Chapter 329: Paid Promotion

Chapter 329: Chapter 329: Paid Promotion

Hollywood Queen, Started Directing at 17 — Chapter 332

In Los Angeles on June 20th, the air was thick with the urgency of a countdown.

In another week, the five-hundred-person crew of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 would fly to Puerto Rico to officially begin filming the movie’s major outdoor scenes.

As Irene walked into the coordination office, the stacks of folders on the desk nearly blocked her view. From personnel scheduling to equipment transport, and from catering support to safety protocols, every item was a final plan submitted to her after layers of review below.

"Heads of all departments, meeting in Conference Room 1 in five minutes. The focus is to go over the final preparation checklist for the Puerto Rico location one more time." Irene heard Jerry Bruckheimer’s voice over the intercom. She picked up the Personnel Accommodation List from the top of the pile, her fingertip quickly scanning the dense list of names.

The list was divided into four categories: "Lead Cast," "Core Creative Team," "General Staff," and "Logistics Support Group." Notes on the side added that the leads and the directing team were arranged in a beachfront hotel a 10-minute drive from the filming site, with each room equipped with a dehumidifier and an emergency medical kit. Staff accommodations were consolidated at three hotel chains, requiring a cafeteria and laundry room within a 5-minute walk. Twenty buses were scheduled daily for shuttle service in shifts, with the morning shift starting at 6:00 AM and the night shift ending at midnight, each vehicle staffed with two alternating drivers.

Inside the conference room, the department heads arrived one after another.

Jerry Bruckheimer distributed the printed preparation checklists, his tone crisp and efficient: "First, the equipment team—camera gear, lighting, sound, and green screen frames must all be categorized and boxed, labeled as ’Fragile’ and ’Emergency Use.’ We’ve contacted two international freight companies for transport in two batches: one by sea departing ten days early, and one by air as a backup to avoid accidents in transit. Additionally, the outdoor light in Puerto Rico is intense, so we’ve ordered an extra 20 sets of soft-light filters and 10 portable generators to ensure filming isn’t affected by the weather."

"Props team, take note," he turned to the props manager. "The Puerto Rico location involves three scenes: tropical jungle, beach, and pirate stronghold. You need to prepare 500 simulated tropical plants, 10 small wooden boats (three of which must be modified for navigation), and 200 backup sets of pirate costumes—all treated for sweat and moth resistance. Additionally, contact local suppliers for daily deliveries of fresh tropical fruit and drinking water. The actors’ meals are to be custom-ordered, with heatstroke-prevention herbal tea and low-sugar energy bars packed in portable containers for quick replenishment during breaks."

"The wardrobe team needs to focus on checking the leads’ costumes," Irene added, flipping to the wardrobe section. "For Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann dresses, the cuffs and hems should be narrowed to avoid catching on branches during jungle scenes. For Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow hat, prepare 10 extra backups. We don’t want to waste manpower fishing them out if they fall into the sea."

Jerry nodded, his tone turning serious. "Puerto Rico has many thunderstorms during the rainy season. Scout the emergency shelters around the filming locations in advance. Assign one safety officer for every 10 people, equipped with a first-aid kit and a radio. Temporary lighting must be installed in night filming areas. Contact a local security firm to arrange 24-hour patrols. For all water scenes, organize life-saving training for actors and staff in advance, with three rescue boats on standby around the water."

Irene took many notes on the side. Jerry was truly a very reliable producer. The potential daily mishaps for such a massive project could stack high enough to bury her, yet he remained methodical. With him there, Irene could save a lot of work, and these were all areas where she needed to learn.

The meeting lasted until three in the afternoon. After a quick working lunch, she prepared to go home, change, and attend the premiere of Hulk.

An excellent movie cannot succeed without the diligent promotion of a distribution company. And how do you define ’diligent’? Naturally, it depends on how much money is thrown at it.

General press releases, film critic features, stills, teaser posters, final posters, teaser trailers, final trailers, making-of specials, celebrity videos, and so on—the promotional materials for Hulk had been non-stop.

This month, several related news articles were released daily in major newspapers and on websites. Key personality interviews were also featured in various fashion magazines and professional journals. However, the cost to ensure this content reached the public was not small.

Internet water armies weren’t popular yet. Aside from Irene’s team, few movies knew how to maturely use the internet for promotion. But this didn’t dampen Universal’s marketing enthusiasm. At least through traditional channels, the promotion for Hulk had reached a top-tier level.

After all, marketing work not only determines the size of the initial audience and the opening weekend box office but also indirectly determines how long a film can stay on screens, even influencing the film’s success or failure to some extent.

Just like Irene’s Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Although it had finished its run in North America, it was still showing in other overseas regions. Consequently, the final overseas box office continued to update. This was the staying power of a high-quality work.

Irene finished changing and came out of her house. While waiting for Shelly to pick her up, she saw a lot of promotion for Hulk on Facebook. Some were even spontaneous posts from fans, but without professional "assistance," they hadn’t gained much scale. If Irene hadn’t specifically searched for them, she wouldn’t have seen that content.

She couldn’t help but shake her head. These movie companies had seen the role Facebook played in promoting Pirates of the Caribbean, yet they still adopted conservative marketing plans and were unwilling to invest relevant resources on the internet. Perhaps this was money she was meant to earn.

She was about to take out her phone to call Chen Shiyu and have him set up an independent team specifically to deal with film companies privately when Shelly’s car arrived.

Irene had to set the matter aside for now, opening the car door and stepping inside.

Shelly handed over a standard invitation. She had specifically instructed him not to take the VIP invitation reserved by Universal.

After all, the minor frictions between the two companies during the acquisition of Future World were still fresh in memory. Although these frictions only circulated within their two companies and outsiders were unaware, she was there to watch a joke and didn’t want to draw too much attention in such a setting.

If reporters found out about her itinerary, an interview would be inevitable. At that time, should she go against her conscience and say she was optimistic about the movie, or should she be honest and express her concerns about the film’s box office?

While telling the truth might gain her more notoriety after the box office results came out, it would undoubtedly offend Universal even more.

One must realize that at this stage, the Hulk’s popularity among Marvel heroes was second only to Spider-Man. The complex setting of being "both a hero and a monster" inherently had great room for exploration.

Otherwise, Universal wouldn’t have set their sights on it. Later, they even decided to invite Ang Lee to direct the film, hoping to capture the complexity of the Hulk. Universal’s top brass had high hopes for this movie. They not only hoped to make a blockbuster hero movie but also hoped it would have depth and layers.

In Universal Pictures’ promotion, the movie also seemed to be interspersed with a lot of plot points exploring the Hulk’s inner self. Everything seemed to truly be combining a commercial film and an art film perfectly, just as Universal’s management had envisioned.

But was the reality truly like that?