Chapter 360: Chapter 359: Giving Gilbert a Bad Rating
"Oh my God, there are really so many people!" Brian Miller exclaimed.
He was an investigator from a Disney-affiliated research agency. Though it was already past midnight, his work had just begun.
The early screenings had reached a terrifying attendance rate of 97%, and while the midnight showings saw a slight decline, the rate was still over 90%.
There was no doubt just from the early and midnight screenings alone, The Return of the King was set to achieve a staggering result.
When the midnight showings were nearing their end, Brian Miller and several colleagues headed out to interview moviegoers and gather first-hand data.
He first interviewed a couple in their thirties. They still seemed immersed in the movie, with red-rimmed eyes.
"So emotional, I'm just so emotional," the husband apparently still hadn't regained full control of his emotions.
"It's okay, take your time," Brian Miller reassured, jotting down the moviegoers' reactions in his notebook.
It took a while before the husband collected himself and then said, "I didn't expect it. I never imagined this. Both Leia and I are fans of The Lord of the Rings books. We always thought no one could ever bring such a magnificent epic to the big screen.
But Gilbert did it. He did it perfectly."
"Yes," the wife added excitedly, "At the end of The Return of the King, we were caught completely off guard it was so touching.
Since 2000, this film series has been with us for three years. We wish the story of The Lord of the Rings would never end."
An endless story is impossible, of course, but it did prove how deeply The Lord of the Rings had rooted itself in people's hearts.
Brian Miller then asked, "On a scale of ten, how many points would you give?"
"Ten. Definitely ten…" the couple answered in unison.
But right after the couple gave a perfect ten, a nearby moviegoer being interviewed by another reporter suddenly burst out in frustration: "I give the movie a ten, but I give Gilbert a zero."
The voice was loud, drawing the attention of most people in the theater lobby.
The angry moviegoer clenched his fists and declared, "I give Gilbert a zero. The Return of the King was fantastic.
But he ended the story of The Lord of the Rings. That's absolutely unforgivable. I'm giving him a zero."
"Yeah,Gilbert is so bad how could he end The Lord of the Rings?"
"Exactly, why didn't he keep making more?"
"I want to see The Lord of the Rings Parts Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight…"
The crowd, still shaken from the emotional ending, suddenly snapped back and all started chiming in: the movie deserves a ten, but the director deserves a zero.
"Uh…" Brian Miller was stunned. He had never seen a situation where fans gave a film a perfect score but rated the director zero.
And the reason? It was so odd simply because The Lord of the Rings had no sequel.
This was probably a rare phenomenon in film history. No other fanbase ever demanded sequels after a final chapter. The Lord of the Rings was the exception.
Generally speaking, sequels of blockbuster films fizzle out after the third installment. Rarely does a series get better with each new entry.
That's why most franchises end after three films. Studios know pushing beyond that isn't worthwhile fans lose interest.
Of course, this isn't absolute. There are cases of movies going to four, five, or more entries. But most series follow the three-film rule.
A new day began. There were still a few hours until sunrise. The sky remained dark, with no moon or stars in sight.
At Disney's Burbank headquarters, one office still had its lights on. Over a dozen staff members, some visibly drowsy, remained on duty.
They were waiting for the front-line investigators' data reports to compile everything and report to higher-ups.
Ruth supported her head with one hand, nodding off like a little chick pecking rice, as if she might fall asleep at any moment.
But soon, the fax machine on her desk buzzed. Ruth immediately perked up and called out to her colleagues, "Fax coming in! Everyone wake up! Let's work hard and get the report done!"
The others quickly shook off their sleepiness, grabbed coffee or splashed water on their faces, and began working.
As the work went on, everyone became more alert. The reason was simple: The Return of the King had excellent attendance and high praise.
Meanwhile, with the theater chains upgrading their electronic ticketing systems, the box office numbers for both the early and midnight screenings were available.
Ruth also noticed a few interview notes from the investigators. One moviegoer actually gave director Gilbert a bad rating because the Lord of the Rings series ended.
That was pretty bizarre, but it did show how much fans loved the movie.
Ruth compiled the data and hurried to deliver it to her superior.
After receiving the report, her superior broke into a smile. "Well done, Ruth. Finish your shift handover, then you guys can rest. The film performed excellently, so your bonuses will be quite generous."
A smile appeared on Ruth's tired face. "Thank you, Mr. Paul…"
If the film had done well but all project members only received basic salaries, Ruth wouldn't have been this happy.
It was the bonus that fired up her and her teammates' motivation.
After Ruth left, Paul headed straight to the president's office. At that moment, Robert Iger was resting in the lounge of his office.
When the secretary woke him, Robert Iger took the report and instantly perked up. "Midnight screening attendance was 91%? Not bad.
Even better is the box office $5.63 million for early screenings and $14.65 million for midnight screenings.
If I'm not mistaken, this sets a new record for midnight box office.Gilbert has broken the record again."
"Yes," Paul said with a smile, showing no signs of tiredness. He continued his report, "Even more important is the audience feedback over 97% rated it A+ and among the 52,530 viewers surveyed, fewer than 50 gave it a rating below C. The strangest thing is this data..."
"What data?" Robert Iger curiously took the report, and immediately burst out laughing: "No way! These fans are hilarious—they actually gave Gilbert a bad review."
"This shows that Gilbert's The Lord of the Rings film series is indeed beloved by fans."
After Paul said this, he went on to suggest: "Bob, I think The Silmarillion and The Hobbit can both be turned into movies."
Robert Iger pondered: "From what I gather, Gilbert sees The Silmarillion more as an encyclopedic work not really suitable for film.
As for The Hobbit, he might be looking for someone else to take over."
"Who else could possibly be more suitable to helm the Lord of the Rings story than Gilbert himself?" Paul grew anxious.
A Lord of the Rings movie without Little Gilbert is like the 3D zone losing Tifa, or the West losing Jerusalem.
"Paul, you have to understand, all we can do is give Gilbert some suggestions we can't interfere with his production," Robert Iger said sincerely.
At Gilbert's current status, even Warner executives who are known for meddling in productions wouldn't dare interfere with his crew.
Robert Iger had complete confidence in Gilbert too, because he'd never missed. Even the relatively underwhelming Real Steel had made Disney a fortune through merchandise sales.
To this day, Final Destination, produced by Touchstone Pictures under Disney, remained one of the studio's flagships they were already on the fifth film.
This topic needed no more discussion. Robert Iger immediately made a call to Melon Manor. Gilbert was already resting, and it was Jennifer Connelly who answered.
"Alright, got it. I'll tell him when he wakes up." Jennifer Connelly hung up the phone, happily sharing the data with Cameron Diaz, who was keeping her company.
"That's awesome," Cameron Diaz clenched her fist, saying, "He's always so successful, isn't he?"
"Yeah," Jennifer Connelly looked upstairs. "He must be sleeping soundly right now."
"Let's go to sleep too. That scoundrel—he didn't even bring me to bed!" Cameron Diaz pouted.
"Mhm!" Jennifer Connelly received the faxed report, put it away properly, and then followed Cameron Diaz upstairs.
The lights in the living room went out, but a new day had only just begun…
When he got up in the morning,Gilbert felt refreshed. All his fatigue and pressure had been completely released.
He pinched to the left, and groped to the right—his hands touched two bodies.
"Hm?" Gilbert felt puzzled. He remembered falling asleep alone last night, so how did two extra people end up beside him by morning?
Lifting the blanket, he saw Jennifer Connelly and Cameron Diaz.Gilbert gave a wicked smile and began to playfully act up.
"You're so annoying," Cameron Diaz didn't even open her eyes and slapped away Gilbert's mischievous hands. "I stayed up all night by the phone for you, and now you're bullying me."
Gilbert moved to tease Jennifer Connelly next, but Jennifer didn't resist instead, she pulled Gilbert into her arms, letting him feel her magnificence.
"Just a little longer… just a little longer…"
Gilbert didn't disturb the two women who had stayed up all night for him. He got up first to wash up, and then had breakfast served by Kyoko.
"Sir, here's the data report." Kyoko handed over the faxed data report. Gilbert glanced at it once, then set it aside.
Seeing this, Kyoko asked curiously, "Sir, aren't you interested in Return of the King's data?"
"Of course I am…" Gilbert pointed at the newspaper, which had the headline: Return of the King Breaks Midnight Screening Record with $14.65 Million Box Office.
"Reading the paper is enough. I already have a pretty accurate idea of the situation."
Kyoko smiled gently: "Sir, you're so wise."
At this point, "wise" still just meant wise, with no other implications.
"By the way," Gilbert asked Kyoko, "When are Noriko and the others coming over?"
"Miss Noriko said they'll probably come around mid-May," Kyoko replied.
"Excellent. Get ready! Our first family trip around the world is about to begin," Gilbert said.
Kyoko beamed: "Sir, does that mean you consider me part of the family?"
"Of course," Gilbert wrapped his arms around Kyoko's curvy waist. "You're my chief steward of the inner household naturally, you're family."
Kyoko was overjoyed: "I'll serve you breakfast…"
The master and servant enjoyed their time happily in the dining room. Meanwhile, in luxurious cinemas across major North American cities, excited fans had already packed the theaters to the brim.
...
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