Echoes of Hollywood

During this season, most films were building momentum for the awards season, and films targeting awards hardly opened on a large scale. As a representative of fan movies, "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" had already exhausted its fan enthusiasm in the first seven days after its release. Without the support of its fans, the film naturally experienced a sharp decline in attendance.

"Inglourious Basterds," unlike Murphy's previous film "Man of Steel," didn't have to face the fierce competition of the summer blockbuster season. It didn't have strong competitors, and the Thanksgiving to Christmas period in North America was relatively less competitive compared to the summer.

This past weekend, "Inglourious Basterds" topped the North American box office charts in terms of word-of-mouth, reviews, attendance, and screening rates.

"In terms of market appeal alone..."

In the living room, Quentin Tarantino put down the newspaper and shook his head, saying, "I'm far inferior to Murphy."

The tall Uma Thurman placed a glass of water on the coffee table in front of him. Quentin Tarantino continued, "Even if I weren't injured and directed this film myself, the opening weekend box office wouldn't reach this height."

Uma Thurman poured herself a cup of coffee and sat next to Quentin Tarantino. She said, "That's an unfair comparison. Your films have never been about box office numbers."

Few people in the country knew Quentin Tarantino, the rogue director, better than her.

Quentin Tarantino's films had never boasted exceptional box office numbers. Even his highest-grossing film in North America, "Pulp Fiction," only crossed the $100 million mark after being re-released in the 90s and the new century.

As for his other films, none had grossed over $100 million in North America.

While thinking this, Uma Thurman still picked up the newspaper Quentin Tarantino had been reading. It contained the North American box office report for the past weekend. She quickly scanned through it.

"This week is a celebration for fans of dark films, who have been cultivated since 2000's 'Hard Candy.' They witnessed director Murphy Stanton score a victory: 'Inglourious Basterds' opened to a weekend total of $57.6 million, topping the North American box office charts. This result set a new record for the highest opening weekend box office in the fourth week of November and is the highest-grossing opening weekend film ever for Weinstein Company."

"Moreover, 'Inglourious Basterds' became the highest-grossing R-rated film released in November. With Murphy Stanton's distinctive style and excellent reviews, the film's box office and DVD potential are substantial."

"The audience for the opening weekend was 68% male, with 75% aged 25 and older. Adult males who enjoy dark films made up the majority of the opening weekend audience. The film received an A+ rating on CinemaScore and a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating strong word-of-mouth. The film should have good legs, and its final North American box office might reach around $200 million."

"'Inglourious Basterds' also received outstanding media reviews. Among the 139 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, 82% were positive, with an average score of 7.8. On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 76 from 44 professional media reviews, slightly lower than Murphy Stanton's previous work, 'Man of Steel.'"

Closing the newspaper, Uma Thurman looked at Quentin Tarantino. "Don't think too much. A film's quality can't be measured by its box office."

Her words made sense, but Quentin Tarantino shook his head. "Box office is the most straightforward evaluation."

In hindsight, he regretted choosing Murphy Stanton to help fulfill his contract. The film, apart from being credited to him as a screenwriter, bore no relation to him; it was marked distinctly by Murphy Stanton's style from start to finish.

If he had another chance, he definitely wouldn't choose Murphy Stanton to help.

But now, with a contract in place, Quentin Tarantino could only watch.

"Inglourious Basterds" achieved box office results beyond any of his previous films, both in North America and overseas.

During the same weekend, "Inglourious Basterds" also appeared in cinemas in 39 countries and regions outside North America. Although it wasn't the box office champion in many places, it still grossed a total of over $45 million overseas, easily crossing the $100 million mark in global box office.

Murphy was pleased with such box office results. Stanton Studio, 20th Century Fox, and Weinstein Company didn't relax their marketing efforts. They split the promotional work into two parts: one targeting the general moviegoer and the other directly aimed at the awards season and the Oscars.

Especially for Murphy, he needed to build his credentials for the future.

No matter how he looked at it, Murphy knew he wasn't like Sam Mendes, a director naturally favored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His works and style were mixed with too many commercial elements, inevitably facing resistance from the most conservative and core members of the Academy, making it difficult to easily win a Best Director award.

It's similar to the Academy's bias against directors who started in advertising; never underestimate such biases. Otherwise, why haven't directors like Ridley Scott and David Fincher won an Oscar for Best Director?

Moreover, Murphy couldn't ignore that his films' value orientations were often not mainstream or politically correct...

All these factors affected his Oscar journey.

Although it was only late November, the battle for the Oscars was already underway.

Every year, from late August to early September, Hollywood's summer blockbusters fade out, and Oscar contenders begin to appear. For nearly six months, studios and production companies prepare meticulously for this awards battle—advertising, screenings, DVD releases, media interviews, and more. The planning and complexity of this process are no less than a U.S. presidential campaign, with some event planners being the same people responsible for presidential and congressional campaigns.

Given the inherent advantages of "Inglourious Basterds," the Weinstein brothers' PR team didn't hire high-priced specialists. Due to its subject matter, the film was likely to get nominations but unlikely to win major awards.

Even so, getting nominations required a significant budget.

A PR veteran who had participated in Oscar campaigns for over twenty years once told Murphy that while you can't buy an Oscar with money, no film has ever won an Oscar without an expensive campaign.

So, while money can't buy an Oscar, no money means no chance at all.

Despite the Oscar statuette weighing 8.5 pounds and being made of 24-karat gold, costing only $900 to produce—about the price of a pair of Valentino studded shoes—buying it outright under the current Oscar rules was almost impossible.

The Oscar's complex selection process and detailed rules set it apart from other international film festivals, maintaining relative fairness and making manipulation difficult.

Most international film festivals use a jury system—getting a few big names as judges who then pick a favored film based on each year's different themes.

Some smaller film festivals, like the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Golden Globes, lack media pressure, making it easier to manipulate outcomes by building good relationships with judges.

But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has over 6,000 members across 17 branches, including directors, cinematographers, editors, costume designers, and prop makers, all veterans in Hollywood.

In the first round of voting, each member votes within their respective branches and for Best Picture. The Academy doesn't campaign for any film or disclose its member list to third parties.

Thus, direct bribery is a fantasy.

Direct bribery is impossible, but without spending in appropriate channels during the campaign process, there's no chance. Campaigning requires spending on a series of promotional activities. With the film's quality as a basic guarantee, how it stands out among the numerous contenders and wins the statuette relies on standard and creative actions in Oscar PR.

Those who believe that good wine needs no bush, or companies unfamiliar with Oscar campaigning, usually become spectators after merely registering, standing silently on the sidelines. In America, where self-promotion is essential, making a noise with money is necessary, especially in the world's most glamorous vanity fair.

Every year, major and minor studios hire professional Oscar campaign planners or PR personnel to create a series of activities for their films. They start the PR campaign at the Venice Film Festival in late summer, then move on to screenings at the Toronto Film Festival in September. They choose the best times for promotion based on the film's type, characteristics, cast, and story.

In this regard, "Inglourious Basterds" was slightly behind its competitors.

However, Murphy, along with 20th Century Fox and Weinstein Company, would also spend heavily on a series of promotional activities.

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