When the super-rich Kyle arrived in Park City, he naturally attracted attention from all sides.
The Sundance Film Festival organizers were the first to react.
Robert Redford, 63 years old, male, has served in various roles such as director and actor. In 1981, his directorial debut, "Ordinary People," won the Academy Award for Best Director. The Sundance Film Festival, which is now somewhat famous worldwide, was also founded by him.
Currently, he serves as the chairman of the Sundance Film Festival Organizing Committee.
For people outside of Hollywood, the name Robert Redford might be very unfamiliar.
However, despite his advanced age, he still frequently appears in films. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe film series "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," he played Alexander Pierce, the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and one of the high-ranking members of Hydra.
"Leonard, why do you think Kyle World would personally appear in Park City?" Robert Redford asked with a frown.
"I guess he should be here to attend this year's Sundance Film Festival. But that makes no sense at all! Everyone in Hollywood knows how rich he is. He only attended the Academy Awards ceremony once, so why would he come to a small film festival like ours?"
At this moment, his assistant Leonard was very puzzled.
The full name of the Sundance Film Festival is the Sundance International Film Festival.
Adding the word "International" makes it sound very grand.
"We know ourselves best. Our Sundance Film Festival is completely incomparable to well-known film festivals like the Oscars, Cannes, and Venice. At most, it's a younger sibling. If film festivals like the Oscars and Cannes are the dream universities for actors and directors, then our Sundance Film Festival is, at most, at the elementary school level."
Robert Redford said, puzzled, "Usually, those big film companies rarely send anyone, and even if they do, it's only middle-level managers."
"..."
Leonard also frowned deeply.
After 15 years of accumulation, the Sundance Film Festival, a small local American film festival, has become an important spiritual pillar of the independent film industry. Many new and emerging Hollywood directors view it as a stepping stone to directing mainstream commercial blockbusters. And for major Hollywood production companies looking for new talent, the "Sundance Film Festival" is an indispensable human resources pool.
Therefore,
this low-level film festival rarely attracts the personal attendance of big company owners and CEOs;
even second-tier Hollywood film companies like Fox Searchlight, Summit, New Line, and Miramax rarely have their film company owners attend.
It's no wonder they were puzzled; Kyle's standing was simply too high...
At the same time,
representatives from second-tier film companies like Summit, New Line, and Miramax who came to Park City were also somewhat bewildered.
Each of them reported the situation to their company's senior management.
Miramax Films.
"What?!"
"You said that guy Kyle World is in Park City?"
"Then did you find out if he's there for the Sundance Film Festival or for tourism?"
"Damn it~"
"I forgot, that godforsaken place Park City isn't a tourist destination at all. He must be there for the film festival."
"Listen, from now on, you must keep an eye on Kyle World and report any new developments to me at any time."
Harvey Weinstein, the owner of Miramax Films, who was far away in Los Angeles, immediately looked uncertain after hanging up the phone.
If a few years ago he could still contend with Kyle, now he was completely unqualified.
If Kyle really wanted to do something, he would be powerless.
You tell me, how could Harvey, that old pervert who would later be nailed to the pillar of shame, not be nervous?
At the same time... representatives from various medium and small film companies attending the Sundance Film Festival also contacted their superiors.
Artisan Entertainment: "Keep a close eye on him and see what he's up to?"
New Line Cinema: "Heh heh, he's probably gone to collect the copyrights for trash movies again. After all, his reputation for not being picky has spread throughout Hollywood."
"You stupid fellow!"
Lionsgate Films: "What can I do about him? He's richer than me! Am I going to shoot him or something? Hmm, you keep an eye on him for now. I'll book the earliest flight and go there myself."
It must be said that Kyle's actions touched the nerves of many of them.
However... after the Sundance Film Festival opened, representatives from various medium and small Hollywood film companies found that Kyle had no unusual behavior at all.
"It seems he really is just here for the film festival."
Frank Gusta, the CEO of Lionsgate Films, who had rushed over on the earliest flight overnight, was somewhat bewildered at this moment.
Why did Frank Gusta work so hard and rush over overnight?
Wasn't it because he was worried that Kyle would make an unusual move!
But now, when he arrived with great excitement, he found that Kyle was incredibly well-behaved, which made him very depressed.
"What the hell, is that it?"
"It got me all fired up."
Frank Gusta's mouth was twisted with anger.
At the 15th Sundance Film Festival, Kyle was truly incredibly well-behaved, spending all day in the cinema, watching movies with a group of filmmakers and audience members!
Did Kyle come here with an ulterior motive?
Not really!
Kyle was in the entertainment industry in his previous life and had heard of the Sundance Film Festival, but since his reincarnation and Crossing, he hadn't attended it. This time, he came purely with the mindset of tourism and watching the excitement.
It was not Kyle's intention to make the representatives of the various film companies suspicious.
However... on the fourth day of the film festival, an unexpected incident did occur.
A film participating in the festival caught Kyle's attention.
This film was titled: "The Blair Witch Project"!
It was a film with a production cost of only $60,000, known as the originator of "found footage" films, shot entirely with a handheld DV, with camera shakes that could make one dizzy.
To call it a trashy, no-budget film would not be an exaggeration.
However, after its release in July 1999, it achieved a North American box office of $140 million and a global box office of $248 million.
Its return on investment was incredibly astonishing!
It could almost be called a legend!
Of course, it cannot be denied that its success was not the success of the film itself, but the success of a thorough "fraud," a "scam" marketing campaign.
The production cost was $60,000.
However, its publicity expenses were as high as $19 million.
The film tells the story of three film students who disappeared in the jungle near the small town of Burkittsville, Maryland, USA. At the time, they were shooting a documentary about the local ancient legend of "The Blair Witch." A year later, their backpacks were found, and the audio tapes, Hi-8 camera, and 16mm camera inside clearly documented the trio's final journey.
Was this real?
Did people really disappear?
Did the Blair Witch really exist?
All of this attracted the curiosity of many people.
Before the film's release, the producers of "The Blair Witch Project" had already created the film's official website and published various news reports about the missing persons on the website, as well as the missing persons' handwritten notes, photos, family information, etc. The offline publicity team simultaneously published missing person notices in major weekly magazines, and video stores, leading many people to believe that the film was a true story.
Thus, this scam deceived countless American moviegoers!
The production company, however, made a huge profit!
"Boss, this 'The Blair Witch Project' is really trashy," complained Marco, the head of Page Pictures' distribution department.
Alexander also laughed, "Can a DV film even be considered a movie? And this director's camera control ability is terrible; the camera shakes so much I want to vomit."
Was it not real?
Nonsense!
These things only fool outsiders.
For the old foxes in Hollywood, they couldn't be fooled at all.
"Heh heh!"
Kyle laughed, "It can't fool you guys, but it's enough to fool outsiders. Don't you think it can make money?"
"No way, boss, with this?"
Alexander and Marco were immediately startled.
"The Blair Witch Project" showed no potential for making money at all.