I am Hollywood

[Chapter 1103: What About You?]

"According to our distribution department's analysis, the popularity of The Blair Witch Project primarily relied on the audience's curiosity and voyeurism. The film's content didn't have much to showcase. If we want this film to achieve even better box office results, we must keep the audience's desire as heightened as possible. Thus, for the next round of screenings, we shouldn't expand too much at once; 1,000 screens will be sufficient. During the second and third weeks, we should maintain the screening number around 1,000 screens. If there's still demand, we can further increase the screenings starting from the fourth week."

At the start of a new week during the company meeting, Kenneth Horne presented the opening weekend box office data for The Blair Witch Project, leading to further discussion on the film's subsequent distribution strategy.

This ultra-low-budget film, with a total budget of only $60,000, managed to generate an incredible $11.2 million in box office revenue during its first three days. This news stunned the media and left the Firefly Group equally amazed. As a result, this topic became the most important agenda item of the company meeting that week.

After carefully reading the project materials for The Blair Witch Project, Robert Thompson, president of the Buena Vista Film Distribution Company, though not directly responsible for the matter, expressed his dissent: "I don't agree, Ken. For the past month, the company has been using deceptive marketing to promote this film. Since we declared it was just a movie marketing strategy, and with the public release of the film revealing the truth, the foundation of the popularity created by that marketing has started to fade. Luckily, the box office miracle created during the opening weekend has brought the film's topic back to the forefront. Therefore, we should seize this opportunity and expand the screenings to over 2,000 screens while the film is still popular."

Simon Parker, president of the Consumer Products Division, chimed in: "I agree with Kenneth's plan. The popularity of The Blair Witch Project is strong enough to support a longer box office run. Rushing it could backfire. The mistakes made by Hasbro with the Star Wars prequel have been a prime example for us."

As Simon finished speaking, Thomas Schumacher, head of Firefly Pictures, added, "However, I must remind everyone that the next two weeks without any competitors should be the most crucial for The Blair Witch Project. In two weeks, Easter will start, and I remember three new films are premiering on March 26: Paramount's The Mod Squad, Universal's EDtv, and Warner's Run Lola Run. The competition in the following weeks will be much tougher, leaving little time for The Blair Witch Project to be in the spotlight."

Hearing Thomas's words, everyone paused and looked towards Eric, who was seated at the front.

Indeed, Run Lola Run had been snagged by the financially stronger Warner Bros. for $12 million. With the momentum from Eric's viewing at Sundance, Warner Bros. decided to take advantage of its success and place the film in the Easter lineup.

However, Eric wasn't too concerned about it. Run Lola Run was merely a quirky, low-budget independent film with limited box office potential. Even if his subordinates wanted to snatch the film away, hoping to gain some pride by maintaining Eric's approval, he wouldn't agree. His focus remained on The Blair Witch Project. To keep management disputes at bay, Eric quietly whispered a few words to Katzenberg before decisively stating, "Let's expand as quickly as possible. This film doesn't have enough strength for a long run. Now, let's discuss establishing a dedicated online marketing department. I believe everyone has already realized the effectiveness of online marketing. However, I must remind you that online marketing is merely a supplement to traditional marketing techniques for films, at least for the foreseeable future. The Blair Witch Project can only be considered an exception that's hard to replicate. I mean, New Line and Buena Vista should each establish a dedicated online marketing office. Let's not forget we're a major movie production company; legitimate operations are fundamental. We mustn't get sidetracked by short-term gains."

With Eric's decision made, everyone ceased opposition. Kenneth Horne then asked, "So, Eric, should we move quickly to consider a sequel?"

"No. We won't discuss any sequel ideas for this film for the next five years."

In Hollywood's past, two well-known low-budget mockumentary films stood out: The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity.

Unlike Paranormal Activity, which managed to produce multiple successful sequels, The Blair Witch Project's sequels could only be described as failures. This was primarily because, although Paranormal Activity employed a mockumentary style, it excelled in creating a genuinely frightening atmosphere. Thus, audiences remained willing to engage with its sequels.

The Blair Witch Project, on the other hand, relied heavily on a carefully crafted backstory. Without that, the film appeared to consist solely of its protagonists' startled reactions, lacking any genuine scares. Most viewers watched it out of curiosity influenced by extensive media coverage, and once the intrigue faded, many found the film offered little of substance, feeling deceived.

In such circumstances, launching a sequel would almost certainly lead to failure. However, starting the project five or more years later would yield a different outcome. The reason for this lies ultimately in one word: nostalgia.

...

After the two-hour meeting concluded, everyone returned to their workstations, leaving Eric and Katzenberg in the conference room.

This afternoon, Katzenberg was set to head to Washington to participate in a consultation meeting initiated by the Department of Justice regarding the merger between AOL and Time Warner, which had sparked discussions throughout the entire media landscape.

As the first large-scale merger between emerging and traditional media, the deal was unprecedented at $140 billion. The Department of Justice was approaching this merger with caution, largely due to the underlying power struggles.

According to the merger announcement by AOL and Time Warner, once merged, the new company would leverage AOL's vast user base and Time Warner's content advantages, aiming to create a comprehensive media group integrating internet access, cable television, and fixed-line telephone services.

At that point, AOL-Time Warner would encompass all information media business areas, including channel service and content production. If it were to develop according to Steve Case's vision, the new company would undoubtedly grow into a media super-giant.

Consequently, in theory, any company in direct competition with AOL and Time Warner should work to halt this merger. Both Firefly Group and Yahoo within the Firefly system had direct competitive ties to AOL and Time Warner. However, Eric had no intention of preventing the merger; furthermore, the Firefly system would seek to use its influence to facilitate its completion.

According to Eric's expansion plan, Firefly Group planned to enter the cable service provider market, a necessary step for the Firefly system. After all, whether it was Firefly Group, MGM, or the allied 20th Century Fox, all operated numerous cable channels. With the further proliferation of cable networks in North America, failing to engage in cable services could lead to troublesome situations in the future.

"If the Department of Justice blocks the merger between AOL and Time Warner, it will be even harder for us to pursue a foothold in the cable operator business in the future. I've talked with Ian; he wanted to discuss some restrictive agreements with AOL early on, but I feel that's unnecessary. This isn't about short-term gains. Helping AOL merge with Time Warner will ultimately help us," Eric said, lightly stroking the bandage on his arm through the shirt fabric. He paused for a moment and added to Katzenberg, "Also, once you're in Washington, you may as well meet with the President and First Lady privately. Given everything that's happened, I think he should be able to see reality. Instead of stirring up a war to divert attention from his political issues at home, Hollywood's stance would be of greater assistance."

In February, following the final round of impeachment voting in the Senate, Clinton managed to navigate through the Lewinsky scandal without serious repercussions.

During this time, the White House was heavily lobbying the Department of Defense to initiate a war in Kosovo, even proposing a full-scale ground conflict to distract from the Lewinsky affair and reshape his political image and influence.

Katzenberg nodded attentively but still expressed his concern: "Eric, are you not at all worried about the implications of the AOL-Time Warner merger for us?"

"What is there to worry about?" Eric smiled and replied, "Just take a look at Steve Case's management appointments for the new company. Post-merger, although AOL's management leads the new firm, the internal power dynamics of Time Warner will not change. With no absolute control, do you think Steve Case can successfully implement his development strategy?"

Katzenberg thought for a moment, clearly agreeing with Eric's perspective, before asking, "What would you do, Eric, if you were leading the AOL-Time Warner merger?"

Eric halted the motion of rubbing his arm, his expression turning colder as he replied, "First and foremost, a major purge. Either non-obedient individuals leave, or I will. Phoenix must rise from the ashes; you must disrupt the old to build anew."

Even now, the various media resources held by Time Warner were still incredibly robust, rivaling those of Firefly Group.

Warner Bros., Time Inc., Warner Cable, Turner Broadcasting, HBO, and others were all high-quality media assets. However, even with a premium acquisition, AOL could only offer $63 billion for Time Warner, which was significantly less than half of the general valuation media attributed to Firefly Group.

The underlying reason for this situation lay in Time Warner's unending internal competition.

In retrospect, if Steve Ross, the founder of Time Warner, could have continued to lead for another twenty years like Murdoch or Redstone, the company would undoubtedly be in a different position today. Unfortunately, Steve Ross passed away in 1992.

As for Steve Case, even without previous memories, just observing his willingness to compromise on control issues before the merger completion made Eric pessimistic about the future of the new company.

...

As the workweek commenced, The Blair Witch Project maintained its strong momentum at 200 theaters across North America, with almost all display rooms showing sold-out screenings.

On March 12, when the first week's box office earnings were reported, the numbers astonished many once again.

Although it finished $3 million behind Payback during the opening weekend, The Blair Witch Project managed to reach an astonishing total of $21.27 million after a successful run in 200 theaters over the workweek, successfully surpassing Payback for the weekly box office crown. Meanwhile, the dramatic drop in attendance during weekdays affected Payback, leading to a second-week earnings of only $20.54 million, placing it in second.

At the same time, due to rigorous operation, the screening size of The Blair Witch Project was increased to over 2,100 screens starting March 12, officially rolling out across North American theaters. New Line Cinema allocated an additional $10 million for advertising, beginning promotional campaigns for The Blair Witch Project through traditional media channels.

...

After the first meeting, Universal Music took a full week before responding again.

Eric scheduled a meeting time with Edgar Bronfman again on Friday morning, but this time Universal Music CEO Doug Morrison did not attend.

In Eric's office at Firefly Studios, after brief pleasantries, Edgar Bronfman got straight to the point: "Eric, since the Yahoo Music Store needs a cut from digital music sales, I believe the record companies are also entitled to a share of the profits from Firefly Electronics' hardware sales."

Eric put down his coffee cup and shook his head, saying, "Ed, there's no such precedent. Have you ever heard of a projection equipment sales company sharing profits with a movie studio?"

"Clearly no such precedent exists," Edgar Bronfman responded calmly, "but I'm sure you get my point."

Eric understood perfectly what he meant: Seagram was trying to invest in Firefly Electronics. However, if Firefly Electronics was merely a portable music player company, he might consider it, but the company involved too many of Eric's future plans.

As Eric mulled over how to phrase his response, there was a knock on the office door. Caroline pushed it open, holding a mobile phone: "Sorry, Mr. Bronfman and Eric, but there's a call coming in from New York."

Eric turned to Caroline and asked, "Couldn't it wait?"

"It's Mr. Paul Roland from WM," Caroline explained. "He says it's an urgent matter; he's heading to JFK and is about to fly to Europe."

Hearing it was Paul Roland, Eric inferred it was likely about Carmen Kass. He wondered what had happened this time; hopefully, she hadn't bitten someone again.

With that thought, Eric stood up apologetically and said, "Well, Ed, I'm sorry about this. Just one moment."

Although Edgar Bronfman felt slightly displeased, he didn't show it and smiled graciously, "No problem, go take your call."

Stepping out of the office, Eric took the phone from Caroline and, despite being aware of his bright-eyed cousin beside him, he felt a bit guilty as he walked out into the corridor and finally put the phone to his ear: "Paul, what happened?"

*****

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