American fame and fortune.

Chapter 903 The era of Warner Group is over
In the Warner Building, the conference room was eerily quiet.

Not to mention that no executives attending the meeting spoke up, even members of the Warner group such as Hamada, Jeff Jones and McDonald said nothing.

The reason is simple: the response to "Justice League" was really bad.

The reputation collapsed and the box office was terrible.

Originally, they thought the forecast of $1 million was low enough, but the figure of $6638 million proved that they were still too optimistic.

Joss Whedon ruined Justice League!

No, Joss Whedon is just an executor.

The eyes of the executives fell on Hamada and Kevin Tsujihara one after another. These two people of Japanese descent must be held accountable for this!
Compared to his colleagues, Daniel seemed very calm and not overly worried.

The promotion and publicity of "Justice League" was the work of Warner Bros. Pictures, and he carried out everything as planned without any shirking or compromise.

But these cannot guarantee one's own safety. Once the internal struggle fails, it is not uncommon for the publicity and promotion department to take the blame.

"The failure of "Justice League" must have been due to some problems at the company's decision-making level. I apologize to everyone for this." Kevin Tsujihara stood up and bowed 90 degrees.

Executives were waiting for him to take responsibility and announce his resignation.

But Kevin Tsujihara never mentioned taking responsibility or resigning, and only said a few polite words.

The executives remained silent.

The production cost was $3.5 million, the publicity cost was $2.5 million, and the total cost of $6 million on the books was $ million. How could the film be recovered? Who should bear the responsibility for the failure?

No one here wants to take the blame.

The meeting ended uneventfully, and Hamada followed Kevin Tsujihara into the chairman's office.

On the desk, the newspaper that Kevin Tsujihara read before going to the meeting was spread out. The number "66.38M" in the entertainment headline made people's hearts pound.

Kevin Tsujihara is well aware of the seriousness of the consequences, but who is willing to just walk away?

No matter what, you have to struggle.

Hamada has been waiting for the boss to speak.

Kevin Tsujihara already had some ideas. Sitting in his boss chair, he tapped the armrest and said, "Contact the six leading actors of Justice League and the production team on the crew to spread the news about Joss Whedon bullying the actors."

Hamada nodded, understanding that this was an attempt to divert attention and put the blame on Joss Whedon.

These were definitely not enough. He remembered that it was Joss Whedon who he recommended, and hurriedly said, "Use Joss Whedon..."

Kevin Tsujihara waved his hand: "Wasn't it Jeff Jones who recommended him to you?"

Hamada responded immediately: “Yes, Jeff Jones recommended it to me and strongly pushed for him to replace Zack Snyder as director.”

Kevin Tsujihara nodded: "Let's arrange it as soon as possible."

Hamada left the office.

Kevin Tsujihara was still thinking that he could give up the lower position, as long as he could keep his position as CEO and chairman, everything else would be fine.

If Jeff Jones can't handle it, he can push Hamada out to handle it.

…………

Warner Pictures, back in the office, Daniel immediately made a call.

The person on the other end asked, "How did the meeting go? What are they going to do?"

Daniel thought about what happened to him and said, "Kevin Tsujihara is of Japanese descent. He will definitely bow and apologize to the group. As for taking responsibility, that is out of the question."

He suddenly thought of what Martin had said and some of the events that had happened on the island country.

In the past, the people of the island countries promoted their spirit of craftsmanship all over the world, but the development in recent years has told the world that the people of the island countries really have a spirit of craftsmanship.

The person on the other end asked, "With such serious business and decision-making problems, doesn't Kevin Tsujihara intend to resign?"

Daniel smiled and said, "Kevin Tsujihara bowed and apologized, how could he resign?"

He stopped laughing and said seriously, "If nothing unexpected happens, he should want to push a few important people to take the blame."

"The entire Justice League plan has failed." The person on the other end said, "Who else can be held responsible except Kevin Tsujihara?"

Daniel proposed: "I suggest that we hold the board of directors and shareholders' meeting as soon as possible. There are few good opportunities like this. If we let Kevin Tsujihara get through this, we will be very uncomfortable in the future."

The other side said: "The procedure takes time. If I want to avoid this, I need a sharp knife."

Daniel assured: "It will happen."

The two quickly hung up the phone.

Daniel thought for a moment and dialed a number: "Is the knife we ​​talked about a few days ago ready?"

Martin on the other side said, "The knife has been sharpened and sharpened."

Daniel said, “Give it to me.”

In the office of Davis Studio, Martin opened the back filing cabinet and took out a homemade military knife.

He pulled it out and looked at the blade, then closed it and threw it to Bruce: "Find someone to take it to Daniel's office."

Bruce said, "You actually gave him a knife."

Martin said, "Where's the other knife?"

"Ivan has sorted out everything, and the video is very clear." Bruce said deliberately: "Charlotte Kirk and Kevin Tsujihara are too entangled. Ivan is afraid of alarming Kevin Tsujihara, so he dares not contact him rashly. He found and bribed Charlotte's best friend Emma, ​​and obtained a lot of key videos and recordings through Emma's secret filming."

Martin nodded and said, "Leave it to Jody."

"I'll go right away." Bruce left the office.

Martin suddenly wanted to laugh at that bastard Old Bull. He always said no with his mouth but his body was very honest. He could just let Ivan do this kind of work, but he insisted on going there himself.

why?

At noon, Bruce's car stopped in front of the TMZ office building.

Jody came out, opened the door and got on the passenger seat, saying, "Let's go to my house."

Bruce took out a USB drive and handed it to Jody: "I'm here to give this to you. I don't have time to mess around with you."

Jody took the USB drive and got down to business first: "About Kevin Tsujihara?"

"Kevin Tsujihara and British actress Charlotte Kirk," Bruce prompted. "The one I told you about in detail before."

"Justice League" was a complete failure both at the box office and in terms of reputation. Jody knew that this was hot news that would shock the entire United States, so she immediately put away the USB drive.

But her mind was not on this for the time being. Instead, she stared at Bruce and said, "Old Bruce, you don't want the news to not be published and the USB drive to break again, do you?"

"What do you want to do?" Bruce asked.

Jody said, "Drive to my house, now!"

Bruce stared at Jody.

Jody just pressed the electronic ignition.

The car started and Bruce drove towards Jody's house. On the way, he made a phone call to make an appointment with a masseur in New Chinatown to soothe his pelvis which was about to be injured.

In the afternoon, Martin met with an interview team from Vanity Fair magazine and was interviewed about the movie Joker.

The award season has already begun, and he is also launching a full-scale publicity and public relations campaign.

The crew did not submit the film for the Best Actor award, and their main goal was the Best Director award.

After the interview with Vanity Fair ended, Martin rushed to the next event. There was also a screening of Joker in the evening.

Many directors, including Spielberg, David Fincher, Soderbergh, Ridley Scott, Villeneuve and Nolan, came to attend.

Like acting awards such as Best Actor, all of the Oscars' professional awards are voted on by members of professional chapters.

As long as Martin can get the first place with 300 votes, he will definitely win the prize.

Therefore, the crew’s main public relations target is the directors.

As for the Best Picture, it is the only one among all the official awards that is voted on by all Academy members. Martin would like to win the best, but if he doesn't win, it doesn't matter to him.

The commercial returns of "Joker" are high enough, and the market potential has been almost fully exploited. An Oscar for Best Picture has almost no effect.

Leonardo and Nicholson also arrived at the scene.

After Martin finished his socializing, he came to the rest area and sat next to the two of them, taking a breath.

Leonardo pointed to the distance and said, "You have a girlfriend who can really help you."

Martin glanced over there and saw Elizabeth Olsen engaging in lady diplomacy, mingling with the female companions of the directors.

Nicholson looked at Leonardo: "Except for Gisele Bundchen, your other female companions are useless."

Martin got back to the point and asked, "Have you identified your competitors?"

Leonardo DiCaprio is full of confidence: "As long as you don't apply for the Best Actor award, nothing else will pose a threat."

He gave examples one by one: "Based on the current situation, Ryan Gosling, who starred in Manchester by the Sea, Andrew Garfield in Hacksaw Ridge, and Viggo Mortensen in Captain Fantastic are more likely to be nominated for Best Actor."

Martin remembered that the leading actor of "Manchester by the Sea" was Casey Affleck, who also won the Oscar for Best Actor for this film.

But now Cassie is in state prison with Ben Affleck, and her acting career is long gone.

Martin reminded: "Pay attention to the film Manchester by the Sea."

Leonardo remembered it and said, "The director of this film, Kenneth Lonergan, wants to compete for the best director. I have worked with him before. He was the screenwriter and assistant director of Gangs of New York at the time and he has certain abilities."

Martin nodded: "I've been keeping an eye on him here."

Nicholson interrupted at this time: "The Revenant is not submitting for the Oscar for Best Director. Can you handle it, Leo?"

Leonardo nodded: "Alessandro Iñárritu has opinions, but it doesn't matter. He has won an Oscar for Best Director. I am the investor. As long as I disagree, he can only bear it."

The Mexican director won the Best Director award for Birdman at the previous awards ceremony, but the Best Picture award went to Boyhood.

Martin said: "In this case, my main competitors are Kenneth Lonergan, who directed Manchester by the Sea, David Mackenzie, who directed Hell or High Water, Denzel Washington, who directed Fences, and Mel Gibson, who directed Hacksaw Ridge..."

After Martin mentioned six or seven names, Leonardo interrupted him and said, "Except for Mel Gibson, the other directors are not even second-tier."

Martin reminded, “I’m a new director, too.”

"You are also a newbie? Are you kidding me?" Leonardo said, "You obviously made preparations by choosing this year's prize."

Nicholson knew more: "I remember Louise mentioned that Martin's studio has been collecting basic information on projects with investments of over one million yuan in the past two years. The timing of the selection of the prize must have been carefully studied."

Martin admitted: "Oscar winners are not only about yourself, but also about your opponents. This year, there are only two truly strong films, not counting Joker, The Revenant, which was invested by Leo, and Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson."

Nicholson continued, "Leo is the producer and investor, and can control the award submissions. Mel Gibson? You all know the situation. Although he publicly apologized and expressed his true regret, it's good enough to get a nomination. Winning? Daydream didn't do that. As for Denzel Washington, the black film in the last session caused such a big disturbance, it's impossible for a black person to win the four major awards."

He chuckled, "Unless the other directors spend tens of millions of dollars each, how can they compete with Martin, that bastard? Not to mention whether they can afford it financially, the production companies behind them are unwilling to spend so much to win awards, and they can't even get their investment back."

Leonardo looked at Martin: "No wonder you keep saying that you won the award fairly..."

Martin asked back, "Just tell me if this method is upright or not?"

Leonardo couldn't deny it, because in order to win the award this time, he also learned Martin's method and eliminated his biggest competitor - Martin himself - in advance.

Sure enough, before I met Martin, I always failed in winning awards. It was not because I didn’t have public relations, but because I focused too much on myself and ignored my competitors.

As long as your competitors are not strong enough, you can win easily!

…………

Also on this night, several offices in the TMZ headquarters building were brightly lit.

The two teams directly under Jodi are working overtime urgently.

An entertainment news that will shock the whole United States is about to hit the front page of TMZ.

At 8:30 in the evening, Jody opened the editor-in-chief's backend, reviewed and approved the news that had just been edited, and mentioned the headlines on the website's homepage, with the title in bold and black.

The news is several videos and audio recordings, all related to Kevin Tsujihara, the current CEO of Warner Bros.

Some of them are videos and audio recordings of Kevin Tsujihara secretly interacting with actress Charlotte Kirk, and others are evidence of the latter's best friend Emma.

The news doesn't contain much text, but it is scary enough.

"Hollywood has seen another Harvey Weinstein-style incident. Warner CEO Kevin Tsujihara cheated on his wife and engaged in power-for-sex transactions with British actress Charlotte Kirk, using sexual services to help her get roles!"

Some of the text messages were also secretly collected by Charlotte’s best friend.

This part of the content was carefully kept by Charlotte. Before the first transaction between the two parties, Kevin Tsujihara promised Charlotte in the form of a text message that she could trade for performance opportunities.

That night, news about Kevin Tsujihara swept the Internet.

This explosive news spread at the fastest speed.

Countless people inside and outside the circle are waiting to see the show.

In recent years, under the leadership of Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros. has been declining from the top of Hollywood's performance list. Various stupid moves have emerged one after another, and a trump card has ruined the company.

In his mansion in Malibu, Kevin Tsujihara got the news first.

Both he and his wife were relatively calm.

The latter knew Hollywood quite well and had expected this kind of thing. He was not surprised at all and just said quietly: "A problem with work?"

Kevin Tsujihara said: "Yes, there was a problem at work."

"Let's solve it as soon as possible." The wife went into the bedroom alone.

Kevin Tsujihara picked up his phone and called Charlotte: "I want to see you, right now."

Half an hour later, the two men met in a Burbank hotel room and came up with a unified statement.

But the next morning, before Kevin Tsujihara could clarify the matter, he received a call from Time Warner.

"Kevin, the situation is very complicated now. You have an unshirkable responsibility for what happened at Warner Bros." The person on the other side said directly, "Save some face for yourself and the group company, handle the work at hand as soon as possible, and resign voluntarily."

Kevin Tsujihara was stunned for a moment, then sighed, "Is this the only way?"

"Next month, the board of directors and shareholders' meeting will be held ahead of schedule. Don't let things get out of hand."

"I understand."

Kevin Tsujihara hung up the phone and took the newspaper beside him.

His news is on the front page of almost all newspapers.

Media outlets across the United States are frantically reprinting related news, and this has become the hottest event in the country.

TMZ also called it the "cheating gate."

In the past, this kind of thing was nothing, but the Harvey Weinstein incident has made this kind of thing quite sensitive.

Most importantly, both Time Warner and Warner Bros. have great dissatisfaction with Kevin Tsujihara and his management team.

The failure of the entire "Justice League" plan has left Warner facing huge losses.

The internal struggle within the group started again, and those who supported Kevin Tsujihara last time chose to give up.

Shortly after December, Warner Bros. held a press conference, where Kevin Tsujihara once again bowed and apologized, announcing his voluntary resignation from the positions of CEO and chairman of Warner Bros.

Also resigning with him were DC co-chairman Hamada and vice president Jeff Jones.

The Warner group has basically bid farewell to Warner Bros., and their era is over.

Daniel Love, president of Warner Pictures, became the winner of this internal struggle and will officially take over the positions of CEO and chairman after Warner's shareholders' meeting.

British actress Charlotte Kirk has been blacklisted by Hollywood production companies and her acting career has ended.

After Daniel took office, he immediately found Zack Snyder and invited him to produce the director's cut version of "Justice League".

The film performed dismally in theaters. After Christmas, theaters' daily revenue fell below one million US dollars. The North American box office has accumulated to $1.82 million, with no hope of breaking through $2 million.

(End of this chapter)