Chapter 176: PR Strategies
After spending Christmas at the ranch in Colorado, Charles returned to Los Angeles with Britney Spears.
Britney had to go to Las Vegas for a New Year's Eve concert, and Charles needed to attend the company's internal New Year budget meeting.
At Santa Monica Airport in Los Angeles, Britney hugged and kissed Charles for a bit. "Honey, let's go back there to cool off next summer. You can stay at the shooting range all day!"
"We've had enough fun these past few days. Are you heading to Las Vegas now?"
Britney nodded, "I'm heading back to Thousand Oaks first, then going straight to Las Vegas tomorrow. Wanna come with me?"
Charles shook his head with a smile, "The company is planning something big for this year's Oscars. I need to make some arrangements!"
"Alright, remember to call me," Britney said reluctantly.
Every year-end period was the time for all movie creators to vie for awards, making it the busiest time for all PR companies.
TV stations, newspapers, magazines, promotional events, and celebrity parties - all were filled with the presence and ads of various stars.
Capet Pictures' No Country for Old Men, Little Miss Sunshine, and Walk the Line, three well-received films, all garnered attention.
At the Marmont Castle Hotel in West Hollywood, elegantly dressed Hollywood men and women danced in the ballroom, with small groups chatting and laughing.
Charles and Donna Langley were chatting with Ryan Kavanaugh, the head of the new movie investment company in Hollywood, Relativity Media.
As one of the co-investment representatives, Relativity Media announced the establishment of the Gun Hill Road Phase 1 fund, investing $400 million in Sony Pictures for 11 films, covering 40% of production costs. They also invested $200 million in Universal Pictures for 6 films, covering 50% of production costs.
"Both Thomas Tull from Legendary Entertainment and Ryan Kavanaugh from Relativity Media want to change the landscape of Hollywood," Charles said, watching Ryan Kavanaugh walk away. "Even with Wall Street's private equity support, Hollywood isn't shallow water."
Compared to Thomas Tull's resume, Ryan Kavanaugh fell short. A person with a record of securities fraud could even convince Wall Street private equity to support his Hollywood venture!
Donna Langley laughed, "As long as he can bring capital to Hollywood, he will be respected and welcomed in Hollywood!"
"This is just the Phase 1 fund. There might be Phase 2 or Phase 3 funds soon. Relativity Media seems to have quite a few supporters," Charles chuckled. Now, all six major studios had their own co-investment companies.
"Paramount announced the acquisition of DreamWorks for a total value of $1.6 billion just days ago. Sony and Universal couldn't wait to announce their cooperation funds," Donna continued. "Paramount acquired DreamWorks with $775 million in cash plus taking in DreamWorks' $825 million in debt, making it the hottest topic in Hollywood."
"DreamWorks, Paramount!" Charles had known this for a while, but hearing it now still felt surreal.
"What does NBC Universal feel about losing its prey to Paramount?"
Donna Langley paused, then grinned, "What could they feel? It's all a capital game. Will Spielberg give up his interests for sentiment?"
"Also, Stacey Snider resigned from her position as head of Universal Pictures. Now, Universal's production department is headed by Marc Shmuger and David Linde," Donna Langley, who had been with Universal for several years, had some inside information.
"Stacey Snider also agreed to take over as president of DreamWorks, helping Steven Spielberg manage and run the studio!"
Charles took a sip of his drink, eyes deep and sharp, "I've always thought Spielberg is somewhat sentimental. With DreamWorks independent, he could call the shots; now bound by Paramount's higher-ups, their cooperation might not be as smooth."
Donna Langley shrugged, "So what? DreamWorks needs Paramount's green light for funding, even if it has the right to develop films independently. Power is gained through box office success. If Spielberg wants to continue developing his films freely and get Paramount to willingly fund them, he must show results!"
"True," Charles grinned. After all, the $775 million in cash for acquiring DreamWorks mainly came from Paramount, which had mortgaged DreamWorks' live-action film rights to Wall Street's Solos Strategic Partners for cash flow.
In name, Paramount gained the backing of Hollywood's top director Steven Spielberg.
In profit, Paramount gained distribution rights to DreamWorks' animation and live-action films.
"Charles, our No Country for Old Men has been highly praised. Getting Oscar nominations for Best Picture along with Little Miss Sunshine shouldn't be hard. This No Country for Old Men also has a theme that academy voters like - human nature," Donna Langley continued. In No Country for Old Men, the Coen brothers explored the theme of "human nature" through a violent event in a desolate desert.
Academy voters loved themes that explored human emotions - freedom, democracy, universal love, charity, self-pursuit, and empathy and awakening of minority and marginalized groups.
In short, besides showcasing American themes and the spirit of the times, it reflected human nature's attitude in a land of freedom.
Charles nodded, "If Capet Pictures wins its first Oscar for Best Picture, that would be great. Go ahead, you have my full support!"
Donna Langley nodded, as the Oscar PR battle was about to officially start.
They would heavily promote the film in newspapers to influence voters' perceptions; keep calling Academy voters to recommend the film; and lastly, engage in an ideological tug of war to discredit opponents and elevate themselves.
Whether independent or one of the big six, PR strategies boiled down to these three methods: leveraging personal networks, resources, and the film's quality!
Of course, now the main focus of the big six was commercial films, and they didn't value the Oscars as much as indie companies.
The PR efforts were mainly from the indie labels under the big six.
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