Made in Hollywood

"I'm sorry, Pat." Duke spread his hands and expressed helplessness, "I don't quite understand what you mean, I'm just a director."

Of course Pat Kingsley understood that Duke was playing dumb, but she still explained, "You and Leonardo DiCaprio are good friends, why didn't you persuade him to join Nancy's ICM?"

Hearing this, Duke shook his head, "You should talk to Nancy about this kind of thing, not me."

Although he is not afraid of anyone, including CAA, he will not randomly turn on the halo of ridicule to attract all the hatred in the industry.

Now that Tom Hanks is gradually fading out of the actor industry and transitioning to behind the scenes, Leonardo DiCaprio has become the most important client of the current CAA controller, Eno Martin, and everyone We all know that one of the biggest barriers for Ino Martin to stand firm in a brokerage company under the partnership system is the heavyweight clients in his hands.

Obviously, Pat Kingsley, who once teamed up with Eno Martin to drive out Martin Bob, has already begun plotting for the chair at the front of CAA.

With the departure of Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob, the battle between Duke and CAA has come to an end. Doesn't mean putting yourself on the opposite side of CAA again.

One less enemy is better than one more.

Any company will never be monolithic, and internal struggles are quite normal. This is an internal struggle within CAA, and Duke does not want to get involved.

To be precise, it didn't do him much good.

If Pat Kingsley finds Nancy Josephson to dig Leonardo, Duke will not intervene. Although several brokerage companies are jointly dealing with Michael Ovitz's artist management company. But just as the Big Six collaborate and compete, it's not uncommon to poach each other's corners by the way.

Seeing that Duke didn't have any intention of nodding, Pat Kingsley didn't say much, and left here quickly.

"What were you talking about with Pat?"

Another person came over, and she sat directly opposite Duke, "She doesn't seem very happy."

"Nothing." Duke took the wine glass handed over by Cate Blanchett, took a sip together, and said, "It's just some trivial matters."

Cate Blanchett put down her wine glass and said suddenly, "I have some news, I think you will be interested."

Duke made a please gesture.

"I heard it a while ago," Cate Blanchett said, without further ado, "Pat wants to bring Mel Gibson back to Hollywood."

"Really?" Duke couldn't help shaking his head and smiling, "Your Australian gang is going to grow again."

He acted like he didn't care at all, and in fact he didn't care at all. Even if Mel Gibson returns to Hollywood, what else can he do? This is a circle of forgetfulness, and he has disappeared from Hollywood for almost fifteen years, even when he came back. It can only be soy sauce in some small-scale B-level films, and it is basically impossible to return to the mainstream film circle.

There used to be Sylvester Stallone and Rott Downey Jr.'s support. Mel Gibson's disappearance in Hollywood is also shorter, and he can't change his fate, let alone now.

The two haven't been in touch since filming the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The relationship in the past few years can only be said to be very ordinary. Duke couldn't figure out the purpose of Cate Blanchett's words, but he also understood that the other party was not just here to talk.

Like most people in Hollywood, Duke and Cate Blanchett then chatted about The Hobbit, just what was on their minds, and only they knew.

That's right, the "The Hobbit" trilogy directed by Peter Jackson is about to start filming, and like Duke, the New Zealand big fat man will also adopt a one-off shooting strategy, due to the success of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy Created a large number of Lord of the Rings fans, Warner Bros. also gave Peter? Jackson a certain degree of trust and support.

In fact, Duke also knows that as long as the special effects of the trilogy are guaranteed and the storytelling is not particularly bad, box office and commercial income will not be a problem at all.

On the second day after the party, Duke went to Peter Jackson's office in Los Angeles and met with him. The whole crew was about to go to New Zealand. It was almost the same as before, and the other party still chose his home country as the location for the film.

Of course, the New Zealand government gave the crew the greatest assistance in terms of taxation and manpower support.

Duke returned to his office after not staying for a long time, and Tina Fey was already waiting here.

"Our competitors are picking up steam."

After taking the coffee pot and pouring herself a cup, Tina Fey sat across Duke's desk and said, "David Ellison's Sky Film Studio is actively contacting several film funds recently. , he himself met with Michael Eisner and Ryan Kavanaugh of Relativity."

"So..." Duke tapped his finger on the armrest of the chair lightly, "Is he interested in Disney's project?"

"To be precise, they are four super big projects." Tina Fey put down her coffee cup, ""Tron Wars", "Robin Hood", "Super Battleship" and "Alien Battlefield."

She shrugged, "If it weren't for the limited funds in his hands, I'm afraid other projects will get involved."

Duke nodded slightly, "David Ellison's liquidity cannot exceed 300 million US dollars."

Larry Ellison does have tens of billions of dollars in assets, but he is different from David Ellison, and assets and liquidity are different.

Now the few film foundations in Hollywood and Wall Street are not short of assets, but liquidity.

From this point of view, Duke, who has been prepared for a long time and has sufficient cash in his hands, is a transaction object that they cannot refuse.

Tina Fey said at this time, "There is also good news. We have already negotiated with Relativity on 20th Century Fox's "Avatar" and "X-Men: First Class", as well as DreamWorks Animation Studio's "Madness". The four projects of Primitive Man and How to Tame Your Dragon have basically reached an agreement, and the foundation will purchase their shares in these film projects at a price of 40% of the initial investment from Relativity."

"Sign the agreement as soon as possible."

This is indeed good news, Duke gave Tina Fey a thumbs up, "Well done, Tina."

"Thank you." Tina Fei laughed, and then joked, "I'm also helping myself to make money. Don't forget that the foundation still has a part of my own investment."

It is the most basic business law that you will get something if you pay. There has never been a thing in this world that is willing to serve others without getting paid.

Duke is well aware of this. The core members of his team are the highest-paid people in the same position in the circle, such as Tina Fey, who will also get a part of the shares in some of his investment funds in return.

Is it possible in this society to want people to do their best for you without spending real money?

Tina Fey has served him for more than ten years, and the relationship of trust between the two is indeed extraordinary. Apart from the improvement of his position, Duke has never neglected monetary rewards.

"Others continue to negotiate." Duke urged, "especially the few projects of Disney."

Those few projects are really special. Duke still can't figure out what Michael Eisner was thinking to start so many big productions.

In addition to these four films, there are also "Alice in Wonderland" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 4". If it weren't for the support of the Film Fund Assortment Plan, Disney would never have taken huge risks to start these projects alone.

Hollywood always likes someone to pay for their production costs, even if the money comes from Wall Street.

Today's Wall Street is turbulent, and these film funds are not those big companies with a long history and strong strength, and their ability to resist risks is average.

Two days later, Duke made an appointment with Relativity's Ryan Kavanaugh at a clubhouse in Burbank.

"Let's put it this way, Mr. Kavanaugh."

After the two exchanged simple greetings, Duke got straight to the point, "How long has Relativity Corporation's headquarters in New York been besieged by investors? How long has it been since you made a public appearance?"

Like all investment funds, Relativity's investment in movies does not come from its own company or a few individuals.

"Relativity invests in high-quality projects!" Ryan Kavalaugh also refused to give in. "If it weren't for this, it would be impossible for Director Rosenberg to take a fancy to them, wouldn't he?"

"Indeed, I think these projects have the potential to be profitable."

Changing to a more comfortable sitting position, Duke shook his finger at him, "Don't forget, the current economic situation is bad, and few companies are willing to invest in the film industry. Nowadays, Hollywood is suffering from a money shortage, and major companies are shrinking. To save money, the big six companies have postponed and cut many projects this year..."

After a short pause, Duke continued, "North America's economy may recover in the next two years, and Hollywood will return to its previous prosperity, but can Relativity wait until then? I believe it won't be long before you and your company will Get a subpoena from the court, and those angry investors will tear you apart."

This is a business negotiation, and Duke doesn't need to be polite, "As far as I know, many of your investors are big shots."

Ryan Kavalaugh opened his mouth, but said nothing.

"The Theory of Relativity Corporation needs a large sum of money to break out of the current predicament," Duke nodded his chest, "I have enough cash in my hands to get you out of the predicament!"

"Forty percent is too low!" Ryan Kavalaugh shook his head.

Duke stood up, "This is already a very fair price. If you think about it, you can directly call Miss Tina Fei."

Leaving Burbank, Duke drove to the Hollywood area, where an award ceremony is waiting for him tonight. (to be continued ~^~)

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