Chapter 101: Replication and Propagation

In a mid-tier community theater in Orange County.

Mario nudged Paul's arm fat and curiously asked, "What does Robert want from us this time?"

"I have no idea," Paul replied, walking forward. "It should be good news. Maybe another chance to earn some extra cash."

Thinking about the hefty sum from their last opportunity, Mario wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Haha, plenty of ice-cold colas every day."

Paul looked at him with exasperation. "Drinking more will make you even fatter! Careful not to collapse the stage!"

Approaching an office, they knocked on the door and heard someone inside respond. They entered to see a familiar face, none other than Robert, the middle-aged man.

The theater manager nodded at Paul and Mario, then turned to Robert. "You guys talk. I'll step out for a bit."

Having had a pleasant cooperation before, Robert got straight to the point, handing them a simple proposal. "I want you two to act again, simpler than last time, with even better rewards. But you'll need to stay in a hotel in Los Angeles for a while."

Paul quickly skimmed through the proposal and nodded knowingly. "The missing persons notices online..."

Robert coughed forcefully, interrupting Paul. "Some things are better understood. So, are you in?"

Mario also finished reading the proposal and exclaimed, "In! Why wouldn't we be?"

Seeing the generous compensation figures, Paul nodded eagerly. "Mr. Robert, you can count on us."

Robert wasted no time. "Pack up and meet me in Los Angeles."

Back home, they would practice for a few days, shoot interview videos, and distribute them along with other materials to the media.

With the experience from last time, Robert found it easy to execute.

On Long Island, at a Blockbuster Video franchise.

Rip!

The store manager removed the most prominent poster at the store entrance and instructed his employees, "Arthur, put up the new poster!"

Arthur, tall and strong, didn't need a ladder. He effortlessly put up the new poster, stepped back to ensure it was straight, and pressed it firmly.

He looked at the image and text on the poster with confusion. "Boss, we rent out videos here. Isn't it weird to put up missing persons notices? People will laugh at us."

The store manager glanced at the "Blair Witch" and "Three Missing Students" labels and said, "This is a directive from the corporate office. Not our place to question. Someone's willing to pay for advertising space, so why bother?"

A young man returning a rented video paused when he saw the missing persons notice. He instinctively stopped and read it carefully, then asked, "Have they found those three people?"

Arthur shook his head. "Nope. Didn't you see? They're posting missing persons notices in our store now."

The store manager pointed at the poster. "What? Are they celebrities?"

"You didn't know?" the young man said. "Many people are talking about the Blair Witch and the missing students. Their families were interviewed recently and were on TV. It's sad, you know, not finding any trace of them."

Arthur whispered, scratching his head, unsure of what to say. On the young man's T-shirt was the Blair Witch's name and the images of the three students.

As the young man left with his video, Arthur stepped out to see quite a few people wearing similar T-shirts in the commercial district.

"Do one of the missing students come from a wealthy family?" he murmured back to the store. "How much money is this costing?"

The store manager shook his head slightly. "This doesn't seem right, a bit strange."

Though just a video rental place, years of work related to movies made Arthur instinctively feel something was off, though he couldn't pinpoint it.

In Silicon Valley, southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, after a busy half-day of work, many programmers gathered after dinner to chat.

"Who's checked the latest news on the website? Have they found those three people? Was it really the work of the Blair Witch?" a young man with black hair asked.

A blond man with glasses replied, "The website released an audio clip with screams, but unfortunately, there's no related video."

A woman asked, "Have they been eaten by the Blair Witch?"

"The witch eats people?"

"I watched a program on Fox. It said some witches are rumored to eat people."

The black-haired man shook his head. "Too bad Uncle Nine isn't here. With him, this small problem would've been solved in minutes."

"Who's Uncle Nine? Can he fight the witch?"

The topic veered off but soon returned because the website had uploaded another video clip.

After watching, the discussion continued. Soon, more curious people joined in.

For two whole months, from early May to early June, through numerous channels like the internet, TV, newspapers, magazines, posters, and distributing leaflets on the streets, the news reached countless people.

This event sparked tremendous curiosity and exploration among those who came into contact with it, turning most of them into sources of viral spread, like a virus replicating itself, regarding the Blair Witch and the three missing students.

In early July, various channels, including the internet, newspapers, TV, and outdoor media, simultaneously announced one thing: the recovered footage from the three students' DV cameras would be played in theaters across North America starting from July 16.

This news spread like wildfire across North America.

Countless people discussed the fate of the three missing students, speculated about what the Blair Witch looked like, and debated what exactly was on the tapes.

"The Blair Witch is the hottest topic online right now," David Villegas said as he walked with Ronan out of the parking lot toward the small theater hosting the preview screening, excitement evident on his face for the first time in front of Ronan. "According to preliminary statistics, over five hundred websites have had extensive discussions on this matter, with a total repost count of over 1.7 million."

It was the first time he had shown excitement in front of Ronan. "Our movie website's total number of visits has reached 22.5 million!"

Ronan nodded approvingly. "Well done."

Seeing the theater ahead, he wondered if the decision had been made by the experts from the theater chains.

David smiled. "Your plan was well thought out and targeted. The substantial funding was also key."

Ronan smiled back. "The latter is the real key. Whether it was hiring people online to post and gather attention or organizing various offline activities, it all required financial support. In just two months, we've spent $6 million on marketing alone."

The buzz was essentially bought with money.

However, Embassy Pictures had always remained hidden in the background, never openly revealing its name in any information spread.

Arriving at the theater, the screening had ended, and Garcia and Robert were negotiating with people from the theater chain. Ronan went straight to the lounge, patiently waiting.

For the first weekend, they aimed to secure as many theaters as possible.