Hollywood Road

The North American publicity and distribution of "Sin City" is solely in charge of Miramax. Since the investment in the production cost alone reached US$40 million this time, the overseas distribution rights have been transferred to Walt Disney, Miramax’s previous home. Take it away, and Disney's label, Bowei International, which specializes in distributing non-children films, is responsible for overseas distribution.

Like the normal publicity of all films, Miramax started from the establishment of the project, and started the promotion work in an orderly manner according to the plan. Posters, trailers, outdoor advertisements and Internet advertisements were all launched early. Frank Miller I also participated in several media interviews. I was full of praise for Murphy's shooting and post-production. I bluntly said that the film reproduced almost 100% of the comics. This will definitely be a milestone in the history of comics.

With the approval of the original author, comic fans will undoubtedly look forward to the film more, and comic fans are the most basic audience for the film.

Of course, Miramax will not ignore the ordinary passerby audience, whether it is Murphy or Harvey Weinstein, it is very clear that only relying on comics fans cannot support the expected 60 to 80 million US dollars. North American box office in dollars.

For example, Miramax released a 30-second short film about Jessica Alba. The content of the short film is the striptease in the bar. Although there is no dew point, the short film appears on TV stations and the Internet. Aroused the attention of many people.

And Miramax also created a series of chain news on this topic to promote "Sin City".

Recently, many online and Internet media are also hyping related news, and news about Jessica Alba can be seen everywhere. Under Murphy’s suggestion, Miramax did use her as a propaganda point.

"Looking back at the striptease careers of Hollywood actresses..."

Such posts have also appeared on some of the more influential film and television websites and forums.

The post first reviewed a series of striptease performances in the film by well-known actresses such as Demi Moore, Elizabeth Berkeley, Nicole Kidman, Meg Ryan and Salma Hayek, and then focused on And the striptease video of Jessica Alba.

"In the upcoming "Sin City", Jessica Alba plays the role of the pure and **** stripper Nancy. A video of a pole dance on a bar counter is amazing. Many people who have watched the video said, Jessica Alba uses a brand-new style and her body to interpret sexiness, charm and passion. If you have to be critical, then this dancer in denim wears a little bit more, maybe the movie can show us More exciting content..."

All of these brought topics to the film and successfully attracted the attention of many men. "Sin City" was originally a film for men. From the very beginning of the project, I didn't expect to attract a large number of women. Audience.

In addition to Jessica Alba, Robert Downey Jr., whose popularity has gradually recovered after "Horror Planet", and James Franco, who have become more and more famous, are also important propaganda points. The two have also accepted media interviews.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, James Franco said, “In the beginning, Murphy said that he needed someone to help him gain Frank Miller’s trust. I had never seen the “Sin City” series before. Comics, when I opened the picture album, I discovered how cool the world of "Sin City" is. I know this is exactly what Murphy is good at. The males are big and bloodthirsty, and the females are all. Wearing a leather jacket and holding a whip, all this is like an old-fashioned noir story reaching a new extreme. There is no similar work on the big screen."

When Robert Downey Jr. accepted the "Hollywood Reporter" interview, he focused on the green screen shooting used in the film. "When I first performed in front of the green screen, it felt very strange, because everything depends on you. According to my own imagination, I have to turn my attention away from the green screen and concentrate on the world in the film. The filming is very interesting, special and fresh. I think this guy Murphy is a wizard, because he found By turning painting into special effects, he turned water into wine."

It’s no longer an era where you can win by word-of-mouth alone. The characteristics of this era determine that if a film is to be truly successful, it must do everything possible to promote it and promote its most powerful weapon. One is to create topics.

Miramax's public relations department will not let go of any potential topics, especially Murphy's withdrawal from the directors' union that can attract a lot of attention.

In the hype, Murphy is definitely a very, very selfless person, a director who can sacrifice personal interests for the film.

"Premier" magazine reproduced a section of Harvey Weinstein's description of Murphy's withdrawal from the Directors Guild.

"After getting the film adaptation rights for "Sin City", Murphy still hopes that Frank Miller can play a role in the filming. He told me at the time that Frank Miller's participation in the filming of the film would help loyalty to the original work. Important role. I don’t want Frank to become a comic book writer or producer, but to let Frank appear as a director, so as to establish Frank’s prestige and allow the actors and crew to follow his guidance. Although this decision sounds simple, but Murphy needs to make sacrifices because the American Directors’ Guild’s treaty stipulates that each film can only be directed by one director. In order to allow Frank Miller to direct with him, Murphy had to withdraw from the American Directors’ Guild."

After the media hype, this matter that no one paid attention to immediately became a lot of noise, and even had a certain influence among movie fans. Many people who did not pay attention to Murphy and "Sin City" also began to pay attention to such a thing. The director and his work of the film quit the directors' union.

In order to increase the topic and continue to expand the popularity of the film, after finishing all the post-production work, Murphy also accepted an interview with "Premiere" and specifically talked about this hot topic.

"Withdrawing from the American Directors’ Guild is a decision that they have to make because they don’t want me to work with the new directors. This does not comply with their rule book. When the film was filmed, a representative of the Directors’ Guild approached us and asked us to suspend work for investigation. I Nothing will stop us."

In the face of reporters’ interviews, Murphy must of course put himself on the innocent side while still attracting attention, “In my heart, Mr. Frank Miller is not a new director. If you see his comics, you will I found that they are the same as the successful masterpieces on the big screen. The plot, graphics, action, editing and director are all excellent, except that Frank does not use cameras, actors and lights, but paper and pens."

When it’s time to tout, Murphy never stingy with his own words of praise, “Like movies, comics use pictures to tell the story, and the directors’ union is firmly opposed to it, so in order to make this movie, I have to quit. Sometimes, when you To make different attempts, you will have to break some rules."

These are all for the needs of publicity and hype. The images seen in the media are sometimes images that public relations and publicity want people to see.

All things that are unfavorable to the promotion of the film will be covered as much as possible. Now that a film has been produced, almost everyone involved in the production wants it to be a great success, and Frank Miller is no exception.

He also accepted an interview in response to the news hype about Murphy's withdrawal from the directors' union.

Of course, Frank Miller is also an old fritters, and what he said is also a word of praise, "Murphy shocked me throughout the filming of the film. Among all the comic adaptations, Murphy's "Sin City" "Is the best translation of the original work, especially the black and white and fast, jumping cuts. It is so superb. Murphy has achieved this effect in a brand-new way. I believe that comics fans and movie fans will be affected by "Sin of Sin". "City" is extraordinary and surprised. There is no fabricated realism here. It is more like a pure and fanatical dream."

With Frank Miller's response, Miramax's operation of this news spot is even better.

Such publicity is not only aimed at the upcoming theater screenings, but also the DVD and video tape market after the theaters.

For such a large-scale film, the DVD market may have explosive revenue figures.

Murphy’s first two films also proved this point. Whether it’s "Cry of the Chainsaw" or "Planet of Horror", both of them have entered the top three monthly DVD rental charts in North America. Sales and rentals have created nearly 1,000 Ten thousand dollars in income, and over time, this income figure is still increasing.

Especially "Planet of Horror", the North American box office of this film is far lower than that of "Chain Saw", but it is very popular in the rental market. In just six months, the income of only one rental has exceeded the million dollar mark.

These not only bring Murphy a certain amount of dividends, but also become the capital to lay a solid foundation for him. It is with these that Miramax did not hesitate to offer up to 15 million US dollars to "Sin City" North American publicity and marketing expenses.

Everyone knows that propaganda requires funding, not to mention Murphy and Robert Downey Jr., who are far from the front line cast and crew, need to use funds to impress the media to build momentum, even Tom Cruise and Leon. Films of superstars like Nardo DiCaprio have to invest a huge amount of publicity funds after entering the publicity period.

I want to rely on a single person to drive a film to be a super explosion. It was possible in the past, but it is difficult to do it in this era. Even James Cameron is impossible. The film that will set a record in the future depends on more than just It is his golden sign, and there are many promotional and marketing expenses that exceed the production cost.

After accepting the "Premier" interview, Murphy's work has temporarily come to an end, and he can spare time to continue his other offensive.