I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1085: Controversy and Box Office]

With Brian O'Donnell's last line, the screen faded to black. Before the lights in the theater had a chance to come up, a buzzing murmur filled the room.

The audience at the premiere consisted of either special guests and media reporters or devoted fans of the spy film universe. Everyone instantly recognized the petite girl in the Easter egg as Angela Lynd, who had appeared in Casino Royale two years earlier. She was the younger sister of the film's main character, Vesper Lynd, a geeky genius, and a backup angel for Charlie's Detective Agency.

At the end of Casino Royale, Bond handed Angela Lynd over to the trio for safekeeping, but the character did not make an appearance in the summer release of Charlie's Angels 3.

Although Angela Lynd had limited screen time in Casino Royale, she certainly left a lasting impression. Many loyal fans of the spy film universe hoped to see her return, but no one expected her to appear in the Easter egg of The Fast and the Furious, leading to speculation about potential storylines for future films.

Of course, beyond the character, many also recalled the actress who played Angela, Christina Aguilera, one of the teen pop stars heavily promoted by Firefly Records. In the past two years, several of her singles had seen great success, and she was reportedly about to release her first album.

As the discussions buzzed, the lights came up, and the creators returned to the stage, receiving a warm round of applause.

After a brief curtain call and media interaction, the premiere concluded. Most of the audience began to exit, while other invited guests moved to the after-party hosted by MGM for the premiere.

...

Since the audience at the premiere had been carefully selected, the following day's media reviews of The Fast and the Furious were overwhelmingly positive, and the excitement among fans only intensified.

Two days swiftly passed, and following the last promotional push after the premiere, The Fast and the Furious officially opened in over 3,100 theaters across the United States on New Year's Day. At the same time, the film's reviews and word-of-mouth began to spread widely.

"...a perfect popcorn movie crafted with a Hollywood-standard three-act structure. The film's world-building was remarkably thorough, with each main character having their own pasts, presents, and futures. What's more impressive is that despite this intricate world-building, it never interrupted the movie's narrative flow. The thrilling and adrenaline-pumping car chases kept viewers immersed every single second."

"...Hollywood has never lacked street racing scenes, yet there are few films that focus on this subject while achieving commercial success. Years ago, Tom Cruise's Days of Thunder felt more like an artsy film, and Jan de Bont's Speed contained more crime elements than racing. In comparison, The Fast and the Furious undoubtedly set a new precedent for this genre. It's clear that the multiple car chase sequences in the film will become benchmarks for many future films in this vein."

"...The car chase scenes in The Fast and the Furious undoubtedly raised the stakes, but the film also excelled in the details. Perhaps many did not catch it, but at Dominic's family gathering, while loud music and conversations drowned out the television sound, the news showing a severe fight at a nightclub was undoubtedly a reference to the opening scene where the Angels trio attacks the Spectre's outer base in Charlie's Angels 3. And if I'm not mistaken, Brian O'Donnell's childhood buddy, Roman, mentioned multiple times in the film, will surely appear in a potential sequel -- assuming there's a sequel, which seems like a foregone conclusion."

"...After many years, Rob Cohen finally delivered a breakthrough project. The newcomers cast by MGM amid controversy also delivered a satisfying performance."

...

While most traditional critics often displayed little fondness for pure popcorn flicks, The Fast and the Furious managed to score an impressive average media rating of 8 out of 10 amidst the cheers.

No film has ever received unanimous approval, so while The Fast and the Furious enjoyed a rave response, criticism had surfaced as well.

Criticism might not be the right word. As a carefully crafted popcorn film emerging from MGM's long-term investment in the spy film universe, there were hardly any significant flaws to find. Therefore, it might be more accurate to refer to the media's remarks about The Fast and the Furious as controversy rather than pure criticism.

"...Undeniably, The Fast and the Furious is an outstanding film. However, what's hard to digest is that MGM forced this film into a connection with the spy film universe in their quest to squeeze more profits from the brand. After watching the film, I simply cannot fathom how a group of street racers relates to the spy film universe. Do James Bond or Ethan Hunt even need drivers? Although MGM had previously stated that The Fast and the Furious series would not have too many intersections with the spy universe, that statement only highlighted MGM's insecurity."

"...The spy film universe is certainly one of Hollywood's great innovations, but the profit-driven MGM is ruining it all. Forcing a street racing film to connect with three blockbuster franchises that deserve a spot in film history is frankly disheartening. There's no doubt that we will soon see various 'spin-off series from the spy film universe,' and I believe at least one of them will leave audiences utterly disappointed."

...

Although the doubts about linking The Fast and the Furious with the spy film universe had been anticipated from the start, the criticism within the industry exceeded MGM's expectations. This wave of controversy soon spread onto the internet, where most fans, accustomed to spectating drama, expressed strong opinions on whether The Fast and the Furious could join the spy film universe. The opinions were divided -- some fervently supported it while others outright opposed it. The two factions clashed vigorously in major movie community forums online and quickly became a hot topic on various news portals.

"Why can't they connect? Just because Dominic and the others didn't save the world? If that's the case, the spy film universe might as well rename itself World-Saving Task Force."

"Even though I felt exhilarated during the races at the theater, I had to reconsider afterward -- what does that have to do with the spy film universe? The appearance of Angela Lynd in the Easter egg felt jarring. I was initially excited to see this character's return, but now it seems MGM is forcibly killing that hope."

...

Hollywood has always operated on a universal principle.

If a film has poor reviews and low buzz, it is destined to fail. If a film has great reviews but low buzz, its box office will only be mediocre. However, if a film receives rave reviews along with significant buzz, then it will undoubtedly achieve massive box office success.

Despite the intense controversy surrounding it, The Fast and the Furious found itself in the last of these categories.

Amid the heated media discussions, within just three days of its opening weekend, The Fast and the Furious raked in $57.33 million, and after the first week, it easily surpassed the $80 million mark, totaling $81.21 million.

Although it did not reach the more than $87 million achieved by Ted during the Thanksgiving weekend, crossing $80 million in its opening week still exceeded MGM's expectations. After all, Ted had a broad recognition and fanbase, and the film's subversive take on the teddy bear character was quite noteworthy, making its high box office unsurprising.

In comparison, despite being marketed as a spin-off of the spy film universe, The Fast and the Furious inherently faced a drawback. In the U.S., where cars are ubiquitous, people's interest in street racing films has never been particularly high. It is like being accustomed to eating bread every day -- seeing someone else enjoy the same food, even if theirs looks tastier, rarely evokes envy. Many ordinary individuals even harbor disdain for street racers.

Moreover, while Hollywood was not lacking in films featuring car races, this genre had always been niche and did not have a fixed audience base.

Thus, MGM initially projected a $60 million opening weekend for The Fast and the Furious, anticipating total North American earnings between $120 million and $150 million. The company only hoped that this first film would establish a fanbase. Although the budget was $60 million, thanks to car company sponsorship and product placements, MGM's actual investment in production was only about $40 million. Including an additional $30 million for marketing, the total investment came to $70 million. If the film could surpass $120 million at the North American box office, it would effectively break even, with overseas distribution and future merchandise yielding significant profits for MGM.

The current situation exceeded Firefly's expectations, and yet, this was far from over.

...

As the film's critical acclaim and buzz increased, many who had initially shown little interest in street racing films began to join the audience.

After the New Year, the absence of heavyweight films in the market undoubtedly provided The Fast and the Furious with more breathing room.

Thus, after its first-week performance of $81.21 million, the typical box office trend indicated that The Fast and the Furious should see a drop of around 50% in its second week. In reality, however, the film only experienced a 38% drop in its second week, earning $50.35 million. Within just two weeks, The Fast and the Furious accumulated a total North American gross of $131.56 million, already surpassing MGM's initial projections.

With an opening week total of $80 million and $50 million in the second week, keeping the drop within 40%, it was clear that given this trajectory, The Fast and the Furious would become the first film of 1999 to break $200 million at the North American box office.

The impressive North American box office performance would further stimulate international interest in The Fast and the Furious. While debates regarding whether the film could fit into MGM's spy film universe remained, there was no doubt that this series had already launched with a bang. Even if MGM ultimately decided against any collaborations with the spy universe, it would not affect the film's future box office potential.

...

With the success of The Fast and the Furious, several of its rookie actors suddenly rose to the status of near A-listers in Hollywood.

In the original timeline, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker had a fallout over salary disputes after the first film's success, delaying Diesel's return until the third installment. However, after experiencing a series of salary disputes during the development of the spy film universe, MGM would certainly avoid repeating the same mistakes this time around.

Before filming began, MGM had signed stringent contractual agreements for the entire series with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, even breaking Hollywood's tradition of only signing for three films in advance.

Eric originally hoped to secure three-film contracts with the two, but due to maneuvering by some, this contract transformed into six films, much like the agreement Stuart Ronkel signed with Firefly for Spider-Man.

However, Stuart's contract included only three direct sequels and three crossover installments, and Firefly generously granted him some negotiating power. As newcomers, Paul Walker and Vin Diesel certainly did not receive such privileges.

This time, it could be said that Diesel and Walker were effectively bound to this series. Unless MGM permitted otherwise or they paid an exorbitantly high penalty to break the contract, Diesel and Walker could not star in other films until their agreements for The Fast and the Furious were fulfilled.

With the success of The Fast and the Furious series, even though all parties had signed non-disclosure agreements, the binding contracts, akin to indentured servitude, were quickly uncovered by the ever-vigilant media. Connecting it to Firefly's current strong position in Hollywood, some media outlets even began to exclaim that the era of Hollywood big studios was returning, and that Hollywood stars would once again become contracted actors for major studios.

This immensely marketable proposition spread like wildfire.

In recent years, Firefly's influence in Hollywood had been undeniable.

Especially after acquiring Columbia Pictures last year, with Firefly now controlling four of Hollywood's seven major studios, they essentially dominated over half of Hollywood. Due to several years of strong performance in the film and television industry, Firefly's actual impact on Hollywood was even greater. Thus, few doubted that Firefly now had the strength to once again alter Hollywood's rules.

Naturally, as the media pushed the return of the "big studio era" narrative, some outlets began discussing whether the federal government should step in to limit the increasingly powerful Firefly system.

*****

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