Chapter 1003: Chapter 903: The Era of Warner Bros. Team is Over_2 Chapter 1003: Chapter 903: The Era of Warner Bros. Team is Over_2 Martin suddenly felt like laughing. Old Cloth, that bastard, always claid he didn’t want to, but his actions proved otherwise. This was the kind of job Ivan could have taken care of, yet he insisted on making the trip himself.
Why, though?
By noon, Bruce’s car pulled up in front of the TMZ office building.
Jody ca out, opened the door, and hopped into the passenger seat, saying, “Let’s go to my place.”
Bruce pulled out a USB drive and handed it to Jody, “I ca to deliver this. I’m not free to indulge your whims.”
Jody took the USB drive and got down to business, “Is this about Kevin Tsujihara?”
“It’s about Kevin Tsujihara and the English actress Charlotte Kirk,” Bruce reminded her. “The matter I’ve discussed with you in detail before.”
“The Justice League” had floundered both at the box office and in reviews. Jody knew this was a hot topic that could create a buzz across the whole country, and she imdiately pocketed the USB drive.
But her mind was elsewhere, staring at Bruce as she said, “Old Cloth, you do not want the news to go unpublished, nor the USB drive to malfunction.”
“What are you trying to do?” asked Bruce.
“Drive to my place, now!” said Jody.
Bruce stared at Jody.
Jody simply pressed the ignition button.
The car started, and Bruce drove towards Jody’s ho, even making a call en route to book a masseuse in New Chinatown to tend to what he anticipated would be a bruised pelvis.
In the afternoon, Martin t with an interview crew from “Vanity Fair” magazine that had been pre-arranged and gave an exclusive interview about the “Joker” movie.
The award season was in full swing, and he was ramping up the publicity machine.
The production team didn’t aim for the Best Actor category; their main target was Best Director.
After the “Vanity Fair” interview, Martin rushed to the next event; there was a “Joker” screening in the evening.
Directors like Spielberg, David Fincher, Soderbergh, Ridley Scott, Villeneuve, and Nolan, among others, were in attendance.
Like the Best Actor and other performance awards, all of the Oscar’s professional awards were voted on by mbers of the respective Academy branches.
Martin needed just 300 first-place votes to secure the award.
Thus, the main PR focus for the team was on the directors.
As for Best Picture, it was the only official award voted on by all Academy mbers.
Winning it would be great, but Martin was nonchalant about its significance.
The comrcial success of “Joker” was already high, and its market potential had been fully exploited—an Oscar for Best Picture would be virtually negligible in impact.
Leonardo and Nicholson were also present.
After mingling, Martin took a seat next to them to catch his breath.
Leonardo pointed out into the distance, “You have a girlfriend who can genuinely help you.”
Martin glanced over to see Elizabeth Olsen engaging in what could be terd ‘First Lady diplomacy,’ blending well with the directors’ significant others.
Nicholson turned to Leonardo, “Apart from Gisele Bundchen, none of those other companions of yours are of any use.”
Martin steered the conversation back on track, “Have you pinpointed your competitors?”
Confident, Leonardo responded, “As long as you don’t enter the Best Actor category, there’s no threat.”
He listed examples, “As it stands, Ryan Gosling in ‘Manchester by the Sea,’ Andrew Garfield in ‘Hacksaw Ridge,’ and Viggo Mortensen in ‘Captain Fantastic’ are likely contenders for Best Actor nominations.”
Martin recalled that the male lead of the forr “Manchester by the Sea” was Casey Affleck, who had clinched an Oscar for Best Actor with that role.
But now, Casey was picking up soap in the State Prison with Ben, his acting career overshadowed by his notoriety.
Martin noted, “Keep an eye on ‘Manchester by the Sea.'”
Leonardo committed it to mory, “The director, Kenneth Lonergan, wants to vie for Best Director. I’ve worked with him before when he was the screenwriter and assistant director for ‘New York Gangs.’ He’s quite competent.”
Martin nodded, “I’ve been keeping track of him.”
Nicholson cut in, “With ‘The Revenant’ not competing for Best Director at the Oscars, Leo, can you handle it?”
Leonardo nodded, “Alejandro Inarido has opinions, but they’re not important. Although he’s won an Oscar for Best Director before, I’m the financier. As long as I disagree, he has to endure it.”
Two sessions ago, this xican director had won Best Director for “Birdman,” yet “Boyhood” captured Best Picture.
Martin added, “This ans my main competition for the director will be Kenneth Lonergan with ‘Manchester by the Sea,’ David Mackenzie with ‘Hell or High Water,’ Denzel Washington with ‘Fences,’ and l Gibson with ‘Hacksaw Ridge’…”
As Martin listed six or seven nas, Leonardo interrupted, “Except for l Gibson, those other directors don’t even count as second tier.”
Martin reminded, “I’m also a newcor director.”
“You’re calling yourself a newcor? Don’t joke,” Leonardo said. “Selecting this session to contest shows you ca prepared.”
Nicholson knew more, “I recall Louise ntioning that Martin’s studio has been gathering information on industry investnts over a million for the past two years. The timing of the contest was definitely well-studied.”
Martin admitted, “Winning an Oscar isn’t just about one’s own rit, it involves assessing the competition too. This session, besides ‘Joker,’ the only truly strong films are Leo’s ‘The Revenant’ and l Gibson’s ‘Hacksaw Ridge.'”
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