Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 390 A Globally Acclaimed Film Industry Investment Miracle

October 31, Los Angeles, midnight.

The city was enveloped in the chill of a new wave of cold air, but inside an AMC theater in the city center, there was a different kind of chill that sent shivers down your spine.
The midnight premiere of "Paranormal Activity" officially began.

The moment the theater lights went out, all that remained was the crackling sound of a drink straw stirring ice.

But this silence lasted for less than three minutes.

When the first "door crack shaking" shot appeared on the shaky screen, there was a slight gasp from the audience.
And when the bed sheet was pulled up and slid off by an invisible hand, the first scream finally erupted.

"OH MY GOD!"

"God!"

Three rows behind, a couple's girlfriend screamed and grabbed her boyfriend's arm, while a young man five rows in front covered his mouth and laughed. Then, a sudden "bang!" caused popcorn to spill all over the floor.

The entire film has no background music, only the annoying silence of the night, occasional sudden noises, subtle "door hinge friction", and the extreme sense of oppression created by the DV camera.

The audience was locked in their seats, some clutching their phones and trying to relieve stress with the light, while others simply hid in their companions' arms. The whole place was filled with a chilling atmosphere that kept everyone on edge.

When the loud bang at the end of the film and the moment the image "interrupted" sounded, the entire audience fell silent, followed by a tidal wave of gasps, discussions, and applause.

An hour later, on the midnight streets outside the cinema, pumpkin chandeliers symbolized Halloween the following day, but some still shaken audience members were smoking to calm their nerves.

But wave after wave of audience members entered the venue.

In the midst of the subprime mortgage crisis, the "cheap yet efficient" sensory stimulation offered by movie theaters has become the most attractive option for young and middle-aged people to pay for.
Around noon on October 31, the Los Angeles sun shone warmly, casting its rays on a row of metal coffee tables outside a downtown movie theater.

Wu Chen and Jason Blum sat at the table closest to the sidewalk. Their coffees were barely touched, but Jason kept looking at his phone, checking the ratings and reviews from last night's moviegoers in the review section, looking excited.

"Variety just released their top film review, and IGN has too. They're all A- ratings!"

Before he finished speaking, several young audience members who had just come out of the morning movie were already discussing their viewing experience.

"Oh, fuck, I was almost scared to death. Now when I close my eyes, all I see is that face."

"It's so damn scary! How could a DV camera capture that sense of oppression? I even wonder if my own ceiling moved a little."

"I felt like I was standing behind her watching it with her! Compared to that, Lionsgate's Saw 5 was just awful."

“I watched Saw 5 last week. Without Wen, the movie has lost its soul and is only bloody. I don’t plan to watch it anymore.”

At this moment, those voices trembled slightly, yet also seemed to carry an excited, almost bewitching quality.

"I wonder how much the box office will be today?"

Jason Blum listened to the comments of passersby and couldn't help but ask excitedly, while his mind was already filled with fantasies about the future.

What if he really becomes the next Blair Witch Project? Then his and Wu Chen's names will be written into a classic case study in film investment textbooks.

Thinking of this, Jason Blum suddenly grinned foolishly.

That laugh had a nasty effect; people at the next few tables stared at him like he was an idiot.

Wu Chen couldn't help but rub his forehead and said in a low voice, "That's enough."

"Haha, it's okay, they're just a bunch of poor bastards." Jason Blum, though starting to get cocky, still spoke much more quietly.

"Hahaha"

After a while, Jason Blum calmed down considerably and then said:

"By the way, I asked someone to inquire for you. Brad Gray originally bought that house in Beverly Hills for $2900 million. We'll go take a look the day after tomorrow, and it's up to you to negotiate a different price."

At this point, he narrowed his eyes and smiled, lowering his voice close to Wu Chen's ear: "But I heard he's demanding a one-time cash payment. I think you could give him another cut."
Wu Chen chuckled and nodded upon hearing this.

Meanwhile, inside the Universal Pictures building, the distribution department was already working feverishly.

David Lyndon stood in front of a workstation in the corner of the floor, staring intently at the latest transmitted data.

He held his laptop in one hand and kept checking his phone with the other, receiving feedback on midnight and morning screenings from AMC and Regal theaters across the United States.

"David, this film is amazing; its reputation is spreading like wildfire on the forums!"

Mary Parent called out to him from the editing table.

As she shouted, she tilted a desktop screen that was running data toward him—it displayed real-time audience ratings from IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes. In just one night, the rating for "Paranormal Activity" rose from 7.1 to 7.8.

The latter's face lit up with joy. He quickly went over to take a look, then picked up the report data to check it. He couldn't help but clench his fist and swing it heavily into the air.

"Oh, yeah!"

It's worth noting that this fall, the seven major Hollywood studios are facing a wave of layoffs that are causing widespread anxiety.

Columbia cut its budget, Paramount and Universal withdrew their staff, and only Warner Bros. managed to maintain its position with "The Dark Knight," which was about to break $10 billion.

During such a difficult period, securing the release of a box office hit horror film is undoubtedly a great achievement, at least for him, it's excellent news.

He immediately turned around and gave a series of instructions to the publicity team behind him:
"Put out all the remaining media resources to promote the 'DV Thriller Revival' topic! Get YouTube reviews up and running quickly too, we must top the trending list before tonight's Halloween party!"
Furthermore, promotion on major movie websites and IMDb's short review section—encouraging users to give high scores and post reviews!

The entire distribution department quickly sprang into action, operating like a honeycomb.

On November 1st, the opening day box office for "Paranormal Activity" in the United States was officially updated: $772 million.

The data stunned countless people.

"What the fuck!" Countless people stared in disbelief at the number before them, rubbing their eyes again.

At 11:00 AM, the sunlight was particularly dazzling, and the Universal Pictures website homepage had been completely refreshed: "Paranormal Activity" grossed $772 million on its opening day in the United States!
At the same time, several mainstream media outlets published their headlines for the day:
[The most "cost-effective" scary investment in history: the $1.1 budget DV film "Paranormal Activity" exceeded expectations at the box office, grossing a whopping $772 million on its opening day!]

[Another Blair Witch Project? A Horror Film Miracle: $1 Budget, $5000 Million Box Office Forecast?]

[“A $1.1 Miracle – Ghostly Appearances Sweep Through Cinemas, a Box Office Massacre!”]

[Hollywood's next dark horse miracle: a movie with a budget of only $11000!]

【.】

The fact that a horror film, which relied almost entirely on handheld camera work and sound design, had a budget of only $1.1 was fully disclosed by the media, creating a sensation in the midst of the financial crisis.

The following day, Saturday, box office revenue surged even higher, reaching $882 million!
In an instant, the entire Hollywood was in an uproar.

The veteran film critics who were originally indifferent to the situation have also begun to change their tune. Their original calm and restrained views have been replaced by tweets with phrases like "will be legendary", "miracle", and "must be included in textbooks".

At this time, Blumhouse Pictures, the biggest beneficiary behind "Paranormal Activity," and Wu Chen were also exposed, and this news could not be kept secret any longer.

The media flocked to report on it.

Blumhouse Pictures needed a lot of exposure, so Jason Blum readily agreed to the interview.

"It's amazing. When we first saw this film, we just thought it had some potential. Wu said it was worth a try, so we gave it a shot."

He later edited the film himself, and we never expected it to do so well at the box office; it was a pleasant surprise.

Jason Blum was much more modest when interviewed, but looking at the expressions of the investors, independent producers, and industry insiders off-camera, he had mixed feelings.

The word "Fuck" has become a frequently used adjective in the meeting rooms of many Hollywood film studios.

In this financial winter, the box office miracle created by movies has everyone yearning for such success.

Wu Chen appeared much more low-key; Brenhouse needed to break into the mainstream, but he didn't.

However, those in the industry know that Wu Chen's actions were particularly important behind this miracle.

Especially with that editing technique, the atmosphere of the entire horror film was completely refreshed.

Rebecca Zurkin at Paramount seemed much more frustrated. Paramount had also made an offer for the film's distribution, but unfortunately, they didn't offer the same level of support and preferential terms as Universal.

Lionsgate was just as frustrated as Rebecca Sarkin. Fortunately, their "Saw V" was released a week earlier than expected, otherwise, given its reputation, it would have been completely crushed.

Of course, the one who was most frustrated at this moment was CAA.

In their previous collaboration with Blumhouse, they signed a "capped clause": the film's box office would cap if it exceeded $3000 million, and they would no longer receive any additional revenue sharing.

When the contract was signed, everyone in the meeting room was laughing so hard they almost flipped the table, joking, "Hey, a ghost movie shot with a DV camera, 3000 million? Are you kidding me?"

Now, just 48 hours after its release, the box office has already exceeded 1600 million.

Although they made money, it wasn't enough, which was very frustrating. Moreover, they had to give a share of the profits to the director, even though they could have earned more.

"We were scammed by Blumhouse Films?!"

"Who would have thought Wu was behind this? If we had known Wu was interested in this film, perhaps we should have been more cautious when we first negotiated."

"Today's audiences are really interesting; they'd rather watch a horror movie that costs only ten thousand dollars than one that costs millions of dollars."

"."

All of Hollywood is now watching the box office of "Paranormal Activity" closely, wondering if it can surpass the success of "The Blair Witch Project".

Under Syncopy Pictures, the Nolan brothers looked at each other in bewilderment upon seeing the information.

“He really knows how to cause trouble,” Jonathan Nolan couldn’t help but laugh.

"Don't forget, he started out making thrillers, and several of his films are classics."

Nolan was quite envious for a while. Who doesn't like making money? And it only takes a few snips to make a fortune. Most importantly, this is bound to become a classic case study worldwide.

At this moment, in front of a three-story detached villa hidden behind oak trees in Beverly Hills, Wu Chen was walking slowly with his hands in his pockets, examining the lines of the courtyard and the angle of the skylight in the main building.

He was quite satisfied with the villa, and then haggled with former Paramount chairman Brad Gray before finally shaking hands with him.

"$1800 million, and it will be transferred to your account within three days!"

Brad Gray gave a wry smile: "There's no need to rush. Give me a few days. I need to find a tax lawyer to prepare tax avoidance documents."

Upon hearing this, Wu Chen chuckled and then nodded.

“Wow!” Jason Blum shouted after Brad Gray left.

“I’m going to buy a house here later, with the money I made from Paranormal Activity,” Jason Blum said, looking at Wu Chen. “Do you need to renovate this place?”

"We should!"

“Oh, yes, Crystal probably wants a different feel, but this place is really great.”

"."

(End of this chapter)