Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 250 Girls, Scream!

Impulsive young people.

Rob Friedman silently commented on Chen Nuo in his heart.

Having been in the business world for many years, he has seen many people like this.

He himself has transformed from a passionate young man to the cold-blooded killer he is today.

Even though the first "Twilight" movie was about to fail miserably, so what?

He only cuts his losses and never loses his mind.

In fact, he had already planned to put Twilight Parts 2 and 3 aside.

It’s a motherfucker film, why are you still filming it?
Do you really treat the US dollar as the lira?
Although I don't agree with it in my heart, the promotion of the movie still depends on each other.

So, Rob Friedman said, "Chen, I admire your determination and I agree with your pride, but it's too early to say that, isn't it? Let's first..."

"No, not early!"

Chen Nuo stood up and waved his hands wildly in the air.

Suppose someone was watching Chen Nuo from the air with a bird’s eye view.

He would find that Chen Nuo's expression and posture now were exactly the same as when he was learning how to slay gods with his seventh brother in Nanshan Nursing Home a few months ago.

It's almost the crazy reserve team.

"Roger Ebert said that to his tens of millions of fans on his blog. I didn't sleep all night yesterday. I figured it out. You are all right. It was me. It was my stubbornness. I insisted on having my own way on the set, and now it has hurt everyone."

"I'm sorry to Will, I'm sorry to Katherine, and I'm sorry to you, Rob. I'm sorry to all of you."

"I thought... I thought..."

If Chen Nuo were to rate his performance, he would definitely give his lines a failing grade. From the beginning to now, his lines have actually been the weakest part of his performance.

Just like at this moment, I had prepared a good speech and the emotions were brewing so well, but suddenly my mind got stuck.

I thought...what did you think?
Forget it, that should be enough. The more you talk, the more mistakes you make. We better cut the Gordian knot.

"Come on, sign the contract, Rob."

Rob Friedman was watching with some emotion.

What a simple young man.

He had felt this way since he first met her in Japan.

When he suddenly heard about signing a contract, he was a little overwhelmed.

Rob Friedman blinked and said, "Chen, what did you say?"

"Rob, I've prepared the contract." Chen Nuo suddenly raised his voice and shouted, "Chris, bring in our contract."

The door of the study in the Hilton Executive Suite opened, and Qi Yuntian walked in with two contracts. He looked very dissatisfied. Without saying anything, he threw the contract in front of Chen Nuo, turned around and left.

Chen Nuo handed the two contracts to Robert and said, "I have signed them. The contracts are exactly the same as the ones we signed before. Except for the agreed film name, no other terms have changed. Robert, take a look."

Rob Friedman was stunned and said, "Chen, are you serious? Have you discussed this with your agent? He doesn't seem to agree with it. Besides, we are not planning to shoot the second and third parts."

Chen Nuo said seriously: "Don't blame my agent. He only cares about money, but I only care about movies. I know that you guys, Rob, don't want to make a sequel now, but there will always be a day, right?"

……

……

The way Americans sign contracts is somewhat different from that in China. There is no need for an official seal; only the signature of the company's legal representative is required.

Therefore, when Rob Friedman signed his name on those two contracts, the contract between Summit Entertainment and Chen Nuo for the "Twilight" trilogy was reached.

However, the only drawback for Chen Nuo was that the old man Robert, whether out of some intuition or really as he said, "Chen, I am optimistic about your persistence. I have a feeling that you will lead us to success one day. Therefore, I think this clause should be crossed out."

Therefore, the clause that Chen Nuo would get 3% of the box office share if the sales exceeded US$15 million was deleted, and the new rule was unified as 2% if the box office was over US$10 million.

The question that Chen Nuo was wondering about was also the question that Will Statham was wondering about.

As they were leaving the house and heading to the premiere, Will Statham frowned and asked, "Why do you want to do this, Rob? It's a useless contract anyway. It's used to comfort Chen, give him some hope, cheer him up, and get involved in the promotion."

"What's the point of worrying about 2 million or 3 million, 10% or 15%? Rob, don't tell me that you have plans to restart this series in five years. Not to mention, you hope that it can really sell for that much money one day."

Rob Friedman sighed and said, "Will, Will... You're saying this as if we've already failed. You know, tonight is the premiere, and our movie hasn't been publicly screened yet. Everything is still unknown. What if everything isn't that bad?"

Will Statham smiled bitterly: "I hope so, but the fact is that all day long, all the experts I followed, from HBO to NBC, no box office forecaster was optimistic about us."

"That damned HBO box office analyst, Rafe Clausen, even said we couldn't possibly make more than $3000 million because no adults were going to see our movie."

"What's even more damning is..." Will Statham sighed deeply, "I seem to have been convinced by them."

"FUCK." Rob Friedman cursed softly, but he didn't seem to be that angry.

There was silence in the car for a while, and Will Statham suddenly said: "Rob, you should know all this better than me, otherwise you wouldn't renew this kind of contract with him. So, why is this? I have to say, you are very contradictory."

Rob Friedman looked at the night view outside the car window and said lightly, "There is nothing contradictory about this, Will. It is indeed impossible for me to take the initiative to shoot the second film within five years. Because in the next five years, we will have to crawl in the desert, lick our wounds silently, release some small and bad films, accumulate funds, and wait for the next opportunity again, but..."

Will waited for a moment, but before Rob could continue, he couldn't help but ask, "But what?"

Rob Friedman looked at the lights on the streets of New York, thought of his Blueberry Nights, and said, "But Chen is different. I don't think he needs it. This failure won't defeat him. He has the classic role of JOKER. I've heard that Warner will start filming Batman 3 within three years."

"So, I think the hope for a future Twilight reboot lies in him."

At this point, Rob Friedman turned around and gave Will a sly smile: "I am willing to sign this contract with him. Because by then, 2% of the 10 million box office will be exactly 2000 million US dollars, which is exactly the paycheck he deserves after entering the 2000 million club."

"But 3% of 15 million... that's too much, too much."

Will was stunned for a while and asked, "What if he never entered the 2000 million club?"

Rob Friedman's smile gradually disappeared, and finally the expressionless Jewish old man said coldly: "Then there will be no Twilight 2, ever."

……

……

Following the two bosses of Summit Entertainment, Chen Nuo also walked out five minutes later.

The lady who was going to go to the movies with him was not Qi Yuntian, but...Lori Eisner.

Lori Eisner came to New York to see an old friend. She didn't want to walk the red carpet with him, but just to go to the scene with him, watch a movie together, and chat about business.

On the way, Lori Eisner talked to Chen Nuo about the business.

As Chen Nuo's semi-public insider in Warner Bros., she told the secret project of Batman 3. After Nolan won the Oscar, he wrote scripts like crazy with his brother. In a few months, they wrote two scripts, one of which was Batman 3. However, there is still controversy about which one to shoot first.

As the best choice for the Joker, Chen Nuo can also start thinking about how to negotiate his salary with Warner.

At this point, Lori Eisner, who knew what Chen Nuo and Qi Yuntian were doing before, was really puzzled: "Chen, why are you doing this? I really really don't understand. What's the point of tying yourself to such a bad drama?"

"I even saw a clause in your contract that says whether Summit Entertainment hires someone else to play Edward or you refuse to play Edward, you will have to pay an astronomical amount of liquidated damages."

"I don't understand. What if Spielberg wants you to make a movie, but it conflicts with this crappy movie? What will you do? Or do you have no confidence in your future in Hollywood?"

“Chen, although the failure of this movie has cast a shadow on your future in Hollywood.

But the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor can still give you another chance in a low-budget movie, so you don’t have to give up on yourself.”

Chen Nuo could see that Lori Eisner was genuinely worried about him.

but……

How could he possibly tell the other party that the box office analysis experts across the United States, including the middle and senior management of Summit Entertainment, all saw the unanimous negative reviews from the critics. And he was the only one who was mentally prepared for this.

He was not lying, he really did not sleep last night.

But it was not because of Roger Ebert, but because he and Qi Yuntian were conducting in-depth analysis of those film reviews one by one.

Later, they discovered that the negative reviews about Twilight mainly focused on the lack of depth in the plot and the actors' superficial acting skills.

However, even the most critical film critics did not say that Chen Nuo's performance as an oriental yellow vampire was out of place in the movie. No one questioned his appearance, body shape, or skin color.

This was what Chen Nuo was most worried about.

When they found that more than two-thirds of the negative reviews mentioned that "vampires are beautiful", Chen Nuo made up his mind to do what he had just done.

It doesn't matter if it fails.

If he hadn't jumped into the Hudson River, he might as well have jumped into the Hudson River if he hadn't taken advantage of such a good opportunity.

Chen Nuo's conscience didn't hurt.

The media screening was not his idea, and he even kindly tried to dissuade it.

In the end, Rob Friedman got what he deserved. He lost all confidence after being crushed by a group of film critics and signed a contract with them. It was none of his business.

He's really just a philanthropist.

Finally, facing Lori Eisner's concerns, he still didn't say too much, but just naturally held her hand and said affectionately: "Lori, thank you for your concern for me. And the last Oscar incident... I haven't had the chance to say thank you to you. I'm so lucky to have a good friend like you."

Lori Eisner looked at her hands, then at Chen Nuo, and said seriously, "Founder of ME TOO, aren't you afraid that I will sue you for sexual harassment?"

Chen Nuo let go of his hand as if nothing had happened and said, "Luo Rui, I'm just expressing my gratitude."

Lori Eisner said: "Chen, try a different approach next time."

After saying that, the two looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

……

……

For Chen Nuo, walking the red carpet of Twilight wasn't very interesting.

Although for those young female fans, his appearance as the protagonist was no less than the huge wave caused by the collapse of Lehman Brothers during the financial tsunami.

Because for these book fans, letting the actor who plays JOKER, the unique Chen Nuo, play the vampire Edward is the most perfect match they can imagine.

When Summit Entertainment's casting decision, which seemed to be opposed by many people, came out, it did not encounter attacks from many Batman comic fans like the Joker did.

In fact, no Twilight fan has ever questioned Chen Nuo's skin color.

On the red carpet, Chen Nuo took a photo with Ashley Greene, whose shoulders were slightly cold, and greeted Kristen Stewart. He did not answer any questions from any reporter and walked straight into the theater.

In the reception hall of the cinema, he exchanged a few brief words with the actors and crew of the film, but did not see the black makeup artist.

After that, he went directly to the box on the second floor of the theater where Lori Eisner was.

Lori Eisner was sitting on the sofa eating snacks and texting on her phone. When she heard the door open, she turned around and was surprised. "Chen, why are you here so fast? Didn't you accept the interview?"

Chen Nuo took off his suit, bow tie, unbuttoned his collar, sat comfortably on the sofa, took a sip of the coffee in front of him, and said, "Why did you accept it? I heard all the questions they asked. They basically asked me why I acted so badly."

Lori Eisner complained: "That's my coffee."

Chen Nuo snorted: "Don't be so stingy with your friends, OK?"

Lori Eisner blinked and said, "OK, as a friend, I want to hear your answer. Can you tell me why you suddenly acted so badly?"

Chen Nuo raised the corner of his mouth, looked up at the angle of the light, adjusted his posture, and tilted his head so that he could see from Lori Eisner's perspective.

You can just see the light from the crystal chandelier above the box shining on his face, casting a faint shadow.

The warm yellow light made his facial features more three-dimensional, and also outlined his high nose bridge and distinct jawline.

And those black eyes that shimmered subtly in the slanting light.

Together, they formed a face that stunned Lori Eisner.

"Jesus Christ, how did you do it?" Lori Eisner muttered.

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Luo Rui, let me tell you a secret. So far, only two people in the world know it, and you are the third one."

"Actually, I never felt like I was a bad actor. Never."

...

...

On November 2008, 11, at noon the day after the premiere,
Rotten Tomatoes finally included a five-star review from Susan Murphy of the Washington Post, which is also the first full-score review since the release of "Twilight".

It goes like this: "Never before has a movie made a vampire look as handsome as Odin and as shiny as a dewdrop. Twilight girls, get ready to scream. Your dream man has stepped out of the pages of a book."

The next day, the revenue statistics for the "Twilight" premiere at midnight on Friday, November 11 were released.

Rob Friedman was holding the slightly warm white paper that came out of the fax machine, and he had to hold on to the corner of the table to avoid falling to the ground.

After Will Statham snatched the statistical data table, he didn't say a word for a full ten minutes.

"The Twilight Saga" earned $960 million in its premiere at midnight on Friday.

It surpassed "Quantum of Solace" which also opened on Friday by 007 million, and "Sex and the City" by 460 million.

It set the best independent film midnight box office record in history.

Later on Friday, Twilight grossed $7850 million.

At this point, Summit Entertainment not only recovered all of its 3700 million yuan in costs within one day, but also generated a profit.

The whole of Hollywood was shocked.

Because this result ranks third among all non-summer films, second only to last year's "The Dark Knight" and "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

On Saturday and Sunday, Twilight's box office suffered the inevitable sharp decline that all fan films suffer.

However, as soon as the statistics for the three days of the opening weekend came out, the glasses of all Hollywood insiders were collectively shattered and the hearts of all ordinary movie fans were collectively broken.

Revenue for the three days of the weekend was 1.16 million.

Although it is far from the film history record of 1.88 million US dollars in three days of the weekend set by The Dark Knight last year, but... don't forget that it cost only more than 3000 million US dollars.

This also set a record for the fastest independent film to exceed $1 million: 3 days.

Even though it is all commercial movies, it has entered the top five in film history at the speed of a money-printing machine.

The box office prediction experts from HBO and NBC scratched their heads during the show and had no idea why this terrible movie could sell so much money.

Then Monday's edition of The Hollywood Reporter revealed part of the mystery.

According to the statistics in this magazine, 85% of the audience who went to the cinema to watch "Twilight" during these three days were women, and 55% were under 25 years old.

This is simply a crazy statistic that leaves everyone speechless.

So, the cover of this issue of "The Hollywood Reporter" is a mosaic of photos of female faces, including Chen Nuo's face in "Twilight" made up as a vampire.

The cover title is: Crazy Woman, the Most Profitable Vampire in History.

(End of this chapter)