"It's pretty good. The action scenes are exciting, but I always feel the style is a bit disconnected from the first one. Do you feel that way too?"
Inside the cinema, Eric and Theron were hidden in a corner, watching the newly released the bourne supremacy. Matt Damon's performance was still brilliant.
As a commercial blockbuster, it was very competent, with a strong popcorn flavor, reaching above the baseline.
Universal invested 75 million dollars in this film, so it seems they were full of confidence. No wonder it was pushed to target frozen, because its quality was indeed excellent.
But trying to defeat frozen would definitely be futile. Universal's plan was doomed to fail, and the attack might even turn into a counter-attack.
"Disconnection is normal, because the director changed. The director for this one is Paul Greengrass, while the first one was Doug Liman, so the style is naturally different."
"However, from a viewing perspective, I think this one is more intense and better suited for the commercial film style. The box office will definitely be much stronger than the first one."
"Your intuition is always right. Will it threaten frozen?"
Eric chuckled, "How could that be? Even if both the bourne supremacy films were released together, they wouldn't be a match for Elsa and Anna."
"Even if you add another James Bond, unfortunately, the big-screen rights to 007 are in my hands."
"If it weren't for the fact that it's not ready yet, letting Casino Royale compete with the bourne supremacy, a spy war would be quite interesting, wouldn't it?"
Theron looked at her man with interest, "My dear, why do I feel like you're not worried at all? Aren't you panicked by The Big Six's encirclement?"
"Even excluding the despicable tactics in reality, but with Million Dollar Baby being suppressed so hard by the polar express and The Day After Tomorrow, aren't you anxious?"
"Worry? Anxiety? Is it useful? You don't know my personality yet. I'm the kind of person who laughs if I can, and doesn't like to keep worries in my heart."
"Anyway, MGM isn't losing money itself. They have to pay a price for targeting me."
"Right now, everyone is following the path of 'injuring the enemy by a thousand and losing eight hundred oneself.' It's just a matter of who can't hold on first. Even if MGM loses 1 billion dollars this year, I'll still play along without fail."
"Speaking of which, I should thank them. After this incident, Lionheart Network's membership soared by over 10 million. They all came to watch the live broadcast, and then were attracted by the content."
"The first month's member retention rate reached 86%. If this batch of new members continues to maintain this data, the number of paying users next month will at least exceed 25 million, which means I achieved my goal half a year ahead of schedule."
"I can earn over 200 million dollars in cash from Lionheart Network every month. So what if MGM loses money?"
"Forget 1 billion dollars, even if they lose 2 billion, I'll play with them to the end!"
"Brother, we're in a movie theater. You'd better quiet down." His voice got a little loud when he spoke excitedly, immediately drawing dissatisfaction from the young man in the front row.
Eric waved his hand, making an apologetic gesture.
However, seeing her man being rebuked, Theron felt a bit displeased and immediately had the idea of teasing him.
She leaned into Eric's ear and whispered, "My dear, seeing you in such high spirits, I feel a bit… moist."
"Hmm? Now?"
"Right now. Don't think I don't know, you and Nicole have messed around in movie theaters many times."
"No way, she told you about those things too?"
"Hmph! The houses you bought are next to each other, you must have planned it all along, right? The day before yesterday, when we were playing mahjong, that bitch was bragging a lot."
"Uh, is there a need to brag about such things? Also, can you please not call her a bitch? We'll all be good sisters in the future, right?"
"Less talk, coming or not?"
"Hmph! If you want to fight, then fight!"
The illicit couple began to nuzzle, occasionally letting out soft moans. The sound wasn't loud, but it was just enough for the young man in the front row to hear.
Soon, the other party couldn't bear it, turned around sharply, glared, and then slunk out of the cinema.
The next day, when the first-day box office for the bourne supremacy was released, Universal was unsure whether to be happy or sad.
The 23 million dollar box office was quite good, clearly showing blockbuster potential, and the word-of-mouth was also good, with high audience satisfaction.
But compared to frozen, it was quite a bit lower. Clearly, like national treasure, it was a failed attack; they underestimated their opponent too much.
When the first weekend's three-day box office was released, this conjecture was further confirmed. the bourne supremacy took in 35 million dollars at the box office.
Under its impact, the box office of its companion, national treasure, was cut in half, with the three-day box office only around 17 million dollars, an almost cliff-like drop.
This is the outcome of big films clustering together, squeezing and crushing each other, harming others without benefiting oneself.
Yet, frozen remained strong. Many children, when the weekend arrived, dragged their parents to the cinema for a second viewing. The power of word-of-mouth was simply too strong.
"So, this film is actually anti-trope, from my viewing experience," Ellen DeGeneres said.
"That's right. After all, watching the same old patterns for decades, audiences are probably tired of it. The animation market needs innovation."
"Wow. I hope you're just talking about the movie, and not anything else."
"Of course, I'm not talking about Disney!"
Hahahahaha
The audience below immediately burst into laughter.
Today, Eric brought his team to the ellen show for promotion. This was his second time appearing for a film since transformers, showing the importance MGM placed on frozen.
Coincidentally, the ellen show is a CBS program, and as CBS and NBC are television stations with the Newhouse Family involved, some senior executives were not against Eric.
This show started its first season last year, and its popularity has been steadily rising since its broadcast, quickly catching up with veteran talk shows.
The TV station also hoped to leverage the influence of frozen to boost the show's popularity even higher, so both sides hit it off.
"I have a few questions that the audience is very interested in. Do you mind answering them?"
"I mind."
"Huh?"
"Hahaha, go ahead and ask."
Ellen looked at the Olsen Sisters, "Ashley, Mary, when you were dubbing, did you ever feel the lines were strange?"
"Strange? In what way?" Mary looked over.
"Like, a bit embarrassing, just like in blue is the warmest color, you know."
The two sisters simultaneously looked up at the sky, "OMG! It's this question again. Of course not, these are just very normal lines."
Ellen DeGeneres nodded, but the flickering uncertainty in her eyes betrayed her.
From her experience, the relationship between the Olsen Sisters was a bit strange, and this strangeness was reflected in occasional, inadvertent glances and small gestures.
Seeing Ellen's expression, Eric knew what she was thinking.
What audience questions? Bullshit audience questions. They were just chosen by the TV station itself to create hype and topics.
Others might not know, but how could he not know? Ellen DeGeneres was a lesbian, and later came out publicly and married her wife.
Thinking of this, he took over the topic, "Ellen, have you seen American Beauty?"
"Of course, I've seen it. An Oscar-level masterpiece. I still remember several classic scenes, like those flying petals, you remember them too, right?"
Yeah!
Many male audience members cheered.
"Then whose performance did you like the most in it?"
Ellen hadn't yet realized why Eric was bringing up this film and casually said, "Kevin Spacey. His acting was superb. I remember he won an Oscar for Best Actor, right?"
"Yes, I also like Kevin Spacey, which is why I cast him in house of cards, but the performance that affected me the most in that film was actually Frank, played by Chris Cooper."
Ellen was even more confused about what he was trying to express, but her talk show host's intuition told her she had to end this topic.
"Do you know why? Because Frank played a gay man, but he was suppressing himself at all times."
"He hated gays, molded himself into a straight man of steel, but in reality, he yearned to release himself more than anyone, to the point of eventually committing murder."
"Ellen, from him, a phenomenon is clearly reflected, which I call 'homophobia is deep in the closet,' understand?"
"Homophobia is deep in the closet"—this phrase immediately struck Ellen's heart like a heavy hammer.
She instantly felt as if her deepest secret had been seen through, and this feeling was very unpleasant, giving her a strong sense of crisis.
As a talk show host, Ellen instinctively wanted to fight back.
Eric continued, "I want to tell everyone that the main theme of frozen is actually about releasing your true self and accepting your true self."
"We describe family affection, but when the movie is presented to the public, countless interpretations may emerge."
"This is the audience's freedom and the audience's right. I always welcome everyone to exercise this right and respect all interpretations."
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
The Olsen Sisters led the applause, and the audience below also clapped in admiration.
It was a very clever way with words, almost watertight; Eric Cooper's eloquence always managed to convince people.
However, Ellen, having been put on the spot, clearly needed to regain control. This was her show, how could someone usurp her as the host?
She said with a smile, "Eric, I agree with your point of view, and I really love the song 'Let It Go.' I've listened to it over a hundred times."
"Not only do I listen to it, but my family listens to it too. You can hear it everywhere you go."
"And I noticed that you composed this song. Everyone in the music industry is saying you're a genius now, do you know that?"
"Celine Dion must have spread it, she wants to pay less in royalties, I know it."
Eric shrugged, and his humorous reply immediately drew laughter from the audience.
"Haha. As far as I know, this has almost become a consensus. You helped Michael Jackson win a Grammy, and it seems you're about to help Celine Dion win another one."
"How about a performance? Let everyone feel the charm of a music genius. Do you want to hear it?"
Yeah!
The audience immediately started to egg him on, eager for a show.
Ellen pointed to the excited audience and then made an inviting gesture to Eric, clearly forcing him to perform.
It was no longer a secret that Eric couldn't read sheet music; many in the industry had heard the rumor.
Ellen naturally seized on this point to attack, though it wasn't really an attack, as this was a talk show after all.
While talk shows generally aren't as crude as Roast Battles, where anything goes, a bit of joking and teasing is perfectly normal.
Even Da Jin Mao, who was about to become president, was teased on talk shows, having his hair messed up.
It might have been a campaign strategy to build rapport, but that's the style, harmless fun.
However, if you mess around too much, it might become a dark chapter in your history, like Tom Cruise's couch-jumping incident, which people still bring up to mock him even twenty years later.
Seeing the audience egging him on, Ashley and Mary tugged at Eric's clothes, signaling him not to fall for it.
But this was America, where people are taught from a young age to be confident, to dare to try even if they can't do it, otherwise it's embarrassing.
Eric's mind raced, and after a moment, he rose from the sofa.
Upon seeing this, Ellen was surprised.
She hadn't expected Eric to actually take the challenge. She had thought he would refuse, and then she would give him an out, regain control, and move on to the next segment.
Seeing that the audience's energy was already high, she could only try to salvage the situation: "Eric, what do you need?"
But Eric didn't understand accompaniment, didn't understand sheet music, so what could he possibly need?
How would he know what he needed!
"Just follow my rhythm."
"Huh?" The Olsen Sisters exchanged a glance, looking bewildered.
"OK, you want to hear me sing, so I'll sing a cappella. This is very relaxing music, just enjoy it. This is also my attitude towards music."
Saying that, he walked a few steps forward, picked up the microphone, and aimed it at his mouth.
Just as everyone was wondering what he would sing, what came out was a whistle.
Wu~~~wu~~~
Wu~~~wu~~~
Wu~~~wu~~~
Wu~~~wu~~~
The clear and melodious whistling echoed throughout the venue, instantly reaching every audience member's ears, making them pause in surprise.
So, when you said a cappella, you meant accompanying yourself, huh?
But why did this whistling sound not at all rude, but rather quite pleasant?
That's right, Eric was singing the whistle hit song "Whistle." When you don't have accompaniment, singing it is the best choice.
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Let me know
Girl I'm gonna show you how to do it
And we start real slow
You just put your lips together
And you come real close
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Here we go!
The simple lyrics and catchy melody immediately made many people's eyes light up.
After singing a few lines, Eric also found the feeling from back in the day, when he and the escorts would frolic in Room, and he'd often whistle this tune to flirt.
See! That's what you call putting what you've learned to good use.
However, he usually only sang this far; after that, it would enter the intense stage of 'cannon fire.'
Plus, he wasn't really into rap, so he didn't have much impression of the latter part.
But it didn't matter. The reason "Whistle" became a classic was because of this short intro. For the rap part, he could just shout whatever.
So Eric swayed and moved left and right on stage, haphazardly spouting forcibly rhymed lyrics.
If he really couldn't keep it up, he'd use onomatopoeic words like "hmm," "ah," and "huh" to get by.
Surprisingly, the effect was quite good, because it made it seem more authentic. The audience then realized that it really wasn't a pre-planned segment, but just Eric improvising.
Soon, the entire venue began to sway gently with him, like a small boat drifting on a lake.
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Let me know
Girl I'm gonna show you how to do it
And we start real slow
You just put your lips together
And you come real close
Can you blow my whistle baby, whistle baby
Here we go!
When Eric sang back to this whistle intro again, he became even more relaxed, making his hands into a trumpet shape, swaying and whistling.
Wu~~~wu~~~
Wu~~~wu~~~
The audience was completely infected, twisting and swaying along, some even pouting their lips.
After Eric said another string of rap lyrics that even he didn't understand, the audience knew it was time for that relaxing and pleasant whistling sound again.
By this point, the mood had been sufficiently stirred. Eric crooked his finger at Ashley and Mary, and the two immediately stood up in cooperation, whistling along.
Then, looking at the audience, after a "Here we go," the entire studio filled with a joyous ocean of whistling.
Wu~~~wu~~~
Wu~~~wu~~~
Wu~~~wu~~~
Wu~~~wu~~~