Made In Hollywood

The sun had just risen when a Rolls-Royce Phantom pulled up in front of the Warner Building in Burbank. Duke stepped out of the car and, together with Tina Fey, headed toward the large conference room of Warner Bros.

Though there was still some time before the official start of the workday, the top executives of Warner Bros. were already waiting inside the conference room. CEO Doug Walter sat silently at the head of the table, like the others, just quietly waiting—for the main character of today's meeting to arrive.

That man had every reason to keep them waiting, because he had created glorious achievements for Warner Bros. Alone, he had supported nearly half of Warner Bros.'s film successes. With him around, there would never be a lack of box office hits under Warner Bros.

And this time, he might just revive Batman!

It was a franchise that had once fallen into an abyss, now lifted up by him alone. Judging by the midnight screening results, it was almost ready to soar again.

The conference room door was gently knocked, and a secretary led Duke and Tina Fey inside. Instantly, everyone's eyes focused on him alone, as if they were looking at a savior.

As Duke walked toward his seat, he nodded one by one to those looking his way.

Others might see him as Batman's savior, but he could never see himself that way such a mindset was dangerous.

Just as he reached the table, Doug Walter stood up and came over to greet him. He extended his hand and gave Duke a firm handshake. Once Duke was seated, Doug announced the start of the meeting.

This was a business meeting with very clear goals and direction there was no unnecessary chatter; the discussion went straight to the point.

"The midnight screening box office numbers for Batman: Begins are out."

The speaker was Doug Walter himself. As the parent company of DC Comics, Warner Bros. had long wanted to restore the glory of DC superhero movies. Doug Walter dreamed of seeing Batman escape his decline in Duke's hands.

Everyone perked up their ears. Present were Warner Bros.'s top executives. The company's performance was closely tied to their careers and futures no one didn't want to see Batman:Begins become a major success.

"The midnight box office was $7.56 million!"

As Doug Walter spoke those words, many people's faces showed faint smiles.

Indeed, compared to the $11.26 million midnight box office record Duke had set with The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, $7.56 million wasn't an eye-popping number. But everyone here was a true industry insider and understood very well what this figure meant for a reboot of the Batman franchise.

This was a series that had completely failed before. To achieve such a midnight box office, the name and brand of Duke Rosenberg likely played a bigger role than Batman itself.

Some people might have concerns about the film's long-term performance. But the data that Distribution Head Jamie Johnson shared next largely put their minds at ease.

"CinemaScore audience approval rating is as high as 89%, with an average grade of 'A'. On IMDb, 38,775 users rated it 9.1. Audience popularity 'Popcorn Index' is 88%. MetaCritic: 45 media critics gave it a series-high score of 86."

Similarly, for a reboot of a failed series, this kind of word of mouth was already more than good enough.

Moreover, they all understood that with such a strong audience response as a foundation, even if the word of mouth drops later, it would never sink to the level of Batman & Robin, a notorious flop.

As long as the opening weekend box office maintained the midnight screening momentum, Batman: Begins would undoubtedly be a success, and the Batman franchise could be reborn on the big screen!

"For DC Comics and for Warner Bros., this summer is a crucial time."

Doug Walter's eyes swept across the Warner Bros. executives, speaking with grave seriousness. "The key project this summer is Batman:Begins. Mobilize all appropriate resources and go all in on supporting this film!"

Specific tasks were assigned one by one, and the meeting ended quickly. Duke barely said anything. He was skilled at making movies, but when it came to distribution and promotion, Warner Bros.'s professionals far outperformed him.

"Hey, Duke."

After the meeting, just as Duke was about to leave, Doug Walter called out to him. He hurried over and said, "Can we talk for a bit?"

"Of course," Duke naturally wouldn't refuse.

"I believe Batman will achieve greatness in your hands."

Years of experience had built Doug Walter's strong confidence in him. "Batman:Begins already has a great start—why don't we keep going?"

"Doug, it's just a one-year gap."

After thinking for a few seconds, Duke added, "I'm going to direct Iron Man, which is also being distributed by Warner Bros. We're still working together, and next year we've also got Zack's 300."

"Has he agreed to direct Superman?" Doug Walter asked again.

"Still considering it…" Duke didn't hide anything and said directly, "But he's very interested. However, it won't be finalized until after 300 is released."

Because Marvel had reached a distribution agreement with Warner Bros., Marvel's grand cinematic universe plan was no secret to Warner. As the owner of DC Comics, Warner Bros. also wanted to bring the Justice League heroes together on the big screen. As one of the Trinity, Superman inevitably came back into focus. This time, they weren't acting hastily but still had their eyes on Duke's studio.

Among the directors at Duke's studio who could independently helm a project, realistically, only Duke and Zack Snyder qualified. Wallace Lee's film was in post-production and scheduled for a September release whether it would succeed was still unknown.

If Underworld Legend didn't meet expectations, Duke would definitely kick him out.

Although the other party was his college classmate, in the face of commercial profit, these things were not an obstacle at all.

Both men were very busy. After a brief chat, Duke left the Warner Bros. building. Just as he got into the car, Tina Fey in the passenger seat turned her head, clearly having something to say.

"Just received a call from a chain marketing distributor around the West Coast. The caller was Pete."

Seeing Duke recalling, she reminded him, "He's the one who recommended Amanda Seyfried. His company is the largest gift chain store marketing distributor on the West Coast."

Duke nodded, remembering the Chinese man. It seemed he had left his number. He asked, "What does he want?"

"His company had five Batmobiles in total. From last night until now, all of them have sold out," Tina Fey glanced at the work log and continued, "Currently, there are still seven people placing orders. Lamborghini and Warner Bros. are both tight on supply, so he's turning to us for help."

Sales meant profit. Without even thinking, Duke said directly, "Help him out."

The Batmobile was undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching elements in Batman: Begins. The Batmobile toys, models, and real vehicles were the film's key peripheral products.

On Friday, to both promote the merchandise and the film itself, the crew organized a Batmobile grand parade in Los Angeles. A fleet of sixteen Batmobiles, driven by an equal number of stunt drivers dressed in Batman armor, took to the streets of LA.

The parade passed through famous streets like Hollywood Boulevard, the Walk of Fame, and Sunset Boulevard, attracting tens of thousands of people to the streets. Several TV stations with good relations with Warner Bros. even dispatched helicopters for live coverage, and CNN repeatedly aired related news clips during its top-of-the-hour broadcasts.

Main actors like Christian Bale and Others all took part in the parade from start to finish. Duke also made brief appearances at the beginning and end of the parade, accepting quick interviews from reporters. Facing their microphones, he praised the entire crew—from actors to prop masters to the Batmobile design team.

Maybe such interviews weren't anything unusual, but with sixteen imposing Batmobiles as the backdrop, they easily stole people's attention.

Without a doubt, at the beginning of the 2005 summer season, Batman: Begins effortlessly overshadowed its rival Kingdom of Heaven, becoming the most talked-about film. This was especially apparent online.

On the Instant Share website, as of Friday night, Batman: Begins had been reposted 523,255 times, while Kingdom of Heaven only had 101,211 shares.

On Google, Batman:Begins had been searched 657,856 times, compared to Kingdom of Heaven's 133,578—an equally stark contrast.

Most importantly, the difference in audience reception was glaring. Kingdom of Heaven only had a 57% positive rating on CinemaScore, with an average audience grade of 'C'. On IMDb, 18,775 users gave it a 6.7 rating, a Popcorn Index audience approval rating of 63%, and MetaCritic had 45 media outlets averaging 68 points.

From any perspective, Kingdom of Heaven was simply not in the same league as Batman: Begins.

As Friday night arrived, more than double the weekday crowd flooded theaters across the United States. These people had a very clear goal—to watch the newly released blockbusters of the summer season. In North America's highly developed movie market, the top picks for summer films are always the major commercial productions.

Both Batman:Begins and Kingdom of Heaven were prime candidates.

However, the effects of audience reviews and various data were reflected clearly on both films. For every five people buying tickets to Batman:Begins, only one would choose Kingdom of Heaven.

So, when the first-day box office numbers came out for both movies, the gap was self-evident.

.....

Hi For access to additional chapters of

Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)

Made In Hollywood (60 Chapters)

Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)

Douluo Dalu: Reincarnated as Yan(40 Chapters)

Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)

Join pateron.com/Translaterappu