Best Director in Literature Department of Huayu

Chapter 120 Two-pronged Approach

"At the latest, next week, I will have a trusted offshore agent set off to contact Arthur, the owner of Image Entertainment," Roger instructed Lin Ruiyang, standing beside the car.

"As for CAA, starting tomorrow, I'll show them what a madman who will stop at nothing to keep a future star director is like."

Lin Ruiyang smiled slightly and opened the car door: "Go ahead, my manager. Make the most of the privileges Richard Lovett has given you."

The two foxes parted ways in the night, each heading towards different battlefields.

The following morning, the CAA headquarters building, known as the Hollywood White House, was as busy as ever.

Roger pushed open the doors to the public relations and publicity departments with a gloomy expression, his usual shrewd and charming demeanor gone.

"I need to adjust the resource rating of 'Dallas Buyers Club,' immediately!" Roger slammed the thick proposal onto the table as soon as he entered the room.

The PR director, taken aback by his imposing manner, awkwardly adjusted his glasses: "Roger, this isn't the proper procedure. 'Dallas' is just an independent film with an eight million dollar budget; we've already arranged for it to have the usual Oscar campaign channels. This year, the company's focus is on several other major directors' core projects..."

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"To hell with the conventional channels! Do you know how many people are watching Lin? I had just left the restaurant last night when I heard that a senior partner at WMA was inquiring about his whereabouts in the neighborhood!"

"The Devil Wears Prada" is still soaring at the box office, and that Chinese guy's appetite is terrifyingly big. He told me explicitly that if CAA can't come up with the industry's top-notch PR plan for the upcoming awards season, he'll be jumping ship at any time when his contract expires at the end of August!

Roger's performance was so realistic. The anxiety and madness he felt in order to protect his core asset (his own position) was a perfect portrayal of a veteran Hollywood agent when faced with interests.

Half an hour later, in Richard Lovett's top-floor office.

Roger sat on the leather sofa, panting heavily, perfectly portraying a loyal minister who had worked himself to exhaustion for the company's benefit.

Richard, a powerful figure in Hollywood, was flipping through the awards season strategy that Rogge had hastily drafted overnight. It was filled with radical plans on how to mobilize CAA's film critics, Oscar voters, and internal voting allocation during the nomination process.

"Rogg, the resources this plan uses exceed what a new director should be entitled to. The board will question it." Richard looked at Rogg with amusement.

"Richard, capital doesn't care about seniority, it only cares about returns! Before the release of 'The Queen,' no one believed that a twenty-year-old Chinese director could create any miracles."

"But what about now? It's grossed over $100 million in North America and over $200 million worldwide, and it's still rising. How many mid-budget films in Hollywood this year have achieved this level of success?"

Richard did not refute, so Roger pressed his advantage: "More importantly, Lin is still young. If he were thirty-five this year, I wouldn't be so radical, but he's only in his early twenties. What about ten years from now? What about twenty years from now?"

If CAA loses him, we'll lose not just a film, but an entire era of directing!

Richard gently turned the watch on his wrist. As the head of CAA, he certainly knew what long-term assets were.

Celebrities age, actors fade into obscurity, but the lifespan of truly top-tier directors is often frighteningly long.

From the 1970s to today, from Spielberg to Martin Scorsese to Clint Eastwood to today... a top director often means decades of continuous benefits.

After a long pause, Richard finally spoke: "Tell me the conditions you want to negotiate."

Roger felt a sense of relief; he knew he had made the right bet.

"First, improve the internal rating of The Dallas Buyers Club; second, I need the best media resources during the Toronto period; third, all college public relations channels in New York and Los Angeles should be activated ahead of schedule; fourth, allow me to call upon two senior public relations consultants."

Richard looked at him: "Anything else?"

Roger gritted his teeth: "I need board authorization."

"Authorization?"

"If a competitor tries to poach my talent, I need the highest level of authority to respond."

Richard smiled and looked at Roger: "Roger, do you know how many people on the board are praising you right now? They all say you're almost going crazy for Lin."

Roger responded with a wry smile, "If I really lost him, I'd go even crazier."

Under Rogge's relentless pursuit, Richard finally signed the documents.

"Go do it, don't let me down."

Taking advantage of the authorization, Roger held an all-night meeting with the publicity director and public relations consultant, forcibly transferring a large amount of top-tier resources to the Dallas Buyers Club.

On the other hand, under the guise of inspecting independent cinema chains, he frequently visited the most secluded private clubs in Beverly Hills.

There, a professional team comprised of PwC and established Los Angeles law firms is already in place.

August arrived quickly, and the weather in the United States grew increasingly hot, but the box office performance of "The Queen" remained remarkably strong, with the weekly drop not exceeding 40%.

In its sixth week of release, the film grossed over $140 million in North America; in its seventh week, it grossed $150 million.

The overseas market is also growing, and Fox's distribution department has even begun to revise its forecasts, raising the global box office from around $300 million to $350 million.

Variety wrote a special report on this amazing downward trend: "Ryan Lam is creating an amazing phenomenon."

This summer, people talked about *Pirates of the Caribbean*, *Superman*, and all sorts of sequels and big-budget productions, but the film that stayed in theaters the longest was actually a movie about urban women.

On August 22, the Toronto International Film Festival officially announced the list of films shortlisted for 2006 to the world.

The moment the news was released, the entire North American independent film community was stirred up by the list, and the Toronto International Film Festival's website server even experienced a brief period of congestion.

In the eyes of many industry insiders, it is more like the starting gun for the true Oscar season.

In recent years, after films such as "American Beauty" and "Munich" used Toronto to make their way to the Oscars, the entire industry has been paying far more attention to this list than to ordinary film festivals.

Among all the films nominated for the festival, "Dallas Buyers Club" was prominently listed, followed by the name of its director, Lin Ruiyang, who has recently been making waves in the commercial market.

The incident caused a huge stir, and major mainstream media outlets reacted very quickly. Analyses of the Toronto International Film Festival lineup and special reports on Lin Ruiyang flooded the front pages of major newspapers.

The Hollywood Reporter: "Lin Ruiyang is tearing apart Hollywood's established definitions of young directors. He can create commercial miracles and realize his artistic ambitions of heavy realism."

Entertainment Weekly: "Matthew McConaughey lost a full 30 pounds for this movie, and we have to have the highest expectations ever for Dallas Buyers Club."

The Los Angeles Times: "If The Devil Wears Prada proved Ryan Lam's commercial talent, then Dallas Buyers Club may determine whether he has the potential to enter the first tier of true directors."

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