Made in Hollywood

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The footsteps in April unstoppably entered Duke's life. It will be a whole year since he started writing "Speed ​​of Life and Death", and the film has not yet been released. the most basic rule.

With the release time set by 20th Century Fox very close, Duke finally saw the news and advertisements of "Speed ​​of Life" from the media.

A 15-second video clip on Fox Network's Home Channel ran three nights in a row; interviews with Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman appeared on the entertainment pages of second- and third-tier Los Angeles-area newspapers; The columns of some film critics are also trying their best to attract people's attention by way of praise or criticism; the tabloids under News Corporation began to write lace news about the hero and heroine, swearing that the two were in love; On the screen, the trailer of the film was played; in some remote locations in the theater, the poster of "Speed ​​of Life" did not attract much attention...

A million dollars is an astronomical amount for an individual, but it is a bit small for the marketing of a commercial film.

Fortunately, the film will only be screened in 20 theaters in ten major cities, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, and Nashville, and the promotion is mainly aimed at these ten cities. This kind of publicity is not bad.

Although the audience's reputation for the preview is excellent, 20th Century Fox's strategy is still cautious. Even the film's copy, so far, has only developed 50 copies.

Moreover, the focus of 20th Century Fox's publicity is not on "Speed ​​of Life" at all. The summer season in May is coming soon. David Fincher's "Alien 3" is Fox's key project, and he has invested heavily in publicity and marketing. , ads for this film can be seen almost everywhere.

Because it provided packaging services for "Alien 3" from production to director to actors, etc., CAA also invested a lot of resources in this film, and the countless successes in the past also gave them great confidence.

"Lovett."

In an office in Century City, Rick Solomon sat across from his agent, his lips constantly flipping up and down, "Should we put pressure on Twentieth Century Fox? They should focus on Alien 3." instead of distributing resources for a bad movie like "Speed ​​of Life"!"

"Calm down, Rick."

Looking at the guy opposite, a trace of impatience rose in Lovett's heart. This guy doesn't look like a Jew with a simple mind, let alone Duke Rosenberg who was abandoned by him. I'm afraid most people in Hollywood are Smarter than him, if he hadn't borrowed his father Robert Solomon to take down Warner Bros., he would never have signed this idiot and used his connections to put him in the "Alien 3" crew.

"Pay attention to your image!" After reminding him, he added, ""Speed ​​of Life and Death" is just a screening. The good reputation of the test screening may not necessarily translate into a high box office. This film is likely to travel to theaters for a week."

"That's the best way!" Rick Solomon shook his fist hard.

Although he said so, he didn't think that "Speed ​​of Life and Death" could only travel to theaters for a week. The reason is very simple. If this film can stay in theaters until the beginning of May, then his "Alien 3" will be directly Competing against each other, it must feel good to have Duke Rosenberg underfoot!

"Life and Death", what is that? Can it be compared with the Alien series?

Later, Lovett, who was sitting opposite, hung up the publicity department of Twentieth Century Fox and reminded them that they should concentrate their advantageous resources on "Alien 3"!

It's a small matter for the mighty CAA, and it doesn't need big shots like Martin Bob and Michael Ovitz.

"Will he succeed?"

When he put down the phone, this thought couldn't stop jumping out of Lovett's mind, and he couldn't hold it back again. He ignored the idiot on the opposite side, slowly fell into thinking, and then came up with a countermeasure.

Even if Duke Rosenberg gets lucky, just go to him and sign him again. If you want to be an agent, you can't care about your face. As for whether Duke Rosenberg will Agree, it is not in his consideration at all, can he or dare to refuse CAA?

As a spring season, April is the traditional off-season for movies, and the summer season that starts in May is reserved for big commercial productions. Twentieth Century Fox will not consider "Speed ​​of Life" at all.

On April 14, a very ordinary Tuesday, Duke ushered in the most critical test in his life. "Speed ​​of Life and Death" landed in the North American market with the scale of 20 theaters.

No premieres, no media events, no massive publicity, just a questionnaire that Twentieth Century Fox asked theaters to cooperate with.

As an investigative observer for Twentieth Century Fox, Harry Dunn is in charge of the Los Angeles area. He came to the theater near City Hall early and sat near the ticket booth to observe the audience's choices.

At first glance, you can easily find the poster of "Speed ​​of Life and Death" from the lobby of the theater. The bus that burst out of the fire is also eye-catching. On the big screen on the other side, among the several trailers played, there are also "Speed ​​of Life and Death". "The figure, in which explosions and flying cars emerge in an endless stream, it seems to be full of selling points.

However, Dunn sat here for more than half an hour and found that the audience who chose "Speed ​​of Life and Death" was very limited. This is inseparable from the lack of big-name stars and overwhelming publicity in the film, and it is also related to the working day.

Looking at his watch, it was almost time for the screening. Dunn got up and walked towards the theater. After checking the ticket, he took the next questionnaire. He was about to walk into the screening room of "Speed ​​of Life" when a surprised voice suddenly sounded beside him. sound.

"Hey, why are you?"

Looking back, Dunn found that it was a blond young man who was talking, and there were five or six people next to him. After a little recollection, he gradually got some impressions. After all, during the preview, the other party went to the toilet in order not to miss the movie. so rare.

"I didn't expect you to come and watch this movie again." The man said again, "What a coincidence."

"yes."

Coincidence? Unfortunately, there are only two theater chains in the entire Los Angeles area.

Beckoning, Dunn motioned to go in first. There were not many people in the theater, and they all chose a seat near the middle. After sitting down, Dunn asked again, "Didn't you see this movie? "

"It's not enough to watch a wonderful film like "Speed ​​of Life" once."

Jones, with long blond hair, turned his head to look at the few companions next to him, "Allen and I told you that the film is very thrilling and exciting, you don't believe it, did you see it? This gentleman also participated in the preview last time, and also came to see the first episode. Twice!"

"Indeed, Jones, we all watched the trailer, and it was really exciting," said one of Jones' companions, "but don't forget, there are a lot of great trailers but bad movies, especially the director, we don't have any. heard about it."

"I haven't heard of it either," Jones sighed. "I've been to the videotape market and haven't found anything related to him."

"By the way, have you heard of the director Duke Rosenberg?" he asked Dunn.

"I know a little bit." Dunn casually revealed some news, ""Life and Death" should be his first official feature film."

"Wow...for the first time!" Jones seemed to have discovered something amazing, "The first time you can shoot the film so well?"

"Okay, Jones, keep your mouth shut with Coke!"

The only girl among these people handed a large glass of Coke, Jones immediately shook his head, "I advise you, don't drink too many drinks, this film will never give you time to go to the toilet."

"Is it such an exaggeration?"

In the front row, a middle-aged man in his thirties turned his head, Jones said solemnly, "I promise!"

Looking at all this happened, Dunn didn't say much. After the last trial screening, "Speed ​​of Life and Death" has obviously been fermented among the audience, but the number of people participating in the trial screening is too small. If it is so successful, the word of mouth of "Speed ​​of Life and Death" will quickly spread among the audience. You must know that no means of publicity can compare to the driving effect of a good word of mouth spread by word of mouth.

"Okay, okay, don't make trouble."

Like a child eager to share his favorite toy with his buddies, Jones stopped his comrades from joking, "Pay attention, the movie is about to start!"

On the screen, the title that belongs to Twentieth Century Fox lights up.

Dunn's eyes quickly circled around, and it was not much more than expected. There were only less than twenty spectators sparsely seated in the huge auditorium, and the attendance rate was not ideal at all.

Kunites was one of the people who came with Jones, and when he saw the opening scene, he didn't fully concentrate, and kept throwing popcorn in his mouth. There must be a long and stinky cast after the opening. Subtitles, who would be interested in those things?

"What?"

The next moment, he widened his eyes. There were no long subtitles and no long-winded foreshadowing in the film. He went straight to the theme and saw the elevator maintenance worker with a disabled hand stab the building security to the ground neatly.

The plot unfolded quickly, and Kunites could see, in the extreme corners of the film, a few lines of very small letters, such as director Duke Rosenberg, actors Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman...

Not to mention other content, at least this opening aroused his goodwill and gave him a strong desire to continue watching, instead of being drowsy watching the long opening subtitles.

"A very tricky guy!"

This is the opinion of a professional like Dunn. The Directors Guild has strict regulations on title subtitles. George Lucas even quit the Directors Guild in a rage because of the title issue of Star Wars, and has not yet joined the support director. Association of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Placing subtitles at the beginning of a movie is also a good compromise.

Even Dunn could have predicted that if Speed ​​of Life was a success, the technique would soon become widespread.