It was Saoirse Ronan's first time attending a press conference, and she couldn't help feeling nervous. She had never seen such a grand occasion before.
Only now did the young girl finally understand why her parents had been so excited when they heard she'd been chosen by Gilbert. Just by looking at the rows of cameras and the sea of media personnel behind them, she could sense how big this was.
Although most of the attention wasn't focused on her, the sheer atmosphere was enough to make the newly rising Saoirse Ronan's heart race with excitement.
Of course, as the newly selected female lead, Saoirse Ronan still received some attention from the reporters.
She spoke enthusiastically, "I'm very excited and happy. This is my first time playing the leading role in a film, and I want to thank Director Gilbert."
"Call me uncle—no, wait, call me brother," Gilbert said with a smile.
"Uh," Saoirse Ronan quickly adapted, "okay, I'd like to thank Brother Gilbert. I've seen his movies before—I'm a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings series.
I never imagined I'd get the chance to star in one of his films.
I'll do my best not to let him down."
If she hadn't mentioned The Lord of the Rings, it would've been fine—but once she did, the reporters immediately recalled the recent news about Peter Jackson being chosen as the director of The Hobbit.
Instantly, a flurry of questions were directed at Gilbert. The main one was: why didn't he direct The Hobbit himself and instead handed it over to a director with a less-than-stellar track record?
Gilbert's explanation was the same as what he'd told Warner Bros. and Disney. In his opinion, aside from himself, Peter Jackson was the most suitable person for the job.
As for why he wasn't directing the film, Gilbert said, "The new Hobbit trilogy tells the story before The Lord of the Rings. It's the legendary adventure of Frodo's uncle, Bilbo Baggins.
We plan to tell the entire story across three films, and I'll be serving as the producer, overseeing the entire direction of the project."
What Gilbert was implying was clear: even though Peter Jackson would be directing, he himself was also serving as producer—so audiences could rest assured.
In recent years, the films Gilbert had produced included the Fast & Furious series, the Harry Potter series, and the Adventures of Jackie Chan series, among others.
Not every one of them was a box-office juggernaut, but all had been well received, with a solid reputation and guaranteed quality.
Gilbert went on to add, "All these years, I've constantly been trying new things. We often say one thing—never repeat yourself.
I hope to always bring audiences something fresh. The Last of Us will be my newest creative experiment."
The topic smoothly shifted back to The Last of Us itself. Regarding the film's storyline, Gilbert offered a general outline.
"We all know zombie stories are very popular and well-received. But most zombie films rely on sensory thrills to attract viewers—that's their selling point.
I want to break out of that mold and tell a different kind of story from a new perspective.
I shared my idea with Tom, and he fully supported me, even agreeing to join the project."
Tom Cruise nodded beside him. "That's right. I'm really looking forward to seeing the finished film on the big screen."
After the press conference ended, Gilbert and his team headed to Australia to begin the demanding pre-production phase. Tom Cruise, on the other hand, stayed in Los Angeles for physical training, since The Last of Us featured a lot of action scenes.
Saoirse Ronan also needed to undergo some training. She didn't have to perform complex stunts, but at the very least, she needed to look like a young girl who had survived in a post-apocalyptic world.
Meanwhile, during the period Gilbert was preparing The Last of Us, Batman Begins had reached a worldwide box office total of $585.5 million.
By that point, the film's global box office potential had mostly been exhausted. However, with continued steady earnings, breaking the $600 million mark globally was no longer an issue.
Looking at the distribution, the North American box office stood at $284.47 million, while the overseas box office was $301.03 million—the difference wasn't large.
This was quite different from the box office structure of most modern Hollywood films, where overseas revenue typically far exceeds domestic earnings.
In contrast, Batman Begins had nearly even performance in both markets, with very little gap.
The reason for this phenomenon was obvious. The Batman series, much like Star Wars, was a franchise more beloved by North American audiences.
During its international run, the North American media gave Batman Begins far higher praise than overseas critics.
Moreover, Gilbert's realistic filmmaking style limited the movie's appeal among general audiences.
Overseas, Superman's popularity actually far surpassed Batman's—perhaps because Superman's overwhelming power better fit the image people had of a "superhero."
A new Superman film was already in development. After Nolan clearly stated his lack of interest in directing it, Warner Bros. began searching for a new director.
Nolan himself was more intrigued by Watchmen. He hoped his brother, Jonathan Nolan, would join him in writing the script.
Currently, the Nolan brothers were tinkering with the screenplay in their home garage. Once finished, they planned to present it to Gilbert for review and a final decision on whether it would be produced.
As for the Superman film's director, Warner Bros. had considered several candidates. Gilbert recommended Zack Snyder for the job.
Warner Bros. was still deliberating, mainly because Zack Snyder was in the middle of shooting 300. The studio wanted to see how that film performed before deciding whether to take Gilbert's recommendation.
Another film related to Gilbert was The Adventure of Jackie Chan 3, which was released on July 15.
This fantasy adventure film series, deeply infused with traditional Chinese cultural elements, had catapulted Jackie Cheng to the ranks of Hollywood's top stars.
And this year, the flim series was finally coming to an end.
The reason for its conclusion was simple. Jackie Chan was gradually getting older and had begun shifting his focus back to Chinese-language films. He was starting to feel less capable of handling intense action scenes. Moreover, the storyline had run its natural course, so ending the series with the third film was a wise decision.
After the first two installments, the franchise had built up a sizable fanbase. The film held a grand premiere at the China Grand Theatre.
The main cast—Jackie Cheng, Shu Chang, Li Bingbing, Wu Mengda, Dwayne Johnson, and Chris Owen—were all present at the event.
In the movie, Jackie Chan once again delivered his signature "wherever he goes, things collapse" comedic action moments. This time, his destination was the underground mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang.
The screenwriter of The Myth would probably be fuming—"Hey, I also went to Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum, and now you're going there too?"
Although both stories took place in the same setting, their production quality was on completely different levels. This $180 million fantasy adventure blockbuster featured spectacular visual effects that dazzled audiences.
The combination of practical action and CGI, along with Jackie Cheng's trademark comedic style, blended together perfectly.
As the final film in the trilogy, it drew huge interest upon release, grossing $73.226 million in its opening weekend and taking the number one spot at the weekly box office.
In its second weekend, it earned another $39.868 million, pushing its North American box office total to $113.094 million.
When the film opened widely overseas the following week, it raked in an impressive $189.05 million internationally, with East Asian markets delivering particularly strong results.
By the time Gilbert departed for Australia, The Adventure of Jackie Chan 3 had reached $187 million in North America and a global total of $426 million.
It was already certain that the film would be a profitable success.
....
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