Chapter 992 992 Absence From the Premiere

In May, "Pulp Fiction" was born at the Cannes Film Festival in France. It won two awards, Palme d'Or and Best Actor. It became the hottest topic in the entire European continent.

Relying on the excellence of art films, the European continent occupies a place that cannot be ignored in the world film map. Although Hollywood films rose rapidly after the 1970s and entered the golden age again, the European continent has always been harsh and critical to Hollywood films, because European filmmakers have always It is believed that Hollywood is a commercial combination, and for the sake of commercial interests, Hollywood does not hesitate to abandon the artistic value of movies, which is something that many European filmmakers cannot agree with. Therefore, the European continent's attitude towards Hollywood movies has always been not very good, and it can even be said to be contemptuous.

Of course there are still films that can be recognized in continental Europe, but only a handful; films that can win recognition in both Europe and North America are even rarer.

Not long ago, a "Schindler's List" that perfectly combines business and art has been praised on both sides of the Atlantic, but even so, many European media believe that Steven Spielberg is still too concerned about business elements. Pay attention, obviously there is a sensational suspicion at the end of the film, but this still does not damage the momentum of this work.

Immediately after, "Pulp Fiction" was officially released in Cannes, and was quickly praised by the entire European continent. This is a rare sight. This work, which only invested eight million US dollars, was considered by many European filmmakers as a An epoch-making and important work; even more commendable, this view has also been recognized by many American media who arrived in Cannes, which also makes "Pulp Fiction" one of the rare masterpieces recognized in Europe and North America at the same time.

Since the Cannes Film Festival ended, the popularity of "Pulp Fiction" in North America has never declined. Even after the excitement of the summer vacation, even after four full months of precipitation, the enthusiasm for this discussion has not slowed down. I wonder what kind of work this is that can get such a sincere recommendation from discerning film critics.

In 1941, a "Citizen Kane" was born, which caused countless film critics to applaud, but the film was high and low, and many people could not understand the greatness of this work. Until many years later, the film industry gradually matured. , Countless latecomers have begun to imitate the shooting techniques of "Citizen Kane", which has made the entire film industry undergo earth-shaking progress, and people have realized what place this work occupies in history.

Therefore, for more than half a century after that, "Citizen Kane" has always occupied the classic champion of countless professional magazine rankings.

It is no longer the 1940s when information was jammed up. There are more and more ways for people to receive information, and the opinions of film critics have gradually become one of the standards by which ordinary audiences measure films. When "Pulp Fiction" came out, many filmmakers hailed it as a pioneering work worthy of being on a par with top works like "Citizen Kane" and even capable of changing the future of the film industry.

As a result, in the past four months, the discussion of "Pulp Fiction" in the North American market has not cooled down!

However, the American media that arrived in Cannes before are only a small part. When "Pulp Fiction" officially returns to the North American continent, what kind of treatment will it get, not only film critics, but also ordinary audiences, this is the part that everyone is curious about. It is not an easy task to be as acclaimed and popular as works like "The Godfather" and "Schindler's List". The commercial and artistic weights on both sides of the film scale, trying to maintain a balance is the goal that almost every filmmaker is tirelessly pursuing, so can "Pulp Fiction" do it?

Originally, "Pulp Fiction" was a hot topic, but when the title of "Mr. 400 Million" appeared, people paid more attention to "Pulp Fiction". Can Hugo continue the miracle of his movie box office breaking 100 million consecutively? ? Can Hugo complete the myth of three consecutive films breaking 200 million at the box office? Can Hugo break the box office underdog of indie films? Can Hugo perform another eye-popping drama after "Life and Death"?

In an instant, the discussion about "Pulp Fiction" broke the table.

At the end of last year, Hugo announced the filming of "Pulp Fiction". This news caused an uproar. Countless people thought that Hugo was a choice to destroy his future, and that the "Hudson Eagle"-style collapse would soon come again. ; Then Hugo took the filming of "Speed ​​of Life and Death" to everyone's expectations, which made countless media think that Hugo chose "suicide", and even the "Los Angeles Times" had to be careful.

But less than half a year later, "Pulp Fiction" took the lead in winning Cannes, and also won the first influential actor title for Hugo; "Life and Death" followed by breaking 200 million at the box office, which not only became the biggest hit this summer A dark horse, and also achieved the brilliant moment of "Mr. 400 million".

Now, "Pulp Fiction" is about to hit theaters, and Hugo's performance grabs every viewer's attention. Whether they like Hugo or not, whether they like movies or not, people are wondering what kind of energy "Pulp Fiction" can burst out. Whether Hugo reaches a new peak in one fell swoop, or the strong momentum comes to an abrupt end, this almost affects Heart of all people in America.

Even US President William Clinton took an interest in "Pulp Fiction". Not long ago, Clinton only recommended "Schindler's List" on a formal occasion, and now he hopes to enter the cinema to watch "Pulp Fiction". Obviously, Hugo's influence has now spread from the film circle to all areas of society. Spread endlessly.

The public release of "Pulp Fiction" can be said to be attracting attention, and its popularity is no less than that of the big summer productions, but under such circumstances, the producer and distributor Miramax Pictures Announcement: All the leading actors will not participate in the film promotion. This is tantamount to pouring a bucket of ice water directly on the roaring bonfire, but unfortunately, this bucket of ice water not only did not extinguish the flame, but instead caused the flame to be even bigger. The momentum was soaring.

All the viewers were complaining about Miramax's decision. They were all looking forward to seeing Hugo on stage again to promote it. Although it was only a month before the end of the promotion period for the album, it was clear that Hugo, who was in full swing, was every day. An object that everyone longed to see, this decision disappointed everyone.

"Chicago Tribune" joked from a special angle, "Hugo undoubtedly made the most sensible move. Overexposure is actually equal to no exposure."

This is not wrong, any face has freshness, it will be forgotten if it is not exposed for too long, and it will be boring if it is exposed too often. From the Oscars in March until the end of the "Bathing in the Morning Light" promotion, Hugo's face could be seen in the newspapers almost every day for half a year, which is definitely the pinnacle of overexposure.

It would be wise to slow down the pace appropriately, to whet the appetites of fans, and to rekindle the madness when Hugo reappears.

Miramax's Weinstein brothers saw the news, but showed a tacit smile.

In fact, the Weinstein brothers have been thinking about the promotion plan of "Pulp Fiction" since the Cannes Film Festival. They have a bad impression of Uma Thurman. If they can, they are willing to block Uma, but in this way , it must have a huge impact on the box office of "Pulp Fiction". Therefore, in the publicity period of "Pulp Fiction", it is impossible for Uma, the heroine, not to appear.

At the beginning, Harvey Weinstein planned to let Uma go to some cities in the middle to promote it, and the most lively east and west coasts were handed over to Hugo and Samuel. Minimize as much as possible and avoid surprises.

All Miramax's schedules were also carried out according to this plan, but when things came to an end, Hugo went to Europe to shoot "Before Sunrise". As we all know, there is no exact deadline for filming. It is said that it will end within one month, but once an accident occurs in the creative process, it is possible for two or three months. This suddenly worried the Weinstein brothers.

Their ideas are naturally seen by all the media. Hugo is the absolute core of the film and the biggest force in the current movie box office call. If Hugo is absent, it will be a fatal blow to the box office of "Pulp Fiction". Therefore, they also tried their best to match Hugo's schedule, but since the filming of "Before Sunrise", the progress has not been determined, which also made the Weinstein brothers very embarrassed.

When things reached a bottleneck, the Weinstein brothers instead came up with a solution: they decided to cancel all the actors' promotions.

First of all, the publicity cost of "Pulp Fiction" is not too much, the cost is only 8 million, and the publicity cost is naturally stretched. Most of the promotion of the movie still relies on Hugo's current appeal, and many TV and radio programs have sent out invitations. So, canceling the publicity is a good thing for Miramax - saving money.

Furthermore, once the publicity of the actors is canceled, Hugo, Samuel and others will not promote it, then Uma will naturally have no need to promote it. This also reduces all potential safety hazards to a minimum, which is considered to be invisible to Uma. block.

So, when Hugo decided to travel to Europe for a while, the Weinstein brothers raised their hands and feet in favor, and in the end the "Pulp Fiction" promotional itinerary only arranged for Quentin Tarantino to be alone. This is really an unexpected situation.

Unexpectedly but reasonable, when Miramax announced the decision, the popularity of "Pulp Fiction" not only did not decrease, but it soared a level: because of Hugo's absence, the film triggered There have been heated discussions among countless fans and non-fans alike.

This is almost free publicity. The media bombardment and the enthusiasm of the audience have automatically reached a new peak without deliberate incitement at all.

This shows the appeal of Hugo in North America today, as well as the discussion of the film "Pulp Fiction". Under such circumstances, as one of the most discussed films in 1994, "Pulp Fiction" is about to be officially released. Without the premiere and starring promotion, what kind of achievements will the film achieve?