Chapter 73: Packed Cinema
[Chapter 73: Packed Cinema]
CBS, FOX, and TNT had scheduled a special movie highlights showcase, paying over a million dollars in advertising to secure prime time slots. Daniel DeVito was the one who handed the tape over to the three networks, and by noon the following day, they began airing it.
...
"Ha ha, Quentin, is that you? Why do you look so scared? Ha ha, that's hilarious!" Roger Avary, the screenwriter of Reservoir Dogs and a close friend of Quentin Tarantino, laughed as he watched Quentin jump into Lawrence Bender's arms on the screen.
"Shut up! Don't laugh!" Quentin shouted, his expression darkened.
After agreeing to let Link feature his footage, Quentin had mentally prepared himself, thinking he could handle the embarrassment of being on TV. But seeing it play out on screen made his face flush with embarrassment, and he felt utterly mortified.
"I should have known it would be this awkward. I shouldn't have agreed to it in the first place," he thought.
"Don't worry; the clips play really fast. Each person is only on for two or three seconds. Most people won't even recognize you," Lawrence tried to reassure him, while also telling Roger to ease up on Quentin.
Quentin stared at the rapid-fire clips and pondered; perhaps Lawrence was right -- at that speed, not many would notice him.
...
Rring, rring...
Quentin picked up the phone, and it was his mom, Connie.
"I just saw you on TV getting scared during a movie! Was that really you?" she asked, her voice bright with curiosity.
"Mom, you saw that?" Quentin said in disbelief.
"I just caught it on Fox. It was quite funny!"
"Fox too?" He glanced at the TV screen, confirming it was TNT showing the footage. That meant the highlight reel was airing on multiple networks. More people would be seeing this than he anticipated.
Quentin was regretting his agreement to Link more than ever -- it felt humiliating.
"Quentin, do you have a girlfriend?" Connie suddenly asked.
"Uh, no -- why do you ask, Mom?"
"Really?" She hesitated for a moment. "So, you like girls?"
"What?" he replied, baffled.
"Quentin, your dad and I are very open-minded. If you prefer boys, we support you no matter what. Don't worry about us; we love you."
"What?! Mom, what are you saying? When did I ever say I didn't like girls?"
"I saw you watching a movie with a guy and you jumped into his arms when you got scared. What's your relationship with him?"
"Just friends! He's just a friend! Mom, don't misunderstand -- I'm straight!" Quentin insisted, his face flushed as he tried to clarify. "The guy was Lawrence Bender, a co-worker and producer of Reservoir Dogs."
He quickly reassured her that both he and Lawrence were definitely straight and had been at the bar the night before, chasing after girls -- not just one, but two.
After a long explanation, he finally convinced Connie that his orientation was completely normal and that Lawrence was not his boyfriend.
As he hung up, Quentin weakly slumped against the couch, cursing Link under his breath. He decided he needed to come up with a tough demand for Link to fulfill to make up for the humiliation he faced that day.
---
"Ha ha! This promo is so funny! Compared to Quentin, I don't look that exaggerated," Jim Carrey remarked to himself while watching TV.
After seeing the movie, a staff member approached Jim to discuss the highlight reel and seek his opinion. He found it amusing and didn't hesitate to agree to show his footage.
As he watched the clip from Paranormal Activity, Jim initially felt a bit embarrassed, but realized that he was a comedic actor known for his silly antics in films. This type of footage didn't faze him at all. In fact, if fans recognized him, it could be a fun moment.
After the segment aired, Jim called Link, telling him how entertaining the promo was and that he was sure Paranormal Activity would do great at the box office. He also mentioned wanting to play basketball together sometime.
---
"Ha ha, Matt, look at that guy! He jumped into someone's lap! And that one jumped into his girlfriend's arms! It's hilarious! If I had known it would be this funny, we should have agreed to it too. We could've seen our clips today!" Ben Affleck laughed as he clapped his hands while watching the TV in his estate.
"You screamed like a little girl when you watched Paranormal Activity, covering your face like a frightened kid. You would dare show that footage?" Matt Damon teased as he flipped through his script.
"What's so wrong about it? I wasn't the only one who got scared -- everyone else did too! It just means the movie is thrilling. I got scared, and that's perfectly fine!" Ben replied.
Matt shook his head, continuing to focus on his screenplay. With the success of Link's film, Matt felt more pressure to keep up; if he didn't, he knew in a few years he'd be looking up to Link.
---
As stars like Jim Carrey, Quentin, and Ben Affleck saw the highlight reel, Link and countless viewers across America caught a glimpse of this quirky movie promotion.
They all laughed at the amusing reactions of people jumping in fright while watching movies, generating excitement about Paranormal Activity. People began wondering if the film was really that scary. Were the reactions staged or genuine? Did the filmmakers truly capture ghosts on camera?
Link's new project begged the question: would it be as entertaining as Buried?
Curiosity drove many straight to the theaters, eager to buy tickets for Paranormal Activity.
---
"Link, great news! Fourteen theaters called to say they're completely sold out this weekend, with over 90% capacity. Several venues are at full capacity, and by 3 PM, all fourteen locations have screened it over twelve times, leading the charts!" Jon Gordon shouted excitedly as he spotted Link in the hallway.
Clap, clap, clap!
The office staff heard the news and cheered, putting down their tasks to celebrate.
"Not bad! I hope next week's numbers do even better," Link grinned.
"Link, AMC Entertainment Group just called -- they said the film's previews exceeded expectations and suggested expanding the release next week," Michael Leeson chimed in, holding the phone.
"How many screens are they giving for Paranormal Activity?" Link asked.
"Three hundred and forty-seven!" Michael answered.
"Not enough! Contact other theater chains and let them know about Paranormal Activity's success. This is a must-see film! Get them to book over a thousand screens!" Link instructed.
"Got it; I'll take care of it!" Michael replied, hurriedly leaving to make the arrangements.
...
In North America, there were four major theater chains.
The first was Regal Entertainment Group, which operated 564 theaters with a total of 7,307 screens scattered across the United States and Canada.
Next was AMC Theatres, with 379 locations and 5,260 screens found in most major cities.
Following that was Cinemark, which had 341 theaters and 4,582 screens.
Lastly, there was Carmike Cinemas, with 275 theaters and 2,942 screens.
Additionally, there were hundreds of smaller chains like United Theatres, Alamo Drafthouse, United Artists, General Cinemas, and Loews Cineplex Entertainment.
Major chains boasted hundreds of locations, while smaller ones might have just one. In the larger theaters, there were often more than ten screening rooms, while a smaller venue might only have one screen.
According to Variety magazine, there were currently 7,744 theaters across the U.S., with a total of 27,805 screens.
Chains with over 100 locations were considered mainstream and were the preferred partners for distribution companies.
Regal, AMC, Cinemark, and Carmike were all profit-driven entities. As long as a film showed box office potential that could drive ticket sales, no chain would refuse to showcase a profitable movie.
This confidence gave Link the boldness to ask for over a thousand screens for Paranormal Activity.
*****
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