There weren’t many people in the restaurant, and it was quiet enough. Gal Gadot had already put down her knife and fork. Her delicate face was tightly tensed, and her eyes were fixed intently on her agent.
Her entry into Hollywood had been thanks to the introduction of Natalie Portman. Natalie was her only friend in the circle.
Gal Gadot pressed her lips tightly together, hesitating. To betray a close friend like this...
"Gal, so things you have to understand clearly!"
Blake was just an unremarkable agent at William Morris, and Gal Gadot was his most promising client his hope for the future. "They’re not asking you to do much, just to keep them inford of Natalie’s public relations efforts for the Best Actress Oscar in real ti. In exchange, you’ll get the lead role in a blockbuster with an investnt of at least 150 million dollars!"
Gal Gadot’s eyes started to waver...
"This isn’t so marginal character like in Fast & Furious, but the absolute lead," Blake added upon seeing her reaction. "And Nancy Josephson has already contacted . Regardless of whether Natalie Portman succeeds or fails in her bid for Best Actress, we can join ICM afterwards, and they will treat you as a top-tier client!"
"Is..." Gal Gadot finally spoke, softly saying a na, "Is this his promise?"
Blake shook his head imdiately. "Don’t be silly, Gal. How could he possibly get involved in sothing like this directly? But Nancy Josephson’s promise is just as reliable."
Gal Gadot slowly lowered her head, and her tense expression gradually gave way to hesitation.
"One step forward is a chance to beco a superstar..." Blake continued to persuade, "This kind of opportunity isn’t sothing everyone gets in Hollywood."
Opportunities were always rare in this circle, opportunity mattered more than acting skills. Gal Gadot understood that very well.
Which was more important: her friendship with Natalie Portman or stepping forward toward stardom?
Gal Gadot slowly closed her eyes. This choice wasn’t that difficult, was it?
A lead role in a blockbuster with over 150 million dollars in investnt! Top-tier client status at ICM!
These things were out of reach for her at this mont. Perhaps this opportunity would only co once in a lifeti. If she missed it, she might end up drifting through Hollywood like most other actresses...
She ca to Los Angeles from Israel, transitioning from the modeling world into acting all to beco a superstar, wasn’t it?
As she slowly opened her eyes again, the hesitation on Gal Gadot’s face vanished completely. She nodded at Blake, slowly but firmly.
Taking this step really wasn’t so difficult. She believed that anyone else in her position would make the sa choice.
Walking out of the restaurant, Gal Gadot told herself this.
As for Natalie Portman’s dream of winning Best Actress at the Oscars what did it have to do with her? Natalie winning that little golden statue wouldn’t benefit her!
Once she made up her mind, Gal Gadot no longer hesitated.
At Malibu Port, the Duke sounded its horn and slowly sailed out of the coastal waters along the channel. On the spacious upper deck of the yacht, Sofia Coppola closed the script, looked at the distant sea, and then at Duke.
With a slight nasal tone, she asked, "You want Scarlett to compete for Best Actress at the Oscars with this film?"
Duke shrugged. "Why not?"
"It’s a science fiction movie!" Sofia pushed the script back toward Duke. "How could that be possible?"
"If it were easy, I wouldn’t have brought you on board." Duke tapped his fingers lightly on the script. "Besides, the sci-fi elents in the script aren’t that strong."
If a movie like that could produce a Best Director, then creating a Best Actress from it wasn’t impossible either.
He said to Sofia again, "Scarlett still has her strengths. She started with art films, she’s of Jewish descent, and her fa is big enough..."
Sofia couldn’t help but curl her lips. "Those are strengths?"
"Dear, Scarlett has known you since she was under ten. You’ve always treated her like a little sister..." Duke spread his hands and said, "Don’t tell you really won’t help?"
"Personally, I have no problem. But..." Sofia shook her head.
"No worries. I’ll schedule a golf ga with your father soon." Duke looked at her and said, "When the ti cos, you just need to put in a few good words with those Italian-Arican Academy voters."
"Alright." Sofia could only nod. After all, she had deep ties with both Duke and Scarlett. "I’ll do my best."
She saw Scarlett carrying a tray up the stairs to the deck and added, "Don’t forget Leonardo. He can help too."
"He ca to fish with a few days ago, and I already told him."
Duke stood up, took the tray from Scarlett’s hands, and placed the drinks and fruits on the table in front of everyone. Scarlett picked a grape, tossed it into her mouth, and asked, "What are you two talking about?"
"Miss Scarlett Johansson’s Best Actress Oscar campaign!" Sofia Coppola teased.
Sitting beside Duke, Scarlett said, "That’s still far off. Isn’t it a little early to start planning now?"
"For sothing like this..." Duke set the tray on the table behind him and returned to his seat, "the earlier the planning, the better we can shape a favorable environnt. That way, we’ll have a greater chance when the ti cos."
An Oscar campaign was essentially a systematic project.
Since he had decided to stop soone from winning, Duke naturally had to co up with a comprehensive plan to implent it.
After spending two days on the Pacific, Duke took a helicopter off the yacht and flew back to Los Angeles alone. He had to attend the North Arican premiere of Up.
The premiere of this animated feature film was held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, rather than the Los Angeles Do Theatre where Pixar had previously hosted the premieres for Ratatouille and WALL-E.
Changing the venue, in a sense, also signaled that Pixar was ending the highbrow artistic direction represented by WALL-E, and returning to the comrcial mainstream.
For many years, there had been an unwritten rule in Los Angeles: any film shown at the TCL Chinese Theatre would not be shown at the Do Theatre.
The TCL Chinese Theatre had always been synonymous with comrcial films, while the Do Theatre was known for showing independent and art-house films. The two were clearly distinct.
Both Duke and Warner were happy with this situation. After all, they hadn’t acquired Pixar to have them make Oscar-bait films. Pixar had earned its spotlight in Hollywood not because of WALL-E, but because its animated films could generate massive revenue from both box office and rchandise.
If Pixar were to evolve into a studio that could only produce films like WALL-E, it would be aningless to Duke and Warner.
From a personal standpoint, Duke preferred WALL-E far more than Cars, but from a business perspective, he wanted Pixar to create more films like Cars.
This was business. Personal preferences could never be the standard of judgnt.
Up was an adventure-thed cody with two main characters: an old man and an energetic young boy.
After going through many things together, they beca friends. Due to their personality differences, they often bickered, and their journey was full of argunts and adventure. This story brought laughter to the audience, and amidst the lightheartedness, the film also conveyed ssages like courage or how precious beautiful mories are.
Up completely abandoned the highbrow route. It had children and elders, generation gaps and reconciliation, dreams and disappointnt.
Its structure wasn’t complicated. The transition of the two protagonists from opposition to harmony was a common movie trope, and the 3D technology made the visuals more appealing. These simple elents, when put together, created a film that was anything but simple.
In its 84-minute runti, the emotional adventure, with both tears and laughter, not only amused children but also brought tears to the adults accompanying them.
This movie contained the childhood of adults.
During its first weekend, Up earned nearly $70 million at the North Arican box office. In less than twenty days, it grossed $230 million in North Arica, making it one of the most profitable animated films in recent years.
This film also helped Pixar escape the slump of critical success but comrcial underperformance. Its popularity among the public guaranteed higher rchandise sales.
For Duke and Warner, that was Pixar’s greatest value.
Just like in Pixar’s early developnt, they created all kinds of technology but remained an ugly duckling until Toy Story beca the top-grossing film of 1995 in North Arica and turned them into a white swan in everyone’s eyes.
A Pixar studio that couldn’t turn a profit would never attract Hollywood’s attention.
anwhile, the screening of Fury Road was gradually nearing its end. Even Duke, the director, had to admit that although this R-rated film had received universal praise from dia and audiences alike, its theatrical run couldn’t last as long as those hit PG or PG-13 films.
Fury Road had now earned $256.23 million at the North Arican box office, and its theatrical potential was nearly exhausted. The remaining screenings were just routine efforts to collect the last bits of audience revenue.
On the global front, the film’s combined overseas and North Arican box office surpassed the $600 million mark, reaching as high as $621.55 million.
But just like in North Arica, the overseas market also showed signs of stagnation, and another explosive box office boost was no longer possible.
Duke’s focus had also shifted away from Fury Road as he began preparing for his new film, Inception.
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