Chapter 758: Marketing Master

If you asked what Leonardo DiCaprio wanted most, anyone who knew him would say it absolutely wasn't leggy blonde models, but the Golden Statuette for Best Actor at the Oscars!

In Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio's performance was certainly dazzling enough.

Thus, Leonardo's team began building momentum for next year's Oscars. Even though it was only May, those mounting an Oscar Campaign—whether individuals or films—had already swung into action. In fact, right after the previous Oscar Awards Ceremony ended, the films and actors targeting the next Oscars had started haunting the media and major film festivals, working hard to build their capital for an Oscar campaign.

Relatively speaking, Leonardo's moves weren't early, while Duke's plans were lagging far behind.

However, Duke was happy to see Leonardo have a shot at winning. Everyone had their biases, and every Oscar season had a Golden Statuette to hand out for Best Actor. If the winner happened to be a friend, that was naturally a good thing.

"A perfect transformation in Inception. Leonardo brings the character's inner struggles to vivid life, sculpting a flesh-and-blood persona that fully immerses the audience and elevates the film's overall viewing experience."

Articles like this were not uncommon in the media. More importantly, Leonardo had become the cover feature for the latest issue of Time Magazine.

With Inception currently dominating theaters, many European and American media outlets had pegged Leonardo as a hot favorite for next year's Oscar for Best Actor.

Right below Leonardo's portrait on the cover of Time Magazine, a quote from Duke was directly cited.

"Leonardo made a massive contribution to Inception. I consider him one of the most outstanding actors today, and his performance in our film was absolutely magnificent."

Just as he had agreed to help Sofia Coppola, pulling Nicolas Cage out of the mire of his nightmare loop, Duke generally wouldn't stand idly by if he could help a friend.

His circle of friends was simply very limited. Given his personality, if someone he didn't care for fell from grace right in front of him, Duke would choose to completely ignore them.

Actually, given how far he had come in Hollywood, his "Two-Face" moniker was already widely circulated within the industry. Many knew exactly what kind of hardness and coldness hid beneath that seemingly peaceful face.

Duke's success also prompted countless people to analyze him. Among them were quite a few professional analysis agencies, as well as individuals like Ed Mintz, the famous Hollywood and film market analyst.

To the vast majority of moviegoers, the name Ed Mintz was completely foreign. Now sixty-nine years old, he never attended any premieres, and his name would never appear on any Hollywood power lists. However, over the past few years, he had made a massive contribution to the entire Hollywood film industry—CinemaScore, the film market research company he founded, provided invaluable box office reference data for the whole industry.

Unlike the test screenings organized by major studios, CinemaScore's surveys were conducted immediately after audiences finished watching a film's opening night. The final box office predictions based on this word-of-mouth feedback consistently demonstrated astonishing accuracy.

In 2008, Hancock received an A-grade market rating, and Ed Mintz predicted a North American box office of around 230 million dollars; the final actual box office was 228 million dollars. Last summer's Land of the Lost received a C-grade from CinemaScore, leading to a prediction of 48 million dollars, and the actual result was 49 million. Holy Man also received a C-grade, with a predicted 57 million dollars against an actual 60 million dollars. There were also classic cases like the C-grade rated Mall Cop, which was predicted to earn 24 million dollars and ended up making exactly 24 million.

Even more convincing was last summer's hit, The Hangover. When the film premiered, nobody would have believed a bold prediction of 150 million dollars. Yet CinemaScore estimated the film would pull in around 228 million dollars, and the actual result was a staggering 270 million-plus dollars...

Of course, CinemaScore's predictions weren't one hundred percent accurate, and mistakes were unavoidable. For example, Taken was predicted at 70 million dollars but ended up with 145 million. Additionally, Ed Mintz had been extremely optimistic about Fast and Furious 4, believing it could reach 200 million dollars, but due to the impact of Mad Max, it only made 150 million.

Overall, however, compared to Rotten Tomatoes freshness ratings and IMDB scores—which had little correlation to the actual market—the accuracy of CinemaScore's box office predictions, built on post-premiere audience survey reports, was still highly convincing.

CinemaScore's rating system was easy to understand. An A meant success. A B meant it was okay and relatively satisfying. A C was bad news, signaling an impending box office tragedy. Audiences on opening night rarely gave a D or an E, and extremely few films ever received an F. In Duke's own words, if a film got an F, it shouldn't have been released in the first place.

In the eyes of all the production and distribution companies in Hollywood, the weight of market research entities like Ed Mintz and his CinemaScore was vastly greater than Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB. The latter two weren't even considered chicken ribs when it came to the film market, whereas the former could rapidly determine a film's market prospects, allowing studios to make adjustments accordingly.

After seeing Inception, this famous analysis master specifically brought up Duke while meeting with his good friend David Geffen, formerly one of the Big Three of DreamWorks.

"He's grown at an incredibly fast pace!"

Inside a luxury mansion in Las Vegas, David Geffen shook his bald head and said to Ed Mintz over tea, "By the time I noticed him, he had already become one of the most outstanding directors in the industry."

"An outstanding director?"

Ed Mintz stood up and poured another cup of black tea for David Geffen. Sitting back down, he shook his head. "Duke Rosenberg is far more than just a director. In my eyes, he's also a top-tier marketing master."

David Geffen was slightly taken aback. "Duke does frequently offer Warner Brothers some rather groundbreaking marketing advice, but he doesn't possess the ability to formulate and execute comprehensive plans..."

"That's not what I mean, David." Ed Mintz leaned back against the sofa, crossed his legs, and said, "I'm not referring to that kind of marketing. I mean that he builds the marketing directly into his movies."

"Oh?" David Geffen's interest was piqued. "Tell me about it."

"The essence of marketing is exchange, and the prerequisite for exchange is touching people's hearts. Touching people's hearts requires insight into human nature. Naturally, someone with insight into human nature is a marketing master."

Picking up his teacup to take a sip, Ed Mintz spoke in an unhurried manner. "Whether you're being a director or building a brand, it's all the same. Duke Rosenberg has a masterful grasp of human nature. The gorgeous visual effects in his films naturally bring shock and awe, but the core of his movies always manages to resonate with mainstream audiences. In this regard, Duke is incredibly successful."

Several of Duke's films immediately flashed through David Geffen's mind. He nodded; it was indeed exactly as Ed Mintz said.

"Just take Inception, which is still in theaters, for example..."

Organizing his thoughts, Ed Mintz continued, "The film centers on dreams, which is a fantastic subject in itself. This territory is a blue ocean. Audiences have grown used to the straightforward brutality of sci-fi action flicks; they've become somewhat numb and unenthusiastic. However, we know very little about dreams, yet find them deeply fascinating..."

"From dream extraction to dream design, then dream inception, and finally dreams within dreams, Duke sketches out a perfect brand story. He forms an entire brand architecture and enriches its meaning. If you just toss out the concept of a dream without digging deep into the supporting pillars, the idea will be hollow and impossible to ground. By doing this, Duke's 'dream extraction' invisibly seizes the top position among similar brands."

David Geffen understood what Ed Mintz was trying to express. "Looking at it from that angle, planting an idea in a dream is the exact same thing as planting a brand in a consumer's mind," he said.

"It's more than just that..." Ed Mintz added. "Did you notice the emotions reflected in Inception? His past films are basically the same. When it comes to brand building, love, family, friendship, and the realization of self-worth are eternal themes."

Hearing this, David Geffen let out a sigh. Duke Rosenberg's films always contained these elements, and they were simply among the best marketing tools to attract an audience.

To a certain extent, Duke Rosenberg's success wasn't because he was truly overwhelmingly capable, but simply because he possessed more market awareness than anyone else, and he showed greater respect to the market and the audience.

"There are two things in this world that are the most difficult." Ed Mintz suddenly held up a single finger. "The first is how to put other people's money into your own pocket."

When David Geffen looked over, he extended a second finger. "The second is how to put your own ideas into other people's heads."

Ed Mintz added emphasis to his tone. "In Hollywood, he does both of these things better than anyone else!"

The fact that Inception had dominated both the North American and global film markets for two consecutive weeks, along with the wave of controversy it ignited, could be seen as the best evidence for Ed Mintz's words. However, during its third weekend in North American theaters, Inception welcomed a heavyweight opponent.

Directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett, and distributed by Walt Disney, Robin Hood made its full wide release in North American theaters on Friday.

Because David Ellison had acquired the corresponding investment shares and further expanded the funding, the production budget for this epic masterpiece had reached a staggering 200 million dollars, with promotional and marketing expenses also nearing 150 million dollars!

Whether looking at the director and cast, or the scale of investment and distribution, this was one of the rare super-massive productions in recent years.

From Disney to David Ellison, everyone was brimming with confidence, believing that Robin Hood possessed all the necessary conditions for a massive hit.

However, the way things actually unfolded left everyone absolutely stunned.