It's reasonable for me, a stuntman, to live a crazy life, right?

April 13, 10:30 a.m. Los Angeles time.

In the large conference room of DC Films, all the senior executives gathered together at this moment.

The air was filled with the burnt aroma of latte, but no one reached out to drink it because the atmosphere was very cold and no one dared to break the deadlock.

In the end, it was Jeff Jones, the president, who took the first action.

He banged his knuckles hard on the projection screen, and the red line graph on the financial statement began to tremble wildly!

"The first weekend box office was 57% lower than expected, the North American audience retention rate fell below 70%, and the daily box office was only $2.372 million..."

As he spoke, the sunlight through the gaps in the blinds just happened to slice his profile, making his entire expression look extremely hideous: "We need to dissect this dead Thunder Shazam!"

Producer Peter Safran suddenly crushed the empty mineral water bottle that he had already drunk, and said angrily:

"Why on earth is this happening? Everyone said it was good during the previews, so why did it become like this after it was released?"

Data analyst Emily pushed up her glasses, and the red dot of the laser pointer landed on the audience portrait area, adding:

"The lMDb rating shows that audiences over 25 years old gave it an average score of 6.2, and many viewers even thought that this movie was just like Home Alone with a cape on."

Perhaps stimulated by these words and recent online rumors, director David F. Sandberg suddenly stood up, and the legs of his chair made a dull sound on the carpet:

"You said you needed a lighter tone to offset the gloom of Batman v Superman, but now you want my movie to take the blame for its failure?"

The redness on the back of his neck reminded people of his embarrassment when reporters asked him at the premiere whether he was deliberately imitating Marvel.

"Calm down, David, it's your fault we didn't say anything!"

Peter Safran threw the crushed water bottle to the ground and said in a deep voice: "The problem is that we want to maintain the serious tone of DC, but at the same time force the dark setting of the Seven Deadly Sins into the end.

It's like coating Skittles in dark chocolate - kids find it bitter, but adults find it childish, and you end up with a situation where neither side pleases. "

David F. Sandberg sat down immediately after hearing this.

He is just a director. He didn't write the script, and he didn't decide the story line. Anyway, he won't take the blame.

The five people in the screenwriter team looked at each other, none of them said a word.

Although they are the ones who wrote the story, the primary responsibility does not lie with them.

After the story is written, 15 producers (DC Films executives) need to make a joint decision and unanimously approve it before filming can begin.

Therefore, the main responsibility should actually be attributed to those senior people.

After all, the "relaxed tone" style was not decided by them, but was requested by the leaders.

Silence spread in the meeting room, and no one spoke for a long time...

Jeff Jones felt inexplicably irritated at this moment.

He unbuttoned the second button of his suit and suddenly remembered the call he had received in the morning from Ann Sarnoff, CEO of Warner and his immediate boss.

"The pre-sales of Avengers 4 have already broken records. We urgently need our own Endgame now and cannot continue to fail like this."

He straightened up, turned on the computer screen and clicked on the new PPT.

The next second, Harley Quinn's pink and blue ponytail appeared on the projection screen.

“Let’s put aside the topic of ‘Shazam!’ for now. It’s already been released and we can’t do anything about it. But we must be careful with the next movies!”

The editing of the finished film "Joker" has been completed, so Jeff Johns is not prepared to mention the project for the time being.

He focused his attention on the DC movie universe's film plans for next year.

As for "Shazam!", the money earned from "Aquaman" will be used to make up for the shortfall.

If one merit and one demerit cancel each other out, isn't that the same as having neither merit nor demerit?

“What was the feedback from the rough cut of Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn?”

When producer David Ayer heard his boss calling him, he suddenly looked up.

He stroked his big bald head and cleared his throat. “Young female audiences simply love Margot Robbie’s crazy acting, but…Warner’s marketing department is worried that this film is too stylized.”

As he spoke, he turned on his computer and called up a storyboard script - Harley smashed the window of a jewelry store with a baseball bat, and in slow motion, diamonds fell like rain...

"Dave wants Steve Trevor's return to be related to a time rift, like the Flashpoint event..."

"No! Absolutely not!"

Jeff Jones expressed a strong refusal.

The conference room suddenly became quiet, and even the hum of the central air conditioner could be heard.

Everyone turned to look at him, waiting for his next words.

"I know every director wants his own independent universe." Jeff Johns sighed, "but the audience needs to see the connection, you know?

Aquaman works because it’s an undersea version of Indiana Jones, while Shazam fails because it’s just a children’s theater superhero parody.”

He moved the mouse again and called up the new Twitter trending searches, and saw that the topic #DC Universe Has Begun to Lose its Direction# was rapidly rising on the hot discussion list.

Everyone knew exactly what this meant.

This is also the reason why Jeff Jones envies Marvel so much and wants Chen Fei to serve as the Chief Content Officer of the DC Film Universe.

A good "helmsman" can connect all the independent films together to form a "king bomb"!

However, at this moment, Zack Snyder, who had returned to DC Films but had not spoken, suddenly interrupted:

“Maybe Cyborg should be in the background of the news for Birds of Prey? Or the LuthorCorps logo should appear on Wonder Woman’s museum exhibit?”

"Zack, this will require a budget of at least 20 million US dollars." Financial Director Mark frowned as he looked at the report and said, "And the lesson of Justice League tells us that forced splicing will only..."

Having said this, he suddenly fell silent, but everyone at this moment remembered the nightmare that caused the company to lose hundreds of millions of dollars!

That nightmare also caused the two presidents of Warner and DC to "retire".

In addition to being the producer and director of "Wonder Woman 1984", Patty Jenkins is also the screenwriter. After listening to Zack Snyder's words, she suddenly had a new idea.

"How about letting me rewrite the story of Diana getting the Golden Eagle Armor, adding the Cold War background, such as the spy elements before the fall of the Berlin Wall..."

Jeff Jones nodded slightly, approving and reminding, “At the same time, we also need to resolve the fundamental contradiction, which is: how to build a unified universe while maintaining the director’s personal style?”

As he spoke, he moved the mouse again and opened a new folder.

Everyone subconsciously looked towards the projection screen, and saw that the poster of the independent film "Joker" appeared so scarlet and glaring on the screen that people dared not look directly at it!

The Joker's popularity is the highest in the DC movie universe, comparable to Iron Man and Spider-Man.

But this character cannot be integrated into the DC movie universe at all, which has always been a problem that all the senior executives of DC have been worried about.

"Maybe we can learn about the concept of the multiverse from comics!" Data analyst Emily suggested enthusiastically.

The comic book "Crisis on Infinite Earths" was open in front of her. There were many interesting plots in it, and she subconsciously repeated them:

"For example, let Harley Quinn take place on Earth-3, and Wonder Woman on Earth-1, and when necessary, we can..."

"The audience will definitely be confused." Jeff Jones shook his head and interrupted: "The average audience is not a comic book geek. They need a clear narrative path."

Boom boom boom——

At this moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Jeff Jones frowned sharply and his eyes became sharp.

He hates it most when someone interrupts him during a meeting.

The assistant quickly stood up and walked towards the door.

The door was opened, and under everyone's attention, the vice president of DC Films suddenly walked in.

Jeff Jones's expression softened a lot, and he asked curiously, "Peter? What's the matter?"

"Just now, Marvel once again joined forces with Sony, Fox and other companies to announce multiple Marvel independent film plans. There will be no less than 6 films released next year alone..."

Jeff Jones didn't listen carefully to what was said afterwards.

He now had only one thought:

The "old rival" is here to snipe me again! I'm in big trouble!

…

"Fei, as of now, the pre-sale box office of Avengers 4 in North America has exceeded 100 million US dollars. There are still 13 days before the release. Perhaps we can increase the pre-sale performance to 150 million US dollars before the film officially enters the theaters."

Just after returning from the promotional event, Chen Fei received good news from Natasha.

He laughed and asked, "How are the preparations for the premiere going? This is the key to boosting pre-sale box office results."

"Everything is ready, and the world premiere will be held as scheduled in Los Angeles on the 22nd."

"Okay, I understand."

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

Fade Chen nodded, took off his suit and hung it on the hanger, then lay down on the chair with a tired look.

The publicity during this period was very intensive, with at least two events every day, and his physique could hardly bear it.

As for the other main creators, they have already started taking turns to follow the group.

One group of people today, another group tomorrow, and another group the day after tomorrow... With such a rotation, they can barely keep up with Chen Fei's publicity intensity.

"You take a rest first, I won't disturb you."

Natasha tactfully left the office and didn't continue nagging in front of him.

Chen Fei closed his eyes for half an hour before he regained some energy.

"Cindy, bring me a cup of coffee."

He first picked up the phone on the table and called his assistant who was waiting outside the door. Then he took out his mobile phone and checked the latest situation in the country.

It is already mid-April, and the 9th Capital International Film Festival has kicked off.

Unfortunately, it is the moment when the 72nd Cannes International Film Festival officially announced the shortlist for the main competition, and all the attention has been snatched away by the latter.

There is a very special film on the shortlist for this year's Cannes main competition unit.

Its name is - "The Gathering at Southern Station"!

Directed and written by Diao Yinan, the film stars Hu Ge and Gui Lunmei, with special appearances by Liao Fan and Wan Qian.

Just looking at the cast, you can tell that the film is going to be of good quality.

In addition, the popularity of several leading actors is quite high, so the popularity of this movie has been extremely high recently, which has directly suppressed the popularity of the Capital International Film Festival.

Then, "Captain of China" was shortlisted for the non-competitive screening unit, "The Burning Secret" and "Six Desires" were shortlisted for the Un Certain Regard unit, "The Horse Thief" and "Nurse's Diary" were shortlisted for the classic screening unit, and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" was shortlisted for the beach movie...

While so many films are confirmed to be present in Cannes, the Capital International Film Festival is unusually deserted.

If it weren't for the endorsement of a state-owned enterprise and the political mission, I'm afraid the Capital International Film Festival would have been unable to continue.

At the same time, as April quickly approaches the end of the month, the cinema market is changing every day.

After "Captain Marvel" was withdrawn from theaters with a box office of 1.1 billion yuan, the two films "More Than Blue" and "Teacher Good" were also withdrawn from theaters one after another.

The former relied on the gimmick of "full of tear-jerking moments" to reach 1 billion at the box office, and finally achieved a box office of 1.022 billion.

As for the latter, just as Chen Fei had predicted before, the total box office was only 388 million, and it didn't even reach 400 million.

But Wanda was quite happy. After all, the investment in the movie was not high, only less than 50 million.

The result of 388 million is already very good.

In addition, the project "The Sky of the Wind Dog Boy" was also announced.

Peng Yuchang and Zhang Jingyi starred in the drama, and Zhou Xun Studio's artists participated in the guest appearance in "Go Where the Wind Is"...

With a large number of hot searches, Zhang Jingyi made her debut successfully!

As for Zhou Xun, she finally accepted the invitation from Penguin Pictures and agreed to star in the film "The Imperfect Sister".

Obviously, she ultimately chose career over family.

Chen Fei couldn't say much. After all, this was her own choice, and no matter what the result was, she would have to bear it herself.

…

Time flies, and the news on the hot search lists at home and abroad changes every day.

"On the morning of April 14, Yanjing time, the main creators of the film "Heroes of Fire" appeared on the red carpet of the opening ceremony of the Yanjing Film Festival, paying tribute to the most beautiful retrogrades with passionate actions, and announced that the film will be released on August 1."

"On April 16, Yanjing time, the film "The Climbers", produced by Xu Ke, directed by Li Rengang, written by Alai, starring Wu Jing, Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Yi, Jing Boyan, Hu Ge, Wang Jingchun, He Lin, Chen Long, Quni Ciren, Lawang Norbu, Liu Xiaofeng, Duobujie, with Chen Long making a guest appearance, held its highest altitude closing ceremony at the Everest Base Camp.

Later, the film's producer and Shanghai Film Group Chairman Ren Zhonglun announced that The Climbers will be released nationwide on September 30, the National Day, and unveiled the release poster with the main creators.

"On April 17, Zhang Ziyi revealed that she will join the crew of "Investiture of the Gods" and make a friendly guest appearance."

"On April 18, the Film Bureau announced the latest list of film and television scripts that have passed the review. The fantasy film script "Assassination of Novelist" submitted by Feiyue Film and Television, and the action/crime script "Sicario 2", have both passed the review."

"On April 19, the comedy film "Love" starring Yu Hewei, Wu Lei and Li Gengxi was officially announced to be completed."

"On April 21, Marvel Studios announced that the pre-sale box office of the Hollywood sci-fi and action blockbuster Avengers: Endgame, directed by Chen Fei, has exceeded $130 million in North American box office, and the pre-sale box office in the Chinese market has exceeded 250 million yuan."

…

In a blink of an eye, time has smoothly come to April 22nd.

As night falls, the Dolby Theatre, a holy place for dreams, has been illuminated by bright lights, and both sides of the red carpet have been surrounded by fans!

In the crowd, someone held up a homemade Iron Man "reactor" with lights flashing above it.

There were also people wearing Captain America’s star-spangled cape, rustling in the night wind!

Someone even carefully drew Thanos' purple face, standing among the crowd, his eyes full of anticipation for this grand ceremony.

They came from all over the world, carrying with them their love for the Marvel Universe, and were eager to witness the opening of this movie feast.

Soon, with the roar of the engine, luxury cars slowly drove into the red carpet area.

The first to appear was "Captain America" ​​Chris Evans, wearing a neat black suit with a dark blue shirt underneath, and his signature blond hair was neatly combed.

The moment they got off the car, there was a wave of screams!

Fans shouted his name, some were even in tears with excitement, and Chris Evans had to stop and patiently sign autographs and take photos with the fans.

Then, "Iron Man" Robert Downey Jr. made a brilliant appearance.

He appeared in a casual yet fashionable outfit, and the look in his eyes under the sunglasses still revealed the confidence and unruly nature of Tony Stark.

His appearance directly brought the atmosphere on the scene to a new climax.

Fans shouted "I love you three thousand times" crazily!

This is a classic line from the movie, but at this moment it has become the strongest voice for fans to express their love.

Seeing this, Robert Downey Jr. immediately interacted with the fans and imitated Iron Man's movements, which caused laughter at the scene.

Afterwards, leading actors including "Thor" Chris Hemsworth, "Black Widow" Scarlett Johansson, and "Hulk" Mark Ruffalo walked onto the red carpet one after another.

They either interacted cordially with fans or struck classic poses from the movies, keeping the atmosphere on site heated up.

The actresses were dressed in gorgeous gowns, vying with each other for beauty, while the actors were handsome and gentlemanly.

Looking around, the entire red carpet scene looked like a crossover show of fashion and film.

And Chen Fei, who appeared last, received enthusiastic cheers and crazy screams from countless fans at the scene!

It is no exaggeration to say that his current popularity is not inferior to those superheroes, and he is even slightly more terrifying than the actors who play those superheroes!

Especially during the filming of "Boundary Breaker", his many performances attracted countless fans!

Plus, today is a "god-making" moment in his directorial career!

…

(ps: Second update, please give me a monthly ticket!!!)