The Sky Dance Studio press conference venue was brilliantly lit, as David Ellison faced the reporters with great confidence and high spirits.
He enthusiastically introduced Tron: Legacy to the media, speaking as if it were destined to become the greatest film of the near future.
"We spent five years preparing this film, studying the original series and making extensive adaptations. I believe this is an outstanding cinematic work that both general audiences and fans will be satisfied with…"
David Ellison praised the film to the skies, but the media reporters below naturally would not let him off so easily.
During the Q&A session, the reporters began to challenge him.
"Mr. Ellison, Sky Dance Studio has scheduled Tron: Legacy for the same release date as Inception. Was this intentional?"
Of course it was intentional, but that was obviously not something he could say outright.
He replied, "This was a carefully considered decision. We believe the film is highly competitive in the summer season."
The implication was clear: he was not afraid of Inception, nor was he afraid of competing with Gilbert.
However, the reporters clearly did not see it that way. One reporter continued:
"As everyone knows, Gilbert has been extremely difficult to defeat in the summer season. Even if Tron: Legacy is of good quality, at best both sides would suffer losses.
What confidence do you have that this film can defeat Gilbert?"
David Ellison felt a hint of anger. These annoying media people—why weren't they praising him instead? Wasn't he better than Gilbert?
Fortunately, years of experience in Hollywood allowed him to restrain his emotions.
"Whether or not we can defeat Gilbert is not my concern. In any case, next summer, everyone will be shocked by this film."
Once the press conference had been held, there was no room for retreat.
After all, having just declared confidence, changing the release date afterward would be a blow to one's pride.
David Ellison was someone who valued face greatly, and he absolutely would not accept changing the release date, even though Michael Ovitz strongly advised him to do so.
Mel Gibson even mocked Michael Ovitz, saying that the older he got, the smaller his courage became.
Michael Ovitz was helpless. He had a bad premonition. Although the Tron: Legacy project had been snatched by David Ellison from Gilbert's hands, he always felt that this was a trap set by Gilbert for David Ellison.
For Gilbert to fight his way out of Hollywood's battlefield of fame and fortune, it was not only due to his filmmaking talent—his methods were equally formidable.
If you thought he was some kind-hearted saint, you would be gravely mistaken.
Unfortunately, because of the success of the Transformers project, David Ellison no longer believed there was any trap involved.
Gilbert was truly ruthless—using a Transformers project to set a trap for David Ellison. It was an exceptionally clever move.
Michael Ovitz felt that the consecutive releases of John Carter and Battleship afterward also carried significant hidden risks.
But since things had already developed to this point, all he could do was do his best and leave the rest to fate.
Gilbert could understand David Ellison's desire to defeat him. Although he did not think highly of Tron: Legacy, David Ellison's courage was commendable.
Even while appreciating David Ellison's bravery, Gilbert had no intention of holding back.
As post-production began, the promotional campaign for Inception was launched simultaneously.
In the current era, for commercial films to achieve massive box office success, the story structure needed to be simple. For example, Avatar, which had already grossed over $400 million in North America, told a simple story and focused on visual spectacle.
The story of Inception was not simple—one could even say it was mentally demanding—so it was far from enough to rely solely on film quality to guarantee box office success.
Gilbert suggested that the marketing department make greater use of the internet and begin a viral marketing campaign.
Disney's marketing department set up a dedicated Inception website, with the homepage displaying only a spinning top, its connection to the plot left deliberately unexplained. This sense of mystery stimulated audiences' curiosity and anticipation.
In addition, Disney collaborated with the film's sponsors—Apple, Banana, Hamilton watches, and others—to carry out joint promotional activities, spreading the marketing through physical items such as T-shirts and USB drives.
These items were printed with imagery related to the film along with QR codes, guiding audiences to specific websites where they could further explore the film's background and world-building.
Secondly, the film's marketing team started from its core concepts—such as dream-sharing technology and subconscious crime—to popularize scientific knowledge related to dreams.
They filmed videos of Gilbert interviewing dream-science experts, discussing the principles of dream science and consciousness crimes, thereby stimulating audiences' interest in the dream-science future depicted in the film.
This type of science-popularization promotion not only increased the film's exposure but also allowed audiences to gain a deeper understanding of the film's themes and background.
In addition, after participating in activities on the official website, lucky fans also had a chance to obtain the dream-sharing machine featured in the film.
Some fans showcased the dream-sharing machine they received on social media. Inside were materials such as Dream Protocols, The Construction and Application of Dream Labyrinths, and Dream Technology Development Report.
Just reading the contents sounded extremely high-end, and they were written so realistically that one could not help but wonder whether they were real.
In addition, the dream-sharing machine also contained signatures and posters from the creators, as well as a spinning top. In previously released posters, there had already been an image of Leonardo spinning the top.
These marketing methods and activities effectively attracted fans to maintain sustained attention on Inception.
It could be said that if this were the film of an ordinary Hollywood director, it would definitely not be possible to create such a huge momentum.
However, Gilbert's films have always been highly valued by both fans and the media, and anything that comes out of his productions receives widespread attention.
Using fans' curiosity to keep them continuously focused on the film and participating in the puzzle-solving process was the strategy set by Disney's marketing department.
As fans participated in interactive activities more frequently and more deeply, unknown details about the past of the character played by Leonardo, as well as the respective roles and missions of each member of the dream-theft team, were gradually unlocked.
On the eve of the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, Inception officially released its first trailer, which was only thirty seconds long.
After the trailer went online on Watermelon Video, it surpassed 7 million views within twenty-four hours, with more than 2.4 million shares and reposts, and as many as 130,000 comments.
Based on the content released on the official website over the past few days, fans put forward their own plot speculations.
This was also part of attracting fans to participate in discussions, stimulating strong curiosity about the plot and thereby drawing in even more fans.
After that, an organization on the internet called the Dream Thieves Guild suddenly announced that several of its confidential operations had been leaked, and that the guild was contacting the FBI to investigate the cause of the leak.
Then several documents suddenly appeared online, with some key content redacted. However, it could be seen that the target of this dream-thief team's operation was Steve Jobs.
The objective of the operation was to obtain Apple 4's core secrets in order to gain enormous profits.
There was no doubt that this was a joint promotional campaign between the Inception production team and Apple, both to build momentum for Apple's new phone and to promote the film.
Even though everyone knew this was a promotional activity, fans who were already immersed in the experience still eagerly participated in this puzzle-solving event, enjoying it immensely.
At this point, it could be said that the film had achieved excellent promotional results
...
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