America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 858 A good movie is like a fast-paced online novel.

Upon returning to Los Angeles, Martin immediately went to the Firefighters Foundation Insurance Company and, in accordance with the insurance agreement between the two parties, stored a copy of all the footage in the vault.

This is also to prevent unexpected situations.

In the film era, it was not uncommon for film to be destroyed by fire.

Hollywood's third-party guarantee companies have established corresponding insurance measures for this purpose.

Of course, in the digital age, these risks are much smaller.

The rest of the crew had been given a break, but Martin couldn't rest yet. He led the directing team to do a quick review of the footage they had shot.

According to Martin's plan, the final film of The Shallows will not exceed 90 minutes in length, but the footage shot will be more than 2000 minutes long.

Compared to those epic masterpieces, this is nothing.

In the Shallows studio office, Louise was handing over her work to Martin.

Martin said, "I'll take a few days off before attending the promotional event for 'John Wick 3,' and the initial cut of the post-production will have to be handled by you."

Wearing a black suit, Louise pushed up her glasses and said, "So, you're planning to become a hands-off boss, aren't you?"

"Isn't this in line with the rules of the industry?" Martin said with a straight face, spouting nonsense. "I'm a new director, so it's normal that I don't have post-production editing rights."

Louise, of course, didn't believe this nonsense: "You're still the number one investor and the big boss."

Martin put aside his joke and said, "The editing team has been with the crew since the pre-production stage. Joel Negotter knows exactly what kind of film I want. By the time we finish the final cut, the promotion for 'John Wick 3' and 'Interstellar' will definitely be over, and it won't be too late for me to join the post-production work."

He will definitely have the final say on the edited version.

Louise nodded slightly: "Joel Negot has worked with us for many years, we know each other well enough, and his ability is not an issue. It's very suitable for him to preside over the initial cut."

Martin added, "You'll need to keep an eye on the post-production work."

"This work is beyond my scope." Louise raised an eyebrow. "You'll have to pay me extra."

Martin stood up, spread his hands, and said, "Tell me what you want, body or soul."

Louise checked the time: "Let's go to the airport, Kelly will be here soon."

Martin knew very well that he would have to pay billions more tonight, possibly even tens of billions.

The two went to the airport together and waited for a short while on the private tarmac before Kelly's Gulfstream business jet came to a stop.

The cabin door opened, and Kelly Gray, dressed in a red dress, descended the stairs. Upon seeing Martin, she immediately opened her arms.

Martin gave her a tight hug.

When Louise saw Kelly trying to kiss Martin, she grabbed her and dragged her towards the car, saying, "Don't get carried away. There's plenty of time when we get back. As a state legislator, you should be mindful of your image."

The three of them got into Louise's extended Rolls-Royce Phantom.

As the car started moving, Kelly suppressed the urge to sit on Martin's lap: "Let's get down to business first. Once we've finished in the car and arrived at our destination, we can get right to it."

Martin opened his arms, embracing one on each side, and asked, "What about Ukraine?"

Kelly said, "According to analyses from multiple think tanks, there is an over 80% chance that Alexandrovich will be elected as the President of Uzbekistan, and the situation in Eastern Europe will undergo unprecedented changes."

Louise continued, "The important thing isn't the change itself, but what we can gain from it."

Martin said, "Money, of course."

"For me, there's also political capital," Kelly asked directly. "How long can your influence over Alexandrovich last?"

Martin paused for a moment, then said, "Currently, Alexandrovich wants monetary compensation for my help. When I receive that compensation, the so-called influence... you know better than I do. Once you become president and have power in your hands, people change."

Louise said, "The subsequent impact will depend on Alexandrovich's choices and needs. If he needs America, we political brokers will naturally still have influence."

Martin looked at Kelly: "What's the Donald Party's perspective?"

Kelly smiled and said in Martin's tone, "Er Mao is a dagger that America has placed in front of Da Mao."

Martin, speaking practically, said: "Once Alexandrovich is elected, he will prepare a gift for me, but it involves many complicated factors that I can hardly accept alone. In order to receive it smoothly, I can only ask you all to help."

Kelly leaned in and kissed Martin passionately.

Louise couldn't stand it anymore, so she joined in.

The lips of the six students were entangled and locked in a fierce battle.

Kelly and Louise were Martin's earliest partners. What Alexandrovich wanted to send was quite large, and it would be very troublesome to accept it, far beyond what Martin could handle.

Martin chose to drag these two down with him.

Louise said, "If he gets elected, it would be a really great gift. I can send professionals to assist you."

Kelly said, "Leave the political aspects to me, and leave the sacrifices to me as well."

Martin, whose rise to power was relatively recent, said, "With you all here, I feel at ease."

The car entered Louise's house in Sherman Oakes, and Martin was practically dragged into the villa by Louise and Kelly.

Monetary gains are a matter for the future, but today one can demand at least several billion in compensation.

During his short vacation, Martin was almost dragged, begged, and tempted by Louise and Kelly to stay at Sherman Oaks.

A few days later, Nolan called about the movie, and Martin went to Warner Bros. Studios to participate in a scene from Interstellar.

Warner Bros. plans to use Martin as the narrator in the TV and online video trailers they intend to release during the summer season.

Interstellar will be released in July, and posters and trailers are being released in an orderly manner.

The combined star power of Nolan and Martin, along with Warner Bros.' marketing prowess, has made this film highly anticipated.

After finishing his voice acting, Martin came out of the post-production studio and ran into Daniel, who had just come out of the Batman v Superman studio.

The two went into the ice cream shop together.

Martin casually asked, "Is it going well over there?"

"It's not just going smoothly, it's going too fast." Daniel's eyelids twitched as he thought about the situation on that film crew: "Warner Bros. and DC Comics each sent a producer to assist Zack Snyder in preparing for the film. If all goes well, filming can begin in July."

Martin asked, "Two producers?"

Daniel nodded: "Representing Hamada and Kevin Tsujihara respectively, we will supervise the production team and Zack Snyder to ensure efficiency."

Martin sighed; he knew the Warner Bros. team couldn't just sit idly by.

Daniel changed the subject: "How's the Joker script coming along?"

"It's still in progress," Martin said simply. "The earliest this project will be completed is next year."

In the second half of the year, regarding film work, the post-production of "The Shallows" needs to be completed, and a lot of pre-production work needs to be done for "Split".

Leonardo has already helped Martin connect with the New York-Presbyterian Hospital Psychiatric Center, so Martin can go there to experience life whenever he has free time.

While there aren't any psychopaths with more than ten personalities over there, there are quite a few people with schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder.

The two didn't talk for very long, as Martin had an announcement to attend that evening.

Disney Studios contacted YouTube for an online interview with Martin Scorsese regarding the "John Wick 3" project, where he also answered questions from fans online.

The production team also released a new trailer on YouTube.

Meanwhile, related promotional articles were also published on social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram.

"Martin Davis fights his way through the enemy lines to deliver the final blow; the action sequences are non-stop, featuring gunfights, knife throwing, horse battles, motorcycle chases, and more!"

Aside from normal promotions, Davis Studio's promotional focus remains on dogs.

"Martin Davis, the dog-loving fanatic, is back!"

"So many people died because of killing a dog in the first movie."

"The one thing you absolutely shouldn't mess with in Hollywood is Martin Scorsese's dog."

The topic of the John Wick series and dogs has long since become an internet meme, and even a bit cliché.

But old-fashioned is fine, as long as it works.

The jokes about Martin and his dog have once again flooded the internet, sparking the interest of countless viewers in the film.

Ahead of the first weekend of the summer movie season, Disney held three screenings of "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" in Burbank for media, fans, critics, and theater managers.

Many top-tier blockbuster productions do not hold multiple test screenings.

Because the more people see a movie, the harder it is to control its word-of-mouth.

Why do most art films opt for preview screenings? One reason is to control the size of the audience and avoid giving low ratings to casual viewers who are unhappy with the screening.

Through the efforts of the media and commentators, word-of-mouth marketing can influence many people's judgments.

The film received high praise after its release, which naturally influenced subsequent audience attendance.

John Wick 3 doesn't care about these things. On the one hand, the film is of high quality, and from the production company to the distributor and the theater company, everyone is very confident in the film's commercial prospects.

On the other hand, as a sequel to a blockbuster film, the movie has a wide enough audience and strong enough support.

Over the course of a week, with three consecutive screenings, fan comments can be found everywhere online, and the reviews are mostly positive.

"In terms of action scenes, this is the best in the series, a perfect combination of gunfights and hand-to-hand combat."

"It's another gorgeous and creative action extravaganza, offering a completely entertaining experience, just like a vivid video game."

"If the first movie was Death of a Dog, then this one is Revenge of the Dogs, where these dogs will tear their enemies apart."

Moviegoers unanimously praised the film's action scenes, believing that the crazy fight scenes could satisfy all movie fans' imaginations and expectations.

Because of the large number of test screenings and the number of users rating the film on IMDb, the production company immediately lifted the embargo on reviews, and "John Wick 3" achieved a high IMDb score of 9.2.

Although the test screening ratings are considerably higher, they are still somewhat representative, at least clearly telling everyone that this film suits the public's taste.

In addition to the film crew's regular promotional announcements, Martin also posted on social media.

Thank you everyone for enjoying my movie!

Along with the tweet, he also posted more than a dozen photos of himself during the filming of the movie.

At the same time, the media reviews for John Wick 3 were officially released.

The Los Angeles Times called it an incredible R-rated action film, in which Martin Davis once again delivers a jaw-dropping performance of numerous classic action scenes, making it incredibly entertaining!

The Hollywood Reporter focused on another aspect, arguing that the film expands the "hunt" universe in an enjoyable way, with well-designed action sequences.

Entertainment Weekly's review was simple and to the point: Martin Scorsese's action sequences are as clean and crisp as ever, resulting in a high-quality action film with gorgeous choreography and constant violence.

Immediately after the embargo was lifted, Rotten Tomatoes published 39 reviews, 38 of which were rated fresh and only 1 was rated rotten, giving it a 97% freshness rating.

The film received a high score of 84 on Metacritic.

For an R-rated action film, this is an absolute rave review!

In addition, the internal ratings collected by Disney Studios from theater managers were even higher, with theater operators in the first-tier market giving an average score of 95 points.

In other words, theater managers are extremely optimistic about the market prospects of "John Wick 3".

The distributor, Disney Studios, also secured one of the best release dates of the summer: the Memorial Day holiday.

Although it is an R-rated film, under these favorable conditions, it will open in more than 4000 theaters in North America.

In mid-May, pre-orders for John Wick 3 officially opened in North America.

In just one week, North American theaters sold nearly $3300 million in pre-sale tickets.

Disney Studios and major North American market institutions have unanimously given their opening weekend estimates for the film, with even the most conservative estimates suggesting that it could gross over $1 million in its opening weekend in North America.

It's been many years since an R-rated film in Hollywood grossed over $100 million in its opening weekend in North America.

The first two installments of the John Wick series built a strong fan base, and Martin's market appeal was even stronger than in previous years.

The popularity of this series proves that non-superhero comic book adaptations can also have a broad market prospect if they are made well.

In Martin's personal understanding, this series is like a thrilling online novel he read in his previous life, enjoyable from beginning to end.

In terms of enjoyment, most movie fans around the world share the same needs.

Depressing and melancholic films do have a market, but the market size is much smaller.

As time went on, the North American pre-sales for "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" continued to rise. When the North American pre-sales exceeded $4000 million, Davis Studios and Disney jointly announced that they would further expand the "John Wick" cinematic universe.

After the trilogy, a movie called "Continental Hotel, New York" will be filmed, starring Winston as the male lead.

This news has also piqued the interest of movie fans.

On the afternoon of May 23, the Emirates Theatre in Hollywood was packed with people, all dressed in black suits, as the world premiere of "John Wick: Chapter 3" began.

(End of this chapter)