Chapter 338: Finalizing Captain America_3
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Olympic champion, boxing superstar, swimming legend, dubbed 'Superman' by the media.
He is the synonym for strength.
Having him play Captain America, is a dream combination that brings a strong sense of anticipation to movie fans.
During the movie's promotion, there will also be plenty of topics worth hyping up.
Third, Stan Lee, the comic author of "Captain America," thought Link was a good fit.
Because of these strengths and weaknesses, the production team was endlessly debating internally and were set to continue, but suddenly a message came from Link's side—he was out.
Hearing that Link had given up, the production team suddenly came to a consensus, feeling that it might not be bad to have him play Captain America.
Although Chris Evans is a good actor with experience playing comic characters, his box office appeal was not as strong as Link's, and even Chris himself wasn't particularly keen on taking on the role.
As for Will Smith and the other few actors, they had too many inherent issues, making them even less suitable than Link and Evans.
After considering all these factors, director Johnston and producer Stephen finally decided to meet with Link.
"Link, you're a singer, and when audiences see you in a role, your identity can be distracting, which is the biggest issue," director Johnston replied to Link's earlier concerns.
"I'm a top singer, which I believe is a plus. Also, my acting isn't bad. You can ask some of the directors I've worked with; I never let people down. I have that confidence," Link said.
Director Johnston and producer Stephen looked at each other and suddenly stood up, extending their hands, "Link, welcome to the 'Captain America' cast."
"?"
Now it was Link's turn to be confused. He had prepared for this role for half a month and went through two rounds of auditions, but the production side had never shown any intention of giving him the part.
But now, just after some self-praise on his side, without any changes, the production team decided to give him the role.
The change was very sudden.
He smiled lightly and extended his hand:
"Pleasure doing business!"
——
After settling the role, both parties discussed the film's shooting schedule, physical training, costume design, firearms training, and other matters.
The preliminary preparations for the movie were almost complete, with shooting likely to take place from October to the following February, in locations such as Los Angeles, New York, Britain, and Link would need to make some time.
The Captain America character, after transforming into a Super Soldier, would have well-developed muscles.
With his current physique, he still needed to put on some muscle mass.
Link indicated no problem with this, as his match against De La Hoya was a cross-weight challenge, and being heavier in the match was not an issue.
Regarding the film's remuneration, these matters would be negotiated between Ms. Mandy and Marvel Company, and neither he nor director Johnston needed to worry about them.
After the discussion was settled, Marvel Entertainment also made a public announcement that Link would play Captain America, and Link retweeted this news on Twitter.
The news caused a huge stir in the entertainment industry and sparked many controversies.
Link's fans were very happy. Link was already handsome and strong; playing a character like Captain America would definitely make his image even more dashing and explosive.
Moreover, Link was already the top stream in the boxing world and music industry. If this movie was successful, he had a great chance of becoming a top actor in the film industry.
By then, he would be a superstar spanning the music, sports, and film industries—it was an exciting thought.
Link's fans, seeing him become increasingly successful, were filled with pride and flooded into the Link Fan Club website to celebrate, which promptly crashed the site.
Some supported, while others opposed.
Those opposed claimed that he was a singer, and having a singer play Captain America felt a bit off.
Others questioned his acting, doubting he could perform well as Captain America and suggesting that Will Smith should have been cast instead, arguing that choosing Link was an act of racial discrimination.
But there were more supporters than detractors.
Following the announcement, the Marvel Comics Club website launched a poll asking if people were looking forward to Link playing Captain America?
Within three days, 2.04 million people had voted in anticipation, 362,000 were not looking forward to it, and 250,000 had a neutral stance.
From this, it was clear that the majority held a positive view toward Link as Captain America, albeit not without some controversy.
And controversy can be a good thing. For instance, after Marvel announced the selection, Link and "Captain America" remained highly popular, trending on Yahoo, Twitter, MySpace, and other websites for three consecutive days.
"Damn, this guy is trending again,"
50 Cent muttered as he looked at the news on his phone, his expression one of exasperation.
Before the buzz around Link's announcement of leaving the music scene, which lasted four days in the news, had settled, another surge of attention followed suit, almost as if he had a monopoly on the trending charts.
Link's situation was something they could envy but could never achieve themselves.
"Man, if only I could have this many trends when I released an album, I would have sold more than 1.1 million copies by now,"
Usher lamented, holding a glass of whiskey.
50 Cent glanced at him and found he was becoming more and more like Kanye, constantly exuding negative energy to everyone around him. When he and Kanye sat together, they could dampen the entire booth's atmosphere.
"Arthur, you're with SB Entertainment, which means you're under Link. Link is a master of trending. If you want to trend, you could totally ask for his help. I don't think he'd refuse,"
50 Cent said mockingly.
Arthur was sipping his drink and paused when he heard this. Suddenly, it made some sense to him. He had a partnership with SB Agency and Link Music was a major shareholder of SB. His success would benefit Link too.
Maybe he really should seek help from Link or Scooter Braun for some publicity.
As for the risk of being ostracized by the East Coast rap community, he didn't care. As a singer, selling records was the only way to stand firm in the music industry; nothing else mattered.
Arthur nodded, drained his glass, and got up to leave.
50 Cent watched his retreating figure, stunned. Was the guy actually going to ask Link for help to trend?
This is bad, the East Coast rap scene is going to fall apart.
—
"Miranda, how much did 'The Woman I Love' sell this week?"
In the president's office of Link Music, Ivanka turned to look at her assistant and asked.
"84,000 copies, third on the album chart, up two spots from last week, with cumulative sales reaching 4.224 million in the United States,"
Miranda reported, glancing at her tablet.
"Not bad. Have the marketing department continue their efforts, and aim to get this album to sell 5 million copies in the United States,"
Ivanka said indifferently.
"Understood!"
Miranda replied with a slight smile, then left with her tablet.
Ivanka stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at the bustling Manhattan streets below, her lips curving into a pleasing smile.