Hunting in Hollywood

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Gaomen Pictures' "The Piano Affair" began its limited release on December 6th across major North American cities like Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago with a rollout of 21 screens.

This film, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in September, received unanimous praise from the media upon its release, boasting an impressive average score of 9.2, making it the highest-rated film of the year-end season, second only to "Toy Story."

Renowned American film critic Roger Ebert lavishly praised the film, calling it "one of the most extraordinary and unforgettable movies I have ever seen."

During its first week of limited release, "The Piano Affair" grossed $1.55 million over seven days, averaging $73,000 per screen.

Contemporaneously, another award contender, "Grand Canyon," produced by Fox Films and directed by renowned Hollywood screenwriter and director Lawrence Kasdan, was released. It addresses racial conflicts triggered by a Black man entering a White neighborhood.

"Grand Canyon" had an even smaller release, with just two screens, solely to qualify for award season. It earned $190,000 in its first week from these two screens.

However, as an award contender, "Grand Canyon" received lukewarm reviews, with a composite score of just 7.6, significantly lower than "The Piano Affair's" 9.2, making its award season prospects dim.

Friday, December 13th.

Technically, this week still falls between the two major holiday seasons, but in terms of the scale of film releases, the Christmas season might as well have already started.

This week, Steven Spielberg's "Hook" was released, along with Paramount Pictures' "JFK."

Columbia Pictures had high expectations for "Hook," which had a final production budget of $70 million and opened on 2,197 screens.

However, upon release, "Hook" was met with critical disdain, with its media score plummeting to 2.8.

Variety criticized "Hook" as "chaotic and indulgent," while Newsweek harshly compared watching it to "watching an 80,000-pound dwarf dance."

In its opening weekend, "Hook" grossed only $13.52 million, far below Columbia Pictures' expectations.

In the original timeline, "Hook" eventually surpassed $100 million in North America and recouped its costs with over $200 million worldwide and subsequent revenue. However, this time, the poorly received "blockbuster" is unlikely to have such luck.

The highly anticipated DC Extended Universe film "The Flash" is set to be released the following week.

In the original timeline, Warner Bros. should have released "JFK" simultaneously with "Hook." However, Warner Bros. shifted its focus to "The Flash" for the holiday season and abandoned the "JFK" project.

Compared to "Hook," "JFK" fared much better, receiving an impressive media score of 8.3 upon release.

However, in terms of box office, "JFK" opened on 1,164 screens and grossed $5.22 million in its opening weekend, which was somewhat disappointing.

Given Oliver Stone's previous successes and Kevin Costner's involvement, "JFK" had a hefty production budget of $40 million. Though not as high as "Hook's" budget, $40 million was still significant for the time.

With a $5.22 million opening weekend against a $40 million budget and approximately $20 million in marketing costs, Paramount might be looking at some layoffs if the film doesn't perform well over time.

In the original timeline, "JFK" was quite successful at the box office and was a major winner at the 1992 Oscars.

However, this time, nothing is certain.

Again, it's because of "The Flash" releasing on December 20th.

With such a highly anticipated heavyweight blockbuster on the horizon, other films released around the same time face an uphill battle.

The previous two DC Extended Universe films have set the bar exceptionally high.

Moreover, internal reports from Warner Bros. suggest that "The Flash" is visually stunning.

After two months of intensive carpet-bombing marketing, "The Flash" is having its Los Angeles premiere on December 18th.

Confident in the film, Warner Bros. has organized the premiere on the same grand scale as the summer release of "Batman: The Dark Knight," choosing the 2,000-seat Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles for the event.

Dume Cape Manor.

Around five o'clock in the afternoon, Janet finally finished getting ready and came downstairs in a gown, accompanied by the two A.B. girls.

Simon, waiting in the living room, turned to see her wearing a silk burgundy dress she adored, black heels, and her golden hair cascading down, with her fair, nourished skin looking even more radiant during her pregnancy, tempting one to take a bite.

Gliding over to Simon, Janet bent down beside the sofa with a smile and asked, "Little boy, do you want to take a bite?"

The tone was just like old times.

Simon smiled, kissed her as she leaned in, and said, "Let's go."

"Yes, but I need to say goodbye to Muriel first."

Janet walked over to the crib by the living room's floor-to-ceiling windows, where Deborah was watching a little one sleeping soundly.

Compared to the unavoidable newborn awkwardness, two weeks had made the baby look tender and adorable, with features resembling both Simon and Janet.

After a brief moment by the crib and some instructions to A.B.D., Simon and Janet headed to the city.

The evening traffic in Los Angeles was a bit congested, and it wasn't until 5:40 PM that Simon and Janet arrived outside the Shrine Auditorium.

The premiere began at six, with an hour of red carpet time beforehand. Although not as grand as the Oscars, the scene was just as lively.

As soon as they got out of the car at the red carpet entrance, cheers erupted from the crowd.

Not intending to steal the spotlight from the evening's main event, Simon smiled and nodded slightly to the media and fans, then escorted Janet straight into the auditorium.

After taking photos in front of the backdrop, Warner Bros. CEO Terry Semel came to greet them.

Exchanging pleasantries, they entered the auditorium's backstage, where many stars were gathered.

Clint Eastwood, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Don Johnson, Melanie Griffith, and other celebrities had come to show their support.

Naturally, the main cast of the "Batman" series, including Adam Baldwin, Valeria Golino, Tommy Lee Jones, and Anthony Hopkins, were present, as well as Famke Janssen, Linda Hamilton, and Joanna Cassidy from "Wonder Woman."

In contrast, "The Flash" director George Cosmatos and leads Jason Gedrick and Robin Wright seemed less prominent among the stars.

However, given the popularity of Adam Baldwin and Valeria Golino from the "Batman" series, the low profile of "The Flash" cast would soon change.

After some brief socializing, everyone began to take their seats in the auditorium as six o'clock approached.

Once everyone was settled, the host gave a brief speech, and the screening began.

The first "The Flash" film primarily tells the origin story of the superhero.

Simon disliked the cliché of starting from childhood, so in "Batman Begins," the story started with Bruce Wayne already becoming the superhero, which proved very successful.

The upcoming "Wonder Woman" also avoids delving into Diana Prince's childhood.

However, "The Flash" had to stick to a more conventional approach.

Like Bruce Wayne's parents being killed in an alley, Barry Allen witnessing his mother's murder in childhood is an unavoidable topic.

Despite his aversion to childhood storytelling, Simon made Barry Allen's childhood trauma a prologue.

The main story begins with Barry Allen as an adult.

The plot largely follows the comic's basic setup, with adult Barry Allen working as a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department.

Of course, some changes were necessary for the film adaptation.

The origin story revolves around Barry Allen collaborating with Professor Albert Swan on a project, during which an accident in the lab grants Barry super speed.

However, Swan ends up paralyzed from the accident.

Barry confides in Swan about his newfound abilities, seeking answers while also dealing with the superpowered "Weather Wizard," who gained abilities from the same accident.

As the plot progresses, Allen defeats and captures the Weather Wizard, only to discover he has fallen into another plot.

It turns out the paralyzed Swan also gained super speed from the accident but developed antisocial tendencies due to the blame and scrutiny following the incident.

In summary, the origin story has three main threads.

The first is Barry Allen's background and childhood, including his mother's murder and his father's imprisonment, forming much of the film's everyday narrative.

The second is Barry Allen's transformation into the superhero Flash, highlighted by his battle with the Weather Wizard.

The third is Barry's confrontation with his arch-nemesis, "Reverse-Flash" Professor Swan.

The first and third threads are closely linked, as Swan was the one who killed Barry's mother. The Reverse-Flash accidentally traveled back in time during a fight with Allen, causing Barry's childhood tragedy.

For the audience in the Shrine Auditorium, the interwoven storylines were clear and engaging.

However, most attention was drawn to the film's special effects.

Compared to the crude "reverse time" effect of Superman flying around the Earth in the 1978 "Superman" series, "The Flash" perfectly showcased Barry Allen's high-speed movements and even featured slow-motion scenes akin to Quicksilver in the "X-Men" series.

Though not up to the standard of twenty years later, the effects were stunning for the time, rivaling the visual impact of the previous "Batman" films.

As the final battle ended and the credits rolled, the 2,000 audience

 members realized the two-hour screening had flown by.

Simon believed that a key measure of a film's success was whether the audience felt the passage of time during the movie.

If a film kept the audience engrossed from start to finish, making them forget their snacks, it was unlikely to fail.

Conversely, if a film constantly pulled the audience out of the story, making them think of other things or wanting to leave, its box office prospects were bleak.

This "The Flash" might not reach the heights of the two "Batman" films, but its smooth narrative flow was on par, if not better. Coupled with the Flash IP's popularity and the film's impressive high-speed effects, failure seemed impossible.

The only question was how high the box office would go.

At the end of the credits, the traditional post-credit scene appeared.

This time, the cameo was by Valeria Golino as Catwoman.

The iconic anti-heroine appeared battered, with her suit torn from battle.

In Barry Allen's astonished gaze, Catwoman got straight to the point: "Hey, Rookie, I know you're special, so now some people need your help."

With those words, the screen went dark.

For comic fans, this brief interaction was enough to excite.

Though the Flash and Catwoman have crossed paths in the comics, seeing Valeria Golino's Catwoman, DC's leading lady, interact with Barry Allen on the big screen hinted at exciting future developments.

Core comic fans were already analyzing the hints in the short scene.

Why did Catwoman come to Central City?

What battles had she fought?

How would Barry Allen respond to her appearance?

Even those unfamiliar with the original comics, having seen the previous "Batman" films, were eagerly anticipating more DC superhero team-ups.

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