Chapter 122: Chapter 122: It's All His Fault
Someone fainting from a horror movie can be due to many factors, such as already being in poor health. If it were another film that caused a viewer to faint, it might not be a good thing. But for a horror movie to scare someone into fainting, doesn't that just prove the film's terrifying nature? At least it's not a bad thing.
Murphy's mind was racing. "Do you remember anything about the person who fainted?"
"What do you want to do?" Kara-Faith's voice immediately grew cautious.
Pacing back and forth, Murphy spoke into the phone, "I'll talk to Fox Searchlight, see if we can get a media outlet to interview you. You describe the scene..."
"And then praise you a bit?" Kara-Faith's voice carried a hint of sarcasm. "Is that it?"
Murphy saw no need to hide it. "Don't you think it's a great gimmick? The film's marketing budget is limited."
There was a brief silence before Kara-Faith's voice came through again. "The person who fainted is a professor at Columbia University. You arrange the media, and I'll first see if he's willing to be interviewed."
"I won't say thank you." Murphy laughed.
After hanging up, he stood in the yard, looking up at the sky. "Saw" had already hit theaters. Whether it would succeed or fail depended on this weekend.
Murphy picked up his phone and called Tony Guzman, explaining his idea. Maybe because the $260,000 marketing budget hadn't been exhausted, or perhaps Fox Searchlight's data was promising, Tony Guzman agreed to communicate this to higher-ups.
Around noon, Tony Guzman entered the office of his boss, Godin Clyde. Surprisingly, Godin Clyde only pondered for half a minute before calling the marketing and PR departments, instructing them to contact Fox's media outlets to quickly interview the fainted audience member.
"Oh, and..." As Tony Guzman was about to leave, he added, "Murphy Stanton wants the latest stats on 'Saw.'"
This had been agreed upon when they signed the contract. Godin Clyde nodded, took a document from a file box on his right, and handed it to Tony Guzman. "This is the morning's attendance statistics from 30 preview theaters."
Waving him off, Tony Guzman left with the document, heading to the secretary's office and to the fax machine. Before faxing, he glanced at it.
It was now noon Pacific time, and all theaters showing "Saw" had finished their morning screenings. The data collected via computer networks had arrived promptly.
Thirty theaters had shown 60 screenings of "Saw," with a total audience of 1,500.
No wonder Godin Clyde had agreed so readily. The morning attendance rate was quite good.
On average, each screening had over 20 viewers. That might seem modest, but Tony Guzman didn't forget it was Friday morning!
Calculating at an average ticket price of $6, "Saw" had already grossed $9,000 in North America, with a per-theater average of $300.
Attendance rates would surely rise in the afternoon and evening, a market inevitability, and more screenings would be added. The first-day per-theater average might exceed $3,000. If word-of-mouth was good, Saturday's box office could increase further, making it possible for the first weekend per-theater average to surpass $10,000.
If so, "Saw" would definitely expand its release in the following week...
Now it depended on the film's reputation. For a low-budget project like this, word-of-mouth was crucial!
With only 30 theaters showing the film, Fox Searchlight had hired a consulting firm to conduct on-site surveys. Audience feedback couldn't be accurately reflected in the media, often diverging greatly from critic scores.
Fox Searchlight hadn't specifically invited professional critics to the previews. A gore-filled horror film was unlikely to receive their praise. Market response wouldn't be measured by their standards, as that would yield incorrect judgments. The opinions of on-site viewers were more important.
CinemaScore specialized in market ratings, but Fox Searchlight couldn't expect a major company to focus on a small-scale preview of a low-budget film.
Such low-budget films were released every week in North America, most lasting only three days in theaters. Who would pay attention to them?
Moreover, hiring a consulting firm for on-site surveys wasn't costly. It was within the planned budget.
Previews were mainly held in major cities.
Outside a theater in Long Island, a fan recalled the movie's scenes. "Yeah, I watched 'Saw.' It nearly scared me to death!"
He lightly patted his chest, still a bit frightened. "I haven't seen such a good horror film in years. I'm bringing my brother tomorrow. He's always been a scaredy-cat. Maybe he won't be able to sleep."
With a mischievous smile, he left some praise and walked away from the theater.
At an independent theater in Venice, Los Angeles, a black man was stopped as he left the theater. Hearing questions about "Saw," he grinned, showing two rows of white teeth. "I didn't find it too scary. Those traps were awesome! And the ending... the director really set up an unexpected twist!"
Several people passing by were also discussing the film.
"What's the director and writer's name? Oh, right, it's Murphy Stanton. That guy is such a jerk, ending the film like that is a tease!"
"Cut it out!" Another person dismissed this view disdainfully. "Is that teasing? It's clever directing. Don't you think Murphy Stanton's film breaks away from Hollywood clichés?"
"Exactly! Exactly!" Others agreed. "With such an innovative film, I'd love to be teased every day!"
"This director clearly has talent and ideas. Don't attack him out of ignorance..."
The voices of the group faded away with their footsteps.
After watching the movie and having lunch outside, Daisy returned home. She poured herself a glass of water and rested for a while before sitting at her computer.
Since "Hard Candy," she found Murphy Stanton intriguing. Though "Saw" was a bit too gory for her taste, its suspense and plot structure were outstanding. The scene where the old man stood up, leaving everyone in the theater dumbfounded, was still vivid in her memory.
Winning applause is easy, but how many directors can leave an audience stunned?
Connecting to the internet, Daisy opened IMDB and quickly found Murphy Stanton's page. Since the release of "Hard Candy," he had an IMDB profile. However, his page was quite empty, with only a brief bio and a link to "Hard Candy."
This time, Daisy noticed something different. "Saw" was listed under his works, and a few people had left comments.
"So empty. Am I the first to comment? Seems like it. Who is this Murphy Stanton? How come there's no picture on IMDB? Too mysterious. But I like his work. I wanted to sleep after watching the movie this morning but was too scared, fearing Murphy Stanton would catch me in my sleep for his twisted games. Can someone add a photo of him?"
This was posted around noon. At 12:20, another person commented.
"I #@#!"
A string of profanity, censored by the site, indicated this person was quite upset. "Where is that perverted director Murphy Stanton? Why did he make this movie so scary it made my girlfriend cry, and she's still crying! I'm so mad!"
The first commenter replied, "If it's that scary, don't watch it. That's just torture."
The upset person responded, "We couldn't take our eyes off the screen. I told her to close her eyes or leave early, but she refused, crying while watching! Her body kept trembling! Okay, I admit I didn't want to leave either! It's all that damned Murphy Stanton's fault for making such a captivating horror film that we couldn't leave or close our eyes. It's all his fault!"
The earlier commenter was speechless, "Uh..."
Further down, another comment read, "This movie is really scary, one of the best horror films in years. The most surprising thing is that such a great film came from an unknown director."
That was all the comments. Daisy quickly finished reading them. Although there were some comments, overall, it still lacked attention.
She scrolled up. The avatar next to Murphy Stanton's name was still blank. What did this director look like? Was he a chubby guy like Hitchcock? A friendly old man like Spielberg? Or a twisted figure like Jigsaw?
Having seen both "Hard Candy" and "Saw," Daisy was really curious about this imaginative director's appearance.
Unfortunately, he was still too unknown.
She clicked on the link to "Saw" under Murphy Stanton's profile, and the page flipped to the rating section.
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