The real reason Hitchcock’s movies grossed so much money

Sometime around 2019 or so, I first read a fascinating book called: “Backstory 1” It’s the first of four volumes of interviews with screenwriters for Hollywood's "golden" age. And the insights & lessons inside are not only extremely thought-provoking, but can be extremely profitable, too. Take, for example, an interview inside with screenwriter Richard Maibaum, where he dropped a zinger about a conversation he had with Alfred Hitchcock. Here is what he said: === [Hitchcock] said to me, “Did you read what we’ve got?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “What did you think about it?” I replied, “It’s not very logical.” He grimaced and said, “Oh, dear boy, don’t be dull. I’m not interested in logic. I’m interested in effect. If the audience ever thinks about logic, it’s on their way home after the show, and by that time, you see, they’ve paid for their tickets.” === A wise marketer can put that info to good use. In fact, it goes back to how imperfection is more profitable than perfection. For example: The first “Avengers” movie — the highest grossing movie of 2012 — had the most continuity (i.e., logical) mistakes in it than any other movie released that year according to some movie site that tracked such things. I suspect there were many lesser grossing movies that same year with little — or maybe zero — continuity blunders in it. All probably super logical, too. And, thus, super boring and not very profitable. Or think The Lord of the Rings books. Very illogical. Why not just have the eagles fly Frodo over Mount Doom to the door of Sammath Naur, then have Frodo run in, thumb flick the Ring into the fire, run back out, and be back in time for second breakfast? The answer: All that logic would suck out the drama. i.e., destroy the “effect.” (I’ve heard Tolkien-worshipping fanboys hamster spin why that’s not a flaw, but I don’t buy it) One of the most sinister examples of this is the infamous Dr. Brinkley. Back during the Great Depression he made a fortune selling men on curing their erectile dysfunction by letting him sew goat testicles to their own testicles. He got away with it for a long time. He also had a horde of raving fans and believers who — even when faced with incontrovertible and, yes, LOGICAL, evidence of his chicanery — still defended and believed him. And the reason why is because Dr. Brinkley understood what Hitchcock, and other smart people have long known, and what the late Gene Schwartz taught over and over: “People desperately want to believe.” Which brings me to my “Markauteur” book on sale until tonight. It does not teach logic when it comes to the visual & design-side of marketing. It teaches pure effect. Gloriously illogical effect in some cases. Because in my experience — over 20+ years applying the info — effect gets the engagement, and engagement gets the sales. If you don’t believe me simply look around at what’s engaging. * The hard-to-read Reddit layout that gets feeding-frenzy-like engagement. * The crooked painting in the art gallery that sells faster and at a bigger profit than the others. * The Rob Liefeld comicbook art that makes Captain America's chest look like a refrigerator (not done on purpose, he just done fooked up) and has been, hands down, THE #1 most-mocked and scorned comicbook artwork by the entire industry (even he admits it's ridiculous looking) since the 1990's... where the original art literally just sold for over $130,000 last year! * The TV show riddled with plot holes that has the highest ratings. * The movie that has the most continuity errors but the biggest box office gross. * The kooky salesman with the lazy eye and the high water pants who outsells all this slick peers. * And, yes, the marketer that knows and understands how to use effect to create a visual & design “universe” unto itself where people like to go, hate to leave, and buy in droves — even if the marketing is sub par, and the offers not necessarily the “best.” Okay enough. Fact is, Markauteur is the highest priced of all my books so far. And it is also — in my (obviously biased) opinion — the most valuable. Thus the sticker shock price. But to take some of the sting out of that price, it’s still on sale until tonight. To get the full details on the book do this: 1. Read every single word at the URL below to make an informed purchase 2. Buy it before tonight, Sunday 8/18 at midnight EDT to get it at the discount. 3. Use code POMPOUS at the checkout (Make sure you see the price change before entering your info) Here’s the link: [( Ben Settle This email was sent by Ben Settle as owner of Settle, LLC. Copyright © 2024 Settle, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No part of this email may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from Settle, LLC. Click here to [unsubscribe]( Settle, LLC PO Box 1056 Gold Beach Oregon 97444 USA