The moving singing croon sounded again. After throwing the Heart of the Ocean into the sea, Old Ruth returned to bed with a smile. The camera slowly swept over her old photos, as if to prove that she had fulfilled her promise to Jack.
The scene changed again to the wreckage of the Titanic. As the camera moved forward, the light became brighter, and the corridor became intact again. Through the door to the banquet hall, everyone was waiting for her arrival. Then, in the warm applause, the two young people hugged each other tightly on the steps and in full view of the public.
Such a dreamy ending finally announced the end of the movie. With Celine Dion's heavenly voice, the subtitles slowly rose. There was no other sound in the theater. People were immersed in the beautiful melody of "My Heart Will Go On" and quickly recalled it again. Then, the lights were turned on, and suddenly, thunderous applause poured out, like a flood bursting out of a dam.
Everyone chose to vent the emotions accumulated in their hearts at this moment. Not only many women had tears in their eyes, but many men also had red eyes. In the past few decades, there were not many movies that could resonate so strongly with so many people, except for "Titanic." But this was just the beginning.
"This is a masterpiece, a great work. In addition to the excellent grasp of the rhythm of the story, Cameron has shown us a grand and exquisite picture with the film's special effects. He has almost perfectly recreated every detail on the Titanic! It's very shocking! "— Variety
"The theme of the movie is disaster and love, or love in the midst of disaster. Cameron has very well embedded a virtual doomed tragic love into the disaster of the Titanic, sublimating the feelings of the male and female protagonists, thus moving all the audience." — Washington Post
"Even if Adriaan's investment of nearly 300 million cannot be fully recovered, 'Titanic' is still a successful movie. Cameron has used his imagination and current film technology to the extreme, perfectly telling a story that is sad but full of strong feelings. Although the love between the male and female protagonists is like a fairy tale, it has won the applause of all the audience!" — USA Today
The next day, almost all the media outlets were full of praises, as if the movie was perfect. Of course, Fox and AC Media played a part in this, but the quality of the movie still played a decisive role, which could be seen from the fact that ordinary people who had been waiting for this movie for a long time were full of praise.
However, this did not result in a qualitative increase in the box office of "Titanic." Out of almost 2,500 cinemas over the weekend, it only earned about 29 million dollars in North America. Although the results were not bad, and it occupied the second place in the North American box office, it was nothing compared to the nearly 300 million invested. Many people in the movie industry snickered. They admitted that the movie was not bad, but it did not mean that they would not applaud Adriaan's failure. Ever since he entered the industry, he had not made any mistakes. Moreover, he had developed from a small film company to the scale he was today. No matter how low-key he was, he would still attract a lot of jealousy.
"The market expectations were not good. Although he did a good job in PR, he was too confident that he did not even hold a test screening. Even if he can get 500 million in the global box office, it will be enough to make him suffer," a director of a company said.
"Titanic" and "Eyes Wide Awake" did not hold a test screening. It was fine for a literary film like "Eyes Wide Awake" not to hold a test screening. After all, it was not aimed at the box office. However, for a commercial film like "Titanic," it was somewhat unreasonable not to hold a test screening. There were two purposes for holding a test screening. First, they were to solicit opinions from the audience through random sampling. If there were any problems, they could make changes as soon as possible. However, because it was a test screening, there would not be too many audience members. Many opinions were completely from a personal point of view, and there was not much representation. Therefore, this was not the main purpose. The most important thing was to listen to the comments of the film critics.
It was said a long time ago that before the official release of a movie, the comments of the film critics would play a very important role in guiding the audience. When ordinary people were preparing to watch a movie, most people would choose to look at the comments about the movie first. Blindly following and the herd effect could easily affect their judgment. Most of the movies that were praised would become their first choice. Although some of the American film critics were biased, there were also many reputable people who could basically hold a fair view.
Therefore, the film company never dared to neglect the film critics who participated in the test screening. At the same time, they would also block those who were purely nitpicking.
However, this time, Adriaan let the movie be released directly in the theater. He only sent the tickets to the film critics. Although Fox persuaded him for a long time, he still insisted on his views.
"Since we are going to create a miracle, let's create a complete one." This was what Adriaan said.
However, after the first week, Fox could not help but have a few words of criticism. Since the distribution work was handed over to them, but they had to intervene midway, then they had to bear the responsibility of the losses themselves.
But would that really be the case? Would Adriaan's reputation for miracles really suffer because of this? The box office in the second week told people the answer. Although the number of theaters only increased by more than 100, the total box office in North America had already exceeded 110 million! In other words, apart from the 29 million in the first three days, the box office had almost 80 million in seven days, and more than 11 million was in the account every day! Not only did it jump to the top of the box office rankings, but it also left the second place by a large margin.
"… Even in that extreme environment, there are still people who abide by the best human virtues. There is an orchestra that plays until the last moment, a gentleman who calmly accepts death by giving the opportunity to others, and a captain and designer who live and die with the ship according to tradition. There is as much beauty as there is ugliness. This is the meaning of Titanic, or rather, Cameron's Titanic.
Now, back to the male and female protagonists. As I said before, this love is different from other romance movies, and this difference is reflected in the final ending. For a long time, this kind of love has occupied the mainstream voice: the lover is one's everything. Even if one can only spend a few seconds with him in a desperate situation, that is also sweet and eternal.
But here, there is a different point of view. For the sake of a better life for one's lover, so that he can live forever in one's heart, so that he can prove that he has been in this world! As Old Ruth said, 'There is a man named Jack Dawson, and he saved me. But I don't even have a picture of him. He can only live in my memory. 'She lives for herself, and for her lover. Well done, Cameron! "— Famous film critic Roger Ebert
What is the saying again? Even if a pearl falls in the grass, it will be found! Moreover, the pearl of "Titanic" is so big and bright, and it did not fall in the grass. Although the film critics hadn't been able to comment on the film before it was released, most of them went to the cinema as soon as possible. Then, like the reporters, most of the film critics gave a lot of praise to the film, and Roger's review was the best representative.
Then, the Independence Day holiday allowed many people to rest for an extra day. Coupled with the word of mouth from ordinary people and the large-scale promotion on the Internet, the box office of "Titanic" ushered in a blowout development.
This change surprised many people who were prepared to see a joke. Under normal circumstances, this kind of momentum would not last long, and even if it happened a few more times, it would not necessarily be able to rely on the box office alone to cover the cost of investment. But no one was sure what the ending would be like.
"In any case, this is a wonderful movie. Adriaan once again proved that his vision is unquestionable." A reporter from AC Media wrote this. Although it was clearly flattery, the extremely high reputation of the ship and the strength of the box office made it so that not many people refuted it. Even those who objected for the sake of objecting temporarily stopped. After all, the summer had just begun.
"This is for you, James." In his office, Adriaan handed a check to Cameron.
"This is?" Cameron looked at the check in his hand with some surprise, and then looked at Adriaan. Although five million was not a lot, he was very clear about what it meant.
"This is your bonus." Adriaan shrugged and then added, "For now."
"I said I already …" Cameron still wanted to refuse, but Adriaan immediately interrupted him. "Don't be silly, James. This is what you deserve. Of course, I remember what you said at the beginning. I don't have amnesia, but that was based on the foundation of losses. But now, the situation is good, isn't it? "
He shrugged and continued to say with a smile, "Let's put it this way. I now like 'Titanic' better than before. You can guess how many checks I will write you after the movie is finished."
"In that case, I will accept it." Cameron did not argue. He put away the check and then secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Noticing this, Adriaan's smile became wider. He knew the situation of Cameron's studio. They put all their efforts into the post-production of "Titanic" and gave up the entire team's salary. Although it was not to the extent that they could not maintain it, the overall morale was not good. He even learned from some channels that several people wanted to find a better job.
If it was in normal times, this would not be a big deal. The few people who wanted to leave were insignificant, but it was hard to say that it would not cause a chain reaction at this time. In that case, Adriaan was happy to play the good guy and buy people's hearts, even though he wanted to wait until the end to write a super huge check and enjoy Cameron's surprised expression up close.
"Just wait and see, James. What I said outside the bar will definitely come true," Adriaan vowed.
At this moment, the communicator on the desk rang. "Mr. Adriaan, Miss Gwyneth is here."
"Okay, Charley, invite her in," Adriaan said immediately, then got up and went to open the door.
"Eide!" Gwyneth, who had already reached the door, rushed into his arms with a cheerful cry, and then kissed his mouth regardless of anything else. After a passionate exploration, they separated.
"Oh, Gwyneth, you are so passionate." Adriaan, who was slightly relieved, shook his head with a smile. Only then did Gwyneth realize that there was someone else in the office, and it was Cameron, the director of her current blockbuster "Titanic." Charlize, who was sitting at his desk outside the door, was also looking at her with a faint smile.
Although it was a little awkward, Gwyneth quickly adjusted herself. Not only did she regain her smile, but she also took Adriaan's arm and greeted Cameron. "Hi, James, it's nice to see you here."
"Me too." Cameron smiled and nodded, then stood up. "You didn't call me here for anything else, right, Eide?"
Although many people knew about the relationship between the two, the two rarely acted particularly intimate in front of others, so Cameron decided to leave.
"Did I disturb you?" After Cameron left, Gwyneth blinked and asked with an innocent expression.
"Of course not." After closing the door, Adriaan smiled and reached out to touch her nose. "We have talked about everything — by the way, why do you have time to come here?"
"Of course it's because I miss you." "Oh, Ed, I really love you so much." Gwenis said as she threw herself into his arms again, "Oh, Ed, I really love you."
Before Adriaan could speak, she kissed his mouth again. There was no outsider present, and she kissed him more passionately than before. Similarly, Adrian didn't have any scruples either. He kissed her as he led her backward, and finally sat on the sofa. While kissing her passionately, he was indulging his sexual desires on her thinly dressed body.
It was no wonder that Gwyneth was so passionate. Titanic's current reputation and box office success had suddenly increased her popularity by several levels. Countless invitations flew in like snowflakes. As long as one was recognized on the street, they would soon be surrounded by three layers of people inside and three layers of people outside. One must know that this was Los Angeles, a place where one could easily meet a big star!
This was something that the previous "Emma" could not compare to. It would be strange if she was not excited.
"Ah, sorry." Just as the two were kissing to their heart's content, an untimely voice rang out.
The two hurriedly stopped and looked at the door. Charlize was standing there with two cups in his hands, the expression on his face was still the same half-smile.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, please continue." She bowed, then took the cups and left, of course, closing the door behind her.
"Do you want to continue?" Adriaan turned his head to look at Gwyneth in his arms and asked with a smile.
Gwyneth rolled her eyes at him, then sat up and began to tidy up her clothes. She was wearing a white shirt and tight trousers. A few buttons on her shirt had been undone, and her bra was half unbuttoned. Her neckline was open, and her body was clearly visible. No wonder Charlize had that kind of expression. If she had not come in and interrupted, it was hard to say what he would have done next.
But Adriaan did not take it to heart. If it was before, he might have been worried about what Charlize would think, but now …
"Your secretary is not only responsible but also polite." After tidying up her clothes, Gwyneth looked at him with a charming look.
"Yeah, very good, very good." Adriaan nodded with a smile.
"In all aspects?" Gwyneth asked further, her eyes were full of understanding.
"Indeed." Adriaan did not deny it, but immediately reached out and touched her nose, "Is there a problem?"
"Nothing … Hey, why do you always like to do this now?" Gwyneth frowned and deliberately pretended to be angry.
"Probably because on the day of the premiere, you looked very cute when you cried." Adriaan laughed.
"Don't make fun of me!"
"I'm not making fun of you. I'm just curious. After all, that was the movie you starred in."
"No one said that I can't cry when I starred in the movie!"
Looking at Gwyneth's angry look, Adriaan couldn't help but laugh, "Okay, okay, that was indeed the most classic scene. My eyes were almost wet."
Speaking of this, Gwyneth suddenly fell silent. After a few seconds, she looked at Adriaan hesitantly. Adriaan, who had guessed something, showed a calm expression.
"If … if it were you and me, would you do the same?" She gritted her teeth and finally asked. Then she lowered her head as if she did not dare to look at him.
"Of course." Adriaan answered without hesitation.
"Really?" Gwyneth looked up in surprise, but she was a little doubtful.
"Really." Adriaan nodded, "There are some things that a man must bear. As long as you can live, I don't mind being like Jack. Although I'm a bastard, I'm not an irresponsible man."
What he said was indeed from the bottom of his heart. For someone who had been reborn once, death was not something to be afraid of.
After staring blankly at Adriaan for a long time, Gwyneth sighed softly and snuggled into his arms again. After leaning her head on his shoulder for a long time, she thought of something and looked at him and asked, "What if … there was another woman at that time?"
Since she had already asked the first question, it was not difficult to ask the second one.
"I will save them together."
"I mean, what if you can only save one?"
Adriaan became silent, and Gwyneth bit her lip timidly.
"Do you really want to know the answer, Gwyneth?" After a long time, he looked at her and asked.
"… Yes." Gwyneth's heart beat rapidly for a few times, but she still gave an affirmative answer.
"Well, then my answer is that I will not save anyone. I will hug you and sink into the sea together." Adriaan said word by word.
He did not explain further, but just looked at Gwyneth calmly. Although a trace of disappointment flashed through Gwyneth's greyish-green eyes, she quickly revealed a thoughtful look. How could she not understand the hidden meaning in this sentence?
"This is not the answer I want, but … it is your answer." After a long time, she faintly sighed, a little sad and a little relieved.
"Well, Gwyneth, you did not come here today just to ask me questions, right?" Adriaan asked while caressing her hair.
"Oh, of course." Gwyneth immediately recovered and revealed a sly smile, "It's like this, my father wants to invite you to our home for dinner."
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
