[Chapter 899: The Crisis at CAA]
Century City, CAA Headquarters.
CAA President Richard Lovett completely lost his usual composure. Ignoring the astonished looks of other employees, he almost sprinted into the office building with two assistants in tow, still on the phone, saying, "Pierce, you need to stay calm. It's not as bad as you think. I'm downstairs, yes, I'll be there soon."
Saying this, he rushed to the elevator entrance. Rembering there was no cellphone signal in the elevator, Richard imdiately headed for the stairwell. He took a phone from one of the assistants, who had answered it just in ti. "This is Richard Lovett. Hi, Kevin... I know, sothing's definitely gone wrong. There's bound to be so misunderstanding... Don't worry, I'm personally handling you. You trust , don't you? ...Okay, okay, we'll talk later over dinner."
As he received a string of phone calls along the way, Richard realized he had unconsciously run to his own office floor. Cursing under his breath, he glared at his two assistants, who had forgotten to remind him, before turning and rushing back downstairs.
This morning, Richard had been negotiating a packaged film project at Warner's Burbank headquarters when he suddenly caught wind that MGM was dropping Pierce Brosnan and would be recasting 007. He initially thought it was a joke. Considering that Casino Royale was on track for nearly $1 billion at the box office, any salary negotiations between MGM and Brosnan would surely face so turbulence, but the whole of Hollywood wouldn't believe the two sides would split.
It wasn't until his assistant brought him a printout of a Yahoo article that Richard accepted it as real. Then, another piece of news broke, causing him to leap out of his chair and head for the exit.
As it turned out, Pierce Brosnan himself was unaware that MGM had decided to drop him. The decision was made entirely by Brosnan's agent, Rick Kozman, who had unilaterally rejected MGM's lucrative contract -- potentially worth $100 million -- without even informing Brosnan.
"God, $100 million!"
CAA usually negotiated around $1 billion for all of its thousands of clients in total earnings each year. Rick Kozman had effectively jeopardized nearly 10% of CAA's annual inco by sabotaging this deal.
Even if they lost that contract, while it would be a huge disappointnt, the situation wouldn't be dire. The worst part was that Kozman had made the decision to turn down that monuntal contract without consulting his own client.
If this news got out, it would severely tarnish CAA's reputation amongst clients. In the agency business, if a firm lost a client's trust and suffered a mass exodus, closing up shop wouldn't be far behind.
As it happened, rumors were already spreading through Hollywood. On his way back to the headquarters from Burbank, Richard had received seven or eight calls from important clients inquiring about the situation. If the crisis wasn't handled well, CAA's competitors would undoubtedly seize the opportunity to poach clients. Three years earlier, when Michael Ovitz left, CAA experienced a rough patch -- it had only just begun to recover, and it couldn't withstand any more turmoil.
...
After exhausting himself running up and down twelve floors, Richard wiped the sweat from his forehead as he finally arrived at the ninth floor, where Rick Kozman's office was. As he crossed the open office area, Richard spotted Rick heading toward him with a tissue pressed to his eye, but there was no sign of Brosnan.
Upon seeing Richard, Rick quickened his pace, looking apologetic, "Richard, I'm truly sorry, I didn't think--"
Before he could finish his sentence, Richard seized Rick by the neck and dragged him over to the glass wall.
Rick was taller than Richard, but he knew he had caused a huge ss. Faced with his boss's aggression, he didn't dare protest, like a defeated little chick being led away. The other CAA employees held their breath and quickly turned their eyes away to avoid witnessing the scene.
"Rick, I don't want to hear your apologies right now." Arriving at the glass wall, Richard pushed Rick's head down, leaning into his ear and speaking rapidly in a nacing tone. "Listen, I know about your little stunt during the Coca-Cola ad contract negotiations. I also know you pocketed $100,000 when you recomnded a spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson, plus that mansion you just bought in Beverly Hills with a $3 million mortgage to pay off. So, what I need you to do now is find so place to hide for the next month. If I hear any whisper of you, or if you reach out to the dia, believe , I'll ruin you and send you straight to prison. Your wife, who used to model for Sports Illustrated, and your daughter who's about to go to Stanford? Without your financial support, they'll be nothing. I'll make sure they end up in the dirtiest strip club in Los Angeles. Got it?... Good, now get out of my sight."
Richard's face twisted in rage. He shoved Rick away but suddenly rembered sothing and grabbed him again. "Oh, and by the way, Kozman, you're fired."
He instructed his assistant to call security to drag away the despondent Rick Kozman. As Richard walked away, he rubbed at his stiffening face, letting out a breath, and, donning a friendly expression, glanced at the glass wall nearby. He pushed open the door to Rick's office and stepped inside.
...
Although tidied up a bit, the office still seed chaotic. The receiver of the phone was missing, a piece of artwork was devoid of its fra, shards of glass littered the floor, and a big chunk of the blinds blocking the outer office area had been torn down. It was clear what had just transpired in that office.
Another key partner in the company, David O'Connor, was sitting beside Pierce Brosnan at the desk, trying to soothe him. Brosnan's publicist, Sarah Lindert, stood by the window, talking on the phone.
When Richard walked in, Brosnan imdiately stood up, completely lacking his usual gentlemanly deanor, and exclaid, "Richard, you need to explain this to . I've been let go from the Bond team, and the absurd part is that I knew nothing about it!"
"I know, Pierce. I'm really sorry, truly sorry," Richard said as he put an arm around Brosnan's shoulder. "I've already called Amy Pascal at MGM. It's just a misunderstanding. They're rely trying to lowball your salary. Film studios love to play these dirty tricks. Trust , I'll get you that Bond contract back. Now, would you co to my office so we can discuss what cos next?"
Brosnan impatiently shrugged off Richard's arm. "I don't want to hear your platitudes. If you can't resolve this quickly, I'm going to contact another agency."
"Of course, I swear, from now on, I'll handle everything for you personally." Richard, unfazed by Brosnan's annoyance, continued smiling and moved closer. "Let's head to my office, shall we? I have so things to show you that will illustrate how MGM would never let you go easily."
"Fine," Brosnan reluctantly nodded, adding, "And from now on, I have to be present for all negotiations. You can't make any decisions without ."
"I promise, I won't keep anything from you. Even if you want to know the color of my wife's underwear, I can tell you -- white, and I've sneaked a few wears!" Seeing Brosnan's mood lighten, Richard felt relieved. He continued to crack jokes to lighten the atmosphere, pulled open the office door, and graciously gestured for Brosnan to exit.
After Brosnan left the office, Richard pointed at Sarah Lindert and quickly shot David O'Connor a knowing glance before following.
...
The two had already spoken on the phone and David understood Richard's intentions. He was eager to create an opportunity to connect with Sarah now that Brosnan was out of the way.
Sarah, a shrewd woman, didn't rush out imdiately. Instead, she hung up the phone and smiled at David, who was approaching.
Though Brosnan was undoubtedly frustrated and likely wouldn't notice his publicist lingering behind, David didn't waste any ti. He went straight to the point, "Sarah, we need your help this ti."
Sarah shook her head. "David, what you guys did is way out of line. I don't think I can help. Pierce will fire as well."
"Two clients of equal stature as Pierce," David dismissively carried on. "You just need to ensure that the information about Pierce being unaware of MGM's salary offer doesn't leak. You won't need to do anything else."
The crux of the scandal hinged on Rick Kozman concealing MGM's salary offer from Brosnan. Sarah understood that if word of this got out, it would deeply damage CAA's reputation. She remained silent, simply raising four fingers in a gesture.
David didn't hesitate, "Deal."
But Sarah wasn't done. "How can I be sure you'll keep your word afterward?"
"You know we're good for it," David replied through gritted teeth. Realizing the situation was urgent and wouldn't wait for trivial matters, he added hastily, "You can record it if you want, I'll repeat everything I just said."
"Let's settle on that," Sarah smiled and nodded, not bothering to find a recording device; she rely waved her state-of-the-art Motorola phone that she had held the entire ti, clearly having recorded the conversation.
David cursed under his breath, but kept his smile intact, "Alright, let's head up."
Not minding what David might think about her, Sarah smiled and walked out of the office with him. "You'll make sure Rick Kozman stays quiet, right? But what about Pierce?"
"Richard will handle him."
...
In the CAA President's office, Richard Lovett was showing Pierce Brosnan a stock chart displayed on the computer monitor. "Pierce, look, today MGM's opening price was $28.37, but since they claid they wanted to change the Bond actor, it took a nosedive. It's now down to $27.49, a 3.1% drop, which ans MGM's market value has plumted from $12.43 billion to $11.96 billion. In just one hour, MGM lost $400 million in market value, entirely due to that announcent about replacing you. And I can guarantee you that if MGM doesn't take so corrective action, the stock will drop another 3% this afternoon, leading to a total loss of $800 million that day. MGM shareholders absolutely won't stand for it. The only way to stop the decline is to reinstate you."
As Richard finished speaking, Brosnan's previously tense deanor eased a bit. "So what do we do? Just sit here and wait for news?"
"Of course not! I'll continue to keep in touch with Amy Pascal at MGM. Any updates will co straight to you," Richard replied, his tone more sincere as his eyes flickered. "But Pierce, I need you to stay quiet for now; about MGM, the dia, and everyone else. That way, I can secure the best deal for you. Especially concerning that situation where Rick hid things from you -- this bastard, I've already fired him. I guarantee he'll never work as an agent again. However, this needs to stay under wraps because any leaks could put us all in a bind. Do you understand?"
Pierce initially thought that if it ca to it, revealing he knew nothing about MGM's salary offer could allow him to salvage the Bond deal. But following Richard's lead, though he sensed sothing was off, he figured it might be best not to share the information that would put him at a disadvantage. So, he nodded in agreent.
"Great," Richard sighed in relief, his deanor softening. "Now, enjoy your coffee while I make the call to Amy Pascal."
*****
/Sayonara816.
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