In cinemas, twilight was still enjoying its residual popularity.
Although this love story was cliché, young people just loved it.
It was like many years ago when young people in Asia were attracted to brainless, cliché dramas like Meteor Garden and Blazing Youth.
Crystal still liked Huang Zitao; it was the age where she liked blondes, a common symptom of the chuunibyou phase.
And Henry Cavill was indeed too handsome, especially after the release of his Superman costume photos, which further propelled the movie to a counter-peak, as young women loved to watch it.
Conversely, Blake Lively, who played the female lead, did not cause much of a stir and was completely incomparable to the original Kristen Stewart.
Additionally, Lively was the female lead in the original Green Lantern, but her role was removed in this version, which was a bit unlucky for her.
As of now, twilight has grossed 206 million dollars at the North America box office.
It has also garnered 249 million dollars from its release in multiple countries worldwide.
With a total of 450 million dollars, it ranks second in the summer box office, with the champion being star wars: episode iii, which is close to 900 million dollars worldwide and is still slowly increasing.
Although the difference is quite significant, I am still the runner-up.
batman Begins also hit cinemas, but unfortunately, its box office performance was not outstanding.
It only secured the box office championship for the first week, and as of now, it has only grossed 235 million dollars worldwide, which is merely satisfactory.
However, its critical reception has been very good; whether it's critics or audiences, most who have seen it have given positive reviews.
Christian Bale's batman and Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul have both been well-received.
In the Warner Bros. office building, inside the president's office, Judy was straddling Eric's lap.
She hooked her hands around his neck, gently licking his ear while flipping through the documents in her hand.
"Please, can you be serious? This is very inefficient."
Judy rolled her eyes and snorted, "What can I do? Look at the documents on the table, they're almost piled up like a mountain."
"I still want to finish them before getting off work. Or maybe not, how about you give me a massage? My shoulders are so sore."
Saying that, she walked over to the sofa and sat down, while Eric stood behind her, gently rubbing her temples.
"Yes! Just like that, your hands are the most comfortable."
"More comfortable than Daddario's?"
"Hmm, she doesn't have much strength. I always have to do most of the work later on."
"But I haven't had time for them these past few days. I just didn't expect looking at documents and listening to reports to be so troublesome. At MGM, you seemed quite relaxed."
Eric chuckled, "It's just that you haven't gotten used to your new position yet. Your mindset is still stuck on your previous hands-on role."
"In a while, you'll naturally learn to let go. Remember, darling, what we need to do is control the overall situation and set the general direction; that's enough."
Judy sighed, "Alright, it seems I still need to learn."
After a few grumbles, Judy opened her eyes again, "By the way, dear, batman Begins doesn't seem as good as you said, at least its box office performance isn't."
"Based on the current trend, it probably won't break 400 million dollars worldwide, which is a bit disappointing."
"Even if it doesn't break 400 million dollars, it can still make money, just less of it. Besides, it's part of the DCEU."
"And I've already promised Nolan that a sequel must be made, and the investment will be increased. You can't make me a person who breaks promises."
"Heh heh. Of course not. Actually, what I mean is, can the budget be slightly reduced?"
"For example, an increase of 10 million dollars would be enough; why does it have to be increased to 50 million dollars?"
"I took a look, besides the DC universe, there are still quite a few excellent scripts in the library waiting to be developed, and I want to produce them."
Saying that, she suddenly stood up and took out a stack of scripts from the cabinet.
"Look, these are what I found from the library and received from the market. I feel they all have great potential."
Eric glanced at them and saw that the first one was famous, with the script title The Departed.
The name sounds familiar, and rightly so; it's the copyright for Infernal Affairs from Hong Kong.
When Infernal Affairs became popular, Warner Bros. bought the adaptation rights, and the media widely publicized it at the time.
This film won major awards like Oscar for Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Adapted Screenplay, fulfilling Martin Scorsese's directorial dream.
It was a masterpiece that achieved both critical acclaim and box office success, and it would be a waste not to make such a good resource.
"Good stuff, make it, absolutely must make it!"
"You haven't even seen it yet, and you know it's good?" Judy asked, somewhat surprised.
"I've seen the Hong Kong version. With a reliable director and actors, it will definitely be a big hit."
Saying that, Eric picked up the second script, another work by Little Li, the famous Blood Diamond.
Although this film was well-made, it was somewhat too brutal. It received high ratings but low box office, and it helped Little Li secure another Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
"Blood Diamond, Blood Diamond."
"What, you don't think it's good?"
Judy asked, seeing Eric ponderously flipping through the script.
"It's too dark a subject matter, clearly aiming for awards. I estimate it will be difficult to make money."
"But if you want to make it, then make it. It's fine if it adds some honor to the company."
"Then forget it. Since you said it's not good, let's sell the script to Sony. We'll take a small cut, just to share in the good fortune."
"How do you know Sony will be willing to take over?"
"I'll just say it's a project Eric Cooper is optimistic about, but the company's current ventures are too widespread to manage. Do you think anyone will take the bait?"
Slap!
He gave Judy's perky bottom a loud smack: "You're using me as bait!"
"Hehe. Your name is big, so why not use it?"
"Look at this one again. The people below think the prospects are very good and are already planning to send an invitation to M. Night Shyamalan to direct."
"Shyamalan? That Indian director Shyamalan?"
"Hmm, dear, your reaction seems a bit off."
"Absolutely do not hire that Indian." Eric said solemnly.
"Why? I know you dislike Indians, but Shyamalan can make money! He's very sought after in the directing market."
"The Sixth Sense and Signs were both big hits, and he's good at the subject matter of Lady in the Water. I also think it's very good."
"Moreover, this project was originally going to be invested in by Disney, but for some unknown reason, Shyamalan and Disney had a falling out."
"As rivals, it's also good to annoy Disney a bit."
Eric sighed, reached out, and pulled Judy into his arms, stroking her head as he softly said, "Listen, baby, Indians are not to be trusted."
"I've researched Shyamalan. This person's success was due to sheer luck, not strong inherent ability."
"He's good at playing with concepts, like a shocking twist that's revealed at the very last moment of the movie."
"But the problem is he's only good at digging holes, not filling them. You have to know that a leaf can't cover a meteor crater."
"And have you ever considered why Disney isn't investing in his new project? Couldn't it be because it's too bad?"
Regarding director M. Night Shyamalan, he has a nickname—the American Chen Kaige.
Both belong to the type who start at the peak, then steadily decline, never to recover.
And the beginning of his decline happened to be with this film, Lady in the Water.
After that, he directed films for Paramount, Sony, Universal, and other companies, until he messed up The Last Airbender and After Earth, completely cementing his reputation as a bad movie machine.
Anyway, whoever wants to invest, let them. Eric found it unlucky to even be near him.
Rubbing against his chest, Judy hummed, "I'll listen to you, but if the movie ends up making money, you have to apologize and compensate me."
"Compensate you for what?"
"Let me ride you like a dog!"
"No problem. What if you lose?"
"I'll ride you like a dog."
"Aren't you already?"
"Go to hell!"
"Hehe. When are you going to get Daddario? Then we can make a sandwich, and I'll let you have the front."
"In a while, after I've prepared her psychologically. She's not yet clear about our relationship."
"What about Avril?"
"Avril is quite stubborn. I'll ask her out again this weekend."
"Mwah! I'm counting on you, baby!"
"Actually, the one I most want to try is Krysten Liu. I've never been with an Asian girl before."
"That also has to wait. I've asked her mom to work on her. She's currently on vacation in Asia and I don't know when she'll be back."
"Alright, her skin looks very soft."
Eric pinched her cheek: "Yours is healthier. I'll definitely let you have her."
"Are you that sure?"
"Of course. When you break someone's bottom line, she will only lower it. If she can accept me having other women, she can accept taking it a step further."
"You know best, pervert!"
Time entered August, the last month of the summer box office.
The big screen has been somewhat sluggish this past week, with no new commercial blockbusters released, and the three new films that did come out had no box office appeal.
This situation naturally arose because everyone's attention was focused on an upcoming new movie.
In this year's media predictions, there were only a few films expected to contend with star wars: episode iii.
harry potter and the Goblet of Fire, War of the Worlds, and transformers 2.
Now, after a year and ten months, the sequel to transformers has finally returned to the big screen.
At the ArcLight Cinerama, MGM's grandest premiere of the year was underway.
With the company's current influence, as long as an invitation was extended, anyone would come unless they genuinely couldn't make it.
Moreover, celebrities didn't come for nothing; at the very least, it increased their exposure and also fostered friendships, making it a win-win situation.
Eric stood with Chris Evans on his left and Ryan Reynolds on his right, as flashbulbs continuously fired.
Gadot and Theron walked hand-in-hand on the red carpet. Gadot was the female lead, while Theron voiced the female Transformer, Arcee.
Even Sergei flew over specifically to show his support, with Kate Winslet standing beside him.
"What are you two doing here?"
Sergei chuckled, "Coming to the premiere, and also to invite you. I plan to marry Kate next month."
"What! You two are getting married?" Theron's eyes widened upon hearing this.
Kate Winslet hugged her: "Theron, actually, you introduced us, so you absolutely must come!"
"This is too sudden. When did you two get engaged?"
"About half a year ago, but we didn't announce it; it was just within the family."
"Theron, Sergei and I are almost exchanging vows. Why is there no news from you and Eric? I don't see anything about you two in newspapers or online."
"We… we prefer to keep a low profile."
"You can't be too low-key! Hurry up and tie him down, get married quickly."
Theron grumbled a few times, looking down at her stomach without speaking.