Chapter 150: Negative Example

Chapter 150: Chapter 150: Negative Example

But whenever the plot switched to the love triangle, the pacing instantly slowed down. The long-winded dialogue and clichéd emotional entanglements caused many audience members to quietly lose focus.

A man in the front row couldn’t help but yawn, and a few girls in the back row whispered to each other with obvious weariness in their eyes.

The three-hour runtime felt exceptionally long.

When the end credits rolled and the lights came on, there was applause in the theater, but it sounded somewhat perfunctory, far less enthusiastic and sustained than at the premiere of The Italian Job.

As many audience members stood up to leave, they wore expressions of disappointment and whispered among themselves:

"The war scenes were indeed good, but the romance arc was too sluggish. There was no need to film it for so long."

"It felt like two movies forced together. It was a bit disjointed."

"It’s not as good as expected. Watching The Italian Job was much more satisfying."

Irene already had the answer in her heart: Pearl Harbor was indeed just as lackluster as she remembered. The sense of epic was diluted by the long-winded romance, and the imbalance between historical gravitas and entertainment value caused this big production to lose the emotional impact it should have had.

At the cocktail party after the premiere, most of the guests were exchanging perfunctory pleasantries. Apart from the creative team, few people genuinely praised the film.

Jerry pulled Irene and Robert aside to a quiet corner backstage and got straight to the point.

"Irene, tell us directly, where did Pearl Harbor go wrong? We need to know how these lessons can help us avoid the pitfalls for Pirates of the Caribbean."

Robert also looked at her. "You are currently the director who understands the psychology of commercial film audiences best. Your opinion is very important to us."

Irene didn’t mince words, her tone frank and professional. "First, the narrative focus is unbalanced. The core of Pearl Harbor should have been the historical event itself—the cruelty of war, the sacrifice of the hero, and the resonance of patriotism.

But the handling of all the battlefield scenes lacked depth. Over half an hour of planes bombing ships, explosions, bodies flying in the air, and people fleeing attacks—it was meaningless. It was just a terrifying massacre that failed to evoke any empathy from the audience.

Not only that, but the romance arc took up too much screen time. It was clichéd and sluggish, not only failing to add value but actually diluting the epic feel of the war movie. It created a psychological disconnect for the audience: they expected an epic, but instead, they got a soap opera for the most part."

She paused and continued,

"Secondly, the runtime was out of control. A three-hour duration is too risky for a commercial film, especially when there are obvious flaws in the plot.

I strictly controlled The Italian Job to 120 minutes specifically to ensure a tight narrative pace and not give the audience a chance to lose focus.

If the romance arc in Pearl Harbor had been cut by at least 30 minutes, leaving a more focused war narrative and core emotions, the viewing experience would have been much better."

Jerry added, "There’s also a mismatch in positioning and promotion. The promotion emphasized a war epic, so the audience walked into the theater with expectations for history and grand scenes, only to find the core was a love triangle.

The psychological gap was too large, and word of mouth naturally suffered. This is the most fatal aspect: the audience’s expectation management failed."

Irene agreed deeply. "Exactly. The core of a commercial film is to ’satisfy audience expectations’—either by matching them precisely or exceeding them.

Pearl Harbor neither matched the epic feel promised by the promotion nor made the romance arc moving. It failed on both counts. Moreover, the combination of the seriousness of historical events and the frivolity of a clichéd romance was very stiff.

Some plot points were neither historically accurate nor dramatically convincing, which instead triggered potential controversy."

Robert nodded silently, a grave expression on his face. "These problems, we actually noticed during the test screenings, but Michael Bay was too stubborn. Combined with the support from Michael Eisner, we couldn’t push for changes. Now it seems these were fatal loopholes."

"Pirates of the Caribbean must avoid these pits." Jerry’s tone was firm. "First, we must clarify the core positioning: an adventure fantasy film. All plot designs must revolve around ’adventure’ and the ’freedom and romance of pirates.’ We cannot let subplots overshadow the main plot.

Secondly, the runtime must be strictly controlled within 130 minutes. The pace must be tight, with no sluggish segments. Finally, respect the core logic of the story. Even if it’s a fantasy genre, there must be a self-consistent worldview. We cannot sacrifice rationality for special effects or gimmicks."

Irene looked at the two men, feeling more determined. "I will incorporate these lessons into the post-production of Pirates of the Caribbean. The character of Jack Sparrow will be the core, but he won’t be overly highlighted. Instead, he will be closely integrated with team adventures and plot progression.

There will be a romance arc, but it will be kept to a minimum, serving the main plot rather than stealing the spotlight. Special effects will serve the story, not be piled up just to show off."

As night deepened, the noise of the cocktail party gradually faded. Irene walked out of the Dolby Theatre, the night breeze carrying a hint of chill.

The premiere of Pearl Harbor was less a celebration and more a vivid lesson in commercial filmmaking. It made everyone understand that big investments and big special effects do not equal success. Only by grasping the core of the narrative, balancing audience expectations, and respecting the laws of creation can one truly move the audience.

Her phone vibrated. It was a message from Shelly: "The Italian Job has surpassed $300 million at the global box office. The word-of-mouth for Pearl Harbor is out, and the Rotten Tomatoes score is only 44%."

The 44% Rotten Tomatoes score for Pearl Harbor was like a bomb that exploded across Hollywood.

What Disney found even more unexpected was that the day after the film’s reputation collapsed, Michael Bay, in an exclusive interview with the Los Angeles Times, not only failed to reflect on his own problems but instead pointed the finger at the audience.

"The artistic value of this film has been severely underestimated." Michael Bay sat in his studio, his tone clearly dissatisfied. His brows were furrowed in front of the camera, his expression arrogant.

"Today’s audience is too impetuous. They only pursue fast-paced sensory stimulation and don’t understand how to appreciate the weight and elegance of an epic film. They have become accustomed to those small-scale action scenes and have lost patience when faced with works that actually have depth and sentiment."

These remarks were like adding fuel to the fire, instantly causing an uproar on social media and entertainment pages.

"Elegant art? A three-hour clichéd love triangle deserves to be called elegant?"

"You filmed it sluggishly and disjointedly, yet you have the nerve to blame the audience for not knowing how to appreciate it?"

"Michael Bay must be getting carried away. Did he forget what made Bad Boys and Armageddon popular? Weren’t they also commercial films with dense ’thrill points’?"

The backlash from fans spread rapidly. Some fans dug up his early interviews where he once said, "The core of a commercial film is to make the audience happy," but now he was accusing the audience of "not understanding elegance." These contradictory statements caused his reputation to plummet.