Invite yourself to take over as the director of "Titanic"?

After hearing this, Duke was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Townsend Roseman. Fox Ceo looked serious. Obviously not joking, and no one would joke about such things. Moreover, the other party's words meant that this was not a sudden decision made by slapping his forehead, but the result of the discussion between the investor Fox and Paramount.

Go to be a buyer by yourself?

Indeed, anyone can turn around if Hollywood is missing, but the big ship has been under the control of James Cameron and has been operating for almost two years. How difficult is it for others to take over?

Not to mention anything else, just talk about the complex personnel conflicts that will inevitably arise after the director is replaced. How long will it take to straighten out? James Cameron will hand over to him smoothly? The main departments on the set are members of his team. Should these people be changed? If they change, how long will it take for the newcomer to get started? If not, oh... Then Rosario will be wonderful...

It is not surprising that the crew changed the director when they first started preparing, but after so long, the risk of changing the director was too high. The newly replaced director was not prepared enough. In Duke's view, taking over such a project is more difficult than starting a project of the same size.

Being a buyer is not just about taking on the project and continuing to prepare and then starting the filming smoothly!

"Townsend, I have a few questions." Duke did not refuse directly. "James Cameron's request for additional investment will make Fox embarrassed. I guess it is not a small number?"

Townsend Rossman nodded with a serious expression. Duke continued, "What style is Cameron in Hollywood, he knows what kind of style he likes big scenes. I also like big scenes. Although I don't know the specific situation of the project, have you ever thought that even if I am the director, I might need to invest more?"

"But your past few films," Townsend Rossman obviously had a different view, "always use the most effective capital utilization rate to create large enough scenes. They all succeed!"

"You overlooked one thing." Duke pointed to his forehead, "Past projects have been thought about here for a long time, but in the face of a completely unfamiliar project, how much money do you think I can save?"

He shook his head, "So. Townsend, I don't think I'm suitable to take over."

Seeing Duke's resolute look, Rossman understood that this matter was extremely difficult. After thinking about it, he said, "What about another proposal? Fox delayed paying your share?"

Duke didn't speak, and looked like he was thinking, as if he was very embarrassed.

"Can you know how big the project funding gap is?" Duke asked.

This project, which even the bank refused to lend, has forced Fox to a state of inability to advance and retreat. Although they are also putting pressure on James Cameron, even if they force the tyrant on the set to jump into the sea to commit suicide, the huge investment must be found to be recovered.

Just a little hesitated. Tosse Rossman said, "Cameron asked for an additional investment of 30 million US dollars! You should know his style, and this number will definitely increase. Without 50 million US dollars, "Titanic" will definitely not be completed!"

"How much is the total investment?" Duke asked again.

"Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount have invested a total of $150 million!"

After hearing the numbers that Townsend Rossman said, Duke gradually made a decision in his heart. "Townsend, the share of "Save Private Ryan" can be temporarily handed over to Fox."

Townsend Rossman's expression relaxed a little. Then he asked, "Tell me, Duke, what are the conditions."

"Don't you want to invest this part of the money in Titanic?"

Seeing Townsend Rossman nodding, Duke slowly knocked on the armrest of the sofa and said with a chuckling, "This is the investment of the Duke Studio in "Titanic". What do you think?"

He wants to invest in "Titanic"? Townsend Rossman frowned. It was one thing for Fox to lack funds, and it was another thing for foreign funds to intervene in their projects with Paramount.

This would involve all aspects of the problem, Duke knew very well and did not expect Townsend Roseman to give an answer immediately, and his Fox's CEO did not have such great power when Paramount Pictures was not present.

"Townsen, this is just a suggestion."

Duke still has some memory of what difficulties Titanic encountered in terms of funding. Combined with what Townsend Rossman said, that scene is undoubtedly happening. "I believe you know better than me about how big James Cameron's appetite is, and I think it's the worst choice to replace him. If the Duke Studio can join in, I can make up for your funding gap."

"I can't give you a reply," Townsend Roseman thought for a while, and said, "This needs to be negotiated and resolved by Fox and Paramount Pictures."

Duke just left a possibility for his intervention in this project, and investment is definitely not as simple as saying it. Who knows what changes will happen on Rosario's set? He always needs to confirm some situations before he can actually have a detailed discussion with Fox and Paramount.

On the weekend, Duke made an appointment with Leonardo DiCaprio, and used the excuse of accompanying him as a hero to go to the crew to inspect the crew, he flew to Rosario, Baja California, to witness the crazy crew and the Titanic model ship that stood one-to-one in the huge artificial lake. From Leonardo, he learned from him that the heroine was an actress from the UK, and Kate Winslet, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "Sense and Emotion" last time for Oscars.

Duke, the main cast and crew members in the crew, had a vague impression, not to mention that he almost forced Fox to sell his butt and was forced to commit suicide by Fox.

This information is enough to make him make some judgments. Although the future is unpredictable, any investment has risks, and 100% profitable investment does not exist. Duke has made a decision after returning to Los Angeles from Baja California.

Nancy Josephson was once again pushed to the front line of negotiations by him, frequently contacting Fox and Paramount. Unlike Fox's hesitation, Paramount Pictures happily expressed that it would support Duke in the investment. In fact, this project that lasted for nearly two years and still unknown when it will be started filming has long become a gold-sucking black hole in Paramount's eyes. They wished a takeover man to change the current situation of being unable to advance or retreat.

Duke also did enough investigations and understanding. The situation was similar to the rumors he saw in his previous life. The project was launched for nearly two years. From the media to the Hollywood industry to the film company, no one was optimistic about James Cameron's project. Sarcastic voices continued to appear. Some media reporters and film critics even opened special sections in their weekly columns to ridicule James Cameron and his "Titanic".

At the same time, Duke also learned about the huge difficulties faced by Fox, because the project's expected profit and credibility index continued to decline, and Fox's contact with banks and film funds all ended in failure. After all, "Titanic" has already cost nearly $150 million. As a result, it is not even certain when it will be turned on to post-production, and no one knows when it will be completed or even whether it can be completed.

Not to mention anything else, even the third party AIA, which serves as a guarantee for the film completion, is operating around Wall Street, wanting to transfer the film completion guarantee agreement or find a buyer who shares the risk with them.

In other words, Twentieth Century Fox and James Cameron both stood at their respective inflection points.

This is a very suitable entry point. After going through this very difficult stage, Twentieth Century Fox may not be sure to grit his teeth and persevere until the end.

Because Paramount Pictures wanted to get rid of this funding black hole, Nancy quickly reached an agreement with them. In the following half month, she started a long negotiation and dispute with Twentieth Century Fox. Even James Cameron, who was in a hurry to get back to Los Angeles from Baja California to hold tripartite talks.

Fox's internal voice is not unified. People led by Townsend Roseman believe that Duke's Duke Studio should not be allowed to participate in "Titanic" casually, while a group of people led by the Financial Director and others who are facing huge financial pressure are actively looking for foreign funds to prevent Fox from collapsing due to a broken capital chain.

As for James Cameron, as long as he has money to complete this maritime epic, he will not care about the source of funds.

The negotiations continued until mid-July. Due to the setbacks in other aspects of fundraising, Twentieth Century Fox finally decided to accept funds from the Duke Studios - in fact, the share of the funds has been on the Fox account. At the same time, after the joint negotiation meeting between Cameron, Paramount, Fox and Duke Studios ended and after several parties signed the formal agreement, the Duke Studios officially injected $50 million into the Titanic, thus increasing the production cost of this project to an unprecedented $200 million!

According to the agreement, Duke Studios accounts for a quarter of the investment and naturally enjoys the film including North American box office, overseas box office and all surrounding equal proportion of revenue sharing, but does not own any copyright of the film.

Compared to investing two years ago, the current capital pledge period is shorter and relatively more cost-effective. The most important thing is that Duke is not as short of money as it was two years ago.

Although investment means risks, and like other small companies, it is impossible to obtain the copyright of the film from the giants, Duke is still quite satisfied with this agreement. If the film really goes on the track, how much will a quarter of the income be? This is not just the box office!

At the same time, Duke also agreed to Fox to delay paying the remaining share to alleviate their financial pressure and make Fox owe him a favor.

After completing the investment in "Titanic", Duke's energy has been turned back to the filming of "Chicago". The film started filming in early April and has lasted for more than three months. This is also the film that Duke has been shooting for the longest time and has encountered the most difficulties since he started filming. After more than 100 days of suffering, the filming is finally coming to an end. (To be continued)
Chapter completed!