Made in Hollywood

"Will Smith did a great job."

In Times Square, a few people walked out of the AMG theater, talking about the movies they had just watched while walking, "The two movies at the beginning of this summer season are good, "The Dark Knight" is very good, "I Am Legend" "Although it's a little bit worse, it's still wonderful."

"Um, uh, uh..."

A young girl echoed, "I love Will Smith's films."

"The movie is really good."

Suddenly, a person in the middle said with a slight dissatisfaction, "But there is a very annoying plot, the hero played by Will actually killed a dog!"

After being reminded by him, several other people remembered and said, "It's true, the director is so inhumane, he actually killed the dog!"

"Even if it's a movie, it's unforgivable!"

"Yeah, it's cruel, a dog just died like that."

In the discussion of these people, the death of a dog in the film is simply a heinous crime.

Walking to the square directly opposite the theater, the girl who spoke first suddenly pointed at a group of people and said, "Look, someone is protesting 'I Am Legend'."

There were at least dozens of people gathered there, some holding banners, some holding placards, and their expressions were a little excited, as if "I Am Legend" deeply hurt them and their families.

"It is despicable and shameless to rely on killing dogs to stir up feelings!"

"Please be kind to man's best friend, dog, on any occasion!"

"Call on all dog lovers to boycott this dog-killing movie!"

These people quickly attracted the attention of the media and shouted slogans in front of reporters and cameras. The few people saw that the scene was a little chaotic, and left Times Square without waiting.

It was just one of the protests Saturday for "I Am Legend," in some popular theaters and locations across the country. Animal protection organizations and dog lovers have appeared, and they have protested to "I Am Legend" through various situations.

Hundreds of protesters blocked the doors of Sky Studios in Los Angeles and the Hilton Hotel where David Ellison was staying, demanding an explanation from the film's producers and director.

Some people even protested to local governments and the North American Cinema Alliance, demanding that "I Am Legend" be forcibly taken down.

certainly. This kind of request is obviously impossible. "I Am Legend" has shown enough market popularity that it is impossible for the theater party to give up.

But it is inevitable to bring a lot of trouble, especially it will affect the viewing choices of those who love dogs.

"Isn't it just a dead dog?"

In the hotel suite, David Ellison tried his best to control the anger in his heart. "There are no front shots, and it is to highlight the theme of the film. As for running to the hotel to protest to the crew?"

The others didn't say much, just looked at David Ellison.

"Did they have nothing else to do?"

Walking to the floor-to-ceiling windows, David Ellison looked down, just in time to see the protesting crowd in front of the hotel, and couldn't help but feel angry. "Why didn't they protest when so many people died in the film? Instead, they protested for a dog?"

Including director Francis Lawrence, the people in the room remained silent.

After a while, Michael Ovitz, who had been sitting on the sofa, stood up and walked over. He stood side by side with David Ellison in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows. Persuaded, "These people are very troublesome. We should try our best to quell their protests."

David Ellison was angry, folded his arms, but did not speak.

Although I Am Legend is not a packaged project of the artist management company, it is also involved. For the sake of revenue, Michael Ovitz continued, "David, if the protests spread completely, it will definitely affect the box office of I Am Legend."

He also turned his eyes to the protesting crowd below, "I know you don't care about box office revenue, but this will affect your competition with Duke Rosenberg!"

Hearing the name Duke Rosenberg, David Ellison couldn't help but take a few deep breaths, suppressed the anger in his heart, and considered the current situation from a more realistic perspective.

The first weekend box office of "I Am Legend" is indeed unable to compete with the first weekend box office of "The Dark Knight", which does not mean that the second weekend of "The Dark Knight" cannot be suppressed. If there is a loss at the box office due to protests, it will inevitably be affect his plans.

David Ellison thought for a few minutes, then slowly said, "Hold a press conference."

This weekend, commercial theater chains in North America were largely dominated by The Dark Knight and I Am Legend. The former still maintains a high operation of 4,460 theaters, and the film arrangement rate is close to 55%; the latter also has 3,600 theaters, and the film arrangement rate reaches 30%.

The rest of the film can only survive between these two super hits.

The appeal of "The Dark Knight", which came to the next weekend's screening, has declined, but it still attracts the attention of the audience. Many people who had no plans to watch the movie also entered the theater one after another because they were attracted by the overwhelming audience's word of mouth.

Although "I Am Legend" has been affected by the protests, it is still the choice of many people. Will Smith has a strong appeal, and the original novel also has a wide fan base. The overall attendance rate of the film is also optimistic.

However, Duke did not focus entirely on North America. Charles Rowan led the crew and has already carried out a week-long promotion in Europe. "The Dark Knight" will also be launched in overseas markets on a large scale this weekend.

It is really hard to say how such a dark and heavy film will respond overseas.

In Duke's view, even if the overseas box office of "The Dark Knight" really exceeds the North American box office, it will not be much more.

Overseas markets are too scattered, and data statistics take time, but North American statistics are relatively easy, and the general statistics of the previous day can basically be obtained the next day.

On the Friday when "I Am Legend" officially opened, the film successfully beat the $25.66 million of "The Dark Knight" with a single-day performance of $27.25 million, becoming the box office champion of the day.

But as the novelty wears off, I Am Legend's lead ends there.

On Saturday, "The Dark Knight" ushered in a strong rebound, with more than 400 attendances and a box office of $32.88 million!

"I Am Legend" slipped slightly, finishing the day with $26.64 million.

Although Scarlett Johansson offered to talk to David Ellison in person on the phone, Duke didn't have time to heed it. He flew out of New York early Sunday morning and returned to Los Angeles with the rest of the crew flying. Travel to East and Southeast Asia to build momentum for the overseas screening tour of The Dark Knight.

David Ellison, who was staying in New York, had a bit of a temper at the moment. The anger caused by the protest the day before yesterday had not been vented. Seeing the box office data that was far behind, he almost wanted to go crazy.

"Is there any way to make up the box office gap between the two films in one day?"

He fought back his anger, stood opposite Michael Ovitz, and asked loudly, "Aren't you the best agent in Hollywood? Don't you never miss the project you claim to serve? Tell me, what else can I do now? ?"

"I'm sorry, David," Michael Ovitz's head was still clear, "at this time, we can't do anything unless..."

"Unless what?" David Ellison asked again.

Michael Ovitz looked up, looked at him and said, "Unless you spend a lot of money on the box office yourself."

What it means, David Ellison, of course, has stopped ranting and seems to want to think about the feasibility.

"But..." Michael Ovitz reminded, "If the news spreads, you will become a joke in the entire Hollywood and even the world's film industry."

David Ellison has always been arrogant and arrogant. He considered it for a while and slowly shook his head, "This is not a choice a wise man should make."

After he finished speaking, he walked to the sofa opposite Michael Ovitz and sat down slowly.

"David, you should think like this, 'I Am Legend' did not fail!" A self-comforting voice popped out of his mind, "According to the current trend, the film's first weekend box office will definitely exceed the expected 70 million US dollars, as long as the With a relatively stable trend, it is not difficult for "I Am Legend" to make a profit just by relying on the box office."

If the film is profitable, he can explain to his father and other financing parties, which means there is still another chance.

Entering the Hollywood circle, even with David Ellison's wealth and identity, he realizes how important opportunity is. To be successful in Hollywood, opportunity is far more important than talent and even money.

As long as there is a chance to come again, he believes that one day he will always win.

On this day, there was a major event on the Internet that shocked the entire film industry in the United States - the famous Internet Movie Database, or IMDB, officially announced the temporary closure of the ratings of "The Godfather" and "The Dark Knight" and Comment column to quell the mutual attack between the two factions of fans.

The battle between the fans of the two sides over the IMDB rating is completely heated up, and the attacks and measures are endless, and even the website administrator who can endure the water army can’t stand it anymore. aggressive behavior.

However, in the eyes of Duke's fans, they are the standard winners. Not only did "The Dark Knight" top the TOP250 list with a score of 9.6, but they also took advantage of the overwhelming advantage in numbers to lower the score of "The Godfather" to 8.8 Score, so that "The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King" with a score of 9.0 surpassed it in one fell swoop and took the second place on the list.

However, the relevant columns of IMDB have been closed, and the conflict between fans is far from over. The two sides continue to attack each other relying on social networking sites and major forums. There are also a lot of news on the Internet. In this war, some people think that 'Duke Blow' took the lead in attacking "The Godfather?" "…

The truth will only be drowned in the Internet war of words. (To be continued ~^~)

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