America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 485 Exhilarating

As the premiere of "John Wick" approached, the production crew released a new trailer, which revealed a key plot point and the cause behind Jonathan's, played by Martin, killing spree—the dog!

It was because Jonathan went on a killing spree after his deceased wife's beloved dog was killed by the Russians.

To Martin, Russians naturally came with a certain heat.

Martin was red-hot, and so was the film—every news story about it garnered attention.

Under the newly released trailer on YouTube, a top comment quickly gained popularity.

"They shouldn't have killed Martin's dog!"

The topic of the dog began to simmer online, drawing in not just those who were already following Martin and the movie, but a new demographic—families with dogs.

In America, owning dogs was exceedingly common; many people saw them as members of the family,

Using the death of a dog as motivation set this apart from other action movies and intersected perfectly with internet culture.

Without needing anyone else to summarize, Jessica's online marketing team immediately came out with a fresh marketing concept.

"A massacre triggered by a dog!"

This sparked heated discussions online.

"Dogs are so adorable; how could those bastards bear to hurt them, Martin did good!"

"Don't they know better than to hit a dog without looking at its owner? They dared to kill Martin's dog? Haven't they heard of the formidable reputation of the Cola War God?"

A reply followed the comment: "Those who have truly experienced the Cola War God's mighty and imposing presence have already gone to hell to report to Satan."

Subsequently, Warner Bros. held a small-scale screening.

Media journalists, cinema managers, and a few lucky fans had the fortune of previewing the film in advance.

Pablo was one of the lucky fans.

He liked Martin a lot, but unlike those rabid fans, his greater passion was for Martin's movies.

They were guaranteed quality and immensely satisfying to watch.

The incident at Santa Monica Pier piqued Pablo's interest in "John Wick."

Throughout the entire screening, Pablo was completely engrossed, never once getting distracted, not even considering whether the plot was reasonable or the theme had depth; he was so captivated by the action sequences that before he knew it, the film had ended.

The action was so spectacular that it completely overshadowed the drama.

A middle-aged man sitting beside him suddenly whispered, "Hollywood seems to have never had a movie with action scenes as smooth as silk like Martin's."

Pablo first agreed, "Right! Right! The action scenes are incredible, most of them are long takes, and Martin's execution is top-notch!"

Then, recalling the man mentioned Vaseline, he quickly shifted his bottom to the other side, worried it might truly be as smooth as silk.

The middle-aged man continued, "Other action movies have to chop up the scenes to make up for the actors' lack of coherent action, using quick cuts to create action scenes. Michael Bay's films are a prime example..."

Despite his concerns, Pablo still engaged when the conversation turned to the film: "Because Martin is skilled enough to handle long takes without any trouble."

The middle-aged man suddenly pulled out a business card, handed it to Pablo, and said, "I'm a journalist for 'Movie World' magazine. May I quote what you just said in my report?" Explore more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Realizing the man was a professional, Pablo nodded slightly, "Of course."

He had heard that many movie critics looked down on commercial action films, worried this person might give a negative review, he quickly added, "I'm just an ordinary moviegoer, and from my perspective, this film is both cool and thrilling, a definite classic among action movies!"

The middle-aged man smirked in a sleazy grin, "I think so too."

When the screening ended, Pablo intentionally paid attention, walking out all the while with his ears perked up.

Around him were people just like him, ordinary moviegoers.

"Martin's action scenes deserve a perfect score!"

"Martin is freaking cool, with all kinds of realistic close combat and crazy headshots—this is what action movies are about!"

"So classy, Martin is just cool to the max!"

Pablo left the screening theater, drove home, and immediately turned on his computer to log into the IMDB website. Under the "John Wick" section, there were still no official reviews.

He quickly typed up the review he had thought of on the way and sent it out.

"Just watched the screening of 'John Wick,' and it's truly a bloodbath triggered by a dog, as its name suggests. I must say, unlike what those with sordid minds have falsely made up, not all the highlights are in the trailer; instead, it's ten times more amazing!

Martin's action scenes are simply too good, as crisp and clean as splattering a Russian spy's brains with a bottled Coke on Santa Monica Pier!"

"Guys, this film is absolutely thrilling! In the long-take action scenes, Martin's execution of the stunts is incredibly high-quality, something I haven't seen in Hollywood in recent years!

Most importantly, there are no villains dying from talking too much, no scenes where the hero is caught but not killed by the villain, only to turn the tables - whenever Martin makes a move, it's clean and decisive, with no loose ends left!""

Pablo was just an avid film fan, not a professional critic; his ability to articulate was limited, so this was all he could express.

His comment quickly got hundreds of likes and rose to the top of the comment section!

The film's pre-release reviews were excellent, with cinema managers giving it unanimous praise for being highly engaging and commercially strong.

Philip, the marketing director of Happy Guest, made a point of seeking out Daniel from Warner Bros., who was responsible for the promotion of "John Wick."

"I'll admit, due to the original nature of the film and its R-rated rating, even with the film's high popularity, I still underestimated it," Philip wouldn't miss this opportunity to draw in crowds. Releasing such a film in the slow month of March could significantly boost performance.

After contemplating briefly, he said, "Give me 300 more copies, they must arrive a week before release!"

Daniel readily agreed, "No problem." But he also had a condition, "As you've seen the film, the quality of Martin's movies is always high, and there's no need to worry about their commercial prospects, but I request that all Happy Guest cinemas not reduce the number of "John Wick" screenings for four weeks!"

Philip, with decades of experience and a keen market sense, didn't hesitate and immediately said, "Done, Happy Guest won't reduce screenings for four weeks!"

Daniel smiled and said, "I'll have someone draft the agreement."

Such matters, of course, needed to be put down in black and white.

No sooner had Philip left, when Gray, a representative from Emperor Cinemas, approached Daniel.

He said to Daniel, "You've got another masterpiece this time, Martin's films are indeed a guarantee of quality."

The two had been old friends, and Daniel laughed, "Since working with Martin, my job has become much easier, no need to rack my brains picking films—having Martin as the lead is a guarantee of success."

Emperor Cinemas and Happy Guest were two of North America's top three cinema chains. Although a cinema's profit mainly comes from concessions, it's the quality films that are key to attracting audiences. Gray said, "For Martin's new film, "John Wick," Emperor Cinemas guarantees a 60% screening rate."

Daniel stressed, "Four weeks."

After thinking it over, Gray nodded, "That's fine." He continued, "For Martin's next film, that is, Director Nolan's new project, how about Warner Bros. signs an exclusive exhibition agreement with Emperor Cinemas?"

This meant the film could not be shown in other cinemas. Daniel named his price outright, "A seventy-thirty split."

"That's impossible!" Gray almost shouted. He emphasized, "Don't forget that it's an original science fiction movie!"

Daniel equally emphasized, "And don't forget, it's a science fiction film starring Martin Davis and directed by Christopher Nolan!"

Such exclusive agreements were, of course, not settled easily, and the two quickly changed the topic.

But for "John Wick," Emperor Cinemas would offer ample resources in support.

AMC also quickly notified Daniel, requesting additional copies of the film.

As expected, "John Wick" was set to open in approximately 3,800 theaters across North America, surpassing "The Matrix Reloaded"'s 3,603 theaters, and was poised to set a new record for R-rated film releases.

The current North American opening record for an R-rated film was held by the latter, with $91.77 million USD.

This was a sequel, and for an original non-sequel film to break $50 million USD on its opening weekend would be considered a massive success.

In Martin's previous life, Cameron's "Avatar" opened to over $77 million USD in North America.

In Hollywood, original films were naturally considered a step below by distributors and cinema companies.

Subsequently, the cast, including Martin, commenced intensive pre-release promotional work, traveling back and forth from North America to Europe.

Roadshows, interviews, talk shows, etc., the film didn't need anything out of the ordinary for its promotion; following the regular model was sufficient.

Because Martin had virtually paid with his life to provide the best promotion.

Warner Bros. specifically combined the video of Martin at the Santa Monica Pier with parts of the film's preview and released it on the internet.

Netizens felt it was a great mix; the two elements pieced together had no sense of discord.

The topic of the "dog-related bloodshed" was also fermenting, with more and more people joining the discussion and enjoying the fun of playing with the meme.

The ABC Television Network's flagship morning show, "Good Morning America," specially invited Martin to the studio to share about the relationship between Jonathan, the male lead, and his dog Daisy.

Host Diane Sawyer asked, "In the trailers released by the production, and other promotional material, it shows you going on a killing spree because of a dog?"

"Not me, Jonathan, the male lead!" Martin corrected before saying specifically, "The dog Daisy was left to him by his wife Helen before she passed away. Jonathan deeply loved Helen, and for her, he left the assassin business. Daisy was his emotional and spiritual support, as well as the starting point for his new life."

These were not considered spoilers, and the film itself was not afraid of spoilers: "Daisy represented the normal life Jonathan had, and her death completely shattered Jonathan's peaceful existence, changing his emotional and spiritual state. Jonathan then picked up his gun and began his journey of avenging Daisy!"

Soon it was late March, and after the intensive promotional tour, the main members of the cast were assembled in New York to attend the première of "John Wick."