screenwriter mystery

Chapter 23 Acting as Director
"publicity?"

Ron Mayer froze for a moment.

It's not that the method proposed by Zhao Yuan is unexpected, on the contrary, it is too common.

That's what Hollywood movies do.

Seeing this, Ron Meyer couldn't help being disappointed: "I don't think that publicity alone will be able to attract enough audiences for "The Blair Witch". It may have some effect, but it won't change anything."

As the vice president of film and television distribution of Universal Pictures, Ron Meyer can be described as a veteran of publicity and distribution.

Hollywood movies are inseparable from publicity. The more expensive the movie, the more expensive the publicity costs behind it.

However, after all, publicity is only a means to attract audiences into the theater, and the success of the movie depends on the content.

And the script plot of "The Blair Witch", as he said before, is not very attractive.

For movies, especially the horror genre, this is fatal.

"What if the audience who enter the theater don't think that what they see is the fictional plot of the movie from the beginning to the end, but the real events that happened in reality, what about a documentary about witch legends? What if everything is the horror that exists in the real world Incident, are you curious about the truth behind this case, Mr. Ron?"

Facing Ron Meyer's disappointment, Zhao Yuan asked back.

"If everything is real, I'm naturally curious."

Ron Meyer was slightly surprised by this, but still answered truthfully.

Immediately afterwards, he reacted quickly, looked down at the script on the table and then at Zhao Yuan opposite, the expression on his face gradually became surprised.

"Don't tell me, this is your way, Alan?"

"How do you make a movie hype into reality and make the audience think it's real?"

"Don't forget, Mr. Ron, we are in the age of the Internet."

Looking at Ron Meyer in front of him, Zhao Yuan showed a determined smile on his face.

"Through the power of the Internet, even the most unknown guy can become an overnight sensation. With the help of the Internet's portable publicity channel, it only needs to expose a small number of people to horror legends about witches and let people know about the 'documentary'. Regardless of whether they really believe in the truth behind this, our goal has been achieved..."

"Once the news about the witch documentary spreads across the United States, as long as some people enter the theaters to watch the movie, it will be able to provide enough box office revenue for "The Blair Witch."

"..."

After listening to Zhao Yuan's publicity plan for "The Blair Witch", Ron Meyer was silent for a long time before digesting everything.

"Brilliant pitch idea, Alan."

As the vice president of the global distribution department, Ron Meyer can naturally see the feasibility behind the publicity plan proposed by Zhao Yuan.

"Perhaps, the real job for you is publicity, not screenwriting, Alan."

After sighing a little, Ron Meyer changed his subject.

"So, who are you going to cast in this movie?"

Hearing Ron Meyer's words, Zhao Yuan knew that "The Blair Witch" had been stabilized.

Suppressing his inner emotions, he then replied: "The less famous the better, for a 'pseudo-documentary' film like "The Blair Witch", the appearance of famous actors will only affect the film's publicity plan. "

Nodding his head, Ron Meyer obviously agreed with what Zhao Yuan said.

"Universal will arrange for actors. The most indispensable thing in Hollywood is unknown actors."

"You don't need a professional actor."

Zhao Yuan reminded Ron Meyer that in a film like "The Blair Witch", any acting skills are useless, all you want is an amateur feeling.

"About the choice of director, what's your opinion, Allen?"

Since "The Blair Witch" comes from Zhao Yuan's ideas from the script to the publicity method, Ron Meyer also made concessions to him in the choice of director.

"What do you think of me?"

Pointing at himself, Zhao Yuan looked at Ron Meyer and said.

Zhao Yuan's answer stunned Ron Meyer's expression.

He looked up at the young Chinese youth, and said in a tactful tone.

"Alan, you are an excellent screenwriter, but filming is not an easy job. Even Wen only directed and completed his first film after accumulating experience for a long time. I can arrange for you As an assistant director in the crew, as for the director, maybe we can discuss a suitable candidate."

Judging from Zhao Yuan's publicity plan, "The Blair Witch" is destined to be a profitable movie project.

It is precisely for this reason that it is impossible for Ron Meyer to put it in the hands of a newcomer like Zhao Yuan who obviously has no directing experience.

"You misunderstood me, Mr. Ron."

Zhao Yuan understood Ron Meyer's concerns, but he did not make any concessions as the director of "The Blair Witch".

"It can already be seen from the script that "The Blair Witch" is a documentary film with no main axis at all. The story of "The Blair Witch" is told through the handheld DV of a few college students, and some horrible scenes are hidden in the chaos. In the shooting, this kind of shooting does not require any professional director, on the contrary, a novice like me with no experience is the most suitable, professional shooting techniques will only reveal the secrets of the movie."

"..."

There is no doubt that the reasons given by Zhao Yuan are very convincing, especially with the blessing of his status as the screenwriter of "The Blair Witch".

In the office, Ron Meyer was silent for a moment, and then said with a wry smile.

"Well, I admit it, Alan, you managed to convince me."

"I hope that the final filming effect of "The Blair Witch" is really as you said."

"I can assure you of this."

The shooting of "The Blair Witch" was not difficult. In fact, the original version took less than 8 days to complete all the shooting content, and because of the "pseudo-documentary" shooting format, the whole movie did not require much post-editing. Even the most basic soundtrack is omitted, which can be described as the most crude movie among all Hollywood movies.

However, it happened that such a rudimentary movie, which could not be more shabby, managed to grab hundreds of millions of dollars in the box office on the big screen, and also occupied a place in the future Hollywood horror movies, becoming the history of Hollywood movies. One of the most profitable films on the Internet.

　Thanks to Lonely Sword Feather for the 100 starting point reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)