Hollywood Director 1992

《Paranormal Activity》, fourth week of release.

Grossed a staggering $48.34 million in 2312 theaters across the United States.

The cumulative box office in North America reached $114.93 million.

Becoming the sixth film in North America to gross over $100 million in 1992.

Also making the film's box office revenue more than 5500 times its budget.

At the same time, 《Paranormal Activity》 also won the weekly box office champion with $48.34 million.

Steadily trampling a group of summer blockbuster films under its feet.

Even newly released commercial films such as 《The Double Life of Véronique》 and 《Buffy the Vampire Slayer》 failed to shake the film's position.

Although the box office results were good, during the release period, many negative reports about 《Paranormal Activity》 appeared in the media.

Some movie fans sued Guess Pictures for false advertising.

Claiming that this movie is not a documentary, but it is promoted as a documentary. The audience said that they were fooled and demanded a refund.

This incident also made it to the Los Angeles local court.

Although the movie fan lost the lawsuit, it also caused a bad influence on the social level. 《Paranormal Activity》 was also labeled with negative labels such as 'false advertising' and 'profiteering'.

At the same time, last Wednesday, Robert Downey Jr. publicly stated in a media interview that he had not watched 《Paranormal Activity》, but he had heard it from friends. His friends said that this was a very bad movie and not worth going to the cinema to watch.

He also recommended Tom Cruise's 《A Few Good Men》, Dustin Hoffman's 《Hero》, and Clint Eastwood's 《Unforgiven》 on the spot.

Saying that these are the movies that normal people should watch.

Almost at the same time, Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman also mentioned this film at the roadshow ceremony for his new film.

He said that he had watched Link's first film 《Buried》, saying that this film had some depth and was more interesting.

But 《Paranormal Activity》 is a purely gimmick movie.

It has no depth and not much artistry.

Finally, Dustin Hoffman said with regret that Link, a very promising new director, seemed to have gone the wrong way.

At the same time, Sean Thorpe, a famous Hollywood film critic, publicly published an article in 《Los Angeles Times》 calling for:

Requesting the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the National Association of Theatre Owners to strictly review the films released in American theaters and not give too high a screening rate to junk films.

Giving junk films too high a screening rate will inevitably affect the box office performance of high-quality films released at the same time.

If the box office of good movies is too poor after their release, it will dampen the enthusiasm of the cast and crew and the investment enthusiasm of film companies.

From a long-term perspective, it will also affect the development of the film industry, with bad money driving out good, leading to the prevalence of bad films in major theaters and fewer and fewer good films.

Over time, the film industry will inevitably decline and even perish.

Sean Thorpe meant that the success of 《Paranormal Activity》 would inevitably lead to the decline and demise of the film industry.

What a big hat.

However, after such a bad article was publicly published, it was successively reprinted and reported by more than 30 media outlets.

Many filmmakers also posted articles echoing it.

They believe that Sean Thorpe is right, and the MPAA should manage the films released in theaters.

We cannot allow any film to be released on a large scale in North American theaters, as this will squeeze the living space of good films.

Because many people echoed Sean Thorpe's words through the media, 《Paranormal Activity》 was shouted at by everyone in the film circle for a while, and its reputation plummeted.

This is also one of the reasons why 《Paranormal Activity》's box office performance clearly declined after the scale of release expanded in its fourth week.

However, when Robert Downey Jr., Dustin Hoffman, Sean Thorpe and others criticized 《Paranormal Activity》, righteous people also stood up to support the film.

Famous film critic Will Rogers published an article in 《The Hollywood Reporter》, publicly refuting Sean Thorpe and others.

Will Rogers' article mainly discusses what is a good movie and what is a bad movie.

From the perspective of film art, films praised by professional filmmakers are good films, and films that have won relevant film awards are also good films.

From an entertainment perspective, a film supported and loved by the audience is undoubtedly a good film.

So, is 《Paranormal Activity》 a good movie?

Without a doubt, yes.

From an artistic point of view, Link made bold innovations in this film, using the method of shooting a documentary to create a wonderful thriller.

Compared with past horror movies, this new type of horror movie is more thrilling and has a greater sense of immersion.

Link's innovation and exploration in this film has greatly inspired and learned from film colleagues.

It not only tells filmmakers how to make a qualified film with the least investment.

It also tells colleagues that in the film industry, following the old ways and sticking to the rules will only lead to the decline of the film industry.

The spirit of daring to explore and innovate is the spirit needed for the development of the film industry, and filmmakers who dare to innovate and explore are also the talents needed for the development of the film industry.

This type of person represents the future of the film industry.

Will Rogers believes that if the Hollywood film industry wants to develop and grow, it needs more Links and more 《Paranormal Activity》.

In addition, from an entertainment perspective, 《Paranormal Activity》 has reached 115 million US dollars at the North American box office in four weeks, and nearly 15 million people have watched the film.

Would a movie that everyone likes to watch be a bad movie?

Are everyone fools?

At the end of the article, Will Rogers emphasized that Link is a very young and talented director, and also a director who dares to try and explore.

Treating such a director, as a senior in the film industry, should accept him with an open and inclusive attitude and encourage him to make more good movies.

Instead of using his identity to maliciously suppress him, slander his works, and curb his growth.

No mistake, one first, one hair, one inside, one content, one in one look!

Constantly suppressing new directors, suppressing new movies, sticking to the old ways, and refusing to accept new things, this behavior will lead to the decline and destruction of the film industry.

Will Rogers is also a famous film critic and has many like-minded people in the film circle.

After his article was published, it was also supported and supported by many people, and some more positive comments were published in the media.

But compared to those negative comments, the voices supporting Link and 《Paranormal Activity》 are much smaller.

Boss, it's the fourth week, do you want to arrange for the criminal suspect to speak out?

Jon Gordon asked in the office.

Wait a little longer. At this stage, 《Paranormal Activity》 is still receiving unabated attention in the media, and the box office decline is not significant. Wait another week. Next week, we can arrange for the criminal suspect to speak out publicly.

Link said while flipping through the documents in his hand.

Okay.

However, affected by these negative news, your reputation in the film circle is declining, boss.

Continuing to hype with criminal suspects, I am afraid it will worsen your reputation. Now 《Paranormal Activity》 has very good box office results, far exceeding expectations.

Boss, I suggest we use this publicity method with caution.

Jon Gordon said.

Don't worry.

As a director, everything speaks through movies. As long as I can continue to make popular and successful movies, I don't have to worry about not having a good reputation.

You must remember that Guess Pictures' current goal is to make money, try every means to launch the movie and earn more box office revenue.

As for art and reputation, we will consider these things in the future.

I understand, boss.

Jon Gordon nodded and left.

Link continued to flip through the newspaper.

Just as Jon Gordon said, with the box office success of 《Paranormal Activity》, many films that vilified Link and 《Paranormal Activity》 appeared in the media, which also led to this film being called a bad film by many people, and Link became a representative figure of the new generation of bad film directors.

Some film critics even called him 'Ed Wood II'.

Ed Wood is a famous American B-movie director who was active from the 1950s to the 1970s.

《Plan 9 from Outer Space》, which he directed in 1959, was rated by many film critics as the worst film in history.

Three of the worst ten films in IMDb history come from Ed Wood.

Like Link, Ed Wood is also a filmmaker who integrates director, actor, producer, screenwriter, and independent film company operator.

These film critics compared Link and Ed Wood, listed the similarities, and tried to firmly attach the label of 'junk film director' to Link.

It can be said that it is full of malice.

And Link is currently busy with film publicity and distribution, and has not paid attention to those negative comments.

On Monday, 《The Hollywood Reporter》 published a news story with a photo of Robert Downey Jr. being frightened while watching 《Paranormal Activity》.

After this news broke, it perfectly exposed Robert Downey Jr.'s previous lie that he had not watched the film, turning him into a dishonest person.

As for Dustin Hoffman and others, the higher the box office of 《Paranormal Activity》, the greater the harm to them.

Link continued to sit in the company, supervising the work of the publicity and distribution department, and was bound to fully force out the box office potential of 《Paranormal Activity》, create more box office results, and make these people speechless.