Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Mae, played by Rachel, turned off the DV camcorder with a sinister smile, and then the movie ended. The Lionsgate Films logo appeared on the big screen once again. A few rows of small words appeared underneath the logo. They read: “Filmmaker: Wang Yang” and “This film is a work of fiction”. But the words were very small and they remained on the screen for only one or two seconds; they were barely noticeable. Besides, the audience was imbecilic with shock, so no one paid any attention to those words.
Once the audience had regained their composure, they gasped and began chattering amongst themselves, filling the theater with their noise. They were the first people to have “eaten the crab”. Even before entering the theater, they had believed that Paranormal Activity was a true story. If anyone were to be scared and impressed by the movie, they were them. Their reviews mattered a lot to the movie. It was their reviews that would determine whether Wang Yang’s viral marketing strategy would work.
Two Caucasian youngsters rose from their seats and exited the theater through the aisle. One of them was still shaking due to the movie; the other was so excited he would not stop talking about scaring his friends with it. “This is unbelievable! Oh, Lord! That last part really got to me. Oh, God, do you think there is such a thing in this world as evil spirits?””We have to get Sean to see this. I can’t wait to see his frightened face…”
Another group of youngsters walked along the aisle. One of them, a black guy, was cursing incessantly to the others. “D*mn it, this is the most unsettling horror film I’ve ever seen! I shouldn’t have come here and watched it. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep tonight, and even if I do, I’ll have nightmares. Sh*t…”
Wang Yang was sitting in his seat. He listened to the audience’s conversations as they left the theater, and he felt a sense of accomplishment. It was unlike anything he’d ever felt before. He closed his eyes gently and relished the moment. He felt it. He found it. He’d found what he’d been dreaming about ever since he had been a little boy. And that was the ability to make people laugh, to make people cry, and to make people lose their minds. That night, the audience at the theater was just like the villagers in Cinema Paradiso, and he was the director.
He had chewed through his own chrysalis and emerged as a full-fledged butterfly. He would take to the skies at any moment!
Jessica was sitting beside Wang Yang, but she did not disturb him. She looked at Wang Yang quietly. Her face was as sweet and tranquil as ever. As she looked at Wang Yang’s face, she related to the desire, joy, and triumph in his heart. She recalled the first time she had acted in a movie, and how happy and excited she had been then to have found her true purpose in life.
They sat together for a good while as the audience left the theater one by one. Then, another small group of people entered the theater. They were there for the next screening. Suddenly, Wang Yang opened his eyes. He took a deep breath and saw that Jessica was smiling at him. “Congratulations, Yang,” she said. “Thanks, Jessica,” Wang Yang replied with a broad smile.
The two of them made their way out of the theater, and when they were at the ticket office, Wang Yang received a phone call from Joshua. Through his tone over the phone, he could tell he was extremely thrilled. “Dude, that was awesome! Your movie nearly made them wet their pants! This guy who sat beside me jumped up when he saw that last part. Then, he ran off screaming, ‘Ah! Help me! Help me!’ I’m so glad I came. Too bad it’s so late. Otherwise, I’d have stayed for the second session. Seeing the people’s reactions is so much fun.”
Wang Yang ended his call with Joshua. At the same time, Jessica ended hers with her friend. Jessica waved her phone at Wang Yang, smiling at him. “Yang, Erin said that she and her friends were nearly scared to death. She told me their hearts are still beating in fear,” she reported. “Wow,” Wang Yang said happily, “That’s wonderful news. I’m glad I didn’t disappoint them.”
The two of them went to the parking lot and found their car. Then, Wang Yang received another phone call. This time, it was from Lionsgate’s VP of Publishing, John Feldmeyer. “Young man, I have some good news and some bad news! The good news is, the people who watched your movie were thoroughly frightened; the bad news is, the occupancy rates for the first screening session were rather dismal,” he stated calmly.
Wang Yang installed himself in Jessica’s car as he talked over the phone. “Look, John, don’t worry about that! I’m sure the sales will improve as long as the audiences were scared,” he said smilingly, paused, then asked, “By the way, you haven’t forgotten about the second phase of our promotional campaign, have you?”
In the second phase, Lionsgate would dispatch five employees into five cinemas where the movie was test screened. The employees, each carrying a camcorder in the dark, would capture the audience’s shocked faces and upload them onto the internet along with the caption: “Will you be this scared?” By doing so, they hoped to spark people’s curiosity and encourage them to see the movie for themselves. People would think to themselves, “What’s so great about this horror film? No way am I going to be scared like that.”
“Don’t worry,” John said smilingly. “That’s our job. We won’t forget about it. We have already dispatched our filming crew to The Vitascope cinema. Were you there during the screening? Maybe you’ll see yourself in the footage.,” he joked. Then, he switched to a more serious tone and stated, “All right, Yang. Tomorrow, we shall see the box office figures for the first day of screening. As you know, there will only be a screening next week if the box office figure this week exceeds 100 thousand dollars; and if it exceeds 150 thousand, we’ll consider expanding the screening to 50 cinemas.”
“I understand, John,” Wang Yang said with a nod.
It was already late at night, but Wang Yang did not ask Jessica to send him home, for he knew the sooner she got home, the better. He asked her to pull up at a subway station nearby and stepped out of the car. Then, he looked through the car window at Jessica and waved at her. “Bye, Jessica! Please drive carefully. Don’t forget to give me a call when you’re home,” he said.
Jessica waved back at him with one hand while resting her other hand on the steering wheel. “Will do, Yang. Thank you so much. This night has been unforgettable,” she said smilingly.
“I think so, too,” Wang Yang said with a smile. As she started the car and began to drive away, he gave her another wave and bade her goodbye. “Goodnight, Jessica.”
Wang Yang reached his apartment at around 3 a.m. He received a phone call from Jessica to let him know that she had returned home safely. Then, he flopped onto his bed to sleep. He felt very tired, but the excitement in his mind jogged him from his sleep again and again. After lying on the bed for a good while, his mind finally settled down, and he drifted off to sleep. In his dream that night, he was sitting in a theater with a thousand seats, and all the seats were occupied with people. All of them were screaming at the top of their lungs…
Soon, dawn came. It had only been a few hours since he had fallen asleep, but Wang Yang, accustomed to making every day count, was already wide awake. He freshened himself in the bathroom, then he practiced kung fu and did other things to prepare himself for the day. Then, he took a bowl of freshly cooked noodles to his computer desk. He wanted to go online and see what people had to say about his movie. Just as his computer was booting up, his cell phone buzzed. John Feldmeyer was calling him.
The phone call made Wang Yang feel uneasy. Why did John call so early in the morning? Could it be about the box office numbers? He picked up his cell phone and answered the call. “Good morning, John. Did you sleep well?” he said with a smile.
“Yang, we have a problem. I was woken up earlier this morning,” John said in a solemn tone. Wang Yang’s heart lurched. “What’s the problem?” Wang Yang enquired. “Last night, a 14-year-old girl in San Francisco had a seizure after watching Paranormal Activity,” John exclaimed after taking a deep breath.
“Oh, my God!” The news stunned Wang Yang. “How’s the girl right now? Is she all right?” Wang Yang asked anxiously, brows furrowed. Then, John cackled and said in a brighter tone, “It’s nothing too serious. She’s fine now.” Thank God!
Wang Yang closed his eyes in relief and let out a sigh. “Why, you… John, you gave me such a fright! From the way you said that, I thought the girl was in serious danger,” Wang Yang retorted, chuckling slightly. He felt extremely lucky. If anyone in the audience were to die due to his movie, he’d have to bear the guilt for the rest of his life.
John let out a big, ringing laugh. “Hah, I thought maybe you’d like to be scared for once. Think of it as your punishment for giving that girl such a fright,” he joked, then let out another chuckle. “Yang, this news has already reached Yahoo’s news board. You should check out the full article there,” he urged.
“Okay, I’m right at my computer,” Wang Yang replied. He moved his cursor to the Yahoo homepage and clicked on it. Then, he spotted the news article on the homepage. It did not belong to the entertainment or the film category. Instead, it was posted under local news with the title “14-Year-Old Girl in San Francisco Gets Seizure After Watching Horror Film”.
According to the article, a 14-year-old Caucasian girl in San Francisco and her 20-year-old brother had gone to a theater at midnight to see the movie. They had both been ardent followers of the Kevin murder case, so they’d decided to see the movie as soon as it was released. The movie had shaken her to the core, and at the end, the girl had lost control of her senses and had been shaking violently. Her big brother, who had been equally disturbed, immediately called for help from the workers at the theater. Together, they had rushed the girl off to the hospital. The hospital had tended to the girl immediately. Thankfully, she hadn’t suffered any major injury and was only staying in the hospital for observation.
“She crumpled on the floor. Her face was pale green and her lips were black. She kept trembling and saying, ‘Uuh…’ You know, like she was dying or something. Man, thinking back, it was really creepy!” a worker at the movie theater had told the reporters. “Why is Paranormal Activity rated PG-13? It should be NC-17 instead! No matter, our cinema will stick to this rating from now on. I don’t want any of my customers to have their living daylights scared out of them!” the owner of the cinema said angrily.
Then, the editor of the news article cautioned its readers on the dangers of the movie. He advised those with heart conditions, the youth, and the children to take their physical tolerances into account before deciding to see a horror movie in the theaters or avoid watching the movie altogether lest they put themselves in danger.
“Thank God that no one was hurt,” Wang Yang remarked. As he finished reading the article, his mood lightened. “Hey, John, that’s not fair. That cinema is going to rate my movie as NC-17. It’s bound to put a huge dent in the box office figures,” he said jokingly.
“Yang, I think we should thank that cinema owner instead!” John said with a laugh. “Do you know why?” he asked intriguingly. “It’s because it’s great for publicity.”
Wang Yang took a second to register what John had said. “You mean use the news article as an advertisement?” he asked. The title of his movie, “Paranormal Activity” had only appeared once in the article, when it was mentioned by the cinema owner. The rest of the time, it was referred to as “the horror movie”.
“Yes,” John said. He sounded cheery as if he were shrugging his shoulders as he spoke. “Yang, it’s nothing to worry about. That girl is fine now. Besides, it’s the truth. There’s no harm in letting people know how scary your movie is,” he insisted.
“So what are you guys planning to do?” Wang Yang asked with a frown.
John explained his plan to Wang Yang. “First, we’ll issue a public apology to the girl. Then, we’ll invite her and her brother down to Santa Monica for a trip and a tour of our company. We’ll pay for the expenses, of course. The most important thing is, we’ll post an article about it on our official website. Then, we’ll spread the news on every web forum to ensure everyone sees the article.”
Wang Yang thought a free trip to Santa Monica was a good deal and the girl should be happy to receive such a prize after her horrific ordeal. He nodded. “All right. Sounds like a good plan. I think it’ll only do us and the girl a lot of good,” Wang Yang said smilingly. “Of course, this isn’t just a promotion for your movie. It’s also a promotion for our company,” John said with a grin.
Wang Yang and John chatted for a while. John said he needed to get some sleep as he had not been sleeping well the previous night, and so they ended the call.
The fact was, even if Lionsgate completely ignored the news article, it still provided valuable publicity for them. Horror movie fans have already begun to spread the article all over the internet. The movie’s impact was a fact and not a lie created by Lionsgate. Yet people could not help but wonder, “Was the movie really that scary?”
Wang Yang browsed the forums on Yahoo and other websites. He noticed there were many posts relating to people’s opinions and reviews on Paranormal Activity. He knew that many of them had been made by Lionsgate employees. But he was also aware that quite a few of them were made by real netizens. Most of the people who posted online agreed that the movie was incredibly scary. Some of the reviews read: “What a scary movie. I highly recommend everyone to watch it. It really is a scream fest. But I feel so bad for Kevin!””I totally understand why that girl got a seizure. I was so frightened that I fell off the seat. It was the most embarrassing incident I’ve ever experienced at a movie theater.” But not all reviews were equally positive. The movie had its fair share of naysayers: “It was a boring mess. A crappy movie. I almost fell asleep watching it. The image quality was cruddy and grainy, and the shots were shaky…”
Neither Lionsgate nor Wang Yang replied to the post. But many other people did. “Dude, the movie is an actual documentary. It’s shot with a DV camcorder. You can’t expect too much.”
Some praised the movie, while others condemned it. Questions such as “Is the movie based on a real story?”, “Is Kevin really dead?”, “Was there a director behind the film?” popped up on the forums in large volumes. As curiosity mounted and the masses became hungrier and hungrier for the truth, more and more people declared they would go to the theaters and see the movie for themselves.
The movie was gaining traction. Wang Yang had not expected everyone to sing praises to Paranormal Activity; he knew that was impossible. Everyone had a different taste when it came to movies, especially horror movies. Most people in America would not consider psychological horror movies—as opposed to visual horror movies—to be scary. It was as if their brains were more muscle than grey matter, and they were more apt to enjoy sequences with blood and gore than to perceive the nuances of psychological horror.
Wang Yang realized that, if his movie were to ever succeed, it would not be due to the common crowd.
The box office figures for the first day of screening came out in the afternoon. The theater chains employed an online system to tabulate box office figures. The system would immediately record a sale whenever a ticket was sold, which made it fast and easy for such statistics to be compiled. According to the numbers Lionsgate received, the movie grossed 220 thousand dollars in box offices on the first day of screening.
The 25 cinemas that screened the movie operated throughout the night. Each of them only screened Paranormal Activity in one theater, and each theater had 500 seats on average. The screenings ran in three sessions every day from midnight to six in the morning, and the first-round tickets sold for 6 dollars each. With a box office gross of 22 thousand and 75 sessions across 25 cinemas, that translated into an occupancy rate of 10 percent for each screening of Paranormal Activity.
The result was average, but Lionsgate and Wang Yang had expected it. If they were able to maintain an occupancy rate of 10 percent for an entire week, they would achieve a box office gross of 154 thousand dollars, which was more than the 100 thousand marks required to extend their screening for another week.
Wang Yang relayed the box office figures to Zachary, Rachel, Jessica, and the others. “I sure hope the screening will carry on for another week. Because in two weeks’ time, we’d have made enough to cover our costs, and our movie wouldn’t be called a box office flop. I might even earn tens of dollars from the dividend,” he told Rachel with a smile. “Wow, tens of dollars. That sounds great! But I think you’ll make more than that. At least a few hundred dollars,” Rachel joked along. “Yeah, I’ll definitely make a profit,” Wang Yang said in a half-joking manner.
Lionsgate Films had its doubts about extending the screening for another week, but on the second day, Paranormal Activity’s box office figures exceeded everyone’s expectations. It had achieved an average occupancy rate of 35 percent over 75 sessions! And the first session at midnight had achieved a staggering occupancy rate of 87 percent! The movie had grossed 78.7 thousand dollars in box offices on the second day of its screening!
On the first two days alone, Paranormal Activity had grossed over 100 thousand dollars. That meant that the movie would be screened for another week. And if the trend continued, the movie could easily gross more than 150 thousand at the box office, meaning Lionsgate Films would increase the number of cinemas screening the movie!
“Looks like I might just be able to recoup the 10 thousand dollars I’d spent to make the movie. I might even earn a small profit,” Wang Yang told Jessica happily. “Then, I can call myself a profitable director!””Yes, a profitable director who gives people seizures,” Jessica teased joyfully.
John Feldmeyer and his team at the publishing department were debating whether to increase the number of cinemas to 50 or 100 for next week’s screening. But on the third day, Paranormal Activity’s box office figures astounded them once again. The people at Lionsgate Films were gobsmacked when they received a report. According to the report, the movie had grossed 145 thousand dollars in box offices across 25 cinemas on the third day! And it had achieved an average occupancy rate of 64 percent, with the first sessions at midnight being 100 percent…
Wang Yang had thought he was well prepared for such news, but when it finally hit him, he was shocked numb. He stood still for a minute, jumped up, and thrust his fists into the air. “Oh, my God!” he shouted.
Jessica, Rachel, Zachary, and everyone else were also stunned. The box office figures have exceeded their expectations by a wide margin. In the first three days, the movie had accumulated a box office gross of 245.7 thousand dollars, and the figures had doubled every day since. It started to occur to everybody that the movie was a black horse and that it would eventually become a big hit!
At that point, Lionsgate Films had recouped their publishing costs. The “horror movie craze” had taken the internet by storm, and charts of box office figures shot upwards like geysers. Everyone at the company, including Ms. Jennifer the receptionist, was aware that Lionsgate had struck gold! The senior management of the company held a meeting and decided unanimously that the number of cinemas screening Paranormal Activity would be increased to 200 the next week!
But the box office figures shot up like geysers, still. On the fourth day, it had reached 181 thousand dollars with an average occupancy rate of 80 percent. On the official website’s message boards, people from all over North America demanded the movie be screened in their cities. So, Lionsgate Films changed its mind and decided to increase the number of cinemas screening the movie to 750 the next week and also allow cinemas in certain cities to have multiple screenings at once. Furthermore, Lionsgate had allocated more resources into marketing and begun its second round of promotions. They had uploaded the audience’s reactions to the movie onto the internet, as well as circulated the news article about the girl who had had a seizure from watching the movie.
Soon, everyone who frequented the internet forums had become aware of the movie. The online community was abuzz with phrases such as “Kevin’s murder”, “the girl who almost died watching the movie” and the slogan “Are you afraid to watch it?”
The advertisement caught the eyes and piqued the interests of young people. It was summer break, and they did not have to go to school in the early morning, so they went to the movie theaters in droves to see the “scariest real-life horror movie ever made”. And those who had seen the movie and had been shocked by it would urge those who hadn’t seen it go see it the following day…
Cinemas in Los Angeles were overwhelmed as people clamored for tickets. Tickets for the first sessions at midnight had sold out as soon as they’d hit the counters. Youngsters who failed to buy the tickets to the first session would sit and wait enthusiastically at the ticket office for the second session. And if they failed again to buy tickets to the second session, they would sit and wait for the third session.
More than a hundred youngsters were waiting at the ticket office at The Vitascope cinema. Every inch of the floor was occupied with people who were either standing or sitting. They ranged from 14-year-old children to 20-year-old junior varsity students. Some of them were talking on their cell phones, some were playing games on their Gameboys, and some were sitting on the floor and playing card games…
“Look at them… their parents must be cursing your name,” said Jessica. She and Wang Yang were standing in a corner at the ticket office. She looked on at the crowd of youngsters that filled the ticket office and felt proud of Wang Yang. “Yang, they’ve all gathered here because of your movie and because of you,” she said.
“Yeah. It feels great,” said Wang Yang, smiling contentedly. As he looked at all the people who were waiting for the next session, he felt a sense of achievement. He sighed and said, “Jessica, I think I’ve made it. Isn’t life amazing? Just a few months ago, I was expelled from USC. I was miserable and frustrated, and I felt as if the sky had collapsed on top of me. But now, my movie has seen the light of day, and I’ve become a director before anyone else my age. It’s unbelievable.”
Jessica nodded without saying a word. She recalled her reaction when Wang Yang had first told her he wanted to make a DV movie. “A budget of 10 thousand dollars? Was he kidding?” she had thought. She had not been able to understand how 10 thousand dollars would turn into a movie.
“10 thousand dollars is all I need. It’s enough to make a decent movie!” Wang Yang had told her seriously back then. She remembered having seen a need for encouragement and a desire for recognition in Wang Yang’s face. “Jessica, please have faith in me! You’ll see soon enough. But first I need your support,” he’d said to Jessica. “I believe in you,” she’d said to Wang Yang.
After that, she had witnessed how Wang Yang had transformed 10 thousand dollars into a masterpiece. She had witnessed all the people clamoring to see his movie and talking excitedly about it. She had witnessed his success, and she could hardly believe it was happening. It turned out Wang Yang had not lied to her. He had shown her what he could do with just 10 thousand dollars. He had shown her his talent and his grit.
But Jessica was aware that she was still an aspiring actress. She had been going to audition after audition, but she could not secure even a minor role. Although she felt happy for Wang Yang, she also felt bad for herself.
A Caucasian boy with curly hair, who looked to be high-school age, crowded past them. He looked impatient and was muttering indignantly. “Jeez, how long do I have to wait?” he complained. “Why are they screening the movie in only five cinemas, and in one theater each? God, if I don’t watch this movie soon, everybody’s going to think I’m a loser.”
Suddenly, the boy noticed Jessica, who was leaning on the wall, and his face lit up. He thought she was very pretty. Then, he moved his eyes to Wang Yang, who was standing beside Jessica, and as soon as he registered his face, he was stunned. He stared at Wang Yang quizzically as if he’d realized something. “Hey, dude, you look kind of familiar. Have I seen you somewhere before?” he remarked.
“No, I don’t think we’ve met!” Wang Yang replied in a stern voice. But in his mind, he was smiling. He knew the curly-haired boy had seen him in the movie’s teaser. But he was not going to wait for him to realize it. Wang Yang gave Jessica a wink and started for the cinema’s main exit. “Jessica, I think we have to go!” he said smilingly.
“Hey, wait for me!” Jessica yelled after him with a smile. Then, she swept into the back closet of her mind the uncertainties and anxieties that she’d felt earlier and ran after him.