Chapter 131: Positive Reviews

[Chapter 131: Positive Reviews]

"Michael, how did the interviews go on your end?"

Outside the Grove Shopping Center cinema, Al Simmons sat on a bench, fanning himself with his hat as he called a colleague to check on the interview situation.

Michael replied that the feedback from the audience about the film had been pretty good, not as bad as expected.

"Why's that?"

Al explained his own findings.

Today, he had randomly interviewed 32 moviegoers outside the theater. Out of those, 26 had rated The Blair Witch Project above a 60, with six even giving it a perfect score of 100. Only four rated it below the passing mark of 60. The ratings were clearly higher than anticipated.

"What are these people thinking? I watched The Blair Witch Project, and it was just incredibly dull. Why are they saying it's good? This makes no sense; did they fall under Link's spell or something?"

Al complained over the phone.

"Ha! I know the reason. Do you want to hear it? Buy me a drink and I'll tell you."

"You know? Spill the beans. If what you say is right, I'll treat you twice."

"Al, did you ask them about their educational background during the interviews?"

"No. Asking about education on site, most wouldn't tell the truth."

"Ha! The fact that they won't disclose their education level shows they likely didn't go to college. If they had, they wouldn't mind answering that question."

"That's true. But what's that got to do with The Blair Witch Project?"

Al asked.

"It's closely related. Before my interviews, I designed a survey for the audience to fill out. It turned out that 92% had education levels below high school, and many were functionally illiterate."

"Functionally illiterate?"

"Exactly. Their low level of education means their understanding and appreciation of things differ from ours. Their ratings reflect that. To us, The Blair Witch Project may seem unremarkable, but to them, it's straightforward and entertaining.

Moreover, those with lower education levels are more likely to believe in spirits and the existence of ghosts and witches. This might explain why they enjoyed The Blair Witch Project so much."

"I see it now."

Al sighed as a light bulb went off in his head.

He had previously struggled to understand why those audiences liked such a convoluted film. Now he realized it wasn't their fault; it was a matter of differing educational perspectives.

It was like regular people not understanding sculpture, pop art, or surrealism, like smart folks not comprehending why ordinary people could easily get swindled.

Different life experiences and education levels led to diverse thought processes and interpretations.

This was the theory of the knowledge gap.

"Hey, Al, are you satisfied with my answer? Don't forget that drink."

"Sure thing! Do you still have that survey? Leave me a copy. I want to conduct my investigation. If it's really as you say, this could be some valuable news."

...

After hanging up, Al continued interviewing audience members.

Armed with a new understanding of the 'knowledge gap', he approached his interviews with more patience and seriousness, no longer getting easily rattled.

During media interviews regarding audience opinions on The Blair Witch Project, in addition to Robert Downey Jr., there were also stars like Dustin Hoffman, Kiefer Sutherland, and David Duchovny openly praising the film.

They declared it was quite good, claiming that anyone criticizing it simply did not understand it.

At a promotional event of Sommersby, Richard Gere even smiled and complimented The Blair Witch Project, saying it was entertaining and worth a watch.

He seemed unfazed by the box office performance of The Blair Witch Project overshadowing his own work.

These comments baffled the media; they couldn't understand why these big stars stood up to praise a film many deemed unworthy of acclaim.

Some suspected everything was a setup orchestrated by Creative Artists Agency (CAA).

Stars like Richard Gere were clients of CAA, and without the agency's consent, they would not simultaneously endorse the same movie.

The media speculated that The Blair Witch Project was a project backed by CAA, and Ed Merrick was the director they were grooming for success. Perhaps the whole film was a CAA scheme from the start.

When the media reached out to CAA for comment, they remained silent, intensifying the suspicion.

...

Link was puzzled when he saw the news. "Daniel, Jon, why are they promoting The Blair Witch Project? Did you guys pay them to back the film?"

"Ha! No way. Those guys don't mix with you. They know I'm with Guess Pictures, so even if we paid them, they wouldn't help promote the movie."

Jon Gordon shrugged with a smile.

"That makes sense."

Daniel DeVito leaned back in his chair, his stomach resting on the edge of the desk, "What we think is that they might be rallying against you. After the success of Paranormal Activity, you became the face of low-budget directing, holding the record for the highest box office returns in film history, and you are considered the most promising director in Hollywood.

Not everyone appreciates such labels. At least your competitors, Robert Downey Jr. and Richard Gere, won't. Seeing The Blair Witch Project do well, they might be thinking it has the potential to break the box office record you set with Paranormal Activity.

So boosting The Blair Witch Project and Ed Merrick would take the limelight off you -- that might just be their motive."

"Sounds intriguing."

Link grinned slightly.

"Link, should we reveal the truth and shock them?"

Jon asked with a mischievous expression.

"No need. Our goal with The Blair Witch Project is to make money. We shouldn't do anything that would distract from that. If they want to promote it, great -- let them. Just, out of courtesy, let's publicly thank them and say they're good people."

"Sure, Link!"

After Paranormal Activity released, everyone in the industry felt a mix of envy and jealousy towards him.

If they found out that The Blair Witch Project was also his film, they'd probably go crazy with envy and might even act irrationally.

The media, feeling duped, could grow even angrier and criticize him more vigorously.

He could forget about establishing himself in Hollywood after that, just like the directors of the original The Blair Witch Project, who vanished after the sequel was a huge failure, with no subsequent projects to their name.

So Link had no intention of publicly acknowledging any connection to The Blair Witch Project.

*****

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