The promotional tour for Transformers had officially begun back in early June this year.
On June 10, 2007, Transformers held its global premiere at Seoul Tower in South Korea.
This was the first time a Hollywood movie had ever held its premiere in South Korea.
There was no helping it.
Who told South Korea's CJ Entertainment to own 11% of DreamWorks?
When a company's shareholder made a request regarding company operations, the company's management naturally had to satisfy their wishes.
As if!
It was still the same old saying: in the eyes of America, Japan and South Korea were basically their own front yard.
So, from the very beginning, Steven Spielberg had never honored the investment agreement DreamWorks had signed with CJ Entertainment back then.
When CJ Entertainment invested in DreamWorks, what they wanted was the Asian distribution rights for all DreamWorks films.
But from the very start, Steven Spielberg had never handed the Japanese distribution rights for his own films to CJ Entertainment.
After that, within just a few years, Steven Spielberg gave the distribution rights for the rest of Asia, excluding South Korea, China, and Hong Kong, to United International Pictures, the global distribution network jointly owned by Paramount and Universal.
Now, Steven Spielberg no longer even wanted to give CJ Entertainment the distribution rights for China and Hong Kong, because Fox was gone. They could handle distribution themselves now.
So, he used the gimmick of "the first Hollywood film to hold its premiere in South Korea" as a bargaining chip to take back all Asian distribution rights for his own films—which amounted to tearing up the old cooperation agreement completely.
Yes.
This was the real reason Transformers held its global premiere in South Korea.
What? Someone said the boss of CJ Entertainment was called Lee Mi-kyung, and that the backer behind her was Samsung? Was Steven Spielberg not afraid that she would pull her investment and retaliate?
Heh. Dear, the ones who could not live without Samsung for their whole lives were the South Korean people. If Samsung dared to stretch its hand out of the peninsula at all, the slap would come flying over!
At present, the only ones who could point fingers on a global scale were the North Americans!
Because of this, even though Isabella was the producer of Transformers and should logically have attended the film's global premiere, she did not fly to South Korea for it.
She would not attend events that lacked enough prestige.
Aside from the global premiere in South Korea, on June 27 and June 28, Transformers also held North America-exclusive joint premieres at the Los Angeles Film Festival and in Rhode Island, New England.
Isabella did not attend those two events either.
As for the reason, that was simple too.
First, she simply did not want to go. She was too lazy to make the trip. Order of the Phoenix (Part 2) had not wrapped yet. When she needed to stay in Britain constantly to film, flying from Britain to America for an event and then returning to Britain to continue filming would be extremely exhausting!
Especially when there was a massive time difference between the East Coast and the West Coast, and the first event was on the West Coast. Flying from London to Los Angeles, then from Los Angeles to New York, then from New York back to London for back-to-back appearances was enough to tire someone to death.
Second, her current status had already reached that level.
When she was the center of the universe and the origin of all things, wasn't it only natural for the film's investors and distributors to hold a premiere in the city where she was?
Mm. The London premiere of Transformers was specially arranged by everyone for her.
As for this—
June 30, 2007, was a Saturday.
On this day, London's sky was clear and cloudless.
As usual, Isabella, who was already used to walking red carpets, handled every part of the process with ease.
But unlike usual, today's red carpet show had a special interactive segment: a prize quiz. "Okay! Thank you, everyone, for coming! Thank you, everyone, for your love! Next, I'm going to play a little game with you!"
"I have ten questions in my hand! Ten questions related to Transformers! Next, I'll randomly choose some people to answer. As long as the selected person gets the answer right, they'll receive a gift!"
"And that gift is an iPhone that has not yet officially gone on sale in Britain, but definitely will be released here!"
"..."
Before Isabella had even finished speaking, the fan area beside the red carpet immediately erupted with countless screams. "Aaaaaah—she's giving away phones again—"
"Pick me, pick me, pick me, Isa—pick me!"
"I want an iPhone, Isa—I'm your fan! I watched your review video! Seriously—I think Apple's iPhone is super, super, super cool!"
"The iPhone is simply the coolest futuristic tech in the whole world!!! So please pick me!!!"
"..."
The cheers shooting into the sky, the eager calls, and the arms suddenly raised high made a smile appear on Isabella's face.
At this moment, she genuinely felt that all those people who said things like "a person should keep a low profile" and "success should be restrained" were talking absolute nonsense. Because the feeling of being supported and admired by others was deeply satisfying.
She waved her arm lightly.
Her fingers danced through the air, as if she were pointing out rivers and mountains.
One lucky person after another was chosen by Isabella.
Since the questions on the cards were not difficult, the entire giveaway passed very pleasantly.
However, there were also people at the scene who had only come for Isabella. Those people did not know much about Transformers, so they could not answer Isabella's questions. But Isabella still gave them consolation prizes: button blind boxes.
Inside, they could find all kinds of cartoon Isabella designs.
Mm. At present, the button blind boxes Isabella was giving away were more or less the same as the button blind boxes Disney had provided for the contestants of The Voice. The only difference was that the buttons Disney had prepared for The Voice were basically all original designs, while the buttons Isabella was giving away this time were related to Transformers.
Those buttons were either Optimus Prime Isabella or Bumblebee Isabella, Ironhide Isabella or Barricade Isabella—the main selling point was variety.
Hehe~
"Oh—this button is so cute, Isa—is this for sale?"
"Of course! The buttons you're getting now will all be available to buy after Transformers is released. You just have to go to a store that sells Hasbro toys. I think there are 12 in a set? Good luck."
Although Isabella had not acted in Transformers, they had still worked with Hasbro to put together crossover merchandise.
Sigh! Who told the IP development business model to be so lucrative?
After finishing the red carpet, Isabella entered the theater and was welcomed by everyone who had arrived before her.
She hugged producer Steven Spielberg. "Long time no see, Isa~"
"Long time no see, Steven."
"..."
Then she shook hands with Paramount chairman Brad Grey.
"It's good to see you~ Isa~"
"Same here."
"..."
She calmly accepted the greetings from lead actor Tom Cruise and director Michael Bay. "Hello, Isa~ I haven't seen you in a long time, and you've become even prettier~"
"Really? Thank you~ Tom, you've actually become more handsome too~"
"..."
"Hello, Isa~ We've finally come to Britain, and we're finally going to face your inspection. To be honest, I'm a little nervous."
"Oh, Michael, you don't need to be nervous, because I believe in your ability."
"Really? You do?"
"Of course! As long as you can bring out the skill you had when directing Bad Boys and The Rock, then I believe Transformers will definitely be filmed wonderfully by you! Yes, as long as you abandon the ideas you had when making Pearl Harbor!"
"Hahahaha—oh—the Pearl Harbor thing will absolutely never happen again, I swear!"
"..."
After some simple socializing, Isabella entered the screening hall accompanied by the film's female lead, Margot Robbie. "Are you nervous now?"
"I'm okay."
"Wow~ You're actually not nervous? That doesn't really sound like you! In the past, whenever you had a movie coming out, you were always very nervous. Not to mention, this film's investment and scale are several times bigger than any movie you've participated in before."
"Oh, isn't that because you're here? Now, no matter whether my movie makes money or loses money, as long as you think I'm okay, I'll always have roles to act in. So—why should I be nervous, right?"
"Oh~~~ Margot~~~ your mouth is very sweet~~~ but unfortunately, I won't give you extra impression points just because you're sweet-talking me."
"So are you really going to send me off to act in Resident Evil? I really hate blood, slime, corpses—"
"No."
"Hm?"
"..."
"I'll only send you off to act in DC movies."
"Huh?"
"..."
Since Isabella was the final guest to appear, as soon as she took her seat, the screening segment for Transformers officially began.
The lights dimmed, the screen lit up, and the Paramount and DreamWorks logos drifted past one after another.
Then, an aged electronic synthesized voice, like a hook, drew out the beginning of the entire story. "We do not know where it came from. We only know that it possessed the power to create worlds and life."
"Our race was born because of its appearance. We once lived together in harmony, but an equal and harmonious life could not satisfy the swelling of selfish desire and ambition. So, war began."
"It was a war that brought destruction to our planet."
"The cube of energy that possessed the power to create worlds and life was also lost in the vast universe because of that war."
"We searched the entire galaxy, hoping to find it and rebuild our home. We searched every planet, every world, but never found any trace of it. Just as we were losing hope—"
"A new light led us to a planet we had never heard of before."
"Earth!"
As the aged voice faded, the Transformers logo appeared on the screen like pieces of machinery locking together.
Immediately after, the scene changed.
On the icy, snow-covered land of Greenland, countless American soldiers were waving pickaxes, carrying out a mission that should have been classified at the highest level.
Oh, wrong! The American sun had not officially risen yet! So the place where the American soldiers on the screen were currently located was not Greenland, but the Arctic Circle.
Amid a series of "dududu—" sounds, a V-22 Osprey transport aircraft landed vertically on the frozen tundra.
As the cabin door opened, a middle-aged man with a receding hairline, a big belly, and the unmistakable look of a tech nerd, carrying a shoulder bag, stepped onto the bitterly cold land of the far north.
Perhaps it was because Michael Bay had given this middle-aged man a huge close-up, or perhaps it was because the British premiere of Transformers was the final stop in the global promotional screening tour—since the internet had already become widespread, many leaks related to the movie had long since been flying all over the web.
In any case, the moment the middle-aged man appeared, countless gasps immediately erupted inside the screening hall. "OMG—is that really Tom???"
"My God!!! Did Tom Cruise really make such a huge sacrifice for the movie???"
"Oh—I'm having a little trouble accepting Tom's look—I think I still prefer him when he looks handsome."
"But—to be honest—I think this look actually fits his identity in the movie, because I heard he plays a technician who deeply loves his daughter in Transformers? Honestly, this appearance matches every prejudice I have about tech nerds. This is really done so well."
Yes. The balding, soft, out-of-shape recluse currently appearing on screen was the protagonist of this film, David, played by Tom Cruise.
The reason he looked like this was mainly because Hollywood had assigned fixed templates to every type of person and every profession. A family-loyal, technically skilled nerd with no sense of humor was, in this era, basically the default mold for that archetype.
So it was inevitable that Tom Cruise would follow the industry's method of characterization and make himself unglamorous on screen.
Of course, aside from stereotypes, there was actually another reason for making Tom Cruise look this way: he had acted in too many handsome-guy movies.
When he could stand there in normal clothes and instantly become Ethan Hunt, what would happen if he appeared in Transformers dressed normally?
Wow. Would this movie still be Optimus Prime fighting Megatron? It would directly become Mission: Impossible — Tear the Decepticons Apart, okay!
Before a conceptual god like Ethan Hunt, forget Megatron. Even Unicron would have to be taken down by him!
Amid the audience's gasps, David, meaning Tom Cruise, moved.
The bone-piercing cold made this technician, who spent all year crouched in an office, somewhat uncomfortable.
But following his superior's call, he still jogged over and met the local commanding officer.
Under the officer's lead, David entered a massive ice cave.
Then he saw a shield sealed in ice—they had dug up Captain America!
So this movie was actually Mission: Impossible — Avengers vs. Decepticons!
Ah, no—
Beside the shield, there was also a frost-covered chair, and sitting on it was a suit of armor—they had also dug up Arthas!
So this movie was actually Mission: Impossible — Avengers vs. Decepticons vs. the Lich King!
Cough, cough. Fine, enough nonsense.
What David and the others saw was actually a gigantic steel man—Megatron. The moment he appeared, the entire movie instantly entered the main plot.
While David was stunned by the sight before him, the American commanding officer told him that this "creature" was an accidental discovery from their scientific expedition. After specialists examined it, they found that when this "creature" was alive, it might have possessed a soul of its own.
"What do you mean, a soul of its own?"
The officer's words left the companion who had come with David very puzzled.
He felt that the officer's description seemed to contain a contradiction.
David, however, excitedly explained it for him. "It means it isn't a program, but something with a soul!"
"Right now, all the mechanical life we imagine follows the basic general laws of AI."
"In other words, although they have brains, their brains should be unique. That brain should be a processor integrating a CPU and GPU, capable of dividing tasks and jointly processing all the information they scan."
"They are life, but even more than that, they are machines!"
"But a machine with life means that inside the brain of the 'creature' we see before us, there probably aren't things like CPUs and GPUs specifically responsible for various data calculations. Their brains should be like ours, possessing a biological structure that humans cannot understand. Or rather, they should be carbon-based lifeforms that look like silicon-based lifeforms!"
"Yeah! David! I knew you were the researcher we were looking for!"
David's words made the officer wildly delighted!
He raised his hand and patted David hard on the shoulder twice. Then, like a good buddy, he wrapped one arm around him, pointed at Megatron in front of them with the other, and said, "After we learned that you had been researching mechanical life all these years, we decided to hand this iron lump over to you for dissection! From now on, you are the person in charge of Project Hoover!"
"Oh—is that so? Thank you so much—oh no—I mean, I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"
David's face blossomed with joy!
But at the same time, he also had a question in his heart. "Sir, I have a question."
"What question?"
"Why is it called 'Project Hoover'?"
"Oh—you mean that? That's because we'll be sending it to Black Canyon in Colorado. The base there is called Hoover, isn't it? As for that, I think you should be more familiar with it than I am?"
The officer winked at David.
David instantly fell into shock!
The moment the words landed—snap—the scene cut sharply.
Stirring music rang out instantly, and David appeared at Hoover Base with his head held high and his chest out.
Having changed into a new uniform, he held a walkie-talkie and began directing traffic.
His figure, with spit flying everywhere and arms waving wildly, looked full of high spirits no matter how one looked at it.
At this moment, everyone understood the meaning of the earlier conversation.
Very few people studied the subject of mechanical life.
And under normal circumstances, this subject was unlikely to produce any real results.
So, before encountering Megatron, what kind of life had David been living in the American military?
Any normal person could imagine it, right?
Being excluded by his colleagues, looked down on by his colleagues, and bullied by his colleagues must have been the things he encountered most often in his daily life.
But just when David had already accepted his fate and was ready to spend his whole life living meekly and uselessly, mechanical life had actually appeared?
And in order to let David study it better, the military was actually willing to place Megatron in the place where he usually stayed?
Wow~
From this day onward, his fate underwent a massive change—
"Be careful!"
"Don't you dare bump this big guy!"
"If he suffers even the slightest damage, I will definitely kick the iron-hard tip of my leather shoe straight into your assholes!"
"..."
"I swear!"
"Hmph!"