Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1236: The most value-for-money invitation to a celebrity

"No, I'm not interested in getting involved in such a complicated business operation. I'm just a director. Just reply like this." Ronald said to Niceta who came here specially at the set.

Ovitz relented and asked Ronald for help in getting Coca-Cola, one of America's largest advertising clients. Ronald refused without any hesitation.

"His client income is not good this year, and he originally wanted to expand his income scope with this business." Niceta replied with a smile.

Since the movie "Rain Man" won many awards under Ovitz's public relations, stars in the industry obviously have two opposite attitudes towards him, loving and hating him.

Those celebrities who want to switch jobs to CAA, or are "pursued" by him, all feel that he is very capable and can help the stars' career development to a higher level. However, those who have signed a contract with CAA but are not on his direct client list, or clients from other brokerage companies who have no intention of changing jobs, all feel that this person is very overbearing. For the sake of performance and reputation, he will not even care about the clients of his own agency's non-direct clients. Regardless, arbitrary oppression.

Of course, there may be something legitimate about both attitudes. Oscars are a very scarce resource, so there is nothing wrong with Ovitz fighting for his clients. It's just that CAA's agents sometimes like to imitate Ovitz's "aggressive" attitude, and sometimes talk too much and make clients have unrealistic fantasies.

It is conceivable that because of the scarcity of the award, the people who hate him far outnumber those who love him. In this way, when CAA cooperates with major studios, there are many obstacles that did not exist before. For a while, Ovitz couldn't come up with a lucrative package business like "Ghostbusters" and "Rain Man."

He wanted to switch tracks and open up a new path for himself. However, Panasonic was cut off from the deal, and Ovitz had no chance to serve as CEO of the post-merger Universal company. The advertising business that has been planned for a long time has now come to nothing.

Historically, large fast-moving consumer goods companies have been the largest advertising customers. They usually submit their creativity and production to several well-known advertising companies for pitching. Then the advertising company that wins the bid will get more than ten percent of the advertising budget.

Then for production, they will find famous Hollywood directors to shoot advertisements with a cinematic feel. The previous Coca-Cola and Pepsi commercials that Ronald shot were orders placed through advertising agencies.

But maybe it's because Coca-Cola doesn't need too many fresh ideas, but more needs good execution. Management felt the cost was too high. They have to deal more directly with the Hollywood production team.

So Coca-Cola has recently been looking for channels to communicate directly with the production team. Among them was Ronald's previous big client for advertising, Darcy Maguire, the creative director of a large advertising company.

She had always had a good time working with Ronald, so this time she thought of asking him first. The big reason why Coca-Cola hesitated to cooperate with Ovitz this time was because she and Coca-Cola’s new vice president and chief marketing officer Sergio Ziman often mentioned Ronald’s views on Coca-Cola. For the sake of advertising contribution.

Sergio Ziman was a rising star in the company after Don Keo became chairman. The other faction, which traditionally controls corporate brand marketing, is having a hard time fighting.

He immediately arranged for someone to conduct a brand awareness survey. Overall, the survey results show that people are impressed by Pepsi's ads, with about 24% of respondents saying their favorite ad in the past month was a Pepsi ad, while only 8% chose Coca-Cola. .

Michael Jackson and other young people's favorite idols have always been the spokesperson of Pepsi. The endorsement star of Coca-Cola, Paula Abado, is much less well-known, not to mention that she was also a backup dancer for Jackson's sister Jenny...

Among all the advertisements in the past ten years, there are only a few Coca-Cola advertisements shot by Ronald. Because they hired heroines from movies that are well-known among teenagers, such as Demi Moore and Elizabeth Shue, the plots of the shots were also different. It’s interesting that the popularity and recognition rate among teenagers has caught up with Pepsi’s advertising.

This is probably the most value-for-money of all the commercials that Coca-Cola has hired celebrity directors and actors to shoot.

In this way, Ronald registered his name with Sergio Ziman, who had the power to decide this matter at Coca-Cola Company. Darcy Maguire immediately approached Ronald and sought cooperation with him. Otherwise, once the deal is concluded, McCann Advertising, where she works, will definitely treat her as a scapegoat and fire her.

Ronald couldn't possibly eat this alone. Coca-Cola is interested in celebrity endorsements and the effects of impressive advertising. They just lost their best sports voice, Chicago Bulls basketball star Michael Jordan. Jordan just switched to Gatorade because of health and price reasons.

Now, this huge cake may be spit out from the traditional Madison Street advertising agency, it depends on who can catch it.

After receiving the news from Ronald, Rick Niceta, Paula Wagner, Richard and others immediately began secretly and intensively preparing to compete with Ovitz.

In addition to stars such as Tom Cruise and Diane Lane, they also have three famous directors: Ronald Lee, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Coppola.

It just so happened that these two people had a close relationship with Ronald. After preliminary testing, they were very interested in making quick money by filming some advertisements.

Niceta and Paula began to contact CAA again, and a large number of new agents emerged. These agents were quite inspired by Ovitz, and they were brave and radical in business. They were nicknamed "Young Turks" by the industry. help".

They also have young stars on their hands, but the road to promotion to partner has basically been blocked by Ovitz... Who allows him to own all the shares except Ron Meyer?

Several non-direct agents quickly expressed that Niceta was, in fact, setting up a small team within CAA that was independent of Ovitz. Naturally, for the first time in many years, Ovitz was not well-informed within CAA.

"Then I will first let Coppola and Scorsese interview Sergio Ziman of Coca-Cola. He is a movie fan." Niceta smiled and arranged the rebellion with Ronald. Anyway, the business of the brokerage company is relatively independent. Even if he and Ovitz fall out, the worst he can do is to establish a new brokerage company.

The reason why CAA has been invincible in the past few years is because of the excess profits brought by its low-key and packaged business. Ronald doesn't like the packaged business anyway. Several agents from his group who hold big clients will not have any impact on the business in the short term.

It's just that having more brokers in a group is good for business promotion. Niceta is also trying to unite as many agents as possible. Sometimes, in a large company, it is better to reap benefits for a small group than to officially go it alone.

Those Jewish people don't have much talent for this kind of strategy. Italians like Niceta, who have the gene of pretending to be a public servant in their culture, can operate it easily.

……

Ronald's movie will also be filmed during the Christmas holidays. So Niceta arranged the interview with Sergio Ziman until the end, which was more in line with Ronald's current status.

"Action!"

Ronald continued his daily shooting.

"Tell him to get lost!"

Gregory Peck puts on a light-colored, rumpled coat that the character Jorgensen often wears when leaving the workshop. Kate Sullivan, who came to Rhode Island specifically to tell him that Garfield had made a proposal.

Garfield will use the purchased stock in exchange for the cable factory in Jorgensen's listed company. Cable factories are losing money due to pressure from environmental protection and labor unions, as well as the decline in cable business. Garfield just wanted to buy the undervalued factory and then split it up and sell it to different buyers while it was still valuable. For example, there are many countries across the Pacific that like this complete set of equipment.

Jorgensen still has control of the listed company, and the stock price will rise. What he lost was the earliest factory on which his father made his fortune.

"Tell him to go to hell!"

Gregory Peck turned around, and the camera gave him a sideways close-up of his strong jaw.

"Whoosh..."

In the background is the steel-making furnace. The props team used a special device to make him spray out two beams of sparks. Coupled with the sound of the air hammer in the background, Gregory Peck's back was illuminated red by the sparks. Time stood before the stove like a stoic Greek marble statue. “Cut!”

The camera was quickly moved off the platform next to the stove and then reinstalled on the rails below.

After everything was ready, Gregory Pike got on the stove in high spirits after receiving the massage, and then made an OK gesture to Ronald.

"Action!"

The camera focuses on him, filming Jorgensen descending the stairs. It was like a god walking in front of a sparkling furnace, his face reflected the color of red copper. Pike seems to have become a hero in ancient Greek mythology. He is about to take over the sword and shield from Hephaestus, the god of forging, and kill the evil Garfield from Wall Street with one sword.

"He spent 13 million to buy our stock, and now he is divesting the factory and the stock price rises to make 35 million. My people are all unemployed, and he made 22 million! How could I be here? Survive this situation?"

The camera keeps moving back, keeping a close-up view of Gregory Peck. His clothes were deliberately one size too large to make it appear that Jorgensen had lost weight as he aged. Like a hero who is too old, can he still wield the sword like he did when he was young?

"We have got rid of a black hole of losing money. Other branches no longer have to use their profits to fill this hole." General Manager Bill began to explain anxiously. This proposal is actually a win-win situation. Garfield cuts off the garbage and sells it off. The company gets good news and the stock price rises. Jorgensen also retains the controlling stake. Only these union workers who cause trouble all day long and demand a raise and annual promotions Local governments that pay sewage charges suffer, but isn't it good to let them reap the consequences all the time?

"I can't do this!" Gregory Peck still had the expression of a righteous hero. His steps were a little staggering, but his righteousness did not diminish at all from what he looked like in "To Kill a Mockingbird" when he was young.

"You still own your listed company!" Kate Sullivan couldn't stand this stubborn old man anymore.

"Why don't you understand? I can't kill the workers in this factory, I can't kill this town! I can't let one person do these things and make a fortune!"

"He will lose the entire company!" Seeing how stubborn Jorgensen was, Kate Sullivan had no choice but to stop in front of the iron stairs and said to General Manager Bill.

Ronald was very satisfied with this shot. Diane's helpless look after being ignored by Jorgensen because of her professional opinions was very accurate.

The scene is not just about attorney Kate Sullivan's frustration with Jorgensen's failure to win over her reasonable opinions, but also the years spent trying to do well, get into college, pass the bar exam, and work on Wall Street in New York. Practicing in the most competitive law firm, none of this could impress his father Jorgensen or allow him to officially recognize his status.

Years of being ignored and rejected were all reflected in this setback. Just like he doesn't let Kate play with his legitimate children every Christmas.

The difference is that this time the result is not Jorgensen's final say. This time Garfield is on the side of the market. If Jorgensen refuses to let go and must stand firm, he may lose miserably and lose control of the listed company.

"Cut!" Ronald confirmed and announced the adoption of this article.

"Dear." Diane came over and watched her performance on the monitor for a while. The black and white video tape was interlaced, so it was basically unclear whether the performance was good or bad, but Diane still asked Ronald happily, "I performed well. ?"

"Very good, you are much more like a lawyer than I thought." Ronald responded with a smile. Compared with the actress in his dream, the lawyer played by Diane was much calmer, and the Wall Street lawyer was not The kind of small lawyer who files speeding lawsuits must make people feel that you are professional in order to gain the trust of your clients.

The actress in the dream was sexy, but Diane, besides being sexy, also grasped the professional characteristics of women very well. In a way, she's even better than Melanie Griffiths in "Working Girl."

The heroine in that movie had a lot of inner and outer transformations, which required better acting skills. But in this movie, Kate Sullivan's image has not changed much. The love scenes are similar to those that Diane has performed before, and they are actually much less difficult. Of course, in the eyes of an outsider, as long as the acting is relatable, it means that the acting is good, and it is possible that Diane will receive praise from some film critics.

Next up is another scene opposite Gregory Peck and Dean Jones, who plays the general manager. General Manager Bill was afraid that the cable factory would go bankrupt after continuing to lose money, or that its stock price would drop sharply. He wanted to persuade Jorgensen to accept the conditions.

But Jorgensen stubbornly refused to allow surrender.

Karl couldn't bear it anymore and burst out. He worked in the company for fifteen years before climbing to his current position of deputy general manager. Jorgensen's plan to retire and pass the job to him in two years now seems to be under great threat, because his and the management's options may be worthless after two years.

Jorgensen blindly believed in the values ​​of his father's entrepreneurial generation, hiring workers, working hard, and giving back to the community. As for how to make money and reverse losses? Don’t worry, as long as you have the right values, you can make money, that’s what the great entrepreneurs before me did…

"Good night, Mr. Jorgensen."

"Good night, Gus."

As Jorgensen walked out of the factory, Gus, a worker on the night shift, greeted him. Like those great entrepreneurs, Jorgensen knew the factory workers so well that he knew their wives by name.

"Sir, are we okay? I mean, is everything okay?" Gus asked with some fear in his voice.

"It's all good, Gus, we have many more years of cable to build together!"

"Okay, good night, sir." Gus's voice immediately became cheerful. Jorgensen was like their backbone. With him, everything will be fine...

"Cut!"

Ronald gave a very nice nod to Gregory Peck and then clapped.

"Ah, I miss plots like this very much. In the past, Hollywood movies would have such inspiring lines." Gregory Parker expressed his fond memories.

Ronald also smiled from the bottom of his heart. This time he hired Gregory Peck, but he made a huge profit. When I was casting, I didn't have such a profound feeling.

Jorgensen in this movie actually borrows the general impression that American audiences have of all the righteous and awe-inspiring characters that Gregory Peck has filmed in the past. As long as he is still standing here, the audience will believe that he can lead America's declining manufacturing industry out of trouble! They will side with Jorgensen and make Tom Hanks, who is tall and popular with the audience, look like a "bad guy"...

It's just that today, when Japan's manufacturing industry dominates supermarkets, the audience may have already expected that Jorgensen, played by Parker, who is very similar to his previous role, may become a tragic character.

Can New England Cable Works survive? This question will continue to torment the audience and pin their attention firmly to the screen.

These are all the benefits brought about by Gregory Peck's previous screen image. Ronald feels that in all these years as a director, hiring Gregory Peck this time is probably the most worthwhile time for him to hire a star. .

(End of this chapter)