As the chief film viewing expert of Dynasty Cinemas on the West Coast, Richard Fahn naturally will not miss such a super blockbuster with a production cost of more than 100 million US dollars, not to mention that this is also the work of William Rothschild King, a Hollywood super director, he still remembers the test screening of "Brave Island" last year, and the subsequent box office figures did not disappoint Dynasty Entertainment Group.

The screen once again lit up with the fire of the explosion, and in the deafening sound effect, Richard Fahn himself seemed to be blown into the sky by the explosion, and the fire of the explosion was as brilliant as the fireworks of Independence Day, and people couldn't help but integrate into the joy of defeating the evil aliens, and the refreshing feeling in his heart burst out like the most beautiful color.

The film has reached the end, and Richard Fahn gradually calmed down and quickly made the most basic judgment on the film.

The plot of this film is not outstanding, the alien invasion of the earth is just a very old-fashioned story in Hollywood, and the bridges piled up with individual heroism have long been rendered by Hollywood.

However, Richard still gave an A+ commercial evaluation in his heart, because the shortcomings of the film are obvious, but the selling points are more!

First of all, the choice of actors, William Rothschild King is obviously carefully considered, among which the most important and brilliant roles are selected white, Jewish, Latino and African American, which are the largest and most influential ethnic groups in North America, they have played a huge and even critical role in defeating aliens in the film, not only to please traditional white audiences, but also to attract audiences of other ethnic groups!

The second is the scenes, the big scenes of the film are endless, only the big screen of the theater can experience the best visual effects, the special effects presented are realistic and admirable, and the adrenaline-pumping explosion scenes are continuous, and I feel that the special effects of the most praised "Jurassic Park" he shot before are not much better than "Independence Day".

And then there's the plot, the plot is really average, but it has the most critical elements of a successful film - simple enough, the theme of "Independence Day" is old-fashioned, but there is a clear main line, and it brings the audience into the crisis atmosphere of the end of the earth at the beginning, straight to the point, without any delay.

There is also a key point, "Independence Day" does not need to use your brain to understand, and it does not pay attention to any connotation, art and other nihilistic things, it is a typical entertainment blockbuster that can be enjoyed by the visual and auditory senses, although the ending of the film is as happy as all Hollywood blockbusters, but who in the audience does not want to see world peace, lovers eventually become married, and justice triumphs over evil?

The audience who walks into the theater at Christmas is happy, and the first thing that the film that wants to sell well in this schedule is to make the audience happy!

As a person who is directly in contact with the theater market, Richard knows one thing very well, the vast majority of audiences enter the cinema to spend money on entertainment, and "Independence Day" is not lacking in entertainment effects, and even does a particularly good job.

This must be the film that Dynasty Cinemas will focus on in early December!

It is not only Richard who makes this judgment, but also Lynch, the representative of AMG Cinemas, who also believes that "Independence Day" is very much in line with the audience's taste in the summer file.

What makes a good movie for a theater chain?

Is it a good movie with a professional score of 8 or more? Is it a good movie that reflects social reality? Is it a good movie that thinks about human nature and humanistic care? Is it a good movie that makes people's brains turn around? Is it a good movie that can make people feel frightened at the end? Is it a good movie that makes people unable to sleep in the middle of the night and speculate about the director's techniques and intentions?

How should movies be classified?

Clever films, skillful films and intelligent films?commercial, inspirational, literary or indie?

In fact, in the eyes of theaters, these are not complicated, for example, in Lynch's opinion, there are only two kinds of movies - blockbuster movies and non-blockbuster movies!

The former is a popular target for theaters, the latter is an object that theaters hate, and "Independence Day" clearly has many elements of the former.

"Independence Day is a skillful film. Lynch concluded, "King William Rothschild is great, has a very good grasp of the market, and seems to know the mentality of the mainstream audience." ”

Director William Rothschild King is very smart, and he can't wait to discuss life philosophy with the audience in the film like other directors who have become famous, and he still produces his best standard explosive commercial films.

Perhaps in the eyes of film critics, commercial films have no soul and connotation, and they are all despised existences, but in Lynch's view, commercial films must have the quality of commercial films.

"Independence Day" is definitely the best commercial film he has seen in recent years, and even far more than the "Brave Island" he watched during the test screening last year.

Not to mention the dazzling stunts, the other selling points are equally clear.

Let's talk about another element that affects the audience's viewing of the narrative rhythm, the cohesion and transformation of the plot of "Independence Day", the rhythm control of Zhang Youchi, and the shaping of the group portraits of the characters are all extremely good.

Particularly commendable is the characterization in the film, where almost every character in the two-and-a-half-hour film has a vivid personality.

The airsickness-loving environmentalist information expert, his career strong ex-wife, his verbose dad, the hippie-style black pilot, his cheerful and capable stripper girlfriend, the typical benevolent, intelligent and courageous president as a positive character, although too tall and comprehensive, caters to the needs of the film, the incompetent and confused pesticide sprayer who finally becomes a hero, the nervous alien research expert, and even the stern young colonel with almost no lines, can all leave an impression on him.

Not to mention that it was easy to do, Lynch remembers very well that many award-winning films that are known for their rigor and artistry have difficulty in creating characters, and the characters in those films are always full of babbling and incomprehension, and pushing the plot and characters forward in a way.

Not to mention the lack of humanistic care, depth of humanity, etc., these are meaningless to the theater, and in Lynch's impression, most of the films that advertise humanistic care and depth of humanity outline the level and skills of the characters are contrived and clumsy.

It's a matter of course that a film like that doesn't get a high box office!

On the other hand, "Independence Day", the skillful use of the bridges and techniques fully reflects the director William's respect for the market and the audience.

"King William Rothschild is clearly clear. Lynch whispered to himself, "Before making a story great and profound, at least know how to tell a story well and tell a story well." ”

The super-director cleverly tells a simple but interesting story, creates several characters with strong personalities and is very likable, and adds gorgeous special effects to make the film look very interesting.

It's this kind of film that can bring revenue to theaters!

Compared with those theater viewing experts sitting in the front row, Hill, who was fortunate enough to participate in the test screening, is just an ordinary movie fan, as a young man who has received a standard American education, he is most concerned about whether the film is good or not, and whether it will feel very cool!

"Independence Day" not only did not disappoint him, but also greatly exceeded his expectations.

Yes, the plot looks plain and old-fashioned, but the graphics are absolutely top-notch!

He was amazed by the spectacle of the spaceship, and its sudden destructive beam of light instantly destroyed major cities across the United States, and the White House, the Capitol, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty all fell in the flames of the explosion, and even made him feel creepy for a while, but fortunately, the human counterattack created a spirit-lifting battle of the century!

There is also the "Great Americanism" embodied in the film, and the theme of the United States leading the world to victory, which is also very much in line with his appetite.

"It's definitely a great Christmas entertainment!" Hill said to his friends: "Director William's masterpiece is dazzling, and the scene of the President of the United States leading the world to fight against alien invaders at the end is so cool!"

Do you want to see the most gorgeous and wonderful film of aliens attacking the earth? "Independence Day" deserves it!

Here's what Hill said to his family and friends as he prepared to return home.

The big scenes, the big productions, the big themes, the big theaters and the audience of the test screening have given high praise, even if the specific statistics of the test screening will be determined later, and the observers scattered around the theater by Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox have confirmed this from the words and deeds of these people.

When the subtitles fell, applause poured like a tide, Wang Jie slowly stood up, and slapped his palms hard, whether the film can be a super big hit, there are too many factors that will be affected, no one can guarantee it, even if he makes the special effects far better than the one he once had, he can't guarantee the box office.

The only thing Wang Jie can confirm is that the film will definitely not hit the streets, even if it is not a super hit, the problem of recovering costs should not be big, although he doesn't care much about box office results with his assets, but after all, he still has a lot of employees.

"Congratulations, William. ”

George Lucas took the lead and hugged Wang Jie directly, "Very wonderful film, even better than I imagined!"

"You're amazing!"

The applause lasted for a long time, and Spielberg sighed, "You will become the darling of the audience!"

"Thank you, thank you......"

In the face of these people who came to congratulate, all Wang Jie could do was to thank them one by one.

"Directed ...... William"

Just when the applause gradually faded, Wang Jie saw Richard from Dynasty Cinema coming over, and the other party said directly: ""Independence Day" is a movie with all the elements of a big hit in the summer, I will strongly recommend it to the company!"

"Thank you!"

shook his outstretched hand, Wang Jie didn't have too many surprises, the income of these film watching experts is directly proportional to the box office of the recommended films......

After a few more greetings with AMG's Lynch, Wang Jie walked out with the people around him, and there was a media event behind him.

Representatives of the theater chain such as Lynch and Jossman waited with the producer for the statistical results of the test screening, so as to give feedback to the theater as soon as possible.

Knoxville, Tennessee, a small waterside town where Dynasty Entertainment is headquartered.

After getting the first-hand preview materials, Richard took a plane to the group headquarters overnight, and the huge motivation that money could bring made him have no intention of resting, and got off the plane and went directly to the office floor of the theater company in the headquarters building.

Not long after Richard arrived at the company, several executives of the cinema company quickly got together.

"The special effects are excellent! William's explosion scene is as exciting as ever!"

At the long conference table, Richard motioned for a secretary to hand out the materials he had brought, "This is the assessment made by the team as a whole, and the twelve people we watched the film agreed that this is a super A-level commercial production!"

His words attracted the attention of many people, and they opened the information in front of them and read it.

"Faun ......," CEO Mandino asked, "Let's talk about the specific statistics." ”

"Luen Mei and Twentieth Century Fox did not invite film critics to participate in the test screening, and there is no way to talk about professional reputation. ”

Having said that, even now, Richard can't understand why the producers would break the convention, but this has nothing to do with the theater chain, "In terms of audience word-of-mouth, 357 viewers participated in the survey, with an A rating of 310 and a score below C of 47. ”

"The bad rating seems to be a bit high. Someone answered.

"The story of the film can only be described as average, and the selling point is the special effects and sensationalism. Richard didn't think it was strange, and said unhurriedly: "I think everyone should understand that there is often a situation in such films, where people who like it like it very much, and people who don't like it very hate." ”

Without waiting for anyone else to say anything, Richard continued: "According to the statistics of the preview screening and the statistics of the survey company, the number of people who want to see this film far outnumber those who don't like it, and the statistical feedback from the preview screening also proves this!"

Many people are nodding, and films that use special effects as a selling point, such as "Jurassic Park" and "Terminator 2", actually have such a situation.

As the only person in the room who had seen the film, Richard knew the potential of the film and knew that if the film was a big hit, he might get a big prize, and he had no intention of stopping.

"I think 'Independence Day' should be given more theaters. He continued: "And each multi-theater cinema chain invests at least 3 screens......

Looking at the information signed by all the experts on the statistics, CEO Mandino fell into thought, and after a long time, he said: "Director William's films have always been synonymous with big hits, and "Independence Day" is the genre he is best at, and I think Joe's suggestion is feasible." ”

Several other people have expressed similar opinions, and after some discussion, Mandino made a preliminary decision, "Keep the number of screens of other films decreasing in an orderly manner, and other non-popular films will be lowered below the bottom line and immediately go down! Before December 7, enough multi-theater theaters will be freed up for "Independence Day", and each theater will open with two or three screens, and then the results will increase or decrease depending on the first day of release. ”

"Columbia Pictures has been in touch with us lately. Someone suddenly reminded, "I want to fight for enough theaters for "The Shawshank Redemption". ”

"No, no, ......no," Richard immediately objected, "I think the number of theaters in "The Shawshank Redemption" should be controlled, I attended the media, fans and theatrical preview last month, this film is really interesting, but I don't think it is suitable for the theatrical market. ”

"The professional score of the preview screening of "The Shawshank Redemption" is as high as 9.8 points!" the man said just now.

"Actually, the fans' test screening reputation is also good, although there are some problems with the prison theme, but the praise rate is far more than 80%, but it is ......"

Richard frowned, frankly speaking, he thinks this will be a classic film, but a classic film does not mean that it will be a big hit, and years of experience in the first-line market always make him have an indescribable feeling about this film, feeling that it is not suitable for commercial operation at all.

You must know that in the history of Hollywood, there are countless films that are worth recalling and being recognized as classics, and there are countless box office fiascos that vomit blood.

"I don't think 'The Shawshank Redemption' is suitable for the theatrical market. ”

As the chief film expert on the West Coast, Richard's words still carry a lot of weight, Mandino synthesized everyone's opinions and said: "The screen vacated in early December first meets the requirements of "Independence Day", if the box office of this film does not meet expectations, its screening scale will be reduced in the second week, and the vacant theaters will be put into "The Shawshank Redemption", if "The Shawshank Redemption" performs well in the first week, the theaters after the reduction of other films can also vote for "The Shawshank Redemption". ”

This is a very safe approach, even if the top management of Sony Colombia is here, they can't say anything.

As if there was a tacit understanding, in addition to Dynasty Entertainment Group, the largest cinema chain in North America, AMG Cinemas, which ranked second and third, and Artist Cinemas across the United States also made similar decisions.

When the film enters the theaters, everything depends on the box office, even if the number of theaters is different, there are still single theater results to compare, if the box office results of "Independence Day" are not up to par, even with Wang Jie's wealth, the theater company will not give one more screen.

In the same way, as long as the follow-up "The Shawshank Redemption" performs well in the first week, not only can the original release scale be maintained, but it is not difficult to expand the number of theaters again.

With the end of the preview screening, the pre-screening publicity of "Independence Day" has entered the final sprint stage, and the leading actors not only appeared frequently, accepted several interviews, but also cooperated with Fox's public relations staff to engage in street photography.

The so-called "street photography" is like what is often seen in newspapers and magazines, if someone thinks that those beautiful bubbling pictures are really street photos and not posed photos, they can only be said to be fooled by the celebrities and the companies behind them.

Generally, for these street shoots, the public relations will contact the reporter and the cameraman in advance, and the two parties will show the spirit of professionalism at the agreed place to create the best shooting effect, and before the finished pictures are reported, they must also be reviewed by the agency or public relations personnel to select the most suitable ones.

Of course, the street photographer will definitely have to pay a public relations fee.

Newspapers, magazines, posters, outdoor advertisements, and television and radio are the most conventional means of publicity, and the scandals of the leading actors are also hyped up by the tabloids owned by ABC and Fox TV Network, and even they don't want to let go of Wang Jie, the director.

Probably because Fox tasted the sweetness of pretending to be a couple in "Life and Death", plus there have been many tabloids that have hyped up the scandal between Wang Jie and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the past year, I don't know what Fox's public relations department said moved Drew, wanting Wang Jie and Catherine Zeta-Jones to play a couple.

Wang Jie refused without thinking about it, what kind of jokes, pretending to be a couple or something, it's okay to watch others play, let yourself come, forget it.

There are many means of propaganda, and this one is not bad.

As the release time approached, the promotional offensive of United America and Twentieth Century Fox became more and more violent, and the promotional posters of the film could be seen in almost larger communities and advertising boards across the United States, and the trailer was launched on Fox Family Channel and ABC TV in prime time for ten consecutive days in late June, and even the Good Morning America program aired a special version of "Independence Day" the weekend before its release.

A copy was also sent to the White House by the producer, Bill Clinton's family enjoyed priority viewing treatment, and the media of United States and Fox continued to talk about Clinton, and reports such as "praise from the president" emerged one after another.

It is no exaggeration to say that almost all the film publicity channels and publicity techniques that can be used in this era are used in "Independence Day".

Contacting theaters, preparing copies, determining the premiere theater, contacting premiere guests, etc., these tasks will naturally be the responsibility of the producer and distributor, and it is not difficult for the powerful United America and Twentieth Century Fox.

Wang Jie still adheres to his principles, and except for very few suggestions, he basically will not interfere with the publicity plan.

Hollywood is not only the entertainment industry, even if it is only the nineties, just the output value created by the film and related industries around it every year is close to 100 billion, such a huge industry is closely watched by countless giants, so Wang Jie keeps a low profile as much as possible.

Not only was the premiere of "Independence Day" held in one of the most famous theaters in the United States, but United America and Twentieth Century Fox also sent invitations to hundreds of media from all over the world, and it was bound to be a big show for this premiere.

Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox are targeting not only the North American market, but also overseas regions with growing manufacturing interests.

On December 7, 1994, the sci-fi action blockbuster "Independence Day", which cost up to $100 million to produce, kicked off its premiere at the Temple Theater in Los Angeles!