From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

The year 2002 doesn't stand out as a particularly significant one in the history of the film industry. Its slight distinction comes from the meteoric rise of "Spider-Man," widely regarded as the inaugural year of superhero movies officially entering the mainstream market. Beyond that, however, it was rather unremarkable.

At the time, film promotion methods were relatively simple. Typically, the cast and crew would travel to different cities to meet and interact with audiences, holding screenings. Then, they'd bombard the public through various media like television, magazines, and radio. Almost all film crews followed this pattern, differing only in scale, depending on who was willing to spend the money to blanket the market with trailers and posters.

Of course, twenty years later, things are much the same.

Despite the increase in film promotion channels and methods due to the internet, the core activities have remained unchanged for two decades. The difference lies in the increased number of cities visited for promotion and the expansion into overseas markets.

For massive blockbusters like "The Avengers," the cast and crew would travel the world a month or even longer before the film's release, promoting and building momentum. They'd hold advance screenings in different cities, interact with audiences, and dominate the trending topics on the internet, creating a grand spectacle.

However, the reality was different. A small change brought about a completely different effect.

In traditional audience meet-and-greets, everything is communicated and arranged in advance:

The time, location, and screening are all set. The main cast and crew will appear, and the audience simply buys tickets and enters.

But the key point here is that the ticket-buying audience is already the interested target demographic; otherwise, they might choose a different screening.

In other words, the promotion still targets its original audience.

Ansen's approach was different.

This was the first time the concept of a "flash mob" was incorporated into a film promotion.

No advance notice, no prior arrangements, no mental preparation—everything happened suddenly, unexpectedly, and then it just happened—

A surprise.

A genuine surprise.

Imagine going to the cinema to casually watch a movie, and the male lead suddenly breaks the fourth wall and appears before your eyes. That dizzying, magical effect can easily trigger an adrenaline rush. Even if you're not a huge fan, you have to admit it's a special experience—

The effect is immediate.

For those who liked Ansen, they were even more proactive in going to the cinema, eagerly anticipating a miracle.

For those who weren't the target audience, Ansen's surprise appearance became an unexpected encounter, opening up the promotional effect.

The "flash mob" concept completely disrupted the conventional film promotion routine, making watching a movie a potential place to witness a miracle.

Things were completely different.

Moreover, being Christmas, the surprise had even more significance.

"Entertainment Weekly" even created a picture of Ansen wearing a Santa hat, jokingly comparing him to a newly born Santa Claus, which sparked controversy in Hollywood—

Obviously, not everyone liked the joke.

But!

Regardless, a topic was born, undoubtedly becoming the hottest topic of this Christmas season.

Moreover, the buzz continued to rise, with the out-of-circle index breaking records.

Now, Hollywood finally understood DreamWorks' overall plan to release "Catch Me If You Can" nationwide on Christmas Day—

Killing multiple birds with one stone.

Unlike "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," which premiered on Wednesday to lengthen its run and rely on word-of-mouth to drive box office sales over the opening weekend and break records, "Catch Me If You Can," also choosing a Wednesday release, had a more comprehensive strategy.

Firstly, Christmas Eve and the film's plot formed an internal and external echo.

Secondly, the film itself was a typical Christmas-themed movie, making it a logical choice to leverage the holiday season to boost box office revenue.

Thirdly, Ansen's "flash mob surprise" continued from Wednesday and Thursday all the way through the weekend, guaranteeing that the film would be the biggest hot topic at the end of the year for five consecutive days. And after the weekend, it would be followed by New Year's Day. If Ansen was willing to continue the surprise appearance activity on New Year's Eve, young people would go crazy for it.

Brilliant, inexpressibly brilliant.

It must be said that DreamWorks' promotional strategy was truly refreshing.

Somewhat surprisingly, Steven Spielberg later stated that this wasn't DreamWorks' plan. The inspiration for the entire promotional strategy came from Ansen, and they only expanded on Ansen's idea afterward.

No wonder!

Hollywood suddenly understood.

DreamWorks' promotional strategies have always been weak, and their long-term distribution partner, Universal Pictures, has also stumbled in its marketing strategies, resulting in disappointing box office performances for many excellent films, leading DreamWorks into a cash flow crisis. This time, "Catch Me If You Can" offered an ingenious performance, and the real source of inspiration turned out to be Ansen.

With this, things could be explained.

So, what is Ansen not good at?

After this campaign, Ansen's reputation among Hollywood film executives soared, and Warner Bros.' Jeff Robinov was finally no longer alone.

Then, something interesting happened:

It was conceivable that everyone was guessing where Ansen's next stop would be.

Everything was predictable. Considering the distance, route planning, promotional effect, city population, etc., at least a range could be deduced.

Obviously, after Seattle, Ansen's next stop wouldn't be New York or Philadelphia on the East Coast directly. From a distance perspective, that was impractical.

But the key was that Ansen appeared in Portland.

Not to mention Portland, it was very, very rare for film crews to go to Oregon for promotion. It was almost a film industry desert.

Yet, Ansen appeared.

So, the question was:

Was going to Portland a special move to give some smaller cities a chance to experience the film promotion atmosphere and boost the attendance rate in smaller markets, or was it because Ansen filmed "Elephant" in Portland that he specifically went there, but subsequent cities wouldn't choose to waste time in smaller cities and markets?

For a time, countless speculations abounded—

It should have been the noisiest, happiest, and most unified Christmas night in history. Discussions chattering and bustling in online forums lasted for an entire night, with netizens from all over the world spending Christmas together.

So, where was Ansen's next stop?

Although it wasn't the era of smartphones, the internet had already infiltrated people's daily lives in all aspects. Countless eyes were focused on Ansen, focused on the incoming and outgoing flights at private airports, trying to decipher Ansen's itinerary in advance. This was also a rare sight, allowing "Catch Me If You Can" to occupy the top spot in traffic in another way.

Perhaps, this was something Ansen himself hadn't anticipated.