King of Hollywood

Chapter 347 - 347 71 Stalemate

?Chapter 347: Chapter 71: Stalemate Chapter 347: Chapter 71: Stalemate However, before Adrian could arrange for someone to say it, someone had already done so.

“An amusing, even somewhat comical film, where the dramatic lives of the male and female leads are filled with an ironic flavor, exaggerated like a stage play, almost every line worthy of savoring. If you add more of that nagging narration, it would have Woody Allen’s style,” wrote a film critic from the Los Angeles Times after seeing the movie.

There were several articles calling numbers, but this was the first to say so, and it immediately gained the approval of many people, who then compared it with Woody Allen’s other works. Although these critics sometimes have diametrically opposed views, they do have professional quality. With such comments, “Small Time Crooks” garnered a lot more attention, even Woody Allen in New York was hounded by reporters for his opinion on the film.

“A very interesting concept,” the little old man mumbled reluctantly when pressed.

On hearing this, Adrian naturally wouldn’t let it go, subtly hyping up the comment without showing any trace. The word of mouth suddenly climbed a notch. It’s just that box office numbers still weren’t very satisfying. Woody Allen’s works were always niche, and he belonged to those who made movies for themselves. “Small Time Crooks” was one of his lowest points, and even though some parts were modified during production to enhance entertainment, it still had inherent flaws like “Fly Away Home,” so a $4 million opening weekend box office was quite normal.

No matter, since the film was meant to earn critical acclaim. Since it was currently receiving a lot of praise, there was no need to dwell on anything else. With an investment of only about $14 million, they should be able to recoup costs through box office anyhow.

The other two movies couldn’t be handled the same way, as both were big-budget productions nearing $100 million, and also with a mission to appease Miramax and New Line. Of course, if both movies flopped at the box office, it would surely mean that people collectively lost their minds.

Interestingly enough, both “Independence Day” and “The Rock” had similar initial budgets, but as production went on, “The Rock” considerably reduced expenses in comparison to “Independence Day.” Of course, Michael Bay didn’t suddenly change his character and stop shooting so many explosions, nor was it because Brokheimer and Simpson had tight control. The key difference was that “The Rock” received support from the Pentagon while “Independence Day” did not.

Both movies were American anthems. “Independence Day” had even more of a patriotic theme than “The Rock.” In “The Rock,” there was not only a betraying brigadier general but also content about the Ministry of Defense selling arms on the black market. The Seal Team, after finally infiltrating to rescue hostages, got completely wiped out, which looked like it smeared the US military. Meanwhile, in “Independence Day” the US leads the world in defeating aliens, and the President even personally pilots a plane, with an Independence Day speech that was particularly inspiring. Yet, it was the former that received Pentagon support.

The reason was quite simple. When the crew of “Independence Day” sought the Pentagon’s support, the military, after reviewing the script, thought having an alcoholic pilot fly a plane into the alien spacecraft to sacrifice himself was inappropriate and suggested replacing him with an air force war hero. Both Roland Emmerich and the producers from New Line couldn’t agree to such a change, as it would render all their previous set-ups meaningless. The Pentagon insisted on the revision, and neither side could come to an agreement, so there was no possibility of cooperation.

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