The past month at Fox Searchlight Pictures have been going well. I report to Allison Hobsor~, the assistant to Mary Ann Hult who is the head of publicity in New York.
My basic duties are answering phones; photocopying; collaborating "breaks"; setting up for screenings; keeping track of RSVPs for screenings; sending out press kits to various magazines, newspapers, and websites; keeping inventory of press kits, art,and production notes; and assisting with press conferences. When my schedule permits, I read production notes of Fox's up and coming films. This is a good way to familiarize myself with the director and cast of the films being released and to better prepare the "breaks" each morning.
The "breaks" are the gathering of articles related to Fox Searchlight films and/or of the actors in their films. Each morning I skim through the Daily News, New York Post, and the New York Times. I look for stories containing any positive mention of a Fox film or any actor in a Fox film. When and if I do find a story, I clip it out, copy it, attach a memo to it, and fax it over to the L.A. office. This is a way of keeping the staff in L.A. up-to-date with any publicity coverage in New York. A good example is wher1 Hillary Swank won a Golden Globe award for her role in "Boys Don't Cry". The day after she won, there was a lot of coverage about it in the papers. I was able to put together various articles about her and send them to L.A.
On many occasions, a magazine, newspaper, website, or television show will request a press kit as well as art, from a movie to be reviewed and published or aired. The press kits include the trailers, production notes, and brief biographies of the cast. The art is the photographs of scenes from a particular film. I take down all the necessary information and make sure they get it by the requested deadline. I also keep a log of who I sent press kits and art to and the date they are scheduled to run.
When a screening is to take place, I call the theater and put a screening room on hold. I send out the invitations and keep a record of the RSVPs. Most of the people that attend are film critics and writers. At select screenings, the director, producer, and some of the cast will attend. They meet and greet the guests and make themselves available for autographs. I have not yet been to a screening but plan to go to one soon. Sometimes they are held in the day, and other times they are scheduled in the evening. Allison always gives me and a friend an open invitation to go.
Anther part of my position is helping to organize press conferences. So far since I started there have not been any. They're usually held right before a new film is about to be released. The next two films to be released are "Soft Fruit" and "Woman on Top", in late March and early April. At a press conference, I will have to check the guests in and make sure they are on the invite list. The guests are the press: newspaper reporters, magazine writers, the director, and some of it's cast. Allison told me that in some cases, the intern and assistant will drive around with an actor and keep them occupied for the day. This sounds exciting and I definitely look forward to meeting new and interesting people.
So far this internship has been a fun learning experience. I'm starting to get a feel for what goes on behind getting a movie launched and acknowledged by the public. There is a lot of preparation in getting a film publicized. It's one thing to make a movie and anther to get people to actually want to go and see it!