It has to be said, there are many, many smart people in Hollywood!
Barry Meyer of Warner Bros. Pictures felt deep down that there was something fishy about "the blair witch project"!
"It's too bizarre!"
Barry Meyer was a wise man and a firm man of action!
As soon as he sensed something was wrong, he set off the next day for a theater where he could watch "the blair witch project".
At this moment, a screening room in a theater called "Harsen," under the Cinemark chain—one of the three major theater chains—was about to play the film "the blair witch project".
"Mr. Meyer, here is your cola, um, a large one!" The secretary, Miss Daisy, sat down as well, preparing to watch the movie.
"Thank you!"
In Hollywood, it was well known that Barry Meyer liked to drink a cup of cola while watching a movie.
Miss Daisy scanned the surroundings and frowned, saying, "Not many people are watching 'the blair witch project.' There are only 17 people in this screening. Does that mean this low-quality movie with no star actors, no famous director, and no special effects isn't all that great?"
As for the so-called "true case" and "top-secret files" labels used to market the film, Miss Daisy, as an industry insider, didn't believe a single word of it!
"Don't jump to conclusions, Daisy."
Barry Meyer said solemnly, "Although the mainstream media currently evaluates Kyle Page as a 'lucky' fellow, we at Warner have clashed with him no less than twice, and we didn't gain the upper hand. You should know that he is not a person who can be simply defined by 'luck.' On the contrary, he is extremely cunning!"
"Oh?"
Miss Daisy nodded blankly.
Before long, the movie began.
At the start of the film, the usual cast and producer lists didn't appear as they do in typical movies!
This caught Barry Meyer's attention.
He frowned.
Miss Daisy was amused at the time.
She laughed and said, "Mr. Meyer, look, does Page Pictures really intend to pass off this DV movie as a so-called 'true case'?"
"Yes!"
Barry Meyer nodded and said, "Don't you think this kind of promotional effect is good? We are industry insiders and won't be fooled, but most moviegoers will believe that this is a 'true case'."
Exactly, he guessed right!
That was exactly what Page Pictures intended!
They didn't seek to fool everyone; as long as they could fool a portion of the people, it would be enough.
The principle that a rumor repeated often enough becomes truth is no joke!
The film began... "Josh, Mike, and Heather, two men and one woman, all film students, took their handheld DV recording equipment to the small town of Burkittsville, Maryland, to investigate local legends about a Witch, intending to film it as a documentary."
"To find traces of the Witch, they went deep into the woods!"
"But... who knew they would disappear just like that!"
"A year later, their backpacks were discovered. The audio tapes, Hi-8 cameras, and 16mm cameras inside clearly recorded the trio's final journey."
The movie's voiceover echoed through the theater~
That extremely flat tone was like asking 'Good morning' or 'Good afternoon,' but with the promotional tone of 'true case' and 'top-secret files' preceding it, everyone in the theater suddenly felt their skin crawl and their scalps tingle!
Shortly after, the three main actors—Josh, Mike, and Heather—appeared on the theater screen.
The beginning showed the three interviewing local residents of Burkittsville, asking them about the legends of the Witch.
The local residents (extras) immediately told the stories they knew vividly, with looks of terror or shock... Later, they went deep into the woods, but the map in their hands went missing;
They were trapped in the woods;
One of the companions, Josh, suddenly disappeared mysteriously;
Heather found fragments of Josh's clothes, along with human teeth and hair;
..."Help!"
"Help! Help! Help!"
The female lead, Heather, was completely broken. Facing the DV camera, tears filled her face, clearly revealed to all the moviegoers!
The two men, Josh and Mike, also broke down one after another!
"We're finished!"
"The Witch! There really is a Witch, we're dead, we can't get out of here~!"
Unlike previous Hollywood movies, "the blair witch project," the work known as the pioneer of the "Found Footage" genre, was filmed entirely with DV cameras. The constantly shaking images made you feel like you were right there.
Even if the shaky camera work made your eyes blur and your head ache more than once, the repeated screams of terror served as a reminder that this wasn't just a movie—it was a real-life disappearance case!
"Is this real?"
"The police department's top-secret files... so a Witch really does harm people!"
One by one, the moviegoers could not hide their excitement and fear.
Of course, in the original timeline, there was a very noticeable continuity error in the footage of "the blair witch project."
[When the three were lost in the woods, a highway could be seen through the gaps in the trees.]
With Kyle taking over, he naturally wouldn't allow such an obvious error to remain.
"Mr. Meyer, what exactly is going on?!"
After watching the movie, Miss Daisy looked at her boss in a bit of a daze.
"What do you mean, 'what's going on'?"
A look of realization appeared on Barry Meyer's face.
Miss Daisy took a deep breath and said, "I firmly believed before that the Witch was fake and this movie wasn't some 'true case' or 'top-secret file,' but after watching it, I feel like it's not like a movie at all. It's as if a real disappearance actually happened."
She was confused.
Her heart was full of doubt.
Barry Meyer laughed and said, "You're wrong!"
"Uh?" Miss Daisy was even more puzzled.
"Daisy, I can tell you very responsibly now that 'the blair witch project' is just a movie! Yes, a man-made movie! As for the disappearances, I'm telling you from decades of Hollywood experience that it's a stunt—a promotion to win at the box office."
Barry Meyer whispered, "It's okay if you don't understand now. Just keep watching. I estimate that before long, the internet will be flooded with news about 'the blair witch project'."
Barry Meyer spoke with calm composure.
But in reality, his heart was as turbulent as the sea. He was an extremely smart man; through a bit of data and analysis, he had roughly deduced Kyle's play.
"This guy's methods are truly dirty~!"
Of course, Kyle wasn't afraid of Barry Meyer knowing his promotional tactics!
The Time Warner Group had recently been discussing a merger with America Online. At this critical juncture, they didn't want any complications or unnecessary trouble.
As for the small film companies, Kyle was even less afraid!
Page Pictures couldn't compare to The Big Six of Hollywood, but when facing other film companies, let's see who would dare to take the initiative to pick a fight or bare their teeth!
Hmph!
I'd crush you!
On the second day of the film's release, the cumulative box office for the 29 theaters was $29,000.
Well, compared to the $24,000 on the first day, it was a full $5,000 higher.
On the third day, the single-day box office reached $33,000;
On the fourth day, the single-day box office was as high as $49,000;
The increase in box office was extremely significant.
Kyle immediately gave instructions: "Of the $19 million in promotional funds, the first batch can be released!"