"Sorry, Pat." Duke spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "I don't quite understand what you mean. I'm just a director."
Pat Kinsley obviously understood that Duke was pretending to be clueless, but she still explained, "You're good friends with Leonardo DiCaprio. Why don't you persuade him to join Nancy's ICM?"
Upon hearing this, Duke shook his head. "You should talk to Nancy about that, not me."
Although he wasn't afraid of anyone, including CAA, he wouldn't recklessly trigger a snarky aura to attract enemies throughout the industry.
Now that Tom Hanks was gradually stepping away from acting and transitioning to behind the scenes, Leonardo DiCaprio had become the most heavyweight client under the current CAA head, Ino Martin. Everyone knew that to firmly establish oneself under a partnership-based agency, one of the biggest shields was having heavyweight clients.
It was clear that Pat Kinsley, who once teamed up with Ino Martin to drive out Martin Bob, had already begun plotting for the top chair at CAA.
With Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob gone, the battle between Duke and CAA had long since ended. Although Duke's relationship with Ino Martin was merely average and he wouldn't accept CAA's packaged deals, it didn't mean he wanted to place himself back against CAA.
One less enemy was better than one more.
No company's internal structure is perfectly unified; internal struggles are only natural. This was CAA's internal battle, and Duke didn't want to get involved.
To be precise, it didn't benefit him much.
If Pat Kinsley approached Nancy Josephson to poach Leonardo, Duke wouldn't interfere either. Several agencies were cooperating to counter Michael Ovitz's artist management company. But just like Hollywood's Big Six studios both cooperate and compete, snatching a corner from a rival was a common practice.
Seeing Duke showed no intention to agree, Pat Kinsley didn't say much and soon left.
"What did you talk about with Pat?"
Another person came over and sat directly opposite Duke. "She didn't seem very happy."
"Nothing." Duke accepted the wine glass Kate Blanchett handed him, took a sip, and said, "Just some trivial matters."
Kate Blanchett put down her glass and suddenly said, "I have some news you might find interesting."
Duke gestured for her to continue.
"I heard recently," Kate Blanchett no longer teased, "Pat wants to bring Mel Gibson back to Hollywood."
"Is that so?" Duke shook his head and smiled. "The Aussie gang is about to get bigger again."
He appeared completely indifferent, but actually didn't care at all. Even if Mel Gibson returned to Hollywood, what could he really do? This was a forgetful circle; he had disappeared from Hollywood for nearly fifteen years. Even if he came back, he would only be playing minor roles in some low-budget B-movies. It was basically impossible to return to mainstream cinema.
Even with the backing of Sylvester Stallone and Robert Downey Jr., Gibson's shorter absence hadn't changed his fate, let alone now.
Since filming the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, they hadn't kept in touch much, and their relationship these years was only average. Duke couldn't guess why Kate Blanchett mentioned this, but he understood it wasn't just small talk.
Like most in Hollywood, Duke and Kate Blanchett then chatted about the "Hobbit" situation. But what they truly thought only they knew.
Indeed, Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" trilogy was about to start filming, and like Duke, the big New Zealander planned to shoot all at once. Thanks to the success of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the large fanbase it created, Warner Bros also gave Peter Jackson a certain degree of trust and support.
Actually, Duke knew well that as long as the trilogy's special effects held up and the story wasn't too bad, box office and commercial returns would be no problem.
The day after the party, Duke went to Peter Jackson's office in Los Angeles and met with him. The whole crew was about to head to New Zealand, and as before, Jackson's own country would be the shooting location.
Of course, the New Zealand government gave the crew the greatest support possible in tax and manpower.
Duke didn't stay long before returning to his office, where Tina Fey was already waiting.
"Our competitors are making a move."
Pouring himself a cup from the coffee pot, Tina Fey sat opposite Duke's desk and said, "David Ellison's Sky Flim Studios has recently been actively contacting several film funds. He personally met with Michael Eisner and Ryan Kavanaugh from Relativity Media."
"So…" Duke's fingers lightly tapped the chair armrest, "He's aiming for Disney projects?"
"To be precise, four major projects." Tina Fey put down her coffee cup. "Tron: Legacy, Robin Hood, Battleship, and Prometheus."
She shrugged, "If his funds weren't limited, he'd probably try to get involved in other projects too."
Duke nodded slightly. "David Ellison's liquid assets can't exceed 300 million dollars."
Larry Ellison indeed had billions in assets, but that was different from David Ellison, and assets were different from liquid capital.
Right now, Hollywood and Wall Street's major film funds were not lacking in assets but in liquid cash.
From this aspect, Duke, who had prepared in advance and had sufficient cash on hand, was an indispensable trading partner they simply could not refuse.
Tina Fey then said, "There's more good news. We've basically reached an agreement with Relativity Media on four projects from 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation: Avatar, X-Men: First Class, The Croods, and How to Train Your Dragon. The funds will acquire their shares in these projects at 40% of Relativity's initial investment price."
"Let's sign the agreement as soon as possible."
That was indeed good news. Duke gave Tina Fey a thumbs up. "Well done, Tina."
"Thank you." Tina Fey smiled and then joked, "I'm also helping myself make money. Don't forget the foundation also includes some of my own investments."
Effort must be rewarded this is the most basic rule of business. In this world, there is never a situation where someone willingly serves others without expecting compensation.
Duke was well aware of this. The core members of his team were the highest earners with the same titles in the industry. People like Tina Fey would also receive a share of the returns through some of his investment funds.
Not putting real money on the table and expecting people to give you their all is that even possible in this society?
Tina Fey had served him for over ten years, and the trust between them was truly exceptional. Besides promotions, Duke never ignored monetary rewards.
"Continue negotiations on the others," Duke reminded, "especially on Disney's projects."
Those were truly special projects. Duke still couldn't understand what Michael Eisner was thinking to launch so many big productions simultaneously.
Besides these four, there were also Alice in Wonderland and Pirates of the Caribbean 4. If it weren't for the previous movie fund consortium's support, Disney would never have taken such huge risks to start these projects alone.
Hollywood always liked having someone else foot the bill for their production costs, even if that funding came from Wall Street.
Now, Wall Street was volatile, and those movie funds weren't the historically strong, well-established companies. Their risk resistance was generally limited.
Two days later, Duke arranged to meet Ryan Kavanaugh of Relativity Media at a club in Burbank.
"To put it bluntly, Mr. Kavanaugh,"
After brief pleasantries, Duke got straight to the point. "How long has Relativity's New York headquarters been besieged by investors? And how long has it been since you made a public appearance?"
Like all investment funds, Relativity's movie investments did not come from its own company or just a few individuals.
"Relativity only invests in quality projects!" Ryan Kavanaugh shot back. "If not, with Rosenberg's directorial vision, he wouldn't have chosen them, right?"
"True. I think these projects have potential for profit."
Adjusting to a more comfortable sitting posture, Duke wagged a finger at him. "Don't forget, the economy is tough now. Few companies want to invest in the film industry. Hollywood is suffering a cash crunch; major studios are tightening budgets and have delayed or canceled many projects this year..."
Pausing briefly, Duke added, "North America's economy might recover in the next two years, and Hollywood may regain its former prosperity. But can Relativity wait until then? I believe it won't be long before you and your company receive court summons. Those angry investors will tear you apart."
This was a business negotiation; Duke spoke bluntly. "As far as I know, many of your investors are big players."
Ryan Kavanaugh opened his mouth but said nothing.
"Relativity needs a large amount of capital to break through the current difficulties," Duke tapped his chest, "and I have enough cash on hand to get you out of this mess!"
"Forty percent is too low!" Ryan Kavanaugh shook his head.
Duke stood up. "That's already a very fair price. If you've made up your mind, you can call Miss Tina Fey directly."
Leaving Burbank, Duke headed to the Hollywood area by car. There was an awards ceremony waiting for him tonight.
..
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