Chapter 391: Anti-Traditional Hero

For Hollywood, July belonged to Warner Bros.' second installment of Christopher Nolan's Batman series, The Dark Knight, which premiered on the same day as Capet Pictures' Mamma Mia!.

The opening weekend grossed $158.4 million in North America, with 4,366 theaters - the largest number of theaters for a premiere in North America at that time, surpassing the previous record held by Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End with 4,362 theaters.

Heath Ledger's passing earlier in the year brought significant publicity to the film.

Sony's anti-hero blockbuster, Hancock, premiered in early July, and its North American box office now stood at $227.9 million, with $300 million overseas, making its impact undeniable.

In Beverly Hills, inside Nicole Kidman's villa, Evelyn Capet watched as Nicole Kidman exercised and reminded her, "Is it okay for you to be doing this just 20 days after giving birth?"

Nicole Kidman smiled and shook her head, then stood up, "It's just simple yoga, and I want to get back in shape quickly. The mom in The Blind Side isn't going to be a chubby lady, right?"

"Shooting starts in October, so there's plenty of time. The director has been searching for a long time for an actor to play the male lead," Evelyn said, shrugging. "You know, in real life, Michael Oher is a black guy over 6'5" and weighs over 345 pounds!"

"Sure isn't easy," Nicole Kidman thought. There weren't many actors with that build. "Did Charles buy an NFL team this year? Could it have something to do with this movie?"

Evelyn chuckled, "How could it? That kid is still in London, and Arsenal's summer signings haven't been cheap!"

"Charles likes sports a lot. Looks like he might be considering buying an NBA team as well," Nicole Kidman wouldn't underestimate Charles Capet.

"Maybe," Evelyn was too lazy to ask. If Charles wanted to buy, he'd buy.

"Earlier this month, director Sydney Pollack passed away in Los Angeles, and two producers of The Reader died in succession. I wonder if Charles will release The Reader this year?"

Anthony Minghella passed away in April, and Sydney Pollack in June. Nicole Kidman had worked with both, so she was aware.

"Post-production of The Reader isn't done?" Nicole Kidman asked.

Evelyn shook her head, "No, after you got pregnant, the crew brought in Kate Winslet to replace you as the female lead. They made script changes too, adding some sex scenes. Filming started last December, and Scott Rudin is now in charge. Post-production shouldn't be a big issue!"

Nicole Kidman nodded. The original script she got had hardly any sex scenes, which suited her image.

"Is Charles not returning to the States? Capet Pictures did well this summer with their releases, including the action-packed Thor, the romantic comedy 27 Dresses, and the musical adaptation Mamma Mia!. They've all had great results," Nicole Kidman wouldn't doubt Charles' eye for picking films. He had kept The Blind Side for her, so she must be serious about it.

She was exercising less than twenty days after giving birth because she wanted to look good!

"Who knows," Evelyn said with a smile.

...

Burbank, Warner Bros. headquarters.

Warner Bros. Chairman Barry Meyer, Co-Chairman Alan Horn, and President Jeff Robinov finished watching a rough cut of Watchmen sent by Zack Snyder.

The atmosphere was a bit heavy. Alan Horn, a supporter of commercial blockbusters, frowned, "The style of Watchmen is too dark, with too much philosophical and psychological stuff!"

Jeff Robinov understood. This kind of anti-traditional superhero movie needed at least a bright and vivid visual style. Hancock, currently in theaters, was a good example.

But Watchmen used desaturated, cold tones, highlighted with high-saturation, blood-red accents. The dark tone, from the dim scenery colors to the grim and heavy hero costumes, hinted at the struggling and self-doubting inner selves of the heroes. The movie foreshadowed that the ending wasn't going to be a traditional heroic one.

"Watchmen is basically an anti-traditional superhero comic. Zack Snyder is a big fan of the comic. What he's conveying through this movie isn't the usual righteous superheroes with superpowers saving the world. He's creating complex, flawed, even evil anti-heroes," Jeff Robinov analyzed. In terms of artistry, Watchmen could stand out among pop-corny superhero films and give the audience deep thoughts with its anti-heroism.

Barry Meyer sighed. Adding so much thought and philosophy to superheroes would certainly alienate a large segment of the audience.

Christopher Nolan's Batman managed to merge business and art successfully, and Warner Bros. hoped Zack Snyder could achieve similar success. Both shared a dark style and deep storytelling.

However, it was clear that Watchmen was different from Batman.

Zack Snyder's strong visual style emphasized formal elements, with violence aesthetics expertly applied. Nolan's interwoven storytelling, habit of shooting grand scenes, rich plots, and use of quick panning and zooming shots to create suspense and tension were his trademarks.

"Cut a smooth, visually beautiful, distinctively styled trailer to build hype among fans of the original comic," Barry Meyer finally said. Watchmen had a budget of $130 million, with its flaws as evident as its strengths.

Zack Snyder indeed had creativity, but there were too many dull and tedious parts in the movie.

"Release it next March. Drop the first trailer now and we'll see the final cut later and decide on the marketing budget," Alan Horn said. Releasing it in the summer was unnecessary.

Alan Horn's words showed a lack of confidence in the movie. However, if the final cut had a great response, they could change the release date. After all, it was still only July, and this was just a tentative internal thought.

*****

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