Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1146: Lombada crashes at the premiere

"Alan, it's me, Ronald. Your assistant Ronald...do you still remember me?...Ahahaha..."

Alan Akush, the director of "Rock of Ages" at the time, received a call from Ronald and at first thought someone was pretending to be Ronald as a joke.

His career as a director was not going well. After Rock and Roll High School, it took an average of four years for a script to come to him.Last year's "Crazy Golf 2" had a box office of only 2000 million against a budget of 1100 million, and even the shooting cost was not recovered.Just relax at home now.

In fact, this movie is also executive produced by Peter Guber and Jon Peters, and their production company funded and directed it.Therefore, the so-called good vision of these two people also has a lot of water.Just because their output is much larger than that of personal studios like Ronald and Spielberg, they seem to be more famous on Wall Street.

Ronald was enthusiastic about Alan Aykouch, expressing his interest in inviting him to direct "Rock of Ages 2."Another director who helped out at the time, Joe Dante, had a much better career than him. Last year he also directed a new film by Tom Hanks, which cost more than 1000 million and earned more than 4000 million at the box office.

Therefore, it is impossible for him to direct a sequel to a B-level movie, but Alan Aikush is different. He has no choice now.

"I've been talking to PJ and Day Young. Van Patten is retiring next spring. How about we bring in the Ramones and make a sequel, with you deciding the main story?"

Ronald has already contacted all the leading actors of the year by phone, plus himself and Jim Cameron, and also found Roger Corman, who can all make a cameo.

"Yeah? Your idea is very interesting. Rock girls are still good friends ten years later. They still use a punk rock attitude to deal with difficulties on the road of life?" Alan Aikush figured out that Ronald really wanted to film A sequel rather than a joke, interest immediately spiked.

Another week passed, and on Friday, Ronald was handling official business in Daydream's office when he saw Alan Aikush coming over in a hurry with a briefcase under his arm.

"Alan..." Ronald stopped his personal assistant Fat Girl Lake, who stepped forward to stop him, and called Alan Aikush to come in and sit down.

"That's a good story. You figured it out so quickly?" Ronald flipped through the summary of the story. It tells the story of ten years after Rock and Roll High School. The old high school was named after the former commander-in-chief, Ronald Sr. .

As a student idol, Liv Randall's photos of her collaboration with the Ramones are still displayed in the high school's honor room, but the rock and roll spirit is no longer there.Black students are all trying new forms of Rap music. Only one female student named Susan still likes the old punk Ramones band.

Susan was angry that the music department no longer had the status of a rock band. Just like Liv Randall back then, she drove a car rebelliously and left the campus. With the help of finding Liv from the alumni address book, Kate and others are now address and embarked on a journey to find the true spirit of rock and roll.

The result was a bit disillusioning. Liv Randall was married, had two children, and was often bullied by her boss in the company; her good friend Kate became a housewife, and her husband often ignored her. The former rock idol became Ami. Middle-aged Lijia...

However, because of Susan's stimulation, the two rock and roll girls regained their courage as high school students..."

"Very good. I made an appointment with Mr. Roger Corman. We will go to see him with the outline of the script. The production rights of the sequel are still in Corman's hands. But it's not a big problem. We have collaborated on several projects. Every time, it was a pleasure.

You have three to five months to perfect the script, and when the protagonists are available, we will shoot the sequel. "Ronald is very happy. Alan Aikush's level is still online, and he is eager to prove himself.

"Would it be a TV movie or a video distribution channel?" Alan Aikush was eager to know the technical details of the film.

"Give me some confidence, Allen. I'm planning the project based on medium-production theater movies. However, the theaters in Colombia and the east and west coasts will be the main ones. The scale of screening in about 1000 theaters can be gathered, and then There is no more.

After all, things are different now than ten years ago. Drive-in theater distribution channels have almost disappeared. Now it is difficult to find audiences who are willing to spend less money to watch B-level movies. "

"I know, I know. I made several films for TV stations and video companies under pseudonyms. Now almost all small productions have been transferred to these two channels, and it is increasingly difficult for new directors to get ahead."

"The script is here with me, and I'm also looking for any stars who are interested in making guest appearances." Ronald sent Alan Aikush away with a smile.Back then, everyone was poor and happy, but now there are different classes. Many of the actors, directors, and staff back then were not doing well. Ronald thought of making a sequel, and also considered letting his old friends make some money.

In addition to Ronald, Cameron, and Gale Hurd, there was one other member of the cast who slipped out of the throne.That’s director of photography Dean Candy.

He later made many blockbuster movies, including B-level movies such as "Escape from New York" and "The Monster in Chinatown", all of which were hits. A-level major productions include "Emerald", "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Back to the Future Series", etc. In the Hollywood circle, the professional status is very stable.

Even Ronald wanted to hire him when filming "Ghost", but there was no schedule (he went to film Back to the Future 2 and 3).

Speaking of which, the number of low-cost B-movies shot has been decreasing year after year, and the shooting methods of videotapes and TV movies are completely different from those of real big-screen movies.

The size of the TV screen is limited to about 21 inches. Dialogue scenes of this size can only focus on close-ups.This results in the very expressive audio-visual language of big-screen movies, which cannot be reproduced on video tapes and TV movies.

If you shoot too many videos, it will also ruin the artistic taste of the director and actors.The most important thing is that if you are a new director and have shot some movies exclusively for video tapes, then you have to learn many techniques and scheduling from scratch when you go to make a big-screen movie.

Rural towns and old-fashioned movie theaters are more scattered than before. Most of the new movie theaters are multiplexes in shopping malls. It is increasingly impossible to show B-level movies with a new director and unknown actors.

This emotional work initiated by Ronald, and starring the original cast of the original movie, is possible to reach the number of theaters it will be released in through theaters.

Just as he was thinking about the lack of new directors, Ronald heard the hoarse drake voice that is very characteristic of Israelis:

"Quack, Ronald, our final copy has been produced, and I specially brought it to you today to see."

"Minahan, have you finished shooting your Lombada? Let me take a look..."

It was Minahan and Ronald who collaborated on the film, The Forbidden Dance, based on the popular Brazilian music Lombard.

The two went to the screening room to watch the finished film, which made Ronald laugh out loud at the beginning.The title of the film should actually be "Forbidden Dance."Because the title of the film adaptation of Lumbarda has already been bought by Leela Khan's cousin Yoram for another film.

But Minahan listened to Ronald's advice and made the words "Lombarda" as big as the competitive dance, and the "Competitive Dance" is on top and "Lombarda" is on the bottom. It looks like the title of the movie is still called Same as Lombada.

Only a very attentive audience can see the words "Dance" written in very small letters on the right side of Lombard.

The whole movie was shot very "hotly".The plot is very tacky. The princess of the Amazon tribe comes to Los Angeles to attend an international high school, and then she and the male protagonist fall in love with each other while dancing the rombada dance.

After the exchange ended, the princess returned to the Brazilian rainforest. The hero did not know which high school she attended, so he rashly chased her to Brazil and experienced the Brazilian scenery and dance. Finally, at the carnival, from the crowd of lambada dancers, he Finally found the heroine wearing the mask...

But that's not important. The focus of this kind of movie is all kinds of novel dances.The heroine Laura Harling is very beautiful, and Miss Universe has endless photogenic charm.Her lambada dance was also good. The hot dances at the beginning and end made the audience breathless and blood circulation increased... This kind of lambada dance has a lot of hip movements, plus the heroine has a very good figure and face. There must be a lot of people going to the cinema for the dance.

"When are you going to release it?" Ronald asked Minahan.

"How about next year's summer vacation?" Minahan is very ambitious.

"Not so good. My friend at Columbia Records told me that the song "Lombada" is very popular and has sold 300 million singles in America...

Moreover, Columbia Records branches around the world recomposed the music and found local singers to sing the song.

In addition to the English version, the Japanese version and the Cantonese version are all being recorded as soon as possible... We'd better take advantage of the popularity and launch it immediately..."

"This..." Minahan is still thinking about making a comeback in the summer. Several of his big productions, such as Superman IV, were all flops in the summer.

"That's it, don't look down on this current period. Although there are not many viewers, there is not much competition. And our Lambada - no, it is a taboo dance, does not rely on those who have daily movie-watching habits. Anyway, The popular music videos now are our best advertisements."

Minahan had a painful expression on his face. He originally wanted to get up from where he fell.In the last two years of his career at Cannon, he spent huge sums of money filming summer blockbusters. However, due to insufficient investment in special effects, he was kicked out by his cousin because of the huge losses.

And his first hugely profitable project at Cannon was also a summer project.It was "Break Dance" that Ronald filmed for him. That movie took advantage of the popularity of the Olympics and swept the American summer box office.

But Ronald's statement made sense, and now that he had his will, Minahan couldn't object, so he gritted his teeth and agreed.

"I'll contact the printing laboratory immediately to expedite printing and produce enough copies." Although Minahan is not very optimistic about this current period, he must be prepared.

"It doesn't matter. You go find the laboratory in Columbia and I will call them..." Now if Ronald wants Columbia Pictures to do something, he just needs to send a message through Norio Ohga's office. This kind of trivial matter can't be done. Worth mentioning.

Minahan was very active in doing things. He spent some money to rush out copies, and then through some local distributors he had accumulated, and Ronald's Hollywood Cinemas here, and Columbia over there The distribution channels provided him with 800 theaters for screening.

At the same time, his informant said that his cousin Yoram, the current president of Cannon, was very busy. The Italian boss who took over Cannon seemed to be a liar. He was busy attending high-end occasions with actresses every day. It seems like he has no interest in making movies.

With theaters to take care of in Europe, Yoram seems to have been too caught up in administrative work to notice that Minahan's Lombard adaptation was sneaking around.

"Ronald, you have to come to the premiere... This is the comeback of our best musical partner. Hollywood will know that you, a genius, have launched another musical movie. The entire 80s America gives people an impression. The most profound dance music is the trend brought about by your movies, how can you be absent from this kind of thing?"

After the screening was arranged, Minahan went to Ronald every day to persuade him to attend the premiere.

Ronald was really not interested, so he passed it on to Michelle Cannold as distribution director.

But Minahan was not discouraged at all. He still came here every day, waiting in Ronald's office every morning, and then personally making tea for him.Taking away the job of Ronald's assistant Rich Lake.

"Boss, just promise Minahan, otherwise I will be out of a job in a few days. Now he has taken all the work..." Fat Girl Lake also said good things to Minahan.

"Why do you say good things for him?" Ronald asked curiously.

"I also made my debut in Hairspray. This kind of musical and dance movie is the only possible way out for a humble actor like me. I heard that you also gave those dance coaches a way to make a business in Dirty Dancing. They are all now I opened a mamba dance studio.

There are also many ordinary dance stunt performers in this Lambada - Forbidden Dance. If you can go to the premiere, it may be an important difference in their lives. "

Rich Lake's words touched Ronald.This is how movies can change the life of an ordinary person.Without saying much, he agreed to attend the premiere.

On the day of the premiere, Ronald wore a sheepskin jacket, cowhide boots, and jeans, dressed like a casual dancer, and got into the car of Minahan who came to pick him up.

"Damn it, Yoram still has an insider in my company. He also developed and printed the copy and will premiere it tonight."

"I...why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ronald looked at Minahan sitting next to him and ignored the matter. Something strange happened again.

"I told you, I didn't leave a note for your secretary. Lombada is scheduled to be released tonight. Forbidden Dance needs your support..."

"I..." Ronald thought of the note Lake gave him. It must have been intentional by Minahan. He took advantage of his misunderstanding and thought he was talking about Lombarda - the forbidden dance. In fact, Minahan was talking about two movies that compete against each other. movie of.

"Okay, let's see what the movie reviews say tomorrow and who has higher box office figures." Ronald is not afraid of competition, but it is rare for two movies with similar content to meet up against each other, so he can learn from it.

"Didi..." The luxury car driver Minahan found started honking his horn.

"What's going on?" Ronald looked at his watch and saw that it was almost the time for the premiere to start. There was a traffic jam in front of the cinema where the premiere was being held.

"Didi..." I heard anxious horns coming from the other side of the road.

Finally reaching the door of the cinema, Ronald got out of the car and saw a luxury car parked opposite. The door opened and a fat man about the same size as Minahan got out.

He took off his sunglasses and whistled.

Ronald took a closer look and saw that it was Minahan's cousin, Yoram.

"You guys have made an appointment, right?" Ronald saw the neon lights forming a line of words on the door of a movie theater diagonally across the road, "Lombada"

It turns out that the two movies were not only released on the same day, but also premiered in two cinemas facing each other on both sides of the road.

(End of this chapter)