Chapter 244: Pearl Harbor, Cruz's Waterloo

Entering the farm, everyone's spirits immediately lifted.

Vast stretches of green, scattered lakes, and the white houses stood out brightly against the landscape.

"The water in these small lakes can supply drinking water for the livestock, and we also raise some ducks to reduce the breeding of mosquitoes and flies."

The cowboy hopped into the passenger seat and began acting as a guide for Martin.

"This farm is about 6,500 acres. To the east of the farm is a special river channel that brings water from the Brisbane River to supply water for the farm's people and animals."

"Even during dry periods, there's enough water in the river channel. Those four water towers are just in case—we haven't used them for many years."

"These small lakes are unique to this farm. They were naturally formed by underground water sources. We generally use them for the livestock to drink from, and we also raise some ducks in them."

Martin followed his finger and indeed saw a group of ducks happily swimming toward one of the lakes.

"We sold off a batch of ducks last month, so there aren't many left. The new ducklings are still in the nursery."

"To the west of the farm is a small forest with some deer and rabbits that can be hunted."

"To the south is a large vineyard, and to the north is a racetrack..."

By the time Martin and the others had driven around the whole farm, an hour had passed.

"This place is really huge," Gordon marveled. "The scenery is beautiful. It's perfect for a vacation."

"Not only is it great for vacations, but it can also make money. This farm, if properly managed, can bring in 2 million Australian dollars in income each year," the cowboy proudly explained.

"Then why did the previous owner sell it?" Martin asked, curious.

The cowboy sighed. "Anthony used the farm as collateral to gamble on a mine. Unfortunately, he lost. It was a low-grade iron ore mine. I warned him, but he wouldn't listen."

Martin nodded, unfazed. If the previous owner hadn't gone bankrupt, he wouldn't have had the chance to buy the place.

They then toured the farm's main buildings.

The architectural style was somewhat old-fashioned, with the main building group featuring a typical English palace style. All the rooms were floored with granite and sandstone, and walking on the spacious stone steps, through the columns' windows, they could admire the grand garden, which covered 50,000 square feet and included a massive fountain.

Later, he met the other seven cowboys in the living room. When they saw Martin enter, they all awkwardly stood up.

Martin briefly sensed their auras with magic and found they were all decent, honest people...

"How is it?" Peter Jackson asked on the way back.

"I really like it, it's the one," Martin replied.

"How much?"

"24 million dollars."

"Hmm, not expensive!"

Martin didn't have cash on hand, as most of his money was tied up in investments, but he could take out a loan.

In America, it was common for the rich to use bank money for shopping and investments, and the banks were happy to see their money circulating.

Back in New Zealand, Martin finally saw the trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

"Oh my god, Martin looks even more handsome in this elf costume," Gordon said, seeing Martin's elf character on screen for the first time. The movie version of Martin was even more stunning and ethereal than his real-life appearance.

That's the magic of post-production!

...

"Fuck! Why is the box office so low?" Tom Cruise angrily hung up the phone.

Sitting on the other side of the couch, Nicole didn't pay attention to her husband, continuing to read the newspaper.

Today marked the second month since the release of Pearl Harbor, and the box office was dropping sharply, which was shocking.

This war epic, which DreamWorks had high hopes for, had a production and promotional cost of 190 million dollars. It was supposed to be DreamWorks' ambitious project.

And the first-week box office did indeed live up to those ambitions, with 75.17 million dollars in North American box office, the highest of the year.

However, as the film continued to be screened, word of mouth dropped drastically.

"Predictable and stale romance scenes, like a comic strip with no depth, the disjointed story turned WWII into a silly symphony." — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times.

"A boring and outdated romance, with shallow war scenes. Over half an hour of planes bombing ships, explosions, flying bodies, and people fleeing attacks—meaningless, just horrible slaughter, not enough to move or entertain the audience." — Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times.

The bad reviews were one thing. After all, they were just critics' opinions, and in the internet age, it's hard to stop audiences from voting with their feet.

But this film was unfriendly not only to critics but to the general public as well.

The bland, outdated plot made audiences drowsy.

Just check out the online reviews:

"Don't watch it; for its hypnotic effect, it's on par with sleeping pills."

"I fell asleep during the boring plot and was woken by the jarring explosions. Michael Bay can do nothing except boring and explosions."

"I can't believe my idol, Tom Cruise, made such a terrible movie. What a waste of his handsome face."

"Boring! Boring! Boring! That's my whole review of this film!"

"That clichéd love triangle, the long-winded plot, Michael Bay's editing is all over the place, where's his usual tight pacing?"

It could be said that this movie failed both artistically and commercially!

As a result, the second-week box office saw a massive drop, only earning 29 million dollars, and the third week fell to 14 million dollars...

Then came the "disastrous nine-eight-nine" decline, with the box office dropping to under 10 million.

From its release in August to early October, nearly two months had passed, and the film's North American box office was only 163 million dollars, with no hope of surpassing 200 million.

Luckily, the overseas box office performed decently, reaching 210 million dollars.

However, for DreamWorks, the overseas share was less than a fifth of the North American box office. In order to secure overseas distribution, they had given up too much profit.

In the end, the film didn't make a profit, and they would have to wait for a long time to recover costs through VHS sales.

The failure of Pearl Harbor had a huge impact.

First, DreamWorks' momentum to surpass the Big Six and become the seventh major studio was halted.

Secondly, director Michael Bay's rising career was also suppressed.

Lastly, Tom Cruise, Hollywood's top star, had never failed as an actor before. Every film he made had been a success. Pearl Harbor broke that record.

Once an actor fails, their status inevitably takes a hit, which impacts their pay and profits.

This was why Tom Cruise was so angry.

He stood up, gave Nicole, who was sitting on the other side of the couch, a cold look, and said, "I'm not coming back tonight. And I've had enough of your indifference."

With that, he turned and left the house.

"Heh, the little puppy is going to cry to his mommy again!" Nicole mocked, referencing Tom Cruise's relationship with Sherry Lansing.