After dealing with Scarlett, Ethan moved on to Anne Hathaway's hotel.
As for Jessica Alba, during the dinner party, Ethan had already discussed vacation plans with her and successfully tricked her into coming home with him.
So the next day, when Ethan got into Tom's car, he headed straight for Jessica Alba's residence.
Oslo, Norway.
Ethan's first vacation stop was a Nordic country.
At this moment, he was driving, taking Jessica to the hotel he had booked.
"Wow!" Jessica leaned out of the sunroof, feeling the whistling wind before turning to Ethan and saying, "This place is beautiful."
"Yes." Ethan wore sunglasses, looking at the lush scenery outside the car window.
This place was north of Oslo, covered in white snow, with forests everywhere. It looked like the kind of place a witch in a fairy tale would live in seclusion.
However, the forest wasn't just full of trees. Ethan soon drove to the only human gathering spot here—the treehouse hotel.
That's right, this hotel was built on trees.
Every few dozen meters, there was a uniquely shaped treehouse fixed among the trees. Some had fully reflective mirror exteriors, some were designed like UFOs, and others resembled upside-down pyramids.
This was a uniquely designed hotel by a renowned architect. It usually received very few guests, so the prices were extremely high.
But to Ethan, this was nothing. He directly booked a five-day stay.
When Jessica saw the treehouses, she was astonished. "Ethan, this is amazing! Wow, this is exciting!"
"It is beautiful," Ethan nodded, then led her up the black staircase to the mirror house.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, Jessica playfully struck a few poses. "This is so cool. I feel like I can't even tell which side is real and which is the mirror world."
"What did you say?" Ethan stopped in his tracks, as if inspiration had struck.
"I said…" Jessica looked at his expression and slowly repeated, "I feel like I can't tell which side is real…"
"Yes! That's it!" Ethan didn't rush to open the door. Instead, he leaned on the railing, looking at his reflection in the mirror, as if he were staring at a dream version of himself.
"Yes, this is it. Jessica, I've just thought of an idea for a new movie." Ethan touched the mirror, feeling his thoughts suddenly become clear.
He had been thinking about what movie to shoot next. Though many studios had approached him, he wanted his own company to produce it to maximize the profits.
So for the past few nights, he had been searching his mind for a film that could balance both artistic value and commercial success.
And at this moment, with Jessica's casual remark, he had finally found it.
"What is it?" Jessica asked excitedly, looking at Ethan. "Really? That's great!"
"Yes, I know exactly what I want to make next."
"What is it, darling?" Jessica was itching to know what Ethan had in mind.
Ethan smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist. The two leaned against the railing intimately as he said, "A dream, an adventure, a team."
"I don't get it." Jessica furrowed her brows, trying to understand.
"Of course, you don't. Because it's a suspense film. But it's thrilling—so thrilling that I can hardly wait."
Ethan finished speaking, and a movie title popped into his mind.
"Does it have a name? Or at least a codename?"
"Of course, I've already thought of one. Inception. What do you think?"
"Wow, what a cool name! It sounds like… someone sneaks into my dreams while I'm sleeping and steals them."
"Yeah, exactly! They steal them!" Ethan burst out laughing. "Jessica, you guessed right. You really are my angel!"
And that wasn't the only movie he thought of. As he brainstormed actors, another film came to mind—one that had a low budget but achieved massive box office success and won multiple awards.
He decided to shoot that one first while preparing for Inception, since that film's production scale and visual effects would be beyond anything he had worked on before.
"This is going to be a major investment."
While Ethan finalized his plans for his next film, Fifty Shades of Grey officially premiered in North American theaters on Valentine's Day.
"Within ten minutes and twenty seconds, tickets for Fifty Shades of Grey sold out."
"Bona Cinema's Fifty Shades of Grey premiere tickets—all gone!"
"The audience is overwhelmingly female. They are carrying copies of Fifty Shades of Grey, entering the theater in groups!"
"United Theaters announced a sudden adjustment, expanding the number of screenings for Fifty Shades of Grey. This is an extremely rare occurrence! In just two hours, the number of screens showing Fifty Shades of Grey jumped from 2,890 to 3,700!"
"Valentine's Day—long lines at theaters, all seats packed."
On the day of release, every media outlet covered this phenomenon. Other films had no chance against Fifty Shades of Grey—they were completely overshadowed.
Every girl dragged their boyfriend or their "loyal admirer" to the theater to watch Fifty Shades of Grey.
Judy was no exception. She eagerly pulled Milan's hand and dragged him into the theater.
Milan had never experienced such an electric atmosphere before. Even for big-budget action films, he had never seen such a crowded theater.
It was a testament to the boundless enthusiasm of female audiences and their immense anticipation for Fifty Shades of Grey.
After he sat down, Milan glanced around and noticed that about 80% of the audience were women.
He and the other male viewers were the minority.
Once everyone was seated, the theater lights dimmed, and the movie began.
There wasn't much to say about the plot. At least in Milan's eyes, it was just the classic trope of a domineering CEO falling for a sweet, innocent girl.
But the flirtation and the BDSM scenes were undeniably steamy.
Every time one of these scenes played, Milan could feel Judy's sweaty palm squeezing his hand.
When he turned to look at her, the glow from the screen revealed her occasionally biting her lip.
By the second half of the film, Judy simply leaned on Milan's shoulder, absentmindedly tracing her fingers along the inside of his arm.
Milan found it difficult to sit still.
Thankfully, Ethan knew exactly when to stop. Just as the audience reached their peak excitement, the scenes would transition into everyday moments, giving them time to cool down.
With this well-paced rhythm, the movie reached its final sequence.
The female lead and male lead swapped roles—the one dominating became the woman, and the one submitting became the man.
The girls in the audience were ecstatic, experiencing the thrill of "taming a domineering CEO."
Lost in this fantasy, they watched the movie conclude.
Milan waited outside the restroom for a long time. Everyone who had gone in at the same time had already left, but Judy still refused to come out.
He stood until his legs were sore before Judy finally walked out of the restroom.
"What happened? What's wrong?"
Milan looked puzzled.
"Nothing, I just... washed my face." Judy stammered.
Milan looked at her face. He didn't see any water droplets, and her makeup was still intact.
But he didn't think much of it and simply led Judy out of the theater.
At the entrance of the theater, reporters were conducting interviews.
They happened to see Judy, so they extended the microphone toward her. "Hello, did you just watch Fifty Shades of Grey?"
"That's right!" Judy graciously accepted the interview.
"Did you enjoy the film?"
"It was amazing!"
"Did you like the cast?"
"I think Aaron Tveit is just too handsome!" Judy exclaimed excitedly.
Milan, standing beside her, felt a little awkward.
"If there's a sequel, will you support it?"
"Of course!" Judy answered firmly. "I will definitely support it!"
"Thank you!" The reporter nodded and moved on to interview others.
The next day, various reports were freshly published.
Fifty Shades of Grey dominated the front pages of most Hollywood news outlets with an overwhelming advantage.
However, the public wasn't most concerned about the theater buzz or the film's reviews. What they cared about the most was the box office performance.
The theaters quickly released the data.
Fifty Shades of Grey's opening-day box office: $35.87 million!
Over 30 million on opening day?
This news was like a bombshell, blowing the roof off Hollywood and leaving everyone inside utterly stunned.
Executives from Universal and other major studios immediately regretted their decisions. Within minutes of the news breaking, offices of major studios echoed with clear exclamations of "FXXK! SHXT!"
Meanwhile, MGM's president, Harry Sloan, was grinning like a flower, lounging in his office with his legs crossed, feeling that his decision had been incredibly wise.
After all, films with an opening-day box office exceeding 30 million typically gross at least $150 million in total.
And this was just the North American box office!
Generally speaking, if a film exploded in North America, its reputation would spread internationally, sparking a global viewing craze.
In other words, the worldwide box office was bound to be impressive.
"This is fantastic news!" The secretary, standing beside Harry, handed him a glass of champagne.
"Yes, truly fantastic news." Harry had been struggling with MGM's debt issues for a long time, and now, he finally saw hope for a turnaround.
Once the box office revenue came in and United Artists was sold off, MGM's debt would be significantly reduced.
"Increase global promotional efforts. I want everyone to know about this film."
At the same time, Paula Wagner was discussing the movie with Tom Cruise.
"See? This is Ethan." He puffed on his cigar and smiled. "I believe his involvement will bring more great films to United Artists."
Tom Cruise nodded. Although he was a bit displeased about his own stake being reduced, since Ethan's film was such a hit, there was a chance they could collaborate in the future.
Moreover, the Oscars had proven Ethan's ability to win awards, which was something Tom Cruise valued highly.
"So now United Artists has two film franchises: Saw and Fifty Shades of Grey. Fantastic! We just need to acquire it!"
"What's the progress of the negotiations?" Tom Cruise asked with concern.
His relationship with his former employer, Paramount, had deteriorated badly. Ever since he jumped around on Oprah, shocking the audience, Paramount's owner, Sumner Redstone, had considered him an unpredictable liability that could damage the company's image.
Additionally, his comments on whether Brooke Shields should take antidepressants had alienated many female viewers.
Even Sumner Redstone's wife disliked him immensely.
As a result, he didn't even have an office at Paramount anymore. Although they were still nominally in partnership, in reality, their relationship had long since soured.
Tom Cruise was desperate to move into United Artists and have his own company rather than be at the mercy of others.
So he had been actively pushing this matter forward.
Paula Wagner nodded. "Don't worry, MGM has already agreed. The only unresolved issues are the price and payment method. I hope to pay in installments each year, but they want a lump sum."
"But don't worry. They'll agree eventually because no one is willing to spend hundreds of millions to buy an empty shell company—except us."
A week later, Fifty Shades of Grey's box office results were freshly released.
The Hollywood Reporter published a new article: "The Highest-Grossing Film of 2006, the Most Successful R-Rated Film in History!"
"Fifty Shades of Grey delivered an impressive $35.87 million on opening day, and in its first week, it shocked—or terrified—everyone with another astonishing result.
$95.6 million!
In just one week, it was already on the verge of breaking $100 million. This was an outrageous achievement.
This film proved the audience's preferences through ticket sales, especially female viewers. According to journalists' investigations, 20% of female viewers watched it twice, and 3% watched it three times. This was one of the key reasons for the rapid box office surge.
Though critics trashed the film, calling it shallow and failing to carry the weighty theme of female empowerment, audiences supported it with real dollars, causing the original Fifty Shades of Grey book to sell out again. I imagine the publishers must be going crazy counting their money.
And the two lead actors, Aaron Tveit and Leighton Meester, have skyrocketed from obscurity to become major Hollywood stars. Their fan groups have emerged one after another, especially for male lead Aaron Tveit—some die-hard fans even rented a screen in Times Square to play his movie clips every day.
I must say, this is the most shocking scene at the beginning of the new year and one of the most unprecedented events in film history.
If nothing unexpected happens, this film could hit $200 million at the box office."
Upon hearing this, executives at numerous film studios fell into another round of depression.
.....
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