"Walt Disney has already become a behemoth. No matter how capable Michael Eisner is, he still needs assistants to help manage the entire group company."
On the terrace of the Duke Manor, Duke, Tina Fey, Nancy Josephson, and others were sitting around a round table, drinking afternoon tea while discussing the current situation. Duke put down the coffee in his hand and said, "Cook Dick is Michael Eisner's most important assistant. With his support, Eisner's position is very stable. For Robert Iger and Roy Disney, making a comeback becomes exponentially more difficult."
"So, you encouraged Robert Iger to first target Cook Dick?" Nancy Josephson said knowingly.
"This is just a retaliation."
Facing these people, Duke didn't need to hide anything and said directly, "Although there's no concrete evidence, the last leak incident is inseparable from Disney, and Cook Dick is very likely the one who planned it."
Tina Fey gave a cold snort and followed up, "If he dares to reach out his hand, we're not just going to slap it away. We'll try to chop off the whole arm along with it!"
Picking up the silver pot, Scarlett refilled everyone's teacups and asked curiously, "Can you really cut it off?"
"There's no such thing as one hundred percent certainty in matters like this," Duke leaned back in the wicker chair and said, "But those two businesses used to be under Cook Dick's supervision. With Robert Iger and Roy Disney's capabilities, they definitely won't let go of this opportunity easily."
Nancy Josephson nodded, "I've dealt with Robert Iger many times before. He's a very capable person."
She frowned slightly and asked, "What if Cook Dick falls? Should we fully support Robert Iger?"
"A powerful Walt Disney is not in our interest." Duke crossed his arms and placed them on the armrests. "The best-case scenario is that Robert Iger can form a certain balance of power with Michael Eisner…"
Scarlett immediately understood, "So they'll fall into internal conflict?"
Seeing Duke and Tina Fey slowly nod, Scarlett asked again, "Why not support Robert Iger's rise to power then?"
"Darling, because Robert Iger taking power brings us no benefit."
Tina Fey picked up the conversation. She simply explained, "Let's talk about one aspect Michael Eisner doesn't like Disney Animation Studios, but Robert Iger is determined to revive Disney Animation. Don't forget, Pixar Animation Studios is closely tied to us. The animated film market is far smaller than live-action. If Disney Animation returns to glory…"
She didn't need to say more. Scarlett already understood.
Duke put down his teacup and said to Tina Fey and Nancy Josephson, "Have someone keep an eye on Robert Iger and Disney."
Speaking of animated films, Duke couldn't help but think of something else. Upon investigation, he discovered that DreamWorks Animation already had the concept for Kung Fu Panda and was preparing to enter the early planning stage. 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. had held several meetings with Jeffrey Katzenberg. Although the project hasn't been fully secured, they've participated in the investment and will be responsible for the North American and overseas distribution of this animated feature.
Currently, the Warner-Fox World project negotiations have entered the final stage. A formal agreement could be signed with the other side of the Pacific at any time.
But there are also some obstacles.
For example, some people on the other side tentatively raised a condition they wanted to invite Duke to direct the opening ceremony of the 2008 event.
But Duke is no fool. He knows which areas he can show goodwill in and which he absolutely cannot touch. Otherwise, even with his status, he would still be rejected.
At his current level, he must consider things from the perspective and position he occupies. Some things aren't about willingness it's that he simply can't do them. If he does, he ends up being disliked on both sides.
So, as soon as the news came through unofficial channels, he rejected it without hesitation.
In fact, once someone reaches a certain level in Hollywood, they inevitably become entangled with politics. And most celebrities in Hollywood are politically active individuals — for example, Tina Fey now. Her political stance is very similar to Harrison Ford's, highly supportive of the federal government's anti-terror war and the war in Iraq.
Take Scarlett Johansson, for example. She's a standard Democratic Party supporter.
It's no exaggeration to say politics has never been far from Hollywood. Although Duke doesn't have an obvious political leaning, he wouldn't do anything that puts himself in an entirely passive position.
After all, North America is still his foundation.
Although rejecting the informal invitation from the other side might bring some trouble, Duke is very clear when it comes to investments involving such large sums, things won't change dramatically just because of this.
According to the latest news from across the Pacific, what Warner-Fox World lacks is simply a formal contract.
The impact of this investment is already beginning to show. That region across the Pacific will become one of the earliest overseas markets for Iron Man, and there's also strong interest in importing The Dark Knight (Batman 2).
Looking toward the future, Duke also needs to make some adjustments to the settings of this film. If it follows the previous path, the movie will definitely fail to pass censorship, and could even destroy the relatively neutral position he's established over the years.
Just like he won't insist on filming with celluloid, Duke is not Christopher Nolan — he won't stick to things that, in his eyes, are completely unnecessary.
Staying in Los Angeles until Monday night, Duke joined the other main members of the production team and began the North American promotional tour. During the promotion, Robert Downey Jr. became the most popular figure. Once a brilliant actor who fell to rock bottom, he had now returned to the mainstream and was on the rise again thanks to the role of Tony Stark.
For the current Robert Downey Jr., this is definitely a good thing, but for the future superstar Downey, this could become an obstacle.
Right now, it's Robert Downey Jr. playing Tony Stark. After another one or two Iron Man-related films are released, it will become: Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark.
No actor wants to find themselves in such a situation. Once it happens, there's a strong possibility that taking on other roles will only lead to failure.
But Duke knows very well that Robert Downey Jr. will never regret choosing the role of Tony Stark.
The fan frenzy triggered wherever Robert Downey Jr. appears is a true reflection of the film market's response.
As the weekdays began, Iron Man's daily box office started to decline sharply. Compared to last Sunday, Monday saw a drop of 58%, earning $15.49 million that day.
For a popcorn-style film like Iron Man, weekdays generally show a continuous decline, but thanks to strong media and audience word-of-mouth, the drop has remained minimal.
On Tuesday, Iron Man brought in $14.86 million in North America; on Wednesday, it reported a single-day income of $14.38 million; and on Thursday, it pulled in $13.81 million.
As the new weekend began, Iron Man's cumulative North American box office easily surpassed $150 million, reaching $184.49 million.
Even though the new weekend saw the release of a new film like Speed Racer, external predictions unanimously held that Iron Man was very likely to claim the top spot at the box office for a second consecutive weekend, with its North American box office certain to exceed $200 million.
In Las Vegas, betting on Iron Man reaching $300 million in North America was closed as of Wednesday, and the odds for reaching $350 million were adjusted to even money.
Thanks to Iron Man's box office success, Marvel Studios, Marvel Comics, and Warner Bros. jointly held a press conference to announce a new slate of Marvel superhero films. The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and Iron Man 2 were all officially put on the schedule.
Casting and director selection work for the various films would also begin one after another.
These announcements attracted the attention of many, especially fans of the original comics, and to some extent also stimulated Iron Man's second weekend box office. The newly released Speed Racer posed no real threat to Tony Stark.
As the weekend just ended, Premiere used its Instant Share account to release the latest weekend box office report.
"Iron Man reigns atop the North American box office again; Speed Racer stalls out."
"Speed Racer, funded by Universal Pictures and directed by Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, unfortunately became the first flop of this summer season. Crushed by last week's champion Iron Man, it brought in only $20.21 million over three days—far below the industry's forecast of a $45–65 million opening."
"On the other hand, the critically and commercially acclaimed Iron Man continued to perform heroically this week, earning a stellar $58.5 million to successfully retain the top spot. Its cumulative North American haul has now reached $242.99 million—a figure that brings the prospect of Iron Man eventually breaking the $350 million barrier into sharp focus."
"Driven by this superhero, the combined total of the North American Top 10 box office entries, though down around 22%, still reached a historical high of about $117 million for the same weekend, breaking the six-year-old record of $115 million set when Spider-Man 1 was leading."
"Duke Rosenberg's new film remains as strong as ever, once again proving his title as the King of the North American Summer Box Office."
Also during this weekend, Iron Man debuted in major overseas markets such as Europe, Latin America, Australia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. However, compared to the film's meteoric rise in North America, Iron Man encountered a situation similar to Batman Begins, without seeing the same box office explosion overseas.
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