"Hey, Naomi, is Gilbert there?"
"Him?" Naomi Watts glanced towards the bedroom and replied, "He's already asleep."
"He sure can sleep, seems like he's not worried about the midnight box office at all," Robert Iger said with a laugh from the other end of the phone.
"How are the midnight box office numbers?"
"Not bad, the average attendance rate is about 20%, bringing in $1.125 million from midnight showings."
Hearing these figures, Naomi Watts couldn't help but pump her fist in celebration. He succeeded again; he always succeeds, and she was very happy to be a part of it.
"When he wakes up, congratulate him for me, Naomi."
"Okay, I will..."
After hanging up, Naomi Watts couldn't hide her excitement, pacing back and forth in the hotel suite's living room.
Although she was just a supporting actress, countless people in Hollywood longed for such an opportunity but found no hope, eventually leaving the City of Angels disheartened.
All of this was thanks to the man sleeping soundly in the bedroom.
Thinking this, Naomi Watts walked into the bedroom, leaned over the bed, and looked at Gilbert's handsome face and long eyelashes, momentarily mesmerized.
A new day dawned, and the results of the midnight battle were quickly known to the public.
Cliffhanger had the upper hand, raking in $1.817 million from midnight showings, while Speed, despite extensive prior promotion, only managed $1.125 million.
This difference was actually within moviegoers' expectations. After all, with Stallone's accumulated appeal over the years and both films being of similar genres, it was normal for Speed to lose.
The gap in midnight box office wasn't actually that big, but behind this small difference, there was a hint of something unusual.
As the North American distributor, Disney naturally commissioned a professional survey company to go to frontline cinemas and investigate audience reactions.
And as a competitor, Sony Columbia Pictures, the distributor of Cliffhanger, also commissioned investigators to observe the feedback for both films in theaters.
Martin Bob placed the survey data in front of Michael Ovitz, his expression not looking good.
"What's wrong?" Michael Ovitz asked as he looked at the survey data.
Martin Bob said, "The survey results are very unfavorable to us. Speed has a very high rating among audiences. Out of the 2,600 audience members surveyed, 91% gave it an A+, while Cliffhanger only had 89%."
Michael Ovitz looked at the data, his expression also becoming more serious: "It seems we still underestimated this film, and underestimated Gilbert."
Michael Ovitz indeed had reason to be serious. Cliffhanger was an R-rated film, while Speed was PG-13.
The two films had a similar audience reputation, which meant Cliffhanger couldn't defeat Speed purely on word-of-mouth.
An R-rated film versus a PG-13 film, with similar film quality and reputation, the audience base becomes a crucial factor in determining the winner. This was Michael Ovitz's concern.
He originally thought he had given enough importance to Gilbert.
But he didn't expect Gilbert to be even more powerful than he imagined.
Could he really be a genius?
---
The excellent survey data also gave Disney and Warner Bros. Pictures great confidence.
In the Warner Bros. Pictures CEO's office, Jeff Robinov and his confidant Doug Walter were having a small celebration.
"Jeff, I'm increasingly convinced that bringing Gilbert into the Warner camp was an excellent choice," Doug Walter said.
"You know what, Doug?" Jeff Robinov said, "I have a gut feeling that Gilbert will achieve great things."
The signs were already clear: Gilbert always seemed to be full of energy, making one film after another, never stopping.
Doug Walter's voice lowered, even though it was just the two of them in the office: "Jeff, why don't we kick Disney out, and then..."
Doug Walter didn't finish his sentence, but Jeff Robinov understood what he meant.
"Doug, don't be so impatient, now isn't the time," Jeff Robinov explained.
"Robert Iger from Touchstone Pictures has a very good private relationship with Gilbert. Based on what I know about Gilbert, he won't change collaborators unless there's an unpleasant situation. What we at Warner Bros. Pictures need to do first is stay on board; the opportunity will come sooner or later."
Jeff Robinov was very patient. Gilbert was a strong director, and coincidentally, Disney Chairman Michael Eisner was also strong.
Could two strong personalities cooperate long-term?
Over time, as Gilbert's fame and status grew, he would demand more and more say. Could Michael Eisner accept that?
If Robert Iger were in charge at Disney, Warner Bros. Pictures wouldn't have much of a chance. But since he wasn't, the opportunity was significant...
---
The large screen in Times Square, New York, was循环播放 the blockbusters hitting theaters this summer.
Among them, the trailers for Cliffhanger and Speed attracted more attention.
This was because both films were currently showing in theaters and were direct competitors.
However, the two films faced vastly different situations. Even after a night of word-of-mouth fermentation, Speed still couldn't compete with Cliffhanger.
In a nearby cinema, 50% of the audience came to see Cliffhanger, 30% to see Speed, and 20% to see other films.
Butcher Lutz wasn't a fan of any particular movie star or director; he was just an ordinary audience member.
He had a trick for choosing movies: he would observe the audience's reactions after the film ended.
He had free time today, so he came to the cinema alone. However, after buying popcorn and a cola, Butcher Lutz wasn't in a hurry to buy a ticket; instead, he began observing the reactions of the leaving audience.
First to finish was Cliffhanger. When the audience came out, their faces showed a mix of fatigue and excitement.
Some audience members were still discussing, "Stallone really didn't disappoint; this movie was so exciting."
"Yeah, I think this is the only decent movie Stallone has made in recent years."
"They blended crime, adventure, and extreme sports together without being messy. It had all the imagination and pacing an action film should have."
Butcher Lutz listened and made a judgment: Cliffhanger was a good action movie.
However, some viewers were not entirely satisfied, believing that Stallone was merely repeating his past self from First Blood, and the film offered nothing new.
Quite a few viewers held this opinion, feeling that while the film had some novelty, it was essentially still an old-school action movie.
Then, the Speed showing ended.
Unlike the tired feeling from watching Cliffhanger, the audience for Speed was noticeably more excited.
"This movie is so cool, the male lead Jack is so handsome!"
"Oh my God, can you imagine that shot? The camera following the tire—I've never seen anything like it."
"I think I'm going to fall in love with Keanu Reeves; he's just too cool and handsome."
"The explosion scenes were also amazing, and the bus jumping over the broken bridge was very imaginative."
"That countdown scene had me so tense I couldn't breathe, thankfully everything turned out alright."
Clearly, those praising the thrilling action sequences were mostly male viewers, while those focusing on Keanu Reeves were mostly female viewers.
Butcher Lutz noticed the difference in reactions between the two films. It seemed Speed evoked a stronger audience response.
Furthermore, Speed was rated PG-13, while Cliffhanger was R-rated. In terms of audience base, Speed clearly had an advantage.
Speed would definitely win! This was Butcher Lutz's conclusion.
Since he had made his judgment, Butcher Lutz wanted to see what all the fuss was about with Speed.
Just like it had conquered most other audiences, the unprecedented action film experience also conquered Butcher Lutz.
He had never realized that an action film's pace could be so fast, and this exhilarating and thrilling feeling was something other action movies couldn't deliver.
He heard that Gilbert came from directing thriller and horror films, so perhaps he was good at controlling the audience's emotions!
After coming out, Butcher Lutz excitedly called his friend: "Hey, Evans, let's go see a movie!"
"What movie? Speed, Super Cool..."