America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 903 The Era of the Warner Bros. Idols Has Ended

The Warner Building was eerily quiet in its conference room.

Not only did none of the executives at the meeting speak up, but even members of the Warner Bros. team, such as Hamada, Jeff Jones, and McDonald, remained silent.

The reason is simple: Justice League was a terrible hit.

Its reputation collapsed and its box office performance was disastrous.

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

Joss Whedon killed Justice League!

No, Joss Whedon was just an executor.

The eyes of the executives gradually fell on Hamada and Kevin Tsujihara; these two people of Japanese descent had to take responsibility for this!

Compared to his colleagues, Daniel seemed calm and not overly worried.

Regarding the promotion and distribution of "Justice League," he carried out all the work that belonged to Warner Bros. exactly as planned, without any shirking or compromise.

However, these measures cannot guarantee their own safety. If they fail in internal struggles, it is not uncommon for the publicity department to have to take the blame for the production.

"The failure of Justice League was definitely due to some problems in the company's decision-making, and I apologize for that." Kevin Tsujihara stood up and bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle.

The executives were all waiting for him to take responsibility and issue a resignation statement.

Kevin Tsujihara made no mention of taking responsibility or resigning, only offering a few perfunctory remarks.

The executives remained silent.

With a production cost of $3.5 million and promotional expenses of $2.5 million, totaling $6 million in costs, how will the company recover these expenses? Who will bear the responsibility for the failure?

None of the people present wanted to take the blame.

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

On his desk, the newspaper Kevin Tsujihara had been reading before his meeting lay flat, the number "66.38M" in the entertainment headline making his heart pound.

Kevin Tsujihara was well aware of the seriousness of the consequences, but who would want to be kicked out?

I'll struggle no matter what.

Hamada had been waiting for the boss to speak.

Kevin Tsujihara already had some ideas. Sitting in the boss's chair, he gently tapped the armrest and said, "Contact the six main actors of Justice League, as well as the production team on the set, and release the news about Joss Whedon bullying the actors."

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

These were definitely not enough. He immediately thought of Joss Whedon, whom he had recommended, and said, "Activate Joss Whedon..."

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

Hamada immediately realized: "Yes, Jeff Jones recommended me and strongly pushed for him to replace Zack Snyder as director."

Kevin Tsujihara nodded: "Go and make the arrangements as soon as possible."

Hamada left the office.

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

If Jeff Jones can't handle it, Hamada can be pushed forward to take the hit.

…………

Back at his office at Warner Bros., Daniel immediately made a phone call.

The person on the other end asked, "How did the meeting go? What are their plans?"

Daniel, recalling his own experience, said, "Kevin Tsujihara is of Japanese descent; he'll definitely bow and apologize to the corporation. As for taking responsibility, that's out of the question."

He suddenly remembered what Martin had said, as well as some of the things that had happened on the island nation.

In the past, islanders promoted their craftsmanship to the world, but their development in recent years has shown the world that islanders truly have a craftsman's spirit.

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

Daniel laughed and said, "Kevin Tsujihara already bowed and apologized, how could he possibly resign?"

He stopped laughing and said seriously, "If nothing unexpected happens, he'll probably try to put forward a few heavyweights to take the blame."

"The entire Justice League plan has failed," the person on the other end said. "Besides Kevin Tsujihara, who can take responsibility?"

Daniel suggested, "I recommend holding a board meeting and shareholders' meeting as soon as possible. Such good opportunities are rare. If we let Kevin Tsujihara get through this, we will suffer a lot later."

The person on the other end said, "Going through the procedures takes time. To avoid these problems, I need a sharp knife."

Daniel assured him, "It will."

The two hung up the phone quickly.

Daniel considered for a moment, then dialed a number: "That knife we ​​talked about a few days ago, is it finished?"

Martin, on the other end, said, "The knife has been sharpened and is very razor-sharp."

Daniel said, "Give it to me."

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

He pulled out the knife, glanced at the blade, closed it, and tossed it to Bruce: "Find someone to deliver this to Daniel's office."

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

Martin asked, "And the other knife?"

"Ivan has everything sorted out, and the videos are very clear," Brewster said. "Charlotte Kirk and Kevin Tsujihara are too entangled, and Ivan is afraid of alerting Kevin Tsujihara, so he didn't dare to make any contact rashly. He found and bribed Charlotte's best friend Emma, ​​and through Emma's secret filming, he obtained a lot of crucial videos and recordings."

Martin nodded and said, "Go give it to Jody."

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

Martin suddenly wanted to laugh. That bastard Old Brooks always said no, but his actions betrayed him. He should have let Ivan do this kind of work, but he insisted on doing it himself.

Why?

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

Jody came out, opened the door, got into the passenger seat, and said, "To my house."

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

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

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

Knowing that Justice League was a box office and critical failure, Jody knew it would be a major news story that would shake the entire United States, so he immediately put away his USB drive.

But her mind wasn't on that for the moment. Instead, she stared at Bruce and said, "Old Bruce, you don't want the news to go unpublished and the USB drive to break down, do you?"

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

Jody said, "Drive to my house, right away!"

Bruce stared at Jody.

Jody pressed the electronic ignition button directly.

Bruce started the car and drove toward Jody's house, making a phone call along the way to book a massage therapist in the new Chinatown area to soothe his pelvis, which was about to be injured.

In the afternoon, Martin met with a Vanity Fair interview team he had arranged to meet, and gave an exclusive interview about the Joker movie.

The awards season has begun, and he is also fully engaged in publicity and public relations.

The production team did not submit the film for the Best Actor award; their main goal was the Best Director award.

After his interview with Vanity Fair, Martin rushed off to his next event, which included a film analysis session on Joker that evening.

Many directors, including Steven Spielberg, David Fincher, Steven Soderbergh, Ridley Scott, Villeneuve, and Christopher Nolan, attended the event.

Like the Best Actor and other acting awards, all the Oscars' professional awards are determined by votes from members of the professional committees.

Martin only needs to secure the first vote with 300 votes to win the award.

Therefore, the production team's main public relations target was the directors.

As for Best Picture, it is the only one of all the official awards that is voted on by all members of the Academy.

It would be best if he could get it, but if he couldn't, Martin wouldn't mind.

The commercial success of "Joker" was high enough, and its market potential was almost fully exploited. However, the Oscar for Best Picture had virtually no impact on its commercial success.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicholson were also present.

After finishing his social engagements, Martin came to the rest area and sat down next to the two men, catching his breath.

Leonardo pointed into the distance: "You have a girlfriend who can really help you."

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

Nicholson looked at Leonardo: "Apart from Gisele Bündchen, all your other female companions are completely useless."

Martin steered the conversation back to the main point, asking, "Have you identified your competitors?"

Leonardo DiCaprio was brimming with confidence: "As long as you don't apply for the Best Actor award, nothing else poses a threat."

He gave examples one by one: "Judging from the current situation, Ryan Gosling, who starred in Manchester by the Sea, Andrew Garfield, who starred in Hacksaw Ridge, and Viggo Mortensen, who starred in Captain Marvel, have a high chance of being nominated for Best Actor."

Martin recalls that Casey Affleck was the lead actor in "Manchester by the Sea," and he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film.

But now, Casey is picking up soap in a state prison with Ben Affleck; his acting career is long over.

Martin cautioned, "Pay attention to the film 'Manchester by the Sea'."

Leonardo took it to heart and said, "The director of this film, Kenneth Lonergan, is vying for Best Director. I've worked with him before; he was the screenwriter and assistant director for 'Gangs of New York,' so he's quite capable."

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

Nicholson then interjected, "The Revenant isn't applying for the Oscar for Best Director. Leo, can you handle that?"

Leonardo nodded: "Alejandro Iñárritu has objections, but it doesn't matter. He's won an Oscar for Best Director once. I'm the investor, so as long as I don't agree, he can only put up with it."

The previous year's Best Director award went to the Mexican director "Birdman," but the Best Picture award went to "Boyhood."

Martin said, "In that 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, saying, "Apart from Mel Gibson, the other directors aren't even second-tier."

Martin reminded him, "I'm a new director too."

"You call yourself a newbie? Are you kidding me?" Leonardo said. "You clearly came prepared by choosing to compete for the awards this year."

Nicholson knew more: "I remember Louise mentioning that Martin's studio has been collecting basic information on projects with investments of over a million dollars in the industry for the past two years, and the timing of their award bids must have been carefully considered."

Martin admitted, "When it comes to winning an Oscar, you have to look at your competitors as well as your own performance. This year, apart from 'Joker,' there are only two truly strong films: 'The Revenant,' which Leo invested in, and 'Hacksaw Ridge,' directed by Mel Gibson."

Nicholson chimed in, "Leo is a producer and investor, he can control the award applications. Mel Gibson? You all know what happened. Although he publicly apologized and expressed genuine remorse, he's lucky to get a nomination. Winning? That's a pipe dream. As for Denzel Washington, given the huge controversy surrounding Black films last year, it's impossible for a Black person to win any of the four major awards."

He chuckled: "Unless each of the other directors throws in tens of millions of dollars, how can they compete with that bastard Martin? Putting aside whether they have the financial resources to support it, the production companies behind them are unwilling to spend such a huge amount to win awards, and they can't even recoup their investment."

Leonardo looked at Martin: "No wonder you kept saying we should win honorably..."

Martin countered, "Tell me, isn't this method perfectly aboveboard?"

Leonardo couldn't deny that, in order to win the award this year, he also learned Martin's method and eliminated his biggest competitor—Martin himself—in advance.

Sure enough, before I met Martin, I always failed to win awards. It wasn't because I lacked public relations skills, but because I focused too much on myself and ignored my competitors.

As long as your competitors aren't strong enough, you can win easily!

…………

On the same night, several offices in TMZ's headquarters building were brightly lit.

The two teams directly under Jody are working overtime urgently.

An entertainment news story that could shake the entire United States is about to appear on the TMZ homepage.

At 8:30 p.m., Jodi opened the editor-in-chief's backend, approved the news article that had just been edited, and mentioned it as the homepage headline, making the title bold and dark.

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

Some of the evidence consists of videos and audio recordings of Kevin Tsujihara and actress Charlotte Kirk secretly spending time together, while others include corroborating evidence from the latter's close friend Emma.

The news article was brief, yet chilling enough.

"Hollywood is witnessing another Harvey Weinstein-like incident: Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara has been caught having an extramarital affair, engaging in illicit sexual relationships with British actress Charlotte Kirk and others, allegedly using his sexual services to help them secure roles!"

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

This part was carefully preserved by Charlotte. It comes from a text message Kevin Tsujihara sent to Charlotte before their first deal, promising her that she could exchange a performance opportunity for a quid pro quo.

That evening, news about Kevin Tsujihara went viral on the internet.

This explosive news spread at lightning speed.

Countless people, both inside and outside the industry, are waiting to see a good show.

In recent years, under the leadership of Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros. has fallen from its former position as the top Hollywood company, making a series of blunders and squandering its best-laid plans.

Kevin Tsujihara received the news immediately from his mansion in Malibu.

Neither he nor his wife remained particularly calm.

The latter, quite familiar with Hollywood, had anticipated this and wasn't surprised at all, simply saying quietly, "Work-related issues?"

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

"Let's resolve this as soon as possible." The wife went into the bedroom alone.

Kevin Tsujihara picked up his phone and dialed Charlotte's number: "I need to see you, right now."

Half an hour later, the two met in a room at the Burbank Hotel and reached a consensus.

But the following morning, before Kevin Tsujihara could issue a clarification, he received a call from Time Warner.

"Kevin, the situation is complicated right now. You bear undeniable responsibility for what's happened at Warner Bros. recently." The other person said directly, "Save some face for yourself and the company. Finish your work as soon as possible and resign voluntarily."

Kevin Tsujihara paused for a moment, then sighed inwardly, "Is this the only way?"

"The board meeting and shareholders' meeting will be held ahead of schedule next month. Let's not make things unmanageable."

"I see."

Kevin Tsujihara hung up the phone and picked up a newspaper from the side.

His news was featured on the front page of almost every newspaper.

The news has been widely reported by media outlets across the United States, making it the hottest topic in the country.

TMZ even dubbed it the "cheating scandal".

In the past, this kind of thing wouldn't have been a big deal, but the Harvey Weinstein case has made such matters quite sensitive.

Most importantly, both Time Warner and Warner Bros. had strong opinions about Kevin Tsujihara and his management team.

The failure of the entire Justice League project resulted in huge losses for Warner Bros.

The internal power struggle within the group has begun again, and those who previously supported Kevin Tsujihara have chosen to give up.

Shortly after December began, Warner Bros. held a press conference where Kevin Tsujihara bowed again in apology and announced his voluntary resignation as CEO and chairman of Warner Bros.

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

The Warner Bros. supergroup has essentially said goodbye to Warner Bros., and their era has come to an end.

Warner Bros. president Daniel Love emerged victorious in this internal power struggle and will officially assume the positions of CEO and chairman after Warner Bros.' shareholders' meeting.

British actress Charlotte Kirk has been blacklisted by various Hollywood production companies, and her acting career is over.

After taking office, Daniel immediately approached Zack Snyder and invited him to produce the director's cut of "Justice League".

The film performed terribly in theaters. After Christmas, daily box office revenue dropped below one million dollars, and the cumulative North American box office was $1.82 million, with no hope of breaking $2 million.

(End of this chapter)