"What's with this movie?"
"Yeah? In this day and age, are DV movies even considered movies?"
"This is complete nonsense!"
"Exactly!"
"Not to mention the generally poor picture quality of DV, which is far inferior to professional cameras, but simply the director's ability to control pacing is that of a complete beginner! Also, the sensitivity settings of the screen are extremely poor; the camera shakes so much it makes you want to vomit; I've only watched for less than 30 minutes and I've already found at least 5 continuity errors. My goodness, is this even a movie?"
"The Blair Witch Project, haha, this is simply a joke."
Not only did Alexander and Marco give The Blair Witch Project a negative review, but everyone else present who watched the film, without exception, gave it a poor or extremely poor rating.
Gustav, the owner of Lionsgate, left in a huff after watching less than 20 minutes.
He declared… ugh, it was an eyesore!
At the beginning of The Blair Witch Project, there were still more than 60 people in the screening room, but after less than 30 minutes, only a handful remained.
"Boss, I'm dizzy and feel like going out," Marco said, shaking his head.
Alexander didn't speak, but his direct gaze at Kyle also said it all.
It was an eyesore!
Kyle stood up.
"Since no one likes it, let's go out."
As soon as he said this, Alexander and Marco were even more surprised.
After all, Kyle had just said he was optimistic about the movie's future prospects.
"Heh heh, being optimistic about The Blair Witch Project's future earnings doesn't mean I'm willing to endure this eyesore," Kyle thought to himself.
In the original timeline, after Artisan Entertainment bought the full copyright to The Blair Witch Project from Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez, they also underwent an extremely difficult re-editing process.
That's right,
It was re-edited.
It is said that after watching The Blair Witch Project, Artisan Entertainment's editors all exclaimed, "This is an extremely shoddy editing technique. To call them beginners is completely praising them."
One can imagine how bad the original editing of The Blair Witch Project was!
...Around 2 PM that afternoon.
In a coffee shop in Parker City, a representative from Artisan Entertainment met with the two directors of The Blair Witch Project, Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez.
"Guys, I'll be direct. Artisan Entertainment wants The Blair Witch Project. We'll take the full copyright for $30,000," the Artisan Entertainment representative said.
"Uh? Really?!"
The two directors of The Blair Witch Project were immediately thrilled.
After all, when the film was screened that morning, almost no one was optimistic about it; now that someone was willing to buy it, they were naturally very excited.
"Rejoice, young men. Your debut film can be recognized by the great Artisan Entertainment, which means your future is limitless," the Artisan Entertainment representative said proudly.
Daniel and Eduardo naturally thanked him repeatedly.
But... "Sir, isn't the price of $30,000 a bit too low? We spent $60,000 on The Blair Witch Project from start to finish," Daniel said.
"That's right, sir. Since you're optimistic about our movie, you shouldn't just pay $30,000 to acquire our full copyright," Eduardo echoed.
"Hmph!"
Instantly, the Artisan Entertainment representative, who had been smiling moments before, changed his expression. He snorted coldly, "In that case, we have nothing more to discuss."
With that, he stood up to leave.
The Artisan Entertainment representative's face was filled with anger, almost to the point of saying, "You don't know a good thing when you see it."
"This..."
Daniel and Eduardo's expressions also changed.
They quickly stood up.
"Sir, could you please add a little more?" Daniel said, gritting his teeth.
To acquire the full copyright for $30,000?
Damn it, that's completely half of the production cost!
No one wants to lose money!
Upon hearing this, the Artisan Entertainment representative's expression softened quite a bit, but his tone was still very firm: "I'll add another $20,000. I'll give you three days. If you agree, we'll sign the contract immediately; otherwise, forget it."
After speaking, he left directly, disregarding any attempts to stop him.
In fact, in the original timeline, besides Artisan Entertainment, two other film companies were interested in The Blair Witch Project, but their offers were even lower!
One offered $25,000;
The other was only willing to pay $10,000...
On the other side, Kyle, who had just watched a few fairly exciting films, thoroughly cleansed his eyes and returned to the hotel.
"Marco, contact the two directors of The Blair Witch Project and acquire its full copyright," Kyle instructed.
"Boss, what's the price range?" Marco asked.
Kyle pondered for a few seconds and said, "Below $150,000."
This price was enough to impress the two directors of The Blair Witch Project. In fact, although Artisan Entertainment ultimately paid $120,000 for the full copyright, there was a total of 9 days of back-and-forth negotiation.
Did Artisan Entertainment truly believe in the future prospects of The Blair Witch Project?
Nonsense!
They were just taking a 'wait and see' approach.
It's important to know that after Artisan acquired the full copyright to The Blair Witch Project, they didn't invest much in promotion and operations, at most $300,000. However, when the film earned a high box office of $570,000 in its first week in only 27 theaters, they realized the "deceptively" excellent qualities of The Blair Witch Project.
After that, they began to invest heavily in publicity and distribution funds!
In the second week, the number of theaters showing The Blair Witch Project directly climbed to 1,100.
Therefore, Artisan Entertainment initially didn't pay much attention to the film.
This gave Kyle an opportunity.
As expected... Marco, as a talented distributor from the original Fox Pictures, directly took over the position of head of the distribution department after moving to Page Pictures. His abilities were beyond doubt.
As soon as he took action, within a few days, he acquired the full copyright to The Blair Witch Project.
Not only that, but he also acquired the official website for The Blair Witch Project set up by Daniel and the others, as well as the materials about "witches" and "missing persons" posted on numerous forums.
$130,000!
That's right, the total price was $130,000!
"Gentlemen, we can sign the contract now," Marco said with a smile.
"Thank you," Daniel said, extremely grateful.
The other director and everyone—Eduardo. He was also incredibly excited, because the film they made had made money.
"Gentlemen, I must remind you of something."
Marco said emphatically, "After signing this contract, you two must abide by the contract and have the obligation to cooperate with Page Pictures on the promotion and distribution of The Blair Witch Project, otherwise you will have to pay a penalty of $2 million."
"No problem, that's how it should be," Daniel and the other director agreed readily.
It's just cooperating with promotion. As new directors, they couldn't be happier.
But!
But, they would regret it later!
The success of The Blair Witch Project, which grossed over $240 million worldwide, was not due to the film's excellence, but because it was a complete "deception," "hoax," and "viral" marketing campaign.
Money is easy to make, but it will incur infamy!
Audiences are not fools. Once they come to their senses, they will inevitably discover that they have been deceived!
Therefore, Kyle and Marco and the others needed the original cast and crew of The Blair Witch Project to stand at the forefront, act as scapegoats, and become the target of the audience's anger!
"You bear the infamy, we earn the money."
This was the plan of Kyle and the others.
It must be said that Kyle and the others were quite cunning...
Meanwhile
The Artisan Entertainment representative on the other side also learned the news, but he didn't pay much attention to it.
"A garbage movie, haha, only Page Pictures treats it like a treasure."