Chapter 37 The box office rose against the trend in the second week
"Ronald, in addition to Pepsi, there is another organization that wants to add commercials to the 'Top Gun' video, and it also wants you to direct it."
"Oh? Which company is it?" Ronald received a long-distance call from producer Bruckheimer from Hollywood. Since AT&T was split up, telephone companies in various regions operate independently, with in-room calls and telephone answering.
The cost of the phone has dropped a lot. However, the price of long-distance calls has risen instead of falling. Ronald often has to talk to multiple people about creative projects, and his monthly phone bill has skyrocketed.
"It's not the company, it's the American Navy. They want to add a recruitment advertisement to the video. Because the Navy has strict bidding procedures, bids have been sent to all 4a advertising companies, but they strongly hinted that you are their favorite.
As long as you nod your head, you will definitely win the bid."
"Well, okay, if any 4A advertising company wins the bid, let him contact Eddie, the general manager of Daydream Productions."
Two Navy investigators quickly discovered that Ronald's movie portrayed Navy work in a very alluring way.
In addition to pilots who can casually pick up girls, fight MiG pilots, play volleyball on the beach, and fly cool and handsome fighter jets like Tomcats, even ground staff are described by Ronald as good job choices.
Whether dancing to rock music on the aircraft carrier, or the ground crew working in the tower of the base, using radios to communicate with pilots, it is a very desirable job (all kinds of scenes of working with engine oil and wrenches under the sun)
Ronald didn’t take the photo).
In the second week after the movie was released, the Navy noticed that the inquiry rate in the recruitment office increased by more than 300%. Pentagon bureaucrats were already worried about the declining recruitment numbers every year. This time they overcame the problem in order to seize the opportunity.
Despite the red tape of the bureaucracy, recruitment points were quickly opened on-site at movie theaters in major cities across the country.
Ever since the Vietnam War made civilian families in America cry for their children who died under the draft system, one of the major issues in the election was to change the military draft to a draft system. After voters got their wish, the Pentagon quickly discovered that they could no longer recruit middle-class children of good families.
of soldiers.
No one wanted to serve in the army, be arbitrarily humiliated by instructors, and have the opportunity to die on the battlefield. Soon, the composition of the army underwent earth-shaking changes. Blacks and other ethnic minorities began to rapidly exceed their respective proportions in the total population and became
The largest source of troops for the Army.
The worst thing is the Air Force and Navy. These two services require a large number of people with higher education to serve as high-tech arms. However, American society has gradually regarded being a soldier as a hopeless place. The Navy has to serve at sea.
, far away from land and family, surpassing the Air Force and becoming the most difficult service to recruit soldiers.
Originally America's most prestigious military branch and the first choice for many senators' children to enlist in the military, it has gradually begun to suffer from serious recruiting difficulties.
If you join the army not for the sake of honor, but entirely for a job and a way out, the quality of the soldiers will soon become worse and worse.
This time "Top Gun" brought unexpected surprises. Young people soon discovered that being a soldier is not only a job, but also a very "cool" job. There is no need to show your identity as a naval pilot when picking up girls because of the sense of honor.
The unfavorable status in the past has made young people dream of becoming a soldier again.
Ronald soon felt this trend. In nightclubs and bars, some people began to rent navy uniforms and wear Ray-Ban sunglasses to pick up girls. Boat-shaped hats and badges made the girls crazy, although Ronald guessed that many of them were fake navy
.
Going to the nightclub was suggested by the advertising agency hired by Pepsi, and Ronald also met an old acquaintance, Darcy Maguire, the former creative director of bbdo.
Ronald's original agent in New York, Eddie, took over the general manager duties of "Daydream Pictures". Pepsi gave him a lot of creative freedom and a large amount of production expenses.
Their only request was for Ronald to use the iconic scene from "Top Gun" to promote Pepsi's latest "Sugar-Free Pepsi"
With the huge subsidies for agricultural products and food stamps for the poor, a side effect is the increase in obesity. Urban residents like to chase fashion, and rich people have begun to exercise in gyms, while the middle class has no money or time, and they prefer to find it in products.
comfort.
"Sugar-Free Pepsi" launched by Pepsi-Cola in the 1960s, became popular with consumers again in the mid-1980s.
Last year, Pepsi also found Joe Montana, the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, to endorse Sugar-Free Pepsi. In addition, they tasted the sweetness of sponsoring the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, and this time they also sponsored Lillehammer.
of the Winter Olympics.
This time Tom Cruise showed off his muscular figure several times in the movie. Pepsi has always been interested in such a product for young women (Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer and others), who are muscular and topless and dressed very coolly.
uniforms), and young men (supersonic jets, air combat, and cool uniforms) are very interested in the movie with huge appeal. The box office in the first two weeks also gave them huge confidence.
Pepsi even wanted to find Tom Cruise to shoot an advertisement. However, this was not in line with the star position Paula wanted for Cruise. Pepsi settled for the next best thing and took a ride on it, finding an actor who looked a lot like Cruise.
Come shoot an advertisement.
After discussing with the two producers of the film and Paula Wagner, they readily agreed to use the film and star images for advertisements.
Advertisements on the video tapes will not be broadcast on the influential public television stations, and on the other hand, they can increase the film's additional revenue. Neither party has any objection to this.
Ronald wrote the script, which imitated the scene at the beginning of the movie where the Lone Ranger flies upside down above the MiG-28.
He changed the call sign of the actor who looked like Cruise to Mustang, which, like Maverick, means a maverick young man.
During the flight, the sugar-free Coke that was placed on the drink cup holder was stuck to the cup holder by a companion, making it impossible to take it out for enjoyment. Mustang had to fly upside down, use a cup to catch the poured Pepsi Cola, and drink it in one gulp.
All.
Ronald did not direct the advertisement himself, but only acted in name. He found Kathryn Bigelow, who could not find a job, gave her a directing fee, and then found a special effects ring system on the ground built by Cameron.
Take shots inside the cockpit.
Darcy Maguire gave Ronald's plan the green light. Since the two began working together, their careers have advanced rapidly in their respective industries. Maguire has become a rare female creative vice president in the industry.
Pepsi-Cola is a big customer, with annual advertising production costs of tens of millions. Since Ronald agreed, she was happy to let a female director produce it. The final result made Darcy Maguire very happy, and Catherine
Bigelow's camera language is very beautiful, and the final result has a sense of comedy that parodies "Top Gun".
"Are you satisfied?" Ronald saw the customer nodding and turned back to congratulate Bigelow.
With the reward from this shooting, she can stay in Hollywood for a long time. There are not many opportunities for female directors to get independent investment.
"Did you know that the Navy is also currently soliciting bids for a 30-second recruitment advertisement, and they also asked me to bid."
"What do they think? It's actually hard to shoot recruitment ads, especially now that the American people have not fully recovered from the psychological trauma of the Vietnam War."
"I didn't submit a plan. In fact, your movie is the best recruitment advertisement. There is no need to submit any more creative ideas."
"Ah? Don't you do business if it comes to your door?"
"You don't understand. This is the best strategy. People in the Navy are very cost-conscious. If I can convince them, they will feel that I really care about them, and there will be no shortage of orders in the future."
"So that's it." Ronald felt that these people understood the psychology of their customers very clearly, and they were worthy of running an advertising agency.
"Actually, this is a good opportunity for you. Pepsi's sponsorship of the Top Gun video this time will definitely cause a surge in sales. I watched Top Gun and it was a phenomenal movie. This will increase your reputation in the fast-moving consumer goods market.
It's completely established.
I guess Coca-Cola will also want to get you in the near future. Even other giants in the snack industry will want to try their luck on you. The higher your movie box office is, the more extra Pepsi you will sell. In the future, in advertising
The reputation in the industry will become more and more famous..."
Darcy Maguire described his business prospects to Ronald. Ronald thought it was a good opportunity, and his daydream also required more less demanding shooting opportunities to train technicians and
Artists, when the opportunity comes, can start with low-budget exploitation films.
The second week, the big Memorial Day weekend is over.
The box office statistics are out. In the second week, when there was basically no increase in the number of theaters, the box office increased instead of decreasing, rising to 10.5 million. The box office of a single theater increased by more than 10%, and the total box office exceeded 2
Twelve million.
"Oh..."
This result really shocked Paramount.
Although the box office champion was surpassed by "Cobra" starring Stallone, which was signed by Minahan Golan for more than 10 million yuan, it only ranked second.
But Minahan found Warner Bros. Distribution, and in order to support the first movie of the first superstar he signed, he arranged for it to be released in more than 2,100 theaters.
Just like that, it's only slightly higher than the weekend box office of "Top Gun."
Ronald used 1,000 theaters and almost tied the box office of others with 2,000 theaters. And it was in the second week when the box office usually declines, against Stallone's first week.
Paramount's distribution manager Sid Ganis went crazy. He approached President Ned Tanin and proposed a very radical plan. One thousand more copies would be printed, and they would be screened in 500 theaters starting in June.
.Let the number of screening theaters increase to more than 1,500.
"This is a very feasible plan. We had generously anticipated the appeal of Ronald's movie and the influence of Tom Cruise. But we still underestimated their charm.
The second week's box office can significantly exceed the first week's box office, which shows that the audience this time is those who rarely go to the cinema. This kind of opportunity is rare. We predict that this movie can be screened for a long time.
It can definitely start in the summer season in June and be treated as a new film to compete in the competition."
Tanin quickly signed the document and agreed, and this Ronald gave him endless surprises.
"The next international premiere will also depend on their international appeal. How do you predict it?" Tanin asked.
"We expect that we will achieve good results in all English-speaking countries, including Britain and Australia. We will also sell well in Japan and South Korea. In addition, we will also make certain progress in Xiangjiang on the other side. The fierce scenes of fighter jets and dog fights do not require
Language can also be transmitted.
And the charm of McGillis and Cruise can be seen by anyone who is not blind."
"Thank you for your hard work, guys. They replaced all their hotels with penthouse executive suites. How are the arrangements for the Royal Premiere in Britain?"
"The royal office stated that the princess will attend the premiere, and the queen is also working on it. She will also meet new lord title holders and outstanding representatives of cultural undertakings."
"Very good, continue to contact us. If Her Majesty the Queen can attend the premiere in London, we will add a public relations fee to allow our young men to appear in the British media."