Six Hundred and Twenty-Six - Make a Bet

Yesterday's early results are unknown, but judging from the current media response, Wayne guesses that the results will not be too satisfactory. Otherwise, the media and film critics, who have always been adaptable to the changing circumstances, have no reason to criticize this big ship.

"Come on Leonardo DiCaprio, an actor who only sells his face on the big screen."

Swallowing the scrambled eggs in her mouth, Naomi Watts looked at the newspaper as if she had discovered some new world, her voice full of Noyu meaning. "The entire film of "Titanic" is 194 minutes long, and the entire film is full of Leonardo DiCaprio showing off his face and looking cool.

Is this how director James Cameron arranged it? He probably wants to use Leonardo DiCaprio's face to save the US$200 million investment from 20th Century Fox and Paramount Pictures in the global film market... "Chicago" The Sun" ---Roger Ebert. "

Some film critics are relatively mild-mannered. Even if they are not optimistic about the prospects of "Titanic", when talking about the specific content, they are just cliché and tacky.

But there are also some harsh and vitriolic film critics. Many well-known film critics all gave the film "Titanic" a 4 or 5 score in their newspaper columns. Obviously, from the perspective of their group, A mega-production costing US$200 million to produce is completely substandard today.

"My dear, do you still insist on your opinion?"

Naomi Watts read several articles in a row, the harsh comments from various angles in the newspaper. Perhaps even she felt bored, so she simply put down the newspaper and continued eating breakfast while looking at the silent man opposite. He asked in a provocative tone.

"certainly."

Faced with the woman's provocation, Wayne nodded without hesitation. He glanced up at the Australian actress, continued stuffing beef into his mouth, and said coquettishly: "Want to make a bet?"

"What bet?"

When Naomi Watts heard the bet, her eyes immediately became alert, and her whole body felt deeply malicious. There is no other reason, just because they have known each other for almost ten years, and she has never won even once in daily betting.

"How about I bet that this "Titanic" will gross over one billion US dollars at the global box office?"

He understood this woman so well that while speaking, he showed a deep sarcastic smile at the corner of his mouth without hesitation. "If it exceeds one billion US dollars, I will make a request. If it does not, you will make a request, as long as I can achieve it."

In the past few years, Naomi Watts had been reminded of countless lessons, but she saw the mocking expression on the man's face, coupled with this bet, subconsciously made the woman hesitate.

"Boy, are you sure you want to do this?" She frowned slightly. Although the Australian actress felt weak in her heart, she was not forgiving at all. "A request? Even if you spend tens of millions of real money, and then personally write, produce, and direct a movie for me?"

"Yep."

Looking at the greedy emotion in the woman's eyes, Wayne nodded without hesitation, indicating that he recognized the other party's conditions. Just as the woman understands him, he also understands the other person's career ambitions very well. When the stakes are so high, even if the woman knows that there is little hope of winning, she will agree "just in case."

"F**k! I promise, I bet!" Naomi Watts gritted her teeth hard, stretched out her white palms, raised her head slightly, and looked at the man opposite her provocatively. That's right, she couldn't let go of this opportunity. As long as there was a one percent chance, she would bet.

"Shit, if I lose, even if you let me get high and fool around with you with those b***hs, I will admit it and do it."

"Snapped."

Seeing the fierce expression on the woman's face, Wayne put down the knife and fork in his hand gracefully. Leaning his upper body on the sofa, he also stretched out a hand and gave a crisp high-five.

Perhaps the bet between the two was more like a harmless joke, but after the first day of release on Friday, Naomi Watts had a very proud smile on her face. The first-day box office of "Titanic", even if advance screenings are included, will exceed 10 million US dollars. The figure announced by 20th Century Fox is just over 13 million US dollars.

This number basically dispelled most of her doubts, and also dispelled the doubts of countless media. Various entertainment news and movie information are full of satire and criticism of "Titanic".

As the first weekend after the movie was released, similar comments became even more noisy, as if the quality of this big ship was clearly seen by everyone in just one weekend.

With a total of US$28 million, "Titanic", a huge movie, only took in a total of US$28 million at the box office during its three-day opening weekend in North America.

"The sunken ship", "the biggest joke in the history of Hollywood", "Twentieth Century Fox's typical fool's investment" and so on, the media couldn't wait to put it on the production company and James Cameron. On the body.

Compared to actors who star in movies, the attacks they receive are actually quite conservative. The criticism of Leonardo DiCaprio in the media has completely gone beyond the scope of vitriol. A "Titanic" only accumulated more than his previous films such as "Vanilla Sky" in three days. The good reputation was ruined.

In fact, when Monday arrived, Wayne didn't pay any attention to the so-called box office disaster. He turned around and went to Warner Studio to start the final filming of "The Flash".

No one knows better than him how powerful this big ship is. The media and film critics were all blinded by the first week's box office. As long as a week or two passed, those people would be swollen in the face by the incredible market performance just like they did when they criticized "Star Wars".

"Boy, $28 million, my god! A full $28 million!"

During the lunch break, Naomi Watts wore sunglasses on her face and a Chanel latest mini dress. She walked into the studio studio with a proud expression. I kept saying hello to the familiar staff members and chatting with them all the way. When I arrived at the director's seat, I slapped a newspaper on the table.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so proud."

Wayne shook his head helplessly, without even looking at the newspaper on the table, and signaled Sofia Coppola to take away the lunch in front of him, leaned on the chair, tilted his head and lit a cigarette.

"It's a pity that you're not me. Ha, Lillian, thank you." He nodded and politely thanked Lillian who brought the chair. After Naomi Watts sat down proudly, she looked through her sunglasses and carefully observed the man next to her. face.

Nina obviously knew about this bet. When she saw the proud woman, she shrugged and sighed helplessly in her heart.

After packing her things, Sofia Coppola approached the assistant and asked a few questions in a low voice. Then she suddenly raised her head and looked at the proud Australian actress in surprise. She couldn't help but said: "You will lose." Yes, Ms. Watts."

"What?"

When Naomi Watts saw that Wayne was unwilling to pay attention to her and had been smoking silently and writing and drawing in the director's notebook, she simply moved her chair and moved closer to Nina and Sofia Coppola. She was surprised. pointing to the newspaper on the table. "No way, the box office of "Titanic" in its first week was only 28 million US dollars..."

Her meaning is clear. The first-week result of $28 million, not to mention compared with Wayne's "The Dark Knight", even those popular summer popcorn, also pales in comparison.

According to the rules of Hollywood, basically all newly released movies will be officially released on Friday, and "Titanic" is certainly no exception. And precisely this Friday, the single-day box office performance on the first day of release, is a weather vane recognized by the industry.

If the film receives a good response in a single day, it can basically achieve ideal opening results during the three days from Friday to Sunday. Therefore, professionals in the industry will basically focus on the single-day box office on Friday and the three-day box office on the first weekend after the movie is released. These results can usually tell the market prospects of the movie.

"Ms. Watts, you may not have noticed..."

When it comes to the market rules of Hollywood movies, Sofia Coppola, who has grown up here since she was a child, understands it better than anyone else, but she looks exactly like Wayne, without even looking at the so-called authoritative picture. The newspaper just stared at the Australian actress with some embarrassment and said:

"The media owned by 20th Century Fox, and even the media owned by Paramount Pictures, not only did not reduce the scale of the promotion and distribution of "Titanic" in order to stop the loss as soon as possible, but they also increased their investment in this aspect. , this shows..."

Speaking of this, she glanced at the other person's face, obviously not wanting to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. Seeing that the two women around her were looking at her intently, she continued: "Obviously, this shows that both companies have gained full confidence in the market research on "Titanic"."

Audience word of mouth! Almost as soon as she finished speaking, Naomi Watts thought about the audience's reputation. Whether it was the remarks in the media or the harsh comments from film critics, in fact, it was not as good as the response given by a large-capital film company. Authenticity.

The fact that the two Big Six giants can work together to invest heavily in publicity and distribution means that the unannounced word-of-mouth survey of movie audiences has achieved a rare praise rate.

"Rebirth of the Great Era of Fighting Waves"

"Nice acumen."

The man's voice suddenly sounded, and the three women raised their heads, only to find Wayne staring at Sofia Coppola with admiration.

"It has nothing to do with acuity, I just grew up and saw too many different examples." Sofia Coppola spread her hands and responded modestly.

"Many people are deceived by the box office figures, and those who are sober become particularly precious." Shaking his head, Wayne took a sip of coffee, and the praise in his tone was very obvious. "You are very calm, Sophia. Although the angle of speculation is simple and rough, the accuracy is very high. It is a very smart way to observe the trends of capital."

In a way, if Wayne had not known that Big Ship would explode at the box office, he would have been blinded by the pitiful box office figures, so he praised his assistant with a rare sincerity in his tone.