Nobody expected Johnny Depp to say such a thing. Michael Eisner was left red-faced by Depp's retort, and even with his extensive experience in handling emergencies, he froze on the spot for a moment.
Johnny Depp strutted back with a captivating cat-walk and left a final remark, "That's enough for today."
He would not participate in the remaining activities. Johnny Depp walked past Matthew and Keira Knightley and exited the tent. Keira Knightley glanced at Michael Eisner, turned, and followed Johnny Depp. Matthew shook his head slightly, said nothing, and also turned to leave.
This incident really couldn't be blamed on Johnny Depp. As the Chairman of Walt Disney, the words Michael Eisner spoke were simply too irresponsible.
It took Michael Eisner a while to recover from the awkwardness. Looking at Jerry Bruckheimer, he asked, "What was that all about?"
Jerry Bruckheimer responded neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Michael, you misspoke."
Unlike actors such as Matthew, Jerry Bruckheimer had enough confidence to face Michael Eisner. Without him, Walt Disney would lose more than half of its live-action film business. If he left Walt Disney, several other major Hollywood companies would line up, eager to cooperate with him and his production company.
"Forget it." Michael Eisner waved his hand dismissively and said, "This film..."
"I have confidence in my film." Jerry Bruckheimer continued, "Michael, 'pirates of the caribbean' has already started post-production; it's impossible to change it now. What we need to do next is focus on finding more effective ways for promotion and publicity."
Michael Eisner wasn't interested in the specifics of execution and said, "Didn't you already devise a plan to hype up some scandals?"
"That is just one of many plans."
Speaking of which, Jerry Bruckheimer looked at Michael Ovitz, "What just happened gave me an idea for a great publicity angle."
Michael Eisner wasn't stupid; he immediately understood what was meant. "Jerry, you want to use Depp and me for publicity?"
Jerry Bruckheimer nodded and said, "The Disney Chairman being dissatisfied with the character and having a fierce argument with Johnny Depp right there—the media will definitely publish this widely, and movie fans will become highly interested. Perhaps this single piece of news could increase the film's box office by tens of millions of dollars."
"Oh..." Michael Eisner only considered it for two seconds before answering in his true businessman nature, "Fine. You can have people exploit this incident."
As the head of a media group, how could he not understand the importance of promotion and marketing?
The people around them went off to work. Since the three main actors had temporarily walked off due to dissatisfaction, there was a series of tasks to handle afterward. However, Jerry Bruckheimer didn't leave; he stayed beside Michael Eisner. He wasn't going to leave the tent to find Matthew, Johnny Depp, and Keira Knightley—he wasn't going to clean up Michael Eisner's mess.
Besides, he had other matters to discuss with Michael Eisner.
"Michael..." Jerry Bruckheimer changed the subject. "Shouldn't you assign someone specific to follow up on my two new projects?"
"I have always had dedicated personnel tracking them." Michael Eisner certainly knew Jerry Bruckheimer's current importance to all of Disney's live-action films. He said, "Disney's resources are also preferentially available to you. That has never changed."
Jerry Bruckheimer frowned slightly and reminded him, "The preliminary budget for both projects is severely lacking."
Michael Eisner also had a belly full of grievances about this. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Jerry, have you considered Disney's current situation?"
"Hmm?" Jerry Bruckheimer looked at Michael Eisner, puzzled.
"'pirates of the caribbean''s production budget of 140 million USD has been fully secured."
"Disney still has to cover large amounts of publicity and distribution costs, and such a huge amount of capital cannot be recovered yet..." Michael Eisner's attitude toward Jerry Bruckheimer was far less aggressive than toward internal group staff. "Following that are two more major projects, each with a production budget exceeding 100 million USD. Even Disney will struggle."
He looked at Jerry Bruckheimer and said, "If your Bruckheimer Films could increase the investment, the projects would certainly progress much more smoothly."
Jerry Bruckheimer fell silent for a moment, and only after a while did he say, "A considerable portion of my company's funds is tied up in 'pirates of the caribbean'."
His Jerry Bruckheimer Films was just a small company; where would it get that much capital?
Michael Eisner then said, "So, Jerry, don't rush for now. If possible, we will try our best to solve the funding gap through external financing."
"But..." Jerry Bruckheimer frowned even harder. "That will take too long."
Since 2001, the overall US economy has been mediocre, which has also affected Hollywood, where many film companies are facing funding difficulties.
Michael Eisner shook his head. "Then there is nothing I can do."
It wasn't that Walt Disney had no money, but the group's liquid funds were accounted for separately from its subsidiary, Walt Disney Pictures. It was impossible to simply toss out tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars easily; every major corporation has rules and regulations to follow.
Moreover, Walt Disney's funds had a greater purpose: he was working on acquiring Pixar Studios. Without throwing down a large amount of cash, how could he impress that old fox, Steve Jobs?
After talking with Michael Eisner for a while longer, Jerry Bruckheimer made no progress. The preliminary push for both projects was smooth, but they lacked sufficient funding. Without money, even he couldn't push the projects forward.
Film, especially commercial cinema, is inherently an industry that requires large investments for high returns.
Jerry Bruckheimer walked out of the tent, pulled out his phone, and dialed a number. After saying a few words, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh softly. His agent had recently contacted several film investment funds, but the negotiations were difficult. Those people had confidence in his name and were very interested in the commercial films Jerry Bruckheimer produced, but unfortunately, they lacked sufficient cash flow and couldn't raise tens of millions of dollars in a short time.
"Funding..." Jerry Bruckheimer looked at the crowd nearby. "I've run into funding problems again."
It wasn't the first time he had faced this. Raising capital is the paramount issue when planning a blockbuster project in Hollywood with a budget exceeding 100 million USD.
Because 'pirates of the caribbean' involved a theme park ride at Disneyland, he received strong support from Disney and didn't encounter funding issues. However, Disney couldn't provide such extensive support for these two new films.
Furthermore, he had heard that after Disney absorbed ABC Television, Michael Eisner was preparing to continue the path of mergers and acquisitions, meaning the entire Walt Disney Group's finances would certainly be strained.
Jerry Bruckheimer was very clear: either the projects would be delayed until the investment in 'pirates of the caribbean' was fully recovered before moving one of the two projects forward, but that would take too long. The returns from North America were manageable, but the profit sharing from overseas often dragged on for a long time. It was possible that the revenue from most overseas territories wouldn't be received until the end of the year.
He had originally planned for 'king arthur' to be released during next year's summer slot, and the other film during the holiday slot at the end of next year. If the funding issue persisted, the release dates would have to be changed.
This was a situation Jerry Bruckheimer desperately wanted to avoid.
As he left the Disneyland plaza, his mind was entirely focused on how to resolve the funding issue as quickly as possible.
Inside the makeup trailer, Matthew, Johnny Depp, and Keira Knightley finished removing their makeup. Keira Knightley went to the separate dressing room prepared for her to change clothes. When she came out, Matthew and Johnny Depp had already changed back into their normal attire.
"You two..." Johnny Depp looked at Matthew and Keira Knightley, seeming unsure what to say. After a moment, he asked, "Are you trying to walk down the path of weirdness with me?"
Matthew shrugged and said, "It was just silent support. That's the most I could do."
Keira Knightley walked up next to Matthew and said, "I don't have the courage to mock Michael Eisner."
Although Johnny Depp was eccentric, he wasn't a bad person. He walked between Matthew and Keira Knightley, putting one arm around Matthew and resting the other hand on Keira Knightley's shoulder, saying, "If you ever have any trouble, you can come find me. I will definitely help if I can."
"Depp!" Matthew said deliberately. "Look at me, I was born to be the Big Brother."
Keira Knightley couldn't help but laugh at Matthew. She deliberately winked at Matthew and said, "Depp, I really want to find someone to flatten Matthew's chest. You'll help me, right?"
Johnny Depp immediately let go of both of them and said, "I'm too lazy to interfere in matters between you two!"
He turned to grab his bag. After getting it, he looked back at Keira Knightley and said, "I'll tell you a good way to make Matthew's chest shrink quickly."
Keira Knightley took him seriously. "Hurry up and tell me, Depp!"
"You push Matthew down directly!" Johnny Depp said with a serious expression, showing no sign of joking. "Then drain him dry! He'll deflate quickly!"
"Go to hell!" Keira Knightley grabbed a makeup mirror and threw it toward Johnny Depp. "Go die, Depp!"
Johnny Depp easily dodged and said, "Take your time discussing. I won't bother you anymore. Find me for a drink sometime."
After speaking, he was the first to leave.
Subsequently, Matthew and Keira Knightley also left the makeup trailer.