Chapter 178

The North American box office in 2005 was slightly lower than 2004's $9.3 billion, amounting to $8.8 billion, hitting its lowest mark in recent years.

Afterward, the North American economy began to recover, and the booming real estate industry finally faced resistance as the Federal Reserve's rate hike cycle put a stop to the ever-growing snowball.

The arrival of 2006 would undoubtedly bring more challenges, and the bustling Hollywood awards season attracted a lot of attention from the entertainment industry.

At Capet Manor, Charles Capet sat on the sofa holding the Los Angeles Times, which was full of movie promotion articles.

Evelyn Capet, sitting next to him, regretfully said, "Nowadays, life is tough for newspaper groups. There are fewer subscribers and fewer advertising customers."

Charles put down the newspaper and smiled, "The major sources of advertising revenue for print media are cars, real estate, and film promotions. Especially real estate ads, which have decreased a lot. Luckily, we in Hollywood have always been their major clients."

"That's why the media focuses more on the various movie awards than you do. Reporters, editors, and critics constantly publish different opinions to attract your large expenditures on promotion," said Evelyn Capet, quite familiar with this.

"By the way, where did you go during those two New Year days? Mom couldn't find you anywhere," Evelyn casually asked.

"Nothing much, just had a meeting at the company and worked on some Oscar PR strategies," Charles made up an excuse. He couldn't possibly admit he was at Nicole Kidman's place.

Evelyn nodded. Capet Pictures was putting a lot of effort into the Oscars this time, significantly increasing their PR expenditures.

"Lionsgate has put a lot of effort into promoting Crash," Evelyn said, frowning. "You know how themes of racial discrimination often win the Academy's approval."

"The word-of-mouth for No Country for Old Men is exceptionally good. Both movies fit their respective themes well; let's see how everyone goes about their promotion and marketing. The significance of Crash's theme is considerable, but No Country for Old Men's quality is just too high."

Charles had invested heavily in promotions, buying up space in several newspapers.

Evelyn nodded, "No Country for Old Men is indeed not just a regular movie. But this time, Lionsgate has a big move; they prepared to give away 160,000 copies of the movie on DVD!"

"160,000 copies? Crash?" Charles was stunned. The DVD costs ranged from $3 to $13, depending on the version.

"They're sending them to the Academy members, journalists, critics, and related personnel. The estimated cost for this alone is about $2 million," Evelyn reminded.

"Damn, they're playing it big!" Charles rubbed his chin. Handing out that many DVDs was sure to influence many people.

The Academy's board had only about 6,000 members. Sending gifts often involved DVDs and VHS tapes of movies in America.

"Lionsgate doesn't plan to make any money from Crash's DVD sales, do they?" Charles considered further. With so many DVDs given away, pirated copies were bound to flood the market.

Typically, pirated copies of Oscar-nominated movies leaked from the PR DVDs and VHS tapes sent out by the companies.

With Lionsgate sending out tens of thousands of copies at once, it was quite unprecedented; previously, companies would send out a few thousand and call it a day.

Evelyn laughed, "You know what kind of company Lionsgate is. They specialize in political thrillers, violent action, and controversial religious films. Winning the Best Picture Oscar would greatly enhance their image."

Not only would it enhance their image, but also spread their name. The current attention to the Oscars was vastly different from the time Charles had traveled here when hardly anyone watched.

Just look at the viewership ratings. Now the Oscars had 40 to 50 million viewers. When Charles traveled, it had what? Less than 10 million viewers!

"Looks like my PR efforts aren't enough," Charles frowned. With Lionsgate playing it this way, they were investing at least $3 million in PR for Crash!

"However, Charles, you don't need to worry. Your Brokeback Mountain won almost all the awards except the Oscar last year. If the Academy skips over the excellent No Country for Old Men this year, the public backlash would be even greater," Evelyn consoled.

Charles nodded. The Oscars were indeed influenced by such factors. No Country for Old Men didn't face the same conservative opposition as Brokeback Mountain.

Many media outlets and filmmakers had already named No Country for Old Men as the best American movie of 2005.

Charles stood up and smiled, "So we need to invest in PR and marketing. I'm going to make sure Capet Pictures wins its first Oscar for Best Picture this year."

"Worried I can't outplay Lionsgate in PR? I'll treat the Academy members well, send them special edition DVDs, and support small neighborhood cinemas to expand screenings."

Many older Academy members lived in small communities in Los Angeles and hadn't seen many of the movies up for awards.

If they didn't know the film or had no impression of it, how could they vote?

"Looks like you've got it figured out. Winning Best Picture at the Oscars will benefit you greatly," Evelyn supported.

Previously, Charles had somewhat underestimated the importance of the Oscars.

Charles nodded. The Oscar name was indeed quite valuable now, and Capet Pictures needed a signature work.

When people mentioned Miramax, they'd think of Oscar-winning films like The English Patient, Shakespeare in Love, and Chicago.

Even though the wins for Chicago and Shakespeare in Love were controversial, especially the love story Shakespeare in Love beating Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture.

That year also brought forth Gwyneth Paltrow, considered one of the least deserving Best Actresses in Oscar history.

But so what? People would just remember that it was Miramax's Shakespeare in Love that won the Best Picture Oscar that year.

So, no matter what, Capet Pictures needed its own signature work, which was also a way to add foundations to Capet Pictures.

*****

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