The Wolf of Los Angeles

[Chapter 338: A New Approach to Film Publicity]

After the screening, Tom Cruise and Eric invited Hawke to meet them at the Nightcrawler studio on North Beverly Drive.

Hawke settled into a sofa and asked, "Have they compiled the feedback from the screening?"

Eric responded, "We received 102 questionnaires, with an average score of an A."

Tom Cruise added, "Paramount is optimistic about this film. I had a chat with the distribution head, Bales, and he thinks the movie is entertaining and has solid commercial prospects. While it might not compete with mainstream blockbusters, if marketed well, it could potentially gross over a hundred million at the North American box office."

Hawke nodded in agreement. Even though he wasn't an expert in film distribution, he understood the immense draw that Tom Cruise had at that time.

"What about awards?" was another concern for Hawke.

Tom Cruise said, "Paramount and my company will fully support the awards campaign." He reminded Hawke, "We agreed to aim for the awards together."

Hawke recalled their agreement clearly, stating, "The primary goal is Best Actor." He turned to Eric, "Best Director and Best Picture are a tall order, especially since Eric is a newcomer, but we might have a slightly better chance at Best Picture."

Tom Cruise reassured him, "We'll submit for all those awards. We still have some time before awards season, and we need to monitor not only ourselves but also our competition."

Hawke completely agreed, adding, "Every Oscars comes down to the results. If all our competitors perform poorly, as long as we outshine them, we will win."

Tom Cruise sought to capitalize on this idea. He had already thought it through: "The core Academy voters don't really like me. Can we ensure they like our competitors even less?"

Hawke gave him a thumbs up. "Tom, that's precisely the essence of the awards game at the Oscars!"

Eric, lacking experience in this area, asked, "I know that campaigning in Hollywood takes a lot of time, money, and effort to showcase our advantages and let everyone know we're better off, right?"

"That's only part of it," Hawke explained simply. "Strictly speaking, the Oscars are like a massive election in the film industry."

Eric looked puzzled.

Tom Cruise quickly explained, "In every election, it's a competition of not just who's better but who's worse. This trend has been increasingly evident. I think it won't be long until the deciding factor in election outcomes will be which side performs worse."

There was no denying that Tom Cruise maintained significant insight with his sustained global fame over the years.

He continued, "The rivalry has already broken all standards, and the competition has turned vicious, with unethical tactics continually emerging."

This reminded Eric of something: "Like the Watergate scandal?"

He pondered further, "And maybe little Kennedy too?"

Hawke returned to the topic, "With only a few months before awards season arrives, we need to start gathering intel on our competing projects, especially those looking to invest heavily in Best Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture."

Tom Cruise affirmed, "I've hired a team specifically for that."

Hawke had his own agenda in helping Tom Cruise secure awards and cautioned, "I received news earlier this year that Focus Features' production, Brokeback Mountain, is putting significant resources into contesting Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture. They've secured sponsorship from a foundation and might be willing to spend big."

Eric had heard about this film: "A gay-themed movie? Is that really going for the Oscars?"

Tom Cruise responded swiftly, realizing that the Oscars represented more than just Hollywood's highest honor, but also broader societal trends and political significance.

For instance, with the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film, the quality of the film was not the primary consideration; the theme and ideology were crucial, particularly whether it aligned with Hollywood's stance.

Tom Cruise, who had faced rumors about his sexuality in the past, was candid about it: "Hollywood has a significant number of gay individuals. While many don't dare to be open, they have continuously driven LGBTQ movements, and this film..."

"Regardless of what's behind Brokeback Mountain and the nature of the premise, if they are contending for those awards, they are our rivals; they are our enemies," Hawke stated resolutely, looking at Cruise. "We need to pay close attention to their team."

At Tom Cruise's level, what he desperately needed was the recognition of a heavyweight award. He didn't hesitate, saying, "I'll have someone keep a close watch on their team."

Hawke had his sights set not only on the Brokeback Mountain crew but also on the BlackRock San Francisco office behind the project.

Both sides had experienced their share of fierce competition. The scars from last year's explosive incidents still lingered on Covina Avenue.

...

After discussing for some time, Hawke prepared to leave. As Tom Cruise walked him out, he received a call, and upon hanging up, told Hawke, "I just got word that the Venice Film Festival closed three hours ago, and Brokeback Mountain won this year's Golden Lion award."

Hawke hadn't focused much on the film outside of North America, but it didn't surprise him since Europe had often been ahead of America in LGBTQ representation.

Using the latest news, Hawke remarked, "It looks like Brokeback Mountain is going to be our formidable competitor."

Tom Cruise appeared more serious than before, saying, "I will have my team gather all the information on that project." He asked Eric, "Who's the lead actor in Brokeback Mountain?"

Eric was well-informed: "Heath Ledger, an Australian actor."

Tom Cruise frowned, "Haven't heard much about him."

The gap in their star power was stark.

Eric continued, "He starred alongside Matt Damon in The Brothers Grimm."

Tom Cruise still looked puzzled.

...

Hawke took his leave and, while on the road, called Caroline to have her check into the judges and sponsors of this year's Venice Film Festival.

...

On Monday, after returning to work, Caroline's assistant brought Hawke the latest information.

Because the requests were highly specific, it took some time, but Hawke managed to gather substantial intel.

At the recently concluded Venice Film Festival, it turned out seven advertising sponsors were backed by BlackRock or had funds controlled by it. This could be considered coincidence, especially since BlackRock had made a name for itself in the investment sector post its 1999 IPO, although its growth pace wasn't particularly fast.

However, Hawke continued to dig deeper, and what he found next wasn't ordinary.

This year's Venice Film Festival jury chair was John Boorman, a British director known for films like Deliverance, Excalibur, The Exorcist II, Hope and Glory, and The Tailor of Panama.

Boorman was preparing a new film, The Tiger's Tail, with BlackRock Film Foundation as its biggest investor. Interestingly, BlackRock Film Foundation was also one of the largest investors in the Brokeback Mountain project.

Hawke felt as though he had learned something valuable.

Winning awards wasn't just about publicity coups; it could be approached from this angle too. The allure of money was everywhere.

However, this method wouldn't work for the Oscars. The three major European film festivals have juries that hold significant power; if a jury chair fully intends to push a somewhat mediocre film for an award, other jurors would struggle to counter that.

There were also jury chairs who attempt to balance things out, sometimes producing bizarre results, such as multiple individuals receiving the same award.

Oscars awarded their trophies based on voting from over 5,000 Academy members. When it came to Tom Cruise's bid for Best Actor, he required considerable support from actor-evaluators, with approximately 1,200 members needed.

Hawke contemplated which approach to use.

The ideal outcome would not only prevent Brokeback Mountain from winning any major Oscars but ideally would also see it snubbed for major nominations altogether.

At this point, the LGBTQ community hadn't fully gained traction, and Brokeback Mountain was still a non-mainstream movie.

Hawke thought that what he was doing was exacerbating the divisions in American society.

Various social groups and forces were at odds, and Hawke picked up the phone to call Tom Cruise, saying, "For Brokeback Mountain, let's especially reach out to some ambitious or greedy female members of the cast. Once they're back from Venice, let's send them a substantial gift."

Tom Cruise agreed, "I'll handle it."

Hawke hung up, knowing that in today's Hollywood climate, as long as actresses were willing to speak out, it would never become a slander.

What Hawke aimed to incite was a true, high-end business war.

...

Just then, there was a knock on the office door, and Caroline strutted in wearing red high heels. Miss Baa pulled out a chair and sat across from Hawke, crossing her long legs in her business suit, drawing attention to her slender calves in stockings.

She flashed a smile, "I've finalized the discussions with City Hall regarding the coastal office building and financial subsidies, and they need you to sign the contract."

Hawke asked, "When?"

Caroline coyly stretched her foot forward, "Ideally this afternoon; I've scheduled a meeting with the design company tomorrow regarding the renovations for the coastal building."

"Alright," Hawke checked his calendar and added, "Is Brian signing on behalf of City Hall?"

Caroline pressed her foot against the floor to leverage her movement, bringing her foot under the table and forward: "Yes, he is."

Hawke leaned back in his chair, colliding with a sharp edge as he glanced at Caroline, "Your hoof."

Caroline accused with a playful tone: "You bumped into my high heel!"

Though Hawke caught a whiff of something, his thoughts were solely focused on dealing with the Ackermans, and he said, "We should talk it over when we do our random checks."

Caroline blinked, "Let's include Megan in the discussion."

*****

/Sayonara816.