Dominating Hollywood: Starting with Scarlett

Chapter 281 The movie is a hit
"Lucy 2" has attracted the attention of all movie fans in the past week.

On the one hand, it’s because of the cool and intimidating Adam Hammer, and on the other hand, it’s because many bloggers gave this movie very high praise.

"This is the must-see superhero movie of this year, and for years to come."

“The scenes are stunning, the special effects are cool, and especially the plot, it’s jaw-dropping.”

"Lucy 2 breaks the stereotype that sequels are ugly. With Tang De's blessing, this movie is even more exciting than the first one."

"Tang De revealed on the spot that many superhero movies will be released in the near future."

With the help of paid advertising, this information is bombarding the retinas of movie fans in North America and even around the world, making everyone look forward to it.

In addition, Norton Eye and the cinema jointly adopted a movie ticket pre-sale system. After the preview ended, it cooperated with Fandango, the largest ticketing website in North America, to launch the first day pre-sale tickets for "Lucy 2" in five cities including New York and Los Angeles one week in advance.

Originally, the theaters and the website hoped that if they could sell 50% of the pre-sale tickets and reach 20 million US dollars, it would be a major victory. However, the result was unexpected. Five minutes after the pre-sale started that day, the website crashed.

The website was finally repaired, and the first-day pre-sale tickets for "Lucy 2" were sold out within five minutes, with a total of million US dollars sold, making it the undisputed first-hour pre-sale champion this year.

This is also the reason why the theater chain did not take out all the movie tickets. In fact, they reserved 30% for on-site ticket purchases. They did not expect the audience's enthusiasm to be so high.

Precisely because of the unique performance of "Lucy 2", other movies dared not compete with it and simply disappeared on the release date of "Lucy 2".

People in the industry are also watching this movie, and they also want to know whether Tang De can create another miracle.

On the premiere day.

When Mirren and Judy drove to the cinema at 11 o'clock in the evening, they found that there was a traffic jam on the road near the cinema.

"Oh my God, are they all going to see Lucy 2?" Mirren was shocked and held the steering wheel anxiously.

"That should be it." Judy picked up her phone and showed Mirren the chat between herself and her friends: "Muse and the others are stuck in traffic too."

"That's so exaggerated. It's just a movie." Mirren shrugged, looked at the car in front of him flashing its high beams, and immediately honked the horn to warn him.

"Well, we're one of them, Mirren," Judy reminded her boyfriend.

"Okay, but I'm a fan of Donald Trump. I watch all his movies on the first day of release, and this movie is no exception." For Mirren, Donald Trump's movies have accompanied him for several years and have become a habit.

"Right, so it's a good thing we bought the advance tickets." Judy was also glad that she didn't queue up to buy tickets on the spot, otherwise she would be like her other friend.

"Tatiana and her boyfriend arrived at the cinema at 300am, but the tickets were sold out. Now they have to buy tickets from scalpers for $ each. Wow, that's horrible."

"Indeed." Mirren said with lingering fear: "Many people who got the advance tickets also sold them at very high prices. Some good seats even sold for $1000. Damn it, how did they get them so quickly?"

"Maybe they have some special methods." Judy also felt that the price was very expensive, but there was nothing she could do as the popularity of "Lucy 2" was beyond her imagination.

Although other blockbusters are also very exciting, the technology used is still stuck in the past. The 3D effects are simply incomparable to "Avatar" and "Lucy". "Lucy 2" is said to be a collaborative film between Digital Domain and Industrial Light & Magic, and can provide a viewing experience that exceeds the first one.

Therefore, curious North American movie fans are very interested in this movie.

As Mirren and Judy were discussing, the road gradually became clear, and at 11:50 they finally arrived at the cinema.

"Hurry! Room 3!" Mirren pulled Judy's hand and ran quickly, afraid of missing the beginning of the movie.

In order to save time, they didn't even buy popcorn and Coke.

After entering the theater, the two put on 3D glasses and hurriedly sat in their seats. At this time, the advertisements had already started playing, and the movie began playing soon after they sat down.

The three full hours passed in a flash. When Mirren and Judy looked at the time after finishing the movie, they were still a little bit unbelievable.

"Three hours? It's gone by so quickly?" Mirren asked in surprise, "Why do I feel like only an hour and a half has passed?"

"Me too... it's too tight." Judy sat lazily in her seat: "I feel like there's a lot of information every moment, and it looks a bit tiring."

"But it feels really good." Like her, Mirren was not in a hurry to leave. They both needed some time to calm down.

"Luckily we didn't buy Coke, otherwise we would have had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the movie." Since the movie was really long, people often went to the bathroom, but when they came back, they often found that they seemed to have missed some information.

"Yeah, I think we might have to watch it again, what do you think?"

"I think so too."

On the way out of the cinema, the two could hear many people discussing the plot of the movie, especially the shock that the fake Milky Way brought to them. When they learned that the earth was separated from the real universe, it seemed that many questions were answered.

Many people even think that reality may not be so. After all, many people believe that the universe contains various life forms, but humans have never found them.

Aliens are one of the biggest concerns for North American people.

When Trump was elected, he made a special promise on this issue: as long as he came to power, he would release the FBI's top-secret files and inform the public whether aliens exist.

Unfortunately, he later broke his promise and did not release the top-secret files.

But this also indirectly confirms the extent to which the North American people care about this issue.

Therefore, the concept of the universe in a bottle, or the box universe, has always existed in many science fiction works. Lucy simply took out the classic theory and made some adaptations.

This is in line with the preferences of the American people, so the ratings of this movie on film review websites quickly rose rapidly.

Rotten Tomatoes has a 95 percent freshness rating.

This is the score given by fans after watching the movie.

Many media and film critics also gave their own ratings and reviews.

Hollywood Reporter: "The three-hour film does not seem long, but rather leaves people wanting more, because Tang De has packed enough information into the film, and the story has always revolved around the main line. From the perspective of the story form, it has also broken away from the small-scale fights of general superhero movies, replacing the concrete circus-style enemies with more imaginary enemies, which I must give praise for."

Film critic: "After the editorial judges scored, they all agreed that this movie deserves 8 points. The audio-visual language is impeccable, and Tang De's shots are beautiful and sharp. The core of the story is a bit mediocre, because the protagonists did not really solve the problem, but just left a huge suspense." Independent film critic Jack: "I like everything about this movie, the lighting, the pictures, the music, the big scenes and Scarlett's figure, but I hate the suspense left by this movie, because it means that when the third part comes out in a few years, we have to pay for the movie ticket again. But this is the problem with the series of movies. If you want to maintain the appeal of the series of movies, then a reasonable conflict will lay a lot of foreshadowing and preparation in advance. I can understand the compromise that Tang De made for this, but I must admit that the various characters appeared in a hurry. Although they have distinct personalities, they lack their own story length and arc."

Selected fan reviews: "The movie looks very cool. Although there are many characters, they are explained very clearly. I just hope to know more, so Tang De should quickly release movies with other heroes."

After everyone gave positive reviews, the movie’s box office figures were also released.

Combined with the first-day box office on site and the first-day pre-sale box office, "Lucy 2" earned a total of million US dollars, becoming the best-performing movie opening this year.

It also successfully surpassed the performance of the first film.

Soon after, the global box office was announced, with the first-day global box office reaching 220 million US dollars.

This achievement undoubtedly immediately made headlines in all Hollywood media, and they all described the sequel as "Tang De wins again."

For a time, all kinds of invitations almost filled up the office of Norton Eye. Many industries such as fashion, photography, charity, auction, and finance invited Tang De, and even Harvard invited Tang De to give a speech at the school.

Of course, Tang De couldn't agree to all of them. He didn't have that much time, and he didn't like entertaining so many people.

But he did not refuse all of them. After all, expanding his network was something he had to do as the leader of Norton's Eye.

He accepted an invitation to a charity auction and was going to attend an antique auction.

It was during this period that the box office of "Lucy 2" officially exceeded one billion US dollars half a month after its release.

This is another highlight added to Tang De’s box office resume.

At the same time, Marvel's "Avengers" series was officially launched, and Scarlett Johansson was no longer chosen as the Black Widow.

After all, it is impossible for a star to appear in movies produced by two comic companies at the same time, which would weaken the audience's sense of involvement.

Moreover, Scarlett's pay is now at the level of top Hollywood actresses. If she is chosen, she will inevitably be given more roles, which will affect the integrity of the story.

So Marvel finally gave up on Scarlett.

It can only be said that there are gains and losses, but for Tang De.

For Scarlett, this exchange is simply a great deal. After all, Black Widow is not the protagonist in the Marvel Universe, but she is undoubtedly the heroine in Lucy.

So she didn't feel any regrets. Instead, she worked harder on the role of Lucy and took the initiative to buy all the comics and read them every day.

That is, while Lucy 2 was in full swing and continued to add luster to Tang De at the box office.

He took Jessica Albat to a private auction.

"Hey! Tang! Long time no see."

As soon as they walked into the villa gate, Tang De saw Will Smith.

"Long time no see." Tang De hugged him. The black guy in front of him was still as charming as ever, and did not look old. He seemed very proud while talking and laughing.

Since "I Am Legend", he has been in the process of transformation, from an actor to the role of producer.

The Karate Kid he produced in 2010 achieved good results, earning 2500 million US dollars with a cost of million, which was considered a successful attempt.

Now he has just served as the producer of "Agent Wars", but his film output is much less than in previous years.

"Hello, Jessica." Will Smith greeted Jessica Alba again, and then his wife came over to chat with Jessica.

He and Tang De walked aside arm in arm.

"Honestly, man, I've always wanted to work with you, you know." Will Smith didn't beat around the bush and said bluntly: "So are there any related roles? Even if you let me reduce my salary, I can do that."

"Smith, you are so impatient." Tang De smiled and said, "It's not that there is no idea, but it's still in the comics stage."

"That's great, I can't wait, when can we start shooting?" Will Smith has always thought that Tang De is very talented, but he never had the chance to work with him. Seeing that the person he favored became a top international director, he finally couldn't wait any longer and took the initiative.

"Okay, this character is a hero in the Lucy comics." Seeing how anxious he was, Tang De had to reveal something: "He will be a key turning point in the plot, and we have decided to make this character black."

Although political correctness has not yet become mainstream in Hollywood, there are already some signs of it.

In particular, the dispute between blacks and whites has become increasingly heated, with many black stars denouncing the film festival for not leaving space for blacks and for it becoming a preserve of whites.

Tang De knew that these conflicts would erupt sooner or later, and at that time they would become a fuse that would allow black people to get some movie roles.

So it’s better to prepare early than to know it early.

In order to avoid future media accusations that Norton Eye does not value black actors, Tang De has begun to increase the proportion of black people in the film.

Of course, this is based on the premise of not affecting the plot of the movie. Tang De will take care of this himself, so there is no need to worry about the screenwriters messing around.

"Great, then what preparations do I need to make, such as personality and preferences?" Will Smith asked quickly.

"Well, this hero is a loser, a very decadent man, living in an era when cyber technology has not yet been fully developed, so you can prepare in advance."

"Frustrated...Okay, I get it." Will Smith patted Tang De's shoulder and extended his hand: "Happy cooperation."

"It's a pleasure working with you." Tang De smiled and shook hands with him.

Afterwards, the four of them walked into the charity auction together and sat at the round table.

Since this auction was a private one, most of the people who came were financiers and did not have their own agents present, which was completely different from an ordinary auction.

So Tang De saw many familiar faces.

(End of this chapter)