Warner Bros. and Page Pictures have a long-standing feud.
First:
The movie "Run Lola Run" in early 1996;
Once upon a time, Kyle almost used all his liquid capital to produce his first film, "Run Lola Run."
At the beginning of its release, because it offended a mid-level manager at Warner, the theaters drastically cut down the number of screenings.
If it weren't for Kyle's friend, Mr. Billy, who owned a chain of peripheral stores in Utah, the initial screenings for "Run Lola Run" would have been fewer than 200 screens.
Although this incident was not initiated by Warner Bros. executives, but rather for personal reasons by a mid-level manager, it did indeed reduce Kyle's profits.
Do you think Kyle could not harbor resentment?
Second:
The movie "Juno" in late 1996;
Kyle had high hopes for "Juno," a film with a coming-of-age theme.
However, because of the emergence of "Juno," which led to a decrease in the box office of Warner Bros.'s "Space Jam," starring NBA legend Michael Jordan, Warner Bros. leveraged the power of the media and the influence of the theater chains to launch an attack on Page Pictures.
Media power?
Influence of the theater chains?
At that time, Kyle was just a newcomer, an inexperienced young man, without the support of media power; how could he possibly fight back against Warner?
Fortunately, Kyle was clever enough to capitalize on Americans' curiosity, sparking discussions on sensitive topics such as "unwed pregnancy" and "underage girls," which allowed the box office of the movie "Juno" to stabilize; otherwise, the outcome would have been unimaginable.
Kyle's resentment +1.
Third:
The movie "The Purge" in 1997;
As is well known, American theatrical films must be rated by the Classification and Rating Administration, a division of the Motion Picture Association of America, based on the film's theme, language, violence, nudity, and drug use scenes, before they can be released in theaters.
G (General Audiences), PG (Parental Guidance Suggested), PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned, some material may be inappropriate for children under 13), R (Restricted, under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian), NC-17 (No One 17 and Under Admitted).
For R and NC-17 ratings, there is the question of whether individuals aged 17 can watch the film.
Once viewers under 17, including those aged 17, are restricted from watching the film, it inevitably leads to a decrease in its box office.
This is an issue that film companies must take seriously.
However,
On the 1997 film project "The Purge," Warner Group, which holds 17 seats on the Classification and Rating Administration, interfered, causing "The Purge," which should have been rated R, to be classified as NC-17.
Do you think Kyle would be happy about that?
Of course not!
But do you have a choice?
No!
Because the Classification and Rating Administration only has 7 seats, held by the Hollywood Big Six: Warner, Columbia, Universal, Disney, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, plus MGM Studios.
Before the rise of streaming giants like Netflix, these seven seats were fixed, and no one could replace them.
They are naturally at the pinnacle of Hollywood!
These seats are as precious as gold!
In the end, in order to get the film successfully rated R, Kyle had no choice but to reluctantly reduce several profit-sharing ratios in a series of cooperation agreements signed with Paramount, which allowed "The Purge" to pass the review smoothly.
The conflicts and disputes triggered by these three major incidents were all initiated by Warner.
Additionally, in variety shows like "America's Got Talent" and "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," and animated series such as "SpongeBob SquarePants" and "Peppa Pig";
In these programs, Warner's media outlets frequently slandered them.
Furthermore, even during Kyle's process of establishing and acquiring overseas distribution channels, Warner Bros. often obstructed him.
Once upon a time,
Kyle, who was still weak in strength and financial resources, could only swallow his anger and actively avoid conflicts and slanders from Warner.
But now, with abundant financial resources, is Kyle still willing to back down?
Is he still willing to live cautiously?
Moreover, Page Pictures, now without Paramount's protection, is bound to face even stronger attacks from Warner Bros. In this situation, Kyle can only choose to confront them head-on!
February 13th.
The day before Valentine's Day, and also the day before the release of Page Pictures' new film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
Today, several media outlets under Warner launched a new round of targeted attacks.
["My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is an extremely poor and insincere work.]
This was the headline of the entertainment section of Warner's "Time Magazine" in its morning report today.
The article claimed: "Nia Vardalos, the actress playing the female lead in 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding,' is a stage actress, currently 37 years old, while Joaquin Phoenix, the male lead, is only 25 years old.
They are 12 years apart in age, yet they play a screen couple, co-starring in a romantic love story.
Do you think this is appropriate?"
To use age as an argument, one must admit it's quite despicable!
In real life, a significant age difference between partners is not an issue at all. It's common to see older husbands and younger wives.
However, movies are different!
Movies are also called "dream-like places."
Many moviegoers allow for older husbands and younger wives in real life, but in the dream-like world of movies, they absolutely do not want to see such a pairing.
They don't want their dreams shattered!
Undoubtedly, some viewers who are sensitive to this might lose interest in watching "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
Not only did the entertainment section of "Time Magazine" publish slander, but several media companies under Warner also wrote articles expressing their opinions.
["My Big Fat Greek Wedding" is not worth watching, not worth the price of a ticket.]
[It is a work lacking in sincerity.]
[Besides making horror films, what other good movies can Page Pictures make?]
[Are they planning to release a horror movie on the beautiful Valentine's Day? Please allow me to say no!]
The media published numerous articles, and at the same time, Warner also arranged for many well-known Hollywood film critics to speak out.
Moreover, the film critics' attitudes were not as mild as the media's; they simply embodied a spirit of straightforward bluntness.
Ent Batyr, male, 52 years old, has been a film critic for over 30 years and is a veteran Hollywood film critic with a considerable fan base.
He also expressed his views on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
His attitude was even worse.
"Shit!"
"'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' is an imaginary, dog-shit-like work!"
"Oh my goodness!"
"A month ago, I was fortunate enough to get early access to the film. I went in with high hopes, but the movie successfully disgusted me. In the name of Ent Batyr, I swear to God, it truly is an extremely terrible romantic film!"
"Cheesy, reeking!"
In a blink of an eye, it was February 14th, Valentine's Day.
It was also the release day of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."
On this morning, several media outlets under Warner "exposed" a new piece of news.
[The female lead, Nia Vardalos, is actually a closeted lesbian.]
A lesbian starring in a romantic film, released on Valentine's Day—do you think couples in love would choose to watch this movie?
Undoubtedly, Warner was ruthless enough!
The truth or falsehood of the exposed news was not important to many people, but for Page Pictures, it was definitely a heavy blow on the film's premiere day.
However,
Many people suddenly noticed that Page Pictures had not issued any rebuttal to these incidents!
Even Kyle, who was known for being a "big mouth," did not appear in front of the public media, which inevitably sparked curiosity and speculation among many.
They knew Kyle was definitely not someone who would take a beating without fighting back.
Even Kyle's old friend, Charlize Theron, was quite surprised: "The Kyle I know is someone who holds a grudge and always retaliates."