Chapter 407
Propaganda War
Chapter 407 Propaganda War
"What? Sony is fighting itself?!"
When the news broke, the entire Hollywood entertainment media went wild; the last time something like this had happened was...
Well, it probably goes back at least 20 years, but there hasn't been such a situation in the last 20 years.
The Hollywood Reporter wrote in a high-spirited tone, "Ha! This summer's movie season is absolutely thrilling! It's like... *beep beep beep beep*..."
The censored part is a long string of very vivid descriptions that cannot be reproduced in domestic media; even erotic fiction couldn't write as well as they could.
Aside from that, these gossip-loving media outlets make no attempt to hide their desire to watch the drama unfold, and they are dedicated to dragging everyone into the mess.
They succeeded.
"Guys, it's so rare for two films from the same company to be released back-to-back and compete for box office revenue. I strongly suggest you keep an eye on them. If they both flop, it will be the biggest joke in Hollywood in the 21st century!"
Such news is indeed explosive, easily attracting the attention of most entertainment users.
They had a heated discussion online, and within just three hours they topped the trending searches on Weibo, where they remained for about six hours.
"So, has Sony gone mad?"
"Perhaps they were threatened by the parent company?"
"I hate Japanese companies."
"No, no, no, don't think like that. Why can't it be because SR truly made a classic?"
"So you're using a classic to attack your own team?"
"To correct you, it was actually Warner Bros. that was being targeted. Taken and Ocean's Thirteen premiered on the same day, while Superbad was at least a week later."
"That's hilarious, buddy! Warner Bros. must be totally confused!"
"We laughed together. But I still don't understand, whose idea was this? And why?"
There are so many people who can't figure it out. Everyone has been guessing and guessing, but no one has gotten to the point. The analytical skills of American netizens are really bad.
But the six major Hollywood studios and those film critics understood it.
We are now in the internet age, and 99% of film critics have already opened accounts on Weibo.
Kenneth Turan not only discussed this period at length in his newspaper column, but also expressed his feelings on Weibo.
"SR is a madman!"
The comments below were filled with his fans asking questions.
Why do you say that?
Reply: "Because it's obvious that this was his decision, not Sony Columbia's."
"I don't understand, Sony is a big company!"
Reply: "It's a big company, but SR clearly has the reins on this film. Sony isn't like that; who would turn down money?"
"Will it have a big impact? But 'Hurricane' and 'Superbad' are completely different types of movies, so there shouldn't be any conflict, right?"
Reply: "These two movies don't conflict, but do you want to check out how many good movies are crammed into June?"
"SO?"
Reply: "Idiot! Screens and ticket sales are limited. Taken only got 1042 opening screens, and Superbad had to give up several hundred dollars!"
"Yes, Turan is right. Many families only have the time and budget to watch two movies a month. Too many movies being released at the same time will squeeze the box office of all movies. This is basic common sense."
Reply: "Bingo!"
"You need to apologize to our Star God! He's not crazy!"
Reply: "Why would someone so crazy squeeze into this release window to go head-to-head with other action movies of the same genre?"
"Because our Star God possesses the confidence and strength to win!"
Reply: "Okay, we'll wait and see."
Turan's imagery was vivid, and the starry-eyed crowd panicked, rushing to leave messages on Ann Hornady's account.
This guy's column is in The Washington Post, so his affiliation is self-evident.
"Hey, Ann, what do you think about this?"
Reply: "Believe in SR, he is a miracle worker."
"But Shrek has only been in theaters for 13 days, with at least 1500 screens still available. Pirates of the Caribbean will also have over 3000 screens in its second week. Ocean's Thirteen's promotional campaign is in full swing, while Hurricane only has a few posters..."
Reply: "Dude, you can check out my column today. I just finished analyzing the situation for this release window."
On May 17th, The Washington Post's film and television section featured a hot topic.
Ann Hornady knew exactly what Washington readers wanted to read and insisted on supporting Fang Ge.
"I know many people are worried about our miracle child, but please don't worry, the situation is not as bad as you think."
In reality, we only have three direct competitors: Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Ocean's Thirteen, and Superbad…
The use of the word "we" garnered praise and acclaim from readers in Washington.
Then, Ann Hornady's reasoned analysis, amplified by this enthusiastic support, became the core force behind the optimism surrounding "The Hurricane".
According to his explanation, Pirates of the Caribbean is a medieval fantasy film, while Taken is a modern gunfight action film. It is certain that Pirates of the Caribbean will be squeezed out, but the core audiences do not conflict.
Fans of Pirates of the Caribbean might criticize another fantasy film for being poorly made, but they won't refuse to watch another high-quality modern action movie.
Only the Thirteen Arhats could directly compete with Hurricane for the same type of audience.
Ann Hornard vehemently criticized Ocean's Thirteen: "The previous films were so bad that the current ones are just selling nostalgia. Look at their tagline: The original cast, the last time!"
The core of the marketing campaign was a poster featuring the trio of Clooney, Pitt, and Damon, emphasizing that this was the last collaboration of the original Ocean's series.
Isn't that ridiculous? Do you think all of them combined can compare to SR's magnificent face?
Oh, sorry, I forgot that *Taken* is an action movie… So, let's change the question: Could they all combined beat SR alone? Everyone knows SR is a kung fu master!
Forgive my bluntness, but the action scenes in the Ocean's series are incredibly low-quality; perhaps it would be more appropriate to categorize them as crime films…
Blah blah blah, praising the powerful and belittling the weak.
This behavior is quite offensive to passersby, but among action movie fans in the United States, this statement is absolutely correct.
We live in a great era. American moviegoers have a very high level of appreciation for Chinese kung fu, and it's no news that Hollywood hires Hong Kong action choreography teams—they just make the fights more visually appealing.
Ann Hornerdy even dragged Jet Li and Hendrik Willem Van Loon into the discussion, praising Fang Xinghe as "unrivaled in both real combat and cinematic action aesthetics," a superstar in the action genre.
Jiezi typed a bunch of question marks, then shut up and pretended not to see them.
Hendrik Willem Van Loon is also not active in Hollywood this year and has remained silent, so Brother Fang has automatically risen to become the absolute authority in the field of kung fu.
The mere "Thirteen Arhats" is not worth mentioning at all.
As for "Superbad," as an R-rated teen comedy, it looks incredibly cheesy just from the trailer, and it certainly won't compete head-on with "Hurricane."
You can't win the argument, and it's impossible for anyone to choose to give up watching SR just for this thing, right?
"In conclusion, this is an excellent time slot! Our miracle worker has secured a golden opportunity for his breakthrough!"
"In the end... the winner takes all!"
He didn't mention what would happen if they lost, and Washington's "pro-Fang" supporters certainly wouldn't have thought about it either.
The Washington Wizards have been in a very bad situation in the last two years, getting crushed by the Cavaliers in the playoffs several times, and have been virtually invisible in the league.
The current darlings of the league are considered chosen ones, and the Cleveland media often speaks ill of the Washington Wizards, using their "dominance for the next decade or so" to mock their short-lived glory.
The worse the Wizards' current situation becomes, the more loyal Washingtonians are to the Starship Trophy.
I don't watch sports, but I absolutely have to worship Fang Xinghe. Isn't that absurd?
So, as the unattainable ideal of Washingtonians, Fang Ge's fan base and public opinion base are incredibly stable, effectively offsetting the negative comments online.
Another interpretation of hedging is... a lot of noise.
With more people mocking it and just as many supporting it, the popularity naturally skyrockets.
The onlookers kept asking, "Why isn't there a trailer yet?"
On May 18th, the first trailer appeared in offline cinemas and was also broadcast on television and online. They stopped asking questions and got excited.
Wow~~~ It's so cool!
Harry is the pioneer of the first generation of film review influencers. He can be understood as Hu Ge, who released "Mantou" but did not die. He is passionate, subjective, has a strong fan base, loves to criticize bad movies, and has a huge influence.
Coincidentally, he was also a Black man.
Even more coincidentally, he's related to many Black influencers on YouTube, and those influencers all rose to fame through Fang Ge's offensive parody videos. Most incredibly, he makes videos on YouTube and spends his time browsing Weibo.
After the buff was fully stacked, this guy started a trend.
"Look what I just saw! Taken is so cool! Guys, real men should watch action movies like this!"
In an instant, the Black community mobilized.
Actually, Sony didn't put much effort into advertising and promotion, but Weibo is Fang Xinghe's home turf. Since opinion leaders have forwarded the trailer, it's normal for the official channels to promote it further, right?
Black users began receiving Harry's recommendations on a large scale.
These days, big data may not exist, but it's not difficult to promote to specific users through the backend, ensuring that everyone can see it.
And so, the hurricane became a hit, and it became a hit very easily.
The trailer was edited by Fang Xinghe. It is 30 seconds long, with the first 20 seconds emphasizing the sense of oppression and the last 10 seconds showing various killing scenes.
Scene 1: Mia smiles and waves goodbye to the camera.
Scene 2: Mia and her companions are happily discussing travel plans on the plane.
Scene 3: Mia is kidnapped and hides under the bed, tightly covering her mouth.
Scene 4: A cell phone in use is left under the bed.
Scene 5: A tattooed hand suddenly reaches into the frame and grabs the phone.
Scene 6: The gangster's chin appears on screen, he holds his phone to his ear, and Fang Xinghe's narration begins.
Gentle yet with a hint of thorn, rational yet tempting.
"I don't know who you are."
"But I know what you want."
"I'm willing to give each other a chance with everything I have."
"Take her and her phone to the police station, then give me a Swiss bank account, and you will immediately receive a transfer of $1,443,650. After that, we'll keep to ourselves."
"Believe me, you can't sell that money from her."
The screen goes black, transition.
Scene 7: Zeus sits on a wooden chest in the basement with his head down. In the overhead shot, only his chin is visible, while hundreds of faces are hidden in the shadows.
The narrator's voice suddenly turned cold and hard.
“If you’re not willing to be my friend, I have some special methods I’ve learned in my long career, methods that are enough to be a nightmare for people like you.”
"If you release my sister now, this matter will be over."
"I will not look for you, I will not investigate you."
“But if you refuse my kindness, I will go looking for you, I will find you… and then, I will kill you.”
Scene 8: Transition. The gangster grins, his rough stubble accentuating the sarcasm at the corner of his mouth, and utters a sarcastic remark.
"(After a long pause)Good luck."
"Good luck."
Scene 9: Shooting.
Gunfire erupted, and the enemy fell to the ground.
Instant kill! Instant kill! Instant kill!
The fighting style is minimalist; once an enemy is incapacitated, the attacker immediately follows up with a shot. The eyes never linger, and the movements are swift and decisive, raging like a hurricane.
In an instant, adrenaline surged, and that unique, aggressive aura was unforgettable.
The loud and boisterous Black people saw their god immediately.
"what is this?"
"That was so much fun, buddy!"
"That SR movie? I knew he was a real ruthless guy!"
Here's a joke: Black people from the lower class love this kind of "tough guy with few words" action movie the most, even though they're the ones who talk the most.
Of all those who saw the trailer, they were the most excited and enthusiastic.
Furthermore, they don't read the news or movie reviews.
The criticism of "Taken" was overwhelming, led by Turan and employed by the other five film critics, but their influence did not penetrate into the Black community at all.
These guys can only understand Harry's "Holy shit!" It's so cool!
The first round of promotion came late, but it precisely targeted a large group of important audiences.
At this moment, Warner Bros., having just realized what was happening, urgently activated its anti-explosion plan and launched targeted publicity.
They held an internal meeting on the 15th, called in the creative team of "Ocean's Thirteen" on the 16th, and prepared countermeasures by the 17th.
Is it slow? Actually, it's not slow.
But they have indeed fallen far behind and are in a very passive position.
George Clooney was furious. Just a few days ago, he had seen Fang Xinghe in person at Fatty Li's party, had a few drinks with him, and chatted about their new movies.
"Fuck! That bastard!"
"Stop yelling." Pete had a terrible headache. "What did Warner say?"
"Increase publicity resources, guys, we need to get moving."
“I’m fine with it,” Matt Damon said gravely. “But how do we proceed? Diversion is unavoidable.”
Warner's vice president of distribution reassured them, "Don't worry, guys, we have more screens. He's trying to cut in line, he can't beat us."
Indeed, given the difference in screen size and runtime, "The Hurricane" is visibly lagging behind.
Therefore, they cannot understand.
"What the hell is this son of a bitch trying to do?! Is she trying to drag us all down with her?!"
"I don't understand. Doing this will only result in a lose-lose situation."
Matt Damon attempted a rational analysis: "You know, he has never failed. He is very resourceful in everything he does, and everyone who has worked with him speaks highly of him."
"So...is this really his decision? Could it be that Sony and he had some kind of conflict?"
This is a huge possibility.
The Warner executive's eyes flickered, and he suddenly asked, "George, you just met with him. Are you sure? Was this really his idea?"
George Clooney thought about it carefully, then his mind suddenly went blank.
"I...I'm not sure...but I really didn't sense any hostility from him. There's no reason for him to suddenly target us, is there?"
“Yes.” Pieter nodded in confirmation. “He treats all of us the same way: polite, distant, and neutral.”
"Hiss..." Everyone was stunned. "Could it really not have been his idea?"
So, in the end, no one could find the crux of the problem, and naturally, no one could come up with a targeted solution. They were even wavering between "targeting SR himself" and "targeting Sony."
Ultimately, they could only resort to conventional publicity tactics and respond in a conventional manner.
That is, to increase publicity efforts and seek opportunities to smear the organization.
They spent a lot of money, but because they really couldn't figure out what Fang Xinghe was up to, Warner could only wait anxiously for Fang Xinghe's next move.
1600 screens vs. 1040 screens: a major battle is about to begin.
(End of this chapter)