The Salacious Tastes at Newmarket
It seems that Newmarket has usurped Lion's Gate as the standard-bearer for controversial works. Beginning with Monster and continuing with The Passion and their recent Sundance pick-up The Woodsman, Newmarket has shown a penchant for acquiring films that both provoke visceral emotions and stoke media buzz. A case in point: how many filmmakers out there would kill to have this guy helping you get press attention?
As we all know too well, the controversy angle isn't anything new. Lion's Gate has always had a special place in their heart (and release schedule) for films like Irreversible and Dogma, and up to the mid-nineties, Miramax couldn't resist films like Kids.
So what's different about Newmarket? They identify elements that, when combined with the controversy, provide a one-two press punch that drives public curiosity, builds buzz and eventually gets butts in the seats.
With films like Monster or Woodsman, it's really an updated version of the ol' Oscar bait strategy – a sympathetic, mentally impaired character played by a comely Hollywood type. In this case, substitute a sociopath for the mentally impaired, and it's Rain Man Redux.
More compelling is Newmarket's competence with affinity marketing, and in particular, their penchant for identifying films with crossover appeal. Bob Berney, head honcho of Newmarket, masterfully used this technique at IFC Films with My Big Fat Greek Wedding and to a lesser extent with last summer's Whale Rider. Now it looks like Passion could far exceed his previous efforts. According to the Los Angeles Times:
In Plano, Texas, two members of a Baptist mega-church bought out a 20-screen multiplex so 6,000 people could watch the premiere of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" next month. In Costa Mesa, a nondenominational church is canceling services on opening weekend and has rented 10 movie theaters. In Dallas, a NASCAR sponsor plans to redesign its race car's exterior to promote the film. In Riverside, another Baptist church, energized by the film's coming, designed an ad ("You've got questions. We've got the answer.") to be shown on all 18 screens of a multiplex for three months.
Just what kind of box office "The Passion" will do when it opens Feb. 25 is impossible to predict. But it is clear that Gibson has tapped into a network of Christian church-based marketing that has been maturing for decades and that has been waiting, with almost biblical patience, for a high-profile, celebrity-backed religious picture to capture the nation's attention.
Related Links:
A Tie-In Made in Heaven (subscription required)
Newmarket Films
Lion's Gate Films
Pushing Releases -- The Fox Searchlight Blog
It's no secret that Fox Searchlight out-marketed all of the other Indie shingles last year (with Newmarket being the only real point of contention). From Bend it Like Beckham to 28 Days Later, they've proven that they can "open a picture and give it legs."
My intuition tells me that they have a highly methodical structure to keeping and maintaining press buzz, and my recent discovery of their Corporate Blog adds some credence to that.
Think about it -- how many times have you gone to a studio, film or other film site looking for press releases, only to find out that the last update was months ago? If you're media, are you really going to make an effort to make frequent visits?
With their blog, Fox Searchlight has turned the drudgery of mining for releases into a press-friendly pastime. And they update it SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK.
I have one small recommendation though -- they should really add an RSS feed so journalists can easily configure their feed readers.
[The Fox Searchlight Blog]
Lost in Translation & LOTR the big Winner
Lost in translation looks to gain the biggest awards boost, winning nearly all of the Golden Globes it was nominated for. Conversely, Cold Mountain looks like the biggest loser, winning only one of it's eight noms. It could have really used the boost at the box office.
And of course, LOTR: ROTK did some damage as well, raking in four Globes. If the Oscars pile up as well, we could easily see over one billion in worldwide box office.
But how much effect do Golden Globe wins have on Box Office? I can nary recall a time where they swayed me one way or the other. I think their influence to be more indirect -- swaying Oscar voters, with the Oscars being the true box office movers. The Globes are gaining in popularity and influence though, if you consider their soaring ratings.
The 2004 Golden Globe Winners
Just who the hell is the HFPA, anyways?
I was watching the Golden Globes and my girlfriend asked me, "Who the hell is this 'Hollywood Foreign Press Association' anyways?"
And I realized that I hadn't a clue.
Wanting to learn more, I wandered onto their site, where I found the goals of the HFPA to be:
To establish favorable relations and cultural ties between foreign countries and the United States of America by the dissemination of information concerning the American culture and traditions as depicted in motion pictures and television through news media in various foreign countries.
To recognize outstanding achievements by conferring annual Awards of Merit, (Golden Globe (R) Awards), serving as a constant incentive within the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television.
To contribute to other nonprofit organizations connected with the entertainment industry and involved in educational, cultural, and humanitarian activities.
To promote interest in the study of the arts, including the development of talent in the entertainment field through
scholarships given to major learning institutions.
I also found the following story, which coming from a member of the foreign press, ain't looking so good:
TheStar.com - Awards boost industry myth
