American fame and fortune.

Chapter 898: The beginning of the fall of Warner Group

"The most embarrassing moment in Oscars history!"

This was the front-page headline of almost all entertainment media the next day.

Although everyone present gave face to the academy and no one revealed what happened on the scene to the media, various versions of speculation were still flying around.

This year's Oscars ceremony has attracted unprecedented attention in nearly a decade.

It even gives people the illusion that the Oscars have returned to the 1990s.

Although public opinion has heated up, the negative impact cannot be ignored.

The Academy immediately held a press conference and announced the results of the internal investigation together with PricewaterhouseCoopers: the accountant handed the wrong envelope to the award presenter Warren Beatty that night, resulting in the "blunder" of the Best Picture award.

Faced with the huge dispute, the president of the academy, Tom Sherak, apologized solemnly and vowed: "This was not a pre-planned plan. We really made a serious mistake."

This statement seems to be intended to calm the controversy, but to many people it seems to be leading the public to speculate on conspiracy theories.

The Academy's press conference did not quell the controversy, but instead made it more intense. For a time, the North American media and the Internet were filled with discussions about the Oscars.

The Oscar fever is finally back.

According to relevant statistics from major institutions, at the moment when the Best Picture incident occurred, the ratings of this year's awards ceremony hit the highest point since the new century.

The news and attention after the award ceremony reached a record high in the past twenty years!

The blunder attracted a lot of movie fans' attention, but Martin's second Best Actor award was also a hot topic in the media.

"The only undisputed and deserving winner of this year's Oscars is Martin Davis, the Best Actor!"

"The award Martin received is one of the most undisputed best actor awards in the past thirty years."

Riding on the momentum of its Oscar win, "Split" set off one final wave of movie-watching craze in theaters in North America and overseas, before being completely taken offline.

This R-rated psychological thriller was basically withdrawn from theaters around the world after two weeks, and its North American box office remained at $2.66 million.

The global box office has reached 5.34 million US dollars.

“The only question about the project is, will there be a sequel?”

In the post-production room at Disney Studios, Louise raised a question: "Split has received very good reviews. Your character escaped from the police, and fans are very interested in what will happen next."

Martin had just come out of the editing room, rubbing his forehead and said: "There will definitely be a sequel, but not now. We will discuss the sequel after "Joker" is released."

Louise nodded slightly and asked, "The editing is not going well?"

Martin said: "It's OK. Joel Negron has completed the third version of the editing, but the length of the film is still more than 200 minutes. I plan to make the length of the film within two hours."

Louise said: "This length also meets the needs of commercial screenings. Too long is not conducive to scheduling."

Martin checked the time and said, "Let's go check out the soundtrack."

The two called assistant director Steve Downton and went to a nearby theater together.

The crew hired British composer Rachel Portman to compose the film's music. The latter has composed many pieces of music and also specially created special background music for clowns in different occasions.

For example, the clown at the beginning is a small person at the bottom of society, and the background music is mainly decadent and sad.

By the end of the climax, the score becomes passionate, in keeping with the Joker's characterization as a city hero.

The post-production of the film is quite cumbersome. Although Martin is still mainly in charge of the overall situation, he is also following up on the specific work.

He has already gained some experience in the job of director and naturally wants to continue to improve.

I discussed the soundtrack with Rachel Portman and asked for adjustments to several clips. Then I went to Warner Bros. to confirm the specific release date of "Joker" with Daniel.

Martin chose October this year from a series of release dates offered by Warner Bros.

It's simple. Everyone from him, his studio, his agency, and his public relations team are extremely familiar with this rhythm of screening and winning awards.

Due to the huge success of "Split", Warner Pictures is ready to invest more than $1 million in publicity and distribution costs for "Joker".

In the reception room, Daniel glanced at Martin and said, "We need to be prepared in advance. The project will not receive support from DC."

Martin was prepared and said, "It's OK as long as they don't hold us back."

Daniel said: "DC is busy with the production of Justice League and has no time to mess around. The success or failure of this project is not only related to the DC Justice League movie universe plan, but also involves the future of Kevin Tsujihara and Hamada at Warner Bros."

The Warner team had conflicts with Martin several times. In addition to Jon Berg who was forced to resign, Kevin Tsujihara also sent a woman to the crew to seduce Martin.

Martin has been looking for an opportunity to continue to work with the Warner team, and asked: "Batman v Superman has a bad reputation among the audience. Has it affected the Justice League crew?"

He also quietly passed on news about Joss Whedon to DC through Louise, but he was recently busy with the awards campaign for Split and the post-production of Joker, so he didn't pay much attention: "Is Zack Snyder's progress going smoothly?"

Daniel said simply, "You know the previous situation. The reputation of Batman v Superman was not ideal, and the box office and commercial revenue were far below expectations. Hamada and Kevin Tsujihara considered replacing Zack Snyder, but when the film was released, the preparations for Justice League were already in the final stage. Changing the actor might result in a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars, so they chose to continue using Zack Snyder."

Martin nodded: "I've heard of this."

Daniel added: "But Zack Snyder's ability has been questioned, and his power in the crew has been restricted. As a result, you can probably imagine their old ways."

He smiled and said, "In addition to Charles Roven as the producer, DC sent a vice president to the crew, and Kevin Tsujihara also sent a representative."

Martin also laughed when he heard it: "It seems that this crew is very lively."

Daniel said: "Overall it was OK. Kevin Tsujihara learned from Jon Berg's failure and let his agent Silverman take full charge of the crew. Although Zack was very dissatisfied, he understood the rules of Hollywood and did not cause too much conflict."

Martin listened carefully and asked, "Is the film finished now?"

"The filming went very quickly. When Batman v Superman was released in July last year, the crew was almost done with preparations." Daniel said roughly, "Filming started in August and was completed before October. Now the post-production is almost complete."

Because Warner Bros. is responsible for distribution, he understands the situation there: "Warner and DC are increasingly dissatisfied with Zack Snyder. The director's cut he submitted is another 250 minutes long."

Martin couldn't help but say: "Zack Snyder needs enough length to tell a story clearly."

Daniel said: "Whether it has been made clear or not, we will know in a few days. DC will soon hold the first internal preview for Justice League, which is Zack Snyder's cut."

Martin became interested: "Can we get a credit ticket?"

Daniel shook his head directly: "I am the representative of the publisher, so I must attend. But you, you probably won't get it. DC doesn't like you."

Martin sighed: "DC and Warner are experiencing an unprecedented adventure." Daniel hesitated for a moment and continued: "But Warner and DC cannot accompany Zack Snyder to take risks. If Justice League fails to meet expectations, it will be difficult for both Hamada and Kevin Tsujihara to stay in their current positions."

Martin heard a hint from these words and said in a deliberately joking tone: "Congratulations to you then."

Daniel's face straightened: "Inside Warner, my competition with them is almost open. If I were in Kevin Tsujihara's position, Warner would not be where it is today, and our cooperation could be normalized."

Many things are selectively forgotten, or in other words, in the face of interests, competition and cooperation are changing all the time.

Martin glanced at the time and said, "It's almost time to get off work. I'll treat you tonight. Let's go somewhere else and continue our conversation."

Daniel understood that some things were not convenient to say here, and he was also afraid that there were ears on the other side of the wall, so he immediately agreed: "It's a rare occasion for you to treat me, so I won't be polite."

The two left Warner Bros. and headed straight for the restaurant chosen by Martin.

Later, Louise also rushed over.

The three of them ate and chatted until around nine o'clock in the evening.

…………

The strictest security measures have been taken outside the door of the large conference room in the Warner Building, which serves as a temporary theater.

No one who has not accepted the invitation is allowed to enter.

This is also to prevent the risk of "Justice League" being leaked in advance.

Today, DC held an internal screening for Zack Snyder's cut of "Justice League". People including Kevin Tsujihara, Daniel Hamada and Silverman all appeared in the conference room.

However, Zack Snyder and his wife were not invited to attend the preview to discuss the fate of Zack Snyder's version.

The box office and reputation of "Batman v Superman" fell short of expectations, leading to more serious consequences. The film's performance in the offline market was also far from the lowest expectations set by Warner Bros.

Movie fans have high expectations for Justice League

reduce.

To put it simply, this film caused Zack Snyder to lose the trust of Warner and DC.

Kevin Tsujihara arrived last and glanced at everyone in the conference room. In addition to a group of senior executives, there were also several film experts specially hired by the company, led by Blunt.

"Is everyone here?" Kevin Tsujihara sat down and gestured to Hamada.

Hamada turned off the lights and asked his assistant to play the movie.

The first test screening of "Justice League" has begun.

This edited version is nearly 250 minutes long. Except for a few shots that have not yet added special effects and music, the film is already very complete.

Zack Snyder's work efficiency and dedication are unquestionable.

But Kevin Tsujihara only watched about half of the film and felt it was too long.

The length of "Batman v Superman" was criticized and complained by countless movie fans, saying that it was too long, too boring and too slow.

From a commercial perspective, it has also seriously affected film scheduling.

Four hours was quite long, and the screening had to be paused once in the middle to allow the big guys to go to the bathroom and take a break.

After the preview was over and the lights came back on, Kevin Tsujihara couldn't wait to say, "It's still the same old problem. The film is too long and the pace is too slow. When will Zack correct this shortcoming?"

Hamada responded: "I feel like half of the content in the film could be cut."

Daniel fully agrees: "With such a length, the distribution company cannot negotiate with the theater chain for scheduling. Which theater chain is willing to schedule more screenings if the number of screenings per day is twice as small as that of a normal movie?"

This is a very realistic problem. Kevin Tsujihara looked directly at Silverman and Charles Roven: "The length of the feature film should not exceed two hours."

Hamada agreed: "120 minutes is the best."

The length of the film is just the most obvious problem, Kevin Tsujihara also feels there are many other aspects that are inappropriate.

He said directly: "It seems that Zack has repeated the mistake he made in the last Batman v Superman."

Daniel said blandly: "Same style, same problems, he hasn't improved at all."

Everyone here has seen Batman v Superman, which is exactly like the Justice League.

Daniel doesn’t need to say anything exaggerated or false: “You can imagine what the reputation will be like if the film is released in this style.”

I can still listen to Kevin Tsujihara's words, mainly because of the comparison with Batman v Superman.

He looked at the film experts and asked Blount, "Give us your opinion."

Blunt thought for a moment and said, "Just as you said, several of the reasons why Batman v Superman received so many negative reviews also appeared in Justice League. First, the pace is too slow, the plot is not clearly explained, it is too fan-oriented, the literary and fighting scenes are seriously separated, and there is a lack of social responsibility of superheroes!"

He had already prepared the article before coming: "The second point is the abuse of slow motion. Almost all action scenes will have a lot of slow motion. I don't need to say more about this. When the last movie was screened, it was criticized by countless audiences!"

These words were recognized by Warner and DC executives.

Blunt continued: "The dark style and overly serious characters and plots are not suitable for family-friendly viewing. In the past so many years, there have been so many superhero movies. Except for Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, which other dark superhero movies have been successful? I think family-friendly is the key to success."

Daniel glanced over there inconspicuously but said nothing.

Executives at Warner and DC are considering it carefully.

Naturally, Blunt alone would not have had such an effect.

All of this is based on several points that Zack Snyder has been criticized for.

After careful consideration, Kevin Tsujihara said: "We had anticipated these and repeatedly reminded Zach during filming and post-production, but he still made the inherent mistakes."

Silverman added: "Directors are stubborn people. They won't change their minds even if they know they are wrong."

Kevin Tsujihara looked at Hamada: "What's your opinion?"

Hamada said: "I think the tone of the film could be lighter, not so serious and dark."

At this moment, he suddenly remembered that he had seen related news as early as last year that Joss Whedon, who created "The Avengers", left Marvel Studios and Walt Disney.

(End of this chapter)