Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 60 Hype Plan
"Let's continue the meeting!"

Link took a sip of tea and continued to discuss the promotion and distribution of "Paranormal Activity" with Daniel DeVito, Michael Leeson, and Jon Gordon, the newly joined head of the distribution department.

First of all, before the movie is officially released, the publicity department must do a good job of publicity and promotion.

One of them is to bring up the "paranormal incident in Connecticut" that was hotly discussed two months ago and re-discuss it.

At the same time, we bring out the supernatural events that have occurred in the United States over the past few decades, add new material, and reinterpret and hype them up to make a delicious supernatural feast, so that everyone can taste the flavor of this feast.

The purpose of hype is to spread superstition and create some fear in the whole society.

When everyone was terrified of "paranormal events", this documentary "Paranormal Activity" that captured supernatural traces made a brilliant debut.

This documentary can satisfy many people's curiosity and need for knowledge about the supernatural.

The more people become interested in the supernatural, the better the movie box office performance will be.

"Boss, it's summer time now, and other movies are also being promoted very vigorously. If we want to make these strange stories into hot social news, it will probably cost a lot."

Jon Gordon is a German-American with slicked-back blond hair and a hooked nose. He speaks in crisp, clear sentences and has a serious expression. He is a serious person.

"Don't worry about the cost. The company will pay whatever you want. What I want is the publicity effect."

"Okay, I can do that."

Jon Gordon nodded.

"Secondly, I have a suggestion for publicity."

This proposal is the cinema shooting plan that has already been implemented.

After the movie is released, some cameramen can be arranged in various theaters to capture those frightened audiences.

Afterwards, find the audience and buy the rights to use their images.

After the movie was released, these shots were edited into a trailer and broadcast on TV stations to arouse the curiosity of the audience.

"Daniel, I'll leave this to you."

"no problem."

Daniel DeVito nodded and supported his eyelids.

The rest of the work, such as communicating with the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), rating films, contacting film critics, and arranging for films to participate in recent film festivals, is mainly handled by Michael Rison and others.

"Do you have any other questions?"

Link looked at his three capable subordinates.

"Boss, we can do what you said, but the budget will be very high. And it's hard to assess the market potential of Paranormal Activity. It may sell well, or it may lose money. If the publicity budget is too high and the box office results are not ideal, it will have a great impact on the company."

Daniel DeVito said cautiously.

The other two nodded in agreement.

All of Link's arrangements were based on the premise that the movie would be a hit. He invested a lot of money and effort, and would get it back after the movie was released.

However, more than 240 films are released in Hollywood every year, and more than 60% of them are unprofitable. Not only the production costs are lost, but also the publicity and promotion costs. This also leads to many film companies going bankrupt every year.

For example, United Artists Pictures, New Century Pictures, etc., many film companies went bankrupt because of a movie because they bet on the wrong chips.

Guess What Pictures is a newly established film company that lacks both funds and channels. If it spends too much on this movie and suffers losses afterwards, it will seriously affect the company's development.

"Your consideration makes sense."

Link acknowledged Daniel's words.

The reason why he dared to spend money on publicity and promotion is that he has box office subsidies and is not worried about losing the money he invested. Daniel DeVito and others do not know the truth, and from their perspective, these concerns are reasonable.

"First, make a budget for the publicity and promotion costs. The initial investment is about 200 million. After the movie is released, if the box office data is good, then increase the publicity and promotion funds. If the box office results are not ideal, then reduce the publicity and promotion costs."

"Two million? Is that too much? This is just a low-cost experimental film. According to the box office of similar low-cost horror films in the past two years, the best box office performance is only more than eight million US dollars. It is difficult to recover the cost with an initial investment of two million US dollars."

Jon Gordon said with a frown.

"Yes, boss. The success of Buried was largely accidental. We should be cautious when promoting Paranormal Activity and not set our goals too high. We should also be prepared to make losses."

Michael Rison said.

Link shook his head, because the three of them were veteran Hollywood filmmakers, and from their perspective and thinking habits, there was nothing wrong with the suggestions and concerns they raised.

But if the movie "Paranormal Activity" wants to sell well, the publicity must be done well.

There are three reasons why the original Paranormal Activity was such a hit.

First, the film itself is of good quality.

Before its theatrical release, Paranormal Activity was a hot seller in the DVD market, selling 23 copies in three weeks, ranking in the top three on the sales chart for two consecutive weeks, and also won an honorary award equivalent to the Best Picture at the 'Scream Film Festival'.

The second original director, Oren Paley, was of Jewish descent and was appreciated by the great Jewish director Spielberg, who personally helped to modify the ending of the film. Later, the film was also taken care of by relevant media during its promotion.

The third distributors, Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks, did a good job in promoting the film, spending approximately $10 million on publicity.

In the end, thanks to its good quality and distribution capabilities, Paranormal Activity sold $1.02 million in North America and $52 million in 1.97 countries around the world.
Director Oren Pelly also made more than 20 million US dollars from this movie.

Now "Paranormal Activity" is distributed by Guess What Pictures. Without the support of those external allies, Guess What Pictures can only be self-reliant and rely on spending money to buy publicity resources.

If you invest too little, the effect will definitely be poor.

Link also considered investing less. After all, there is the box office subsidy, and as long as the movie is released, the box office will definitely be earned.

But there is also a problem here, the cyclical nature of box office recovery.

Some movies are well distributed and can make back their investment within three or four months after their release.

Some films were not distributed properly and only received box office revenue after several years or even more than ten years, such as "A Chinese Odyssey" and "Léon: The Professional" which was not released in mainland China until decades later.

Due to publicity and other issues, global box office returns have been slow.

The reason why Link made this movie was to make a lot of cash by making movies and investing.

It would not mean much to him to recoup tens of millions of box office revenue more than ten years later.

“The initial promotion budget of $200 million remains unchanged.

What you should think about is how to use the least amount of money to make the most powerful publicity.

Instead of worrying about the box office losses before the movie is released, it is useless to think about these things now. I hope you can be more positive and optimistic about this movie. Can you do that? "

"Understood, boss!"

The three of them got up and left.

Link leaned back in his office chair, thinking carefully about what else he could do to increase the film's influence before it was released.

Let the box office revenue be recovered from the film market as soon as possible and turn into numbers in the bank account.

　Thanks to 'yakeyakexi' and 'book friend number 40925' for the rewards.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)