Chapter 496 Schedule Discussion
“Warner’s opinion is to put it in the schedule at the end of June and beginning of July,” said Charles Rowan.
The two are discussing the release schedule of "Batman Begins," and Warner Pictures' intentions are clear. Because this is a reboot of "Batman", I hope it's safe.
Little Gilbert said: "I think it would be better to release it in May."
Although the failure of the 1997 version of "Batman" led to people's distrust and suspicion of this series of movies.
But because seven years have passed, the bad impression caused by the previous game has almost disappeared.
And little Gilbert is not the Nolan of the same period in his previous life. He has a very strong personal appeal.
Therefore, Gilbert Jr. believes that there is no problem in placing the film in the May schedule.
Charles Rowan said: "Early May is your usual schedule, but this schedule is not suitable. Fox has just announced that George Lucas's "Star Wars Episode III" will be released in this schedule."
Previously, George Lucas said in an interview that this would be his last "Star Wars" movie. Presumably many "Star Wars" fans will go to the theater by then to bid farewell to this series of movies.
"Beginner" meets "Star Wars Episode III", and Little Gilbert meets George Lucas, which one has a greater chance of winning?
However, George Lucas had communicated with Little Gilbert before. He knew that early May was usually the schedule for Little Gilbert's movies, so he called to communicate.
George Lucas also said that if Gilbert Jr. is willing to take over the "Star Wars" series, he can retire peacefully.
Gilbert Jr. said he wanted to consider it. He was indeed not interested in the "Star Wars" series, but Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic were both high-quality assets, and he was greedy.
In subsequent media interviews, George Lucas revealed that he had repeatedly invited Gilbert Jr. to direct the "Star Wars" series.
The reporter asked George Lucas: "Did Director Gilbert agree?"
"No, little Gilbert has his own plan." George Lucas felt quite regretful: "If I let him direct the "Star Wars" series, I can retire with peace of mind."
It's clear from this interview that George Lucas does have plans to retire.
Twentieth Century Fox is delighted because they own the copyright to "Star Wars".
If Gilbert Jr. can take over the "Star Wars" series, maybe this will be a breakthrough, and the company can cooperate with Gilbert Jr. in other movies.
What followed was that Fox Pictures executives immediately planned to promote Gilbert Jr. to direct "Star Wars" and offered a high price.
It's a pity that so far, there has been no response from Little Gilbert.
Returning to the schedule discussion, Charles Roven continued: "In mid-May, there will be "War of the Worlds" with Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
It is adapted from a well-known science fiction novel and the 1953 original work, and with superstars joining in, it is probably not easy to mess with. "
Little Gilbert expressed his understanding: "Steven's works have always been popular in the summer. He is also my teacher. It is really not appropriate for me to have a head-on collision."
Just this July, DreamWorks Animation was spun off into an independent studio. The two sides are currently at odds over several animations produced by DreamWorks Animation Studios.
The separate spinoff of the animation department was the result of the tactics used by Hollywood giants, who launched a siege against DreamWorks. DreamWorks' final fate must be to be dismembered and acquired.
Of course, Spielberg would not give in. He still wanted to struggle, after all, he had been doing it for so many years.
At that time, he had great ambitions to become a new giant, but now he has made a hasty exit, which is a bit anticlimactic.
So this "War of the Worlds" is Spielberg's latest work to continue saving DreamWorks.
Because he had previously collaborated with Tom Cruise on "Minority Report," Spielberg also wanted to invite Tom Cruise, but was rejected.
So he had to find his old buddy Tom Hanks, and the two continued to collaborate on this movie.
Gilbert Jr. has maintained communication with Spielberg, and of course he will not put "Batman Begins" on this schedule.
It’s up to other movies to stop DreamWorks from doing this! After all, "Beginner" itself is also repaying old debts, and the outside world is still looking down on the movie. So little Gilbert said: "Then let's put it at the end of May!"
"'Kingdom'? That's Ridley Scott's epic blockbuster. Is this choice too risky?" Charles Rowan hesitated.
"Most of the time, Ridley Scott is not easy to mess with," Gilbert Jr. explained, "but this is different with 'Kingdom.'"
"Reason, I need a reason, little Gilbert, Warner can't take risks." Charles Rowan was very cautious.
"Of course," Little Gilbert immediately gave the reason, and it was very sufficient: "I don't know if you have noticed, but there have been too many so-called epic films on the market in recent years, and the audience has become a little tired of it."
"Indeed," Charles Rowan also noticed this phenomenon: "Since the success of the "Lord of the Rings" series and "Gladiator", there have been more and more follow-up works on the market."
Hollywood is a place where following trends is very serious. In fact, movies everywhere follow trends very seriously. Therefore, once the market is saturated, aesthetic fatigue will soon occur.
“Warner’s release of ‘Troy’ this year didn’t live up to expectations, right?”
"Yes, although it is profitable through peripherals and discs, the performance is indeed not as good as expected." Charles Rowan said.
"That's right," little Gilbert clapped his hands, put down the teacup in his hand, and motioned for Charles Rowan to follow.
The two walked towards the prop workshop, chatting as they walked.
"King Arthur, which was released in July this year, has failed, and currently only has a box office of more than 20 million. There is also "Alexander," which will be released in December this year.
I bet this movie won't do too well either. "
Charles Rowan was still convinced of Little Gilbert's judgment, because countless examples in the past had proven Little Gilbert's vision.
"Warner followed your advice and did not release this film. It seems that Universal Pictures will lose money." Charles Rowan laughed.
"Every type of film in Hollywood will cause market fatigue after it reaches its peak. Even if I were to direct "Kingdom of Heaven", the result would be the same." Little Gilbert concluded.
After thinking carefully, Charles Rowan said to Little Gilbert: "I will carefully consider your suggestion with Warner."
After Charles Rowan left, little Gilbert called Ivanka: "Bring over the release schedule for next summer that Charles left, and let me take a look."
After Ivanka took it out, little Gilbert took a closer look at the May schedule. It was indeed the "Kingdom of Heaven" schedule that was good.
Ridley Scott and Orlando Bloom sound bluffing, but they are actually just soft persimmons.
In the previous life, many people attributed the failure of "Kingdom of Heaven" to Ridley Scott's lack of editing rights. It is true that the quality of Ridley Scott's director's cut was better.
But at this time, if it's the director's cut, or if it's directed by Gilbert Jr., the chance of failure is still over 80%.
This is determined by objective market factors. The director can control things within the movie, but cannot control what happens outside the movie.
No matter what type of movie they are, being released together will always cause aesthetic fatigue, and the same goes for superhero movies.
A few days later, news came from Warner Pictures.
They accepted Gilbert Jr.'s suggestion and decided to put "Batman Begins" on May 27 next year, on the same schedule as "Kingdom."
After deciding on the schedule, Warner quickly announced it.
After Ridley Scott heard about it, he quickly discussed with 20th Century Fox whether to change the schedule.
However, the CEO of Fox Studios believed that the "Batman" movie was no longer competitive after so many years, so he decided not to change the schedule.
(End of chapter)