I'm Not A Master, I'm A Director
Chapter 403: The Premiere of Garden of Sinners
In Shinji's view, the relationship between Johnny Depp and Captain Jack Sparrow was far closer than most people imagined.
Before playing Captain Jack, Depp couldn't exactly be called unknown, but he certainly wasn't among the biggest stars either. It was Pirates of the Caribbean that allowed him to break through his limitations in one leap and become a top-tier global celebrity.
From a director's professional perspective, even Shinji had to admit that Depp's portrayal of Jack Sparrow was the kind of performance that could leave a mark in film history.
That faintly effeminate yet wickedly charming aura—seductive, eccentric, and unpredictable—was something that no one else had ever quite managed to replicate.
However, Captain Jack didn't bring Depp only good things.
After Jack Sparrow, Depp's acting template more or less became fixed. In countless films afterward, he repeatedly reused the same acting style, and his range gradually grew narrower.
To outside observers, it often felt less like Depp himself appearing in a movie and more like Jack Sparrow showing up to play other characters.
This kind of situation wasn't uncommon in the film industry. Ryan Reynolds, the actor who played Deadpool, was a similar case—after Deadpool, no matter what role he played, audiences always saw Deadpool.
The reason for this phenomenon wasn't just the actor. Film studios played a role as well, along with the expectations of the audience.
Studios hire that actor precisely because of the performance that made the role famous. Meanwhile, audiences buy tickets because they want to see that actor perform that same iconic character again.
Under such expectations, actors often have no choice but to keep using that familiar template. Their range grows narrower and narrower until eventually the market abandons them.
One could only say that sometimes, being too successful could also be a kind of failure.
Of course, that was the sort of problem actors only worried about after achieving fame and success. Ninety-nine percent of actors would spend their entire lives wishing they could have that problem.
Returning to Pirates of the Caribbean itself—without Johnny Depp's brilliant performance, the film would at most have been considered a decent movie. It would never have become a top-tier franchise.
And for other actors to achieve Depp's perfectly balanced performance was incredibly difficult—no easier than expecting Arturia to suddenly master tying her son's ponytail.
At least, based on the trailers Shinji had seen, the Jack Sparrow of this world could only be described as having plenty of madness, but lacking that wicked charm.
Of course, Shinji could make that judgment only because he had Johnny Depp as a reference.
The audiences in this world had never seen the other version of Pirates of the Caribbean. For all they knew, this version of Jack Sparrow might seem fantastic.
After all, a character with such a distinctive personality was bound to leave a strong impression on viewers.
"If only audiences around the world could watch the original version once… I wish everyone could see that great movie in their dreams."
Shinji prayed to the Counter Force.
It didn't do a damn thing.
So Shinji shifted his focus back to promoting Garden of Sinners.
After all, solid work was the foundation of everything. As long as he executed the marketing for the Garden of Sinners perfectly, going head-to-head with Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't impossible.
Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't an adaptation of a famous work, nor was it a sequel to a popular franchise. It also wasn't directed by a renowned filmmaker like Garden of Sinners.
Therefore, at the very beginning, Garden of Sinners would definitely suppress Pirates of the Caribbean. What Shinji needed to do was maintain that advantage for as long as possible.
While promoting Garden of Sinners, Shinji hadn't forgotten about Fate/Apocrypha, which was still in theaters.
Even though Shinji himself had stayed in Fuyuki City and hadn't made any public appearances, he had been constantly paying attention to Fate/Apocrypha's performance.
Because there were so many countries involved, the box office results outside North America during the first week weren't fully compiled until the end of the second weekend.
And when the final numbers came in, the entire Type-Moon company erupted into celebration.
Fate/Apocrypha's global commercial performance was more than enough to satisfy everyone.
First came the United Kingdom—practically Fate's home turf.
In its opening week alone, the film pulled in 25.3 million dollars, beating competing movies so badly they couldn't even recognize their own mothers anymore.
Fate/Apocrypha's success in Britain was already impressive, but what truly made Shinji's eyes widen in shock was France.
In a country that had been criticizing Shinji's films for years, Fate/Apocrypha somehow managed to earn 25.87 million dollars in its opening week, more than five hundred thousand dollars higher than the UK.
On the day the results were announced, the entertainment front pages of major British newspapers all carried the same triumphant headline:
"The Proud Gauls Have Finally Bowed to Shinji Matou's Film."
In the eyes of the British, this was even more worth celebrating than Fate/Apocrypha's strong box office performance in their own country.
Shinji himself was quite satisfied with the result. At the very least, the promotional money he had spent on Luc Besson hadn't gone to waste.
Of course, Shinji knew that Besson's review had merely been the icing on the cake. The real reason French audiences flocked to theaters was far simpler:
The protagonist of Fate/Apocrypha was Jeanne d'Arc.
When it came to their national heroes, the French people were still incredibly reverent.
Whether it was Joan of Arc or Napoleon, both figures held a lofty place in the public imagination.
So when a film appeared with Joan of Arc as the main character—and one that wasn't just another retelling of her overused life story—the French people instinctively raised their hands…
…no, not in surrender.
They simply rushed into movie theaters instead.
Beyond Britain and France, Fate/Apocrypha also performed very well across the rest of Europe.
In Germany, the opening week reached 28.64 million dollars.
Spain brought in 18.42 million, and Italy contributed 17.7 million.
Even Australia managed a solid 23.56 million during its first week.
As for Japan, Shinji's home base, there was hardly any need to mention it. Despite the limited number of theaters, Fate/Apocrypha still managed to rake in box office revenue on the tens-of-millions scale during its first week.
The one place where Fate/Apocrypha received a cold reception was South Korea.
Actually, calling it a cold reception wasn't quite accurate.
The truth was that Fate/Apocrypha never even made it through the door.
During the review process, the Korean censors rejected the film, claiming that Amakusa's design contained too many Japanese elements.
Their official response read:
"Please have the actor wear a costume without Japanese cultural elements and reshoot the relevant scenes before resubmitting for review."
Japanese entertainment products entering the Korean market often had to remove Japanese cultural elements or undergo localization. That part wasn't unusual.
But such an absurd demand still made people wonder whether the decision had been made by carbon-based lifeforms at all.
"This is obviously just an excuse."
During a company meeting, Udagawa Nao complained helplessly.
"Korea's afraid your movie will slaughter everything at the summer box office, so they came up with this trick to reject it."
Back when she worked at Bandai, Nao had dealt with Korean regulators many times. She knew their "de-Japanization" standards like the back of her hand.
Despite how loudly Korea promoted its anti-Japanese cultural policies, their actual enforcement was usually not that extreme.
Just look at the Korean versions of the Detective Conan movies and you could roughly understand the limits of what they typically required.
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While Fate/Apocrypha was marching forward in triumph, Cinderella, which had premiered globally at the same time, performed miserably outside North America.
Across all international markets combined, it managed only 34.78 million dollars—not even a fraction of Fate/Apocrypha's earnings.
As a contribution to Cinderella's total box office, the result could hardly be called useful.
At best, it was better than nothing.
The only thing even remotely worth mentioning about the film was its performance in Japan, where its opening-week box office was somehow 500,000 dollars higher than Fate/Apocrypha.
But that wasn't because the movie was particularly good.
It was simply because the Japanese people loved musicals almost as much as certain other nations were famous for.
This would also be the last time Shinji paid attention to Cinderella's box office results.
A project that had already been confirmed as a failure wasn't worth any more of his energy.
Even if Gaia and Alaya, the two great Counter Forces, descended personally, they wouldn't be able to save this movie.
Unless Disney somehow used the Holy Grail to create a Singular Point, there was absolutely no way to change Cinderella's tragic fate.
And judging from the film's continually sinking box office—and the fact that Shinji had yet to see any orange-haired Chaotic Evil girl or marshmallow shield girl appear—Disney clearly hadn't created any Singularities.
As a result, with no other major blockbusters releasing in May, and with both Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Cinderella falling in succession, Fate/Apocrypha easily secured four consecutive weeks at the top of the global box office.
By this point, Fate/Apocrypha's North American total had reached 372.81 million dollars, steadily marching toward the 400 million mark.
Fate/Apocrypha had created a brand-new record for the Fate series, and probably not a single person would disagree with that statement.
However, Fate/Apocrypha's time dominating the box office charts was finally about to come to an end.
Because Shinji Matou's new film, the Garden of Sinners, had arrived before global audiences alongside the month of June.
Even Disney, its direct competitor, believed that Garden of Sinners would push Fate/Apocrypha down from the weekly box office throne.
What everyone cared about even more was whether Garden of Sinners could break the weekly box office record that Fate/Apocrypha had set earlier this year.
"No matter which film wins, it will only prove one universal truth—the only person capable of defeating Shinji Matou… is Shinji Matou himself."
That was the evaluation published by Zhibao while promoting Garden of Sinners, and it quickly gained widespread agreement.
Everyone agreed with it—
Everyone except Shinji himself.
"If only that were actually true…"
Every time he thought about the existence of Pirates of the Caribbean, Shinji found it impossible to calm his mind.
Unfortunately, nobody else understood what he was worried about.
And Shinji couldn't exactly explain it to them either, so he could only grumble quietly to himself.
Perhaps this was the unique loneliness that came with being a transmigrator.
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Even though Fuyuki City had already hosted a grand premiere just last month, the premiere of Garden of Sinners was no less magnificent.
Shinji sent invitations to every entertainment industry figure he could possibly contact.
Countless celebrities and social elites accepted, gathering together at the premiere venue.
In comparison, the North American premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean seemed rather quiet.
Disney had chosen to hold the premiere inside Disneyland.
While the setting did match the pirate-themed atmosphere of the film perfectly, the venue's limited space meant the premiere couldn't possibly reach the same scale as Garden of Sinners.
Disney's decision left Shinji feeling strangely conflicted.
"Please don't tell me they're going to pull off some last-second comeback… The setup for the protagonist's dramatic counterattack is practically complete…"
With a pained expression as if his stomach were aching, Shinji hurried across the red carpet. He didn't even feel like greeting the acquaintances he passed.
Everyone loved the idea of playing the pig to eat the tiger.
But no one liked the idea of being the tiger that got eaten.
And lately, Shinji had the increasingly uncomfortable feeling that he was about to become the target of someone else's flashy protagonist moment.
"What are you thinking about?"
A slightly nasal voice suddenly spoke from beside him. Shinji didn't even need to look to know who had walked over.
Without turning his head, he replied, "I was just thinking… how long it's been since we last saw each other."
"Not that long," the voice replied, emphasizing the words, "only a few months."
Click—clack
Stepping lightly in a pair of thin, sharply pointed high heels, Sakura Matou, Shinji's younger sister, came to stand beside her brother.
"Onii-sama, surprised? Unexpected? Exciting? Did you guess it was me?"
Shinji shrugged.
"I'm not so clueless that I wouldn't know my own sister's summer vacation started."
"Tch, boring."
Sakura glanced sideways at him and muttered before casually hooking her arm around his.
"Strange. You're actually walking the red carpet alone tonight. Where are all those rumored girlfriends of yours?"
She deliberately asked in a curious tone.
Shinji shrugged again.
"Don't talk nonsense. I'm single right now. Walking the red carpet alone is perfectly normal."
"That's not what I heard…"
Sakura leaned slightly closer, her voice teasing.
"I heard you and Jeanne have been getting pretty close lately. And that Lissy-nee got jealous and beat you up pretty badly."
"Heh."
Shinji let out a cold laugh.
"Sakura, did you go to Tokyo for college just to study gossip?"
"Of course not. But I'm curious."
Sakura smiled brightly as she continued digging into her brother's private life.
"After all, my sister-in-law will be my sister-in-law for the rest of my life. How can I relax if I don't investigate properly?"
Among all the people around Shinji, only Sakura would say such things without holding back.
If it were Rin, she would probably respond with Bajiquan instead.
"You don't need to worry about that," Shinji replied flatly. "Just focus on graduating from college."
Faced with his sister's max-level gossip instincts, Shinji firmly refused.
"I'm only asking because you look distracted."
Sakura tilted her head.
"The only thing that could make you this uneasy must be a woman, right?"
Shinji immediately denied it.
"Not at all. I'm worried about whether Garden of Sinners can beat Disney's movie."
Sakura clearly didn't believe him. She gave him a disdainful look.
"Why would you even worry about something like that? Just look at the crowd here and you'll know the result."
The two of them were standing right in front of the theater.
Looking down the red carpet, the area below the steps was packed with people as far as the eye could see.
Sakura knew very well why so many people had gathered here.
There was only one reason.
They had come to watch a movie.
That was the influence of her great director brother.
"Onii-sama… don't tell me this movie you made is actually terrible?"
Sakura raised an eyebrow mischievously.
"If that's the case, I'll stand up during the screening and loudly tell everyone around me, 'Shinji Matou didn't take this movie seriously!'"
"Are you really my sister?"
Sakura answered righteously,
"Precisely because I'm your beloved little sister! It's to make sure you take every movie seriously!"
Soon enough, Sakura would realize she had just raised an enormous flag.
Not long after Garden of Sinners began playing, Sakura really did shout out loud inside the theater.
However, it wasn't because she thought the movie's opening was bad.
It was because this film her brother made was completely different from his previous works.
The story of Garden of Sinners began with a woman wearing nothing but a tattered long dress, her figure astonishingly voluptuous.
Staring at the scene on the screen, Sakura fell into deep concern.
"…Is this really something that can be shown in a PG-13 movie?"
A terrible thought crossed her mind.
"Onii-sama isn't going to get arrested by the police for bribing the censors after the movie ends… right?"
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Tn: I updated the story once every 2 days, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 429: Another Poor Kid Who Gets Sold and Still Says Thanks[1]
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