America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 189, Episode 188: Simultaneous Release, Shocking the World

If we were to rewind the clock by 10 years, there's a term about movies that everyone would be very familiar with: simultaneous release in multiple countries.

However, in 2003, it would have been quite difficult to achieve this.

The benefits of simultaneous release are very obvious, the most direct being the impact on piracy.

Looking at the world, piracy is a rampant business in every country.

The United States is the world's largest pirate country, especially when it comes to popular movies.

Often, as soon as a film hits theaters, a bootleg copy will be circulating the next day, and within three or four days, the disc will be available on the black market.

If this is the case in our own country, then it's even more true in other countries where the release has been delayed. By the time the movie is finally shown, pirated copies will be everywhere.

After watching a pirated copy, how many people would be willing to spend money to go to the cinema again?

While simultaneous release cannot completely solve this problem, it can effectively attract box office revenue during prime time after the opening.

If viewers want to watch but can't get pirated DVDs, and there are no cam versions available online, they will naturally go to the cinema if they can't hold back.

Thanks to MGM's tireless efforts, Transformers has made groundbreaking progress in this area.

It was released simultaneously in more than 20 countries including North America, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, South Korea, Australia, and China.

Using this method, it is expected to increase box office revenue by at least $5000 million.

With good luck, $8000 million or even hundreds of millions of dollars is not impossible.

"The source of fire existed before the beginning of all things, and no one knows its origin."

"All we know is that the energy it contains can reshape the world and create life, and that's how the Transformers came to be."

"Like countless other races, the existence of power is coveted."

"Some people want to do good, while others want to do evil, and so war breaks out."

"In the protracted struggle, Cybertron was reduced to ruins, and countless of our people fell."

"The final spark fell into the universe, and we explored in the endless darkness, traversing every galaxy and every planet."

"As time passed and hope began to wane, a new planet was discovered."

"So the Transformers set off for Earth, their last hope!"

On the big screen, accompanied by Optimus Prime's narration, a part of Cybertron's history is revealed.

In just 1 minute and 15 seconds, the footage has already shown the process of this alien civilization from its glory to its destruction.

The camera zooms in from afar, showing countless Transformers fighting, eventually collapsing into piles of broken metal.

In a close-up shot, a Transformer's spark is struck.

It's just a lump of iron, yet it makes vivid facial expressions.

The mechanical hand tried to grasp its own embers, but in the end, it could only painfully close its eyes.

To save money, the original Michael Bay didn't include any Cybertronian scenes.

Eric felt somewhat disappointed with how this was handled, and he wanted to do it better.

So, in order to showcase the appearance of Cybertron, the opening special effects alone cost nearly $500 million.

The effect was explosive; he could clearly hear the gasps of surprise rising and falling throughout the theater.

A film critic from the Los Angeles Times nodded in approval, noting, "Judging solely from this scene, the special effects are absolutely top-notch in the industry; MGM certainly wasn't exaggerating."

"If the special effects are of this quality, then even if the plot is garbage, I believe no audience will care. The adrenaline rush will be enough to make up for everything."

Sergei was sitting to Eric's right.

He also attended the preliminary hearings, but the special effects weren't as good back then; the focus was mainly on the plot.

Seeing this scene now, I can't help but think of those toys on the assembly line. I never imagined that one day they would actually be brought to life right before my eyes.

This feeling was truly both shocking and moving.

Hearing the gasps of surprise around him, Eric couldn't help but chuckle.

This is just the beginning; the real appetizer is yet to come.

The scene shows an endless desert, with a squadron of V22 Ospreys moving rapidly forward.

Inside the cabin, the camera zooms in to reveal a group of soldiers who have clearly just finished a mission chatting. The most prominent member of the group is, of course, Ryan Reynolds, the Deadpool.

After a few words, his status as captain was revealed, with the rank of major on his armband.

Soon, a vast, expansive view revealed the magnificent military base.

Various fighter jets, main battle tanks, and armored vehicles were neatly arranged.

The burly American soldiers, whether exercising or training, gave the audience an impression of unparalleled toughness.

It's as if it's saying how powerful our army is, and how amazing our lads are.

Military enthusiasts in the audience were immediately thrilled. They were very familiar with this equipment, and it was clearly a real film. The texture was something that CG could not simulate.

Immediately afterwards, one of the Decepticons, a dazzled armed helicopter, appeared and quickly approached the military base.

After warnings went unheeded, two F-22 Raptor fighter jets took off to monitor and warn the other side.

The takeoff of the fighter jets was filmed live, while the footage of them soaring in the sky was provided by the Department of Defense and edited in by Eric.

The process was incredibly smooth; they even deliberately painted the serial numbers of the two F-22s exactly the same.

Meanwhile, in an unknown movie theater, Harvey Weinstein secretly watched from a corner.

Just like two days ago, Eric secretly hid in a corner to watch "The Polar Expedition".

Right now, all he could think about was, "Damn it, how did this kid manage to convince the Ministry of Defense?"

This scene looks like a real military base; those guys at the Pentagon must be asking for a fortune.

Did he spend all his money on this? Was the special effects for the last hour or so just perfunctory?

If that's really the case, then that's great; I'd be laughing in my dreams.

But the story that followed completely slapped him in the face.

At 6 minutes and 40 seconds into the movie, the armed helicopter, disguised as a dizzy person, slowly lands at the base.

They were immediately surrounded by several Humvees, with machine guns aimed at the pilot. If the pilot made any sudden movement, he would be torn to shreds.

The audience and critics were glued to the big screen; everyone knew that the armed helicopter was a Decepticon in disguise, and it was about to transform.

lol...

lol...

"Shut down the engine and put your hands behind your head!" the lieutenant colonel leading the team shouted.

His response was the pilot's gradually blurring figure.

"It's a holographic projection!"

Someone in the audience immediately shouted out, instantly attracting the attention of many commentators.

He quickly shrank back to apologize, indicating that he would be more careful.

On the big screen, just as people expected, amidst complex and captivating mechanical sounds, the armed helicopter suddenly began to transform.

With its wings and tail retracted and its hatch bulging out, the aircraft transformed into a gigantic mechanical life form in less than three seconds, in the wide-eyed eyes of the American soldiers.

A logo appears in the upper left corner of the screen.

Faction: Decepticons.

Name: Vertigo.

Mimicry: Sikorsky MH-23 attack helicopter.

Abilities: Mechanical arm machine gun, energy pulse wave, chest cannon, interference field, photon explosion rifle, rocket-propelled uranium-piercing bullet, regenerative armor.

When it came to post-production, Eric thought about it for a long time and finally decided to add descriptions to all the Transformers.

First, the appearance of the Transformers in the movie differs from that in the comics and animation. More importantly, it needs to cater to the average viewer, at least allowing them to distinguish who is who.

Otherwise, if a few lumps of iron were to fight, and the action scenes were fast-paced, the audience might not be able to tell who would win or lose, which would affect their viewing experience.

"Oh my god!"

Upon witnessing the dizzying distortion, countless people on the big screen and in the cinema simultaneously gasped in surprise.

"Fire!"

Immediately afterwards, machine guns and submachine guns opened fire, and the scene was instantly filled with sparks.

However, large-caliber bullets capable of penetrating steel plates, when they hit the dazed body, only produced a series of crisp sounds, without causing any real damage.

boom!

Boom!

indistinct……

In contrast, Dusk, with a sweeping motion of his left arm, riddled a Humvee with bullets.

With a slap of his right hand, he sent an armored vehicle flying.

Its chest shone with an orange-yellow light, and a beam of cannon light swept around it.

Dozens of American soldiers and several armored vehicles couldn't resist for even a second; they were instantly vaporized, unable to even scream.

It was all for the sake of PG13 level, otherwise Eric would have had to create a scene where several American soldiers were torn to pieces.

In order to pass the censorship, he had no choice but to use more energy weapons.

This way, the technological prowess of Transformers can be showcased without making the scenes too gory.

Inside the command tower, a man with the rank of lieutenant general hurriedly issued operational orders while simultaneously alerting the Pentagon and requesting assistance.

However, before he could finish sending the message, the soldier looked at him in horror.

"General, the signal is being jammed; we have to operate independently!"

On the other side, Ryan Reynolds led a group of his men, intending to drive tanks to meet the enemy.

If the bullets don't work, it just means they're not powerful enough. I don't believe that cannonballs can't penetrate this mechanical monster either.

Just as they were preparing to start the tank with this idea in mind, others had already taken action first.

Several M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks rushed in from all directions, and in their haste, they even overturned their own armored vehicles, but they didn't care.

Not far away, the dizzy right arm suddenly deformed, and the hand disappeared and turned into a rifle with a huge caliber.

Dense beams of light shot out from the rifle, and each beam of light that came into contact with a person or object would immediately trigger a violent explosion.

On the runway, more than a dozen fighter jets that hadn't even had time to take off were blown to pieces.

The buildings and soldiers' dormitories were engulfed in flames.

In a short while, the dizziness had cleared the surroundings.

In a close-up shot, its eyes gleam as it scans the entire base before finally focusing on the center of the command tower.

Just as it was about to walk over, several cannon shots rang out, and shells landed on its body.

The immense impact caused the dizzy creature to stagger backward, and the flames of the explosion finally breached its armor.

Seeing this, the American soldiers were overjoyed. It proved that the mechanical monsters on the other side were not invincible, and their weapons could also harm the enemy.

But before these soldiers could even celebrate for a few seconds, their armor, damaged by the explosion, began to heal rapidly.

In the close-up shot, the soldier's initially excited expression instantly froze.

The dizziness was also angered by the constant harassment from the US military. Suddenly, a blue and white pulse energy wave spread outward from its center.

Wherever it went, people and horses were thrown into chaos, and main battle tanks weighing tens of tons were instantly blown into the air.

The energy wave turned the area within tens of meters of the dizzy area into scorched earth.

Seeing this, many soldiers were stunned and stood there dumbfounded, unable to do anything.

"Don't just stand there! That monster's armor isn't fully healed yet. Aim and attack!"

Amid Ryan Reynolds's furious roar, the group of soldiers snapped out of their daze and began pouring bullets into the wounds caused by the dizziness.

This time, instead of letting them attack, she protected her injured areas.

But it had no interest in chasing the minions. Its back armor opened, and a mechanical scorpion darted out.

The scorpion suddenly burrowed into the ground and charged towards Ryan Reynolds' team.

The ground looked as if it had been crushed by an excavator, causing debris to fly everywhere.

Dizziness disregarded everything else, walked straight to the control tower, and slapped the roof off.

A giant robotic arm grabbed in and inserted itself directly into the information processing equipment.

"General, it's stealing top secrets!"

"Turn off the device immediately!"

"No, it's being interfered with; I can't force it to shut down!"

Upon hearing this, the lieutenant general grabbed a fire axe and chopped it fiercely at the power line.

The screen then went black, the battle came to an end, and the camera switched to the protagonist Sam's school.

call……

In the movie theater, countless people let out a deep breath, their tense mood relaxing as a result.

The five-minute battle scene perfectly showcased the power of the Transformers.

Eric gave the Decepticons far more terrifying fighting power, making them much more frightening than the Michael Bay version.

Not only are the weapon systems more abundant, but their lethality has also been significantly enhanced.

Furthermore, they possess the ability to regenerate armor, which means that human weapons will not be able to easily harm the Transformers, and the battles will only become more brutal.

"Holy crap! That's so exciting! These war scenes are fucking awesome!"

"Yes, only Hollywood can produce such a big-budget film. Five minutes of screen time probably costs as much as a domestic blockbuster."

"That makes sense. I went to see He Ping's 'Warriors of Heaven and Earth' a few days ago. The promotion also mentioned Hollywood involvement and that it was a Sino-US co-production. Now I suspect that they are engaging in false advertising."

"I also watched 'Zhou Yu's Train' with my girlfriend last month. Anyway, I'm not the target audience. Compared to Transformers, it's just hard to describe."

"Warriors of Heaven and Earth has already grossed over 2000 million at the box office. How much do you think Transformers will gross?"

"It will definitely surpass 'Hero', and maybe even challenge 'Titanic'."

In a Shanghai cinema, two young people in their twenties were whispering to each other, deeply moved by the scene they had just witnessed.

Not only in Shanghai, but in all countries where the film was released simultaneously, cinemas were filled with similar scenes.

The Independent's film critic grimaced helplessly; his own newspaper and MGM had always been at odds.

He came with a mission: to relentlessly criticize Transformers.

But after just a dozen minutes of filming, he knew this task would be difficult.

"You sons of bitches! How am I supposed to write this? Am I supposed to criticize a blockbuster for not being artistic enough?"

"Eric Cooper, that kid is really something. Filming on location at a military base, managing a crew of thousands—are there really born filmmakers like him?"

Thank you for the 500-coin reward from Sunny Day Remembers to Smile.

I'm stunned again, didn't expect that, did you?

(End of this chapter)