Made in Hollywood

Tennessee, Knoxville, a small waterside town, where the headquarters of the Emperor Entertainment Group is located.

After getting the first-hand preview materials, Josman flew to the group headquarters overnight. The huge motivation that money can bring made him have no plans to rest, so he got off the plane and went directly to the theater company in the headquarters building. office floor.

Not long after Josman arrived at the company, the top executives of several theater companies quickly gathered together.

"The special effects are excellent! Duke Rosenberg's explosion scene is as exciting as it is!"

At the long conference table, Josman motioned for a secretary to distribute the materials he brought, "This is an assessment made by the team as a whole, and the twelve people who watched the film agreed that this is a super A-level business. Make!"

His words attracted the attention of many people, and they all opened the information in front of them and read it.

"Joe..." asked the CEO Mandino, who was sitting at the front. "Tell me about the specific statistics."

"Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox didn't invite film critics to the preview, so there's no way to talk about professional word of mouth."

Having said that, even now, Josman doesn't understand why the producer breaks the convention, but it has nothing to do with the theater. "In terms of audience reputation, 367 audiences participated in the survey, with A-level ratings as high as 314, C The following ratings have 49 people."

"The bad review rate seems to be a bit high." Someone answered.

"The story of the film can only be told in general, and the selling points are special effects and sensationalism." Josman didn't find it strange, and said unhurriedly, "I think everyone should understand that there is often a situation in such films. People like it very much, and people who don't like it very much hate it."

Without waiting for what others said, Josman continued, "According to the statistics of the test screening and the random survey statistics of the research company, the people who want to watch the film far outnumber the people who don't like it, and the statistical feedback from the test screening also proves that at this point!"

Many people are nodding their heads. Movies with special effects as their selling point, such as "Jurassic Park" and "Terminator 2" actually have this situation.

As the only person present who had seen the film, Josman knew the potential of the film, and also understood that once the film sold out, he might get a large bonus, and he had no intention of stopping at this time.

"I think Independence Day should be given more theaters," he continued, "and each multi-screen theater chain should invest at least 3 screens..."

Looking at all the documents signed by the film experts in the statistics, CEO Mandino fell into thinking, and after a long time said, "Duke Rosenberg's first two films exceeded our expectations, 'Independence Day' is his genre again, and I think Joe's advice works."

Several other people made similar comments one after another, and after some discussion, Mandino made a preliminary decision, "Keep the number of screens in The Lion King and Forrest Gump in an orderly decrease, and other non-popular films will decrease. Go down immediately after the bottom line! Before July 1st, make enough multi-screen theaters for "Independence Day", each theater will open with two to three screens, and the results on the first day of public screening will increase or decrease in the follow-up. ."

"Columbia Pictures has been in contact with us recently." Someone suddenly reminded, "I want to win enough theaters for The Shawshank Redemption."

"No, no, no..." Josman immediately objected, "I think the number of theaters of The Shawshank Redemption should be controlled. I participated in the media, fans and theater previews last month. The film is really interesting, but I don't think it's suitable for the theatrical market."

"The Shawshank Redemption has a professional test score of 9.8!" said the man just now.

"Actually, the movie fans' test screening reputation is also good. Although there are some problems with the prison theme, the praise rate is far more than 80%, but..."

Joseman frowned, and frankly, he thought it would be a classic film, but a classic film does not mean it would sell well. Years of experience in the first-tier market always made him say no to this film. The feeling that it came out felt that it was not suitable for commercial operation at all.

You must know that in the history of Hollywood, there are countless movies that are worthy of aftertaste and are recognized as classics.

"I don't think The Shawshank Redemption is suitable for the theatrical market."

As the chief film expert on the West Coast, Josman's words still carry a lot of weight. Mandino summed up everyone's opinions and said, "The screen vacated in early July will first satisfy "Independence Day", if this film reaches the box office Unexpectedly, the scale of its screening was reduced in the second week, and the spare theaters were invested in "The Shawshank Redemption", as well as "The Lion King" and "Forrest Gump". If "The Shawshank Redemption" ” did well in its first week, and their cut-off theatrical line could also be voted for 'The Shawshank Redemption'.”

This is a very safe way, even if the high-level officials of Sony Columbia are here, they can't say anything.

As if there is a tacit understanding, in addition to the Emperor Entertainment Group, the largest theater chain company in North America, the second and third AMG theater chains and the American artist theater chain have also made similar decisions.

When a film enters theaters, everything depends on the box office. Even if the number of theaters is different, there are still individual theaters for comparison. If "Independence Day" fails to pass the box office, even if Duke pleads hard, the theater dealers will not Give an extra screen.

In the same way, as long as the subsequent release of "The Shawshank Redemption" performs well in the first week, not only can the original release scale be maintained, but it will not be difficult to expand the number of theaters again.

Publicity and hype are indispensable for any film to sell well. With the end of the preview meeting, the pre-screening promotion of "Independence Day" has entered the final sprint stage. Not only did the leading actors appear frequently, but even the director Duke accepted a few shots. In this exclusive interview, I also cooperated with Fox's public relations staff to engage in street photography.

The so-called 'street photography' is just like what is often seen in newspapers and magazines. If someone thinks that those beautiful bubbling pictures are really street photography and not staged photography, it can only be said that they are shot by stars and the people behind them. The company is fooled.

In general, for these street shots, the public relations will contact the reporters and cameramen in advance. Both parties will show professionalism at the agreed location to produce the best shooting results. Before the pictures are reported, they must also go through a brokerage company or public relations. Personnel review to select the most suitable ones.

Of course, the street shooter will definitely have to pay a PR fee.

Newspapers, magazines, posters, outdoor advertisements, and TV stations are the most common means of publicity. The scandals of the leading actors have also been hyped by News Corporation and Time Warner's tabloids, and they don't even want to let go of the director Duke.

It is probably that Fox tasted the sweetness of pretending to be a couple in "Speed ​​of Life", and in the past year, many tabloids have hyped the scandal between Duke and Naomi Watts. I don't know how they moved Nancy? Josephson, wants Duke and Naomi Watts to play a couple once.

Duke refused without even thinking about it, joking, pretending to be a couple or something, it's okay to watch others play, let yourself do it, let's forget it.

There are many means of propaganda, and this one is not bad.

And Duke also took this to warn Nancy? Josephson, reaffirmed that she must not interfere in his private life!

The release time is getting closer and closer, and the publicity offensive of Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox has become more and more fierce. Almost all communities and advertising boards in the United States can see the promotional posters of the film, and the trailer is even in late June. Ten days in a row of primetime on Fox Home and NBC, even Good Morning America aired a special version of "Independence Day" the weekend before its release.

A copy was also sent to the White House by the producer, and Bill Clinton's family was given priority to watch the movie. Warners and Fox's media kept talking about Clinton, and reports such as "presidential praise" emerged one after another.

It is no exaggeration to say that "Independence Day" uses almost all the film promotion channels and methods that can be used in this era.

Liaising with the theater chain, preparing copies, determining the premiere theater, contacting the premiere guests, etc. Naturally, the producer and distributor will be in charge of these tasks. It is not difficult for Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox, which have a strong background.

Duke still abides by the terms of the contract. Except for very few suggestions, he will basically not interfere with the publicity plan, and most of the time he is also cooperating with the strategies formulated by the public relations personnel.

Not to mention that he has no maverick capital now, even if he has, he must follow certain rules. Those who ignore the reality and think that they can turn the world in Hollywood are destined to die.

Hollywood is not just the entertainment industry. Even if it is only in the 1990s, the annual output value of movies and related industries is close to 100 billion. Such a huge industry is closely watched by countless giants. Breaking the rules, the consequences can be imagined.

Although the actual production of the film is only 90 million US dollars, the cost of the book and publicity is still 100 million US dollars. Such a super commercial masterpiece naturally has a matching premiere theater. The premiere of "Independence Day" The theater is placed in the Shrine Grand Theater, one of the regular theaters for the Oscars!

This is also the largest premiere of Duke's directorial career, and of course he has only had two premieres so far.

"Speed ​​of Life" opened with a point screening, and there was no premiere at all; "Brave to the Dead Island" chose to premiere at Alcatraz Entertainment Plaza in order to meet the occasion and save money; and the premiere of "Independence Day" was not only on the One of the most famous theaters in the United States, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have also sent out invitations to hundreds of media from all over the world, which is bound to hold the premiere with great vigor.

Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox are targeting not just North America, but also overseas, where manufacturing interests are growing.

On June 30, 1994, the last Thursday in June, the sci-fi action blockbuster "Independence Day" with a production cost of $100 million opened its premiere at the Shrine Theater in Los Angeles!