Marvel: A Lazy-Ass Superman

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At the end of 1997, the departure date of the great ship was delayed again and again. It had originally been scheduled for the summer season, but production simply couldn’t be completed in time.

However, with a production cost of $200 million, no one dared release it during an off-season slot. After all, so-called ”hot” and ”cold” release windows were directly tied to market size.

If they chose a time when the core moviegoing audience was busy working or in school, with little free time to watch films, the box office would predictably suffer even more.

So the next best opportunity was the year-end Christmas season.

They certainly couldn’t release it during Halloween and compete with horror movies. Even if those horror films killed plenty of people onscreen, compared to the ship sinking beneath the sea, they wouldn’t even count as a fraction.

Although the Christmas season meant competing against the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies and DreamWorks’ Mouse Hunt, there was no more suitable timing.

As one of the production companies, 20th Century Fox only held overseas distribution rights. North American distribution rights had been taken by fellow investor Stark Pictures. Naturally, Fox focused its efforts on the international market.

That was why they wanted the premiere held in London, the heart of the English-speaking world. To that end, they even arranged it as a Royal Film Performance and invited Prince Charles, the eternal heir to the throne, to attend.

But from Stark Pictures’ perspective, North America was the main source of profit—and the home base of Hollywood itself. How could they allow the premiere to be held overseas?

Not wanting a North American premiere was also director James Cameron’s own preference. Ever since the ship’s enormous production cost became public, the media had mocked and criticized the film nonstop. Even a director whose reputation had been elevated by the Terminator series had begun to lose confidence.

He preferred to open first outside North America, win acclaim overseas, and then return triumphantly to America—the same America that hadn’t spoken a kind word about him. It was a rather tsundere sort of attitude: You look down on me today, but tomorrow you won’t be worthy of me.

Considering the impact piracy could have on ticket sales, Henry naturally couldn’t agree to an overseas-first release.

In the end, all sides compromised: the film would hold its premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival on November 1st, neatly avoiding the argument over domestic versus international priority.

Premiering at a film festival as a marketing tactic was nothing new in Hollywood. Studios generally didn’t care which festival they used—only whether the timing suited them.

The overseas previews also received positive reviews.

This gradually improved the public perception of the ship. The earlier malicious criticism actually had the opposite effect—it made audiences curious to see what all the fuss was about.

In truth, part of the reason the release was pushed back so late was Henry himself.

During an internal screening, he pointed out more than one continuity mistake and visible goof. How could detail-obsessed Cameron possibly tolerate that?

Reshoots were impossible, so they could only fix them through computer effects.

And then the boomerang flew right back to Stark Pictures.

Which meant a certain CEO had to work overtime again…

Ahhh!

In any case, Titanic’s official Hollywood premiere was held on December 14th, hosted by Stark Pictures.

At the same time, 20th Century Fox held an equally lavish London premiere, launching the great ship in style.

Finally, on Friday, December 19th, it opened nationwide—

And created one of Hollywood’s greatest legends.

Opening day in North America brought in $8,658,814.

Its first weekend grossed $28,638,131 across 2,674 theaters, ranking number one at the box office.

By New Year’s Day, it had passed $120 million.

After 44 days, it crossed $300 million.

After 66 days, it reached $400 million.

Its highest single-day gross came on Saturday, February 14th, 1998—Valentine’s Day, earning $13,048,711 in one day.

On March 14th, it surpassed Star Wars to become the highest-grossing film in history.

It also held the number one box office position in North America for 15 consecutive weeks, and remained in theaters for nearly ten months.

Its final totals:

$600 million in North America

$1.2 billion overseas

$1.8 billion worldwide

A record that would dominate Hollywood for nearly a decade.

That was why, even before leaving theaters, it still swept the 70th Academy Awards in 1998.

Fourteen nominations.

Eleven wins.

Including the undisputed major prizes:

Best Picture

Best Director

Meanwhile, the cast of The Devil’s Advocate, which didn’t even receive a nomination, had no time to brood.

On the day of the ceremony, Charlize Theron was filming The Matrix in Sydney, Australia.

Since the Oscars aired at 11 a.m. Sydney time, everyone on set was too busy shooting to pay attention to what was happening in Los Angeles.

As an unofficial member of the crew, the CEO of Stark Pictures had brought members of the digital effects department to offer advice from the perspective of CGI production.

Henry naturally didn’t need to monitor filming or wait around to perform. Nor did he need to help with miscellaneous work.

So he stayed at the hotel and watched the Oscar broadcast, personally witnessing James Cameron stand onstage and shout the line that cemented his godlike status.

Ever since Henry invested in this doomed ship, a fair portion of the criticism aimed at Cameron had shifted onto Henry instead—the Hollywood outsider.

Comments like:

”This guy should stick to scientific research.”

”He should focus on digital imaging and stay out of filmmaking.”

”What does he know about movies?”

They appeared endlessly in newspapers, magazines, and industry gossip.

Because the financing involved Stark Industries, even Tony Stark got dragged into the ridicule.

The nastier media sarcastically called him:

”Another angel investor from Wall Street about to lose everything in Hollywood.”

In the end, the ones who capsized weren’t Henry and Tony—

It was the media who had spoken so confidently before.

So these uncrowned kings of public opinion now chased Henry everywhere, desperate to reclaim face—even though they had no idea what story could possibly overshadow the previous one.

To avoid the pests, especially at a moment when Cameron was ascending to legend status, Henry came to Australia to visit the set and lay low.

He wasn’t an actor, and his work didn’t depend on fame. There was no reason to flatter journalists.

Better to hide first.

But while he could escape reporters, he couldn’t escape his girlfriend.

After finishing a day of filming, Charlize returned to the hotel and immediately asked about the Oscars.

There wasn’t an actor in Hollywood who didn’t care about the industry’s highest honor.

So after hearing Titanic’s results, she couldn’t help privately complaining to Henry.

”Ahhh, such a great movie—and you invested in it. I should’ve fought for a role no matter what!”

Rolling around on the bed, Charlize grumbled dramatically.

Henry pulled the girl back down onto the bed face-first and began massaging her tired muscles.

”As far as number of awards goes, Titanic was definitely the big winner,” he said. ”But did you notice it didn’t win a single acting award?”

Charlize tried to turn over and talk, but Henry pressed her back down and continued working on her tense shoulders.

She could only ask while lying there, ”That’s true. Why is that?”

Henry explained:

”This film was the success of one man—James Cameron.

”The lack of acting awards can be blamed on the jealousy of those old white men.

”Or perhaps they believe that no matter who the actors were, with Cameron directing, the film would’ve succeeded the same way.

”Actors elevated by the movie itself weren’t considered worthy of awards.

”And that reputation may drag them down for quite a while.

”If they want to change it, they’ll have to start with low-budget independent films—which means low pay.

”Or they can keep accepting repetitive studio scripts built on the same image until they no longer have box office pull.

”And when that day comes, forget transitioning—they might just be thrown out by Hollywood entirely.

”That’s not what you want, is it?”

Charlize lay obediently still, enjoying the massage as she sighed.

”When you put it that way, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are in trouble.”

Henry replied:

”No denying the film gave them tremendous publicity too.

”If they can endure the discrimination of those old white men and push forward against the wind, it can become a shortcut to success.

”Maybe even easier than climbing step by step.”

Then he added:

”But for you, what matters most is what’s in front of you now.

”That ship is already in the past for you as an actress.

”And filming on wires isn’t exactly easy, is it?”

”And what about you?”

The girl, understanding the importance of choosing priorities, let go of her resentment toward the ship.

Turning onto her side, drawing one knee up in a teasing gesture, she smiled.

”Don’t you also have something in front of you that deserves your full attention?”

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