America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 657 Pharaoh and the Gods (released)

Hollywood, Kodak Theatre.

Today, the entrance is decorated with numerous ancient Egyptian-style ornaments, and a huge poster hangs from the top of the theater, depicting Christian Bale holding a shepherd's staff and splitting the Red Sea.

Warner Bros.' $1.6 million production, "Exodus," is set to premiere as the opening blockbuster of the 2011 summer season.

In the Mercedes on the way to the red carpet, Bale's agent repeatedly instructed him: "If you see Martin Davis at the premiere, ignore him and just stay away. Tonight is your premiere, so don't do anything to him."

Taking the initiative to attack would really get you beaten to a pulp, and with so many media reporters at the premiere, it would seriously damage your image.

The agent knew that Bale was particularly sensitive about Martin, so he didn't dare to say these things aloud.

"I'll pretend I don't see him." Bale was still upset: "This is my premiere, why invite Martin Davis? Everyone knows Martin Davis is my enemy."

The agent explained, "Inviting Martin was at the behest of Warner Bros. president Jon Berger, probably to show Martin Davis that Warner Bros. is still Warner Bros. no matter who leaves."

He thought for a moment, then added, "This project was originally favored by Martin. He initially chose it to collaborate with Warner Bros., but Warner Bros. got the project and sidelined him."

Bell's impression of Martin was utterly terrible: "He deserves it!"

As soon as the Mercedes pulled up to the red carpet and came to a complete stop, someone opened the car door.

Bell got out of the car, buttoned up his suit jacket, and walked along the red carpet toward the theater, waving to both sides as he went, which drew screams from the crowd.

Because of the near-conflict between Bale and Martin at the Oscars, many members of the Cola Cult have strong opinions against Bale.

One of them, drawing inspiration from the experience of Ronaldo's haters chanting Messi's name in football, suddenly shouted, "Martin! Martin! Martin..."

Dozens of members of the Cola Cult simultaneously took off their jackets, revealing red T-shirts and their identities as Martin Luther King Jr. followers, and roared at Bell in unison.

"Martin! Martin!"

Bale's face turned green. He stopped waving to fans on both sides of the red carpet, walked quickly across the red carpet, and went straight to the sponsors' backdrop without even entering the media area. After taking a few photos, he entered the Kodak Theatre.

Daniel looked worried by the window on the second floor of the theater, but Jon Berg, standing next to him, remained confident.

As a former member of Warner's management team, he clearly felt that the overall atmosphere at Warner was changing.

Warner Bros.' performance over the past decade may have been too outstanding, and now the management team is full of confidence in Warner Bros. and its projects.

Jon Berg patted Daniel on the shoulder: "Don't look at me like that. So what if the test screenings didn't go well? It's not a big deal. A minority doesn't represent the opinions of the general audience."

Daniel, however, fell into self-doubt: "After two test screenings, we still haven't received positive reviews for the film, and the market is already questioning it."

Jon Berg personally oversaw the final editing of "Exorcists and Gods," and he didn't see these issues as problems: "There have been many Hollywood films that received terrible reviews in test screenings but were box office hits in theaters, right?"

Daniel couldn't deny this, because there were indeed many such cases.

Jon Berger bluntly cited an example: "Star Wars received almost universally negative reviews during its test screenings, but what happened? Bad Boys, Cataclysm, Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, and so on, all received similarly poor reviews during their test screenings, yet they all became box office hits and models of commercial success."

Daniel couldn't very well say that his film was of questionable quality, so he didn't say anything in rebuttal, though deep down he also hoped for success.

After all, this was a project he had personally stolen from Martin.

As the red carpet event drew to a close, the two left the window area and went to the nearby VIP lounge.

Upon entering, Jon Berger spotted Martin and went straight to him.

He stepped forward and shook hands: "We meet again, Martin."

"This is a grand premiere!" Martin said quite politely. "Thank you for the invitation."

Jon Berger bluntly stated on set, "You're welcome. This is a project you selected and favored. Warner Bros. should thank you for your help; without you, there would be no 'Owls and Gods'."

Martin has found that he has recently become a well-regarded good person. A few days ago, Megan Ellison thanked him for his kindness, and today Jon Berg thanked him for his good intentions.

It felt really good to receive the "good guy card" in person.

Martin's expression remained unchanged, and he said with a smile, "Warner and I are old friends, no need to be so polite."

Jon laughed and said, "No, no, I really need to thank you for the celebration party for the video. You absolutely have to come."

Martin couldn't refuse such enthusiasm: "Please let me know when you're sure about the time."

After exchanging a few more polite words, Jon Berg left.

Martin took a few steps forward and found Ridley Scott.

The latter, with a serious expression, said to Martin, "He edited my film into a mess, cutting out more than thirty minutes of content. The reaction during the test screening wasn't good. I don't understand, how can he be so confident?"

Martin thought for a moment and said, "Warner has had too many successes in the past decade, and perhaps they take success for granted."

Ridley shook his head: "Someone like that as president of Warner Bros...."

Considering he was the director of "The Martian," Martin offered a comforting remark: "The film hasn't been released yet, so everything is still uncertain."

As they were talking, Martin saw Bell, just a dozen meters away.

Bell also spotted Martin, and the moment he saw him, he forced himself to turn his head away.

That bastard is so vengeful!

Bale privately recalled that the root of his conflict with Martin was Heath Ledger's drug-impaired driving at Brooklyn Studios. At the time, Bale was not yet a big star and was trying to pressure Martin to back down.

As a result, this bastard not only did not back down, but also treated him as an enemy.

That's a complete mad dog.

Bale had also heard that this film was one that Martin had initially chosen, and that the male lead, Moses, was probably prepared for him by Martin.

When the film became a huge hit, he finally won back some ground.

The premiere screening was about to begin, and the guests were the first to enter the hall.

Martin had just sat down when Anne Hathaway, dressed in an evening gown, sat down next to him.

"Didn't I see you just now?" Martin asked.

Annie grinned so wide it stretched into a line: "I got stuck in traffic on the way and almost arrived late."

She was in a particularly good mood: "I passed the audition for 'The Dark Knight Rises' and got the role of Selena Kyle."

Martin nodded: "Congratulations."

Anne leaned closer to him: "This is the first time I've ever earned $700 million for a single film."

Martin asked, "Will things be a bit easier financially?"

Anne nodded: "My financial crisis is over."

Actually, Martin is quite soft-hearted when it comes to his ex-girlfriends. He said, "What happened back then is in the past. You did nothing wrong to me. Don't dwell on the past. Look forward."

Anne said, "Tonight, can you give me another chance to be filled? I don't want anything else involved, I just want to be filled by you."

What else can Martin say?

Just then, the movie started, so the two of them stopped talking.

The film begins like Gladiator, with a fierce military battle right from the start, featuring spectacular scenes and a magnificent atmosphere.

The epic feel was immediately apparent.

In terms of special effects and scale alone, it is absolutely top-notch.

Ridley Scott made the most of every penny of the budget.

But the film just fails to generate any sense of anticipation.

Because every viewer knows what will happen next.

Perhaps because the Jewish influence in Hollywood was too great, Ridley didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble, or perhaps Ridley simply loved this epic feel the most. The film's content was very respectful of the Book of Exodus in the Bible, with no changes to the main storyline.

Moreover, the film is exceptionally well-structured, with an opening battle that sparks conflict, a turning point that forces the protagonist to make a choice, the protagonist then saves everything, and finally a climactic ending.

Ridley Scott was really serious and made a very proper Exodus story.

Even though Jon Berg cut a lot of content, it didn't really affect the story's direction much.

The film has no major flaws, but it also offers no surprises.

This is a Hollywood-style fantasy epic that couldn't be more meticulously crafted.

Perhaps if the film were made in a different genre, it might have grossed over $100 million at the North American box office. But epic films, especially those directed by Ridley Scott, are, in some ways, like the films starring Johnny Depp outside the Caribbean, carrying a deep curse.

Hollywood is obsessed with this genre, and countless companies have tried to revive epic films.

Martin recently received news that Paramount Pictures has invested heavily and invited Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe to adapt another biblical story, Noah's Ark, into an epic film.

It is said that Constantine from Germany has also joined forces with companies such as Lionsgate and Sony Pictures Entertainment to prepare an adaptation of the fall of Pompeii, which is also an epic.

Strictly speaking, The Lone Ranger can also be considered a Western epic.

No wonder Ridley Scott considers science fiction films merely a means to work and make a living, while epic films are his true love.

The atmosphere within the circle is very epic.

The film quickly moved on to the scene of Moses parting the sea. The special effects were still excellent, and the scenes were still exceptionally grand, but most people didn't find it particularly impressive.

After more than a decade of special effects, audiences' standards have risen.

As the film ended and applause rang out, Annie said to Martin, "These special effects, these scenes, this epic feel—it must have been incredibly difficult to film and produce."

Martin asked directly, "And what's your initial impression?"

"Uh..." Annie thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth: "It was just so-so, nothing special. I couldn't say what was wrong with the film, but I couldn't say what was good either."

(End of this chapter)