Chapter 19: Chapter 19 Seeking Publication

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

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An afternoon in Los Angeles, sunny and pleasant. Looking at the high-rise building with Chicago architectural style in front of her, Jessica gathered her courage and strode inside.

A few days earlier, she had completed all the post-production editing for “Paranormal Activity.” The final cut of the film was set at 98 minutes and in her view, the movie was certainly worthy of the word ‘spectacular,’ and it would surely scare the wits out of anyone who watched it. After all, on the day she finished editing, Jessica and Joshua, who had come to her home to get an early look, were both so frightened that they turned pale, despite knowing the plot of the film beforehand.

Jessica herself fared no better. Since she lived in the apartment where the film was shot, she was constantly paranoid, waking up amidst the sounds of the wind at night with a start. Perhaps this was a side effect of filming a horror movie.

After editing the film, Jessica wasted no time in moving on to the next task: the distribution of the movie. If a movie is to be shown in theaters, it must go through a distributor who then negotiates with theaters to schedule the screenings. This distributor was Jessica’s target contact.

In America, in California, there are innumerable film companies, with the most famous being the historic Big Eight of Hollywood, including MGM, Paramount, Columbia, Warner Brothers, Universal, United Artists, 20th Century Fox, and Disney; of course, after years of evolution and the “Paramount case,” which legally determined that film companies could not own theaters, combined with the end of the big studio era, the power of the Big Eight was long gone.

They either became a part of media conglomerates, like Paramount being acquired by Viacom; or they continued to struggle, maintaining their status as independent production companies but constantly on the brink of massive debt, like MGM. However, they were still the big shots in the Hollywood film industry, the makers of large-scale commercial blockbusters.

Among them, several companies have subsidiaries that distribute independent films not produced by themselves, such as 20th Century Fox’s distribution company Fox Searchlight, which has already distributed more than a dozen independent films with considerable success.

But the films represented by Fox Searchlight are those with production budgets in the several million, over ten million dollar range, and are celluloid films. To date, there has not been a single handheld DV film screened worldwide; after all, DV technology has only been around for a few months.

Although Jessica knew that companies like Fox were unlikely to take an interest in her film, she still made the call to contact them, just to try—after all, that’s one more opportunity, isn’t it?

However, over the phone, the acquisition manager at Fox Searchlight started laughing as soon as he heard her film was shot on a home-use DV without arranging a meeting. He even thought Jessica’s call was a prank. What a joke, a handheld home-use DV to shoot a movie? He knew about DV and was certainly aware of the shooting quality of DV. Could such footage be shown on the big screen? Who would go to see that? Maybe it was just some kid who bought a DV and filmed some nonsense, thinking it was a movie?

Of course, it’s also important that Fox Searchlight didn’t need to take the risk or make a fool of themselves. Their revenues were quite sound; staying with their current business strategy was sufficient.

This turn of events was expected by Jessica, and she did not insist, as it would have been futile. These big companies are all used to large productions; a budget of ten thousand US dollars is a joke in their eyes. How could you make a movie with that? It’s not that they lacked vision; after all, the concept of DV filmmaking had never been tried before. It was an innovation, a disruption. Humans are like this; courage, not foresight, is what counts for the first person to eat a crab.

So, after contacting all the major companies to no avail, Jessica began to contact some smaller and medium-sized companies. Some of them produce low-budget films themselves, and others are distribution companies that mainly deal with distribution, such as New Line, Dimension, and so on.

They were equally incredulous and some even suspected that Jessica was pulling a prank. However, unlike the big companies like Fox Searchlight, they did not reject her over the phone; it seemed they were thinking, “I’m free anyway, might as well have a look,” and gave Jessica an appointment.

In those few days, Jessica, carrying the DVD of “Paranormal Activity,” visited several companies including New Line and Dimension. However, the results were surprisingly consistent; when the film started and they saw the poor quality of the footage and the extremely shaky camera, they shook their heads and said, “There’s no need to watch any further.”

This time Jessica insisted. But no matter how hard she tried to sell her film, describing the shaky camera work as the style of DV films, the theory of mockumentary, etc., they all smiled and said “NO.” Their reason for refusal was basically the same as that of Fox Searchlight: they were pessimistic about DV films, considering them a joke, and thought they wouldn’t be accepted by audiences.

Think about it, when sound films first emerged, most companies worried they wouldn’t be accepted by audiences, and some even clung to the idea that silent films would live forever. Now their disdain for DV films isn’t surprising.

So Jessica’s persistence ultimately turned out to be futile. If they said no, what more could you do?

But today’s company was different. Jessica was filled with confidence and hope, with unyielding determination, because this company was “Artisan Entertainment,” which in the future would distribute “The Blair Witch Project,” a DV film that achieved shocking success. If anyone had the courage to take a chance on DV films, it was them.

Artisan Entertainment was a small company specializing in the distribution of independent films; it didn’t have its own office building, and its headquarters were located on the twelfth floor of this commercial building.

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Wang Yang arrived at the entrance of Artisan Entertainment today, dressed in a fitting black leather outfit, carrying a briefcase filled with movie scripts and DVDs of the film. He looked at the Artisan logo hanging above and took a deep breath before walking in.

“Hello, welcome to Artisan!” The receptionist greeted him with a smile, a woman in her twenties, African American. Her professional smile was quite pleasant.

Wang Yang glanced at her name badge and learned her name was Nicole Vivor, then replied with a smile, “Hello, Miss Vivor, I am Wang Yang. I have an appointment with Mr. Thomas, the head of acquisitions at your company.”

“Sure, please wait a moment.” Nicole nodded, clicked her mouse to check the computer, and smiled, “Oh, found it. Yes, the meeting time is scheduled for 3:00 PM, and it is now 2:42 PM, so please wait for a little while.”

Wang Yang smiled and nodded, saying, “Alright.” He sat down on the row of chairs opposite the reception desk, touched his briefcase, looked around, and felt a bit of nervousness creeping in, unintentionally letting out a light sigh.

At this point, the receptionist Nicole Vivor looked at him with a bit of curiosity and took the initiative to ask, “Mr. Wang, you have an appointment with Mr. Thomas to discuss movie distribution. Are you the producer of the film?” Wang Yang nodded and said, “Well, you could say that, I am the producer and also the director.” Nicole replied incredulously, “Oh, you look so young, it’s quite surprising.”

Wang Yang shrugged and joked, “That’s why my name is Yang (Young).” Nicole laughed at his joke, and Wang Yang took the opportunity to ask, “By the way, do many people like me come to your company to pitch their own movies?”

Nicole Vivor shook her head without hesitation, “Not really, not many. Independent films aren’t that common, and there are too many film companies. We only occasionally have people coming in.” She didn’t know that Wang Yang’s film was shot on DV and continue with a laugh, “Actually, we’re more proactive. We go to various film festivals looking for good films, like at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, our company also acquired several films.”

Wang Yang silently nodded upon hearing this. Sundance Film Festival is considered the top independent film festival in the world, with the aim to encourage low-budget, independent productions, and to give emerging filmmakers a chance to showcase their work. Each January, Sundance is held in Utah, drawing legions of independent filmmakers with their films, hoping for discovery, while film companies big and small go there to “prospect for gold.”

There are many other film festivals like the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Screamfest Horror Film Festival specifically for horror movies.

These festivals are Wang Yang’s last hope. If he can’t distribute in cinemas or on video and even cable TV distribution fails, he would participate in these festivals. However, influential ones like Sundance and Santa Barbara are held in January, meaning that if he wants to join them, he would have to wait until next year.

As he considered this, the time reached three o’clock. The receptionist Nicole Vivor picked up the phone, dialed, and asked, “Mr. Thomas, there’s a Mr. Wang here for you, he has an appointment with you about film distribution. Mhm, okay.” She smiled at Wang Yang, stood up, and said, “Mr. Wang, please follow me.”

“Alright.” Wang Yang also stood up, took his briefcase, and followed her inside Artisan Entertainment. The office wasn’t crowded, but it looked very busy. Everyone was working hard, or walking around carrying something, and some were on the phone, faintly heard saying, “Hey, we need a prime time ad slot, yes, come on, why is it so expensive…”

Nicole Vivor led him to an independent office, knocked on the door, and heard, “Come in,” from inside. She opened the door and said with a smile, “Mr. Thomas, Mr. Wang is here.” Then she returned to the reception.

Stephen Thomas, a middle-aged white man in his forties with a slightly balding forehead, was wearing a grey suit with a black tie. He was sitting behind his desk writing something. As he saw them, he put down his pen, smiled, stood up, and came forward extending his hand, “Mr. Wang, hello.”

“Hello, Mr. Thomas,” said Wang Yang, shaking his hand and politely adding, “I am very grateful for this opportunity.”

“Heh, it’s nothing, it’s my job. Please, have a seat.” Thomas smiled and gestured to the chair in front of his desk, then sat back down behind it. Looking at Wang Yang, who had seated himself, he asked, “Mr. Wang, you look very young. If I may ask, how old are you?”

Wang Yang chuckled, knowing that Thomas was prompting him to introduce himself or to present a resume outright, but he had intentionally not brought a resume. This was because a film company that reviewed his resume previously learned he had attended the University of Southern California and was then dismayed to discover the reason for his expulsion. That company hadn’t even watched his film before showing him the door.

With no resume, Wang Yang hoped to keep his past a secret as long as possible. He smiled and answered, “Well, I was born in 1980, so I should still be considered young.”

Thomas raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, then let out a “wow” laughing, sizing up Wang Yang, “That’s very young indeed, a director at 18? Wow! You should be on campus right now.”

On campus? Here it comes… Wang Yang immediately became wary inside and laughed it off, shrugged, and deflected, “You know, some people just take a different path. And I believe the quality of a movie depends on the movie itself, not the age of its director.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Thomas agreed with a smile, and to Wang Yang’s relief, he finally started on the main topic, “So let’s see your movie script. I hope this isn’t a farce.” He rolled his eyes and spread his hands, “I don’t mean anything by that, just that I have never seen this kind of situation with a DV film and an 18-year-old director.”

“I understand,” Wang Yang replied, pulling a script out of his briefcase. This script was rewritten to contain the complete final content of the movie. He handed the script across to Thomas and said, “Please take a look.”

Thomas took the script, leaned back in his chair, and after flipping through it for a while, nodded and said, “The story is very simple, but this is a formal script, not a spoof.” He got up, signaled Wang Yang with his eyes, and walked toward the office door, saying, “Well, let’s go to the screening room and take a look at your movie.” In the large outer office, he shouted to the busy company staff: “Hey, Sam, come with me to watch a movie.”

A white man in his thirties responded, put down his work, walked over with a smile, and shook hands with Wang Yang, “I’m Sam Paul.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Paul,” Wang Yang said with a smile too.

As Thomas led them to the screening room, he chuckled and introduced, “Sam is the best marketer we have here. He has a sharp eye. Many of the company’s money-making films are his handiwork. Oh, this guy is about to take my job.” Sam laughed, “Cut it out, Stephen!” Wang Yang smiled and said nothing.

Once they reached the screening room, Wang Yang took out a DVD containing the movie and handed it to Sam. Sam loaded the disc into the player, and the three of them sat down and watched the small screen in front of them.

Thomas pressed the start button on the remote control, and a black screen lit up on the small screen, followed immediately by a flash. A man was seen self-recording with the camera, Zachary smiling at the camera, wrinkling his eyebrow, and saying with a laugh, “Hello, everyone, I’m Kevin! This is our new home!” Then, he walked around the apartment with the DV camera, filming and introducing various places like the kitchen and bedroom. However, the camera was shaking violently, and with the poor image quality, many parts of the screen turned into a blur, indistinct.

“Wow, this…” Thomas pressed pause, looking at Wang Yang questioningly, “Mr. Wang, are you sure this isn’t a life short film but a movie?”

New Line Cinema had stopped after watching the beginning and then simply said “NO”. Wang Yang suddenly felt nervous inside but he gave the explanation he had prepared, “Of course, I call it a first-person movie, also known as a pseudo-documentary. The concept is ‘the entire movie is filmed by the protagonist,’ simulating a documentary format.” He earnestly continued, “Mr. Thomas, believe me, this is a movie. Please keep watching.”

“OK.” With a thoughtful nod, Thomas pressed play to continue.

On the screen, Kevin finished touring his home and then turned the camera back on himself, laughing, “Haha, it feels so good to buy a DV!” Then, a faint sound of a door opening was heard, and he perked up with a laugh, “Wow, my girlfriend Melissa is back!” Saying this, he rushed out with the DV camera, causing a severe shake to the lens and rapid scene changes that made one feel dizzy and disoriented.

Then the camera pointed downward, and Kevin was heard saying, “Honey, welcome home. Look at this… what is it!?”

The screen flashed, revealing Melissa as portrayed by Rachel with a bag in her hand, looking surprised and frozen at the camera, saying blankly, “What, you really bought a DV? Oh, God! How could you do this, it’s beyond our budget!”

Sam, with one hand on his chest and the other supporting his chin, turned his head and smiled at Wang Yang, “The leading lady is quite pretty.”

“I think so too.” Wang Yang smiled back, his heart missing Rachel a bit as he watched her on the screen. After she returned to Toronto, he had only called her once after finishing editing the movie to tell her he had sent out the DVD and to ask about her mother’s condition. To save phone costs, he hung up soon after talking briefly; and without internet at home, he hadn’t been on MSN for a long time.

As the movie progressed, Thomas and Sam’s side conversations became less frequent, and they started watching seriously. However, during a scene where Kevin and Melissa were tracking a ghostly shadow in the middle of the night, the camera shook violently again, and combined with the psychological terror, it made Thomas increasingly dizzy, his chest tight, his scalp tingling, and a strong urge to vomit overwhelmed him. He had to stop the movie.

“Oh, God… Oh…” Thomas couldn’t help retching a few times, while Sam next to him was also struggling, holding back the nausea. It took a while before Thomas recovered, shaking his head with a wry smile, “Oh, my apologies, that was so rude.”

Wang Yang, not knowing how to respond, simply said with a smile, “It’s nothing, nothing, it’s just a normal bodily reaction.”

“Mr. Wang, your movie… how should I put this,” Thomas frowned thoughtfully, making Wang Yang tense, then Thomas said, “It’s surprising, eye-opening, but also hard for people to adapt to.” He laughed self-deprecatingly and added, “This style of movie I’ve never seen before.” Sam indicated agreement by nodding, “Yes, it’s a crazy style.”

Of course, they had never seen it; handheld DV camcorders had only been on the market for a few months, and the history page of DV movies was still blank.

Eye-opening yet hard to adapt to? Wang Yang couldn’t grasp what they meant, and since the movie was only halfway through, with the scary parts yet to come, he suggested, “Mr. Thomas, maybe we should continue watching? The rest of the movie is even more exciting.”

“No, no, no. If we continue, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold it in,” Thomas said with a laugh, shaking his head, “that’s enough. With what I’ve seen, I already know what kind of movie it is.” He pondered and continued, “Mr. Wang, your movie is indeed a movie, and it’s very scary in many parts, but…”

Wang Yang knew something bad was coming when he heard “but”, and as expected, Thomas spread his hands, “This movie is too innovative. Although it follows your pseudo-documentary concept, with such fuzzy, rough image quality and frequently violently shaking camera, whether these are suitable for the big screen, to be honest, I’m not sure.” He looked towards Sam, “What do you think, Sam?”

Sam also laughed and shook his head, his expression clearly saying “I have no idea either,” and spoke, “I don’t know, I can’t judge the market prospects for this film either. I’ve never seen anything like it before, I can’t analyze it.” He paused, then added, “Personally, I find this film quite interesting, but I can’t speak for the market. You know, a lot of films I like end up not making back their costs. Personal taste is one thing, the market is another.”

Wang Yang’s heart sank. Although Artisan Company had been the most receptive so far, he couldn’t feel happy because it seemed likely they were going to reject him. He looked at Thomas and Sam and suggested, “I know the market is always elusive. Maybe we can start with a limited release, try showing it in a few dozen theaters, no, just a dozen would be fine, to see the market reaction?”

As long as it was released, with the kind of promotional tactics used by “The Blair Witch,” he was confident he could turn a limited release into a wide release, going from a dozen theaters to thousands!

Thomas hesitated for a moment, spoke softly with Sam beside him, exchanging opinions, and finally nodded his head, looking at Wang Yang as if he was about to say something.

Wang Yang’s heart suddenly raced, his hands clenched secretly, sweating palms.

“Mr. Wang,” Thomas looked at him and spoke slowly, “The market is our primary consideration. Even though your film’s cost is low and the marketing budget can be as low as possible, we can’t afford any losses; more importantly, we cannot let the company’s reputation be affected. We are a small scale company, the majority of the market relies on hardcore fans supporting us. They definitely don’t want to see us release a bad film, which could make them angry and abandon us.”

Wang Yang nodded silently, feeling bad but unable to say anything.

“What I mean is not that your film is bad, but releasing a DV film is a big risk, we can’t just decide on a whim.” Thomas stood up and said, “How about this, Mr. Wang, we will discuss its feasibility internally. If we have any distribution plans, we’ll contact you, okay?” As he spoke, he extended his hand.

Wang Yang could only stand up, shook his hand, and nodded, “Alright, I’ll wait for your good news.”

After leaving Artisan Entertainment, Wang Yang walked down the streets feeling dejected. The honking of the cars on the street only added to his irritation. He looked up at the azure sky, let out a deep breath, and gritted his teeth. Now even Artisan, the company that distributed the first DV film “The Blair Witch,” had rejected him. Even though they hadn’t completely closed the door, he knew the hope was slim because Thomas hadn’t watched the whole movie. Their attitude was clear; they didn’t want to disappoint fans or take risks.

How many movie companies were left? Wang Yang sighed. Although he had been aware that seeking distribution would be extremely difficult, facing it head-on was still unavoidably disappointing. But he shook his clenched fist, I won’t give up! You can kill me, but you can’t defeat me!

If not this company, then the next one; even if all film companies rejected him, there were still companies specializing in DVD releases; even if he couldn’t enter the DVD market, there was still cable TV on-demand… as long as he kept going, there would always be opportunities.

He swept all the gloom from his heart, but felt an urge to share with a friend. He took out his phone and called Jessica. After getting through, he laughed, “Hey, Jessica, I’ve failed again. Artisan told me to wait for news at home, but I think they won’t contact me.”

“Oh, God…” Jessica couldn’t help but exhale in disappointment and concern, but she immediately consoled Wang Yang warmly, “Yang, it’s nothing. Trust me, this is just the beginning; you’ve just started on your journey.”

Wang Yang laughed, “Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry about me, Jessica, thank you.” He teased in a playful tone, “You wouldn’t believe it, but the manager at Artisan, watching my movie, almost threw up, haha! Is my film really that bad?”

“Haha! No, not at all.” Jessica also started laughing, her pleasant laughter brightening Wang Yang’s mood even more. She laughed again, “Where are you now? How about dinner together? I’m planning to go watch a movie at the cinema tonight.”

“Thanks, but no,” Wang Yang laughed as he declined Jessica’s invitation, continuing towards the nearby bus stop, explaining, “Jessica, I’ve got a night job at McDonald’s, so I’m hurrying over there now, sorry I can’t join you.”

There was a moment of silence from Jessica on the phone, then she said, “Okay, Yang, but don’t wear yourself out.” She added, “By the way, um… you know, in a couple of days it’s my birthday, I’m having a small party at my place that evening to celebrate. Can you come then?”

Oh, that’s right, Jessica’s birthday is on the 28th, it’s coming up… Without a second thought, Wang Yang agreed, “Of course. Your birthday party, wow, I’d be delighted to be invited, I’ll just ask for the night off.” He paused, then laughed, “It’s just that the gift might be a bit shabby, haha!”

“Ha, don’t worry about the gift.” Hearing that he would come, Jessica laughed happily. She went on to say, “My agent, Ms. Miranda, she’ll be there too. Yang, she knows quite a few famous directors and high-level executives at film companies. I’ll introduce you when the time comes, hopefully, she can help you…”

“Thank you, Jessica,” Wang Yang laughed, “Now I have one more reason to look forward to it.” Although he wasn’t holding out much hope for Ms. Miranda, it was an opportunity, wasn’t it? Plus, Jessica’s kindness made him feel warm inside.

The two of them talked for a bit more, and when Wang Yang got to the bus stop, he hung up, took a deep breath, and got on a bus headed to the McDonald’s where he worked part-time.