[Chapter 364: Christmas Showdown]
After a pleasant afternoon at Cindy Crawford's house, Link returned to the studio to continue promoting his new film. To build buzz around The Sixth Sense, Link and his crew participated in over twenty television interviews and newspaper features, keeping their schedules packed.
Once the first round of promotion wrapped up, he temporarily set aside his marketing duties and went back to the editing studio to work on The English Patient. It took about four weeks to complete the initial cut of the film. After finishing The English Patient, he jumped right into editing Scream, which had wrapped filming in November. Scream was a popcorn-fueled slasher comedy with a straightforward storyline and structure, making it easy to edit, and it only took him two weeks.
...
Amid his editing work, the Christmas season arrived, and several big blockbusters premiered in the North American market. These included Warner Bros.' action hit Heat, and Grumpier Old Men, Columbia Pictures' comedy Jumanji, Disney's family movie Father of the Bride Part II, Paramount Pictures' Sabrina, Fox's Waiting to Exhale, and MGM's Wild Bill, along with a total of 26 films having budgets between $30 million and $70 million.
During their marketing campaigns, the major studios invested heavily to promote these movies. On one hand, they aimed to raise awareness and attract audiences, while on the other, they sought to outperform their competitors -- failing to beat Guess Pictures in overall box office totals would be a difficult pill for the board to swallow.
As the Big Seven studios ramped up their efforts, the competition for box office sales grew increasingly fierce in the two weeks leading up to Christmas. Hollywood studios employed various tactics to increase publicity for their films. For instance, Warner Bros. arranged over eighty promotional showcases across North America featuring director Michael Mann and stars Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, and Jon Voight, promoting Heat in nearly every major city. They also invested heavily in marketing, touting the film as based on a true robbery, making it all the more thrilling.
Disney resorted to generating buzz for Father of the Bride Part II by featuring actors Steve Martin and Diane Keaton in a romance rumor.
...
Meanwhile, Guess Pictures initiated an extensive promotional campaign for The Sixth Sense, bringing in an eight-year-old boy named Paul from Pennsylvania, who claimed to see ghosts.
Paul, who had a cute appearance and deep blue eyes, shared a background similar to the film's character Cole: a sensitive, introverted child from a single-parent home with the ability to see things no one else could. Initially, Paul's story gained traction only in local Pennsylvania media until Guess Pictures pushed his appearances on several talk shows, where he recounted his ghostly encounters and even discovered a ghost live on NBC, sharing a touching story about it.
Investigations revealed that situation described by Paul mirrored that of a staff member who had unexpectedly died at the television station the previous week. Experts using energy detectors found an anomaly in the energy field at the location he described, although they couldn't definitively conclude it was a ghost. The segment aired and brought in over 30 million viewers.
In just three weeks, Paul skyrocketed to fame, matching the popularity of top-tier stars. Other notable supernatural figures included a Kentucky-based fortune teller named Maria, who successfully predicted a fire in a library by talking to ghosts, and Kate, a six-year-old girl from Florida who helped her neighbor find a long-lost necklace through ghost communication.
These sensational stories significantly increased The Sixth Sense's media exposure across North America. Guess Pictures spent less than $5 million on their promotion, yet The Sixth Sense outperformed the expensive marketing campaigns of Heat and Jumanji in popularity, exhibiting faster daily box office growth.
...
"This bastard is at it again with the hyping. Despicable!" Michael Ovitz exclaimed, scoffing at the news about the boy seeing ghosts.
"For movie studios, hype is the best way to promote a film, it can save a lot of money, and the publicity effect is often doubled," Michael Eisner replied calmly.
Ovitz understood this concept, but seeing The Sixth Sense remain at the top of the charts made him uneasy. He realized Guess Pictures' straightforward promotional tactics were highly effective.
"Why doesn't our promotional department adopt this strategy?" Ovitz asked.
"It's been considered, but the risk with such promotions can be substantial. If it succeeds, great, but if it fails, the company can take a hit, and the department would be held accountable. It's a risky endeavor, much like gambling. Given that context, they often hesitate to take such chances. Guess Pictures, however, doesn't share those concerns; Link introduced the idea, so if it fails, he takes the blame while their promotion team worries less. Additionally, Guess Pictures' film topics lend themselves more easily to creative marketing," Eisner explained.
Ovitz reflected and understood the differences. This was likely the distinction between the Big Seven studios and independent film companies regarding promotional strategies; major studios aimed for stable revenue, while independents enjoyed flexibility but faced greater risks.
He initially thought of using Guess Pictures' tactics to promote Disney films, but recognizing that a failed promotion could undermine his authority within the company, he decided against it.
...
Ding-ling-ling!
Ovitz's phone rang; it was Harvey calling, discussing collaboration with Guess Pictures, who sent over three scripts for him to choose from. One of them, The Rock, had a hefty budget of $100 million, and there was still 30% in investment shares. Harvey expressed interest in investing in the film.
"The Rock?" Ovitz's voice sharpened at the mention of the script. "No! Do not invest in that project; there are significant issues with it."
"What issues?"
"That script was sent to Link by me." Ovitz replied with a hint of pride.
"You sent it? Why?"
"You don't need to ask too many questions; just trust me on this one." Ovitz's tone grew serious.
"Alright, I'll check out the other two scripts," Harvey agreed.
*****
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