"Hello, this is Lan Li-Hall, I think I missed your call, please leave a message if you have something. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ”

The voice of the tape recorder came from the phone, Andy Rogers didn't leave a message, hung up the phone directly, and looked at Rodrigo Cortez, who was sitting in front of him, "He went out for a walk, and today is another full day of work, and he needs a little time to rest and adjust." ”

After three consecutive days of interviews, the interviewed media went and came again, and Lan Li has been interviewed by more than 120 media outlets. This number naturally cannot be compared with popular works such as "Black Swan" and "Thief in the City", but it is far ahead of the rest in independent films. Such a situation was far from expected by Rodrigo and Andy.

Rodrigo didn't mind at all and nodded, "I understand." I've only been doing the interview for half a day today, and I feel like I'm starting to have a headache. "I used to hear people say that interviews were very tiring, and I didn't understand them, but now I finally know that interviews are a physical job." ”

From an outsider's point of view, an interview is like sitting on the sofa and you ask me questions and answers, but after experiencing it firsthand, you know that interviews require not only mental power, but also physical strength. By the second half of the interview, my brain was really groggy and foggy.

"He's supposed to be back soon, are you in a hurry?" Andy always had a warm smile on his face, but his style was resolute and unobtrusive, and he quickly cut to the point.

The Toronto Film Festival is one day away, and while it is almost impossible to know that it is almost impossible to win a People's Choice Award "buried alive", the point is not the awards, but the fact that Toronto is part of the overall awards season. So, he still has a lot of groundwork to complete.

Rodrigo and Andy had also been in contact several times, and after sweeping away the slumping style of the Spaniards, he immediately said, "Actually, I'm here to ask for your opinion. So far, I have received a total of four quotations for the issuance, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, I really don't know much about the issuance, and I am a little dizzy for a while, I need some reference opinions that can calm me down. ”

"Four?" Andy was a little surprised, because the number was still a little less than expected.

This is Toronto, not Sundance or Venice, Toronto itself is a huge distribution market, and it is the last major market of the year. Therefore, almost all publishers are looking for and searching here.

According to the development momentum and trajectory of the past few days, whether it is the topic effect or the audience's word-of-mouth, "buried alive" is on a rising curve, and the distribution company should be more optimistic about this work. Although the gimmick of "burying alive" itself is not enough, and even the Blue Gift bonus is still limited, it also means that the transaction amount of the distribution rights will not be too high, and even some small distribution companies can join the competition.

But now there are only four, which is not a positive sign.

"Yes, four. Rodrigo didn't hear the confusion in Andy's words, and a bright smile appeared on his face, "One is Focus Pictures, and the other is Fox Searchlight." ”

Andy's eyebrows were slightly raised, and there was a hint of clarity in his eyes.

These are currently the two largest independent labels in the North American industry, and the competitive strength of the awards season is on par with Weinstein Pictures, not to mention who ends up with the awards every year, but in terms of nominations, these three labels are all worthy leaders. The fact that "Buried Alive" can be recognized by these two publishing labels is a happy thing in itself, as long as the news is released, other publishing companies that are waiting to see will be willing to join the competition.

The invitation of the two issuing companies is even worth twenty companies.

"And then there are two more companies, Lionsgate and Roadside Attraction. "I haven't heard their names, so I'm not sure if I'm right. ”

Andy nodded to show that he understood that these two companies were not as famous as the previous two, but they were definitely not nobodies.

Lionsgate is slightly more famous, the Canadian company started as a distributor and then took care of production, starting with thriller, horror and suspense films such as "Chainsaw", "American Psycho", and "Requiem for a Dream", and has gradually become at the forefront of second-tier distribution companies in recent years.

Roadside appeal may be a little less popular, but the company is more focused, only doing distribution, after years of precipitation and lagging development, last year ushered in a full rise, "Dolphin Bay" and "I Love You Morris" two works in the awards season to acclaim, the former even won the Oscar for Best Documentary Golden Man in one go.

The strength of these four issuing companies is definitely not inferior, which is far beyond Andy's expectations.

As he expected, the strong topicality and word-of-mouth upward curve of "buried alive" in recent days undoubtedly have a huge attraction for distribution companies, not to mention the prospects of the awards season, at least it can attract enough box office when it is released, and the distribution rights of this work are bound to be not too expensive, many distribution companies are willing to sell.

Now it seems that the four companies that shot are all well-known in the industry, which is really a surprise.

"What about your opinion?" Andy didn't immediately come to a conclusion, he was just Lan Li's agent, not a producer who was "buried alive", and he couldn't make decisions for Rodrigo in a hurry, so he still needed a strategy when discussing.

Rodrigo showed a bright smile, a little honest, but he didn't hide his excitement, "If it's up to me to choose, it's definitely going to be famous." Isn't it true that the more fame you have, the more resources you have?"

Andy was amused by such a frank and shallow answer, "Yes, but again, the more fame they have, the more cards they have in their hand." Take the Fox searchlight, for example. ”

Because of Natalie's affairs, Andy has done a lot of research behind the scenes, and has an in-depth understanding of the "black swan" and the Fox searchlight, not intending to target them, but to prevent them from taking advantage of Lan Li again - Lan Li is now in a completely passive rookie position, and without complete preparation, the situation can easily fall into a disadvantageous situation.

"They have now confirmed the distribution rights in their hands, including 'Black Swan', '127 Hours', and 'Don't Let Me Go', and all three works have one thing in common: the performance of the protagonist has received unanimous affirmation. Their propaganda resources are limited, and in terms of allocation, where do you think the 'buried alive' can be?"

Andy's words made Rodrigo look stunned, "'127 Hours' is also theirs, so why do they still want to come and contact us?" Isn't '127 Hours' far better than us now?"

In the face of Rodrigo's question, Andy did not have an accurate answer, he had several guesses, for example, for the sake of the "Black Swan" awards season operation, Fox Searchlight could buy the distribution rights of "buried alive", and then ask Lan Li and Natalie to cooperate with the publicity, this is a win-win situation, Andy knows that he will not refuse, and for example, they can wait for the price and sell, look at "127 hours" and "buried alive" The follow-up trend plays the role of double insurance, and after entering January, we will abandon the weak and ensure their overall strength this year.

"It doesn't matter. What's important, are you confident that you have an advantage over the competition?" Andy got to the point, which made Rodrigo stunned, then shook his head, looking a little lonely, and he asked rhetorically, "Should you choose the other two smaller publishing companies?"

"The advantage of small distribution companies is that they have limited resources, so they will tilt all the resources they have towards one work to make sure that one work wins. Andy explained that this has rekindled Rodrigo's hope, "But the roadside attraction is out of play this year, and now they have won 'Winter Bones' at the Sundance Film Festival, and then 'Beauty Mistakes' in Europe, and their ability has reached the limit." ”

What Andy doesn't say is that, most likely, one of these two works will be sacrificed, if nothing else, "a mistake of beauty" - because it's a foreign-language film, the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film selection system is independent, and PR works differently.

In other words, regardless of the outlook for the "Winter Bones" awards season, roadside appeal is now saturated. Tentatively offering to be "buried alive" is probably just an inquiry in their strategic sense. After all, the distribution rights of "buried alive" are not expected to be too expensive.

Rodrigo's shoulders visibly drooped and seemed to have taken a blow. Independent cinema is indeed struggling.

Andy smiled, "What I just said was just for awards season. If you just want the work to be released in theaters, then choose any one, I believe you will not be disappointed. The distribution ability of these four companies is worthy of recognition, you only need to choose a price point in mind, as well as packaging services, and after confirming that you are satisfied, you can sign a contract directly. ”

Rodrigo let out a long sigh, "I know I'm still greedy. But ......"

Before the Toronto Film Festival, he just thought that it would be perfect for the film to find a distributor, and once he missed Toronto, the next few festivals were even more hopeless. But with so much acclaim and so much craze for the film coming to Toronto, the past few days have been like a dream, and he inevitably has ambitions: if "Buried Alive" can go one step further during awards season, if he can win a nomination for an awards ceremony, if the film can be a high-profile film for awards season......

The mentality of suffering from gains and losses is really difficult to balance.

Looking at Rodrigo's expression, Andy knew that the emotions he wanted to brew were almost over, so he spoke again, "Do you want to hear my opinion?"

Rodrigo immediately raised his head, a glimmer of hope flashed in the confusion in his eyes, "Of course, this is the purpose of my visit today!

Before Andy could speak, the door to the room was opened, and Andy and Rodrigo looked at it at the same time.

It's a blue gift.