America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 866 Elevating Him to a Divine Status

Hollywood original films face a tough survival challenge, and even original science fiction films by Nolan and Martin are not easy to achieve great success in the market.

Interstellar's midnight screenings only grossed half as much as the hit sequel John Wick 3.

Martin didn't make any major moves because he knew that Nolan, a master of film marketing, was already prepared.

Nolan's syncopated film company, in conjunction with Warner Bros., Paramount, DreamWorks, and AMC Theatres, launched a $34.99 unlimited viewing service for Interstellar.

In other words, moviegoers who buy a $34.99 ticket can watch the film anytime, anywhere, as long as it's still showing in theaters.

This created a hot topic on social media, attracting a lot of attention.

The film's producers are also using this method to suggest to moviegoers and casual viewers that Interstellar is a film worth watching repeatedly.

It's okay if you don't understand it after watching it once; you can watch it several times.

In promotional interviews, Nolan repeatedly emphasized the unlimited viewing pass: "This is a movie that only gets better with each viewing."

Besides promoting his own work, Nolan also leveraged his connections, with some prominent directors also speaking out for the film.

Steven Spielberg, who invested in the film, publicly declared, "Can I say this? Interstellar is unbelievably good!"

British director Edgar Wright said, "This film has a tremendous artistic impact and unparalleled filmmaking techniques. I must pay tribute to Nolan."

Just like Martin, when a person continues to succeed, they are always surrounded by good people.

Martin Scorsese has been collaborating with Nolan, and in addition to Nolan's undeniable directing ability, his ability in publicity, marketing, and hype is equally crucial.

Hollywood's gods never form spontaneously.

Although the film received mixed reviews, its word-of-mouth marketing was quite effective.

By Friday, Interstellar had opened in 4180 theaters across North America. With the support of two big names, Nolan and Martin, the film's attendance rate climbed, and it grossed $2675 million that day.

Seeing these numbers, Martin breathed a sigh of relief in his carving studio.

Seeing him like this, Lily put down her carving knife, went to change out of her work clothes, and asked Martin, "Should we celebrate?"

Martin put down the statue he was holding and asked, "How do you plan to celebrate?"

Lily looked at Elizabeth Olsen: "Liz, what's your opinion?"

Elizabeth thought for a moment and said, "The hot pot you made last time was delicious. Shall we have it again for lunch?"

Many Chinese people have come here in recent years, and hot pot restaurants are not uncommon in Los Angeles. Various modified versions of hot pot are quite popular here.

Martin said, "No problem, I'll call someone to send the ingredients over."

Lily looked at the stone dust on her body: "I'm going to take a shower first."

Martin made a phone call to the butler.

The housekeeper contacted the suppliers, and a large quantity of fresh ingredients and sauces were delivered to Davis Estate before noon.

After Martin finished preparing, he checked the time and said, "Let's wait for Old Brooks, he'll be back soon."

Lily asked curiously, "What has Old Bu been doing in Europe all this time?"

Martin simply stated, "There are some business matters that require his attention."

Lily understood and stopped asking questions.

Elizabeth said, "We'll eat when Old Brooks gets back."

Before noon, the bodyguards picked Bruce up from the airport and brought him back.

After Old Bu finished washing up, the five of them, including Thomas who had come to join in the fun, had lunch together.

After the meal, Thomas, who still had work to do, said goodbye and left.

Martin and Bruce went to the study to talk.

Bruce spent more than ten days on this trip to Europe.

Martin asked directly, "Did the talks go smoothly?"

"It's basically settled." Bruce explained in detail what had happened in Europe.

Martin said, "You'll still be in charge of handling this."

Bruce has already set up a shell company and started the corresponding preparations, just waiting for him to take office.

Martin then went upstairs and spent the afternoon with Lily and Elizabeth. He didn't need to participate in any activities for the next two days, as he would be going on overseas promotions for the film next Monday.

Interstellar remains incredibly popular on the internet.

Martin Scorsese's fans are also spreading the film through social media.

On Saturday, Interstellar still had a good attendance rate, grossing $2787 million in a single day.

Compared to blockbuster adaptations or sequels, this achievement is only mediocre considering the $1.8 million investment.

But for an original film that leans towards hard science fiction, it's really quite good.

Avatar only grossed a little over $7000 million in its opening weekend.

After a three-day weekend, Interstellar, fueled by a massive marketing campaign, grossed $7865 million in North America, surpassing Transformers 4, which was released during the Independence Day holiday, to top the North American box office charts.

After the new week began, Martin joined the film crew and headed straight to Rio de Janeiro to begin overseas promotions.

Movies that are box office hits in North America, especially big-budget science fiction films, are also likely to do well at the overseas box office.

The combination of Nolan and Martin, in particular, already generates a lot of buzz.

Emma Thomas stayed in Los Angeles and, on behalf of Nolan, met with Daniel to discuss a collaboration between Nolan's new film and Warner Bros.

Daniel has already reviewed the proposal and script outline for Nolan's new project, "Dunkirk," and said, "Isn't science fiction what Chris is best at? He's been making and producing science fiction films for the past few years, and the market response has been very good."

Emma Thomas stated bluntly, "Science fiction films are very difficult to win Oscars."

Daniel had spoken with Martin before and knew that Nolan now had both money and fame, and his sights were set on the Oscars: "But science fiction films are easier to make money from."

"Chris has been working with Warner for over a decade," Emma Thomas suddenly changed the subject. "Over the years, we've had our ups and downs, but the outcome has always been positive."

Daniel understood immediately and quickly said, "Warner will certainly continue to work with Chris."

With "Interstellar" having just become a box office hit, and Nolan being seen as a god among his fans, Warner Bros. certainly wouldn't let go of this idol.

Daniel knew very well that as soon as Warner announced it would no longer work with Nolan, the other five companies would come knocking on its door that very day.

Nolan is already being poached.

"We also plan to continue our partnership with Warner," Emma Thomas said, and that was enough.

Daniel is definitely going to push for the "Dunkirk" project to be approved, but such projects require large investments, have low market returns, and are too risky. He also has another idea: "Chris and Martin have been a golden partnership for many years, so why not continue to work with Martin?"

Without Martin around, he felt insecure, always thinking that profits might drop.

Emma Thomas also wanted to invite Martin to continue working together, but sighed helplessly: "This is an ensemble film without an absolute male lead, how could we possibly get Martin to join us? This is no longer a matter of salary."

Daniel wasn't giving up, believing that pairing Martin and Nolan together would not only be a success but also a market hit: "Can't the production team and roles be adjusted? Write a lead role specifically for Martin..."

"It's impossible to change it." Emma Thomas shook her head: "This play doesn't highlight any particular character."

Daniel understood. Since the project was aiming for an Oscar, the primary focus should naturally be on Nolan.

Martin Scorsese is too dazzling, and he has unique insights into the Oscar race. The Best Actor award might scramble for the Best Director vote.

Emma Thomas said, "Hopefully Warner Bros. can move this project forward as soon as possible."

It's not uncommon in Hollywood for top directors or stars to pressure production companies. Daniel could only reply, "I will push for censorship as soon as possible. With Chris's fame and influence, getting Warner Bros.' green light is inevitable."

Emma Thomas was quite pleased with this.

She then left the Warner building and went to the Disney Studios in Burbank to the set of "Continental Hotel," specifically to wait for Menez.

Emma Thomas was annoyed that this person had been avoiding her lately, so she came to confront him.

She wanted to see how Menez would explain himself!

…………

Just as the Interstellar crew was traveling to Brazil and Argentina for promotional activities, Davis Film Studios held a press conference to announce some news.

After a month and a half of screenings, "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum" has grossed over $5 million in North America and $10 billion worldwide!

This marks the first time since Davis Studios was founded that a film has grossed over $10 billion at the box office.

Stimulated by this positive news, "John Wick 3" saw a slight rebound in box office revenue that weekend, earning another $624 million in North America and nearly $10 million overseas.

The film grossed $10.34 billion worldwide.

Meanwhile, Interstellar entered its second weekend of theatrical screenings in North America.

The film remains very popular, but its critical reception has declined.

Martin Scorsese's fans are relatively calm; guided by Davis Studios' efforts to break the idolization campaign, they haven't become overly fanatical.

After all, in terms of charm, the male lead in this film is far less captivating than the Joker and Jonathan.

Nolan's die-hard fans, on the other hand, are completely different; they are truly determined to elevate Nolan to a godlike status.

However, overly enthusiastic fans often outweigh ten haters.

Anyone who says "Interstellar" is bad online will immediately be attacked by these people, who will say things like "not smart enough" or "that's the mildest form of criticism."

As a result, Nolan's fans called those who didn't give the film a good review idiots, while others called them Nolan fans.

Fortunately, Nolan's previous films laid a solid foundation, and with the support of the superstar Martin Scorsese, Interstellar's box office performance has been relatively stable.

The film did not experience a significant drop in its second weekend in North America, taking in another $4037 million. Combined with the earnings from the first four business days, the film's cumulative North American box office reached $1.48 million.

In addition, the film grossed $5127 million in more than 30 countries and regions overseas this week.

The film crew's overseas promotional tour continued until August.

When Martin returned to Los Angeles from his childhood, Interstellar had already grossed over $2.5 million in North America and $4.62 million worldwide.

According to estimates from Warner Bros. and several market research institutions, the film's final box office gross is likely to be around $8 million.

As soon as the crew returned to Los Angeles, Nolan struck while the iron was hot, holding a press conference with Warner Bros. to announce their next project collaboration.

As always, Nolan, a master of publicity and marketing, did not disclose the details of the project, but instead used a child's name as the code name for the new project.

Is this kind of thing even useful? Can it fool the entertainment media? Of course not.

Just like the behind-the-scenes footage of the film, Nolan can really make a big deal out of this, leading the media and public opinion to follow his lead.

Martin and Nolan's collaboration has come to a temporary end.

The two might actually become rivals at the Oscars in the future.

Martin rested for two days, then received a call from Louise and went to the Disney studio.

Assistant director Steve Downton was in the screening room preparing for the screening.

After Martin arrived, he went straight into the film analysis room and watched the first version of the film, which was controlled by Louise and edited by Joel Negroon.

This version is over 200 minutes long, and many shots have not yet had post-production effects added.

But all the shots in the film were directed by Martin, and the images corresponding to each shot were quite clear in his mind.

Watching an unfinished 200-minute film made by someone else would be extremely boring.

Martin, on the contrary, seemed to enjoy watching his own film.

It's easy to see things from the producer's perspective, such as which parts can be cut, which shots can be adjusted, and which plot can be made more concise and clear.

Martin took notes in his notebook as he watched.

Every now and then, Martin would stop the broadcast to exchange ideas with Louise and Joel Negroon.

As a new director, Martin's views are sometimes not correct. After being reminded by Louise, a top producer, and Joel Negroon, an experienced editor, Martin will correct his mistakes in time.

Martin is very confident in his abilities as a director.

Of all the assistant directors, only Steve Downton was able to offer any opinions.

Others in the film screening room can only act as light switch managers or projectionists.

Robert Eggers, with his full beard, served as the temporary projectionist, always pressing the pause button whenever Martin called for a stop.

Martin and the three people around him kept talking, causing the screening to be interrupted repeatedly and the screening time to keep going on.

Robert Eggers had worked on the set for a while and was quite familiar with Martin. He knew that Martin wasn't the jerk the rumors made him out to be; in fact, he was quite mild-mannered in his daily work.

He had never forgotten his purpose in coming to this film crew, and he had made the necessary preparations before today's film analysis meeting, just waiting for the meeting to end.

Because the film analysis was intermittent, it wasn't finished by the end of the morning. During lunch break, Martin still called Louise and Joel Negron to discuss it together.

The film analysis session lasted until nearly 4 p.m.

Everyone who attended the meeting was exhausted, both physically and mentally.

Martin was energetic and in good spirits. When he left the film analysis room, Robert Eggers quickly caught up with him from behind.

(End of this chapter)