Made in Hollywood

Taking the pen, with countless screams, Duke signed his name on several posters, turned around and returned to the red carpet. After two consecutive movies were sold, he was no longer an obscure director, nor did he. He has passed by before the fans and no one knows him, at least in the eyes of those action movie fans, he is already a very good director.

What's more, looking at the entire Hollywood, it seems that there are only a few directors who can direct the production cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.

However, Duke didn't do too much interaction, just routinely signed a few names under the advice of Warner's public relations staff. The director is not a star, especially in this era, if the work is not good enough, these people will not be like fans. Supporting idols and paying for his films.

Walking into the interview area, Nancy Josephson, who was waiting here, came to Duke without a trace, so that he could give prompts at any time in the next interview.

Behind every public figure, there is always the support of a whole team. In an era when information is becoming more and more fluent, an inappropriate remark is likely to be magnified to an extremely troublesome level by a caring person.

The corner of his eyes was taken back from Nancy. Duke didn't say anything. Although he was not particularly experienced in dealing with the media, he knew what to say and what not to say. If there are any tricky questions, just shut up and be silent.

The reporter from Fox TV, who was broadcasting the premiere, immediately greeted him. At the same time last year, the media smeared him wildly, but now he is showing the friendliest attitude.

The interview was more of a routine. Under the reporter's question, Duke complimented Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox, as well as the crew from producers to actors, and touted a few words about his film.

"Director Rosenberg, this is a story about defending against a brutal alien invasion,"

At the end of the interview, a reporter from Fox TV asked the last question, "As a writer and director, what was your original intention of creating?"

"Humans have created a brilliant civilization, what should we do when our civilization is about to collapse?"

Talking nonsense or something is the best thing to do on such occasions. Duke looked serious, "I think human beings should put aside their disputes and unite to save their common destiny and interests."

Some words, even if they feel disgusting, are extremely disapproving in their hearts, but as long as they can attract audiences across the United States, Duke will still say them without hesitation.

"As shown in the trailer, America is the world's top power and should be responsible for leading the fight against aliens."

Resisting the urge to vomit, Duke waved to the surrounding cameras, fully displaying the image of a native "Great American" in front of the public, then turned around and walked towards the group photo area.

"That's great, Duke."

Nancy quickly chased after him and praised in a low voice behind him, "The last sentence is likely to increase the film's box office by millions of dollars. If it is an awards season, this kind of words can help you increase your chances of winning. "

Even though he was very uncomfortable, Duke knew very well that in what position he stood, he had to consider what he would say to be most beneficial to him.

To a certain extent, he is also the spokesperson for some capital in the foreground, and the interests of capital must be considered.

After greeting the actors and several producers one by one, Duke stood in the crowd. After completing the routine group photo, he turned and walked towards the theater. When the corner of his eyes swept to the side, Naomi was standing there. ? Watts is enjoying the star treatment.

Naomi Watts' smile is brighter than the Australian summer sun. Duke roughly understands the minds of these actresses. where.

When he walked into the Shrine Grand Theater, Duke left all the noise outside his head. Because the crew took a lot of time for interviews and group photos, when he came in, most of the people had already entered the main hall of the theater, waiting for the screening to start.

Two production managers then walked in.

"Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have secured the largest possible number of theaters."

The topic of the three is naturally inseparable from the upcoming movie. Charles Rowan stood opposite Duke and said softly, "2885 theaters, this is the best number of theaters to open this year."

"We don't have a strong competitor in the same period." Robin Grande continued, "Duke, your first two works have established a strong enough brand for yourself, and the films released this weekend are basically less than a few million dollars. It's impossible for a small production to have an impact on Independence Day."

"And it's been more than two weeks since The Lion King, which was a hit in June." Charles Rowan seemed to be in a good mood, "It's past the hottest stage at the box office. Although the box office of "Forrest Gump" is stable, It has never exploded, the highest weekend box office score has not exceeded $25 million, and the two works that sold in June will not pose a substantial threat."

This can be said to be the best release time period. There was no strong film in the first week, and there was a lack of competitors on the same weekend. The film with the largest investment next weekend is destined to be a hit, plus the two giants Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox joined forces. , Duke really can't think of a reason for the failure of the film, not to mention that he also strengthened the special effects production.

If he still hits the streets like this, his first two movies are really wasted.

"As long as our box office is good enough this weekend." Robin Grande said again, "There is still the possibility of expanding the scale of the release next week. There are only so many theaters in North America. As long as we maintain enough theaters, It can squeeze the living space of newly released films and reduce their competitiveness!"

The actors who stayed outside walked in one after another. Duke tilted his head at the entrance of the main hall, "Then let's start this battle now."

After he finished speaking, he walked towards the main hall first, and the people behind him followed.

Before the screening, there were still some routine small activities. Duke basically became an invisible man, giving up his position to actors who were in desperate need of fame and popularity, and most of the time he stood by and observed.

The media, guests and fans constitute the main body of the audience for this premiere. Since no film critics were invited to the preview, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox would not be foolish enough to invite film critics at this time, and the premiere was not. Provide free ticketing services for film critics. Professional film critics want to enter the venue and have to pay for tickets like ordinary movie fans.

However, according to Duke's estimation, those film critics who are used to being at the top, always pointing fingers at the entire film industry without any substantive advice, will not lower their stature for the time being and go to the crowd to line up to grab tickets.

There were indeed few film critics attending the premiere. When the organizers did not provide free tickets and travel expenses, these people did not bother to compete with ordinary movie fans for the already very tight premiere tickets.

The public relations expenses saved by Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox were all invested in advertising. Judging from the feedback data, the effect of this part of the funds was quite satisfactory.

Without a preview or an invitation from the organizers to attend the premiere, the critics will not pass up the opportunity to criticize or praise such a masterpiece, which means that there may be a wide audience. Basically, more people will see the film critics, and the influence will be further expanded, in exchange for more benefits.

Although they always show their completely different tastes from the public and highlight their elegance, film critics are not fools. They also understand that the film industry and ordinary film fans are the foundation of their existence. If they have no influence among film fans, they will inevitably Abandoned by the studios and the media they work for.

While the L.A. premiere was dragging on a bit, well-known film critic Roger Ebert walked into a Chicago theater to watch the midnight show of Independence Day so he could write something tomorrow.

Entering the front hall of the theater, Albert found that there were a lot of people here, and let his assistants know about it at random. More than 90 percent of them were waiting to watch the midnight show "Independence Day". As a celebrity in Chicago, many movie fans Knowing him, many came to say hello.

Having dealt with these people, Albert did not queue up to buy tickets. As a well-known professional film critic, as long as he is not blocked by the distribution company, he has the right to enter the venue for free. The filmmakers of "Independence Day" did not cancel their tickets. privilege.

While sitting on the lounge chair and waiting, Roger Albert's eyes hidden behind his glasses gleamed with the light of thinking. Since becoming famous decades ago, he has gradually become a leader in this industry. He can't remember how long it has been. I came to the theater in person to watch a movie like today. In the past, even if the distributor did not invite him to participate in the trial or premiere, he would often send a special copy early...

While Roger Albert was waiting, David Denby, a film critic of The New Yorker, also walked into a theater on New York's Upper East Side. He had been following the two female fans, and occasionally heard the voices of their discussions.

"After several months of waiting, I finally waited until "Independence Day" was released!"

It was a young girl with brown hair and long legs, "Anna, if the movie is good enough, shall we watch it for the second time tomorrow?"

"Irene, don't you have to go to work tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow is the weekend..." Irene held her friend's arm, feeling unspeakable discomfort behind her back. When she looked back, she found that it was a bald and wretched middle-aged man who glared at him fiercely. She turned her head and continued. "Although I still have to go to work, my mother and I have taken leave in advance!"

"Come on, Miss Lauder."

After getting the ticket, Anna took her to the cinema, and when she entered, she found that the bald middle-aged man who was following behind also came in, and he was sitting next to Irene, who should also be an audience of "Independence Day".

A little later, Tom Cruise, hooded and sunglasses, armed to the teeth, drove out of the Beverly Hills mansion and headed for the nearest movie theater, where they had reserved their boxes early in the morning.