Hollywood Director 1992

"Hey, Link, I heard your movie premiered. How's the box office doing?"

In West Hollywood, Link ran into some familiar faces while having a late-night snack at a restaurant. The group immediately surrounded him upon seeing him.

"Not bad."

"Don't lie. We went to the Grove shopping center yesterday to see the movie, and there were fewer than twenty people in the theater. Two people left halfway through. It was like having a private screening, VIP treatment."

"There wasn't any promotion yesterday, so there were fewer people. Today, there are more."

"Impossible. You're the only actor in this movie, and all the scenes take place in a cramped wooden box. It seems easy to fall asleep. How could anyone specifically buy tickets to see a movie like that?"

"Okay, you're right!"

Link finished his barbecue, paid the bill, and left.

Back at his apartment, Chris Bauer came over to report on the screening situation at the Grove shopping center cinema. It was just so-so, only slightly better than yesterday.

Chris Bauer also started advising him to stop self-distributing "Buried." It wasn't cost-effective. He might as well use that money to buy a car. Having a small car would be convenient for delivering food.

Link said the money was already paid, and he couldn't get a refund.

Chris Bauer felt sorry for him.

After finishing his part-time job at Burger King in the morning, Link went to the Grove shopping center to check the box office data from yesterday.

Yesterday, "Buried" sold a total of 719 movie tickets, with sales reaching $4,812, just over a hundred dollars short of the minimum guarantee. Obviously, it was much better than what Chris Bauer had said.

However, Jerome Preston also reminded him not to get too excited.

The slightly increased box office revenue yesterday was partly due to media promotion and partly because it was Saturday, with high customer traffic at the shopping center.

On Monday, a weekday, all movie ticket sales would decline. "Buried's" daily box office sales were likely to fall below $1,000. Jerome told him to prepare for a loss in advance.

"I understand, but I'm not afraid of losing money since I self-financed the release of this movie. If the money's gone, I can always earn it back later."

"You're something else. Since you've decided, I won't nag you anymore. Don't blame me for not warning you when the deposit is all gone."

Jerome Preston pointed at him. He had seen many poor people, but he had never seen someone like Link, who was both poor and stubborn and didn't value money at all.

After leaving Jerome's office, Link found a newsstand on the street to read the newspaper.

There were many film reviews about "Chaplin" in the newspaper, mostly positive, praising Robert Downey Jr.'s superb acting, hoping to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, transforming from an idol to an acting powerhouse.

Link spent half an hour flipping through several newspapers before finding four film reviews about "Buried" in "The Hollywood Reporter," "Variety," and "Entertainment Today."

There were two positive reviews, one mixed review, and one negative review.

The positive reviews were similar to what Will Rogers had said, praising the high quality of the film, with suspense throughout, and a relatively stunning work in the thriller genre.

The mixed review stated that "Buried" was innovative, an experimental film with good directing, with the story intertwined under the lens, creating a tense atmosphere with limited tools and scenes, and with profound ideas, making it worth watching.

The negative review stated that the film was poorly made, the picture quality was not clear enough, and the film score was poor, failing to create a terrifying atmosphere, much worse than "Chaplin," which was released at the same time.

In the "Los Angeles Times," Link also saw a news article reprinted from the "New York Post" about Puff Daddy, which was also a bit related to Link.

The news said that after the Grammy Awards a few days ago, rapper Puff Daddy and his entourage returned to New York by plane.

During the flight, Puff Daddy's signed singer B.I.G. had a physical altercation with an Asian passenger, and B.I.G. attacked the Asian passenger with discriminatory language.

The Asian passenger immediately quoted Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream" to fight back, demanding that B.I.G. apologize.

B.I.G. refused, and Puff Daddy apologized on behalf of B.I.G.

The news also had a picture with Black fat Wallace, Puff Daddy, and a rapper with dreadlocks, Jay-Z, as well as Link.

Link was facing away from the photographer at the time, showing half of his side face in the photo.

If someone was familiar with him, they could recognize him.

There was also a news article about Puff Daddy in the newspaper.

On December 28th of last year, Puff Daddy held a celebrity charity basketball game at the City College of New York, inviting black celebrities such as Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, and Mike Tyson to participate.

Due to insufficient preparation, a serious stampede occurred on the scene, resulting in 9 deaths and 29 injuries.

After the accident, the families of the victims and survivors filed lawsuits against Puff Daddy, and Puff Daddy compensated $750,000 for this.

Many media outlets criticized Puff Daddy, and the "New York Post" scolded Puff Daddy as a sensationalist fool.

Now Puff Daddy has a very high level of popularity in the media.

This is probably also the reason why this small conflict on the plane will be exposed by the media.

After reading the newspaper, Link went to a phone booth and dialed the news tip reporting number of the "Los Angeles Times."

After the call was connected, Link told the operator that he knew the Asian man who had the conflict with Puff Daddy, that the man was named Link, and he was the male lead in the movie "Buried."

"Movie? Buried? What kind of movie is that?"

"Buried" is a new movie currently showing at the United Theater, the Grove Shopping Center Cinema, and other locations. The famous film critic, Will Roger, strongly recommended this movie yesterday in "The Hollywood Reporter." You'll understand once you've seen it."

"Okay, sir, the clue you provided is very valuable. Please leave your contact information. After we confirm the news lead, we will apply for the corresponding reward for you."

"No need. I am a loyal reader of the "Los Angeles Times." Providing clues for the newspaper is my pleasure. I hope this clue is helpful to you."

"Okay, sir, thank you again for your support of our newspaper's work."

"You're welcome!"

After hanging up the phone, Link returned to the movie theater to oversee things.

Today is the weekend, and the customer traffic in the shopping center has increased. The number of people coming to see movies is also increasing, but not by much. On average, about fifty or sixty people go in to see a movie every hour.

The afternoon of the third day of "Buried's" release, the box office results came out. The Burbank - United Theater sold a total of 704 movie tickets, generating $5,632 in revenue, just barely exceeding the minimum guarantee line.

In the first three days of its premiere, it sold a cumulative total of 1,506 movie tickets, with a box office revenue of $12,100.

The average daily box office data is still lower than the average for art films.

No mistakes, one first, one first, one inside, one content, one in, one look, one look!

In the first three days of its premiere, the Grove Shopping Center Cinema sold a total of 1,821 movie tickets, with a box office revenue of $14,500.

This data ranks third from last among movies released in the same period.

Jerome Preston and Old Mason asked him if he wanted to continue showing the movie, knowing that the box office results would become very poor on weekdays, making it even more difficult to persevere.

Cutting losses now would allow them to recover some of the investment.

Link shook his head. He had already gone all-in; how could he easily take it back?

On Monday, customer traffic in the shopping center plummeted, and the number of people coming to the movie theater also decreased significantly.

For several commercial films released in the same period, the impact was enormous, with drops of over 60%. Before 4 PM, almost no one came.

But for "Buried," the impact was small.

The reason was that in the past three days, "Buried's" occupancy rate was very low, less than 40%.

And in these two days, as "Buried" was released, word-of-mouth gradually fermented, and the number of viewers increased. Film reviews and discussions about "Buried" in the media gradually increased.

On Tuesday morning, the "Los Angeles Times" mentioned Link and the movie "Buried" in a news article about Puff Daddy, which also increased some exposure for the movie.

On Monday, "Buried" sold 512 tickets at the United Theater, generating $4,096 in revenue. Although this result was lower than on the weekend, it was far higher than expected and also higher than the average daily box office for several art films released in the same period.

And at the Grove Shopping Center, because the three-day period had ended, the cinema had other arrangements, and "Buried" ended its screenings there.

Jerome Preston handed Link 65% of the premiere's box office revenue, keeping only 35% for labor costs.

Link received nearly $10,000.

After getting the money, he found "The Hollywood Reporter" and bought a small block of space in the movie section to continue promoting "Buried."

On Tuesday, influenced by media publicity, "Buried" sold 749 movie tickets at the United Theater.

In the afternoon, a reporter from the "Los Angeles Times" came to the movie theater to interview Link, asking about the conflict with Puff Daddy.

Link claimed that he didn't understand rap music and didn't know that the people were celebrities at the time. He only found out after seeing the news. At the same time, he expressed regret for B.I.G.'s discriminatory remarks and appreciation for Puff Daddy's willingness to apologize on behalf of B.I.G.

During the interview, Link also proactively talked about the new movie "Buried."

He said a lot at the time, but unfortunately, in the report the next day, the "Los Angeles Times" only mentioned the movie "Buried" in one sentence. The rest was about his answers to the reporter's questions.

On Wednesday, "Buried" sold 806 movie tickets at the United Theater, with sales reaching over $6,400, exceeding $6,000 for the first time and firmly crossing the $5,000 minimum guarantee line.

"How is that possible? How can 'Buried's' box office rise instead of fall during the weekdays?"

William Mason looked at the box office data in his hand, his thin face revealing a surprised expression.

"It's normal! My movie is of high quality. After many people watch it, they will actively recommend it to the people around them. Each person recommends it to a few others, and word-of-mouth gradually ferments. Naturally, more and more people will come to see the movie."

"That's also impossible. Your movie is relatively niche, the plot is a bit monotonous, and with your Asian face, most of the people who can accept this kind of movie are people who watch movies a lot. Young people don't have that patience."

"Not necessarily. Maybe I have audience appeal."

"According to the current results, if 'Buried' can continue to maintain revenue above $6,000 in the next two days, I can apply to the theater chain headquarters to continue showing 'Buried' in the movie theater."

"William, thank you so much."

"I said if. If the box office revenue exceeds $6,000 on Thursday and Friday, I can help you apply. Below this data, the application will not be approved, so you better pray to God that the box office data for the next two days will not plummet."

"Okay, God bless."

Link made the sign of the cross on his chest.