Chapter 64: The Hidden Hand, Pep Talk
[Chapter 64: The Hidden Hand, Pep Talk]
"Naomi, are you okay?" Linton asked, noticing Naomi's pale face and feeling a bit worried.
"I'm fine. I just didn't expect so many people to criticize me," Naomi replied with a weak smile.
"You have to stay strong, especially at times like this. Think about why so many people are attacking you. Is it really for the sake of art? Honestly, no. Some are just jumping on the bandwagon, but more importantly, there are people pushing behind the scenes. They want to pressure the crew or knock you down, hoping you can't handle the stress and quit. That's when they think they'll have a chance. Do you understand?"
"You mean my rivals are trying to smear me?"
"Strictly speaking, they aren't true rivals. They just think they can be, so you have to stay strong and don't give them the chance."
"Alright, I will be strong, and I will definitely give a great performance. As you said, we'll use perfect acting and box office success to shut them up."
"That's the spirit. As long as the movie succeeds in the end, all of this will be just stepping stones.
The paparazzi might follow me closely today. If we leave together again, the media will spin crazy stories. So I'll go first to draw their attention away, and later David can drive you to Anne's dance troupe."
...
After breakfast, Danny drove Linton away. Just as expected, a crowd of paparazzi surrounded the estate gate. Linton ignored them and didn't lower the window. Danny struggled to break through the paparazzi blockade and asked if they should head straight to Anne's dance troupe.
"No, we'll go to the studio first, then to Anne's."
On the way, Linton received a call from Ellie. "We've initially identified two forces pushing the media to smear and trash Step Up. One is the film companies Miramax and New Line Cinema, and the other is some emerging young actresses in Hollywood."
Linton thought, just as I suspected, these are the ones behind the scenes. "Are the Hollywood Big Seven involved?"
"No, not at all. We've secured distribution through Universal, and honestly, they don't even consider our small project worth their attention."
Linton breathed a sigh of relief -- no big sharks involved. "What should we do now? Do you have any suggestions?"
"I'll continue reaching out to familiar media PR contacts to try to get them to retract the negative stories, but it's tough. They're all paid to carry out these tasks unless we offer more PR funding."
"Forget about buying off the media," Linton replied after some thought, rejecting the PR spending idea.
"Then my suggestion is to lay low for now, don't respond, but be careful not to cause any new scandals. If we don't react, the buzz will eventually die down. Actually, this kind of negative attention also serves as publicity for our movie.
The key is to make a great film and let the results speak for themselves. Then the media will surely turn around and praise us."
Still, Linton made a mental note about Miramax and New Line Cinema. He had never provoked them, and although they hadn't caused tangible damage yet, since they had made a move on him, he wouldn't forget it. He was not the type to forgive easily; a payback was sure to come.
...
At Linton's studio, Robert, Zack, and the cinematographer were all busy, though they clearly looked distracted due to the collective negative media atmosphere.
Linton gathered everyone in a small conference room and gently used Soul Induction.
"I know all the media is criticizing us today, saying we're going to make a lousy film. But remember, I'm investing all my own money. I wouldn't waste so much on a joke. I'm serious, and I have confidence that we will make a great movie.
We have a fantastic script, great producers, and you're all excellent professionals. There's no reason we can't make a good film.
Have faith in me, have faith in the crew, trust yourselves. Don't be influenced by the media. We will use a great movie and box office success to slap them right in the face!"
Inspired by his pep talk and Soul Induction, everyone felt energized and regained their confidence immediately.
"We will use our great work and box office success to slap them in the face!"
Once everyone calmed down, Linton asked Robert, "With the media so negative, do you think it will affect actors coming for auditions?"
"No need to worry. You know how fierce Hollywood competition is. There are never more than 20,000 named roles available annually, but there are at least half a million dreamers. They won't miss a single chance, especially for a $10 million commercial film like ours."
"That's a relief. You guys keep working. I'm going to Anne's dance troupe to practice."
---
Leaving the studio, the paparazzi relentlessly awaited outside, but with security's help, Linton paid them no mind and let Danny drive to Anne's.
Naomi had already arrived at the studio. Thankfully, with Linton drawing the paparazzi attention, Naomi came in without any disturbance.
Anne first tested Naomi's ballet fundamentals and approved her dance skills, then began teaching her the choreography for the movie.
Anne had completed the basic dance choreography for the film. After showing it to both of them, Linton felt very satisfied. It was almost identical to the original movie, and because of Linton's dance ability, Anne even increased the difficulty of some moves, making the effect cooler and flashier.
After testing Linton's dance progress, Anne was surprised by his rapid improvement. Within a few days, he basically met her requirements.
Anne then taught him all the new dance moves and told him once he grasped the basics, he didn't need to come to the studio anymore -- he could practice at home.
But Naomi wasn't the same; she needed to train under Anne's guidance diligently for a while.
Linton arranged for the production team to rent a small dance studio at Anne's troupe for Naomi's training. Once the cast and ensemble were assembled, they would move to a troupe studio rented by the production.
---
In the following days, besides practicing dance at home and planning filming with Zack and the team, Linton also went to Universal to check on the preparation of the film's soundtrack recording by Lisa and practiced a duet all day with Shania.
Robert had also negotiated the soundtrack profit distribution with Daniel. The production and distribution of the soundtrack were fully entrusted to Universal. Linton's studio would earn a 20% sales commission from the soundtrack's sales and hold 20% of the copyrights.
This contract did not affect Linton's rights and royalties as a singer and songwriter.
---
Midway, good news came. On the very day Linton practiced at Anne's troupe, Mira informed him that the Mercedes-Benz team had contacted her to formally begin talks about Linton's endorsement contract.
The negotiation was to take place in Los Angeles, with the final signing in Germany.
Soon after, Mira, Carnes, Goodman, and Mercedes-Benz representatives entered formal negotiations. The talks lasted two days, and both sides reached an agreement.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.