Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1327: The Year of the Hollywood Woman

"How's the quality this time? Let me see. Well, Director Huang can use whatever equipment he wants here. You know, Daydream has to provide the best conditions to cooperate."

Director Huang from Xujiahui has completed the filming of "Hi Frank" in two places. The final film is also undergoing post-production editing, color separation and other processing in Hollywood.

This was the first time that Director Huang completed post-production work under the Hollywood industrial system. The negatives that were previously sent to Paramount's processing plant were developed into negatives using the best standards, in an effort to promote Hollywood standards to the other side of the Pacific.

However, there was a problem with the printing of the working copy used for editing. When making the copy, the worker accidentally got the parameters wrong, and the color of the working copy had a visible deviation...

Director Huang didn't care too much about it. He thought it was a huge waste to make a new copy just for this little color difference. Anyway, it would only be used for editing and would not affect the subsequent copy production, so he just wanted to keep the matter quiet.

When Ronald found out, he was extremely furious. He called Shirley Lansing, who had already joined Paramount Pictures, and asked her if she had forgotten her promise to him and couldn't even make a working copy.
He also specifically talked about the difficult process of establishing this Sino-US co-production, saying that this is a film that shoulders the responsibility of opening up new markets for Hollywood. If it is not done well, it will be despised by all Hollywood producers. Besides, the director of this film is also a woman. She is about to become the first female CEO of a major Hollywood studio. Will she just sit back and watch her subordinates bully a female director who is also very rare in Hollywood?

Shirley Lansing had no place to complain. She had just joined the company and had not yet reorganized the power of all departments. However, she had just agreed on a deal with Ronald, and now such a liability accident had occurred. She gritted her teeth and brought the matter to the table in the internal meeting.

With the support of Stanley Jaffe, the interim president of the parent company, the technical director of Hollywood's oldest color film processing plant in South Los Angeles personally came to apologize to Director Huang and said that this was by no means the professional standard that Hollywood upholds.

The Paramount Photo Studio was fully responsible for the losses caused, and he personally supervised the process of sending Director Huang a re-made working copy without any defects.

"Isn't this a bit of an exaggeration?" Director Huang lamented.

Just a few years ago, there was a liability accident in Xujiahui because a worker in the printing workshop left his post without permission to meet his girlfriend during work, and the negative film was damaged. As many as 40% of the shots of that unfortunate movie were destroyed. There was no budget for reshoots, so they could only use the film with the color of tea stains that had been soaked for years and not washed to make the positive copies for the release.

Fortunately, televisions were not popular at that time, so the audience did not complain much. However, there are still many careless and sloppy places in domestic printing factories. Movies that are exhibited abroad will be specially developed in Japan to obtain the best effect.

"This is market competition. If they don't provide high-quality services, they will fail in the competition..." Ronald looked at the images on the editing machine. Director Huang handled it well. Gregory Peck's appearance was very close to the image of a veteran in the minds of Americans, which was quite different from the images of lawyers, reporters, etc. that he had played before.

But the core is still very similar. They both adhere to the concept of progress and fairness that has been passed down for many years. Mrs. Zhao's performance is also excellent. Although the two do not speak the same language, this just fits the plot. Both have been actors for decades and are very good at cooperating with each other.

Since the version released in America will be in English, all of Mrs. Zhao's dialogues are subtitled in English, but not watching the subtitles does not affect the understanding of the plot. This is the magic of this movie - it originally tells the theme of common family affection and humanity under cultural barriers, and this form of expression is also a reflection of the theme itself.

In order to film the scenes in Los Angeles, Mrs. Zhao didn't even attend the New Year's Eve party. However, when the movie is released, her popularity among Chinese Americans will rise to a higher level.

With the support of the Hollywood industry, Director Huang completed the editing and post-production of her first Hollywood film. This was the first time in many years that she had completed the post-production of a film so easily, without having to monitor the workers, coordinate treatment, or write reports and ask for instructions. Everything happened naturally, with the assistance of top experts.

Even the later music score was composed by Oscar-winning Peter Buffet. I heard that his father is one of the top ten richest people in the United States, but he actually did this kind of thing. Sometimes Americans really like their work.

"Hey, I quite like being a director in Hollywood. There are people to help you with everything. But it's just too expensive..." When Director Huang learned that her film project, after converting currency, was enough to shoot ten films in China, she felt that this convenience was too expensive. In comparison, she would rather shoot a few more films there.

"The investment is not that much. It can only be considered a small production in Hollywood. Besides, I'm not worried about the box office, so what are you worried about? Hahaha." Ronald also found it funny. This movie was enough to recover the cost in the American market. The box office there was just icing on the cake. He didn't want it either and gave it directly to Xujiahui Studio as a favor.

……

With a large box of copies, Director Huang and Xiao Yan boarded the plane back to Hongqiao. The copies they brought back would be remade by the photofinishing factory there.

Of course, the dubbing will be done again there. Xujiahui plans to invite Lu Jianyi, who did the dubbing for Gregory Peck's movies and is now in Changchun, to dub Peck again. This way, the audience can relive the acting skills of the handsome young man back then in his old age.

Filming for another movie has also been completed, "A League of Their Own," directed by Penny Marshall.

Many female stars finally washed off the bruises, dust, and dirt caused by filming at the baseball field and left the set happily.

Penny Marshall had a great time making this movie. Many popular female stars listened to her instructions. Her brother Garry Marshall (director of Pretty Woman), ex-husband Robert Renner, and Ronald all had a small cameo role in the movie.

Ronald was also very happy after seeing the sample film. Starting from Ronald's filming of "Working Girl", the spirit of female independence in Hollywood this year has finally become a trend.

This movie, which is about the women's baseball league, is based on the idea that things are not as good as they used to be. After the outbreak of the Pacific War in World War II, women were allowed to play baseball, but decades later, the women's independence movement in America has retreated.

It's time to give them a little shock...

Columbia Pictures has high expectations for this film. This year, not only in the film industry, but women across the country are beginning to want to make their voices heard.

In addition to the presidential election this year, there are also re-elections for the Senate and the House of Representatives. Thirty-four states are holding re-elections for the Senate, and there is also a special election in California. All members of the House of Representatives are holding re-elections.

The number of women who signed up for the Senate and House elections this year also broke the record of previous years. Barbara Boxer, the Democratic candidate for the California Senate special election, said during the campaign that Ronald's Working Girl inspired her to run. Because the movie marketing event that year invited many female senior officials to participate, and she was only a member of the House of Representatives at the time, she also wanted to succeed in order to be able to participate in the event with Hollywood male stars.

This statement did not have a good response among male voters, but female voters seemed to like this teasing statement. According to the latest opinion poll, Barbara Boxer's support rate exceeded that of the Elephant Party candidate, former political commentator Bruce Herskovitz, for the first time.

This greatly encouraged Columbia Pictures, which prepared to release the film in the second half of the year. They asked Penny Marshall to work overtime on post-production editing and invited Hans Zimmer, a more famous composer than Peter Buffett, to compose the film's music.

In short, we need to release this movie before the election at the end of the year, when the election campaign is at its most lively. According to Columbia Pictures CEO Guber, now is the eve of the great wave of social thought, and we need to be brave surfers.

Anyway, the movie has been sold to Columbia for distribution, and all marketing will be undertaken by them. By then, Daydream Pictures will only appear in the end credits, so Ronald will let them do whatever they want. If they can sell more box office revenue, he can get more share, right?

California is the base of former President Ronald Reagan, and there are many Elephant Party supporters here. There are also Donald Trump supporters who agree with the Elephant Party's policies. Although the Donald Trump support rate has been rising recently, it is still hard to imagine that both senators will become Donald Trump supporters. However, the gimmick of the senator candidate attending the premiere is still good.

After the film was finished, the actresses all left, and Diane returned to her home in Los Angeles, which made Ronald very happy.

"This shoot was quite tiring. One of our actresses was hit on the nose by a baseball and it almost broke and bled a lot. Also, hahahaha, that Rosie O'Donnell is so funny. We never lack laughter because of her. She's also a big fan of Tom Cruise and dreams of having a one-night stand with her idol every day..."

"Uh..." Ronald felt a chill. This Rosie O'Donnell was fatter than his TV host, Richie Lake. Fantasizing about idol stars like Tom Cruise every day was a major side effect of becoming famous.

"The entire crew is exhausted. Shooting this kind of sports film is a huge test of physical strength. Only Tom Hanks is the most relaxed, and he doesn't have any scenes of swinging a bat or throwing a ball." Diane said, swinging her arms.

"Let me give you a massage..." Ronald understood immediately and went up to give Diane two gentle massages. "Tom Hanks is more tired than you guys now. I sent him to Seattle again. In order to prevent him from being complained by his wife Rita (Wilson), I asked Rita to go to Seattle to take care of him."

Long-term separation caused by filming is definitely a major reason for the breakup of Hollywood star marriages. Another major reason is the huge change in the status of one of the spouses.

Tom Hanks was busy filming both of Ronald's films, and he also had to cover his wife's travel and hotel expenses.

"Okay, I'm not tired anymore..." After being pinched twice by Ronald, Diane immediately felt relieved. She quickly asked Ronald to take a rest and asked a masseur to come over when the time comes, so as not to make Ronnie too tired.

"What are you writing?" Diane saw Ronald seemed to be writing something on the computer screen on the table. He hadn't written a script for a long time.

"Hey, this is a letter to the leader on the other side of the Pacific Ocean. It will need to be translated into Chinese. No one in Hollywood can use a Chinese typewriter."

It turned out to be a letter of protest from Ronald. After Director Huang returned, someone denied the rental license for "Hi, Frank" on the grounds that the film had been released in the United States beforehand.

Because only domestic films from major provincial studios can enter the rental market, and co-productions require special procedures to be counted. Most of the investment in this film was from Hollywood, and it was also shot in Hollywood...

Ronald was so angry that he had to write a letter asking for help, showing his contributions to the friendship between the two countries over the years, including his certificate number for hiring foreign experts, and his friendship with the women's volleyball team at the Los Angeles Olympics...

There is also the importance of exchanges between the two peoples, the significance of Sino-foreign co-productions in promoting culture, the important role of The Last Emperor's award in promoting the rise of Chinese-language films in Hollywood, and the recent positive role played by the Joy Luck Club in the upper echelons of the Chinese American community in America. He wrote a long article...

However, there is a shortage of people who are skilled in operating Chinese typewriters, so the letter should be translated first and sent to Xujiahui, where Xiaoyan will help find someone to type it out.

"I hope that fans who love Mr. Gregory Peck will not miss the performance of this friendly person who wanted to make a movie for Chinese friends."

Ronald modified the last paragraph a bit...

"When are you going to Seattle?" Diane knew that Ronald would definitely have to be there to observe the new director before he could feel at ease.

"Next week..."

(End of this chapter)