From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Bang!

Without any warning, a burst of sound ripped through the air, as if a hole had been torn in the sky, and the sunlight and stars of the universe would pour down in the next second; but strangely, the sound reached Anson's eardrums with a time difference, leaving echoes, causing a delayed reaction.

Before Anson could stand up, a shout came from the air.

"I'm okay. I'm okay!"

"Don't worry."

If he wasn't mistaken, that slightly slurred voice should be James Franco.

Anson thought he should go and see what was happening, but his body remained seated, unmoving, his body defying his brain's will, with no intention of moving.

He sat there blankly for a while, his mind empty, without a single thought, spacing out for a moment, and then his body finally slowly reacted.

Dragging his tired body into the bathroom, he took a hot shower, the sore and tense muscles relaxed slightly, and he almost fell asleep under the showerhead, but he managed to wake up in time, leaving the steamy space, and the heavy weight pressing on his head finally lifted, making him feel lighter.

Leaving the room, he stood at the top of the stairs, looking around, but he didn't see James' figure, nor could he tell where the loud noise had come from.

Walking into the hall, he could see Brad Renfro curled up on the sofa, hugging an empty whiskey bottle.

Anson patted him and called out, "Brad?"

Unexpectedly, Brad didn't respond, but instead a figure in a pile of bottles next to him sat up straight, James Franco with a messy head of hair looked around blankly, "Who? Who's calling me?"

"Seth Rogen," Anson threw out a name casually.

James was confused and unable to distinguish reality, "Tell him to come back later, I'm busy now." After saying that, he actually lay back down, his mouth open, as if welcoming a fly to visit.

It was both funny and annoying.

Anson looked around, found an empty space on the sofa diagonally opposite, and sat down, staring blankly at the mess in the hall, the sense of reality finally slowly returning to his body, scattered fragments of memory vaguely awakening and lighting up, although incomplete, he could be very sure and certain of one thing:

Yesterday, the premiere of his acting career definitely happened.

To be precise, it wasn't just the premiere of "The Princess Diaries"; three weeks ago, another movie Brad Renfro had previously filmed also landed in the summer season.

"Ghost World".

It wasn't until recently that Anson learned that the independent film Brad had shot last year was actually a collaboration with Scarlett Johansson, a quirky work full of personality and sharp edges; but unexpectedly, this film also chose to be released in the summer season, meeting the audience.

In Hollywood twenty years later, this situation is very rare; but now, the summer season still has room for these independent films to survive.

However, even now, "Ghost World" faces severe challenges in the summer season, the film is not released nationwide, but appears in the form of a limited release.

In the North American film market, different types of films have different distribution strategies, which can be generally divided into three types:

Limited release. Small-scale release. Wide release.

A limited release is often a special screening in fewer than fifty theaters, or even one or two theaters, relying on word-of-mouth to spread, award-season films and independent films often use this screening method, waiting for word-of-mouth to spread before increasing the number of上映院线.

A small-scale release does not have an exact numerical standard, but in general, anything higher than one hundred theaters and lower than seven hundred theaters falls into this range. For independent films that lack distribution funds, controlling the number of上映院线 within this range often achieves better results—

Because the audience for such films is relatively fixed, even if they are released on a large scale, they will not receive the attention of the general public, only those seasoned movie fans and art groups are willing to go to the cinema to watch them, so there is no need to release them in more theaters, controlling them within a small range is enough.

A wide release is anything higher than seven hundred theaters, but more often the number of放映院线 will be higher than one thousand five hundred, because entering this range means that the film hopes to be seen by the general public, and the work has more ambition for the box office.

"Ghost World" is a limited release.

Three weeks ago, five theaters.

Two weeks ago, eight theaters.

Fortunately, "Ghost World" has no promotional schedule, and the main promotional task for "The Princess Diaries" is not on Anson, otherwise they would have to drag their hungover bodies to work today.

However, even if it really happened, it wouldn't be surprising, Hollywood actors often appear on shows with hangovers, because the party never ends.

Clang clang.

Amidst the sound of a pile of bottles colliding, Brad finally sat up straight, glanced at Anson with sleepy eyes, but felt a sting from seeing the light and quickly closed his eyes, vaguely seeing Anson sitting on the sofa in a daze, his old brain slowly starting to work.

Brad thought Anson was worried about the premiere feedback, "Don't worry, didn't they say the audience reaction was particularly good last night?"

Indeed, the film release is only the second step, the second step after making the film, the next third step is the most crucial—

Accept judgment, wait for feedback, box office results.

However.

The decision-making power for these things is no longer in their hands, once the actors and directors have finished filming, they have lost control, now everything will be handed over to the audience.

Everything is unknown, and that is the most terrifying part.

"The Princess Diaries", how is the word-of-mouth?

In fact, Anson was still hungover, his brain wasn't working, he couldn't think, he was just spacing out just now.

Hearing Brad's words now, he remembered, "Ah, the reviews will come out today, right?"

He looked around, his eyes still unfocused.

Brad also finally opened his eyes, carefully avoiding the sunlight, like a vampire, and muttered in a low voice, "It should be out already."

"Ah, Chris isn't here, we forgot to get the newspaper..."

A beat later, Brad remembered this important thing, and then looked towards the door, "The answer is there, we should get the newspaper."

He said it, but Brad didn't move at all, he obviously had no intention of moving, the day after a hangover seemed to rob him of his ability to act.

Anson was also stunned, and then his brain finally had some ideas, "Ah, wait, I thought of another way, an easier way."