Chapter 141: Kingdom of Heaven

As May approached, movie companies fiercely competed for the summer box office. The first movie to set off the fireworks was 20th Century Fox's medieval epic war film Kingdom of Heaven.

Kingdom of Heaven opened in North America across 3,216 theaters, grossing only $19.6 million on its opening weekend.

On the same day, Lionsgate released the low-budget film Crash in 1,850 theaters, which grossed $9.1 million in North America on its opening weekend.

However, the production cost of Kingdom of Heaven was 130 million, while Crash only cost $6.5 million to make.

"Boss, the reviews for Kingdom of Heaven are overwhelmingly negative. Will this affect director Ridley Scott?" Phyllis Jones asked, holding a newspaper with some concern.

After all, The Departed was set to start shooting at the end of the month, and Ridley Scott was the director.

Charles picked up the newspaper and glanced at it. Kingdom of Heaven had been released globally, earning $31 million overseas in its opening weekend. Together with $19 million from the North American market, it had grossed $50 million.

Shaking his head, he said, "He's a top-tier director. One film won't affect him. The theatrical release of Kingdom of Heaven is very different from his director's cut. Plus, medieval war films aren't really that popular!"

"This Crash movie, on the other hand, is getting rave reviews!" Charles added, paying attention to the low-budget film distributed by Lionsgate. Capet Pictures had No Country for Old Men set for release this year, and how it fared at next year's Oscars, particularly Best Picture, would depend on whether it could beat Crash.

Lionsgate and Capet Pictures had never won an Oscar for Best Picture, which added a competitive edge.

Phyllis nodded and said, "It focuses on racial discrimination, very realistic, and critics love that."

"No Country for Old Men has met its match!" Charles felt his competitive spirit stirring. It all came down to how everyone maneuvered during the end of the year.

"No Country for Old Men has been selected for the main competition at Cannes. Boss, are you going this year? The crew is about to head to Cannes," Phyllis Jones asked brightly.

"You want to go, right? If you want to, you can go and take a look; I don't have the time. This year's Cannes Film Festival started - today's already Friday the 13th. Now, my focus is on acquiring Marvel and securing the movie adaptation rights for Hasbro's Transformers!" Charles said.

Phyllis Jones shook her head and said, "If I'm not by your side, Boss, I'm afraid you won't get used to it!"

"What's going on with Hasbro? They aren't agreeing to either DreamWorks or us. Do they even want a movie adaptation or not?" Charles needed a strong blockbuster IP to become the company's ace, and the Transformers series was perfect.

"What films is DreamWorks preparing to release soon?" Charles asked, standing by the window.

Phyllis Jones flipped through the files. "Next month, there's War of the Worlds in collaboration with Paramount, The Island in July, and Munich and Match Point in December. Their other films aren't drawing much attention.

Currently, the only majorly successful movie DreamWorks has is The Ring Two, which has grossed over a hundred fifty million dollars worldwide."

Phyllis Jones reported the buzzworthy films, noting that War of the Worlds was an alien invasion movie directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise. Munich was another Spielberg project based on a true story. The Island was a sci-fi action film by Michael Bay, and Match Point was an indie project from Woody Allen.

Charles paused, intrigued. "Isn't Capet Pictures releasing Mr. & Mrs. Smith next month? And Wedding Crashers is also releasing in July, with No Country for Old Men coming out in December. Is Hasbro waiting to see the summer box office results for Capet Pictures and DreamWorks?"

"Alright, notify me if there's any other news," Charles said, preparing to head out. The cast and crew of Kingdom of Heaven were in New York for promotion, and Charles had an evening date with Eva Green.

After driving his Mercedes SLR McLaren to the luxurious Carlyle Hotel, Charles had a romantic French dinner prepared in his room.

It wasn't long before the doorbell to his suite rang. Opening the door, Eva Green stood there, looking stunning.

"Mmm," Eva Green immediately hugged and kissed Charles as she entered. Not to be outdone, Charles pressed her against the wall and kissed her back passionately.

Lifting one of her legs, Charles smiled at her and said, "Feeling down because of the Kingdom of Heaven reviews?"

"I'm not really down. The main issue is the theatrical cut was edited too much. My character's storyline was basically abandoned!" Eva Green said. She had barely participated in the promotional activities beyond what was required by her contract and even wanted to skip the North American premiere.

Well, with the initial hype of Kingdom of Heaven, the crash upon release was just as hard. The promotional activities for the film had significantly decreased.

After all, given the reviews and box office numbers, it wasn't worth further investment.

"Let's eat first," Charles said, leading Eva to the table and asking, "The actor playing King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, the one in the mask, that's Edward Norton, right? He doesn't seem to have any relation to the film; his name isn't even in the credits."

"He requested that himself. Since he didn't show his face in the movie, he doesn't want people to know it's him. He asked not to have his name in the credits," Eva Green explained.

Charles nodded. "He did a great job!"

"But since there aren't many promotional activities for Kingdom of Heaven now, you should fully cooperate when there are. Remember, you're just a newcomer in Hollywood. Don't have thoughts of refusing premieres like before," Charles advised. If it weren't for his feelings for Eva Green, he wouldn't waste time reminding her.

Eva Green was spirited, and although her Princess Sibylla role in the theatrical cut of Kingdom of Heaven had become a mere decorative trophy with little screen time, not cooperating in the film's promotions was surely upsetting 20th Century Fox.

Eva Green looked up at Charles. Although she was two years older than him, their auras were completely different.

"I understand. My agent has already reminded me. I will cooperate from now on," Eva Green nodded and said.

No wonder future Eva Green had scant opportunities in Hollywood. Apart from her sex appeal and propensity for nudity, a newcomer refusing to attend the premiere of a major film like Kingdom of Heaven?

Even Ridley Scott had to dutifully promote the film, despite the theatrical cut being 44 minutes shorter than his director's cut!

*****

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