extremely traumatic for me. The shadow of what happened loomed over me until we banded together and stopped his crimes, which was when I found peace of mind."
Martin nodded, "Actually, I too faced a lot of pressure; you might have heard that Harvey invited me several times to star in his film projects, and after being rejected, he even threatened to ruin my acting career."
Jennifer Siebel, now a politician’s wife situated mostly in her husband’s political needs, said, "I plan to organize the entirety of the event, personally direct a documentary recording Harvey Weinstein’s crimes, and the helplessness of the victims, using the whole incident as a warning bell to awaken the entire society and its successors."
Martin agreed, "That’s a great idea, Jen. You are a lady who genuinely embodies a sense of justice and social responsibility!"
Without any hesitation, he added, "The production costs must be covered by Davis Studio!"
Jennifer Siebel said, "I came today to seek your help."
Martin declared, "From finances to personnel, even to the Mitu front, none of it will be a problem."
In the current socio-political climate, not to mention the societal impact this documentary would have after its completion, selling it would also be a highly sought-after product.