Hollywood Drawing

As Wayne once said, in this world, no movie can be affirmed by everyone, even if the dark storm brought by "Batman: The Dark Knight" is sweeping the world, criticism of this film The criticism and criticism have not stopped since the film was released in continental Europe.

In particular, some of Wayne's remarks during the interview in the airport lobby were published verbatim in newspapers the next day by several large-scale media outlets in North America. For a time, some European filmmakers seemed to be touched. It touched the most sensitive nerve, and almost all European entertainment media were filled with offensive remarks about him.

But these people soon sadly discovered that no matter how they demonized and belittled Wayne and "The Dark Knight," this movie still firmly occupied the box office of the theater market in every region of Europa. "Champion" is still one of the most talked about films among movie fans.

Even though "Jurassic Park 2" has entered mainstream overseas countries, this fact has not changed at all. This superhero movie still maintains a strong box office trend.

Later, when faced with the remarks of those overseas media, Wayne laughed it off. The information sent back from the overseas publicity team clearly stated that those people could not influence the choices of most ordinary movie fans. With Christian Bale , the crew led by Charles Rowan has been welcomed by local movie fans everywhere they go. At least for now, the two most famous names in the world are definitely Christian Bale and Nicolas Cage.

This overseas promotional trip has reached a high level since entering the UK. British actors such as Christian Bale have received huge media attention here, igniting this high-profile industry from the beginning. Afterwards, the attention he received during his subsequent tours to various European countries was unparalleled.

Wayne has been paying close attention to the news coming back every day since the second day after returning to Los Angeles. Now he can basically guarantee the box office of "The Dark Knight" in North America. But what kind of box office height this film can ultimately reach depends on its overseas results.

He behaves quite rationally in this regard and deeply understands that with the current market potential in North America, the box office that can be contributed to "The Dark Knight" in the future will definitely not be as explosive as it was in the previous three weeks. If you want higher box office figures, you need to stay in the theater market for a long time and screen for a long time to slowly accumulate.

After returning to Los Angeles, Wayne began to deal with the squeezed work, and then went to 20th Century Fox to discuss the "X-Men" series of movie plans with Kevin Feige for two long years. The contents of their conversation, which lasted for an hour, were then left word for word on CEO Townsend-Rossman’s desk.

Almost no one in the entire 20th Century Fox hierarchy questioned the plan put forward by Wayne. Everyone knew that this was the only expert in the industry when it came to superhero movies. It was just that this report about "x" was placed on the table. The outline of the plan for "Men" surprised everyone.

"He gave us two choices!"

Facing several senior executives, Kevin Feige lowered his head and explained the differences step by step. From his tone, there was no hint of preference for which option was more favorable. "The first option is more inclined to a long-term plan similar to DC, using a traceable timeline from front to back, from foreshadowing to the end of the first phase of the big plan, to connect the stories and characters together."

Several other major department heads in the office listened silently. Each person had a piece of information in front of them. Townsend-Rosman watched carefully while listening to the explanation.

When he heard that the first phase of the plan ended here, he waved his hand slightly, interrupted Kevin Feige's next words, and whispered in a questioning tone: "This is the series based on "Wolverine" The movie is the beginning, paving the way for the subsequent series of movies and testing the market at the same time. "First Class" will be released later, and then "X-Men" will be released, right?"

"right."

Kevin Feige nodded and explained: "Wayne's original words were that the character Wolverine played a very big role in the subsequent plot, so if you choose this timeline-based plan, it is best to use This character serves as the beginning of a series of movies, so that the audience has a certain understanding of Wolverine's life background, and will not have too many doubts about this character occupying too many scenes in the future."

Many executives nodded silently. This plan felt familiar to everyone, because it was very similar to Wayne and Warner Brothers' arrangements for the DC series. And looking at "Batman: The Dark Knight" which is currently popular all over the world, the balance in most people's hearts has actually slowly tilted towards this plan.

The same goes for CEO Townsend-Rossman. The plan in his hand not only briefly and clearly gives the main story development line of each movie, but also gives the timeline on the timeline in a very easy-to-understand way. development plan.

Beginning in 1845, the young Wolverine discovered his abilities. By 1861, Wolverine joined the army with his older brother and participated in the Civil War. Then in 1917, Wolverine once again joined the army with his brother and participated in World War I.

Then it transitioned to "First Class" in 1944, when the young Magneto discovered his abilities, Klaue Schmitt killed Magneto's mother, and the young Professor X met Mystique. In 1945, Wolverine joined the army with his brother and participated in World War II. In 1962, young Magneto accompanied Professor

From 1845 to 2024, it can be said that according to the way of advancing the timeline, we try our best to introduce the main characters and main stories of "X-Men" one by one while justifying it. From this detailed and meticulous plan, It seems very feasible.

The advantage of this is obvious, that is, through the foreshadowing of a movie, the audience can slowly accept this series, just like the current DC series, which succeeds step by step.

However, the time span of this plan is very long. It took more than ten years to slowly build it from department to department. For most of the executives present, who can guarantee that they will still be in the 20th century by then? A high position at Fox?

This is the only concern they don't want to say out loud. Obviously, including Kevin Feige, they all thought of this immediately.

"Our "X-Men" series, in terms of integrity and selectivity, is not like Warner Bros., which has the advantages of an entire DC comic." As an executive in the publishing department, Townsend Rothman also promoted him The confidant who came up, Terry, obviously didn't have so many scruples and said directly: "So, Kevin, continue to explain another option."

Nodding silently, seeing that no one objected, Kevin Feige sighed inwardly. Of course he knew that if Wolverine was used as the beginning of the series to pave the way, in terms of box office revenue, it would make the 20th century Fox executives are under great pressure. After all, Wolverine James Howlett's popularity among ordinary people is far less than that of Batman Bruce Wayne.

"The second option, Wayne means..."

With the sound of turning pages of documents, Kevin Feige's explanation voice paused for a moment before continuing: "What Wayne means is that he does not consider any long-term plans and focuses on ensuring the success rate of the film. For the time being, only Plan the "X-Men" trilogy, and then conduct detailed market research among movie fans based on the market response after the movie is released, and select the most popular characters among movie fans. Based on the "X-Men" trilogy to take on popular characters and stories and expand the entire X-Men franchise..."

Compared to the first big plan, which seemed to be extremely stable, this one was obviously more favored by the executives present. Most of them subconsciously nodded slightly.

This impromptu meeting represents the possibility of 20th Century Fox having its own superhero movie series. No one will look at Warner Bros.'s annual mouth-watering without being jealous. That afternoon, Kevin Feige called Wayne and informed him of the specific results.

"I knew the Fox guys would choose this way!"

After hanging up the phone and throwing it back into Nina's arms, Wayne smiled and shook his head. He lay cross-legged on the lounge chair and faced the bright sunset in California. He continued to look at his little daughter who had learned to walk and the three little ones. The bully dog ​​rolled on the lawn.

The assistant lady shrugged and continued to read fashion magazines and enjoy the rare leisure time. From time to time, she also raised her head to look at the little guy who was laughing and having fun not far in front of them.

Can we say that 20th Century Fox's choice is quick and easy? Wayne understands their decision to abandon the "Wolverine" series and directly launch the "X-Men" trilogy. Anyway, he has no obsession with this series, and the choice of 20th Century Fox executives, production The "X-Men" trilogy is more in line with the mainstream of this era and more in line with the interests of that group of executives.

In fact, from the perspective of film planning, Wayne's DC construction model is an unprecedented way for Hollywood to build a movie universe. It can be said that from the first "Joker" to test the market and introduce Batman, to the subsequent Justice League, the first major chapter of the universe spanning many years was planned in one go. The overall planning idea took into account the consistency of logic, plus Since Warner Bros. has complete DC copyrights, it can unscrupulously integrate some characters into the main plot, even if they only appear as easter eggs in subsequent movies.

The "X-Men" series is completely different. Since the executives of 20th Century Fox have chosen a trilogy model that is in line with the mainstream of this era, it is tantamount to abandoning the concept of the universe that Wayne tried at the source. Of course , this is also the easiest way to get results.

Everyone knows that Wolverine is simply not comparable to Batman in terms of popularity, and it is simply impossible to bring the box office contribution of a large-scale fan sentiment effect like Bruce Wayne. This was also the case in the original time and space. After the "X-Men" trilogy, Wolverine, which had become extremely popular through the series of movies, was produced as an independent work by 20th Century Fox.

This can only be said to have its own advantages. For example, in the DC series, when the Justice League arrives after the foreshadowing, it will be the carnival of the entire superhero universe. Such a universe plan has an obvious big ending to wrap up the plot. Promote the climax, and then start the story of the second phase of the universe.

The development of "X-Men" will make each film relatively independent and diversified. After all, this comic has had a unique historical background since its publication. After it was developed into a film and television, it has involved many topics.

The more common ones are the black movements represented by Martin Luther King and Malcolm. The former is moderate and the latter is radical, just like Professor X and Magneto. If you watch carefully, there are a lot of plots and discussions in the X-Men stories, which can almost cover the situations of most disadvantaged groups in society.

The only pity is that when this series developed to "Apocalypse" and "Dark Phoenix", it basically abandoned this story feature and abandoned the consideration of vulnerable groups in society.

However, this is not something Wayne can change. After all, this is in the series. He just wants to make a fortune and leave, and then rely on the existing copyrights of the two Marvel characters in his hands to see if he can start from 20 in the future. Taking advantage of Century Fox, the DC movie series was the focus of his work for many years to come.

After Twentieth Century Fox made its decision, it acted very quickly. Based on Wayne's opinion, Kevin Feige immediately contacted director Bryan Singer, and with the convenience of Twentieth Century Fox, a media group, began Form a complete behind-the-scenes shooting team.

Of course Wayne knew why they were anxious. All production companies were aware of the increased box office revenue of superhero movies during the summer season. 20th Century Fox definitely wanted to produce the finished film as soon as possible and then put it into next year's release. Released during the summer.

Take a look at the current "Batman: The Dark Knight". This movie is still the leader in the theater market. After entering the working day, it once again received US$6.28 million, US$5.66 million, and US$5.07 million in four days. , 5.02 million U.S. dollars, adding up to 22.03 million U.S. dollars in four working days. The film was released for three full weeks. The total box office in North America has reached 498.62 million U.S. dollars, which is very close to the historic box office mark of 500 million U.S. dollars.

Even though new movies will be released in the summer this weekend starting from Friday, most of the media are still staring at this movie. Everyone is waiting, including Warner Brothers and major production companies in the industry. Everyone is waiting for the moment when the North American box office of this film exceeds 500 million US dollars.

Compared with the North American theater market, which has consumed 90% of its market potential, the overseas journey of "The Dark Knight" can be said to have just entered the high nest. So far, the UK has contributed more than 55 million U.S. dollars to the film's box office, Australia 29 million, Germany 21 million, France 18.5 million, Bangkok 18 million, Mexico 17.6 million, Brazil, Spain, Japan, Italy...

According to news released by Warner Bros. through its media on Thursday, the film's cumulative box office in more than 85 overseas theater markets has exceeded 410 million U.S. dollars, and the global box office has infinitely approached 910 million U.S. dollars. Although "The Dark Knight" 》 has gone through its hottest two weeks in the markets of most mainstream countries. However, with the popularity of the movie on a global scale, more countries and regions are still joining in to screen this movie. among the ranks of films.

After another Friday arrives, the summer schedule has officially entered the rhythm that everyone is familiar with. Perhaps it is because "The Dark Knight" and "Jurassic Park 2" have occupied the schedule for too long, so I chose to There are quite a few movies coming out this week, starting with Sony Columbia's My Best Friend's Wedding , which had its grand premiere at the Hollywood Shrine Theater on Friday night.

Also premiering at the same time are Paramount's "The Groom Runs Back," Universal Pictures' "The Jackal," and Bowie Pictures' "Savage City."

Obviously, everyone knows that even "The Dark Knight", which performed extremely well in the past few weeks, has entered a point where it needs time to accumulate box office after a long run. Now is the normal competition situation in the summer season. , every weekend thereafter, at least two major productions will be selected to be released, starting a competition for the most prime time slot in North America.

At the same time, after Friday arrived, the theater chain alliance, led by the three major theater companies in North America, tacitly began to reduce the screening scale of "The Dark Knight", with significant reductions in the film schedule and the number of screening screens. , the number of theaters showing this movie has also been reduced to about 2,500.

The film "Jurassic Park 2" has the same treatment. Although the box office of this film is also quite strong and it is now gradually moving towards 200 million US dollars, the normal summer market rate is like this. New major productions are released every week, and theater companies will also appropriately adjust the scale of film screenings based on market response.

What is surprising is the box office report released by major media the next day after Friday. On the first day of this weekend, which can be called a hundred flowers blooming, no one expected that the number one movie would still be The Dark Knight is in its fourth week of release.

"This weekend the North American theater market will see the premiere of many films, but the market has not shown a sustained upward trend. The number one box office hit on Friday is still "The Dark Knight". This film continues It received US$5.02 million on Thursday, and the number of moviegoers increased again after entering Friday night. The daily box office on that day was US$7.57 million. The cumulative box office in North America has officially passed the US$500 million mark, reaching US$506.19 million. , judging from the current box office trend, this is far from the box office landing point of this film.

Ranked second this Friday is the film "My Best Friend's Wedding" released by Sony Columbia. The film performed well after its release, with a box office of US$7.21 million that day. Data released by multiple third-party authoritative forecasting companies show that, The film's first weekend box office will not be less than US$21 million, and it has great hopes of breaking the first weekend box office record for North American romance films.

In third place is Universal Pictures' "Jurassic Park 2" with a box office revenue of US$6.54 million. Since its release, this film has been under tremendous pressure from "The Dark Knight", but it has always had a strong audience of moviegoers.

..."

Halle Berry put down the newspaper in his hand, looked at the man in the front seat who was concentrating on driving, and asked in a low voice: "Jimmy, are you sure you don't know why Wayne is looking for me? You know, he has been here for a long time. He hasn’t contacted me anymore.”

"Hey, what's that expression on your face?"

Jimmy, who was driving, slowed down, noticed the other party's complicated expression in the rearview mirror, and said in a joking tone: "I swear, this is definitely not a bad thing, at least from the tone of Nina's call to me, I can hear it. It's a good thing that you came out, maybe Wayne wants to invite you to the reception hosted by Warner Bros. for him tonight?"

Halle Berry shook his head slightly, pursed his lips, and wanted to say something, but chose to remain silent. In her opinion, that man would never think of her for no reason, and this was at a time when his work had received an unprecedented $500 million in box office.

In fact, that man helped her a lot. Now she can occasionally participate in the auditions for the main supporting roles in some projects. It is also because the producers of those projects are looking at the face of Jimmy leading her there. Behind the scenes, she is still there. Give Wayne face.

Even though she knew that as long as she continued to please that man, she would have many more opportunities in the circle, she was still hesitant and never took the initiative to find him. The most fundamental reason was because she subconsciously , still full of fear of that manor and even that luxurious master bedroom.

Several years have passed, and she still remembers how she left that morning with bruises all over her body. Among all the women, Halle Berry was definitely the only one who had seen the beast in that man. She knew very well that before The remarks about abusing women that have been used to smear each other in the media for two years are not adulterated at all, at least not for her.

Now she was filled with anxiety, and she very much wondered if that man suddenly thought of her again, and missed the days when she allowed him to act unscrupulously.

The main reason is that she simply doesn't know how to reject the other party. After all, her reputation for being suspected of having a relationship with Wayne Greenberg has allowed her to avoid more than 90% of the troubles in this circle over the years. No one here is willing to risk offending that dark lunatic who is one of the most powerful in Hollywood because of a beautiful girl with dark skin.

When the car arrived at the end of Mulholland Drive, was inspected by security personnel, and turned into Greenberg Manor, her uneasy mood never disappeared until she saw the other person sitting under the awning on the lawn with a smile on his face. After playing with the dog with her daughter, she breathed a sigh of relief and followed Jimmy's footsteps towards him.

"Hey, little Fendi, you grow up so fast."

Jimmy greeted him familiarly and casually touched a half-grown bully dog. Kneeling on the ground and looking at the little girl in front of him, he also had a smile on his face. "Wayne, I swear, if you and Nami continue to work at this intensity, you will miss a lot of little Fundy's childhood."

"No way, this is the life we ​​have to face, and this is what Fendi has to face." Wayne stood up from the grass, casually patted the weeds on his clothes, and turned around to say hello. "Hey Harry, you're hotter than ever."

Halle Berry nodded slightly. "Congratulations, Wayne, you have become Hollywood's only Mr. $500 million."

While they were talking, they came to the recliner. After sitting down, Wayne didn't waste any words and said directly to the confused black beauty: "Twentieth Century Fox is going to have an audition for "X-Men" soon. You You can read relevant information and comics when you go back, mainly Storm Girl. Harry, this film will be produced by me, this is an opportunity for you, don’t mess it up.”

If "X-Men" is mentioned, the first thing that appears in Wayne's mind is of course Wolverine, but then Storm appears. This character can be said to have played a decisive role in Halle Berry's career. Due to his status, he didn't want any surprises to happen, so he chose to call Black Beauty in advance so that the other party could prepare for the relevant audition as soon as possible.

.