Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1392: Extension of Most Favored Nation Treatment and Hollywood Profit Sharing Negotiations
"The filming rights of Forrest Gump have been resold, and Weintraub Pictures said it will focus more on series films and new films that have proven their market potential."

"The company that took over is 21st Century Pictures, which was owned by Menahan Golan, the former chairman of Cannon Pictures, which had produced big-budget Superman IV and He-Man: The Uncanny. He said his new company would turn to the new genre of satirical comedy."

"Winston Groom, the author of the original novel of Forrest Gump, accepted an interview and said that since the film was abandoned by Warner Bros., he no longer held out hope for adapting it into a big-budget movie. Menahem Golan can guarantee to maintain the satirical and absurd tone of the original novel. This is the biggest good news for him since the project was put on the red light by Warner Bros. He looks forward to some new actors to play the roles, and said that the screenwriter hired by Menahem Golan is constantly in contact with him and will not lose the original meaning of the novel..."

Ronald smiled as he read several articles about the "Forrest Gump" movie in "The Hollywood Reporter." These were all on page six of the industry news, nothing out of the ordinary.

After holding the filming rights of "Forrest Gump" for a few months, Weintraub sold it to Minahan Glen as agreed. During these months, he hired a screenwriter, Eric Roth, to make a lot of adaptations to the novel.

The movie focuses on the first dozen chapters of the novel, and then jumps to the end when Forrest Gump meets little Forrest Gump. Many of the plots in the middle that satirize the American system, such as Forrest Gump as an astronaut, the space shuttle crashed in Africa, etc., were deleted to preserve the length of the movie and the spirit of the theme.

The original author of the novel, Winston Groom, was not informed of these adaptations, but Eric Roth still followed the plan. He consulted the original author Winston Groom over and over again about every change to the details, such as the time and place of a certain plot, which made Winston Groom very satisfied. It was heard that Hollywood often changes novels beyond recognition, but Winterrab Pictures was indeed different from them.

This time, the film was sold to 21st Century Pictures, and the screenwriter Eric Roth was also sold. Winston Groom knew them all well, so he didn't ask too many questions and even said some nice things.

Of course, he is not so easily fooled. The reason why he has such strong confidence in the adapted script is mainly because of the endorsement of Pai-Amon’s president Shirley Lansing.

Whether it is Weintraub Films or 21st Century Pictures taken over by Menahan Golan, their film distribution rights are all handled by Paramount.

"When will you officially take over this project?" Shirley Lansing looked at the visiting Ronald and hoped that his Daydream Pictures could take over as soon as possible. Otherwise, she would always lack confidence in front of the board of directors.

"Soon, when the negotiation delegation going to China comes back, I will be able to buy it." Ronald came to discuss the delegation going to China with Shirley Lansing.

The seven major Hollywood studios are very interested in this opportunity, and Disney and Warner Bros. will send senior executives to the event. Especially Warner Bros., which directly let its president participate in part of the delegation's itinerary.

MGM, however, did not participate this time because of its own troubled situation. The financial fraud of Italian financier Giancarlo Parretti was exposed, and the British government also vetoed the merger of MGM and EMI.

The largest creditor, Credit Lyonnais, had to find a way to control MGM, which was sliding towards disaster. Now the major stakeholders were fighting each other, and the matter of joining the delegation to China was put aside.

"I will provide my utmost support, and our director in charge of international distribution will attend the meeting throughout..."

Shirley Lansing smiled. Ultimately, she didn't want to go to China by herself.

The issue of most-favored-nation treatment in China has undergone many debates and hearings in Congress these days. Various parties have shown their abilities, and both the pros and cons are very strong.

Shirley Lansing was not one to take risks. She did not want to fight in advance in the crucial negotiations at this critical moment, so she just did everything an ordinary studio should do, no more, no less.

After Ronald went to the congressional hearing, the presidents of the most powerful unions, such as the United Auto Workers, the AFL-CIO, and others, also went to Congress to attend the hearing.

Senator George J. Mitchell of Maine, the Senate Majority Leader, worked closely with them to propose adding a record of improvement in human rights before approving the extension of most-favored-nation treatment. The bill was also coordinated by Representative Nancy, a representative of California's 8th District, in an attempt to become a bill.

If this bill is passed, it is estimated that it will be difficult for President William to resist the joint attack of the two major congressmen of his own party.

"That's great. I hope Ms. Lansing can help our independent film production company get the other party to agree to retain the non-revenue split buyout distribution."

Ronald knew that the statements made by California legislators and the labor union would have a strong restraining effect on the seven major studios. Even Peter Guber, who had originally agreed, refused to go to China on the pretext that Oscar public relations had changed and he had to stay in Los Angeles.

Of the six major production companies that participated in the delegation, only Disney, Warner Bros., and Mike McDavoy of TriStar Pictures were present. However, this lineup satisfied the counselor, as two and a half of the seven companies came (TriStar Pictures counted as half of Columbia), which was enough of a face-giving performance.

"No problem, you still call me Shirley..." Shirley Lansing quickly drank brandy with Ronald to celebrate. In the few months since she took office, her negotiation skills with independent production companies have become more and more sophisticated.

At the beginning, you might as well agree to all their conditions. When the project is officially launched, just find an excuse to turn it down. Once you enter the project, even if they regret something, they will not quit because of a small change.

……

"Ah, it's still the opening credits of TriStar Pictures..."

"Oh yes, dear, the title sequence you shot still needs to be processed with special effects before it can be replaced with the newly produced film copy. I heard that the last action hero of the summer movie will use your title sequence."

"Okay, hehe. To be honest, I can hardly recognize myself..."

Ronald and Diane came to the premiere of Michael Douglas' new film, "City Heroes," which was released by Columbia but under the TriStar label.

After Dai arranged the photo, she wanted to see herself on the screen. This kind of thing was also very interesting to her. If she appeared in the opening credits of every Columbia movie, would she be number one in the total box office?

This urban hero is not the typical middle-aged American character that Michael Douglas was good at before. Even in "Fatal Attraction", the male protagonist he played had a good control of life before the female protagonist went crazy.

But in this "City Heroes", he completely transformed into an American loser. Whether it was work, family, love, family affection, or some social pressures on white men, they all made him feel suffocated.

Moreover, the racial quotas that are usually seen in Hollywood movies are not shown in this movie. The villains include blacks, Koreans, Latinos, and other races that usually occupy the position of good guys in movies.

Although there are a few bad guys in the film for balance, the protagonist, a typical middle-aged white man, becomes a victim of racial equality, women's rights, free trade, all of which were progressive social trends in the 1980s and 1990s, and they made the protagonist played by Michael Douglas a victim. In the end, under great pressure, he tricked the detective into shooting him, and then committed suicide with the detective's help.

It can be said that when many white audiences saw this movie, their first feeling was that Michael Douglas was playing themselves, or that they were just one or two bad luck away from becoming such a person.

"What do you think of this movie? Any chance?"

Michael Douglas heard the audience applauding after the movie and came over to ask Ronald what he thought.

Although he has won the Best Actor and Best Film Producer awards, Michael Douglas still wants to break through himself and gain another kind of recognition for his acting skills through a movie like this one, which is different from his previous typical roles.

"Did you see the audience here today? I think there is hope for this year's Cannes..."

"That's all there is to it..."

Michael Douglas sighed softly. He understood what Ronald meant. If it were in the 1950s, or even in the mid-1970s, his performance would definitely be a hot favorite for the Oscar for Best Actor.

But now the proportion of white people in the population is decreasing, and various progressive ideas have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in big cities after 30 years of influence. It may be difficult for him to even get a nomination for this performance.

After all, in Hollywood or TV shows, the protagonist can be white, but the boss must be black or a woman. Although such a story that puts white people in the perspective of victims may resonate deeply with the target audience, it is indeed contrary to the trend of Hollywood.

"By the way, if the negotiations are successful, do you think my film will have a chance to enter the Chinese market? As one of the first films to be distributed? My film reflects the bad side of America."

Michael Douglas's own production company also sent people to participate in the negotiation delegation. For such independent production companies, there is a special market, which is a good thing and very helpful for obtaining financing.

Ronald and his friends who sent their subordinates to participate in the delegation had talked about this. In China, the criteria for selecting movies may include whether they reflect the negative aspects of American society. Ronald's "Breakdance", which caused a sensation in China, was not approved because of the dance scene, but because it reflected the backwardness of Los Angeles, the oppression of black people by white people, and the sharp racial conflicts.

"You know, there's no rating agency like the MPAA over there. There's too much gun violence in your movie..."

"Is that so?" Michael Douglas was very convinced of Ronald's judgment in this regard. After all, he was the one who was able to negotiate the leasing of pandas, and his understanding of China might be better than any of them.

"But the movie Black Rain that you co-produced with Japan a few years ago is more to my taste." Ronald brought up another movie. Michael Douglas and Japanese star Ken Takakura had previously co-produced a movie called Black Rain that reflected the victims of the atomic bomb and the conflict between Japan and the United States.

"Takakura Ken is already a very popular tough guy in China, and you are a tough guy from Hollywood. The audience there likes this kind of manly male protagonist the most. In addition, there are plots about the conflict between Japan and the United States... I think it is possible to introduce you through a buyout by our small and medium-sized producers..."

Ronald analyzed it and thought that he was still from the perspective of small and medium-sized studios. Michael Douglas also felt that it made sense. He drew inferences from this and thought that the films he shot many years ago, such as "Emerald" and "The Jewel of the Nile", might also be released through buyouts.

……

"Bon Voyage……"

A few days later, Ronald saw off his distribution director Michelle Cannold at the airport. He would go to Xujiahui Film Studio in advance to listen to some opinions with Xiaoyan, and then go to the department to meet up with people from many Hollywood studios to participate in the negotiations led by MPAA.

Ronald made two requests to him. The first was to try to raise and facilitate the possibility of distribution outside the revenue-sharing system. The second was to explore the possibility of opening new multi-hall cinemas in Xujiahui and the Pearl River Delta.

Although this market is still in a closed stage, it has always been very welcoming to joint ventures or partners that bring in advanced technology.

What's more, he was a member of the foreign expert committee at that time, and Ronald specifically reminded him to keep in touch with old friends.

Such a delegation composed of Hollywood studios will certainly attract the attention of the press.

Soon, newspapers began to report on this negotiation trip aimed at opening up the Chinese film market, adopting profit-sharing contracts, protecting intellectual property rights, and other topics of interest to the US side.

Before leaving, MPAA President Jack Valenti gave a brief interview and said that it was the Chinese side that took the initiative to invite and propose negotiations on the issue of intellectual property protection that had been stalled before.

Along with this news, there was also a strong protest from the Agricultural Products Association. Many of the goods produced by farmers are sold to China. After all, it is the fastest growing economy in the world, and the public's demand for meat, oil, soybeans, and other cheap American agricultural products has increased year by year.

These agricultural associations also have many representatives in Congress. Their protests actually determine the results of the next election for many members of Congress.

Along with the agricultural association, the American Chamber of Commerce, more than 300 large multinational companies, and dozens of industry associations also spoke out. They jointly issued an ultimatum to the president, demanding that he fulfill his campaign promises, expand overseas markets for companies, and immediately and unconditionally approve the extension of the most-favored-nation treatment for China, and not delay or veto the extension under any excuse of human rights.

This is how American politics works. Sometimes the interests of two interest groups clash, and the number of jobs created by agricultural exports and multinational corporations expanding into China may not be less than the votes brought by those tough labor unions.

Now, whether to approve the extension of most-favored-nation treatment will mainly depend on China's efforts to protect copyrights, trademarks, and reduce import tariffs.