Chapter 799: The Avengers' Online Circle of Friends

Actually, a film like The Avengers had a distinct advantage: the audience was already familiar with its characters. Because they had seen the previous movies, Duke didn't need to explain or interpret these figures. The film could cut directly to the plot and tell the story.

Whether it was the characters' personalities or the superheroes' respective stances, these were already universally known facts. Under these circumstances, Duke had nothing to avoid and no need to waste time on exposition. He could just tell the story directly without laying any groundwork, throwing the audience into the climax right from the start and keeping their emotions running high all the way through.

The meeting didn't last long. Aside from Scarlett Johansson, who stayed behind to wait for Duke, everyone else quickly left.

Duke was still discussing promotional and distribution details with Kevin Feige.

"Kevin, we need to think of more ideas for the promotional campaign."

After a moment of thought, Duke said to Kevin Feige, "I have a suggestion. Social networking platforms have closed the distance between people and sped up the flow of information. I think Marvel should create dedicated accounts for its superheroes on Instant Sharing and Twitter to form a unique social circle."

Kevin Feige's eyes lit up. "That's a great idea. I'll have the promotional department draft a viable plan as soon as possible."

After leaving Marvel Pictures, Duke first dropped Scarlett off at a fitness club. Just as Jeremy Renner had specifically sought out an Olympic archery champion to train him, Scarlett had to undergo another round of training to properly portray Black Widow.

While Duke was busy prepping the film, Marvel Pictures quickly put his promotional suggestion into practice.

Rune Weber was an ordinary Instant Sharing user. He logged into his account almost every day, either to post his own thoughts or to read other people's opinions.

Today, when he opened the Instant Sharing app on his phone, he noticed an interesting account displayed in a prominent spot. The name on it was known to virtually everyone in North America: Tony Stark.

'Tony Stark? Iron Man? When did Iron Man open an Instant Sharing account?'

That was Rune Weber's immediate thought. Without hesitation, he tapped on the account.

Every Instant Sharing user could upload a profile picture, and this account under the name Tony Stark used an image straight out of the movie.

'What is going on here?' Somewhat baffled, Rune Weber continued reading. There was even a post from Tony Stark on the page.

"I took Pepper's car out today and accidentally totaled it. I'll have Happy order a Lincoln Navigator for her tomorrow. Or maybe a cruise ship? Give me some suggestions, everyone."

Rune Weber scratched his head. He noticed that several people had already liked the post, under the names Bruce Banner, Happy, Natasha Romanoff, and Pepper Potts.

They had also left replies.

Bruce Banner: "My motorcycle got wrecked too."

Natasha Romanoff: "Tony, you really understand women."

Happy: "Received, boss!"

Pepper Potts: "Tony, having you is enough for me."

Meanwhile, Christo Turner was looking at Bruce Banner's Instant Sharing page.

"I haven't been able to find any peace of mind lately. I know I can't afford to be impulsive, so I bought a lot of spiritual healing books online. Hopefully, they help. Also, I always feel incredibly reassured after chatting with Natasha."

Natasha Romanoff and Steve Rogers had liked this post.

Steve Rogers: "Professor, you can control yourself. You have to believe in yourself."

Natasha Romanoff: "You're too polite, Bruce. I'm glad I could help."

Clint Barton: "Did something happen between you two?"

Natasha Romanoff: "It's not what you're thinking!"

On the other side, after following Tony Stark, Rune Weber opened Loki's Instant Sharing account.

"A new plan is brewing, hehehehe..."

No one had liked it, but quite a few people had left comments.

Tony Stark: "Will you still be chuckling when we catch you?"

Thor: "Brother, wake up! Hurry up and come back to Asgard with me!"

Natasha Romanoff: "Thor, you're the one who needs to wake up!"

Steve Rogers: "I understand Thor. It's just like me and Bucky."

Bucky Barnes: "Captain, this isn't the right place to say that..."

This sparked great interest in Rune Weber, and he opened the Instant Sharing page of Hawkeye, Clint Barton, whom he had always followed closely.

"I've been under a lot of pressure lately. I know I'm the most ordinary one among the Avengers, but as a highly trained operative, I absolutely refuse to bow my head, especially in front of Nat... Even though Natasha has been acting a bit weird lately. I wonder if I'm just overthinking it."

Likewise, a string of comments followed.

Natasha Romanoff: "Clint, you're overthinking it!"

Tony Stark: "He's not overthinking. It's good to have some self-awareness."

Steve Rogers: "You're not an ordinary man. Believe me."

Natasha Romanoff: "Tony... shut up!"

Clint Barton: "..."

It wasn't just these famous figures; Christo Turner easily stumbled upon the Instant Sharing account of Iron Man's bodyguard, Happy.

"When I walked into the boss's lab, I heard the boss and Jarvis saying things I shouldn't have heard. The gist of it was: 'I need you... Jarvis... you can't leave me.' 'That isn't me... Tony... I'm fragmenting.' 'Jarvis... stop making excuses... I love you deeply.' 'Then I'd better hurry up and fragment'..."

This post seemed to have infuriated Iron Man, who replied in the comments: "Happy, do you think your salary is too high?"

Pepper Potts: "Tony, is what Happy said true?"

Tony Stark: "Pepper, don't misunderstand... I only love you..."

Natasha Romanoff: "Tony, the whole world knows you're a playboy. I just never expected you and Jarvis..."

Steve Rogers: "I'm just watching. I'm keeping my opinions to myself."

These characters had dedicated accounts not only on Instant Sharing, but also on Twitter. In just a few short weeks, the Marvel characters' social media accounts became the focus of online attention. Countless fans followed them, liked their posts, and retweeted their statements, making it seem as if this group of people truly existed in the real world.

This phenomenon also drew significant attention from traditional media, with CNN even running a special report on it.

"Recently, across multiple popular social networking sites and apps, the 'Avengers' Circle of Friends' has emerged—imagining what it would be like if the members of the Avengers all used social media. Just how hilarious is it? Are they bickering? Helping each other out? The discussions in this circle of friends revolve closely around The Avengers and Marvel Pictures' Phase Two plans, becoming the center of attention for moviegoers and netizens alike..."

Capitalizing on the hype generated by this marketing campaign, Marvel Pictures coordinated with Duke and, along with their distributor Warner Brothers, officially announced the North American release date for The Avengers: May 5, the first weekend kicking off the 2012 summer season.

As soon as this news was released, many films and studios that had intended to schedule their premieres around this time scrambled to adjust their release dates.

Without a second thought, Sony Columbia Pictures pushed their Spider-Man reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man, back to June.

Twentieth Century Fox, which had been waiting for Warner Brothers to announce their release date, breathed a sigh of relief and scheduled Prometheus for a July release.

Universal Pictures had originally slated Ted for early May. Upon hearing the news, their management simply postponed the film's release to the second half of the year.

All the major studios and production companies were avoiding The Avengers, but in this world, not everyone feared clashing with Duke and his films. There was never a shortage of brave warriors willing to slay the dragon.

"My stance is very clear!"

Standing by the conference table at Sky Film Studio, David Ellison spoke resoundingly to everyone present. "Fast and Furious 5 will be scheduled right at the start of next year's summer season! We will release on the second weekend of The Avengers, using street racing and crazy action sequences to cut off Duke Rosenberg's second-weekend box office numbers!"

"But..."

The representative from Universal Pictures, the copyright holder of the film, disagreed with this approach. "On what grounds can Fast and Furious 5 go head-to-head with Duke Rosenberg and The Avengers?"

Almost all the investment for this film came from David Ellison; otherwise, the Universal Pictures representative would have stood up and vetoed him long ago.

The bald-headed Vin Diesel stood up. Looking around at all the actors present, he said, "Do you think all of us combined still can't compare to Duke Rosenberg?"

Ever since he was publicly mocked by the media as a "sissy," Vin Diesel had been waiting for a chance—a chance to completely crush Duke Rosenberg head-on. He had chosen to partner with David Ellison first because the man had ample funds, and second, because he had the courage to confront Duke Rosenberg directly.

Universal Pictures had, after all, invested very little money in the film, so their representative naturally lacked the confidence to speak forcefully. After arguing for a few more sentences, he simply shut his mouth. Regardless, if the film succeeded, Universal Pictures would still rake in plenty of profit through their copyrights; if it failed, they would suffer virtually no losses.

Driven strongly by David Ellison and Vin Diesel, the meeting soon reached a consensus: Fast and Furious 5 would premiere on the second weekend of The Avengers.

The others gradually left the conference room, but the Universal representative stayed behind.

"The promotion for The Avengers is red-hot right now!" he said to David Ellison. "Fast and Furious 5 also has to figure something out on the promotional front."

David Ellison naturally understood this logic. His eyes couldn't help but peer through the glass on the conference room door, landing directly on Vin Diesel's bald head.