Chapter 98: Another Year of the Super Bowl

The 28th Super Bowl was the championship game for the 1993 season of the National Football League, featuring the AFC champion Buffalo Bills against the NFC champion Dallas Cowboys. The game took place on January 30, 1994, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

In the first half, the Dallas Cowboys took a firm lead with a score of 17-8, thanks to an outstanding performance by running back Emmitt Smith. If the Cowboys could maintain their lead over the Bills in the second half, they would secure their fourth Super Bowl championship, and Emmitt Smith would likely earn the MVP award.

After the first half, the Super Bowl halftime show quickly attracted attention. Following last year's stunning performance by Michael Jackson, this year's halftime show turned into a country music celebration, featuring stars and bands such as Colin Blake, Travis Tritt, Tanya Tucker, and the Judds.

Perhaps the previous year's halftime show had raised audience expectations, so this year's show was highly anticipated. To allow for a more extended halftime show and to insert additional advertisements, the Super Bowl officials extended the halftime break from 15 minutes to 20 minutes. In fact, last year's performance lasted 23 minutes due to Michael Jackson's individual performance exceeding 17 minutes.

The longer break meant more advertising space, and various brands seized the opportunity to air commercials during this year's Super Bowl. Unlike previous years, following the successful trailer for "Speed" that aired during the Super Bowl, more Hollywood films began to advertise during the event.

Bacher Lutz, who had become interested in young director Gilbert after watching "Speed," eagerly tuned in to this year's Super Bowl, despite usually preferring baseball over football. He wanted to see the ad for Gilbert's new film, "Real Steel."

After being impressed by the brutality of NFL football, Bacher was excited for the halftime show. Before it started, a series of commercials aired, showcasing creative and engaging advertisements from various brands. Interestingly, the Super Bowl broadcasters attempted to group all Hollywood movie trailers together for a dedicated movie advertisement segment.

Following an advertisement from Microsoft, the movie advertisement segment began. First up was James Cameron's new film, "True Lies." The trailer featured explosive action sequences, car chases, and fighter jets, while Arnold Schwarzenegger's star power and a brief scene with Jamie Lee Curtis kept male fans intrigued.

Having already added "True Lies" to his summer watchlist, Bacher Lutz planned to invite friends to see it in theaters. However, he noticed that the trailer had a style similar to "Speed," with camera angles following tires and first-person perspectives. Cameron had previously mentioned in interviews how much he admired "Speed" and drew inspiration from its action sequences. Perhaps these stylistic choices were the result of that inspiration!

The trailers for other films like "Coal Miner's Daughter," "The Ultimate Witness," and "Forrest Gump" followed, but none caught Bacher's interest as much as Gilbert's film. As the halftime ad segment neared its end, Bacher grew anxious, fearing he might miss the "Real Steel" trailer.

Just then, a loud bang from the TV caught his attention, and he saw a mechanical arm being knocked into the audience by a black bull. Bacher recognized a little girl in the audience from "Speed," although he didn't know her name.

"Wow!" Bacher exclaimed, unable to contain his excitement.

The trailer continued to reveal more details, showcasing the robots' mechanics and gears. The scene shifted to a short robot being knocked out by a punch, prompting Bacher to jump up and exclaim, "Cool!"

Then came a montage featuring Bruce Willis as the main character Charlie and Ryan Gosling as the young boy Max. Naomi Watts, who previously played a supporting role, was now the lead actress Bailey, along with a snobby rich girl making her debut.

But what captivated Bacher the most wasn't the human actors—it was the robots. The intense clashes on the boxing ring were exhilarating, and by the end of the short trailer, Bacher was completely sold on the film; he decided he had to see it in theaters, not just once, but twice.

He wasn't alone in his enthusiasm; fellow film enthusiast Lewis excitedly shook Sarati Merton's shoulder, saying, "Sarati, did you see that? It's so cool!"

"I saw, I saw, just stop shaking me; I'm getting dizzy," Sarati replied, pushing Lewis's hand away.

The two watched the Super Bowl at a bar, not particularly invested in the game itself. However, when Gilbert's new film trailer aired, they both raised their drinks in celebration.

After the trailer ended, they knew they wouldn't hear more about the film until future promotions or summer releases. As the halftime show began, Lewis, uninterested in country music, chatted with his friends.

"Lewis, we're graduating at the end of this year. What are you planning to do?" someone asked.

Lewis thought for a moment, then replied, "I might become a photographer. I've always wanted to go to Africa to photograph lions."

"Ha, that's great! Good luck with your dream. What about you, Sarati?"

"I might continue my studies," Sarati said. "But I plan to start a fan club for Gilbert's work. Interested in joining?"

Lewis was intrigued, "Count me in…"

His friends were similarly interested, and soon everyone was eager to join Sarati's yet-to-be-established fan club for Gilbert.

And so, Gilbert's fan club was born in that little bar.

The promotional effect of the Super Bowl was solid, but compared to last year, it was still lacking. Last year featured Michael Jackson; this year, it was country music artists that most people didn't recognize. Additionally, while only one Hollywood film had advertised during the Super Bowl last year, this year saw an influx of multiple films.

After the Super Bowl, the marketing for "Real Steel" returned to its regular rhythm. By early February, Gilbert had completed all post-production work on the film, including special effects, soundtrack, and sound design.

Before attending the Oscars, Gilbert edited a 1-minute and 30-second teaser, which was played repeatedly in commercial districts and on big screens in theaters. The television advertisements featured a different 30-second cut, as long ads were less common during this time.

Longer movie trailers wouldn't become the norm until the rise of internet video in later years. The challenges of streaming high-quality video over the internet made it difficult, so most online content consisted of text and images, making television trailers a more appealing option.

However, this did not prevent Gilbert from releasing some stills and background information about "Real Steel" online. Since the two internet companies he had invested in were still in their infancy, "Real Steel" made a splash on IMDb, where they proactively updated the film's information for the first time, surprising the IMDb operations team.

The buzz generated by "Real Steel" caused such a surge in traffic that IMDb had to quickly rent more servers and plan for commercialization. Originally a site created out of passion, IMDb was now transitioning toward a business model, which was inevitable given the high operational costs.

Just days after launching, IMDb secured $500,000 in venture capital, a sum Gilbert had invested through his own venture capital firm. He believed that investing in IMDb was akin to investing in the future. The internet would eventually prove to be a more effective promotional platform than television and print advertising, as demonstrated in his previous life.

Amidst finalizing the film and its promotional efforts, Gilbert also checked on the progress of the two start-ups he had invested in. After months of development,Elisha Lyon and his college friends completed the construction of the Banana portal website and the development of a search engine.