Gilbert had previously instructed his assistant director, Anne, to find suitable young actors from the Actors Guild. After some selection and introductions, Anne presented some profiles, saying, "These young actors are generally between ten and fourteen years old, and they have experience in films and TV series."
Gilbert flipped through the materials in his hand, asking, "Anne, which one do you think is good?"
"Ryan Reynolds, he's appeared in multiple TV shows and films," Anne said, pulling out a profile and handing it to Gilbert.
"Seventeen?" Gilbert frowned, immediately dismissing him, "Too old, not suitable."
"Then let's hold auditions and see which young actor fits," Charles Roven suggested. Gilbert thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
After that, Gilbert discussed some detailed issues with his team members for the rest of the preparation work. Once the general work arrangements were in place, the meeting concluded. In preparing a film project, Gilbert had to oversee every single detail, ensuring he was fully aware of the crew's preliminary work. Only then could he accurately grasp the situation of each segment once they entered the production phase, much like a meticulous Jonin planning a mission.
After the preparation meeting, producer Cain Waxman quickly extended an invitation to Sylvester Stallone and soon received a response from CAA (Creative Artists Agency). Stallone was an artist under CAA, and it was CAA's push for "Cliffhanger" during the summer blockbuster season that had caused such unpleasantness between Stallone and "Speed."
However, Stallone had been in Hollywood for so long that he wouldn't let personal emotions cloud his judgment. Gilbert a director on the rise, willing to set aside past grievances to offer him a role, surprised Stallone. He was actively considering accepting the invitation.
But he forgot about CAA, especially Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob. These two were dead set on bringing their "packaging service" into Gilbert's crew. The massive success of "Speed" had long made Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob envious. Since Gilbert suggested Stallone for the male lead, why not seize this opportunity to introduce their packaging service into Gilbert's crew?
So, after Stallone clearly expressed interest, Martin Bob personally stepped in to negotiate with the crew on Stallone's behalf. Charles Roven and Cain Waxman were responsible for negotiating with Martin Bob, and Gilbert also participated in the talks.
However, the initial contact was not smooth.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two sides formally began their discussion. "We sincerely invite Mr. Stallone to play the male lead, we were wondering if Mr. Stallone..."
Of course, Stallone was interested, otherwise, there wouldn't have been a reason for this conversation today. However, before Cain Waxman could finish, Martin Bob interrupted, "Mr. Stallone is very interested in the character of Charlie, and CAA is also very interested in this project."
Such words definitely meant CAA had conditions. Cain Waxman didn't beat around the bush: "Just say it, Martin, what are CAA's conditions?"
Martin Bob looked confident: "It's simple. Besides Gilbert as the director, we want this project to be entirely packaged and managed by CAA." He added, "CAA is very optimistic about the profitability of this project and believes that under our management, this film will be a great success."
His aggressive demeanor made Gilbert feel like he was seeing Michael Eisner, the chairman of Disney. In reality, the reason CAA was so aggressive with film companies was that they held too many scarce resources in Hollywood. Spielberg, Tom Cruise, Sylvester Stallone, Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, Tom Hanks... Each of these names, when brought up, represented a formidable presence in Hollywood and a strong guarantee of box office success.
This was why CAA was so powerful when dealing with film companies. After all, with so many famous directors and artists under their wing, if you didn't use them, you couldn't find anyone else to replace them, so you had no choice but to agree to CAA's terms.
However, one thing Gilbert was very clear about was that while CAA was powerful, they were absolutely unpopular in Hollywood. Their packaging service constantly inflated film production costs and interfered with profit sharing, something talent agencies had never done before. But this was only temporary. Hollywood film companies were all Scrooges; they certainly wouldn't tolerate such insatiable behavior.
The reason it still existed was because the packaging service policy indeed brought profits to many films. Once the packaging service became unsustainable, a complete liquidation by Hollywood film companies was an inevitable outcome. Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob also saw this point, and after failing with the "Alien 3" packaging service project, they desperately needed new representatives. And Gilbert was that hot candidate.
However, contrary to Martin Bob's expectations, before the two producers could even voice an opinion, Gilbert directly stated, "Martin, I refuse CAA's conditions. There's no way I can accept the packaging service."
Martin Bob was stunned, then threatened, "Gilbert don't forget, Mr. Stallone has played boxers before. There's no one more suitable for this boxer role than him."
Indeed, the "Rocky" film series created a classic boxer image. When you think of a boxer, you think of Stallone. But Gilbert firmly refused, "Martin, this is Hollywood. No one is irreplaceable."
Charles Roven stepped forward to ease the tension: "Martin, we still need to discuss this. We'll notify you as soon as there's any progress."
"Alright then, you'd better be quick. Mr. Stallone's schedule is very tight; he doesn't have that much time." Martin Bob stood up, glared at Gilbert and left without even shaking hands.
After Martin Bob left, the meeting room fell into a brief silence. Charles Roven asked Gilbert "What should we do now?"
"What should we do?" Gilbert clapped his hands. "We'll replace him! Let's choose Bruce Willis; he's not with CAA, so that should be easier to discuss." The mud doll even had three parts of fire; Martin Bob's attitude had infuriated him. Gilbert didn't believe that without one butcher, he couldn't eat the hairy pig.
Cain Waxman, however, was worried: "If CAA uses this to stir up trouble, how should we respond?"
"In terms of media resources, would Warner and Disney really be afraid of CAA?" Gilbert retorted, like a Kage questioning a subordinate's doubt.
"Naturally not..."
"Then that's that. If CAA dares to stir up trouble with this, Warner and Disney's media will drown CAA with just a mouthful of spit each!"
Gilbert's words awakened them, making Cain Waxman and Charles Roven realize. Yes, no matter how powerful a talent agency was, it was still just a talent agency. Could it really compare to giant media conglomerates like them? It must be said that CAA's previous assertiveness had indeed left a psychological shadow and fear on major Hollywood film companies. After Gilbert's reminder, that feeling vanished instantly, like a genjutsu breaking.
Meanwhile, Martin Bob returned to CAA, where Stallone was waiting for him.
"What's the result?" Stallone asked, concerned.
Martin Bob shook his head: "Not very good. Gilbert rejected our proposal."
"How could that be?" Stallone looked disappointed, his brows furrowed.
Martin Bob embellished the events of the meeting to Stallone. He omitted many details and added many others, saying that Gilbert spoke rudely, calling Stallone just a lucky man, and even dreaming of demanding higher terms. Under Martin Bob's exaggerated account, Stallone's ill will towards Gilbert suddenly increased. The hot-tempered Stallone immediately thought of retaliating against Gilbert.
However, Martin Bob stopped Stallone's impulsive behavior: "Don't get excited. We'll find a competitor for 'Real Steel' to deflate Gilbert's arrogance."
Stallone thought this was a good idea and asked, "Which film are you planning to find?"
Martin Bob replied, "True Lies, how about it?"
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