Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 42: The Mummy Returns Released

May 2001, 5, 24: p.m.

Egyptian Theatre, Los Angeles.

Lin Yuan and two directors stood at the door of a cinema called "Egyptian Theater".

This is a characteristic cinema in the style of an Egyptian temple. The loess-colored plaster walls constitute the main building of the cinema. Two rows of tall and straight palm trees stand on both sides of the hall. From the appearance, it is full of the exotic style of ancient Egypt.

When you step into the cinema hall, elements such as the scarab decoration on the ceiling and the Tutankhamun mask on the wall give you a strong sense of immersion.

Looking at the dense crowds coming and going, Director Cohen couldn't help but say, "It must be a great experience to watch 'The Mummy Returns' here."

Of course, two days ago, "The Mummy Returns" chose this extremely suitable theater to hold its premiere, thus starting the box office war.

Lin Yuan and his team naturally wanted to come to the scene to observe the performance of the rival films and user feedback.

"It's really the base camp, the screening rate is as high as 60%." Director Johnston exclaimed in amazement.

"After all, the maximum publicity and promotion expenses are not wasted. The screening schedules of other theaters across the United States are generally around 40%." Lin Yuan said.

Director Sommers spared no expense in publicity and promotion, which resulted in all major cinemas giving the film the best possible screening schedule.

Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Director Cohen smiled and said, "That doesn't scare me. Seeing how you look like you have it figured out, I know we can't lose."

Recently, the two directors have become more and more confident in Lin Yuan. They are more and more convinced that Lin Yuan has a way to win, no matter how strong his opponent is.

"Let's go and give our opponents three movie tickets. We still have some generosity."

Lin Yuan lined up in front of the counter, secretly complaining in his heart that the way of buying tickets in this era was so backward.

Purchase tickets at the counter and pay in cash...

Returning with three movie tickets, Lin Yuan smiled and said, "That's really bad news! Movie tickets are very popular, and only the ones in the corner are left. And even then, we're almost out of stock."

"It's terrible. It shattered the little hope I had in my heart," said director Cohen.

"Don't be discouraged too soon. Maybe they bought the tickets themselves?" Director Johnston joked.

"Not really, at least not yet." Lin Yuan said, "Let's go see a movie."

The three of them walked into the screening room and soon after they sat down, the film began playing.

The two directors watched the movie carefully and evaluated the quality of the movie from a professional perspective.

But Lin Yuan's attention was not on the movie at all. He had watched "The Mummy Returns" many times in his previous life, so there was no need to watch it again in the cinema today.

His goal was to see feedback from the live audience.

"The Mummy Returns" is a fantasy film that focuses on visual effects. In terms of visual impact, it has indeed reached the top level of this era.

A swarm of scarabs rushed out and devoured everyone.

High Priest Imhotep kisses his lover in his decayed form.

The mummy climbs walls and chases the protagonists who are riding on the bus.

Imhotep's Water Face Waterfall magic.

Dwayne Johnson, who plays the Scorpion King, makes an appearance.

……

When these famous scenes appeared one by one, the audience on the scene kept exclaiming in surprise, obviously conquered by these visual effects.

Lin Yuan was not surprised at all by the performance of "The Mummy Returns". He never looked down on the film, on the contrary, he recognized it very much, otherwise he would not have tried his best to participate in the film.

But accepting it does not mean that Lin Yuan will surrender.

On the contrary, destroying the classic in his heart with his own hands is the most noble way for Lin Yuan to pay tribute.

The excellence of "The Mummy Returns" lies in the perfect combination of magical elements and visual effects. It is a movie with extremely long strengths, but that does not mean it has no weaknesses.

Its shortcoming lies in the character portrayal, especially the characters of the protagonists are stereotyped and thin.

The Chicago Sun-Times gave this review:
"The Mummy Returns's mistake was abandoning character development and using the plot as a clothesline for visual effects and action sequences.

If it weren't for the reliance on 1999's The Mummy, this sequel wouldn't even have a plot."

Although this evaluation is a bit harsh, it is also accurate.

The feedback from the audience also confirmed Lin Yuan’s judgment.

When the thrilling action scenes came, the audience was generally focused and kept exclaiming.

But when the film played other plot parts, the audience was generally not interested.

After confirming this, Lin Yuan’s goal for today was accomplished.

He began to watch the movie, revisiting this classic in his heart.

After the movie was over and the three of them walked out of the theater, Lin Yuan asked, "What did you think of this movie tonight?"

"It's excellent, despite some minor flaws. It has the potential to be a strong contender for the annual box office title." Director Cohen's expression was somewhat serious. "I estimate it could reach $1 million in its first weekend. Your earlier prediction of $2.8 million is very likely to be achieved."

"This visual effect is considered to be top-notch today, much better than my "Jurassic Park 3". Can we really win?" Director Johnston's expression was not very optimistic.

"Of course, remember what I said about timing? Director Sommers picked the wrong time to release the movie.

Our first monster ally is rising, and it will sniper our opponents fiercely." Lin Yuan replied.

"monster?"

"This animated film called 'Shrek the Monsters' will give our opponents an iron punch." Lin Yuan nodded.

"Really? It's just a medium-budget animation?" Director Johnston was a little incredulous.

At this point in time, no one except Lin Yuan dared to believe it:

This animated film, which cost $6000 million to produce and only $3000 million to promote, unexpectedly defeated "The Mummy Returns", which cost $1 million to produce and also had a promotion cost of $1 million.

In Lin Yuan’s memory of his previous life, this "Shrek the Monsters" grossed 2.67 million US dollars in North America, ranking third in the whole year, beating "The Mummy Returns" which ranked sixth.

Moreover, the value of this third place is extremely high, because the first two are so perverted that they can be called invincible masterpieces.

"Believe me, it's okay. The reputation of "Shrek the Monsters" is constantly growing, and the screening rate is also increasing." Lin Yuan nodded.

"But even if, as you said, the screening schedule of 'Shrek the Monsters' keeps rising, it won't be enough to squeeze out the screening space of 'The Mummy Returns'," Director Cohen asked. "It can still maintain at least 30% of the screening space, so we are still in danger."

"Don't worry, our second monster ally will be arriving soon." Lin Yuan said with a smile.

"Another monster movie?"

"No, it's a monster. It's one of only two monsters in the next ten years."

(End of this chapter)