American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 45: I'm a Hit Before Release

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

"Look at me! Look at me!!"

"Look what I'm holding in my hand!!!"

new York.

In a middle school in Shangcheng District.

A young white man burst into the classroom holding the latest issue of People magazine.

The moment the little beaver in his wizard's robes appeared, he drew everyone's attention in the room. The lively chatter that had been starting due to longing for each other vanished instantly, followed by a two-second pause, and then an overwhelming surge of joy erupted from him—

"People?"

"Hermione??"

"Ohhhh—Hermione's on the cover of People magazine???"

A white boy pushed up his glasses in disbelief.

He doubted his eyes!
"Is there any new news about Harry Potter?"

Another white girl excitedly asked, "Is there new information about 'The Chamber of Secrets'? Warner Bros. has leaked more juicy details??"

"Oh! I've been waiting for this day for so long! Of the four Harry Potter novels, my favorite is The Chamber of Secrets! I absolutely love Dobby the house-elf! So, are there any Dobby tidbits in this book?"

"Warner Bros. probably won't make Dobby look like Gollum, right? It would be really cute, wouldn't it?"

"No, no, no—I bet this is a Hermione Granger interview!"

A white girl who had landed at the back of the classroom jumped up.

I walked over to the classmate who was holding up the magazine.

As the text on the cover gradually became clearer, her smile grew even brighter—

"OMG! I think I guessed right! Hermione finally gave a media interview, right? I've been waiting for this day for so long! Let me see what's written in it! Is there a picture of her? Is there any information about the other people?"

"..."

The flood of inquiries made the boy who owned the "People" magazine the center of attention in the class.

After waiting for him to hand over the magazine, which was then passed around among the classmates...

The magazine's various contents turned the large classroom into a sea of joy.

no way.

Who made Harry Potter so popular?
Why? Because Warner Bros. hasn't really done any serious marketing for the lead actors in the past two years.

Before the release of "The Sorcerer's Stone," Warner Bros. did not market the trio because it was unnecessary.

After the release of "Sorcerer's Stone," Warner Bros. marketed them, but not too aggressively. This was not only because the box office was so good, and the results alone were enough to brag about for a long time, but also because none of them renewed their contracts. Hyping up the lead actors would put Warner Bros. at a great disadvantage in terms of contract renewals.

This is why, currently, the only information available on the market related to the Harry Potter actors is the revelation from last year's premiere and the scattered bits of information Warner Bros. provided later in the promotional period for "The Sorcerer's Stone." When the only data available in IMDb's talent database consists of outdated heights and weights of the child actors, along with inconsistent biographical information, it's difficult for fans to be satisfied.

But today, People magazine actually interviewed Hermione Granger.
Oh~~~
The heart's desire of all young people—

They were all aroused!

"Oh! Isabella said she caught Aunt Rowling's attention on her very first day of the interview?"

"This girl is truly blessed by God!"

"Look! Isabella also said that when filming 'Sorcerer's Stone,' Decora was the shortest in the crew? But after a summer, when filming 'The Chamber of Secrets' started, his height was about the same as everyone else's?"

"Tsk, did Young Master Malfoy learn some kind of height-increasing spell? I want one too!"

"Wow~ Isabella also revealed that Ron's favorite food is ice cream? His biggest dream is to have an ice cream truck and sell ice cream on the street? Harry feels the same way and wants to be his right-hand man?"

"Ah—that's such a cool dream—"

"Huh? But Isabella said her tastes are different from Ron and Harry's? She doesn't like things that are too sweet? She doesn't like ice cream or lemon-flavored candy?"

"hiss--"

"Does Isabella have such a mild palate?"

"No, no, no—I think it's because she's good-looking!"

"Ok?"

"Because she's already sweet enough! She doesn't need to eat anything else to increase her sweetness!"

"hahahaha~~~~"

Los Angeles.

Pasadena.

In a boarding high school dormitory.

Four tenth-grade girls were engrossed in reading a copy of People magazine they had just acquired.

They are all Harry Potter fans.

I initially liked novels, then last year I started to like movies, and then I fell in love with the actors.

Furthermore, they are not die-hard fans of any particular group.

So, once all the relevant revelations came out, they were overjoyed.

It's perfectly normal for young people to follow celebrities and read gossip.

As long as you don't steal your idol's underwear, it doesn't really matter how you discuss it.

After thoroughly enjoying the stories about the actors, the narrative about the film's production immediately followed.

And this...

Wow~
The details behind the movie are even more interesting!
"Hey! Look here!"

"Isabella said that in order to recreate the scene in 'The Chamber of Secrets' where Ron is poisoned by the curse, the crew made a lot of gummy candy props that looked like slugs? Whenever they were going to film the scene where Ron spits out worms, Rupert would put the prop in his mouth first? Because the prop had a lot of slime, Rupert would spray slime everywhere whenever he spoke during filming?"

"Wow—this revelation is incredibly detailed!"

"Ugh—I feel nauseous—"

"Let's change the subject! Look at this—Isabella said that Harry broke his glasses again while filming the Knockturn Alley scene? Oh, if I remember correctly, this detail is exactly the same as the description in the novel!"

"They really respect the original work!"

"Yes, yes!"

"Hey, what do you guys think? Since they respect the original work so much, how about we open an eyeglasses shop next to their film set?"

"I think at the speed at which Harry destroys glasses, we could all become billionaires by the time one movie is finished!"

"Hahaha~ I think this is a good idea..."

Since People magazine is its own publication, the interview was given a very generous amount of space, with a full five pages!

And that doesn't even include the accompanying pictures!
Since they were reading, chatting, and commenting at the same time, the girls' reading speed was only average.

It took them a full hour before they reluctantly flipped to the last page.

Initially, they thought this interview would be the same as usual, with the interviewee simply thanking them and mentioning the approximate release date of the project, if any. But after they glanced at P5…

Hey, wait?
Why is there something unrelated to "HP" at the end of the interview?
A girl frowned slightly and said, "The editor of People magazine said that this interview was conducted on the film set?"

Another girl continued reading: "Because Isabella is filming a mysterious new movie?"

The girl who had been lagging behind from the beginning craned her neck, trying to carefully read the words on the magazine: "Isabella's new movie is about dreams? And she's the absolute lead? And Chris Columbus is still the director?"

The last person spoke up, squinting as he said, "Currently, the known lead actors include Hannibal Lecter from *The Silence of the Lambs*, Joe the robot from *A.I. Artificial Intelligence*, and Walter Wade Jr. from the *Killing Men* trio. And Isabella's new movie is expected to be released at the end of this year? Right after *The Chamber of Secrets*?"

"hiss--"

Everyone gasped.

"Isabella has a new movie this year? I've never heard of that."

The sudden news left all the girls in the dormitory puzzled.

They looked at each other, their eyes meeting—

"No, I need to go to the computer room."

A girl stood up and said, "I'm going to check the information on IMDb to see if I've remembered it wrong."

"I am coming too!"

The other girls also stood up one after another.

As they left the dormitory, they discussed among themselves—

"I have no recollection of Isabella's new movie."

So we've all suffered from collective amnesia?

"That can't be right! It doesn't make sense! I think the media just didn't report it!"

"..."

Hollywood's marketing and promotion are actually quite systematic.

Or, to put it another way, in the future, the algorithmic concepts of user preferences and precise streaming in Douyin and TikTok will actually be derived from the historical summaries of entertainment giants and the common marketing techniques of Hollywood.

When Harry Potter's core audience was young people, advertising on People magazine was definitely more effective than advertising on CNN, even though the latter did have a larger audience, the former's audience pool was more targeted.

This precision is very important when promoting products.

Because content products such as movies, music, games, and novels all rely on word-of-mouth.

If businesses advertise these products and all they get are indifference and negative reviews, then the promotion will be very ineffective.

Therefore, first, throw the ads into the audience pool, let the fans generate positive reviews and build up the data, and then when they reach the public, the general public, or even just passersby, will see nothing but praise and curiosity.

Ok.

Data manipulation has existed since the era when traditional media dominated the world.

Furthermore, Amway in the era of traditional media was actually similar to 'tap water' in the Internet age.

Since publicity and promotion can be formulaic and there are indeed solid and reliable methods, when a behemoth like Warner Bros. started to take charge, Isabella's interview in People magazine spread like wildfire.

First, young people who enjoy gossip, Harry Potter fans, and Isabella's personal fans were caught up in the frenzy;
Next, internet companies such as IMDb and Yahoo Group heard the news, driven by the above three groups of people;

Then, new revelations from HP and news of Isabella's new movie came into the public eye.

Because of the groundwork laid, when the general public sees this information, the first thing they notice is its superficiality.

Harry Potter fans are going crazy over the news!

Harry Potter fans are eagerly anticipating the arrival of "The Chamber of Secrets"!

As for Isabella having a new movie?
Most fans are very curious about this previously unreleased news!
And what the public sees at second glance...

"Ok?"

"What kind of cast does Isabella's new movie have?"

"Directed by Chris Columbus?"

"Anthony Hopkins as a supporting actor?"

"Both Jude Law and Christian Bale are in it?"

"OMG—"

"Is this true?"

The sudden appearance of the information attracted the attention of the general public.

Everyone's eyes widened.

Because this lineup is just too... too over-the-top...

Chris Columbus needs no introduction; everyone has known him for decades.

Everyone knows he's incredibly successful in business.

So, who is Anthony Hopkins?
Isn't this a genuine Oscar-winning actor?
They have produced many classic films!

Is this the kind of character who plays a supporting role to Isabella in her new movie?

This……

"Could this be a typo?"

The general public could hardly believe their eyes.

While the general public might be surprised by the appearance of Chris Columbus and Anthony Hopkins, their presence, though seemingly illogical, is actually quite reasonable.

Columbus and Isabella have collaborated before, on "The Philosopher's Stone" and "The Chamber of Secrets," so there's no problem with them continuing to work together.

Hopkins is 65 this year.

To be frank, his commercial value in the film industry has reached its limit. He's no longer capable of creating a blockbuster he can carry. Therefore, playing supporting roles for those with higher commercial value is a harsh but undeniable reality.

But Jude Law and Christian Bale are at the back of the list...

The appearance of these two names has left the public completely baffled.

Jude Law was born in 72 and is just 30 years old this year.

Christian Bale was born in 74 and is only 28 this year.

At this age, in the film industry, it can only be said that they are just starting out, with a promising future! So, when these two have not yet entered the golden stage of their acting careers, when they have plenty of time to hone their acting skills, study business, and embrace tomorrow, these two are actually playing supporting roles to Isabella in their prime?

This……

"Something just doesn't look right!"

The passerby scratched his head in frustration.

"Didn't Jude Law already play the second male lead in a commercial film last year?"

"That's even Spielberg's 'Artificial Intelligence'!"

"Is Christian Bale now playing the third or second male lead in commercial films?"

"He was on par with Jeffrey Wright in Killer Cop, right?"

"Now that they're back in drama films, they should be playing the lead roles, right?"

"But in Isabella's project, they were the third and fourth male leads?"

“Ohhhh——”

"Can anyone tell me what's going on here???"

Every passerby—every single one—was bewildered after seeing the revelations related to "The Voice of China"!
Because Hollywood actors are very particular about their status.

Furthermore, the Hollywood ranking system is actually very simple:
First, commercial films take precedence over everything else.

Secondly, whoever can carry a commercial film and boost its box office is invincible.

The Oscars are indeed the highest awards in Hollywood, but—

To put it bluntly, no matter how many Best Actor or Best Actress awards you win, if you can't carry the box office, you're just another nobody in the eyes of the Big Six.

Leonardo DiCaprio perfectly embodied the entire rule.

One "Big Ship" is enough to feed him for a lifetime.

When the fans he gained from "The Big Ship" could be converted into box office revenue for an Oscar-contending film, he would become the only actor in the entire industry to earn 20 million yuan in salary for an Oscar-contending project.

Why are they able to keep aiming for the Olympics?

That's because he makes money no matter what he films!
Since these two principles are not a secret in North America, it is difficult for people to understand the People magazine's revelation. The public does not understand why Jude Law and Christian Bale would lower their status.

Why make Isabella a supporting character?
This is not to say that Isabella is unworthy.

After all, she has a book called "The Philosopher's Stone".

A single work that scores close to 10 or higher is indeed considered an A-list work in the industry.

Rather, it's because she has too few notable works, and...

The success of Philosopher's Stone couldn't have been solely due to Isabella's efforts, right?
The author of Harry Potter is J.K. Rowling, not Isabella Heywood, right?
Because Harry Potter fans had already given positive reviews, or rather, Isabella's fans had expressed their anticipation beforehand, so...

Warner Music's sincerity in promoting "The Voice" was fully demonstrated.

At this moment, the public doesn't question the authenticity of the news at all!
Nobody's posting fake news there!

The public just wants to know what exactly the unnamed project revealed by People magazine is.
Why is Isabella's untitled project lineup so bizarre?

Of course, as the news continued to spread, opinions in the market were not always unified. Fans of Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, and Christian Bale still had doubts and dissatisfaction after seeing the news.

There were even arguments.

For example, on IMDb's message board, Jude Law's fans said—

'I do not understand!'

'What exactly is the difference between my Jude and Isabella?'

Why is our Jude acting opposite Isabella?!

Is Isabella worthy?

Unfortunately, because Warner Bros. had already used a formula in its promotion, when Isabella's fans knew about the project before Jude's fans, any discordant voices were immediately drowned out by a flood of posts.

Once capital gets involved, how many individuals can truly defeat it?
However, just because individuals can't win doesn't mean other capital won't join the fray.

For example, after news of "The Voice" spread to the point of attracting public attention, the entertainment editor of USA Today published a commentary stating that "The Voice" wouldn't be a good movie—

"In my opinion, Isabella's unnamed project is like a child playing a game of pretending to be an adult."

"It won't succeed."

"Because the success of Harry Potter has little to do with the young actors in Harry Potter."

“I can even give reasons.”

"Before our Miss Beaver, Granger, took on the new movie, the other two members of the Harry Potter trio had already done some film work. Ron Rupert Grint filmed 'The Astronaut' last year."

"This movie was released this summer, and it was very mediocre."

"A seven million investment yielded only three million in box office revenue; it was a complete disaster."

"And if someone wants to attribute Ron's failure to accidents or the cast, since the cast of that movie was indeed not good, then I would say that Harry, that is, Daniel Radcliffe, had a strong cast for his solo projects but also had bad results."

"Harry made a movie before filming Harry Potter, called The Panama Dressmaker."

"He played a supporting role in that movie, and the lead actor was Pierce Brosnan."

"The second male lead is Jeffrey Rush."

"The entire film had an investment of 2100 million, and in the end, they earned a total of 2800 million at the box office."

"When Harry and Ron failed to achieve success after leaving the HP aura, we have reason to believe that Hermione Granger's, Isabella Heywood's, new movie is just a huge fad."

"Or perhaps it could even be a big toy that Warner Bros. created to coax Isabella into renewing her HP contract, because we all know that Azkaban and the Goblet of Fire have already been officially greenlit, and before that..."

No one has signed a contract yet.

"Therefore, when Isabella's unnamed project might just be a toy, she is unlikely to succeed."

wow——

The moment USA Today released its press release, public opinion across North America exploded!
no way.

Who made Isabella consume HP's worth of data?

People magazine is also the magazine with the most readers in the United States.

USA Today is a comprehensive news platform comparable to The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the Washington Post, with a daily circulation of over two million copies and a daily readership of over six million.

Admittedly, there will be some overlap among these three traffic pools.

But no matter how much overlap there is, the reach of the message will not be less than a million people, right?

When an advertisement can be seen by over a million or even ten million people, the number of people affected by it will definitely be in the hundreds of millions!

How many people are there in the United States in total?
So……

At that moment, in the eyes of the general public, it was as if overnight, the entire United States was focused on Isabella!

Everyone has noticed Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets!
Everyone saw the little story of the Iron Triangle!

Everyone's heard about Hermione Granger's unnamed new project!!!
Discussions surrounding it have included praise, angry criticism, questioning, and confusion, but...

None of these things matter, right?
As long as everyone is talking about Isabella Heywood, it means Warner's publicity campaign has been a success!
And everyone's talking about Isabella Heywood?
Instead of asking who Isabella Haywood is?
Who in the world does not know you?

"Oh~~ Is Hermione Granger that popular?"

Disney.

Young dragon's nest.

Robert Iger was somewhat moved.

Because in the statistics he received, positive reviews and expectations were the majority.

This means that everyone really likes the little girl Isabella.

"This may be related to Anthony, Jude, and Christian."

The secretary said, "If Isabella's project didn't involve these people, she probably wouldn't have attracted so much attention."

Egger nodded.

He thought his secretary was right.

Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law, and Christian Bale may not be as high earners as Isabella Heywood, and all the roles they've played in their entire careers combined wouldn't match Hermione Granger's fan base. However, they do have some fame and status. Without them acting as catalysts in this matter, the public wouldn't have witnessed this power struggle.

If the public doesn't compare celebrity status, other media outlets won't try to follow suit or try to gain attention.

Therefore, the current attention Isabella receives is partly due to luck.

But luck is also a part of ability, isn't it?

After carefully reading the summary report for a while, Aiger smiled.

To be honest, the better Isabella is, the happier he is.

Because Isabella's next film contract is with him.

Not to mention, there are Disney people working on Isabella's project.

"We can help with promotion if necessary."

After reading the report, Aiger looked at the secretary.

"Okay, I understand."

The secretary nodded; he knew Isabella was a special girl.

In the eyes of the world, she, who had access to all of Warner's resources, was Warner's little princess.

but--

What if Disney also places a bet?

When Robert Iger wanted to overthrow Michael Eisner...

Is Warner's resource really the only thing Isabella can access?
(laugh~
Just as happy as Robert Iger was the ambitious Patrick Whitesell.

After news of "The Voice" spread like wildfire, Patrick Whitesell's phone kept ringing—

"Yeah~ I'm Pat~"

"Tim? Tim Robbins? Oh~ Hello hello hello hello~"

"Would you like to come visit Fenjin? No problem! I'm right at the company! You're welcome anytime!"

"..."

"Yes, I'm Pat."

"Paul Walker? Oh—I know you—Fast & Furious, right? A fantastic movie!"

"Golf tomorrow afternoon? Okay, I'll definitely come. Just set a time for me, and I'll have my secretary schedule it."

"..."

"Yes, I'm Pat."

"Someone else is contacting us? Want to talk about agency agreements? Okay, get things organized and give them to me..."

"..."

Anyone who's been in Hollywood knows how Columbus took on the role in Harry Potter.

I also know how Isabella Heywood got into Harry Potter.

When the conflict between Spielberg and Rowling became common knowledge, and with the conclusion of "Sorcerer's Stone" and "The Chamber of Secrets," these two actually collaborated? And their associates actually got together to make a new movie?
OMG!

What the hell is this?!
Everyone wants to understand the ins and outs of this!
To be fair, at this point, asking the person directly would be the best approach, but...

Those who want to get inside information are all not high-ranking enough.

In today's world, those who want to know the truth have to look up to Columbus and Isabella.

Therefore, it is inevitable to seek information from a third party who has knowledge of the matter.

And the third party...

Isn't the only option to strive forward?

Because Isabella's new project features three ambitious artists!

After everyone noticed this, his ability to strive forward made countless people envious.

Previously, Spielberg and Rowling had been arguing fiercely about it.

So you guys can all just barge in like this?
How incredibly strong is this?

If we sign up with your company, can't we also get countless good projects?
Yes, Patrick Whitesell has achieved his goal.

He may not be as good as Chris Columbus right now, and he may never be able to sign Isabella Heywood.

But that doesn't matter, does it?

When I can stand alongside the big shots, then I become a big shot too!
(Hehe~)
According to the law of conservation of smiles, if someone is happy, then someone else must be unhappy.

For example, Anne Hathaway.

When she learned at Admore Studios in Ireland that Isabella's new project had already become a hit even before its name was decided...

Her eyes could truly spit fire.

"Bitch!"

　Note: ① There are two ways to rise to stardom in Hollywood: one is through blockbuster commercial films, and the other is through the Oscars. The former is actually the mainstream in the industry, while the latter is the unorthodox path. Those who rise to stardom through commercial films have a fan base and can carry the box office. Their income of 10+10 or 20+20 is very stable. However, those who rise to stardom through the Oscars... There is a saying in Hollywood called the 'Oscar curse,' which refers to the fact that those who win an Oscar will see their career and life collapse. This is actually the backlash of an unorthodox practice—artists rise to stardom by winning awards and then receive high salaries, but they cannot carry the box office, their works flop, they become box office poison, and no company wants to hire them.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)