Chapter 72: A Slight Advantage

"Keanu Reeves has changed the public's prejudice against pretty boys, proving that even without muscles as developed as traditional action stars, he can still star in action films..."

"Speed is an incredibly exciting action movie. Director Gilbert, with unprecedented shooting and editing techniques, keeps the audience's hearts racing throughout.

The entire hundred-plus-minute film is full of thrilling scenes and camera work."

"Word of advice: Don't drink too much soda before watching this movie, or you'll risk bursting your bladder because of how intense it is..."

Naomi Watts read aloud the media's reviews to Gilbert, smiling happily. "Gilbert, our movie is a hit."

"Mm," Gilbert simply nodded, his face showing little excitement, maintaining his usual calm demeanor.

"Why the serious face? Didn't the movie meet your expectations?" Naomi Watts asked.

"Not exactly," Gilbert shook his head. "I just feel like achieving this result was only expected."

Naomi looked at the man she admired and silently respected him.

As a supporting actress, she had been so excited by the film's success that she couldn't sleep the whole night.

But Gilbert seemed completely unfazed, eating and sleeping as usual, not a hint of excitement or worry.

People like him were born to do great things.

In truth, Gilbert had been excited before, but he hid it well. To him, the film's success was inevitable since it had already been proven in his previous life.

If it had failed, the problem would have been with him.

So, most of the time, he was concerned with the feedback from theaters.

Fortunately, the response from the theaters was excellent, allowing Gilbert to breathe a sigh of relief.

In addition to the buzz around the movie, rumors about Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock continued to spread.

Naomi Watts, however, was overlooked. She had to search through a dozen newspapers to finally find her name.

But the petite woman wasn't discouraged. At least her name was mentioned, which meant progress. Once you take the first step, the second will follow.

After its midnight screening, *Speed* officially opened in 2,800 theaters across North America on April 30.

In terms of screening numbers, it was slightly behind *Cliffhanger* starring Sylvester Stallone, with 300 fewer theaters.

But on the first day, the two films were neck and neck.

On April 30, Friday, *Speed* grossed $9.246 million.

Including the midnight screening, the first-day box office totaled $10.371 million, marking a new single-day box office record in Gilbert's career.

*Cliffhanger*, with Stallone's star power and the advantage in showings, earned $11.214 million, narrowly claiming the top spot in the daily box office.

With these two action films dominating, other movies had little room to compete, almost completely overshadowed.

As a new day dawned, *Speed*'s strong performance led to an increase in its showings, raising its theater count to 3,000.

True to form, *Speed* didn't disappoint, taking in $15.248 million for the day and claiming the daily box office crown.

*Cliffhanger*, *Speed*'s direct competitor, earned $14.952 million, losing the top spot and coming in second.

The two films continued to battle back and forth, and on the final day of the opening weekend, *Speed* triumphed again.

On Sunday, it brought in $11.195 million, securing the first weekend box office crown of the 1993 summer season with a total of $36.814 million.

*Cliffhanger* earned $9.173 million on Sunday, placing second with a weekend total of $35.635 million.

The direct competition between *Speed* and *Cliffhanger* not only caught Hollywood's attention but also drew the interest of many moviegoers.

It was remarkable that a director like Gilbert, who had only made two films, and a pretty boy actor like Keanu Reeves, could defeat the veteran action star Stallone, causing a sensation in the North American film market.

Anyone who followed movies couldn't ignore that *Speed* was the weekend's winner, while Stallone had lost.

The *Los Angeles Times* headlined the event, praising Gilbert's achievement.

Meanwhile, *Variety* magazine published a simple cartoon: Jack, the lead character from *Speed*, KO'ing Rocky in a boxing ring.

Rocky, Stallone's most iconic character, had now been defeated by a pretty boy actor—an unbelievable turn of events.

The disbelief was as if someone had told the American public that the ancient country across the Pacific would become the world's second-largest economy in a few decades.

But Gilbert and Keanu Reeves had undeniably done it. In the fiercely competitive summer season, they teamed up to beat the combination of Renny Harlin and Stallone.

"Smash..." The sound of a wine glass shattering echoed as Stallone's well-developed muscles tensed with anger.

"Calm down, Stallone. I watched the movie, and *Speed* is actually really good," his agent advised him to stay calm.

Coming from a rough background, Stallone's temper wasn't exactly mild. His intense gaze fixed on his agent. "You went to see that jerk's film?"

The agent sighed, explaining, "I had to understand our competition in order to come up with a strategy!"

"And what strategy do you have?" Stallone's menacing eyes bore into his agent, clearly ready to throw a punch if he didn't like the answer.

At this point, Stallone's temper was notorious. Even those close to him weren't immune to his outbursts.

Knowing Stallone's personality well, the agent didn't beat around the bush. "To be honest, I didn't believe at first that a young director in his twenties could make anything noteworthy.

But after watching *Speed*, I realized its success wasn't a fluke."

"So what do we do now?" Stallone asked.

The agent sighed in frustration. "There's nothing wrong with the movie. The only option is to target the people behind it. Michael Ovitz is great at that, so we'll consult him for advice!"

At that moment, Michael Ovitz was also troubled by *Speed*'s box office success.

It was so impressive that Ovitz deeply regretted not securing Gilbert for CAA (at least, that's what he thought).

If he had been more determined and humbled himself to step in personally, Gilbert might already have been a CAA client, and *Speed* could have been one of CAA's packaged projects.

But now it was too late. Gilbert had proven with *Speed* that he didn't need CAA's packaging services.

His work succeeded even without the backing of a packaged deal, defeating *Cliffhanger* in the process.

This was a significant blow to CAA.

They had boasted about how great their packaging service was, but now several films had proven that they could succeed outside the package system.

This was a direct threat to CAA's core business.

Gilbert would never accept CAA's packaging service. Given time, Gilbert would become another James Cameron.

The truck driver had already embarrassed CAA, and now if another director like Gilbert emerged, CAA would be humiliated.

Since core interests were at stake, it was time to take action.

So, Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob began discussing how to suppress Gilbert.

But could a director who had already made a name for himself be easily suppressed?

Don't forget, Gilbert had Disney and Warner Bros. backing him. If you tried to suppress their cash cow, wouldn't they come after you?

That's right—Gilbert had become a money-printing machine for Disney and Warner Bros.

So the only way to deal with him was to ensure he failed, and kept failing, so that Disney and Warner Bros. would stop supporting him.

Ovitz came up with a strategy: young people are impulsive, easily angered, and quick to lose themselves.

If digging for dirt hadn't worked, they would try the opposite approach—flattering him until he lost himself in the praise.

In short, they planned to "kill him with Compliments..."

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