The supervisor patted his chest confidently in agreement. He wasn't bragging—if they couldn't deliver the kind of visual effects the boss was asking for, then the other companies didn't stand a chance. And he knew exactly what the boss was aiming for. The newspapers were still buzzing every day with stories about how she was working on a film that aimed to surpass Avatar's box office record. Anyone with half a brain could guess that the key to this battle was sitting right in their hands.
Sure, they hadn't handled the majority of Avatar's effects—their role had been more about adding enhancements on top of the existing visuals. But still, they were part of a movie that had grossed over 3 billion dollars. If they could help the boss claim the number one box office slot in film history this time, their position in Hollywood—and even globally—would be set in stone.
The number one visual effects company in the world! Just thinking about it was enough to get the blood pumping, wasn't it?
With a satisfying answer in hand, Laila left in high spirits. This was just a simple check-in—there was far more work to be done. The sky carrier would need a dedicated design team to complete it. And as for the aliens that would appear in the film, along with the massive monsters weaving through skyscrapers—all of that would need professional designers to bring to life based on her descriptions.
She planned to follow her usual workflow: filming and post-production happening simultaneously. It would demand more from her, but she felt it was worth it. The film she truly wanted to shoot had to be completed this year, no matter what. She wasn't sure whether Zhang Guorong would still be available next year, and if she missed the window, the whole project would be delayed again. She had no intention of wasting time waiting—one way or another, the originally planned film needed to be rolling before year's end.
Filming for The Avengers was tentatively set to begin in a month. Considering she didn't even have a script yet, that timeline was incredibly tight. Her advantage was that she already knew which parts of the original film were the audience favorites. She could elevate those, cut out the dull bits, and reshape the story accordingly.
This time, she was determined to nail the pacing—she wanted the audience to feel a surge of excitement every few minutes. Her goal was to make them so engrossed that they wouldn't even think about getting up to use the restroom or buy popcorn. She didn't want them to even glance at the time. She wanted them utterly absorbed, experiencing the best the plot and the special effects had to offer.
That was Laila's plan, and it was also her guarantee for why she dared to claim she'd top the all-time box office charts.
In truth, a VFX-heavy script like this didn't take too long to write. In just two days, Laila had completed a first draft.
Roy was the first person to read it. After acting in so many films over the years, he was more than familiar with screenplays. While he might not be able to judge whether a script would make money, he had no problem spotting a good one. And this new script of Laila's? It was good—really good. He had a strong sense that if it were made, it'd be spectacular.
"I want to open your brain and see what's inside. Why do you always manage to do things no one else can?" Roy couldn't help but marvel after reading it.
Laila gave a wry smile. In reality, the script was just the original one from the movie. The reason she wrote it down was to prepare for a massive overhaul—to transform a $1.5 billion movie into one that could earn over $3 billion. That was no small feat; even she found it daunting as she began the revisions.
A $3 billion box office take was staggering—$300 million more than the original Avatar. If it weren't for the confidence she'd gained from the Lord of the Rings project, she wouldn't have dared to make such a bold claim.
Back then, she had written the Lord of the Rings script herself, based on the novel, and made sweeping changes from the original version. Anyone who had seen both adaptations would probably feel like they were watching two different shows—the emphasis and focus were completely different.
Even so, that heavily modified script had been a massive success, with box office earnings far surpassing the original. Sure, she'd had a slight edge thanks to improved VFX tech, but the real game-changer was her ability to adapt scripts. That skill could only be described as top-tier.
"What do you think needs changing?" she asked, wanting to get Roy's feedback.
"Changing? Why would you need to change anything?" Roy looked puzzled. "Isn't this already a fully polished script?" If he hadn't known she'd spent the last two days locked in her study writing, he would've assumed this was something she'd finished long ago. It didn't seem to need any revision at all.
Laila shook her head. "It's not enough. I don't want just a good script—I want a script that can pull in over $3 billion at the box office. Trust me, if we shot this as-is, it would top out at maybe a little over a billion."
Roy's mouth twitched. A little over a billion isn't good enough for her anymore? Any other studio would throw a mountain of cash at a script expected to make even a few hundred million, let alone over a billion. And here she was, casually brushing it off like it was pocket change.
If he didn't love her so much, he would've laid into her right then and there.
"A billion's already a lot," he said, trying to ground her.
Laila ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "I know it's a lot—but it's still miles from my goal." She spread the script out and pointed to a section she'd marked. "I think we can tweak this part. What do you think about adding more internal conflict among the superheroes?"
Roy studied the spot she was indicating. "If the conflict gets too intense, won't it become a schism?"
"These superheroes all have huge egos. There's no way they'd get along like regular people. I think adding more tension between them, and then showing how they unite over a common cause—that would resonate."
"Good point," Roy nodded, accepting her reasoning. "So, who do you want to clash with whom?"
Laila thought for a moment. "Captain America and Iron Man. One's old-school, the other's forward-thinking. The ideological clash would be a great hook."
"In that case," Roy added, "the mythic Thor and the intellectual Hulk should also have some philosophical friction."
"Exactly!" Laila's eyes lit up, her creativity suddenly unleashed. "And Black Widow—she's a fascinating character. I want to give her more scenes. She's the only prominent female in the group—she's got to prove she can stand toe-to-toe with the others."
Thinking back, the original Black Widow was already portrayed well. But Laila wanted to give her an even bigger challenge. Fight scenes were a must—but the original's choreography felt weak to her, especially through her Eastern lens. If you wanted truly spectacular fight scenes, nothing beats Eastern martial arts!