The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 776

Matthew's biggest concern regarding Twilight was its box office trajectory. A film whose primary audience consisted solely of young women couldn't possibly maintain a stable box office trend.

If you wanted a film’s box office to be more stable, publicity was essential.

Both Matthew's Studio 13 and Disney, the distributor, were on the lookout for new promotional material.

Plenty of bizarre situations occur before and after a film's release, and some of them are perfect for generating buzz and capturing the public's attention.

On Monday, its first weekday, New Moon's box office dropped by sixty-five percent, grossing $11.1 million. It saw a slight recovery on Tuesday, ending the day with $11.8 million.

It was on Tuesday afternoon that Matthew received two pieces of news.

“Take a look at this.”

In the Angel Agency office, Helen placed two documents in front of Matthew. “This came from Disney. I think it’s good material for some buzz.”

Matthew picked them up, opened the top one, and scanned it briefly. He sighed and shook his head. “Fans can be terrifying.”

Helen offered a rare smile. “It’s a big world. You meet all kinds of people.”Matthew thought for a moment, then asked, “When did this happen?”

“Last Saturday,” Helen replied. “Disney’s people quietly contacted the woman. The story should hit the internet and entertainment news sites tonight, and the lawsuit will be filed in Los Angeles County court tomorrow.”

Matthew finished reading the copies and set them aside. “Let Ilana and a few of our other media partners know, so they can ride the wave of publicity.”

Helen nodded. “Now for the second one.”

Matthew considered it for a moment. “This one is tricky. Coordinate with Disney and the movie theaters to handle it.” After a brief pause, he added, “But no matter how it’s resolved, we need to make sure it generates plenty of hype.”

“Alright.”

Matthew discussed a few more details with her before leaving.

On the drive back to Beverly Hills, he was still thinking about the two incidents and their potential value for publicity and hype.

Neither incident was a major bombshell, but both could be effectively publicized.

The first story was about a 27-year-old Los Angeles woman who was planning to sue her boyfriend over an incident that occurred last Saturday while they were watching The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

The story had somehow reached Disney. Initially, the woman had only been contemplating the idea, but after someone from Disney discreetly contacted her, the matter escalated into an actual lawsuit.

The second case involved a young woman in Chicago who had recorded several minutes of the film inside the theater. The theater management found out and called the police to have her arrested.

Matthew had never heard of anything like it, especially since Helen had explained that this seemingly minor act was, in fact, illegal.

She would have been fine if she hadn’t been caught, but now she was in serious trouble.

Having lived here for so many years, Matthew certainly knew that copyright protection was relatively strong, especially with the MPAA. The organization not only rated films but also waged a relentless, decades-long battle against all forms of piracy.

He himself had once been a beneficiary of piracy, but now he was a staunch opponent.

That evening, both incidents began to blow up on online news sites. By the next day, they were hot topics in many print publications and on entertainment television channels.

“Woman Sues Boyfriend for Playing on His Phone During New Moon—Demands Reimbursement for Movie Ticket!”

Many media outlets reported the story in detail.

“An L.A. woman named Austin went on a date with her boyfriend last Saturday to see the newly released The Twilight Saga: New Moon. During the movie, her boyfriend was constantly on his phone instead of watching the film properly. Feeling that the movie ticket she had bought for him was wasted, she filed a lawsuit demanding he repay her the $8.50 for the ticket...”

As soon as the news broke, it resonated with countless female internet users.

Some female fans of the film responded on social media: Don’t drop the lawsuit, he deserves it!

There were also indignant men, as well as those who found the situation absurd: Last year, I sat through Twilight twice with my girlfriend, and this year I spent almost four hours playing on my phone in the theater. I’m so grateful my girlfriend didn’t sue me...

“Twenty-Two-Year-Old Chicago Woman Secretly Records The Twilight Saga: New Moon—Five-Minute Video Could Lead to Three Years in Prison!”

This was the second story Matthew had read at Helen’s office, the one concerning copyright law.

“Last Sunday evening, a young woman named Samantha used a portable DV camera to record a portion of the film at a Chicago movie theater and was immediately arrested by theater security. Since the theater manager insisted on pressing charges, the MPAA got involved. Samantha was taken into police custody and held for two days before being temporarily released on bail yesterday.”

“But it’s not over. Although the young woman claims she was only recording a clip as a birthday gift for a friend, the MPAA is taking a hard line. She now faces a Class 4 felony charge for ‘unlawful use of cinematographic materials,’ which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison.”

This story drew widespread attention and sparked a heated public reaction.

It’s well known that pirated films recorded in theaters with small cameras are difficult to eradicate, even somewhere like North America.

As an industry association, the MPAA wasn't just putting on a show. Now that the case was in the spotlight, they would have to stand firm.

This news, which went beyond standard promotion, managed to capture the attention of a much wider audience.

With the Thanksgiving holiday starting on Thursday, New Moon saw an extreme surge at the box office beginning Wednesday evening.

The 2009 Thanksgiving holiday weekend officially kicked off with a bang, and one of the week’s many new releases could only be described as an all-star collection of the biggest names in the business.

Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Sophia Loren, Judi Dench, Kate Hudson, and Black Eyed Peas vocalist Fergie starred in Nine, a powerful musical extravaganza directed by Rob Marshall, the man behind Chicago.

It was an old-fashioned song-and-dance film, adapted from a Broadway play and designed to evoke the golden age for the old guard at the Academy—a Weinstein Company picture tailor-made for the upcoming awards season.

Nostalgia, musical numbers, and all the trappings of a bygone golden age.

Hollywood was changing so fast that such things had long been forgotten, or even eliminated, except by those key Academy members whose own finest moments belonged to that so-called Golden Age.

Watching young people ignite the big screen, the old guard would inevitably grow reflective, reminiscing about their own most glorious era. A nostalgia for the films of that time would logically capture their hearts.

But for the vast majority of moviegoers, the golden age was long dead, and there was no point in trying to resurrect it.

Even though Nine boasted a star-studded cast and was directed by Rob Marshall of Chicago fame, and even though the notoriously stingy Weinstein Company had ponied up a production budget of $80 million, the film still performed poorly.

From the start of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday through the four-day weekend ending Sunday, the Weinstein Company’s largest investment to date grossed just over $5.4 million in North America.

A box office take like that was certainly no threat to Twilight.

Although the investment in Nine was far greater than that for New Moon, the market’s reaction to the two films was on a completely different level.

Even with a seventy percent drop from its premiere week, New Moon still pulled in $69.2 million over the following weekend, which included the two-day Thanksgiving holiday.

In just ten days, the film had effortlessly soared past the $200 million mark at the North American box office, reaching a total of $243.9 million!

Overseas, New Moon had opened in new markets, and its box office gross had already surpassed $250 million.

Everyone knew that Matthew was making a fortune from the series.

As a result, Matthew had been in a particularly good mood lately, even inviting Nina Dobrev over for a private gymnastics demonstration.

Thanksgiving had just passed when Matthew received a preliminary, unofficial invitation from across the Pacific.