"Pixar Studios, after being acquired by Time Warner, released three animated feature films in less than three years." Inside an office building on Westhill Street, Michael Owitz looked at a newspaper in his hand and said, "Disney's management will definitely have a lot to think about."
"If it were just Ratatouille and WALL-E, it would be one thing."
The merchandise for those two films was a weak point, so Martin Bob said, "But an animated movie like Cars will surely make Disney jealous. If this film belonged to Disney, it could leverage Disney's youth platform to sell a far more terrifying volume of merchandise."
Michael Owitz sighed, "It's already terrifying enough. No animated movie has ever sparked merchandise sales as hot as Cars did. Even The Lion King didn't achieve that."
Martin Bob and Michael Owitz talked about Pixar Studios, somewhat easing the tension that had gripped them recently, before the topic shifted back to their own company.
"CAA, ICM, and William Morris have clearly joined forces," Martin Bob said grimly, showing no relief on his face. "We've lost over fifty percent of our top-tier clients. While fewer second-tier clients have left, the few with potential are basically being watched closely."
He looked at Owitz. "Michael, what exactly are you thinking?"
"These three companies have reached a tacit understanding," Michael Owitz rubbed his temples and said slowly, "There are probably others pushing behind the scenes. This isn't a conspiracy—it's a straightforward fight against us. Other than fighting back, what else can we do?"
Should they hire assassins to kill all three agencies and the mastermind behind them?
"What if we lose?" Martin Bob asked anxiously.
Michael Owitz shook his head. "Even if we lose, it's not the end of the world. We can retire early and leave this industry."
Once he retires early, all the grudges around him will immediately dissipate.
His conflicts with the three agencies and that other party stem from business. Once he loses business value, even if they strike, those people probably won't bother with him.
After years of struggle in Hollywood, coupled with his miserable defeat at Disney, Michael Owitz clearly understood he was nowhere near as strong and important as he once thought.
Looking back, the media and editors who hyped him up partly harmed him.
Those people called him the king of Hollywood, the master of stars and directors, the true puppeteer behind the scenes. He himself also took that for granted.
It's extremely dangerous for a person to lose sight of their actual situation and status and get carried away…
Although he didn't care much about these claims, they still affected his judgment. Coupled with his failure to leave CAA for a higher platform due to lack of ability and defeat in Disney's complicated personnel struggles, he ended up where he is today.
It's less that he lost to Duke Rosenberg and more that he lost to himself.
What king of Hollywood? What master of stars? What true puppeteer behind the scenes…
As of today, Michael Owitz sees clearly that compared to movie companies under large media groups, these are all just jokes.
If he had a chance to start over, he would definitely keep a clear mind like Duke Rosenberg, never overestimate himself, and steadily climb step by step…
Unfortunately, at his age, there is no chance to start anew.
Michael Owitz sighed heavily. Without a miracle or a reversal, the fate of the artist management company is basically sealed. Though he can bow and exit the industry when necessary, one thing puzzles him.
Why is Duke Rosenberg so strong and calm?
His opponent has faced crises, yet always maintains a calm mindset. Even if sometimes his reaction speed isn't the fastest, it's always stable. Whether it's a studio fire or the Mel Gibson incident, Duke withstands the mountain-like pressure with strong willpower, calmly proposes countermeasures, and cleverly turns disadvantages into advantages with his team's support.
That's not the behavior of a young man.
In terms of strength, calmness, and even ruthlessness, Duke Rosenberg surpassed him years ago.
Michael Owitz is absolutely certain of this.
However, letting him give up completely and leave Hollywood is not so simple.
Although he has thoughts of retiring, Michael Owitz won't just quit. He can't stay in this circle for long anyway, so he can use his resources and wait for the right moment to launch one last and most powerful attack against Duke Rosenberg.
To achieve this goal requires patience and endurance, which Michael Owitz does not lack now.
He had briefly followed WALL-E, but Duke's market focus was more on The Dark Knight. Approaching Christmas, the film is still playing in North America, though the number of theaters has dropped to 200, and box office growth is as slow as a snail's pace.
In recent months, The Dark Knight's North American box office increased by only about $12 million, reaching a cumulative $579.96 million, almost plateauing.
Overseas, the film has already been removed from most countries and regions, and though still showing in a few markets, the overseas box office of $575.77 million shows almost no growth potential.
The film's run is at its final stage.
Currently, Warner Brothers is suppressing disc releases, waiting for the Oscar nominations, then releasing different DVD versions to cash in worldwide.
Duke has no objections. His profit share contract includes all merchandise revenues.
Though his fortune is now substantial, most of Duke's assets come from stocks and real estate, and his liquid capital isn't large. Money is just a numbers game when abundant, but nobody complains—instead, they enjoy it.
Just like those professional film critics who slammed him, Duke is basically an ordinary person with no particularly refined taste. Naturally, he's no exception.
Even if he didn't use the shares of profits himself, he could donate them to his own charity foundation and earn some good reputation.
Like all wealthy people, even if not very enthusiastic about charity, Duke participated anyway. He had a charity foundation with transparent accounts and donated substantial sums of money and goods every year, even advocating global attention on hungry children in Africa, having already thrown out millions of dollars for this cause.
"Africa's situation is even more severe than imagined."
A spacious RV slowly drove into the airport's private tarmac. Tina Fay glanced at the private plane still taxiing in the distance and said, "Scarlett sent me some photos she took; they are shocking."
"Scarlett seems to have another event." Duke looked at the plane, estimating it would arrive in a few minutes, not rushing to get out, and said to Tina Fay, "Next year, we'll cooperate with Marvel Comics for an event; you can go with me."
"Go together?" Tina Fay showed no interest, "Better not, I think North America is fine; I don't want to go to places like Africa."
In front of Duke, she didn't need to hide her true thoughts.
Duke opened the car door and got out. Standing in front of the car, watching the plane come closer, he said to Tina Fay, "I'm planning to let you manage that soon-to-be-established fund to save hungry children."
"Managing is fine." Tina Fay blinked, teasing, "But managing shouldn't require going to those places in Africa, right?"
Sympathy is one thing; personally going to those places is another.
A huge Boeing aircraft slowly taxied forward. It was the Boeing BBJ customized by Duke from Boeing. Its first flight after delivery was Scarlett's trip as an African charity ambassador.
Such an event was very helpful for Scarlett's career.
Moreover, several senior officials from the UN Refugee Agency and the Children's Fund accompanied them, and the destination was not chaotic countries or regions; otherwise, Duke would not have agreed so readily.
The plane door opened, Scarlett Johansson was the first to come out. She immediately saw Duke, quickened her pace, swiftly descended the stairs, and rushed over.
Seeing Scarlett almost jogging toward him, Duke opened his arms and gave her a tight hug.
"Hey, darling."
On the other side, Tina Fay winked at Scarlett, "You look a bit darker."
"Really?" Scarlett instantly became anxious, "I think so too, but Sophia said I'm not darker, so I didn't pay much attention."
Duke then realized one person was missing from those who disembarked and asked Scarlett, "Where's Sophia? Didn't she come with you?"
"Sophia went to South Africa." Scarlett explained simply, "She went to Johannesburg to meet Charlize Theron, hoping to invite her to cooperate on a film about South African topics."
"They're going to collaborate?"
Frowning slightly, Duke thought for a moment. He had no memory of Sophia Coppola collaborating with Charlize Theron, but he never really liked Sophia's production style, or maybe he just hadn't watched her works.
"Get in the car." Duke opened the door for Scarlett, "Let's go home first."
"Linda, watch the luggage."
Scarlett turned to instruct her assistant, bent down, and got into the car. After Duke sat beside her, she asked, "Are you really planning to hold a Christmas charity party?"
"Aren't you the charity ambassador?" Duke gestured to the driver to start, "Since you just came back from Africa, you must have feelings about it. We should also take some action."