Chapter 478: Occupy Wall Street

"I've learned a lot from Murphy," Robert Downey Jr., the film's leading man and a focal point for many fans, wrote on his Twitter account. "I still remember the first time Murphy and I sat down to look at the shot list. Just listening to him explain why to use a static camera in a specific place, why to use a moving camera in different scenes, and why to use a crane shot with significant movement was incredibly enlightening. I felt like I was in an amazing seminar, talking to a great professor. Building a character based on his ideas was fascinating, and I'm glad to work with someone so smart."

Just like "The Blair Witch Project" and its viral marketing, Hollywood has always been quick to adopt new media. As soon as social networks gained some influence, they immediately became promotional tools for Hollywood.

This direct interaction with top stars and behind-the-scenes personnel quickly attracted many fans. In a short time, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter became active stages for Hollywood filmmakers and stars.

In the days when social media was not developed, photography equipment was not yet affordable, and information about various film festivals was not as widespread, filmmakers might have been relatively happy. They only needed to take their work to various small film festivals to gain attention and receive relatively considerable feedback.

However, in the current era, using only the old methods—finishing the film and then applying to a few festivals without considering the return on investment and box office issues—no longer applies in today's film industry.

The ultimate goal of making movies in Hollywood is to make a profit. Attention brings investment, and attention brings audiences. At this time, the usefulness of social media becomes apparent. It helps find the target audience, leading to corresponding investments.

In fact, Murphy's project proposal included suggestions in this regard. While shooting, he had multiple discussions with Kara Faith to formulate a detailed promotional plan. For instance, considering the film's theme to identify the target audience and further devising measures to reach them.

From the first day of pre-production, "The Wolf of Wall Street" started using social media for promotion.

This approach emotionally engages the film's story, starting with the target audience's friends and family.

The crew established a department specifically for this, headed by Kara Faith and Gal Gadot. They created a timetable for daily content releases. Different social platforms operated differently, requiring tailored content for each.

For example, on Facebook, video posts received more attention than on other platforms. Additionally, Facebook allowed for longer text posts compared to Twitter. Therefore, Gal Gadot and Kara Faith had to design content tailored to each platform's characteristics.

The content used for social media promotion of a film is not random but based on actual research.

Murphy had conducted detailed research showing that over 45% of viewers wanted to know more about a big-budget film once it started shooting. For non-industry audiences, the work of film production, both in front of and behind the camera, is very mysterious. Regularly releasing information about the production process maintains the audience's curiosity and trust in the film's successful release.

Therefore, the social media homepage should be seen as a service provider, offering the audience interesting, engaging, and informative content. It should not be limited to a single type of information but should enrich the posted content to keep followers consistently engaged. Regularly releasing behind-the-scenes photos, selfies, videos, and interesting news keeps the audience interested.

Gal Gadot also found that email was the most direct way to reach the audience. By having the audience register their email addresses to follow the homepage, she ensured a steady user base and could send reminders and notifications directly to potential viewers of "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Additionally, the promotion heavily utilized hashtags. Nowadays, every social platform allows users to tag images, sometimes with up to 10 tags. Tags effectively highlight important information, functioning as keywords. Descriptive language, kept under 140 characters, should thoroughly describe the content behind the image.

Through social networks, the crew maintained close interaction with the audience. On major online media interaction platforms, reciprocal interaction between both parties played an important role. Murphy had a list compiled of key media and users involved with "The Wolf of Wall Street." They regularly interacted with these accounts, fostering positive relationships.

Of course, one must remember that usernames should remain consistent across all social media platforms.

This uniformity in usernames helps the crew connect with their core audience more easily. If the theme relates to a specific group or event, the correct target audience can significantly benefit the film. For example, a children's movie's target audience includes children and their parents. Thus, during promotion, including child-related brands in the promotional images or tagging them can attract more relevant followers. Long-term engagement and interaction can even lead to strong collaborative relationships.

Linking current societal events to the project, using imagination and the right strategies, can generate substantial attention for the film.

For instance, 20th Century Fox was planning a grand discussion on whether Wall Street had stolen your wealth.

This idea came from Murphy. He vaguely remembered that ever since the 2008 financial crisis, Wall Street had become a thorn in the side of ordinary people. There were even protests and the Occupy Wall Street movement. By cleverly utilizing public sentiment and the current social environment, "The Wolf of Wall Street" might achieve unexpected market responses.

As for whether this would directly lead to another Occupy Wall Street movement, that was beyond Murphy's concern. In this context, movies are seen primarily as entertainment products and wouldn't casually be linked to social violence. Even if someone made the connection, mainstream media wouldn't care.

Moreover, Wall Street itself didn't care; they never cared about their vampire image.

Almost every film faces favorable and unfavorable circumstances upon its birth. The goal is to amplify the favorable aspects as much as possible and mitigate the unfavorable ones.

The same goes for filming. After shooting exterior scenes around New York and Wall Street, Murphy led the crew back to Los Angeles in June, returning to the warehouse set in Venice to continue filming. James Franco, who had adjusted his schedule, also joined the crew to complete his cameo role.

He played the naive supporting character in Murphy's script.

Although Steve Madden wasn't a simple character, Murphy required him to appear quite naive in the film. His only scene with dialogue was meant to highlight Robert Downey Jr.'s Jordan Belfort.

Murphy trusted his two old pals enough to give them free rein after a simple instruction during filming.

A large number of extras gathered again, with James Franco wearing a baseball cap and standing in front of the crowd.

"Hi, for those who don't know me, I'm Steve Madden."

Facing so many people, James Franco appeared a bit shy, speaking slowly as he took out a pair of shoes. "Whether you believe it or not, Mary Lou and Mary Jane are actually the same shoe, just made with black leather..."

His words lacked any motivational power, while the crowd, led by Jonah Hill's character Donnie Azoff, kept jeering. Some front-row actors even made some rather lewd gestures.

This scene served as a contrast, highlighting Jordan Belfort's character besides advancing the plot.

Next, Robert Downey Jr. appeared in the shot.

"I want to take a moment to tell you why Steve Madden is so awesome. He is a creative genius! His talent isn't just in discovering the hottest women's shoe trends; he creates trends! Got it?"

Robert Downey Jr.'s Jordan Belfort praised Steve Madden to the skies. "Geniuses like Steve come once every decade. I'm talking about brands like Armani, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton! Steve is now the hottest name in women's shoes, and his orders are through the roof at every mall in North America! He's here in our office! We should thank God that this man is standing here with us! We should kneel down and give him a blow job! Like this, understand? Steve, I'm going to blow you!"

He even exaggeratedly mimicked the action.

The filming went smoothly, and after it ended, James Franco approached Murphy.

"Your bodyguards are always around," he pointed to two burly men not far behind Murphy. "No results on those threatening letters?"

"No," Murphy shook his head. "The guy handling the case is an old acquaintance. It'll be hard to trace."

While Murphy and James Franco discussed Sheriff Gatlin Collins, this scheming officer met a red-haired woman at a coffee shop in Burbank.

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