24 A Butterfly Born From Chrysalis (1/2)

Wang Yang's ruse worked like a charm. Wary that Artisan Entertainment might release a DV horror movie before they did, Lionsgate Films had decided to bring forward Paranormal Activity's debut. Their preliminary plan was to advertise the movie in the first two months and screen it in early August, which meant promotional activities were on the top of their agenda.

At 100 thousand dollars, which was 10 times the cost of producing the movie, the promotional budget that Lionsgate had allocated for Paranormal Activity was neither too much nor too little. Of course, advertising through television networks, film magazines, giant outdoor screens… those were strictly out of the question—not that they needed any of them. For there was only one avenue that their promotional efforts had to target, and that was the internet.

Everything had panned out according to Wang Yang's plan. First, Lionsgate Films had set up an official website for Paranormal Activity. The website adopted a simple format, with an introductory message, a few pictures, and some video clips. There was no mention of ”the world's first DV movie”, or ”the world's youngest director” or anything like that. They had chosen to abstain from incorporating marketing drivel on the website, as well as information about the director and the actors, or any blooper reels that might give away the story.

The entire website told of an incident—a gruesome case of murder. A man named Kevin, found dead in the bedroom of his apartment; his girlfriend, Mae, missing without a trace; the police, stumped. The police suspected that Mae had been involved in Kevin's murder and decided to track her down. But despite their best efforts, she remained elusive. It was as if she'd suddenly vanished with the wind. But then, Kevin's family made a startling discovery—a DV camcorder, as well as a mysterious stash of mini video cassettes in Kevin's apartment. The footages within the cassettes held clues through which the truth of the murder would ultimately be gleaned.

And Lionsgate Films was about to release a documentary that was edited and spliced from that footage, called Paranormal Activity.

At least that was what the people who visited the website would have imagined, when in fact, Lionsgate Films had never made any concrete statements claiming it to be a real documentary. They adopted a neutral stance in the matter, neither confirming nor denying it to be true.

As part of their gaslighting strategy, Lionsgate Films collaborated extensively with Wang Yang on the design of the website. The goal was to make it seem as realistic and convincing as possible.

Apart from a detailed account of the murder case, the official website also contained historical facts and information about demonic possession and ghosts. It also featured sneak peeks of the footage, which were, in fact, bits of video taken from Wang Yang's film shoot. Other elements of the website included: the movie's trailer, some ”news reports” produced by Lionsgate Films, and interviews with the police, Kevin's family members, Mae's family members, and other characters.

Few would question the authenticity of the website when Kevin's mother appeared in a heart-wrenching interview with her sullen face, teary eyes, and pleaded in her quaking voice, ”I hope everyone will go to the cinema and see Mae's face for themselves! Please help us. We need to find her. We need to know how our son died. Please have pity on me as a mother. Please, help us.” Kevin's mother was in fact played by an employee from Lionsgate. Her performance was so spectacular, it would not be unreasonable to say that she deserved the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Much to Wang Yang's delight, the shooting of the ”news reports” and ”interviews” provided an opportunity for him to make some quick cash, fattening his bank account by around 100 dollars. This time, however, his job wasn't to get behind the camera and shoot the video—that was taken care of by Lionsgate's production staff; for once, his job was to act—as the victim, Kevin's, ”best friend”. During the video shoot, he thought he'd done a commendable job as an actor. However, when he reviewed the video afterward, he retracted his opinion and lamented the fact that he was more fit to stand behind the camera than in front of it.

Wang Yang's cameo did not ruin the charade. This was because, for the sake of secrecy, he, Zachary, and Rachel weren't allowed to reveal their identities to the media or accept any interviews until the screenings had concluded. For the time being, the three of them did not exist, the movie had no director, Kevin was dead, and Mae was missing.

In a few days' time, they'd managed to lay the groundwork for the promotional campaign. Next on their agenda was the viral marketing strategy, which in laymen's terms meant hiring a few people to spread rumors on the internet. All major website forums, online communities, Bulletin Board Systems, mailing lists, and other channels had become the focus of Lionsgate's marketing efforts.

To that end, Lionsgate deployed 10 staff from its publishing department, which quickly proved to be insufficient. Then, they hired a legion of mercenaries comprising 20 contract workers. Sworn to secrecy under a non-disclosure agreement, their task was to lurk on the internet all day, drumming up hype for Paranormal Activity. They spammed inboxes, registered sock accounts, bumped their own posts, and replied to one another's comments in forums in order to create an illusion of authenticity surrounding the movie.

Wang Yang, believe it or not, was one of the part-time staff. And why not? With a stipend of over 2,000 dollars for a two-month stint spanning across June and early August, a comfortable work environment free from rain and sun, the lack of back-breaking manual labor, the opportunity to work from home, typing and clicking away on his keyboard, all the while contributing to the success of his own film—was there any other job that could top it?

More importantly, the job gave him the perfect excuse for not going home during summer break. It was supposed to be the end of the spring semester of his freshman year. Normally, he would go back to San Francisco to spend his long, three-month vacation. But when his parents called him to ask when he would go back that year, he told them he had found a promising, part-time job at Lionsgate Films and hence would not be seeing them any time soon. Thus, he was able to maintain a facade of normality.

Wang Yang's plan was simple. He would wait until his movie had become a success before confiding in his parents about his expulsion from college. That way, it would be much easier for him to quell their anger. See, Mom and Dad? My movie got published, and its sales are faring well. So why should I go back to the restaurant and work as a chef?

And so, he quit all his part-time jobs, including the one at McDonald's. His last day of work at McDonald's had been relatively quiet as Harry George didn't say a word to him the entire night. But when he started for the door at the end of his shift, the fat man grunted scornfully, ”I can't believe it.” To that, Wang Yang lifted a shoulder. That was all.

In short, life had never been more pleasant for him. He would wake up every morning to practice his kung fu, break his fast, turn on his now-internet-equipped computer, log in to Yahoo and various other online forums, and begin his day's work.

”How gruesome. It's true, I know the policeman personally. He told me Kevin died horribly. They found him with a gaping hole where his heart was supposed to be, as if something had gouged out his heart and devoured it…”

After submitting the post, Wang Yang logged on to another forum and proceeded to bump up all his colleagues' posts. ”Oh, it's absolutely horrifying! I think I've heard of it before. It happened near where I lived. Do you think evil spirits really exist?”

Within a few days, their hard work had begun to bear fruit. The early signs of their campaign's efficacy were faint but unmistakable. Slowly but surely, the masses' attitude toward the advertisement shifted—from ignorance to awareness, from awareness to concern, from concern to belief. Many people were already looking forward to seeing the movie at the theaters.

Of course, there was also a fair share of people who suspected that the whole thing was a hoax and that it was just a publicity stunt by Lionsgate. Fortunately, back in those days, personal privacy had still been a highly regarded right in America, and social surveillance had yet been implemented. Otherwise, evidence that Kevin and Mae were alive and well—Zachary, going about his day job at the grocery store, and Rachel, happily attending her classes at York University—were bound to surface on the internet.

Whether people believed it or doubted it, one thing was certain—the traffic on Paranormal Activity's official website was skyrocketing. Many even decided to call Lionsgate directly to inquire about the matter. As a result, Ms. Jennifer, the receptionist, spent most of her days answering calls, placating the curious with her canned response. ”I'm sorry, I have no idea, either.”

”I know that guy. He was my classmate back in Lincoln High School, San Francisco. Last time I heard, he was going to attend a college in Los Angeles. How did he end up working at a supermarket?”

The comment on the trailer titled ”Interview With Kevin's Best Friend” gave Wang Yang such a scare that he recoiled from his computer and nearly fell from his chair. Who could that guy be? What a horrible coincidence! Attempting to remedy the situation, he replied to the comment, ”Your ex-classmate must've met Kevin in college. The supermarket thing is probably just a part-time gig.” Then, he exited the forum to work on other more pressing things.

That night, Wang Yang had decided not to chain himself to his computer screen. It was the sixth game of the NBA finals, and he had invited a few friends over to watch the game with him, namely Zachary Levi, Jessica, Jessica's brother Joshua, and Jessica's good friend from acting school, Erin Elis, a white girl with raven-black hair.

When Erin Elis saw Zachary, her eyes opened wide, her lips drew back, and her high-pitched scream burst into the open. ”Aren't you dead?” she asked in utter disbelief. Seemingly embarrassed, Zachary scratched his head with a smile and said, ”I'm not dead. Kevin is.” As Erin Elis flicked her eyes from Zachary face's to Wang Yang's, she began to put two and two together. Huffing out a laugh, she said, ”So, all that nonsense about demonic possession that's taking the internet by storm is a hoax after all!”

Nodding with a smile, Wang Yang conceded. ”That's right. It's actually a movie I've made.” Then, switching to a more serious tone, he said, ”Erin, please keep this a secret. We need to keep up the hype to promote our movie.”

”Oh, of course. I won't breathe a word about it, I promise.” Solemnly, Erin gave Wang Yang her word. Then, she threw her hands up and said, ”It's just that I'm a little disappointed. I thought all that stuff was real.”

”You should be glad it's not.” Wang Yang glanced at Zachary, smiling, and said, ”At least 'Kevin' is still here with us, safe and sound.”

Feigning innocence, Zachary shrugged his shoulders, and everyone broke out in laughter.

And so, the five of them sat side by side on a single sofa in front of the television set, drinking soda, watching the game, or chatting, each according to his kind.

In America, the most popular sport, of course, was American football. Every year, the Super Bowl would attract close to 100 million spectators, with an average television rating of 40 percent. That said, the NBA, with Michael Jordan as its poster child, was no small affair either. The first five games of the championship grand finals had achieved a television rating of over 20 percent, and it was partly thanks to Michael Jordan's incredible charisma. While he was hailed as a hero in Chicago, he was seen as an adversary by many other cities, such as Salt Lake City. In fact, even Los Angeles viewed him as a rival, since the Bulls had defeated the Lakers in the 1990-1991 season grand finals.

Ordinarily, die-hard Lakers fans like Joshua couldn't give a d*mn about the Bulls. However, following the Lakers crushing 0:4 defeat by Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Finals that year, Lakers fans all over the country had cast aside their grudges from '91 in hopes that the Bulls would avenge them by kicking the Jazz's butt.

As a Bay Area kid, Wang Yang was naturally an avid supporter of the Golden State Warriors. However, with the Warriors having been eliminated by Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semi-Finals that year, Wang Yang once again found himself on the Bulls bandwagon, cheering for Michael Jordan. It was a familiar feeling for him, as he'd been watching both the Warriors and the Bulls play ever since he was little.

Since all of them were watching the game because of Michael Jordan and the Bulls, there were no rivalries in the room. When Utah Jazz pressed their attack, they yelled ”defense”, and when the Bulls scored, they capered and cheered.

”Aw yeah! Nice shot!” As Michael Jordan sank the shot, evening the score between the Bulls and the Jazz once again, the sofa shook with passion and intensity. Beaming with joy, Wang Yang reached out a hand and gave Jessica a sideways high five. Meanwhile, in a primal display of excitement, Joshua leaped from the sofa, puffed out his chest, and proceeded to beat it with both his fists like a gorilla, all the while bellowing at the top of his lungs.

Jessica couldn't take it anymore. She snapped at her brother. ”Joshua, will you pipe down?”

”Man!” Joshua turned to look at Wang Yang and said laughingly, ”Yang, it sure is nice to watch the game at your place! Here, I can shout however I want!” Exasperated, Jessica cried, ”Sure it is. Yang's the one who'll be taking the rap from the neighbors.” Trying to break the tension, Wang Yang smiled and said, ”It's all right. This apartment is supposed to be haunted, anyway. Ghostly shrieks are a common occurrence here.” Jessica threw an appreciative smile at Wang Yang. Pretending not to see them, Joshua glanced around the house and muttered to himself in mock admiration, ”Wow, living here alone must be so sweet. I'm so jealous!”

Wang Yang shrugged his shoulders with a smile and said, ”You think so? Living by yourself and having all that freedom may seem like fun and games, but once you get into it, you'll realize how difficult it actually is.” He lamented, ”Cooking for yourself, cleaning the house, making sure it's neat and tidy, buying groceries—those things can be a drag, especially for a little kid like you.”

”Yang, you're absolutely right. He still relies on his Mommy to do his laundry.” Cackling inadvertently, with all her sweetness and beauty shining through her face, Jessica teased.

Zachary and Erin couldn't keep from laughing when they heard Jessica expose her brother's shameful little secret. Discomfited and mortified, Joshua let out a ”hmph”, rolled his eyes, and said, ”Jessica, you talk as if you actually wash your own clothes. Don't you rely on a washing machine, too? I'm just too lazy to dump my clothes in it, that's all.” Then, he turned his eyes on Wang Yang, who was laughing the hardest, and said flippantly, ”Dude, laugh at me while you can. Once I become an adult, I'm going to move out and live in a place of my own.”