Hollywood Road

Twentieth Century Fox has great expectations for "Kingdom of Heaven", which is far better than last year's "Deadpool". This can be seen from the schedule. "Kingdom of Heaven" not only puts the traditional strong commercial The summer file, under the strong request of Dave Scola, was released on the first weekend of the summer file. ≧ ≧ one＞Novel ≤≦﹤≦﹤

"This schedule is so good it couldn't be better."

Standing in front of the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, Kara Firth looked at Dave Scola who was being interviewed in the interview area, "There is no film of the same level before and after the weekend, and it will not be released until May 19." An opponent in the sense of integrity."

Murphy next to her looked relaxed, "You mean George Lucas' "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith"?"

In this era, when blockbuster movies are released together, it is rare for two films with an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars to directly collide on the same weekend. Even many blockbuster movies, in order to avoid the last Star Wars from the mouth of George Lucas, have It was moved to June and July. For example, Warner Bros.' "The Return of Man" was moved from the original end of May to the end of July.

Kara Firth suddenly changed the subject, "It is said that the leading actress Natalie Portman refused to attend the screening again."

"Well, I heard about it." Murphy said lightly, "Using the excuse of studying in Jerusalem to refuse, a very smart choice."

"Why do you say that?" Kara Firth was a little puzzled, "Isn't she afraid of offending George Lucas by doing this?"

"She doesn't care anymore. I've heard people say that Padmé Amidala will die in this movie, and she won't be able to play Star Wars again." It is more clear, "George Lucas is not a member of the directors' union, and he is not liked by Oscar's old men, and he will not be an obstacle for her to hit the Oscars in the future."

"A woman who is as realistic as us." Carla Firth seemed to admire a little bit, "If it wasn't for her being so dazed with you, I really want to get to know her."

She turned the subject back, "You saw the preview of "Kingdom of Heaven", how did you feel?"

"Very bad." Although the film is somewhat different from the one in memory, it is not much better than the previous released version. Coupled with the general environment faced by epic war films, it is not difficult for Murphy to conclude, "I personally think that the short-term Don't talk about cost recovery."

He pointed to the interview area, where Orlando Bloom and Eva Green were being interviewed, "The performance of these two actors that Dave Scola insisted on was terrible."

Murphy heard Kara Firth say,

Ridley Scott's favorite heroine and heroine were other candidates, but under Dave Scola's strong insistence, he was forced to use Orlando Bloom and Eva Green.

"Orlando Bloom will be a very good embellishment in any commercial film, but let him support a leading actor..." Murphy shook his head. Even though many actors can rely on their faces to make a living, their roles are so thin A blacksmith at this level will greatly affect the audience's perception, "And Eva Green, her appearance..."

As if he couldn't find a suitable adjective, Murphy thought for a while before saying, "It's very distinctive, and it belongs to the type that makes people unforgettable after watching it. It would be great for her to play some weird roles, but the heroine of this film , is too different from her appearance and temperament."

"The hero and heroine I chose are so useless?"

Suddenly a loud voice sounded from behind, and before Murphy could turn around, Dave Scola, who was still being interviewed in the interview area before, came over at some point, "Director Stanton is not optimistic about my movie. ?”

Murphy didn't feel the embarrassment of being heard talking about others behind his back at all. He shrugged slightly and said calmly, "This is just my personal opinion, and I'm just talking about the facts."

Dave - Scola Leng Leng snorted.

"I wonder what your weekend expectations are?" Murphy didn't realize it at all.

Hearing this, Dave Scola wanted to directly say 100 million US dollars, but he still said a conservative figure, "50 million US dollars."

Murphy nodded and stopped talking. With the current environment and the mediocre quality of the film, it would take a miracle to get this number.

"Dave, how about we make a bet?" Kara Firth would not let him go easily, "If "Kingdom of Heaven" can meet your expectations at the weekend box office in North America, I will resign all the 20th Century Fox. position; if you can’t achieve it, how about you resign from your current position?”

After 20th Century Fox invested a huge amount of money in "Kingdom of Heaven", she certainly wouldn't be so stupid as to do something else, but trust Murphy's judgment.

"I..." Dave Scola looked at the smiling and confident Kara Firth, and swallowed the second half of the words.

He is not a child in kindergarten, how could he agree to such a stupid bet.

Glancing at Murphy, then at Kara Firth, Dave Scola nodded, turned and left.

At this time, it would be superfluous to say any more. When the weekly box office results of "Kingdom of Heaven" came out, he would slam the box office report on the faces of the couple.

"That's why you trust me?" Murphy ignored Dave Scola who had gone away, "Aren't you afraid of losing in the end?"

"Will I lose?" Kara Feith didn't care much, "Even if I lose, you won't see me wandering the streets, right?"

She glanced at her watch, "I won't tell you anymore, I have to talk to Alan Harris."

Murphy waved his hand, signaling her to be casual and leave her alone.

Most of the people who participated in the screening began to walk into the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, and Murphy was also among them. As they walked forward, a reporter suddenly came over.

This was a female reporter who had interviewed her before, but I forgot her name, Murphy, and only remembered that she was from The Hollywood Reporter.

"I saw you during the trial screening of this film before." The female reporter was not polite at all, and asked directly, "I think there is something wrong with this film, Director Stanton, what do you think?"

"Director Ridley Scott's ability is unquestionable. He has proven himself countless times in the past." Murphy has never been a good person in the standard sense. When he said this, he paused and said suddenly, "As long as you don't get caught by outsiders." Factor interference, Ridley Scott's work is the guarantee of quality and box office."

Hearing this, the female reporter was stunned for a moment, and her footsteps also slowed down unconsciously, and the distance between her and Murphy was getting farther and farther.

"Not to be disturbed by external factors?" She said to herself, as if she had grasped something, "Is there any inside story about this film that the media doesn't understand?"

The female reporter immediately regained her spirits, so there will be material to dig out.

If the film is successful, then of course everything will be fine. If it fails, it is still very interesting to believe in the things behind the scenes.

Because of the release of "Kingdom of Heaven", Murphy has already paid attention to this weekend. Although he came to participate in the screening of this film, he is still paying attention to another film, which is also a seed candidate for this year's Oscar.

"Crash", directed by Paul Haggis, was also released this weekend. If he remembers correctly, this film that reflects American social and ethnic issues won the best picture at next year's Oscars.

This is also another film released in the first half of the year after "Gladiator", which can win the Oscar for Best Picture.

The schedule is very important to hit the Oscars, but whether the content of the film is favored by the many white middle-aged and elderly judges is actually more important.

"Gone Girl" will also not be placed in the Thanksgiving-Christmas schedule, which is close to the awards season, but in August. At this time, the North American summer season has entered the end, and there is no competition from top commercial masterpieces. For the film market more favorable.

This weekend, in addition to "Crash", there is another film released, "House of Wax Museum" starring Paris Hilton.

Because of the widely circulated video tape, Murphy and Gal Gadot went to the theater to watch this film. There were not too many surprises or disappointments. This is a typical American film. Horror film.

Compared with Murphy, who continues to be busy in the post-production of "Gone Girl", May is destined to be a time of great disappointment for some people.

During the three days of the weekend, "Kingdom of Heaven" overwhelmed "Crash" and "House of Wax", which were released at the same time, and won the North American box office championship. More than 1800 million US dollars, not to mention reaching the 50 million US dollars expected by 20th Century Fox, not even half of it.

If the weekend box office fails and the word of mouth is enough, you can still count on the long-term, but the media and audience word of mouth of "Kingdom of Heaven" is also a mess.

"In the two-hour film, there is one fight after another, and the fights are mixed together, and the audience can't expect anything else in the movie except for the torn old clothes and the long and dirty hair. "

This can be said to be the most representative comment.

The outside world is unanimously pessimistic about "Kingdom of Heaven", and many professional forecasting agencies, even the most optimistic one, believe that the North American box office of the film cannot exceed 500 million US dollars, and the global box office is at most 200 million US dollars.

This also means that "Kingdom of Heaven" will not only fall far short of expectations, but will also become a film that will cause huge losses for 20th Century Fox.

For such a huge failure, someone must stand up and take responsibility.

After several additional investments, the total production cost of such a work has reached 150 million US dollars, and the promotion and marketing costs of more than 70 million US dollars have encountered Waterloo, which directly led to the first shot of this year's North American summer vacation. extensive media attention.

Especially the female reporter that Murphy had vaguely reminded her of, she had been looking for the truth through the surface, and obtained quite a lot of inside information. (To be continued.)