After The Avengers broke past the 1.8 billion mark at the box office, Laila received a flood of congratulatory calls—even her mother, who barely understood anything about movies, made a special call just to lavish praise on her. But in true mom fashion, she finished with: "Of course, my child is the one who takes after me the most."
The warm feelings Laila had built up instantly vanished like smoke.
Let's not dwell on her eccentric mother—her grandfather's call left her far more touched. She was moved… only to find that their family resemblance extended even to how they praised people. He also started with excessive compliments from head to toe, and then finished with, "You really take after me (or her)."
Well, what can you say—family is family. Even the way they flatter people is cut from the same cloth.
Roy, meanwhile, didn't join her for the global promotional tour this time. He stayed in the U.S. to prepare for their wedding. Compared to everyone else's calls, his congratulations were the sweetest—almost too sweet. It was like he'd overdosed on honey, spouting so much romantic talk that Laila could barely take it.
What frustrated her, however, was that no matter how hard she pressed him, Roy refused to reveal any details about the wedding. She didn't know how the venue would be arranged, who would be there, or even where the wedding was going to be held. He kept everything completely secret—no discussion, no planning with her.
Initially, she was a bit annoyed, but she didn't really mind in the end. A surprise could be nice. After all, she wasn't exactly a romantic at heart. If she had been in charge of planning the wedding, she might've made a mess of it. So, not having to lift a finger and just showing up as the bride on the day? That actually sounded pretty great to her.
Roy had his reasons, too. He knew how busy she was and that this period was absolutely critical. Whether she could surpass Avatar or not hinged on her current efforts. He regretted not being involved in the film and not being able to help with the promotion, so he wanted to take wedding planning completely off her plate so she could focus entirely on her work.
Laila didn't need to ask—she already knew what he was thinking. Besides being touched, she could only focus on wrapping up her work as quickly as possible, and taking good care of herself so that she could be the most beautiful bride come October.
During this period, she appeared on many shows in the East, mostly in interviews. Some variety shows reached out to her as well, but she really couldn't bring herself to act overly lively and animated on camera. She'd probably end up killing the vibe, so she simply turned them all down politely.
She much preferred talk shows anyway. Compared to the more aggressive American interviews, the Eastern ones were gentler. They didn't deliberately ask provocative questions, and there was less need to worry about being trapped by a host.
Not that they never set people up—but when they did, it was usually for laughs. In the West, the same setup might result in someone making a career-ending statement.
To promote the film, Laila appeared on a whole lineup of talk shows: national TV, star-level satellite channels, local stations—she hit them all. She traveled through all the major cities and even made stops in some of the more prominent third-tier ones.
The results were well worth the effort. Thanks to all the interviews, people got to know her better and learned more about the movie. They discovered there was a Hollywood director fluent in the local language, and that she'd brought a film aiming to beat the all-time box office record.
It was widely circulated online that she made this movie in response to criticism over her being a woman. Supposedly, she was so angered by the backlash that she decided to take on the ultimate challenge—to beat all the men and prove that women were just as capable.
Okay, the first part was accurate, but the latter half was pure gossip.
Those rumors came from trending posts on forums and chat apps. People had even dug up Laila's initial motivation for making the film, and some feminist voices even gave her the unofficial title of "Feminist Warrior."
When Laila heard about this, she wasn't exactly thrilled. Sure, it might earn her favor with female audiences, but it could also create pushback from men—not necessarily out of sexism, but more as a visceral reaction.
So when she was interviewed on a web program, Laila made her position clear:
"I've said this in interviews before—yes, there were some unpleasant things said, and yes, I did move forward with The Avengers partially because I was upset.
"It's like when someone's angry—they might say things they don't mean or act impulsively. But a movie is different. It means a lot to me. I would never treat it lightly. So once filming started, I put all that aside. Bringing negative emotions into the project would've ruined everything."
For someone of Laila's stature, appearing on a web talk show might've seemed beneath her. But she didn't mind—no one knew better than her just how massive the Eastern internet scene was going to become in the future. As one host had once said: "It's not that we've reached the global first-tier level—we're already leading the world."
Besides, Laila had admired this particular host since her previous life. She loved how bold and outspoken he was, unafraid to use biting language to satirize injustice.
To her, that kind of voice was rare and precious. It's not that such people didn't exist, but they were few and far between. If there were more like him, people who acted as watchdogs, would those "cockroaches in the dark" still dare to run rampant?
So even though the show was new, with only a modest fanbase and limited viewership, Laila agreed to appear as soon as the invite arrived. For people who genuinely poured their heart into their work, she was more than happy to lend her support.
The host of the program was stunned when he heard Laila had accepted.
The show was founded by a group of dream-chasing young creators. It had been running for less than a year, and while viewership was climbing steadily, it still couldn't compare to traditional TV. The invitation to Laila had been sent out on a whim—with the mindset of "if she comes, great; if not, we've got nothing to lose."
New shows were tough to build. And since their program aired weekly, any breaking news could easily be cold by the time their episode went live.
To keep up with trends, they always made backup plans. And what was the hottest topic right now? Of course—it was the Hollywood powerhouse director Laila Moran and her cast of stars!
When they heard she had accepted and even scheduled a time for the appearance, the entire team of creators was ecstatic. They scraped together a "hefty" sum to upgrade the studio seating from benches to little sofas, and decorated the set with eye-catching posters of the movie.
Since she was kind enough to show up, they had to return the favor. Their resources might be limited, but if they could help promote the film, at least Laila's visit wouldn't be in vain.