Chapter 724: Continuing the Glory

[Chapter 724: Continuing the Glory]

For Hollywood, the summer blockbuster season of 1995 kicked off with the release of Die Hard with a Vengeance on May 19. However, since the trailer for Jurassic Park 2 premiered during the Super Bowl at the beginning of the year, the eyes of media and fans around the world had been firmly focused on this long-awaited blockbuster.

June 2, the day Jurassic Park 2 hit theaters, marked the official start of the summer movie season in the minds of most moviegoers.

The massive success of the original Jurassic Park two years earlier wasn't just evident in its record-breaking global box office of over a billion dollars; it established the Jurassic Park brand deeply in the cultural psyche, almost forming a cultural phenomenon. While the Jurassic Park series might struggle to reach the heights of the Star Wars franchise of the 1970s in an increasingly effects-driven era, the potential commercial value of the brand remained in the tens of billions.

With such powerful influence, the premiere of Jurassic Park 2 attracted intense attention from hundreds of media outlets around the globe.

Eric flew back to Los Angeles from New York on the morning of May 31, preparing for the premiere of Jurassic Park 2 the following day.

The premiere took place at the Los Angeles Music Center at five o'clock on June 1.

For this new iteration of Jurassic Park 2, Eric hired director Joe Johnston, who had previously collaborated with Disney on multiple films. Johnston, a former visual effects artist, had produced the family comedy Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, which had been a tremendous box office success in the late 1980s.

On the original timeline, Johnston was supposed to direct Jumanji and Jurassic Park 3. Eric chose to hand Jumanji off to another director, allowing Johnston to join the Jurassic Park franchise earlier. If the second film succeeded, it could lead to him helming the third installment as well.

...

The star-studded red carpet event lasted two hours, as media Q&A sessions were scheduled after the film screening. At seven o'clock, after a brief opening speech, the film began to play in the theater.

The original Jurassic Park 2 was essentially a pet project for Spielberg. Its plot was weak and disorganized, following the first film's trope of characters making foolish decisions. In fact, later on, Spielberg himself admitted it was his worst film. Despite its global box office grossing over $600 million in the original timeline, the series' reputation took a major hit, leading the third film to only earn a mere $300 million worldwide.

The new Jurassic Park 2 kept the general concept of the original but, to avoid repeating its mistakes and maintain the franchise's good reputation, Eric completely reworked its framework.

In the new script, Eric minimized the subplot of exploring Dinosaur Island, eliminating several subplots and scrapping the mindless "do-nothing" character tropes. Instead, the story focused on the company behind the disaster, which bribed the park's computer administrator for dinosaur embryos in the first film. This company aimed to construct a new Jurassic Park to rake in massive profits by kidnapping various dinosaurs from Dinosaur Island. After a grueling effort, they successfully captured a Tyrannosaurus Rex. However, during transportation, the T-Rex managed to escape, leading to catastrophic results as it invaded the city.

In the film, the hunt for the now rampaging T-Rex in the metropolis not only stunned audiences worldwide but also elicited gasps from the thousands of viewers in the cinema. There was no doubt this setup was highly successful; the resurrection of dinosaurs in modern society already provided an immense thrill, and the T-Rex's urban invasion was undoubtedly far more relatable than an isolated Dinosaur Island.

The tightly woven storyline made everyone forget the passage of time; the two-hour viewing experience flew by. As the T-Rex, responsible for a series of devastating consequences, was finally subdued, the credits rolled, accompanied by thunderous applause in the concert hall.

...

As the audience and guests began to disperse after the premiere, at the subsequent press conference, the invited journalists didn't discuss the film's quality or box office forecasts. Instead, they unanimously reserved the first question for a topic they had been eager to discuss for over a year.

"Mr. Williams, I'm a reporter for the Seattle Times. First, I want to say this is an outstanding sequel, but we still don't understand why you chose not to direct the Jurassic Park series?" A lucky female journalist who got the opportunity to ask focused intently on Eric, unable to contain her curiosity.

Eric took the microphone handed to him, a subtle smile on his face as he said, "I know everyone has been curious about this for a long time, but my answer isn't vastly different from the previous announcements from Firefly Group, and I have no intention of brushing anyone off. On one hand, I'm not a fan of doing the same job repeatedly. More importantly, I'm very busy now and find it challenging to carve out a few months to go overseas to shoot a film."

"Mr. Williams, does that mean you won't be directing films yourself anymore?" Seizing the moment before anyone could take the microphone away, the female reporter quickly followed up.

Eric thought for a moment and replied, "Honestly, the first Jurassic Park marked the pinnacle of my career two years ago. It's incredibly difficult for someone to remain passionate about something once they've achieved the utmost zenith in it. Will I continue to film another movie? The answer is certainly yes; I'm still young with plenty of time. However, when my next film starts is something I don't quite know myself."

The microphone passed to another journalist who asked, "Mr. Williams, I'm from The New York Times. Under what circumstances would you consider making your next film?"

"There are many factors. For instance, a project that I feel could challenge me or a script that captures my strong interest. Of course, there's another situation; a friend once joked that I'm like a chef running a restaurant and could easily step in to execute if the head chef is absent. That's true; if Firefly Group needs me for a project, I could jump right in."

"You mean you can direct any type of film project under the Firefly banner?"

Faced with this subtly loaded question, Eric shook his head slightly and chuckled, "Oh, I'm not entirely sure about that, but you could look back at the various types of films I've produced over the years."

Laughter arose from the audience. After a moment, another questioner said, "Mr. Williams, I'm from The Hollywood Reporter. Your films have achieved a level of commercial success that others can hardly match. When do you plan to aim for the Oscar for Best Director?"

Eric contemplated countering with, "If you had already become the President, would you still care about a Scouts medal?"

However, such a response would surely be interpreted by the press as Eric Williams openly dismissing the Oscars, though he genuinely held that sentiment; he would never express it publicly.

After a brief pause for effect, Eric spoke into the microphone, "Alright, that's the last question about me personally. I won't be answering any more questions not related to Jurassic Park. Regarding your inquiry, I believe it's bound to be a very long story."

The room fell silent for a moment. Then, everyone realized Eric's subtle jab at the Academy and burst into laughter.

As everyone knew, Eric was only twenty-five years old. In over half a century of Oscar history, no director had won the golden statuette before turning thirty. So, if Eric hinted at pursuing the Best Director award, he and the Academy would undoubtedly engage in a drawn-out chase for years to come. It's easy to imagine the Academy becoming even more stringent with Eric's potential Oscar bid, eager to maintain their authority and demonstrate that they would not yield merely due to the accolades surrounding Eric.

One could speculate Eric might even oust Leo from being the perennial punchline at the Oscars.

Leo had already followed the trajectory of history and boarded that ill-fated ship, so it was best to leave the laugh-making to him.

...

After the premiere, Jurassic Park officially opened in theaters across North America, once again breaking records with the number of screens reaching 3,500.

Taking over the sequel to a film that once set box office records was undoubtedly pressuring for Johnston. He wasn't going to treat this sequel with the nonchalant attitude of his predecessor. He invested a tremendous amount of effort into this installment. While he ultimately went slightly over budget, it all proved worth it.

"With a tighter plot and more refined special effects, audiences unknowingly enjoyed two thrilling hours in theaters. Undoubtedly, Johnston delivered a satisfactory answer for this sequel." - Los Angeles Times

"The T-Rex rampaging through the city was absolutely brilliant; even while watching the crowd being chased by the T-Rex on screen, I couldn't help but feel my heart race, experiencing a sense of panic as if I needed to flee." - Hollywood Daily News

"I initially thought this would be a standard sequel, yet the film surprised me with its breakthroughs in plot and special effects while continuing the style of the first. The city-invasion plot compelled me to think more about whether we should treat nature with greater respect and inflict less damage." - New York Times

Unlike the overwhelmingly negative reviews received by the sequel in the original timeline, this new version garnered generally positive feedback. With good word-of-mouth and 3,500 screens, the film earned $31.7 million on its first day, effortlessly breaking all single-day box office records.

The following day had earnings of $33.5 million, with Sunday bringing in $29.8 million.

Ultimately, with the premiere's midnight showing grossing $5.6 million, everyone was astounded to discover Jurassic Park 2 grossed an astounding $106 million, setting a new box office record for a first weekend.

Meanwhile, thanks to the powerful distribution channels of Firefly Group, Jurassic Park 2 opened simultaneously in 22 countries and regions overseas, grossing $60 million over its first weekend.

Three days' global box office totaled $160 million, easily surpassing the entire production and distribution costs that Firefly had sunk into this sequel.

Many people could hardly fathom the heights this film would achieve.

For Eric, seeing this box office report, the last remnants of his anxiety melted away. He was also completely certain that the original Jurassic Park sequel truly had been mishandled by Spielberg.

In truth, for Eric, this outcome wasn't too surprising. The massive fanbase built from the first film, coupled with the second film's impressive quality and the expanding North American and global film markets, ensured that while its box office might not match the first film's staggering heights, it wouldn't fall far behind.

Moreover, the past revival of Jurassic Park, after years of being shelved, with Jurassic World's $600 million North American and $1.6 billion global box offices further proved how strong interest in this dinosaur franchise remained.

...

In Culver City, Los Angeles, at the Columbia Pictures film studio.

A black Lincoln slowly stopped in front of an office building. Howard Stringer of Sony's American division had just exited the vehicle when Bill Mechanic, the new head of Columbia Pictures, welcomed him.

Mechanic was also a veteran of Hollywood, having worked at Paramount, Disney, and Fox. In the mid-1980s at Disney, he spearheaded the video release of classic animated films and achieved impressive sales figures. After moving to Fox and serving as vice president towards the end of the 1980s, he began to consider his next career move when Fox appointed Joe Roth as president.

Following Sony's decision to abandon the plan of having Michael Ovitz lead Columbia, they spent several months looking for a suitable replacement. Ultimately, this position fell into Mechanic's hands.

In fact, Columbia had better candidates, but after the incidents involving Peter Guber and Jon Peters, Sony grew increasingly cautious about empowering studio heads. Consequently, a number of potential Hollywood executives withdrew from the competition to lead Columbia during contract negotiations due to Sony's many restrictions.

Stringer embraced Mechanic warmly, exchanging pleasantries as they walked toward the office building.

Mechanic kept pace with Stringer and said, "Howard, I assume you've seen the box office report for Jurassic Park 2?"

"Of course," Stringer nodded. "I came over today specifically to discuss this matter. The headquarters just sent me a project, which I think has nearly as great potential as Jurassic Park 2."

*****

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