Chapter 104: Good Morning
Paramount Pictures, the only major studio still physically located in Hollywood, finally fell to the Viacom Group's financial onslaught in the waning days of 1993. As a representative of the traditional major studios and independent production companies, Paramount's surrender marked the definitive end of Hollywood's independent era, ushering the film industry into a true age of titan competition.
Yet despite gaining the backing of the massive Viacom media conglomerate, Paramount Pictures had not enjoyed a smooth run recently.
First, the acquisition forced many of its film projects, including Forrest Gump, into a temporary hiatus. When the projects finally got the green light, Forrest Gump—which had been in development for years—ran into adaptation disputes with the original author, Winston Grumman, nearly taking both sides to court. After things settled down and the crew finally got on track, an inexplicable fire broke out on set, forcing them to redo much of their work...
Furthermore, when the project was greenlit in the first half of the year, it was slated for an early July release in North America. Who could have expected Independence Day to suddenly emerge? Initially, rumors suggested its release was wavering between the Independence Day holiday and Memorial Day, so Paramount opted to wait and see. Just a few days ago, however, Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox officially locked in the release date for Independence Day: the Independence Day holiday!
This was dangerously close to the release window for Forrest Gump, making fierce competition inevitable.
"Wendy, what are your thoughts?"
Sitting behind her desk, Paramount's new CEO, Sherry Lansing, looked at the producer of Forrest Gump. "Does Forrest Gump have the strength to compete directly with Independence Day?"
"Sherry, you know that director, Duke Rosenberg."
As a prominent Hollywood producer, Wendy Finerman seemed full of worry. "In my opinion, Duke was practically born for the summer season. Independence Day is an explosive sci-fi action film. Judging by his first two movies, the chances of him failing are extremely small. Furthermore, Forrest Gump is naturally at a disadvantage in terms of budget and genre."