The Best Actor in the Vase of Meiyu

Chapter 1180 Art Screening
The street became quiet again, but the commotion coming from the halo could still be heard, depicting the scene of the Hathaway siblings chasing each other in the house.

Anson couldn't help but smile, and then he turned around and started walking.

After coming out of the subway station, Anson escorted Anne on foot.

Anson had no knowledge of the traffic in the area, as every house looked alike, and he was clearly not a trustworthy guide; nevertheless, he realized that they seemed to be going in circles, spinning 360 degrees around the street.

However, Anson did not expose the truth and just accompanied Anne for a walk in the snow.

Crunch, crunch.

Walking in the snow with alternate footsteps, the concentration of the conversation between us finally returned to ourselves because of the end of the conversation and the end of the lively atmosphere, and those senses slowly returned to our bodies.

The biting cold and numbness spread to my toes, and I could not feel anything in my fingers and soles. It was a beat later that I noticed the stiffness of my limbs.

However, the mood is bright, as if floating on cotton candy clouds.

In just one night, it seemed like a lot of things happened, yet it seemed like nothing happened. Those invisible burdens disappeared before they had time to fall on the heart.

The next day, Anson went to the bar on time.

Jim and Rebecca looked at Anson in surprise.

It was incredible that Anson appeared here and performed under an alias; after what happened yesterday, it was an even heavier blow.

I just couldn't understand why Anson would come to perform on time.

Instead, the person involved was the calmest. He looked at the two people who were stuttering and said with a smile, "I said that everything will remain the same today."

Life returned to normal, without changing because of what happened that night.

Perhaps, the only difference is that, gradually, more and more guests come to support "Le'Veon Davis", and good music still speaks.

Inadvertently, someone recognized Anson, but he remained calm.

"...More than one person has said that. I don't feel that way myself. He is more handsome, so he is in Hollywood and I am here."

A little joke and self-mockery can easily defuse the crisis and even make other audiences in the tavern laugh.

Edward, who knew the truth, suggested enthusiastically, "Why don't you do a stand-up comedy here? Wasn't your talk show very successful before?"

Anson looked at the tavern owner with a smile, "The appearance fee for a talk show is not a small amount. Are you sure it's okay?"

Edward waited for Anson with a depressed look on his face. "It's boring. It's really boring."

Time passes by in the busy days.

Anson stayed in New York this year, and Lucas also flew over from Los Angeles. It was a rare occasion that the entire Wood family was reunited to spend Christmas in New York.

Waiting for Christmas to be over, there are only a few days left in 2003.

At the same time, "Elephant" finally officially met with audiences in North American theaters.

Some people say that the craze for the "butterfly effect" is sweeping the world, and HBO should seize the opportunity and use Anson's influence to open up the situation. Perhaps "Elephant" can make some splashes in the market.

HBO disagrees with this.

"The Butterfly Effect" is "The Butterfly Effect" and "The Elephant" is "The Elephant". The two films are completely different. The genre, style, market and target audience are all different. Except that both of them have Anson's participation, there is no connection between the two.

There is no need to force a connection.

And most importantly, HBO does not believe that "Elephant" is in line with the Oscar awards system. How should this work be positioned during the awards season?
Best Actor? Best Adapted Screenplay? Best Editing? Best Cinematography?
None of them will work, because of the uniqueness of the film itself, even if HBO is ready to enter the awards season, the positioning problem is still a difficult problem. Even in the end, HBO focused on the best picture and best director, and it was difficult to make a breakthrough in terms of the film's positioning and style.

HBO has been planning for the Emmy Awards for many years and is very familiar with the Academy's public relations. The huge investment in public relations may not get an effective return.

After all, in the beginning, "Elephant" was not aiming for any awards.

The Palme d'Or is both an unexpected and a pleasant surprise. There is no need for HBO to be too greedy.

Objectively speaking, the fact that "Elephant" was shown in theaters has exceeded expectations. HBO just hopes that veteran movie fans can appreciate the charm of the movie.

There is no ambition, no layout, no public relations, nothing. HBO simply plans around the movie itself, and everything returns to its purity.

HBO is still HBO, which is a rare sanity and conscience in the industry.

Amid the hustle and bustle of award season, it is truly a breath of fresh air.

So, there was this scene in front of me.

"Elephant" was scheduled to be screened in 27 theaters across the United States.

Among them, Los Angeles and New York each have two cinemas, and the other 23 large cities each have one cinema.

Moreover, all of them are independent art theaters, far away from large shopping malls and large cinema chains.

The entire goal, positioning, and strategy are very clear——

This is an independent film that is meant to be shown for movie lovers.

Naturally, HBO did not carry out blanket publicity and promotion, but only targeted specific target groups for targeted delivery, which was extremely low-key.

The Palme d'Or winner is treated like this?

To be precise, this is the current norm.

At present, the three major European film festivals are still labeled as art, and the connection between them and the Oscars is just in its infancy. There is a gap between them and the mainstream market. The market performance of the winning works of the three major film festivals is often not worth mentioning.

The market distribution of these works, at present, basically relies entirely on independent art theaters, which screen them in rounds, and the final box office results are determined by the market potential of art films in different countries and regions.

Globally, there are only a handful of works that have grossed over $10 million.

Simply put, when shooting art films now, producers and directors rely on auctioning overseas distribution rights to recover costs.

For example, HBO sold the distribution rights of "Elephant" to a French distribution company for distribution and screening in France for US$300,000, and then sold it to a British distribution company for distribution and screening in the British Isles for US$500,000.

And so on, relying on these revenues to recover costs and even create profits.

Today, the boundary between art and business is still very clear.

It is normal for "elephants" to be treated like this.

However, because of Anson's presence, "The Elephant" still attracted more attention.

Mainstream media, led by The New York Times and The Hollywood Reporter, have paid close attention to the film, especially Anson's first film as a producer, The Butterfly Effect, which is becoming a huge success. This has also attracted attention to "The Elephant", Anson's first attempt at an independent work.

Coupled with the halo of the Palme d'Or and Gus Van Sant, the preview of "Elephant" inexplicably created a huge wave in the holiday season, and countless eyes gathered, eagerly waiting for the movie to be released.

(End of this chapter)