novellhall Chapter 241 She's My Gamora [5000 words]
Chapter 241 She's My Gamora [5000 words]
Chapter 241 She's My Gamora [5000 words]
Warner is really going all out this time.
The second trailer for Interstellar premiered during the Super Bowl halftime showdown, lasting thirty seconds and costing eight million dollars.
This time, the focus is on the characters: Matthew's Cooper gazes at the stars in a cornfield, while Anne's Dr. Brand explains the wormhole theory in a NASA lab.
There's also a fleeting glimpse of Matt Damon.
The soundtrack features Hans Zimmer's organ music, which is heavy, grand, and full of a sense of destiny.
The trailer ends with the text: "Nolan, this time, travels through time."
The New York Times film critic published a lengthy article that day: "Nolan has once again proven that he is one of the few directors in Hollywood who still sees film as art rather than a product."
"The Interstellar trailer has no punches or kicks, yet it is more moving than any action scene. It explores humanity's most primal fear: loneliness and insignificance in the endless universe."
A Harvard University astrophysics professor was invited to CNN to explain the scientific settings in the trailer, speaking for a full ten minutes, from the visualization of wormholes to the theoretical basis of five-dimensional space.
Finally, the host asked, "So, is this film scientifically accurate?"
The professor adjusted his glasses: "As far as we know, yes, Nolan's team consulted Kip Thorne, and they even rendered a visual image of the black hole based on the equations."
This high-end publicity campaign had an immediate and significant effect.
On Twitter, #InterstellarScience# became a trending topic.
Many netizens have begun discussing: "Is wormhole travel theoretically possible?"
Does time dilation really make astronauts younger than humans?
What does the fifth dimension actually look like?
The science fiction section on Reddit has seen a surge in popularity, with some posts offering detailed scientific analyses ranging from general relativity to quantum gravity, turning the comment section into a mini academic seminar.
In contrast, the latest character trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy has a more relaxed style.
Focusing on the hilarious daily lives of Rocket Raccoon and Groot.
Although it also garnered laughter, it seemed to be overshadowed in terms of depth and sophistication.
One film critic directly tweeted a sarcastic comment: "While Nolan is contemplating the ultimate fate of humanity, some directors are still making a tree dance. That's the difference between a film artist and an entertainment mogul."
The following post received many likes.
The atmosphere in Marvel's publicity department was a bit somber.
Director Gunn remained calm during the conference call: "Let them pretend; the audience will ultimately vote with their feet."
Chen Xun had just finished his morning workout at the gym.
When he came out of the shower, Rob handed him a tablet with comparative data on public opinion.
"Warner played their high-end cards well this time."
"There's a sentiment online that watching Interstellar is a sign of good taste, while watching Guardians of the Galaxy is just—uh, popcorn entertainment."
Chen Xun dried his hair and picked up the tablet to browse through it.
He saw the sarcastic tweet and some of the comments agreeing with it.
What do you think?
Robert asked.
Chen Xun didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "What is the core message of Guardians of the Galaxy?"
"Family, a group of oddballs finding a place to belong?"
"right!"
Chen Xun nodded: "But family is not an abstract concept. It is that sarcastic but reliable friend by your side, that silent but always supportive brother, that seemingly fierce but actually soft-hearted guy."
He put down the towel and picked up his phone: "They play with high-end stuff, we play with down-to-earth stuff."
That afternoon, Chen Xun updated his Twitter.
There are no meticulously composed photos, no profound captions, just a fifteen-second video shot with a mobile phone.
The camera is a bit shaky, and the background is the gym's rest area, with Chen Xun's face covered in sweat.
"Hey, I just finished training and something suddenly came to mind."
He said to the camera, "Do you know anyone who has a really sharp tongue, but is the first person to show up when you need help?"
"Do you have friends who are quiet but incredibly reliable, who seem fierce but are actually incredibly kind-hearted?"
He paused, then laughed: "I guess so, because the Guardians of the Galaxy are exactly that kind of group."
"Here's a little challenge: @ your Guardians of the Galaxy friends, who's Rocket in your social circle? Who's Groot? Who's Gamora? Who's Drax? As for Star-Lord—you decide."
"Share your best stories with the hashtag #MyGuardiansoftheGalaxy# and I'll randomly select ten people to receive tickets to the Guardians of the Galaxy premiere."
Within ten minutes, #MyGuardiansOfTheGalaxy# became a trending topic on Twitter.
Ordinary people started tagging their friends like crazy: "Tag my roommate, absolutely amazing! I broke up with my boyfriend yesterday, and while he was yelling at me for crying over a jerk, he cooked me a bowl of noodles."
"@My brother, Groot Bent, I had appendicitis surgery, and he didn't say a word. He stayed with me in the hospital for three days."
"@My colleague, Gamora! Everyone in the company is afraid of her, but I know she secretly feeds stray cats."
"@Myself, Drax — I went to the gym last week and broke a machine. The trainer asked me if I didn't understand what 'appropriate amount' meant."
The art style gradually becomes both absurd and heartwarming.
One netizen shared a picture of their dog: "My dog is a rocket when he's destroying the house, Drax when he's guarding his food, Groot when he's sleeping, and Star-Lord when he's chasing his tail. The whole team is here."
A teacher posted a class photo: "In our class, the one who loves to tattle is Rocket, the one who quietly cleans is Groot, the one who always protects the bullied classmates is Gamora, and the one who always bumps into people in PE class is Drax."
As for Star-Lord—probably me, since I have to lead this bunch of freaks.
The topic spread like wildfire, from Twitter to Instagram.
There are even exclusive background music tracks and challenge templates, with millions of people using the same soundtrack from Guardians of the Galaxy to edit together clips of their daily lives with friends.
Three hours later, the number of discussions about #MyGuardiansoftheGalaxy# surpassed that of #InterstellarScience#.
This trend formed from the bottom up.
Marvel's PR department was stunned.
"Chen—this move—"
The head of digital marketing looked at the real-time data: "We didn't spend a single penny on promotion, and the topic's natural popularity has already broken all our marketing campaign records this year."
Director Gunn texted me: "Fuck! You're a genius!"
"This makes these characters more memorable than any trailer because they are no longer comic book characters, but people we know and love."
Chen Xun replied, "That's exactly right."
That evening, Warner detected abnormal data and held an emergency meeting.
"Chen Xun's @Challenge — the effect is amazing."
The marketing director stared at the screen, his face grim: "It personifies and normalizes the movie characters. Now, when audiences think of Rocket Raccoon, they might not see him as a CGI animal anymore, but as their own sarcastic friend."
"Can Nolan follow suit?" someone asked.
"How do we do it? Have the audience tag people they know who resemble Matthew McConaughey? Or Anne Hathaway?"
The publishing director gave a wry smile: "Their roles are astronauts, scientists, extraordinary individuals."
"The Guardians of the Galaxy are ordinary, a bunch of thugs, assassins, experimental subjects, and trees—the former creates a sense of distance, while the latter creates a sense of intimacy."
"So we're just going to watch our popularity get stolen?"
"Nolan would not agree to this kind of degrading marketing."
The marketing director sighed, "He insists that a film must move the audience through its intrinsic appeal."
at the same time.
Chen Xun was scrolling through the hashtag #MyGuardiansOfTheGalaxy# in his hotel room.
He saw thousands of stories.
Some were funny, some were touching, and some were outrageous.
But behind every story are real people and real emotions.
He clicked on a video of a Chinese girl saying to the camera, "I'm tagging my mom, she's my Gamora. She always says I'm not good enough and forces me to learn this and that. I used to hate her, but last year my dad passed away, and she single-handedly supported the whole family without shedding a single tear."
"Until one late night, I saw her crying in the kitchen in front of my dad's photo. At that moment, I knew that her coldness was armor, and inside was her softest heart. #MyGuardiansoftheGalaxy#"
The video has received over 200,000 likes.
Chen Xun reposted this video, adding the caption: "This is Gamora, a hero in many of our lives. Thank you for sharing. #MyGuardiansoftheGalaxy#"
The girl quickly replied, "Thank you, Xun-ge! I'll take my mom to the movies and tell her that she's a superhero too."
[Trendsetting Progress Update: +2%]
Current overall progress: 34%
[Triggering Hidden Achievements: Cultural Phenomenon Creator]
[Reward: Social media affinity +10% (permanent)]
Chen Xun stared at the progress bar for "Leading the Trend" on the system panel: 34.6%.
For the past week, he has spent his days on social media after finishing his workouts at the gym.
Instead of posting heavily edited promotional photos, I'm sharing some random, everyday things:
A selfie of himself slumped over by a tire after training, captioned "The instructor said today was relatively gentle."
I had a healthy meal for dinner and captioned it, "Groot probably eats better than me."
There's even a meme of himself arm wrestling with Rob.
Every tweet is followed by comments from fans saying "Haha, Brother Xun is so real!" #MyGuardiansoftheGalaxy#
The challenge snowballed, spawning hashtags like #OurClassGuardiansOfTheGalaxy#, #MyFamilyGuardiansOfTheGalaxyPetVersion#, and even #GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVersionWorkplaceColleagues#, completely going viral.
The progress bar climbed slowly but steadily.
34.7% - 3.8%
The positive impact of his approachable social media presence is significant; the daily interactions he casually posts generate more buzz than many carefully planned topics.
"Chen, the schedule has changed."
Rob pushed open the hotel room door, his expression a little strange: "The promotional route for 'Interstellar' has been adjusted."
Chen Xun looked up from his phone: "How should I adjust it?"
"They completely overlap with us!"
Rob handed over the tablet: "New York, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco—we announced our itinerary the day before yesterday, and they updated it yesterday. The order of the cities is the same, and the times are only half a day later or half a day earlier than ours."
"This is no longer a coincidence!"
Chen Xun glanced at it and understood what was going on.
Warner Bros. is being forced into a corner and is now resorting to close combat.
"There's something even more amazing."
Rob scrolled to the next page: "For the premiere in New York, they booked the theater right next to ours. The time difference is only one hour, so the media and fans will definitely be running between the two theaters to compare the two."
"Did Nolan agree to this?"
"It's probably a decision made by Warner Bros. executives. Nolan might not like it, but the movie needs to be released, so he has to cooperate." Rob put away his tablet. "What do we do? Change the route?"
"No way." Chen Xun stood up and stretched his shoulders. "If they want to compete, then let them compete. Hiding would only make us look scared."
First stop: New York.
John F. Kennedy International Airport.
When Chen Xun walked out with director Gunn, Dave, and Zoe, the noise in the arrival hall almost lifted the roof off.
At least two thousand fans held up posters of Star-Lord's red jacket, Groot's potted plant plushie, and Rocket Raccoon's funny face emoji, their screams deafening.
"Star-Lord! Look this way!"
"Chen Xun! I love you!"
"Zoe, you're so beautiful!"
Dave excitedly gestured Drax's signature move to the fans, eliciting even louder screams.
Zoe smiled and waved, her green skin gleaming under the flashlight.
This was a special Gamora makeup look created specifically for promotional purposes.
Just as they were surrounded by fans and media, an airport announcement came over the loudspeaker: "UA1887 from Los Angeles has arrived and is parked at gate B35."
Gate B35 is right across from their hall.
A stir ran through the crowd, with many craning their necks to look across.
Ten minutes later, another wave of sound came from the other side, but it was much smaller.
Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Matt Damon emerged, accompanied by several Warner Bros. publicists.
They also had fans over there, holding up Interstellar posters and NASA logos, but the number of people was only about half that of this side.
Media reporters carried their cameras and ran back and forth.
Chen Xun was signing autographs for a little girl in a wheelchair. The little girl was wearing the same red jacket as Star-Lord and was so excited that her eyes were filled with tears.
Chen Xun squatted down and patiently took a photo with her. He even imitated Star-Lord's dance moves, which made the little girl stop crying and start laughing.
Across from him, Matthew McConaughey was stopped by a reporter: "Matthew, did you see the scale of the welcome for Guardians of the Galaxy at the airport? What are your thoughts?"
Matthew maintained a polite smile: "Every film has its own audience. We focus on communicating with our audience."
After speaking, he turned to his fans and began signing autographs.
Anne Hathaway is very enthusiastic, but her fan base is older and her interaction style is more gentle.
A fan of Interstellar held up a sign that read: "Real science fiction vs. cartoon (with a Guardians of the Galaxy poster)".
The Guardians of the Galaxy fans immediately retaliated, holding up signs they had prepared beforehand: "Laughing happily vs. sleeping happily (with an image of a black hole from Interstellar, implying that it's too profound and will make you fall asleep)".
The smell of gunpowder began to fill the air.
The premiere that evening took an even more dramatic turn.
At the cinema entrance, the red carpet was divided in two.
On the left is the space fantasy style of "Guardians of the Galaxy", with a background of dazzling nebulae and the Milano spaceship.
The right side features the hard science fiction style of "Interstellar," with a background of a rotating black hole and a cornfield.
The interview areas of the two media outlets were right next to each other, and reporters could easily interview people on both sides by simply turning their heads left and right.
When Chen Xun and director Gunn walked the red carpet, Matthew McConaughey was being interviewed on the right side of the red carpet for "Interstellar".
The reporter deliberately raised his voice and asked Matthew, "Matthew, director Nolan said that films should explore the ultimate questions of human existence. In your opinion, which is more important for films: entertainment or reflection?"
Matthew spoke clearly into the microphone: "I believe films should inspire thought, not just provide entertainment. Of course, entertainment has its value, but—"
He paused, then glanced to his left as if by accident: "As an art form, film has a responsibility to challenge our existing perceptions."
These words drifted over, and Dave lowered his voice: "Is he implying we lack depth?"
Chen Xun didn't say anything, but waved to his fans, which triggered an even louder scream.
When it was their turn to be interviewed, the reporter, as expected, stirred things up: "Chen, Matthew said that films have a responsibility to challenge the audience's perceptions. What do you think?"
"Guardians of the Galaxy prioritizes entertainment; does this mean you've abandoned that responsibility?"
Chen Xun took the microphone and smiled: "I think challenging our understanding and providing joy are not contradictory."
"In our movies, Groot sacrifices himself to protect everyone, Rocket is tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and Star-Lord saves the world by dancing—all of these challenge the notion that heroes must be burdened with bitterness and hatred."
He turned to the fan section and asked loudly, "Do you want to have fun first when you watch a movie, or do you want to be taught a lesson first?"
'
"happy!"
The fans shouted in unison, and laughter filled the air.
"look!"
Chen Xun shrugged at the reporter: "The audience has already answered."
The interview was conducted in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.
The interview for the film "Interstellar" next door was more serious. Matthew and Anne discussed time paradoxes and the father-daughter relationship. It was profound, but a bit tiring.
After entering the cinema, the lounges for both parties were on the same floor.
In the corridor, Chen Xun ran into Matthew when he went to the restroom.
The two exchanged a glance.
"Hi!" Ma nodded.
"Hi!" Chen Xun nodded.
Without further communication, they went their separate ways.
Without further communication, they went their separate ways.
But this scene was captured by paparazzi hiding in the corner.
Twenty minutes later, the photo was on TMZ.
"An awkward encounter! Chen Xun and Matthew, who replaced him, stare at each other silently in the corridor."
The comments section instantly turned into a battlefield: "I feel sorry for Matthew! He stole someone else's role and still has the nerve to meet them?"
"What do you mean by 'stealing'? Warner Bros. replaced him; Matthew was just taking the job. What's wrong with that?"
"Chen Xun has grossed 1.3 billion at the box office. How much did Matthew's most recent film gross? That's hilarious."
"High box office numbers make you great? Matthew's acting skills and the depth of his filmography are far superior to Chen Xun's?"
"Can acting skills put food on the table? Audiences have voted with their wallets!"
"Nolan's films need depth, Marvel popcorn movies don't, thank you."
"Does your 'thickness' refer to allowing people to observe a cornfield for three hours?"
The flame war spread from TMz to Twitter, Reddit, and even the Instagram comment section.
Fans from both sides dug up each other's past controversies, compared box office performance, awards, and reputations, resulting in a fierce battle.
Chen Xun scrolled through his phone in the lounge, watching the online arguments with a sense of helplessness.
Rob leaned in and said, "The more heated the argument, the higher the buzz. From a publicity perspective, it's not a bad thing."
"The audience loves watching this!"
Director Gunn sat down with his coffee in hand: "Hollywood hasn't seen such a heated showdown in a long time. The media is ecstatic; we're all over the entertainment headlines this week."
As the premiere began, the screens in both screening rooms lit up simultaneously.
The laughter at Guardians of the Galaxy was almost nonstop.
Star-Lord's awkward dance when he stole the Wraith Ball, Rocket's sarcastic remarks, Groot's "lamGroot," and Drax's blunt jokes —
The audience found it easy and enjoyable to watch.
The atmosphere is completely different in Interstellar.
Cornfields, spacecraft, black holes, fifth-dimensional space —
The visuals were stunning, but the audience was quiet, everyone trying to keep up with the complex scientific setup and emotional narrative.
Someone whispered to their companion, "What does that time dilation formula mean?"
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