More than two months passed in the blink of an eye. Ronald finished filming the movie on the set of "The Kid" in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and returned to Los Angeles.
The filming of "The Kid" has ended. I followed Coppola on the set and saw a series of methods he used to guide actors, which was very beneficial.
It can be said that Coppola turned directing into an art form. From the beginning of casting, to rehearsals, to the last sentence he said to the actors before directing, every move in the entire process is for the final actors to be presented on film. Prepare for the image.
His bag seems to be full of normal and abnormal tricks, each of which makes the actor's performance even better.
Ronald rented a clean motel in Los Angeles and began to sort out the insights he had gained over the past two months. From now on, he would be able to learn from the master's experience when directing.
But there wasn't much time left for him to sort out his notes, as "Fast-paced Richmond High" was about to be released.
Six weeks in advance, Universal's distribution department began to find producers Lin Sen, Azoff, director Ronald, and several leading actors to discuss the film's marketing schedule.
"That's roughly it. We don't have much marketing budget to invest. In addition to concentrated interviews with newspapers in Los Angeles and New York, there is also a focus on Dallas, Texas.
There was Bobbi Wygant's celebrity interview show on NBC 5, one of the few nationally syndicated film-related television programs. Our three leading actors will be interviewed by her. "
A director of Universal's distribution department was briefing two producers and Ronald on the distribution plan.
"We have had several major regional distributors look at the prints, and they have mixed reviews about the quality of the film. Buyers on the West Coast prefer it, while buyers on the East Coast and South Central have some complaints about the nudity, but the box office is still relatively good. Good news.
They are willing to release "Fast Times" five weeks after Universal's "ET" is released, that is, on July 16th. In this way, our marketing work will start roughly in mid-June, including various TV programs, newspaper interviews, and exclusive interviews in professional magazines.
I heard that you guys yourself contacted The Late Show with David Letterman to have Brooke Shields guest on the show to talk about 'Fast Times,' which is also really great news for our movie.
In short, this is our advance marketing arrangement. We are waiting for the national box office results of the first weekend. The general first weekend multiplier of a youth romantic comedy is about four times. If the audience likes it, it may reach six times. "
"What is opening weekend multiplier?" Ronald asked producer Lin Sen secretly as he sat in a chair and heard a term he didn't understand.
"This is the first time for our director to direct a theatrical feature film. This is his debut. Can you help explain the first weekend box office multiplier and some basic knowledge related to distribution?" Lin Sen raised his hand to speak and asked about distribution. director.
"My question. I didn't expect this to be the first film directed by Ronald Lee. I want to congratulate you.
The first weekend multiplier is a method we use to estimate the box office of a movie. It is a number obtained by dividing the total box office of the movie by the box office of the first weekend of release.
In this way, when we get the first weekend box office numbers, we can roughly estimate the box office performance of the entire movie. It is convenient to adjust the subsequent screening plan and the release time of other movies.
You know, since the tragedy of "Heaven's Gate" last year, both the print media and the TV media have been very keen to compare the box office figures of movies every week.
Audiences have also begun to choose which movies they go to theaters based on weekly box office rankings. This makes our opening weekend multiplier even more important. "
"Um, thank you. Could you please explain in more detail why the first weekend multiplier becomes important? I'm a complete layman on film distribution." Ronald knew that he didn't understand, and he wasn't afraid to show his timidity, so he simply asked in more detail. .
"A very good question. You know, there is a cost for not showing a movie in a cinema? So what is the cost?"
"I think it should be the electricity bill, copy rental fee, cleaners, admission ticket inspectors, etc., right?"
“It can be seen that Director Ronald is a person who often goes to the movies, but apart from these, what is more important is the box office of other movies.
Let me make an analogy, if there are two movies, let's compare 'Annie', which is currently in theaters, and 'Grease 2'.
Grease 2' had a large-scale release last weekend, with a box office of 4.6 million in its first weekend, and 'Annie' has a large-scale release this week and is gaining momentum. How do movie theaters decide which movies should be given more screen time? "
"I think I will decide by comparing the box office results of the two movies?" Ronald replied.
"Bingo! This is the concept of opportunity cost in economics. The average box office of Grease 2 this week is less than 2,000 US dollars per theater. The average box office per theater since the release of Annie is more than 4,500 US dollars, so cinemas will increase the number of 'Annie' 's shows and give more prime time slots to 'Annie'.
Our distributor will give a multiplier to estimate the box office performance of the entire movie based on the type of movie, the ratings of film critics, and the evaluation of live audiences.
For example, 'Grease 2' only received a two-star rating from Roger Ebert and a b- audience rating, and it's a sequel, so we can only estimate a multiplier of 3.5.
As for the Broadway adaptation of the musical 'Annie', the ratings from critics and audiences greatly exceeded that of 'Grease 2', and we can safely give it a multiplier of more than 6. "
Ronald nodded, indicating that he understood. The first weekend box office multiplier is actually an empirical formula used by the distribution department to estimate the final box office. It is roughly judged by film critics, audience ratings, film type, and experience.
The higher the multiplier, the longer the movie will be available and theaters will be willing to show it, resulting in a higher total box office in the end.
Of course, after ten weeks, when the movie switches to long-term screening, the cinema's share will be much higher than in the first few weeks. Apart from the good overall box office numbers, it actually means little to the studio's income.
Did "Grease 2" do so poorly at the box office? Ronald knew that Paramount invested $6 million in "Grease 2," plus another $6 million of record company boss Robert Sturwood's own money. The total production cost was $12 million, plus marketing expenses.
If the opening weekend box office is 4.6 million multiplied by a multiplier of 3.5, the box office may not even be able to match the total cost. In this case, Michelle Pfeiffer's big screen debut will be a failure.
Ronald picked up the Chicago Sun-Times on the table. In the column, Albert mocked the plot and the leading actor of "Grease 2" and said a few good things about Michelle Pfeiffer. Maybe her agent Limato took care of it.
Ronald temporarily put the thought of worrying about others behind him, and now it was time to worry about his debut in the "fast-paced Richmond High School".
"Then what is the first weekend multiplier for our movie?" Producer Lin Sen asked Ronald the question that everyone is most concerned about.
"Our movie was released in mid-July, when the momentum of 'Annie' and 'ET' should have slowed down a bit, and the fast-paced audience test score was B+, so we conservatively gave it a 4.5-6 multiplier between."
"If it can get more than 4.5 million at the box office in the first weekend like Grease 2, multiplied by the lowest 4.5, it can also exceed 20 million at the box office. Considering that the production cost of the movie is only less than 3.5 million , such achievements can give Hollywood a good impression anyway."
Ronald let out a sigh of relief. In this case, he would definitely be able to get a second film contract from the studio.
The director of the distribution department noticed his nervousness and raised his hand to signal to him, "Based on experience, this movie will be a big success."
"How is the premiere arranged?"
"Fast-paced is not a big production. We will not hold premieres in large theaters. But we will hold small premieres in Los Angeles and New York. Some newspapers and media will also be invited to interview at that time. The two heroines Jennifer Jason Lee, and Phoebe Cates have both agreed to attend.
Sean Penn is very popular with theater buyers and he will be here. Then it depends on whether you can invite guest stars Brooke Shields and David Letterman to attend. If possible, it will create news topics for the media, which will be of great benefit to our box office on the opening weekend. "
"Give me the time and place of the event, and I will invite you. Also leave me some tickets in New York, and I will invite my family and friends to watch it. The same goes for Los Angeles." Ronald thought of his family and friends in New York. Friends, this is a memorable moment.
"Okay, no problem. I'll leave you at least ten tickets to the premiere movie."
Ronald went back and prepared to go to several big cities for marketing promotions, which slightly relaxed his nervousness. He paid attention to what his competitors were doing. "Grease 2" really tanked at the box office in its second week, and it's about to be released in four weeks.
Next week is the release date of "ET", also from Universal. I heard from the distribution director that this Spielberg film was absolutely well received by test audiences and received an A+ test evaluation, which is very rare and only comes out once every two years.
This gives "ET" five weeks of release time, and "Fast Pace" happens to be released on July 16th, putting it in a good position for the summer season.
Disney's Zinnemann, on the other hand, is looking for Matt Dillon and Meg Tilly to star in "The Texan," which will be released at the end of July two weeks later than its own "Fast Pace." My own movie has a two-week advantage. Even if the other party's quality is equal to my own, I still occupy a better time slot in the summer schedule.
The follow-up film by two Israelis, "The Last American Virgin," will also be released at the end of July, which will further dilute the box office of "The Texan," which is also about teenagers.
No matter how you look at it, you are in a very advantageous position.
Universal Pictures is indeed a major studio, and it is very good at grabbing schedules, leaving Disney, which makes animations, far behind.
Just when Ronald was eager to reunite with the leading actors and fly to various places to promote the movie, an unexpected incident suddenly occurred.
multiple copies
