Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1359 Searching for Action Movie Scripts

"Ronald, we are old friends. Just tell me the truth. Is the movie not that good? The other two previews I organized had mixed reactions from the audience..."

Kevin Costner said to Ronald worriedly. This movie with Whitney Houston was a project he led. Although he was not the director, he made most of the filming decisions.

Since filming "Dances with Wolves", Costner has had unrealistic expectations of his directing ability, but after editing this "Bodyguard", he began to doubt whether he was the genius who won the Oscar for Best Director for his debut film...

Perhaps the merit of the film lies mainly in its description of Indian life and culture, and its depiction of the vast landscape of the Western wilderness, which American audiences have missed for too long. Previously, only those westerns shot by John Ford in Memorial Valley could make people feel the greatness of the wild west.

But when he changed it to this ordinary melodrama "The Bodyguard", a love and action thriller about a simple female singer who falls in love with her bodyguard, he found himself so careless in directing.

Compared with the several romantic films shot by Ronald, there is a sense of deliberateness in my directing and acting, and I can never capture the kind of chemistry between him and Whitney Houston.

There was no moment of spiritual connection between the two of them, but rather the kind of emotion between a man and a woman who coveted each other's sexy bodies.

"Actually, he's pretty good, but..." Ronald shook his head. Without his guidance, this guy really has some shortcomings. He might really be more suitable to be an actor... But why do those damn judges like this... Never mind...

Ronald looked at Costner who looked sincere and decided to tell the truth and point out the problem. This movie was a big production of more than 25 million US dollars, and it was also filmed in Beverly Hills, Florida Beach, and Lake Tahoe, but the money was not spent in the right place.

This is a very expensive scene, but the resulting footage still feels like a B-movie. It would be better to save one or two expensive locations and shoot all the real scenes like an A-level production.

The texture of a movie is actually accumulated by details one by one. The biggest problem with this Bodyguard is that some scenes, such as the shots of the Oscars ceremony, look very rudimentary. Even the awards ceremony of the University of Southern California may be more luxurious.

Try to do every detail well and choose the right cast for every supporting role. This is the idea of ​​A-level film production. For example, Ronald just finished shooting "Sugar Coated Trap". Even an unscrupulous producer was played by Weintraub himself.

Try to make the climax and the genre part that the audience likes to watch the most as good as possible, and just get by with the rest at a passing level; this is the idea behind B-movies.

For example, in the film The Bodyguard, the explosions at the award ceremony looked like the sparks of a welder. The excitement of the stars being surrounded by people and getting their autographs was a bit like the popularity of an out-of-date female star at a comic exhibition.

"So, I used the money from an A-grade film to make a B-grade film?" Costner was anxious. This really hurt his self-esteem, but he also trusted Ronald's judgment, after all, the feedback from the internal preview was not very good.

"I don't actually criticize the director's approach to this film. To be honest, I admire it. This film will probably do very well at the box office, especially the song at the end. If I heard it correctly, it was Dolly Parton's song, right?"

"Well, yes. But I changed the way I sang it..." Whitney Houston was showing off.

"Indeed, if Dolly Parton hadn't given me a set of her records, I probably wouldn't have been able to hear it." Ronald gave a thumbs up. Honestly, Whitney's singing of this song is much better than the original. The original country music has now become a majestic lyrical song. To say something that may be racially discriminatory, the vocal cords of white singers can rarely support such passion that requires huge volume.

"Too bad they wouldn't let me put this song on my new album..."

"Are they sick?" Ronald sneered, "Let me tell you something. In fact, the money this song may bring you may not be less than the box office..."

"Oh?" Everyone's eyes lit up...

"But I have one condition, which is that Dolly Parton must also participate and take a share of the profits she deserves..." Ronald did not forget his old friend. Costner did not know the possibility of the original soundtrack, and Whitney Houston did not know the addition of the movie to the song...

"Of course..." The two didn't think too much and agreed on the spot.

Ronald called Dolly Parton, who was driving on the road and stopped by the roadside, thinking that Ronald wanted to ask him to make a movie. When she heard that he wanted to release an original soundtrack, she immediately agreed. It was a very old country song, and now there is no place to play this song except some bars in the South.

Ronald got her a share of the original singer's share that was far more than the one-time transfer. Although the proportion was very low, it would satisfy her. After all, Dolly Parton was the first person to stir up trouble on the set of "Steel Magnolias" and expose his relationship with Diane. To some extent, she could be said to be a matchmaker.

Then Ronald called Tommy Mottola of Sony Columbia Records and secured resources for the soundtrack. Whitney Houston's recording, arrangement, and marketing resources should be appropriately tilted towards this soundtrack. It may not be on par with Whitney Houston's new album, but it must meet the specifications of a soundtrack for a movie that wins with music.

Relying on the persuasiveness of his two "Dirty Dancing" albums, this matter was quickly accomplished.

The two thanked him profusely and begged Ronald to go to Japan with them to promote the movie, knowing that he had a wide network of contacts in Japan. However, they were not mentally prepared for the possible success of the soundtrack...

Ronald also agreed with a smile. He actually did nothing, but just relied on his connections to get a possible good profit for free. The two stars even had to thank him.

"Thank you, Ronald. By the way, which model of the private jet you mentioned is better?"

Both stars became interested in private jets. Ronald explained to them the benefits of business jets for people who fly frequently, in terms of good rest. Whitney Houston was very happy and asked to discuss it with her agent on the spot.

Costner's ego was over the top. Not only did he want to buy it, he also wanted to be a pilot and fly the plane himself.

Ronald was really puzzled. All these male stars wanted to be pilots. Although he had the simplest small plane license, he didn't want to fly it at all. Wouldn't it be more reassuring to have a naval fighter pilot flying for him?

……

"You don't understand. For a male star, being able to fly a plane is an important part of showing their masculine charm..." Diane explained it to him after they returned home.

In Hollywood, the ranking of male stars is like a competition of hormone concentration. If you have a sports car, I want a sports car with a thicker exhaust pipe than yours. If you have a private jet, I have to drive it myself, and it would be better if I drive a fighter plane from World War II...

"Really? What's this? Do you want to show off your masculine charm through these?" Ronald hugged Diane and joked with her.

"Dear, Ronnie, you are the sexiest when you are smart. I just like your wisdom... It makes my heart beat fast every time..."

“Hahaha…” The old couple flirted with each other and then sat down to watch TV. Today was the second TV debate between the President and the President. I wonder if old George has made any serious adjustments.

"He really memorized a lot of scripts..." Ronald nodded as he watched the live broadcast. George's performance was much better this time. Many of his answers were memorized in advance. At least there were no points to lose, until...

A black woman stood up and asked President George Sr. a question. She wanted to ask the three candidates whether their lives had been affected by the excessively high national debt deficit. If their personal lives were not affected, how should voters believe that they would work hard to reduce the deficit?

This questioner is obviously a supporter of Perot, because he is the only one among the three whose main policy is to reduce the deficit. George Sr. focuses more on what I did well in the past, while the governor focuses on investment and employment.

"Well, of course, the deficit will affect all of us..." Old George was visibly stunned, not knowing how to answer. Born as a rich man, he had never worried about loans in his life, so he could only talk about how everyone would be affected.

"I mean your personal impact, because if you haven't experienced it yourself, you can't understand how much the deficit affects ordinary people like us..." The black female questioner didn't want to let old George go.

"What's the problem? The national debt deficit obviously affects all of us. I certainly don't want to see my grandchildren live in an era of skyrocketing national debt deficits. And, how did you say you were affected by the deficit? Come on, help me understand your question..."

“Holy Shxt!”

Ronald muttered, "It's bad." This guy, George, was hit in the vitals, and he got anxious and started to speak rudely. The camera turned to see Perot sitting upright, not wanting people to see that this was his agent. The governor smiled smugly, as if to say that dog-eat-dog is good news...

"I have a lot of black friends who are out of work, and one is a pregnant woman, so I'm really concerned about our national debt deficit because it's a big deal in our lives..."

This questioner is a bit too much. Career, unmarried pregnancy, do these really have such a big relationship with the national debt deficit? In fact, most people are not sensitive to the national debt deficit, which also exposes that she is really Perot's agent. These statements are what Perot tried hard to instill in voters.

But old George is indeed an "aristocrat" who doesn't understand the lives of ordinary people. No wonder some people nicknamed him King George. He was a little bit touched by someone and started talking nonsense.

George Sr. could only talk about random things, such as how he often answered calls from ordinary people in the White House, read their letters, and understood their concerns (this is obviously nonsense... Only a few presidents, such as Lincoln and Ronald Sr., have the tradition of writing back to voters.)
For example, he went to a black church in DC to visit the black people there (actually he went there to try to win votes by supporting a black pastor), and saw on the message board that many black people were talking about being pregnant.

He was sweating profusely and looked at his watch several times. Why wasn't it time for me to answer the question yet?
"I'll tell you what the deficit means to us. When I was governor of Arkansas, the tax increases went to the federal government in Washington, and the services provided to us were downgraded... I know what it feels like for those voters to lose their jobs, and I know what it feels like for business owners to go bankrupt because of high interest rates... For the past four years, ordinary people in our state have been taxed more, and only the rich have continued to get tax cuts..."

"Oh, Shxt!"

Ronald was speechless. When Old George heard this question, he looked confused. Turning to the governor, he looked concerned and caring, with red eyes, as if some of his friends had really lost their jobs and gone bankrupt during the increase in the national debt deficit...

Honestly, these politicians are all talking bullshit. But one is seen as bullshitting, the other is seen as someone who understands, cares, and will bring change…

George Sr. obviously lacks personal charm and has no common language with ordinary people. His strengths, on the contrary, are his deep understanding of international politics and his accurate grasp of the national situation. But who gave him the bad idea to participate in the three-way debate? And why did he have to debate three times?

Perhaps, after three terms and two presidential elections in which the presidents of the Democratic Party pursued efficiency and economy, America has returned to the Donkey Party's pursuit of fairness? Without external threats, a strong father is no more useful than a mother who takes care of the family. Has the pendulum swung back?
Taking advantage of concerns about future tax law changes, Ronald talked with his former accountant, Ed Bastian, now the general manager of the TV business, and used this year's profits to buy a lot of Berkshire Hathaway stock.

Coca-Cola and Microsoft, two of his major investment stocks, have seen their share prices rise significantly. Ronald, who really didn't know what to buy, chose to trust the vision of the great investor Buffett...

However, his main concern now is to find a movie that uses special effects. This way, he can make enough money by taking advantage of the shortage of special effects talents.

Cameron is already negotiating with Schwarzenegger, and Ronald has also authorized Schwarzenegger to use himself and some of his action heroes in the new film. For example, The Karate Kid will appear in the film.

However, Ronald was not very optimistic about such a film. It is not that action films cannot be made now, but such a sentimental work recalling the golden age of action films in the 1980s seems very artistic and pretentious.

Ronald was not interested in the investment invitation. He thought that the future direction would be either action movies with a lot of special effects and big scenes that were not seen in ordinary small and medium-sized productions, or action movies that met the new aesthetic tastes of female audiences in the 1990s.

After all, the basic base of the film market is teenage boys who want to date their girlfriends, and the male stars that girls like determine what kind of movies teenage boys will buy tickets for.

Suddenly, word spread that Ronald's daydream was in the market for action movie scripts.

(End of this chapter)