It was the weekend, and the Paul family decided to hit up the movies. Once they got there, the family of three was stumped.
"Honey, which movie should we see?" Reilly, the wife, asked her husband.
Paul then asked his son, Damien, "Alright, kiddo, which one do you wanna see?"
Damien was already totally captivated by the huge "Real Steel" poster outside the theater. He pointed and said, "I wanna see that one!"
Paul had noticed that poster too. He'd even seen the trailer; it seemed to be about a father-son relationship and robot boxing—perfect for the whole family. So Paul made the call: "Alright then, that's the one."
The family quickly bought their tickets, got Damien his favorite Pepsi, and a big bucket of popcorn. Then, they waited for the movie to start and headed into the theater.
To be honest, they didn't go to the movies very often. The last time was "Jurassic Park" last year. Those dinosaurs in the movie scared the pants off Damien back then. But "Real Steel" didn't have any scary parts; instead, it was super exciting and action-packed. Neither the father nor the son were big boxing fans, but watching the robot boxing scenes in the movie, they couldn't help but cheer along with everyone else. Reilly, meanwhile, just munched on her popcorn. She wasn't really into this kind of movie, she was just there for her husband and kid. But she still found time to comment on the female character in the movie, like Bailey, concluding that she was pretty, but not as "big-chested" as herself.
The movie was as awesome as they'd hoped. Even after leaving the theater, the father and son were still gabbing about the thrilling, action-packed boxing scenes.
"Whoa, Dad, did you see that? Adam's punch right to Zeus's face almost knocked him silly!"
"Yeah, I saw it, that was really cool." As he said it, Paul couldn't help but throw a couple of air punches himself, nearly hitting Reilly.
"Hey, I said, boxers, hold it right there," Reilly quickly stopped their movements. Wouldn't want anyone getting accidentally punched. Even though they stopped the punching, the chatter didn't stop.
Just then, Damien spotted the Adam and Zeus models displayed outside the merchandise store and quickly ran over. A bunch of moviegoers, still pumped from the film, had already gathered around these life-sized models. Even though they couldn't touch them, a lot of fans pulled out their cameras to snap photos with the models. Too bad this movie theater didn't have the super-sized models like some other theaters did; those would've looked even cooler in pictures.
Damien gazed at the tall, powerful models, then looked at his dad with pleading eyes: "Dad, I want this!"
Reilly quickly put a stop to her son's unreasonable request: "Damien, stop it. That model is super expensive."
Damien wouldn't budge. When kids get wound up, he just hugged one of Adam's giant mechanical legs, which got the attention of the merchandise store clerk. That's when Paul, with a grand gesture, clapped his hands and said, "How much for these two models?"
"Two thousand eight hundred dollars in total, sir," the clerk replied. Seeing a sale, he didn't try to stop Damien anymore.
Paul didn't even hesitate. He swiped his card and told the clerk to arrange for home delivery. Damien excitedly hugged Paul's leg, thrilled, saying, "Dad, you're a real hero!"
Reilly secretly grumbled about her husband spending money foolishly, but seeing her son's ecstatic face, she didn't spoil the moment. Plus, seeing the envious looks from the other kids around, Reilly figured her son must be feeling pretty happy right now. And indeed, after those two models were carted away, many families who came to the movies that weekend couldn't resist buying some merchandise. Sales of models, sunglasses, headphones, watches, and other products all started to climb significantly. And this wasn't just happening at this one theater; it was happening in movie theaters across America.
"Real Steel" was definitely a perfect movie for the whole family, especially for fathers and sons to watch together. After the movie, a trip to the merchandise store really helped warm up that father-son bond. So, along with the box office numbers, merchandise sales kept climbing too.
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### Box Office and Merch Sales Are Blowing Up!
After the midnight showings and opening day, Disney got the solid numbers from the theaters. In Michael Eisner's office, Robert Iger reported the figures to him.
"The midnight box office pulled in 4.275 million dollars, and the first day's box office, not counting the midnight shows, raked in 18.573 million dollars," Robert Iger's voice was clearly tinged with pleasant surprise. He went on to add, "What's more, the movie's performing strongly in the merchandise market. According to our marketing department's stats, merchandise sales hit 1.25 million dollars during the movie's simultaneous release."
Michael Eisner's eyes lit up. This impressive merchandise sales figure was undoubtedly the most surprising and satisfying news for him. After Robert Iger finished his report, Michael Eisner finally said contentedly, "Now this is the kind of movie Disney needs – a family-friendly film that appeals to the mainstream market."
Because of Disney's principles, movies that don't align with Disney's values are usually released by their subsidiaries, Touchstone Pictures or Buena Vista Pictures. But this movie, "Real Steel," could've been released directly by Disney itself. But there was no point discussing that now. Michael Eisner felt that Gilbert should make more movies that fit Disney's values.
Thinking about this, Michael Eisner asked Robert Iger, "Bob, what do you think? Can we get Gilbert to make more movies that align with Disney's values?"
Robert Iger frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I don't think that's very likely. Gilbert has a strong vision. At his level, and with such high achievements, he's definitely confident in his own ideas and choices for projects. He won't change his mind easily."
"What if we push him hard to change his style?" Michael Eisner asked.
Robert Iger reminded him, "Chairman, we're not the only ones working closely with Gilbert; Warner Bros. is too."
Right. Even though Warner Bros. is famous for meddling in the production of movies they invest in, no one had ever heard of Warner Bros. interfering with Gilbert's film sets. Apparently, their president, Jeff Robinov, made it clear: Gilbert could shoot however he wanted, and Warner Bros. would just provide the money and support. Because of the president's insistence, their producer, Charles Roven, pretty much just helped Gilbert manage the crew, aside from offering some suggestions, and wouldn't overstep his bounds, like trying to change the script or anything. If Disney pushed too hard and made Gilbert mad, he might just side with Warner Bros. Although Michael Eisner was a strong personality, he wasn't stupid; he understood that much.
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### San Francisco Nights and a Beautiful Stranger
After his MTV commitments, Gilbert still had to attend the Saturn Awards; "Speed" also had nominations there. But for now, after parting ways with Cameron Diaz, he joined Bruce Willis, Naomi Watts, Ryan Gosling, and the rest of the cast for a nationwide publicity tour.
Even though Charlize Theron was also in the movie, she wasn't quite big enough to join the cast on a national promotional tour. However, after finishing work on "Real Steel," Charlize Theron, who was pretty much unknown before, gradually started getting more roles, and her acting career finally took off. Charlize Theron definitely wasn't content to just be a minor character; she still wanted to work hard and grab opportunities.
While filming in San Francisco, the "Real Steel" crew was doing promotions there. Charlize Theron called Gilbert and asked him out for a drink. At the entrance of a bar, Gilbert met Charlize Theron. The girl gave an embarrassed laugh: "I'm not 21 yet, so I can't drink and can't get in."
Gilbert seemed to have anticipated this. He shook the whiskey in his hand and said, "Then let's find a private place to have a drink." This suggestion was exactly what Charlize Theron wanted. She immediately agreed: "Great! Where should we go?"
Gilbert opened the car door and gestured for Charlize Theron to get in. Once she was seated, Gilbert went to the other side, got in, and sped off.
"Where are we going?" Charlize Theron asked.
"Just follow me. We're going somewhere good," Gilbert said, driving off into the distance.
The car drove on, leaving downtown San Francisco behind and heading towards Twin Peaks, San Francisco's only natural mountains. The buildings around them became fewer and fewer, and Charlize Theron felt a little nervous. All sorts of thoughts flashed through her mind, scenes from horror and suspense movies, like Gilbert taking her up the mountain to dismember her. Or maybe Gilbert was a vampire who wanted her blood, and so on. The almost 19-year-old girl's mind was filled with these strange ideas.
Gilbert was driving to North Peak, where there's a big old tower. From there, you can see the entire San Francisco Bay Area, and at night, you can enjoy the city's night view.
"We're here, get out," Gilbert parked the car at the entrance of the big tower. Charlize Theron, a little belatedly, got out of the car, holding the whiskey. Even though it was night, it was summer, and San Francisco's Mediterranean climate meant it wasn't cold at night.
Charlize Theron curiously asked Gilbert, "What are we doing here?"
"Looking at the view, of course! You've never seen the Bay Area at night, have you?" Gilbert said, pointing to the city lights in the distance. Charlize Theron looked over and agreed: "From this angle, the city lights really are beautiful."
The big tower had staff on duty at night. They quickly spotted the two: "Hey, what are you doing?"
Gilbert pulled out his wallet power, directly tossing a hundred dollars to the Black security guard on duty: "Don't worry, buddy, you're off tonight." The Black security guard stared at the hundred dollars for a moment, then his eyes lit up. He immediately handed the keys to the big tower to Gilbert: "Alright, man, I get it. I didn't see anything tonight."
As he spoke, the Black security guard gave a knowing smile, then looked at Charlize Theron, awestruck by her beauty. But the Black security guard knew that a woman like her was out of his league. He quietly pointed in a direction for Gilbert, mysteriously asking, "Need any condoms? Ten bucks a pop." Gilbert knew the Black security guard was trying to gouge him, but he didn't call him out and just shelled out ten dollars. Before leaving, the Black security guard looked greedily at Charlize Theron, fantasizing about how wonderful it would be to spend the night with her. But unfortunately, he could only dream. Instead of longing for a woman he couldn't have, he'd take that hundred dollars and hit up a strip club; it had been a long time since he'd gone.
After bribing the security guard with his money power, the place was temporarily Gilbert's and Charlize Theron's. Gilbert opened the big tower's door and took Charlize Theron's hand, saying, "Follow me..."
Seemingly anticipating what was about to happen, Charlize Theron firmed her steps, clutched the whiskey, and followed Gilbert up the big tower.
"Whoa!" Gilbert shouted once they reached the top of the big tower, as if all the pressure he'd been feeling lately had been swept away. "Sally, do you know what I'm thinking right now?"
"What are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking," Gilbert turned around, facing the San Francisco city nightscape again, cupped his hands around his mouth like a megaphone, and yelled, "I want to conquer the world!"
Looking at this ambitious man, Charlize Theron felt herself becoming completely captivated. She knew he was a playboy and wouldn't be exclusively hers, but Charlize Theron couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if she and Gilbert were together. Her career, her dream of being a Hollywood superstar—everything started with this man.
After letting it all out, Gilbert and Charlize Theron sat on the ground, bathed in moonlight. Without even bothering with glasses, they opened the whiskey bottle and drank it, taking turns. As the alcohol kicked in, they talked more. Gilbert told some not-so-kid-friendly jokes, making Charlize Theron burst into laughter.
The moonlight was strong, and Charlize Theron, bathed in its glow, had golden hair cascading over her shoulders, a delicate face, and lips adorned with pink lipstick. They looked like ripe peaches, making you want to take a bite. It seemed she knew Gilbert's aesthetic preference, as Charlize Theron had also done her eyelashes. Her long lashes blinked, appearing especially captivating under the big tower's lights.
At this moment, Gilbert couldn't remain indifferent. He tossed the whiskey aside, and in a flash, pulled Charlize Theron into his arms.
"Sally, you're so beautiful," Gilbert said, his hand resting on Charlize Theron's face. Her long eyelashes seemed to speak, and Charlize Theron's breathing gradually grew heavier: "Gilbert..."
Before she could finish, Charlize Theron's eyes widened. Gilbert couldn't wait any longer; he simply leaned in and kissed her, cutting off her remaining words.
The moon shyly hid behind the clouds. Up on the big tower on Twin Peaks North Peak, Gilbert and Charlize Theron became one. Together with the night view of the San Francisco Bay Area, it was a vibrant, intoxicating spring scene, as if telling people about the power of life and a beautiful, harmonious melody.