Chapter 269: Lowered Expectations

"There's no rush for any of this."

Compared to Bill Ross, Murphy was much calmer. "I'm still young. I guess the old heads at the academy don't think much of me."

Bill Ross shook his head, "It's all in the effort."

The professional acclaim for "Sin City" was so explosive that a host of professional film critics, led by Roger Albert, couldn't wait to sing its praises to the skies. Naturally, Bill harbored some thoughts—if Murphy could snag an Oscar nomination, even just a Golden Globe nod, his standing in the industry would undoubtedly leap forward, and he, as Murphy's agent, could move closer to his goal of becoming a partner at CAA sooner.

Over the past few months, he had made several attempts and even convinced some folks at CAA to allocate some resources appropriately. However, things didn't go as smoothly as hoped.

The most significant issue was the lack of support from the film's production and distribution companies. Miramax and the Weinstein brothers were too caught up in their internal struggle with Walt Disney to focus on an Oscar PR campaign.

"What a pity," Bill Ross seemed unable to let go, "We missed a great opportunity."

He could see that Murphy's directing style was becoming more commercial. Given the style of "Deadpool," it would become increasingly difficult for him in the coming years to receive nominations for major professional awards.

As for awards like the Saturn Award, they wouldn't be much help to Murphy now.

"I still have a long road ahead of me." Murphy leaned back in his chair without any regrets. If Miramax were in its usual state, perhaps "Sin City" could have garnered a few nominations at major award ceremonies. Not getting any now wasn't surprising. "One day, we'll make our charge at the Oscars."

Perhaps some looked down on the Oscar for Best Director as tainted with commercialism, considering it not as prestigious as the top awards at the three major film festivals. But Murphy didn't see it that way. The world's mainstream film awards, whether across the Pacific or the Atlantic, were fundamentally no different, with PR and propaganda already ingrained in their marrow, inseparable even if one wished to cut them off.

Now that the Oscar nominations have been announced, whether it's a regret or not doesn't matter. Bill Ross sighed again, then changed the subject, "I just met with the heads of distribution and marketing at Fox this morning. They've all said that after the Oscars, Fox Group's media resources will lean towards 'Deadpool.'"

That was good news. Murphy nodded, "I've seen the feedback data Kara Firth brought over. The promotional effect is quite good, almost all within our expectations."

Film companies don't just blindly flood the market with fake reviews and ads for a movie; they also conduct targeted surveys to adjust their strategies based on feedback.

"The Super Bowl ad was very well received," Bill Ross shook his head, "If it weren't for Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Jackson using such a big move, 'Deadpool' would have gotten even more attention."

"It's already good enough." Murphy was quite content, then asked curiously, "Any new developments with Justin Timberlake and Jennifer Jackson?"

Even after half a month, the media was still paying close attention.

The PR managers for these two are masters, continuously releasing news: not attending the Grammys, claiming it was an accident, suggesting Justin Timberlake deliberately sought revenge on Jennifer Jackson, etc.

Exaggeratingly, these two managed to overshadow the recently held Oscar nominee luncheon.

"Their agents are prepared," Bill Ross seemed to know quite a bit, "Jennifer Jackson will soon hold a press conference to reveal the truth."

Seeing Murphy's curiosity, he explained, "This was agreed upon by Justin Timberlake, Jennifer Jackson, and their agents during the last rehearsal, a premeditated publicity stunt."

Murphy nodded, "I thought as much."

Such events, if not planned in advance, are hard to believe.

Sure enough, three days after Bill Ross's visit, Jennifer Jackson held a press conference. She and Justin Timberlake once again became the top headlines in entertainment media, a headline-grabbing skill that commands respect.

However, few in the industry see such tactics as problematic. For stars and their agents, this is hardly worth mentioning.

Murphy continued with his post-production work. Although he didn't have final editing rights in name, Kara Firth trusted him enough to leave him in charge of "Deadpool's" post-production.

As time neared March, the special effects work was gradually completed. Murphy started working with the sound engineer on editing various sound effects, also reviewed the composer's music, and together with Seth Rogen and Paul Wilson, selected some situational songs to add to the film.

Unlike "Sin City," Murphy didn't plan to use entirely original scores this time.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox released the first official trailer for "Deadpool," edited by Murphy himself. The trailer maintained a humorous and cheeky style, with a proper inclusion of action scenes, especially scenes where Deadpool fights while cracking jokes and being sarcastic, which was highly praised by fans.

Since the trailer was broadcast on public television, it definitely couldn't be very explicit.

But soon after, the official blog for "Deadpool" released a second official trailer, with much larger scale content than what the TV station offered.

"You look like Freddy Krueger had a face-off with a topographical map of Utah."

Such a large-scale taunt might be somewhat difficult for fans outside North America to understand, but for North American fans, this kind of jest is easy to get.

Most American fans immediately understood the reference: Freddy Krueger is the antagonist in "Nightmare on Elm Street," and Utah is known for its rugged landscape.

Under the trailer, fans specifically commented on this line, "This insult is very high level, haha…"

This trailer caused a strong reaction online, and from the data Murphy obtained from 20th Century Fox's surveys, it was clear that the anticipation for "Deadpool" was continuously rising.

Entering mid-March, when Murphy finished the post-production of the entire film, this year's most anticipated superhero blockbuster, "Spider-Man 2," officially released its main promotional poster. Next to the embracing Peter Parker and Mary Jane, Spider-Man's credo became the promotional slogan for the film and poster — "With great power comes great responsibility!"

This slogan, through Spider-Man's mouth, has spread throughout the world.

Following that, 20th Century Fox also released the latest poster for "Deadpool," with a similarly eye-catching slogan — "The greater the power, the less the responsibility!"

Yes, Murphy and 20th Century Fox were using "Spider-Man" for promotion, and the effect was surprisingly good.

It's now 2004, not the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in 2002. The audience's demand for superheroes saving the world every day was not as urgent. Even if "Deadpool" couldn't match the booming success of that film, it wasn't too bad.

Deadpool and Spider-Man, both from Marvel Comics, share some similarities, such as being talkative. However, in Sam Raimi's films, Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man and Deadpool are completely different characters. Their contrasting ideologies sparked much discussion among media and fans.

The fear in film promotion is not discussion, but the lack of it.

Deadpool and Spider-Man, both belonging to Marvel Comics, have many intersections in the comics. In fact, this promotional campaign wasn't just a unilateral action by 20th Century Fox and Sony Columbia, but was coordinated under Marvel Comics' mediation, reaching a tacit agreement.

Speaking of Marvel Comics, the company's intention to independently produce superhero movies became increasingly apparent. Murphy completely abandoned the idea of prying a few famous superhero movie rights from them. The interactions between the two parties ultimately ended on a sour note.

Similarly, Murphy didn't follow his past practice of inviting Stan Lee for a cameo. He had lost all interest in using gags related to Marvel Comics' venerable figurehead.

Amid a series of promotional campaigns, "Deadpool" became one of the most anticipated movies of the April release schedule. Another highly anticipated film was Warner Bros. and DC Comics' "Catwoman."

However, "Catwoman's" buzz clearly couldn't match "Deadpool's." Having a black female lead seemed to align perfectly with North American film market's political correctness, and the Oscar-winning actress's new project continued to garner media attention. Still, it couldn't change comic fans' complaints about turning Selina Kyle into a black character.

Since "Catwoman" completed its production earlier, it held a screening first. Subsequently, the negative reviews from the media and screening audience were so overwhelming that even Warner Bros.' active PR efforts couldn't suppress them.

Warner Bros. made adjustments based on the screening, hurrying to re-edit the film and appropriately lowering "Catwoman's" box office expectations. They adjusted the opening weekend forecast from $50 million to $35 million and the North American box office expectation from $180 million to $130 million.

In contrast, "Deadpool's" two screening sessions were met with acclaim, with various major cinema chains in the North American Cinema League even agreeing to increase the number of opening cinemas from 2,800 to an unprecedented 3,200 for an R-rated film!

20th Century Fox's confidence soared, leading to an adjustment in "Deadpool's" box office forecast. The opening weekend expectation rose from $30 million to $45 million, and the North American target from $100 million to an ambitious $150 million.

The trial screening's media reviewers had an 88% approval rating, with sixteen professional critics averaging a score of 8.2. Three hundred and eighty regular viewers who participated in the screening gave it an A+ rating. All these indicators relieved Murphy. After all, having the film debut so many years in advance, it was bound to face different circumstances.

He was well aware that "Deadpool" couldn't achieve the same explosive success as in the past, even if the viewership numbers were comparable.

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT