"So, Isa, did you make an animation about a cartoon beaver?"
"Isa, I'd like to know — did you invest in an animation company?"
"Isa! Can you talk about the final shot of the film? Judging from the poster shown in the movie, is it an animation about food? Is the main character you? And you have two companions — a marmot and a capybara?"
"Isa! Will your animated film be released next year?"
"Isa! Can you reveal the name of the cartoon beaver?"
"Isa! When did you start paying attention to animation?"
"Isa! Once you officially develop the cartoon beaver, will the expressions used by the outside world — internet memes and the images we in the media use in daily reporting — be subject to licensing fees?"
"Isa—"
"Isa—"
"Isa—"
"..."
Unless a movie is truly mediocre, its post-screening interviews are always intense and enthusiastic.
The media will dig for attention-grabbing highlights for the sake of buzz. The audience, driven by their preferences, will try their best to interact with the directors and actors they admire. When everyone stretches their arms out eagerly, that electric atmosphere naturally takes shape.
The Devil Wears Prada is an excellent film, so its post-screening interview was full of energy.
However, after the main creators took the stage and thanked everyone present, the conversation that followed had nothing to do with the film.
Even though The Devil Wears Prada is packed with topics worth discussing — fashion, dreams, life — any one of these would normally be enough for media, reporters, and critics to produce thousands of articles from different angles.
But in everyone's eyes, none of that could compare to the "cartoon beaver" that appeared at the end of the film.
Don't ask why.
Ask, and the answer is that over the years, people have already talked enough about fashion, dreams, and life. They're numb to it. Only something new can rekindle interest.
If someone still doesn't believe it and insists on asking — then it can only be said that Isabella's star power is simply unbeatable.
Take the "Hollywood giants vs. YouTube" lawsuit as an example. A straightforward headline alone wouldn't attract much attention. But add "Isabella" to it?
"Hollywood giants sue Isabella-backed YouTube" — once that appears, every media outlet can rake in massive profits.
When the name "Isabella" itself represents huge returns — follow the money. Chase the big gains. That becomes inevitable.
And all of this — the overwhelming wave of questions, the curiosity from media and audience about the cartoon beaver — made Isabella smile.
Raising the microphone, she shook her head and said, "Everyone, today is the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada, so the star should be—"
"But you're the star of stars!" "Hahaha!"
Before Isabella could finish, someone in the audience shouted. The remark sparked a wave of knowing laughter.
Left with no choice, Isabella nodded, pressed her hand toward the source of the voice, and said, "Okay, since everyone wants to know about the animation, I'll share a little—"
"I did invest in an animation company and turned the little beaver into an animated character. As for the release date and when it will meet the public, please follow my YouTube channel for details."
"For distribution, we already have a partner: Disney. Our films will be distributed by them, and all promotion will be handled by them. However, online announcements — internet trailers, first-release videos — will still appear on YouTube."
"Yes, there's no conflict between us. The previous lawsuit was just a misunderstanding."
Since Isabella had intended to use The Devil Wears Prada to promote the beaver animation, she had no reason to refuse related questions. However, since the premiere belonged to The Devil Wears Prada, after briefly satisfying everyone's curiosity, she decisively steered the conversation back to the film.
After half an hour of casual conversation, the premiere concluded with a final round of applause.
The audience gradually dispersed, and the post-screening party — open only to industry insiders — officially began.
It was a social arena. If you took it too seriously, it was ultimately quite meaningless. But when everyone was busy flattering Isabella, that feeling of warmth and admiration really did make people feel good.
"Oh, Isa — congratulations on another excellent film!"
"Thank you!"
"Oh, Isa — I think The Devil Wears Prada has real award potential. Fashion is just its outer shell; pursuing dreams and embracing life are its core. That's genuinely moving."
"Thank you! So will you vote for me if I go for awards?"
"Of course!"
"Then let me thank you in advance."
"Oh, Isa, you really won't take endorsements? Your portrayal in the film showcased our brand beautifully!"
"I'm sorry, I don't take endorsements — but if Chanel needs a spokesperson, you're welcome to approach Marmot."
"Marmot? That's your agency, if I'm not mistaken?"
"Yes."
"Alright, understood."
At the after-party, Isabella was like the sun — shining so brightly that no one could ignore her presence.
As she happily received the steady stream of warm praise, two familiar figures appeared before her: Harry and Ron, invited guests.
"Congratulations, Isa—"
Rupert opened his arms first.
"Congratulations, Isa—"
Daniel followed right after.
"Oh — thank you!"
Without hesitation, Isabella warmly hugged them both.
Perhaps it was because they knew each other so well. After laughing, Rupert spoke bluntly: "Oh, Isa, your Devil Wears Prada is putting enormous pressure on me. I'm seriously thinking of calling Jeremy Brock and telling him to scrap the film we shot!"
Before he could finish, Daniel nodded and added, "Yeah — your Devil Wears Prada has made me afraid to take on new projects. I don't want a repeat of two or three years ago. That was awful!"
"Hahaha!"
Their words made Isabella burst out laughing. Shaking her head, she said, "Oh, Rupert, Daniel — I think your worries are unnecessary."
"Hm?"
Rupert snorted lightly. "So you think our project is really good?"
Daniel's eyes lit up. "If that's the case, I just want to say — thank you for the recognition."
"Oh — what are you two thinking?"
Isabella waved her hand, raised her brows, and winked. "I mean, even if your movies flop, it doesn't matter. I'm not short on money — I can back whatever you want to make."
The two of them were stunned.
After a beat, Rupert rolled his eyes. "Isa, you're insufferable."
Daniel shrugged. "Can't you say something nicer?"
"Of course — no!"
Isabella drew out her tone and gave a firm answer. Her cheekiness left them speechless.
Seeing they were on the verge of wanting to throttle her, Isabella dropped the mischievous smile, raised her hand, and gestured invitingly. "Alright, no more jokes. Come on — I'll introduce you to some people. If they have suitable projects in the future, I'm sure they'll reach out to you first."
Rupert would officially come of age that August. Daniel's birthday would be July 23 the following year.
As they matured, stepping out of their comfort zones and embracing new opportunities became inevitable. And so they began taking on work outside of HP.
Rupert, for instance, had taken on a drama during the gap between Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix — Driving Lessons. Though a low-budget film with a total investment of under £200,000, it followed the standard route of selling distribution rights. In the Western industry, having an opportunity is still better than none — and Rupert had plenty of room to experiment.
Daniel had also received two offers earlier that year: December Boys and My Boy Jack. Like Driving Lessons, these were low-budget, rights-selling projects — another attempt at expanding his range as an actor.
When all their current projects were low-budget films, comparing box office results with The Devil Wears Prada was, frankly, a joke.
But after trailing Isabella around the party, they couldn't help feeling emotional.
"Daniel, how much box office do you think our films would need for us to be surrounded like Isa?"
"At least 500 million. Without that — why would these big shots bend down to talk to you?"
"So you're saying The Devil Wears Prada will make at least 500 million?"
"Yeah. Definitely."
Their whispering didn't escape Isabella's ears. Their guess made her smile without a word — because the respect everyone showed her had nothing to do with the film.
There were things she couldn't explain to them. So when faced with a conversation she couldn't enter, a smile was enough.
As for whether their box office estimate was accurate? Isabella didn't know if The Devil Wears Prada could reach 500 million, but she knew the income it would generate for her would run into the billions — and that figure didn't even include sponsorships from major luxury brands.
The reason was simple.
The day after the premiere, traditional print media — The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Variety — along with cable networks like ABC and CBS, all reported on the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada. Since Isabella now had access to over 90% of U.S. media — with Rupert Murdoch gone, major newspapers and TV networks had essentially fallen into the hands of her "friends" — coverage of The Devil Wears Prada was, unsurprisingly, overwhelmingly positive.
The favorable tide of public opinion could indeed bring massive profits to the film, but that wasn't what Isabella cared about most. Her focus was elsewhere.
The day after the premiere, Isabella uploaded five videos to YouTube at once: a vlog about her exam preparation, and four new songs written for The Devil Wears Prada, each with an accompanying music video cut directly from the film itself.
Yes — she couldn't be bothered to shoot separate music videos.
From a music fan's perspective, this might seem a bit unprofessional. But for the general public — and especially her fans — it felt like a gift.
"It's New Year!"
Because no one expected Isabella to drop five videos at once. No one expected her to release new music for free. No one expected direct cuts from the film.
After all, a film only has a handful of key scenes. Once you've seen the highlights, the rest of the plot — honestly, you can piece it together.
Precisely because of this, when Isabella released her new songs and the film's highlights for free, the reaction was unanimous:
Generous.
After watching her five videos, audiences reacted:
"OMG — is Isabella's exam prep life really this exciting? She went to Fiji? And the Cayman Islands?"
"I just realized the Caymans are actually a country! I always thought it was just some isolated island mainly known for corporate tax evasion!"
"Rich people really do live beautifully… so a happy life is Isabella's source of inspiration? Only one of her new songs feels sad!"
"Right! The only low-energy one is Try — it's the only song that doesn't match her prep-life vibe!"
"But Try sounds incredible! That melody has this faint, beautiful sadness to it!"
"My favorite is What Makes You Beautiful! The energy is amazing!"
"Yeah — I love What Makes You Beautiful too!"
"Wait, did we just switch to talking about songs? My favorite is Trouble Is a Friend — because Isabella's costume-change scene is insanely cool! Anyone else feel the same?"
"YES — that transformation scene is stunning. I need to rush to the theater right now!"
"Same — after listening to her new songs, I suddenly feel like The Devil Wears Prada must be an absolute blast, because every song is so catchy!"
That was what Isabella truly cared about — The Devil Wears Prada embracing new media.
Before the premiere, YouTube had approached but not yet reached 100 million registered users. But once Isabella dropped five videos — four of them free music — YouTube's user base broke through the 100 million mark overnight.
This made YouTube the fifth-largest website in the world, and instantly the number one social platform and number one video site globally.
A user base of 100 million pushed YouTube's valuation to $10 billion — compared to at most $2 billion just two months earlier. That $8 billion difference was the real bulk of Isabella's current income.
Some might argue her math doesn't add up.
First, when Fox acquired MySpace the previous year, it spent only a few hundred million. YouTube now has more users — but not that many more — so a $10 billion valuation seems exaggerated.
Second, Isabella's actions essentially traded music and film revenue for YouTube's valuation.
Let's address both.
On the first point: MySpace sold for only a few hundred million despite nearly 100 million users because it wasn't profitable — it was losing money. YouTube, on the other hand, could exceed $1 billion in revenue in 2006 from content companies alone. Add luxury brand sponsorships, and YouTube could turn a profit quickly. With its biggest costs under Isabella's control, she could push YouTube's net profit to $1 billion if she chose to. A company with 100 million users generating $1 billion in annual profit — isn't that worth $10 billion?
Who would dare argue otherwise? A single statement like that would force a reevaluation of all Silicon Valley tech valuations. Internet capital wouldn't stand for it — and neither would traditional financial capital, still recovering from the dot-com crash and hungry to profit from the internet's resurgence.
On the second point: Isabella never really sold traditional albums. Her previous mini-discs were essentially personal merchandise, so releasing songs for free online wouldn't meaningfully affect her music revenue. More importantly, she owns 70% of YouTube. If her actions raised its valuation by $8 billion, her share amounts to $5.6 billion. How many albums would she need to sell to match that?
As for whether releasing direct film cuts would hurt box office performance — she didn't think so. Those clips functioned as trailers. The only difference was showing the plot directly.
Her judgment proved correct.
Since there was a gap between the premiere and the wide release of The Devil Wears Prada, the first to feel the impact was Warner's Superman Returns, starring Brandon Routh.
On June 28, its opening day, it earned $18.03 million across 3,915 theaters in North America. Though it ranked first for the day, measured against its budget — it was already a disaster. On June 29, it made $9.1 million. The near-halving confirmed what Warner already knew internally: Bryan Singer's Superman was a mess.
To the outside world, however, that day was marked by YouTube surpassing 100 million users.
On June 30 — Friday — Superman faced its "Black Friday." Even with expanded screenings across 4,065 theaters, its box office rose only to $13.47 million.
Because The Devil Wears Prada opened that day.
With a comparable number of theaters and screenings, it earned $27.75 million — nearly double, making Isabella look like the real superhero.
The next day, July 1, The Devil Wears Prada pulled in another $36.21 million, a surge of over 30% that crushed Superman completely.
On July 2, it made $26.21 million. Though down over 20%, its three-day total of $90.17 million was only slightly behind Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone — and even surpassed Avatar: Fire and Ash's opening weekend by $1.01 million.
Such near-record performance stunned the public.
But it didn't exceed the expectations of those in the know. They understood that every year Isabella rose alongside a major event. As long as she kept winning, her fanbase would grow to an unimaginable scale — and no one can resist the appeal of a winner.
Still, her fans' purchasing power surprised even investors.
On the day The Devil Wears Prada premiered, its soundtrack and Isabella's second mini-album were also released. In just three days, the mini-album alone sold 4 million copies in North America.
Compared to the ever-growing sales of the HP novels, that number wasn't remarkable. But in the music industry — since the Windows version of the iTunes Store launched, no album in North America had surpassed 10 million total sales. The best performer was Usher's Confessions in 2004, which sold 7.95 million in its first year and reached 9.7 million in total.
So Isabella's mini-album selling 4 million copies in three days? Unstoppable.
But that's not even the main point.
The real point: once Isabella released her songs for free on YouTube, there was no basic version of her album. Anyone could listen online. Her second mini-album started at $29.99 for the deluxe edition and $59.99 for the premium version. When 4 million copies sell in three days at a minimum of $29.99 each — Isabella instantly became the second-highest earner in global entertainment.
Her fans could generate $100 million for her in a single day.
The highest? Her own foundation — HP, which could generate $300 million a day for J.K. Rowling.
After one week: The Devil Wears Prada surpassed $500 million globally; her mini-album crossed 10 million sales worldwide. This remarkable trajectory proved her reach — and amid praise and laughter, she attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony for The Voice theme park experience at Disneyland.
Just when Isabella thought she could finally rest — since filming for Order of the Phoenix wouldn't begin until late August — Robert Iger approached her with a smile, saying someone wanted to invite her to dinner.
"What?" Isabella asked, curious. "Who wants to invite me to dinner?"
"Someone you know — Steve Jobs — and someone you've heard of — Jeff Bezos."
The former didn't surprise her. She had known since her first year in the industry that Steve Jobs was "on her side." But the latter caught her off guard. She hadn't realized the founder of Amazon had any connection to Disney.
After Iger explained they had met through Warren Buffett, Isabella smiled, raised her brows, and said, "So, Bob — did Bill Gates not come looking for me?"
"Not yet—" Iger hesitated, then shook his head. "But I think he will. Just not through me — he knows my interests are tied to Steve's now. If he wants to reach you, he'll probably call Paul Allen, and then Steven Spielberg will contact you. Steven will say, 'Hey Isa, one of my company's shareholders wants to invite you to dinner.'"
"Haha—" Iger's explanation amused Isabella.
She understood perfectly. Paul Allen was a DreamWorks shareholder — invested because of Spielberg. When DreamWorks split into DreamWorks Animation and DreamWorks Pictures, Allen had even announced he would withdraw within two years. Since Allen firmly supported Spielberg, Bill Gates reaching out through him would indeed be more effective than going through Buffett.
And that—
"So, do you know what they want to talk to me about?" Isabella asked with a smile.
"Oh, Isa — playing dumb isn't a virtue." Iger shook his head. "They want to talk to you about YouTube. Obviously."
"Oh. Okay."
Isabella wasn't embarrassed at being seen through. If anything, a quiet clarity rose in her chest —
It had finally come.
The opportunity to transform from a star into capital had finally arrived.