Chapter 9: Chapter 8
"No, I can't… I will always be your best friend."
"Just friends?"
"I can only give you so much… you understand."
"He made you promise… that would make me safer, right?"
After the funeral of Officer George Stacy, the weather was fittingly somber, with a light rain pouring down. Gwen Stacy held an umbrella and looked at Peter with tearful eyes. She had just lost one of the most important men in her life, and now, she was afraid she would lose another.
The two locked eyes, a deep sadness shared between them. Peter, also heartbroken, gritted his teeth, turned away from Gwen's pleading gaze, and disappeared into the rain.
"Cut!"
Mark Webb called out, his voice thick with emotion.
The entire set fell silent for a moment, then erupted in cheers.
"Yeah! Hooray!"
"Finished!"
"It's over, woohoo!"
What was originally planned as a six-month shoot had wrapped up in less than two months.
The live-action shooting of "Spider-Man" had come to an end, and the actors and crew could finally take a long-awaited break. Now, the post-production team would take over.
As he watched the crew celebrate, Mark Webb felt a strange emptiness despite the relief. He couldn't quite explain why—maybe it was the sudden halt of the intense creative process.
"Well done, Xu! Thank you for all your hard work," Mark said, turning to Xu Can.
"Thanks, Mark. I'm lucky to have been part of this team."
"No, it's me who's lucky. When you auditioned, your acting skills needed some work, but it turns out I made the right choice. You're the perfect Spider-Man."
Mark Webb spoke with heartfelt emotion. "I hope the film is a success and we can work together on the sequel."
"Here's hoping!"
Xu Can and Mark Webb shook hands, smiling warmly at each other before the director was whisked away by other actors for more celebrations.
Emma Stone quietly approached Xu Can. Still in her film makeup, her hat had been forgotten in the rush of the last scene. The mixture of rain and tears had smudged her eyeshadow, giving her a fragile beauty that tugged at the heartstrings—quite different from her usual bright and carefree self.
"Not done with the role yet?" Xu Can teased, handing her a tissue to wipe away the smeared makeup.
"If I were Gwen and you were Spider-Man, facing this situation… would you choose to leave to keep me safe?" Emma asked, her voice soft and probing.
"What kind of question is that?" Xu Can replied, sidestepping her query as he gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
"All I know is that instead of worrying about the future, it's better to enjoy the present as much as possible."
Emma smiled faintly and didn't reply, simply resting her head against Xu Can's chest. With two kiss scenes and Xu Can's earlier improvisational performance, their relationship had grown closer—more than just friends, but not quite a formal couple.
This kind of relationship might seem unusual in China, but it was relatively common in North American dating culture. Just like in the movie La La Land, where the protagonist Mia left her dinner date to run into the arms of Seb, some might view it as "cheating," but in reality, Mia hadn't established an official relationship with her dinner date. They were merely dating partners, with no moral obligation stopping her from choosing to be with Seb.
These cultural differences aside, Xu Can felt that his relationship with Emma Stone was steadily heating up. Though they hadn't officially confirmed anything, they were content to take things slowly and see where it led.
During filming, they had developed a certain level of understanding with each other.
"What are your plans after this? Once the movie is released, you'll probably have to head to Europe for filming," Emma said, looking up at Xu Can with admiration in her eyes.
"I haven't decided yet, just taking it one step at a time. What about you? Surely you've got some new opportunities lined up?"
There was no way a future Oscar-winning actress would be left without work, no matter which parallel world she was in.
"Well, my agent called yesterday. I've been approached for two youth films."
"Oh?"
"One is called Too Bad, seems to be a raunchy comedy. The other one is The King of Rock and Roll, also a comedy."
"Too Bad? No, that one has a kissing scene. The other one sounds good; you should go for it."
"What? You don't want me doing kissing scenes?" Emma looked at Xu Can playfully.
"Well, your kissing scenes are so intense, only I can handle them," Xu Can replied seriously.
"Alright then, I'll tell the director to cut the kiss scene, or I won't take the role."
Emma Stone laughed happily.
Though she didn't have many scenes in these two teen comedies, they were still good for her acting career.
"I'm just suggesting," Xu Can emphasized.
"Then I choose to listen to your advice. Who made you the jealous one?" Emma teased, pressing closer to him.
...
The movie market in this parallel world was quite different from what Xu Can remembered from his previous life. Comic book movies were in a slump. Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins hadn't even been made yet. After directing The Following, Memento, and Insomnia, Nolan's The Prestige was released in 2006, earning a modest $109 million at the North American box office, though it garnered an 8.5/10 rating on IMDb.
Will Smith's The Pursuit of Happyness had performed exceptionally well, grossing $307 million on a low budget, becoming a critical and commercial success.
However, Superman Returns and X-Men 3, which existed in Xu Can's previous life, did not exist in this world. Instead, movies like Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code, and Night at the Museum dominated the box office.
But the real blockbuster of the year was just around the corner—Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest was set to take the world by storm.
All eyes were on Captain Jack Sparrow, with Johnny Depp as Hollywood's most sought-after actor.
In China, the market was still far from its future potential. The year's box office champion, The Golden Armor, had only grossed 250 million RMB, and the only other films to break 100 million RMB were The Banquet, Fearless, The Da Vinci Code, and King Kong.
Ning Hao's Crazy Stone grossed 23 million at the box office and had yet to explode in popularity.
Amid this complex situation, the trailer for Spider-Man quietly made its debut on CBS Radio, in numerous theaters, online, and on various offline advertising screens.
At Sony Entertainment's North American headquarters, Chairman Howard Stringer listened to a report.
"Mr. Stringer, the online and offline trailers have been rolled out, and the posters are ready for the next phase."
"How's the trailer performing?" Howard asked, reclining in his chair.
Spider-Man was strategically important, but he was also prepared for the possibility of failure. If the trailer had been successful, the team would have already reported the good news to him.
"So far, it hasn't had much of an impact. Media attention and public interest remain low, and the Google search index hasn't shown a significant increase."
"Isn't Spider-Man a popular IP? The response should be better," Howard said, frowning.
"The main issue is that the live-action movie is seen as a mistake, and the fact that Spider-Man is Asian… it's hard for people to accept."
The previous Batman series had ended on a sour note, the X-Men series had never taken off, and even Oscar-winning director Ang Lee's Hulk couldn't avoid losing money. Both investors and audiences were disappointed, so it was no surprise that people were skeptical about Spider-Man.
"Alright," Howard Stringer sighed. "Contact Martin Campbell and Daniel Craig, and see if we can get a new Bond film into production as soon as possible."
Just as Sony executives were feeling disheartened by the initial response to the Spider-Man trailer, something unexpected happened—the trailer quietly started gaining traction on the emerging video website YouTube.
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