Chương 526: Chapter 527: Midnight Show
[Chapter 527: Midnight Show]
"Jurassic Park aims for a billion-dollar box office."
"A spoiler appeared at the premiere of Jurassic Park, Williams declares his new film will challenge the global billion-dollar box office milestone."
"The director of Jurassic Park makes a bold prediction, Hollywood's history of films with billion-dollar box office potential revisited."
"..."
As expected, the day after the premiere, the media erupted over Eric's comments from the night before. If Eric had touted a box office expectation of 150 or 200 million for Jurassic Park, most media outlets would have brushed it off as a joke. However, this figure was one billion dollars -- a two hundred million away from Hollywood's highest-grossing film record. Although this gap appeared within reach, no one had ever managed to break through it.
Back in 1977, Star Wars had stormed global theaters, pulling in $770 million. In the years that followed, several films had crossed the $700 million mark, yet none had breached the elusive $800 million threshold. Some box office assessment agencies had cited $800 million as the likely limit for a film's global earnings.
However, in recent years, anyone following the film industry had noticed the worldwide market expanding at an unprecedented rate. Eric's one billion dollar prediction for Jurassic Park swiftly divided opinions into sharply opposing camps, each side armed with ample evidence to support their claims.
The ensuing media frenzy propelled the topic of Jurassic Park into the spotlight, effectively overshadowing any lingering interest in Cliffhanger.
When Mario Casa, CEO of Carlock Productions, received a phone call from Eric's assistant, he felt a mix of anger and frustration. He understood parts of the situation, but the proposal and execution had been strictly MGM's distribution team's doing, with little relation to him.
Feeling wronged, Mario didn't let the matter slide; he contacted MGM's chief and sternly put a stop to their plans to ride on the success of Jurassic Park for publicity. Initially, MGM resisted, but upon hearing Mario's recount of the phone call, they quickly backed off. Carlock couldn't afford to offend Firefly, and the shaky MGM certainly wouldn't risk it either.
The North American premiere of Jurassic Park took place on Wednesday, June 2. Although Eric's billion-dollar comment sparked debate, the rivalry hadn't reached a boiling point. The next day marked the wide release of Jurassic Park in over three thousand cinemas across the U.S. It was widely understood that just days later, real box office numbers would prove to be the most convincing evidence.
...
After a grueling six-hour training session, the three exhausted girls returned to their apartment around five in the evening. As usual, they each flopped onto their beds, recovering their energy. They had hoped that after surviving the initial period, the subsequent training would be easier. However, they soon realized that their training schedule gradually intensified. While it hadn't yet reached their limits, it was clearly depleting their strength day after day.
It wasn't until the sky darkened outside that the three girls finally sauntered out of their bedrooms.
Penelope emerged last, spotting Charlize and Kate in the living room watching TV. "What's for dinner?" she asked.
"Whatever," Charlize replied.
"Doesn't matter," Kate chimed in.
"Ha, I've never had either of those dishes you just mentioned," Penelope joked as she strolled to the kitchen. The three girls had agreed upon a rotation for cooking, and today it was her turn.
After hastily whipping up a simple dinner, the three gathered back on the living room couch to watch TV. Time flew past quickly while they were bored, and before they knew it, it was already after ten at night.
Charlize glanced over at Penelope, who sat absentmindedly on the single sofa, engrossed in a fashion magazine, then turned her attention to Kate, who was intently focused on the TV. "Hey, did you guys..."
"Yeah?"
"Huh?"
Both girls remained in their positions but voiced their confusion.
Charlize, sensing something was off, glanced at the clock on the wall before asking, "Did you guys... buy tickets?"
"What?"
"Tickets?"
After a brief pause, Charlize finally let the two words spill out: "Jurassic Park."
Silence.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
Then Kate and Penelope burst into laughter, poking fun at someone's past comments.
"Ha! Who said last night that if we bought tickets, we might as well give them to the homeless?" Penelope quipped, mimicking Charlize's accent, "I would absolutely never go."
"Ha! Penny, you know that this kind of situation is called... Ah! Why are you hitting me? Ouch, don't hit! Just because you think I can't fight back. Take that!"
Laughter and playful scuffling ensued...
After a bit of fun, the three girls left the apartment. Kate and Penelope continued their giggles, while Charlize's earlier embarrassment still lingered, leading to playful banter back and forth with the others.
...
Driving towards Santa Monica, they parked and walked towards the cinema, only to be astonished by a long line of people waiting outside -- over a hundred strong.
"Could it be that they're all here to see Jurassic Park?" Penelope asked, slightly incredulous.
"Other films are coming out tomorrow, but the only movie causing fans to camp out all night for tickets is definitely Jurassic Park," Kate remarked, a hint of superiority in her tone as she waved the tickets she had bought that morning. Suddenly, she turned to Charlize and said, "Right, Charlie?"
"Why do I care?" Charlize snatched a ticket from Kate's hand and turned to leave. "I'm going to get popcorn first, so you two wait here."
"I want buttered popcorn," Penelope quickly added, watching Charlize head off while she and Kate entered the lobby of the theater. By now, it was already eleven-thirty, and under the bright lights of the lobby, they found the entrance to the screening room. Watching people continuously shuffle through the doors, they couldn't help but say, "If our films could draw a crowd like this when they're released in the future, that would be fantastic."
"I heard Eric Williams personally wrote the script. None of his scripts have failed before. I bet it's going to be a hit," Kate said.
"I sure hope so. I really don't want to go back to Spain, where it could take forever to land a role. Staying in Hollywood gives us more opportunities," Penelope added, musing, "Can you believe it's already been over a month?"
Although that statement seemed a bit disconnected, Kate understood that Penelope was referring to the fact that they had both been in Hollywood for over a month. Eric Williams hadn't shown up at all. Before now, only Charlize had met him.
The dynamics between them were vastly different, and while Kate couldn't gauge the other's daily life, she believed that since Eric Williams had accomplished so much at a young age, he must be incredibly busy. As for Penelope's feelings, they were quite apparent; throughout the month in Hollywood, she had extracted every little detail about Eric from Charlize. While only Charlize had met Eric, Penelope knew the most about him. Her intentions were crystal clear.
But Kate remained skeptical about Penelope's intentions. Eric Williams wasn't just a Hollywood director; he was a billionaire. Many women set their sights on such a Hollywood big shot. There was no way someone like Penelope, a newcomer from Spain, would catch his attention.
After a moment, Charlize returned with an armful of snacks. The two girls grabbed some and walked into the theater together.
...
"Wow, look at all these people," Penelope exclaimed as they had only noticed the steady influx of others heading inside but now realized the screening room was packed, with barely a few seats left.
"It's all your fault; it took so long just to get snacks," Penelope quipped at Charlize.
Charlize bristled in response, "How could that be my fault? You wanted buttered popcorn, and they just ran out, so I had to wait."
Kate interrupted, "You two stop bickering! Look over there! There are still a couple of vacant seats, let's hurry before they're gone!"
All the prime seats had already been taken. The three girls could only find three consecutive seats in the second row from the front.
Hardly had they settled into their seats when the lights dimmed.
The story opened outside an undisclosed building, where armed workers cautiously maneuvered a container into alignment with an entrance. Despite their caution, an accident happened when one worker was suddenly yanked into the container. Several electric prods reached into the gap, but when the worker was pulled out, only half his body remained.
A fleeting shot revealed the piercing eyes of a deadly beast.
With that quick glimpse, viewers, initially captivated by the eerie atmosphere of the opening scene, began whispering to one another.
"Was that a dinosaur's eye?" Penelope murmured.
Charlize shrugged dismissively, replying, "Look at that; still keeping the mystery like in the trailer -- only showing part of it."
Kate chimed in softly, "Charlie, that's blatantly your personal bias. At least I think that eye looked real; there's no sign of it being a model. Remember, it's a dinosaur -- not some lion or tiger we could film for real. If Eric Williams can make the eye look that lifelike, the complete dinosaur won't disappoint us."
"Yeah, I feel the same," Penelope nodded.
As they continued their chatter, the scene shifted to an amber mine and dinosaur fossil excavation site in the Dominican Republic.
Audiences began to grasp the unfolding storyline.
Due to a fatal mishap during the dinosaur transport, Dr. Hammond's project faced an abrupt halt. To keep Jurassic Park alive, Dr. Hammond invited influential figures from the industry, notably dinosaur archaeologist Dr. Alan Grant, chaos theorist Malcolm, and his own lawyer, to visit Dinosaur Island in Costa Rica, seeking their support. He also brought along his grandchildren.
Thus began the chain of wild adventures.
On the helicopter to Costa Rica, Dr. Hammond kept everyone in suspense, never revealing the real reason for their visit until they landed at an airstrip on the island. They boarded a jeep to their base. As they passed a flat grassy area, the group abruptly froze, taken aback by the sight before them.
The camera turned to reveal their perspective, and viewers in the theater gasped in awe.
On the plains, several towering brontosauruses wandered leisurely, one stretching to nibble leaves from a treetop. As it landed, its heavy body shook the ground, causing a resonating thud.
Witnessing this spectacle, Kate sat in the dim light, fixated on the screen, asking Charlize, "What do you say now?"
"Still... still all fake," Charlize insisted, holding her ground.
The other two exchanged knowing smiles, choosing to ignore her.
As the story pushed forward from the brontosauruses to reveal crowds of various dinosaurs in the expansive landscape, viewers reveled in the visual feast.
After thrilling the audience with several surprises, the plot took them to the dinosaur hatchery, showcasing the dinosaur revival process. Despite a researcher stating that all the park's dinosaurs were female, chaos theorist Malcolm expressed grave concerns over the ethical implications of reversing nature's course.
Following their tour of the hatchery, Dr. Hammond arranged for Dr. Grant and his two grandchildren to ride in an automated jeep to explore Jurassic Park, marking the true beginning of their adventure.
From the get-go, everything went awry. Their first encounter with a triceratops was complicated by its illness.
Meanwhile, Dennis, the chubby programmer in charge of the park's operations, aimed to steal dinosaur embryos and shut down the park's electric grid, leading predators like the T-Rex and velociraptors to escape and create a series of disasters.
*****
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