Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 237 Mickey Mouse put on Donald Duck's beak!

Although radio has now reached the same level of reach as television, it still has a large number of loyal customers. Moreover, this is a national radio program, which will influence the decision of many people who hear these remarks when buying movie tickets today.

Kenneth's remarks on NPR's morning show reached Michael Eisner's ears, infuriating him.

What does it mean to disrespect history? Does Titanic really respect history? Is it okay for Titanic to turn a tragic event with thousands of deaths into a romance film, but not okay for Pearl Harbor to have a romance as its main storyline?

These damn film critics are all out of their minds!

Michael Eisner immediately asked his secretary, "How are the negotiations with those protesting veterans going?"

The secretary immediately said, "It has already had some effect. We have proposed to donate $300 million to the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association to subsidize and care for surviving veterans who are struggling financially, but the association wants $500 million."

Michael Eisner's face darkened. "Give them to them. Tell them to quickly appease those rioting veterans. I don't want to see any more protests! Also, get the Pearl Harbor Association to cooperate and get ABC to broadcast our good deeds live immediately!"

After the secretary left, Michael Eisner couldn't help but curse, "Damn Survivor's Association, trying to take advantage of this time! Why didn't we blow you all up back then!"

Because of this incident caused by these people, he felt the box office would drop by at least 1 million. To quickly cut off the negative impact, he had no choice but to pay them off. Now, the priority was to get them to cooperate with the promotion of "Pearl Harbor" as soon as possible to minimize the negative publicity and reverse the impressions of potential viewers.

Michael Eisner is somewhat troubled. Pearl Harbor is Disney's major project this year, a big project that Disney has spared no effort in preparing. He has made a bold promise, both internally and externally, to ensure that it will achieve great results.

He initially thought it wouldn't be difficult. He had seen the film after it was made and felt it was on par with "Titanic." They had the grand scale, with epic and spectacular war scenes; they had the special effects, and the name "Bell" wasn't just for show—40 minutes of explosions should be enough to keep audiences entertained; and they had the romance, featuring a pairing of American stars with a British beauty that audiences love.

However, it encountered some setbacks upon its release, and there's also the seemingly well-performing "The Pirate King" film watching from the sidelines.

However, Eisner comforted himself, thinking that as long as the minor trouble of the protests was resolved, Pearl Harbor would still reap a rich reward, just like Titanic!

Eisner then pressed the remote control, flipping through channels randomly. He stopped after hearing a few words, glanced at the channel logo, and saw it was still Fox. He had just heard "Pearl Harbor".

"Hello everyone, with the release of two big-budget films, 'The Pirate King' and 'Pearl Harbor,' each costing $1.4 million, cinemas are bustling this weekend. We will now be conducting random surveys and interviews with the people coming and going."

As the reporter spoke, he stopped a young man who was about to enter the movie theater: "Hello, are you here to watch a movie?"

"Of course!"

Which movie do you want to watch?

"The Pirate King".

Why was "The Pirate King" chosen instead of "Pearl Harbor"?

"I've heard that Pearl Harbor was a movie that was all show and no substance, while The Pirate King had a better reputation. I'm very curious to see how this pirate movie will turn out."

Upon hearing the young man's answer on TV, Eisner couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, it's all because of those protesting veterans yesterday!"
At this point, the reporter stopped a middle-aged man who was holding the hand of a little boy.

"Hello, may I ask which movie you're here to see today?"

Before the middle-aged man could answer, the little boy shouted impatiently, "Pirate King! I'm here to see Captain Jack Sparrow. Chris told me he's really funny!"

The middle-aged man smiled at the reporter and said, "Actually, I'm more interested in Pearl Harbor, but as you can see, my son has been looking forward to Pirate King all day after talking to his friends on the phone."

The reporter gave an understanding smile as the little boy excitedly pulled his father into the movie theater.

Then the reporter stopped two young Black men: "Hey, what movie are you planning to see?"

Without hesitation, the two replied, "The Pirate King."

"Why not Pearl Harbor? Is it because of the protests by veterans yesterday?"

A Black man, looking puzzled, said, "Protest? Honestly, I don't know anything about this history. I only care about whether the movie is good or not. My friends all say 'The Pirate King' is great, which is why I chose to see it."

Another Black person said, "Pearl Harbor is too white; it's entirely a white historical story. In comparison, Pirate King feels much more relatable to me."

Reporters visited three times in a row, all to see "The Pirate King," which almost made Eisner, who was watching TV, lose his composure. Fortunately, a couple walked in the next moment and said they were there to see the love story of "Pearl Harbor," which made Eisner's expression soften a bit.

Just then, a group of people emerged from the movie theater, presumably having just finished watching a film. The reporter quickly approached them: "Hey, hello, what movie did you just see? How did you like it?"

Two teenagers shouted into the camera, "Pirate King! The great Captain Jack Sparrow!"

"This movie is so cool! It perfectly matches my fantasy of the pirate world!"

"Captain Jack Sparrow is so captivating! He always has that cheeky look, but you just can't help but fall in love with him!"

"And the mysterious Black Pearl and the curse!"

The two chatted excitedly, taking turns talking.

"A fantastic pirate fantasy adventure movie, perfect in every aspect: the plot, the actors, the soundtrack, and the special effects. The scene where the character transforms into a skeleton under the moonlight is particularly memorable!"

“I brought my son to see it, but I completely forgot about him and was completely engrossed in watching it!”

"It's great! It's also a fantasy adventure movie, but I think it's even better than 'The Mummy.' Captain Jack Sparrow is so charismatic!"

Several more people were interviewed, and they all clearly spoke highly of "Pirate King." The reporter said to the camera:

"Wow! Judging from the audience's feedback, director Wu Yuchen has really overturned the perception that pirate movies are box office poison, and has brought us a pirate movie that is very popular with the audience! And I have a feeling that Johnny Depp's fame may reach a new level with this 'Pirate King'!"

Just as he was speaking, another group of people came out of the cinema one after another. The reporter went up to them and interviewed a refined old man with gray hair who looked quite old.

"Hello, sir, what movie did you just watch? Could you share your thoughts?"

The old man shook his head: "I just watched Pearl Harbor, and to be honest, I wasn't satisfied with the movie. It's a far cry from 'Tora! Tora! Tora!', even though it's also about Pearl Harbor. I thought that after 30 years, with the advancement of film technology, we'd see better movies. But clearly, Pearl Harbor is somewhat disappointing. War isn't just about explosions, and it certainly doesn't have that much romance."

After the old man finished speaking, he walked away. The reporter then stopped a young couple: "Hey, hello, did you just watch 'Pearl Harbor'? What did you think of it?"

The woman smiled and said, "I think it's pretty good. It helped me learn more about the history of the Pearl Harbor attack, and the love story within it was also very touching."

Her boyfriend pursed his lips upon hearing this, and the reporter immediately asked, "Sir, what is your opinion?"

The man didn't hold back and said directly, "I don't find their love story touching at all; it's just too melodramatic! I think the male lead has lost his mind! He's even raising someone else's child; he's such a traitor!"

His girlfriend slapped him on the shoulder when she heard this: "Hey, how could you think like that! Since he loves her, he should accept everything about her. Your thinking is too selfish and too narrow-minded!"

The man rolled his eyes: "Come on! While the male lead's fate was still unknown, the female lead was already hooking up with his best friend. What a pair of scoundrels!"

The woman shouted angrily, "Don't be unreasonable! They thought the male lead had died. He was just helping the male lead take care of her!"

The man continued his taunts: "Oh yeah, they've all taken their best bros' girlfriends to bed! What a fucking touching brotherhood!"

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, the reporter immediately slipped away, saying, "OK, let's see what other people think!"

This scene infuriated Eisner so much that he immediately turned off the TV. At the same time, the reactions in the interview made him feel a sense of crisis; after all, this was genuine word-of-mouth, not some deliberately nitpicking critic. Was *Pearl Harbor* really going to be a flop?
Thinking of this, he immediately picked up the phone: "Increase publicity! Increase public relations efforts, and do everything possible to silence any negative comments!"

This time, Pearl Harbor has already invested 2.5 million, and more importantly, it has been promoted for so long. Everyone knows that it is a project that Eisner has devoted himself to to create, comparable to Titanic, and it absolutely cannot fail!
……

"Hey Depp, that's fantastic! You're absolutely the audience's favorite now!"

Wu Yuchen encouraged Depp, saying that when he went to promote the film today, the audience was very enthusiastic when they saw Captain Jack Sparrow, and the children kept calling out to him.

Johnny Depp waved his hand; he was too tired to speak. He was popular, but he was also really exhausted!
Seeing this, Wu Yuchen smiled and then said to Hugh Jackman, "Hugh, this 'Pirate King' will become your masterpiece, taking your career to the next level and making you a true Hollywood star!"

Hugh Jackman's popularity soared again after last year's *X-Men*, thanks to his role as Wolverine, and he's now among the top-tier second-tier actors. After *Pirates of the Caribbean*, he'll definitely break into the A-list. Wu Yuchen then said to Keira Knightley, "Keira, this time you'll be a star. You won't be Natalie Portman's stunt double anymore; you'll have even more fans than her!"

Upon hearing this, Kayla exclaimed, "Director, I want a raise for the sequel!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen laughed heartily: "Of course!"

Amidst their conversation, a staff member approached with Saturday's box office figures. Everyone immediately crowded around, even Depp, who had been too tired to speak earlier, joined in. The figures read:

Pirate King, 2534 million;
Pearl Harbor, $1692 million;
Kayla stared at the number, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. She could understand how *Pirate King* could surpass *Pearl Harbor*, but how could this number be so much larger?!
Just yesterday, "Pirate King" was nearly 100 million behind "Pearl Harbor," but today it has overtaken it by more than 800 million! This made Keira wonder if she was seeing things!
"Oh my god! Director, is this real? Am I dreaming?" Kayla screamed, covering her mouth.

Not only Keira Knightley, but even Johnny Depp and Hugh Jackman were stunned. After all, the promotional campaign for *Pearl Harbor* had consistently outpaced that of *Pirates of the Caribbean*, and they had been riding on the coattails of *Pearl Harbor*'s popularity. They never imagined it would be so far ahead!

Wu Yuchen then flashed a bright smile and said, "We're far ahead now! Aren't you happy?"

Kayla immediately exclaimed excitedly, "No, of course I'm happy! But how could this be?"

"How could this be?!" Michael Bay looked at the same set of data with an incredulous expression.

"Could there be a mistake?! How could this be?!" Michael Bay roared again. But no one around him uttered a sound; they were all trembling with fear.

At that moment, producer Bruckheimer walked over with an investigation report, then looked tired and frustrated, and said to him, "Michael, take a look at this first."

Michael Bay quickly picked up the investigation report and began to read it...

"Because Pearl Harbor itself had problems," Wu Yuchen explained with a smile to the people around him.

"The fact that Pearl Harbor is not very respectful of history and sparked protests is only one reason. But its biggest problem lies in the love triangle it sets up."

Pearl Harbor wanted to emulate Titanic by using a romance to attract audiences, which is perfectly fine. However, their love triangle was too melodramatic. While Titanic also featured a love triangle, Jack and Rose were ultimately in love; their love was flawless and incredibly moving!
And what about *Pearl Harbor*? The female lead falls in love with the male lead first, then with the second male lead, even having a child with him. Finally, after the second male lead dies, she returns to the male lead's arms. Many women might find this kind of convoluted love story touching, but I guarantee most men won't find it particularly moving!
Not to mention that the rest of the film's structure was sacrificed for this love triangle.

After Wu Yuchen finished explaining, the people around him suddenly realized that the problem lay in the core of the film "Pearl Harbor".

At this point, Hugh Jackman said, "Plus, we have such a great 'Pirates of the Caribbean' competing with it!"

Wu Yuchen snapped his fingers: "bingo!"

"So, we've already won?!" Kayla asked.

"Hehe, we are on the road to victory, but you must work hard to spread the word in order to speed up the pace of victory!" Wu Yuchen said to the people around him.

At this moment, Johnny Depp regained his composure and gestured, shouting, "Don't worry, the great Jack Sparrow will lead 'Pirate King' to victory!"

……

Meanwhile, Bruckheimer, Michael Bay, and the head of public relations gathered together. Bruckheimer said, "Now we need to adjust our publicity strategy. From now on, we'll focus as much of the publicity as possible on the film's special effects, gradually downplaying the romance. Also, we need to put pressure on the theaters not to reduce the number of screens we have..."

The PR manager nodded and took notes. After he left, Michael Bay asked Bruckheimer, "Is it too late for us to do this?"

Bruckheimer sighed, "Let's try to salvage as much as we can. I just hope the film loses as little money as possible."

If a film fails, both producer and director Michael Bay bear responsibility, and minimizing losses would significantly reduce their pressure.

Michael Bay then looked at the $2534 million daily box office gross of "Pirates of the Caribbean" and muttered bitterly, "I didn't expect we'd really lose to that guy this time..."

Bruckheimer also shook his head. If it weren't for "The Pirate King," without any competitors, they could have used their marketing advantages to monopolize the release date, and even if the movie had some problems, it could still attract most casual viewers.

However, with the presence of a strong competitor like "The Pirate King", "Pearl Harbor" is now losing its reputation and a large number of viewers if it makes a mistake.

Bruckheimer patted Michael Bay on the shoulder: "It's okay, it's just one setback. We can learn from it and try again next time."

Both he and Michael Bay have deep roots in the industry, so even if a big-budget production like *Pearl Harbor* fails, it won't have a significant impact; they'll still be guests of honor at major productions. As for Disney? Good luck to them.

On Sunday, despite pressure from Disney, theaters did not reduce the number of screens showing "Pearl Harbor," but it was still not enough to salvage the situation.
Pirate King: $2178 million;
Pearl Harbor: 1263 million.

The box office figures for the first three days of the weekend are in: "The Pirate King" earned 6505 million and "Pearl Harbor" earned 4825 million.

With this result in hand, the winner and loser became immediately clear, and those media outlets that had previously refrained from commenting due to various reasons began to chime in:
"The Pirate King surpasses Pearl Harbor, topping the box office with 6505 million in its opening weekend!"
"The Pirate King completely crushes Pearl Harbor, achieving a resounding victory!"

"Pearl Harbor was attacked again and lost to Pirate King, taking second place."

"Pearl Harbor aircraft carriers are no match for Pirate King's skeleton pirates!"

The media and public opinion naturally sang praises to "Pirate King":

"Pirate King: A perfect blend of adventure, fantasy, romance, and pirate culture!"

"The Pirate King is a quest for freedom, adventure, and glamour!"

"Pirate King: A uniquely captivating maritime adventure!"

"The Pirate King: It created a pirate classic and revived the pirate genre."

"A must-see: Pirate King, featuring the captivating Captain Jack Sparrow!"

"Captain Jack Sparrow's charm is boundless, and Johnny Depp is a sensation in North America!"

Renowned film critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised Depp's performance:
"You could say that (Depp's) performance was original in every aspect. There has never been a pirate or anyone else in any other movie like him... His behavior showed a lifetime of dedication."

He also highly praised director Wu Yuchen, who pioneered the "Pirate King" franchise:
"Wu Yuchen proved his ability to handle big-budget productions with 'The Pirate King.' This pirate movie, which perfectly blends various elements together, creates a fascinating new pirate world and makes it a classic pirate film!"

Johnny Depp is indeed enjoying immense popularity right now. His performance in "The Pirate King" has garnered countless accolades, with many even saying that without Depp, the charm of "The Pirate King" would be at least halved.

However, Wu Yuchen didn't care about this. He felt that Depp deserved the praise and that Depp had stolen his thunder. Promoting Depp now would help the box office of "The Pirate King" continue to rise.

Depp then directly addressed Disney, asking, "Now I want to ask Peter Schreid of Disney, is Johnny Depp capable of playing the lead role in a $1.4 million blockbuster?"

Depp is not the kind of saint who holds grudges. He remembers clearly how the other party criticized him for not being able to carry a big-budget film at the box office. Now that "The Pirate King" is a huge success, he naturally has to fight back!
While praising "The Pirate King," the media also criticized and condemned "Pearl Harbor" from various aspects, which were basically the problems that Wu Yuchen mentioned before, targeting the melodramatic love triangle in the movie.

Now that Depp has spoken out, the media, always eager for drama, have naturally turned to Disney, reminding them to remember their previous bet with Wu Yuchen and the boastful words they made back then:

"Breaking records in its opening weekend? Grossing $100 million in 5 days? Pearl Harbor's boastful claims have become a joke!"

Peter Schreid: Is your resignation letter ready?

Peter Schreid actually wanted to hide, but he had to go to work and couldn't escape the paparazzi, who relentlessly pursued him. However, he remained defiant:

"Resign? Why should I resign?"

A bet? My original bet was that if Pearl Harbor failed, I would resign. The fact that Pearl Harbor's opening weekend box office was lower than The Pirates of the Caribbean doesn't mean the project failed.

Pearl Harbor hasn't flopped yet! It's only been three days, and I believe Pearl Harbor will achieve high box office returns in the long run!

These remarks naturally drew ridicule from all sides, and the media also reported on them extensively.
"Disney, that stubborn mum, should put up a Donald Duck sign at the company entrance!"

"Mickey Mouse has replaced Donald Duck's beak!"

(End of this chapter)