America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 899 DC Conflict Erupts

Disney Studios, post-production studio.

Standing in front of the multi-screen monitor, Martin put on headphones and listened carefully to the newly added soundtrack.

On the screen, the male protagonist, dressed as a clown, is running wildly like a madman.

"Stop!" Martin shouted.

Sound editor Dawson immediately pressed the pause button.

Martin took off his headphones, looked at the assistant director Steve Downton next to him, and said, "There seems to be something wrong with the soundtrack here."

Steve Downton simply stated his meaning: "Standard."

It's not bad, but it's not outstanding either.

Martin said in a low voice, "The clowns here are just professional clowns, living at the very bottom of society, trapped in a cage, facing a cruel social environment..."

Steve Downton said, "Should we go back and redo it? Or change it?"

The experienced Dawson then interjected, "Director, how about adding a background song here? Something fitting for the occasion."

Martin was receptive to advice, especially regarding the experienced industry professionals he had hired with his financial resources. He immediately asked, "Do you have suitable options?"

This wasn't Dawson's first time working with Martin, and he knew his style well. He said directly, "There are a few Joker scenes that would be perfect to use 'Bohemian Rhapsody' as background music."

Upon hearing the name, Martin recalled for a moment and asked, "Queen?"

"Yes," Dawson replied, "Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody'."

The song automatically started playing in Steve Downton's mind. Looking at the paused Joker screen, he said, "Shall we give it a try?"

Martin replied, "Let's give it a try."

On a private basis, without considering copyright authorization for the time being, Dawson downloaded a piece of "Bohemian Rhapsody" and re-edited the music and sound effects for this segment.

Martin and Steve Downton waited a while before putting their headsets back on.

Dawson pressed play again.

It's still the same clip from before: the Joker is being bullied in the streets, running wildly, trying to escape this terrible society.

The background music has completely changed, now sung in the style of "Bohemian Rhapsody".

"Is this the real life, or just a nightmare? I'm trapped under a mountain, and I want to escape this cage of reality."

The clown was beaten down by the crowd and lay on the ground struggling in pain.

"Open your eyes, look up at the sky, I am just a child suffering..."

As the video ended, Martin took off his headphones and said, "I feel a bit better."

Steve Downton replied, "It's much better than the previous soundtrack."

Martin looked at Dawson: "Lower your tone."

"A low, somber tone? Okay." Dawson noted it down and added, "There's one more section."

Martin put his headset back on: "Continue."

Dawson played another segment.

This is a scene where the Joker, after committing his first murder, is lost in his own mental world and communicating with his mother. The original background music has been replaced with a singing performance.

When he returned to his old apartment and saw his mother, a version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" began to play, with a sorrowful yet soaring melody.

"Mom, I just killed someone. I put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. He's dead now! Mom, life had just begun, and I just threw it away..."

Martin nodded slightly; the song matched the plot, the visuals, and the characters' emotions perfectly.

Moreover, the song has a strong nostalgic feel, which may evoke emotions in a group of listeners.

Last year, Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy" was a huge success, and several nostalgic classic songs played a significant role in its success.

The hastily changed background music and sound effects weren't perfect. Martin said to Dawson, "Please refine these few pieces of music and re-edit the sound effects. Once it's completely finished, we'll see how it looks."

Dawson responded, then added, "Public use requires authorization."

This wasn't difficult; by paying a fee, the copyrights to these old songs could be used. Martin instructed Steve Downton, "Have someone get the license for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' later."

Steve Downton said, "Send Michael over there."

With his work done, Martin left the studio and returned to his office.

Soon, Louise pushed open the door and came in, pulled out a chair and sat down opposite him, saying, "I just received news that the people from DC have officially contacted Joss Whedon."

Martin immediately became interested: "Invite Joss Whedon to join the Justice League project?"

Louise said, "The two sides held a closed-door meeting, and it's still unclear what they discussed, but it's likely that it was about Joss Whedon replacing Zack Snyder."

Martin thought for a moment and asked, "Is Zach Snyder willing to withdraw?"

Louise said, "No director would want to back out at this point. If Joss Whedon replaces Zack Snyder, not only will the film be re-edited, but there may also be extensive reshoots, and Zack Snyder might even lose his director's credit."

She added, "If Warner and DC offer substantial compensation, it's not impossible for Zack Snyder to quit."

Martin said, "If the film fails, these will all be considered strategic mistakes by Warner Bros.."

Louise smiled: "That is, the Justice League fails."

"Changing directors at this point, essentially scrapping the entire tone of the film from scratch, what are the chances of success?" Martin had been in contact with Daniel, keeping track of the recent Warner Bros. high-level meetings. "If things aren't chaotic enough, should we add fuel to the fire?"

Louise said, "You know I've always been on your side."

She knew that the conflict between Martin and the Warner Bros. team had come to an end with Jon Berg's departure, but Kevin Tsujihara brought out another woman. Only Martin's usual high level of vigilance, or rather, his severe paranoia, could have prevented the unimaginable consequences.

"First of all, we can't let Zack Snyder quit so easily; we have to make a scene." After a moment's thought, Martin called Thomas.

Thomas happened to be at the Disney studio on business and quickly arrived.

After listening to Martin's words, he said, "This is simple, I'll figure it out. I know Zack Snyder's agent very well."

Martin said, "Nothing much needs to be done, just remind them of one thing."

Thomas understands: "It's in their own legitimate interest, and Warner and DC are doing it, so they won't give up."

…………

The circle of top Hollywood agents is not very large. Because Martin had participated in many DC events, Thomas had known Zack Snyder's agent, Fisher, for a long time.

Thomas was also aware of the relationship between the Warner Bros. team and Martin. As a competent agent, he had already cultivated a close relationship with Fisher after the release of "Man of Steel".

At the time, he just thought it might come in handy in the future, but he never expected it would actually come in handy now.

In a café in Century City Plaza, Fisher added sugar to his coffee and asked with a smile, "What brings you here all of a sudden? You asked me out for coffee?"

Thomas stated directly, "I just received some news about your number one client, Zach Schneider."

Fisher looked up at him and asked, "It's not between Zack and Warner, is it?"

"To be precise, it's related to DC," Thomas said. "DC's Jeff Jones contacted Joss Whedon. If I remember correctly, Jeff Jones is DC's representative in the Justice League?"

Fisher knew Joss Whedon perfectly well, and when he heard these words, combined with the recent series of conflicts between DC and Zack Snyder over the movies, he immediately made a guess.

Is DC going to replace the director of Justice League?

Fisher stopped adding sugar, took out two US dollars, placed them on the table, and said, "Thank you for the information. I have to go now."

Thomas nodded: "Go ahead and do your thing."

Fisher came out of the coffee shop, took out his phone and dialed Zack Snyder's number: "Where are you? In the Warner Bros. studio. Okay! Don't go yet, I'm coming right now. It's very important. Call Deborah along."

He got in his car and sped off to Warner Bros. Studios.

Throughout the journey, Fisher considered how to deal with the situation. If Zack Snyder's commercial appeal and status in Hollywood could match that of Thomas's client, Martin Davis, then none of these problems would be a problem.

But Zack Snyder is far from Martin Davis's level. The support Warner Bros. won for "Man of Steel" was not only returned with "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," but the film went downhill and even his directing ability was questioned.

Fisher knew very well that if Warner Bros. and DC really wanted to change directors, neither Zack Snyder and his wife nor their agency could stand up to it.

Warner Bros. is not as powerful as it was a few years ago, but it is still a behemoth.

But it's impossible to just pack up and leave.

Fisher arrived at Warner Bros. Studios and called out Zack Snyder and his wife, informing them of the news he had received.

Zach Snyder wasn't too surprised: "I've had this feeling for the past month."

Fisher said, "What are your thoughts?"

Zack Snyder thought for a moment and said, "I'm just a director."

His wife, Deborah Snyder, who has also been his producer, said, "Since 300, Zack Snyder has brought Warner Bros. at least a billion dollars in profits, and now they want to kick him out!"

Zach Snyder stared intently at his agent: "What's your opinion?"

"If Warner and DC really do that, we can't stop them," Fisher said rationally. "But they have to abide by the contract!"

Zach Snyder has not spoken yet.

Fisher's meaning was very clear: "Our interests must be protected!"

Deborah squeezed her husband's hand: "You handle the directing, and Fisher and I will take care of the rest."

Zack Snyder nodded: "Let's do it this way."

Fisher said, "Whatever happens, be sure to let me know immediately."

Just as they were discussing their strategy, Bruce and Jody had just finished a date.

Despite the pain in his pelvis from the impact, the former still informed Jody of the news leads regarding Warner Bros., DC, and Zack Snyder.

Jody immediately called her most reliable team members.

That same evening, TMZ obtained the definite news and published the shocking story on its front page, which reverberated throughout the North American entertainment industry.

Breaking news! Justice League is getting a new director!

"After two internal screenings, Warner Bros. and DC were extremely dissatisfied with Zack Snyder's Justice League and have sent people to formally contact Joss Whedon, the director of The Avengers, with the plan to replace Zack Snyder with Joss Whedon to complete the final production of Justice League."

If this news had happened at another major Hollywood studio, movie fans might have dismissed it as a rumor.

But when it happened to Warner Bros., no one was surprised.

Warner Music's outrageous moves have become known throughout North America in the past two years.

Once the news broke, Warner Bros. and DC executives were furious. In their minds, they wanted to complete this director change as quietly as possible without causing too much of a stir.

TMZ's exposure thwarted their plans.

Kevin Tsujihara decided to act swiftly, instructing Hamada to speed up the replacement process and complete the director change as soon as possible, so that Justice League could be released this year as originally planned.

Hamada initiated the director's withdrawal procedure, but contrary to their expectations, Zack Snyder refused to meet with him directly, leaving the production team to negotiate with his agent and Deborah Snyder.

The latter two were extremely firm in their stance: the Snyders could withdraw from the Justice League project, but DC had to pay the full penalty for breach of contract, not a single dollar less.

To make matters worse, all six lead actors in the production privately expressed their support for Zack Snyder.

Among them, Black, lesbian, and Jewish actresses, relying on their special status, spoke out in public to varying degrees.

Joss Whedon, who was about to take charge of the Justice League project, saw all of this and kept it in mind.

With two Avengers films as capital, Joss Whedon certainly didn't want to follow in others' footsteps. He almost completely rejected Zack Snyder's style and editing, and proposed to Warner Bros. and DC the condition of reshooting.

The reshoots were expected to cost as much as $6000 million, and almost the entire original creative and filming team was laid off. Joss Whedon's team was rehired to complete the remaining work on the project.

The internal conflicts within the Justice League project were fully exposed.

The entire project was thrown into turmoil.

While the Warner team always comes up with brilliant ideas and plans, their decisiveness and execution are unquestionable. Seeing that the project was about to get out of control, they immediately accelerated their actions, fully compensated the Schneider couple and the original team for breach of contract, and removed them from the team.

Then, they agreed to all of Joss Whedon's conditions and offered a hefty sum to Joss Whedon's team to take control of the project.

With reshoots, breach of contract penalties for the original team, and salaries for the new team, DC's spending on "Justice League" increased by $100 million!

The entire Hollywood was stunned; Warner Bros.' management's determination was astonishing.

At the signing ceremony with the new team, Joss Whedon announced that the film would undergo extensive reshoots, with a lighter and more entertaining style and content.

Fans who had initially accepted DC's dark style automatically blacklisted this Justice League movie.

Casual viewers felt they should wait and see how the film fared before making a decision.

(End of this chapter)