Wednesday, March 17, 2004
Gibson breaks Hollywood's 10 Commands
By following his own path now with "Passion," Gibson orchestrated a success story that could serve as a case study for film schools for years to come. Beyond that, Gibson should profit for years to come since as a period piece costume drama "Passion" can enjoy an Easter afterlife in theaters from now till doomsday.
Because "Passion" will be timely to re-issue theatrically at Easter for years to come, it has the potential to wind up as the biggest grossing film in movie history -- at least if you calculate that record on the basis of the cumulative gross from multiple releases of the same film. To do so, it will have to overtake "Titanic's" roughly $1.8 billion worldwide total, which seems possible in the future, but isn't likely on the basis of "Passion's" initial release. If "Passion" winds up with somewhere between $1 billion and $1.2 billion worldwide this time around, it's possible that well planned reissues down the road could send it sailing past "Titanic."
In breaking or bending so many of Hollywood's basic rules Gibson showed considerable courage that's paid off big-time for him. It's doubtful that he envisioned the level of monetary success the film has enjoyed or even that money was a driving force for him. His personal passion for the project seems very genuine whether one agrees or disagrees with the specific nature of his religious point of view. Moreover, given reports of how distributors around town turned down the chance to release "Passion," it's clear that nobody saw this as being the moneymaker it's become.
Here's a quick look at the Ten Commands Gibson opted not to obey and how not doing so helped turn "Passion" into a blockbuster.
1. Thou shalt use other people's money to finance your movie.
Traditionally Hollywood considers anyone who puts his own money into financing a movie to be a sucker (or, I believe, in Aramaic "an investor"). In Gibson's case, his personal passion for "Passion" was so great and apparently so unshared by the Hollywood community that there was no other way this film would have gotten made other than with his own money.
2. Thou shalt let a good film speak for itself by screening it early for the media.
The less people know about something the greater the controversy over it is likely to be. By refusing to show "Passion" to the groups that were insisting on seeing it, Gibson kept everybody riled up enough to provide fuel for the media frenzy over whether "Passion" is or isn't anti-Semitic.
3. Thou shalt keep network television advertising at the heart of a film's marketing campaign.
In the case of "Passion," Gibson didn't have that kind of money to spend on marketing nor did he choose to pour it down the network drain.
The grassroots marketing effort that Gibson undertook for "Passion" initially on his own and later through Newmarket Films was a lean one that relied on reaching the film's core audience of Christian moviegoers and potential moviegoers by getting local church groups to promote seeing the film. Gibson was smart to resist the temptation to write a check for, say, another $15 million to try to duplicate a major studio campaign revolving around network TV spots.
4. Thou shalt hold press junkets because they're the best way to generate publicity.
A press junket for "Passion" would have had Gibson sitting in a hotel room chair with a poster for the film on an easel beside him and a plant on a table behind him looking like it was growing out of his head. Whatever answers Gibson might have given to the typically inane questions that get asked at such junkets, they would not have driven people to see his movie the way television reports about the controversy raging over the then unseen film did.
5. Thou shalt honor thy superstars by paying them big bucks to generate big opening weekend ticket sales.
Bottom line, by skipping star casting Gibson was able to bring his film in for around $30 million. Add one superstar to that budget and you'd wind up with around $60 million, figuring a $25 million salary and another $5 million in related costs for the entourage and perks that accompany big stars these days.
6. Thou shalt avoid R ratings, subtitles, strange languages, blood & gore and graphic violence because they limit a film's audience.
The conventional wisdom in Hollywood has for years been that R ratings aren't so great because they serve to limit a film's audience by excluding people under the age of 17 (unless they're accompanied by a parent or guardian). Gibson clearly rejected the idea of writing and filming "Passion" so that it would land a PG-13 rating. That just wasn't going to be the movie he wanted to make and, to his credit, he refused to compromise. He put his money where his mouth was and took the risk of failing.
7. Thou shalt screen your film at festivals to attract a strong independent distributor.
Gibson was smart to resist any temptations to unveil "Passion" at a major film festival.
8. Thou shalt rely on a platform release in New York and L.A. to get word of mouth going.
Gibson was right to figure that the U.S. media centers of New York and L.A. wouldn't give "Passion" the kind of reception it needed to survive. That response could only come from the heartland where the core audience for the movie could be found.
9. Thou shalt covet promotional partners in fast food, fashion, cosmetics, toys and video games because they add big dollars to your marketing campaign and generate awareness for your film.
As important as Hollywood thinks fast food and other tie-in promotional campaigns are, Gibson perceived that these were things to stay away from. The movie's staggering success proves, however, that you can do quite well without having a film's title plastered all over buckets of fried chicken or fast food trays.
10. Thou shalt control your destiny as a filmmaker by worshipping the golden idols of Wall Street to raise money for your own major studio.
With his investment in "Passion" having paid off, he can now finance the production and marketing of any similar scale movie he ever wants to make. By doing so, he'll once again be the sole owner of his movie. If he can get lightning to strike again at the boxoffice, he can take in another ton of money -- like the $350 million to $500 million in profits "Passion" seems likely to bring him -- and have the satisfaction of having done it on his own terms.
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