Made in Hollywood

To say what Leonardo? DiCaprio wants most, anyone who knows him knows that it is definitely not a female model with long blond legs, but the Oscar's best actor, the Golden Man!

In "Inception", Leonardo DiCaprio's performance is dazzling enough.

As a result, Leonardo’s team also began to create momentum for next year’s Oscars. Although it’s only in May, the people or films preparing for the Olympics have already started to take action. Even the last Oscars ceremony has just ended, targeting the next Oscars. The films and actors appeared in the media and major film festivals, trying to accumulate Chongao’s capital.

Relatively speaking, Leonardo's action is not too early, and Duke's plan is very behind.

However, Duke is also happy to see Leonardo win the prize. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Every Oscar will always be awarded by the best actor statuette. If the winner is his friend, of course it is a good thing.

"In "Inception" is a perfect transformation, Leonardo fully displays the inner struggle of the characters, portraying a character with flesh and blood, so that the audience can fully integrate into the film, which improves the overall viewing of the film."

There are many similar articles in the media, and more importantly, Leonardo has become the cover character of the new issue of Time Magazine.

This time, "Inception" was released, and many European and American media have identified Leonardo as a popular candidate for the best actor at the Oscar next year.

Below the bust of Leonardo on the cover of Time Magazine, Duke directly quoted a comment on him.

"Leonardo's contribution to "Inception" is huge. I think he is one of the most outstanding actors today, and his performance in our film is wonderful."

Just as he promised Sofia Coppola to pull Nicholas Cage out of the quagmire of the nightmare cycle, for his friends, as long as they can help, Duke will generally not stand by.

It's just that his friends are very limited, and the character like him, those who don't get his approval, even fall in front of him. Duke will also choose to ignore it.

In fact, in Hollywood to this day, his title of "double-faced man" has been widely circulated in the circle, and many people know how hard and cold it is under that seemingly peaceful face.

And Duke's success. It also allowed countless people to analyze him, including many professional analysis agencies, such as Ed Mintz, a famous Hollywood and film market analyst.

The name Ed Mintz is a super unfamiliar name to most movie fans. The 69-year-old has never participated in any premiere, and his name has never appeared on the Hollywood power list. But he has made a huge contribution to the entire Hollywood film industry in the past few years-the CinemaScore film market research company he founded has provided the entire industry with immeasurable box office reference information.

Different from the trial screenings organized by some major studios, CinemaScore's survey was conducted immediately after the audience watched the film's premiere, and the final box office predicted based on the audience's word of mouth always showed surprising accuracy.

In 2008, "Superman for All" received an A-level market rating. Ed Mintz predicted that the North American box office of the film was about 230 million U.S. dollars, and the actual box office was 228 million U.S. dollars. Last summer’s "Lost Land", According to CinemaScore's C-level score, it is predicted that 48 million U.S. dollars, which is actually 49 million U.S. dollars; "G-type leader" is also a C-level score, which is estimated to be 57 million U.S. dollars. The actual value is 60 million U.S. dollars; there are also classics such as the C-rated "Super Detective Shopping Center", which predicted 24 million U.S. dollars, and finally it was 24 million U.S. dollars.

Even more convincing is that last year’s summer hit "The Hangover", even if someone boldly predicted $150 million at the premiere of the film, no one believed it, but CinemaScore thought the film would cost about $228 million. , And the actual result is more than 270 million US dollars...

Of course, CinemaScore's prediction is not 100%, and mistakes are unavoidable, such as "Immediate Rescue" forecasting $70 million. In the end it was 145 million US dollars; and Ed Mintz was very optimistic about "Fast and Furious 4", he thought it could reach 200 million US dollars, but was affected by "Mad Max", only 150 million US dollars .

But in general. Compared with Rotten Tomatoes Freshness, which has little to do with the market, and IemaScore, the box office forecast report based on the scoring report of movie fans after the premiere, the accuracy rate is still very convincing.

The CinemaScore score is easy to understand. A means success, B means okay and satisfactory, and C means bad news. Means that a box office tragedy is about to happen. Audiences on the premiere night rarely give a D or E rating, and very few films get an F. According to Duke, if they get an F, then the film should not be released at all.

In the eyes of all Hollywood production and distribution companies, such as Ed Mintz and his CinemaScore, who specialize in the existence of the market, the weight is far more important than Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, and the latter two are very difficult for the film market. It's not that much, and the former can quickly figure out the market prospects of a film, allowing the film company to adjust accordingly.

After watching "Inception", the famous master of analysis talked about Duke in particular when he met his friend David Geffen, one of the Big Three in DreamWorks.

"He is growing very fast!"

In a mansion in Las Vegas, David Geffen shook his bald head and said to Ed Mintz who was drinking tea together, "When I noticed him, he has become the best in the industry. One of the directors."

"Excellent director?"

Ed Mintz stood up and poured another cup of black tea for David Geffen. After sitting down, he couldn't help but shook his head. "Duke Rosenberg is more than just a director. In my opinion, he is still a Top marketing guru."

David Geffen was slightly surprised, "Duke does often give Warner Bros. some groundbreaking marketing advice, but he does not have the ability to formulate a complete plan and implement it..."

"I didn't mean that, David." Ed Mintz leaned on the back of the sofa, raised his feet, and said, "I am not referring to marketing, but he makes marketing directly into the movie."

"Oh?" David Geffen was interested, "tell me."

"The essence of marketing is exchange. The premise of exchange is to move people's hearts. To move people's hearts requires an insight into human nature. Then the master of marketing is naturally the one who understands human nature."

Picking up the teacup and taking a sip, Ed Mintz said unhurriedly, "It's the same whether you are a director or a brand. Duke Rosenberg has a good grasp of human nature, and the film has gorgeous visual effects. Of course it will bring shock, but the main core of his film has always resonated with mainstream audiences. This is what Duke has done very successfully."

Several Duke movies flashed through David Geffen's mind, and then nodded, exactly as Ed Mintz said.

"Take "Inception" which is still in theaters..."

After slightly organizing the language, Ed Mintz said, "The film is positioned in dreams, and it is a very good subject in itself. This field is a blue ocean. The audience is used to the straightforward and rude sci-fi action movies, and it is somewhat numb. Can't lift the spirit. However, we know very little about dreams and are very interested..."

"From Inception, Designing, Implanting, and Dreaming, Duke has outlined a perfect brand story, formed the entire brand structure, and enriched the brand connotation. To dig deeper into the support point, then, this concept will be empty and will not be able to be implemented. In this way, Duke’s "Inception" will virtually occupy the top position of similar brands."

David Geffen understood what Ed Mintz wanted to express and said, "From this perspective, the implantation of dreams is the same as when we implant the brand in consumers' minds."

"It's not just these..." Ed Mintz said again, "Have you noticed the feelings reflected in the movie "Inception"? And his past movies, it is basically the same. For branding , Love, family, friendship, and the realization of self-worth are eternal themes."

Hearing this, David Geffen couldn't help sighing. Duke Rosenberg’s films always contain these, and these are simply one of the best marketing tools to attract audiences.

To a certain extent, Duke Rosenberg’s success does not mean how strong he really is, but that he is more market-conscious than others and respects the market and audience.

"There are two hardest things in this world." Ed Mintz suddenly stretched out a finger, "One is how to put other people's money into your pocket."

When David Geffen looked over, he stretched out his second finger, "The second is how to put your own thoughts into other people's heads."

Ed Mintz emphasized his tone, "Among Hollywood, he did the best in both aspects!"

"Inception" dominates the film market in North America and even the world for two consecutive weeks, and the controversy caused by it can be said to be the best proof of Ed Mintz's words, but on the third weekend of North American screening, " Inception has ushered in a heavyweight opponent.

Directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, and released by Walt Disney, "Robin Hood" will be released on Friday in North American theaters.

Because David Ellison acquired the corresponding investment shares and further expanded the investment relationship, the production cost of this epic masterpiece was as high as 200 million US dollars, and the promotion and marketing expenses were close to 150 million US dollars!

Whether it is the cast of directors and actors, or the scale of investment and publicity, this is one of the rare super large productions in recent years.

From Disney to David Ellison, everyone is confident and believes that "Robin Hood" has everything to sell.

However, the development of the facts is surprising. (To be continued.)