Compared to the tumultuous situation in the United States, promotional activities in other countries went much smoother. Without the instigation of any "hidden hands," the book fans in these countries showed no signs of losing their rationality. In their eyes, Hollywood is the holy land of movies, and Laila's strength, which can secure her a place there, is undoubtedly extraordinary. They believed that there must be a reason for choosing an Eastern actor.
Even if they didn't make the right choice, these people had no room to speak. At most, they could choose not to buy tickets to watch the movie.
So, the promotion in neighboring countries went smoothly. With stars like Roy leading the way, fans' enthusiasm was stirred up. Laila also knew some tricks of future publicity, engaging in interactions with fans, not only earning their praise but also using media coverage to increase the buzz.
As for Asia, it was even more successful. Leslie Cheung alone could excite the fans to tears and laughter. When Roy and the crew members joined in the East, the media attention in the entire Asian region shifted towards them.
Laila always saw herself as a director, not a star. She rarely participated in such activities unless it was necessary for promotion. While the actors were on an external tour for promotion, she sat with some Eastern directors, officially called it a "discussion on the development and progress of films," but in reality, it was a tea party of chatting and socializing.
"Laila, you foreigners are really good at publicity. Look, as soon as you come, all the media rushes over for coverage. Unlike us, we have to bribe reporters with red envelopes to get them to come," a director sighed, perhaps influenced by a couple of sips.
Is it really appropriate to be so frank about giving red envelopes? The actors who came with him were anxious, not sure if they should stop him from continuing or pretend they didn't hear his words.
On the side, another director patted him on the shoulder with a smile, "It's okay, sitting in front of you is an Eastern expert, even more understanding than a genuine Eastern person. We're all directors; who doesn't know these things?"
Yao Yingxia's corner of the eye twitched, silently taking a sip of her drink and swallowing the words that almost came out. She regretted organizing this gathering; these artistic people were all unique. She would have to discuss the meaning of "family matters should not be publicized" with them after it ended! However, she was also grateful that Laila, such a friendly international friend, was sitting here; otherwise, she would be embarrassed to lose face in a foreign country.
Laila was amused by their straightforward words and couldn't help but feel nostalgic. After all, she had once navigated the Eastern director circle, and she hadn't experienced any less of these kinds of things they were talking about.
"Yeah," she chuckled. "It's the same in our place. How can you get good words from reporters without giving them some benefits?"
On this topic, the directors' tongues loosened. Each of them was a well-known director, having dealt with reporters many times and having suffered setbacks in their words.
"It's hard to offend them. With a turn of their pens, they can write some critical words, and it might lead to a significant drop in box office sales."
"Exactly! Fewer people listen when they say good things. If they say something bad, more people believe it."
One person asked Laila, "Director Moran, how do you promote? Do you rely on your own media to spread the word?"
Laila's identity had never been hidden. People who knew a little bit about her knew that she had the formidable Moran Media Group backing her. So many here believed that she relied more on her family's media for promotion.
"In fact, Hollywood's promotion is almost the same. Advertisements, posters, appearances on shows, collaboration with businesses for product launches, and trailers, etc.," she didn't conceal anything, directly sharing her experience from these years. How much these people could understand depended on their insight.
"My grandfather does have a few media outlets, but relying solely on their promotion won't achieve particularly good results. The best method is to have all media outlets promote together, and it has to be proactive promotion."
"Let them promote voluntarily?" A director was puzzled. "Do they willingly promote you for free without payment?"
Laila smiled, "Isn't there a term called 'hype'? Why does this phenomenon exist? It's to use the hype to make more people aware of your movie."
"Hype is not easy to handle either. Actors are constantly entangled in who's dating whom, and who broke up with whom. This might work a few times, but after a while, not many people believe it. Moreover, it can't be used too much, as it brings a bit of tarnish to the actor's reputation. Many established idols gradually lose interest in such crude publicity as their fame grows. They can't afford to consume too much of their integrity just to help promote others. So, many top-tier idols are no longer willing to cooperate with such publicity," a director commented.
"I think the so-called hype is not just about starting with scandals," Laila smiled faintly. "There are many ways to attract attention to your work."
The people present brightened up, "Such as?"
Laila picked up her drink and took a sip, "I think you should have heard about the news of my movie being boycotted, right?"
"Hehe." The directors all laughed. They didn't dare to say it was such a big deal; they wanted to pretend not to know.
"You don't need to worry about that. At least in our country, we will support Director Moran's work!" This was a great opportunity to gain favor, and everyone naturally wouldn't let it pass.
And it had nothing to do with whether they supported the boycott or not. On the contrary, they welcomed it. What if an Eastern actor was added to the movie? According to their words, it was added very well! It should be added! All future movies should have Eastern actors! Let those foreigners with high noses see that the East also has excellent actors!
Laila understood that they sincerely supported her, but what she wanted to say was not this.
"Haven't you all noticed?" she continued, "If there hadn't been this boycott, do you think as many people would know about this movie as they do now?"
"Hiss!" Several directors who tasted the connotation sucked in a breath, while those who hadn't understood immediately began to ponder.
The amount of information in this statement was quite significant!