The grand banquet hall of Bowery Castle Hotel was especially lively tonight.
"John Wick: Chapter 2" had a blockbuster global box office, bringing together the cast and crew and everyone from Disney Studios.
Robert Iger also made a personal appearance.
"The North American release of the film went smoothly, and the box office trend has been consistently strong," he approached Martin to share a drink, casually adding, "I suggest we have the celebration party coincide with the North American wrap-up to hype up the DVD release."
Martin replied with a smile, "You have thought of everything. Although just the box office share alone has put us in profit, if the DVD sells well, our profits will be even more substantial."
Robert Iger commented, "I’m really looking forward to ’The Martian’."
With the film in its final stages of shooting, Martin was very confident, "The film won’t disappoint Disney."
Ellen Horn came over with a laugh, "A movie starring Martin is now a guarantee for box office success."
At this moment, a multi-tiered celebratory cake was rolled in. For the cake-cutting ceremony, Martin, Ellen Horn, and Robert Iger all stepped aside, leaving it to the creative team of the crew.
Chad led Bradt, Chen Hu, and Marcus onto the stage.
Atop the large cake, colorful cream spelled out two numbers: 242.6M and 587.8M.
These were the North American and global total box office figures for "John Wick: Chapter 2."
The $242.6 million domestic and $587.8 million global box office earnings meant that everyone from the production to distribution to the creative team made a tidy profit.
Chad and the others made the first cut together, and the staff took over the job of serving the cake.
As the cake was being distributed, Mene arrived fashionably late, bringing a woman with him.
Marcus intended to smear cake on the latecomer’s face but held back when he saw Celine Dion following in.
Mene, full of apologies, said, "Sorry for being late."
Celine Dion stepped forward, linking arms with Mene, "I came to Los Angeles on the spur of the moment, and Mene picked me up from the airport."
Martin grinned, "No problem."
Mene then introduced Celine Dion to everyone present.
Celine Dion shook hands with each person.
Without mentioning Robert Iger and Ellen Horn, she recognized that everyone else was Mene’s close friend in Hollywood.
While Celine Dion was chatting with Robert Iger, Martin asked, "Are you two planning to go public?"
"Just among friends," Mene explained in detail, "Celine wants to enter my social circle here in Los Angeles. I was going to take her to the hotel first, but when she heard about the party, she insisted on coming here."
Martin erupted in laughter, "That’s a good thing; it shows Celine really cares about you."
Mene scratched his head, "I’ve lived a carefree life for over thirty years, and things have suddenly changed. It takes some getting used to."
Chad, who had come over and was rather speechless at Mene’s playboy remarks, said, "You’ve done what we can only dream of."
Seeing Celine Dion heading their way, Martin cleared his throat lightly, prompting Chad and Mene to quickly change the subject.
When Celine Dion approached, she exchanged pleasantries with Martin and Chad, then turned to Mene, "Darling, I have an idea, what do you think?"
Mene answered, "Whatever idea you have, just say it."
Celine Dion glanced at Martin and Chad, "This weekend, let’s throw a party and invite all your friends here in Los Angeles to come, how about it?"
Unable to refuse, Mene agreed, "That’s possible."
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Celine Dion asked Martin and Chad, "May I invite you two to join?"
Martin said, "It would be my honor."
Following tonight’s party, there would be a press conference where Chad, Martin, and Mene, would appear before many media reporters to announce that the "John Wick: Chapter 2" DVD would officially go on sale starting tomorrow.
Over the next few days, the cast of "The Martian" continued to focus on shooting the supporting actors’ parts. Martin temporarily left the Disney Studio to join Chad for "John Wick: Chapter 2" DVD signing events.
At the signing event, in addition to Cola Cult and film fans, some people brought banners and posters.
"Never mess with Martin’s dog!"
This had become one of the most famous internet memes about Hollywood movies worldwide.
In recent years, Davis Studio has been busy promoting the meme online, spreading it beyond North America to the rest of the world.
The "John Wick" series has attracted a large following globally.
All these people were potential DVD consumers.
During the dozen or so signings, Martin signed thousands of discs.
But in the first week of the DVD’s release, the North American market alone sold $48.5 million.
Because copyright laws vary by country and anti-piracy efforts differ, sales of "John Wick: Chapter 2" overseas were somewhat less impressive but still surpassed $20 million in the first week.
That was the highest weekly disc sales in North America since 2011.
After "Avatar" created a billion-dollar level in DVD sales, Hollywood’s DVD market peaked and then began to decline, with overall sales falling since last year.
Davis Studio and Disney Studios communicated, ensuring the production team and creative team’s shares would all be paid by early next year.
After a busy week of DVD signings, Martin returned to Los Angeles to rejoin the final shooting of "The Martian."
The crew moved to a soundstage specially designed for shooting wire-work scenes.
For the better part of the day, Martin, clad in a bulky white spacesuit, was suspended on wires and kept spinning in front of a green screen.
Many space shots relied entirely on post-production special effects.
Ridley Scott is a typical pragmatic director, not as fastidious about practical shots as Nolan, using either film or digital, models, or CGI—whatever is convenient.
This year, Nolan launched a campaign, calling on Hollywood directors to use film more often to save Kodak Company’s movie film production.
But there were few in Hollywood who responded.
The production companies had no interest at all.
Compared with digital technology, film was just too expensive.
Based on age and years of experience, Ridley Scott should have been part of the Conservative Faction of directors, but he wasn’t a film supporter. During a break in shooting, he chatted with Martin and others about film and digital technology.
"Whenever a new movie technology thrives, there’s always an old one that gets replaced," he gestured and said, "Take silent and black-and-white films, for example. Digital technology has brought more possibilities to filmmaking, making everything most convenient for directors, improving the efficiency of directing and production."
Martin added, "And copying for distribution as well."
Jessica Chastain asked, "Is the cost difference between the two really big?"
Martin gave an example, "When ’The Dark Knight’ was released, it used traditional film copies, and the cost per copy was around 1,500 US dollars. Subsequently, Warner’s release of the movie ’Watchmen,’ directed by Zack Snyder, used digital copies, and the cost was just over a third of ’The Dark Knight.’"
Jessica Chastain did a quick mental calculation, "Given the scale of a global release, the cost difference can be tens of millions of US dollars."
Ridley Scott said, "So, not even God can save Kodak Company. Kodak didn’t keep up with the times and was doomed to be eliminated."
Martin continued, "I heard from Nolan that Kodak still has a lot of movie film in stock, enough for Hollywood to use for a long time."
Ridley revealed the truth, "It’s because there aren’t many directors in Hollywood who insist on shooting with film anymore."
The people around them all laughed.
Ridley checked the time and reminded, "Get ready to start shooting."
Martin and Jessica Chastain left the rest area, donned the bulky white spacesuits again, and were once more hoisted up on wires to shoot the space rescue scenes.
When shooting started, Martin rotated continuously in midair. After a dozen seconds or so to complete the scene, he needed a few minutes to recover before going back on set.
More than an hour later, Jessica Chastain joined the shooting.
The two were connected by a safety strap.
Martin, suspended on wires, drifted forward, pulling the orange safety strap.
Jessica Chastain also pulled hard on the safety strap.
They got closer and closer until they finally collided.
Perhaps both exerted too much force while overlooking the helmets they were wearing, resulting in a muffled thud as Martin’s head and Jessica Chastain’s head collided, helmet visors clashing.
Their hands intertwined, they seemed extraordinarily excited.
With the motion of the wires, their bodies spun, the colorful safety straps floating around them created an unusually beautiful aesthetic.
Ridley called from behind the director’s monitor, "That take was good!"
He stood up, "I declare that ’The Martian’ has finished shooting!" Stay connected with freewebnovel
On the temporary set, Martin and Jessica Chastain slowly descended to the ground, where the special effects team came to help disengage the wires.
Ridley made a gesture, and an assistant next to him flipped a safety switch.
The green screen on the top of the set shifted to one side, and with a bang, the packages above burst open, showering down countless streamers and confetti like snowflakes.
Having been freed from the wires and removed their spacesuits, Martin and Jessica Chastain were caught in the very center of this colorful storm.
The latter raised her arms and faced the sky as if enjoying the moment.
Martin caught a bunch of streamers, sent them flying, and they landed on Jessica Chastain’s head.
Jessica Chastain turned her head and smiled at Martin.
With makeup as the model worker sister, her skin was fair, her face flushed, creating a distinct kind of beauty.
Martin said, "I’m buying dinner tonight to celebrate the wrap of the shoot, make sure you come."
Jessica Chastain looked at Martin, decided to follow her inner desire and said, "I’ll be there."
The two walked out from the set, and Martin clapped his hands, Bruce pulled out several suitcases.
Jessica Chastain, working with Martin for the first time, asked, "The legendary wrap gifts from Martin?"
Martin opened a case and took out a box, handing it to her, "This is for you."
Including director Ridley Scott, everyone on the crew received Martin’s wrap gift.
And so, the shooting of ’The Martian’ was concluded. After finishing the remaining wrap-up work, the crew, led by Martin, went to the nearby Bowery Castle Hotel for a celebration party.
After the party, neither Martin nor Jessica Chastain left the hotel but moved into a luxurious suite on the top floor together.
The story of Snow White and the Prince began.