[Chapter 204: The CAA Conspiracy]
"Bang!" In the president's office of CAA, Michael Ovitz slammed his palm on the desk after hearing Martin Bob's report about his meeting with Linton.
"What? This Linton is so ungrateful, he actually dares to reject CAA's friendship again."
"Yes. He said he would only consider casting Sean Connery if Sean agreed to a pay cut without any additional conditions."
"Did you warn him about the consequences of rejecting CAA's friendship?"
"I did. But he not only ignored it, he threatened to blacklist our CAA artists. He even said if we dared to use Sean for negative publicity against The Rock before the movie release, he would expose everything about Sean in the media and destroy his career."
"Enough, enough. It's been a long time since any production company dared treat us like this. Even the big seven studios in Hollywood wouldn't be so audacious. Looks like we need to teach him a lesson."
"Michael, maybe we should drop it. Forty percent of the investment in the movie comes from Universal, and they've confirmed they'll distribute it. If we go head to head and piss off Universal, we might pay a heavy price."
Before Martin left Linton's office, Linton's sharp rebuke still lingered in his mind, inexplicably making him fear Linton. So, he found an excuse to advise caution.
But Martin had a point. For a smaller company, CAA might push with underhanded tactics, but the big seven studios wield tremendous power. Going head to head would be like fighting a war you can't win, at best inflicting heavy losses on both sides.
Besides, none of their stars are squeaky clean. Once a fight started, everything could be exposed about all involved. Other agencies would certainly take advantage, adding fuel to the fire.
In the end, a few top stars might really fall. If it became known CAA started it, it could lead to massive artist defections and disaster.
"With Universal involved, we must be careful. But CAA's pride cannot be trampled. We must teach a lesson, or other studios will follow suit and refuse our packaged deals. That's unacceptable."
"Maybe it's safer to drop it. We won't lose anything anyway," Martin continued with skepticism.
"What's wrong, Martin? You're usually the most aggressive. Scared off by Linton?"
"Alright, what do you suggest? But let's stick to legal methods involving Universal, to avoid a full-blown war..." Martin didn't admit he was intimidated by Linton.
"Of course. Here's the plan: We'll use legal tactics to sabotage The Rock. Universal won't dare retaliate directly.
But with Linton's company, we'll be more aggressive, in three stages.
First, they are filming Happy Death Day now, which I hear they're self-distributing. We'll target this film for negative publicity. Find out everything about it -- release date, details -- and schedule three competitive movies: one the week before, one the same week, one the week after to tank its box office.
Since they dared defy CAA, I want their film to lose money."
"Got it, I'll arrange it."
"Second, we target The Rock again. When post-production wraps up, we'll leak information about Sean. Warn potential viewers that the film gave up the best spy actor. Let the audience make their own comparisons."
"Won't that backfire on Sean? We know he can't withstand media scrutiny; he might get destroyed."
"Who cares? We have friendly media connections and can prepare PR plans in advance. Besides, for CAA's honor, sacrificing Sean is acceptable. Think of it as his contribution to CAA."
Martin felt a chill. Michael seemed truly angry. Sean might be in danger. He worried about him but knew he couldn't stop Michael now.
Michael was no longer the small-time agent who once danced on desks to win over studios. His recent successes had made him arrogant and domineering. He no longer listened to objections.
Martin could only try to perfect the PR plan to save Sean before things escalated.
"Third, we find a bigger commercial blockbuster to package against The Rock, releasing simultaneously to completely crush its box office."
"That's reasonable. No one can complain about normal business tactics. Do you have a target?"
"How about True Lies, which Twentieth Century Fox is prepping? Over a $100 million investment, confirmed with James Cameron directing. He wants to work again with Arnold Schwarzenegger as lead.
You get Fox to sign the package deal. We'll use this film to target The Rock."
"Michael, you know Cameron is tougher than Linton. He refuses to be part of CAA's package deals. Remember how on Terminator 2, he yelled at the entire crew and vowed not to be CAA's puppet? He got us kicked off the set."
"What a shortsighted director. No wonder they call him 'Truck Driver.' He'll probably end up driving trucks again. Let's pick another project."
"Warner Bros' Interview with the Vampire is starting up, aiming to cast Tom Cruise. I've already negotiated the package deal. This project's ours."
"But Tom Cruise is managed by Pat Kingsley. Will she let go of the project lead?"
CAA had internal factions. The manager in charge of packaging a project could get bigger profits. Usually, the star's lead agent manages the packaging. Without a deal, even in the same agency, Pat Kingsley wouldn't surrender control easily.
"I'll handle Pat's work. Just focus on the project. But you'll share 30% of the packaging profits with Pat."
"No problem. I'll assemble a luxury team for Interview with the Vampire. With Tom Cruise's box office power, it'll be a summer blockbuster next year. Perfect to crush The Rock's box office."
*****
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