While Gilbert was settling into his new digs and living the good life, something related to him was happening on the other side of the Pacific. After the import film agreement was signed and everything was arranged, Gilbert's _Real Steel_ became the first official imported film to be shown in mainland cinemas, meeting the public.
Actually, mainland audiences weren't strangers to Hollywood movies. Back in 1978, the old classic _Modern Times_ was shown to audiences there. That was Hollywood's first screening in mainland China, but after that, it seemed like not many Hollywood films made it to mainland theaters. Later, through the spread of Hong Kong's bootleg market, many people learned about movies like the _Terminator_ series, _RoboCop_, and _Lethal Weapon_. But the bootleg market wasn't a real theater circuit, and Hollywood films hadn't been in the mainland film market for a long time. So, strictly speaking, _Real Steel_ was the first officially imported Hollywood film released in the same year, through official channels. And even though the revenue share wasn't high, _Real Steel_ was also the first imported revenue-sharing film.
On Thursday, August 4, 1994, an ordinary day like any other, _Real Steel_ had its grand opening in fifty-seven cinemas across six major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, Nanjing, and Hangzhou. To boost its influence in mainland China, Warner Bros. even specially gave China Film Group two mech models: one was the themed Atom, and the other was the tall, imposing, two-headed Twin Cities. Luckily, these "sugar-coated bullets" from across the ocean didn't corrupt the hearts of certain people at China Film Group, so these two robots were successfully displayed outside a Beijing cinema, astonishing the capital's citizens.
Everyone was curious and came to marvel at these tall, powerful robots, then sighed at the differences between the two sides. Later, because too many people came to see the two robot models, and some even touched them randomly, the cinema had to assign staff to guard the two mech models. It was the first time anyone had seen mech models with security guards.
The promotional effect of the two mechs was enormous. When people saw these robots, they'd ask the cinema staff what they were. The cinema staff would reply, "These are robots from a Hollywood movie, and they're super valuable!"
"So, is your cinema showing this movie?" a curious bystander asked.
"Of course, why else would we display them?"
Hearing the affirmative answer, some audience members, whose financial situations allowed, gritted their teeth and bought tickets to see the movie, becoming the first batch of viewers to watch a Hollywood film in theaters. This viewing deeply shocked audiences who had never seen such films before. The film's passionate fight scenes, exaggeratedly realistic special effects, coupled with noisy West Coast rap and rock music, delivered a tremendous impact to audiences in an era where entertainment options were limited. It was, arguably, an experience that reshaped their worldview, with an immense force. This was the cultural output of Hollywood cinema, using movies to fill the people on this land with fantasies about that dreamy country across the Pacific. And indeed, at that time, America could truly live up to the name of a dream country.
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### A Young Fan's Dream
Guo Fan, currently fourteen years old and in middle school, begged his father to take him to Beijing for a fun trip during the summer vacation. At a cinema in Beijing, he saw the models of Atom and Twin Cities, and the boy's passion for them ignited. Two movie tickets weren't expensive, and unable to resist Guo Fan's persistent nagging, his father reluctantly bought two tickets, and together they watched their first movie in a cinema. Of course, he'd seen other movies before. But _Real Steel_ was the first movie the father and son watched together inside a movie theater.
In the cinema, watching the exciting movie, Guo Fan's entire outlook on life seemed to be reshaped. Unlike others who, after watching the movie, started fantasizing about that country across the Pacific, Guo Fan thought: Can I become a director when I grow up? And if I become a director, can I make movies like this?
After leaving the cinema, Guo Fan looked up at his father and firmly declared, "Dad, I want to be a movie director when I grow up."
His father was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and said, "If you want to be a director, you'll have to study hard."
A young movie fan had just planted a seed in his heart. Gilbert never imagined he'd inspire a young fan. If he knew, he'd probably just smile; it wasn't a bad thing, right?
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### North American Box Office and Profits
Back in North America, after July 24, _Real Steel_ completed its twelfth week in theaters. After twelve weeks, the remaining screening time of the film was no longer relevant to the distributor and producers. Any box office generated from then on belonged to the theater chains.
As of July 24, _Real Steel_'s North American box office hit $181 million. The additional revenue of over a million dollars generated after July 24, while counted in _Real Steel_'s total box office, entirely belonged to the theater chains. So, the second revenue split was easy to calculate: out of the twelve million dollars generated, the producers and distributors received three million dollars, which wasn't much. Even with the first North American theatrical revenue share, the film still hadn't recouped its costs from North American box office alone.
However, the money from North American video and television rights quickly came in, finally allowing the film to turn a profit solely from the North American market. Additionally, while most of _Real Steel_'s merchandise profits went to Disney and Warner, Cantaloupe Studio and the other eight small investors also got a taste of the profits.
Most importantly, as _Real Steel_ gradually finished its theatrical run worldwide, overseas box office began to be settled. Although this settlement process might take up to half a year, the overseas box office reached $243 million, with over $85 million in revenue share to be divided among the major investors. There were also regional rights from other countries, which would also bring in revenue over time.
In summary, although _Real Steel_ didn't meet Gilbert's expectations, it performed as a typical commercial film should. While it didn't make a huge profit like _Speed_, at least it didn't lose money and turned a profit just from the box office. Next up would be the lengthy process of revenue splitting and the gradual increase of merchandise earnings over time.
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### New Project: The Rock
After keeping an eye on the situation and learning that the film had at least turned a profit, Gilbert urged Disney and Warner Bros. to quickly pay out the revenue share. At the same time, after discussions at the executive level, Warner Bros. and Touchstone Pictures moved The Rock project into the preliminary development phase.
The film was officially retitled _The Rock_, and Gilbert even registered a Facebook account, using it to release a conceptual teaser poster for the movie. It was just a hand-drawn sketch, yet it attracted many movie fans to check it out and follow Gilbert's Facebook account. Gilbert was basically driving traffic to his small investment company, and it worked out pretty well.
Gilbert's new project naturally garnered attention throughout Hollywood. Steven Spielberg, who was planning to establish DreamWorks and compete with the giants, specifically sought out Gilbert.
"Gilbert, are you interested in having DreamWorks handle your new project?" Spielberg got straight to the point.
"Uncle Steven, is this your personal idea? Or DreamWorks'?" Gilbert countered.
"It's mine," Spielberg was direct. "And also Jeffrey and David's shared idea."
Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen were Spielberg's partners. Jeffrey Katzenberg had left Walt Disney Studios this year, and David Geffen was the owner of a well-known entertainment company, and also gay. These three announced their joint venture to establish DreamWorks SKG, vowing to challenge the old Hollywood order and become one of the new giants. However, the old Hollywood establishment wouldn't just sit back and watch a new giant emerge; they would surely try to block DreamWorks in every aspect, including resources and distribution channels. So Spielberg thought that DreamWorks couldn't rely solely on him; it needed other talented directors who could hold their own. Such people were few, but Spielberg believed Gilbert was a suitable candidate. That's why he came to Gilbert, filled with hope, using his personal connections to persuade him.
However, Gilbert was unmoved: "Uncle Steven, you should know that I've had a great time working with Disney and Warner. DreamWorks is a new company, and its distribution and merchandise channels are unknown territory. I can't take that risk."
Spielberg was a little disappointed, but he still tried to persuade him: "Gilbert, do you really want to work for these giants your whole life? Don't you want to become a boss and control your own movies? Come to DreamWorks, and you'll have that chance."
It must be said that Spielberg's words were very inciting, and he seemed to have seen through the restless heart beneath Gilbert's gentle exterior. But for Gilbert, even if he were to go independent and do his own thing, DreamWorks wouldn't be his first choice. With DreamWorks' three co-founders, he wouldn't be the top dog, and he didn't want to be the fourth wheel. Moreover, running a film company and making movies were two entirely different things. Even with the three giants combined, DreamWorks eventually faded away, succumbing to the fate of being carved up by the major studios. Even if Gilbert had the advantage of foresight, those giants weren't fools. A good tiger can't defeat a pack of wolves, let alone a pride of lions much larger than a pack of wolves. So Gilbert felt it was better to be cautious and wait for the right opportunity.
Therefore, Gilbert firmly rejected Spielberg's invitation, uninterested in getting involved in the conflict between DreamWorks and the traditional Hollywood giants. Spielberg didn't blame Gilbert; this was a normal reaction, and he understood Gilbert's concerns.
After dealing with Spielberg, Gilbert, with the arrangements from Warner and Disney, held a project announcement conference, declaring that the new project, _The Rock_, had officially begun pre-production.
"This is going to be a really cool action movie. I want to give audiences a different kind of action movie experience," Gilbert said at the conference.
Before the project announcement, his agent, Sheena Boone, helped Gilbert negotiate a contract as director, screenwriter, and producer, with a $10 million basic salary. Additionally, if the film's North American box office exceeded one hundred million dollars, he would receive a five percent share of the box office, capped at fifteen percent. This deal was largely unchanged from the previous _Real Steel_ contract, with only a slight increase in the percentage. The main reason was that Cantaloupe Studio would continue to participate in the investment, and thus Gilbert made a concession in his personal compensation.
After the press conference, the film officially began its preparation work, and team members started returning to the set. First up, the immediate question was: who should play Mason, the British agent?
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