Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 236 was practically made for this role!
The film opens with Chris seeing a boy his own age lying on a badly damaged and burning ship, barely alive. A little girl named Elizabeth rescues him. Time flies, and the two grow up to be lovers, but their social status creates obstacles.

The love story between a poor boy and a rich girl is a formula that Hollywood and the world have used to death. But the reason it's still used is because it's a classic; the key is how well you use it. Wasn't Titanic from a couple of years ago a perfect example?

Up to this point, the beginning of "The Pirate King" is fairly standard, but the costumes, sets, props, and other aspects are quite sophisticated, giving the film a high-quality feel and making it a comfortable watch.

Next, the scene flashes, and Chris sees a pirate wearing a tricorn hat, a faded red turban wrapped around his head, and brown dreadlocks adorned with colorful beads billowing in the wind, standing on the mast of a speedboat. To the accompaniment of an exciting background music track, he exudes an air of dominance as he sails the seas. It's none other than Captain Jack Sparrow!
However, as the camera zoomed out, all that could be seen was his dilapidated ship sinking steadily, a truly pitiful sight. But he didn't care. Just as he was about to reach Port Royal, and stepped off the mast onto the dock, his ship sank just as well.

Captain Jack Sparrow's unconventional appearance and unique entrance instantly attracted the attention of the entire audience, especially Chris. This different guy seemed more interesting than the handsome men and beautiful women who had appeared before.

Then, as Captain Jack escaped from the navy, he grabbed the rope and swung up, down, and outward like a swing, while Chris's gasps and laughter never stopped. He just thought the guy was incredibly funny!
Captain Jack Sparrow isn't particularly strong, unlike traditional pirates who are fierce and lack the aura and power of a typical protagonist. He even gets knocked out by a drunken old man, making him seem unreliable. However, the audience just can't bring themselves to hate him. Instead, they find his talkative and cheeky personality quite amusing!
But this "Pirate King" movie isn't just about Captain Jack Sparrow. When the pirates on the Black Pearl suddenly transform into half-human, half-ghost skeleton monsters under the moonlight, this eerie and terrifying scene caused many children in the audience to scream.

Some of the more timid ones covered their eyes completely, but left gaps between their fingers to peek at the screen, looking like they wanted to watch but were too afraid to.

Having experienced the horrors of "The Mummy," Chris wasn't afraid at all; in fact, he was extremely excited. Especially when he heard the pirates singing together:

"We are wicked demons, big bad guys. Come and drink to your heart's content and enjoy the pirate life! Woohoo!"

Chris called out to his father beside him, "Dad, this is so cool!"

"Oh, yes, that's so cool!" The father was also staring intently at the villain Barbossa on the screen. He watched as Barbossa turned into a skeleton and poured alcohol into his mouth, which then slid down his skeletal body. The scene looked bizarre and funny, and it was really interesting!
As the story unfolds, everyone joins Captain Jack Sparrow on an unknown, mysterious, and amazing adventure.

More than two hours later, amidst Will and Elizabeth's embrace and Captain Jack's voyage towards freedom aboard the Black Pearl, the film came to a close as the stirring soundtrack played once more.

The theater was already filled with the excited shouts of children, but when Wu Yuchen and the main creative team came on stage, the audience erupted in applause, and many children kept shouting, "Captain Jack! It's Jack Sparrow!"

Many of them didn't know Johnny Depp's name, but now they all remember Captain Jack Sparrow!

Without a doubt, Depp has now become the most popular and beloved figure present, and he continues to wave to the children below.

However, since the premiere was already quite late, there wasn't much room for interaction. Wu Yuchen asked the audience, "Dear little sailors, do you like this 'Pirate King' and Captain Jack Sparrow?"

"like!"

"I love Jack!"

"I love him to death!"

Listening to the children's excited and noisy responses, Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "Would you like to recommend this movie to your good friends and share this joy and happiness with them?"

"willing!"

"I'm going to call Jenny as soon as I get back!"

"I'm going to tell our whole class how cool Captain Jack Sparrow is!"

……

Afterwards, Wu Yuchen and the main actors of "The Pirate King" saw off the guests who had come to the premiere. Before leaving, the guests offered their praise:

"Wu, your 'Pirate King' is absolutely fantastic! It's the best pirate movie I've ever seen!"

"Wow, Wu, I never imagined a pirate movie could be made like this! I have a feeling it will be a summer blockbuster!"

"Johnny, congratulations! Your Captain Jack Sparrow will be the kids' favorite this year!"

After seeing everyone off, Wu Yuchen breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Keira Knightley excitedly asked, "Did we succeed?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and said to her, "At the premiere, no one will say anything bad; everyone will offer praise!"

This immediately dampened Keira Knightley's enthusiasm, which had just been showered with praise. Then, a moment later, Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "However, the children's reactions weren't fake~"

This brought a smile back to Elizabeth's face. She wasn't a complete novice; she knew that during the summer movie season, a film that appealed to a large number of children was bound to have a high box office. Because one child often represented two or three movie tickets!

At this point, Hugh Jackman said, "I wonder what's going on at Pearl Harbor?"

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this, then confidently stated, "Just focus on doing our own thing, and we will win this victory!"

At that moment, aboard an aircraft carrier in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the movie "Pearl Harbor" had just ended.

The movie "The Pirate King" has a runtime of 143 minutes, while "Pearl Harbor" is a full 183 minutes long, 40 minutes longer than "The Pirate King".

At that moment, Michael Eisner was talking to Bruce Willis beside him. Bruce Willis smiled at him and said, "Eisner, it's a pretty good movie. I think people will like it on Memorial Day."

“Thank you, your praise is the best reward for Pearl Harbor!” Eisner said sincerely.

Although Eisner was arrogant, it depended on who he was in front of. The person in front of him was one of the highest-ranking figures in the United States. Although Old Bush had stepped down as president, his son, Little Bush, had just taken office this year!

The fact that they were able to invite Brooks to the premiere of "Pearl Harbor" coincided with the 60th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Brooks was willing to use this opportunity to gain a good reputation in the public eye, demonstrating that he hasn't forgotten history and expressing his care for these veterans. Otherwise, do you really think just any movie can get him?

With Old Bu at the center, many people gathered around, first politely expressing their praise for the film, and then starting to talk about their own topics.

For the premiere of *Pearl Harbor*, Disney actually invited many surviving World War II veterans, especially those who were present at the attack on Pearl Harbor. However, Eisner was too busy dealing with these important figures to pay attention to the ordinary veterans.
After watching the movie, some veterans didn't look too happy and gathered together to talk. One Pearl Harbor survivor said angrily:
"What are they filming? What do they take Pearl Harbor for? To highlight how great and touching their bullshit love story is? Screw it!"

"The entire movie revolves around their love triangle! Do they really think we're a bunch of idiots whose brains are full of sperm and hormones?! Why didn't they show more scenes of other soldiers being injured or killed in Pearl Harbor? Many people were bleeding and sacrificing their lives, but these movies don't reflect that at all. All the shots are just following the two of them!"

Another person shrugged, looking like they knew everything, and said, "That's Hollywood. It only cares about money, and then fabricates some romantic, dubious things to make money."

A person next to him agreed, saying, "Yes, that's how the world is now. And I've also heard that Disney has glorified the Japanese in order to make money from them. The movies don't dare to reveal how much harm the Japanese have caused us, because they're afraid that the Japanese won't go to the cinema to contribute to the box office!"

"Damn bastards! We protest! This movie doesn't deserve to be shown on Memorial Day! It's an insult to the soldiers who defended Pearl Harbor and died there!"

The people at Disney were busy greeting the celebrity guests and didn't notice the veterans whose discontent had already coalesced.

……

The premiere of Pearl Harbor last night went very late, so Michael Eisner didn't get up until noon the next day. After lunch, he picked up a series of newspapers that his secretary had prepared and started reading.

"The Pirate King, the greatest pirate movie of all time!"

Upon seeing the headline, Eisner frowned, then smiled dismissively. It was clearly a PR press release bribed by the other party during the film's release; he couldn't be bothered to even glance at the content.

Then Eisner saw a newspaper review of Pearl Harbor: "An epic disaster film comparable to Titanic!"

Eisner frowned again. What did he mean by "comparable to"? It should be "surpassed." Did he even know how to write an article? It seemed he needed to give his PR team a pep talk!

He then flipped through several newspapers, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face whenever he saw articles praising "Pearl Harbor." "The Japanese American Civic Association protests 'Pearl Harbor' for its derogatory portrayal of Japanese people, accusing Disney of deliberately inciting racial hatred!"

Seeing this news, Eisner couldn't help but curse inwardly. He had already made changes to the movie to appease the Japanese, but they still didn't know what was good for them!
Just then, his secretary rushed in. Seeing this, Eisner asked in an unfriendly tone, "Why didn't you knock? What happened?"

"Excuse me, Mr. Eisner! A large group of World War II veterans have gathered to protest against Pearl Harbor!"

Eisner was shocked: "What? What happened? Where are they?"

"It's happening right now in Pearl Harbor, and it's being broadcast live on television!"

Eisner immediately turned on the TV and found Fox News. He saw a large group of elderly veterans gathered in front of the camera, holding a banner that read "Protest Pearl Harbor!" and some of the leaders were being interviewed.

"I was furious because so many of us died at Pearl Harbor. I was in the suicide squad. I saw so many bodies being carried away, so many wounded soldiers bleeding on stretchers, and so many people jumping into burning oil in despair. But this film only tells the story of two people, as if no one else existed."

"This film, Pearl Harbor, only focuses on the love triangle and only focuses the camera on the two male protagonists. It doesn't show how tragic the real war was at all. They didn't give these soldiers the recognition they deserved!"

"There are many fictional elements here, and Pearl Harbor should not coexist with fiction. This film does not give me any sense of pride, as if only Affleck and Hartlett were fighting there that day, and everyone else was irrelevant."

Bob Kinzel, president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, said, "What we need is not a love story, it should be a war film. Of course, some romance can be included, but it cannot be the theme of the film while ignoring history itself. That would be a desecration of the fallen soldiers!"

Eisner was furious when he saw the protesters on TV. Disney had kindly invited them to the premiere yesterday and provided a banquet, but a bunch of people turned around and came to ruin their event!
It's one thing for ordinary people to protest, but you guys are protesting too! And you're saying we didn't capture the devastation of Pearl Harbor during our 40-minute bombing?!

Eisner immediately roared, "Quickly, find someone to contact them and negotiate!"

After yelling, Eisner simply made the phone call himself, but unfortunately the responses he received from government officials were all perfunctory; they said they would appease him as soon as possible, but they couldn't offer any guarantees.

Eisner watched the live broadcast on the TV station. If it were ABC, he would have had it cut off immediately. Unfortunately, it was Fox News, a station that specializes in news!

At that moment, Eisner wasn't the only one watching the Fox News live broadcast. After watching it, Wu Yuchen clapped and cheered. Then he quickly found the head of his publicity team: "Find some media outlets and spread the word about this as much as possible to criticize Pearl Harbor."

With the current high level of attention surrounding "Pearl Harbor," even if they didn't do it, the media would still report on it. However, with "The Pirate King" currently competing with "Pearl Harbor" for box office revenue, the sooner they can defeat the other side, the more victories they will achieve!

That evening, several evening newspapers published related news reports:

"Pearl Harbor is facing a joint protest from survivors and veterans!"

"A three-hour war movie, with a two-and-a-half-hour love triangle."

"Pearl Harbor: A love story disguised as a war film?"

Negative news about *Pearl Harbor* was already piling up on its opening day. This contrasts sharply with *The Pirate King*.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Best Summer Blockbuster of the Year! Johnny Depp's performance is phenomenal, absolutely worth the ticket price!" — Alan Morrison, Empire Magazine

"The Pirate King: Ushering in a New Era for Pirate Movies!"

"The amazing Pirate King: Mysterious treasure, skeleton pirates, eerie gold coin curse, thrilling and intense sea chases and fights, elegant and unrestrained English fencing duels, the charming and handsome Will, the beautiful and persistent Elizabeth, and the legendary and humorous pirate Jack—all the captivating elements can be found here!"

"Pirates aren't just fierce and cunning; there's also Captain Jack Sparrow!"

Keira Knightley spent the whole day on promotions, but looking at all the praise in the newspapers, she felt most of her fatigue disappear. Although most of the praise was for Johnny Depp, her Elizabeth was mentioned quite a few times, after all, she was the only leading lady.

Before she knew it, it had turned from Friday to Saturday. It wasn't until the staff walked in with Friday's opening day box office figures that Kayla was jolted awake. She immediately rushed over and saw the following written on the paper:

Pearl Harbor: $1870 million.

Pirate King: 1793 million.

After looking at the numbers, Kayla immediately looked at Wu Yuchen, wondering what this meant. She thought the first-day results were good, but they weren't as high as Pearl Harbor, so she didn't know if it counted as a success.

Seeing this, Wu Yuchen smiled and said, "Not bad. Why didn't any of you react?"

Kayla immediately smiled: "I was worried that the box office wouldn't be as good as 'Pearl Harbor,' and you'd be unhappy, Director!"

Wu Yuchen shook his head slightly and smiled, "It's only natural that Pearl Harbor's opening day box office is higher than ours. Do you really think they wasted their $1 million in publicity? If it weren't for the protests today, it's very likely that it would have grossed over $2000 million on the opening day."

To be honest, Wu Yuchen would have considered it normal if the opening day box office difference between "The Pirate King" and "Pearl Harbor" was 300 million, but since it's only under 100 million so far, he's already very satisfied. Even if "Pearl Harbor" has some negative news today while "The Pirate King" is receiving rave reviews, it will still take time for these factors to take hold.

Therefore, the box office performance in the next two days is crucial.

……

The next morning.

Good morning, Kenneth!

Good morning, David!

"Welcome to NPR Morning. Kenneth will now share his thoughts on this week's movies."

Kenneth Turan is a film critic for the Los Angeles Times, chairman of the Los Angeles Times Book Awards, and a film critic on a morning radio program. He is known for his fairness, objectivity, and sharp remarks, and has many fans. He is a very well-known figure in the North American film criticism circle.

"Kenneth, the two most anticipated movies of this period, Pearl Harbor and The Pirate King, were released yesterday. And this also involves a bet between director Wu Yuchen and a Disney executive. Did you go see them yesterday?"

"Of course, I've seen both movies. What I'm saying is, Peter Schreid could write his resignation letter now!"

"Wow, Kenneth, are you so sure? You know, yesterday's opening day box office for Pearl Harbor was higher than that of The Pirate King!"

"I had high expectations for Pearl Harbor, especially since it was Memorial Day, so I went to see it as soon as it was released, but it was a huge disappointment!"
Of the 183 minutes, 153 minutes are about a love triangle, and the remaining half hour is Michael Bay's explosions. Frankly, the explosions lived up to Michael Bay's nickname "Explosive Bay," and the soundtrack was also quite good, but that long and cheesy love triangle was simply unappealing!
I know that Disney and Michael Bay are trying hard to imitate "Titanic". They think that disaster plus romance is the road to box office success, but they chose the wrong movie!
This is Pearl Harbor, this is a war movie, this is Remembrance Day! Why are people going to see it? It's to reflect on history, to commemorate the Pearl Harbor attack, to watch the war with fervent patriotism, not to see a love triangle disguised as a movie!
If you cut an hour from the 183-minute movie, remove the emphasis on the female lead's brotherhood, or remove the romantic storyline between the female lead and the second male lead, the entire movie could be elevated to a higher level.

But clearly, Disney didn't choose to do that. The united protests by Pearl Harbor survivors are clear evidence of the film's failure. How can a film like *Pearl Harbor*, which even Pearl Harbor veterans are dissatisfied with, be expected to be believed by the general public?

"Hmm, Kenneth, what you said makes a lot of sense. How about we talk about Pirate King again?"

When Pirate King was mentioned, Kenneth's tone noticeably became much more cheerful:

"The Pirate King really surprised me a lot. It should be said to be the most surprising movie this year so far! I'm not saying it has a high level of artistry, but it's about two points."

First of all, it completely surpasses previous pirate-themed films. Director Wu Yuchen perfectly blends elements of pirates, adventure, romance, handsome men and beautiful women, action, naval battles, and fantasy legends, taking the audience on a mysterious, winding, and thrilling adventure full of humor and excitement. I bet this movie will be a favorite among children this summer! Of course, it's not childish at all and is also suitable for adults.

The most outstanding aspect of this film, without a doubt, lies in its male lead, Jack Sparrow! No one has ever portrayed a pirate like him: dashing and unrestrained, a lover of freedom, eccentric and talkative, yet brave and fearless; though prone to scheming and intrigue, he also occasionally reveals a kind side. Captain Jack Sparrow is simply too charismatic!
Depp was born for this role!

(End of this chapter)