"Good evening, Lyman," Kevin Huvane on the other end of the phone sounded enthusiastic, his tone relaxed as he asked, "Are you available? I want to talk to you about something."
"I'm fine," Lyman replied while sitting in the living room watching TV. He lived alone, so he was a bit puzzled about receiving a call from Kevin. However, after thinking for a moment, he said, "Wait a moment, let me find a quiet place."
Perhaps there was something important after all. Although Lyman didn't think there was anything urgent recently, since Kevin clearly wanted to have a good chat, he quickly returned to his bedroom and closed the door, blocking out any possible noise from the TV.
"Is the post-production of "Fury" going smoothly?" Kevin asked first after confirming it was convenient.
"It's a mess," Lyman couldn't help but complain about it, "It's been a nightmare. Lately, I've been getting tinnitus from listening to the music scores. Every day when I go to the editing room, they play a few pieces of music for me to see if they fit... And don't tell me that's what you called for today. We still have over a month until the scheduled release date. Is there any problem?"
Hans Zimmer was also a talented person, but every time he made changes to the music, he had to seek his approval, which was unbearable. After rambling on for a while, Lyman himself didn't know what he was saying anymore. Venting his frustration, he remembered that Kevin seemed to have something to discuss with him. It should be about that, right?
After the completion of the film, he had paid the remaining service fee to his agent, John. It had been a long time since he had contacted CAA. After all, they couldn't help with post-production. Fortunately, Lyman had given his agent a vacation.
"I didn't call to ask about the progress of the new film," Kevin said somewhat helplessly. "There's something I want to talk to you about."
"Go ahead, I'm listening carefully."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, and then the tone stabilized. "I'm here to congratulate you, Lyman. You've made a great film, and CAA wants to help you campaign for this year's Oscar nomination. What do you think?"
Lyman furrowed his brow in confusion. Campaigning for an Oscar nomination? I haven't even finished the new film yet. How do you know it's a good movie? You're more confident than the person involved.
"What? I didn't quite understand. Is it necessary to campaign for "Fury" with such urgency?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, it's my fault for not explaining clearly," Kevin said with a hint of apology. "What I mean is campaigning for "3 Idiots" to compete for the Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Oscars."
"Is there a need for that?" Lyman asked strangely. The film has already been released, and it has received enough attention. Why seek more recognition?
"Of course," Kevin's voice transmitted through the phone waves to his ears. "For the film itself, it may not mean much, but for your directing career, it's an excellent boost. You see, just getting a nomination itself is a golden status, not to mention that CAA hopes "3 Idiots" can go all the way and win that little golden statue."
His voice sounded tempting. "Don't you want to win your first little golden statue as a director?"
Lyman admitted that at this moment, he was somewhat tempted, "So, how do we go about campaigning?"
"We've reached out to Paramount Pictures, and they are willing to sponsor your nomination," Kevin had already planned it all out and said with a smile. "They will make several copies of the film and arrange screenings in a dozen or so theaters at the end of this year, around December 28, until the Oscars arrive."
"Is it necessary? The film has already been released once, and I don't know how many copies of the VHS tapes have been sold through offline channels. Will people still go to the theaters? It seems like a waste," Lyman asked. "Is Paramount Pictures really willing to provide these resources without any conditions?" The latter question was quite direct, almost asking if they had any ulterior motives. After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and neither CAA nor Paramount Pictures were genuine benefactors.
Kevin smiled and naturally didn't answer that question. Would he reveal his intention to unite Paramount Pictures and lure him, the director, without first building some rapport? How else could he poach the talent from EuropaCorp? It was just a dozen or so theaters, even if they were all empty, Paramount Pictures could bear the loss.
"You are our company's partner, and we naturally consider opportunities that can help your directing career. Besides, you can listen to our ideas and then decide whether to give it a try or not."
"Okay, go on..."
In order to compete for awards, as mentioned earlier, at the end of the Christmas season, there is a flood of art films or feature-length dramas released. Because people are creatures who like new things and get tired of old ones, imagine this: when the judges want to vote and decide the list of nominated films for the Oscars this year, will they be more impressed by a film released several months ago or a film that has just entered theaters recently?
This is a question that is easy to answer, and the judges mostly can't escape the cage constructed by the phrase "liking novelty and discarding the old".
So, even if they were to re-enter theaters, even if there were fewer screenings and not many audiences willing to watch, it was still worth it. They were not meant for the audience anyway, but to please those judging gentlemen.
And in order to keep a low profile, the theaters used for the limited screenings were also of the type located in suburban areas. The purpose of doing so was naturally to limit the popularity of the film. Everyone knows that if a film aiming for the Oscars becomes too mainstream or too popular, it won't be beneficial for the selection process. In this regard, the Oscars are conservative like an antique from the last century. They always make some counter-trend choices to demonstrate their uniqueness and "fairness and justice".
Kevin explained the entire operation plan concisely, giving Lyman a preliminary understanding of the marketing tactics for award campaigns. As a result, Lyman's confidence in them grew. Such a comprehensive plan couldn't be easily devised; it must have been the result of careful consideration.
"I understand. Let's do it according to your plan. How much do I need to contribute towards the public relations expenses?"
For the Oscars, if you don't have money, don't play this game. That's the reality.
"If you're willing to give up half of the offline revenue from "Fury" for us, we will take care of everything. It won't be a problem," Kevin replied.
After a long pause, Lyman on the other end of the phone remained silent. Kevin continued with a tinge of regret, "It seems that your own desire is not that strong. In that case, let's calculate separately. Paramount Pictures will provide the resources for the distribution aspect of campaigning for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars free of charge. But the remaining expenses for public relations and the judges will be mostly your responsibility. CAA will assist in this public relations campaign, and if we eventually succeed in the competition, we will also charge a service fee, approximately one-third of the offline revenue of "3 Idiots". What do you think?"
"Thank you, let's go with that." He quickly hung up the phone, and Lyman sighed with a touch of melancholy. His personal influence was simply too low. Even after two consecutive successes, the executives at EuropaCorp still questioned his market appeal.
Was he lacking something? Was his blood, sweat, and tears not comparable to the assembly-line movies like "007"? How ironic.
Although he eventually convinced everyone to stand with Luc Besson, that wasn't what Lyman wanted. Since then, he had been thinking about how to prove himself. After much consideration, he realized that his resume lacked the necessary prestige. And where would the highest recognition and prestige be? In the United States, and even in the entire English-speaking cultural sphere, it would be the Oscars.
So, knowing that he would owe a heavy debt of gratitude and incur significant public relations expenses, he still agreed. If "3 Idiots" succeeded and won the little golden statue, it would undoubtedly ignite another wave of market frenzy.
This was an obvious outcome. Award campaigns for films were all about similar tactics to generate profit. Miramax was the leader in this regard. Relying on the Oscars could lead to prosperity. But he also agreed to CAA's proposed terms. There was nothing to say about it. They were working for him, so they should gain something in return.
In this calculation, he not only owed a personal debt but also had to bear the majority of the public relations expenses.
Of course, Kevin didn't fail to offer his assistance. As the distributor, EuropaCorp couldn't be indifferent, right? If the film could win the little golden statue, the most significant market feedback would undoubtedly be focused on the revenue from videotapes. Since the profit point was there, would the distributor hesitate to cover the public relations expenses? It was for the benefit of the film, for achieving better sales performance.
Lyman understood Kevin's idea and immediately made a phone call to Luc Besson. Naturally, the famous Frenchman found it acceptable. It was a good thing after all. For EuropaCorp, even if the award campaign failed, how much could they lose? Some people didn't even have the opportunity to seek this "loss". Thus, the public relations expenses were shared equally between the two parties.
Originally, Luc Besson wanted to cover all the expenses to show his closeness, but Lyman refused. He didn't want to involve any personal relationships beyond cooperation. Because... he already owed too much.