[Chapter 258: Super Bowl]
After the filming of The Rock was wrapped up, Linton Films faced a shortage of post-production equipnt. Besides The Man from Nowhere, which Linton was currently editing, Pulp Fiction was also queued up. Robert worried there wouldn't be enough ti, so after getting Linton's approval, he rented equipnt and editors from Universal Pictures to finish The Rock's post-production. Of course, director Michael Bay still led the editing process, but the final say belonged to the producers, Robert and Linton.
Considering The Rock's budget hit $55 million, it was a true blockbuster. Success was critical to avoid heavy losses for the company.
More importantly, Nicole Kidman warned him that CAA was still scheming against him. They planned to launch various attacks, including releasing Interview with the Vampire at the sa ti as The Rock, creating stiff competition.
Behind the scenes, they might even use Sean Connery to hype their movie, potentially harming The Rock's reputation. These risks required careful guarding against.
The director and so lead actors weren't very famous. With powerful adversaries stirring trouble, promoting the film was especially important. Linton had been contemplating how to break the deadlock and boost publicity. Of course, scandal-driven hype was out of the question. Whether it was Sophie Marceau or Charlize Theron, these won were his now; he wouldn't allow them to stir up controversies with anyone in the movie.
...
During a break from editing The Man from Nowhere, Linton overheard Jonathan and Jas talking about an intriguing topic: this year's Super Bowl final. That sparked an idea for a breakthrough in publicity.
Super Bowl halfti comrcials were a prominent promotional channel widely used in Hollywood later on.
The Super Bowl halfti show was the biggest program in the U.S., drawing over 70 million viewers. Interestingly, the halfti advertisents often scored higher ratings than the ga itself.
However, the ad spots were extrely expensive -- $100,000 per second, aning a 30-second comrcial cost $3 million.
He recalled the first film to advertise during the Super Bowl in his past life: Independence Day in 1996. Whether that Super Bowl ad helped fuel Independence Day's success in North Arica and worldwide was hard to pin down, but since that campaign, it beca standard for Hollywood movies to advertise during the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl was known as Arica's biggest annual spectacle, eclipsing all sports events and TV programs -- including the Olympics, and NBA Finals. Its comrcial value made it the top single event worldwide.
Now, The Rock was the first film to take the plunge and promote itself during the Super Bowl. The effect would surely be impressive, especially with the movie's explosive action scenes, which were perfectly suited for that setting. The audiences' mories would be sharp, amplifying the promotional impact.
...
Soon after wrapping The Rock, Linton organized a eting with Levitt, head of Universal's Distribution Departnt, producer Robert, director Michael Bay, and Klinsmann.
He disclosed CAA's conspiracies, including the possibility that Interview with the Vampire might release simultaneously with The Rock, and proposed advertising the movie during the Super Bowl halfti.
"Promote The Rock with a Super Bowl halfti comrcial? Brilliant idea, but will it work? Ads aren't cheap, and no one's tried this before," the team reacted in surprise. Levitt asked three quick questions.
"Yes, we've traditionally used TV, newspapers, magazines, subways, buses, malls, and theaters for film promotion. But the goal is to capture the public's attention, spark their interest, and turn them into our audience. Over 70 million Aricans watch the Super Bowl halfti. Being the first movie to advertise there, as long as our trailer is strong, it'll definitely generate buzz and entice viewers," Linton explained.
"That makes sense, but it's untested and very costly. A 30-second spot costs at least $3 million. I have to get board approval before committing," Levitt replied.
"Well, don't delay," Linton urged.
They agreed on three key points for promoting the film:
First, The Rock was scheduled for release in June.
Second, they would prepare materials revealing that Roger Moore actually served as a British intelligence agent during World War II, stirring conversations in April that he was the real-life 007. This would tap into North Arica's love for personal heroism and would generate significant dia attention and public interest.
Third, they would compile negative information on Sean Connery and Tom Cruise. If a fight with CAA was inevitable, they intended to fight fiercely to surprise their rivals.
They believed fully exposing Sean Connery's alleged drinking, abusive behavior, drug use, and foul language could damage his polished gentleman image. Even if it didn't end his career, it would tarnish it. Whether he'd be completely discarded depended on CAA's PR efforts.
Regarding Tom Cruise, who was then at his career peak, his ties to Scientology were considered deeply damaging material. In Linton's past life, Nicole Kidman had exploited this to nearly bring Cruise down. Despite his good personal impression of Cruise and his reluctance to take action against him, once the business battlefield heated up, they had to respond with full force. Whether Tom Cruise could withstand that was not their concern.
Finally, Linton cautioned Levitt to be vigilant when rating movies and avoid pitfalls, as CAA was watching closely. Although CAA wasn't part of MPAA, everyone acknowledged their vast network and influence. There was fear of collusion among the six major Hollywood studios to suppress the film, especially since Universal's previous year's performance was great.
Within two days, Levitt reported success in persuading the board to approve a 30-second Super Bowl comrcial for The Rock this year.
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