American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 139 What do you think you want to do?
June 15, 2005 was a Wednesday.

Because it was a weekday and the adult Johnny Depp had to go to work, even though Batman is one of the three giants of American comics, the midnight screenings of Batman Begins in major cities and theaters were not very popular.

Well, okay, describing the midnight screening attendance of "Batman Begins" as not very good is putting on a good face.

Kevin Feige chose a movie theater in downtown Los Angeles.

then……

To put it simply, for truly epic IPs, even if they are released on a weekday, if you want to buy tickets for the midnight premiere, you have to go to the cinema before 5 pm the day before to try and grab them, otherwise you definitely won't make it.

For Spider-Man, when the second movie was released, people were already lining up at 2 p.m. on the day of its release.

The same goes for Star Wars; fans would even line up in the morning to grab tickets to see Revenge of the Sith.
And Harry Potter?
Although previous Harry Potter films have never enjoyed such a grand occasion, because movies aimed at children are not suitable for midnight screenings, so Harry Potter premieres have always been held during the day, they will certainly have such a grand occasion in the future, because Harry Potter has matured.

As for the current state of "The Mystery of the Swordsman"...

Forget about queuing up in advance, there wasn't even anyone willing to try and buy tickets.

Kevin Feige came to the theater after get off work on the 14th, and then easily bought the tickets he wanted, which made him a little nervous. He was waiting to go out for dinner and come back - in European and American theaters, the seats are not numbered, so if you want a good seat, you have to queue up in advance - and then, the fact that there were only two or three tickets left was almost like writing the word 'failure' on his face.

This situation made him sigh softly.

So was the success of Spider-Man really an accident?

He muttered to himself.

Just as Ted Turner said when he met the two elders of Xuanming that day, he didn't have many choices at the moment.

Because no one had a good opinion of his plan.

This is not only because his idea is not a novel one—

His idea had been done before, and those things couldn't be called failures, they were just so-so.

Furthermore, among all comic book movie adaptations to date, only the Spider-Man IP can be considered a success.

Yes, while movies like X-Man and Blade were profitable, they paled in comparison to The Failed Man... This isn't to say their performance was terrible, but rather that only Spider-Man's success could fulfill Kevin Feige's dream, because no matter which version of the cinematic universe he envisioned, the first phase required a $10 billion investment.

This insane plan...

To put it bluntly, if you give Chris Columbus $10 billion, he can make seven Harry Potter movies for you. He can confidently tell you that he can earn you $70 billion from the box office alone, and the resulting merchandise market will be worth no less than $300 billion.

And Marvel...

Let alone investing 10 billion and getting back 70 billion, no one would dare to guarantee investing 10 billion and getting back 30 billion.

Therefore, no normal person would invest in Kevin Feige.

That's why Kevin Feige didn't lose his composure despite repeated setbacks.

Furthermore, he is even trying to curry favor with those who can bring him investment.

Then, this thigh can be a reality—

For example, if a Wall Street tycoon like Carl Icahn thought his idea was great, he could easily invest money in him on a whim. Or, even if he didn't invest money, he could just talk to a financial institution and ask them for a credit line.

This thigh could even be an illusion—

The better the market for comic book adaptations, the greater his chances of attracting investment.

but……

"Oh—why is nobody watching DC's Batman?"

"We're in Los Angeles! Is this movie really that bad?"

"Maybe everyone just hates DC's dark art style? DC's dark art style might look cool in the comics, but in the movies... to be honest, I didn't like Tim Burton's Batman, it was too depressing."

"That's true. Comics can use exaggerated art styles to depict the Joker's madness, but movies... Jack Nicholson's Joker is great, but I don't like his movies; they seem weird."

'well--'

Upon entering the venue, the surrounding chatter made Kevin Feige sigh again.

When the market's true reaction to comic book adaptations is like this...

To be honest, even he himself thinks that the illusory powerful figure he wants to curry favor with might just be an illusion.

As Kevin Feige drifted into thought, the dark screen lit up.

The black and white Warner Bros. logo and DC logo flashed by quickly.

Then, under the orange sky, an overwhelming image of bats came into his view.

This fact made Kevin Feige realize that the movie had already been shown.

He squinted, cleared his mind of all distractions, and began to read intently.

The story of Nolan's Batman is actually very simple; it tells the story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman.

If I had to describe the details, then it would be—

Bruce Wayne developed a fear of bats after falling into a well in an accident when he was young.

One day, he went to see an opera with his parents and was frightened by an actor dressed as a bat. Feeling uneasy, he wanted to leave, and his parents agreed. However, on their way out, they encountered an accident.
A robber killed his parents in front of him, making him an orphan. Fortunately, his family's butler was very loyal and did not leave after the old master's death. Instead, he devoted himself to raising his young master.

Fourteen years after Bruce Wayne's parents died, the murderer who killed them was granted parole after testifying against a mafia boss. This enraged Bruce Wayne, who wanted to avenge his parents. However, the mafia boss beat him to it and hired someone to kill the person who dared to testify against him.

This fact shocked Bruce Wayne.

His attempted murder was also criticized by his childhood friend Rachel Doss.

Just when he was feeling very lost, he met the mafia boss who killed his enemy and learned about the cruelty and darkness of the world. Then he traveled the world to begin his training and joined the Shadow Alliance due to an accident.

Because of his ideological differences with the Shadow League, he eventually left the League and returned to Gotham.

With this, Batman officially debuted, and Gotham was plunged into eternal darkness because of him.

As a comic book fan, Kevin Feige certainly knows the origin story of Batman, so he can understand the plot well during the movie. However, in the eyes of outsiders…

"Oh—this movie is such a mess—what does this director do? Why does it keep switching between flashbacks? Can't he just tell a story in a chronological order?"

"If I remember correctly, Batman is a superhero, right? So... hand-to-hand combat? This fight is awful! Doesn't this crew have an action director?"

"Oh...I think this movie is so boring...it's kind of dull..."

The discussions in the theater made Kevin Feige nod repeatedly.

Although he personally thought that "Batman Begins" was a pretty good movie, his "pretty good" only referred to the movie's portrayal of the Batman character and its respect for the original story.

As for the rest?
Kevin Feige felt the same way as the average person.

He also felt that the film used too many techniques—

The story begins with Bruce Wayne traveling the world after meeting the Mafia boss;
This is the point in Bruce Wayne's training, and also the moment of Bruce Wayne's growth. Therefore, in order to explain to the audience why Bruce Wayne is training and why he is growing, the director added a lot of flashbacks to the main narrative of his training.
This approach is fine, but in commercial films, it can make the movie look messy.
Or...

This kind of shot is obviously taken by an artsy young person who likes to show off their skills.

Want to show off?

He also felt that the fight scenes in the entire movie weren't cool at all.

If he had to describe it, Kevin Feige even felt that the action design of Beginner's Bizarre Adventure was somewhat similar to First Blood, Rocky, and Terminator. To put it nicely, it's a tribute to retro style; to put it bluntly, it's outdated.
Keanu Reeves is already incredibly handsome!
Bone-on-bone fighting is no longer popular!
He even felt that there were far too many dialogue scenes in the entire film—

Does the director seem to be pursuing profundity a bit too much?
Even though Kevin Feige felt that there were many areas for improvement in "Batman Begins," as the plot progressed and Batman went on his "rampage," he still felt a growing fondness for the film.

Just when he thought DC might have released a good movie this time...

At the end of the movie, Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Gotham City Police Commissioner Jim Gordon meet on the rooftop.

Commissioner Jim Gordon said Bruce Wayne did a great job; thanks to his efforts, all the gang leaders in Gotham City had disappeared. However, because they hadn't completely eradicated the darkness, new enemies had emerged.

Furthermore, this guy was extremely arrogant and directly declared war on them.

The challenge was a Joker card—

"Oh—so this is a series? The Joker is the enemy in the second movie?"

"Good heavens! Is it another Ugly Batman vs. Madman battle? One lunatic versus another lunatic?"

"No! No! No! I think there's absolutely no need for a sequel, because this one was already terrible—"

The barrage of negative reviews made Kevin Feige clench his fists.

This isn't anger—

Well, he was actually a little angry because he genuinely thought the movie was pretty good, but the director was too focused on technique, so the overall impression of the movie was rather average.

Instead, it was shocking—

Because the Joker card appears at the end of the movie!
To the general public, this might be DC teasing their next movie!
But in Kevin Feige's eyes, this thing is an Easter egg!
DC is telling people—

Our series has only just begun!
"OMG—so DC wants to make the same thing as me?"

Kevin Feige's eyes widened.

Even though the lights in the theater, signaling the end of the movie, had already come on, he showed no intention of getting up. Instead, he stared intently at the screen, and even after the credits rolled, he continued talking rapidly to himself—

"Did DC use the Joker card to introduce the Joker at the end of Beginner's Guide to Life?"

"Then he'll definitely be the enemy in the next Batman movie!"

"Since Batman's principle is not to kill, in the second movie, when Batman captures the Joker and interrogates him, wouldn't DC be able to have the Joker use flashbacks to reveal his origins?"

"After doing this, the Joker solo movie can be released!"

"Then, after the Joker appears, how far away are Harley Quinn and the laughs!"

"impossible!"

"And once Harley Quinn appears, the Suicide Squad can get started!"

"The Suicide Squad can draw out a bunch of people, like Deadshot, Vengeful Demon... but none of that matters. What matters is that DC can film Justice League vs. Suicide Squad after the Suicide Squad appears!"

"OMG—"

"If DC and I think the same way, then they've already gotten ahead of me!"

"M-Fxxk! This...this is simply...Oh!Dxxn!"

At that moment, a feeling of irritability instantly gripped Kevin Feige's heart!
Because he knows that no matter what you do, the first person to try something new always profits the most!

So, while DC is poised to produce a Justice League, Marvel, still struggling with copyright issues and investment, has already...

It's time to raise the white flag and surrender!

However, his frustration only lasted a short while. As the theater staff appeared and the closing announcement sounded, Kevin Feige's mood gradually improved as he walked out of the theater.

As for the reason?

Very simple -

As he walked out of the theater, he heard a lot of negative reviews!
If even the die-hard fans who go to the cinema at midnight think "Batman Begins" is just so-so, then its box office performance is unlikely to be very good. And if "Batman Begins" does perform poorly at the box office, then given Warner Bros.' track record...

I understand everything I understand.

It seems like there won't be a second Batman movie.

If the second Batman movie is stillborn, then even if DC has an epic plan, they won't be able to pull it off!
At that time, Marvel will be able to overtake them and seize victory!

'Yeah! With a company like Warner Bros. that's constantly fighting amongst themselves and so short-sighted, all I have to do now is pray that *Batman Begins* doesn't do well at the box office, and then Marvel will regain the upper hand!'

The thought that the biggest villain hindering DC's development was its parent company made Kevin Feige's lips curl into a smile. At that moment, he... well, actually, he was a little gloating.

However, his happiness didn't last long before he became somewhat downcast again.

The main reason he paid attention to "Batman Begins" was because he hoped "Batman" would be successful.

If "The Batman" succeeds and becomes as hugely popular as "Spider-Man," then when he seeks investment and assistance, he can tell everyone that there is a market for comic book adaptations, and that the success of "Spider-Man" was not accidental.

Yes.

At the moment, he didn't really want to hug Ted Turner and Steve Case.

What he wants most right now is to find another source of capital and get their help in securing copyright and investment.

Then we'll work on the cinematic universe plan.

There's nothing we can do; the capitalist wars are just too brutal.

When someone gets caught up in something and could easily be smashed to pieces, only an idiot would willingly become a henchman.

Especially when his family was not short of money, he was even less willing to do things that were extremely risky.

and so……

When he wanted Batman to win, but didn't want DC to get ahead...

"Oh—this is so frustrating—"

As Kevin Feige stepped out of the theater and got into his car, he shook his head vigorously.

Kevin Feige was a little annoyed at the moment. But DC was actually even more annoyed than him.

The current Batman movie is DC's second film released in the new century.

The first one is Constantine, which was released earlier this year.

The one starring Keanu Reeves.

The film had a total budget of $100 million and officially ended its run at the end of last month, grossing $7597 million in North America.

Global revenue...2.3 million.

It looks like a complete disaster.

Further back, there were "Batman & Robin" and "Iron Man" in 1997.

The former is George Clooney's Batman vs. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze.

This movie also flopped.

The latter is played by Shaquille O'Neal as Steel in the Justice League.

A $1600 million investment yielded a $180 million box office return.

There wasn't a missing zero.

As DC continues its meteoric rise to failure, the future of its executives hinges on the performance of its current films.

There's nothing we can do; they don't have the autonomy to manage their own companies.
Although DC is Steve Ross's biological son—Steve Ross acquired DC as early as 1967 and only acquired Warner Bros. in 1969—Warner Bros. was much more famous than DC. So when restructuring his assets, Steve Ross put DC, which could have existed independently, under Warner Bros.' name.

From then on, no matter what DC wanted to do, it had to report to Warner first and obtain permission before it could act.

Before Steve Ross's death, DC didn't really care about this process, because even if they submitted reports, they would submit them to Steve Ross, who was the chairman in charge!
But with the passing of Steve Ross...

For the past decade or so, DC has been practically cursing Warner Bros.' mother every single day—

"I was obviously the one who came first!"

"And then I have to report to you, the newcomer?"

"Is there no justice in this world?! Is there no law at all?!"

That's basically the situation.

Although DC has considered going independent over the past decade or so, Barry Mayer has not allowed it.

So, when they need approval from Barry Mayer to start projects, need notes from Barry Mayer to get funding, and even need to report to Barry Mayer to go to the toilet, if their projects are consistently losing money, then…

Barry Mayer is not going to let them continue making movies.

And this...

To be honest, everyone looks out for themselves.

Making movies can make money, and it can also make money for executives.

Therefore, at present, whether for the company's development or for tangible benefits, DC executives do not want "Batman Begins" to flop. But unfortunately, the objective laws of development do not change according to individual subjective will...

"You mean seizing the young master?"

6 month 16 day.

The report from his subordinates made DC's CEO jump up from his office chair.

"1506 million?? Are you sure you're not mistaken???"

He couldn't believe his ears, while his subordinate nodded helplessly, "That's right, sir, it's 1506 million."

"..."

The affirmative words made DC's CEO dizzy.

With his hands gripping the desk, like a fish unexpectedly pulled ashore, he asked with difficulty, "If I remember correctly, Constantine made 1000 million on its opening day, right? And then... Batman... 1500 million?"

“Uh…yes, sir…”

The subordinate pursed his lips and said, "As you expected, The Batman movie did not perform well at the box office."

"Then... before I came to report again, uh... I saw the latest issue of The Hollywood Reporter, and they said..."

"What did you say?" DC's CEO asked eagerly.

"They said..." The subordinate hesitated, but finally reported the truth, "They said the three giants of American comics are all hype, and the only real giant is the failed Man..."

"Because Batman's box office performance couldn't even beat Disney's new pirate movie..."

'boom--'

DC's CEO felt like his head was about to explode!
The Hollywood Reporter's review is truly insulting!

but……

He couldn't refute it.

Because the box office performance of "The Mystery of the Swordsman" was really bad!
According to DC's projections, "Batman Begins" needs to gross over 2000 million on its opening day to be considered a passable film.

Currently, "The Mystery of the Swordsman" is still 500 million away from that number.

But that's not the most disgusting part.

The most disgusting thing is that "Batman Begins" only cost 500 million more than "Constantine".

What kind of IP is Constantine?
In American comics, the sales of the main magazine featuring this character, Hellblazer, don't even rank among the mainstream!

In terms of popularity, he's just a minor, second-tier character!

They can't even compare to the Big Three like Batman!
Any one of the three giants could beat Constantine to a pulp in terms of comic book sales, even if it were just a fraction of their own!
That's why, even though Keanu Reeves played Constantine, Warner Bros. still scheduled it for February of this year, which is a terrible time slot. But even with the advantage of the IP and the release date, how come The Beginning only made $500 million more on its opening day than Constantine? This is something that DC's CEO simply cannot accept!

What he found even more unacceptable was The Hollywood Reporter's assessment that it was "not as good as Pirates of the Caribbean"!

Pirates of the Caribbean is a Disney original IP!
Even so, when they were released two years ago, they still grossed $1550 million on their opening day!

They also premiered on Wednesdays, and they're also released during the summer!
So, when a self-created IP can outperform "The Mystery of the Swordsman" at the box office...

“Oh——Sxxt——”

DC's CEO has gone mad!

"Can anyone tell me why people don't like Batman???"

"Why don't I like it?!"

He can't understand!
The CEO of DC was filled with doubt.

Unfortunately, at present, no one can answer his questions.

This is not only because no one can answer his question, but also because market feedback is continuous.

After June 16th, the two-day box office figures for "The Mystery of the Swordsman" were released.

The total number of US dollars was 908 million, down 39.7% from the previous day.

Although their box office figures rebounded on June 17th.

Friday's arrival brought the three-day box office of "The Mystery of the Swordsman" to 1507 million.

The following day, Saturday, the daily revenue reached 1801 million.

However, Sunday's release still caused "The Mystery of the Swordsman" to plummet at the box office.

Daily revenue was 1565 million.

The fact that the film grossed $7289 million in the US after five days of release is a good result for most movies, but for the Batman IP, especially the Batman IP which has a $1.5 million investment, it is simply a disaster.

because……

Let's put it this way—

In 1989, Tim Burton's Batman film grossed $5715 million in its first five days of release.

There weren't nearly as many movie theaters back then!
Movie tickets weren't as expensive back then as they are now!
So……

The North American box office performance of "Batman Begins" was absolutely terrible!
Furthermore, Batman is a major IP originating in the United States.

So when their performance in the US market was poor, their global box office...

That would be even uglier.

In the UK, it earned $807 million in its first week, not in pounds sterling;

In Australia, it earned US$322 million in its first week;
In France, it earned $308 million in its first week;
In Germany, it only grossed $183 million in its first week…

When "Batman" flopped in several of the world's largest box office markets, DC felt like the sky was falling.

When July 1, 2005 arrived, DC's world truly collapsed.

Because "The Master" grossed a total of $130 million in North America in 14 days, which is more than $10 million a day!

Globally combined, that doesn't even reach 200 million!

Because Barry Mayer summoned all of DC's top executives to Burbank!

Next, Barry Mayer gave Warner Bros. top-level instructions regarding the development of DC—

"The sequel to the Batman project can be put on hold for now."

"Let's talk about it after Superman is released next year."

"The development of all other projects has been suspended."

"Personally, I don't think you guys are going to be able to make any good movies for the time being."

'...'

At this moment, the DC executives finally breathed a sigh of relief, a weight that had been hanging over them for a century.

Because he was completely dead.

Just when they thought DC's future was bleak, almost at the same time, Isabella, who was filming "The Goblet of Fire Part II" in the Scottish Highlands, suddenly received a letter of invitation.

"Who are you looking for me?"

She looked at Margot Robbie with a slight frown.

Transformers is currently in pre-production and is expected to start filming next year, so Robbie Jr. is free for now.

Therefore... the assistant is back online!

"Uh... a guy who claims to be Marvel Studios' top producer came to the set looking for you. He said his name was Kevin Feige."

Robbie Jr. said, "The messenger said that he also said that if you don't know him, you can ask Chris. He said that Richard Donner is his teacher's lover, and his teacher's name is Lauren Donner."

How could Kevin Feige and Isabella not know each other?
In her past life, this guy was the man who saved Marvel!

So, this guy is coming over now...

'I guess they're here to discuss Iron Man?'

Isabella felt she had a foolproof plan.

But when she met Kevin Feige, along with Princess Chris's scapegoat Columbus, Mama Vivian, the guy's first words left her completely bewildered.

“Miss Heywood, Director Columbus, Mrs. Heywood, it is a pleasure to meet you all today.”

“I know you are all very busy, so I will keep it short.”

"I'm not here because of Iron Man. I'm not here on behalf of Marvel Studios to talk to you about the production of Iron Man. I want to talk to you about DC's Batman Begins."

"This movie is fantastic, but its box office performance may not be ideal, therefore..."

"Um... do you guys know anything about the sequel's production status?"

Did Warner Bros. kill the sequel to Beginner's Boys?

"If not... um... can I participate?"

At this point, Kevin Feige paused and rubbed his hands together like a hamster.

And just as he looked at everyone with a smile, hoping to get a word of agreement...

Miss Beaver stared wide-eyed, as if she had seen a ghost, completely bewildered.

Kevin Feige wants to participate in the production of the sequel to Beginner's Beast?

Marvel's savior wants to make a DC movie?

What the fuck...

What is that?

(End of this chapter)