If she did nothing and simply kept making films with her usual talent, time would eventually prove whether she truly deserved those awards. But if she insisted on challenging the all-time highest box office record… just thinking about the consequences made Roy shudder.
Laila looked at him and said, "I don't want Eli to grow up and learn that his mother was once defeated by slander. I want him to have not only a father to be proud of—but also a mother he can be proud of!"
Parents—both fathers and mothers—hope to be heroes in their children's eyes. Who wouldn't want to see their kid look up at them with admiration shining in their eyes?
Roy hadn't expected that to be her true motivation. He'd thought her decision came from sheer frustration at being repeatedly smeared and belittled.
"If that's the reason… then I have no grounds to object," he said with a bitter smile.
No one had the right to deny a mother her wish to become her child's hero. If it were him, he might've made the same decision.
"So what's your plan? Do you have any ideas for the script yet?"
Being in the industry, Roy knew exactly how difficult it was to aim for the top spot in box office history. Who didn't want to sit on that throne? But for the past decade or more, no one had managed it—except James Cameron himself.
"Yes, I have a rough idea," Laila replied.
She hadn't blurted out her intention to challenge the all-time box office record on impulse. She had spent days evaluating the feasibility of such a plan, and after crunching the numbers from every angle, she realized it wasn't entirely out of reach.
"What is it?" Roy asked, intrigued.
He knew how long Cameron had taken with his two legendary films. Judging from Laila's tone, she probably didn't plan on spending the same amount of time. But from script to casting to post-production effects—if any part was even slightly lacking, it would be near-impossible to reach that top spot.
We're talking about three billion dollars at the box office. If it were that easy, Hollywood would already be overrun by investors shoving money at studios begging for a piece of it.
Whenever Laila talked about movies, her eyes sparkled like stars. It was as if she were glowing.
"You know I've been tapping into a massive treasure trove, right?"
"A treasure trove? You've got more than one of those. Every franchise you've started has been a treasure trove," Roy laughed.
Laila smiled too. "Fair enough. But I'm talking about the biggest one—Marvel."
Realization dawned on Roy. "You want to make a superhero movie?"
Laila had cracked open Marvel's vault with Iron Man, and since then, superheroes had been spilling out one after another, each film hitting theaters at a steady pace: this year, Thor, next year the Hulk, then Captain America… From the clues woven into each movie, it was clear that a massive web was slowly taking shape.
Most importantly, each of these films had proven to be massive money-makers. Practically every one of them had raked in huge profits, leaving other studios green with envy. Fortunately, Laila had later proposed a co-production plan, lending out certain superheroes to other studios to maximize the potential of Marvel's thousands of characters. Otherwise, the jealousy would've been even worse.
Roy understood what she meant—but he still had doubts. "Superhero movies have been wildly successful these past few years, and they've made tons of money. But breaking Avatar's record with just one superhero? That seems like a long shot."
Laila smiled faintly. "What if it's not just one?"
"You mean…?" Roy was starting to get it.
"You've probably noticed," Laila prompted, "that the end-credit scenes in the past few superhero movies have all hinted at something."
And Roy instantly got it: "You mean your Marvel Universe plan!"
That wasn't wrong at all. Laila nodded thoughtfully. "When I started Iron Man, I had already prepared for The Avengers, but I just never found the time to shoot it. Now I think—if I use that to go for the top box office spot, I have a very good chance."
She'd thought it through. Even in her original world, The Avengers had achieved phenomenal box office results. While it hadn't surpassed Cameron's record, it still comfortably sat in the top ten all-time.
To make a true box office juggernaut, you need a thrilling plot, charismatic stars, dazzling fight scenes, stunning visual effects, and a score that ignites the audience's emotions.
And meeting all those requirements wasn't easy. In Hollywood—the mecca of filmmaking—visual effects were probably the easiest part. The real challenge lay in the script. A strong script, with great dialogue and tight pacing, was what made a commercial blockbuster truly great.
If Laila was going to aim for that number one box office spot, then the strongest card in her hand was undoubtedly Marvel. Ever since superheroes hit the big screen, their popularity had only grown, and that upward trend hadn't slowed even up to the point when she left her original world.
The Avengers was essential, but the original version would need major overhauls. The old plot was good, but it wasn't good enough to get her what she wanted. She didn't just want The Avengers to show up in the top ten—she wanted it to sit at number one.
That meant rewriting the story, adding even more thrilling elements, and cutting anything she deemed unnecessary.
This was going to be an ensemble film. Audiences loved superheroes because they loved seeing them fly, fight, and face off against evil. If one ticket got you multiple superheroes on screen interacting, most people would gladly buy that ticket.
But ensemble films weren't easy to make. Every hero had their personality, and balancing those characters—making sure their interactions sparkled without leaving the audience feeling unsatisfied or overwhelmed—was the key to whether the movie would succeed.
Had Roy not asked, Laila might have taken longer to convince herself to take on Avatar. But the moment she said it out loud, the decision was made: she was going to make it, and she would give it everything she had.
Now that the decision was made, she didn't hesitate. The first thing she did was call Louise and tell her the news—she wanted her to come on board as the producer.
When Louise was summoned to the house, she thought Laila needed her to find a way to kill the negative press. She arrived looking stressed the whole way, thinking, If there were any way to fix public opinion, I would've done it already. It's not like I need her to tell me! But the truth was—even she didn't know how to resolve things in a situation like this.