Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1081 Rupert's Invitation

"This is really shocking, I never thought it could be so realistic?" Ronald looked at the screen that had just turned on and exclaimed.

In the Twentieth Century Fox screening hall, Ronald and Cameron watched the test screening of "The Abyss" together.The audience responded well, especially the shot of the tsunami's wall of water crashing against the shore, and another shot of intelligent water simulating a human face, which elicited bursts of exclamation from them.

"But 140 minutes is really too long. I still suggest reducing it to 120 minutes, at most 125 minutes. We can look at the audience's feedback later..." The executive producer of Twentieth Century Fox continued to express objections.

Ronald squinted at him, ignored him, and continued to communicate with Cameron, "Is this all rendered through modeling? Why is the texture of the waves so realistic?"

"We have developed an algorithm to make the deformation of water more smooth and realistic, and the engineers of Industrial Light and Magic have added some real water ripple textures to the surface of the model..."

The two discussed the technical details of special effects, and Cameron spent a lot of energy to solve it, which was the trimming of the combination of computer and real shooting.Computer-generated special effects can satisfy the imagination of filmmakers like never before, but there is still a distance between him and the real shot images. A large part of the work of special effects production is to make the two perfectly integrated.

Catherine Bigelow was nearby, watching the two discuss intently.Cameron had very little hope of getting the right to final cut, and the shot of the water wall may not be cut into the final version.

Ronald's strong support gave him room to bargain. On the whole, if there is only a market for ordinary movies in science fiction and special effects-intensive spectacle movies, it would be a waste.

"Mr. Diller..." Barry Diller, the boss of Fox, came in at the door, and the executive producer immediately bounced like a spring, "I just got the feedback from the audience of the test screening, and many people are in the market. Checked too long..."

These little tricks of doing market research were used very smoothly by the executive producer.With proper topic design and given options, it is easy to get the result you want.He ignored the high scores generally given by the audience, and started a discussion about the length of time again, putting a little pressure on the director in front of the boss.

"Stop it... Gary...", Barry Diller raised his index finger to his mouth, ordering the idiot to shut up.

"Ronald, we should set off, Mr. Rupert is waiting at home..."

"Huh?" Ronald raised his wrist and looked at his watch. He stood up and said to Cameron and Bigelow, "Next time we will find time to talk about technical details, Catherine, and then we will watch your samples." .”

Bodyguard Dan got into the car ahead, and Ronald and Barry Diller chatted in the back seat of the luxury car.

"Is it okay for this movie to be 140 minutes long? People in the distribution department have told me several times that it is difficult for movie theaters to schedule films. I will strengthen some marketing budgets..."

"No problem. The marketing consultant was looking for Michael Gray. He thought of a gimmick and packaged the movie as the last movie that Cameron and Gail Hurd worked together before the husband and wife team broke up. The two broke up or business The partner on the show or something. I've talked to both of them, and I don't have a problem with it."

Ronald replied with a smile.The "Terminator" and "Alien 2" films that Cameron and Gale have collaborated on are all classic productions for sci-fi fans and are very popular among certain audiences.

The car drove to Beverly Hills, the famous old house "Fog Surrounding the Peak", which was a mansion purchased by Rupert from the descendants of MCA founder Jules Stein the year before last, with an area of ​​more than 8000 square feet. There is also a small private library inside.

It used to be Katharine Hepburn's mansion, overlooking Hollywood from the backyard.Here at the front door, Ronald didn't even feel like he was in Los Angeles.The mountain scenery has the air of the famous Eagle's Nest in the German resort of Berchtesgaden.

Didi... Diane also arrived in Little Bud's car, and the two met here.

For the role, Diane returned to her original hair color, a dark brown with a reddish tinge.She was wearing a red dress with a big bow on the belt, a dark blue coat on her upper body, and a sapphire and diamond necklace from Ronald on her neck. Her temperament was a little more mature than before, and she was at her best age.

Looking at her, Ronald thought of the middle-aged version of Diane in his dreams. She had a slightly shy temperament. When he was with her, she didn't have the picky feeling of a female star, and she was always like an ordinary woman. american girl.

Thinking about it, Ronald couldn't help showing a sweet smile. Now that Diane's eyes are still wrinkled, Ronald touched the small scars at the corners of her eyes with his hands. Maybe it's this imperfect detail that makes her not have that kind of scar. The temperament of a traditional female star.

Ronald's hand gently supported Diane's waist, and the two walked forward together.

Diane was a little shy when Ronald looked at her, but she was very happy and snuggled up to Ronald.The two adjusted their pace, followed behind Barry Diller and his wife, and headed toward the depths.

"What an enviable couple this is..." Rupert's wife Anna also greeted them in front of the mansion. Chat for a while.

"Mr. Rupert, nice to meet you, this is Diane..." After the host and guest introduced, the group walked towards the mansion. The decoration here doesn't have many special features, but the advantage is that it is a big place.

"I've always been a fan of your movie. As long as I have a choice on the flight, I like to pick the videotape of your movie." Rupert chatted enthusiastically with Ronald in his Australian accent with earthy vowels.

Successful people have a lot of energy and can definitely make you feel like the best person in the world if they try to befriend you.

"After I bought Fox, the movies you participated in directing and producing are the best at the box office and the highest return on investment. I hope you will consider co-distributing with Fox more in the future. If you have any good TV series, you can also consider publishing them on Fox TV broadcasts..."

"Ah, my cooperation with Fox is also very pleasant. In terms of TV dramas, I also have the idea of ​​trying. Thank you very much Mr. Rupert..."

"I just want to know when you will shoot the sequel of Top Gun, my eldest daughter and two sons want to watch it very much." Mrs. Anna smiled and flattered her again to calm the atmosphere.

"My dear Anna, you should say that they like to watch Die Hard, and the copyright of Top Gun is in Paramount..." Rupert had a rare humor.

Everyone laughed out loud. Neither side directly pointed it out, but everyone knew that this was to reward Ronald for turning his daily news reports. People hacked the American media and turned to expose the lavish life of the Australian con man Scars.

Rupert's News Corporation has thus disappeared from the radar scan again, quietly re-enjoying the media company boss's privilege of being free from gossip and sensitive news.

And Skass, who wanted to repeat the Australian stock market cuts on Wall Street, was jointly besieged by the world's most powerful financial media (New York) and the most powerful gossip media (London).Even the matter of how he reimbursed the meal expenses indiscriminately was dug up and made public.

And his contract to buy MGM was also dug out. He only paid an advance payment, and the subsequent payment faced more doubts.In particular, the Dongying reporting team, which went deep into Queensland, Australia, sent back a documentary report on the Australian resort.

In the era of low interest rates on Wall Street a few years ago, many middle-class Europeans and Americans went there for vacation. Because of the rise in interest rates, their wealth has shrunk. The first thing many people cut down is unnecessary travel expenses.

According to the previous trend, the new luxury resort built by Scars is also facing the tragedy of customer depression.Once the real interview video was released on the TV media in the name of a travel program, Skarston was facing a huge crisis.

……

"This house is so big." Diane was still thinking about it on the way back.Since she was a child, she was instilled by her father with the acting skills and living standards of many stars in the golden age of Hollywood. In this "fog-shrouded mountain" mansion, there are Katharine Hepburn, Gary Cooper, John Wayne and others and the original owner's house. Take photos together and put them in the library.

In the projection room in the basement, when the first owner built it, there was a hand-cranked projector that could play silent black and white films.

"The projection hall I built in my new home has the latest automatic projectors. We can watch movies quietly at that time, and we don't need someone to change copies. The idea of ​​the library is good. I will discuss it with the designer and change it out.", Ronald felt that he had learned a lot from visiting the mansions of celebrities back then, and he wanted to repair a few stylish facilities and modernize them.

"Hmm..." Diane burst into laughter when he heard Ronald talking about watching a movie, and looked at Ronald with bright eyes.Does this mean that brother Ronnie inadvertently exposed his inner thoughts?
The next day, Diane came again and wanted to go to Daydream to work with Ronald.

"Aren't you still preparing for a role in the new film? Why are you so free?" Ronald looked at the bread and coffee bought from the Italian cafe downstairs in Diane's hand, thinking why Diane was a little Transgender?

"I want to stay with you for a while..." Diane took off his sunglasses and handed him the breakfast.

"Huh?" Ronald made a satisfied voice. The Italian-style breakfast tasted very good, and the tangy aroma whetted the appetite.

Of course, Diane couldn't be like the female stars in the 30s, who had to cook breakfast for her boyfriend or husband at home.But in the last days of the 80s, it is very rare to be able to enjoy the takeaway breakfast brought by female stars.

Among Ronald's many female companions, it was Diane who remembered to get something delicious for herself.

"Okay, let's watch the first cut of 'Look Who's Talking'." Ronald slowly enjoyed Diane's breakfast, and dragged her to the company's screening room.

"Are you moving fast?" Ronald looked at Amy Heklin's messy hair and two big dark circles. It seemed that he had worked very hard recently for shooting and editing.

"Just two protagonists, a lot of indoor scenes, and a week of voice dubbing by Bruce Willis. It's a simple movie." Heikelin said that this is nothing compared to the TV series she has made in recent years. Not much difference either.

"Let's get started," Ronald said to his assistant, Fat Girl Lake, "Make some espresso for Ms. Heklin, double."

The film's subtitles and soundtrack are not all finished, but the main plot is already very smooth.

The point of view of this movie is very interesting, and the whole story is told from the perspective of a baby Mickey (voiced by Bruce Willis).

The heroine Molly has an extramarital affair with her boss Albert and has a child. She is determined to give birth to the child and force Albert to marry.Since there was no one to help, James, a kind and handsome taxi driver, kept her company and helped change the baby's diaper.When the child was born, Albert said he had no idea of ​​being a father.

Molly turned to wanting to be a single mother herself, and finally in the park, when the little son Mickey uttered the first word "Da-da" in his life, Molly realized that her son had regarded the driver James as his father, and decided to give the driver James a father. He and himself a chance.

This plot was filmed very well. Amy Heklin has a unique female perspective, and the children's story is very warmly filmed.Two adults who have lost confidence and hope in life, learned love and responsibility under the education of their children.

Best of all, Hollywood hadn't seen this kind of baby-eye-view movie before, with an actor voicing the inner monologue of a baby who couldn't speak.

This kind of monologue is very easy for the audience to accept.Many people have the experience of raising children. What makes them uncomfortable is that they cannot communicate with their children and know what the baby wants.

This kind of perspective is relaxed and happy, and there is a kind of trick in the narrative, which can easily discharge the good chemical reaction between the hero and heroine. If you can't shoot it, let the baby say it.

Moreover, the audience has become more tolerant of this kind of couple with strong women and weak men, and no longer requires the male protagonist in the movie to be stronger than the female protagonist.

Hekleen also played a trick here. Although John Travolta's James' job is not as good as the designer's Molly, James' income is not low, and he has a strong heart, and he is still a strong side psychologically.

Anyway, after the filming was over, the staff who were the audience's daydream applauded vigorously.They also found the movie very warm, touching and funny.

"It's a beautiful shot, that little baby is so cute..." Diane also whispered her thoughts in Ronald's ear.She put on her big sunglasses again after the screening, and now she is much more famous than before, and she never leaves her sunglasses in public.

"How is it? What do you think?" Heikelin drank cups of coffee to refresh herself, and the most important opinion came from Ronald.

"You need to limit the duration to about 95 minutes. I think we can send the film to the Western Film Festival in advance, and prepare to seize the schedule in the second half of the year. There are not many audiences with children in the summer file, and the Christmas file is too crowded. Let's find a In the gap."

Ronald praised Heikelin's movie editing very comfortably, and the rigorous training she has undergone in the past few years has finally paid off. There is no obvious place in the movie that makes the audience play.

"Great, I'll go back and tell my daughter Molly the good news..."

The heroine's name is actually the name of Heikelin's daughter.

"In addition, I will sign a supplementary agreement with you, and I will give you a bonus according to the box office performance. You can understand it as an agreement similar to profit sharing." Ronald offered to give Heklin a bonus.

He sees the potential of this movie, maybe a sequel can be made... Now use the agreement and benefits to tie Heikelin and get the priority of the sequel.

　There was a problem with the writing assistant login, it was a little late

　
(End of this chapter)