~： One hundred and fifty-four - he's about to break the record

A film, especially a film adapted from a character familiar to everyone, will inevitably encounter sporadic disagreements no matter how many voices they support and agree with.

Among the fans interviewed at the entrance of the theater, there were several staunch opponents, who violently criticized "Joker" to reporters and the camera.

"The film is too logical. There are several scenes that made me feel sick. The scene of Arthur killing people is too bloody. I don't understand why the chaotic clown should be added with a kind-hearted person..."

"A villain film, overly glorified by Wayne Greenberg, who is ruining a classic character from DC Comics!"

However, there are very few stubborn movie fans after all, and most of them still give full recognition to the film, especially the long queue at the entrance of the Chinese Grand Theater, from which you can see the popularity of the film.

After the press conference, the crew came to the Hilton Hotel, which was reserved by Warner Bros., to entertain the guests who came to support the press conference today.

Wayne's main job was to entertain the two Jewish bosses, accompany them on the ventilated balcony, found a table and sat down.

"George, Steven, thank you for coming to help me on the platform." Holding the glass and touching the two, he took a gulp of champagne. "How do you feel about this film? It doesn't matter, there is something to say directly."

"Shocking!" Spielberg looked at him with admiration in his eyes. "If there are too many compliments, I won't say anything, just talk about the shooting techniques. The strong color contrast conveys a good message to the audience, and the shaping of Gotham City can also be said to be very successful."

Raising a toast to the good man again, he nodded reservedly. He could hear the praise from the film master, which made Wayne feel very transparent.

"Do you have time recently?" George Lucas asked suddenly.

Even in the face of the invitation of the father of Star Wars, Wayne could only shake his head regretfully. "Probably not. I will lead the team to New York before dawn tomorrow. The promotional schedule for the film is very tight. I will fly to the UK in a week, and it is estimated that I will stay overseas for nearly a month!"

There was no disappointment on George Lucas's face, he touched his beard, and suddenly said, "I wanted to wait for you to have time to have a good chat, so it seems that you have a lot of work arrangements, so I will. Say it directly!"

He glanced at the old friend beside him, then glanced around, and found that there was no one but the assistant named Nina, and then he continued very cautiously:

"I don't know what plans you have for the next project, but with your work efficiency in the past few years, it is estimated that the next film will be launched soon, right? Don't be in a hurry to deny it!

Now I'm just sending you an invitation through a personal relationship. If possible, you could consider directing a Star Wars for your next project, how about that? Consider it? "

Not to mention Wayne, who was sitting opposite, even Spielberg and Nina, who didn't understand anything, showed incredible expressions when they heard this. What does Star Wars mean in North America? This is a question about national culture.

This is the series of the world's first IP even if it has been decades, even in 2021. "Star Wars" is a symbol of North American cultural symbols, and it is the spiritual pillar for two to three generations to grow up with!

With Star Wars George Lucas became the richest man in Hollywood, even when the father of Star Wars retired, Lucasfilm sold more than five billion dollars. Why did Disney spend so much cash on acquisitions? The main reason is this big ip.

Compared to the world's largest IP, ILM and Raiders of the Lost Ark can only be regarded as a match.

The old Jewish man looked at his old man in shock. "George, are you serious?"

He felt that George Lucas was too impulsive, and even if he had seen this compatriot's film, he was still too young. Younger age means instability, with ups and downs.

If you screw up the Star Wars series, this young man will be scolded to death by hundreds of millions of Star Wars fans!

Ignoring the old friend's question, George Lucas took a sip of champagne with great interest. "Young man, how is it? I believe you will be a goddess because of "Joker", and even this film will crush the summer program. But this is not enough, if you want to quickly reach the status of me and Steven, Star Wars It's a shortcut for you to prove yourself!"

If it is said that the Jew with the best reputation for the younger generation, it is undoubtedly Steven Spielberg, but everyone has overlooked one thing, Spielberg was brought up by George Lucas!

The courage of this old Jewish man is evident, even if he only met Wayne once, he dared to let him take over his own Star Wars!

"George, I need time to think about it, I already have my own plan!" At this time, even Wayne couldn't keep a cool head. He didn't grow up in North America, and he never knew what Star Wars meant! "Also, my style of shooting..."

"You don't have to worry about style, Wayne. You don't think Star Wars fits into the dark, serious core?"

When he said this, several people around nodded subconsciously, Star Wars can indeed be suitable for these, provided that the director can make changes with confidence!

Facing the huge temptation, Wayne still forcibly suppressed his restless heart. "That's it, I need to think about it, George. I'll give you an answer when I'm done overseas!"

This is not only a huge shortcut, but also a huge sinkhole. Wayne understands that the place where "Star Wars" is criticized by fans is George Lucas's script. Only in terms of director and screenwriting ability, he does have some shortcomings of his own.

Of course, none of these can hide the greatness of Lucas, but if someone else shoots it, that's two different things!

On the day of the reception, Wayne fell into a difficulty in choosing, and even when he faced the crowd congratulating him later, he seemed confused. However, there was no time for him to continue to think about it after the reception, and the busy publicity campaign would start at five o'clock the next morning.

"Ha, it's interesting!" The Warner Bros. building was brightly lit. In order to wait for the film's results, Jeff and CEO Kevin didn't go to the premiere.

Jeff Robinoff pointed to the retracted investigative report. "Kevin, look here, 98% of the audience gave A or A+, but there are very few C's!"

This happened the last time, and it caught Jeff's attention again. Kevin Tesuhara has been staring at the phone. After listening to him, he glanced at it and said expressionlessly:

"This is normal. Wayne's films love people to death, but there are always unsuitable fans. They have to buy tickets to watch the film. These people don't care about them!"

"Jingle bell bell bell..."

The phone rang, and Kevin Tesuhara glanced at the time. It was just past midnight. After he answered the phone, he remained silent, and hung up after ten seconds.

Jeff looked at his face and asked anxiously, "How is it, how much was the box office on the first day?"

"The box office on the first day was 39.35 million US dollars. A total of 3,538 theaters showed the film, and the single-tube box office exceeded US$11,000. He broke the record!"

Kevin Tesuhara slammed into the large chair, leisurely picked up a cigar he had collected, cut it thinly, lit Meimei with a blowtorch, and took a sip.

When Jeff heard this number, all the fat all over his body shuddered. "He will definitely break the box office record of an R-rated film, depending on the final figure! Maybe it is more than an R-rated film..."

"Jeff, tomorrow you are urging overseas distribution, this is our chance! I want this film to be released in all major overseas ticket booths next week!"

It was different from Wayne, who went back to sleep with peace of mind, and Kevin Tesuhara, who was smoking a cigar gracefully. Sony Columbia's film and television executives Paul Turner and Renee Haring looked gloomy and gloomy at the fax before them.

"The Legend of the Mountain" invited many stars to help the platform, and the publicity also highlighted Sylvester Stallone, but the box office of the film on the first day was only 7.67 million, which was obviously not in line with expectations.

"The box office of more than seven million dollars is not the end, but I am surprised that the fans who have seen it are applauded, why the box office is not going up!" Paul Turner patted the fax.

Renee Haring frowned, he had long thought of being crushed. "Joker's reputation has exploded both professionally and from fans. I just don't know how their box office performance..."

"Don't think about it, the news just came, the box office on the first day exceeded 30 million US dollars!"

"He's going to break the record?!"

The two looked at each other, and both saw despair in each other's eyes. This is no longer a state of being able to compete, not to mention their "The Legend of the Mountains", other films in May will be crushed by "Joker".

In this state, the good reputation of "Joker" will never go up and down.

"Boom!" Paul Turner slapped a table hard. "That dark lunatic is going to kill! Let's think about what to say to Silvio Berlusconi."

Silvio Berlusconi, the main investor of UU Reading , has another identity, the chairman of Serie A giants AC Milan.

The next morning, when Wayne was still on the plane, the news media all over North America were already full of news about Joker.

In terms of film critics, the well-known film critic groups headed by Roger Albert have basically given praise. He accepts the PR of Warner Bros. all year round, and knows what to say and what not to say after the film is released!

Kenneth Turan of "Los Angeles Times" commented in the column: "Joker is a grand and majestic, dark and serious Gotham floating drawing, and every movie fan who has watched it can find his own shadow in it!"

"It's not a good 'Joker' movie because he departs from the character's unpredictable chaotic nature and gives the Joker a tragic but traceable origin. But that doesn't stop him from being a good movie, This is a surreal crime movie that transcends the DC world view, and will no longer mindf**k the audience all the time! To the final collective high nest! "Joker" is a must-see movie choice in this era!"---- - David Denby, The New York Times.