Leaning back in the high-backed chair, Duke couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief—things were not nearly as bad as imagined.
The projector had been turned off. The others were still discussing countermeasures. With his left hand supporting his chin, Duke thought about the past, present, and future all the incidents related to film leaks that he could remember, as well as the reports he had read.
Perhaps too much time had passed, and it wasn't easy to awaken those distant memories. After pondering hard for several minutes, Duke's eyes gradually lit up.
Just like when he had first adopted digital technology and established security measures, the films that flashed through Duke's mind were Wolverine, The Expendables 3, and The Interview.
Though the severity differed, all three of these films had suffered early leaks. And aside from The Expendables 3, which was a flop, Wolverine and The Interview were relatively successful.
The Expendables 3 could be set aside first. There was nothing to learn from the success of The Interview either after all, no matter what Duke did, he couldn't associate Iron Man with Kim Jong-un, or rather, Kim Jong-il's son.
His thoughts shifted to Wolverine.
Then, many related memories slowly resurfaced in his mind.
This prequel film produced by 20th Century Fox had faced constant negative news since filming began, resulting in poor test screening feedback. Near its release, it also suffered an online leak, making the whole process quite bumpy.
However, if Duke remembered correctly, the film grossed over $85 million during its North American opening weekend by any standard, that was a success.
Gradually, more and more details came to Duke's mind. He had also seen the leaked version of Wolverine it too was an unfinished cut without added effects, but unlike Iron Man, the Wolverine version didn't have distracting watermarks or timecodes, and only a portion, including the final battle, lacked CGI.
It wasn't like Iron Man, which was merely a rough cut edited by Duke and Mike Dawson.
"We need to issue a joint statement calling on fans to boycott online piracy…"
The speaker was Kevin Feige, CEO of Marvel Studios. "Then contact platforms to take down the online posts."
"We also need to report it to the police…" another person added. "And request support from the MPAA."
"Everyone!"
Duke clapped his hands softly. After capturing everyone's attention, he said, "After watching the leaked version that was just played, I believe the situation isn't as bad as expected. In fact, if handled well, this could even benefit the film."
"Benefit?"
Doug Walter and others were clearly influenced by the usual belief that early leaks equaled box office failure.
Actually, Duke understood clearly. Even if he didn't say anything, these people would figure it out soon enough. But time was tight, and acting early would be more advantageous.
"I'd like to remind everyone of one thing. What are the main attractions of superhero movies, or specifically Iron Man?"
Without waiting for anyone to answer, Duke gave the response. "First, the visual effects. Second, the charisma of Tony Stark's character."
Upon hearing this, Doug Walter immediately came to a realization. "The leaked version didn't have any CGI effects added yet."
"Exactly." Duke brought up another aspect. "And how does the film showcase Tony Stark's personality? Mainly through Robert Downey Jr.'s performance and lines…"
Kevin Feige took the initiative to follow up Duke's point. "I remember you telling me that around seventy percent of Tony Stark's lines would be dubbed by Robert Downey Jr. during post-production."
After these few statements, the heavy atmosphere in the conference room immediately lightened.
But how to turn the disadvantage into an advantage that was the real focus of Duke's message.
He continued, "The leaked version is missing several of the film's most important elements. I believe it won't hurt the box office, and if we play it right, it could even entice more people into theaters."
Doug Walter, Kevin Feige, Panny Kallis, Jamie Johnson everyone in the room fixed their eyes on Duke.
But Duke didn't look back at them. Instead, he turned toward a small assistant in the corner responsible for making coffee and other menial tasks and asked, "You also watched the leaked version just now. What are your thoughts? It's okay, just say whatever comes to mind."
Perhaps it was Duke's last sentence that gave him enough encouragement. After thinking for a moment, the assistant said, "I work at Warner, but I've never seen the filming or production process. After watching it, I realized that's how movies are shot. I was really curious those actors in gray and red bodysuits, how do they become Iron Man? And after becoming Iron Man, what do the battle scenes look like…"
From what the assistant said, it wasn't hard for everyone present to hear that his curiosity had been piqued.
The conference room fell into a brief silence, which was broken by Jamie Johnson, head of Warner's distribution department. "I get what Duke means. Many people who watch the leaked version out of curiosity may also become potential theatergoers for Iron Man for the same reason."
"But the people who watched the leaked version," Kevin Feige expressed a different opinion, "were, for the most part, already planning to watch Iron Man in theaters."
Doug Walter, however, laughed. "As long as we don't lose a large portion of our potential audience, we can totally accept that."
"Not just that." Duke gently tapped the armrest of his chair. "Iron Man is such a big-budget production—if it gets leaked in advance, it's absolutely major news. Even those who aren't interested in superhero films will still pay attention. That's something we can take advantage of."
"Besides, the more something is restricted from being seen, the more interested the public tends to become."
After saying this, Duke turned to his PR manager. Panny Kallis had worked with him for many years, and with Duke's reminder, she immediately understood. "Since the leaked version doesn't have any issues, we can totally leverage the media to hype this incident into a public hotspot."
Jamie Johnson chimed in, "Totally doable."
"Also, draft a strongly worded public statement," Doug Walter added.
Duke gently nodded, then said, "We'll report it to the Los Angeles County Police Department and the FBI. Any websites that reposted or rebroadcast it will be investigated. Use our connections to get the FBI to conduct a high-profile investigation. Have our media monitor the FBI and LAPD's actions and provide timely coverage."
This incident definitely isn't that simple—Duke knew that clearly. But those websites could only consider themselves unlucky.
No matter who was truly behind this, if we can get the FBI to coordinate somewhat with the news coverage, then this case will inevitably be solved.
Duke understood it would be impossible to implicate certain people. But under the current circumstances, who the real mastermind was wasn't all that important. What mattered was how to turn this into a social hotspot, thereby making Iron Man the focus of public discussion.
After that, both sides began discussing the details. Duke only needed to grasp the overall direction how to implement things would, of course, be handled by more professional personnel.
The meeting went on until near midnight. Walking out of the Warner Building, Duke suddenly recalled a possibility.
Back then, X-Men Origins: Wolverine was plagued by negative news during filming, and its test screenings received poor audience feedback. But after the leak incident, its public release achieved relatively decent results. That didn't look like a coincidence more like a carefully planned promotional and marketing strategy.
However, this was just Duke's guess. Now that Iron Man came first, Wolverine definitely wouldn't enjoy the same treatment it once did.
After a full night, early the next morning, Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios jointly held a press conference, and under the names of Duke, Warner, and Marvel, issued a public statement through various media channels.
"Yesterday, a stolen, incomplete, early version of Iron Man was illegally uploaded to certain websites."
"Many visual effects, voiceovers, and music are not included in this version, and some scenes haven't even been edited. We immediately contacted copyright protection legal departments and had those websites delete the content. We marked the film, so we can identify the source of the leak and the people who provided the download."
"Whether it's the original leaker or those who later distributed it, we will take legal action. Courts have ruled on similar cases in the past. Moreover, the FBI and MPAA are already investigating. Many fan sites have shown support and condemned this criminal behavior. We're deeply encouraged by that. Such acts not only harm the hardworking production staff behind the film, but also hurt the fans."
At the same time, media outlets closely connected to Warner also began furiously hyping up the incident.
"Hollywood's famous director Duke Rosenberg's new film Iron Man had its unfinished version leaked online the most serious early leak of a Hollywood blockbuster in history! This leak incident is no small matter. Its scope is vast. Warner Bros. has officially reported it to the FBI and stated the company will pursue legal responsibility for any rebroadcasts of the leaked version. Honestly, it's impossible to predict what consequences this incident might bring."
Clearly, these media outlets were aiming to turn the incident into a trending topic.
Moreover, CNN, under Time Warner, sent a dedicated team to follow the FBI agents handling the case.
TMZ, the well-known gossip site also under Warner, mobilized numerous paparazzi to dig into every possible angle of the incident.
Due to the impact of the leak, Warner Bros., after discussion with Duke, directly canceled the late-April test screenings. Under the current circumstances, test screenings were no longer necessary.
Over the next few days, at first only those following entertainment news paid attention to the matter. But as media coverage continued, more and more people began discussing the development of the incident.
Especially after several actions by the FBI, the Iron Man leak incident nearly became the focus of national attention.
....
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