Illusiveone - 335: Redoing my Life, The Support
infoAbout This Title
Rewritten.
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“Keep up, Mercer,” Graves said without looking back.
Eve Mercer increased her pace. It was her first day on the job as Daniel Adler’s personal assistant, not that Graves was leaving. Daniel had finally accepted what everyone around him had been telling him for the better part of a year. One personal assistant was no longer enough. Between Midas, Stardust, DC, Chrysos, his writing, his directing, and everything else that somehow ended up requiring his attention, Graves simply could not handle it all alone.
They stepped off the elevator onto the executive floor of Midas Productions’ new headquarters. The company had moved into the building four months earlier, taking significantly more space than it had occupied at the old offices.
The elevator opened into a bright executive workspace where around twenty people were already at their desks. Some were on phones. Others worked across multiple monitors or moved between offices carrying folders and tablets, while two people stood beside a wall-mounted screen discussing what appeared to be a production schedule.
Graves walked straight through the middle of them.
“This is us.”
Eve glanced around.
“Us?”
“Daniel’s office.”
Graves kept walking.
“Twenty-one people out here, plus you and me. Twenty-three right now.”
A man approached them from the opposite direction.
“Morning, Graves.”
“Oh, hey, Mark.”
“Sarandos’s office wants that meeting with Daniel as soon as possible.”
Graves sighed.
“I’ll talk to him.”
“They’ve been very insistent.”
“They’re always very insistent.”
Mark handed her the folder in his hands.
“This is the updated brief.”
“Thanks.”
He continued toward another desk.
At the far end of the open office stood another set of glass doors. Beyond them was a smaller reception area containing two more offices, a private conference room, and another hallway that terminated at a pair of dark wooden doors.
Graves gestured around them.
“All of them work under us. A few technically report through Midas corporate, legal, or finance, but for practical purposes, yes.”
Eve looked back toward the larger office.
“Our job is not to make sure information reaches Daniel. Our job is to make sure most information does not reach Daniel.”
Eve raised an eyebrow.
Graves smiled.
“There are thousands of people across his companies who would happily consume every waking minute he has. Producers want approvals. Lawyers want signatures. Actors want meetings. Writers want notes. Executives want decisions. Investors want reassurance. Journalists want interviews. Politicians want photographs. Charities want appearances, and so on. Everyone believes whatever they need is urgent.”
She pointed toward Daniel’s office.
“If we passed all of that directly to him, he would accomplish absolutely nothing. We filter, prioritize, redirect, delegate, postpone, decline, combine, summarize, and occasionally pretend we never received something.”
Eve smiled.
Graves walked farther into the office space and pointed toward a woman seated at a desk with three phones arranged beside her keyboard.
“Claire here handles most of the scheduling team. Nobody gets onto Daniel’s calendar without going through her first.”
Claire looked up immediately.
“Nine-thirty moved to ten.”
Graves stopped.
“What? Why?”
“Mr. Steiner has a conference call with New York.”
“Ah, damn it.”
Graves pulled out her phone and started typing rapidly.
“That pushes legal.”
“Already moved them to eleven fifteen.”
“And the writers’ room?”
“Still eleven forty-five.”
“Good.”
Claire looked toward Eve.
“You must be Mercer.”
“Yes. Eve Mercer.”
“Welcome to hell.”
“Claire,” Graves said.
“What? She should know what she signed up for.”
Eve laughed.
Graves motioned for her to follow again.
They had barely taken five steps when another member of the staff rose from his desk.
“Graves, quick question.”
“Go.”
“Chrysos received an invitation for Daniel to speak at the Global Technology Leadership Summit next month.”
Graves stopped walking.
“Oh my God. How many times do we have to go through this?”
The man raised both hands.
“I know, I know. But this one is extremely prestigious, and they specifically requested him for the opening panel.”
“He doesn’t do tech summits.”
“I just wanted to run it by you.”
“That is why Chrysos has a CEO, and you know what his name is.”
“I know.”
“Not Daniel Adler.”
Graves continued walking.
Eve glanced over.
A woman approaching from another desk spoke up while talking to another person.
“Graves.”
“Yes?”
“I sent you the Kroenke update. Financial exposure, ownership structure, family holdings, and you know, the other thing.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Aaliyah.”
“Don’t forget. It’s marked urgent.”
They reached a cluster of desks where a man in his thirties looked up from his computer.
“William.”
He swivelled toward them.
“This the new PA?”
“Yes. This is Eve Mercer. William Grant. William handles most of the DC studio stuff that comes through Daniel’s office.”
William stood and shook Eve’s hand.
“Welcome aboard.”
“Thanks.”
Graves tapped the desk.
“I’m putting Eve on DC first. It’s complicated enough to teach her how everything works without immediately throwing her into all of Midas.”
William gave her a sympathetic look. “That is your definition of easing someone in?”
Eve smiled. “I prepared. I read everything you sent me.”
Graves looked pleased. “Oh, good. Then this might actually be easy.”
William laughed. “No, it won’t.”
Graves ignored him. “Right now, there are six DC films in production.”
“Eight,” William corrected.
Graves looked at him.
“Eight?”
“Eight.”
She stared at the production board.
“Right. Eight.”
William gestured toward Eve. “Look, Graves, it’s going to be a busy couple of months, and I need you. I can’t help Eve here too.”
“Don’t worry. I can handle it. I did say I was prepared,” Eve said before she began listing them.
“World’s Finest has its next trailer scheduled for release next month. Aquaman is preparing to restart principal photography after Alan Rickman’s accident delayed production. Daniel’s meeting with the DC team in Jordan this week is supposed to finalize the revised release date.”
William’s expression became more interested.
Eve continued.
“Whatever date they choose for Aquaman will probably force The Flash Pt. 2 to move.”
Graves grinned.
“They also need Daniel to sign off on the permanent title for the project currently being called Shadowpact.”
“Green Lantern 2 should finish pre-production soon, but Kosinski’s availability is still the main scheduling issue because of Top Gun 2.”
William nodded.
“And?”
“Daniel is also behind on writing the Justice League 2 script. He should have handed it in a month ago. He’s supposed to submit pages every day until the first full draft is finished. So part of my job will be tracking exactly how much he writes, making sure the latest pages reach DC, and stopping anyone from scheduling over the blocks Graves reserved for writing.”
Graves looked impressed.
William pointed at her.
“It’s like she’s been here all along.”
William leaned back in his chair.
“All right. I take it back. You might be even better than Graves here.”
Eve folded her arms.
“I didn’t get this job by accident.”
Graves patted Eve once on the shoulder.
“You and I are going to get along very well, Mercer. Very well.”
William picked up another folder.
“Before you go, I already called ahead to arrange everything for Daniel’s meeting with DC while he’s in Jordan. Someone still needs to review the final itinerary and sign off.”
Graves pointed at Eve.
William looked at her again. “Straight into the fire.”
“I’ll survive.”
“That’s what the last person said.”
“There was a last person?”
Graves checked the time, interrupting them.
“Okay. Daniel will be here in fifteen minutes.”
Her entire pace changed.
“Come on.”
Graves began using the tablet in her hands as she explained everything while they walked into Daniel’s office.
“Anything he specifically asked to see goes first. Then anything with a deadline, anything that could become expensive if ignored, anything that could become public if mishandled, and anything we’ve decided requires an immediate decision.”
“And everything else?”
“Gets delegated, or we just save it for later.”
They spent the next several minutes arranging what Daniel had to see that morning. The Arsenal ownership update went near the top, followed by The Usual Suspects box office numbers and projections. The DC Jordan itinerary came next. Beneath that went several Midas production decisions, two legal documents, a Stardust distribution memo, and a short page containing calls Graves believed Daniel actually needed to return personally.
Eve looked around the room as another person entered, placed coffee on a table, and left without saying anything.
“You know, I didn’t really expect to get this job, to be honest. It kind of reminds me of The Devil Wears Prada.”
Graves laughed loudly.
“You’re comparing Daniel to Miranda Priestly?”
“Miranda is much cooler.”
The elevator chimed.
The entire floor did not stop working, but Eve noticed an immediate change. Heads lifted. Phones were lowered.
Daniel appeared through the glass doors a few seconds later.
“Morning, everyone.”
Several greetings came back at once.
He was dressed casually compared with most of the people surrounding him, carrying a Hello Kitty bag in one hand and holding the hand of a young girl with the other.
The moment Alice saw Graves, she let go of Daniel’s hand and ran across the office.
“Graves!”
“Hey, trouble.”
Graves crouched just enough to catch her as Alice wrapped her arms around her.
Daniel followed at a much slower pace, spotting Eve beside her.
“Morning, Eve. How’s the first day going?”
“It’s been good,” she said. “Busy, but good. I think I’m starting to understand how everything works.”
Graves looked between them.
“And after all these years, I’m still just Graves?”
“Because your last name is cool, and that’s the reason I hired you in the first place.”
“Fuck you, Daniel.”
“Hey, there’s a child here,” Daniel said as Alice giggled and began running around, swinging her arms as she sang to herself.
“She call me Mr. Boombastic, say me fantastic...”
Graves watched her go.
“What is that?”
“She watched Barnyard yesterday.”
Graves looked confused, and Eve laughed.
“It’s the song that the giant rat sings.”
“Oh, good. It’s going to be easy now. I need you to find a toy or something of that big rat you mentioned. Alice wants one.”
Eve already had her phone out.
“On it.”
Her thumbs moved quickly across the screen while Alice continued wandering around the executive office, humming the rest of the song to herself.
Eve glanced up from her phone.
“I think I found it.”
Daniel pointed toward her.
“See? Excellent hire.”
Alice had already begun investigating Eve’s desk.
Daniel pointed toward her.
“I have to keep her with me until lunch. Mom’s picking her up then.”
“I can take care of myself,” Alice said.
“No, you cannot.”
“I’m ten.”
“You are nine.”
“No, I’m ten.”
“This is what happens when you skip school. You don’t even know how to count.”
“I hate you.”
Daniel looked at Graves and Eve.
“I don’t even want to know what she’ll be like when she’s a teenager.”
“I’ll look after her,” Eve said as she walked over to Alice.
“How much have you written since yesterday?” Graves asked.
Daniel thought for a moment.
“A chapter of Percy Jackson. Half a chapter of A Song of Ice and Fire. I finished the Red Dead treatment, and the Justice League 2 script is done.”
Graves stopped typing.
“Done?”
“Finished it last night.”
“You said it would take another week.”
“I really got into it last night, you know? It was a great day for writing as a whole.”
Graves began rapidly updating the production tracker on her tablet.
“Fine. Percy chapter complete, half an ASOIAF chapter, Red Dead treatment complete, Justice League 2 first draft complete.”
Daniel took the coffee from the table and took a sip.
“So, the meeting with Dave?”
“Moved to ten. He has New York at nine-thirty.”
Daniel sat down.
“Start with Kroenke. I want to know what’s happening with that.”
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The Usual Suspects Opens to $80 Million Worldwide as Daniel Adler Scores Another Box-Office Hit
Daniel Adler’s The Usual Suspects exceeded expectations during its opening weekend, earning an estimated $50 million domestically and another $30 million from international markets for a worldwide debut of $80 million.
The result marks another commercial success for Adler and gives the crime thriller one of the strongest openings of the year for a film not based on an existing franchise. Made for approximately $40 million, The Usual Suspects has already earned twice its production budget in its first weekend, and industry analysts believe it is well on its way to becoming highly profitable.
The opening also comfortably surpassed the more conservative projections released earlier in the month, which had placed the film’s domestic debut between $20 million and $30 million.
Robert Downey Jr. leads the ensemble as former police officer and career criminal Dean Keaton, alongside Paul Dano as Roger “Verbal” Kint. The cast also includes Tom Hardy, LaKeith Stanfield, Michael Peña, Scarlett Johansson, Alfred Molina, John David Washington, and Mads Mikkelsen.
The Usual Suspects currently holds a 92 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus praising Adler’s direction, the film’s tightly constructed screenplay, and the performances of Downey, Dano, and Molina. The verified audience score is even higher at 94 percent. On Metacritic, the film has received a score of 82 out of 100, indicating widespread critical acclaim.
Other early audience and industry scores include:
CinemaScore: A-
IMDb: 8.7 out of 10
Letterboxd: 4.2 out of 5
Before its release, some analysts questioned whether The Usual Suspects would struggle in a crowded marketplace. The film opened alongside several major releases, including A Star Is Born, First Man, and the highly anticipated return of Halloween.
Instead of being lost in the crowded marketplace, Adler’s film emerged as one of the weekend’s major attractions.
The $30 million international opening came from only the first group of overseas markets. Several major territories are scheduled to receive the film in the coming weeks, giving it considerable room for growth. Strong performances are expected in the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, South Korea, Japan, and parts of Latin America.
The most optimistic forecasts now suggest that The Usual Suspects could finish with approximately $600 million worldwide if it maintains strong audience interest and performs well in the remaining international territories.
A worldwide finish near $600 million would make The Usual Suspects one of the most commercially successful original crime thrillers ever released. It would also represent an extraordinary return on its reported $40 million production budget and further strengthen Adler’s reputation as one of the few filmmakers whose name alone can attract a large theatrical audience.
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@Truthema
So, is Daniel Adler in Scientology? I have suspected it for years. He has a close connection with Tom Cruise, and now he has Michael Peña starring in The Usual Suspects. At some point, these connections stop looking accidental.
@Screaily
By this logic, half of Hollywood is in Scientology because they have worked with Tom Cruise or Michael Peña.
@Truthema
Tom and Daniel do seem unusually close, though. Daniel wrote a film for him, and Tom has spoken very highly of him.
@Wenivist
No, they are not unusually close. Daniel wrote the Top Gun 2 screenplay, and they became friendly while developing it. That is the entire connection.
@Truthema
You do not know what happens privately.
@Wenivist
Neither do you, which is why accusing someone of secretly belonging to a crackpot religion based on two professional relationships is ridiculous.
@Dopcrophet
Trust me, if Daniel Adler joined Scientology, Scientology would make sure the entire planet knew about it.
@Truthema
I am only asking questions.
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@RachelKilm
Just left the premiere of The Usual Suspects. Robert Downey Jr. gives one of the best performances of his career, as does Paul Dano. Daniel Adler delivers a tense, carefully constructed crime thriller that should play extremely well with audiences.
@Marcuews
The Usual Suspects is excellent. Daniel Adler’s direction is patient and confident. He never rushes the mystery or allows the final revelation to overshadow the characters. This is easily one of the strongest studio thrillers of the year.
@Uwardena
Robert Downey Jr. is officially in the Best Actor race. Paul Dano should be a serious Supporting Actor contender, and Alfred Molina deserves attention as well. Daniel Adler may have another major awards campaign on his hands.
@JoelAtTheMovies
To me, Alfred Molina nearly steals the movie. Elliot Kane’s cinematography is exceptional, one of the best-looking crime films in years. Adler and Kane make every location feel and look amazing. Police offices become claustrophobic, docks become nightmarish, and even ordinary rooms seem filled with details you may have overlooked.
@PresturePod
Downey and Dano are the obvious standouts, but Michael Peña and Tom Hardy provide much of the film’s energy and humor.
@Marritic
A final twist does not automatically make a film intelligent. Downey, Dano, and Molina are doing strong work, but the movie is slow, self-satisfied, and painfully dull until its last fifteen minutes. Adler seems more interested in proving how clever the screenplay is than in entertaining the audience.
@NatksFilm
Daniel Adler directs with complete control. The film is stylish without becoming self-indulgent and complicated without becoming confusing. He knows exactly when to reveal information and when to let the audience reach the wrong conclusion.
@AwardsCrec
Early awards possibilities after tonight:
Robert Downey Jr., Best ActorPaul Dano, Best Supporting ActorAlfred Molina, Best Supporting ActorDaniel Adler, Best Director and Best ScreenplayElliot Kane, Best Cinematography
Editing also deserves serious consideration.
@DennFilm
Apparently, I watched a different movie from everyone else. The Usual Suspects is nearly two hours of people sitting in dark rooms, exchanging supposedly clever dialogue while Daniel Adler delays the only interesting part of the story. The ending is good. Everything before it is a test of patience.
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Rewritten.
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“Keep up, Mercer,” Graves said without looking back.
Eve Mercer increased her pace. It was her first day on the job as Daniel Adler’s personal assistant, not that Graves was leaving. Daniel had finally accepted what everyone around him had been telling him for the better part of a year. One personal assistant was no longer enough. Between Midas, Stardust, DC, Chrysos, his writing, his directing, and everything else that somehow ended up requiring his attention, Graves simply could not handle it all alone.
They stepped off the elevator onto the executive floor of Midas Productions’ new headquarters. The company had moved into the building four months earlier, taking significantly more space than it had occupied at the old offices.
The elevator opened into a bright executive workspace where around twenty people were already at their desks. Some were on phones. Others worked across multiple monitors or moved between offices carrying folders and tablets, while two people stood beside a wall-mounted screen discussing what appeared to be a production schedule.
Graves walked straight through the middle of them.
“This is us.”
Eve glanced around.
“Us?”
“Daniel’s office.”
Graves kept walking.
“Twenty-one people out here, plus you and me. Twenty-three right now.”
A man approached them from the opposite direction.
“Morning, Graves.”
“Oh, hey, Mark.”
“Sarandos’s office wants that meeting with Daniel as soon as possible.”
Graves sighed.
“I’ll talk to him.”
“They’ve been very insistent.”
“They’re always very insistent.”
Mark handed her the folder in his hands.
“This is the updated brief.”
“Thanks.”
He continued toward another desk.
At the far end of the open office stood another set of glass doors. Beyond them was a smaller reception area containing two more offices, a private conference room, and another hallway that terminated at a pair of dark wooden doors.
Graves gestured around them.
“All of them work under us. A few technically report through Midas corporate, legal, or finance, but for practical purposes, yes.”
Eve looked back toward the larger office.
“Our job is not to make sure information reaches Daniel. Our job is to make sure most information does not reach Daniel.”
Eve raised an eyebrow.
Graves smiled.
“There are thousands of people across his companies who would happily consume every waking minute he has. Producers want approvals. Lawyers want signatures. Actors want meetings. Writers want notes. Executives want decisions. Investors want reassurance. Journalists want interviews. Politicians want photographs. Charities want appearances, and so on. Everyone believes whatever they need is urgent.”
She pointed toward Daniel’s office.
“If we passed all of that directly to him, he would accomplish absolutely nothing. We filter, prioritize, redirect, delegate, postpone, decline, combine, summarize, and occasionally pretend we never received something.”
Eve smiled.
Graves walked farther into the office space and pointed toward a woman seated at a desk with three phones arranged beside her keyboard.
“Claire here handles most of the scheduling team. Nobody gets onto Daniel’s calendar without going through her first.”
Claire looked up immediately.
“Nine-thirty moved to ten.”
Graves stopped.
“What? Why?”
“Mr. Steiner has a conference call with New York.”
“Ah, damn it.”
Graves pulled out her phone and started typing rapidly.
“That pushes legal.”
“Already moved them to eleven fifteen.”
“And the writers’ room?”
“Still eleven forty-five.”
“Good.”
Claire looked toward Eve.
“You must be Mercer.”
“Yes. Eve Mercer.”
“Welcome to hell.”
“Claire,” Graves said.
“What? She should know what she signed up for.”
Eve laughed.
Graves motioned for her to follow again.
They had barely taken five steps when another member of the staff rose from his desk.
“Graves, quick question.”
“Go.”
“Chrysos received an invitation for Daniel to speak at the Global Technology Leadership Summit next month.”
Graves stopped walking.
“Oh my God. How many times do we have to go through this?”
The man raised both hands.
“I know, I know. But this one is extremely prestigious, and they specifically requested him for the opening panel.”
“He doesn’t do tech summits.”
“I just wanted to run it by you.”
“That is why Chrysos has a CEO, and you know what his name is.”
“I know.”
“Not Daniel Adler.”
Graves continued walking.
Eve glanced over.
A woman approaching from another desk spoke up while talking to another person.
“Graves.”
“Yes?”
“I sent you the Kroenke update. Financial exposure, ownership structure, family holdings, and you know, the other thing.”
“Perfect. Thank you, Aaliyah.”
“Don’t forget. It’s marked urgent.”
They reached a cluster of desks where a man in his thirties looked up from his computer.
“William.”
He swivelled toward them.
“This the new PA?”
“Yes. This is Eve Mercer. William Grant. William handles most of the DC studio stuff that comes through Daniel’s office.”
William stood and shook Eve’s hand.
“Welcome aboard.”
“Thanks.”
Graves tapped the desk.
“I’m putting Eve on DC first. It’s complicated enough to teach her how everything works without immediately throwing her into all of Midas.”
William gave her a sympathetic look. “That is your definition of easing someone in?”
Eve smiled. “I prepared. I read everything you sent me.”
Graves looked pleased. “Oh, good. Then this might actually be easy.”
William laughed. “No, it won’t.”
Graves ignored him. “Right now, there are six DC films in production.”
“Eight,” William corrected.
Graves looked at him.
“Eight?”
“Eight.”
She stared at the production board.
“Right. Eight.”
William gestured toward Eve. “Look, Graves, it’s going to be a busy couple of months, and I need you. I can’t help Eve here too.”
“Don’t worry. I can handle it. I did say I was prepared,” Eve said before she began listing them.
“World’s Finest has its next trailer scheduled for release next month. Aquaman is preparing to restart principal photography after Alan Rickman’s accident delayed production. Daniel’s meeting with the DC team in Jordan this week is supposed to finalize the revised release date.”
William’s expression became more interested.
Eve continued.
“Whatever date they choose for Aquaman will probably force The Flash Pt. 2 to move.”
Graves grinned.
“They also need Daniel to sign off on the permanent title for the project currently being called Shadowpact.”
“Green Lantern 2 should finish pre-production soon, but Kosinski’s availability is still the main scheduling issue because of Top Gun 2.”
William nodded.
“And?”
“Daniel is also behind on writing the Justice League 2 script. He should have handed it in a month ago. He’s supposed to submit pages every day until the first full draft is finished. So part of my job will be tracking exactly how much he writes, making sure the latest pages reach DC, and stopping anyone from scheduling over the blocks Graves reserved for writing.”
Graves looked impressed.
William pointed at her.
“It’s like she’s been here all along.”
William leaned back in his chair.
“All right. I take it back. You might be even better than Graves here.”
Eve folded her arms.
“I didn’t get this job by accident.”
Graves patted Eve once on the shoulder.
“You and I are going to get along very well, Mercer. Very well.”
William picked up another folder.
“Before you go, I already called ahead to arrange everything for Daniel’s meeting with DC while he’s in Jordan. Someone still needs to review the final itinerary and sign off.”
Graves pointed at Eve.
William looked at her again. “Straight into the fire.”
“I’ll survive.”
“That’s what the last person said.”
“There was a last person?”
Graves checked the time, interrupting them.
“Okay. Daniel will be here in fifteen minutes.”
Her entire pace changed.
“Come on.”
Graves began using the tablet in her hands as she explained everything while they walked into Daniel’s office.
“Anything he specifically asked to see goes first. Then anything with a deadline, anything that could become expensive if ignored, anything that could become public if mishandled, and anything we’ve decided requires an immediate decision.”
“And everything else?”
“Gets delegated, or we just save it for later.”
They spent the next several minutes arranging what Daniel had to see that morning. The Arsenal ownership update went near the top, followed by The Usual Suspects box office numbers and projections. The DC Jordan itinerary came next. Beneath that went several Midas production decisions, two legal documents, a Stardust distribution memo, and a short page containing calls Graves believed Daniel actually needed to return personally.
Eve looked around the room as another person entered, placed coffee on a table, and left without saying anything.
“You know, I didn’t really expect to get this job, to be honest. It kind of reminds me of The Devil Wears Prada.”
Graves laughed loudly.
“You’re comparing Daniel to Miranda Priestly?”
“Miranda is much cooler.”
The elevator chimed.
The entire floor did not stop working, but Eve noticed an immediate change. Heads lifted. Phones were lowered.
Daniel appeared through the glass doors a few seconds later.
“Morning, everyone.”
Several greetings came back at once.
He was dressed casually compared with most of the people surrounding him, carrying a Hello Kitty bag in one hand and holding the hand of a young girl with the other.
The moment Alice saw Graves, she let go of Daniel’s hand and ran across the office.
“Graves!”
“Hey, trouble.”
Graves crouched just enough to catch her as Alice wrapped her arms around her.
Daniel followed at a much slower pace, spotting Eve beside her.
“Morning, Eve. How’s the first day going?”
“It’s been good,” she said. “Busy, but good. I think I’m starting to understand how everything works.”
Graves looked between them.
“And after all these years, I’m still just Graves?”
“Because your last name is cool, and that’s the reason I hired you in the first place.”
“Fuck you, Daniel.”
“Hey, there’s a child here,” Daniel said as Alice giggled and began running around, swinging her arms as she sang to herself.
“She call me Mr. Boombastic, say me fantastic...”
Graves watched her go.
“What is that?”
“She watched Barnyard yesterday.”
Graves looked confused, and Eve laughed.
“It’s the song that the giant rat sings.”
“Oh, good. It’s going to be easy now. I need you to find a toy or something of that big rat you mentioned. Alice wants one.”
Eve already had her phone out.
“On it.”
Her thumbs moved quickly across the screen while Alice continued wandering around the executive office, humming the rest of the song to herself.
Eve glanced up from her phone.
“I think I found it.”
Daniel pointed toward her.
“See? Excellent hire.”
Alice had already begun investigating Eve’s desk.
Daniel pointed toward her.
“I have to keep her with me until lunch. Mom’s picking her up then.”
“I can take care of myself,” Alice said.
“No, you cannot.”
“I’m ten.”
“You are nine.”
“No, I’m ten.”
“This is what happens when you skip school. You don’t even know how to count.”
“I hate you.”
Daniel looked at Graves and Eve.
“I don’t even want to know what she’ll be like when she’s a teenager.”
“I’ll look after her,” Eve said as she walked over to Alice.
“How much have you written since yesterday?” Graves asked.
Daniel thought for a moment.
“A chapter of Percy Jackson. Half a chapter of A Song of Ice and Fire. I finished the Red Dead treatment, and the Justice League 2 script is done.”
Graves stopped typing.
“Done?”
“Finished it last night.”
“You said it would take another week.”
“I really got into it last night, you know? It was a great day for writing as a whole.”
Graves began rapidly updating the production tracker on her tablet.
“Fine. Percy chapter complete, half an ASOIAF chapter, Red Dead treatment complete, Justice League 2 first draft complete.”
Daniel took the coffee from the table and took a sip.
“So, the meeting with Dave?”
“Moved to ten. He has New York at nine-thirty.”
Daniel sat down.
“Start with Kroenke. I want to know what’s happening with that.”
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The Usual Suspects Opens to $80 Million Worldwide as Daniel Adler Scores Another Box-Office Hit
Daniel Adler’s The Usual Suspects exceeded expectations during its opening weekend, earning an estimated $50 million domestically and another $30 million from international markets for a worldwide debut of $80 million.
The result marks another commercial success for Adler and gives the crime thriller one of the strongest openings of the year for a film not based on an existing franchise. Made for approximately $40 million, The Usual Suspects has already earned twice its production budget in its first weekend, and industry analysts believe it is well on its way to becoming highly profitable.
The opening also comfortably surpassed the more conservative projections released earlier in the month, which had placed the film’s domestic debut between $20 million and $30 million.
Robert Downey Jr. leads the ensemble as former police officer and career criminal Dean Keaton, alongside Paul Dano as Roger “Verbal” Kint. The cast also includes Tom Hardy, LaKeith Stanfield, Michael Peña, Scarlett Johansson, Alfred Molina, John David Washington, and Mads Mikkelsen.
The Usual Suspects currently holds a 92 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critical consensus praising Adler’s direction, the film’s tightly constructed screenplay, and the performances of Downey, Dano, and Molina. The verified audience score is even higher at 94 percent. On Metacritic, the film has received a score of 82 out of 100, indicating widespread critical acclaim.
Other early audience and industry scores include:
CinemaScore: A-
IMDb: 8.7 out of 10
Letterboxd: 4.2 out of 5
Before its release, some analysts questioned whether The Usual Suspects would struggle in a crowded marketplace. The film opened alongside several major releases, including A Star Is Born, First Man, and the highly anticipated return of Halloween.
Instead of being lost in the crowded marketplace, Adler’s film emerged as one of the weekend’s major attractions.
The $30 million international opening came from only the first group of overseas markets. Several major territories are scheduled to receive the film in the coming weeks, giving it considerable room for growth. Strong performances are expected in the United Kingdom, Australia, France, Germany, South Korea, Japan, and parts of Latin America.
The most optimistic forecasts now suggest that The Usual Suspects could finish with approximately $600 million worldwide if it maintains strong audience interest and performs well in the remaining international territories.
A worldwide finish near $600 million would make The Usual Suspects one of the most commercially successful original crime thrillers ever released. It would also represent an extraordinary return on its reported $40 million production budget and further strengthen Adler’s reputation as one of the few filmmakers whose name alone can attract a large theatrical audience.
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@Truthema
So, is Daniel Adler in Scientology? I have suspected it for years. He has a close connection with Tom Cruise, and now he has Michael Peña starring in The Usual Suspects. At some point, these connections stop looking accidental.
@Screaily
By this logic, half of Hollywood is in Scientology because they have worked with Tom Cruise or Michael Peña.
@Truthema
Tom and Daniel do seem unusually close, though. Daniel wrote a film for him, and Tom has spoken very highly of him.
@Wenivist
No, they are not unusually close. Daniel wrote the Top Gun 2 screenplay, and they became friendly while developing it. That is the entire connection.
@Truthema
You do not know what happens privately.
@Wenivist
Neither do you, which is why accusing someone of secretly belonging to a crackpot religion based on two professional relationships is ridiculous.
@Dopcrophet
Trust me, if Daniel Adler joined Scientology, Scientology would make sure the entire planet knew about it.
@Truthema
I am only asking questions.
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@RachelKilm
Just left the premiere of The Usual Suspects. Robert Downey Jr. gives one of the best performances of his career, as does Paul Dano. Daniel Adler delivers a tense, carefully constructed crime thriller that should play extremely well with audiences.
@Marcuews
The Usual Suspects is excellent. Daniel Adler’s direction is patient and confident. He never rushes the mystery or allows the final revelation to overshadow the characters. This is easily one of the strongest studio thrillers of the year.
@Uwardena
Robert Downey Jr. is officially in the Best Actor race. Paul Dano should be a serious Supporting Actor contender, and Alfred Molina deserves attention as well. Daniel Adler may have another major awards campaign on his hands.
@JoelAtTheMovies
To me, Alfred Molina nearly steals the movie. Elliot Kane’s cinematography is exceptional, one of the best-looking crime films in years. Adler and Kane make every location feel and look amazing. Police offices become claustrophobic, docks become nightmarish, and even ordinary rooms seem filled with details you may have overlooked.
@PresturePod
Downey and Dano are the obvious standouts, but Michael Peña and Tom Hardy provide much of the film’s energy and humor.
@Marritic
A final twist does not automatically make a film intelligent. Downey, Dano, and Molina are doing strong work, but the movie is slow, self-satisfied, and painfully dull until its last fifteen minutes. Adler seems more interested in proving how clever the screenplay is than in entertaining the audience.
@NatksFilm
Daniel Adler directs with complete control. The film is stylish without becoming self-indulgent and complicated without becoming confusing. He knows exactly when to reveal information and when to let the audience reach the wrong conclusion.
@AwardsCrec
Early awards possibilities after tonight:
Robert Downey Jr., Best ActorPaul Dano, Best Supporting ActorAlfred Molina, Best Supporting ActorDaniel Adler, Best Director and Best ScreenplayElliot Kane, Best Cinematography
Editing also deserves serious consideration.
@DennFilm
Apparently, I watched a different movie from everyone else. The Usual Suspects is nearly two hours of people sitting in dark rooms, exchanging supposedly clever dialogue while Daniel Adler delays the only interesting part of the story. The ending is good. Everything before it is a test of patience.
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