America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 898 The Beginning of the Warner Bros. Group's Fall

"The most embarrassing moment in Oscar history!"

This was practically the headline of all entertainment media the next day.

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

This year's Academy Awards ceremony garnered unprecedented attention compared to the past decade or so.

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

While the issue has garnered significant public attention, its negative impact cannot be ignored.

The Academy held a press conference immediately, together with PricewaterhouseCoopers, to announce the results of its internal investigation: the accountant had handed the wrong envelope to the presenter, Warren Beatty, that evening, leading to the Best Picture "blunder".

Faced with the huge controversy, the college president, Tom Sherak, issued a solemn apology, stating firmly, "This was not a pre-prepared plan; we really made a serious mistake."

These words seemed to be an attempt to quell the controversy, but to many people, they sounded like they were leading the public to speculate about conspiracy theories.

The Academy's press conference did not quell the controversy; instead, it intensified it, and for a time, North American media and the internet were filled with discussions about the Oscars.

The Oscar buzz is finally back.

According to statistics from various organizations, the viewership ratings for this year's awards ceremony surged to their highest point since the beginning of the new century, even as the Best Picture award went wrong.

The news and buzz surrounding the awards ceremony reached a new high in nearly two decades!

The mix-up stole the spotlight from many moviegoers, but Martin Scorsese winning his second Best Actor Oscar was equally a media sensation.

"The only truly deserved and undisputed winner at this year's Oscars is Martin Davis for Best Actor!"

"Martin's award is one of the most uncontroversial Best Actor awards in the last thirty years."

Riding the wave of its Oscar win, "Split" sparked one last wave of moviegoing frenzy in North America and overseas theaters before being pulled from theaters.

This R-rated psychological thriller was largely withdrawn from theaters worldwide two weeks later, with its North American box office remaining at $2.66 million.

The film grossed a total of $5.34 million worldwide.

"The only question about the project is whether to film a sequel?"

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

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

Louise nodded slightly and asked, "Is the editing not going smoothly?"

Martin said, "It's alright. Joel Negroon has completed the third cut, but the film is still over 200 minutes long. I plan to keep the film under two hours."

Louise said, "This length also meets the needs of commercial screenings; too long would be not conducive to scheduling."

Martin glanced at the time: "Let's go check out the soundtrack."

The two of them called on assistant director Steve Downton, and together they went to a nearby theater.

The production team hired British composer Rachel Portman to score the film. She has composed many pieces of music and also created special background music for the clown in different situations.

For example, the clown at the beginning, a nobody from the bottom of society, is accompanied by background music that is mainly decadent and sorrowful.

In the climax at the end, the soundtrack becomes more rousing and stirring, befitting the Joker's status as a city hero.

The film's post-production was quite complicated. Although Martin was still in charge of the overall project, he was also following up on the specific tasks.

He has already gained some experience in directing and naturally wants to continue to improve.

I discussed the score with Rachel Portman and requested adjustments to several scenes. Afterward, I went to Warner Bros. to confirm the specific release date for "Joker" with Daniel Radcliffe.

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

There's no other reason than that this kind of screening and award-winning rhythm is extremely familiar to him, his studio, his agency, and his public relations team.

Because of the huge success of "Split", Warner Bros. is prepared to spend more than $1 million on the publicity and distribution of "Joker".

In the meeting room, Daniel glanced at Martin and said, "We need to be prepared in advance; the project won't receive support from DC."

Martin was prepared and said, "As long as they don't hold us back, that's fine."

Daniel said, "DC is busy with the filming and production of Justice League and doesn't have time to mess around. The success or failure of this project is not only related to the DC Justice League cinematic universe plan, but also involves the future of Kevin Tsujihara, Hamada and others at Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. had several conflicts with Martin. In addition to Jon Berg being forced to leave the company, Kevin Tsujihara even sent a woman to the set to use his charm on Martin.

Martin, who had been looking for opportunities to continue working with the Warner Bros. team, asked, "Did the poor reception of 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' affect the 'Justice League' production team?"

He also secretly leaked information about Joss Whedon to DC through Lois Lane, but he's been busy with the awards campaign for *Split* and post-production on *Joker*, so he hasn't been paying much attention: "Is things going well with Zack Snyder?"

Daniel simply stated, "As you know, the previous situation was that 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' received poor reviews and its box office and commercial revenue fell far short of expectations. Hamada and Kevin Tsujihara considered replacing Zack Snyder, but when the film was released, 'Justice League' was already in the final stages of preparation, and replacing him could result in losses of hundreds of millions of dollars, so they chose to continue using Zack Snyder."

Martin nodded. "I've heard about those."

Daniel added, "But Zack Snyder's abilities have been questioned, and his power on set has been limited. As a result, you can probably guess, they resorted to their old methods."

He smiled and said, "In addition to producer Charles Rowan, DC has also sent a vice president to the production team, and Kevin Tsujihara has also sent a representative."

Martin laughed when he heard this: "Looks like this film crew is quite lively."

Daniel said, "Overall, it's alright. Kevin Tsujihara learned from Jon Berg's failure and had his agent, Silverman, take full charge of the production. Although Zack was very unhappy, he understood the rules of Hollywood, so there weren't any major conflicts."

Martin listened intently and then asked, "Is the film finished shooting now?"

"Filming went very quickly. When Batman v Superman was released last July, the crew was almost finished with pre-production," Daniel said. "We started filming in August and finished all filming before October. Now post-production is almost complete."

Because Warner Bros. handled the distribution, he knew the situation there: "Warner Bros. and DC were increasingly dissatisfied with Zack Snyder, and his director's cut was another 250 minutes long."

Martin remarked, "Zach Snyder needs a long enough film to tell a story clearly."

Daniel said, "We'll know in a few days whether it's been explained clearly or not. DC will soon hold its first internal screening of Justice League, which will be the Zack Snyder cut."

Martin became interested: "Could we get a receipt?"

Daniel shook his head immediately: "I'm the distributor's representative, so I definitely have to attend. But you probably won't get it; DC doesn't like you."

Martin sighed: "DC and Warner are going through an unprecedented adventure."

Daniel paused for a moment, then continued, "But Warner Bros. and DC can't take the risk with Zack Snyder. If Justice League doesn't meet expectations, it will be difficult for either Hamada or Kevin Tsujihara to stay in their current positions."

Martin took a hint from these words and said jokingly, "Then I'll congratulate you."

Daniel's expression turned serious: "Within Warner, my competition with them was almost public. If I were in Kevin Tsujihara's position, Warner wouldn't be where it is today, and our cooperation could have been normalized."

Many things are selectively forgotten, or rather, competition and cooperation are constantly changing in the face of interests.

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

Daniel understood that some things were inconvenient to say here, and he was also afraid of being overheard, so he immediately agreed: "Since you rarely treat me, I won't stand on ceremony."

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

Louise then rushed over as well.

The three of them ate and chatted until after 9 p.m.

…………

The Warner Building, outside the large conference room that served as a temporary theater, was under the strictest security measures.

Those who have not received an invitation are strictly prohibited from entering.

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

Today, DC held an internal screening of Zack Snyder's version of "Justice League," and Kevin Tsujihara, Daniel Radcliffe, Hamada, and Silverman, among others, were all present in the conference room.

However, Zack Snyder and his wife were not invited to the screening that discussed the fate of the Zack Snyder version.

The box office and critical reception of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" fell short of expectations, leading to even more serious consequences. The film's performance in the offline market also fell far short of Warner Bros.' minimum expectations.

Fans have high expectations for Justice League.

reduce.

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

Kevin Tsujihara arrived last, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the meeting room, including a group of executives and several film experts, led by Blunt, whom the company had specially hired.

"Is everyone here?" Kevin Tsujihara sat down, and Okihamada gestured to him.

Hamada turned off the lights and had his assistant play a movie.

The first test screening of Justice League has begun.

This edited version is nearly 250 minutes long, and apart from a very small number of shots that haven't had special effects and music added, the film is already very well made.

Zach Schneider's work efficiency and dedication are beyond question.

However, Kevin Tsujihara only watched about half of it before feeling that the film was far too long.

The length of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" has been criticized and complained about by countless movie fans, who say it is too long, too boring, and too slow-paced.

From a commercial perspective, this has also severely impacted film scheduling.

Four hours is quite a long time, and the screening had to be paused once in the middle to allow the big shots to go to the bathroom and rest for a while.

After the test screening ended and the lights came back on, Kevin Tsujihara couldn't wait to say, "It's the same old problem: the film is too long and the pacing is too slow. When will Zack Snyder fix this flaw?"

Hamada responded, "I feel like we could cut half of the film's content."

Daniel completely agreed: "With this length, the distribution company can't negotiate screening schedules with theater chains. Which theater chain would want to screen half as many films as a normal movie?"

This is a very real problem. Kevin Tsujihara looked directly at Silverman and Charles Rowan: "The main feature should not exceed two hours in length."

Hamada agreed: "120 minutes is the most suitable."

The length of the film is just the most obvious problem; Kevin Tsujihara felt there were many other issues as well.

He stated directly, "It seems like Zack Snyder has repeated the same mistakes he made in the previous 'Batman v Superman' movie."

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

Everyone here has seen "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," which is practically a carbon copy of this Justice League film.

Daniel didn't need to exaggerate or lie: "You can imagine what kind of reception this style of film will receive in terms of word-of-mouth."

I can still take Kevin Tsujihara's words to heart, mainly because of the comparison with "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice".

He looked at the film experts and asked Blunt, "Give me your opinion."

Blunt thought for a moment and said, "Just as you all said, several of the issues that led to the overwhelmingly negative reviews of *Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice* also appear in large numbers in *Justice League*. First, the pacing is too slow, the plot is unclear, it's too fan-oriented, the dialogue and action scenes are severely disconnected, and it lacks the social responsibility of superheroes!"

He had prepared his points beforehand: "Secondly, the overuse of slow motion. Almost all action scenes feature a large number of slow-motion shots. I don't need to elaborate on this; it was criticized by countless viewers when the last film was released!"

These words were endorsed by executives at Warner and DC.

Blunt continued, "Dark themes and overly serious characters and plots are not suitable for a family-friendly viewing atmosphere. Over the years, with so many superhero movies, apart from Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, which other dark-themed superhero movie has ever been successful? I think being family-friendly is the key to success."

Daniel glanced over there discreetly, but said nothing.

Executives at Warner and DC are carefully considering it.

Blunt alone would naturally not have the same effect.

All of this stems from several points that have drawn criticism of Zach Schneider.

After careful consideration, Kevin Tsujihara said, "We had anticipated this, and we repeatedly reminded Zack during filming and post-production, but he still made the same old mistakes."

Silverman chimed in, "Directors are all stubborn guys; they won't change their minds even when they know they're wrong."

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

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

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

(End of this chapter)