hollywood melon man

Chapter 363

At Century City International Artist Management, Michael Ovitz was talking to a young man in his twenties, David Ellison, the son of madman Larry Ellison.

At this time, David Ellison was studying at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and was considered Gilbert's junior.

The Sky Studios he founded is currently just an empty shell, and Larry Ellison has not yet handed over the operation rights of the studio to him. David Ellison needs to graduate from USC first.

However, through Michael Ovitz, a veteran Hollywood agent, David Ellison began to become familiar with all aspects of Hollywood.

In his opinion, young Gilbert could become a director at the age of twenty-one, and he could also achieve results that were no less than or even better than young Gilbert at the age of twenty-one.

However, although the madman is crazy, he still admires Gilbert Jr.'s ability and is not moved by his son's lofty words. For now, David Ellison still has to complete his studies honestly.

"How is the first-day box office of "The Return of the King" so far?" asked David Ellison.

"Not counting midnight shows and advance screenings, the film has already grossed $4021.6 million, breaking the first-day box office record." Michael Ovitz felt a sense of powerlessness.

"It is said that more than 8 million people went to the cinema on Saturday, which is the largest movie-going movement in the history of the North American film market."

David Ellison frowned and said, "I watched The Return of the King, but I didn't think it was good. Why do so many people like it?"

Michael Ovitz was speechless, and David Ellison was unable to make an objective evaluation because of his prejudice.

Michael Ovitz has been in the industry for many years and has to admit that "The Lord of the Rings" series is a great film series.

Not only in terms of commercial success, but also in terms of exploration of film industry technology and achievements in the artistic field, few films can compare with it.

"David, I bet you that The Return of the King will make more than $1.5 million in its first week," said Michael Ovitz.

"$1.5 million?" Although David Ellison inherited his father's arrogant character, he is not a fool.

It's easy to tell that the first week box office of $1.5 million is just a starting point and it will definitely not be lower than this number.

So David Ellison shook his head and said, "Michael, I won't make this bet. $1.5 million is the basic expectation."

Not far away, the president of 20th Century Fox also spoke with News Corporation boss Rupert Murdoch.

“Yes, it looks like The Return of the King could make over $1.5 million in its first weekend.”

Rupert Murdoch on the other end of the phone seemed to be silent. After a while, he said, "Is it possible for us to recruit little Gilbert to our camp?"

Townsend Rossman shook his head: "No way, sir, Gilbert Jr. is already a member of the board of directors of Warner and Disney. There is no reason for him to switch."

Rupert Murdoch had no choice but to express his regret: "What a pity! Why didn't we think of poaching him from Universal Studios in the first place?"

Indeed, the one that regrets the most now is actually Universal Pictures.

Universal Pictures regrets every year that it missed out on a future super director like Gilbert Jr.

The main reason is that no one expected that little Gilbert, who originally needed Spielberg's care, would grow up to this point.

After Robert Iger spent a huge amount of money to poach Gilbert Jr., Universal Pictures executives mocked Touchstone Pictures for being crazy.

But now it has been proved that Robert Iger has good vision and decisiveness.

Nowadays, whenever Gilbert Jr.'s movie becomes a hit, Universal Pictures is often criticized.

If Spielberg were still around, Universal Pictures could console itself, but now Spielberg is old and has gone to work at DreamWorks.

Paramount and Sony Columbia Pictures were just envious because they had no chance to participate in Gilbert Jr.'s projects.

As for MGM United Artists, this once giant is now in a serious debt crisis and is counting on John Woo's "Windtalkers" to make a comeback this summer.

At that time, Cheng Long also asked Gilbert Jr. what he thought about the prospects of "Windtalkers".

Gilbert Jr.'s original words were: "Unless it can do the level of Saving Private Ryan, I don't think this movie is good enough."

Cheng Long later relayed Gilbert's words to John Woo, but John Woo was very dismissive and didn't think the film would fail at all. There's no point in saying more, the results will be revealed this summer.

Due to time differences, the simultaneous release of The Return of the King around the world also had some differences in timing. But unsurprisingly, the film triggered a viewing frenzy in the countries and regions where it was released.

"The Return of the King" landed in the UK, and the front-page headline of "The Times" reported the news that Prince Charles went to the cinema to watch the movie with members of the British royal family.

The film was also welcomed by British moviegoers. The Daily Telegraph reported: "The Return of the King landed in Britain, sparking a viewing frenzy.

According to statistics, the number of people on the streets decreased during the movie screenings.

These fewer people gathered in the cinema to enjoy this great series of films together. "

Although this is an adaptation of a British literary novel made by an American, Britain and the United States are one family. The British media is not as stubborn as the French media and will easily cheer for "The Return of the King".

The Guardian said: "After earning $1157.4 million on its first day, The Return of the King continued to earn $1557 million on its second day. The film is likely to make more than $ million in the UK in its first week."

The British domestic market is relatively small. If a movie can gross over 50 million in the UK in its first week, it proves that the number of viewers is no less than 5 million.

However, this is not the end. "The Return of the King" successfully conquered British moviegoers and also swept several major European markets including France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Especially in France and Germany, the spending power of movie fans is much stronger than that of British fans.

In France, amid the wailing of French filmmakers, "The Return of the King" swept the French market, overwhelming French films of the same period.

Although French filmmakers have repeatedly called on the French people to boycott this Hollywood film, French movie fans have responded to these French filmmakers with one movie after another. They have long been fed up with the so-called New Wave films.

French newspaper Le Ferrocar reported: "The Return of the King is undoubtedly a masterpiece among epic films. Director Gilbert Jr. has presented a masterpiece to the world of cinema."

A French fan who had just walked out of the cinema said excitedly in an interview with reporters: "I have never watched the Lord of the Rings series of movies before, but this Return of the King has conquered me.

I plan to buy the first two DVDs when I get home, and then go to the cinema to watch The Return of the King again."

The response in Germany was equally good. The famous German director Werner Herzog said that "The Return of the King" was the largest, most magnificent, and most profound film he had ever seen.

He also emphasized the praises of Gilbert Jr., believing that he had completed an incredible masterpiece that would go down in film history.

Other countries and regions where the film was released also received good responses, while areas where the film was not released will have to wait for the time being.

The film will be released in other film markets around the world starting from the second week. Currently, it is only premiering in North America and EU countries.

Because only North America and the United Kingdom have popularized the latest electronic ticket counting system, only the box office statistics from these two places will come out first, and the others will have to wait.

On Saturday, "The Return of the King" once again achieved great success, with a single-day box office of 5159.8 million US dollars, successfully breaking the North American single-day box office record.

Including the box office of advance screenings and midnight screenings, the film's North American box office has reached 1 million US dollars, successfully breaking the 1209.4 million US dollar box office in two days, becoming the fastest movie in North America to break the million US dollar mark.

With the release of this number, even the most blind person knows that "The Return of the King" is unstoppable.

Since last year, all movies have moved their schedules away from "The Return of the King".

Especially Spider-Man, which was moved directly from early May to June to avoid clashing with The Return of the King.

Perhaps because the enthusiasm of moviegoers had been consumed in the previous two days, the box office of "The Return of the King" on Sunday declined compared to Saturday, earning $4320.2 million in a single day.

Including the previous box office, the North American box office has reached 1 million US dollars, breaking 5529.6 million US dollars in three days.

Faced with the box office data reported by the media, many film studio filmmakers and directors have become numb.

I'm tired, let it be destroyed. The world is so noisy, it has nothing to do with me.

Indeed, facing this box office result, all those who don't like Little Gilbert can only remain silent.

(End of this chapter)