CHAPTER 759: CHAPTER 759: A GUARANTEED LOSS

Russell Crowe’s starring role in Robin Hood attracted plenty of attention. The production alone cost $200 million. As a biographical film about the legendary British hero Robin Hood, the box office should have done well, but the outcome was far from satisfactory.

The film’s premiere opened quietly, and there was no applause when it ended. By contrast, the press conference was much more lively. This was true worldwide any film with stars gets enough attention.

However, when TV media set up cameras at the theater exits to interview the audience, most respondents said things like "the film was very average" or "just so-so."

"The political turmoil, return to roots, and budding romance running in parallel made the story bloated and complicated. The latter half was even more confusing, with tangled plotlines, lack of focus, and unbalanced pacing. The film focused on Robin Hood’s birth and origin, but regrettably, the character was poorly developed and superficial. The lack of climaxes throughout limited viewers’ enthusiasm. Even the excellent cultural atmosphere and era vibe couldn’t save the film."

This epic’s reputation on the internet sank the moment the premiere and advance screenings ended.

"Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett as the leads can you name any on-screen couple more dull than them? This is a disaster."

David Ellison wanted the film to succeed, but too many traditional Hollywood forces opposed him, with Duke being just one of them.

If the audience reception had been good, they wouldn’t have been able to do much, but the film’s reputation was too bad especially Russell Crowe’s portrayal of Robin Hood, which was mocked relentlessly for his overweight and aged appearance.

Many in Hollywood quietly but tacitly banded together to sabotage Robin Hood, not just targeting David Ellison but also Russell Crowe’s standing.

The former Oscar winner and member of the $20 million club shared a temper and arrogance very much like Mel Gibson. During his peak years, when his market value was high, his attitude towards film companies and agents was downright terrible. People tolerated it for commercial gain, but just like Tom Cruise before him, once his career declined, those same people naturally kicked him hard.

As Robin Hood began wide release on Friday, scandalous news about Russell Crowe and the film spread like wildfire across social media and Google’s top searches. The information was everywhere.

Key points mentioned that during pre-production, Crowe demanded a director change, script rewrites, and replacing the original female lead, Sienna Miller.

Now 44, Crowe was no longer the muscular powerhouse he once was. Though Disney arranged a strict fitness plan for him, he never shed his excess fat. Since Robin Hood

included bed scenes with the female lead, Crowe worried he’d be laughed at onscreen. The original lead, Sienna Miller, was young, beautiful, and slim. In those scenes, Crowe feared he would become a joke, so he insisted on replacing Miller.

Big stars always have privileges. Thus, Sienna Miller lost her lead role, and the relatively plain Cate Blanchett took her place.

Once this news spread widely, combined with Crowe’s overweight Robin Hood image, he immediately became America’s laughingstock.

Though Disney and Crowe’s agency, William Morris, tried hard to refute the claims, attributing Miller’s departure to scheduling conflicts, the ridicule of Crowe was everywhere online.

"Russell Crowe really went too far..."

"He should have been replaced by Ubbie Goldenberg..."

An unlikable male lead inevitably drags down a film, especially one whose quality was mediocre at best.

Perhaps thanks to Ridley Scott’s decades-long good reputation and the incomplete spread of negative news, Robin Hood still earned just over $10 million on Friday from more than 3,600 North American theaters, ranking second in the daily box office—not terrible.

Ahead of it was Duke’s Inception, which comfortably took the top spot with $13.27 million.

By Saturday, Inception’s daily box office rose to $14.56 million, while Robin Hood plummeted due to terrible word of mouth and damaging rumors, earning only $6.21 million that day.

Compared with the huge production and marketing costs of Robin Hood, it was clear to everyone this film would be a disastrous loss for investors.

"Ruth, good news..."

In an independent apartment in West Hollywood, a middle-aged woman hurried into the gym where Sienna Miller was sweating it out on the treadmill.

"The first-week box office for Robin Hood is far below expectations!"

Hearing this, Miller turned off the treadmill, grabbed the towel around her neck to wipe sweat, and asked her manager, "Any exact numbers?"

"In the first three days, just under $21 million. This film is definitely going to lose money a big loss! CinemaScore predicts North American total box office won’t exceed $50 million!"

Miller’s usually stiff face briefly showed a smile. A film like Robin Hood could recoup investment through various channels, but that would take how many years? Twenty? Thirty? What about the time cost and currency depreciation?

She knew the film was doomed.

"The more it loses, the better!" Miller’s smile faded; she gritted her teeth and said, "Let David Ellison lose more, and let that bastard Russell Crowe completely fall from the A-list!"

Crowe had constantly pushed her out on set, and Ellison had agreed to replace her.

From that moment, Miller hated both of them deeply and hoped Robin Hood would fail indefinitely.

Her agency, William Morris, represented both Miller and Crowe, but they definitely sided with Crowe, who was the bigger star.

Thinking of William Morris, a long-considered issue came back to Miller’s mind she wanted to switch agencies, and someone had approached her, but she was still hesitating.

She asked her manager, "What about Inception? How much did it earn this weekend?"

"$39.25 million!" The manager seemed to understand Miller’s thoughts. "Duke Rosenberg’s film achieved a three-peat consecutive win, with over $300 million North American cumulative box office and over $800 million worldwide!"

After a pause, the manager tentatively said, "Ruth, how are you feeling about Nancy? Josephson’s offer?"

Sienna Miller frowned but didn’t answer immediately.

Seeing her still hesitating, the manager couldn’t help but urge, "William Morris really overstepped with Russell Crowe they don’t value you enough. In contrast, ICM, Nancy? Josephson personally invited you, and..."

She emphasized, "Joining ICM very likely means working with Duke Rosenberg! Don’t you want to seize that opportunity?"

Only a fool wouldn’t want to seize such an opportunity!

Sienna Miller certainly wasn’t a fool. After just a few seconds of consideration, she nodded firmly, "Contact Nancy? Josephson."

With the arrival of the workweek, Robin Hood’s daily box office plummeted to around $1 million, destined to become the first outright commercial failure among this summer’s big productions, while Inception maintained steady box office momentum, surpassing the $300 million mark in North America and steadily moving toward $400 million, with worldwide gross approaching the $1 billion milestone.

"Four big productions, and David Ellison already screwed up the first one!"

In the Duke estate’s lounge, Scarlett? Johansson put down the script she’d been studying and, peeling an orange, said to Duke, "Even if the numbers are somewhat inflated, the investment in Robin Hood must be at least $300 million, nearly half of which is David Ellison’s money. I bet he’s really hurting."

Duke shrugged, "He’s got a rich old man backing him."

That said, Larry Ellison’s money wasn’t just blowing in the wind. If David Ellison messed up too many times, Larry Ellison certainly wouldn’t tolerate it indefinitely.

After peeling the orange, Duke split it in half with Scarlett, tossing a slice into his mouth. "I want to see, if all four productions fail, whether David Ellison can still stay in this circle and keep playing his big game."

"Shouldn’t take long," Scarlett murmured while eating the orange. "Disney is reportedly already scheduling release dates for Tron: Legacy, Alien Battlefield, and Battleship."

She seemed to recall something and reminded Duke, "Tron: Legacy will release this December, probably clashing with our new film."

The new film had already passed Warner Bros.’ approval. Duke planned to start formal preparations in June, aiming to catch next year’s Oscars. Time was tight.

While he was thinking about these things, there was a gentle knock. Tina Fey entered and said to Duke, "Martin Miller from William Morris wants to meet with you?"

Duke frowned slightly. Why would Natalie? Portman’s agent want to see him?

...

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