America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 485 is so awesome!

With the premiere of "John Wick" drawing ever closer, the production team has released a new trailer that reveals a key plot point and the reason why Martin Scorsese's character, Jonathan, goes on a killing spree—dogs!

Jonathan went on a killing spree because his deceased wife's beloved dog was killed by Russians.

Russians are inherently a source of interest for Martin.

Martin Scorsese is currently very popular, and his films are already generating a lot of buzz, so every piece of news about him attracts attention.

A popular comment was quickly pinned to the top of the page under the newly released trailer on YouTube.

"They shouldn't have killed Martin's dog!"

The topic of dogs began to brew on the Internet, attracting a new group in addition to those who were already interested in Martin and his films—dog-owning families.

Owning a dog is so common in the United States that so many people consider their dogs as members of the family.

Using the death of a dog as the motive sets it apart from other action films and creates a perfect intersection with internet culture.

Without needing anyone else to summarize, Jessica's online marketing team immediately released a brand-new marketing concept.

"A dog caused a bloodbath!"

This sparked heated discussions on the internet.

"The dog is so cute, how could those bastards have the heart to hurt it? Good job, Martin!"

"Don't they know to consider the owner before beating a dog? They dare kill Martin's dog? Don't they know the formidable reputation of the 'Cola God of War'?"

The reply below read: "Those who have truly witnessed the might and dominance of the Coca-Cola God of War have already gone to hell to report to Satan."

Warner Bros. then held a small-scale preview screening.

Media reporters, cinema managers, and a few lucky moviegoers were fortunate enough to see the film in advance.

Pablo was one of the lucky fans.

He likes Martin, but unlike Martin's die-hard fans, he likes Martin's movies more.

The quality is guaranteed, and it looks very satisfying.

The Santa Monica Pier incident brought Pablo's attention to "John Wick".

Throughout the preview screening, Pablo was completely absorbed, never once losing focus. He didn't even consider whether the plot was reasonable or whether the theme had depth; he was completely drawn in by the action scenes and unconsciously followed the visuals until the end.

The action scenes were so spectacular that he completely overlooked the dramatic scenes.

A middle-aged man next to me suddenly whispered, "It seems like there isn't a single Hollywood movie with action scenes as smooth as Vaseline in this one."

Pablo initially agreed: "Yes! Yes! The action scenes were fantastic, most of them were long takes, and Martin's execution was superb!"

Then, remembering that the other person had mentioned Vaseline, he quickly shifted his position to the other side, worried that it really was silky smooth.

The middle-aged man continued, "Other action movies, in order to compensate for the lack of fluidity in the actors' movements, have to cut the shots extremely short and use shot transitions to create action scenes. Michael Bay's films are a prime example..."

Despite his concerns, Pablo took the initiative to speak when the topic turned to the film: "Because Martin is skilled enough, he has no problem handling long takes."

The middle-aged man suddenly pulled out a business card, handed it to Pablo, and said, "I'm a reporter for *Film World* magazine. Could I publish what you just said in my report?"

Pablo nodded slightly, realizing the other person was a professional.

Hearing that many film critics looked down on commercial action films, and worried that this person would give it a bad review, he quickly added, "I'm just an ordinary movie fan. From my perspective, this film is cool and exciting, an absolute classic of action movies!"

The middle-aged man grinned lewdly: "I think so too."

When the screening ended, Pablo paid special attention, listening intently as he walked out.

He was surrounded by ordinary movie fans like himself.

"Martin's action scenes absolutely deserve full marks!"

"Martin is so damn cool! The realistic hand-to-hand combat and crazy headshots are what action movies should be like!"

"That's so classy! Martin is absolutely stunning!"

Pablo left the test screening theater, drove home, and immediately turned on his computer to log onto the IMDB website. Under the "John Wick" section, there were no official movie reviews yet.

He quickly typed out the comment he had thought of on the way and sent it out.

"Just saw a preview screening of 'John Wick,' and it truly lives up to its name—a bloodbath caused by a dog. It's worth mentioning that, unlike what some malicious people have made up, all the highlights of the film are in the trailer; it's ten times more exciting! Martin's action scenes are absolutely superb, clean and crisp, like smashing a Russian spy's head with a bottle of Coke at the Santa Monica docks!"

"Guys, this movie is absolutely awesome! Martin's action sequences in the long takes are incredibly well-done; I haven't seen anything like it in Hollywood in recent years! Most importantly, no villain dies from talking too much, and no protagonist is captured only to be killed by the villain instead of the protagonist. Whenever Martin takes action, it's clean and efficient, leaving no loose ends!"

Pablo was just a seasoned film enthusiast, not a professional film critic, and his writing skills were limited, so this was all he could express.

This comment was quickly liked by hundreds of people and pushed to the top of the comment section!

The film received rave reviews from test screenings, with theater managers giving it unanimous praise, deeming it highly entertaining and commercially viable.

At the subsequent reception, Philip, the marketing director of Joyful, specifically sought out Daniel, who was in charge of the marketing and distribution of "John Wick" at Warner Bros.

"I admit that because of the nature of the original film and its R rating, even though the film was very popular, I still underestimated it." Philippe wouldn't miss this opportunity to boost audience traffic; releasing such a film in March, a slow season, could significantly boost revenue.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Give me another 300 copies, and they must be in place a week before the release!"

Daniel readily agreed, "No problem." But he had a condition: "You've seen the film; Martin's films are still of such high quality. There's no need to worry about commercial success. I'm demanding that all Joyful Cinemas not reduce the number of screenings of 'John Wick' for the next four weeks!"

Having worked in the industry for decades, Philip had an exceptionally keen market sense. Without hesitation, he said, "Sure, Ximanke will definitely not reduce the number of screenings for the next four weeks!"

Daniel smiled and said, "I'll have someone draft the agreement right away."

Such matters should, of course, be put in writing.

No sooner had Philip left than Gray, the representative of the Emperor Cinema, came looking for him.

He said to Daniel, "You've got another masterpiece this time, a Martin Scorsese film. It's definitely a guarantee of quality."

The two are old friends, and Daniel laughed heartily: "Since working with Martin, my work has become much easier. I don't have to rack my brains to choose films anymore; Martin starring is a guarantee of success."

Regal and Cinemas are two of the three major theater chains in North America. Although theaters make more of their profits from concessions, good movies are the key to attracting customers. Gray added, "Regal guarantees 60% of the screenings for Martin's new film, John Wick."

Daniel emphasized, "All around."

Gray thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay." He then added, "How about Warner Bros. and Emperor Entertainment signed an exclusive screening deal for Martin's next film, which is Nolan's new project?"

This meant the film couldn't be shown in other theaters, so Daniel demanded an exorbitant price: "A 70/30 split."

"This is impossible!" Gray almost shouted, emphasizing, "Don't forget, it's an original science fiction movie!"

Daniel also emphasized, "And please don't forget, it's a science fiction film starring Martin Davis and directed by Christopher Nolan!"

The two obviously couldn't reach an agreement on such an exclusive deal, and quickly changed the subject.

However, Regal Cinemas will allocate ample resources to support "John Wick".

AMC quickly notified Daniel, requesting additional copies of the film.

As a result, John Wick is set to open in around 3800 theaters in North America, surpassing The Matrix Reloaded's 3603 theaters and setting a new record for R-rated film releases.

The current record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a Hollywood R-rated film in North America is also held by the latter, at $9177 million.

This is a sequel film, but an original non-sequel film. If it can gross over $5000 million in its opening weekend, that would be considered a huge hit.

Martin's predecessor, Cameron's Avatar, grossed over $7700 million in its opening weekend in North America.

In Hollywood, original films are inherently considered inferior by distributors and theater chains.

Immediately, the production team and Martin embarked on an intensive pre-release promotional campaign, traveling back and forth between North America and Europe.

Roadshows, interviews, talk shows, etc.—the promotion of this film doesn't need to be anything extraordinary; following the conventional approach will suffice.

Because Martin paid almost the cost of his life to provide the best publicity.

Warner Bros. deliberately montaged Martin's video at the Santa Monica Pier with parts of the film's trailer and posted it on the internet.

Netizens found it very appealing, believing that the two pieces together didn't look out of place at all.

The topic of "a bloody incident caused by a dog" is also gaining traction, with more and more people joining the discussion and enjoying the fun of using memes.

ABC’s hit morning show, Good Morning America, invited Martin to the studio to share the relationship between the main character, Jonathan, and his dog, Daisy.

Host Diane Sawyer asked, "In the trailers and other promotional materials released by the production team, you went on a killing spree because of a dog?"

"It wasn't me, it was the film's male lead, Jonathan!" Martin corrected him, then added, "Daisy the dog was left to Jonathan by his wife Helen before she passed away. Jonathan deeply loved Helen and quit being an assassin for her. Daisy was Jonathan's emotional and spiritual anchor, and also the starting point of his new life."

These aren't really spoilers, and the film itself isn't afraid of spoilers: "Daisy represents Jonathan's normal life, but Daisy's death completely shatters Jonathan's peaceful life, changing his emotions and mental state. Jonathan then picks up a gun and begins his journey to avenge Daisy!"

Time flew by and it was late March. After a busy promotional tour, the main cast members gathered in New York to prepare for the premiere of "John Wick".

(End of this chapter)