Warner Bros. conference room.
On one side was Steve Kevin, majority shareholder of MGM, owner of Dawn Films, and a renowned Hollywood director.
On the other side were several high-level executives from Warner Bros.
The discussion was intense, revolving around Kevin's proposal for the Batman Dark Knight series.
"Director Kevin, I disagree with your idea of separating Batman from other superheroes!"
One executive challenged first. Prior Batman iterations had a strong comic book style.
However, Kevin's proposal aimed for a realistic approach, transplanting the fictional city of Gotham directly into the real-life New York City.
Furthermore, Kevin stripped Batman of his superhero identity, presenting him more like a character in a gritty crime action film.
This left the Warner Bros. executives in doubt and uncertainty.
If it weren't for the fact that this project was proposed by Kevin, an already famous director, Warner Bros. would have kicked it out long ago.
Even so, the executives at Warner Bros. strongly resisted Kevin's proposal.
Batman should be the Batman from the comics, the superhero ingrained in the American psyche.
Not an ordinary person, as outlined in Kevin's plan.
Kevin calmly watched the executives' objections, appearing remarkably composed.
He understood their reservations.
It was similar to the situation in A Chinese Odyssey, where Sun Wukong was supposed to be the Monkey King, not a human, let alone engaging in love affairs.
However, A Chinese Odyssey broke people's expectations, showing Sun Wukong not only falling in love but engaging in multiple relationships.
This unexpected twist surprised many and negatively impacted the box office.
The executives who voiced their opposition held similar views.
But the final decision-makers were not them; it was Warner Bros. President, Robinov.
In my previous life's memories, Robinov seemed to have left the company after The Dark Knight, possibly due to the consecutive failures in the DC universe.
But clearly, Nolan's Dark Knight had resonated with Robinov.
Now, today...
Robinov, who was being watched by everyone, was hesitant.
From a personal standpoint and his own movie preferences, he wasn't actually against this Batman Dark Knight project. However, he acknowledged that the concerns of the other executives were valid.
Could the audience accept such an unprecedented version of Batman?
After all, this was an investment of hundreds of millions, and once it incurred losses, even as the president, he couldn't bear the consequences.
Up until now, Robinov felt extremely fortunate about investing 30% in Kevin's project. It greatly reduced Warner Bros.'s risk.
After a moment of hesitation, Robinov glanced at the executives present and suddenly said, "Since everyone has differing opinions, let's vote by a show of hands!"
"Those in favor of Steve Kevin's plan, raise your hands!"
As he spoke, Robinov raised his hand first.
In the realm of movies, although he was the president of Warner Bros., he wasn't a director or a producer. In a way, he was still an outsider.
And as an outsider, he only understood one thing: Outsiders shouldn't lead insiders.
He just needed to look at the results.
And Steve Kevin, as a promising director, had already proven his abilities with the box office success of his previous four films.
At the same time, considering the directorial patterns in Hollywood, Steve Kevin was undoubtedly at the peak of his creative career. The possibility of his next film's box office failure tended towards zero.
Once he understood this, Robinov decisively chose to support Steve Kevin's new film project.
Among the ten Warner Bros. executives present, after Robinov raised his hand, seven more executives followed suit.
Evidently, compared to the risks, they had more trust in Steve Kevin's filmmaking abilities.
Thus, Warner Bros. endorsed Steve Kevin's film project.
The production cost of the Dark Knight trilogy amounted to $200 million.
This meant that Kevin needed to invest $60 million, but considering the compensation as a screenwriter, producer, and director, he only needed to contribute $40 million to obtain a 30% stake in these two films.
...
After a round of empty talks with the Warner Bros. executives, Kevin left Warner and headed to DawnFilms.
As soon as he entered, Kevin heard the sweet voices of the Alexander sisters calling out, "Boss, you're here!"
Helen and Ellen immediately rushed out from the front desk, each taking one of Kevin's hands with great enthusiasm.
In just a year's time, Steve Kevin's status in Hollywood had skyrocketed, leaving the two sisters in awe.
However, they didn't have many opportunities to interact with Kevin on a regular basis, so they were thrilled to finally catch him today.
The two sisters approached Kevin affectionately.
Kevin, with a focused expression and an air of dignity, led the sisters to Dawson's office.
"Boss, you're here," Dawson greeted with a slightly ingratiating smile as he stood up to welcome Kevin's arrival. As for his two nieces, he pretended not to see their entanglement with Kevin.