章節 108: Chapter 107: The Bay Area's Scenery is Not as Beautiful as Sally
It's the weekend, and Paul's family decides to go see a movie.
However, when they arrive at the cinema, the three of them are faced with a dilemma.
"Honey, which movie should we watch?" his wife, Lily, asks.
Paul turns to his son, Damien, and asks, "Buddy, what do you want to watch?"
Damien has already been captivated by the huge poster of Real Steel outside the theater, so he points to it and says, "I want to see that one…"
Paul also notices the poster. He's seen the trailer before and knows it's a story about the bond between a father and son, with robot boxing—a perfect family movie.
So, Paul makes the decision: "Alright, we'll watch this one."
The family quickly buys tickets, grabs Damien's favorite Pepsi, and a large tub of popcorn, then waits for the movie to start before heading into the theater.
To be honest, they don't go to the movies very often. The last time was for Jurassic Park last year.
Back then, the dinosaurs in the movie gave Damien quite a scare.
But Real Steel doesn't have any scary scenes—instead, it's full of action and excitement.
Although neither father nor son are boxing fans, they can't help but cheer along with the rest of the audience during the exhilarating robot boxing scenes.
Lily, however, is only there to accompany her husband and son, so she watches while munching on popcorn, not particularly interested in this kind of story.
She does take the time to comment on the female character in the movie, Bailey, concluding that she's pretty, but not as well-endowed as herself.
The movie is as thrilling as expected, and even after they leave the cinema, father and son are still discussing the exciting boxing scenes.
"Wow, Dad, did you see that punch Adam landed on Zeus's face? It almost knocked him silly!"
"Yes, I saw it! It was really cool." Paul even throws a couple of mock punches in excitement, nearly hitting Lily.
"Hey, hold it, boxers!" Lily quickly stops them. "Someone might get hurt!"
Though they stop miming punches, the excited discussion doesn't cease.
That's when Damien notices the models of Adam and Zeus outside the nearby merchandise store. He immediately runs over.
A crowd of fans, their excitement not yet worn off from the movie, has gathered around the life-sized models.
Though touching is not allowed, many fans are taking photos with the models.
Unfortunately, this cinema doesn't have the large-scale models available in other theaters, which would make for even more impressive photos.
Staring at the tall, impressive models, Damien looks up at his dad with a pleading gaze. "Dad, I want this."
Lily quickly stops him. "Damien, don't make a fuss. Those models are very expensive."
But Damien isn't one to be dissuaded easily. He hugs one of Adam's giant robotic legs, attracting the attention of the store employee.
Paul, feeling generous, claps his hands. "How much for the two models?"
"Both are $2,800 in total, sir," the employee says, seeing the potential sale and no longer minding Damien's behavior.
Without hesitation, Paul swipes his card, arranging for the models to be delivered to their home.
Damien clings excitedly to Paul's leg, saying, "Dad, you're a hero!"
Lily silently blames her husband for spending frivolously, but seeing their son's happy face, she holds back her criticism.
Besides, with all the envious looks from other children, Lily thinks that Damien must feel lucky right now.
Sure enough, after these models were moved out, several other families who had come for a weekend movie couldn't resist buying some merchandise.
Sales of models, sunglasses, headphones, watches, and similar products began to rise significantly.
And this behavior wasn't limited to just this cinema—it was happening in theaters across major cities in the U.S.
Real Steel was clearly a movie perfect for families, especially fathers and sons.
After watching, they would browse the merchandise store, bonding over their shared excitement.
As ticket sales rose, so did the sales of related merchandise.
With the midnight showing and the first day done, Disney received precise feedback from theaters.
In Michael Eisner's office, Robert Iger reports the numbers to Eisner.
"The midnight box office was $4.275 million, and the first day, excluding midnight, brought in $18.573 million," Iger says with noticeable excitement.
He adds, "In addition, the merchandise market is showing strong performance. According to the marketing department, related merchandise sold $1.25 million during the film's premiere."
Eisner's eyes light up. This impressive merchandise sales figure is definitely the highlight for him.
After Iger's report, Eisner smiles with satisfaction and says, "This is the kind of movie Disney needs—a mainstream, family-friendly film."
Due to Disney's values, certain films that don't align with the company's principles are handled by its subsidiaries, such as Touchstone Pictures and Buena Vista Pictures.
However, Real Steel could have been directly released by Disney.
But now, it doesn't matter. Eisner feels that Gilbert should make more movies like this—films that align with Disney's values.
With this in mind, he asks Iger, "Bob, do you think Gilbert would be open to creating more films that align with Disney's values?"
Iger thinks for a moment before replying, "I don't think so. Gilbert is quite opinionated. At his level of success, he's confident in his creativity and choice of themes. He won't easily change his approach."
"What if we strongly encourage him to make changes in his style?" Eisner asks.
Iger cautions, "Chairman, Warner Bros. also has a close relationship with Gilbert."
That's right—while Warner Bros. is known for being hands-on with its film productions, they never interfere with Gilbert's projects.
Rumor has it that their president, Jeff Robinov, insisted that Gilbert should have full creative freedom, with Warner only providing financial support.
Thanks to Robinov's emphasis, their producer, Charles Roven, mainly offers suggestions and assists with production management but avoids overstepping boundaries, like making script changes.
If Disney pressures him too much, they risk pushing Gilbert towards Warner.
Eisner may be assertive, but he's not foolish—he understands this well.
After finishing his MTV appearance, Gilbert is set to attend the Saturn Awards, where Speed has also received nominations.
For now, though, after parting ways with Cameron Diaz, he meets up with co-stars Bruce Willis, Naomi Watts, Ryan Gosling, and others to embark on a nationwide promotional tour.
Although Charlize Theron also starred in the film, she's not yet established enough to join the nationwide tour. However, after her work on Real Steel, her acting career is starting to take off.
Theron is determined to land more prominent roles. While filming in San Francisco, she notices that the Real Steel team is also there for promotions. She gives Gilbert a call and invites him out for drinks.
At a bar entrance, Gilbert meets Theron. She smiles sheepishly and says, "I'm not twenty-one yet, so I can't drink in there."
Anticipating this, Gilbert shakes the whiskey bottle in his hand and says, "Then let's find somewhere private to drink."
This suggestion is exactly what Theron hoped for, and she agrees immediately. "Sure, where to?"
Gilbert opens the car door and gestures for her to get in.
Once she's seated, he circles around, gets in the driver's seat, and speeds off.
"Where are we going?" Theron asks.
"Just follow me to a good spot," Gilbert replies, driving toward Twin Peaks, the only natural mountain in San Francisco.
As they move farther from the city center, the surrounding buildings decrease, and Theron begins to feel a little nervous.
Various scenarios play through her mind, like something out of a horror movie where Gilbert brings her to a secluded spot.
Or that he's a vampire and plans to drink her blood.
The not-yet-19-year-old has an active imagination, it seems.
Gilbert heads to the North Peak, where a large tower offers a view of the entire San Francisco Bay area. At night, the cityscape is stunning.
"We're here. Let's get out…" Gilbert parks the car by the tower.
Theron, finally realizing the setting, steps out with her whiskey.
Even though it's night, it's summer, and San Francisco's Mediterranean climate means it's not cold.
Theron curiously asks, "Why did we come here?"
"To see the view. You've never seen the Bay Area's nightscape from here, right?" Gilbert points out toward the city's lights.
Theron looks over and agrees, "Yeah, it's really beautiful from this angle."
The tower still has a night guard, who quickly spots them. "Hey, what are you doing here?"
Gilbert uses his 'money power,' casually tossing the guard a hundred-dollar bill. "Relax, buddy. You've got the night off."
The guard stares at the bill for a moment, then his eyes light up.
Handing over the tower key to Gilbert, he says, "Man, I get it. Tonight, I didn't see anything."
As he leaves, the guard gives them a knowing smile, his eyes lingering a little on Theron's beauty.
But he understands that a woman like that is out of his league.
He quietly gives Gilbert a tip, saying, "Need some… supplies? Ten dollars each."
Gilbert knows this is the guard's attempt to upsell but doesn't mind and hands him ten dollars.
Using his money to persuade the guard, the area was now theirs, temporarily reserved for Gilbert and Charlize Theron. Gilbert opened the door to the Coit Tower, took Charlize Theron's hand, and said, "Follow me…"
As if sensing what might happen next, Charlize Theron steadied her steps, holding the bottle of whiskey, and followed Gilbert up the tower.
"Wow!" Gilbert shouted from the top of Coit Tower, as if releasing all the pressure he'd been holding onto lately.
"Charlize, do you know what I'm thinking right now?"
"What are you thinking?"
Gilbert turned around to face the San Francisco city lights once again, cupping his hands to his mouth to amplify his voice, and shouted, "I want to conquer the world…"
Looking at the man brimming with ambition in front of her, Charlize Theron found herself somewhat captivated.
She knew he was known for his flirtations and that he'd never belong to her alone, yet Charlize Theron couldn't help but imagine what life with Gilbert might look like.
Her career, her dreams of becoming a Hollywood star—everything seemed to start with this man.
After this outburst, Gilbert and Charlize Theron sat down on the floor, basking in the moonlight. With no need for glasses, they drank straight from the bottle, taking turns sipping.
With alcohol loosening their tongues, Gilbert began sharing jokes, some less than innocent, making Charlize Theron burst into laughter.
Under the bright moonlight, Charlize Theron looked stunning with her long, flowing blonde hair, her delicately featured face, and lips painted a soft pink that reminded Gilbert of a ripe peach, just waiting to be tasted.
She seemed to have tailored her look to his tastes, even adding long, fluttering eyelashes that appeared especially alluring in the Coit Tower lights.
Caught up in the moment, Gilbert could no longer hold back. Tossing the whiskey aside, he quickly moved closer, pulling Charlize Theron into his embrace.
"Charlize, you're beautiful…" Gilbert placed his hand gently on her cheek.
With her long lashes fluttering like they were speaking to him, Charlize Theron's breath grew heavier. "Gilbert…"
Before she could finish, Charlize Theron's eyes widened as Gilbert kissed her, cutting her off mid-sentence.
The moon hid bashfully behind a cloud as Gilbert and Charlize Theron melded into one atop Coit Tower on Twin Peaks' north peak.
With the San Francisco Bay Area's night view as the backdrop, vibrant and dreamlike, the scene seemed to tell a tale of life's beauty and harmony, unfolding like a musical composition.
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