America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 755 Terrible Losses

Seeing that Jon Berg seemed to be affected, McDonald didn't dare to say anything and quietly waited for the president's latest instructions.

Jon Berg said, "It's okay. Advance screening box office is directly related to sequels and adaptations. We are not a sequel, nor are we an adaptation of a very popular commercial work, so it's normal for the advance screening box office to be lower."

McDonald wasn't sure if the president was talking to him or to himself, so he simply didn't respond.

Jon Berg waved his hand: "Alright, that's enough for today. Go back and get some rest."

McDonald left the president's office and told his assistant team to go home.

Jon Berg sat on the sofa but didn't move for a long time.

He had a bad feeling.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he forced himself to stand up. The North American release of "Jack the Giant Slayer" had just begun, and the advance screenings were only so-so. There were quite a few films that had a big opening week.

It's too early to draw conclusions now; we can wait until tomorrow's box office results to determine the film's success or failure.

Jon Berger automatically shut out those bad thoughts, seemingly very relaxed as he left the office and drove home to rest.

With the film's official release in North America, ratings and reviews that Warner Bros. had previously blocked suddenly appeared on major media outlets and websites the following morning.

"With its dazzling special effects, fairy tales, and teen fantasy, what else can moviegoers expect in May?"

The Chicago Sun-Times' original "Roger Albert's Movie Review" column gave this film an 88 out of 100.

"A thrilling, highly original, and entertaining adventure film."

The Variety film review column, owned by WarnerMedia, also gave the film an 80 out of 100.

Judging from the reviews of film critics in the media, this seems to be a high-quality film that will be a hit during the summer season.

In an era where film reviews have long been commercialized, these are naturally things that can be marketed.

However, Jack the Giant Slayer received extremely poor reviews from audiences.

On the internet, where young viewers gather, IMDb's initial rating was only 5.5, which dropped to 5.3 by noon.

On Twitter, it was almost entirely filled with insults.

As a result, many film review columns in traditional media praised "Jack the Giant Slayer," while on the internet, most ordinary moviegoers criticized it as a bad film.

Despite Warner Bros.' online trolls' efforts to stir up trouble, the sheer volume of criticism made it impossible to reverse the situation.

Warner Bros. responded immediately.

Jon Berg gave an interview in response to the negative reviews online: "It's impossible for a movie to please everyone. Jack the Giant Slayer received some negative reviews online, but also a lot of positive reviews from the media. This doesn't mean the film is bad; it's just that the reviews are polarized."

Perhaps overwhelmed by pressure, Jon Berg also criticized those who gave negative reviews, as well as some who were maliciously trying to make a fool of him: "Some people may not like this film, and we can accept reasonable criticism, but the way you're attacking this film is too brutal!"

This interview was incredibly effective because there were so many people criticizing "Jack the Giant Slayer".

Ordinary movie fans were instantly outraged.

I didn't pay for a ticket to see this movie, so I'm really not qualified to comment or rate it.

The problem is, I paid to watch it, so I can't say it's a bad movie? Do I have to admit that my appreciation level is too low?

Fans flocked to the official Twitter account of "Jack the Giant Slayer," leaving a flurry of comments.

"That's not polarized reviews? It's clearly paid reviews with high scores, while everyone else is giving low scores!"

"Don't Warner Bros. know what kind of terrible movie they made?"

"I understand why the film's protagonist suffered from schizophrenia; it's because the president of Warner Bros. is a paranoid person!"

As for websites like IMDB, negative reviews are falling like raindrops in a downpour.

On the other hand, Cinemascore released audience ratings from theaters, and the average score was only a C!

Warner Bros.' three previous high-budget film projects that failed—Exodus, Green Lantern, and Darklands—also received audience ratings of C.

In the years since Cinemascore was founded, almost exclusively, films that received a C rating from audiences have been box office flops.

"Jack the Giant Slayer" was no exception on its opening day in North America, grossing $559 million in 3855 theaters.

Nolan received the data and immediately called Martin: "Have you seen the box office numbers? This film will incur extremely serious losses."

Martin smiled and said, "Chris, are you ready?"

Nolan said, "We'll launch it once the North American opening weekend box office figures are in."

"Okay," Martin said. "I'll wait for your whistle."

He prompted, "What about Bryan Singer?"

"I've contacted him," Nolan said. "He's waiting for an opportunity."

Martin understood: "I will help Bryan Singer create a suitable opportunity."

Nolan added, "I'm going to DreamWorks and Paramount now to talk to Spielberg and Bob in person. The Star Trek project has been dragging on for far too long."

Martin said, "Good luck."

Nolan hung up the phone.

Martin put down his phone.

Louise, who was next to her, lifted the blanket, put on her black-rimmed glasses, and walked towards the table without wearing anything.

Martin leaned back on the soft pillows, enjoying the scene: "You're tempting me."

Louise picked up the contact list, faced Martin, and said seriously, "Warner Bros., and indeed Warner Bros. of all time, has never lacked the gene for internal strife. The rise of Kevin Tsujihara and his Warner Bros. team was a result of internal struggle. There are many people within Warner Bros. vying for the position of president of Warner Bros. Pictures."

She lifted her leg and placed it on the chair, speaking in a strange posture as she spoke seriously: "Our old friend Daniel is a prime example. According to my sources, when Warner Bros.' previous big productions failed, Jon Berg always blamed Daniel, and Daniel was extremely dissatisfied with Jon Berg."

Martin said, "Daniel's chance has come."

Louise said, "I will call Daniel myself."

Martin laughed: "That's great."

"You need to pay for this call!" Louise pushed up her black-rimmed glasses.

Martin immediately took action and recharged his account.

…………

With the North American box office results for "Jack the Giant Slayer" released, the reputation that Jon Berg had invested heavily in maintaining could no longer be sustained.

The so-called "polarized reputation" has completely collapsed.

Kenneth Turan, a film critic for the Los Angeles Times, harshly criticized the film in his column.

"The film simply extracts the most well-known parts of two fairy tales and then uses some flashy shots to piece together a very mediocre work! Bryan Singer is a very mature director, yet this film is so subpar and full of basic mistakes, it's unbelievable."

After seeing this, Bryan Singer declared that he would absolutely not take the blame for this!

On a friend's suggestion, he contacted TMZ and gave a video interview, personally recounting the behind-the-scenes stories of the filming and production of "Jack the Giant Slayer".

The video quickly appeared in a prominent position on the TMZ homepage.

"Anyone who followed the promotion of 'Jack the Giant Slayer' should know that I never participated in any of the film's promotional events, because this film is not my work at all!"

The movie was so bad that the lead actor suffered a mental breakdown, but Bryan Singer refuses to take the blame: "I hereby solemnly declare that 'Jack the Giant Slayer' is not my work!"

He explained in detail: "The vast majority of the film was indeed shot under my direction on set, but many of them were not what I wanted to shoot at all. The initial filming in Atlanta went very smoothly, but then, for some reason, Warner Bros. president Jon Berger sent a new producer and agreed that the other investors would also each send a producer."

"In one film crew, there are six powerful producers who meddle with the director's filming. Before each scene and each shot is filmed, they will carefully review it and give their opinions. Moreover, their opinions are different, which leads to constant arguments on set. As a result, I can only call 'action' before they reach a consensus through these arguments..."

"Do you know what this feels like? I was tortured for a whole month, a whole month!"

In the video, Bryan Singer gritted his teeth as he said this: "After filming, I returned to Los Angeles and suffered severe psychological and emotional trauma. I also had heart problems and had to be hospitalized. Jon Berg took the opportunity to deprive me of my right to participate in post-production."

"Here, I want to thank him for not letting me participate in post-production, otherwise I would have gone crazy. Jon Berg, the president of Warner Bros., has a crazy production mode in post-production."

"He first had each of the six producers edit a finished film, then organized a panel of experts to review the films and select the best parts from the six edited films. He then personally directed the editors to edit them into the version for the theatrical release. Perhaps this is why many movie fans feel that the characters, plots, and styles are always changing and jumping around."

Bryan Singer explained the situation and shifted the blame back: "So 'Jack the Giant Slayer' is the work of Jon Berg and his producers, not Bryan Singer. I wasn't even the on-set supervisor."

Not only did Bryan Singer release a clarification interview video through TMZ, but his agent then contacted Warner Bros., the Directors Guild, and the Producers Union, demanding that his name be removed from the director's credits for "Jack the Giant Slayer".

How bad does a film have to be for the director involved in its production to refuse to acknowledge it as their own work?

Bryan Singer's statement completely ruined the reputation of "Jack the Giant Slayer".

On Saturday, the film's box office had already begun to decline, grossing only $524 million that day.

In its opening weekend in North America, "Jack the Giant Slayer" grossed $1422 million amid a flood of negative reviews.

This is an even more disastrous box office failure than "Owls and Gods" and "Green Lantern".

(End of this chapter)