Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1041 The awards are for the box office

"Rick, where is Ronald now?"

Ovitz immediately picked up the phone and called Rick Nisita, Ronald's primary agent.He wanted to confirm whether Ronald was in Washington DC on the day of the inauguration ceremony of the Grand Commander.

"He's in New York...wait a minute, let me check,...well, he's almost set off for Park City, Utah now." Nisita looked up Ronald's itinerary and said to Ovitz.

"What's he doing there? Listen, I want to meet with him about the Oscar nomination. You tell me about his upcoming schedule, and I want to meet him as soon as possible."

"He went to the Sundance Film Festival run by Robert Redford. You forgot that besides being a director, he is also an investor and producer of independent films." Nisita raised the corners of his mouth, and now his The client, too, has reached a position where Ovitz must coordinate his position before the Oscars.

"His investment film 'The Sid Sisters' is an entry. He'll be there for two days, then go to Palm Springs for another film festival, ... a Chinese film ... and then to Los Angeles. If you want he……"

"You help me make an appointment with Ronald. I can go to Palm Springs to meet him." Ovitz decided to meet in Palm Springs, where there are many quiet places where he can meet and chat with Ronald without disturbing anyone. .

"Okay, I will confirm the specific time with him as soon as possible."

"It would be nice if I went to the East Coast earlier. I happen to be going to Washington DC, where I can talk to Ronald." Ovitz pretended to be regretful. His busy schedule is well known in CAA.

"DC? There's no plane access there, and you have to drive from Virginia. It's inconvenient for Ronald to go from New York. Why don't you meet in Palm Springs?"

"That's it. You have a specific time to tell my secretary." Ovitz put down the phone. It seems that Ronald is not in Washington DC on the day of the inauguration ceremony.He was still not at ease, so he called Mary and followed his longest secretary, "Ronald Lee is at the Sundance Film Festival, let our people interview him..."

On the other side, Nisita also hung up and called Richard.

"Ovitz has an appointment with Ronald. Are you with him? Ask if he's available when he's in Palm Springs?"

"He wants to meet with Director Huang from Huaguo, and there are no other business arrangements..." Richard looked at the schedule, "What does he want to talk about? Is there anything I want to say to Ronald?"

"To talk about the coordination of Oscar nominations, you talk to Ronald according to our plan and see what he thinks. Hmm...Ovitz also mentioned Washington DC, I don't understand what it means, you repeat it to Ronald De...maybe he has some arrangements that we don't know about."

……

"Ronald?" Richard found Ronald who was eating in the restaurant. He was eating while reading a thick paperback novel. Diane tilted his head beside him and wanted to get a closer look. content of this novel.

"Richard, would you like to have something to eat? No? Let's have a Mormon Starbucks...waiter..." Seeing that it was his manager, Ronald pulled out a chair for him to sit down.

"Michael Ovitz wants to meet you, can you make time to meet him when you get to Palm Springs?" Richard took a sip of this Diet Coke with coffee extract soda, Utah 70% They're all Mormons, a religion that forbids coffee!
Therefore, young people who want to drink coffee (young people who cannot drink coffee in America are really miserable) can only enjoy themselves by adding espresso liquid to Coke in disguise.

"Okay, I just wanted to have a good chat with Director Huang, you can arrange it for me." Ronald was still holding the novel in his hand.

"How about this book?" Richard finished the task and came to care about the novel Ronald was reading.Since the right to adapt several novels was robbed, he attaches great importance to collecting best-selling novels and often reads them on the go.

"Horror..." Ronald closed the novel and handed it to Diane, "Do you want to read it?".I saw on the cover of the book that the Nobel Prize winner Marquez's new work is "Love in the Time of Cholera".Seeing that Diane was interested, he handed over the book.

"Is this book bad?" Richard asked innocently, looking at the big Nobel Prize winner on the cover.

"I mean it's too scary to adapt a movie. The highlight is about a sex scene with a former lover who is over 60 years old. Who wants to watch this kind of movie?"

Diane heard it, and quickly put down the book in her hand. She felt that since Ronald said so, he must be right.

"Okay, I'm going to call Rick (Nisita) back," Richard stopped bothering Ronald, he got up and turned back, "Rick said Ovitz mentioned whether you went to DC, maybe What message does he want to convey to you..."

……

Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival is named after the "Sundance Kid" he played in his famous film "The Tiger Cub".For some reason, Redford attaches great importance to this independent film festival.

He tried his best to do it himself, and there were only twenty people in the entire film festival staff.Creators are all equal, and everyone, big or small, sits down to discuss the pure art of filmmaking.

"Ronald, the 'Sid Sisters' you brought this year is very unique. It is an unprecedented teen film." Robert Redford was very satisfied with Ronald who came to participate in the film festival in person. Such a small independent The film festival needs such influential people to come.

"Is there any hope of winning an award?" Ronald half-jokingly.

"This is a matter for the judges to decide, but this year there is also a 'Sex·Lies·Video' that has also been well received by the judges." Radford told the truth, so as not to make Ronald have incorrect expectations. unhappy.

"Is it Harvey Weinstein's new movie? He said he was filming the last time I was in Cannes."

"Yeah, that's the one, and it's a very unique movie, completely different from the genre that Hollywood loves to make."

Ronald touched his nose, which means that the movies I make are all genre films.If you don't make money by making genre films, how can you have the money to invest in this kind of film?

While the two were talking, a reckless man with a thick neck rushed over to say hello to Ronald.

"Hi Ronald, great to see you here. Do you have any new films for Cannes this year? No? It's a pity that we should promote Hollywood films at Cannes, not only Chinese people can shoot Special movie coming."

"Yeah...yeah..." Ronald said perfunctorily.He recognized it as Miramax's Harvey Weinstein.This guy doesn't have much money, but he makes a lot of noise.I am afraid that this movie is a gamble for his fortune, so he is very nervous whether Ronald will compete with him for awards at the film festival.

He was delighted to hear that Ronald had no films sent to Cannes this year.He quickly greeted Ronald and Redford to attend the independent producer salon organized by him.

This year, it's not just producers from all walks of life who didn't get investment from major studios gathered in Park City.Even the author of the novel Ronald read, García Márquez, was in Park City, attending the festival.

……

"No, I'm not going to send One Hundred Years of Solitude to the silver screen. Neither will Hollywood. No one will think about it until I die."

Harvey Weinstein respects Marquez very much, and he wants to get the right to adapt the other party's masterpiece "One Hundred Years of Solitude".But unexpectedly, Marquez rejected it without saying a word.

"However, seven of your novels have been adapted into movies?" Harvey was puzzled, was he not sincere enough? "This is the director Ronald. He also likes adaptations of famous novels. People in our circle know that he is looking for novels everywhere. I think if you are willing to adapt, Ronald will also be very interested... …Is it right?"

"I think we should respect the author's opinion...", Ronald ignored this, Marquez is too hypocritical, why not adapt it?Isn't there already seven?
"It's very difficult to meet a straightforward person like you in Hollywood..." Unexpectedly, Marquez liked Ronald's answer very much, "People here said when they saw me that it would be too late to adapt One Hundred Years of Solitude." I don’t know what ability they have to adapt this movie well? People who have no feelings for America can’t make this movie well..."

"Yeah, who doesn't have feelings for Latin America, who would make such a movie that clearly costs money?" Ronald smiled without saying a word.It is very difficult to adapt the masterpiece of this Colombian writer. The plot may be good to read in the novel, but the audience will definitely not buy it when it is made into a movie.Just the same names of people made all the audience dizzy.

"What about 'Love in the Time of Cholera'?" Harvey still didn't give up, and asked about Marquez's second most famous movie.

"Puchi..." Diane couldn't help laughing when she heard the name of the novel and remembered Ronald's evaluation of the 60-year-old couple's bed scene.

"Hey, hey... I saw the banner on the opposite side, the poster of John Cassavetes. I remember when I was a child, he often came to my house to play." Diane knew he had made a mistake, and quickly made up a reason.This year's Sundance, there is a tribute review of New York filmmaker John Cassavetes' films.

Diane's father, Burt, was John Cassavetes' partner back then, who even hugged Diane as a baby.The two were best friends who broke into the New York independent film circle back then, and they also opened an acting training company together.

"It turned out to be Cassavetes' retrospective exhibition. Excuse me. I want to accompany Diane to miss my old friend. Cassavetes is also my idol in making movies." Ronald took advantage of the situation to stand up and supported Diane's back , the two walked to the screening room, where one of John Cassavetes' masterpieces, "Glory the Lady", was about to be screened.

"It's no wonder that Ronald understands the hearts of us Americans so well. John Cassavetes uses our American method to make movies. When he is an actor for a while, save some money and then continue to shoot. We Americans are all like this. It's the art that counts, not the box office..."

Marquez was still praising Ronald endlessly, which made Harvey Weinstein feel uncomfortable. After all, he has been flattering him for so long, and he is not as respected as Ronald's nonchalant attitude.

"The movie was still filmed in our apartment at the time..." Diane said to Ronald.

"Then let's go and see..." Ronald looked at the plot on the poster. A gangster accountant was hunted by gangsters to seek revenge. They asked his son to hide in the house of a neighbor's female killer, Gloria. Finally, the female killer The two of them broke through the siege and became best friends. Glori killed all the gangsters, and they lived together with the child.

"Director Ronald? I'm a reporter from 'Star Weekly', can I interview you here?" A reporter came to interview Ronald when Diane went to buy a ticket.

"Huh? When did I become an object of interest to your readers?" Ronald knew that Star Weekly was a tabloid, and it always reported celebrity gossip.

"Your Dirty Dancing, our audience loves it. In last month's vote, it became the audience's favorite video No.1."

"Well, I'm here to watch the movie, so the interview shouldn't be too long." Ronald didn't have any objection to the media that sorted movies by box office.

"Okay, may I ask Director Ronald, are you satisfied with the current box office performance of Working Girl? Are you confident of being nominated for an Oscar?"

"Very satisfied, our guests in every place are successful people who are secretaries, so the audience is very satisfied... As for the Oscars, I am confident that my film will be liked by them, but I respect the votes of the judges In the end, whether I was nominated or not..."

"Okay, may I ask Director Ronald, what works of other directors do you like?"

"I like the films of Lucas, Spielberg, and Scorsese. In terms of previous directors, I prefer John Ford and Frank Capra."

"Personal question? Ronald. Who are you voting for in the general election? What's your favorite NFL football team?"

"I voted, and I hope our country elects a leader who can lead the people to move forward," Ronald said, "As for which team I like, I was a member of the San Francisco 49ers when I was young." Fans, now support the hometown Giants as well."

"Did you go to Washington to attend the inauguration ceremony of the new general? The Super Bowl is about to start, which team will you support? Will you go to the scene to support?" The reporter's eyes showed curiosity.

"Like everyone else, I watched the inauguration ceremony on TV..." Ronald smiled awkwardly. "As for the Super Bowl, I may still watch it at home. The two teams I support are due to strikes and can only recruit. Temporary players played, so the playoffs were eliminated early. I am displeased with this strike behavior with no regard for the audience...”

Ronald said jokingly, thinking that your questions are really extensive, and then stopped the reporter from continuing the interview with gestures, "Come here, my movie is about to start."

"Thank you, Ronald. Thank you for accepting our interview." The reporter hurried to the hotel when he got the answer he wanted, "Hey, where is the fax machine? I have an important document to be faxed to Los Angeles. ... um , CAA Building, received by Mr. Michael Ovitz..."

……

During two days in Park City, "The Sid Sisters" received unprecedented acclaim from the live audience.But critics didn't like the film very much.They generally believed that the bright ending that Ronald asked the director to modify destroyed the overall artistic conception of the film.It's better to follow the original book, be cruel to the end, and let the heroine be killed by a bomb.

Ronald dismissed such layman's language.With the ending of the original book, can the MPAA give it an R rating?Can it be released in America?A movie that reflects the cruel youth life must have a bright ending, otherwise, teenagers who go to the movie will be completely disappointed, how can they recommend it to their friends?
Diane did not return to Los Angeles with him.She brought all kinds of posters from the film festival to the tragic death of Cassavetes, and the videotapes of his films from the retrospective, and she was going home to be with her father Burt.Diane hopes to bring back the respect that audiences and industry insiders have for his father's old friend, sharing rare and heartwarming moments of adulthood with his father.

Ronald's business jet sent Diane back to New York, and he flew directly to Palm Springs International Airport in a civil aviation plane.

In Palm Springs in winter, the planes are filled with wealthy people from all over the world on vacation.There are ski resorts and hot springs here... But starting this year, Palm Springs' specialties include singer mayor Sonny Bono, and the newly opened Palm Springs International Film Festival.

"Director Huang!"

"Director Luo!"

At the airport, Ronald happened to meet Director Huang whom Xu Jiahui knew.She was also invited by Daydream this time, bringing her old film "Human Ghost Love" two years ago to participate in the first "Palm Springs International Film Festival" screening.

"Called Luo...hahaha", Ronald happily let Director Huang get into the car, and the group went to a high-end hot spring hotel in Palm Springs.It was all arranged by Daydream Films.

Last year, "Human Ghost Love" also participated in the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival and won the best film.The so-called export to domestic sales was actually re-screened in Huaguo cinemas.At last year's Golden Rooster Awards, director Huang himself won the best screenplay, and supporting actor Li Baotian also won the best supporting actor.

"It's been a long time since I saw you, and you're still so energetic!" After checking in, he chatted in the hotel lounge. Director Huang looked at Ronald and Helen Slater, who came here specially to meet him, and showed a mysterious smile.

"Does Director Huang have any new projects? Last time I went to Cannes, I saw Director Kaige from your capital."

"Hey, I can't compare with them. Our Xujiahui Film Factory has reduced the number of films produced a lot. As a result, I have to bring old films when I come to America this time, and I don't want to." Director Huang sighed.

Ronald asked quickly.It turns out that in the past two years, the film market in Huaguo has been severely impacted by pirated video halls everywhere.A large number of Hollywood copies flowed into the mainland through Xiangjiang.The film's box office losses were severe.

Many young talents in film studios have also imitated Hollywood Coleman-style films and made many exploitation films.Instead of selling to the head office, they used the distribution channels of pirated Hollywood video tapes to sell the genuine videos they shot to the video hall.

Therefore, on the big screen in cinemas, the high-quality productions in the past two years have dropped significantly compared to previous years.

Director Huang also has this kind of distress. It has become very difficult to make the movie he wants to make with good actors and behind-the-scenes technicians as before.A large number of actresses go abroad, and only a top star like Director Xie can make one or two good movies.

"I appreciate Director Huang's talent and talent very much. If you don't have a chance in Xujiahui, you might as well come to Hollywood and I will invest in your filmmaking." Ronald cherishes Director Huang's talents. The golden time of creation was wasted in vain.

"Me? I don't know English, so I'm afraid I won't be able to cooperate with your technology?" Director Huang's eyes were full of eagerness, but she spoke out the objective difficulties first.

"It doesn't matter, I have a big production of more than 1000 million now, which is being shot by the director of Xiangjiang. Movies are an international language. You can do the same with Director Huang. I will ask Xiaoyan to be your assistant. He is now English Well said."

Ronald said nonchalantly, "You can also consider whether to make a Sino-American joint venture movie, with Chinese characters and American characters, so that if the project is approved now, it can be released in both places next summer."

"Hahaha..." Director Huang certainly knew that things were not that simple.The co-production of the film had to be reported to the higher authorities.However, with Ronald's help, he really should consider writing a script that combines China and the United States.

"Is this director Huang very good?" Helen also felt curious when she saw how much importance Ronald had attached to him.

"You've seen her 'Human Ghost Love'. In my opinion, many so-called female film masters, psychological film masters, or directors with a strong personal style in Hollywood are not as good as her..."

Helen didn't believe it, but since Ronald admired it so much, she also followed Ronald to the screening at the film festival.

"Woooo..." Helen Slater watched the movie, just reading the subtitles, and she didn't know how much she understood, but just like that, this movie made her cry.

"This protagonist, Qiuyun, seems to be a portrayal of our actress." Helen hugged Ronald's arm. This movie was shot in a very rare way. The protagonist played by Zhong Kui is a ghost who catches ghosts. Zhong Kui's ability to communicate her inner distress is actually the communication between her and her subconscious mind.

In the end, Zhong Kui sang Qiu Yun's best song "Zhong Kui Marries a Sister", and wanted to marry herself out.Being able to film the inner activities of the characters and make them understandable is a very extraordinary way of expression.

"Yeah, I don't know how to shoot this scene of talking with my subconscious mind?" Ronald watched it carefully this time, and found something extraordinary.The black background behind Zhong Kui has no reflections, and the audience can easily understand that this is an illusory image, although they know little about Peking Opera facial makeup.

"Huh, huh, huh..." Many of the audience at the scene were professional women who were on vacation. Seeing such a movie, they all thought it was very exciting.If they played this movie, they would have a lot of emotions.

"How did you shoot Zhong Kui who was so completely black that there was no reflection?" Ronald waited for Director Huang to accept the media interview, and hurried up to ask for technical details.

"I covered the whole studio with black velvet. My production director used cheap velvet at first, but I refused to shoot. It took him three days before he agreed to change it."

"Such a good skill, this little money is nothing." Ronald understood the value of such a small skill. Ordinary flannelette would have weak reflections, and this kind of expression of dialogue with the inner subconscious would be destroyed.Director Huang is right to be so persistent, the money is spent on the screen.

"When you bring the script, I will definitely give you enough budget. You can shoot whatever you want..." Ronald confirmed the reservation of the new film with Director Huang again.

"I'll write the script when I get back..."

"Director Huang, can you tell me more stories about Peking Opera?" Helen liked this "Human Ghost Love" very much, and she held on to Director Huang, wanting to hear more stories about her filming.

Ronald gave up the translation to Helen, who seemed to have a keen interest in many things across the Pacific.

"Mr. Ovitz..." Ronald himself went back to the hotel to meet with CAA boss Ovitz at the appointed time.

"Call me Michael, Ronald, hahaha..." Ovitz looked honest and honest.People who are not familiar with him, when they see him, will think that this is a very honest agent, relying on the long-term reputation with clients and studios, he has achieved today's status.

"Rick said you wanted to coordinate with me about the Oscar nomination PR?" Ronald was familiar with this man, and he would not be deceived by his appearance, so he mentioned the substantive content immediately.

"Yes, the Oscar nominations are now at the most critical moment. I don't want people inside CAA to invest resources in killing each other... So, I will have an interview with all important clients who are interested in competing for this year's Oscars."

Ovitz talked about his thoughts, projects promoted by CAA, projects signed by CAA stars and directors, for these awards, it is best for everyone to have an understanding of each other's ambitions, otherwise their own people will match up with their own people, and resources will be allocated The loss outweighs the gain.

The awards that are more important to CAA's clients are the so-called top five, best actor and actress, best director, best screenwriter, and best film.Ovitz understood Ronald's thoughts. Last year's nomination was considered a stepping stone. This year, the young director has more expectations for the best director.

As for other awards, the nominations for the best screenplay are divided into two categories: original and adapted, and the competition is not fierce. "Working Girl" won't have much of a problem.The awards for actors and working girls mainly compete for the nominations of leading actress and supporting actress, which is exactly separated from CAA's highlight this year, "Rain Man".

Ronald is also satisfied with this arrangement. The role of Harrison Ford's male vase has a very small chance of being nominated.The heroine of Rain Man doesn't have any important roles, and it happens to be a win-win situation for everyone.

After talking about this, Ovitz will go back to Los Angeles.He finally confirmed his intention to compete for the nomination with Ronald, "By the way, I heard that you are going to have a big fight at the Golden Globe Awards?"

Before leaving, Ovitz asked a question.

"Yes, for the box office..." Ronald had nothing to hide about that, the Golden Globes were bought anyway.

"Be careful, the Golden Globe is easy to get, but it may come with some gifts you don't want..." Ovitz winked, shook hands with Ronald and left.

"What kind of gift I don't want..." Ronald felt that Ovitz always liked to play tricks, and it was annoying if he didn't say clearly.

……

"Should we slow down the PR of the nomination?" Michael Gray, a PR consultant who also came to Palm Springs, came to discuss with Ronald. After listening to Ovitz's ideas, he asked whether it was necessary to follow Ovitz's agreement Make adjustments.

"What do you think?" Ronald asked him in turn.

"Just do it, I don't believe he can keep his promise. Besides, the words he said didn't really promise anything, they were just words of principle. The nominations for the performance award and director award are all voted by the labor union. It's not outside the normal range of Oscar PR either."

"Listen to you, just do it. However, we don't make it too obvious when it comes to the three awards for leading actress, supporting actress and director." Ronald instructed.

"Understood, we will send postcards to remind the actors, especially the actresses, that this is one of the rare films in Hollywood that challenges the male power structure.

As for the Directors Guild, I'll send your daydream letters hoping to re-release videotapes of their work.By the way, remind them that you're also up for Best Director this year. "

"Very good..." Ronald was very satisfied with Michael Gray's endless PR plans.

"By the way, the selection results for the Sundance Film Festival are out today." Michael Gray remembered the news and reported to Ronald.

"result?"

"Sex·Lies·Video won the Audience Choice Award, the Sid Sisters did not win the award, and the jury award was given to 'True Love'."

"What movie is that?" Ronald was puzzled.

"Mr. Radford, and his company greatly admired the film."

"Hmm..." Ronald understood that many of the awards in these film festivals were for the box office.With awards, you can sell higher prices, attract more mainstream distributors, directors and starring actors, and may also receive invitations from larger-budget production companies-such as Robert Redford's Sundance Productions company.

I hope that the next Golden Globe Awards can also give the same blessing to "Working Girl", so that more audiences can enter the cinema and enjoy the performance of the Golden Globe Award winner.

If you are lucky enough to get an Oscar nomination or even win an award, then there are more possibilities. After the awards are announced, it is not without precedent for the film to be screened in mainstream theaters for the second time.

(End of this chapter)