Chapter 235 A Movie Showdown that Bets on the Future

"I don't mean to blame Johnny Depp, but as we all know, he has always played some 'unconventional' characters. Well, to put it bluntly, they are very strange characters. He is also a recognized weirdo actor in Hollywood. He is very It's suitable for certain movies, but it definitely can't handle the box office of a big production worth 140 million yuan!

And asking such a weird actor to play a pirate captain will turn a pirate-themed movie into a disaster! Director Wu Yuchen is either blind or his brain is muddled. When the time comes for the failure of "Pirate King", he will bear all the blame! "

The reporters couldn't help but be happy when they heard that the war was once again started. They wrote it down one after another, and ran to interview the "Pearl Harbor" crew while publishing newspapers.

When this came to Johnny Depp's ears, he immediately became angry. Depp is not Josh Hartnett. He will not be criticized by others, and he will not dare to fight back because of his public image. Will Depp, who has always been rebellious and unruly, care about this?

He publicly shouted directly in front of the media: "I don't know what's crazy about this old guy, but I will use my performance to prove that what he said is shit! He must apologize for his rudeness! "The Pirate King" "It will succeed!"

Wu Yuchen is actually very happy in his heart, because now the scolding war between the two sides has aroused the interest of the United States. According to feedback from DreamWorks and Universal’s publicity and development teams, the attention and topicality of “Pirate King” has increased significantly recently. Of course, the same goes for Pearl Harbor.

However, Wu Yuchen also knows that although the two parties have not stated it explicitly, they have reached a tacit understanding, that is, they will use this scolding war to attract attention to their two movies. As for who will live and who will die, both parties will obviously Have confidence in yourself.

Therefore, Wu Yuchen also responded to "Pearl Harbor" again:

"If "Pirate King" fails, of course I will bear everything on my own! I am willing to bet my career as a director and will not pick up the director's microphone for five years.

But if "Pearl Harbor" fails, will Peter Schreider and Michael Eisner stop shirking their responsibilities? Are they willing to take responsibility? "

When this came out, the reporters interviewed were extremely excited! Wu Yuchen is now a hot A-list director in Hollywood, and he actually publicly said that he would bet on his directing career for 5 years!

You know, in the past, even if a certain director was very confident in his work and boasted that the box office could reach hundreds of millions, he never said he would bet on his future as a director!

For these stars or directors, they would rather kiss a donkey's butt or run naked than risk their careers. Because if it really happens, your reputation will be ruined if you regret it!

""The Pirate King": A work that stakes the career of director Wu Yuchen!"

"A matter of life and death, "Pirate King" is eye-catching!"

“‘Pirate King’: Confidence or Arrogance?”

But this time Wu Yuchen dared to say such words, which naturally raised the topic's popularity again. As soon as this report was published, it immediately attracted the attention of many viewers and caused considerable discussion.

There are also reporters specifically interviewing this topic on the street:

"Hey? Have you heard what Director Wu Yuchen said about risking his career?"

"Oh, yes, I have read the relevant reports~"

"Then will you go see "Pirate King"?"

"I think I will go and see it, not for anything else but because Wu is so confident. I have a good impression of his past few movies, and I think he will not be aimless."

…

"To be honest, I think what he said is a bit radical. In fact, based on Wu's resume and achievements, it doesn't matter even if he fails once. There is no need to bet on his career for the next five years. This seems a bit radical to me. Reckless.

Of course, I'm going to see it, I'm going to take my kids with me, and I'm also very curious about what he's going to do with "Pirates." "

…

"I don't know, did he really make such a bet? If it is true, it would be so surprising!

Which movie to watch? I originally wanted to see Pearl Harbor, you know, it's Memorial Day after all, but I'm a little hesitant now..."

After Wu Yuchen made his remarks, naturally some reporters went to the "Pearl Harbor" crew to conduct interviews, hoping to get their response. But this time the crew of "Pearl Harbor" didn't say anything immediately.

"Michael, have you asked Spielberg what's going on? How could Wu say such things to the public? Is he crazy?" Bruckheimer asked Michael Bay.

Obviously, Wu Yuchen's words of betting on his future career also made them feel that they were a little bit over the top? Why is this so?

Michael Bay shrugged: "I asked Steven, and he said that Wu was not here for us, and that he and Eisner had a grudge."

"Okay, let's just keep quiet and let the Disney people respond," Bruckheimer said.

…

Peter Schreider is not stupid. It doesn't matter if you ask him to compete with "Pirate King" or Wu Yuchen. Anyway, this kind of thing is not surprising. It is not that this kind of thing has never happened in Hollywood in order to attract traffic. But if you want him to publicly declare responsibility for "Pearl Harbor" now, he can't do it! If "Pearl Harbor" really failed, how could he be held responsible? Take the blame and resign? Do not make jokes!

However, sometimes things backfire and he gets a call from Michael Eisner: "Peter, why don't you fight back?"

"Well, Mr. Eisner, I don't think there's any need to talk crazy to him..."

"What? Don't you have confidence in our "Pearl Harbor"?"

"No, Mr. Eisner, I'm confident in Pearl Harbor!"

"Then you respond. Now everyone's attention has been focused on our two movies. If you don't respond, others will think that our "Pearl Harbor" is afraid of them!

I am inviting many political and military figures to attend the premiere of "Pearl Harbor", including former President Bush. You must make a strong response to show our confidence! "

Disney has made a big move this time. The premiere ceremony of "Pearl Harbor" will be held on a military aircraft carrier in Pearl Harbor. In addition to inviting celebrities from the film and television industry, many American political and military dignitaries and representatives of World War II veterans will also attend, so Eisner pays special attention to it.

Peter Schreider opened his mouth helplessly, but he could only say: "Okay, Mr. Eisner."

The next day, Peter Schreider accepted an interview: "It is impossible for "Pirate King" to win in the competition with "Pearl Harbor", there is no chance of winning at all!"

However, the reporter would not stop after hearing this, and started to get angry: "But Wu is willing to bet his future career as a director as a guarantee..."

"In my opinion, what he said is really a trick. If he messes up a big production worth 140 million yuan, then he won't be able to get any other big production opportunities in five years. That's why he dares to say Say this!"

However, the reporter didn’t buy it and pressed him:

"We have seen Wu's confidence in the movie. Mr. Schreider, what about you? How can we show Disney's confidence?"

Justin Wu can say he won’t be a director in five years, but he can’t say Disney won’t make movies in five years, right? Therefore, he can only blame himself, and the only way is to take the blame and resign. Obviously, these reporters just wanted to force him to say this, and then make the bets between the two sides equal this time, and then stir up this topic again.

Thinking of Eisner's call, Peter Schreider could only sigh in his heart and said confidently:

"Although it is impossible to happen, if Pearl Harbor fails, I will take responsibility for it and resign!"

Cameras clicked and the reporters happily recorded the moment.

Now that he has said this, Peter Schreider simply made another bold statement:

"The box office of "Pearl Harbor" will exceed the box office record of "Jurassic Park 2" in its first weekend, and will exceed 100 million within 5 days!"

So far, the North American opening weekend box office record holder is "Jurassic Park 2" with 72.13 million, and its five-day box office is 98.38 million, which does not exceed 100 million.

Therefore, Disney is tantamount to making a bold statement to the outside world. "Pearl Harbor" will break the opening weekend box office record and the record of being the fastest to break 100 million.

This time, we finally got a satisfactory reply from Disney, which had been silent for several days. The reporters all left happily.

"Directing career VS taking the blame and resigning!"

"The Chairman of Disney Studios personally took the bet!"

"The focus battle between "Pearl Harbor" and "Pirate King"!"

When Disney's heavyweight executives really took over Wu Yuchen's bet and bet their careers with Wu Yuchen, the bet also completely ignited the public's emotions, making them have an interest in "Pearl Harbor" and "Pirates". "King" are both movies that I am looking forward to more and more!

Throughout May and even June, it is impossible for any other movie to steal the limelight of these two movies. This has really become a battle that has attracted much attention.

Of course, the reporters here who had just finished interviewing Disney rushed to find Wu Yuchen without stopping:

"Wu, Disney said that "Pearl Harbor" is confident of breaking a series of box office records. What about you?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head: "I can only say that I am confident that the first weekend box office will be higher than that of "Pearl Harbor"!"

Immediately, a reporter asked: "You mean, you are not optimistic that the two movies "Pirate King" and "Pearl Harbor" will break the first weekend box office record of "Jurassic Park 2"? Aren't you always optimistic about "Pirate King"?" Are you confident?"

"Haha, of course, I have confidence in "Pirate King", but my confidence is based on rationality. As we all know, the first weekend box office of original movies is generally not as high as that of sequel movies. Even "Jurassic Park 2" "'s opening weekend record was also set by the sequel.

If it is "Pirate King 2", I can tell you with certainty now that "Pirate King 2" will have a box office of over 100 million in the first three days of the weekend! "

Unable to dig out any more information from Wu Yuchen that would escalate the conflict between the two parties, the reporter could only leave with his words.

Now that "Pirates" and "Pearl Harbor" have become the focus, the entire Hollywood is also paying attention to these two upcoming movies. However, most people just watch the excitement and don’t say anything. On the one hand, these two parties are very powerful, and no matter which side they stand on, they will offend the other party; on the other hand, if they speak up and take sides before the results come out, in case they make a mistake. Wouldn't that be an idiot?

Of course, some people don’t care, like Harvey Weinstein:

"There is no doubt that "Pearl Harbor" will win! "Pirate King" has not been favored by the industry since its establishment. Who else would be interested in the old-fashioned pirate theme now? And Wu's ability to control large-scale productions is also very good. It's worrying. As for his casting, it can be said that he doesn't have a box office responsibility! Compared with "Pearl Harbor", I don't see that "Pirate King" has any chance of winning!"

Obviously, Harvey Weinstein is bad-mouthing Wu Yuchen and "Pirate King". He already has a grudge against Wu Yuchen, so he naturally wants to take the opportunity to step on Wu Yuchen at this time.

In Harvey's vision, this year "Pirates" will first overturn and be overturned by "Pearl Harbor", and then wait until next year's Oscars, he will personally snipe "A Beautiful Mind" out of the Oscar statuette. By then, Wu Yuchen would have suffered a double blow in terms of business and awards, and he would not be able to turn around in a few years!

At the same time, an article analyzing and comparing "Pirate King" and "Pearl Harbor" in detail was published, and it even made the front page of the entertainment section.

"The most attention-grabbing thing in the entertainment industry recently is the battle between "Pearl Harbor" and "Pirate King". I believe everyone wants to know who loses and who wins. This article will conduct a comprehensive analysis and comparison of the two focus movies. Make predictions.

First, compare the movie themes.

"Pirate King" is a fantasy movie about pirates and adventure treasure hunting. Treasure hunting movies have been a favorite theme among Hollywood audiences in the past 20 years, but if pirates are added to the prefix, it will directly become a minus point. The pirate theme is currently recognized as an unpopular and even poisonous theme in Hollywood!

And "Pearl Harbor" is about war, disaster and love. During the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and Memorial Day, there is no doubt that Pearl Harbor is the best theme, and disaster and love, with "Titanic" as a reference, will definitely become the favorite of the public if it is well shot!

Movie theme, "Pearl Harbor" wins!

Second, compare the producers on both sides.

"Pirates" producer James, whose representative works include "The Sixth Sense" and "Sniper Phone Booth." That's right, James' two masterpieces were both collaborated with Wu Yuchen, and before that he didn't have any big-selling works. Some people say that he is just Wu Yuchen's assistant. Without Wu, he is just an ordinary producer.

The producer of "Pearl Harbor", Bruckheimer, is Hollywood's leading gold medal producer. "Flashdance", "Top Gun", "Bad Boys", "The Island", "Sky Prison", "Armageddon", this series of movies are all well-known blockbusters.

Obviously, in terms of producers, "Pearl Harbor" wins!

Let’s compare the two directors.

Wu Yuchen, "Black Hole Frequency", "Sniper Phone Booth" and "The Sixth Sense".

Michael Bay, "Bad Boys", "The Island", and "The End of the World".

From a commercial perspective, both parties are talented directors in Hollywood, so it can be described as a draw. But considering Michael Bay's rich experience in directing big productions and big scenes, Michael Bay has a slight advantage.

Director, "Pearl Harbor" wins!

The actors are composed of two men and one woman.

Male number one, Johnny Depp VS Ben Affleck. Depp's masterpieces include "Edward Scissorhands" and "Sleepy Hollow", as well as Ben Affleck's "Good Will Hunting" and "The End of the World." Tie.

Male number two, Hugh Jackman VS Josh Hartnett. Hugh Jackman's "Black Hole Frequency" and "X-Men", Josh Hartnett's "High School" and "Moonlight", Hugh Jackman won.

The heroine, Keira Knightley VS Kate Beckinsale, there is no doubt that Kate will beat Keira, a 16-year-old girl, in every aspect.

Let’s call the cast a draw.

In comprehensive evaluation, "Pearl Harbor" beats "Pirate King"! "

Wu Yuchen looked at this article and couldn't help but click his tongue a few times. Obviously, this article was written by someone from Disney! It seems neutral and fairly compared "Pearl Harbor" and "Pirate King" from several angles, and concluded that "Pearl Harbor" is better than "Pirate King" in all aspects.

But the current situation is that the crew of "Pearl Harbor" is rich. The hundreds of millions of dollars in promotional expenses are no joke.

"Pirate King" is competing with "Pearl Harbor", but "Pearl Harbor" is not just a hype with "Pirate King". On the one hand, they are promoting that they will break the box office record of "Jurassic Park 2"; On the other hand, it is compared to "Titanic", which is equivalent to all-round traffic diversion, in order to maximize the attraction of audiences to come and watch.

In this regard, Wu Yuchen will not go out personally now, and let the "Pirate King" promotion team find the media to fight back.

…

"Congratulations, Jeffrey!" Wu Yuchen congratulated the smiling Katzenberg.

"Shrek", produced by Katzenberg and led by DreamWorks Animation, was also recently released. The North American box office successfully exceeded 100 million in 10 days. You must know that this was obtained when the promotion was not strong enough, and its cost was only 60 million US dollars. , is undoubtedly a very successful project.

Moreover, "Shrek" has a good reputation and is still fermenting. Everyone is optimistic that it can accumulate high long-term box office in the next three months of summer.

Katzenberg replied: "Thank you, Wu. I think "The Pirate King", which will be released this weekend, will definitely achieve good results!"

Yes, there are only a few days left before the release of "Pirate King". As the release date drew closer, the two parties began to bicker in the distance again. This time, even the actors left the show, with Keira Nutley expressing dissatisfaction that she was not as good as Kate.

Moreover, Eisner said in an interview a few days ago that he had invited a luxurious premiere guest headed by Lao Bu. He directly stated that he did not take "Pirate King" seriously at all. To the effect, he was just a weirdo, a stand-in actress, and An Australian boy who has just become famous wants to compete with us in "Pearl Harbor"? The target of "Pearl Harbor" is always only "Titanic"!

Wu Yuchen knew that "Pirate King" would not be as wealthy as "Pearl Harbor", so the premiere was said to have cost tens of millions of dollars.

Wu Yuchen's response this time was also very simple. "Pirate King" is not a special movie for political and business elites, but for the general public in the United States, especially children. Therefore, many children will be invited to the premiere of "Pirate King" this time!

Wu Yuchen secretly accused the premiere of "Pearl Harbor" of only inviting celebrities, which obviously deviated from the mass line. But our "Pirate King" is different, we are here to serve the public!

His response obviously won the favor of many people, especially the fact that children were invited to watch the premiere. This attitude made many parents very satisfied.

Now the atmosphere of the upcoming battle between "Pirate King" and "Pearl Harbor" has been reached to a climax.

On the evening of May 25, "Pirate King" premiered.

Although "Pirate King" is not as luxurious as "Pearl Harbor", and an aircraft carrier was used for the premiere ceremony, it is not bad at all compared to other major productions in the past.

The red carpet at the premiere was crowded with stars, including Tom Hanks, Sylvester Stallone, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe and many other top Hollywood stars and directors. To be honest, DreamWorks has a very strong network of people, so it is very easy to invite many celebrities to support it.

At this time, Wu Yuchen and Cheng Long hugged: "Brother Long, thank you for coming to support me!"

Cheng Long laughed and said: "That's right. I will definitely come to Director Wu's movie. We will support our own people!"

At today's premiere of "Pirate King", only half of the seats were for guests, and more than half of the seats were given to the invited children and their parents.

"Mom? Will "Pirate King" be as good as "The Mummy"?" a little boy asked his mother next to him.

"Oh, Chris, I'm thinking about this answer. You'll know it after you read it~"

"Will there be magical catacombs and magic?"

"There are no catacombs in the sea, but there may be islands with traps where pirates' treasures are hidden. As for whether there is magic, this mother also wants to know~"

Patiently answering her son's questions, Mary rubbed her son's head. Her son Chris is one of the children invited this time. Children are at a time when their desire for exploration and curiosity are strong, and such adventure and treasure hunting movies are his favorite. His favorite movie in the past two years has been the "Mummy" series. The mysterious Egypt and the process of tomb robbing adventures in the movie have deeply fascinated him.

This time, Chris was naturally looking forward to "The Pirate King", which was also an adventure and treasure hunt. He kept begging his parents to take him to watch it, so Mary tried to sign up, but unexpectedly she was selected to attend the premiere. , which made their whole family very happy.

Her son Chris not only received a free pirate doll, but also found the opportunity to get an autograph from Johnny Depp. Mary found that Depp didn't want to be like a weirdo in the media at all. He was very patient with his fans and was especially gentle with children. This made her very fond of Depp and this "Pirate King".

Holding the pirate doll in his hand, Chris looked at the screen expectantly as the lights went out.