v2 Chapter 479： Honorary citizen

"They actually overlooked the important point for the success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy."

Sitting in the small bar at Spielberg’s house, George Lucas sipped red wine and said to an old friend, “The importance of direct communication with the audience.”

Spielberg shook the glass gently, recalling the various marketing methods used in the trilogy, and nodded, "It is undeniable that Duke's personal website played an important role."

Then, he thought of other things, "The social networking site he used before "The Return of the King", the various information released by the Lord of the Rings studio in his name, and the frequent interaction with supporters are also the key.

"The Internet can't be ignored by anyone." George Lucas put down his glass and stood up and walked a few steps. "Amateur video bloggers have just become influential, but Duke and Donald Trump’s daughters have created As an increasingly powerful propaganda tool, it instantly narrows the distance between Hollywood and its fans, and can easily win the support of a large audience."

Spielberg fully agrees with George Lucas’s point of view, “The Lord of the Rings trilogy is not only the success of Duke’s directorship, but also the overall success of film marketing!”

George Lucas sighed, "He is changing Hollywood!"

@∞, "Yes!" Spielberg echoed, "Duke is changing Hollywood's inherent marketing model."

Speaking of this, Spielberg suddenly showed a look of great interest, "The Return of the King far exceeds the success of "The Two Towers". There is a credit for that website. It seems that I have to register a user too. See how amazing it is."

Times have changed. The Internet is closing everyone's distance, and even allowing anyone's point of view. With the spread of the Internet throughout the United States, Duke has not overlooked the role of Internet propaganda since the original "Legend of the Rings Expedition". He and The Lord of the Rings Studio have always been a major driving force for online news reports.

After the new Monday started, Duke left exotic Brazil and flew to the New Zealand capital Wellington. The data for the second weekend of "The Return of the King" was released.

In North America, "The Return of the King" drew a magical weekend box office chart. The box office for the next weekend dropped by only 35 percent compared to the first week, and won US$82.33 million, which made it the top box office in North America without any suspense.

The second place was Paramount Pictures, which opened more than 2,700 theaters in "Black of Memory", but the three-day box office figure was only 13.12 million US dollars, which could not pose any threat to "The Return of the King".

Overseas, although the number of film release regions has increased to 90, the newly added regional market volume can only be said to be average. The box office dropped to $162.33 million over the weekend, still maintaining a leading position worldwide.

"The Return of the King" was released for ten days. The North American box office broke through the 300 million U.S. dollar mark in one fell swoop, reaching as much as 304 million U.S. dollars, and the global box office totaled up to 846.3 million U.S. dollars!

"According to our marketing department and cinemascore's survey estimates, the global box office of Return of the King is very likely to exceed the $1.5 billion mark!"

In Warner Bros’s CEO’s office, Jamie Johnson looked at Doug Walter with excitement, “All the theater chains in North America are like our guarantee. Before the Memorial Day weekend, the “Return of the King” courtyard Neither the number of lines nor the row rate will be reduced!"

"When Jeff and I promoted this project. It was expected that Duke would be successful," Doug Walter said with emotion, "but I never thought that the trilogy would be so successful!"

To be honest, compared with the investment of the Lord of the Rings Studio, the profit at the box office is not so high, but the profits generated around it are too amazing. Only the first two DVD discs, as of "The Return of the King", brought a total of more than 300 million US dollars of net profit to investors from all over the world before the release of "The Return of the King". If you add other peripherals...

Doug Walter naturally thought of the peripheral products that were on the global market simultaneously with "The Return of the King" within ten days. Roughly calculated sales amounted to nearly 400 million US dollars!

For Warner and Duke's studio, these trilogy are completely gold-making machines.

Thinking of this, Doug Walter's eyes drooped and fell on the four scripts in front of him, one is a small production, the investment will not be very high, and the other three are Batman trilogy related to the fate of dc movies.

The script of this trilogy has been discussed in Warner. There are many different opinions inside. The biggest reason for opposition is too dark. Doug Walter actually agrees with this view, and the plot seems not to the audience. Friendly. If this is not the script Duke brought over, he and Warner will definitely reject it.

But thinking of the successful Lord of the Rings trilogy, Doug Walter suppressed these thoughts. Before the production of the Lord of the Rings, how many people in Hollywood dared to touch Tolkien's giant system? Known as the most difficult literary work to be adapted into a movie, in the hands of Duke, it has become a model of commercial success!

"Jamie..." Doug Walter made up his mind, "Send these four scripts to the review committee. No matter what method I use, I must promote them to successfully establish the project!"

Perhaps only Duke can save the superheroes of dc! Doug Walter decided to take a risk.

The North American screenings and publicity continued, and Duke walked into Wellington City Hall the day after arriving in New Zealand.

The morning sun was exceptionally bright. Hundreds of reporters, including from North America, gathered in front of New Zealand’s City Hall. They held long and short cannons and aimed at Duke and the Mayor of Wellington, who were standing on the highest part of the stairs.

"I'm very glad that Director Rosenberg has come to New Zealand again, and he has left a deep footprint in this country."

The Mayor of Wellington, Claremont, stood in front of the microphone and said in a melodious voice, "Where there are people, great art of cinema is spreading; wherever there is a screen, there is a film directed by Rosenberg being screened! Today! , Wellington welcomes a citizen who has made a significant contribution to film art..."

Having said this, Claremont reached out and gestured to Duke next to him, "The New Zealand government and Wellington City Hall have unanimously decided to make Mr. Duke Rosenberg an honorary citizen of Wellington!"

There was a round of applause in front of the city hall.

In applause, Duke took the certificate and golden key from Claremont, and then stood in front of the microphone. Say timely, "Thank you, thank New Zealand for your recognition of me. I am very happy to be an honorary citizen of Wellington. I like this beautiful country!"

This is not just a matter of granting honorary citizens, Duke and New Zealand both have the intention to promote it. With good communication between the two parties, a press conference was prepared long ago.

As a newly promoted Honorary Citizen of Wellington, Duke is naturally the protagonist of the conference.

The venue was transferred to the news room next to the city hall, and Duke accepted an exclusive interview from Warner and New Zealand media.

The New Zealand interview, of course, focused on tourism.

"Director Rosenberg, if a fan of the Lord of the Rings travels to New Zealand and wants to see where the film was filmed, which one or what kind of experience do you think film fans should not miss?"

In fact, polystyrene was used in many locations for the location that the crew originally built. This is not suitable for tourism at all, and it is impossible to put it in a natural environment for a long time. After the filming is over, the crew will dismantle it immediately.

However, with the popularity of "The Fellowship of the Rings", the New Zealand government quickly discovered the business opportunities. Tourism New Zealand reached an agreement with the Lord of the Rings Studio and obtained most of the design drawings under the guidance of the crew. With the fastest speed, the scenes and locations in the shooting were restored.

These have become popular attractions in New Zealand.

"New Zealand has a lot of beautiful sights. But for fans of the Lord of the Rings, it would be great to be able to visit Hobbiton. It was originally a movie set and set up area, but now it has become a veritable Hobbit. Tun it."

This is a win-win publicity campaign. Duke will definitely sell well. "I went to see Hobbiton during the shooting yesterday. I am happy that it has returned to nature and the grass and bushes have grown back. Remember This was the case when we first came here to shoot. After so many years, it is no longer a fictional setting, but a real hobbit farm. There are flocks of cattle and sheep."

For Warner’s media reporters, they are more focused on the film and Duke itself, and what they ask has nothing to do with New Zealand.

"Duke, now that the Lord of the Rings trilogy is completely completed, how do you feel now, and what is there to remember?"

“It’s a lot of pressure to end the production of a movie, no matter what the movie is. I’ve been working on post-production for the past few months and I’ve been looking forward to the film’s release.”

After a short pause, Duke said again, “I’m still working more than ten hours a day, so I don’t have time to recall. I just want to see the light at the end of the tunnel and go out as soon as possible. But I Certainly, after six months, when I think back to the past few years, I will definitely have a lot of feelings in my heart."

According to the agreement between the two parties, the next question is the New Zealand media's turn.

"Why did you choose New Zealand as the location for filming such a huge film of The Lord of the Rings?"

why? Of course, it is for simplicity, trouble and cost savings.

However, Duke would not say that. He thought for a few seconds and replied seriously, "Tolkien created the European style of prehistoric times in the original work. According to his setting, it was about six or seven thousand years ago. It is a fictitious era that predates ancient Greece and ancient Egypt. Everything that happened in that era has now been forgotten."

"What I hope to find is a place with a European style, but inaccessible and full of primitive atmosphere. Therefore, New Zealand is my best choice. It has a primitive charm. You can clearly feel the uninhabited location of the location. Not an exaggeration."

"New Zealand has a population of 4 million, while the United Kingdom has a population of 60 million. The size of the two countries is almost the same. Therefore, in New Zealand, you may go to many places without encountering a person. There is no doubt that when shooting a movie , You don’t want TV antennas, roads, houses and other things in the picture, but you only want the boundless natural scenery, so this is the best location. Sparsely populated and pleasant scenery, this is the most suitable location. To be continued.)

ps: I have been very busy recently. Hey, I have asked for leave for several days...