Laila wasn't surprised and continued with a smile, "Nolan spent too much time at the beginning of Batman exploring his psychological journey, which made the audience feel bored. Many superhero fans are young people, they are more lively and less patient. Nolan did a great job in exploring Batman, it's just that he misjudged his audience. If it were aimed at adults in their thirties or forties, they would probably be more accepting of this arrangement."
While Laila was giving her evaluation, Nolan himself was flipping through the various media reviews of his movie, especially some of the lower scores.
To be honest, he was somewhat disappointed when he saw those reports. He felt that he had done a great job and the movie he made was in line with his vision. It could be said that he had put everything he had imagined into the movie, showcasing the world he had originally constructed in his mind.
But the current situation was that the box office results were barely satisfactory, and the word of mouth was only slightly stronger than average. It was far from the feedback he had imagined.
After the new week passed, Laila's "The Lord of the Rings" once again easily took the box office crown for the week with $260 million, while Nolan's "Batman Begins" ranked second with $90 million.
Over $90 million in the first three days was not bad for an investment of $130 million, but compared to "The Lord of the Rings," this number seemed pitifully small.
Seeing this result, Nolan felt deeply disappointed. Originally, he still had a glimmer of hope that he could challenge Laila's expectations with his work, and while the hope of winning was very slim, he thought he might have a chance. However, the result told him that it was just his fantasy.
A work he poured all his efforts into, with ample investment, and a superhero with a large fan base, all these advantages still couldn't compare to a movie in its second week, leaving him with a sense of frustration, even a feeling that he might not be suitable for directing.
In this state of mind, he later told the production team that he would no longer continue with the remaining two films.
"What? How can that be?!" The first to oppose this decision was DC. In their view, this was a perfect adaptation, just look at the feedback from the fans, they loved this new Batman.
Moreover, thanks to the movie, sales of Batman-related comics and merchandise had increased significantly, showing how much people liked the movie. It was so difficult to receive so much praise for changing a superhero, how could they let him leave?
Even Warner Bros. was unwilling to let him go. Over $90 million in the first week was a good result. Why not compare it with other summer blockbusters? Only focusing on Laila was simply masochistic behavior.
"Don't overthink it. 'Batman Begins' is great. Look at the feedback, you should be proud of it!"
Despite their efforts to persuade him, Nolan remained disheartened. "I feel like I might not be suitable for making this type of movie." Perhaps he was more suited to making low-budget suspense films rather than commercial blockbusters with budgets of over a hundred million dollars.
"No, you've done a great job already."
For the investors and production team, a profitable movie was a good movie. It seemed like they couldn't compete with "The Lord of the Rings" at the box office, but why compare? They had made over $90 million in the first week, which was a very good box office result, and in other times, they would have taken the box office crown.
"Moran's directorial ability is undoubted. In Hollywood, she is on par with the top directors. In comparison, you need more time to reach this point. Listen to me, Christopher, you have talent, ability, and ideals, what you lack is only opportunity and experience. Just give you a few years to develop, and you will catch up with anyone!"
But Nolan just smiled bitterly and shook his head. He knew that these were just comforting words. The situation now was that the only thing he could win against Laila was age. But what good was that? It was just a joke.
No matter how they persuaded him, he wouldn't listen, insisting on resigning from the director's position, which made the production team and investors very worried. The current Batman was filmed according to his wishes, and the audience easily accepted it. If they found another director to take over, whether the style could be connected or not, at least in terms of ability, they would not be as good as the current one. Otherwise, they wouldn't have hired him as the director in the first place.
At this point, a representative from Warner Bros. made a suggestion.
"How about this? You and Laila meet face to face and talk."
Nolan looked at him in surprise. "Can I?"
"Of course you can."
In fact, directors like Nolan, even if they went to find her, Laila wouldn't just drive them away. She admired him a lot, and if they met, they would have a pleasant exchange. But outsiders didn't know this. They only knew that she was very low-key. Besides making movies, the most she would do was fulfill her role as a socialite and attend some social events. And those events were usually not attended by Nolan, so it was very difficult to "accidentally" meet outside.
Nolan was indeed attracted by this proposal. He had many questions he wanted to talk to Laila about, including their movies and the role of a director.
Seeing that he finally stopped talking about resigning, representatives from Warner Bros. and DC breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, I will arrange your meeting." With a confident demeanor, the Warner Bros. representative left after dropping this sentence.
In the end, he was just a representative, a worker, and with his status, he couldn't reach the height of Laila. So although he looked confident, in his heart, he thought that he could postpone it for another day. But he wasn't just talking nonsense. Even though he couldn't arrange for Nolan and Laila to meet, someone else could, and that was his superior.
Receiving the report from his subordinate, the boss was also somewhat overwhelmed. Arrange for Moran and Nolan to meet. Did they think he had a lot of face?
But if there was no meeting this time, Nolan might resign and leave, forcing him to find a solution. Fortunately, he had thought of someone who could help him, that was none other than Michael Ovitz, the legendary agent who had once ranked first on the Hollywood power list and had single-handedly created CAA and AMG.
Everyone knew that even after Laila acquired AMG, Ovitz stayed behind, not only gaining another backing but also becoming the most dazzling star in Hollywood, becoming the exclusive agent of the youngest Oscar-winning Best Actor Roy Seasonstar.
Laila was willing to keep him to continue managing the agency, showing that she had great trust in him. So if he mediated, there should be no problem.
When Ovitz heard his friend's request, he was first stunned, then laughed heartily. "What kind of thing do you think this is? This is very simple, as long as you are willing to participate in a show over there.