Chapter 793: Action!

[Chapter 793: Action!]

"The Matrix premiered in Los Angeles to rave reviews, generating a strong response from audiences and enthusiastic critiques from film critics."

"Renowned film critic Peter Roger told a Los Angeles Times reporter after the premiere that The Matrix was the best film he had seen in the past several years. The film's philosophical exploration of the virtual versus the real represented a complete elevation of the original novel's themes. The innovative filming techniques such as bullet time and the 360-degree camera rotation were truly eye-catching."

"The Wachowski brothers showcased astonishing directorial talent as Hollywood newcomers, while Eric Williams proved once again his exceptional vision for film production."

"..."

...

Following the overwhelmingly positive premiere, Firefly Group eased its concerns about The Matrix's box office prospects. They began small-scale limited screenings in major cities like Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco. Coupled with a final wave of intense promotional efforts, the film's reputation and visibility quickly skyrocketed.

From the May 27 premiere to the official release on May 31, The Matrix grossed $680,000 from limited screenings on 26 screens in major North American cities within just three days. Furthermore, the midnight showings on May 30, when the film opened on 3,100 screens across North America, surpassed the previous record set three years earlier by Jurassic Park, pulling in a staggering $4.65 million.

Once those figures rolled in, the media that had initially doubted The Matrix fell silent. Executives at various film companies secretly counted their blessings for not scheduling their summer blockbusters to release against The Matrix.

Even Universal, which had moved the release of The Mummy 2 following the delay of Titanic to a week after The Rock, expressed quiet anxiety that The Rock might match the quality of The Matrix. Despite The Mummy 2's solid audience base and excellent test screening feedback, the clash of two strong films could lead to mutual annihilation.

In the original timeline, Warner Bros. maintained a decidedly lukewarm attitude towards The Matrix from the start of production to its release, even slotting it in the relatively quiet Easter period. Nevertheless, the first film managed to achieve an impressive $170 million in North American box office on a modest budget of $63 million, far outpacing the $170 million Will Smith's Wild Wild West, to become Warner Bros.' top-grossing film of the year. Thanks to the phenomenal buzz from the first installment, even though the second film's quality fell significantly, it still opened to $150 million.

The new Matrix maintained the core team and main plot from the original while vastly improving in production quality, marketing strength, and timing. While it might face R-rated viewing restrictions, preventing it from reaching the box office phenomenon that was Jurassic Park, it was nearly certain to perform better than the original.

Thus, following the premiere, Eric flew off to the Bahamas with ease to begin production on Casino Royale.

...

The Bahamas, like Canada and Australia, was part of the Commonwealth of Nations, where the British queen was honored as the head of state, resulting in the absence of a president in most cases. The Bahamas also retained its age-old system of governors.

As one of the best vacation destinations near the Caribbean, the Bahamas boasted over 3,000 islands, though fewer than thirty were commercially developed.

While many elements of the original film's storyline were retained, the new Casino Royale had transformed into two entirely different tales. The new script had few scenes set on the Panama islands. However, Eric kept the plotline involving a terrorist plot to attack an airport, which was not planned for Miami but instead set for the international airport in Nassau, the Bahamian capital. Coupled with a range of other changes, the filming schedule in the Bahamas extended over a month and a half.

To facilitate the shoot, the Bahamas government allocated an island named Providence for the crew to set up their scenes. They also provided full support for filming on other islands like Nassau and Paradise Island.

Eric arrived in the Bahamas on May 28, where producer Barbara Broccoli, lead actor Pierce Brosnan, and various main and supporting roles had already gathered at the crew's base in Paradise Island.

The crew, numbering in the hundreds, incurred daily expenses of several tens of thousands of dollars without even beginning any work. After arriving, Eric wasted no time resting and quickly got to work.

After all, it has been more than two years since he directed a film. He had worked on the Victoria's Secret Annual Fashion Show, but that was unrelated to film directing. In the days leading up to the filming starting on June 2, Eric adjusted back into his director's mindset. Fortunately, after dedicating his life to directing, his ingrained understanding of the profession allowed him to rapidly reacquaint himself with the role, mitigated by the strong backing of his production team.

On June 2, the beaches of Paradise Island in the Bahamas marked the official start of Casino Royale's shooting.

Following the principle of starting with easier scenes, they filmed the moment Bond met the film's third Bond girl on the beach first.

This shot was devoid of specific dialogue and relatively straightforward to film.

According to the hierarchy of roles, the first Bond girl was naturally Cate Blanchett. To impart some professional charm to her character, Eric arranged for Cate to experience life at Firefly's British branch. The second Bond girl, character-wise Cate's sister, was played by Christina Aguilera, who also took on the dual role of a backup angel for Charlie's detective agency.

Thus, the woman currently in the Bahamas was the third Bond girl. Eric did not meddle with the casting process for this role, but it was quite a coincidence that they chose Terry Hatcher, who, based on the original timeline, was also cast as the Bond girl in the eighteenth Bond film. Eric had seen her name on the casting list for Sex and the City the previous year, making it easy to guess that Terry was likely an ICM client; otherwise, she wouldn't have appeared in two key Firefly productions back to back.

Of course, Eric had better things to focus on than this tangled web of industry politics; Hollywood was inherently a complex chess game.

...

Standing behind the familiar monitor, Eric took in the shooting tracks around him, the actors in their spots, and his crew at work. A familiar rush of excitement flowed through him.

The assistant director waved at Eric, signaling that they were ready. Finally, Eric raised the microphone and addressed everyone, "Okay, Casino Royale, Scene 1, Take A!"

In the tracking wide shot, Terry Hatcher's character, Caterina, rode a white horse along the beach, followed by a group of excited children.

As the shot slowly panned, Caterina rode away, and the camera focused on the bright faces of the children. Eric made a hand gesture, "Cut! Good. Prepare for the next scene."

...

Being Eric's first shot after regaining control of the director's chair, as soon as the word left his lips, everyone around paused their work and gently applauded.

Terry Hatcher, supported by crew members as she dismounted, leaned in closer to Eric, pretending to watch the monitor, and casually remarked, "Eric, shouldn't we shoot a few more takes just for backup?"

The point was to play it safe, especially since a simple shot had been captured from four different camera angles for over a minute, and the editing would likely require only 15 seconds of footage, so there was no need for a reshoot.

"This shot is good as it is," Eric replied, shaking his head with a smile, gazing at the bikini-clad beauty before him. "There will be plenty of chances for NG, just hope you don't lose patience then."

"Of course not! How could I possibly lose patience in front of you, Eric?" the woman said, throwing a flirtatious glance his way as she walked away.

The surrounding crew feigned ignorance of the "interaction" between the director and the actress, each absorbed in their tasks while Eric just shrugged. Just like her character in the film, Terry Hatcher was also married in real life, and Eric wasn't one to chase after such women.

...

While Pierce Brosnan was preparing for his next scene, Eric shot a few empty beach and ocean shots with his longtime cinematographer partner, Nicole Frank. They then moved on to the next scene, where James Bond surfaces and first sees Caterina.

To be honest, Daniel Craig's body in the original film could only be described as "muscular," lacking any appealing aesthetic. Pierce Brosnan, however, was entirely different; he was a living mannequin in a suit, and stripped down, his physique that he shaped specifically for Bond -- featuring eight-pack abs, pronounced V-line, and long legs -- was enough to warrant gasps of excitement from a gathering of housewives and young girls.

In the shot, James Bond emerged from the water, slowly making his way toward the shore. Caterina dismounted, and as their eyes met, Pierce Brosnan broke into an appreciative grin while Caterina turned slightly shy, casting a few glances at Bond before leading her horse away.

This was the second official shot. Eric did not want to call cut, but watching Pierce Brosnan's performance in the monitor made him raise the microphone, "Cut! No Good. Pierce, Terry, could you come over, please?"

The two quickly approached, with Pierce wiping off water with a large towel that a woman from the crew had just handed him.

Holding the script, Eric gestured as he explained, "So, Pierce, your eyes were a bit too purposeful just now, as if you were searching for something. That's not right. I need your gaze to be more casual. And Terry, you shouldn't just be curious; there should also be a sense of attraction. Uh..." Eric said, nodding toward Pierce Brosnan, his expression serious, "Isn't such a charming male figure worthy of your admiration?"

Pierce Brosnan looked slightly awkward, while Terry Hatcher nodded slightly, "Okay, Eric. I think I understand how to approach that."

"Alright then, let's do it again," Eric signaled for them to reset.

...

In the original, James Bond did intend to seek out leads left by the bomber. However, in this version, their encounter was purely coincidental.

Caterina's husband, Alex, was a middleman involved in grey-area dealings with the Spectre. Bond, sent by M to the Bahamas for rest and relaxation, happened to meet Alex's wife, Caterina, on the beach. They would unexpectedly meet again at the casino on Paradise Island. Noticing Alex's cold and rough demeanor towards Caterina, Bond, who had a soft spot for the ladies, decided to punish him by winning Alex's Aston Martin at the card table, and this car would become a pivotal item that ensnared Bond in the Spectre's web.

One clear characteristic of this installment of Bond was Eric's intention from the script stage for 007 to enter a phase where real storytelling unfolded.

Past installments of Bond largely relied on flashy stunts and spectacle. They shot in various locations worldwide, with massive explosions and chaos. Though big-budget films often suffered from weak stories, the Bond franchise rarely took the time to properly weave a narrative. Prior to the 1990s, due to the subpar filming technology, these gimmicks could attract large audiences, but as cinematic special effects advanced, audiences would grow accustomed to thrilling visuals like apocalyptic scenarios or alien invasions. Continuing to follow its original formula would inevitably lead the Bond series to decline.

In the original timeline, Pierce Brosnan's portrayal of James Bond garnered much praise, but because of the poorly constructed stories in several films he appeared in, the continuity of the plot was riddled with holes. Even within a single film, there were unrelated plot threads, leading to a mediocre performance at the box office.

It wasn't until Daniel Craig took over as 007 that the series began to awkwardly convey a somewhat coherent story. Perhaps attributing his success to a bit of luck, Daniel Craig's four Bond movies, beginning with Casino Royale, brought in about double the total box office of Pierce Brosnan's entries, making him the highest-paid actor to play Bond in history.

The first day's shooting went incredibly smoothly. Due to it falling on a weekend, the crew decided to wrap up early and later hosted a small opening party at the resort where they were staying on Paradise Island.

On the second day of Casino Royale's official filming, the North American box office numbers for The Matrix's opening weekend rolled in successfully.

*****

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