The Tonight Show

As the event concluded, Lyman and his group managed to break free from the encirclement of fans and hopped into a Lincoln business car.

The car doors closed, and the vehicle slowly started moving.

Their manager, John, began reporting the schedule for the next few days.

Taking out a notebook he carried with him, he went through the itinerary from start to finish and then softly said to Lyman beside him, "The recording for the Tonight Show is scheduled for around 7 o'clock tonight. Tomorrow, we'll be departing for Chicago, and there's also an interview with Entertainment Weekly over there. The specific time will be subject to our arrangement..."

"Alright, got it," Lyman responded, his tone somewhat weary.

Promotion tours were indeed quite energy-consuming endeavors.

"What's our box office total at now?" leaning against the car seat, Lyman forced himself to sound more alert as he inquired.

"According to the data collected by Paramount, up to now, the box office has crossed the $100M mark, accumulating $112.43M."

"One hundred twelve million four hundred thirty thousand—so we've crossed the hundred million mark."

Lyman mumbled to himself.

Upon hearing that "Miscreant" had exceeded $100M, Tom Cruise and Nicolas Cage, who had been dozing off on the side, also perked up.

For them, having a film they participated in achieve high box office numbers was undoubtedly the most useful impetus for their careers.

Oh, a side note: Heath Ledger couldn't find the time to join the promotional tour due to filming "Brokeback Mountain". He would head to Australia the next week, when the film was released internationally. He would help promote and boost the film's popularity back in his homeland.

Actually, Hollywood was a highly practical circle. Compared to vague and intangible aspects like acting skills and abilities, when production companies selected actors, they focused more on their market value—the so-called box office draw.

The simplest way to confirm this draw was to look at the average box office earnings of an actor's recent works...

Salaries or appearance fees were also roughly calculated based on these figures, and directors were the same. Changes in influence and status were closely tied to the market performance of their previous films.

Nicolas widened his eyes as he looked at the delighted Tom, then at Lyman, and uttered, "Crossing $100M in four days, that's impressive."

This was also the best box office performance he had experienced in a film so far.

"Is the market changing? Ten-odd years ago, breaking $100M in the opening week was an extraordinary achievement. How many screens were there in North America at that time? But now, not breaking $100M in the opening week is no longer considered the normal box office trend for a major film. The number of theaters keeps increasing, ticket prices are rising, and naturally, the bar for box office success is also climbing. It's a simple truth. Believe it or not, in a few more years, films that break $100M in a single day will become commonplace."

Lyman delivered a very rational analysis, and of course, he was speaking the truth. When the era of superhero blockbusters opened in the future, the standards for box office success would keep being refreshed.

"Incredible," Tom marveled. Though the analysis sounded reasonable, experiencing it firsthand still left him deeply impressed.

This market performance was far more impressive than his "Mission: Impossible" series.

Lyman waved his hand, "It's just the first week. The screening period ahead is still quite long, and everything is uncertain."

His words didn't carry any smugness due to crossing $100M in four days. Just as he had told Paramount, it wasn't time for extravagant celebrations yet. After all, they had invested so much, and the funds for promotion weren't small either. They hadn't even recouped their costs yet.

Being too happy too soon might lead to trouble. Who knew if excessive joy might lead to sorrow? If the film failed, not only might the one million they invested from their studio not be recovered, but Lyman's directing abilities would also undoubtedly be questioned. In other words, his personal future would be cut short, and he'd have to start over.

"So, we're on a promotion tour," Tom added with a smile.

In the midst of their casual chat, the car arrived at its destination.

Loud cheers and screams mixed with whistles greeted them, and Lyman had become somewhat accustomed to this phenomenon.

With Tom around, there was never a shortage of fans, and their whereabouts weren't much of a secret either.

Indeed, as soon as they stepped out of the car, they saw over a hundred young men and women of all sorts waving supportive signs and yelling towards them, unleashing sonic attacks.

The entire recording building of the Tonight Show was surrounded by fans, and under the maintenance of a group of security personnel, they were struggling forward like a ship navigating through rough seas.

Looking at these fervent fans, Lyman felt, as never before, the difference in attention between those behind the scenes and those in front of the camera. It was no wonder that many screenwriters and photographers complained about how vital their work and effort were for a film. Not receiving public recognition was one thing, but even their compensation paled in comparison to other roles.

Unfortunately, Lyman couldn't change this industry's discrimination against certain jobs. He was just a director, and he only wanted to be a director.

Under the careful escort of security personnel, the group finally reached the safe ground of the reception hall on the first floor of the recording building.

The surging crowd was kept outside. This wasn't a public space; they couldn't enter.

Coming to a halt, Lyman turned around to glance. Those fans hadn't left, their signs still held high, with words like "Forever heartthrob, Tom Cruise" and "Tom, you've got me" written on them. Dimly visible were Nic's fan signs, but compared to Tom's, they seemed much colder.

Of course, the paths the two had taken were different to begin with. The portrayal of "idol heartthrob" hadn't yet garnered as much audience favor and attention as Nic's, which was indeed a thorough failure.

Walking into the lobby, a small group of three immediately came to greet them.

Their crisp and tidy formal wear, politely appropriate smiles, and self-assured attitudes left a favorable impression.

One of the ladies proactively spoke, "Everyone, welcome to NBC Studios. The entire show crew is eagerly looking forward to your visit."

She shook hands with Lyman's group as a gesture of courtesy, then continued, "I'm Anlin Jessica, an assistant for the Tonight Show production team. Please call me Anlin. Everyone, please follow me."

As she spoke, seeing the nods from Lyman's group, she turned and led the way.

The front desk staff recognized them, so no registration was needed; they were let through directly.

The elevator ascended to the fifth floor, and following Anlin's guidance, they entered the waiting room. Before they could sit down for long, the director and screenwriters, as well as the rest of the creative team from theTonight Show, rushed over to greet them.

Tom was already familiar with the show crew, exchanging a few teasing remarks with some of the crew members.

The atmosphere was quite pleasant...