Oriental Game Carnival is a platform for players to communicate and interact with players by promoting game culture in recent years. It is performed not only in Victoria Park in Hong Kong, but also in New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Taipei and other cities around the world at the end of each year.

The Oriental Game Carnival, together with other large-scale advertisements and promotions launched by Dongyou, ignites the enthusiasm of gamers around the world during the year-end shopping season.

Just as Hong Kong's Victoria Park is in full swing, the Marriott Marriott Hotel in Manhattan, New York, which is 13 hours away from Hong Kong, is also hosting a lively party at the four-star hotel on the edge of Times Square.

"Mabel, let me introduce you, this is Mr. Pollac!" Zhang Wanting's mentor at New York University, accompanied by a man in his 50s with curly blond hair and a smile on his face.

"Hello Mr., your "Out of Africa" you filmed last year is really classic!" Zhang Wanting immediately showed an admiring smile.

"Thank you! I just received a mini VCR from you not long ago, a very good product! Of course, there is also the movie called "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong", the subtle and delicate love of the Oriental people is impressive! It is also fate that is destined, which can't help but make me think of the "Golden Jade League"!" Mr. Pollack smiled gentlemanly.

He was the best director at the last Oscars, and the "Out of Africa" that brought him a little golden man. Last year, it also won the Oscar for Best Picture, which can be described as the biggest winner.

"Thank you for your review, Mr. McCarlet's The Golden Jade League. It has always been one of my favorite movies! There is a proverb in the East that it is a thousand times to look back in the past life that leads to a passing in this life! Some romantic encounters are predestined!"

Zhang Wanting responded with a smile that in the movie "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong" directed by her, the accidental love between the male and female protagonists does pay tribute to "Golden Jade League", the most classic Hollywood romance film in the 50s.

From November. The annual awards season of the American film industry has kicked off again. "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong" completed filming at the end of August, and after nearly two months of intense post-production, it was submitted before the deadline for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the end of October. He will represent Hong Kong at the 59th Academy Awards.

After the selection of "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong" was completed, Asia Pictures immediately launched a public relations plan for the awards. The annual Oscars are known as the world's largest entertainment event. But it was never a fair, just, open competition, but an entertainment show for American filmmakers.

Hollywood in the eighties. It hasn't been able to travel the world as much as it did decades later. For example, in the Asian market. It has been strongly blocked by the Hong Kong film industry. But Hollywood's influence in the Western world as a whole, and in the English-speaking world in particular, has long been entrenched.

And since the birth of the Oscars, the public relations of the awards has been like a shadow. The eight major Hollywood companies have their own dedicated public relations teams, and the fundamental reason for the award public relations behavior is naturally due to interests.

With the huge influence of the Academy Awards in the United States, and even the entire Western world, a Academy Award nomination can bring huge fame to a movie. This results in higher revenues for producers and distributors when the film is released.

The most notorious public relations gurus in Hollywood in later generations were none other than the Weinstein brothers. Their most famous actions include in the 71st Oscars. Won the Best Actress award for Gwyneth Paltrow. And Paltrow is also known as one of the most unworthy parallel actresses in the history of the Oscars.

However, before the Weinstein brothers appeared, the public relations behind the Oscars were not so intense. Films aspiring to win awards rarely spend more than $500,000 on public relations. The way this is usually done is to throw some parties and send the voters a videotape of their own video in advance!

The official name of the Academy Awards, in fact, is called the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards, which are hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The college naturally has a bottom line of tolerance for the public relations behavior of various companies, but this line is actually very vague in the eyes of industry insiders.

In addition to the strict prohibition of buying votes with money, the college has no objection to companies giving small gifts to eligible members. The most common gift from film companies is to send hardcover film tapes to each academy member, so that they can enjoy their own work without leaving home.

You must know that there are dozens or even hundreds of films competing for the Oscars every year, and no member of the academy will really watch them one by one. Most people are very casual when filling out the ballot, and they directly check which movie they are familiar with.

And sending the videotape to the academy members in advance, even if they are too lazy to enjoy it, will more or less leave some impression of the name of the film when they receive the beautifully packaged package, which will affect the final choice.

The public relations team of "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong" has made a lot of money this time and specially customized a batch of mini video recorders. They sent each voter a hardcover videotape along with a video recorder.

You must know that the total membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is as high as several thousand, and the cost of customizing a few thousand video recorders alone is as high as $1 million. It's no wonder that Pollack was so impressed that he made a point out that he had received a mini video recorder.

Because in the eyes of industry insiders, this is completely a stupid hat behavior that is not proportional to the payout. The Best Foreign Language Film award is not the heaviest award in the Oscars, and the benefits it can bring to the distributor are actually relatively limited.

Not to mention that it has always been difficult for foreign films to achieve high box office in the United States, even British films that are very similar in language and culture to the United States, let alone a romance film from Asia. You know, in the eyes of most Americans, Asian faces look the same. Many viewers may watch the whole "Sleepless Night in Hong Kong", but they can't distinguish the difference between the appearances of the various characters in it!

The North American distribution of Sleepless in Hong Kong is Universal Pictures, one of Hollywood giants. Before being convinced that it would yield a huge profit return. It is simply impossible to invest a lot of money in public relations for this film. At most, they will only let their own media beat the side drum!

"Sleepless in Hong Kong" this time the entire Oscar public relations budget. That's a whopping $4 million! On paper, this money is not borne by Asia Pictures, the producer of the film. Now Asia Pictures is already a subsidiary of the listed company Asia Entertainment Holdings.

Its revenue data is ultimately reflected in the financial statements of the listed company. And such unreasonably huge expenses can easily be seized and attacked. Asia Pictures listed only $1.2 million in North American marketing expenses for "Sleepless in Hong Kong."

This is the offer made by Universal Pictures to buy out the North American distribution rights of "Sleepless in Hong Kong", which is equivalent to Asia Pictures trading the North American market revenue for its reputation in Hollywood, and can also explain the past to shareholders.

The other $2.8 million worth of PR contracts was actually made by a leather bag company registered in the Cayman Islands. to sign with Universal Pictures. The person who is really responsible for paying for this money is actually Li Xuan, and he naturally can't spend a lot of money for an Oscar award, but has his own deeper purpose!

But for Zhang Wanting. She doesn't need to know the complex stories behind the scenes, she just needs to know that Asia Pictures will do everything in its power to win the Academy Awards for its new film. And what she needs to do is to try her best to cooperate with the company's award-winning actions.

The Oscars are actually the entire awards season. The last and most important main course. And before that. The first thing for the audience to taste is a series of appetizers. The New York Film Critics Circle Awards are one such appetizer, and they have always been the first awards season to announce their results.

Together with the North American Broadcast Film Critics Association Award and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, this award is known as the three major film critics awards in the United States, and it is also one of the vanes of the Oscars.

The New York Film Critics Association is mainly composed of professional film critics from major print media such as Time magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, People, and The New York Times. The award is known for being "daring", often making unexpected choices.

But don't think that American film critics are some fair and upright gentlemen. Actually, they are a group. A bloodsucker parasitic on the Hollywood film industry. The main income of film critics is not based on manuscript fees, but on the use of their fame for certain films. Write an attack article that touts advertorials or abuse, so as to collect gray benefits from the film company!

$300,000! That's the total amount of money spent by Universal's PR team to get this group of New York film critics. And "Sleepless in Hong Kong" also successfully won the Best Foreign Language Film Award from the New York Filmmakers Guild! Tonight's party is a celebration banquet held by the public relations team of "Sleepless in Hong Kong" to win the first award for the film!

"Sister Ting, congratulations on going to the city first! I look forward to "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong" winning the first Academy Award for Hong Kong films in March next year!" Li Ying said with a smile to Zhang Wanting who came forward.

"Don't exalt me too much, I know how many pounds and taels I have, as long as there is a nomination, thank God!" Zhang Wanting shook her head with a wry smile, and there was a hint of fatigue between her eyebrows. She had actually just arrived in New York on a plane from Hong Kong for more than ten hours, and she hadn't even reversed the jet lag.

Regarding the artistic level of the movie "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong", Zhang Wanting, the director, has a very good idea, and at most it can only be regarded as passable!

Although the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film cannot be compared with the heavyweight awards of Best Director, Best Actor or Actress, and Best Picture, the competition is actually more intense.

For example, at this year's Oscars, 67 films will compete for the Best Foreign Language Film award with "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong". Each film represents the highest level of film art in a country or region. And Zhang Wanting, who has only made two movies in her fledgling, does not think that her third film can reach the level of competing with the best film masters in the world!

Asia Pictures' goal this time is not really to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, but to get a nomination. After all, there are 5 nominations for Best Foreign Language Film, even if "Sleepless in Hong Kong" uses public relations to make up for the lack of artistic level, the academy will turn a blind eye and acquiesce!

"Didn't Brother Fa come this time? Several classmates asked me for his autograph!" Li Ying changed the subject knowingly.

"Does Fa Ge still have fans in the United States? He is a trapeze artist in Southeast Asian countries these days, and he has to go to several cities every day to promote movies!" Zhang Wanting was stunned for a moment.

"The videotapes of "The True Color of Heroes" starring him have sold crazy in Chinatown!" Li Ying explained.

"Oh, I just said that I hadn't heard of Xinyicheng before, and I had plans to send this movie to the United States for distribution!" Zhang Wanting suddenly realized. The most popular in Chinatowns in the United States has never been the mainstream Hollywood blockbusters, but the movies from Hong Kong.

Although "Sleepless in Hong Kong" launched a large-scale public relations campaign in the United States, in fact, the entire film team only Zhang Wanting flew to the United States alone.

And the reason why Zhang Wanting flew to the United States is because she graduated from New York University. New York is one of the two major film meccas in the United States, along with Hollywood. Her mentor also has a lot of connections in the American film industry, and can bring a lot of help to the next award rush of "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong"!

As for the others, who don't have any visibility in the United States, it's not much use to rush over. Instead, it is better to stay in Asia and contribute to the box office of "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong". Since the large amount of money received by the listing circle, Asia Entertainment Holdings has begun to explore the Asian market in a big way, especially in the cinema line that invests in and integrates Southeast Asia, Taiwan and other markets.

In the past, the way for Hong Kong films to be distributed in other cities was to buy out the films. Asia Pictures, on the other hand, has been striving to adopt the box office sharing model, especially after it has extended its tentacles into the resources of theaters around the world, and has begun to promote the model of simultaneous release across Asia.

For example, "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong" was simultaneously released in eight countries, including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea. And when "Sleepless Nights in Hong Kong" was released, it was when Zhou Yunfa's previous "True Colors of Heroes" was popular in Asia. Therefore, he is naturally the focus of the promotion of Asian films, and these countries that are released at the same time have to go around in circles!

"Sister Ting, a friend of mine is in trouble!" Li Ying suddenly left Zhang Wanting behind and walked quickly in the other direction. (To be continued......)