So, during interviews, the production company sincerely expressed their gratitude to Laila and took the opportunity to praise their movie, stating that their movie was also a labor of love. They assured the audience that their movie would provide a pleasant viewing experience, and viewers wouldn't have to keep checking their watches.
In the end, they even used Laila's words to take a dig at their competitor, "Pearl Harbor."
It's easy to imagine how furious the production team of "Pearl Harbor" was after hearing these comments. Even Faaris, who was usually composed and unemotional, dropped a wine glass. If he used to see Laila as a competitor, he had now officially added her to his blacklist.
His pride couldn't allow a catastrophic box office performance like this to happen to him. He had approved the script, and the director and actors were only hired after his consent. The current situation, with such a dismal outcome, was something he had never encountered in his otherwise successful life. How could he accept it?
Unfortunately, no matter how unacceptable the situation was, it had become a reality. "Pearl Harbor," which had already experienced a significant drop in box office revenue, plummeted further after the TV program aired.
What made Faaris even more furious was that "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Fast & Furious" were both showing increased revenue. Normally, after three weeks of release, the former would have experienced a substantial drop, but unexpectedly, Laila's random street interview managed to boost the box office.
"Fast & Furious" was even luckier; its box office surpassed that of a high-budget production by five or six times its cost, causing the media to exclaim, "A dark horse has appeared!"
Who could have imagined that a seemingly random street interview with Laila would result in such an incredible surge in this week's box office? Whether it was the lingering appeal of the pirates or the emergence of a dark horse, the spectacular box office battle in the summer film season delighted the audience, making them feel as excited as if it were a real war.
Some later analysis suggested that the box office shock of this incident stemmed from the "coincidence" of Laila and Roy's street interview. Since it was a coincidence, it meant that it was challenging to replicate. Other movies trying to use similar tactics would likely be recognized by the audience and mocked. Moreover, not everyone could generate such massive attention and impact; even if you found two ordinary stars, you probably wouldn't create much of a splash.
However, only Louise knew that this so-called coincidence was not a coincidence at all; it was just a game created by her enigmatic little boss using "two movie tickets."
While the world outside buzzed with excitement, Laila had lost interest in all of it. Her focus was on the several scripts laid out on her desk. These were all scripts offered to her by other companies after the wave of enthusiasm surrounding "Pirates of the Caribbean."
She had received many more scripts, but after Louise's screening, these were the ones left. She knew that she didn't mind working on films for other companies; generally, directors rarely used their own money to make movies. They typically sought investments from various sources to pass on the risk to others.
Laila had an impressive track record, having never delivered a flop since she started in this industry. It was quite remarkable, considering even renowned directors like Spielberg had faced critical failures, such as "The BFG."
"I've looked at these scripts, and they seem quite promising. If you don't have any upcoming projects, you might want to consider taking one on," Louise said, every time she saw the increasing budget costs, she felt her heart race. From the initial hundred thousand dollars to over a hundred million dollars in just a few years, the cost of Laila's films had increased by many orders of magnitude. If possible, she still believed that passing the risk onto other production companies was a better choice.
Laila looked at the row of scripts in front of her, her gaze slightly contemplative. These were scripts that were naturally of good quality. Among them, the second installment of "Men in Black" and the third installment of "Terminator" were prominently displayed.
Laila was quite interested in both of them, but the script for the second "Men in Black" was terrible, to the extent that it took more than a decade for the third installment to be considered. She liked the characters and the setting but had no interest in the script.
As for "Terminator," she wasn't sure if Arnold Schwarzenegger made "Terminator" or if "Terminator" made Arnold Schwarzenegger. James Cameron's creation, the "Terminator" series, was truly remarkable, especially the second installment, which could be considered a timeless classic.
In her memory, the third installment had done reasonably well at the box office, earning over $400 million worldwide. It might not seem like much to her now, but it was a profitable film.
However, Laila had little interest in directing sequels. If the previous films were well done and the characters were brilliantly portrayed, her direction would likely pale in comparison, no matter how good it was. If the previous films were poorly received, she had to be significantly better to make any impact. In any case, if the earlier films were bad, nobody would be interested in making sequels, let alone hiring her as the director.
In addition to these two scripts she was interested in, there was one more that caught her by surprise - "Chicago."
It was a musical!
Yes, you read that right, a musical!
Laila hadn't expected Disney to present a musical script to her. When she saw this script, she couldn't help but burst into laughter. She had directed the most terrifying witch, the sexiest pirate, and the coolest female assassin. Now someone believed she could direct a Broadway musical adaptation!
Seeing Laila's silence and the strange expression on her face, Louise was suddenly embarrassed.
When she first received this script, her expression was probably even more peculiar than the one she was displaying now. However, because it was a script from a friend, she didn't insist that Laila must take it; she just wanted to offer Laila the choice. That's why she had placed the script on Laila's desk.
However, she still didn't know if she had made the wrong decision by presenting this script to Laila. She wasn't sure if offering a script this unconventional would make her boss question her script-selection abilities.
*Cough.* She cleared her throat gently. "That musical script is quite interesting. It's about..."
She didn't finish her sentence, as Laila spoke up. "I know. It's about two cases that happened in Chicago, a story hyped up by a lawyer named Billy."
Louise was taken aback. "You've seen it before?"
Laila gave a noncommittal nod. "You could say that." It was in a past life, after all.
The reason she had watched the musical "Chicago" was because it had won several Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress and Best Picture.