Chapter 369: Characters Make the Actor

Looking cool and acting handsome was the ultimate goal! That was the true theme of Mission: Impossible 2!

Even with that goal in mind, the opening shot of Tom Cruise rock climbing was absolutely stunning. But the subsequent scenes inevitably fell into the formulaic routines of Hollywood and Cruise—or perhaps, the formulaic routines of White Dove Wu.

Although White Dove Wu, much like Yuen Woo-ping, had profoundly influenced Hollywood's gunplay and action scenes—it wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say he brought about a revolution—anyone with a discerning eye could see that this director, famous for his aesthetics of violence, really only had a few tricks up his sleeve.

It was no exaggeration to say that Mission: Impossible 2 was more like a Hollywood showcase for Hong Kong action stunts. It was just that Tom Cruise's name and box office appeal were far stronger than those of the male lead Wu White Dove usually employed.

The movie's selling points were all overused tropes from spy and action films. Wu White Dove simply reprocessed and collaged them. Among the elements he tailored, some belonged to others, and some were his own.

The essence of Mission: Impossible 2 lay entirely in the concept of "disguise." It was the charm of "disguise" that made the plot ebb and flow with constant suspense. It was also "disguise" that solved difficult problems and allowed the hero to escape danger. Furthermore, the film's "art of disguise" enabled swift identity swaps, enriching the expression of the cinematic language.

Yet Mission: Impossible 2 remained an undeniably gorgeous and lavish fast-food blockbuster. Tom Cruise's idol charm and Wu White Dove's "aesthetics of violence" had not yet triggered aesthetic fatigue, and the audience was more than willing to buy in.

This was evident from the extremely enthusiastic applause that erupted when the premiere ended.

This was the Summer Season, dominated by popcorn flicks. A simple, explosive movie like this was exactly what people welcomed most, not to mention it featured Tom Cruise's handsome face, enough to make countless fans scream.

Even Duke had to admit that when it came to making male actors look cool and handsome, Wu White Dove was in the absolute top tier, even by Hollywood standards. It could be said that he maximized Tom Cruise's advantages.

When the applause faded, Duke walked to the front row to congratulate Tom Cruise and Wu White Dove. He was, after all, one of the film's investors, and he certainly valued people who could create value for him. He also spotted Jack Chen, whose Rush Hour 2 seemed to be slated for release this year as well. Coupled with the actors from the already-released Crouching Tiger, Hidden Flower, Hong Kong filmmakers had ushered in their most glorious moment in Hollywood.

Duke did not stay long. He soon left the Hollywood Chinese Theater. In the time that followed, he continued negotiations with Warner regarding their collaboration on the Harry Potter Series. He also kept a timely eye on the box office for Mission: Impossible 2; after all, he held a full third of both the investment and the revenue.

The success or failure of Mission: Impossible 2 was closely tied to his own interests.

Facing fierce competition in the Summer Season, and with Mission: Impossible 2 being the sequel to a massive hit, another wave of smear campaigns against Tom Cruise had actually swept through the media before the release. Tabloids carried on Duke's proud tradition by relentlessly attacking Cruise's faith, while gossip outlets focused on the Cruises' marriage, claiming they could divorce at any moment.

Even the rumor Duke had originally hired ghostwriters to invent—that the Cruises' marriage was controlled by Scientology—was dug up again by those with ulterior motives.

This was all very normal. How could any big production expect to quietly release and rake in cash during the Summer Season without making waves?

However, rumors were ultimately just rumors. The Cruises made frequent media appearances, and on the surface, their marriage seemed perfectly fine.

When a celebrity marriage hit the rocks, the news usually circulated within the industry long before the media exposed it. Perhaps he had stayed in New Zealand too long and was out of the loop, or perhaps no one had leaked it to him, but the Cruises—who had previously been plagued by issues and bitter arguments—had yet to suffer any rumors of a marriage crisis.

It seemed the fate of this couple was quietly shifting.

While some media outlets smeared Mission: Impossible 2 and the Cruises, others vigorously promoted them. On its first official day of release after the premiere, Mission: Impossible 2 was collectively bombarded by critics. Its professional ratings plummeted in a near-freefall, dropping below the passing mark.

But none of this hindered Tom Cruise's box office appeal. On its first day of release, Mission: Impossible 2 raked in a massive $21.02 million in North America, setting the best single-day box office record for the year 2000 and firmly suppressing all other films released during the same period.

There was a very strange phenomenon in North America: whenever an economic crisis hit, the movie box office would actually surge.

The stock market was still fluctuating, and news of people jumping off buildings in North America had already emerged. The investment market was incredibly bleak, and America's golden decade had come to an end. Yet none of this stopped massive crowds from flocking to the theaters. Perhaps the daydreams provided by the movies allowed them to temporarily forget the cruelty of real life.

Mission: Impossible 2's single-day box office completely mirrored the trajectory of a blockbuster hit. After an explosive Friday, it maintained its red-hot momentum through Saturday, easily raking in $23.07 million and all but securing the weekend box office crown in advance.

In truth, the championship was impossible to lose. Although Mission: Impossible 2 couldn't escape the normal laws of theatrical release—with Sunday's box office dipping to $19.21 million—its three-day weekend total of $63.30 million was enough to firmly cement its place at the top of the North American box office charts.

Amidst his busy work schedule, Duke also received a call from Tom Cruise. Perhaps prompted by Nicole Kidman or Pat Kingsley by his side, Cruise actually took the initiative to express his gratitude. Had he not been in the middle of a promotional tour, he might have even planned to visit in person.

"Duke, I am incredibly grateful for your full support. If possible, I'd like to collaborate with you long-term."

The voice coming through the phone was brimming with sincerity. "Thank you for recommending that director. He's perfect for this franchise, but unfortunately..."

Hearing the sigh that followed, Duke asked in confusion, "Did something happen?"

"John Woo turned me down," Tom Cruise said, sounding quite regretful. "He plans to take on a new project about World War II next."

"It's fine, Tom."

This was actually the kind of news Duke was happy to hear. "Woo's personal style is too distinct; it's very easy to cause aesthetic fatigue. We can just find a new director."

"Duke, there's something I need to give you a heads-up about."

The continuous string of successes since partnering with Duke made Tom Cruise place special importance on their collaboration. "The Mission: Impossible series might be put on hold..."

"I think we should pause it, too."

Temporarily shelving the franchise for two to three years actually aligned better with future market demands. Duke had absolutely no intention of objecting.

Unlike other blockbuster film franchises that generally maintained a similar aesthetic overall, Mission: Impossible changed its style with every installment, aside from maintaining Tom Cruise's cool and handsome posturing.

The first film was an homage to the Cold War style of the original TV series; the second was Wu White Dove's Hollywood showcase of Hong Kong action stunts; the third adopted the action style of the Bourne era; and the fourth was a massive popcorn flick determined to put its protagonist through the wringer...

As the blockbuster kicking off this year's Summer Season, Mission: Impossible 2's box office performance was nothing short of stunning. According to forecasts from numerous research and consulting firms, the film's North American box office was expected to surpass $200 million.

Of course, that was provided Mission: Impossible 2's weekday and second-weekend box office didn't suffer a catastrophic plunge.

Looking back at North American cinematic history, movies like Batman and Robin—which earned over $50 million in its opening weekend only to shrink severely in its second week and ultimately end in tragedy—were not uncommon.

But Mission: Impossible 2 was clearly not among them.

On Monday, its first weekday, the box office did see a significant drop, but the amount remained within a normal range. The single-day haul of $11.27 million was enough to leave Duke feeling satisfied.

Over the following three weekdays, Mission: Impossible 2 maintained a fairly steady trajectory, bringing in $12.57 million, $11.04 million, and $10.98 million, respectively. Across those four weekdays combined, it raked in $45.86 million.

At this point, exactly one week into its release, Mission: Impossible 2 successfully broke the hundred-million-dollar mark in North America, reaching a cumulative total of $109.16 million!

Given the same timeframe, this was the best box office performance of Tom Cruise's career. Barring any accidents, he was on track to cross the $200 million threshold in North America for the first time in his life.

However, if it truly wanted to cross that hurdle, Mission: Impossible 2 would have to withstand the test of consecutive blockbuster releases over the next two weekends. Not only would it face the baptism of Peter Jackson and Universal Pictures' massive production King Kong in its second weekend, but it would also have to weather the impact of DreamWorks' epic masterpiece Gladiator in its third weekend.

King Kong took three full years from pre-production to completion. Furthermore, during post-production visual effects, Universal Pictures had been forced to inject even more capital, pushing the production budget of this colossal remake to a staggering $180 million.

Although there was still a gap between that and the $210 million budget Universal Pictures had previously announced to the public, one couldn't forget the difference in eras; the US dollar was relatively stronger now than it would be a few years down the line.

Gladiator, on the other hand, was an epic war film born from DreamWorks teaming up with Ridley Scott. Following the success of America Beauty the previous year, DreamWorks' live-action film department had managed to catch its breath and gain some valuable experience. This film wasn't just aimed at the market; it was making a direct run for next year's Oscars.

Every year, as soon as the Summer Season began, the competition would enter a state of white-hot intensity.

Having finished the work at hand, Duke stayed in Los Angeles specifically at the invitation of Naomi Watts and Nancy Josephson to attend the premiere of King Kong. At the premiere ceremony for this remake, Naomi Watts wasn't his only acquaintance; there were quite a few others who were currently collaborating with Duke.

For instance, Andy Serkis, who played King Kong through Motion Capture, and Weta Studio, which was responsible for the visual effects...

And there were some of his old friends, like Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob, who had officially begun collaborating with Universal Pictures!