Song Hye-kyo's thinking was very simple. She wanted to learn from Noriko Sakai and increase her standing in Gilbert's eyes by introducing women to him.
However, as this was her first time doing something like this, Song Hye-kyo was a little unsure where to start.
Just at that moment, a call came from Los Angeles asking whether she wanted to attend the premiere of The Avengers. Song Hye-kyo had a brief cameo appearance in the film, so the reason was perfectly valid.
So Song Hye-kyo asked, "Can I bring a sister with me?"
The other side replied, "Of course."
"Thank you."
Song Hye-kyo then added, "Could you send us formal invitation letters?"
Although they did not understand what Song Hye-kyo was planning to do, she was the boss's woman. The assistants in the assistant office did not think much about it and agreed. That was how the invitation in Bae Suzy's hands came to be.
Bae Suzy was momentarily stunned. But Song Hye-kyo soon contacted her.
"Suzy, did you receive the invitation?"
"I did, senior. This is…?"
"What else could it be? Director Gilbert must remember you. If you don't show it off, how will anyone know? Look, I already posted mine."
Bae Suzy logged onto social media and quickly found Song Hye-kyo's account. Sure enough, she had already shared her invitation letter. Looking at the comments below, there was envy, jealousy, and plenty of blessings and congratulations.
Only then did the somewhat naïve Bae Suzy begin to understand a little about the nature of society. So this was how the world worked.
She no longer hesitated and directly posted her own invitation letter as well. This immediately threw the Zheng family's young master into even greater panic. Not only did he send gifts and apologize, he did not even dare harass Bae Suzy's teammates anymore.
Song Hye-kyo and Bae Suzy were the only two Korean actresses to receive invitation letters, and the significance of these invitations went without saying. Being able to attend the premiere of Gilbert's new film—what kind of relationship did that imply?
Premieres were not something you could attend just because you wanted to. For example, the premiere of famous Korean director Bong Joon-ho was a place countless Korean celebrities desperately wanted to get into.
But if you did not receive an invitation and still went, that would be considered a breach of etiquette, and you might even be kicked out.
Not to mention Gilbert, who was several levels above Bong Joon-ho. His film premieres were the places every celebrity in the world most wanted to attend.
Because theater capacity was limited, it was impossible to let too many people in, so invitations were extremely valuable.
Now one could understand the weight of these two invitation letters. This was the first time Korean entertainment industry stars had the chance to attend the premiere of a Hollywood director—something unprecedented.
Song Hye-kyo was undoubtedly very smart. She knew how to use all kinds of conditions to bring herself advantages or benefits.
This time was no exception. Just because of one invitation letter, Song Hye-kyo firmly secured the title of Korea's number one female star, and at the same time defeated her competitors to land the endorsement for Samsung's new flagship smartphone.
As for Bae Suzy, her gains were also substantial. Resources that had been gradually decreasing suddenly increased again, and she even landed a major role in a television series—blossoming on multiple fronts.
Seeing how a role she had worked so hard to fight for was resolved simply by an invitation letter left Bae Suzy somewhat dumbfounded.
She suddenly felt that things were actually very simple, and her girlish thoughts loosened at that moment.
Those ideas about relying solely on herself to carve out a future disappeared, replaced by the thought that clinging to a powerful backer did not seem so bad after all.
The assistant office issued the invitations only after asking for Gilbert's opinion. When they mentioned sending one to Bae Suzy, Gilbert could not remember who she was for a moment.
Only after Ivanka reminded him did he realize it was that young girl.
What was Qiao-mei planning? Gilbert found it a little interesting. It was clear that Qiao-mei had been very ambitious lately, making bold moves.
Still, Gilbert felt this was a good thing. Ambition meant reliance on him, and the deeper the reliance, the harder it would be to leave him.
If one were to ask how much genuine affection Song Hye-kyo had for Gilbert, the answer was certainly not much. Gilbert himself even had a bit of a fan-like feeling toward Song Hye-kyo.
As for Naomi Watts and the others, having lived together for many years, they had long become like family, and their emotional bond was completely different.
Since there was no affection, then there could only be interests.
But that was fine. Whether affection or interest, once she was his, she could only ever be his.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey continued to perform well in its second week. In North America, it took in 48.93 million dollars over the second weekend, successfully defending its box office championship.
Adding 36.28 million dollars from the four weekdays, the film's North American total rose to 177.63 million dollars.
Overseas box office performance also remained strong, continuing to top the charts with a single-week haul of 193.57 million dollars. With several new markets added and solid weekday performance, there was no drop compared to the first week.
As a result, the film's global box office reached 559.84 million dollars, temporarily ranking second worldwide behind The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 3D re-release.
However, the Lord of the Rings 3D re-release was already running out of steam. The following week, The Hobbit would surpass it and temporarily take the top spot.
The reason it was said to be temporary was that there were simply too many films scheduled for release during this summer season.
On May 20, the comedy The Hangover Part II was released and earned 85.94 million dollars in its opening weekend, successfully ending The Hobbit's reign at the weekly box office.
Even so, The Hobbit still grossed 46.31 million dollars that week, pushing its North American total to 223.94 million dollars.
Overseas markets finally showed some decline, taking in 110.35 million dollars that week, bringing the film's global total to 716.50 million dollars.
Achieving such results in just three weeks was truly impressive. At this pace, the film's global box office would definitely surpass one billion dollars.
Peter Jackson finally breathed a sigh of relief. Heaven knew how much pressure he had been under. The enormous investment pressure of a trilogy weighed on him constantly, leaving him unable to breathe or sleep.
Regarding this issue, Peter Jackson had once asked Gilbert how he relieved stress.
Gilbert's answer was very simple: "I bought a plane and a yacht."
Peter Jackson was instantly speechless. This was a different situation—you have money, I don't. Things like planes and yachts are completely out of my reach!
Relieving stress through shopping and spending is indeed a method, but spending too little just isn't satisfying. In the end, Peter Jackson chose another approach that most people use: sleeping with others.
And it had to be said, now that he carried the title of The Hobbit's director, his appeal was actually quite strong. While it wasn't to the extent of Gilbert's—where the line could stretch from Los Angeles all the way to Paris—stretching from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica was no problem at all.
With the first film succeeding, the pressure for the next couple of years would also be much lighter.
Looking at the Lord of the Rings trilogy as a reference, each installment was more successful than the last. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King even achieved a box office of 1.81 billion dollars, ranking third in film history.
Even if The Hobbit series couldn't match the Lord of the Rings trilogy, maintaining a normal commercial trend would not be a problem at all.
But if we're talking about who was actually the happiest, it wasn't Peter Jackson—he had merely released his pressure.
Disney was the truly ecstatic one, because they had completely kicked Warner out, leaving all the profits of the Lord of the Rings series entirely to themselves.
There was nothing more wonderful than this—stupid Warner!
Robert Iger wished with all his heart that all of Hollywood's studios were as stupid as Warner's management. As long as he remained a normal person, he could win without even trying.
After The Hangover Part II, film fans waited eagerly and finally welcomed Gilbert's new movie.
..
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (Completed)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler (30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu