It seems that his recent performance was problematic?
With this doubt in mind, Jim Carrey looked at Kevin, only to see Kevin coldly staring at Christian Bale's portrayal of Batman.
He understood that the problem wasn't with Jim Carrey.
Immediately relieved, he resumed his performance.
...
Upon hearing "take it from the top," Christian Bale suddenly felt a bit flustered. Before this, he had always believed in his acting skills.
But in front of Jim Carrey, his performance seemed akin to that of a newcomer who had just stepped into the acting industry.
From dialogue to acting skills, his entire presence was completely overshadowed.
Kevin's icy "take it from the top" instilled more fear in him than being scolded.
This caused his subsequent performance to be even worse.
"Take it from the top!"
Kevin repeated coldly.
Jim Carrey continued to perform steadily, while Christian Bale continued to be overshadowed.
"Cut! Prop master, bring the new Batman mask."
Christian Bale's face immediately darkened. It was true that he didn't perform well, and he couldn't blame Kevin for reducing the difficulty of their scenes through the use of props.
Of course, for him, it meant a reduction in his screen time.
Although he felt reluctant, it was evident that he didn't have the qualification to negotiate with Kevin. He could only choose to act or not.
Life on the set was mundane, and after the actual filming was completed, the crew moved to Warner Bros. Studios.
Everything proceeded according to plan, and filming continued in an orderly fashion.
….
Time on the set does not affect the passage of time.
In the blink of an eye, two months had passed, and the North American box office rankings were released.
During the lunch break, while others were resting, Ellie brought Kevin a professional film magazine and massaged his headache caused by filming.
She read out the box office rankings for him.
"In tenth place is New Line Cinema's The Mask, starring Jim Carrey."
Kevin nodded in acknowledgment and secretly chuckled. He had pushed down this previously top-ten film from the year's ranking with his arrival.
He found some satisfaction in this fact.
Kevin used to quite like Quentin Tarantino, the director of The Mask. But unfortunately, his intense dislike was triggered by the excessive references to Bruce Lee in the later parts of the film.
One could say that Tarantino was talented but lacking in morals.
"In ninth place is Speed, produced by Fox."
"In eighth place is The Fugitive, produced by Paramount."
"In seventh place is Dumb and Dumber, with one of the lead actors also being Jim Carrey. The film is distributed by New Line Cinema."
"In sixth place is The Flintstones, produced by Universal Pictures."
"In fifth place is The Santa Clause, produced by Buena Vista Pictures."
"In fourth place is True Lies, directed by James Cameron and produced by Fox."
"In third place is The Lion King, produced by Buena Vista Pictures."
"In second place is Forrest Gump, produced by Paramount."
"And in first place is Pirates of the Caribbean, produced by Disney, Warner Bros., and Dawn Film Productions."
When Ellie reached the first place, a smile couldn't help but appear on her face. She looked at Kevin, who was lying in the chair with his eyes closed, listening to her voice, and admired him.
Being at the top of the North American box office was no ordinary honor.
You see, this ranking only comes once a year.
Hollywood has only been around for a few decades, and there have been only a few dozen directors who have achieved first place.
Excluding repeat directors and those who have passed away, there are only about a dozen left.
And these people now hold crucial positions in Hollywood.
Francis Ford Coppola, the director of The Godfather and Kevin's uncle, is one of them.
Understanding this, one could gauge the significance of this ranking.
With Pirates of the Caribbean, even if Kevin were to continue his career just riding on his reputation, he could become a great director.
Of course, in terms of awards and artistic achievements, Pirates of the Caribbean may not compare to The Godfather. Even so, it would still be a precious accomplishment for him.
Indeed, experience and qualifications are essential in any industry and at any level.
After listening to Ellie's news, Kevin's mind was spinning rapidly.
Looking at this box office ranking, it's evident that most of the films belong to the Big Eight Hollywood studios.
Although New Line Cinema is not part of the Big Eight, it is essentially controlled by Warner Bros., so it's not unreasonable to say that Warner Bros. is involved.
But what's interesting is Buena Vista.
Buena Vista Pictures is an entertainment conglomerate with complex business operations. It holds stakes in companies such as Touchstone, Hollywood, Miramax, Disney, Dimension, and more.
The power of Buena Vista can be seen through these companies.
For Kevin, Buena Vista is, in a way, equivalent to Walt Disney.
Buena Vista was actually founded by Disney.
In the past, after Disney acquired Marvel and went through further consolidation of resources, another powerhouse called Disney Studios was formed in Hollywood.
Thus, Hollywood had a new dominant force on top.
And the biggest opportunity in Hollywood, Marvel, had fallen into Kevin's hands.
Kevin's goal was to replace Disney and make his Dawn Film Productions a major player among the Hollywood giants.
With this realization, Kevin finally had a clear objective for his future development.
That is to become the true king of Hollywood.
...
Time continued to pass, and Kevin maintained his work rhythm of one month of shooting and two days of rest, accompanied by a disciplined and abstinent attitude.
Success has never been a simple matter. Even though Kevin had the advantage of his past memories, which allowed him to predict a film's approximate box office performance and future development trends, he still pursued a step-by-step and steady approach while putting in his own efforts.
Meanwhile, in Hollywood, some exciting news reached Kevin's ears.
China had finally opened its film market to the United States.
Although there were still many restrictions, it meant that the opportunity to earn money in the Chinese market was now within reach, although it would still take several years to fully capitalize on it.
Nevertheless, it provided an opportunity to cultivate a fan base for intellectual properties (IPs) in advance.
This was the moment when Marvel's operations would truly hold significance.
No one understood the Chinese market and its future potential better than Kevin.
In the future, box office figures would revolve around three main concepts: the United States, China, and the rest of the world.
This corresponded to the future global landscape, with the United States as the top player, China as the second powerhouse, and the rest of the world following behind.
Around this competition for the top two spots, many stories would unfold.
However, such matters involving influential figures were still distant for Kevin at this point.
Perhaps only after he became the king of Hollywood would he have the opportunity to engage in such discussions.