Chapter 40

"Kate, there's something I want to apologize to you for."

When Ada returned after making the call, her tone suddenly became much lower.

"Hmm?"

"I put something on the Mr. Horns I gave you, and that day when I was at your place, I also put some on it..."

Kathleen's mouth formed an 'O'.

"Sorry... At that time, Homer told me that I wasn't suitable for acting, but you had a lot of talent... So... I was a bit jealous."

"That's not true, Ada. Anyone can act."

Kathleen smiled at her.

To be honest, Kathleen's mind was a mess, and she didn't want to dwell on this issue.

It wasn't until Ada left that Kathleen gradually came to her senses.

Did I... get drugged?

By a girl?

To be honest, Ada wasn't a bad person, or rather, she could be considered a good girl.

Kathleen suddenly recalled that incident.

After seeing Mr. Horns, she couldn't sleep, and eventually, she picked it up without knowing why.

And the second time, Kathleen completely lost her ability to resist in front of Ada, letting the other person do as they pleased.

"Ada..."

Kathleen didn't know what to say. That night, she tossed and turned.

June 30th.

Today is Friday, and it's also the premiere.

Although only 72 theaters are showing it, Kathleen believes the future is bright.

And not to mention 72 theaters, even if it were just one, her friends would probably be excited enough to jump up and down.

Yesterday, Kathleen went to see Bitman. Since the incident, over a dozen victims have come forward, all women who had been hypnotized by Bitman. Bitman's despicable methods made them realize they might have been violated.

Especially when the woman, who weighed about 200 kilograms, testified against Bitman on TV, the doctor, facing charges of attempted rape, rape, and drugging, felt like he wanted to die.

Looking at the woman, the only line he wanted to say was: This, really didn't happen.

Regardless, Kathleen felt a sense of vindication.

As for Mars, he has been granted bail, and the psychiatric evaluation has been temporarily put on hold.

According to Jenny, her grandfather is trying to get Mars a honorary citizenship for his act of bravery.

Of course, Mars's desire for justice makes him indignant about evil, and his past as a soldier means his methods are "slightly excessive."

Regardless, things are finally moving in a positive direction. As for Kathleen, she didn't help much; everything was handled by Jenny.

"Kate! Over here!"

By the time Kathleen arrived at the cinema, it was already 6 PM. However, the girls from the photography club and her friends had already arrived early.

Gathering outside the cinema, Kathleen noticed that quite a few people had already arrived.

After more than half a year of promotion and hype, Kathleen's efforts finally paid off.

In fact, when they saw so many people, Columbia Pictures had already started making copies of the film, but they didn't expect the film to be as popular as it turned out to be.

Finally, after a long wait, Kathleen and her friends entered the cinema.

Watching her own film in such a large cinema, no matter what, was a very satisfying experience!

"There are so many people..." Lily, usually the most lively, was somewhat stunned.

The cinema was completely full!

Soon, the film began to play.

At this point, some uninformed viewers started to find it novel, marveling at the innovative shooting techniques.

However, more people came because they had heard the rumor.

Promoting a fictional story as a documentary was the successful strategy.

That day, the cinema was packed.

After the premiere, the story of the witch Blair began to spread in New York.

To make the film more realistic, Kathleen had adjusted the original background by 30 years.

Suddenly, the witch Blair became the hottest topic in New York, even surpassing Hollywood stars.

As a result, the sales of Kathleen's "Harry Potter" also doubled.

Columbia Pictures, due to insufficient preparation, was in a frenzy.

However, by the second week of the release, they had expanded to 2,500 theaters across the country.

At this point, belated reviews began to appear.

"Novel shooting techniques, a miracle created by students." — Los Angeles Times.

"Turning a low-budget B-movie, and a student film, into a documentary is the greatest success of 'The Blair Witch Project.'" — New York Times.

"Through a novel approach, 'The Blair Witch Project' takes us into a wondrous world of horror. The film is seamless and gives a sense of infinite realism. It was directed and acted by a girl named Kathleen and her friends. Can you imagine, this girl is only 13 years old." — Chicago Tribune.

Only then did people realize that this film was actually a "trick" played by a few girls!

However, after the truth came out, the attendance rate didn't decrease; instead, it increased. It seemed everyone wanted to see what this young girl's film was all about.

However, the film had a slight flaw: the画面 was too shaky. Kathleen tried to avoid this issue, but some people still felt dizzy after watching the film.

In addition to its release in North America, the film was soon brought to Europe.

Throughout the summer, the film earned Kathleen millions of dollars—$20 million in 1961, which was worth much more than $100 million in the future.

In the end, the total box office was $24 million.

Although she only received $9 million after deductions for theaters, distributors, and business taxes, $9 million was a huge sum in those days.

This $9 million was divided among the members of the photography club. Because Kathleen was the director, or perhaps because the girls were stunned by the large sum, she ended up with $5 million.

If calculated by purchasing power, this $5 million was roughly equivalent to $37 million in 2010.

Including the money she earned from writing, Kathleen's net worth was about $5.5 million.

Kathleen was eager to register her own company.

With the startup capital, the most difficult part was solved.

Oh, right, she still needed to convince her parents to agree with her idea, and even have them serve as the legal representatives of the company... After all, Kathleen was only 13 years old.

However, before Kathleen could register the company, a journalist came to her door.

The company he worked for was well-known—Time Magazine.

...

I solemnly declare that I am a pure love and beauty writer. Any plot has its limits.

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