"Hey, guys, let's go watch a movie today."
"Come on, you've already seen it twice. Haven't you had enough?"
"Of course not! No matter how many times I watch it, it's never enough. This is the coolest movie I've ever seen."
Outside a movie theater.
A reporter was interviewing a young white man standing in line to buy a ticket.
Reporter: "Excuse me, what movie are you here to watch?"
Young Man: "The Matrix, of course! It's so cool. I watched it twice yesterday, and I'm going for another round today."
Reporter: "Is your outfit inspired by Neo?"
Young Man: "Absolutely! I bought it at a merchandise store yesterday. Isn't it awesome?"
It was April in Los Angeles, and the temperature had already reached over twenty degrees Celsius, yet this young man seemed completely unaffected.
Dressed in a black trench coat identical to the one worn by the "Chosen One" in the movie, paired with matching black sunglasses and thick leather boots, he even had a white Apple MP3 player clipped to his belt. He looked as if Neo had stepped straight out of the silver screen—well, if you ignored the difference in looks.
Reporter: "It seems like you really love The Matrix."
The young man's eyes widened in shock. "Of course! Is there actually anyone who doesn't?!"
Roger Ebert picked up the remote and turned off the television. Leaning back on the sofa, he glanced at the newspaper in his hands once again, his eyes fixed on the North American box office numbers.
This was yesterday's report, covering Friday's earnings. The top spot was unsurprising, but the numbers far exceeded any expert predictions.
Theaters: 3,122Friday Box Office: $21.67 millionTotal North American Box Office: $29.82 million
Once again, The Matrix had shattered the single-day record for an R-rated film.
Roger Ebert had no idea just how high the final box office numbers would climb.
But judging from the news circulating from last night to this morning, the film's merchandise sales were off the charts—on par with Disney's The Lion King at its peak. In terms of live-action films, it had even surpassed Jurassic Park.
At this rate, Myers Studios might be able to recoup their costs from merchandise sales alone!
Ebert's face twisted into frustration.
On one hand, he regretted taking that $100,000 bribe from Harvey Weinstein to badmouth The Matrix.
On the other hand, he was furious that his influence had declined to the point where he could no longer affect a film's box office performance.
"No, I can't just accept this defeat. If I do—"
A shiver ran down his spine. If Hollywood studios realized he had lost his sway over audiences, his future earnings would plummet.
Ebert stood up abruptly. He was going to continue attacking The Matrix, but this time, it wouldn't be for Weinstein—it would be for himself.
He picked up the phone and dialed several numbers.
"Hey, Brent, I need a little favor..."
"Hello, Krisshill, it's Roger... We film critics need to stick together..."
"Turan, have you noticed that our influence as critics is waning? We need to reassert our power..."
Jeff Raymond arrived at his office, where his secretary had already laid out the day's newspapers on his desk, each opened to the entertainment section.
He picked up the top paper and began reading. His posture straightened, and his expression turned serious.
"A flimsy plot and juvenile philosophy—this film makes one question whether Martin really wrote it himself."
"An insincere production. Apart from the visual effects, the action, and the explosions, there's nothing of value here. I can confidently say this is a failure, indistinguishable from any other popcorn flick."
Almost every newspaper carried negative reviews from critics.
Although Myers Studios had engaged in PR efforts, they couldn't possibly cover every single critic—that would be far too expensive.
No Hollywood studio would ever go that far.
Typically, they would focus on securing positive reviews from major critics—such as Kevin Thomas from the Los Angeles Times, Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times, or Pauline Kael from Entertainment Weekly.
Usually, once these top critics set the tone, smaller critics would follow suit, with only a few contrarians offering dissenting opinions.
But this time, it seemed as if every minor critic was attacking The Matrix, and Jeff Raymond could smell a conspiracy.
He immediately picked up the phone and called his contacts in the film criticism industry.
After a few conversations, Jeff furrowed his brows in thought.
Roger Ebert again? We didn't even offend him, did we?
Hesitating for a moment, he finally decided to call Martin.
"Martin, we've got a bit of a situation..."
From the receiver came Martin's calm and indifferent voice.
"Don't bother with those guys. Traditional critics are a dying breed. This is the internet era—so long as we control the online discourse, we don't need to worry about them. Also, I've already found out who's behind this—Harvey Weinstein. Keep an eye on him and his films."
Martin's words immediately reassured Jeff.
No matter how much those critics ranted in their columns, online reviews remained overwhelmingly positive.
With the rise of the internet, more and more young people simply didn't care about what traditional film critics had to say.
The internet was a free platform where anyone could voice their own opinions.
In fact, many Matrix fans specifically visited websites of media outlets that had trashed the film, leaving comments filled with rebuttals and mockery.
"The Matrix is childish? I have no idea what standards you guys are using. I'm 27, and I don't think it's childish at all. In fact, there's plenty of thought-provoking philosophy in it..."
"Haha, do you critics even understand what makes a good movie? Do you seriously think a film is only good if it puts people to sleep in the theater? Sorry, but I'd rather support the films you claim are 'bad'..."
"Critics are getting dumber and dumber. My dad used to admire Roger Ebert, but even he thinks Ebert's opinions are outdated now. He absolutely loves The Matrix! We even bought matching trench coats. Haha, this movie brought me and my dad closer than ever—thank you, Matrix!"