Chapter 393: The Importance of Promotion and Distribution

Monday's sun had just climbed into the Los Angeles sky when Tyro Wood left his apartment. Walking through his middle-class North Hollywood community, he was in an excellent mood. He occasionally looked into the distance, where the faint morning mist revealed the outline of the affluent neighborhood next door.

Countless wealthy and famous figures lived there; word was that Duke Rosenberg had originally lived there as well.

'It won't be long before I can move there too.'

Tyro Wood was absolutely sure of this, because his son had just starred in the latest film from Hollywood's top director, Duke Rosenberg. The new movie was receiving exceptional feedback and showed every sign of becoming a massive blockbuster. He was about to be the father of a future superstar!

"Hey, Tyro..."

Just as he reached the community's main road, a BMW pulled up beside him. The usually arrogant dentist rolled down his window and greeted him warmly. "Up early today? Didn't Elijah come to see you?"

"Morning, Gonzalez," Tyro said, giving him a reserved nod. "Elijah is touring the country with Duke for the promotional campaign."

He deliberately emphasized the name "Duke"!

The dentist smiled even more brightly. "When Elijah gets back, could you save a few signed posters for us? My boy absolutely loves The Fellowship of the Ring. It'd be best if it was posters of the entire fellowship."

"No problem," Tyro Wood agreed casually. "That's no trouble at all."

Bidding the dentist Gonzalez farewell, Tyro continued outward along the community's central avenue. Everyone who recognized him greeted him politely, their words inevitably bringing up Frodo Baggins and The Fellowship of the Ring.

Even though Tyro wasn't a particularly vain man, he couldn't help but feel a little light-headed. Every father would be proud of his child!

And the current Elijah Wood was entirely worthy of his pride!

Tyro Wood felt especially validated when he remembered firing the agent Martin Bob just so Elijah could attend Duke Rosenberg's audition; he felt that move had been absolutely correct. Only an idiot would turn down Duke Rosenberg's invitation to choose a loser like Martin Bob.

Come to think of it, didn't Martin Bob live in that affluent neighborhood?

Tyro Wood looked toward the affluent district again, his gaze calm. It wouldn't be long before the Wood family could move in too.

"Hey, Tyro."

He had reached a newsstand, where the vendor immediately smiled and asked, "Same as yesterday and the day before?"

Yesterday and the day before, Tyro Wood had bought a copy of every newspaper here to take home.

"I'm going out for breakfast," Tyro said, shaking his head. "Just give me a copy of the Los Angeles Times."

Carrying a copy of the Los Angeles Times, Tyro Wood left the community and headed toward the affluent district. He didn't go far before turning left. There was a restaurant here that served fairly good food; nearby residents loved coming here for breakfast, and he had visited a few times himself.

Stepping inside, Tyro ordered a simple breakfast and carried his tray to find a seat. He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly spotted someone of great interest.

The man had just sat down and was also preparing to eat. He wore a crisp black suit with a meticulous tie. In Los Angeles, there were primarily two kinds of people like this: stockbrokers and insurance salesmen, or entertainment agents.

This man was naturally the latter, and he was someone Tyro Wood knew.

Old Wood walked straight over and unapologetically took the seat right across from him. The man immediately looked up, and Tyro extended a hand in seemingly polite greeting.

"Hello, Martin. Long time no see."

Martin Bob looked at this somewhat unfamiliar middle-aged man and furrowed his brow slightly.

Likely guessing the other man might not recognize him, old Wood introduced himself directly. "My name is Tyro Wood. I'm Elijah Wood's father. Do you still remember Elijah? He used to be your signed actor."

Elijah Wood? Martin Bob's frown deepened.

Of course he knew the name. With the massive success of The Fellowship of the Ring, there were probably few entertainment agents left who didn't.

Tyro Wood looked at Martin Bob. "Thank you for taking care of Elijah back then. If it hadn't been for your obstruction, Elijah never would have made up his mind to terminate his contract with you. He wouldn't have had the chance to work with Duke Rosenberg, and he wouldn't be where he is today."

Martin Bob's expression turned rather ugly.

Elijah Wood had forcefully terminated their contract because of Duke Rosenberg's audition, and then skyrocketed to fame through the role he won. The news had long since spread throughout Hollywood; Martin had already become the laughingstock of the entire industry.

But he was a dignified giant among entertainment agents. When had he fallen so far that some nobody could spout nonsense to his face?

"Shut up!" he snapped, bringing out the same attitude he used on small-time actors at his company!

But the man sitting across from him wasn't one of his subordinate actors. Tyro Wood raised his eyebrows. "Oh, Mr. Bob, I heard you were kicked out by CAA. Elijah's decision to choose Duke back then was entirely correct."

He quickly pointed around them with one hand. "Just ask these people around here. When it comes time to make a choice, will they choose Duke Rosenberg, or will they choose you, Martin Bob?"

"Bang!" "Crack!"

The stainless steel knife in Martin Bob's hand stabbed heavily into his porcelain plate, shattering it. This sudden outburst was enough to prove the agency giant's inner resentment and unwillingness to concede.

Old Wood froze for a moment, then glared right back. He came from the middle-to-lower class and had worked as a mechanic; how could he be afraid of something like this?

"What are you trying to do?"

If Martin Bob dared to try anything out of line, he would absolutely smash the breakfast tray in front of him right into the man's face.

However, before he could make a move, a restaurant waiter walked over and spoke politely to Martin Bob, "Apologies, sir. You are suspected of deliberately destroying tableware, and you will need to pay for the damages..."

Martin Bob's face turned slightly green. He pulled out his wallet, took out a large-denomination bill, threw it on the table, and stood up to turn and leave.

Tyro Wood couldn't help but laugh. Deliberately picking up the Los Angeles Times, he said to him, "Hey, Martin, the latest box office numbers are in here. Don't you want to hear the box office figures for your Pearl Harbor and Elijah's The Fellowship of the Ring?"

"No need!"

Martin Bob forced the words out through his teeth and left without looking back.

Shaking his head at the man's retreating back, old Wood flipped the newspaper to the entertainment section, enjoying his delicious breakfast while happily reading the article.

"Due to the momentum of The Mummy Returns and Pearl Harbor dropping too rapidly, even though Shrek achieved surprisingly strong opening week numbers, a single animated film is incapable of propping up the North American Summer Season box office. After entering the fourth week of May, the overall box office trend remained low. But after experiencing four consecutive days of box office slumps, the North American market finally recovered last weekend."

"Produced by Duke Studio and distributed by Warner Brothers, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring officially opened last weekend. This massive fantasy epic directed by Duke Rosenberg arrived with staggering momentum. The moment it opened, it set a brand-new North American midnight screening record with $9.47 million. Just as The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, this is merely the beginning of a wondrous journey."

"On Saturday, its second day of release, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring shattered the North American single-day box office record with $32.24 million! Following its first three days over the weekend, the film unsurprisingly broke the opening weekend box office record held by Spielberg's Jurassic Park 2: The Lost World, raising the figure from $78.55 million to $84.57 million!"

"Relying on its $84.57 million box office gross over its first three days, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring took the number one spot on the box office charts with absolute dominance! What makes the producers and distributors even happier is that the film's audience word-of-mouth has exploded!"

"The cinema audience rating is an 'A+', and the Popcorn Index audience approval rate is 95 percent. In terms of online media, 38,678 users participated on the IMDB website, bringing the current rating up to a high 9.4; in the MetaCritic media ratings, forty-seven mainstream outlets gave it an average score of 91!"

"Without a doubt, Duke Rosenberg's five-years-in-the-making fantasy trilogy has fired a spectacular opening shot. With this Monday being the Memorial Day national holiday, the North American box office for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is guaranteed to break the $100 million threshold today, and its four-day run to $100 million will also set a new North American cinematic record for the fastest film to cross that milestone!"

"Whether in terms of plot and visual effects, or word-of-mouth and box office, this film is a rare masterpiece in recent years. We have every reason to look forward to The Two Towers and Return of the King releasing over the next two years!"

"Second place on the box office charts belongs to DreamWorks Animation Studio's Shrek. Due to differing audiences, the massive heat of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring did not impact it too heavily. This film also drew a remarkably robust trend, with its second weekend dropping less than five percent from its opening weekend; the $40.11 million figure has also pushed the film's cumulative North American box office past $90 million!"

"The films impacted hardest by The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring were Pearl Harbor and The Mummy Returns. Little Explosion Maniac Michael Bay's picture simply could not compete against the original Explosion Maniac's film. Pearl Harbor took another massive dive in its third weekend; the $11.21 million earned over three days only placed it fourth on the box office charts. Third place went to The Mummy Returns, which also suffered a severe drop, though its $13.11 million weekend smoothly pushed its North American box office past $150 million!"

"Next weekend, Tomb Raider will be the only film opening in wide release across North America. This video game adaptation will struggle to pose any threat to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Barring any surprises, Duke Rosenberg's picture will claim its second box office championship."

"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring has already set a series of records. Whether it can ultimately surpass Independence Day to establish the highest box office gross of Duke Rosenberg's career is something we will wait and see!"