Lynda Obst says that the “word around Hollywood” was that Inception would be only a minor success. Too weird, too hard to explain, etc. Then the PR team took over and made it into a Movie Event. In her telling, here’s how they did it:
They turned Chris Nolan into a star—not a movie star, but a cinema star. No director had accomplished this, except Spielberg. […] The materials cut by the WB team were taut, dramatic, consistent, and told a narrative:
1. This is an event.
2. This Director (Capital D)—who made Dark Knight—is the Real Thing.
3. It’s about dreams.
4. This movie is cool.
5. Here’s all the story you need.
5. It’s action: mucho action.
6. Here’s Leo.
7. He goes home.
8. Visuals are mind-blowing.
9. More action.
10. You have never seen anything like this.
