Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1368 Harvey Weinstein is a fool for taking money?
"Thank you for your hospitality, Sonny..."

"Anytime, anywhere, anytime, Ronnie."

This Christmas, Ronald and his family came to Palm Springs, a famous holiday resort in California. Including Aunt Karen, Donna, Douglas Jr., and others, the whole family came here to play.

The former mayor of Palm Springs is the former singer and movie star, Cher's first husband, Sonny Bono. He also created the Palm Springs Independent Film Festival, a film sales event held every January for independent films.

The reason why he was able to become the mayor was that Ronald's company had chosen him several times in movies, allowing an outdated star to reappear in the eyes of the mass media. At the newly established Palm Springs Film Festival, Ronald's Daydream also sent movies to participate in the trade fair and competition every year.

So Sonny Bono was very grateful to Ronald and gave his holiday home to Ronald and his family to live in. His wife Mary even baked gingerbread for them.

"Barbara Boxer, hi?"

After enjoying a feast of lobster, beef stew in red wine, and tuna sushi, Sonny Bono took a chance to sit down with Ronald and talk about the latest California Senate election.

"You know, if you were running for the Elephant Party, I would definitely donate to you. That's all for the marketing of the movie..."

Ronald raised his glass and clinked it with Sonny Bono. There were two vacancies in the California Senate this time. Sonny Bono also resigned as the mayor of Palm Springs to run for election. But he was defeated in the primary stage, leaving him without a mayor.

"Well, now I can only concentrate on my film festival..." Sonny Bono still felt a little lost. Being a politician feels better than being an out-of-date star.

"I think a lot of publishers will want the Street Fighter I brought this time..."

"Of course. In addition to buyers from Canada, I also have buyers from Mexico, Australia and South America. They can't afford the big productions at the Las Vegas show, so the movies here are the most suitable for them."

Sonny Bono's Palm Springs Film Festival has been held for four years and has gained some international influence. He told Ronald that in the eyes of these small and medium-sized international film buyers, Tom Cruise is not as attractive as Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Although Tom Cruise's movies are really popular, his output is not as good as that of B-level movie professionals like Jean-Claude Van Damme. In addition, due to the language and cultural barriers, Jean-Claude Van Damme, who can fly in the air, is more popular than Tom Cruise in some countries.

In addition, the wholesale price of Jean-Claude Van Damme's films is relatively low, and the audiences there have watched a lot of them, and their aesthetic taste has been somewhat distorted. When talking about Hollywood, the first person they think of is the rising star Jean-Claude Van Damme.

"Oh, I didn't expect that..."

"Yeah, there are a lot of retired celebrities living in Palm Springs, and they're also shocked..."

The two chatted about movies for a while, and Sonny Bono suddenly whispered in Ronald's ear, "I'm going to run for Congress, maybe the 30th or 44th district. What do you think?"

"I support them all... Whenever you need my support, just give me a call." Ronald was very happy. He didn't have any political supporters in Los Angeles. If Sonny Bono won the 30th District, that would be the district where Beverly Park, where he lived, was located. Then Sonny would be his representative...

"Great, can I..."

"Of course, when there is a chance, I will introduce your new identity to those stars... and the employees..." Ronald thought that ordinary staff members might play a greater role in the election. Sonny Bono had made some good achievements in Palm Springs and was re-elected twice, which shows that he has some political skills.

"That's great, hahaha. There will be someone coming here to show a movie for us residents tonight. Are you interested in going to see it?" Sonny Bono had achieved his main goal, and now it was time to relax.

Ronald also felt very relaxed here, so he went to the movies with Diane.

"It's so strange, why do you have to give such an expensive gift? Is this some kind of public relations project?" After Diane came back, she started to look at the contents of the gift package sent by the film screening party.

In addition to women's perfume, a large number of green food samples, and coupons for boutique shopping stores, there are also coupons for Palm Springs massage services, two scented candles, and customized services can be provided by phone, also with a 50% discount.

"It looks very familiar..." Ronald suddenly felt that it seemed similar to the gift packages given out during internal screenings to entertain film critics.

"Do you remember what movie this is? It's premiering here?" Ronald couldn't quite remember. This movie was produced in Britain and told the story of the Irish Republican Army. He wasn't interested in it, so he fell asleep ten minutes after it started. I have to say, the quality of sleep in a movie theater is very high.

"I don't remember, have you forgotten? We were the last two audience members to leave." Diane also fell asleep inside. The two of them slept together, arm in arm, with their heads touching. They were woken up by the staff.

"Holding the premiere here is really crazy..." Ronald felt that this producer must be a strange amateur, perhaps from Britain who wanted to enter Hollywood. They didn't even understand basic business operations. There wasn't even a decent media in Palm Springs.

"it's wired……"

After a relaxing Christmas, Ronald returned to his home in Los Angeles. Ang Lee also returned from his vacation in Hawaii, his depression symptoms completely recovered.

Ronald specifically asked him to stop in Los Angeles for a day to discuss editing with him.

"I've done the experiment. Computer editing is not mature yet. You should use a traditional editing machine this time."

Ronald showed him the clips he had edited on his computer. Because the focus was not clear, many shots were edited in by mistaking the failed takes as good ones.

I can only get a vague overview on the monitor, and it is impossible to do more in-depth editing work.

"Oh, I thought it would be easier. The manufacturer said that editing on a computer is faster."

"That's true, but the quality is terrible. I estimate that computer editing will mature in another five years." Walter Murch is also a person who is very curious about new technologies.

The weakness of computer editing is its poor resolution, but being able to visually see the results of the editing is more convenient than using traditional editing machines with scissors and tape.

"Okay, I'll go back and use the editing machine to edit it. This way I won't be able to rest during the New Year. It's quite stressful to finish it before the Berlin Film Festival."

"If you have any difficulties, remember to call me..." Ronald could do nothing but give support. Directors are like this. When creating and editing, they are like possessed. Especially for novice directors, if they don't spend time in the editing room, they will never graduate.

"This time in Hawaii, I watched a good movie called Enchanted April. I am still fascinated by the British way of expression, which is different from the straightforward style that Hollywood likes..."

Ang Lee then talked about his experience in Hawaii. Unlike his wife and children who were happily enjoying Hawaiian culture, the director was still most interested in movies. There was a film company there that specially held a screening in Hawaii and invited many people to watch it. Ang Lee also received an invitation because he was filming for Daydream.

"Going to Hawaii for the premiere? And it's a British movie? There are so many laymen nowadays," Ronald said with a smile.

"It's a little strange when you say that, but my wife was very happy. There were a lot of good things in the gift package they sent. I didn't even recognize those brands, so I gave them all to her."

"Ha, you are still too young. You haven't experienced the film era of the 1960s and 1970s. At that time, many producers would use the premieres as an excuse to go to scenic resorts and invite relatives and friends along, treating it as a public travel..." Walter Murch was well-informed. At that time, the income tax rate was still relatively high, and sometimes it was more comfortable to spend the salary than to spend it.

"By the way, who produced this movie?" Ronald thought of the movie in Palm Springs where he fell asleep.

"It seems to be Miramax. Their boss is a Jew with a big head and a thick neck..."

"Oh, Harvey Weinstein." Ronald remembered the producer he had met at the European Film Festival, and then wrote down his name and told Michel Cannold to prevent this idiot from buying up important publicity channels at a high price at the Berlin Film Festival, leaving his films "The Wedding Banquet" and "Street Fighter" with no place to advertise.

When that fool Menahem Golan got the money from Wall Street, he spent it so savagely. It seems that Harvey is doing the same thing. Once someone invests, he starts spending the money recklessly.

……

The New Year passed in a flash, and Ronald made new suits for the whole family according to Chinese customs. Armani is now a European luxury custom brand accepted by Americans. Although its women's clothing cannot be compared with Yves Saint Laurent, it has a certain reputation in men's clothing.

Ronald and Diane met Giorgio Armani, the film's costume director, because of "Stays of Rage". Over the years, they have been wearing Armani's costumes to attend various formal ceremonies.

From sponsoring Richard Gere's "American Gigolo" in the beginning to sponsoring Michael Douglas' "Wall Street" later, Armani's menswear has also entered Wall Street from models and male public relations, becoming the first choice for many self-proclaimed romantic bankers.

This influence can be seen from the fact that recent Ivy League graduates have switched from choosing a tailor to make a custom suit to buying a set of Armani ready-to-wear clothes when choosing a job.

At various award ceremonies, more and more male stars are wearing Armani. Now only high-end customers can enjoy the personal service of Giorgio Armani. Ronald is one of these few.

The employees under Daydream also enjoyed the company's clothing discounts, and many of them chose Armani. This is also a microcosm of the complementary relationship between the fashion industry and Hollywood.

"Not bad, you look much better wearing Armani..."

When Ronald arrived at the Daydream office for the first time after the holiday, he saw Joss Whedon wearing an Armani suit.

His clothes were always wrinkled, like pickled vegetables bought in Chinatown. Ronald couldn't stand it anymore, so he had to give him an Armani coupon, so that the fat man could barely attend important occasions.

"Girls all like Armani... Hehehe..." Whedon had just returned from the Palm Springs Film Festival. His Street Fighter was a huge success, and the film had many female characters. Thanks to this film, his exposure rate was increased. From Palm Springs to Hollywood, many actresses showed their affection to him. This guy thought that his temperament was extraordinary...

"What do you think of the script for Speed?" Ronald saw that Whedon's task was completed, and the plot gave him a new task.

“First of all, the name is a bit problematic, the minimum speed is depressing, it might as well be simply called speed.

Then, all the stories in the movie take place on the bus, which is too monotonous. We are not a stage play, so there is no need to give up using film and television language to show more scenes. I suggest adding action scenes in closed spaces, such as elevators and trains...

Finally, the dialogues in this movie are terrible. The FBI and the bus driver don’t speak like their identities. They all need to be rewritten…”

Joss Whedon's screenwriting talent is quite good. He used his spare time to analyze the script that plagiarized Kurosawa Akira.

Ronald was very happy and praised the annotations, and immediately offered him a salary of $300,000. Since he was a script doctor and could not sign the script, Ronald doubled the compensation.

Joss Whedon whistled proudly. This money was enough for him to enjoy himself in Hollywood for a long time. The chick actress he just met had even hinted that he could buy a better car and a better apartment. Now he had everything.

"How about it, are you interested in directing this movie?" Ronald felt that Street Fighter Whedon did a great job, so he also wanted to cultivate him.

"Honestly, I'm not really interested. I'd rather just do my Buffy the Vampire Slayer remake."

Joss Whedon still considers himself a creator, not a Hollywood commercial film machine. His passion for realizing his own dreams is much stronger than filming other people's stories.

"It's impossible in the short term, unless it's a TV series..."

"TV series are also good. There are many stories about parfait..."

"Very good, write a detailed report and I'll find you money to shoot a pilot episode, and then let Ed Bastian take you to a major TV station to try to sell it..."

Ronald has always been a strong supporter of such idealistic directors. If they fail, they can just come back and make their own commercial films. If they succeed, it will be a good relationship. Future cooperation will also be based on daydreams. Who else can support independent production like himself?

"Boss, you are so nice..." Joss Whedon suddenly felt that among so many producers in Hollywood, only Ronald was the one who had the foresight to recognize talent.

"But you still have to go to Berlin..." Ronald instructed. The director was going to market his work, and he himself was no exception.

"Of course, I'll do the whole thing. But can you give me a day off this afternoon? My little girl and I want to go to the movie screening ceremony. I heard there are a lot of free gifts there."

"Of course, is it your girlfriend Kay?" Ronald knew that Weeden had a steady girlfriend and was happy that he had returned to his family.

"Ah...ah, yes..." Joss Whedon mumbled. The chick he just met was a little actress in Hollywood. He learned from Ronald and dressed himself up as a feminist. Many actresses were fooled and thought he had a lot of female role resources. This trick was always successful...

(End of this chapter)