Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1338 Don’t Stop Imagining the Future

"You've watched the audition reels. Do you have a preference?"

The day after the audition, Ronald sat in his office and asked Tom Cruise, who was smiling. He and Julia Taylor saw his performance with the two actresses, but Cruise himself did not see it, so he had to wait for the film to be developed and see it for himself before confirming it.

"Jane and Smooth, but I still like the audition with Bridget..."

"Hey, Tom, you really can be a director." Ronald nodded with a smile, and he and Julia Taylor smiled at each other.

The script adapted from this novel was not written specifically for the film. The plot and dialogue in it have a strong flavor of stage play. Perhaps it is because the author of the novel, John Grisham, was once a lawyer and a congressman from Mississippi, and it has a strong indoor speech feature.

Jane Tripplehorn undoubtedly beats Bridget Fonda in terms of understanding the plot and grasping the subtext behind the dialogue. However, Ronald did not want to make this film into an adaptation of a stage play with a camera in front of it. He preferred to use audio-visual language rather than dialogue to narrate and convey emotions.

From this perspective, Bridget Fonda is more suitable. In her audition, she was able to project more emotions into the camera, and when the audience watched, they used their ears and brains to understand the plot and emotions, which was much simpler and more direct than Jane Tripplehorn.

Tom Cruise's performance is also better when he plays opposite Bridget Fonda. His dyslexia prevents him from memorizing lines in a short period of time, so when he plays opposite Jane Tripplehorn, his emotional expression is also a step slower.

"Hey? Do you choose Bridget too?" Tom Cruise smiled brightly. Ronald always spoke the truth. If he said that his understanding of movies had improved, then he must have really improved. No wonder his opinion coincided with his.

"My choice is not important, your choice is important..." Ronald said with a smile, waving his hand to play the audition clip again.

"Oh?" Tom Cruise smiled even more brightly. If Ronald also valued his opinion so much, then his status was indeed firmly nailed to that of a top star.

"Look, when you were acting with Bridget and Jane, that expression told me everything."

"Oh..." Tom Cruise thought it was not because of his opinion, but because of the performance of the audition. Although it was a little worse, it was still very good. He continued to smile and joked, "Don't let Nicole see it..."

"Why? Does Nicole have any taboos about this?" Ronald frowned and looked at Tom Cruise.

"I'm kidding. Nicole just feels sorry that the two movies she and I acted in together didn't do well at the box office. We may not have many more opportunities to act together..."

"Okay, I will limit the number of visits during the filming, is that ok with you?" When Ronald heard that Nicole Kidman also had some common problems among celebrity wives, although the symptoms were milder, he proposed a clause commonly found in celebrity contracts.

When the stars' families visit the set, the crew is responsible for all transportation and expenses. The film will be shot in tourist destinations, and the various expenses are not cheap. At the same time, this is also a clause for the crew to restrict the stars, such as how many times a week, whether it is during rest time, so as to reduce the trouble caused by the stars' spouses.

"Of course, you understand me..." Tom Cruise said that he was innocent and the treatment he proposed was based on the current market conditions.

"I'm mainly worried about Bridget Fonda's boyfriend. You are the male and female protagonists, and your treatment cannot be too different."

Whether it was Eric Stotts's messy values ​​​​influencing Bridget Fonda, or because some intimate scenes made him dissatisfied, or Stotts himself hooked up with some female star and caused Bridget's emotional fluctuations, these were what Ronald didn't want to see.

Anyway, the terms of Bridget Fonda's contract were quite strict. She signed it without any objection because she could star in a big production and partner with Tom Cruise.

Now if Tom Cruise is treated much better than her, especially in terms of the number of visits from boyfriends and girlfriends, then it will be different from the implicit treatment such as pay, makeup, and trailers, which will cause the actor's face to be damaged.

Now Tom Cruise was quite considerate, so Ronald could rest assured.

"Ronald, this is the list of treatment Tom needs..." At this time, Paula Wagner, who was very good at seizing opportunities, took out a very long list.

"Hmm..." Ronald took it and looked at it. What food to eat, what drinks to drink, what makeup artist to use, the fixed Scientology time every day, etc.... are all very detailed..."

"The special microphone made by Scientology..." Ronald saw the blessed microphone that was said to have a good sound recording effect. "Here, other actors can voluntarily choose to use the microphone made by their peers or the special microphone made by Scientology..."

"Of course, no problem..." Tom Cruise nodded immediately. He couldn't force others, but after hearing such a perfect microphone, some people would definitely be willing to give up that old radio.

"And here, who is this person? Why do we need him to provide the seaplane?" Ronald asked, pointing at a name.

"He was the instructor who taught me skydiving when I was learning to fly a plane. I trust him very much," Tom Cruise explained.

"One more thing. His seaplane needs to be inspected and approved by someone certified by the Stunt Union... This is a requirement of the union..." Ronald explained.

"Of course..." Tom Cruise had no objection to this. Ronald must respect his beliefs, unlike some directors who kept silent but laughed at him in their hearts. It's just that you can't afford to offend the union when making movies nowadays...

"Wait a minute, what does this mean? Except for Tom, the faces and names of other male actors are not allowed to appear in marketing materials and posters?"

"This is our new policy. Since Tom's appeal to the audience is number one in Hollywood, we should make the most of this advantage. Otherwise, wouldn't the salary paid to Tom be wasted?" Paula Wagner hurriedly explained.

This is a new strategy adopted by their C/W production company. Whenever Tom Cruise is in a movie, his influence must be highlighted and he must be the only face to appear on the poster.

"This is against the rules. Hollywood has always had above- and below-the-line treatment. Supporting actor Robert Duvall also had his face and name shown below the movie title."

This is what Ronald couldn't understand. Competition for roles in Hollywood has always been fierce. Before the 1950s, there were even cases where female stars devoted themselves to being producers so that their names would appear in higher positions than others.

The so-called above-the-line means writing the actor's name above the title, and below-the-line means writing it below the title. There are other levels in between, such as whether to occupy a row by yourself or with others. Should the face appear on the poster from the front or from the side? Whose head is bigger or taller? Should the supporting role appear in the direction of the protagonist's eyes or in the opposite direction? There are all kinds of very trivial and strict regulations, all of which are very complete.

But I've never heard of an actor who can monopolize his or her image and name? Does that mean others won't want to work with you?
Ronald looked at the contract and found that it only restricted the actors' exclusive rights, but it still saved face for himself as a director. His name would appear in a prominent position, on a separate line, just like Tom Cruise.

But what about Robert Duvall? He is also a Hollywood star, although not as famous as Cruise? But according to the rules of the Screen Actors Guild, his name must also occupy a certain position.

These are all mature business cooperation rules. He has been in Hollywood for so long that he already has a fixed position. And when Tom Cruise worked with him on Days of Thunder, Robert Duvall's name also appeared below the title.

Suddenly, Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner were both a little embarrassed. This was a strategic decision made by their C/W production company, in order to make Tom Cruise occupy the absolute leading role in all the movies he participated in.

If this first movie had not been successful, there would have been no precedent and a lot more trouble would have occurred in the future.

"I won't try to convince Robert Duvall. If you reach an agreement with him and get his authorization, I have no objection..." Ronald thought for a moment. In fact, considering Cruise's box office appeal, it is reasonable to let him have the name exclusively. But he doesn't want to be a villain.

"That's no problem. Robert and I will go talk about this." Tom Cruise suddenly laughed, and Ronald nodded. Then it would be easy to do. As long as this matter became a routine, he would be the only one in Hollywood.

Robert Duvall is at this age too, he won't think about the leading role or the role. At most he can be compensated a little in terms of salary, and this extra salary can be paid by his own C/W.

"Okay, I'll ask him out, and we'll meet him to talk about the plot rehearsal?" Tom Cruise is now full of confidence, and he must make this movie a benchmark for C/W. Let everyone know that inviting Cruise to be the male lead is a guarantee of box office success!
"You talk to him first. I have to go to New York. I don't have time."

……

Ronald and Richard flew to the Staten Island airport on a private plane. David Letterman's last hope of taking over the Tonight Show on NBC was shattered.

Although NBC was willing to make concessions on his demands for a salary increase and greater voice, the new president insisted that there was no way to change Jay Leno's succession.

Therefore, Richard also started the task of finding a new home for David Letterman. He informed all the TV stations that Letterman was going to change his home, and now he was waiting for their response.

Ronald was going to meet with Ed Bastian, the CEO of his media company. While Letterman was looking for his next employer, TV stations and newspapers could approach TV networks to try to get more cooperation opportunities and have more programs syndicated nationwide.

……

"Ha, that bastard..." Helen Hunt had come to New York to prepare for a new TV series, and she took the opportunity to come with Helen Slater to have dinner with Ronald. Although going to his house required taking a ferry to Staten Island and then taking a train, it was still worth the trip.

A phone call from Ronald made NBC finally choose her as the heroine. Although she was an advantage as a movie star and was willing to act in a TV series, she still had to be grateful for the favor that made the final decision.

Helen Hunt heard that her incompetent ex-boyfriend had reunited with his ex-girlfriend, which made her sneer. This guy talked about art every day, but his acting was not very good. Most importantly, it did not help his acting career at all.

"Is there anything to worry about?" Ronald wanted to ask her if Eric Stotts had done anything else out of the ordinary.

"Don't let him talk about acting with your actresses. I don't know where this guy learned all these messed up theories. They are all useless..."

Helen Slater said nothing, but just looked at Ronald with an obsessed look. She felt that her lover now spoke very stylishly.

"Helen is almost thirty years old, and I think she likes children very much..." After dinner, Helen Hunt whispered to Ronald.

"Huh?" Ronald looked up in surprise.

"I don't mean to interfere with your relationship with her, but when I talked to her, she always showed her love for children. As her best friend, I have to remind you."

"Oh, thank you." Ronald didn't want to talk about this in front of her, so he nodded to express his gratitude and walked away.

……

"Well, it's so dark here at night, you can see the stars..." Helen Slater said to Ronald, pointing at the night sky. The two of them were on the rooftop, hugging each other and looking at the stars. There is no such beautiful view in the houses in Manhattan.

"Helen, do you like children?"

"Of course, haha. No, I'm not saying I want kids now, but I like kids, you know?" Helen Slater was content with the romantic moment and didn't think much about the question.

"I mean, do you want a baby?"

"Oh, Ronald..." Helen Slater responded and hugged Ronald and kissed him several times. "My father told me that if I have a child, I want him to have the last name Slater."

"It seems that you also want to..." Ronald hugged Helen. It seemed that the adoption method that Michelle Pfeiffer mentioned could be used on Helen.

……

The two returned to the bedroom and watched TV together again. This was something that ordinary couples did, but it was Helen's favorite.

“This guy really travels across the country by bus?”

Ronald saw on TV that the two Democratic presidential candidates announced at the convention that they would take a bus tour to meet voters, and today they actually took a bus to shake hands and chat with voters in some places in northern New York State.

Those voters had never seen a politician who was a candidate for president actually come to their community and ask them what changes they wanted? They excitedly shouted his name, saying that he was the next president.

“Don’t stop imagining the future…”

The governor started singing a tuneless song on TV, which sounded like an old song. He was riding in a small bus with a small flag hanging on the rearview mirror and an election slogan on the back, and he drove on the road like most Americans.

"It's Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow by Fleetwood Mac." Helen Slater, who knew the music much better, blurted out the song.

"The Governor and his wife are communicating directly with voters as they embark on an election tour called the First Thousand Mile Journey. Tomorrow morning, they will leave for Staten Island, turn to New Jersey in the afternoon, and then go to New Hampshire..."

"Are they really coming to Staten Island? Even their New York mayor and New York governor won't come here for elections..." Ronald said with emotion.

(End of this chapter)