Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1266 The Individuals with Disabilities Act and Theater Acquisitions

"Let me introduce myself, I am Mario Casal from Carocco Films..."

Casal, the founder of Carocco, has been driven crazy. Cameron's method of spending money is really high. The film's budget overrun has exceeded 50% and is still rising.

But regardless of the calls from Carocco's top brass to stop Cameron, Cassel is still determined to invest money in him. There is no other reason than that the two special effects shots created by Cameron are really eye-catching.

The T-1000 liquid metal robot transformed into a ball of fluid and passed through the fence door in the corridor. The railing cut his face into several strips, and then returned to its original shape. Even someone like Casal, who has been working hard in Hollywood for ten years, has never seen such a visual spectacle.

He understands that if this movie is a box office success, he will become the second Sidney Shenberg. He has a keen eye for the potential of "Jaws" and insists on supporting Spielberg's legend despite over budget and overdue filming. Producer.

But there are limits to how much financing you can get. Even if Carloco Pictures still has loans that can be used to secure bank loans, such a record-breaking and high-cost movie still makes Wall Street institutions doubtful.

So he directly called the best Chinese restaurants in Los Angeles, found the one where Ronald was located, and then came to persuade Ronald to invest more.

This is not only about getting money, but Ronald's continued investment can also be used to convince banks and increase their confidence in the project.

"Hey, this foreigner is so awesome. He even chased him into the hotel. Do I want to hug him too?" Teacher Zhao still couldn't understand Western etiquette, so he stood up and hugged Casal.

This made the atmosphere harmonious. Ronald stood up and asked the waiter to add a seat next to him so that Casal could sit down and chat slowly.

Mario Casal, on the other hand, looked puzzled as to why Ronald was dining with two old Chinese ladies. What kind of number is this?

Everyone sat for a while, and Casal found an opportunity to chat with Ronald at the coffee table next to him.

"I can invest, Jim is my friend. But this is against business rules. If you want me to invest more, you have to give me corresponding remuneration. I need to increase Daydream's share of the movie, or you can cut it into a piece Give me the profits from the video tape or overseas distribution. Don’t say I don’t know, you need this investment, right?”

Mario Casal was already feeling a little uncomfortable. Carloco had basically been promised everything he could exchange for money. If he wanted to give Ronald a big piece, wouldn't it be in vain?

"Ronald, you know what this movie means to Hollywood and what it means to Jim. You know all about my several rounds of financing. Whatever you want and what you like, I will give it to you. But other Additional sharing is simply not possible.”

Mario Casal has the core interests firmly in hand. Other investors are not afraid of signing up for share ratios. How can those laymen understand the profound knowledge involved? Just a division order can prevent them from making a penny.

But Ronald is no amateur, and he is difficult to deceive. And he has his own team of accountants and lawyers. That Mickey Kanter helped Jack Nicholson get $60 million out of Warner Bros.'s mouth. That's Warner, who accounted for "Batman" as a loss.

"Okay, okay, for Jim's sake too. That movie is really worth investing in. So, does your company have a Gulfstream?"

Seeing that he couldn't get any more out of it, Ronald changed the subject and started talking about Carloco's fixed assets.

"I've already given it to Schwarzenegger..." Mario Casal spread his hands, suggesting that you choose another toy.

"You? No more talk then? There's no way the investment won't be repaid, right?" Ronald turned to leave.

It seems that Carloco's financial situation is tighter than he thought. In order to get Schwarzenegger to join the team, he promised a salary of more than 10 million yuan. Due to cash pressure, he exchanged part of the investment for dividends, and used the Gulfstream III business jet he used as part of the cash.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, we can discuss..." Mario Casal grabbed Ronald. "The spot stock is gone, do you want futures?"

Carloco's income was good in previous years, and Mario Casal also ordered a new Gulfstream IV. This type of aircraft can fly across the Atlantic, but orders are queued and it has not yet been time to receive the goods.

"Hey? You have a Gulfstream IV, are you willing to give me the right to queue?" Ronald turned from anger to joy, and he was pleased to get whatever he wanted.

"Of course, for the movie Terminator 2. When it is filmed and released, what will a business jet mean?" Mario Casal also expressed his delight. Karoko's cash flow is almost drying up. The plane will be delivered in a few months. Even if it doesn't fly by then, the parking fees and insurance premiums at the airport will be almost unbearable.

Both parties were happy, and an additional $10 million was quickly credited to the crew, and Mario Casal notified Gulfstream to transfer ownership of the aircraft to Ronald.

……

"Hey, brother. Come take a look at this shot, we just finished it." Cameron welcomed Ronald in the special effects studio for inspection.

On the monitor of the workstation was the scene in the chase scene where the T-1000 was frozen to the ground and turned into pieces by a truck filled with liquid nitrogen. The collapse of hundreds of particles is very sensational. On the other side is the continuation of this scene. After the temperature is restored, the liquid metal gradually turns into a lump like mercury, and slowly becomes the LAPD-like robot.

"This shot of lying on the ground with limbs breaking apart looks very real to me. Can computer special effects reach this level?" Ronald asked, pointing to the picture on the monitor. This was beyond the scope of his imagination.

"I made Robert Patrick lie on the ground, and then I found a disabled actor and filmed it from this angle, as if it were his limbs."

Cameron smiled and explained that being able to hide it from a director like Ronald meant that he was good at his tricks.

"Yes, Robert is very dedicated..." Ronald noticed that in the outdoor scenes filmed in winter, Robert Patrick never exhaled white air, maintaining the image of a robot without being awkward. He must have had ice cubes in his mouth before filming to lower the temperature. And he had so many running scenes without breaking a drop of sweat, which shows that he put in hard work to train.

"I just got together with Mr. Roger Corman. He heard that the cost of shooting the movie exceeded 100 million, and he sighed with me. What do you think he said?" Ronald shot before "Black Belt" and other action movies are about to be shot for sequels, and there are some new scripts in preparation. It just so happens that Coleman is brought along so that he can use his genius cost management ability.

"Ha, he must have said that I betrayed the traditions of the New World." Cameron laughed.

"No, he said Jim, I know, his movies look expensive, but every penny is spent on what you can see on the screen." Ronald looked at these carefully designed shots and sighed. . With the current technical level, only a director like Cameron who understands both models and computer special effects can rack his brains and serve a feast that the audience will be happy with.

"You have to hurry up. It's released in the summer, and the special effects haven't been finished yet. There's also editing, are you too late?"

"Terminator 2" has been officially named "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and is scheduled to be released nationwide in early July.

Carloco's pockets were already empty, and the person responsible for the distribution was Samsung Pictures, a relationship that Ronald had hired. If Cameron fails to complete it on time, it will cause the two companies to suffer financial losses. There is no room for delay in this movie. Cameron will have to work crazy overtime to catch up with the schedule... "I plan to work twelve hours a day, seven days a week. I have calculated the time for each job. It will definitely come in time." Cameron assured Ronald with confidence as he bit into a Burger King and took a sip of Coke.

"Well, don't be too nervous. It's okay to take one day off a week...otherwise your efficiency will be reduced. I'll send someone to bring you and the team some delicious food every day..."

……

After dealing with the Terminator matter, Ronald met Yang Yanzi again.

"If I want to see you now, do I still need to make an appointment?" Ronald said to Yang Yanzi with a smile.

Yang Yanzi was so busy with the preparations for several film projects that as Ronald's assistant, she had to let a newcomer from the company take over temporarily. Ronald hadn't seen her in the company for several days.

"Boss, I'm working for you. These are all your projects..."

"How is the distribution of those two Chinese-language films going?" Ronald finished joking and asked about the progress of the business.

"Boss, I was just about to report to you that the distribution work in Chinatown has encountered some obstacles..."

"Are there any obstacles? Chinatown movie theaters are showing Chinese movies, shouldn't they be happy?" Ronald couldn't help but wonder. Originally, these movie theaters were distressed because they didn't have Chinese movie rooms.

"I'm happy, but many movie theaters in Chinatown have no money to renovate and can no longer operate. Large-scale closures may occur this year or next. Not only them, many old movie theaters in old cities can't survive either."

"Why? Didn't it run well in the past few years? I haven't heard of any problems... After coming here for so many years, can it still operate without renovation?"

"Boss, I only found out after chatting with them. This is stipulated in the bill that was just passed at the end of last year..."

Yang Yanzi took out a bound document from the folder. There were the words "PL 101-336" in the upper corner of the cover, indicating that this was Bill No. 101 passed by the 336st Congress. In the middle is the name of the bill, the "Americans with Disabilities Act."

Ronald turned to the back, "In America, 6% of the population is disabled. This bill is based on the principle of fairness for all Americans. It stipulates that public facilities must provide disabled access to ensure that disabled people can enjoy equal public services. and access to facilities.”

In the subsequent implementation details, cinemas are also regarded as a type of public facilities.

"Oh, Shxt!"

Ronald slapped his forehead. This was a move that would have a great impact on the film industry. It's just that not many people in Hollywood are really talking about it. Because they are all chasing the glamorous filmmaking industry, not many people come from the dirty, tiring, and many trivial things every day in the screening industry.

Old-fashioned movie theaters, including most of the movie theaters in Chinatown, are theater-style. It can accommodate hundreds of spectators and is often separated by stairs, forming a two-story staircase. Some large old cinemas imitate the shape of an opera house and even have upstairs seats or boxes.

As soon as this bill comes out, those intermediate stairs must be equipped with passages to facilitate the entry and exit of disabled people. Generally speaking, in order to accommodate the audience to the maximum extent, these old-fashioned theaters have very narrow stair passages for the audience to go up and down, and it is impossible to simply install a disabled passage.

To meet this bill, some of the seats would have to be removed and then disabled access added. Those theaters with upstairs locations must also develop elevators that meet the requirements of disabled people.

Although the intention of this bill is good, these theaters are already operating miserably. It is completely suicidal to shut down for several weeks to carry out renovation projects. And if disabled access is built, how many disabled people can come to the cinema to watch movies? How about leaving a few places for them to put their wheelchairs easily?

These are very troublesome things. The undercover investigators of the Federal Ministry of Justice who are responsible for the inspection are not vegetarians when operating facilities that do not meet the requirements. Leaving more seats for disabled people will be a waste if no one comes to see it, and other viewers will not like it. If less is retained, they will complain again, always complaining to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and getting into the media is no joke.

Therefore, instead of going to war, many operators of old movie theaters are thinking of simply going out of business.

"This is an opportunity..." Ronald's mind flashed and he remembered Thomas W. Stephenson Jr., a young man from the East Coast Hollywood Cinema.

Although these movie theaters don't make much money, one thing is for sure, the locations are pretty good. Back then, it was a popular stall in the downtown area, so it was used to build a theater.

Thomas Jr. came to Los Angeles with Douglas Jr. Thomas W. Stephenson Jr. also knew about this opportunity, but he just struggled with the lack of extra funds to do this business. A theater chain developed in the countryside of New Jersey. It was very traditional and old-school. There was no room for imagination, so there were no Wall Street people. Sought after, financing difficult.

When Ronald took the initiative to contact him this time, he knew that good luck was on his way.

Douglas Hansen Jr., whose family is the largest landowner on Staten Island, made his fortune by building various commercial facilities. It just fits the theater renovation business.

They looked at a list of addresses given by Ronald to movie theaters in major cities on the West Coast that were experiencing operating difficulties under the new law. The three of them studied for a while and divided these theaters into several destinations.

There are some local historical and cultural landmark theaters that involve many people's feelings. The best way is to preserve them. These theaters will be excluded from the acquisition scope because they will not make much money from buying them.

Some of the old cinemas in downtown areas can be demolished and rebuilt into modern multiplex cinemas.

There are also some old cinemas in not-so-good locations with a lot of open space around them. If they meet the conditions, they can be bought and developed into shopping mall complexes.

The three people discussed and decided to take advantage of this legal wave to attack vigorously on the east and west coasts. Thomas W. Stephenson Jr. was responsible for the theater's talent and management model. Douglass Jr. used the family business to do renovation and construction site selection work, and Ronald was responsible for most of the funding.

The one resource that Hollywood truly possesses that is difficult to replace is distribution. With economies of scale and original production volume as thresholds, it would be difficult for latecomers to get involved in America’s domestic distribution business.

But this Disability Act, which included movie theaters as public facilities, accidentally opened a small window for Ronald to get involved in the distribution business.

(End of this chapter)