Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1333 Stars on the Avenue of Stars
"I thought of it, I thought of it..."

As soon as Ronald returned to Los Angeles, Tom Cruise came to talk to him about the "sugar-coated trap".

"Who are you thinking of?" Ronald smiled as Diane brought him coffee.

"Ahem, there are two candidates, Gene Hackman and Robert Duvall. They have acting skills, but they can't... you know..."

"Hmm?" Ronald also took a sip. This was the latest model of automatic coffee machine made in Japan, equipped with matching coffee. It tasted good. Perhaps it was because Cruise blatantly said the names of the two golden supporting actors who wanted to step on his acting skills, and he felt a little embarrassed.

"Both of the candidates you mentioned are good. Personally, I prefer Robert Duvall." Ronald glanced at Diane, who was smiling. She had finally gotten rid of the reputation of being a coffee drinker. Robert Duvall and she had acted in a TV series before and he was very friendly to her. Ronald said this to Diane, and she thought it was because of him.

Of course, this is one of the reasons, but more importantly, Gene Hackman offended Ronald over the script of "The Silence of the Lambs". Now that Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor award, Hackman must be very regretful and may not be willing to participate in a movie directed by Ronald.

"Of course..." Tom Cruise also glanced at Diane. He could think of this reason. Paula Wagner said that Ronald was more likely to choose Robert Duvall. However, Gene Hackman was more famous for playing supporting roles. He had acting skills and was not worried about damaging his image. The image of the villain Luthor in the Superman series of movies was also deeply rooted in people's hearts. Would such a person be able to better highlight his extraordinary acting skills?
Moreover, Robert Duvall had previously collaborated with him on the box office failure "Days of Thunder", so although it was not necessarily his fault, after all... Hollywood is still somewhat superstitious.

"I actually have other reasons..." Ronald put his arm around Diane's waist and kissed her on the cheek. Then he said to Tom Cruise, "Do you like the movie The Godfather?"

"Of course..." Tom Cruise made a gesture of praying to the Godfather for help.

"Yes, this movie is the bible for American men, especially those who watch movies. Just like The Golden Circle is the bible for female romance movies. As soon as people see the cast in this movie, they know who they are...

This is typical of actors whose roles are full of charm. The key to the sugar-coated trap is that your performance must be convincing. I think, in addition to your own acting skills, we need all the strength we can borrow, such as using some old faces in the Godfather movies and borrowing their brilliance.

It is not surprising that your character Mitch makes some wrong choices under the pressure of such a gang. It also allows female audiences to identify with your shock and vulnerability, and also allows them to identify with the wife's forgiveness of Mitch in the end.

If you use actors who are not easily reminiscent of gangsters, then your performance will be more difficult to gain empathy and understanding from the audience.

Tom, you have honed your skills over the years and now is the time to shine. I will not miss any opportunity to help."

"Huh?" Tom Cruise thought Ronald was going to show off his style as the godfather of the younger generation in Hollywood, but he didn't expect that his old friend was actually considering the matter from the perspective of his own award.

How rare it is. Such a noble person who brought him to debut and made him a star in a commercial film, when it came to the most critical moment of competing for awards, he would rather put the box office second and put showing his acting skills first.

"Diane, do you remember when we played Francis (Coppola)'s The Little Brat together? At that time we never thought that today..." Cruise suppressed his inner excitement and deliberately told Diane some old stories.

"Don't say that. At that time, I... ha..." Diane glanced at Ronald, meaning that I didn't expect to marry the assistant director.

"Okay, then invite them to audition, and my casting director Julia Taylor will make the right choice..." Ronald smiled and drank his coffee. Although he had already been selected, he still had to go through the normal audition process.

"You know what? I have some golden bases inside Scientology that process good coffee. They are all grown by our own people. There is nothing bad about it. I will give you some when the time comes..."

"Uh..." Tom Cruise was disgusted that his coffee was not certified by Scientology, so he used their multimeter to remove the painful trauma and memories left by the criminals sent to Earth by Unicron...

This guy needs to remind Paula Wagner that getting too involved is obviously not a good thing.

……

"I try very hard to balance his religious life with his professional life. Tom is not a fool, and Nicole doesn't take it too seriously. It's just that sometimes a star needs some people's blind worship and uncomplaining consideration. Neither I nor his wife can do this. Don't worry, it's still limited to the strange beliefs that some Hollywood people often have."

A few days later, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Ronald bowed his head and talked to Paula Wagner.

"Then I feel relieved." Ronald turned around and looked at the star Tom Hanks who was surrounded by the crowd. This Tom didn't have this type of problem.

"Hi……"

Tom Hanks and his wife, Rita Wilson, sat on the ground of the Walk of Fame, showing a very happy expression. Today is the dedication ceremony of his exclusive star, a bronze star made by the Walk of Fame Committee, with Tom Hanks' name engraved on it and a small icon in the style of a movie camera next to it.

They had taken a leave of absence from the production of "Sleepless in Seattle" to attend the dedication of Tom Hanks' star. A brick was pried out of the sidewalk and replaced with a star with Tom Hanks' name on it.

Then came the interviews and reports from various media, as well as the photo taking session.

Of course, in addition to Tom Hanks' own feelings and thoughts, the most important thing is to promote the movie "A League of Their Own".

Although it is called the Avenue of Stars, it does not mean that you will automatically have your own star just because you are a star.

Except for those stars of the older generation who unfortunately passed away (you need to have a certain level of celebrity fame), they will be automatically added by the Avenue of Stars Committee. Other stars need to actively contact the committee to have their own star.

In addition to proactive contact, living stars must also be nominated by someone, including film companies and fan groups. As long as the nominees are approved, the list of new stars for that year will be selected at the committee meeting of that year.

In addition to this almost effortless nomination, there is a one-time payment of tens of thousands of dollars for installation and maintenance costs.

It is this high cost that prevents most celebrities from having their stars on the Avenue of Stars. Not many celebrities are narcissistic enough to pay out of their own pockets to install a star with their own name on it and then let fans search for their name among thousands of stars.

So, generally speaking, the cost of the star installation ceremony is based on the marketing expenses spent when the stars' new movies, new TV series, new records, etc. are launched and promoted.

Tom Hanks was no exception. He took advantage of the weekend when the "Sleepless in Seattle" crew was resting and came to participate in the promotion of "A League of Their Own".

"Tom, Rita, make the signs together and let us take some pictures..." The photographer called out to the celebrity couple and asked them to make some gestures.

"Is this okay? Hahaha." Tom Hanks once again showed his comedy skills. He and his wife made exaggerated gestures, pointing at their stars and cooperating with the media publicity.

"Congratulations..." After taking the photo, Ronald went up to hug Tom Hanks again. Such a dedicated male star should be cherished. Whether on the set or in cooperation with publicity, Tom Hanks is very professional.

Not only did he fly back to participate in the promotion during his break in accordance with the contract, he also brought his wife along to appear on the show. It can be said that it was a buy one get one free deal, with a very high cost-performance ratio.

Of course, this was done in the name of Rita Wilson supporting her husband. A small portion of the questions from various media reporters focused on how the two of them supported each other and helped each other's careers.

"Diane, Diane... take a picture with Ronald in your arms..."

Tom Hanks' star dedication ceremony has just been completed, and Diane Lane, who also played an important role in "A League of Their Own", has also become the focus of the media. Today is also the dedication ceremony of her star on the Avenue of Stars.

"Hey, today is Diane's big day, you guys better take more pictures of her. I'm just a director behind the scenes. You have to figure out who is the protagonist on the Avenue of Stars..."

Ronald smiled and served as Diane's prop for a while, then half-jokingly asked the photographers he knew to take more photos with Diane as the center.

"Hahaha..." The photographers laughed in unison. If you hadn't come, would we have taken so many marketing photos for your honor?
"Hehehe..." Diane was extremely happy. Having her own star on the Avenue of Stars was an important symbol that she was on the same level as the stars of the golden age.

She was dressed very down-to-earth today, like an ordinary woman in Los Angeles, with a long skirt, a pair of sandals, a tilted hat, and a hand covering her face. It was a very typical Bohemian style.

Anyway, this kind of ceremony cannot be as formal as an award ceremony. What matters is a bit playful and let fans recall her looks when she was at the peak of her popularity in the early 1980s.

Ronald also watched with a smile. His wife was very happy today. This action achieved a better effect than expected. It was killing two birds with one stone...

Afterwards, the two stars went to accept interviews from reporters, while Ronald and Paula Wagner talked about the "Sugar Coated Trap" project.

"Heroine, what do you think?"

"Now many people are asking for my recommendation, and I always reply that I will choose according to the requirements of the plot. However, there are three people who recommended me, and I am a little moved."

Ronald was talking about the role of Abby, Tom Cruise's wife in the film. Because it was a shortcut to fame to play with Tom Cruise, many people came to ask for the role, and he seriously considered three of them based on personal connections and suitability.

The first one was Jane Tripplehorn, who was recommended by Michael Douglas. She played a supporting role in "Basic Instinct", being the psychiatrist and lover of the detective played by Michael Douglas.

According to Douglas, Jane Tripplehorn is an actress from Broadway with solid acting skills. She also has an advantage in that she looks a bit like JFK's wife Jacqueline, which is a perfect match for the protagonist of the script who is a Harvard law graduate.

Michael Douglas didn't make a strong recommendation, but Jane Tripplehorn did find a very influential recommender in that he made the call and nailed the key points of the role.

The second one was Robin Wright, who was recommended by Bob Reiner. This was the actor he discovered in "The Princess Bride".

Reiner's main recommendation is that Robin Wright can switch seamlessly between innocence and sexiness, which makes her very suitable for the role of a housewife who goes to the company to seduce her boss after her husband is threatened.

Reiner's "The Princess Bride" is his favorite directorial work, and he has maintained a good relationship with the actors of that year. According to him, Robin Wright should have become a star as early as two years ago in "Robin Hood (starring Kevin Costner)". It was only because she got pregnant with Madonna's ex-husband Sean Penn that she gave up the opportunity to become a star.

Reiner felt that such a talented actor should not be wasted, so he strongly recommended his old subordinate to audition with Ronald, and guaranteed that Ronald would not need to worry too much about Robin Wright's professionalism and acting skills.

As for the third candidate, it was Bridget Fonda, the niece of Ronald who was recommended by Jane Fonda, the benefactor Ronald met when he debuted.

The promise to film Ronald's script made him a new star screenwriter. Later, she acquired Ronald's leg warmer factory and made her first fortune. Now she is married to cable TV tycoon Turner.

Ronald had to take special care of the person she had specially recommended. The advantage of Bridget Fonda was that she was the one whose temperament was closest to that of an American housewife among the three candidates.

She was able to give up her life in Boston and work with her husband in an unknown law firm in a small southern town. Later, her husband was caught in a gang business and could not get away. She was able to seduce her husband's boss. In the end, she forgave her husband's cheating because of love. The two gave up the money and status that were within their reach and returned to Boston to find a small law firm to start over.

This plot requires Abby, the wife, to love her husband very much in order to convince the audience, especially the female audience. Although the husband is played by Tom Cruise, if Abby's appearance and temperament are not convincing enough, it will easily cause the audience to dislike her.

Judging from Bridget Fonda's audition photos, she has inherited her grandfather Henry Fonda's appearance of fragility and the energy that can burst out from that fragility.

"Tom has no preference. He said he believes you can choose the most suitable Abby for him..." Paula Wagner conveyed Cruise's idea to Ronald. It is rare for a film project to allow him to give up his active influence on casting.

"Ronnie, I'm so happy today. You don't know how excited my father will be when he sees my stars..."

Diane finished the interview and came over to hug Ronald and didn't want to let go. Today, she accomplished another goal in her life.

"When will the ceremony for your star be held? I'm sure many of your friends will come to celebrate for you."

"Me? I'm not there yet. Director stars are rare." Ronald said with a smile. Unlike celebrities, directors are usually not the focus of marketing activities, so not many people get stars. Most of them are old directors from the golden age.

Now even Spielberg, Lucas, Scorsese, Coppola and others have no stars.

Ronald smiled and decided to take advantage of the opportunity of "Bram Stoker's Dracula" to be released in the second half of the year to let Coppola's star land first.

Then put Roger Corman's star on it as well. There was no way I could get ahead of them.

……

"Francis, what do you think about the stars I told you about?"

"I always feel it's not appropriate for a director to be on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Besides, what's the point of bragging about having your name stepped on by others?"

Afterwards, Ronald and Coppola called each other and it turned out that Coppola, as a director, was not very interested in this.

"Think about the marketing of the movie, think about the box office this star can bring you, Francis. I know it's a bit against your habits, but for the box office..."

"Well, what you said makes sense. I can't argue with you. Let's do as you say..." Coppola thought of the money he still owed to the bank, so he had no choice but to cooperate.

"Okay, I'll write a letter to nominate you myself..." Ronald laughed. He still had something else to ask Coppola for help.

(End of this chapter)