Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1521: Advertisement Requesting Evaluation

"Jennifer Tilly called and said that she had followed your instructions and bought space to make an advertisement worthy of a Golden Globe or even an Oscar nomination..."

Michael Gray, the consultant in charge of awards public relations, came into the office and handed Ronald a copy of The Hollywood Reporter with a smile.

Although Ronald asked Jennifer Tilly to find a way to divide the Miramax tickets, he didn't hold out much hope after talking with Michael Gray.

This is of course because Jennifer Tilly does not have enough money. To publish a quarter-page ad in the Hollywood Reporter, the industry's largest circulation, or Variety, the most influential magazine, during the award season, would cost at least $2000. If it is a better page or a larger ad, the price would go up by leaps and bounds.

Moreover, this type of advertising requires continuous bombardment, and during the most critical period of the award season when rankings are sought, all the pages of major newspapers and magazines are booked long in advance. The price at that time can even increase by several to ten times compared to normal times.

Since Ronald had spoken, Jennifer Tilly knew what was good for her and would definitely complete it. She felt that Ronald seemed to overestimate the money that an actress like her could make as the lead actress in B-grade movies or a supporting actress in A-grade productions.

As a female star of this level, although she has some fans, she is rarely recognized and asked for autographs on the street. And whether she is the heroine of a B-level exploitation film or the supporting actress of an A-level big production, the salary she can get is generally only one-tenth of the heroine's or even less.

So, not to mention that it is impossible to buy space during the awards season, even if you spend all your money to buy one, it will definitely be forgotten by then.

But Ronald had already spoken, and Jennifer Tilly knew that this was a rare opportunity to have an encounter with an industry leader. So she had to strictly follow Ronald's instructions, do this well, and present the results to Ronald, trying to leave an impression on him.

When it comes to attracting men from 20 to 70 years old, Jennifer is not as good as her sister Meg, but when it comes to the ability to analyze things and the grasp of human relationships, Jennifer is several levels higher than her sister.

So, since I want to make an advertisement to tell Ronald that I have followed his instructions, it doesn't matter when to publish it. Therefore, I might as well take advantage of the low price of space in industry newspapers and magazines and do it first.

Moreover, if she could immediately do what Ronald had just said, wouldn't it seem that she was very afraid of Ronald?
Of course, Jennifer Tilly still wanted to save money, so she only bought a quarter of the page. And she only used black and white printing, which saved half the cost. In addition, the current Hollywood Reporter's advertising page was not full, so Tilly also found an agent to buy the super cheap page at a 400% discount, and only spent $ for one advertisement.

The so-called "filling the gaps" means that not all advertising space can be filled in every issue of the newspaper. In case the advertising space of a certain issue is not full, then this kind of intermediary can get the page that was originally going to be blank at a super low price on the eve of publication, and sell it to customers who are willing to endure the uncertainty of when to advertise and just want a cheap price - such as Jennifer Tilly.

So a few days later, Ronald actually saw such a self-promotional "Please Review" advertisement.

The so-called For Your Consideration ads are a special format of ads during award season.

Because the Hollywood Academy explicitly prohibits canvassing advertisements, the major award-winning studios can only use alternative methods to canvass votes while complying with the regulations. The real meaning of "asking for evaluation" is actually to ask the judges to take a look at my acting skills and fill in my name on the nomination ballot if they are suitable.

The first person to play this game was John Wayne, an old Hollywood western film star. In 1960, when he starred in the movie Blood on the Mountain, John Wayne hired a public relations person to place the first advertisement in the newspaper asking for review.

Although he did not win the award, this actor who was famous for his poor acting skills actually attracted the attention of many judges before the awards season.

From then on, such ads became popular during award season, and many people would also write about the Oscars, asking you to "specially judge" them.

For example, this ad for Jennifer Tilly says, "This actress brings conviction to her role... Your judgement, Golden Globe Best Supporting Actress."

Because it is still early for the Oscar nomination, Jennifer Tilly cleverly wrote the Golden Globe Award nomination. She knows that striving for a Golden Globe Award is both within the range that Harvey Weinstein can tolerate and can also explain Ronald's past.

You know, in Harvey Weinstein's previous films, there were times when the performances of both actresses were worthy of awards, but in his films, only the designated one would get nominated.

"Well, you've passed this test."

Ronald looked at the black and white advertisement and smiled. This elder sister was really good at observing people's words and expressions. She looked down on him and advised her sister to leave him, but now she doesn't feel anything wrong about it. She flatters him when she should and cries about her difficulties when she should.

"This is not a hurdle. We did a poll and the ad was surprisingly effective," Michael Gray corrected with a smile. He didn't show Ronald the ad just to make him laugh.

"Does it really work? Why?" Ronald looked at the advertisement in front of him. Compared with other Golden Globe Awards advertisements next to it, it was very inconspicuous. There was only a photo of Jennifer Tilly herself and two lines of text. The black and white layout was simple.

The Golden Globe ads next to them were all printed in color, with a better layout, and had the names of multiple awards listed one by one, as if it was a declaration after winning the award.

"The reason is probably that most of the judges of these Oscars are unsuccessful actors like Jennifer Tilly. They can't afford to do advertising, and seeing the simple black and white ads can arouse their empathy for their own careers."

"I see..." Ronald read it several times, then picked up the phone and asked his assistant to connect him to Jennifer Tilly.

"Would you really like to be nominated for an Oscar?" Ronald asked.

"Oh, Ronald? Of course I do." Tilly answered without hesitation. The opportunity finally came to her. Now, when she auditions with a director or promotes herself to a producer, she only has 30 seconds to get the other person's attention.

If she fails to arouse the other person's interest within thirty seconds, he will ignore her like air.

If I could get nominated for an Oscar, I would definitely have plenty of time to chat with great directors.

"Hahahaha," Ronald said, not being averse to actresses like Jennifer Tilly who were honest about their ambitions, "It won't be much longer. If you get an Oscar nomination, you'll get three minutes."

Then Ronald proposed his own plan to Jennifer Tilly, that is, don't continue with this advertisement for the time being, just let it be an isolated event, and on the eve of the Oscars, Ronald will fund her to buy enough space to expand this advertising marketing again.

"But I have one request, you have to add the Miramax logo."

Ronald let it go after he finished speaking. If Jennifer Tilly did this, it would be equivalent to privately using Miramax's endorsement. Wouldn't this make a control-conscious person like Harvey Weinstein angry?

But thinking of the various benefits that could be gained from being nominated, Jennifer Tilly wanted to give it a try. If she won, she could go further without Weinstein's platform. But although Ronald promised her to pay, this kind of thing did not have a 100% success rate. She was afraid that if she did it, she would not get nominated, which would be like blocking her only current path.

"Jennifer, John invites you to his home."

Just then, Jennifer's sister, Meg Tilly, who hooked up with John Kelly, called and began to half-show off and invite her sister to her home.

After marrying or cohabiting with the son of a big shot in the industry and a handsome actor without any foundation, Meg Tilly made her third important decision by choosing an old man 20 years older than her. After all, handsomeness cannot make a living, and the son of a big shot is indeed not as good as the big shot himself.

"Okay, I'll go."

After hanging up the phone, Jennifer Tilly made up her mind to give it a try. If she succeeded, she would be on par with her sister in acting.

Just like Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine back then, it was not until Joan Fontaine won an Oscar that she could feel at ease and have the upper hand in the struggle with her sisters.

……

Ronald continued to call Sally Field, the actress who played Forrest Gump's mother in Forrest Gump.

"Ronald, are you really going to help me with the public relations for the Best Supporting Actress?" Sally Field was a little surprised when she received a call from Ronald, asking her to help her strengthen her public relations and win an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

After all, Sally Field is already a two-time Oscar winner, but generally speaking, no one would take the initiative to publicize a middle-aged actress like her for such a supporting role. For example, she had heard before that Forrest Gump would actively recommend Robin Wright as a publicist.

"I don't want to lie to you, Sally. The crew did want Robin to be the main nomination contender, and she had a high chance of winning. But, as you know, Robin messed up."

"Oh, I didn't really pay much attention to it."

When Sally Field heard what Ronald said, she was secretly happy. If a female star didn't envy other female stars in the same movie, she must be lying. Now Robin Wright has basically been eliminated because of her fight with her boyfriend and her nonsense in the media. Now the director finally remembered her, right?

"Sally, we won't say that. We will maintain the illusion that we are happy that you and Robin Wright both won the Best Supporting Actress award. We will also say so when we are interviewed by reporters, but the company's resources will be fully tilted towards you. I hope you can understand."

"Of course, of course..." Sally Field expressed her understanding and her full cooperation. Anyway, this was a good thing.

After Ronald explained these things, Daydream's public relations operation began.

“Can Ronald Lee repeat the feat of having two actresses from Working Girl nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the same time?”

"Sally Field and Robin Wright both fell down at the Oscars. Which one will Tom Hanks help up?"

For a time, the media's attention gradually shifted towards Forrest Gump, and Uma Thurman and Dianne Wiest, who were supported by Weinstein, saw their media exposure significantly reduced.

"Humph...Damn Ronald...We need to invest more money to compete with him for space."

Harvey Weinstein complained to his brother Bob that he was not one to back down. When faced with Ronald's aggressive attack, all he wanted to do was fight back.

"Harvey, our company doesn't have any extra money to spend on Oscars public relations..." Bob Weinstein is in charge of the company's finances. The company has raised more than 10 million in public relations budget for this year's Oscars and Golden Globe Awards.

These are major PR projects, with Quentin's Best Director nomination, Uma Thurman's Best Supporting Actress nomination, and Dianne Wiest's Best Supporting Actress award, John Travolta's Best Actor and Samuel L. Jackson's Best Supporting Actor, as well as Best Picture and other awards allocated.

These projects have already eaten up all the budgets, and none of them can go unnoticed. For example, although Uma Thurman and Dianne Wiest worked together on public relations for awards one by one, Uma Thurman was promised a nomination from Weinstein, while Dianne Wiest was promised an award.

Missing any of those targets could result in Harvey himself being sued by actors, or Miramax's ability to attract stars for its next project.

Bob totally disagreed with using the already tight budget for a PR interview to counter Forrest Gump.

"What about Disney? Would they be willing to chip in a little?"

"Disney was forbidden to invest any more prize money in us. I heard from their marketing department that this order came directly from the chairman's office."

"Fuck, old Eisner..."

"Fxck you, Harvey, Fxck you, Miramax, Fxck you, you're not even worthy of Tom's toes!"

At this time, waves of shouting and cursing came in. Harvey and Bob looked at each other, wondering what was going on. They drew back the curtains and opened the windows. Suddenly, the protesters below noticed this change and their voices suddenly increased.

"Harvey, you fat bastard! Harvey, get back to your pigsty and don't defile our Tom with your pig mouth!"

There were many female protesters below, holding up handsome posters of Tom Cruise in Top Gun and signs insulting Harvey Weinstein.

"Fxck!" Now it was Harvey's turn to curse. These die-hard fans of Tom Cruise were very strong. They didn't dwell too much on what Harvey and Quentin said about Cruise, but insisted that the two were disrespectful to their idol, Tom Cruise.

"Harvey? What happened? Why is there a protest outside my house? Oops, I was careless."

There was also a group of protesters outside Quentin Tarantino's home, throwing eggs at his windows.