"The telephone reservations and online ticket bookings haven't met our expectations."
In the hotel lounge, Tina Fey, who had just rushed over from Los Angeles, sat beside Duke with a slight frown and said, "The Hathaway incident broke out right at the peak of ticket pre-sales."
Duke nodded slightly. Around one week before a film's release, ticket pre-sales usually hit their peak. Anne Hathaway happened to get caught in a scandal at this critical time. For some people with psychological cleanliness, especially many parents across America, Batman:Begins would naturally be removed from their first-choice list.
"So far, the film's pre-sale box office stands at around $20.1 million," Tina Fey continued, "which is still some distance from Warner Brothers' expected $25 million. Moreover, the growth rate of ticket bookings has clearly slowed down. It's certain we won't hit the target before the premiere."
Looking at his watch, Duke stood up. "Let's go."
The two left the lounge and passed through a corridor closed to the public, entering the rear of a press conference room. Duke nodded to Attorney James and Panny Kallis, then stood there, listening to the voices coming from the press conference.
This was a press conference specially convened by the production team and Warner Brothers for Anne Hathaway.
Anne Hathaway had only spent 48 hours at the Chicago branch of the FBI before being bailed out by Warner Brothers and attorney James. This actress wasn't entirely foolish; she knew this was a key moment that could determine her public ruin or redemption. She actively cooperated with all kinds of PR efforts, striving to rebuild her public image.
In fact, at this point, the best approach was to act like a white lotus.
The production team and Warner Brothers' PR department were working hard in this direction as well. After all, it concerned the market reception of Batman:Begins. Once the film ended, whether Anne Hathaway was a white lotus or a green tea b*tch had nothing to do with them.
"The decision to break up with Raffaello left me in unbearable pain, but I never expected the person I loved most to deceive me like this."
Anne Hathaway's choked voice came from the front, "Deception is what I can't stand the most, especially when he used me for money..."
Even through the partition, Duke and the others could clearly hear Anne Hathaway's sobs.
Then her agent said that while Anne Hathaway was busy working, her boyfriend would still flirt with other women from time to time, including some beautiful models. The accumulation of new and old issues eventually led Anne to decide on a breakup. Originally, Anne Hathaway had always lived on the East Coast of the U.S. and hadn't gone to Hollywood, all just to accompany her boyfriend…
In short, they were doing everything to portray Anne Hathaway as a victim and a pitiful figure.
Standing at the back, Duke appeared calm. That's how this industry was. Actually, for anyone with a clear mind, it wasn't hard to realize that a celebrity's public persona was just that—an image.
Take Anne Hathaway, for example. Because of this incident, Duke and Warner Brothers had both investigated her thoroughly. To devise targeted PR strategies, one must understand what the other party had done.
Anne Hathaway was indeed a victim, but to say she was victim,innocent not necessarily.
Her release on bail wasn't just because Duke and Warner Brothers stepped in; it was also because she actively cooperated with the FBI.
A luxury apartment in New York, several branded watches, and jewelry worth millions—these were what Anne Hathaway voluntarily handed over to the FBI, all gifts from Raffaello Follieri.
In addition, during their relationship, Anne Hathaway had enjoyed various mansions, yachts, private jets, and countless expensive gifts. Rather than saying she was blinded by love, it was more accurate to say she was dazzled by wealth.
The current Anne Hathaway was no longer the future star she once hoped to be. She was still relatively well-known, but after being dropped by Disney, her career had hit a low point. Even during the height of The Princess Diaries fame, her income wouldn't have been very high Disney's exploitation of the teen idols it manufactured was well known throughout Hollywood.
Judging just by sound, Anne Hathaway must've been crying her heart out up there. But Duke was instead considering whether she should be replaced in the sequel if she couldn't reverse her image.
Strictly speaking, Anne Hathaway was indeed a victim but that had nothing to do with business.
What Duke produced were commercial films, and everything was based on commercial interests. An actor who couldn't generate profit was of no use to him.
The press conference ended amid chaos. Duke and Panny Kallis returned to the lounge, and a few minutes later, Anne Hathaway and her agent Brian walked in.
Gently wiping her red, tear-streaked eyes with a tissue, Anne Hathaway walked up to Duke. "Thank you, Duke. I'm so sorry…"
Duke raised a hand to interrupt her. "During the film's release period, watch your words and behavior."
"I promise. I absolutely will," Anne Hathaway knew full well that the crew was her biggest support right now.
It wasn't just the press conference—Duke's online PR team was also stirring up discussion. For the sake of the film, they were doing their best to whitewash Anne Hathaway. But the internet was an open medium. Completely reversing the image of a scandal-ridden celebrity wasn't easy. Public opinion about Anne Hathaway had split into three camps.
The first believed Anne Hathaway was merely a love-struck victim.
The second were just onlookers—unconcerned about what kind of person she was.
The third were critics and abusers. Like the first group, this one also contained a large number of paid commenters. Especially after the press conference, they denounced Anne Hathaway as "fake," "pretending," and "putting on an act," calling her the typical two-faced female star.
In any case, after crying like a white lotus at the press conference, Anne Hathaway managed to recover some image points, but as for completely erasing the impact—there's simply no way.
And it's not just online; in traditional media as well, such as the tabloids under News Corporation and the media controlled by Walt Disney, during the run-up to the release of Batman:Begins, they firmly criticized and attacked Anne Hathaway, constantly bringing up the new movie she starred in.
Affected by this, although the presales of Batman:Begins increased after the press conference, there's still a noticeable gap from Warner Bros.' original forecast.
"20th Century Fox and Disney's media just won't let us go."
Hearing Tina Fey say that, Duke stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the night view of Chicago, and said, "I made a mistake, Tina."
Tina Fey looked at him curiously. It was rare for Duke to admit to a mistake on his own.
"I was blinded by some things." Duke sighed softly. "I underestimated the enemy."
Although he would never underestimate any opponent, when the competition was films like Kingdom of Heaven and Flyboys, Duke inevitably relaxed a bit in his heart. Even though he didn't assume he would win outright, he still hadn't given it the full attention it deserved.
It was clear that a string of continuous successes had subtly changed his mindset.
Even with a head that was clear and calm enough, he was still an ordinary person.
However, realizing this, Duke clearly knew how to adjust himself. In some ways, this wasn't entirely a bad thing. Instead, it served as a wake-up call.
Slowly walking up beside Duke, Tina Fey suddenly said, "By the way, I haven't had the chance to tell you Warner Bros just called. David Ellison wants to attend the film's premiere."
"Him?" Duke slightly raised his eyebrows.
Even without digging deep, Duke knew that behind this incident, there was no way David Ellison and Michael Ovitz weren't involved. To this day, many media outlets were still flooding the internet with negative press about Anne Hathaway and Batman:Begins clearly backed by large sums of sponsorship.
The corners of Duke's lips curled slightly. "Send him a formal invitation."
Since David Ellison wanted to come, then let him. At this stage, not to mention David Ellison, even if his father came, Duke wouldn't care.
While Duke was preparing for the premiere of Batman:Begins, under the night sky of Los Angeles, Ivanka Trump leisurely walked into a café in the city of Burbank. Guided by the waiter, she arrived at a booth.
"Hello, Irene."
"Hello, Ivanka."
After greeting each other, Ivanka Trump sat across from Irene Lauder, casually ordered a cup of coffee, and asked directly, "Will you go to Chicago?"
The other woman was a friend of Duke Rosenberg on par in closeness with Sofia Coppola. Ivanka knew this well.
"What about you?" Irene Lauder looked at her and asked.
Ivanka Trump paused for a moment, then firmly said, "I won't go."
"I originally wanted to invite you to go together."
Irene Lauder let out a soft sigh. That was her reason for inviting Ivanka Trump out, but hearing her tone, she knew her plan had fallen through.
"Between Duke and me…" Ivanka shook her head.
The issue between them had long stopped being just about Scarlett Johansson. It had become a collision between two families, even two capital groups.
She didn't continue talking. Instead, she pulled out a box and pushed it in front of Irene Lauder. "Can you do me a small favor? Give this back to Duke."
Irene Lauder stared at Ivanka for a while before finally nodding lightly.
Seeing Irene accept the gift box, Ivanka Trump stood up. "Thank you, Irene."
"You're welcome." Irene Lauder smiled faintly.
Ivanka Trump added a polite farewell, then turned and walked out of the café without looking back.
.....
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