[Chapter 394: Death Is Right Beside You]
After an easygoing two-week promotional tour, on July 19, Linton and his team returned to Los Angeles.
During the workweek of the second week, Independence Day continued its unstoppable box office run in the North American market, grossing $28.93 million over four days.
After two full weeks, Independence Day's total North American box office reached $215.52 million, setting a new record as the fastest film to surpass $200 million at the North American box office.
Overseas markets had completed a full week of screenings, and the box office had already exceeded $135 million.
Starting tomorrow, the four lead actors from the film -- Cristiana, Nicole Kidman, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum -- would embark on overseas promotional tours.
However, Linton had no plans to join the overseas promotion. One reason was that the film's popularity was already high enough, making his presence abroad less necessary. More importantly, he was preparing to take a trip to South Columbia and Asia at the end of the month.
Though Cristiana and Nicole Kidman were reluctant -- they both hoped to combine the tour with some overseas travel with Linton -- it was impossible. Madonna was due to give birth at the end of August, and by then, Linton definitely couldn't travel far. So, realistically, only late July remained as free time.
Since Linton wouldn't join the overseas promotion, the four of them had no reason to stick together. For efficiency and to secure more media exposure, they split up.
Cristiana was responsible for the UK, France, and Brazil.
Nicole Kidman was responsible for Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Bill Pullman covered Spain and Italy.
Jeff Goldblum took charge of Germany and Mexico.
---
Back at the estate, Madonna, Winnie, Monica Bellucci who had just wrapped her film, Jennifer Connelly, Noriko Sakai, Akina Nakamori, and Sophie Marceau, who was fresh off filming Braveheart in Ireland, had already prepared a grand party to welcome back Linton, Cristiana, and Nicole Kidman in triumph.
The housekeeper Amy decorated the estate with festive lanterns and creatively set up a huge balloon inside. Hanging from the balloon was a banner that read, "Warmly Celebrating the Box Office Smash of Independence Day! Linton, Cristiana, and Nicole Kidman! Breaking All Historical Records!"
Linton, Cristiana, and Nicole Kidman were naturally overjoyed.
Back home, Linton first embraced Madonna to check that she and the baby were safe and sound, then greeted each of the ladies warmly.
Madonna was already in her ninth month of pregnancy but thanks to the long term nourishing effects of his care, she looked nothing like a typical expectant mother. Apart from eating and sleeping well, she still went around her company daily. In her own words, she had no problem attending evening parties and participating in drama activities.
However, following Linton's advice, she planned to step back from company affairs starting August to focus on staying at the estate for the delivery.
Seeing Madonna's happy expression and the occasional maternal glow on her face, Cristiana, Monica, and Sophie all felt a bit envious.
More interestingly, after dinner, Madonna proudly showed off the maternity photo series Linton had recently shot of her to the group of sisters. After seeing the photos, Cristiana, Monica, and Sophie immediately proposed to Linton that they wanted to have children as soon as possible.
At the evening's party and performance, Linton naturally paid special attention to these three ladies...
---
The next day, Cristiana and Sophie Marceau, accompanied by their bodyguards and assistants, flew overseas to continue promoting Independence Day, arranged by Universal.
Linton headed to the studio and touched base with Sky Digital about the special effects production for Mission: Impossible.
It had to be said, Mission: Impossible's effects weren't very complex, perfect for Sky Digital's practice. Moreover, they had been involved since the film's pre-production phase, so the effects production was progressing smoothly.
Linton reviewed the scenes they had completed, and they fully met his standards. At most, it would take two more months to finish all the effects.
Final Destination was scheduled for release on August 12, just three weeks away.
Though the promotion for Independence Day was still in full swing, the studio's distribution department had already shifted its focus to Final Destination.
With a budget of only $15 million, Final Destination couldn't afford the massive promotional campaign that Independence Day had. Linton approved a promotional budget of just $8 million for the distribution department.
Still, $8 million was a sizeable amount in that era, enough to cover traditional marketing: posters in busy movie theaters, subways, commercial plazas, advertorials in newspapers, plus various trailers on the UPN TV Network, all arranged.
Moreover, based on Linton's advice, the distribution department had collected many real-life cases of situations where death seemed to be stalking.
---
In a middle-class neighborhood of San Francisco, one morning, Morton picked up today's newspaper from his front lawn.
His mother was still preparing breakfast. He divided the paper into two sections, handing the social and political news to his father and taking the entertainment section for himself.
"Real life examples of 'Final Destination'."
Morton's heart skipped a beat as he continued reading:
[Death never spares those who try to avoid their fate. Many true cases have occurred right under our noses. In real life, some people narrowly escape a great disaster, but the danger doesn't end there. The survivors face the relentless pursuit of death, often dying in bizarre ways.
In December 1992, 20-year-old Garcia from San Diego planned a day trip to the suburbs with 26 classmates on a rented bus. But just before departure, her boyfriend called, saying he was ill and asked her to accompany him to the hospital.
Though reluctant, Garcia stayed with her boyfriend and missed the trip. Tragically, later that afternoon, the bus plunging off a cliff resulted in the deaths of all 27 passengers, including the driver.
Five days later, Garcia and her boyfriend were caught in a gang shootout downtown. Garcia was struck in the head by stray bullets and died instantly. Her boyfriend was also critically wounded and later died in hospital.]
Morton scratched his head. Could death really be chasing after people?
Several more cases followed, from Chicago, New York, Canada, and Mexico, France.
Time, place, people, and details of their deaths were clear and precise. The San Francisco Chronicle, a reputable newspaper, wouldn't fabricate such stories.
Finally, Morton read the article's conclusion:
[Final Destination, premiering on August 12, is said to be based on a true air disaster story. In the 1980s, several high school classmates were kicked off a flight after a dispute onboard, narrowly escaping a fatal crash. But over the following two months, all of them died in various accidents...]
Could death really be stalking?
At this point, Morton was deeply intrigued by Final Destination.
He decided he definitely wanted to see it in theaters on August 12 and planned to invite his friends.
---
In Chicago, 22-year-old Hank, after a long day at work, bought a copy of the Chicago Tribune on his way home.
It also featured real cases linked to Final Destination.
Hank's interest was instantly piqued as he read: [Death never relents against those who evade their fate. Many such cases have occurred nearby...
In August 1991, Rebecca, a librarian from Springfield, Illinois, was caught in a drug dealer shootout on her way home. Luckily, she hid behind a trash bin, escaping unscathed except for minor scratches. But seven days later, she was shot in the abdomen during a robbery outside the library, bleeding to death before help arrived.
Death relentlessly pursues those who escape it until it claims their lives.]
New York, Los Angeles, Washington...
Some escaped nightclub fires but died in car crashes, others dodged shootings but were killed by rabid dog attacks, some survived plane crashes only to drown soon after.
Their fates seemed sealed by death's grip; if one accident didn't get them, another awaited, until it claimed their lives.
The article's final lines repeated:
[Final Destination, opening August 12, is said to be based on a real air disaster. In the 1980s, several high school classmates were kicked off a flight after a dispute, surviving a deadly crash. However, they all died in separate accidents within two months...]
---
By late July, reports of unexpected deaths in newspapers, magazines, and TV channels suddenly surged.
All reports ended by mentioning the upcoming film inspired by these events.
[In the 1980s, several high school classmates were kicked off a flight after a dispute onboard, narrowly escaping a fatal crash...
The horror film Final Destination, based on these events, is set to premiere on August 12. Death is right beside you.]
*****
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