Video Game Empire

Oriental Game Carnival is a platform for communication and interaction with players built by Dongyou Company, which has been trying its best to promote game culture in recent years. ￠￡￠￡ǎn￠￡Xiao￠￡ said that it is not only staged in Victoria Park in Hong Kong, but will also be staged one by one in many cities around the world such as New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Taipei and so on at the end of each year.

The Oriental Game Carnival event, together with other large-scale advertisements and promotions launched by Dongyou Company, completely ignites the enthusiasm of gamers all over the world during the shopping season at the end of each year.

While a lively game is being held in Victoria Park in Hong Kong, the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan, New York, which is 13 hours away from Hong Kong, is also hosting a lively banquet at the four-star hotel on the edge of Times Square. party.

"ab, let me introduce to you, this is Mr. Pollack!" Zhang Wanting's tutor at New York University, accompanied by a smiling man in his fifties with blond curly hair, walked up and introduced. .

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

"Thank you! I just received the mini video recorder you sent me not long ago. It's a very good product! Of course, there is also the movie "Sleepless in Hong Kong". The subtle and delicate love of the Orientals is impressive! It was also destined by fate, which made me think of that "Golden Jade Alliance"!" The gentleman Mr. Pollack smiled.

He was the best director of the last Oscar, and the movie "Out of Africa" ​​that brought him a golden statue also won the Oscar for best picture last year. It is the biggest winner.

"Thank you for your evaluation, Mr. McCarley's "Golden Jade Alliance". It has always been one of my favorite movies! There is a proverb in the East called, looking back thousands of times in previous lives. Yes! Some romantic encounters are destined!"

Zhang Wanting responded with a smile that in the movie "Sleepless in Hong Kong" directed by her, the love between the male and female protagonists is indeed a tribute to "Golden Jade Alliance", the most classic Hollywood romance in the 1950s.

Beginning in November, the annual awards season for the American film industry kicked off again. "Sleepless in Hong Kong" was filmed at the end of August. After nearly two months of intense post-production, the submission was completed before the deadline for the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film at the end of October, and will represent Hong Kong at the 59th Academy Awards. competition.

And after the selection of "Sleepless in Hong Kong" was completed. Asian Pictures immediately launched a public relations plan for the award. The annual Oscars are regarded as the largest entertainment festival in the world. But it was never a fair, just, open competition, but an entertainment show for American filmmakers.

Hollywood in the 1980s has not been able to travel around the world as much as 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 entire Western world, especially in English-speaking regions, has long been ingrained.

Since the birth of the Oscars, the PR of the awards has followed. The eight major Hollywood companies have their own dedicated public relations teams, and the reason why there are awards public relations. The fundamental reason is naturally derived from interests.

With the huge influence of the Academy Awards in the United States, and even in the entire Western world, an Academy Award nomination can bring huge fame to a film, which in turn gives producers and distributors a higher level of recognition when the film is released. income.

Hollywood's most notorious PR guru. None other than the Weinstein brothers. Their most famous actions include taking Gwyneth Paltrow for Best Actress at the 71st Academy Awards. And Paltrow is also known as one of the most misunderstood parallel actresses in Oscar history.

But before the Weinstein brothers came along. PR behind the scenes at the Oscars isn't quite as intense yet. The PR investment of an award-winning film rarely exceeds $500,000. The approach taken is usually to throw some parties. Just send a videotape of your own video to voters in advance!

The official name of the Academy Awards is actually the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards. Presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy 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 directly buying votes with money, which is strictly prohibited, the college has no objection to the practice of companies sending some small gifts to members who are eligible to vote. The most common gift from film companies is to send hardcover movie videotapes 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 participating in the Oscar competition every year, and no academy member will really watch them all. Most people are very casual when filling out their ballots, and if they see a movie they are familiar with, they just tick the movie.

The videotape was sent to the members of the academy in advance, even if they were too lazy to appreciate it, but when they received the beautifully packaged package, they would more or less leave some impressions on the name of the movie, which would affect the final choice.

The PR team of "Sleepless in Hong Kong" made a lot of money this time, and specially customized a batch of mini video recorders. They also included a video recorder along with the hardcover video tapes they mailed to each voter.

You must know that the total number of members of the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is as high as several thousand, and the cost of customizing a few thousand VCRs alone is as high as $1 million. No wonder Pollack was so impressed that he deliberately revealed that he had received the mini video recorder.

Because in the eyes of people in the industry, this is completely a stupid behavior that is not proportional to the pay and the income. The best foreign language film award is not the most important award in the Oscars, and the benefits it can bring to the distributor are actually relatively limited.

Moreover, it has always been difficult for foreign films to achieve high box office in the United States, even a British film whose language and culture are very similar to the United States is no exception, let alone a romance film from Asia. You know, in the eyes of most Americans, Asian faces look alike. Many viewers may have watched the entire "Sleepless in Hong Kong", but they can't tell the difference in appearance of the various characters in it!

Universal Pictures, one of the Hollywood giants, is responsible for the North American distribution of "Sleepless in Hong Kong". It simply couldn't have worked for the movie until it was sure it would generate a huge lucrative return. Invest a lot of money in public relations. At most, they will only allow their own media to beat the drums!

The entire Oscar PR budget for "Sleepless Hong Kong" this time. Up to $4 million! From the book's point of view, this money is not borne by the film's producer, Asian Films. Asian film industry now. It is already a subsidiary of the listed company Asia Entertainment Holdings.

Its revenue data is ultimately reflected in the financial statements of listed companies. And such unreasonable and huge expenses are easy to be seized and attacked. The North American marketing expense for "Sleepless in Hong Kong" listed on Asia Pictures' accounts was only $1.2 million.

This is the offer made by Universal Pictures to buy out the North American distribution rights of "Sleepless in Hong Kong". Asian Pictures is equivalent to using the North American market revenue in exchange for fame in Hollywood, and it can also explain the past to shareholders.

Another PR contract worth $2.8 million was actually signed with Universal Pictures by a leather bag company registered in the Cayman Islands. The person who is really responsible for paying for this money is actually Li Xuan, and of course he 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 understand these complicated stories hidden behind the scenes. Just know that Asian Studios will do everything they can to get the Oscars for their new films. And what she needs to do is to do her best to cooperate with the company's redemption action.

The Oscars are actually the last and most important main course of the awards season. Before that, the audience was given a taste of appetizers to add to the fun. The New York Film Critics Association Awards are such an appetizer, and they have been the first awards to announce their results throughout awards season.

This award, together with the North American Broadcasting Film Critics Association Award and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, is known as the three major film critics awards in the United States. It is also one of the bellwethers of the Oscars.

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

But don't think that American film critics are just and honest gentlemen. In fact, they are a group of blood-sucking bugs parasitic on the Hollywood film industry. The main income of film critics does not depend on royalties. Instead, he used his own fame to write offensive articles touting soft articles or abusive attacks on certain films, so as to collect gray benefits from the film companies!

$300,000! This is Universal's PR team. Get the total cost of 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 Association! The party tonight. It was the public relations team of "Sleepless in Hong Kong" that held a celebration banquet for the film's first award!

"Sister Ting. Congratulations on your first move! I look forward to "Sleepless in Hong Kong" winning the first Academy Award for a Hong Kong film in March next year!" Li Ying smiled at Zhang Wanting who came forward said.

"Don't lift me up too much. I know how much I have. I will be thankful if I can have a nomination!" Zhang Wanting smiled and shook her head, a look of exhaustion on her brows. She had actually just landed in New York after a ten-hour flight from Hong Kong, even before the jet lag was reversed.

Regarding the artistic level of the movie "Sleepless in Hong Kong", Zhang Wanting, the director, is very confident in her heart, and at best it can only be considered acceptable!

The Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film has attracted much attention. Although it cannot be compared with the heavyweight awards such as Best Director, Best Actor, Actress, and Best Picture, the competition is actually more intense.

For example, at this year's Oscars, 67 films will compete with "Sleepless in Hong Kong" for the best foreign language film award. Each film represents a country or region, the highest level of film art. And Zhang Wanting, who has only made two films in her debut, does not think that her third film will be able to compete with the best film masters from all over the world!

The goal of Asian Films this time is not really to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, but to win a nomination. After all, there are 5 nominations for the best foreign language film. Even if "Sleepless Hong Kong" makes up for the lack of artistic level through public relations, the academy will turn a blind eye by default!

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

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

"He starred in "The True Color of Heroes," and the videotapes are selling like crazy in Chinatown!" Li Ying explained.

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

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

The reason why Zhang Wanting flew to the United States~www.readwn.com~ is because she graduated from New York University. New York is one of the two major film mecca in the United States, as famous as 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-winning action of "Sleepless in Hong Kong"!

As for the others who don't have any visibility in the US, it's not much use to come over. Instead, it is better to stay in Asia and contribute to the box office of "Sleepless in Hong Kong". Since Asia Entertainment Holdings received a large amount of funds from the listing circle, it has begun to expand the Asian market, especially in the investment and integration of Southeast Asia, Taiwan and other theaters.

In the past, the way Hong Kong films were distributed in other cities was to buy out the pieces. The Asian film industry has always been striving to adopt the box-office sharing model, especially after it has extended its tentacles into the theater resources of various places, it has begun to promote the model of simultaneous release across Asia.

For example, "Sleepless in Hong Kong" was released simultaneously in eight countries including Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea. When "Sleepless in Hong Kong" was released, it was at the time when Zhou Runfa's previous "True Colors of Heroes" was popular in Asia. Therefore, he is naturally the main propaganda of the Asian film industry, and these countries that are released at the same time have to go around!

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