Chapter 31 Movie Release
There were many Hollywood blockbusters released in 02, starting with "Ice Age" in March.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which was released on April 4, immediately received positive reviews from critics and the public, and was a huge box office success, earning $19 million in North America by the time it was released.

On May 5, the movie Spider-Man was released, and grossed $3 million in its opening weekend, breaking the record of $1.14 million set by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

It also became the first film to break the $1 million mark at the weekend box office, and also set a record of breaking the $1 million mark in three days.

The film received immediate acclaim from audiences and critics upon its release.

The New York Times wrote: "The film was expected to be a hit, as there was little competition and pre-release polls showed strong interest among people of all ages, but no one expected Spider-Man to set so many box office records."

It was followed by Star Wars Episode 5: Attack of the Clones, which opened on May 16 and grossed $2 million on its opening day and over $3610 million in its opening weekend, making it the third-highest opening weekend of all time, behind only Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Spider-Man.

Internationally, the film earned $71 million from 6910 countries in its opening weekend, breaking the record for the highest international opening weekend of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and ultimately grossed $3.02 million in North America by the time it closed.

Time slowly came to June.

On June 6, the movie "Minority Report" directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise was released. The movie was adapted from Philip K. Dick's 21 novella of the same name "Minority Report". Due to the high-profile collaboration between Cruise and Spielberg, it became one of the most anticipated movies of 1956 before its release.

In the early morning of June 6th, Los Angeles time, "A True Story" was released in major theaters in North America. The box office in the first three days of the weekend is very important, and Warner Bros. has been keeping an eye on the box office data.

During these three days, Gu Wei has been staying in a company in Hollywood, while also keeping an eye on the box office.

Warner got some data from the theaters where the film was released, and the attendance rate was quite high, with people of all ages included.

On June 6th, Los Angeles time, Gu Wei and Reid arrived at the Warner headquarters early in the morning. He was also eager to know the box office of the opening film.

When he arrived at the company, Gu Wei saw many people with smiles on their faces, and he had some guesses in his mind.

After a while, a middle-aged foreigner from the business department walked up to the crowd and said:
"Dear colleagues, just today, we got the opening data of "The Accidental Murderer" in various theaters, which was counted by the company's department employees.

Our first three-day box office revenue for the first weekend reached 16 million, we succeeded..."

When the employees heard the data, they cheered and howled like ghosts.

"Gu, you are a genius. With 18 million, this movie has a great chance of breaking 100 million, haha."

Mike came to Gu Wei and spoke loudly to him.

Reid also hugged Gu Wei excitedly and shouted something loudly. Gu Wei couldn't hear it clearly, but no one cared. Everyone around was talking and shouting excitedly.

Hearing this box office data, Gu Wei felt a little emotional. His several months of hard work were not in vain, and he finally took the first step in Hollywood.

In the early morning, the employees of Warner were immersed in a state of excitement. People kept praising Gu Wei, saying that he was a genius and that if he stayed in Hollywood, he would be given everything he wanted.

Three days after its first weekend release, word of mouth about "A True Story" spread quickly, and Warner Bros. also accelerated its release in other parts of the world.

The Hollywood media called this movie a "miracle". Compared with the investment cost of the movie, the achievement was incredible, which can be regarded as a disguised way of promoting the movie.

The news media gave detailed reports on Gu Wei.

From his age, the school he attends, the awards he has won and the scripts he has registered in Hollywood, all have been dug up by the media.

Many foreign netizens commented:

"He's only 20 years old. God, I didn't know what I was doing when I was 20!"

"It's unbelievable that a Chinese person has achieved such great success in Hollywood."

"His talent is impressive. I watched the movie and it was very exciting."

"He wrote and directed the film all by himself. He is such an enviable genius."

.........

Many people left comments, most of them were jealous of his age. This was also the first time that Gu Wei became famous abroad, much more famous than winning the Golden Bear Award. Many people remembered this genius.

More and more cocktail parties invited Gu Wei, and several large companies also sent invitations, wanting to talk to Gu Wei.

The people at Warner were helpless when they saw this situation, as Gu Wei and they were just partners.

Gu Wei saw what the Warner executive was thinking and told him not to worry, that this cooperation was very pleasant and he was looking forward to the next cooperation.

"Boss, a company is interested in your script."

At the company, Reid reported to Gu Wei.

"That script? Which company?".

Gu Wei was a little curious.

"It was Universal Pictures, and they took a fancy to the script of Taken."

"Well, just the first one?".

After his last meeting with Cheng Long, Gu Wei had already registered the scripts for Taken and two subsequent films.

Universal Pictures does have a good vision, but it seems that they prefer to make this type of action movie.

"It should just be the script for the first part, they want to meet with you to talk in person."

Reid added. Gu Wei did not speak, but fell into deep thought.

Reid saw his look and didn't dare to disturb him.

At this moment, Gu Wei was thinking about what Reid had just said, should he cooperate with Universal Pictures?
Gu Wei was very satisfied with the cooperation with Warner, and he didn't want to bypass Warner and cooperate with other companies.

After thinking about it, I decided to go and meet him first.

"Ryder, make an appointment with them so we can talk first."

"Okay, boss."

Universal Pictures acted quickly and after receiving Ryder's reply call, they agreed to meet the next day.

The next morning, Gu Wei and Reid rushed to the headquarters of Universal Pictures together.

Universal Pictures (English: Universal Picture), also known as Universal Pictures, is one of the world's major film and television studios.

Universal Pictures is also one of the oldest companies in Hollywood, and became one of the most powerful film companies in Hollywood in its founding stage.

In the 1970s, Universal Pictures collaborated with famous directors such as Spielberg and Lucas to release films such as "Jaws" and "ET the Extraterrestrial".

Including the later "Jurassic Park", which is also one of the blockbusters released by Universal Pictures. Directors who often cooperate with Universal include Robert Zemeckis ("Back to the Future" series), Ron Howard "Apollo 13", etc.

Entering the 21st century, Universal has become the biggest Hollywood studio that is best at developing sequels and comedies.

In the past, with the popularity of "Jason Bourne" and "Fast & Furious" series, Universal Pictures' status has steadily risen.

"A Beautiful Mind," which won the Oscar for Best Picture this year, was also released by Universal Pictures.

Universal Pictures is currently involved in the filming of the movie "The Bourne Supremacy" directed by Doug Liman. This is a US-Germany spy action film. It was released on June 6 this year, two weeks earlier than "The Accidental Murderer", and the box office was very high.

There is also the film "The Pianist" directed by Roman Polanski, which is expected to be released in September this year.

The headquarters of Universal Pictures is located at 10 Plaza Avenue in Universal City, California, between Los Angeles and Burbank, and is also the production center of Universal Pictures.

After arriving at the global headquarters, a middle-aged white man was already waiting at the door. The two sides greeted each other and then entered the company headquarters together.

"Gu, first of all, congratulations. 'Accidental Murder' is really great. I heard that the cost of the movie was only 50 US dollars. This is really a miracle. Warner made a lot of money this time. Our department expects the box office of this movie to exceed million US dollars."

In the conference room, the head of Universal's business unit started by giving direct praise.

"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Brown, but let's get down to business."

Gu Wei took a sip of coffee, looked at him, and said lightly.

“Of course, the Taken script was a great one and we wanted to get it.

If we can get the script, we plan to shoot it in the second half of the year and it is expected to be released at the end of the year."

The head of the global business unit spoke eloquently and outlined their plans.

"Mr. Brown, you only took a fancy to the script of the first part, right?"

"Yes, now we will only consider the filming of the first part. As for the scripts of the subsequent parts, we will make a decision after the first part is released."

When Gu Wei heard this, he nodded. This was also in line with the style of Hollywood companies.

"Mr. Brown, I originally was considering filming this script myself, and I was going to ask Jackie to play the leading role in the film, so you should understand what I mean."

Gu Wei started to talk nonsense, saying that the other party had no way of verifying what he said.

"Do you want to participate in the investment?" The other party guessed Gu Wei's thoughts.

"That's right, if Universal wants to get this script, it needs to give me part of its investment."

Gu Wei straightened his upper body and leaned on the sofa.

The person in charge of Global gave a helpless smile and said: "Tell me the specific conditions."

"I want a five-tier investment amount, with both of our companies investing together, and Universal will be responsible for the filming and post-production distribution of the film."

"Gu, even though your movie has just been a success, this is Hollywood. You are too greedy and your appetite is too big."

Gu Wei looked at him and smiled without saying anything.

“Well, I need to discuss this with the company’s executives before I can give you an answer.

That’s all we have to say today. I’ll get back to you if I have any news.”

The person in charge of Universal did not give Gu Wei a positive answer, but then extended his hand, and Gu Wei also shook it.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye, looking forward to your reply."

.........

(End of this chapter)