Made in Hollywood

In fact, within the industry on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, buying box office is no longer a secret.

Participating in the booking out and box office, not only the film studios, but also theaters, advertising partners, and e-commerce companies that directly sell movie tickets, may all get involved and get a share of the action.

Water injection at the box office has long been a common tactic for movie promotion. The average water injection rate of box office figures on the first day and the first week of the most fraudulent period is more than 50%. The purpose is to trick the audience into the theater. The rising box office is considered by many distribution companies on the other side of the Pacific as an unbreakable axiom.

Satellite release at the box office of large and small films has become popular, making it difficult to distinguish the authenticity from the fake. However, the distributors dare to let go of the courage to promote the box office because the tax payment and account sharing of the movie box office are not based on this standard, but another set of official data.

Bragging about not paying taxes and not being subject to any penalty measures has prompted the publisher to boldly falsely report the box office.

The film studio buys quite a few shows with a certain amount of money. First, it can obtain a high box office base. It can produce excellent results when reporting the box office to the outside world, and attract a considerable number of passer-by audiences by virtue of publicity; second, it can preempt the film schedule, which means Other movies released in the same period have been squeezed out.

Starting from their own long-term interests, in order to become a first-line distribution company, the issuer will also increase the box office. Most of the distribution companies are listed companies, which can also play a positive role in the increase of stock prices. For theaters, it saves screening costs. Don't worry about earning money directly without an audience.

It is worth noting that the investors and distributors of many films are the same company—for example, the film company that created the box office miracle of a monster hunting myth—and also has theater resources, which is equivalent to achieving production and distribution. The integration of film and screening is essentially a kind of self-production and self-marketing and industry monopoly.

In the last year, an industry insider revealed to Duke that sometimes the partners of the film would take the initiative to book a large number of venues. As a gift to its own customers, for example, when it was Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, Audi booked 300 games a day, and then 300,000 to 500,000 a day, and it insisted that the film was over 300 million.

Also, the communication company endorsed by XXX Music King also booked tens of millions of venues for a movie he starred in, and the advertisers who cooperated with the movie booked the venue to invite people to watch the movie, in fact, they were also advertising their own movie-related products.

After the rise of e-commerce. The new form of e-commerce bookings has also appeared in the industry. For blockbuster movies with good market prospects, e-commerce companies hope to negotiate exclusive cooperation, and often spend tens of millions to reserve the venues in advance to ensure the number of films scheduled, and then sell them at a low price. sold to viewers.

Low price strategy can cultivate user habits of e-commerce, in the process. E-commerce can also expand its channels, influence and market share.

Of course, Duke is very clear that such a situation is by no means an isolated case in the market on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. This phenomenon also exists in the North American film market, and the commercial means that capital can use in the face of interests can be said to be all-encompassing. Like all business circles, the film industry is not a place of goodness and whiteness.

But the difference is that the regulation in North America is relatively strict, and here, whether it is the film market or regulatory measures. are in their infancy.

The development of the box office on the other side of the Pacific to its current status is not unrelated to the lack of supervision. For units that make false reports, for the time being, the regulatory agency has no effective means to give how high the box office figure is. It can only rely on the self-discipline of the film itself, and there is no real binding control.

Even when Duke left that world, this phenomenon did not change in any way.

Duke can't do anything about this kind of thing, he can only make his films be cautious in this regard, so as not to step into the minefield.

After arriving in New York, Duke just went home to rest for one night, had dinner with his mother, and then joined the crew who had rushed here to participate in the busy publicity work. Compared with the previous publicity, after the hot start of the film, more The media has set their sights on Daisy Ridley and Daniel Wu, two new actors, because all media practitioners know that these two people have become popular at a rocket-like speed.

In the promotional activities of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Duke was almost completely hidden behind the actors, and the crew also focused the publicity on Daisy Ridley and Daniel Wu, specially arranged for them on the spot. Times interview.

The current popularity is completely predictable. Daisy Ridley and Daniel Wu also have professional agents and public relations managers. With their suggestions, the interviews of the two newcomers can be said to be both selling points and watertight. .

When a reporter from the New York Times asked Rey is a very wonderful character, she combines the characteristics of Princess Leia and Han Solo, where did your acting inspiration come from?, Daisy Ridley So answer.

I didn't play that way, I just played my own character, the inspiration issue, I didn't think about other characters, I just played what I should have, because this is a new character, she has other people's qualities, but she It's not anybody else, so if I'm thinking about those things it's going to affect me, so I'm just playing Rey.

Sitting not far from Daisy Ridley, Duke could hear it clearly, and couldn't help but nodded slightly. Daisy Ridley is undoubtedly a very smart actor, and she also possesses skills that few of her peers possess. Mature and calm, now it seems that he has not been dazzled by the popularity. While promoting the film and characters, his words are also showing his own personality and uniqueness.

From her body, Duke faintly saw the shadow of Natalie Portman when she was young.

Thinking of this, Duke couldn't help laughing, the former idol really affected his casting.

A reporter from the New York Times came to ask Daniel Wu a question, When you get the role through the audition, is it difficult to keep it a secret for the time being?

Yes, after I got this role, I wanted to tell the world.

Daniel Wu's agent, like Daisy Ridley's agent, joined ICM when his client passed the audition, and the answer was carefully crafted by ICM professionals, I did tell a Taxi driver, but he didn’t believe me, he said ok buddy. So after being so tight-lipped for so long, it felt cool to me to be able to announce that I got the part, I held it in for so long.”

The reporter then asked, What is your impression of Duke? Is there any difference between the first meeting and the cooperation after cooperation?

The first time I met him was a few years ago, in Las Vegas, and he approached me and said he wanted to work with me and find me the right role, he said.

Daniel Wu laughed, From then to now, we still have the natural relationship during the audition. Although it was an audition, there were other audition actors around, but I couldn't feel their existence. Because it was me and Duke building a character together, showing it to everybody, and they thought it was okay, and I got in, and it worked out pretty well.

The reporter asked the two of them again, Did you suddenly become fans on the set?

Daniel Wu made a gesture of please, and Daisy Ridley replied first, Yes! I'm so surprised, God, I actually joined Duke Rosenberg's crew, and I actually met Duke K Rosenberg himself, he is my favorite director, I have a lot of questions for him, but I have a job to do, so I can't do that, you can't indulge yourself, or you will make yourself seem...

She laughed, and Daniel Wu went on to say, That's just for yourself, Daisy, I had a lot of fun on the set, I had a serious job, but when it was over I had a nerdy explosion, the Millennium Falcon, the lightsaber, I brought my own doll to Duke to sign, and I really drained the perks of this opportunity.

Listening to the interview all the way, Duke is pretty pleased with how the duo are doing.

And the reporter who communicated in advance was also very kind, and continued to ask, Do you think Rey and Finn will have more background stories?

Daisy Ridley nodded first, Yes.

Daniel Wu said in more detail, Absolutely, one thing that really surprises me is that many viewers are very interested in the story of the two protagonists, they want to know more, but we don't know more than you In fact, I would like to talk to Duke and Lucasfilm, since they have been cast, it seems not good if they don’t know their background.”

He deliberately said, We must know where these characters come from, we must know Luke's position, it will be very interesting, secretly tell you...

Daniel Wu deliberately lowered his voice, I think Rey is Chewbacca's distant cousin, this is exclusive news!

Daisy Ridley immediately interjected, I've also heard some rumors about this.

After finishing speaking, she and Daniel Wu laughed 'hahahaha'.

The interview ended smoothly. The reporter stood up and packed up his things with his cameraman and was about to leave. Daisy Ridley and Daniel Wu walked towards where their managers were. It's a conversation between each other, without even making eye contact, as if the other party is just a stranger.

To be precise, they are just people who have a working relationship.

Whether it's Duke, the rest of the crew, or the reporter just now, they didn't find it strange to see all of this. This is the norm in Hollywood. It's normal for a hero and heroine to make a movie, and the director and actor become friends or even lovers. Some in Hollywood, but not the norm.

In this circle, in most cases, a working relationship is nothing more than a working relationship.

As long as it does not affect the work, Duke and the crew will not interfere with the personal relationship between the actors.

Of course, if Daisy Ridley and Daniel Wu saw each other, Duke would definitely intervene, which would have a negative impact.

After the opening weekend, the marketing of Star Wars: The Force Awakens is still hot, and Duke and Lucasfilm, as well as distributor Warner Bros., don't want to see the film's week office plummet. (to be continued ~^~)

PS: Recently I learned to drive and I am going crazy.