America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 324, Section 322: What to do without the Hulk?

"What do we do? Tell me what we should do? We have to do something!" Angry shouts could be heard intermittently in Disney's offices.

Michael Ianas is throwing a tantrum again. Although he's been throwing tantrums a lot lately, he's especially angry today.

The reason is obvious to everyone: The Chronicles of Narnia did not perform well at the box office.

The weekly box office figures are in, just over $4000 million. This is a terrible number, a number that shouldn't exist.

As a new film, and a commercial blockbuster with a strong fan base from the book, it only ranked 4th on this week's box office chart, failing to even crack the top three.

Third on the list is that damn Inception, which was released on the same day as Spider-Man 2.

Peter Parker has fallen to 6th place; who knew this nonsensical dream story would have such a lasting impact.

Fortunately, the second place went to our own film, The Incredibles, but the equally damning "Wanted" earned $31 million at the box office, barely making it into fifth place.

Later on, low-budget films like "Kung Fu Hustle" and "Napoleon" also made it into the top 20.

The most unacceptable thing is that Iron Man took the top spot, grossing a staggering $1.67 million in its first week.

Although it did not break the $1.88 million box office record set by "Transformers", it was still the best result in 2004.

Michael Ianas was so angry he was practically grinding his teeth to powder. There was no doubt that temporarily moving "The Chronicles of Narnia" to the Christmas release was a huge mistake.

Eric Cooper is such a marketing genius; he's incredibly good at creating hype.

A ridiculous dream-fulfilling trip lured idiots into the movie theater, where they handed over real money as tribute.

Looking outside, everyone is talking about Iron Man, Iron Man, Iron Man. He feels like throwing up whenever he hears those letters.

Why doesn't anyone say Narnia, Narnia, Narnia?

"I need your opinions. What should we do with *The Chronicles of Narnia*? James, you go first!"

The bespectacled man who was called out pushed up his nose bridge: "Boss, judging from the current situation, The Chronicles of Narnia is in a very bad position."

"Iron Man is just too powerful, and most importantly, Captain America will be released soon."

"Did you guys see the post-credits scene in Iron Man? Samuel L. Jackson's bald character says there isn't just one superhero in the world, which is undoubtedly paving the way for Captain America."

"While the two films are not sequels, there are definitely elements that connect them."

"Many viewers are interested now, in other words, Iron Man will drive Captain America to achieve good box office results, even if the latter is very bad."

Michael Ainas waved his hand to interrupt him: "I don't want you to analyze this bullshit situation, I want to hear solutions, good ideas."

"Uh, sorry boss, please give me some more time."

Michael Ianas's temper flared instantly. He wanted to yell but held back, turning to the marketing department and asking, "What's your opinion?"

"Boss, judging from the first week's box office, we've already lost the battle. It's almost impossible for The Chronicles of Narnia to improve its box office performance."

"But the key issue now is that the movie has received very good reviews. I think instead of focusing too much on the current box office, we should consider whether it is necessary to make a sequel."

All eyes turned to Michael Ainas, who was also having a terrible headache.

I'm not afraid of you being bad, I'm not afraid of you being good, I'm just afraid of you being neither good nor bad.

Let's make a sequel. What if it's critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful again? We'll lose even more money.

It would be a real shame to waste such a great IP by not making a sequel.

Imagine you and your spouse have two children. One test confirms it's yours, and the other doesn't. In that situation, you'd probably be embroiled in a lifelong legal battle with your wife.

"Boss, I actually have a suggestion we can discuss."

"What?"

"Why not postpone it? The Chronicles of Narnia has a great reputation, but the competition is too fierce. Changing the release date will definitely bring in a good box office."

Upon hearing this, Michael Ianas rejected it without even thinking.

What a joke! This show was brought in at the last minute. If they pull this trick of canceling the release, even the dumbest audience will realize they've been mocked and insulted.

And to just run away like that, doesn't that mean Disney has given up?

Seeing that he disagreed, the meeting room fell into a deathly silence.

In fact, people's mentality has been gradually changing. When your opponent is impossible to kill and even starts to counterattack, morale will naturally be greatly weakened.

After fighting for so long, what's the point? All you've lost is some say. But didn't you take that say from someone else anyway?

MGM is doing streaming media, so why don't we do it too? The market is so big, and nobody's stopping us.

Everyone was tired, except for these few senior executives, but no one dared to say it.

If we're talking about the hottest celebrity these days, it's undoubtedly Robert Downey Jr.

If we only consider the film credits, Bale, Tobey Maguire, Nicole Kidman, and others are no less impressive than him.

The key is that his own experiences garnered him a great deal of attention.

Everyone knows what Downey used to be like—a long-time drug addict, utterly hopeless.

Alcohol abuse, drunk driving, possession of firearms, and trespassing.

He's in the news almost every few days, and he's been to the police station quite often; he's a typical piece of trash.

This also ruined his own marriage, causing him to be separated from his wife and children and hated by everyone.

But this time he made a complete turnaround and continued to show his good side.

What is this?

This is a classic prodigal son returning home, a plot point from Hollywood scumbag movies.

It's often said that when a bad person suddenly has a change of heart and does a good deed, people are very moved and feel that their humanity hasn't been completely extinguished.

Downey is undoubtedly this type of person; people who didn't like him before started to like him, and people who thought he was pretty good liked him even more.

He has repeatedly apologized to those he had hurt by appearing on TV shows, doing promotions, giving interviews, and attending charity events.

The media also interviewed his ex-wife, Sarah Jessica Parker, the lead actress in "Sex and the City".

She smiled and offered her blessings to the man she had lived with for seven years.

"I'm so glad to see that he has finally turned over a new leaf. It's great that he was able to overcome himself."

"I haven't seen Iron Man yet, but I'll make time to watch it. I also wish him all the best."

"Contact? No, we haven't been in touch for a long time. What's past is past, let those troubles go with the wind."

Iron Man is dominating the film market, and the music market is also reporting good news.

Arista and Avril Lavigne officially announced their contract termination, and Avril Lavigne subsequently joined American Artiste.

In front of the media, Eric and Mike held a signing ceremony for her, and the punk girl joined the MeiYi family.

Immediately afterward, they prepared to record the song and quickly produced and released "Something Just Like This".

As time passed, and amidst the anticipation of countless viewers, Captain America finally hit the big screen after just half a month.

Nick Fury's line, "You're not the only superhero in the world," is enough to make many people realize that there must be a connection between the two movies; it all depends on how the story is told.

On the red carpet, Chris Evans waved to everyone and was asked when Transformers 2 would be released.

He laughed and said, "I don't know the specifics. You know, post-production is the most important part of these kinds of movies, but the actual scenes have already been filmed."

"Will it be released during the summer season? The summer season is the most suitable time."

Chris Evans shrugged and pointed at Eric: "I really don't know. You should ask him instead of me."

"What?"

"Today is Captain America's show, not the Autobots'. Let's get our attention back on track, shall we?"

Eric did not answer. Although he did not direct the second film, he had been closely following the production process.

The movie is more than half finished, and it will be perfectly ready for the summer release.

According to the usual practice for movies, the release date should have been announced long ago, but now things are changing and the release date could be changed at any time, so it's hard to say.

On the big screen, we see Steve Rogers emerge from a petri dish, transforming from a skinny, scrawny chicken into a robust ostrich.

Especially his bare upper body, with its smooth and firm pectoral muscles, made many female viewers exclaim "Wow!"

This scene doesn't use the special effects of the original; it's actual footage of Chris Evans working out and getting his makeup done.

He's been exhausted this year. Sam demands a small frame, while Captain America demands a muscular physique, so he has to train relentlessly under the guidance of a nutritionist in order to achieve results in a short period of time.

Think back to when Eric first interviewed Sam; he told him to lose weight.

The more enjoyable it was at the time, the more painful it will be to train again.

However, it's great to play with realistic effects, especially in battlefield scenes, where every action that can be done is filmed in real life.

They still hired a martial arts choreography team from Hong Kong, which resulted in a fierce and impactful style where every punch landed squarely.

Every punch and kick fully demonstrates Captain America's power and fighting skills. It's worth noting that this hero is designed to be proficient in hundreds of fighting techniques.

Chris Evans suffered a lot to learn, but after filming, he confidently stated that he could take on ten of them.

Eric's version cut the entertainment parts and increased the amount of screen time devoted to the war scenes.

In particular, a battle scene with the Red Skull was added.

Although Red Skull appears to be an intelligence-based character, he is actually a super soldier in the game.

Their physical abilities and combat skills are in no way inferior to Captain America's; the two are classic rivals.

Watching the Red Skull wielding a sword clash with Captain America's sound-absorbing golden shield on the big screen, sparks flew as the two battled from weapons to hand-to-hand combat.

Several tons of steel bars and rocks were blasted into dust, much to the delight of the audience.

Until Captain America, piloting his spaceship, crashed into the ocean with the Tesseract while bidding farewell to Agent Carter.

Many viewers were a little confused when they saw this.

What does this mean? Something doesn't feel right.

The movie is almost over, but the plot is clearly not finished; there's still a lot left to tell.

In particular, there is absolutely no connection between him and Iron Man.

It's not entirely without connection; to be precise, there is a connection with Howard Stark, Iron Man's father.

But this is World War II, and Iron Man is in the modern era. The two are decades apart, so it seems impossible for them to be compatible.

The scene shifts, and Captain America slowly opens his eyes while lying in a hospital bed. The surroundings remain unchanged from the last century, but the radio competition betrays the design of the event.

Steve Rogers stormed out of the S.H.I.E.L.D. base and charged outside in one fell swoop.

Amidst a desolate and grand background music, skyscrapers, neon lights, modernly dressed passersby, and car models never seen before are depicted.

Everything was completely unfamiliar to an old man who had been asleep for seventy years.

Time has passed, and all those I love have grown old or died, leaving only one person alive in the world.

Fear, unease, and confusion were written on his face. Compared to the spirited captain he once was, Rogers now looked rather pitiful.

Until Nick Fury, the black-clad guy, reappeared.

"Sorry, Captain, we just want you to gradually accept all of this."

"Accept what?"

"You've been asleep for about seventy years, and times have changed, Captain."

Rogers looked around in bewilderment, as if trying to find even a trace of himself that he recognized, but unfortunately there was nothing there.

"Captain, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm fine."

His tone turned somber as he said, "I just missed a date."

The movie officially ended there. As the credits rolled, some people who didn't like listening to music got up to leave.

"Wait a minute, bro, I advise you not to do that."

"Huh? Why?"

"The movie isn't over yet, you'll miss the post-credits scene."

"An Easter egg? What Easter egg?"

"No way, you haven't seen Iron Man? There's bound to be a post-credits scene. Sit down and wait a little while, it won't take long."

The screen then returned to bright colors.

In the desert, an SUV is speeding forward, kicking up a cloud of dust behind it.

After a while, the car was parked on a high place, and Agent Coulson got out.

Looking down, a wide-angle view reveals a huge crater on the ground, surrounded by busy construction vehicles, indicating a major project.

"Chief, I've arrived in New Mexico!"

As Coulson spoke, the camera zoomed in sharply, finally focusing on a hammerhead.

The screen went black again, and the movie officially ended.

Undoubtedly, this Easter egg foreshadows Thor's future.

The original version didn't feature Thor until after Iron Man 2, so why go through all that trouble? Let's bring it all forward!

The guy who had just gotten up to leave turned around and gave a thumbs up: "Thanks, bro. This hammer looks like Thor's."

"It's definitely Thor. That means the next movie will star Thor."

"If MGM and Marvel could connect these characters, they could form the Avengers."

"The Hulk is in the Avengers, right? I remember the copyright to the Hulk isn't owned by Marvel."

"That was the original Avengers. The Avengers members have been changing all the time. It doesn't matter if the Hulk isn't there, we can just replace him with someone else."

"That's right, just make Ant-Man bigger, he can completely replace the Hulk's role."

"Damn, I'm really looking forward to Marvel's next movie, hurry up and release it!"

(End of this chapter)