Heads Up Hollywood

"If you want to make a blockbuster movie, you must start with the following five points!"

Tang En took advantage of the time to switch slides, drank two sips of water, and then continued, "First, there is no pressure on the budget. The strategy of making a hit is to put all your eggs in one basket, to focus on big things, and to put all your eggs in one basket. There must be a sufficient budget.”

"Second, the script must be carefully polished. I won't discuss this topic. Different projects have different standards. The evaluation of the script depends on the ability of the producer. Different people have different opinions, and there is no standard answer."

"Third, the added value of betting. This is a big problem. I will try to make it as simple as possible. Let's look at the slides. Here I divide it into three points, which are star value, director value and film value. Star value and director value everyone It's easy to understand, with big stars and big directors joining in, it is often more attractive to movie fans. So what is the value of the movie?"

Speaking of this, Tang En paused for a moment, and broke away from the content of the PPT, ""Jurassic Park" is a novel, remade into a movie, it will naturally arouse everyone's expectations, this is the value of the incidental film; another example is "Spider Heroes" is an adaptation of a comic book hero; another example is "Unsinkable" is an adaptation of a real person... These super hit movies have similar characteristics, and they all have great film value! "The Lord of the Rings" released last winter And "The Chronicles of Narnia," the same is true."

Tang En's words were not clear.

The so-called film value, in the concept of 15 years later, is IP!

Popular novels, popular games, popular toys, old movies, old TV series, real events, historical stories...these can all be adapted into blockbuster movies, all of which have IP attributes.

Even when Tang En stopped, the executives in the first row all nodded thoughtfully, as if they understood something.

Tang En was a little amused, and thought to himself: "I will basically get all the hot IPs in the future. If you think about it now, it's too late!"

However, his expression was restrained, even serious, "The fourth point is very important. I hope that all producers and directors will pay special attention to it. Of course, there are also students who want to join this industry in the future. The fourth point , called highlight effects!"

"Highlight special effects, as the name suggests, is to produce special effects shots with highlights, which is particularly critical! In Hollywood, many colleagues asked me why some movies, with an investment of more than 100 million U.S. dollars, made a lot of special effects shots, and finally failed. ?Here, I can tell you that because their special effects shots are as flat as water, lacking waves and bright spots!"

Tang En didn't name them, but many filmmakers in the audience blushed.

This mistake is made by almost everyone.

Tang En's advice was really generous.

""Jurassic Park" is recognized as a blockbuster special effects movie, but in this film, there are only 500 special effects shots. Why is it so impressive? Because Director Spielberg strives for excellence in the production of dinosaur special effects, and the dinosaur is the whole film The biggest selling point, the biggest point of view, cannot be sloppy at all. Rather reduce the number of special effects shots, but also increase the precision of special effects.”

"For another example, "Titanic", everyone must remember the big ship splitting scene? At that time, some people suggested that it should be muddled. But I didn't agree. The special effects shot in the 5 seconds cost a full budget of 5 million US dollars. The result is very good, it is almost the most shocking shot in the whole film!"

"Another example is "Spiderman". There is a set of shots between Spiderman and the Green Goblin that are fighting in Times Square. Someone suggested that I shoot the scene on the spot, but I can't make an explosion on the spot. The effect is not good. I rented an abandoned airport and restored it. The entire Times Square was destroyed, and then the double combination of real scene explosions and special effects explosions presented such a wonderful fighting scene."

"The so-called highlight special effects are the shots that make people have a long aftertaste, and even make people worth buying a ticket to watch again. A big production movie is like the sea, and the highlight special effects are the magnificent waves! You are used to seeing the sea, and everyone will definitely understand it. Waves, tides, tsunamis are more interesting."

These words are the real core.

Tang En pointed out the details and key points of making a special effects blockbuster, which is the key to the attention of many top filmmakers and company management in the audience.

Sure enough, many people seemed to have suddenly realized, and there was a little restlessness between their brows.

This is the beginning stage of a blockbuster special effects movie, and everyone is still in a groping stage. Twain will give the result directly, which is of course the best gift for Hollywood.

Tang En's eyes, consciously or unconsciously, glanced at Alan Horn, the president of Warner Brothers!

The fourth theory just now was proposed by Alan Horn in his previous life, and he is also the biggest implementer of Hollywood's blockbuster strategy!

Especially after Alan Horn was recruited to Disney, he became a fanatical blockbuster filmmaker. Disney gave up all small and medium-cost films, and only produced 13 films a year, including 13 commercial blockbusters!

Under the leadership of this line of thinking, Alan Horn led Disney to occupy half of the box office market.

Coincidentally, Alan Horn's eyes were also fixed on Tang En, revealing a fanaticism that was almost worshipful.

Tang En suppressed the joy in his heart, calmed down, and continued: "Finally, it is the fifth point, movie marketing. Marketing is a very interesting thing. I want to spread the information of a movie to the society. Every corner of the movie, the cost is fixed, whether the movie is $10 million or $100 million."

"This is obvious. Since marketing does not distinguish between targets, why don't we focus more on big productions? How much is the promotional cost of Hollywood commercial blockbusters today? 50 million US dollars? 70 million US dollars? Too little Already! If you want to create a hit, if you want to cause a sensation, marketing is essential."

"The marketing of blockbuster movies must be held high, and these products must be guaranteed high returns at all costs. The best marketing team must be found to create the largest publicity campaign. According to the current movie environment, in order to truly form blockbusters effect, the cost of publicity and distribution must not be less than 120 million U.S. dollars!"

$120 million in publicity costs?

All the bosses in the first row suddenly took a breath.

This boy Tang En is not afraid of scaring people to death by talking big!

In this era, it is unprecedented for the production cost to be able to come up with 120 million US dollars. You have to spend 120 million US dollars for marketing. What is the difference between this and stealing money?

If you lose money, you will lose your head!

Tang En Pictures is Tang En's private enterprise, so he can play with confidence. But these managers, playing such a big game, if they are reckless... I'm afraid they will lose their jobs.

...

The scheduled time for Tang En's speech is 2 hours.

He spent 80 minutes talking about the correctness and practical application of the explosion theory, and the rest of the time was to answer some questions from the students and filmmakers on site.

No one wanted to miss such a precious opportunity to ask questions, and the atmosphere in the auditorium began to rise.

The first person to ask a question was a female student, "Mr. Walker, hello, it is a great honor to have this opportunity to ask questions. I... I listened to your lecture and understand that the strategy of explosive products can build a brand, but it can also put the company at risk. In the midst of great risks, how can we avoid risks?"

Tang En stood at the front, full of momentum, fully controlling the field, and said with a smile: "You said that the strategy of popular products can build a brand, very good! This shows that you have grasped the true meaning of the strategy of popular products. If you want to create a successful popular product , First of all, you must have a good idea, and then go all out to plan the release, and luck will also bring great help."

"In fact, predicting the potential value of a product is like a gamble on whether the product is worthy of high investment and whether it can become a hit to obtain high returns. Many investors are brave enough to try, but some managers are weighing Missed opportunities amidst the risks posed by huge bets."

"More importantly, the current film market is not only in North America, but the global market has been fully opened! Every country has different national conditions and cultural barriers. If you want a film to be popular all over the world, you need a big production and a big cost. The commercial blockbuster is the best way to open the doors of those countries! This is not only an increase in the income of the film company, but also an increase in the value of the entire Hollywood brand!"

The applause was very warm, especially the audience in the first row, who agreed with Tang En's statement.

The brand value of Hollywood is the collective interest of everyone.

"Hello, Mr. Walker, I am Emma Jones, a teacher from the School of Film and Television..."

Immediately, there were bursts of applause from the audience.

Obviously, this teacher Jones is very popular with the students.

Tang En respectfully said, "Hello, Mr. Jones."

Teacher Jones held a notebook in her hand, she seemed to be listening very seriously, and took notes, she said slowly: "Mr. Concentrate resources, and at all costs, let the film sprint to the top and become a blockbuster, thereby creating a sensational effect and attracting movie fans to enter the theater, instead of rushing into the long-tail market with little soup and fresh water."

"This sentence is very well said, and I am full of admiration for it. But I don't quite understand the two words, this... this should not be a professional term in the current business or film industry, long tail market, what does it mean? Is it a new concept that you specifically proposed?"

Tang En felt a headache.

Sure enough, it's a teacher. It's really hard to deal with such a fine pick.

The long tail market is, of course, a market triggered by the long tail theory. In 2004, the term "long tail" appeared for the first time in business journals, and it was not popularized until 2006 when it was published.

Once this topic is developed, it becomes more complicated.

"The long-tail market... is actually a theory that competes with the explosive model theory, that is, the long-tail theory. It means giving up explosive models and pursuing the tail benefits of the normal curve, which is a more average product return."

"I personally don't agree with the long-tail effect, because giving up blockbusters means giving up the most potential market, the top talents, and the support of the marketing team. But the future business laws and film situation, the market , talent and marketing team are equally important.”

"I plan to publish a book, which will explain the viewpoints of the explosion theory in detail, so as to facilitate the research of teachers and students, and the reference of colleagues in the industry. By the way, the long-tail theory will also be mentioned. I will not go into details on this issue. Alright, next question."

Tang En responded with a few words humbly, and then saw someone in the second row raise their hands, very familiar.

The second row is the seat for a Hollywood filmmaker. This person wears black-rimmed glasses, looks refined, and also has a bookish youthful look.

"Hello, Director Walker, I'm Jeffrey Abrams, a Hollywood filmmaker..."