Several months of filming made Nolan feel like he had learned a lot. He greatly admired Laila's decisiveness in handling things that directors needed to deal with. He often hesitated about certain choices, but she seemed to see the future through what was in front of her, making decisions without any hesitation.
It's like not knowing which of two outfits to choose. He could only try both outfits, guess what others might think, and then make a choice. Laila, on the other hand, seemed to know what the outfits would look like and what others would think of them before trying them on, and time would prove her choices right.
This was a talent that couldn't be learned. Nolan felt that heaven had really favored this girl, granting her what directors needed most.
The summer box office of 2006 was still bustling. Laila's "The Lord of the Rings 2: The Two Towers" once again dominated this period, causing other competitors to wail in despair.
It grossed over $600 million in North America alone, and globally it earned over $1.4 billion. What's even more important is that this wasn't the end. There were still some places continuing to harvest box office earnings, and it's believed that it could still earn tens of millions more.
Once "The Lord of the Rings" came out, it was an absolute dominance, and any obstacles in its way would only be swept away by the hurricane it created.
With nearly $3 billion combined from the two "The Lord of the Rings" movies, many people predicted that the third installment would also gross over $1.4 billion, and if lucky, even $1.6 billion was possible. This meant that these three movies would become the highest-grossing trilogy globally, bar none!
And Laila would also firmly establish herself as the director with the highest-grossing films in Hollywood, without a doubt.
Director Cameron indeed knew how to make money, but compared to Laila, his efficiency was weak. It took him several years to produce a film, while Laila seized the global market at a rate of one film per year, sometimes even two. A director as prolific and profitable as her was a rarity in the entire history of cinema.
Even more noteworthy were the Dragon Soul Studios she founded and the Phoenix Films Production Company she expanded. When she took over the company, everyone who stayed was either someone who couldn't easily find a job or had some emotional attachment to the company, waiting to receive severance pay. Who could have imagined that after she took over the company, she would elevate it to its current position with the work of these people?
Dragon Soul Studios has now become synonymous with high-quality films, not only producing Laila's films but also producing and distributing many excellent works by other directors. For example, Michael Bay's "Transformers" series, Nolan's "The Prestige," and films created by directors who took over her film sequels.
Compared to those big movie production companies, Dragon Soul Studios didn't produce films quickly, but in terms of profits, one Dragon Soul could rival several big movie companies.
There was no way around it. Who made them have a director boss who could easily make movies that were popular worldwide? People from other companies could only envy them silently as they watched them take away most of the money from the pockets of movie fans.
Nolan's "The Prestige" was released at a seemingly inconspicuous time—October 20th.
This was a time when there was no attention paid, not the best opportunity to make money, but the advantage was that there was also less competition, making it perfect for releasing such a practice film.
During the film's screening, Laila's name could be seen in the screenwriting credits. Although it was placed last at Laila's strong request, Nolan remembered her inspiration and assistance to the film.
The original "The Prestige" could only be considered an excellent work, not a classic. Mainly because Nolan still had some immature aspects in his handling of details, and so did the critics, who believed that he had just made a dream come true, completing his dream of making a magic movie.
Now this version was different. Laila's filming techniques had a considerable impact on him, and the way Laila handled the rhythm also benefited him greatly. Combined with the script modification suggestions, it could be said that this was a film deeply influenced by Laila.
She possessed advanced filmmaking concepts for the next two or three decades. These concepts would definitely be pioneering in this era, and Nolan, influenced by these forward-thinking concepts, inevitably received some influence.
The result was an investment of $40 million bringing back $250 million in box office earnings, more than twice the original version's $109 million.
It was a touching and inspiring box office result. After receiving the final box office numbers, Nolan hugged his wife and cried bitterly. Although this wasn't the highest-grossing film he had directed, it fulfilled a dream he had as a child. Now that his dream had come true, and with such outstanding results, he felt that he could let go of all his previous concerns and step into a new life.
He would never forget who had helped him to achieve this. As long as he breathed in this world, his friendship with Laila Moran would continue!
In 2007, the Golden Globe Awards struck again.
This time, Laila's "The Lord of the Rings 2" was nominated for Best Drama Film and Best Director, but unsurprisingly, it didn't win any awards.
This repeated disappointment made fans of "The Lord of the Rings" and Laila even more angry, believing that the Golden Globe Awards were discriminating against Laila and their beloved "The Lord of the Rings" movies. Of course, even if this were the case, the people behind the Golden Globe Awards would never admit it.
In March, the 2007 Oscars once again generously gave "The Lord of the Rings 2" six nominations, three of which won awards, one more than the original version. However, Laila still didn't receive a heavyweight award, just some technical awards like visual effects.
During these two award ceremonies, or rather, the entire award season from the end of 2006 to the beginning of 2007, Laila was absent from the entertainment circle.
The reason, almost everyone who followed the news and Facebook knew, was that her grandmother accidentally injured her waist, and her grandfather, Oswald, in order to take his wife to the best place for treatment, handed over all his work and the company to her, and then temporarily stepped down.
This news caused panic among fans at the time, fearing that Laila would take over as a female president in the future and no longer make movies. They couldn't imagine a world without Laila's movies, because only her movies would never be bad, and only her movies could be watched with friends without being mocked for being bad.
Fans were unwilling to think about how much fun the world would be lacking without her movies.