Arthur Smith's Hollywood Odyssey

[Chapter 609: The Shakespearean Love Story]

After the screening of Titanic, everyone headed to the hotel for the party. As the most talked-about movie at the moment, Titanic was facing some challenges.

Arthur sat in a chair and clinked glasses with James Cameron. "Actually, don't feel too much pressure. I have confidence in you. The movie's visuals are stunning, and the romance is very profound. If a man can be moved, then all the female audience across the country will definitely flock to the theaters!"

James Cameron smiled, "You sure know how to comfort people, Arthur. We will release the final version as soon as possible. I just hope we'll be surprised when it hits theaters in December."

Indeed, the pressure on James Cameron was significant. However, at Arthur's level, the success or failure of a movie didn't matter much anymore.

...

Right now, Disney/ABC, Galaxy/CBS, and News Corp's FOX were all vying for attention in Hollywood. But FOX was still a minor player, quite distant from the three major traditional broadcasting networks.

Nonetheless, attention needed to be paid to FOX. Their FNC 24-hour cable news channel had already begun airing last year, garnering attention with their controversial political viewpoints. Simultaneously, Rupert Murdoch sought to quickly attract users by paying cable providers to broadcast Fox News.

...

With Paramount's Face/Off releasing, it had grossed $23.15 million in its opening week and accumulated $51.5 million after ten days in theaters. Its positive reception helped the director John Woo gain recognition among mainstream American audiences.

At Galaxy MGM's headquarters in Glendale, Arthur leaned back in his chair. "Face/Off needs to be scheduled for international screenings soon. It's truly a stunning action film."

"Yeah," Kate Beckinsale nodded. "Our Dumb and Dumber 2 is about to hit theaters; it's the last highly anticipated release of the summer."

"It certainly is July," Arthur tapped his fingers on the table. "Tomorrow Never Dies collected $120 million in North America and $200 million overseas, totaling $320 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Nicolas Cage's action film Con Air had also surpassed $80 million in North America after a month."

...

Later that evening, at the Bel-Air Hotel in Beverly Hills, Arthur sat on the sofa chatting with Charlize Theron. "Has Warner Bros. let you know about The Matrix yet?"

"Yes, the directors have already met with me!" Charlize smiled. "They mentioned there are a lot of action scenes in the film, and I should spend extra time on my training."

"What about the lead actor? Has he been confirmed?"

Charlize shook her head. "They've approached many male stars, but they've all turned it down. It seems nobody has faith in the script. They're considering finding a second-tier male star; discussions are still ongoing."

Arthur nodded; things didn't look promising for The Matrix.

Before long, director Edward Zwick noticed Arthur and came over to greet him. "Arthur, good evening."

"Good evening, Edward," Arthur recognized Edward Zwick, who had previously worked with Galaxy on Legends of the Fall.

"By the way, I saw you chatting with the Weinstein brothers just now. Are they planning to produce another film now that they've left Disney?"

"Yeah," Edward Zwick chuckled. "This year, the Weinsteins have established an independent film company, Weinstein Company."

"Oh, Weinstein Company? So they're still active in the film industry," Arthur realized.

Edward Zwick glanced at Arthur. "It began with a concept from screenwriter Mark Norman's son. What if Shakespeare experienced writer's block while creating Romeo and Juliet? How did he ultimately overcome it to produce such a great work? So, Mark Norman sought to integrate Shakespeare's own experiences into the story. He happened to live next to me, so I introduced him to Universal's production head, Casey Silver. After gaining approval, he developed the script, Shakespeare in Love."

Arthur was surprised. So that was the script behind Shakespeare in Love.

"Why did Universal back out?" he asked, pointing in the direction of Harvey Weinstein.

Edward Zwick shrugged. "Universal initially selected Julia Roberts and Daniel Day-Lewis for the leads. Unfortunately, Daniel Day-Lewis wasn't interested in the script and dropped out, taking Julia Roberts along with him. After that, Universal abandoned the project. However, I heard that Harvey Weinstein really liked the script and wanted to meet with him."

"So, you're hoping to have Harvey Weinstein invest in developing Shakespeare in Love?"

Edward Zwick nodded, then looked at Arthur. "Could it be that Galaxy is also interested?"

"Certainly! From what you're saying, this story sounds quite intriguing," Arthur noted that this film had even been more successful at the box office than The English Patient. In a past life, Harvey Weinstein had used his PR skills to win an Academy Award for Best Picture for this film.

"Well then, Arthur, how about I bring the script for you to review?"

Arthur agreed. "Sure, just send it to United Artists. United Artists has produced quite a few British adaptations over the years, as you know."

"Sounds good," Edward Zwick was certainly keen to collaborate with United Artists.

As for Harvey Weinstein? He was now just an independent filmmaker, having been ousted by Disney.

"Since Daniel Day-Lewis and Julia Roberts have turned it down, do you have alternative actors in mind for the lead roles?" Arthur asked.

"We still need to select actors since this script has been shelved for two or three years," Edward Zwick, as the producer, was constantly worried about financing the film. "Actually, for the female lead, I'm quite hopeful for Winona Ryder."

Arthur smiled, "Winona Ryder? She only has one film, Les Miserables, at the moment. Scheduling shouldn't be a big issue. Let's do this: have someone send the script to United Artists tomorrow. They will assist you with preparations. United Artists is willing to take over the script from Universal, and their previous investments will be factored into the script's price."

Edward Zwick smiled, "Great! Tomorrow, I will bring screenwriter Mark Norman to United Artists' office for detailed discussions."

As for Harvey Weinstein, Edward Zwick had already forgotten about him.

*****

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