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Chapter 129: Anger Rises from the
🕑 Added 2024-12-03 07:39:36 +0000 UTCThe movie market is always dominated by young audiences, and there's data to support this. According to surveys conducted over the past ten years, 65% of the audience falls within the 17 to 35 age range.
Among this 65%, male viewers account for 57.3%, while female viewers make up 42.3%.
This isn't to say that women don't want to go to the cinema; rather, it's the types of films that influence this.
If it's a romance film or a star-studded movie like Interview with the Vampire, the gender ratio of the audience shifts dramatically.
This data shows that every generation has its own movies and its own movie stars.
The current most popular stars are undoubtedly the two Tom's, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and others.
So whether it's Sean Connery or Roger Moore, they essentially belong to the film stars of the 60s and 70s, from a bygone era of moviegoers.
In fact, after Sean Connery stepped down from the role of 007, he appeared in some decent films during the 80s and had better luck than Roger Moore.
Thus, Connery still had some degree of fame. Aside from the current 007, Pierce Brosnan, he is definitely the most well-known of all the 007 actors.
However, times have changed.
Roger Moore, Connery's successor's successor, began to forcefully create buzz for himself, using Connery's fame to climb the ranks with the The Rock production team.
Now, the media's slogan claims that if Sean Connery is the most elegant and gentlemanly of the old guys, Roger Moore is definitely the coolest, sexiest, and most handsome of the old guys.
The term "sexy," once associated with Sean Connery, now became Moore's exclusive property.
From Connery's perspective, this was just Moore and The Rock's crew using his name for self-promotion without prior notice.
The history was long past, and many young people no longer understood the brutalities of war.
So when young moviegoers discussed Roger Moore's service in WWII, they often found it quite fascinating, admiring the old man's accomplishments.
This was the effect Gilbert wanted. In the second version of the movie poster, Roger Moore was placed in the center of the three lead actors, with his name in the largest font.
Above, there was a catchy phrase: Real Experience, Real Existence, Real Story.
Upon seeing this promotional slogan, audiences couldn't help but wonder: Could the story of The Rock actually be based on real events?
Although many movie fans knew it wasn't, in a country rich with entertainment culture, viewers were willing to believe the story might be true, sparking interest in the film.
Want to know what the story is about? Just head to the theater!
The film's promotion, along with Roger Moore and Christopher Lee's collaboration, gained them massive attention.
Sean Connery also received significant attention, but in a negative light.
Every time the media mentioned The Rock and the other two actors, they always dragged Connery into the conversation to ridicule him.
Seeing how the media no longer treated him with the same reverence, Connery grew more and more enraged.
He believed Martin Bob's work was at fault for putting him in this passive position, and in a fit of fury, Sean Connery stormed to CAA, heading straight for Martin Bob's office.
Martin Bob was currently discussing the summer promotion strategy for a movie project with Lovett.
"Mr. Connery, you can't go in. Mr. Bob is in a meeting."
The assistant failed to stop Sean Connery, who barged into the office and directly confronted Martin Bob.
"I've put up with your nonsense long enough! You've done nothing, and now that damn bastard is stepping all over me. What the hell are you going to do about it?"
Martin Bob, equally troubled, tried to calm Connery down, speaking as gently as he could.
"Sean, this kind of thing happens all the time in Hollywood. You should get used to it by now.
Also, this doesn't hurt us. Don't you realize that your fame has increased because of this?"
Martin Bob's reasoning wasn't entirely wrong. Despite The Rock using Connery to create buzz, his name had been mentioned more than ever.
More importantly, it allowed a new generation of younger audiences to recognize this iconic 007 actor.
And The Rock didn't destroy the image Connery had built over the years. Roger Moore's path was completely different from Connery's.
Their images didn't overlap, and all the bad habits Connery had in Hollywood were unknown to the public.
If Connery could calm down and think it through, he would realize that this was actually an opportunity for him.
If The Rock and Gilbert had communicated with CAA beforehand, Connery wouldn't have reacted so strongly.
But Gilbert wasn't going to discuss anything with CAA, nor did he care about Connery's feelings.
After all, Connery wasn't Tom Cruise—just an old man cast aside by the times. Connery should be grateful to him.
Gilbert didn't hold grudges and was still using Connery's name to promote the film. It was a good deal for Connery.
But as everyone in Hollywood knew, Sean Connery was no longer a normal person.
Hearing Martin Bob's advice and seeing him more and more as someone in league with Gilbert, Connery's anger only grew.
He saw the ashtray on the table, and in a fit of rage, grabbed it and hurled it at Martin Bob's head.
"Fuck, I'll kill you!"
The ashtray hit Martin Bob's forehead with a loud crack.
Martin Bob screamed, clutching his head, feeling something wet running down his face.
Lovett and the assistant, stunned by the shocking scene, rushed to stop Connery as he charged towards Martin Bob for another attack.
Martin Bob, now realizing the situation, yelled angrily.
"Security! Security! Get him out of here, call the police, I'm going to report this!"
Security arrived promptly and forcefully restrained the furious Sean Connery, dragging him out of the office.
As they dragged him away, Connery shouted, "Martin, I'll kill you! You dared to plot against me!"
The shout caught the attention of everyone in the CAA building.
Lovett immediately went to find a doctor to check on Martin Bob's injury, and as the crowd gathered, he gave a cold stare and warned, "No one can talk about what happened today, or else..."
Unfortunately, Lovett's warning didn't have much effect, as it wasn't Martin Bob or other big figures from CAA who had given it.
After the office door was closed again, employees and junior agents in CAA began gossiping, trying to find out what had just happened.
"If I'm not mistaken, Sean Connery just beat Martin Bob senseless."
The small agents shrank back, realizing this wasn't something they should get involved in. The higher-ups were always a mess!
After the initial anger, Martin Bob calmed down.
"Where's Sean?" he asked.
Lovett replied, "I've already sent someone to take him home and have someone keep an eye on him."
"Good work," Martin Bob nodded. "Don't let him appear in the media for a while, or else he might say something crazy."
Lovett hesitated, "Boss, after what happened, why can't we just give up on him?"
"We can't yet," Martin Bob shook his head. "At least not until next year's Oscars. If we throw him under the bus now, it will hurt us."
"Understood." Lovett admired his boss. Even after being attacked by Connery, Martin Bob was still willing to compromise for the sake of profits. His thick skin was impressive.
Martin Bob had no other choice but to go this route. If they abandoned Connery now and let him vent to the media, all their prior efforts would be wasted.
Once Connery calmed down, he would surely see the situation for what it was.
Right now, he depended on CAA. CAA had a lot of dirt on him, and if he continued to defy them, they could ruin his reputation completely.
Although Martin Bob didn't want to make a scene just yet, he did give a gag order.
Nevertheless, word inevitably got out.
Nothing in Hollywood stays a secret for long, and within half a day, everyone knew about it. Besides, so many CAA employees had witnessed it.
But since no one was directly involved, most kept quiet, though they still whispered about it in private.
"Did you hear? Sean Connery just beat Martin Bob up."
At the Melon Estate, Leo excitedly relayed the gossip to Gilbert.
Because they shared common interests, Leo often visited Gilbert's Melon estate, and their relationship was pretty good.
Gilbert cast his fishing line into the water without a tremor, replying to Leo, "It's normal. If he didn't react, then he wouldn't be him."
Leo chuckled. "It's a good thing this didn't make the media, otherwise the dog-eat-dog scene between Sean Connery and Martin Bob would have been a spectacle."
"And who do you support, Gilbert...?"
Sure! Here's the complete translation as requested:
"Me?" Gilbert said nonchalantly, "I'm just here for the show. Who wins or loses doesn't matter to me."
"Same here, looks like we're the same," Leo agreed.
Actually, Gilbert had invited Leo not just for fishing. While The Rock was still in the promotional stage, his next project required Leo's participation.
"Director Cameron's new movie is about to start preparations. He asked me to recommend an actor, and I recommended you," Gilbert explained.
Leo was taken aback and asked, "What project is it?"
"I mentioned the wreckage of the Titanic to Director Cameron, and he's now experimenting with underwater photography. He has an idea to bring the Titanic story to the big screen. I think it's a great idea, so I recommended you. But I need to work with you for a while before I can give him a final recommendation," Gilbert explained.
The fact that two top Hollywood directors were interested in him made Leo feel a bit dizzy. After collecting himself, he thanked Gilbert, "Thank you for your help, Gilbert."
"You're welcome, Leo." As a fish was caught, Gilbert quickly reeled it in, repeatedly saying, "You need to be ready. The next two or three years are going to be tough for you."
Leo gave a reassuring look. "I've been ready since I entered the industry."
The project Gilbert had in mind for Leo was the Normandy project. He wouldn't be playing the lead role, but it was still a very important role.
This role was originally played by Matt Damon. At first, Gilbert had planned to stick to the original setup, but since he hadn't worked with Leo before, he decided to choose Leo instead.
It was important to discuss this matter and finalize it, so Leo wouldn't take on another project and miss the opportunity.
The Titanic project was quite unusual. James Cameron had been enjoying underwater photography, and when he returned to Los Angeles, he invited Gilbert to his house.
Although the story was still in the early stages in Cameron's mind, James Cameron didn't hesitate to invite Gilbert to play the lead role.
Gilbert was momentarily stunned. "You want me to play the lead?"
James Cameron nodded seriously. "Yes, when I think of the story, you're the first person who comes to mind for the lead. I think you're a perfect fit. You have the potential to be my leading man."
Gilbert couldn't believe it—he was about to replace Leo to play Jack. But he wasn't entirely comfortable with acting.
He refused, "Sorry, Director Cameron, I have my own projects to focus on, and I'm afraid I don't have the time to appear in your movie."
"Please consider it seriously. I'm sincerely inviting you," James Cameron said earnestly.
Seeing that James Cameron didn't seem to be joking, Gilbert reluctantly smiled and recommended Leo.
Cameron was disappointed that he couldn't cast Gilbert, and though he wasn't fully satisfied with the actor Gilbert recommended, he said he would at least hold an audition.
But Gilbert knew that James Cameron would choose Leo.
In Gilbert's previous life, Leo wasn't originally cast as the male lead in Titanic, but in the end, the director chose him over the truck driver.
Perhaps, when people look back at this classic film in the future, they will talk about the behind-the-scenes anecdote of how Gilbert almost played the lead role in Titanic.
This would add a bit of fun to the story, making the legend of Titanic even more intriguing.
After discussing this matter, James Cameron went back to playing with underwater photography.
His plan was to conduct some technical validation for Titanic first, and when he returned to Los Angeles, he would fully focus on preparing for the film.
This timeline gave Leo enough time to clear his schedule and participate in Gilbert's project.
In fact, Gilbert wanted to move the Normandy project forward, ideally to compete with Braveheart for the next year's Oscars.
But while he could handle the intense work schedule, his team might not be able to.
Moreover, the time and effort required for consecutive A-list big productions were immense. It would take at least six months from preparation to completion.
Gilbert wasn't like directors from Hong Kong who could shoot a film in a week.
Hollywood films are built on a mature market environment and industrial system, and A-list big productions can't ignore the rules of commercial filmmaking.
Shoddy rushed productions, especially big ones, are miracles if they succeed at the box office.
However, when Gilbert said he was going to challenge Mel Gibson for the Oscars, he wasn't just talking.
After hiring a private detective to find out what was going on with the Braveheart crew, Gilbert immediately had his agent, Sheena Boone, represent him and meet with the film's female lead, Sophie Marceau.
