In 1994, Independence Day turned Manhattan into a sea of fire, leveling it to the ground. Three years later, another film set its sights on this location. Sony Entertainment’s subsidiary, TriStar Columbia Pictures, decided to unleash a Japanese monster on Manhattan, using the destruction of the world’s financial hub to showcase the creature’s terrifying power.
At this moment, chaos reigned near the Brooklyn Bridge, where the crew was filming under the supervision of municipal officials.
Nobuhiro Ohga stood on the terrace of a nearby building, watching the blond German director behind the camera, his brows furrowed slightly.
"Michael, are you sure Director Emmerich won’t mess this up?" he asked the man beside him.
The person standing next to him was none other than Michael Ovitz, who had returned to the entertainment agency business. After the painful failure at Disney, Ovitz had founded the Artist Management Group and, leveraging his vast network and expertise in packaging projects, spent several months securing the major production of Godzilla from TriStar Columbia.
Now that Michael Ovitz was back in his element in the entertainment agency industry, no one dared to underestimate him. Not only had he secured the Godzilla project, but he had also poached Martin Scorsese, one of the four top directors, from CAA. In a short time, the Artist Management Group had made a remarkably strong comeback.
"Nobuhiro," Michael Ovitz said confidently as always, "I believe you’ve seen Roland’s previous films, Moon 44, Universal Soldier, and Stargate. It’s not hard to discern his style. He’s a director equally obsessed with and adept at creating large-scale special effects!"
"If we could get Duke Rosenberg, the film would already be half a success," Nobuhiro Ohga muttered softly.
Michael Ovitz didn’t refute this; instead, he agreed, saying, "That’s true. In Hollywood, no one can rival Duke Rosenberg in city destruction scenes, but he already turned you down! Nobuhiro, trust me, aside from Duke Rosenberg, Roland Emmerich is absolutely the best in the world at destroying the Earth!"
Nobuhiro Ohga knew well that getting Duke was out of the question. Although Roland Emmerich’s first three films weren’t blockbusters, they were profitable relative to their budgets. Michael Ovitz, who had once helped Sony Entertainment acquire Columbia Pictures, still enjoyed the trust of Sony’s higher-ups regarding his vision and capabilities. That’s why the project had been entrusted to him.
Even though Martin Scorsese had joined the Artist Management Group, Michael Ovitz understood that the company needed a major success to truly establish itself in Hollywood. He had spent nearly three months earlier this year securing this project and had even brought in Hollywood’s top model designer, Stan Winston, to create the special effects for Godzilla.
Even if the company wouldn’t earn much commission from it, Ovitz was determined to make this project a success.
"Are you sure the film can make next year’s summer release?" Nobuhiro Ohga asked again.
"I’ve spoken with Roland," Michael Ovitz said confidently. "He’ll complete all the work by April at the latest. Sony Entertainment can then use its media resources to begin the promotional campaign."
He continued to emphasize, "Nobuhiro, why has Duke Rosenberg been so consistently successful these past few years? Particularly with niche films like Chicago? It’s because, under his influence, Warner Bros. has heavily prioritized marketing. Chicago had a production budget of just $25 million, yet they spent $15 million on marketing! In contrast, many other films with $50 million budgets had far less marketing expenditure!"
Nobuhiro Ohga nodded slightly. Indeed, the marketing budgets for films released this summer had noticeably increased compared to previous years.
"If Duke Rosenberg is a successful director when he picks up the camera," Michael Ovitz continued, "then he’s a pure businessman when he puts it down. His promotional tactics are more shameless than 99% of directors, and his audacity rivals that of Wall Street’s most ruthless financiers!"
"That’s why Sony must come up with a more effective promotional strategy!" he stressed.
After saying this, Michael Ovitz turned to look toward the Empire State Building. Over there, a project backed by CAA, Sony’s strong competitor in the talent agency business, was also being filmed.
According to the announced release dates, the two films were set to hit theaters just two weeks apart in May.
Typically, such a gap would avoid overly intense competition, but other films seemed to be steering clear of these two major productions, instead clustering around the Memorial Day weekend release window. Perhaps it was time to come up with some ideas to curb the heat surrounding CAA’s project and avoid Godzilla being overshadowed.
Although the person in charge of that project was Martin Bob, an old friend and former trusted aide of Ovitz, competition was inevitable.
Many in Hollywood didn’t want the CAA project to succeed, for a simple reason: it belonged to DreamWorks. Anyone could see the ambitious plans of DreamWorks’ three co-founders, but Hollywood’s established powers wouldn’t sit idly by and let a newcomer take the biggest slice of the pie.
Not even if one of those founders was Steven Spielberg, Hollywood’s most beloved director.
At that moment, Spielberg stood with Martin Bob on the observation deck of the Empire State Building, watching as director Mimi Leder directed the crew with urgency.
Although Spielberg didn’t like Martin Bob, his face betrayed no emotion. As a veteran of Hollywood, he understood the basic principle of keeping personal feelings out of business.
Martin Bob glanced at Spielberg. DreamWorks’ initial film endeavors hadn’t gone well. Their first movie, The Trigger Effect, had flopped. Simultaneously released films like The Peacemaker and Amistad had also underperformed. Even Spielberg’s blockbuster The Lost World: Jurassic Park had little to do with DreamWorks. The ambitious plans of the three co-founders had hit a serious snag right out of the gate.
If not for these setbacks, Martin Bob wouldn’t have been able to secure Deep Impact as part of his packaged deal.
Although he’d encountered some trouble at CAA, no one could ignore the agency’s formidable power or Martin Bob’s ability to marshal resources as its leader.
Martin Bob believed that with Spielberg as producer, his own full support, and the film being a hot sci-fi disaster movie, the chances of success were extremely high.
"My initial thought," Spielberg suddenly said, "was to get Duke to direct this film. Unfortunately, he turned down both me and George..."
Contrary to rumors that Martin Bob was a mere pawn of CAA, Spielberg didn’t care about his reaction and continued speaking as though Bob were just a service provider. "If Duke had joined, Deep Impact would have at least a 70% chance of being a blockbuster."
Martin Bob didn’t argue; instead, he eagerly nodded in agreement. "After Duke Rosenberg’s Independence Day, films about Earth’s destruction have become a surefire formula for big Hollywood productions."
Though he disliked Duke, Martin Bob couldn’t deny the truth of this statement.
Admitting it wasn’t a bad thing. Martin Bob was clearly trying to ingratiate himself with Spielberg. With a shortage of heavyweight clients under his wing, winning Spielberg over could make all the difference. He’d even be willing to dance and make a fool of himself if it pleased Spielberg.
Thinking of Michael Ovitz, Martin Bob couldn’t help but glance toward the Brooklyn Bridge. Ovitz’s return, marked by the swift poaching of Martin Scorsese from CAA, had been a slap in the face. It had also given ammunition to Martin’s internal rivals like Eno Martin and Pat Kingsley.
From the moment Ovitz set his sights on CAA, their former friendship had evaporated. Perhaps it could improve in the future, but for now, they were competitors.
Still, creating a strong external rival like Ovitz had its benefits. It could help unify CAA’s internal factions against a common enemy, even if that enemy was their former leader.
An external foe was often the best way to alleviate internal tensions.
Since Ovitz’s departure, there had been voices within CAA questioning Martin Bob’s competence. The potential summer clash between their packaged projects next year presented an opportunity for him to prove himself. If Deep Impact outperformed Godzilla in box office, reviews, and overall success, it would validate his leadership.
A resounding victory would strengthen his position, perhaps even winning over those currently aligned with Eno Martin. After all, the reason many shareholders supported Eno Martin was their belief that his leadership could bring greater profits. If Martin Bob could prove he could do better, Eno’s faction would inevitably fracture.
Martin Bob didn’t have Ovitz’s grand ambitions of being crowned Hollywood’s puppet master by the tabloids. He simply wanted to fully control CAA and use all his resources to crush the director who had humiliated him countless times.
Of course, if that director were willing to swallow his pride and join his roster, Martin Bob would welcome him with open arms.
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