Chapter 82: Universal Music Changes Leadership, Theater Screening Event
[Chapter 82: Universal Music Changes Leadership, Theater Screening Event]
On June 24th, a major event occurred at Universal Music. John Smith officially retired due to his age, and Daniel Luman successfully took over as president of Universal Music. Daniel's appointment was great news for Linton. Upon hearing the good news, Linton visited Universal Music after a long absence to support Daniel and offer his congratulations.
Matsushita Masaharu, the chairman of Matsushita Corporation from Japan, personally came to Universal Music accompanied by Kunio Nakamura, president of Matsushita North America, and Lou Wasserman, president of Universal Pictures, to announce Daniel's appointment as the new president of Universal Music. Matsushita praised John Smith's contributions to Universal Music and highly commended Daniel's excellent management skills and sharp insight into the music industry. He wished Universal Music continued glory under Daniel's leadership.
Given Linton's stunning achievements since last year and Daniel's role as his agent and manager, Daniel's appointment as president was well-deserved, making the power transition smooth and seamless.
...
After announcing the personnel change, Matsushita Masaharu had a private meeting with Linton, showing full respect to Universal's top-earning star. He encouraged Linton to create even better works and assured that Universal would do everything to support him.
He also invited Linton to visit Japan, joking that Japan had many beautiful women who adored him, including his youngest daughter, whom he could introduce to Linton.
[T/N: Author's original names were Matsushita Brief and his youndest daughter Matsushita Skirt. Could be his wife and older sister are Bikini and Tights?]
Linton was very thankful and said, "Sure, I'll visit when I have the chance. I'll count on you then."
...
That evening, Daniel hosted a small party at his home, and of course, Linton was invited.
To Linton's surprise, Levitt was also there, suggesting they had a close relationship or shared interests. No wonder Daniel was so quick to accept Levitt's help with movie distribution last time.
Shania Twain, a new singer recently discovered and strongly promoted by Sunshine Music -- an entity Daniel secretly controlled -- also attended.
The soundtrack for the movie Step Up had already been produced and would be released simultaneously with the movie. As the lead vocalist of the soundtrack songs, Shania Twain's rise to fame seemed inevitable.
Since the Grammy Awards, Linton had been busy with filming and post-production, so the two hadn't met until now. At this gathering, Shania tightly held onto Linton's arm, appearing like a lovestruck partner. This didn't surprise anyone.
...
After the party, they naturally returned to Linton's estate to explore life's grand path together. As the saying goes, "absence makes the heart grow fonder," and the two poured all their passion into an intense night together.
---
Time flew to the afternoon of June 25th. Linton brought Naomi, Robert, and Mira to Universal Studios to attend a screening event for theater representatives.
Universal invited almost all of their partner theater chains, including the four major chains in the U.S.: Regal Cinemas, AMC Theatres, Cinemark, and Carmike Cinemas, along with over 60 small and medium chains.
The main criterion for theaters selecting movies was whether the film had box office potential and could attract foot traffic. They would never grant a large number of screens just because a film was distributed by one of the major Hollywood studios. After all, their own profits were at stake.
For a commercial film, the number of theaters and screens it could debut on depended not just on the distributor's strength but more importantly on whether the film could impress the theater representatives.
Step Up was, after all, a small investment commercial production from a new director and new lead actors. Even though Universal internally had high hopes, getting a wide release was still difficult, so holding a screening for theater reps was the best choice.
If the theater reviewers saw great box office potential in the screening, cinemas would naturally fully support the movie with more screenings. However, if the reviewers considered it a bomb with no selling points, no matter how much PR Universal did, this film wouldn't get many theater resources, since theaters needed hit films to attract audiences.
...
Levitt welcomed guests at the entrance with his assistant, and as the theater screening representatives arrived one by one, the 160-seat screening room was almost full. Tim came to report the situation to Linton.
Representatives from all four major theater chains attended: Regal with 4, AMC with 5, Cinemark with 4, Carmike with 4, plus representatives from over 60 smaller chains, usually sending 1-2 people each. The theater industry consolidation wave hadn't started yet in the U.S. Regal was the largest with 560 theaters and 7,400 screens. Carmike was the smallest with 280 theaters and over 3,500 screens. The smaller chains attending had at least 30 theaters with over 200 screens in total.
These theaters were the partners of the seven major Hollywood distributors.
...
Lights in the screening room dimmed one after another as the big screen slowly lit up. Universal's logo appeared first, followed by an image of a whale breaching the ocean surface with the Linton Studio logo beneath it -- a $100,000 custom-made animation commissioned by Robert.
♫ This is definitely the wickedest thing I've ever heard in my life! ♫
Powerful music started, accompanied by the song Show Me the Money, alternating scenes between ballet in a bright, spacious practice room and chaotic street dance in a dimly lit urban street.
"I said we..."
The film began with George flirting with a black girl in a mostly black nightclub.
The scene then switched to Linton's character dancing a close, sensual dance with Tyra.
...
"Linton! So cool!" Someone in the audience whispered excitedly, "And his dancing is amazing..."
...
Linton slid out from under Tyra's legs and smoothly pressed against her back, dancing closely and passionately. Tyra's figure and movements were very seductive, prompting audible swallowing sounds from the audience.
...
After 100 minutes, the film approached its ending. As the song B What You Wanna B played with closing credits, some post-credits scenes showing each character's future kept everyone glued to the screen.
When the movie ended, the theater erupted in warm and prolonged applause.
...
Levitt then approached the stage, first thanking all the expert representatives for attending. He introduced, "The movie you just watched, Step Up, has already held test screenings in five major cities. The audience survey results from those screenings are very encouraging. We have summarized and distributed the results for your reference."
Staff handed out the screening data. Levitt concluded, "Step Up is a youthful musical film. Instead of traditional songs and dances, the film features cool, modern dance styles.
The storyline centers on youthful love and inspirational themes. The film stars the handsome and famous Linton, alongside the beautiful female lead Naomi and the secondary lead Halle, elements that should appeal to young audiences. Our previous five test screenings have fully confirmed this.
Scheduled for release during the summer, I have full confidence this movie will perform well at the box office. We ask all of you, experts and representatives, to support Step Up with more screen allocations.
This is a win-win situation."
Whispers and quiet discussions broke out among the audience.
"Why were all your test screening attendees young people? What about the middle-aged and older audience?" asked a Regal representative.
"Because our film targets the teenage demographic, especially during the summer season. This group is large enough to support high box office numbers. Plus, teenagers tend to spend more money in theaters than older audiences. We've also evaluated that some middle-aged viewers do like the film or at least don't dislike it, adding some incremental box office," Levitt replied.
"I'm already 40, and watching it just now really fired me up. I really liked it. I think you shouldn't overlook the middle-aged group in your marketing," said a small theater chain rep, clearly a fan of the film.
"Don't worry, Universal will handle it," Levitt assured.
"It's already the end of June, with the film releasing in early August. Why is there no sign of your marketing yet?" asked a Regal representative.
"Relax, we have a complete marketing plan, which starts rolling out today. Tonight, our MCA TV channel will broadcast the promotional trailer for Step Up. Another advantage is that earlier this year, media outlets heavily discussed and criticized Step Up. Thanks to that media coverage, I believe most Americans already know about the film. Now, with the film's high quality and our upcoming promotion efforts, we expect a turnaround that will attract many viewers," Levitt said, prompting laughter.
"Please move to the Universal Hotel next door; we have prepared a dinner banquet," Levitt concluded the screening event.
At this point, Linton understood that Step Up had gained recognition from the theater representatives. The next step was to see how much screening time Universal could secure from them.
...
"This is the Regal movie selection representative, Karn Ster."
"This is the AMC movie selection representative, Peter Arsenal."
Thanks to Mira's introductions, Linton met many theater representatives, humbly greeted them, exchanged business cards -- since he still needed their support for screen allocations. Of course, the phone number of his agent Mira was on the business card he took out.
"Linton, I really like you. Can you sign an autograph and take a picture with me?" Many young representatives among the theater reps were Linton's fans, so he fulfilled their requests one by one.
All these fans promised to arrange as many screenings for Step Up as possible upon returning.
*****
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