hollywood melon man

Chapter 515: Preview Review
Let’s put the matter of “Iron Man” aside for now. Right now, Gilbert Jr.’s most important task is to save “Batman”.

According to the prior arrangement, Batman Begins held five consecutive previews in early April. A total of thousands of viewers, theater representatives, and media critics watched the movie.

Perhaps it is because the film is made based on realistic techniques, which is different from other previous superhero movies. Although the film has received mostly positive reviews, it is still quite controversial.

First of all, there are media critics. This type of film is undoubtedly very much to their liking. Coupled with the public relations of Warner Pictures, the film has received a lot of praise from the media and critics.

"A bold and brilliant superhero film that's the best Batman movie ever." -The Hollywood Reporter

"It is very faithful to the original work, which is rare in similar works." - Variety

"Director Gilbert imaginatively fills in and interprets the journey of Bruce Wayne, the heir to a billionaire, to become the dark savior Batman.

Moreover, this film has changed the overly exaggerated and idiotic cartoon style of the previous episode and adopted a more rigorous realistic approach.

Details like Batman's lack of skills when he first started out, as well as the old-fashioned, primitive and wild nature of his original tanks and suits, all make them feel real and believable.

In addition, the explosions that should happen will happen, and the cars that should go racing will happen, which is highly entertaining." - Los Angeles Business Daily

"Gilbert stayed true to the gritty, darkly realistic style of Frank Miller's 1986 film, The Dark Knight Returns, while using IMAX film to capture the operatic intensity he desired.

The film has raised superhero movies to an unprecedented height, and its dark and realistic style is bound to influence subsequent superhero movies." - Chicago Sun-Times

The film received widespread positive reviews from the media and film critics, but their influence on ordinary audiences is limited, and the main controversy came from the preview screenings that represented the audience.

Audiences who have watched the preview usually fill out questionnaires, and Warner Bros. will collect audience ratings and reviews to make a basic judgment on the film's prospects.

After collecting approximately 630 questionnaires, a rough idea of ​​the audience's opinions emerged.

The audience generally gave the film positive reviews, but there were also different opinions. The biggest one was that the first half of the film, which described Bruce Wayne's transformation, was too dull.

Moreover, the story is told in flashbacks and flashbacks, which makes it dizzying and you will miss a lot of the plot if you are not careful.

Some viewers also thought that the film was not entertaining enough, seemed a bit serious, and its overall temperament was more realistic, rather than as light-hearted as previous superhero blockbusters.

The theaters combined audience reviews with their own feelings and concluded that this is quite different from previous superhero movies and is much more profound.

Because of the bad impression Batman had previously left on people, and the fact that the film's style was very different from previous ones, the theater chain decided to be more conservative and ultimately opened the film in 3600 theaters.

When Gilbert Jr. learned about the opening scale given by the cinema, he was not surprised. The cinema gave him such a large opening scale because of his reputation and appeal accumulated over the years.

"Batman Begins" is not a high-quality sequel like "The Return of the King", nor is it a movie like "Warriors" that is backed by several big Hollywood stars.

Christian Bale is obviously not comparable to the two popular Toms, not to mention Charlize Theron, Dustin Hoffman and others in "The Walking Dead".

The film is not an entertainment-oriented film like "Pirates of the Caribbean". Its realistic narrative style is bound to discourage some viewers who don't like seriousness, which is normal.

Moreover, the bad impression left by Joel Schumacher's two Batman films has not completely dissipated, and this movie is the first work of a new trilogy, so it is normal for theaters to be cautious.

Looking at all the movie series, the beginning is always the most difficult, and Gilbert Jr. does not expect "Batman Begins" to achieve the same results as "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring".

As long as it can maintain stability and make a profit through box office, it will basically announce the rebirth of the Batman movie.

Perhaps knowing the difficulty of saving Batman, Warner Bros. has adopted a conservative distribution strategy, planning to release the film in North America first.

If the North American market responds well, it won’t be too late to release it overseas.

Looking at the global film market since the 1980s and 1990s, except for certain American-style comedies and romances, all other science fiction films, war films, action films, etc., as long as they achieve good results in North America, will basically sell well overseas.

Conquering the North American film market is equivalent to conquering the whole world. This statement is no longer just talk.

Gilbert Jr. also began to take the main creators to some TV shows under the arrangement of Warner Pictures, among which Gilbert Jr. most frequently appeared on "The Ellen Show".

On the show, Christian Bale talked about the story of being invited to play Batman.

"I was filming The Prestige at the time, and suddenly one day Director Nolan told me that Director Gilbert wanted to talk to me on the phone."

Christian Bale said with an exaggerated expression: "Then I received a call from director Gilbert Jr., who asked me if I was interested in playing Bruce Wayne.

Of course I'm interested. After I hung up the phone, I realized, wait, the person who called me just now was Director Gilbert Jr.?"

This made the audience laugh, which was quite a bit of black humor. Gary Oldman also said: "When Director Gilbert approached me at first, I thought he wanted me to play the villain, so I said I didn't want to play the villain anymore.

And he said, oh, Gary, you play an honest cop, and here I am."

Liam Neeson laughed and said, "I am just the opposite. I have played too many positive characters and wanted to play a villain, so I got this role."

There are many strange stories to tell behind the casting of the characters alone.

However, the host Allen looked at the Batmobile model on the table and asked Gilbert Jr.: "I heard that you asked Lamborghini to make a real thing, so this monster appeared?"

"Yeah," Gilbert said. "I came up with it when I was on vacation at a farm in Kansas. You should go to that farm. It's really great.

I made a rough outline of the dough for my art director in the kitchen, and they built a monster Batmobile out of the dough.”

"This tank also played a role in the Chicago robbery, helping to capture five gangsters. This is a photo of the scene."

As Allen spoke, he displayed the battered Batmobile on the big screen, causing the audience to exclaim.

Gilbert Jr. said: "In fact, the Batmobile is bulletproof. This Batmobile was made for filming purposes, so the material was replaced and the weight was reduced.

At the premiere, we will release the real Batmobile so that everyone can feel the charm of Batman."

Allen asked, "Will this Batmobile be sold?"

"Of course," Gilbert Jr. said, "Warner Bros. will launch this car in collaboration with Lamborghini."

Alan looked at the camera and said, "Did you hear me? We need to save money from now on. If we can't buy the real thing, we can buy a model, like the one I have in my hand..."

The talk show went smoothly, and the Batmobile model in Allen's hand was eventually used as a raffle gift and was taken away by one of the audience members.

Although the promotion of "Batman Begins" started so early, this year's summer season was not opened with this film, but George Lucas' "Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith".

Because George Lucas has said in several previous interviews and promotions that this is his last Star Wars movie, countless Star Wars fans are bound to go to the cinema this summer to say goodbye to this series.

Gilbert Jr. was also invited to attend the premiere of the film, where he talked a lot about Star Wars culture.

“Star Wars represents an era, but I believe that classics will never become outdated, and the Star Wars series will not end here.”

George Lucas made it clear early on that he hoped Gilbert Jr. would take over the Star Wars series, and he said the same thing at the premiere.

So after the premiere, "Star Wars" fans launched a petition online, hoping that Gilbert Jr. would direct "Star Wars". In just one day, more than 200,000 Star Wars fans signed it.

However, Gilbert Jr. privately told George Lucas: "I think the Star Wars series needs to stop for a while, and it would be best to restart it in about ten years."

George Lucas said, "So you're willing to take over Star Wars?"

Gilbert Jr. said, "George, unless you hand over Lucasfilm to me."

"This..." George Lucas hesitated: "Let me think about it again. This is not an easy decision to make."

George Lucas has previously said that he wants to retire, and Lucasfilm will be sold to someone else. For high-quality assets such as Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic, many people in Hollywood are interested.

Gilbert Jr. was no exception, so he put forward a condition that if he wanted to direct "Star Wars", Lucasfilm should be handed over to him.

But when it comes to matters involving commercial interests, George Lucas must think carefully and not make hasty decisions.

Although George Lucas was hesitating, "Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith" got off to a good start in the summer season, with a North American box office of 1 million U.S. dollars in its first week, winning the weekly box office championship.

In contrast to the extremely high first-week box office, the film's reputation, like the previous two prequels, was very mediocre and was criticized by many viewers, not to mention media critics.

But as long as the film is named "Star Wars", making a profit through box office revenue has never been a problem.

And the most important thing is the peripheral products. Every time a "Star Wars" movie sells well, the peripheral products will also tend to sell well. This is the most important source of profit.

This is also one of the reasons why Gilbert Jr. fought for Lucasfilm. Compared with the film salary and box office share, the huge revenue from the surrounding industries is what he wants.

But he is not the only one who knows this, other people and other film companies also know it, so there will probably be more to discuss this matter.

(End of this chapter)