novelraw Chapter 726 - 727: Breaking Free from the Shadows
Chapter 726 - 727: Breaking Free from the Shadows
Chapter 726: Chapter 727: Breaking Free from the Shadows[Chapter 727: Breaking Free from the Shadows]
The call came directly from ICM's Kepler Hyde.
After Columbia decided to produce a Godzilla film, they eagerly began
After his invitation to Joe Johnston to direct Godzilla was turned down, Howard Stringer quickly set his sights on Spielberg.
However, Howard Stringer was at least more astute than certain German film investors who only focused on big-name stars without considering their relevance. Given that Eric had pulled Jurassic Park from Spielberg, many of his recent films, while performing decently at the box office, hadn't been particularly groundbreaking. His box office hits Jaws and E.T. were relics of a bygone era.
Moreover, a few years back, Columbia's collaboration with Spielberg on Hook ended in an unremarkable box office disappointment despite initial praise. In recent years, Spielberg had maintained close ties with Universal, where he had partnered on the successful summer hit Casper; that fantasy family comedy had surprisingly achieved over $80 million at the box office despite being overshadowed by massive blockbusters like Jurassic Park 2.
Rumor had it that he was also about to establish a new production company in collaboration with David Geffen under Universal, which made Stringer less confident about inviting Spielberg to the project.
Amid this uncertainty, Independence Day premiered.
...
Debuting on June 30, Independence Day brought in $56 million over its three-day opening weekend. Thanks to the July 4th holiday landing on a weekday, ticket sales soared, resulting in an explosive opening of $85 million due to its strong marketing and word-of-mouth. In just one week, it more than recouped its $75 million production cost, and typically, production and distribution partners took away 90% of first-week gross, meaning, theoretically, Firefly had already recouped all its costs in its opening week.
With the success of Deep Impact, Roland Emmerich emerged as one of the top directors, and Independence Day's box office results further skyrocketed his reputation.
Moreover, Howard Stringer was pleasantly surprised to learn that Roland Emmerich had none of the contractual entrapments that held Joe Johnston back.
This meant that as long as Sony was willing to pay the price, they could hire Roland Emmerich to direct Godzilla.
The question now was, what would Firefly's response be if Sony reached out to Emmerich?
While Stringer aimed to break free from Firefly's shadow, he was acutely aware that completely escaping its influence was impossible. At the very least, this film would undeniably require technical support in digital effects.
*****
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