[Chapter 472: Film Crew Shipwreck Incident]
After taking his advice, Johnny Depp's performance became smoother; he was less awkward than before and fully embodied the character of Captain Jack Sparrow.
As Depp immersed himself in the role, filming progressed more and more smoothly. However, during water scenes, many actors, including Catherine Zeta-Jones, suffered from seasickness despite taking anti-seasickness medication. To protect their health, the crew adjusted the scenes to shoot in calmer waters.
When the crew relocated to a small Caribbean island for filming, the North American summer reached its peak.
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Six weeks after the release of Tomorrow Never Dies, the sci-fi disaster blockbuster Godzilla, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Guess Pictures, premiered.
Godzilla was adapted from the 1948 science fiction novel by Japanese author Shigeru Koyama. It told the story of a prehistoric dinosaur on a small southern Japanese island, transformed into the terrifying monster Godzilla by hydrogen bomb radiation. Godzilla invaded Tokyo, wreaking massive destruction and putting humanity's fate in danger.
The novel was adapted into movies by Japanese studios in 1954 and 1984. The American version's plot was similar, featuring a French nuclear test on a Pacific island that spawned Godzilla, who invaded the United States, heading towards Manhattan, threatening New York's destruction. Scientists, journalists, cameramen, soldiers, and insurance agents in New York united to fight Godzilla.
The film cost $130 million to produce and grossed $67.26 million in 3,310 theaters its first week, topping the weekly box office -- it was a strong performance. Columbia Pictures and Guess Pictures expected a modest profit.
That week, Tomorrow Never Dies earned $8.37 million, bringing its North American total to $205 million, ranking fourth at the box office.
The romantic movie The Horse Whisperer, directed by Robert Redford and starring Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Scarlett Johansson, debuted at second place with $18.51 million.
Third was Deep Impact, earning $13.37 million that week, with a cumulative North American box office of $124 million.
Fifth was The Wedding Singer, with $6.48 million and a total of $71.37 million domestically.
I Know What You Did Last Summer was in its 13th week, earning $870,000 that week, totaling $75.53 million at the North American box office, with an impressive 6:1 revenue-to-cost ratio.
MGM Pictures released Dirty Work that week in 328 theaters, earning $4.51 million with an average performance.
...
Seven weeks post-release of 007, Warner Bros. Pictures released Batman & Robin, telling Batman and Robin's fight against villains Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy.
Directed by Joel Schumacher, the film starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Uma Thurman, Chris O'Donnell, and Alicia Silverstone. The creative team was strong.
The film grossed $42.91 million in 2,934 theaters its first week, ranking number one. But the $125 million budget meant it needed a $300 million global box office to break even. Based on week one, it was likely to lose money.
Its reception was very bad; fans expressed disappointment, and media called it the series' worst.
Terry Semel and Richard Fox regretted the release. They had expected the Batman IP to succeed under different directors and save money from Link's salary. Unfortunately, they underestimated Link's impact, causing the sequels to lose money and damaging the series' reputation -- a loss worse than a few hundred million dollars.
...
Eight weeks after 007's release, Guess Pictures released Rush Hour 2.
The film featured Hong Kong police Inspector Lee and Los Angeles detective James Carter, vacationing in Hong Kong when a bombing at the US consulate killed two customs officials. They investigated, fought excitingly, and caught the culprit.
Directed by Brett Ratner, starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Li Bingbing, Zun Long, Alan King, Milla Jovovich, and others, the film grossed $97.71 million in 3,118 North American theaters its first week. It set summer's highest weekly box office and marked the highest weekly record for a film starring an Asian actor.
Jackie Chan and his comedic martial arts gained unprecedented North American popularity.
Rush Hour 2 was a box office hit, expected to surpass $200 million domestically, the second Guess Pictures-MGM release of the year to do so.
This success made Hollywood executives jealous. After Guess Pictures acquired MGM, many thought MGM's debt would slow Guess Pictures, letting competitors catch up. Instead, despite some early losses, MGM's films, including Rush Hour 2, The Wedding Singer, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Kill Bill, were box office hits.
Current data suggested MGM would likely keep the industry's top box office spot.
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"Mike, should we keep collaborating with Guess Pictures?" Michael Ovitz asked Disney president Michael Eisner while reviewing box office data.
"Since merging with MGM, Guess has increased production and distribution capacity by 200%. This year, North American box office might top $2 billion. If we continue, they'll dominate more market share, and after absorbing MGM's assets and liabilities, catching up will be nearly impossible," Ovitz explained.
Eisner exhaled slowly, "Who else can we partner with? Cooperating with Guess promises profits; others may not."
Ovitz lamented, "If only we had allied with others in '93 or '94 to thwart Guess Pictures completely. Then, we wouldn't be at such a disadvantage."
"It's too late now," Eisner waved off. "Link is filming Pirates of the Caribbean down south. Visit him if you can, see what projects he wants."
"Alright," Ovitz agreed reluctantly.
This was Disney and six other studios' dilemma. They wanted to stop Guess Pictures and Link but also wanted to collaborate for profit to avoid falling behind. This approach caused them to both fail in eliminating Guess and to become dependent.
Feeling dejected, Ovitz called Link and told him he'd visit. His assistant Aishwarya would notify Link.
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The next day, Ovitz flew to Miami, took a boat to Havana, Cuba, then another to the Caribbean island where the crew was.
But the night before Ovitz's arrival, a mishap occurred during shooting.
Catherine Zeta-Jones, playing Elizabeth, was rowing to the island at night when the boat suddenly took on water and sank in under 20 seconds. Catherine and the lighting technician fell into the sea.
Thankfully, the rescue team and Link reacted swiftly; seeing the boat taking water, Link removed his coat, jumped in, and pulled Catherine and the lighting technician onto a speedboat, saving them.
...
"Shooting at sea at night is dangerous," Ovitz said, watching the rough waters.
"But it saves money and improves image quality. Link is very strict about his films," executive producer Mike Statham said.
"Understood," Ovitz replied as they walked.
Suddenly, Ovitz saw Cuban policemen on set and asked, "What's happening?"
"There have been multiple incidents recently. Last week, a set caught fire in the Dominican Republic, destroying equipment and costing about $300,000, though no one was hurt. This morning, Link's bodyguards detained two alleged entertainment reporters outside the crew. Given the odd fire and the boat incident, police were called, and the two are charged with murder. Police are investigating," producer Mike Statham explained.
"Wow, Link's had some bad luck," Ovitz said, ironically amused. Link used to have incredible luck, envied by many. Now he's finally having misfortune, haha.
But when Ovitz noticed Link looking, his face fell with an indignant expression.
*****
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