"Illian, do you want to come with me to the premiere?"
Inside the Melon Estate, Gilbert caught his eldest son playing with his younger siblings and asked.
"The premiere? Is it the premiere of your new movie, Dad?"
Illian's eyes had inherited the color of his mother Naomi Watts' eyes, blinking delicately, framed by long, beautiful eyelashes.
"Yes," Gilbert asked again, "Do you want to go?"
"Of course I want to…" Illian asked, "Do I need to prepare anything?"
"No need. Your mom will have a tailor make you a little suit, and you can attend with your mom and me," Gilbert said.
Illian nodded absentmindedly, beginning to look forward to his father's new movie premiere.
Because Gilbert was busy with work, he didn't have much time to educate his children. Fortunately, his mother and several women were well-versed in raising children, so Illian didn't develop the usual arrogance and temper often seen in children from wealthy families.
Perhaps also because Illian was still young, his personality hadn't fully formed yet.
On April 20th, the little boy celebrated his third birthday. Illian was very smart and well-mannered.
Every guest who came to the house complimented him. Illian spoke clearly, with logical and coherent language. Some adults couldn't even express themselves as well as he could.
In fact, Illian could have studied at home. The quality of tutoring at home was far better than the kindergarten, which catered specifically to the children of Los Angeles' wealthy, celebrity, and director families.
The school had actually been recommended by Tom Cruise; his daughter Suri Cruise had also attended this kindergarten.
After all, humans are social animals and cannot grow up isolated. Childhood experiences play a significant role in shaping one's worldview.
Ideally, Gilbert would have preferred to send his children to public schools to interact with ordinary people.
Unfortunately, public education in North America was very poor. On the surface, it appeared to nurture children's natural abilities and respect their freedom.
In reality, it was just laissez-faire. Teachers didn't manage students, implementing "happy education." Only geniuses could truly thrive under such a system.
To receive a good education, one had to attend elite private schools.
Private schools, however, had a flaw: rampant comparison and competition. Influenced by this culture, students often lost their innocence from a young age.
Malfoy in Harry Potter represented this type of elite child. There were pros and cons, and ultimately Gilbert decided to send his children to elite schools.
Of course, he fully respected their opinions.
Once, Illian pointed at the president on TV and declared that when he grew up, he wanted to be president, leaving Gilbert momentarily stunned.
Ambition was good. Gilbert had once dreamed of becoming an astronaut himself. He achieved some of it, but never fully became an astronaut.
After Illian's birthday, the preview screening of Iron Man officially began.
As Marvel's first major superhero adaptation, the market response was generally positive, with strong anticipation. Previous trailers had already demonstrated good quality.
The only concern was whether the trailers had revealed all the best parts, leaving the film itself disappointing.
Of course, as the producer, Gilbert still generated excitement among fans. The main question was whether Robert Downey Jr., the lead actor, was suitable.
Many still had a negative impression of him and might have chosen to skip the film because of it.
Robert Downey Jr. made active efforts during the Iron Man promotion, publicly admitting his past mistakes at various events and stating that he had reformed and turned over a new leaf.
He also devoted himself to charity work, such as bringing warmth to the elderly in the community and volunteering at welfare homes, which helped partially restore his image.
However, the most important thing was for the movie to succeed; otherwise, all his previous efforts would be in vain.
The Skanda Theater in Los Angeles was the venue for Iron Man's preview screening. The first screening invited representatives from cinema chains and media critics.
With the rise of movie rating websites like IMDB, the era of public critics had arrived.
Some influential critics, leveraging their previously accumulated reputations and successfully transitioning, could still shine in this new era.
Of course, some highly influential public critics, who were originally movie fans or otherwise not traditional critics, were now also invited by movie companies.
The emergence of platforms like IMDB allowed their reviewing talents to be showcased, helping them accumulate large followings.
These highly influential public critics were included in the invitations.
Peter was one such critic. He had accounts on IMDB and blogs, with millions of followers.
His articles, such as A History of Film Development, Analyzing Gilbert through The Lord of the Rings, and The Secret of Hollywood's Global Domination, received widespread recognition and attention.
His article Analyzing Gilbert through The Lord of the Rings even became a model essay for film-related academic programs across the United States studying Gilbert's movies.
Because of his influence, Peter received an invitation to the preview screening—his first ever.
This indicated that he could now make a living from writing film reviews and no longer had to return to his Rust Belt hometown to work as a low-paid small-town teacher.
It also meant he could bring his wife and daughter to a better life in Los Angeles, allowing the whole family to live happily there.
Peter fully understood that all of this was earned through the reputation he built online by writing film reviews. He was planning to publish a book about films and was currently contacting publishers.
If he could get Gilbert to write a foreword, the book would likely sell very well, and might even become a textbook for the film program at USC.
However, the book project was still in the planning stage; for now, he focused on excelling at his current work.
At the Iron Man preview screening, Peter saw several familiar faces. He was envious that renowned critic Kate Landis was also there, and she even greeted him.
Kate Landis was a critic contributing to the San Francisco Chronicle, and had also entered the internet scene with her own show.
Peter didn't see another critic, the well-known Gilbert supporter Roger Ebert.
He had heard that Roger Ebert was unwell. Gilbert did not attend today's screening and instead went to Chicago to visit his old friend.
Thus, Gilbert was not present at this screening, but Marvel handled the event well and, with the assistance of Touchstone Pictures, successfully held the preview.
.....
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