1558-1560

*Chapter 1558: A Global Sensation*

When it comes to sequels, even though we've seen plenty of them in recent years that have been both critically acclaimed and box office hits, generally speaking, around the turn of the millennium, "sequel" was more of a negative term.

That's because sequels often felt like they were just tagging along, poorly made, a dip in quality, or even a total disaster. The terrible quality could even ruin the good reputation the original movie had built up. Plus, with series like "Scream" and "Halloween" really taking off, sequels got labeled as "slowly declining," and even actors tended to steer clear of them to avoid harming their own careers.

A classic example is "Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones," which got absolutely slammed with criticism. It was so bad that director George Lucas reportedly got depressed for a while and even considered stepping away from directing, or maybe even leaving the film industry entirely.

But still!

None of that stopped Hollywood from churning out sequels one after another. The reasons behind it are pretty complicated – things like a slow decline in Hollywood's ability to innovate and create new stories, and how smaller and medium-sized film companies tried to stay afloat – but in the end, it all comes down to profit.

To be fair, over the past twenty years, Hollywood has actually produced some classic sequels. They weren't just massive box office successes; they also blew up critically, surpassing their originals as sequels, leaving their mark on film history, and earning widespread praise from both regular audiences and professionals.

If you look at composite media scores as a benchmark, you can get a pretty good idea.

Right now, among sequels, the highest-rated is the famous "The Godfather Part II," with ninety points.

Coming in second is another widely praised film, "Toy Story 2," with eighty-eight points. The third-place movie, "Aliens," is also a much-loved classic, scoring eighty-four points.

These films are still well-known even twenty years later. Plus, movies like "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back," "Terminator 2," and "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" are also highly praised, getting both strong box office numbers and critical love, earning their rightful place.

Looking closer to home, just this summer, "Shrek 2" also got a lot of applause when it came out. While its composite media score of seventy-five points might not compare to the original's eighty-four, it's still a respectable score that proves sequels aren't automatically a bad thing.

Everything, absolutely everything, changed after "Spider-Man 2" hit theaters. It was a total game-changer!

Before this, the only sequel with a composite media score over ninety points was "The Godfather Part II." But now, finally, a second one arrived.

"Spider-Man 2."

This movie not only broke the ninety-point barrier in its media composite score, but it actually surpassed "The Godfather Part II" in one fell swoop, hitting ninety-three points and completely shaking up Hollywood.

It absolutely exploded!

Just try to imagine the historical status of "The Godfather" in the film industry, and you can probably get a rough picture of the shock and impact felt across Hollywood when they saw that media score. A record that had stood untouched for thirty whole years was actually broken!

In an instant, everyone went nuts!

It wasn't just North America; you could feel the impact of this frenzy worldwide. Hordes of eyes swarmed towards "Spider-Man 2." The anticipation, which was already off the charts, just kept soaring – everyone was wondering, what kind of movie could possibly make all the critics go crazy like this?

Well, when things go to an extreme, they tend to swing back. "Spider-Man 2" kept raising expectations and creating buzz, dominating every screen. The premiere frenzy was still a dazzling blur impacting people's perception, and the general public hadn't even had time to recover from the shock of the unprecedented premiere event. The sheer amount of information coming at them was seriously hard to digest, and now the shockwave from the critical scores hit them head-on, forcefully pulling everyone into this storm. And then, the backlash started.

"Seriously, how can a popcorn superhero movie possibly be better than a classic like 'The Godfather Part II'? It's a complete joke!"

"Heh, getting paid for reviews is fine, but couldn't you at least make it look less obvious?" (This is a bit of slang implying biased reviews)

"So, has all of Hollywood gone insane now? Is 'popcorn' cinema really considered this important? Can an actor who's just a 'pretty face' (literally 'flower vase') really be compared to Al Pacino?"

"Honestly, it's so funny it makes me not even want to use swear words. It's a waste of my spit and energy because it doesn't deserve it!"

"I'd love to see if Anson Wood did some kind of 720-degree Thomas Flair split and landed face-first, totally messing up his face in the movie, because how else would all the critics be collectively losing it?"

"This is way too much! Faking things is an art form, okay? That score just looks ridiculous at first glance."

"'Spider-Man 2.' The real joke."

Even before officially hitting theaters, the movie was facing a barrage of attacks, the flood of complaints and criticism clearly showing the negative side of the market reaction.

Eve (presumably someone involved in the movie's release, like marketing or PR) said not to worry about it. She said it was a good thing – "the more popular you are, the more problems you get."

At this very moment, the more criticism and mockery flooding the view, the more it proves the attention "Spider-Man 2" is getting. However much negative noise there was, the eyes watching with anticipation and excitement were ten, even twenty times more. The movie had already become a hot topic globally, and everything was going according to plan.

Whether it was the premiere or the critical scores, they were all part of the marketing process, a tool, and clearly, they were getting excellent results right now.

It just proved that the professionals' judgment was spot-on; Eve had a precise grasp on the market's pulse. "Spider-Man 2" was already the most anticipated movie of the summer. Now, that attention had turned into solid expectation. "Spider-Man 2" wasn't just the best-reviewed film of the summer; it held its own even when looking at the whole year.

As of July, the top-rated films released in 2004 by composite media score were "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" at ninety-five points, and "Spider-Man 2" coming in second with ninety-three points.

Both films starred Anson (presumably Anson Wood), doubling the impact.

Nobody could ignore it. Those voices of complaint, mockery, insults, and attacks were instantly drowned out by the massive tide of anticipation. They were just a drop in the ocean, completely insignificant.

"Movie of the year to look forward to!"

"Seeing that media score totally doubled my excitement."

"Yep, Anson Wood really is a guarantee of quality."

"Anson Wood never disappoints. 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' is still my favorite movie I've seen in theaters this year, wonder if that will change this coming week."

"A 'popcorn' movie getting this kind of praise? It's absolutely a must-see."

The wave of discussion kept spreading, slowly building anticipation and curiosity. The spectacular premiere and the special event after the screening quickly spread, sending waves of shock and impact that even went beyond the influence of the critical score. People were left stunned and amazed.

Yesterday, all of New York was captivated; overnight, that energy had spread to every corner of the globe.

That's when people finally realized it was only Wednesday, and Friday felt like a "very long" time away. The anticipation for the Independence Day long weekend in North America reached a brand new peak at this moment. People couldn't control their excitement and just wanted to get into a movie theater right away and join this celebration.

However, that wasn't everything. Before "Spider-Man 2" officially hit theaters on Friday, Anson had prepared a little surprise...

Another surprise?!

*Chapter 1559: Time Paused*

Restless hearts and eager anticipation surged in a rapidly climbing frenzy of discussion. Impulse and expectation were out of control – "Spider-Man 2" was fully igniting the summer box office heatwave.

The entire Hollywood industry was left dumbfounded. Even though they had witnessed the summer's madness for many years, the scene before them was still completely new and unfamiliar.

A storm was coming.

However, people soon realized that they had still underestimated the "Spider-Man 2" crew—

Or, to be more precise, they had underestimated Anson Wood.

This young "pretty face" seemed to have a whole series of tricks up his sleeve like a magician. First the premiere, then the special post-screening event. Just when everyone thought that was it, he casually dropped another bombshell with a simple turn, catching everyone off guard and grabbing all the attention.

The premiere ended on Tuesday, followed by a media review frenzy on Wednesday, and the film's wide release on Friday. Everything was orderly and proceeding according to plan, but Anson was clearly not satisfied with just that.

Thursday, early morning.

To be precise, it was 8 a.m. Eastern Time, during peak commuting hours.

Blair and Karen were making their way through the crowd. They weren't heading to work early; they were on their way home after a whole night of partying.

For fans like them, the end of the premiere truly marked the start of a carnival. Gloria and Elaine had already returned to Los Angeles to prepare for the fans' second wave of promotional activities. This time, they were trying to ignite a viewing frenzy in different cities across the entire North American continent.

So, what should they do?

Blair got an idea from the premiere. Maybe they could organize an exchange event among fans using the merchandise from the countless booths before the premiere and the items from the special post-screening event. This would encourage audiences who loved Anson and Spider-Man to come out of "lurker mode" and become active.

After all, such a grand and spectacular premiere, an event destined to go down in history, would be a waste of Anson's creativity if it just ended so hastily.

Moreover, Blair and the others themselves wanted to compile a list and collect all the merchandise from the premiere; these all had significant collection value.

So, in the twenty-four hours after the premiere ended, this group of young people was completely in a hyped-up state, partying all night long—

This summer simply couldn't be more perfect.

Chattering away, Blair and Karen were discussing what they had gained from last night, their faces alight with excitement, unable to stop. As they were about to cross Times Square, Blair noticed the red light and pulled back the high-spirited and carried-away Karen. "Slow down, slow down, Tiger! I told you shouldn't have had the seventh can of Red Bull."

Karen waved her hand dismissively, ready to say something, but then she noticed the change in Blair's expression. "What's wrong?"

Blair looked around. "Something seems..."

Times Square, famous and renowned globally, is actually just a small square. The real spectacle lies in the skyscrapers surrounding the square on all sides and the dazzling electronic billboards, which together form a template of modern human civilization's commercial peak development.

Every year, countless tourists come and go in Times Square, and the advertising space on the billboards is worth its weight in gold, making it the area with the highest exposure rate in the world.

At this moment, Blair noticed a distinctly strange phenomenon—

In the square and on the streets, and even on the pedestrian crosswalks with the green light, a group of people in black appeared. Like something out of "The Matrix," they weren't gathered together but were scattered in every corner of Times Square.

At first glance, it was hard to notice, but a quick scan immediately revealed the anomaly, because at that moment, they were all frozen in place like mannequins.

On a busy Thursday morning, with people coming and going and traffic flowing heavily, they had all stopped dead in their tracks, pressing the pause button in the surging crowd, acting completely oblivious.

In that instant, they stood out.

Is this some kind of performance art?

Blair quickly looked around and saw at least two or three hundred people in black suits. Although scattered, they easily captured everyone's attention.

Taken aback, an idea popped into Blair's mind: a flash mob.

Just like the surprise flash mob during the release of "Catch Me If You Can," this was also a flash mob, but what was this group of black suits doing it for?

Could it be Anson?

Before Blair could figure out any clues, even before Blair and Karen could exchange glances, people all over Times Square gradually began to notice the scene.

Some were cursing, annoyed that they were blocking their way to work; some were completely indifferent, not caring at all, and just walked around them; some quickly pulled out their cameras, ready to document it; but most people stopped, their faces full of bewilderment as they watched the performance art unfolding before them.

What's going on?

Their thoughts hadn't even had time to fully form, and then, a change occurred.

Buzz, buzz.

All the electronic billboards surrounding Times Square—

All of them! Every single one!

They all simultaneously switched to the same screen: a vast, golden ocean of sunflowers.

Blair: Wait a minute!

The next second, music started playing, "Hey, hey, hey... Oh oh oh..."

That song!

Blair and Karen exchanged a glance. It was the first song Anson performed at the premiere!

But, now?

There was no time to react. All the electronic billboards in Times Square simultaneously played the same video footage: it was a music video.

An animation. Not a live-action music video, but a hand-drawn animation.

The minimalist color lines were cute and lively. It was immediately clear that it was Peter Parker—Spider-Man. The music video told the story from the first movie: how he went to the Natural History Museum, how he had a crush on Mary Jane, how he was bitten by the spider.

The plot, which they already knew by heart, was presented through simple animation, but it also included more small stories about Peter Parker and Mary Jane interacting.

Awkward, romantic, touching.

At this moment, the world seemed to hit the pause button. It wasn't just the people in black suits; the flow of people and traffic coming and going in Times Square all stopped, completely ignoring the traffic lights. They just stood there blankly, surrounded by the 360-degree large screen visual impact and the auditory roar.

The light rhythm, the beautiful melody echoed over Times Square.

Everything, absolutely everything, was paused, as if falling into a spacetime black hole. Even those busy, indifferent, hurried figures all stopped.

Very, very briefly, it awakened the vitality and passion of youth, escaping the pressure and busyness of real life. Their bodies soared freely in the notes.

It wasn't until the music completely ended, a short period of less than three minutes, yet it felt like an entire century had passed—

"Sunflowers, Anson Wood.

Lyrics, Anson Wood.

Director, Anson Wood.

Hand-drawn, Anson Wood."

And then.

"Sunflowers, now available on iTunes."

The image disappeared.

The people in black suits started moving again, quickly jogging, and in the blink of an eye, they vanished into the surging crowd, as if they had never been there at all.

People remained in place, looking confused, everything felt like a dream, hard to tell what was real. So much so that people couldn't help but quickly exchange glances with those around them, trying to confirm with others:

What just happened wasn't their imagination or a dream, right?

Times Square really did briefly hit the pause button, and the whole world stopped turning, right?

*Chapter 1560: Getting Ahead of the Curve*

It wasn't just regular folks; Blair and Karen were absolutely stunned too.

Karen looked at Blair, her first instinct being, "Did you know about this?"

Blair shook her head blankly.

They exchanged a look, their minds finally catching up with their bodies. They just stood there with their mouths wide open, letting out silent screams, pouring out all their excitement.

Looking around again, the other electronic billboards had gone back to normal, only the biggest one was still looping the "Sunflower" music video.

At the end, you could see the promo info: "Sunflower, available now on iTunes."

Blair finally couldn't hold back. They didn't have a computer or internet right then, so their first thought was to wake up Gloria, who was probably still asleep.

It was 8 AM in New York, but only 5 AM in Los Angeles.

But Gloria wasn't asleep at all. She was in front of her computer making spreadsheets, trying to sort out all the "Spider-Man 2" merchandise. When her phone started ringing like crazy, she quickly picked up to avoid waking her parents.

"Gloria. Gloria! 'Sunflower' is out!"

Gloria said, "Huh?"

Blair used the fewest words possible to describe everything they had just experienced in Times Square. Gloria's jaw dropped; she was completely flabbergasted.

"I'm getting online right now."

Click.

Gloria hung up – remember, this was the dial-up era. She immediately opened iTunes, muttering complaints to herself:

8 AM Eastern Time? It's still the middle of the night on the West Coast, and Apple's main HQ is in California. Why didn't they think about that?

Complaining aside, Gloria successfully got iTunes open, and just as she saw the homepage refresh, she swallowed all her grumbles.

The homepage had turned into a golden field of sunflowers. Below was a brilliant golden spread, and above was an endless clear blue sky. Then, those sunflowers looked like dandelions, their golden petals peeling off and fluttering away, and you could see strands of golden feathers flying and drifting in the clear, bright blue.

It was quiet yet stunning. Clean and colorful.

Finally, all the golden specks gathered in the center, forming a button shaped like a sunflower.

With one click, a beautiful, rhythmic drumbeat flowed out, grabbing your attention instantly.

After the thirty-second preview ended, a line of text appeared above the button: "Sunflower, Anson Wood."

Without even thinking, as if she were under a spell, she clicked to pay and download. By the time she realized what she'd done, the melody was filling the whole room. She couldn't help but tap her feet to the beat, letting herself relax into the smooth, captivating notes, just completely immersing herself and enjoying it.

Unexpected! A surprise!

Absolutely everyone was caught completely off guard.

Gloria covered her mouth with both hands, trembling all over. She was totally lost in the melody, with no other thoughts in her head.

At the special event after the premiere, people had already learned that a "Spider-Man 2" soundtrack was coming out. That was obviously super exciting news – would Anson's two songs from the premiere be on it? What about his band, August 31st?

Even though the news that Warner Music had signed Anson had been buzzing around not long ago, everyone knew Anson would be releasing a solo album eventually. But news is just news. The jump from news to reality still takes some time, so people hadn't really expected it yet.

They never, ever thought it would happen so fast, so suddenly and quickly.

Anson's very first solo single, "Sunflower," had just debuted like this.

In 2004, there were no smartphones or social networks. The internet hadn't quite seeped into every aspect of life yet, so people outside of New York only really learned about the "Spider-Man 2" premiere spectacle through TV or online news.

They knew what happened at the premiere, they knew Anson had performed solo for the first time, they even heard snippets of the melody on the Fox TV news programs, but that wasn't nearly enough. They still couldn't get the full picture and were itching with curiosity, unable to sleep.

And then, "Sunflower" arrived.

An unexpected gift, like a Christmas miracle. Totally unplanned and not anticipated, yet they received the best present of the year, allowing young people in every corner of the world to join the party right away, keep up with the trend, and not feel left behind.

Tears of gratitude!

In an instant, everyone went crazy –

And I mean, literally.

Just like Blair told Gloria about it spreading across the whole North American continent, the massive crowd in Times Square became the biggest source of information. Word spread from one person to ten, from ten to a hundred. It was just a spark, but it was spreading like wildfire everywhere.

When Nicholas heard the news, his brain completely froze; he couldn't think anymore. His first reaction wasn't surprise or shock, but a wry smile.

Finally, he couldn't help it and started laughing uncontrollably, leaning back and forth.

Everyone around him was stunned. "Nick, are you okay? Have you lost your mind?"

Nicholas waved his hand, wiping away tears from laughing. "No, no, no, it's just... Yesterday at Rockefeller Center, I was blown away by the scale and setup of the premiere, but after I calmed down and thought about it, I felt a bit disappointed because I thought the event was all scale and no innovation, and I figured Anson might be getting lazy."

Others looked confused. "...And then?"

Nicholas spread his hands. "And now I realize how incredibly naive I was."

One wave, then another wave, and yet another, all linked together.

He had already changed his mind once last night, but he never expected to discover another surprise today, making Nicholas realize just how narrow his perspective had been.

Times Square, time standing still, a full-screen ad – God, who could get inside Anson's head and see what the world looks like through his eyes, like in 'Being John Malkovich'?

"Wow. We all know you should promote in Times Square, but who would ever think of doing it this way?" Nicholas sighed with emotion.

There was silence all around.

Then someone finally found their voice. "Maybe it was Sony Columbia's marketing department's idea."

Swish, swish, swish.

All eyes turned to them. No words were needed; the look they were getting, as if they were idiots, was enough.

Nicholas laughed. "If you said Warner Music's marketing department, maybe it would be a bit more plausible. Sony Columbia's marketing department has no idea what they're doing."

"What's more..."

"This is Anson, one hundred percent. If Anson hadn't become an actor and gone into the advertising industry, I think most ad agencies in New York would want to assassinate him."

Phew. Nicholas let out a heavy breath, a smile creeping onto his face. "Now, even I'm curious. Believe me, you should all go try listening on iTunes, you won't be disappointed."

Before "Spider-Man 2" officially hit theaters after building anticipation with the premiere and the media scores, the movie's theme song had already stolen the show.

Amazing!

This marketing approach isn't new; it's actually vintage, reminding people of classic examples like "Purple Rain," "The Bodyguard," and "The Lion King," which relied on their movie soundtracks to promote the films. There was a time when music and movies were a harmonious, unified whole.