Chapter 201 Moving Forward with a Scapegoat

? By the end of August, the crew of "House of the Dead" had been formed, and the production budget of the entire project was only 1.2 million US dollars, of which 200,000 US dollars was still the copyright fee paid to Uwe Ball. The most suitable way for the film crew to prepare, shoot and produce.

Ronan handed over the production team to an external producer, just to let people control the most critical financial links.

He also wanted to see how bad Wu Bao's films could be with such a low investment.

Ang Lee and the crew came to Los Angeles at this time, preparing to attend the Toronto Film Festival. Ronan had a special talk with Ang Lee.

"The publicity and release of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in North America will be carried out around the awards season and the Oscars." Ronan said to Ang Lee: "I have made a preliminary estimate with the professionals from the embassy film industry. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is applying for Oscars, among which the best foreign language film, best director and best picture are the key public relations targets."

Ang Lee has been in Hollywood for many years, how could he not know the importance of Oscars to film practitioners? Without any hesitation, he said: "If you need my cooperation, just ask."

Ronan said: "If we can get multiple Oscar nominations, it will be a win-win for us."

There is no doubt about this, Li An is also very clear, said: "I have hired a professional public relations company to do public relations."

Ronan handed a plan to Ang Lee: "This is a preliminary plan, including the focus of publicity and media rhetoric. Director Li, you are a member of Hollywood, and you know the political correctness hidden in the Oscars, so I won't say much about it gone."

"Yeah." Li An nodded: "I promise, myself and the crew members will not talk nonsense."

Ronan warned: "The Toronto Film Festival is a very good publicity platform, and it has gradually exerted influence on the North American awards season. David Villa of the Embassy Films will accompany you to Toronto. There may be some media activities during the period. You To cooperate as much as possible."

Ang Lee can be successful in Hollywood, active integration can be said to be the key: "I met David once, and I will pay a visit in the afternoon."

In order to get Ang Lee to invest more, Ronan specifically said: "If "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" can win the Oscar statuette, the meaning is far from winning a few awards in the end."

Li An is so smart, he immediately understood what Ronan meant, and said, "I understand."

"I'm not familiar with the crew, I hope you can convey it." Seeing Li An's serious expression, Ronan said,

He said calmly: "During the period from the end of the Toronto Film Festival to the Oscars, I hope that the main creators of the film crew will stay in Los Angeles as much as possible. Those who have work and cannot stay for a long time should also try their best to participate in the public activities of the film crew."

He said indifferently: "This is good for their future career."

Ang Lee is very confident: "I believe no one will refuse."

Ronan emphasized: "Director Li, before the end of this awards season, I hope you will stop accepting new jobs and fully prepare for the Oscars. It is best to temporarily settle in Los Angeles."

"Yes." Li An immediately agreed.

Although the nearly 6,000 judges of the Academy of Film are scattered all over the world, Los Angeles is the largest gathering place. The entire Oscar PR is actually centered on Los Angeles. Come to Los Angeles and live there for a few months.

The funds and copies for the North American publicity and distribution of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are being prepared, just waiting for the awards season to begin.

But before Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Embassy Pictures had to release The Purge 2.

As Halloween approaches, the promotion of this film is also working hard.

"The trailer of "Purge of Humanity 2" is released, and the bloody and terrifying massacre has been fully upgraded!"

News and reports related to the film began to appear frequently in the media.

"For the previous work, the biggest problem is that it is difficult to judge whether the film is an action film or an indoor thriller. According to the previously released trailer, the sequel is an action film through and through, and it should be quite exciting!"

The advocacy of adverts is essential.

At the same time, Embassy Pictures also held a special screening for theaters, fans and media for "The Purge 2".

Perhaps because of the replacement of the traditional white protagonist, the film got a good reputation in the trial screenings, and most of the media and fans gave it good reviews.

Embassy Pictures did not restrict media word of mouth, and allowed the media to release relevant comments the day after the test screening, provided that there were no spoilers.

The North American film industry is very mature, and a tacit understanding has already been formed between the film company and the media. For example, for trial screenings, the film company will generally greet you in advance, and the media can write relevant reviews or articles based on the quality of the film they have seen. However, the release time of the report must be after the film company lifts the ban on media release rights.

Of course, there are also some media that don't like the film company, but the film company will not invite such media.

There is no contract stipulation in this regard, it is an unwritten rule, and few people will take the initiative to break it.

In Ronan's previous life, after a trial screening of a Disney film, some media reporters released comments in advance, and then all Disney films and works closed the door to the media.

Doing so is not worth the candle for the media.

Under normal circumstances, if the results of the trial screening are good, the film company will not suppress the media's comments. Those films that quickly lifted the ban on media word-of-mouth after the trial screening mostly have a good reputation.

In fact, the time when the word-of-mouth ban is lifted can also spy on the quality of upcoming films.

A film that can win word-of-mouth from the media, theaters, and audiences during its trial screenings would like to spread the good word-of-mouth early in order to attract more potential audiences, and the ban on word-of-mouth in all aspects will be lifted early.

For example, media reviews and reports, public interviews with test screening fans, and ratings on websites such as Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB on the Internet.

Correspondingly, for a movie with a high investment, the movie will be released the next day, and the comments from all sides have not yet been lifted, so the possibility of a bad movie is extremely high.

Some bad movies even want to suppress negative word-of-mouth after they are released.

On the increasingly influential IMDB, although there is no relevant rating for "The Purge 2" due to insufficient number of rating users, some comments from fans who participated in the test screening have already been posted on it.

"Compared to the first one, the sequel is simply much higher, the two are not at the same level at all."

"The director perfectly described all the plots that a big mopping plan will eventually bring, and the description of human nature is also in-depth. If the hero is not a veteran soldier, but an ordinary person like the heroines, then there will be no The so-called heroes, and what will happen to them can be imagined."

"The second part puts the story on the street instead of being confined to a house. Through various intertwined images, people can see the results of the so-called sweeping plan. Kind people stay at home, or It will be a catastrophe. And the government also played a disgraceful party. Just like the ending BOSS said: In order to make the people more controllable and balance the number of people, but people don’t kill enough, so they choose targets and increase the killing.”

These comments hang high above the website like advertisements, attracting the attention of movie fans.

Propaganda inevitably brought the U.S. government into the mix.

How can a popular Hollywood movie not blackmail the US government?

It is estimated that the most professional statistical agencies are also very difficult to find out one thing: How many scapegoats did the Washington authorities take in Hollywood movies? And why do you want to carry these scapegoats?

The US government is always the best choice to take the blame.

It's not that Hollywood intends to smear the US government, but that conspiracy theories are the best material for movies.

Such as those unresolved controversial historical mysteries.

Because for audiences, conspiracy theories have always been quite popular, and for screenwriters, this is also a good opportunity for them to open their minds.

The "Moonwalker" in the previous life threw out a conspiracy theory: the United States hired the famous director Stanley Kubrick to forge the images of the moon landing during the American Apollo moon landing program.

For example, in "Anonymous", a person named Edward Deville is considered to be the real author of Shakespeare's works; Controlled by the "Masonic Society"...

In the eyes of those who advocate "conspiracy theories", the world is full of doubts. Who killed Kennedy? Is the American moon landing real or fake? Have the aliens been sealed away by the U.S. government after they were discovered? Movies just become the best carrier to demonstrate these doubts.

The best target for conspiracy theories is undoubtedly the U.S. government, which is all over the world.

Of course, secret organizations are also good candidates for blame.

Who really rules the earth? UFO enthusiasts think it is aliens, racial prejudice thinks it is Jews, Americans think it is the President of the United States, jokers think it is Haidilao...

There are always some people in the world who firmly believe that certain fields and certain events are controlled by a hidden behind-the-scenes organization.

It's not that the screenwriter likes to falsify history and create all kinds of conspiracy theories, but that it has fertile soil among the people. All kinds of rumors have been circulating for decades, and there are serious arguments, which can become a source of inspiration for screenwriters.

"Human Purge 2" also meets the needs of the market. It is full of conspiracy theories. The US government is behind the blame, and a mysterious organization established for the rich and heartless...

These are also the selling points of the film.

The test screenings of the film were well received, and the theater chains were also very satisfied. After careful statistics from the Embassy Pictures, there were as many as 2,850 theaters opened in North America in the first week.

That's pretty rare for an R-rated horror film.

Embassy Pictures has produced 3,800 copies at one time, which will be sent to theaters across North America by October 20.

At the same time, everyone in the Overseas Distribution Department, including Alan Albert and Danny Donald, also rushed to various parts of the world to make final preparations for the overseas distribution of "Human Purge 2".