American Fame and Fortune

Chapter 80 Going to Hollywood

 In mid-November, the trailer for "Zombie Gigolo" was broadcast on the late-night hours of local TV stations in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

 Professionals at Lionsgate cut out highlights such as the trapeze and the machine-gun dance.

The ad also features Grey's late-night show, which has always had good ratings.

 Then there are trailers and posters in movie theaters.

 For screenings, the distribution company invests very limited resources and only targets the target audience.

After just one week of low-profile promotion, "Zombie Gigolo" was simultaneously screened in eight independent theaters in Los Angeles and Atlanta.

Elena had a day off, and Martin made an appointment with her to go see a movie together in the afternoon.

 Lily followed him out shamelessly.

With two adults, and Lily being tall, it was easy to sneak into the movie theater. After all, it was only R-rated, not 17-year-old.

There were many empty seats in the slightly old movie hall. The three of them chose a row at the back. When they sat down, Lily slipped past Elena and sat on Martin's left side.

Elena on Martin's right looked at her and said, "Watch the movie and watch your mouth."

 Lily nodded and said: "There are not many people. Martin, no one watched the movie you acted in?"

 Martin gave her the popcorn in his hand: "Eat something and talk less."

Elena handed Martin a glass of Coke and asked in a low voice: "Is the audience a little small?"

 In the old movie hall that can accommodate nearly 200 people, less than 40 people were sparsely seated.

With Zombie Gigolo being shown in theaters, Martin's goal has been achieved and he is in a good mood: "It's a small-budget B-level film that only lasted three months of shooting and production. We can't expect many viewers."

Lily wanted to speak again, and Martin gave her a Coke: "Drink water."

 While the opening commercial was playing, Lily counted quickly and said, "Not counting us, there are 37 people."

She muttered: "I calculated, the movie ticket is worth 6 US dollars a piece, this time the box office is 240 US dollars."

Elena was curious: "What are you thinking about?"

Martin said: "She's counting the box office."

"The movie he stars in is going to be released." Lily stretched out her finger and poked Martin: "I studied the box office calculation method with a movie magazine."

She glanced at Elena's slightly higher **** and complained that her sister's **** were inversely proportional to her brain capacity. She continued: "This film is short, only 92 minutes. It can be shown 9 times a day. Take this afternoon show as an average." Number, one day per hotel is US$2,160.”

Elena said: "You must have calculated it wrong, it should be 1,860 US dollars."

Martin would not be stupid enough to refute Elena, saying: "Starting from Friday, this film will have a box office of almost 6,000 US dollars in a single theater over the weekend."

 Because the number of spectators in each session is different, it may be more or less.

Elena was still counting her fingers, and finally gave up. She was surprised: "Martin, you dropped out of school earlier than me. Why can you figure it out but I can't?"

 Lily's mouth is faster than her brain: "Because you are really stupid, even stupider than Martin..."

Elena poured a bottle of Coke upside down and hit Lily on the head with a bottle from behind Martin.

With a bang, Lily became depressed.

 Martin quickly grabbed Elena: "Don't disturb people watching the movie."

 The main plot and basic content of the movie remain unchanged, but some redundant shots have been cut out and the scale has been slightly reduced to cope with the MPAA rating.

 From the beginning of the film, Elena was dumbfounded.

 She thought that the late-night scenes that Martin shot, such as Ma Zhen and others, were exaggerated enough, but she didn't expect that this film was even more exaggerated.

Elena held Martin's hand tightly and pressed her body against Martin. With her character, she dared to sit directly on Martin's lap if there was no one around.

 Martin scratched her palm quietly and gave her a look.

Elena waited patiently and waited until she went back after watching the movie.

The atmosphere in the theater was good, with the audience in front laughing constantly and occasionally exclamating.

The audience who can come in to watch this movie are undoubtedly B-movie lovers. This bad movie takes the old zombie plasma theme and creates something new, which makes them enjoy watching it.

At the end of the show, many people complained about the poor plot, but praised the actor for his originality and brilliant performance in several scenes.

 Walking out of the cinema exit, Lily angrily shouted: "Which idiot came up with such an idiotic setting?"

Elena regretted taking her out: "Don't force me to do it."

 The words Lily had stuck in her throat raised her cheeks like an oversized frog.

 Back home in the community, Lily wanted to discuss the movie she just watched with Elena, but found that the idiots Martin and Elena were missing.

She secretly went out, set up a wooden ladder, climbed to the roof, and looked around in the still bright moonlight.

Soon everything went crazy, and Elena was chasing Lily with a shotgun.

 Martin, Harris and Hall watch Sisterhood together.

 …

“Zombie Gigolo” was screened in three theaters in Atlanta, with an average box office of US$6,423 per theater over the three-day weekend.

  Los Angeles is better, with the average box office of the five theaters exceeding US$8,000.     Not too good, but not too bad either.

 The screenings are specifically aimed at the target audience. It is normal for some films with excellent screening results to earn more than 20,000 yuan in a single theater.

 The worst ones are, of course, three-day or one-day tours of movie theaters.

This result is enough for Lionsgate Pictures to further expand its distribution and increase its promotional budget.

 Advertisements and short promotional videos for the film began to appear on some websites, especially forums where B-movie enthusiasts gathered.

TV advertising and print media also invested heavily.

On the weekend before Thanksgiving, "Zombie Gigolo" expanded to 54 theaters in North America, and the weekend box office surged to $425,000.

　　Including the previous weekend and weekday box office, the North American box office of this B-level movie exceeded $500,000.

As for word-of-mouth, reputation for B-level movies is all in vain.

On the contrary, the three wonderful performances of the male protagonist were talked about by B-movie lovers on several movie websites.

Two days before Thanksgiving, Zombie Gigolo Studio received a business letter from Lionsgate Pictures and immediately notified Martin, Catherine and Benjamin to come for a meeting.

 Because the office space of the studio is small enough to accommodate only two operators, the meeting location was held at Gray Company.

Benjamin was in a very good mood and hugged Martin vigorously when they met: "Man, we are going to be famous."

 Martin said with a smile: "Is it that exaggerated?"

 Benjamin came over the earliest and said softly: "We are going to Los Angeles."

 Catherine was very excited: "Go to Hollywood?"

 Benjamin did not answer.

Kelly Gray brought Ella into the conference room at this time, nodded slightly to the three of them, and said: "Lionsgate has just informed us that "Zombie Gigolo" will be expanded to 650 theaters this weekend, covering the United States. All states, we succeeded."

Martin leaned back on his seat, looked up at the ceiling, raised his hands and clenched them into fists, looking through many obstacles, as if he could see the sky. The sky was so innocent, the sun was so bright, and the bald Benjamin was so handsome. , Ella’s freckles on her face are so beautiful, Kelly and Catherine are so beautiful.

 When you are happy, everything you look at is pleasing to the eye.

Even if Lao Hei comes over, Martin can still call him handsome.

 Because the impact of on-demand screenings and large-scale screenings is very different.

Martin has been jumping up and down like a monkey for nearly half a year. Isn't that the reason?

Benjamin happily banged the conference table hard. When he saw Martin reaching out his fist, he bumped with him.

I was too excited and exerted too much force, so I yelled out in pain.

 Catherine was slow to react, or she had not yet realized what 650 theater screenings could bring. She pinched her face and asked: "Ms. Grey, can we go to Hollywood?"

Kelly glanced at Martin and said: "Lionsgate Pictures is going to hold a fan and media meeting in Los Angeles to further promote the film. They invite you to go to Los Angeles. They have booked the air tickets. You will spend Thanksgiving in Atlanta. Depart early on May Day.”

"Can I go to Hollywood?" Catherine's first sentence was a question, and the second sentence became an affirmation: "I can go to Hollywood!"

She suddenly screamed, hugged her blond hair, stood up and spun around.

 How tempting fame is to an ordinary actor, Catherine is so excited at this moment.

Even Martin kept staring at Kelly Gray and laughing.

 Why should you hide your happiness?

 Actors naturally express their emotions.

After screaming loudly, Catherine calmed down a little, sat down on the chair, and said embarrassedly: "I'm sorry, I lost my composure. This is...too important to me."

She took the initiative to reach out her hand and high-fived Martin and Benjamin: "Thank you! Thank you! It's a great honor for me to cooperate with you."

 Martin smiled and nodded: "Me too."

Kelly added at this time: "Dave negotiated with Lionsgate Pictures and obtained a remuneration of US$5,000 for each of you. However, when you arrive in Los Angeles, you must cooperate with Lionsgate Pictures throughout the process."

 Benjamin was so excited that he even uttered curse words: "As long as they don't mess with my butt, I will definitely cooperate." Then he said harshly: "Even if they mess with my butt, I will bear it!"

Kelly said to her assistant: "Ella, go get the wine, we want to celebrate."

Ella quickly brought champagne and goblets, and several people drank a glass together in the conference room.

 Benjamin and Catherine soon left hand in hand.

 Martin had lunch with Kelly and went to her luxury apartment.

Kelly said: "Your wish has come true."

  Martin said: “Our wish came true.”

 Kelly did not deny that Martin won the leading role in a theatrical film and gained an important qualification. Her company profited from the project and had more funds to invest in new dramas and the renovation of the studio in the automotive industry park.

 Martin thought for a while and said sincerely: "Kelly, I wish you can become a member of Parliament as soon as possible."

Kelly Gray laughed: "Martin, I wish you will become a superstar soon."

 (End of this chapter)