"This is the scene at Chicago's Kodak Theatre. I'm Lisa, bringing you live coverage from the venue.
Just moments ago, two of The Dark Knight's leading actors, Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, walked the red carpet behind me.
Oh, Nicolas Cage has also appeared. Last summer, both National Treasure 2 and I Am Legend, which he starred in, achieved excellent results.
This time, he joins The Dark Knight, playing Harvey Dent, also known as Two-Face. I'm really looking forward to his performance…"
After Nicolas Cage's appearance, Heath Ledger stepped onto the red carpet with his girlfriend, Michelle Williams.
Reporter Lisa didn't forget to mention Heath Ledger's experience: "It's said that after playing the Joker, Heath Ledger had difficulty pulling himself out of the role and had to undergo treatment with a psychologist.
But judging from his current condition, he seems to have recovered well and is in great spirits."
Heath Ledger and his girlfriend Michelle Williams walked to the end of the red carpet. Under the gaze of tens of thousands of fans on-site and countless viewers watching on television, he took out a ring he had prepared long ago and proposed to Michelle Williams.
This had been planned in advance and was also part of the promotional strategy. Of course, Heath Ledger's proposal to Michelle Williams was genuine.
Making it to the release of The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger could truly be said to have come back to life.
As for what the future might hold, no one could say for sure. But Gilbert felt that at least having an actor he deeply admired remain was something worth being happy about.
Heath Ledger was a pure actor. In today's highly commercialized Hollywood, actors this pure had become extremely rare.
After receiving blessings from the entire audience, Heath Ledger placed the ring on Michelle Williams's finger, successfully completing the proposal.
The audience responded with applause and cheers, witnessing the entire proposal process.
Michelle Williams also played a role in The Dark Knight. Although her screen time wasn't much, she was still a member of the production team.
Gilbert and Jennifer Connelly were the second-to-last main creators to make their grand appearance. When fans saw the director they admired and respected step onto the red carpet stage, they were extremely excited.
On the red carpet, Gilbert also shared his feelings about returning to the summer blockbuster season after a year away.
"Everyone knows that last year I produced a TV series. You've all seen it, right?"
"Yes!"
The response was perfectly synchronized. Some fans even shouted that they had watched it two or three times.
Gilbert was very satisfied. "Very good, full of energy. This time, I'm returning to the summer season to bring you The Dark Knight.
Back then, when Rowan asked me how we should make a superhero film that audiences would like, my answer was to make this film a classic."
Gilbert's words were bold. No one really expected a superhero film to become a classic. But the meaning of 'classic' depended on context. If it meant a classic within the superhero genre, that wasn't too unrealistic.
But if it meant a classic in film history, that was a different matter altogether. To reach that level, a score of at least 8.5 would be required, and even that might not be enough.
So far, there were quite a few superhero films on IMDb with scores above eight, but only one had surpassed 8.5—the 1989 Tim Burton version of Batman, with a score of 8.6.
Ranked second was still Batman, but this time it was Batman: Begins, directed by Gilbert, with a score of 8.3.
The others included the first Superman film, Sony Columbia's Spider-Man 1, and 20th Century Fox's X-Men: First Class.
All remaining superhero films failed to exceed eight points. At best, they were merely qualified commercial films, far from being classics.
This was because superhero films were essentially built on a fixed narrative template, and breaking through that framework was not easy. Over the years, visual effects had improved dramatically, but audiences had already seen enough of this kind of story structure.
Unless changes were made. There were two directions: one was Marvel's cinematic universe plan, turning films into a serialized model. The other was making bold innovations in theme and narrative core, like The Dark Knight.
Gilbert was confident that The Dark Knight would not perform worse than it had in his previous life, even though Heath Ledger did not have the added influence that once boosted the film.
This was a fully enhanced version of The Dark Knight: grand in scale, majestic in momentum, with smoother and more thrilling action scenes, and exceptionally sophisticated camera work.
Gilbert believed that audiences would definitely love this version of The Dark Knight.
After Gilbert and Jennifer Connelly made their appearance, it was time for the film's male lead—the actor portraying Batman, Bruce Wayne—Christian Bale, to appear.
Before he stepped out, twenty-four models with physiques similar to his rushed onto the red carpet wearing Batman suits. At the same time, the stunt double who served as his stand-in in the film rode the Batpod onto the red carpet, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
At that very moment, Christian Bale descended from above, removed his Batman helmet, revealed a smile, and greeted the audience.
This uniquely creative entrance undoubtedly ignited the atmosphere completely. As fans saw the name Bruce Wayne, they cheered wildly for Batman, one of the most popular superheroes in America.
To be honest, Christian Bale's Batman differed from the original comic-book image. However, after the groundwork laid by Batman Begins, his version of Batman had gained the recognition of fans.
But Christian Bale felt that this still wasn't enough. He wanted people to think of his version whenever Batman was mentioned. Gilbert had also said that this version of Batman would leave a deep impression on people.
After all the main guests had appeared, it was time for the supporting guests. James Cameron, who was busy with the post-production of Avatar, came to show his support and even revealed the release time of his new work.
"In fact, I still need to discuss it with Gilbert. He's also a producer on Avatar, but the tentative plan is to meet everyone in 2009."
There was no need to say much about the relationship between James Cameron and Gilbert. A rumor had long circulated online that the director of Titanic had almost been replaced by Gilbert back then.
If it hadn't been for Gilbert's support, the truck driver would have had to jump off a building.
There was also another rumor that the male lead of Titanic was originally intended to be Gilbert. It was only because Gilbert had no available schedule that he recommended his good brother, Leonardo.
Naturally, Leonardo also came to show his support. There was a saying used to describe the friendship between Leonardo and Gilbert: if Leonardo hadn't taken the hit for Gilbert back then, Gilbert would have been collected like a stamp by Madonna.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman arrived together with their increasingly grown daughter, Suri Cruise, to show their support. Nicole Kidman had recently been preparing to return for The Hobbit, while Tom Cruise was an old partner of Gilbert's.
George Lucas also came. Regarding the acquisition of Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic, after Gilbert stated that he would take over the Star Wars series, the outcome was basically beyond doubt.
However, Gilbert's condition for taking over Star Wars was that the entire series would have to be re-planned and retold. Aside from retaining the classic elements, the entire story framework would be overturned and rebuilt.
George Lucas agreed to this as well. Inviting Gilbert to take over Star Wars was precisely because he valued Gilbert's ability to bring change to the franchise.
..
Hi For access to additional chapters of
Director in Hollywood (40 chpaters)
Made In Hollywood (Completed)
Pokemon:Bounty Hunter(30 Chapters)
Hollywood:From Razzie to Legend(40 Chapters)
The Great Ruler (30 Chapters)
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu