novelraw Chapter 619: Speaking Wildly?
Chapter 619: Speaking Wildly?
[Chapter 619: Speaking Wildly?]
December 17th, the Universal Theater.
Titanic premiered amidst widespread anticipation.
This super production, the largest investment in Hollywood history, attracted the attention of Hollywood and all movie fans.
The premiere was star-studded, gathering celebrities, famous directors, and actors who all attended.
Of course, the most eye-catching attendees were still Linton's Beautiful Angels.
Except for Winnie, Jennifer Connelly, and Michelle Reis, who were still doing promotional tours, all the other Beautiful Angels walked the red carpet looking their most stunning.
Even Li Xiaoran, who had no works yet, took this opportunity to walk the red carpet and gain exposure.
Besides the numerous big-name celebrities who attended to show support, the most noticeable presence was Linton's fan club.
Since Denise became the Manager of the Fan Operations Management Department in the first half of the year, the management of Linton's fan club has been greatly strengthened, with continuous fan activities held every month.
Denise also used the profits from fan merchandise sales to heavily reward core members of fan clubs across various regions.
After organizing fan events, core fan club members often received exclusive custom fan benefits, such as Linton's signed photos, signed posters, signed golf hats, signed T-shirts, and so on.
Through these activities, fan loyalty gradually increased, and the number of dedicated fans rapidly grew.
Naturally, the fans' support was indispensable for today's Titanic premiere.
More than three thousand people, wearing unified outfits, shouting synchronized slogans, and holding various film promotional materials, gathered grandly on both sides of the red carpet, forming two bright fan camps.
When Linton, arm-in-arm with Kate Winslet, walked onto the red carpet for the final appearance, the atmosphere completely exploded like a tsunami, and the fans' screams and shouts seemed capable of shattering the sky.
This was the first organized, large-scale viewing support and promotional event held by Linton's fan club since its establishment.
It should be said that a fan support and promotional event of this scale was a first in Hollywood history.
This made all Hollywood film companies, industry professionals, and especially other celebrities, look on in astonishment.
These scenes would certainly be widely reported by many media outlets tonight, adding buzz to the film's promotion.
After the premiere ceremony concluded, the film screening began.
The lights in the theater slowly dimmed, and the giant screen lit up.
The film opened with a rusty deep-sea probe diving into the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean to explore the secrets of the shipwreck.
When the black-and-white footage switched to color, and the magnificent hull of the Titanic first appeared at the dock, the audience couldn't help but let out low gasps of amazement.
This was because the effect was not achieved using models and special effects, but a real giant ship, combined with James Cameron's Cinematography Techniques, making the legendary massive vessel seem to stand right before the audience.
As the story unfolded, the free-spirited Jack won a ticket at the gambling table, and when he boarded the giant ship full of youthful vigor, he immediately captured the hearts of all the female viewers.
Jack taught Rose to spit into the ocean from the deck, took her dancing passionately in the Third-Class Cabin, sketched Rose's nude body while she wore only the Heart of the Ocean, the two spread their arms at the bow in the classic Flying Pose, and finally, they had passionate Body Integration.
All the audience members in the cinema felt the heat and beauty of this romance.
However, good times are always brief, and a massive disaster soon struck.
When the terrifying iceberg appeared in sight, the dull crash between the massive ship and the iceberg seemed to strike the heart of every viewer.
The viewing atmosphere in the cinema immediately took a sharp turn, shifting from light and joyful to endlessly oppressive; the air in the theater seemed to solidify.
Icy seawater roared into the luxurious cabins, instantly swallowing all moments of beauty, and countless lives were fatally threatened.
A collective gasp filled the cinema; the audience had forgotten the beauty of the earlier romance, leaving only anxiety over the fate of the people on board.
Jack was handcuffed to a pipe on the ship by the villain Cal, and the water level kept rising. Seeing that he was about to be submerged, Rose resolutely returned and used a Fire Axe to break the handcuffs.
The two rushed wildly across the continuously tilting ship, evading the relentless Cal and the surging, icy seawater.
Finally, Jack gave the hope of survival to Rose, encouraging her to live strongly, while he slowly sank into the freezing, bone-chilling seawater... Suppressed sobs could be clearly heard in the cinema.
Using his Divine Sense, Linton observed that the vast majority of female viewers couldn't help but pull out tissues and continuously wipe away their tears.
Even Kate Winslet and Monica, sitting beside him, couldn't help but lean into his arms, one on the left and one on the right, sobbing softly and weeping profusely.
Although Kate Winslet was the female lead in the film, this was her first time seeing the complete finished product, and she was equally moved by the plot to the point of being unable to control herself.
Since they hadn't prepared tissues, both women spontaneously used Linton's clothes as tissues, and Linton's expensive Armani suit was quickly stained with tears and snot.
When, at the end of the film, Elderly Rose returned in a dream to the ship's magnificent hall, reunited with the deceased, yet threw the priceless Heart of the Ocean into the cold Atlantic Ocean.
The audience's emotions completely broke down; the entire cinema hall was filled with crying and sobbing.
Seeing this, Linton felt completely reassured. Even with the change in the male lead, the quality of this film was not inferior to that of his previous life.
Furthermore, with the added bonus of his powerful box office appeal, he believed that the final box office results of this film would definitely be better than in his previous life.
The lights came up, the credits rolled, and continuous, enthusiastic applause erupted in the cinema hall.
With red eyes and tears streaming down their faces, the audience, filled with shock and emotion, spontaneously stood up and gave the most enthusiastic tribute to the creative staff through their applause.
James Cameron, whose face had been tense since the film started, finally cracked a smile. He stood up, walked over to Linton, and hugged Linton and Kate Winslet tightly.
He said in a trembling voice, "Linton, it looks like we succeeded."
Linton replied softly, "Of course, we will create a miracle."
During the subsequent Q&A session with reporters, perhaps because the reporters were also moved and shocked by the film, the questions asked were relatively mild.
But eventually, someone asked about the film's box office prediction.
"Director Cameron, Mr. Linton, Titanic is undoubtedly a masterpiece, but we heard the investment cost for this film is as high as 300 million USD. How much box office revenue do you predict the film will achieve? Can it break the box office record of Mission: Impossible? Can the film be profitable?"
James Cameron sounded a little lacking in confidence. "Everyone has seen the quality of the film, but ultimately, how much box office revenue it achieves still depends on the audience's support..."
Linton took the microphone. "North America box office, 600 million USD; global box office, 1.8 billion USD."
The scene exploded as if a bomb had gone off. The audience, still immersed in sadness, erupted, and the entire venue became a noisy clamor.
Linton made a silencing gesture with his hand, then raised his voice and said, "We will create a miracle. Not only will we break the box office record of Mission: Impossible, but we will raise it significantly. I believe that Titanic's North America box office will exceed 600 million USD, and the global total box office will exceed 1.8 billion USD."
The reporters present were ecstatic, each one so happy they could hardly believe their ears.
Sure enough, it had to be Linton; following him guaranteed a huge scoop.
Keep in mind that the year was almost over, with only a little more than 10 days remaining until the end of the year.
So far, the highest-grossing film in North America, Men in Black, had only made 250 million USD in North America and 587 million USD globally.
The highest-grossing film globally this year was Jurassic Park 2, which only made 618 million USD globally and 229 million USD in North America.
Now, Linton was claiming over 600 million USD in North America and 1.8 billion USD globally—this was absolutely insane.
Even though Mission: Impossible, which he starred in last year, set a global box office record of 1 billion USD, that was a spy action film.
While Titanic has a deeply moving plot, it is a purely disaster romance film. This genre's box office potential is completely incomparable to that of an action film.
Moreover, he predicted the box office would significantly surpass Mission: Impossible, almost doubling it.
Is this possible? Isn't he exaggerating too much?
Could it be that Linton's continuous successes have made him arrogant, causing him to lose basic judgment?
That would be great. If you dare to speak so wildly now, don't blame us for reporting it extensively. If the film fails at the box office, where will you put your face?
That night, reports about the Titanic film premiere flooded the media.
Some reports focused on Linton and his Beautiful Angels.
Some reports highlighted the astonishing performance of Linton's fan club at the premiere.
More reports focused on the film's quality and its shocking disaster romance story.
But the most explosive news was Linton's box office prediction, which dominated the front pages of most newspapers.
"Shocking: Linton Speaks Wildly, Claiming Titanic's North America Box Office Will Exceed 600 Million USD and Global Box Office Will Exceed 1.8 Billion USD. Do You Believe Him?"
...Similarly, these topics concerning Titanic were extensively reported across the internet.
The small portion of the audience who had seen the film began leaving messages online, saying that Titanic was a deeply moving classic romance film, definitely worth watching, but advising everyone to bring tissues when they go.
Most netizens, however, were interested in the first and fourth topics.
But the most discussed topic was whether Linton's box office prediction was an exaggeration.
Bella's led Internet Trolls also seized this opportunity, deploying a large number of trolls to guide and expand discussions on these topics across all online forums.
Some people pretended to be Linton's fans, supporting him unconditionally and claiming that since Linton said the box office could break 1.8 billion USD, it definitely would.
Another group played the role of Rationalists, analyzing from various dimensions why the current film absolutely did not possess the conditions for 1.8 billion USD box office revenue, especially since Titanic was a romance film. Their final conclusion was that Linton was exaggerating.
The two sides fiercely debated on the internet, attracting even more netizens to join the argument.
It must be said that Linton's box office prediction this time was truly shocking.
Although his previous predictions for film box office results had generally been accurate, this time, almost no one supported him, except for his fans—and they had to be Die-Hard Fans.
The online discussion topic attracted a huge number of participants, but netizens were almost unanimously convinced he was either bragging or engaging in hype.
Not to mention others, even the film's female lead, Kate Winslet, couldn't believe it, and repeatedly asked Linton if his box office prediction for Titanic was real, even after several "battles" that night.
In her opinion, if the film's global box office could break 1 billion USD, it would already be a remarkable victory.
She knew that her role in this film was substantial; she was definitely not just a decorative female lead like in other blockbusters, and her screen time was nearly equal to Linton's.
With this achievement, she had every chance of becoming a first-rate Hollywood actress.
If the film truly reached 1.8 billion USD globally as Linton predicted, wouldn't she instantly soar to the top, with full hope of becoming a quasi-super-A-list Hollywood actress?
But was that possible? She didn't dare to imagine it herself.
The media outlets owned by the other Hollywood giants naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity, following up quickly and heating up the topic.
In their view, Linton's development over the past few years had been too smooth. Every film produced by his company was a massive hit, and the box office for the films he starred in was outrageously high.
He himself had accumulated unimaginable fans and box office appeal, and crucially, he never accepted films from other companies.
Starting last year, Universal Pictures and Linton Film Company had become almost unique entities in Hollywood. Last year, they accounted for 12 of the top 20 grossing films of the year, and although this year wasn't over yet, judging from the current situation, they wouldn't have fewer than 12, possibly even more. Profits were, of course, immense.
Furthermore, they hogged the profits. The films produced by these two companies offered absolutely no investment opportunities to others, unwilling to share even a shred of profit.
This put enormous pressure on the other giants. Now, they finally saw a chance: Titanic had an extremely high risk of losing money due to its massive investment, and it might even suffer a huge loss.
On top of that, Linton was being obstinate, openly bragging, and giving the film an extremely unreliable box office prediction.
These rivals naturally seized the opportunity to launch a wave of negative publicity against Linton and his film company, aiming to shatter his myth of invincibility.
In their view, they had to make good use of this opportunity to thoroughly humiliate Linton and completely destroy his idol halo.
Ideally, they wanted Linton to lose interest in making films and quietly retire to be an ordinary billionaire.
Seriously, you're a top-ranked super-rich person globally—what better things could you be doing? Why bother working so hard to make films?
Regardless, the hype for Titanic was fully ignited. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say the hype had made it known to everyone, reaching scorching hot levels.
*****
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