Chapter 18: The Free Tourists

After the screening ended, the crowd in the theater quickly split into two groups. The Fox PR department took the critics and media reporters to a nearby hotel, while some from the distribution department stayed behind to collect feedback surveys from the audience.

Once the audience had fully dispersed, people from the distribution team, including observers like Harry Dunn, returned to the Fox headquarters in Century City to compile and analyze the survey responses.

For an industry that releases new works daily, accurately grasping market trends is crucial. The diversity and unpredictability of the film industry demand that distribution companies gather vast amounts of data and apply the results to their marketing strategies.

Pre-screening research doesn't just focus on the audience's interest levels in the film but also analyzes the data to understand feedback from different audience segments to create targeted promotional strategies.

In short, marketing is often more complex than production.

"Mr. Rossman..."

In a large office, Dunn was presenting the latest survey results to Thomas Bosman, the head of the distribution department. "This survey is very representative... It felt like I was on a high-speed elevator, a fast-moving bus, or a hijacked subway the whole time. The tension and excitement never faded. Although the story seemed a bit simple, the thrilling action scenes were very enjoyable, especially some of the explosion scenes, which I thought surpassed even the praised explosion scenes in *Terminator 2*."

Sitting back in his spacious chair, Thomas Rossman rubbed his chin thoughtfully. The positive audience feedback and Dunn's description of how some viewers even walked backward to the restroom to avoid missing parts of the film increased his confidence in this movie.

"The statistical results are in," one of the staff responsible for analyzing the surveys said as they approached. Rossman looked up slightly. Numbers don't lie; the true test of the audience's reception would be the data.

"We distributed 265 surveys and received 263 back," the staff member explained succinctly. "205 of them rated the film A+, 44 gave it an A, 7 gave it a B+, and only 7 rated it below C+."

The room fell silent. This was an outstanding reception from the audience, and Fox clearly had more reason to back *Speed*.

Meanwhile, in the ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel, Duke was socializing with professional film critics under the introduction of Robin Grand. Although he hadn't heard of most of them, and 90% of the names were unfamiliar, Duke didn't hesitate to smile when appropriate.

After all, he didn't have the capital to be indifferent right now, and *Speed* needed these "parasites of the film industry" to cheer it on.

As for their evaluations of *Speed*, Duke didn't really care. Since they came to this event, they would certainly accept the gifts from Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox. Whether they gave good or bad reviews afterward, their job was to generate curiosity about the film.

It's a basic rule: everyone does their job, whether in the film industry or as a critic.

Everyone knows that critics are only "relatively" fair, and "relative" can be interpreted in many ways.

Take this event, for example. Aside from travel expenses and accommodations at the Four Seasons, Fox had prepared gifts or checks for each critic, based on their standing in the industry. Even the least well-known among them received a souvenir worth nearly $500. Fox's total budget for the critics surpassed $50,000.

Moreover, all the reviews they wrote had to pass through Fox's PR department before publication. If they dared to publish unchecked criticisms, they would face a blacklist and miss out on future free screenings of Fox and its partners' films.

This was an unspoken rule between Hollywood and the critics. No one would break it lightly. The distribution side wouldn't insist on fake glowing reviews either. Even criticism was acceptable as long as it generated curiosity about the movie.

For instance, if a critic wrote, "Aside from endless explosions, fights, and car chases, the film has nothing to offer," Fox would still accept it. Mainstream audiences love that kind of content, and such a review highlights the film's selling points, which would undoubtedly draw viewers.

This relationship wasn't a secret in Hollywood. Since the establishment of the New York Film Critics Circle in the 1930s, the relationship between Hollywood and critics has been one of both cooperation and opposition. The film industry needs critics to promote their films, and critics rely on the industry to make a living.

Even this type of critic screening has a specific term: Junket Whore, meaning someone who takes a free trip in exchange for a good review.

Those who came to the *Speed* screening were merely "cabinet girls" or high-class escorts. Fox's budget wasn't enough to attract the highest-class courtesans.

And who are these high-class courtesans? Naturally, the top critics in North America, like Richard Corliss from *Time*, Kenneth Turan from the *Los Angeles Times*, Todd McCarthy from *The Hollywood Reporter*, and, of course, the legendary Roger Ebert.

These top critics are far more fair, but even their fairness is colored by deals behind the scenes. Take Roger Ebert, for example. His show, *Siskel & Ebert at the Movies*, was one of the most commercialized review shows in North America. It's not hard to imagine what kind of compromises come with such commercialization.

Even critics of Roger Ebert's level participate in Junket Whore screenings—just the highest-class kind.

For instance, when Ebert gave a thumbs-up to *Terminator 2* last year, everyone knew James Cameron's film deserved the praise. But how many people were aware of the behind-the-scenes PR Fox did? According to the information Duke received, during the week of *Terminator 2*'s screening in Los Angeles, Roger Ebert requested to play golf at an exclusive private club in Malibu every day. Of course, Fox obliged. Whether there were any other private dealings was beyond Duke's knowledge.

As someone who lived through the internet age, Duke knew how to handle professional critics. They couldn't be ignored, but they didn't need to be overly prioritized either. They were just tools to be used on his path forward.

After finishing with the critics, Duke went to another room to join the actors in interviews with the media.

Like with the critics, Fox had invited mostly lower-tier media outlets, aside from its own, and most of the reporters were focused on the most famous stars of the cast: Keanu Reeves and Uma Thurman. Duke, as the director, was largely overlooked. Even Naomi Watts, thanks to her striking appearance and her agent's connections, got more attention than Duke.

This was partly due to Fox's promotional strategy. In the early 90s, directors still stood behind the scenes unless they were already quite famous, and it was hard for them to draw the attention of fans or the media. Marketing strategies at the time usually revolved around the actors.

When asked a few questions, Duke gave the usual polite responses, saying he had confidence in the film and praised the actors. The reporters didn't press for deeper answers, and Duke wasn't particularly interested in the interviews either.

Even if the media reported extensively, it wouldn't guarantee the movie's success. For Duke, no matter how much praise he gave the film, it wouldn't make much difference right now.

After a long and tiring day, the screening finally ended in the evening. Duke packed up his things in the adjacent lounge, preparing to leave when he noticed Naomi Watts entering the room, accompanied by a woman in her thirties.

"Hey, Duke," Naomi greeted him.

She seemed troubled, as if something was weighing on her mind.

"Hey, Naomi," Duke responded with a smile.

Even though he remembered that she would eventually rise to stardom, Duke had grown up surrounded by the Hollywood scene. Future stars were a dime a dozen in his world.

In his impression, Naomi Watts was like many young women who came to Hollywood with dreams. She had ambition, a bit of cunning, some skills, some beauty, some acting talent, and of course, some luck. At least, her luck had turned out to be much better than he remembered.

"Aren't you going to introduce us, Naomi?" the woman beside her suddenly spoke.

Naomi quickly responded, bringing her over to Duke. "Nancy, this is Duke Rosenberg, the director of the film."

"Duke, this is Nancy, Nancy Josephson, my agent."

"Josephson?" Duke repeated in his mind, frowning slightly. That surname sounded familiar.

"Nice to meet you, Ms. Josephson," he said, extending his hand. She shook it lightly. "Just call me Nancy. May I call you Duke? Thank you."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Nancy Josephson excused herself to take a phone call and spoke briefly to Naomi before leaving the room.

"Nancy is from International Creative Management (ICM)," Naomi explained, adding, "She's the daughter of ICM's founder, Marvin Josephson."