Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

"Ah, hahaha, I miss the love I received in China. The audience there was so kind to me."

Ronald fulfilled Director Huang's request, and the two went to visit Gregory Peck. Director Huang also sent a gift, some Chinese-dubbed movie videos of Gregory Peck, and blessings recorded by those dubbing actors.

The filmmakers there are particularly fond of him. Maybe it’s because Gregory Peck’s classic films were only introduced to China in the 1980s, so when people there saw his enthusiasm, they felt similar to the American audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. emotion.

People in the film industry also have a good impression of the actor. At that time when there was little contact between the two countries, he was the first to visit China and was friendly to actors from the mainland. Yimou Zhang's Best Actor Award at the Tokyo Film Festival was awarded to him when he was the chairman of the jury.

"I'm glad to hear that you have recently acted in Director Luo's film. Our audience there is very eager to see your new play." Director Huang is more interested in actors like Gregory Peck than Marlon Peck. The Brando type is much more favorable.

This may be caused by the different imagination of men in traditional East Asian society. Japanese audiences are also more receptive to Parker's films.

"That's for sure. I just feel that he gave me too few roles. Sometimes I can only make some TV series to satisfy my appetite, but few people ask me to film. The film market now is different from the past. The audience is mainly young people." After making Ronald's movie, Gregory Peck became a little nostalgic. There are very few roles suitable for him in Hollywood today.

"I wonder if I can ask you to make a movie? If you have time and are interested." Director Huang suddenly said.

"Huh? What projects do you have? Do you have a script?" Gregory Peck suddenly became interested. A Chinese director or a female director invited him to shoot a movie. Is there such a good thing?

"Huh?" Ronald also tilted his head and glanced at Director Huang. He hadn't heard that she had a new movie project? Besides, filmmaking in China is very complex and is a completely different system from Hollywood. Under the planned economy, could they really afford Gregory Peck's salary?

Although Parker's current salary cannot be compared with that of popular stars, compared with mainland film studios, it is still astronomical.

"That's it... before I came here, I went to Xiangjiang. Now the film studio is also reforming, and we are allowed to go to Xiangjiang to shoot movies. Someone has provided me with some funds. It would be great if I could hire Mr. Parker. But that’s it.”

"I like this very much. I have watched 'The Love of Ghosts' directed by you. It was a movie that moved me." Gregory Peck participated in the Los Angeles Women's Film Festival a few years ago and happened to watch Director Huang's Famous work.

"As for the script, I met a woman from Shandong when I was at the Los Angeles Airport. I chatted with her for a long time, and her story inspired me. She was a woman who didn't speak a few words of English. For My dream is to come to America. With your own optimism and hard work, you can live a good life...

I wanted to add a World War II veteran character to the story and play opposite her. In fact, the values ​​of the older generation of Americans are very consistent with those of us Chinese. I think this kind of plot will resonate with our domestic audience. "

Director Huang is very excited. She just came up with a story idea yesterday. I happened to meet Gregory Peck today, and if I looked closely, he and the aunt had a really good chemistry together.

She told Ronald the story she had in mind, and then asked Xiao Yan to translate it to Gregory Peck.

An aunt came to America to meet her daughter and son-in-law. Due to a traffic jam on the highway at the airport, she was picked up by a kind-hearted World War II veteran who lived next door to her daughter and son-in-law. The veteran is collecting signatures to protest against his cafe being demolished by real estate developers to build beachfront villas.

If he can collect enough signatures, California law could preserve the cafe, which is filled with memories of him and his late wife. This cafe has become a regular gathering place for local World War II veterans.

The aunt also signed her name in a daze. Unexpectedly, after returning home, she found that the real estate agent was actually her son-in-law.

The signature protest failed, and the veteran suffered a stroke when he met his son, with whom he was at odds. Afterwards, the veteran recovered a little under the care of the aunt. Before his death, he donated the cafe to the aunt's name.

Finally, the son-in-law of the real estate agent, faced with the legal regulations after the second successful collection of signatures, changed the design of the beach house and retained the cafe as a cultural preservation building for World War II veterans...

"Tsk..." After listening to the whole story, Ronald realized that Director Huang was really not blind. This kind of tender story really has the background of Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s. Moreover, this kind of movie pays great attention to the actor's temperament and the chemical reaction of the important characters.

"This story is very good, very good... reminds me of Hollywood in the past..."

Gregory Peck is indeed the perfect choice to play the veteran named Frank. If the heroine is strong, this movie... is actually not without box office potential in America.

Ronald was very excited when he saw Gregory Peck. He seemed to have the urge to star in such a classic role of old Hollywood. Then he said to Director Huang... "If there is a suitable candidate for the heroine, I can also invest some money in your project..."

"I really have a candidate in mind. She is the most capable actress we have. She is of the right age, and she really doesn't speak English. But I dare say that she and Mr. Gregory Peck are really good friends. They have great chemistry, both of them are templates for male and female protagonists in classic dramas."

"Ha, of course, I believe you. But investment in Hollywood has always gone through a process. And if you really invite Mr. Parker, I think distribution in America will become easier, and you may win by then. Released simultaneously in the United States and the United States..."

"Huh? Really?" Director Huang was also happy. The actor was originally a Pingju opera actor, and now he also acts in film and television dramas, and performs sketches in the Spring Festival Gala. "

"What Spring Festival Gala? What skit?" Ronald also encountered a blind spot in knowledge. When he realized that this was a TV program with hundreds of millions of viewers, his mouth opened wide and he couldn't close it.

Isn’t this too many people? Good guy, it is a good marketing point for an actor with this rating to star in a movie. I heard that there are also many Chinese audiences in America watching it. It seems that at least the distribution of Chinese theaters is guaranteed.

"Okay, okay, you get in touch right away. I'll take a look at the actor's video information. I think this project can be approved. By the way, what did you say, a Sino-US co-production... The filming will start this year, and the two will blossom... Yes Okay, what’s this actor’s name?”

"Oh, this actor named Zhao Lirong is really good at acting." Ronald watched the Spring Festival Gala video from Chinatown and found that this old lady actress did have an innocent interest. Such an actor will be believed if she can't speak English but can move the story of a veteran and a real estate developer's son-in-law. If it were anyone else, he would definitely be very exaggerated.

"Xiao Yan, do you want to be an assistant producer?" Ronald turned over the project and asked Xiao Yan, who graduated from college and was working in Daydream, to take over. He is familiar with the production departments of China and the United States and has language skills. He is indeed the most suitable candidate. Asking him to go to Xujiahui Studios to negotiate projects would be considered a return to his hometown in glory.

Director Huang immediately became passionate about creation. In addition to calling back to invite Zhao Lirong to star, she also found paper and pen to start writing the script. She was flooded with ideas and immediately wrote a synopsis. Ronald asked her to continue collecting stories in Los Angeles, and after watching the Oscars, she would go back to find other screenwriters to polish it.

This co-production project is jointly funded by Hong Kong and Hollywood, and it is very convenient in all aspects. If all goes well, filming is expected to begin this fall.

……

"You want my lightning lamp?" A few days later, Coppola called and asked Ronald to borrow the lightning lamp produced by his factory. "Yes, all the electricians in Hollywood say that your lightning lamp is the most powerful. My new film Dracula has a lot of lightning scenes. They all say that it is best to find you. If you can't do it, there will be no one in Hollywood." It can be done.”

"What effect do you want to achieve? My lightning lamp is a unique technology. Unless you want to lightning in broad daylight, there is nothing else that my lightning lamp can't do."

"It's not that exaggerated. Can I find time to take a look?"

"Wow..." In Daydream's warehouse, Ronald found the most powerful lightning lamp and flashed it to Coppola himself.

After several years of R&D and improvement, lightning lights have formed a series of models. The largest model can also produce obvious lightning under studio lights. The sound has also been improved, and the thunder a few seconds after the lightning can also be adjusted.

"Very good, I want two of the most powerful ones." Coppola was very satisfied.

"Two? Are there any slots?" Ronald asked the supervisor. Because Daydream's lightning lights have a good reputation and are rented by many crews, this maximum power model is actually in short supply. "No matter what, if Director Coppola wants to use it, it will be freed up for his crew. Rent as much as you want for as long as you want..."

Ronald knew that famous works by great directors were the best way to promote this kind of prop. If famous scenes shot by great directors become legends in the industry, then in the future, Ronald will dominate Hollywood’s lightning style.

"Hahaha, thank you..." Coppola is now in a happy mood. The new film has been greenlit by Samsung Pictures. He just finished shooting the Coca-Cola commercial that Ronald invited him to do in the past few weeks, and his financial crisis has been temporarily alleviated.

"How are the preparations for your new film going?"

"I already had coffee with Winona, she apologized to me in person, and I also gave her the script..."

Originally, Winona Ryder was on the Rome set of Coppola's "The Godfather Part III", but she ran away with her boyfriend Johnny Depp on the first day of filming, letting the great director go. Ordinarily, with Coppola's arrogance, he would never look back.

However, one of the requirements for Samsung Pictures to win the distribution contract is that it needs a topical star to play the role. Otherwise, the bank will not grant the loan and the project will most likely be postponed. Because movies that require studio investment are often good projects that are uncontroversial.

Coppola's reputation had been shaky of late, and the genre was stale, so there wasn't a single major studio interested except TriStar Pictures' Frank Price.

Coppola is a relatively realistic person and will not hold his neck still when he should lower his head. He invited Winona Ryder, showing his goodwill and not caring about her rude behavior in Rome.

Winona Ryder also understands that this is a good opportunity to improve her position. Anyway, this time the filming is not in Rome, so many things in Los Angeles can be arranged more easily. So the two hit it off and agreed to star.

"Coca-Cola told me that your advertisements are very stylized. Did you have any considerations?"

Coppola photographed the blonde beauty who was selected for the audition, Cameron Diaz. However, Coppola's shooting method is different. The whole film is mainly dark tones, and the main tone is also a mixture of red and black, giving people a strong oil painting feel.

On the other hand, the beauty Diaz's sexy charm was not fully expressed in this shooting method. The main actors in the entire advertisement are not so much handsome guys and beauties, but rather the distinct atmosphere.

Coca-Cola is also very willing to accept it. They are now in the experimental stage. With so many advertisements, I don’t know which one is better. I’ll just wait and see the audience’s feedback before deciding.

"What do you think? I plan to use this stylized shooting method for my new film."

"Hmm..." Ronald had already expected this. In fact, the "Godfather" series was an accident for Coppola. He himself didn't really want to shoot the first part, and he had no choice but to shoot the second and third parts due to various reasons.

What he is best at and likes most is this kind of small and medium-sized production with a strong style. From his earliest days as a member of the Rain Clan, to his subsequent old love and new love, this is the case. Anyway, he is very abiding by the rules now. In order to get the project green light, even Winona Ryder who disrespected him can be forgiven. Maybe it can really succeed this time.

"Where's Marty? I haven't seen him recently. Has his commercial been finished?" Coppola thought of Scorsese. Both were asked to shoot commercials for Coca-Cola, and he was a bit competitive.

"Don't mention it. He is currently working hard on promoting the Oscars. The commercial shooting has been postponed. Now there are parties organized by several old Hollywood stars, and he is bound to be there. It is also embarrassing for a New Yorker."

Ronald shook his head, this guy really tried his best. As Oscar voting approached, Scorsese went against his usual behavior and began to do his best to publicize the film under arrangements. Every time you attend such an occasion, if you say a few words to others, you might get a few extra tickets.

"Wish him good luck this time." Coppola shrugged. He had already won the best director for The Godfather Part II, so he didn't have to go through this kind of thing again.

……

"Marty's luck may have really come..." As the vote approached, Richard suddenly brought a message to Ronald.

"How do you say that?" Ronald looked strange. Price Waterhouse Accounting Firm counts the votes for the Oscars every year. No one knows before the lottery.

"You know, more or less, we can see some clues from the rumors. The most important thing is that the organizing committee contacted Tom Cruise and asked him to be the guest of honor for the best director."

"Oh..." Ronald understood that at award shows, people who are close to the winners will basically present the awards.

For example, this time the Oscar honorary award was awarded to Sophia Loren. The award guest was her good friend in Hollywood, Gregory Peck. The last award given to Kurosawa was two of his Hollywood fans, directors Spielberg and George Lucas.

Tom Cruise is one of the leading actors in Martin Scorsese's "The Color of Money", and he is also a director whom Cruise has repeatedly expressed his admiration for and wants to work with. This hint is very obvious.