“Okay, April 28th.” Mark Strong nodded his agreement. He could see that Wang Yang had not just picked a random date, so he asked out of curiosity, “What day is that?”
Smiling, Wang Yang said mysteriously, “A big day.”
“Okay,” Mark Strong simply said, not trying to pry into anything. Picking up a piece of paper, on which there was a table printed from the meeting table, he said, “Let’s see what movies will be on in that season.”
He read out the table content, “April 23rd, we should watch out for Pushing Tin by 20th Century Fox; April 30th, Entrapment, also by Fox, and Idle Hands by Columbia.” He threw Wang Yang a look, smiling at the mention of Idle Hands.
Shrugging, Wang Yang said, “Great.”
Mark Strong went on, “May 7th, wow, The Mummy! A blockbuster with a budget of eighty million dollars. How ambitious it is! Well, next, May 19th, here comes Star Wars.”
Simon Willis aired his opinion, “It is beyond doubt that this prequel of Star Wars will be a big hit, but we don’t need to worry about that. Moviegoers will surely watch other films at the cinema, too.” Looking at Wang Yang, he said, “Besides, High School Musical differs from it in style, selling point, and audience, so it will not affect us too much.”
“I think what matters most is the quality of our film.” Leaning against the back of the swivel chair, Wang Yang spread his hands. He said with a confused look, “Maybe we will beat Star Wars’ first week? Huh, just kidding!” Star Wars had an overwhelming influence, so this prequel was regarded as this year’s Titanic. It was predicted it would secure the first place of the yearly box office gross, even though it had not yet been released.
Everyone in the meeting room laughed. Mark Strong said, “Well, The Mummy and Star Wars are both strong opponents for us. Oh, sure, our goal for the moment is to not lose money. We don’t need to compete with them.” He added after a pause, “However, if we want to get the movie onto more big screens across the country, we will have to amaze those theater chains with a great box office gross in the first two weeks.”
Nodding, Wang Yang said, “Our promotion of the film must be a success.”
Mark Strong said with a smile, “Of course. Paranormal Activity taught everyone a lesson. The power of promotion was unexpectedly great.”
They all burst out laughing again. So did Wang Yang. Opening the promotion plan drafted by the Department of Publishing, he said, “That means viral marketing is extremely necessary. This will be the trump card that leads us to victory.”
It was clearly written in the promotion plan that the Department of Publishing would strengthen the promotion one month before the release of the film to ignite the “bomb”. They would involve more discussions about the film in more school forums on the internet to grab students’ attention closely. At the same time, in real life, they would carry out a saturation campaign, both in schools and on campus. The school where the premiere of the film would be held would be the center of attention. The High School Musical posters would cover every corner there, along the corridors, in the pantry, even in the classrooms. Anywhere a poster could be placarded would not be missed.
The budget for this plan was over $5,000,000. Plus the estimated final producing cost, which was $8,000,000, and the cost of film copies and other costs generated from showing the film, the total cost of the film would exceed $15,000,000. Wang Yang had earned thirty-five million after-tax from Paranormal Activity. He had spent over three million on the company, so if High School Musical turned out to be a failure, he would lose half of his money, though he would remain a multi-millionaire.
However, money was not the only problem. He was not the only one who had expectations for High School Musical and had put effort into it. It was not just his future that would be affected. Many people had pinned their hopes on it. It was many people’s futures that would be affected. He would not allow this film to fail, even if only for Jessica’s sake so that those who said she was insane would shut up.
Wang Yang felt there was still something missing while reading in the promotion plan. He felt this plan alone would not be enough. It was different from the mysteries with Paranormal Activity. This plan was a standard promotion. It was simply telling people, “This film is great. Believe me. Go to the cinema to watch it!”. Such a way to promote could only inform people of the existence of High School Musical, but how would it pique their interest? If people were not interested in it, even if they had a poster on their wall, they still would not go to the cinema to watch it.
Besides, although they were to launch a saturation campaign, the saturation surely should not go too far so that any students would be annoyed. The rebellious mentality could evoke hostility. Even though it was a good movie, people might say it was terrible if they’d been averse to the film’s promotion.
Wang Yang spoke out on his doubts. Mark Strong said helplessly, “Boss, our hands are tied. If you had big stars in your film, the audience’s interest would be naturally piqued. But you know that the biggest star in High School Musical is the director. That’s you.”
“I know, but this isn’t enough.” Frowning, Wang Yang was trying to order his thoughts. High School Musical was a trendy movie. It was important to shape a positive, youthful image. Having an idol director would certainly help, but after all, it was the leading actors and actresses that the audience would see on the big screen. If the audience felt interested in the protagonists and took a fancy to them, it would certainly be of greater help.
Was there any way to make people get to know the leading actors and actresses and take a fancy to them, thereby raising their popularity?
“To increase their exposure.” Mark Strong answered Wang Yang, “This is my experience as an agent. If you always show up before the public with a positive image and have some good works that can make people remember you, you will be an idol. To draw attention, you need to create topics. That being said,” shrugging, he said, “there are no topics for our leading actors and actresses. Scandals surely won’t do here. The main audience of this film is students. They wouldn’t like to know that their idols are in love. So…” Looking at Wang Yang and smiling, he said, “Boss, watch out.”
Everyone laughed. Although they did not know whom this young boss was dating, everyone supposed a rich young man must have a girlfriend.
“You’ve warned me many times.” Wang Yang rolled his eyes at him. He sometimes felt Mark Strong was like his agent. He would nose in on almost everything.
What on Earth could they do? A positive, youthful image, showing up before the public, exposure… it took Wang Yang a good while to think. Then, suddenly, a moment of clarity appeared, and he came up with an idea. Opening his eyes wide, he said loudly, “Mark, contact television stations!”
Mark Strong said confusedly, “What for?”
Wang Yang said slowly after ordering his thoughts, “We will collaborate with a television station to launch a small show that gives dance classes. Ten minutes a day or five minutes a day—it doesn’t matter. The show will teach the audience some basic dance steps in one month. The classes will be given by Tom, Jessica, and so on, of course. They will be wearing their High School Musical costumes, beaming, healthy, youthful, positive—idols!” He could not help but smile when he had finished speaking.
However, Mark Strong only spread his hands. He said uninterestedly, “Yang, even in the local channels of Los Angeles, a ten-minute or five-minute commercial played every day can’t be cheap. If you mean TV stations like ABC or NBC, that’s insane because it will be extremely expensive.”
Shaking his head, Wang Yang said, “It’s not a commercial. It’s cooperation.”
Mark Strong still was not persuaded. He went on, “I’m afraid no TV station will think this is cooperation. Why would they let the leading actors and actresses of High School Musical teach the audience to dance? They could find someone else to do it themselves. Yang, this is a commercial. Nobody will speak to you unless you pay the commercial fee, which will be rocket-high.”
Wang Yang fell silent. After giving it a thought, he realized it was only his wishful thinking, indeed. TV stations would never lack programs or videos, while High School Musical did lack exposure. Wang Yang said after thinking for a bit, “Try to contact them first. See how much it will cost. We can do it if it’s not too expensive.”
Simon Willis asked, “Boss, how much exactly are you willing to pay?”
Wang Yang said, unsurely, “Five million?”
Shaking his head, Mark Strong did not stop discouraging Wang Yang. He said, “Yang, five million might get you a week with one minute a day.”
“Okay, Mark. This is just a tryout.” Wang Yang closed the promotion plan unhappily. Then he simply announced his decision, “Just try it. Even if no TV station wants to cooperate with us or it’s too expensive, we’ll still make this small show. We’ll play one episode a day on our official website and then promote them through viral marketing.” He told Simon Willis, “We will also contact the schools for test screenings to play the show on their school channels. I don’t think this will cost a lot, will it?”
Mark Strong said with a smile, “Boss, now it sounds plausible.”
Simon Willis also nodded his agreement. He said, “Yeah, we can do that.”
The initial promotion plan had been decided. As to the implementation of it, it would be the job of the Department of Publishing. By then, the discussion about the publishing of High School Musical in this day’s meeting had almost been over. Looking at Wang Yang, Mark Strong asked him about the last thing he needed to confirm, “Yang, you know, the film will be sent to MPAA for censoring after the editing. Then, we’ll get to the phase of making copies and transporting the copies. That means we will need to finish the editing in mid-April. Will three months be enough?”
Wang Yang smiled, he answered, “I don’t know. The film editor will matter a lot.” He asked Sandy Parks, the Vice President of Production, “Sandy, have you found anyone?”
Sandy Parks replied, “I called the Film Editor Union. They recommended some candidates. I can arrange meetings with them tomorrow.”
Wang Yang exclaimed, “Well, looks we will get busy again.”
Next, they started to discuss the financial situation of the company. The meeting did not end until Wang Yang had almost fallen asleep. Then, Wang Yang left the company. He drove to Mrs. Robert’s recording studio to pick up Jessica for dinner. It was a date. Jessica, Rachel, and other leading roles of the film were taking singing classes there, especially focusing on the practice of the songs they had sung in the film, preparing for the recording that would start very soon.
In the parking lot outside of the building where the recording studio was, Wang Yang saw Jessica standing there waiting for him. He slowed down the car and stopped beside her. Opening the door, he said with a smile, “Hi, hottie. Can I give you a ride?”
Jessica threw him a glance. Then, she shook her head. She said with a very serious face, “No, thanks. I’m waiting for my boyfriend.”
Shrugging and smiling, Wang Yang said, “I’m afraid that will be me.”
Jessica broke into a sweet smile. “Yeah, it seems so.” Then, she got into the car.
Wang Yang did not start the car immediately. Watching her arranging her hair, he said with a smile, “Jessica, the release day for High School Musical has been decided.”
Jessica turned her head to look at him. Her hands that had been arranging her hair suddenly stopped moving. She asked out of curiosity, “When is it?”
Wang Yang said mysteriously, “Make a guess.” Rolling her eyes, Jessica said with a smile, “Well, I guess… I have no idea.”
“April 28th.” Wang Yang smiled.
“Okay!” Jessica nodded. Then, her brow suddenly knitted. She repeated, “April 28th, April 28th…” Not until then did she recall what day it was. Wasn’t that her eighteenth birthday? She said in pleasant surprise, “Yang, are you serious?”
Nodding and smiling, Wang Yang said, “Of course. A birthday present—well, one of your birthday presents. You learned it beforehand.”
Jessica felt so happy. She could not help but give Wang Yang a kiss. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she said joyfully, “Yang, thank you.” Then, she added, with a worried look, “But is that a good season for the release?”
Seeing her so happy, Wang Yang was happy, too. Holding her around the waist, he said, “Of course. It’s perfect. It’s the right timing for us to beat Idle Hands. Haha!” Looking into Jessica’s eyes, he said sincerely, “Jessica, thank you for your choice.” This was the first time he had brought up Idle Hands before Jessica so seriously. What this girl had done had really touched him.
“Yang…” Jessica avoided his look, kind of ashamed. She said, “I’m sorry. I actually hesitated. I didn’t know what to do at that time. Miranda almost persuaded me. God, I’m so lame!” She flushed.
“It’s all right, sweetie. You chose me in the end, didn’t you?” Wang Yang smiled at her. Seeing her still a little down, he said in a gentle voice, “Come here. I want to kiss you.” Holding her around the waist with one arm and cupping her face with the other hand, he leaned forward to kiss her on the lips. Jessica broke into a smile. She opened her mouth to respond. It was getting hotter and hotter between them.
While the two were lost in the kiss, Wang Yang suddenly spotted two suspicious figures out of the corner of his eye. It put him on guard. He stopped the kiss right away. He said, “Jessica, I think those are paparazzi!”
Dumbstruck, Jessica said, “Where?” She looked over to where Wang Yang was looking. There was a middle-aged man holding a camera with a long lens hanging around his neck not far away in front of the car. He seemed to be looking for something.
Wang Yang threw the man a few more glances. Then, something occurred to him. He said, “I saw him earlier. This morning, I saw him in front of the building where I live. D*mn it. He has been following me the entire time! God knows what pictures he has taken.” He rolled up the side windows right away. Fortunately, the windows of this car were one-way mirrors. Otherwise, if the kiss between he and Jessica had been taken, it would absolutely make a headline in the next day’s entertainment news. It would also sabotage the promotion plan of High School Musical.
It was impossible to see what was happening in the car, anyway. Wang Yang gave Jessica another kiss. Then, he started the car and left at high speed.