In addition to these celebrities, the entire creative team of Edgerunners attended together—Andrew Garfield, Emma Roberts, Jason Statham, and the two bald heavyweights, Dwayne Johnson.
The Harry Potter trio also appeared together on the red carpet. Vin Diesel from Fast & Furious, Liv Tyler, Jessica Alba, and others were all present as well.
Of course, many familiar faces from previous years were missing.
There was no helping it—last year's incident had stirred Hollywood into an uproar. Many people were afraid of getting implicated and did not dare maintain contact with Gilbert.
At the same time, they did not want to offend Gilbert either, nor did they dare stand up to oppose or criticize him, so they could only remain neutral.
There were also some, such as George Clooney and a few others, who had been fiercely roasted by Gilbert earlier this year over the Olympics.
These people now harbored deep resentment toward Gilbert—how could they possibly come to show support? Of course, they couldn't afford to offend Gilbert either, so on the surface they smiled politely while inwardly cursing nonstop.
The most classic presence, however, was the female star group from Melon Manor.
At every premiere of a Gilbert film, the collective appearance of the ladies of Melon Manor was always a major highlight.
Eldest sister Naomi Watts, second sister Cameron Diaz, third sister Charlize Theron, fourth sister Anne Hathaway, fifth sister Ivanka, sixth sister Scarlett Johansson, and seventh sister Avril Lavigne.
Together with fourth sister Jennifer Connelly, who walked the red carpet with Gilbert, they formed the Seven Fairies of Melon Manor.
Of course, according to gossip reporters' statistics, Gilbert's women numbered more than just these—there were four or five more in the island nation.
Not to mention Liv Tyler, who openly declared herself Gilbert's lover; Taylor Swift, who publicly stated her pursuit of Gilbert; and Emma Watson, who couldn't go three sentences without mentioning Gilbert.
There were also Winona Ryder, Rachel Weisz, and Catherine Zeta-Jones from earlier years—female stars who had all shared fleeting romances with Gilbert.
If Gilbert knew this, he would have given that gossip reporter a thumbs-up and corrected his mistakes—he had never touched Taylor Swift or Emma Watson.
One was because he didn't want to be added to a stamp collection, and the other was simply too young—he couldn't bring himself to make a move.
It had to be said that the tolerance of North American audiences toward the private lives of Hollywood public figures was remarkably high.
With such a list of girlfriends exposed, and still openly appearing in public—if this were the Chinese-language entertainment industry, you would have long been made an example and blacklisted.
In Hollywood, it was no big deal at all—fans would even give you a thumbs-up and say you were impressive.
Of course, when it came to having many women, in the Chinese-language entertainment industry people usually wouldn't report it. One or two would be kept tightly hidden, and anything that did get exposed was usually done with the intent to ruin you.
Naturally, reaching Gilbert's level was truly one of a kind. Others simply didn't have that capability, nor could they assemble such a lineup.
After the guest lineup finished appearing, there was still an uninvited guest—David Ellison. Although he spoke disdainfully of Gilbert, he actually held Gilbert's filmmaking ability in very high regard.
So watching his films was often a learning experience as well.
Gilbert naturally welcomed him warmly. "David, how have you been lately? I heard your studio's recent major projects haven't been going too smoothly."
David Ellison's face darkened instantly—really, bringing up exactly the wrong topic?
"Not bad, not bad. The investments are just a bit huge. But I believe these projects will all succeed. When that time comes, don't be jealous."
Gilbert looked sincere. "Of course not. I should congratulate you—Hollywood has gained another new force.
Oh right, I heard Mel Gibson went over to your side. He's not exactly a good person—be careful not to get led astray."
"Is that so?" David Ellison shot back. "Didn't you also poach Andrew and Megan, forcing Transformers to change its leads?
But from what I see, the two of them will probably regret it!"
The verbal sparring ended with both sides evenly matched.
It had to be said that trading barbs with David Ellison was always a pleasant experience. The guy was quite interesting—once he felt unhappy, he would absolutely talk back.
Even now, he still believed that the projects he had snatched from Gilbert would all be profitable. To reinforce that illusion, Gilbert even secretly made contact with those projects, deliberately letting David Ellison discover it.
Based on his trust in Gilbert's cinematic judgment, David Ellison firmly believed those projects would succeed. Of course, he wasn't without doubts along the way.
But Gilbert's performance was simply too convincing. Even seasoned veterans like Michael Ovitz and Martin Bob didn't sense anything amiss, and so things had progressed to this point.
The premiere officially began, and the fans gathered along both sides of the red carpet dispersed, waiting for May 2, when the film would be officially released.
Meanwhile, the several hundred guest fans inside the Kodak Theatre finally glimpsed the mysterious veil of The Dark Knight. From the very opening atmosphere, everyone felt that something about this film was different.
As the head of the California's Gilbert Fan Association, Sarati Merton and Lewis both received invitations to the premiere and attended the event.
As loyal fans who had followed Gilbert all the way since the Shallows era, both of them now had families of their own, and Sarati Merton had even gone through one divorce
Although their life paths were different, their love for Gilbert's films was the same.
While waiting for the film to begin, the two quietly chatted.
"Everyone's still waiting for our feedback."
"Feedback? It's a Gilbert movie—just watch it."
"I'm really looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of film this will be."
"Me too. Hurry, it's starting."
The opening tone of the film was somewhat cold, foreshadowing the style of the movie. The Warner and DC logos flashed by, but the familiar Melon Studio logo that audiences knew so well was noticeably absent.
Charlize Theron found this strange and whispered, "Why isn't there a Melon Studio logo?"
Ivanka explained, "It was Warner Bros. CEO Kelly Ross's request. She believes that although The Dark Knight was made using Gilbert's team, it has nothing to do with Melon Studio."
After hearing this, Charlize Theron spat, "Fuck, that bitch—no shame at all. Without Gilbert, Warner wouldn't even dream of reviving the Batman franchise in the next lifetime."
"Alright," Naomi Watts soothed her. "Since it's already like this, just watch the movie quietly. The audience won't ignore Gilbert's contribution to this film."
That was indeed the case. Whether there was a logo or not didn't matter—those words, A Gilbert Landrini Film, were impossible to remove.
Just as Charlize Theron said, without Gilbert, reviving Batman films would be extremely difficult right now.
After the opening titles passed, the Batman logo wrapped in blue flames appeared, and Hans Zimmer's composition Why So Serious slowly faded in.
This was the Joker's theme, filling the audience with a sense of unease.
Immediately after, a high-altitude panoramic shot of the city appeared, moving from far to near, arriving at the front of a skyscraper.
Suddenly, the deafening sound of shattering glass broke the tension, and the curtain officially rose on the film.
It was a bank robbery scene. From the tense and thrilling atmosphere at the very start, the audience was instantly pulled in. The mastermind behind the scenes—the Joker—existed only in the robbers' dialogue, instructing each of them to kill another once their task was complete.
This opening scene fully demonstrated the Joker's ruthlessness and evil—utterly unpredictable and incomprehensible.
And when one of the Jokers faced the bank manager Mahone, removed his clown mask, and revealed his true Joker face, that strange and terrifying oppressive presence rushed straight at the audience.
Without a doubt, from this opening alone, the viewers inside the Kodak Theatre were completely unable to look away.
..
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