Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1308 The Popular Ronald
"Ronald, what can I say? Congratulations! I voted for you, and I watched the video several times at home. It's amazing."

"Thank you, Michael. I am really encouraged, sincerely, that so many people like this movie, which shows that we are on the right track..."

The backstage after the award ceremony was a mess. Many award-winning stars were being interviewed, and some stars who were not nominated also came to get close to their chosen targets.

The media's tastes were similar to those of the audience. They were not very interested in the winners and producers of the Best Picture awards. Instead, they mainly asked questions about the winners of the acting awards, the directors, and several screenwriters who became famous overnight.

But the Hollywood actors really wanted to talk to these neglected producers. Especially producers like Ronald, who were really rare animals in Hollywood. Those who wanted to talk to him formed a circle, but no one could get forward and surpass the big stars in the inner circle.

Michael Douglas, Tom Hanks, had to wait until these big stars had finished talking to Ronald before they could push and shove forward, hoping that Ronald would still be interested in listening to their dry congratulations, and hoping that tomorrow he would still remember that they were the first few to come up and congratulate after the awards ceremony.

Unlike Ovitz, who was wary and alienated by major studios and celebrity groups after the huge success of "Rain Man" a few years ago, Ronald's success has attracted these people.

The reason is actually very simple. For the big studios, Ronald is a collaborator rather than a competitor. Unlike Ovitz, who tyrannically monopolized the cost of packaging projects, demanded more unreasonable high salaries from his clients, and stuffed in castings that directors and studios didn't like, Ronald seemed quite willing to cooperate.

Some requests from the studios were accepted by some people with connections. And Ronald seemed to have a magic power to find gold from the garbage dump. He took over two projects from Orion that no one wanted, which was proof of that.

Isn't such a producer a guarantee of performance for the top executives of the big studios? If they can recruit him, who wouldn't have thousands of old scripts in their script library waiting for him to save?
Of course, the senior managers of these studios were not in a hurry to speak to Ronald at this time.

Star actors are another matter. They don't have that many script projects for Ronald to choose from. If he leaves a good impression now, it will be more advantageous to work with them in the future.

Speaking of which, when stars reach a certain level, they will try to switch to being directors or producers. And they all have great ambitions. Many stars are dissatisfied with the shooting and editing methods of other directors in other movies. They always think that as long as they do it themselves, it will be different.

Therefore, producers like Ronald are rare. His final acceptance speech was very clear...

He will stick to the idea of ​​United Artists, which started with Chaplin, of not interfering with artists' creations and giving them space to create. Isn't this the most precious freedom that star actors want but cannot get from big studios?

United Artists went bankrupt, and Orion, which was founded by the elites of United Artists, also went bankrupt. Now in Hollywood, only Ronald's Daydream can continue the dream of actors to make the movies they want to make...

"You know, Ronald, I have a project that's about to start filming... but the distribution..."

"Michael, wait for me to rest for a few days. My mind is filled with happiness right now and I can't think at all... Call me when the time comes..."

Sure enough, Michael Douglas approached Ronald for no other reason than to see the influence of his good record in distribution channels. Moreover, TriStar Pictures had distributed so many of his profitable films, and no distributor had been interested in this film about a middle-aged white man's shattered dream, which he wanted to complete. If Ronald didn't help, he would have to sell it to HBO and turn it into a TV movie.

"Of course, of course, congratulations again... Wow... That's great..." Michael Douglas had already hung up his number and stopped mentioning the matter, gradually giving his seat to Tom Hanks behind him.

"Great, did you hear the audience applauding? Great..." It was something similar when Tom Hanks came to Ronald.

"Hi, Tom, I'm glad you all recognized my performance... I'm also impressed by Anthony and Judy's performance..."

"I also have something to ask of you. Your reputation among actresses can help me get out of this predicament, but... can we talk again in a couple of days?"

"Okay, Tom, okay, let me take my time..."

Just as everyone was about to go up and seize the opportunity, Ronald had already turned his head to look at Diane who was being interviewed. She was wearing a black evening dress, sexy and intellectual, and the little golden man she was holding inexplicably gave her a bit of confidence, and she looked like she had been reborn.

"Hi, Honey..."

"Thank you everyone. Ronnie and I have to go back to see the kids, hahahaha..."

"Ronald, give Diane a kiss..."

"Ronald, Diane, each of you take a picture of the little golden man..."

"Clap clap clap..."

After posing and letting the photographers take enough pictures, Ronald and Diane walked back with smiles on their faces.

"Ronald, I am your admirer, here is mine..." An unknown screenwriter seized the opportunity. He sneaked in after the show and wanted to hand the script to the producer Ronald who knew screenwriters best. Whether he can stand on the Oscar podium for Best Screenwriter in two years depends on this time...

“Ah…ah…”

Ronald's bodyguard Daniel and two other former colleagues quickly stepped forward to isolate the madman. The employer over there was discussing important matters with an important person, so they were told not to mess around.

"Steven...George..."

"Ronald..."

Spielberg, as the award presenter, had just been interviewed with his good friend George Lucas, and now he came over to congratulate Ronald with Lucas. At the Oscars that year, they also gave Ronald some advice as seniors. Now Ronald, who has won two Best Picture Awards, is already a gold medal producer in Hollywood that is no less than them.

"What do you think, George?"

"Ah? No, no, he's not Jewish, but it's up to you, talk to him yourself," George Lucas came over with the commemorative trophy in his hand and patted Ronald on the shoulder, "Your movie is great, we can talk about it if we have a chance..."

Ronald thanked Lucas. Lucas was enjoying his time with his children and was eager to return to the Lucas Ranch in San Francisco to share his happiness with his children, so he left first, leaving Spielberg and Ronald to chat privately while he waited for the show to end and leave.

"I have a film about the Jews in Auschwitz, and I want you to direct it..."

"Me?" Ronald was confused. How could I have the right to film the greatest suffering in your Jewish history?
"Why don't you take the picture yourself?" Ronald asked puzzledly.

"It's hard to explain this in a few words. Let's make an appointment to discuss it in detail..."

"Okay, do you want to come to my place? You can visit my Chinese garden..."

"Ronald, Steven, George..." The reporters were calling again, asking Ronald to take a photo with the two New Hollywood leaders.

"Hahaha..." Ronald and George Lucas both waved the trophies in their hands and took a photo with Spielberg in the middle.

Ronald and Diane each received a little golden statue and walked out of the awards ceremony slowly, earning them a lot of jealousy and envy.

"I don't think Laura (Dern) will forgive me..." Diane whispered to Ronald. Laura Dern herself nominated for the Best Actress award, and her mother Diane Ladd also lost to Diane Lane.

After the show just now, Diane went to chat with Laura Dern, but heard her mother saying some unfriendly things, such as Diane just found a good husband, and her ex-husband Bruce Dern really didn't have any connections and couldn't help her at all.

"Don't take it too seriously..." Ronald smiled. Some people haven't figured it out yet, but for the sake of casting, they will take the initiative to repair the relationship, if you still want to be friends with her.

……

"Congratulations, Diane..."

"Laura..."

Sure enough, after a day of unbridled celebration, Diane returned to her normal routine and received positive feedback. Laura Dunn took the initiative to call and congratulate Diane on her award.

The two friends who had been making movies together since their teenage years started chatting as usual.

"My mom was a little disappointed, but I was fine. The Silence of the Lambs was so amazing..."

"Hmm..." Diane felt a little bored and was speechless for a moment.

"Where's Ronald? Now all the female stars in Hollywood want to work with him, hahaha..."

"He's talking to Spielberg... He's not available..."

"Oh, Spielberg..." Laura Dern also fell silent. This relationship was something she couldn't establish even if she wanted to.

……

"I'm afraid I can't capture the essence of this story at my age..."

Ronald was drinking hot tea with Spielberg in a pavilion in the garden. He had received the outline of the movie Spielberg wanted him to make.

This is a film adapted from the 1982 novel "Schindler's Ark". Director Sidney Pollack, who is also Jewish, sent a book review to Spielberg.

Spielberg was very interested in the original story, and he met with Mr. Poldek Pfefferberg, who had always wanted to publish and film Schindler's story. Poldek Pfefferberg was one of the Jews liberated by officer Schindler.

He promised Pfefferberg that he would start the project within ten years and persuaded Sheinberg of Universal Pictures to buy the rights.

But Spielberg also encountered the same problem as Ronald. He was a young director who mainly shot commercial films. He was relaxed, cheerful and imaginative. This kind of film made him feel that he was not up to the task.

Therefore, he first found the Polish Jewish director Roman Polanski, who had fled to the United States and settled there. Because Polanski's mother died in Auschwitz and he was good at black-themed movies, he was the best candidate.

But to Spielberg's surprise, Polanski rejected the project.

He then tried to find Sidney Pollack, Brian De Palma and others to take over, but was rejected again as expected.

Finally, he found someone willing to direct the film, Martin Scorsese. But when Scorsese was about to take over, Spielberg regretted it again. He felt that if he didn't direct the film himself, his family and descendants might not forgive him in the future - because this is an epic of Jewish suffering.

In this wavering state of mind, Scorsese went to shoot the Oscar-nominated "Cape Fear", and the script returned to Spielberg. At this time, he was afraid that if he did not shoot well, he would be guilty of the entire Jewish ethnic group, and he was also afraid that he would be depressed by shooting such a movie.

He also felt that the several films produced and shot by Ronald had an epic quality, and that this project might be best handled by him, whether he directed it or not. After all, perhaps Jewish directors were not suited to making this kind of film, and that only someone who was not Jewish could make it more objectively.

"I think you are just the right person. You can invite other people to direct, but I think your grasp of epic films is the best..." Spielberg's long hesitation and vacillation about this film has become a debt of conscience for him, and he just wants to get rid of him.

"Steven, don't you think that this kind of subject matter must be filmed by a Jewish person?" Ronald also didn't quite understand. These Jewish directors have occupied a small territory in Hollywood, so why don't they want to shoot it?
“Well, actually we Jews have different opinions about this movie.”

Spielberg also did a lot of research after Polanski rejected his invitation. In fact, the attitudes of Jews in Europe and America towards Auschwitz are completely different.

Most of the Jews in Europe have direct relatives or friends who have suffered the same fate. Their attitude towards Auschwitz is that such things are past events that are too painful to recall, and no one should make movies on this subject. Let that sinful place remain silent forever, and not be brought up again to poke pain in the scars of the Jewish nation.

In America, many Jewish immigrants actually immigrated long before the war, and most of their relatives came here as well. Most of the victims were distant relatives, and they were not as shy about this history as their European cousins.

But the Jews are also an ethnic group after all. The attitude of their European cousins ​​is a huge psychological burden to them. If the film is not shot well, they will become sinners of the Jewish people. However, if a director of another ethnic group is asked to shoot the film, there will be no such problem.

“Excuse me, this movie can only be made by a Jewish director. Anyone else making it will cause a huge public relations disaster. Not only the director, but also you Jewish directors will be…”

"hiss……"

Ronald hit the nail on the head; Spielberg had never thought about it from this perspective.

If Scorsese really makes the film, it will definitely contain controversial content (there would have been a huge controversy among the Jewish community over whether to film Auschwitz), and coupled with Scorsese's identity as a Catholic, I'm afraid that public opinion will not only be directed at him, but also at why a large group of you Jews who occupy important positions in Hollywood don't make the film?

"Who will take the photo? Mr. Wilder once approached me. He wanted to take the photo... Most of his relatives died in Auschwitz..."

"Billy Wilder?" Ronald was surprised. The old man is already 86 years old. Aren't you afraid that he will die in the studio while making a movie like this?

"Yeah, I feel the same way..." Spielberg also shook his head. Apart from anything else, Billy Wilder hasn't made a good movie for many years, and his techniques are outdated...

"Since you have accepted this project, I am afraid that this job is best suited for you. This kind of movie must be shot by the greatest, most powerful, and most energetic director of your ethnic group. Otherwise, the descendants of your ethnic group will definitely regret why the best Jewish director was not used to shoot the movie at that time."

Ronald probably understood Spielberg's inner conflict, so he changed his mind and used provocation. As soon as he said this, he looked at Spielberg with sparkling eyes.

"You're right..." Spielberg puffed out his chest after being praised like this, thinking that this was the right film for him. If I wasn't the one to shoot it, who else could shoot it, who else would dare to shoot it?

But the pressure is too great. If the film is not done well... I will be a national sinner.

Spielberg left with a heavy heart.

Tom Hanks is at it again.

"Ronald, this is the project I'm currently involved in. It's a script I really like. But after so many delays, the main actress has repeatedly missed her schedule. If I don't start working soon, then I'm going to miss my schedule.

I really like this movie and don’t want her to abort. Can you help me find the right distributor and convince these actresses…”

Hanks and Ronald had a very pleasant collaboration, and his partner Diane also won an Oscar, so they spoke their minds.

"Oh, about this subject matter, well, there are indeed many distributors who would like female-themed works. I can ask TriStar Pictures... That's no problem..." Ronald took out the project book and flipped through it, preparing to call Mike Medavoy.

As a result, many audition photos of female stars fell out. Ronald quickly picked them up...

Brooke Shields,

Demi Moore,

Meg Tilly,

Diane Lane,

……

The last one is actually Madonna!
"What do you mean?" Ronald was shocked and looked at Hanks...

(End of this chapter)