Warner Brothers invested heavily in Fury Road, and Duke's films have always been the backbone of Warner's movie business. They never relaxed for a moment when it came to promoting Fury Road.
On the second Friday of April, the WonderCon anime convention kicked off. Although it didn't have the impact of the San Diego Comic-Con, the attendees of WonderCon were younger and formed the core audience of the North American movie market.
That day, over one hundred thousand anime fans, sci-fi fans, and other pop culture enthusiasts gathered, eager to flood the Anaheim Convention Center, an hour's drive southeast of Los Angeles. They had traveled far just for this three-day convention.
WonderCon had entered its 22nd year, organized by a group of pop culture fanatics. It was like a prelude to the massive San Diego Comic-Con held every summer.
Though not as grand as the San Diego event, WonderCon was a favorite among fans, especially because it wasn't as crowded, allowing attendees to participate in more activities daily.
This year's schedule featured retrospectives on Back to the Future, Star Trek, and Star Wars series, along with numerous licensed game exhibits, interactive talks by bestselling comic authors, and booths from a large number of movie studios and TV networks.
In fact, the biggest attraction of WonderCon was the premiere of the first trailer for Fury Road.
Norman Schiller arrived early at the Anaheim Convention Center, skipping other booths to head straight to Warner Brothers' hall. He wanted to secure a front-row spot, but his wish was dashed the hall was already packed.
Nearly ten thousand people crowded outside the Warner Brothers hall, chatting about Duke, the movie, and the posters.
"Charlize Theron's look is absolutely stunning!"
One fan pointed at the huge hanging posters, "Tom Cruise wearing that muzzle is insanely cool!"
"Their styles are so unique!"
"Is this self-destruction of their image?"
"Self-destruction? It's a breakthrough! Even just looking at these two in such badass, powerful roles, I'd definitely watch it in theaters."
Looking at those two huge character posters, Norman Schiller had only one thought probably only a director like Duke in all of Hollywood could convince two superstars to willingly play such roles.
But he quickly discarded that thought because the trailer was about to be revealed.
Famous talk show host Ellen DeGeneres took the stage at Warner's booth to personally introduce the trailer.
However, hardly anyone paid attention to the host; everyone's eyes were glued to the big screen.
The giant screen showed Tom Cruise waking up in a dusty wasteland, dizzy and disoriented. He wore a metal muzzle, shackled together with James Franco inside a wrecked vehicle. He found a hunting rifle and tried to shoot his companion's arm to free him, but the gun misfired.
Just as he was about to grab the companion's wrist, he heard movement nearby. He lifted the unconscious companion and headed toward a truck, where a group of women dressed in white were washing dust off their bodies with hoses.
They were five Victoria's Secret angels in flowing white dresses, like goddesses from Greece, appearing as an oasis in the desert, attracting all eyes. But when the camera shifted to Charlize Theron, nearly everyone instantly forgot about the models because the bald Charlize was like water in a desert oasis.
With water present, everything else in the oasis could be temporarily ignored.
Even more shocking was the fierce, maddening fight to the death between the tough characters played by Charlize Theron and Tom Cruise.
Tom Cruise aimed a gun at one woman, ordering her to hand him a hose and using pliers to cut his shackles. Just then, the female leader played by Charlize Theron attacked him, and they engaged in close combat.
Tom Cruise resisted her attacks, and his companion James Franco woke from unconsciousness, seeing Charlize about to grab the rifle on the ground, he hurried to help. Tom finally grabbed the gun and fired multiple shots into the sand near Charlize's head…
This was a tight, breathless action sequence—no fancy moves, only life or death!
Norman Schiller exhaled deeply; he knew Duke wouldn't disappoint, and the facts proved it.
The trailer continued with car chases across desolate lands, breathtaking stunts, and dangerous canyon battles between Tom Cruise, Charlize Theron, and a gang of motorcyclists…
Every scene was spectacular!
"The most ambitious, anticipated, and exciting movie of the year has arrived!"
Someone in the crowd said, sparking widespread agreement. Even Norman Schiller, a veteran cinephile, couldn't help but nod.
If a film like this isn't worth anticipating, then what kind of film would be?
The movie's promotion entered its most intense and frenzied phase before release. In the following month, Warner Brothers released four more TV teaser clips.
These teasers were visually fierce, highlighting a massive tornado assault, rogue warriors battling in the desert, car explosions, and delivered the most thrilling visual feast for eager fans.
"As director Duke Rosenberg said, Fury Road contains massive car scenes, packed with gunfights, car chases, explosions, and a strong post-apocalyptic vibe…"
Watching the TV screen, David Ellison's expression was serious. Despite the film's edgy content, he fully realized this was an extremely formidable competitor.
"Hey, David, good news."
His sister, Megan Ellison, ran in from outside, speaking loudly, "I just came from the company. There's confirmed news: the MPAA rating for Fury Road is R."
"For a movie like this, it would be strange if it weren't rated R," David Ellison muttered.
Megan Ellison walked over, sat beside him, and said, "I remember The Adventures of Tintin was rated PG, right?"
David Ellison nodded.
"Steven Spielberg's PG-rated family-friendly film versus Duke Rosenberg's R-rated heavy-hitter…" Megan shook her head, "This is completely an unfair match."
"Unfair?" David Ellison gave a cold smile. "Commercial competition has never been fair! The one receiving unfair treatment is The Adventures of Tintin!"
Megan Ellison glanced at her brother curiously and asked, "Did something happen that I don't know about?"
As she grew older, Megan Ellison was able to control part of her trust fund and was also interested in the film industry, investing in David Ellison's Sky Film Studios.
"The theater chains are idiots. They'd rather give an R-rated movie like Fury Road over 4,000 theaters than invest more resources in a PG-rated film like The Adventures of Tintin!"
At this, David Ellison couldn't help but pound the sofa armrest.
Megan Ellison just shrugged and said nothing. She understood the reasons and knew David Ellison understood even better.
Though headstrong, David Ellison was no fool and soon regained his composure. The Adventures of Tintin only opened in fewer than 3,600 theaters, which was still a concession made by the North American theater alliance because the director was Steven Spielberg; otherwise, the number would be even less.
Why is that? The reason is simple:Fury Road's distributor is Warner Brothers, while The Adventures of Tintin's distributor is Sky Film Studios!
At this point, David Ellison regretted not finding another distributor for The Adventures of Tintin. He had overestimated his company's capability and underestimated the difficulty of building distribution channels.
Distribution is far more than just setting up a department and hiring some professionals with high salaries.
But now it was too late to change the North American distributor. What David Ellison could do was hand over the overseas distribution of The Adventures of Tintin to Disney Studios.
However, David Ellison still had some confidence because The Adventures of Tintin's director was Steven Spielberg.
More importantly, PG-rated films have a huge advantage in audience reach compared to R-rated films. This advantage is enough to compensate for the fewer theaters at opening.
Moreover, as long as The Adventures of Tintin's per-theater box office in the first week surpasses Fury Road, it's natural for more theaters to be added later.
And there's the Chinese market. David Ellison was eyeing that market as well. Transformers had already shown him the potential of that market. Coming from a commercial family, his business acumen was sharp and he knew that market represented the future.
He was indeed no match for Duke Rosenberg right now, but he had only been in this circle for a few years what about the other party?
He had high expectations for his own future and for Sky Film Studios.
To realize these expectations and to become an influential force in Hollywood, the key was solid market performance!
The Adventures of Tintin entering the Chinese market was without a doubt. Disney Studios had already received confirmed replies from across the sea, and Spielberg's global influence remained huge.
Fury Road entering that market would be difficult, even though Warner Brothers had various partnerships with China Film Group. Whether it could pass the approval of whoever that person was…
David Ellison couldn't remember the exact name but knew the chances of Fury Road getting approval were slim, even basically none.