“The Hollywood Reporter” commented, “Without a doubt, ‘Saw’ is the best horror film of the year so far. It can be described as a dark horse at the box office and is worth repeated viewing for all horror film enthusiasts.”
“The New York Daily” emphasized the film’s low production cost, stating, “‘Saw’ had an investment cost of only just over one million dollars. Aside from the lead actor Nicholas Cage, who has some fame, the director and most of the main actors in the film are newcomers.”
“However, with such a combination, the film achieved a weekend box office of $8.9 million, recouping its costs in just three days. It’s foreseeable that Fox Searchlight Pictures will make a significant profit.”
“By the way, Fox Searchlight Pictures is a subsidiary newly established under 20th Century Fox for distributing independent films.”
Alright, this newspaper is starting to digress, focusing too much on Fox Searchlight Pictures.
There are quite a few positive reviews, but also quite a few negative ones.
On Monday morning, Ryan specifically bought a stack of newspapers, many of which were distributed throughout North America, with an astonishing readership, fully reflecting the media’s attitude toward “Saw.”
Among them were some sharp criticisms.
“The plot of the film, aside from violence, gore, and fear, is almost nonexistent. Yet, such a violent and bloody film is only rated as a B-movie? It’s thought-provoking!”
“The plot of the film itself is very creative, but unfortunately, a newcomer director with some new actors, and a pitifully low investment, ruined a film that could have been a big seller.”
“The director of the film is just a newcomer, but the assistant director in the film, Sofia Coppola, is already somewhat famous, having won the Worst New Star Award and Worst Supporting Actress Award at the 11th Golden Raspberry Awards. She is the daughter of the famous director Francis Ford Coppola, and rumors have it that the two are likely dating.”
Reading this, Ryan shook his head. He was dating Sofia? He couldn’t understand how the reporters could come up with such absurd things to write about!
Unfortunately, some tabloids that like to attract readers’ attention love to publish these topics.
“It seems that North American media also enjoys publishing gossip news.”
Fortunately, these were just some tabloids, or simply unethical newspapers specializing in publishing gossip news. Reports from some major newspapers are still relatively objective.
“The female lead Monica Bellucci made a stunning appearance in Hollywood. Although the female lead’s scenes in the film are few, and she can’t even be called the female lead, Monica Bellucci’s beauty is unforgettable.”
Monica Bellucci has also gained some popularity, and with the heat from “Saw,” she’s enough to establish herself in Hollywood.
There are also some newspapers with very high praise for “Saw,” discussing topics such as anti-violence films, allusions to American social situations, and police inaction, among others.
No need to ask, Ryan could understand. 20th Century Fox and the News Corporation play a very important role in this.
Especially some film critics, even if they criticize or mock, they write very subtly.
In fact, most of them write mostly about the film itself, with less focus on the actors.
This is also unavoidable. “Saw” doesn’t have any big-name stars, and it’s a B-level horror film, so for the media, it’s hard to get interested in the actors in the film.
Overall, the media’s reviews are mixed.
Many times, a unanimous positive review isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Instead, controversy often accompanies media attention, leading to greater publicity.
At this moment, Sofia walked in and quickly placed a box office statistics report on the table.
“A weekend box office of $8.9 million is truly a surprising result. If I hadn’t double-checked this report multiple times, I would have thought Fox Searchlight Pictures had made a mistake.”
In 1994, North American box office statistics were far from as swift as in the internet era, and there were inevitably some errors in the numbers.
Therefore, Fox Searchlight Pictures double-checked it before faxing it over.
“We may very well make a film with a box office of over $50 million.” Sofia Coppola sounded somewhat incredulous.
Having grown up in Hollywood, she was very clear that a film with a weekend box office of $8.9 million, as long as the box office trend remained stable in the coming days, it was very likely that “Saw” would eventually surpass $50 million at the box office.
And this is not counting the box office outside of North America. It should be noted that there are many English-speaking countries globally, adding up sporadically, at least several tens of millions of dollars again. In other words, the global box office of “Saw” is very likely to reach $100 million.
Turning from being a recipient of the Worst New Star Award and Worst Supporting Actress Award at the Golden Raspberry Awards to becoming an executive producer and assistant director of a film that could potentially break $100 million at the global box office, Sofia was no longer the object of ridicule by the media.
$8.9 million!
Ryan had just received a call from Helen a moment ago, already knowing the box office data for “Saw,” yet he still couldn’t help but show surprise on his face.
“Sofia!” Ryan interrupted Sofia’s excited expression and reminded her, “Don’t forget, the box office of my previous film had already surpassed $100 million.”
“Now is not the time to be happy. You need to work with Helen to urge Fox Searchlight Pictures to invest more in advertising and maximize the number of screens.”
The weekend box office was indeed good, but the next month or so was not the time to relax.
“Okay.” Sofia’s expression turned serious as she said, “I’ll contact Helen right away.”
“Oh, it seems like you had contact with Harvey Weinstein last night.”
“I have to remind you, it’s best to stay away from Harvey Weinstein as much as possible. When necessary, you can call me or Helen. It’s best not to have private contact with him alone.”
The Weinstein brothers, undoubtedly influential figures in Hollywood, are also well-known for their actions.
“Harvey Weinstein, a true Hollywood big shot, isn’t someone easy to refuse.”
Ryan self-deprecatingly remarked, “At least I don’t have that qualification yet.”
Harvey Weinstein, or the Weinstein brothers’ influence, had not yet reached its peak, far from being as dominant as in the previous life.
But it still wasn’t something Ryan could easily refuse.
“So, I suggest that your next project not continue to be invested in under the studio’s name.”
Sofia Coppola looked solemn, “Even if you want to continue investing, you should find one or two influential film companies to invest with.”
Don’t say Ryan has no connections, even the once glorious DreamWorks often had to cooperate with the seven major film companies.
“For example!” Ryan hesitated for a moment and asked.
“Fox Searchlight Pictures and Lucasfilm are both very good choices.” Sofia Coppola didn’t hesitate to mention the names of the two film companies.
Rather than cooperating with the powerful seven major film companies, it’s better to work with Fox Searchlight Pictures or Lucasfilm.
The former, Fox Searchlight Pictures, was just established and not officially listed yet, but it has had good cooperation with Ryan and is backed by 20th Century Fox, with a complete distribution channel.
The latter, Lucasfilm, is well-known for George Lucas and the iconic “Star Wars” series, representing an era of American films. In Hollywood, with extensive connections, even any Hollywood film company would not be able to refuse George Lucas’s cooperation. Moreover, George Lucas has always had a good relationship with 20th Century Fox.
“I need to think about it.” Ryan felt a headache, but couldn’t help but sigh. No matter when, distribution companies always sit at the top of the food chain.
“Okay.”
“But, I suggest you make plans early, or give yourself a vacation, go out and relax with your partner for a while, and don’t rush to prepare for the next film.” Sofia Coppola was very clear that Ryan had already written several scripts.
Partner!
Ryan shook his head. He didn’t have plans to find a partner for the time being.