Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1393 The Commercial Film Genius Director from Britain
"There's a very special British film at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Would you like to take a look?" Rachel Talalay, production director of Daydream, approached Ronald.

I don't know if it's because a lot of executives from big studios went to China to join the negotiation delegation. Some independent films seeking distribution in the United States also showed signs of stagnation.

Many executives of large studios did not respond to the producers and did not push for progress. Many independent producers who suffered losses also turned to smaller distributors to seek possible cooperation. Even small distributors such as Daydream received some invitations to see if there was a possibility of distribution in America.

Michelle Cannold also went to China, and the film distribution business was supposed to be suspended until he returned. However, production manager Rachel Talalay thought the film was very good, so she came to ask Ronald for his decision.

This is the advantage of a small company. With smooth management, people below can talk to the boss directly about things without worrying about skipping levels and causing personnel tension. Anyway, there are not many levels of people.

"Okay, it's okay anyway..." Ronald didn't have any big projects to compete for Oscars this year. "The Bodyguard" won a few small music awards, and "A Few Good Men" only had Jack Nicholson nominated for the Best Supporting Actor in the acting category. He didn't have a strong desire to win another trophy. Ronald, who was nominated for Best Film as a producer, has won two consecutive awards, and what he really wanted was Best Director. So he didn't mobilize a lot of resources to compete for awards, and there was no need to attend events everywhere. He was happy to watch new movies made by newcomers when he had time.

Rachel Talalay soon brought a copy to Ronald's house for a screening.

The film opens with a very crude, commercial-grade computer-generated fire effect. Ronald is feeling bored, and suddenly the camera cuts to the fire on a huge chimney. Then it cuts to an aerial shot of the power plant.

The camera moves slowly from a high altitude, passing over the cooling tower, the factory, the thick smoke, and finally the chimney with fire. Then there is another jump cut, turning into a close-up of a handsome guy, and the flames become a projection of a person's crazy inner self.

"This beginning is great..." Ronald could see that this movie didn't have much money and the special effects looked fake, just like a low-level special effect demonstrated by a software, and it was not superimposed on the actual shot.

The subsequent aerial photography was probably bought from other movie stock footage, which is seriously disconnected from the subsequent plot. However, this B-level film technique is very cost-effective. The audience can imagine the content themselves.

"This director is really good at saving money." Ronald thought to himself. The various abandoned factories in the back were free, and the scenes in the arcades on the street and the interior of the shopping mall were probably secretly filmed. However, the editing before and after was not affected by these. The performances of the two male and female protagonists were very fresh, the casting was correct, and the narrative had no tricks, but it was enough for this kind of commercial film.

"Not bad..." Ronald said silently.

After watching the film, called Shopping, Ronald had a question. He asked Rachel Talalay: "I understand that the Sundance Film Festival didn't have much enthusiasm for it, but why hasn't it been released yet?"

"The director is the screenwriter and producer. He has no connections in Britain, so there were problems with the grading, so he came to Sundance to try his luck."

Ronald stroked his chin and looked at the document. The director of "Shopping" was Paul W. S. Anderson. This movie didn't look like a British movie at all, but more like a Roger Corman B-movie. There was no trace of Shakespeare, and the whole movie was full of violence and car racing.

Two thieves, a man and a woman, stole cars, raced, and then rushed into the mall to rob, calling it "shopping". In the end, they were caught by Scotland Yard and other gangs. It feels like a low-budget version of "Bonnie and Clyde".

"Very good. It's normal that this type of commercial film didn't get any awards at Sundance. I think it's OK. Britain won't give it a rating. We can just send it to the MPAA in Hollywood. They have a good relationship with me now, so it's very likely to get a PG-13. This type of film is very popular in small town theaters now, and it will also sell well when it's released as a video tape. How much does the director want to buy out?"

"The director asked for a buyout fee of two million dollars, which is the total amount of investment he found. I think we can negotiate and reduce it to six hundred thousand to eight hundred thousand. The director doesn't know much about commercial operations, so we can just talk about releasing it in America and how it will drive releases and video sales in other places. He'll understand." Rachel Talalay is optimistic about the commercial prospects of this film.

"Very good..." Ronald was about to sign the document, but suddenly took it back. "Wait a minute, how much did the director spend on the filming?"

"Two million..."

"Two million?" Ronald was silent. He picked up the Hollywood Yearbook and turned to 1967. Then he used a calculator for a while and said, "Go find Paul W. S. Anderson and confirm the accuracy of the two million. Then you must buy the distribution rights, no matter how much. There will definitely be someone to bid for it. Don't worry about whether you can get your money back... The most important thing is, you ask him to come and have a meeting with me."

Ronald found out that the production cost of "Bonnie and Clyde" was six or seven years ago, and that was in dollars during the gold standard era. Two and a half million dollars is equivalent to 18 to 20 million dollars today. If Paul Anderson really made this movie with two million dollars, he must be a very promising commercial film director who can show every penny on the screen.

It just so happens that Daydream is in need of such a director. There are many directors in Hollywood who have their own artistic ideas, but there are not many directors who are capable of making commercial films with box office potential at a low cost.

……

"Hello, Mr. Li, very happy to meet you..." Paul W. S. Anderson was very excited to see Ronald, as if he was a fan meeting a star.

"Call me Ronald... I'm very surprised that you can achieve this final effect with only two million dollars. Few new directors in Hollywood have this ability."

"I say this in a way that sounds like a compliment, but really, your early films inspired me. I watched your low-budget productions so many times and I know how to design shots and edit them, and use a low budget to achieve something that looks like it would have taken an expensive shoot."

Paul W. S. Anderson talked about his experience, mainly using audience expectations to transition overly expensive car chases, explosions and other scenes, allowing the audience to use their own imagination to replace the big scenes. This method is still quite effective among the audience who are used to watching Hollywood blockbusters.

"How about it? Do you want to stay here for a while? I'll see if there are any suitable projects. Hollywood needs directors like you who care about box office. The Oscars are coming soon, and I can get you two tickets."

Ronald was quite satisfied with Paul W. S. Anderson. His greatest strength was that he could make shooting plans according to the budget. He would not give up shooting just because a shot was not 100 percent perfect, but would use the limited budget to achieve 90 percent.

With Hollywood investment and some scripts that suit him, he will probably become a successful director of genre films soon. Ronald's mind was filled with police and gangster films, action films, and suspense films. From "Shopping", Ronald saw the possibility of directing these types of films.

"Oh, this really surprises me, Mr. Li... Ronald. I wrote the script for this movie four years ago, and spent three years looking for investors. I didn't expect Hollywood to be so efficient, and I would be able to choose a script so quickly. We encountered great resistance from the British classification department, and I heard from Rachel that the MPAA would most likely get PG-13 if it were submitted for review. All of this is really incredible to me. I love Hollywood."

"Welcome to Hollywood, hahaha." Ronald was very satisfied with him and added, "In Hollywood, there is a lot of room for whatever you want to shoot and whoever you want to shoot. Just make sure of one thing..."

"What is it?"

"Just keep the producers making money, hahahaha..."

"Hahaha... I have a small request, um, Ronald. After joking, Paul W. S. Anderson also shyly said a request.

In Britain, he had only met traditional filmmakers and lacked experience with the special effects movies that were emerging in Hollywood, especially the latest computer special effects. Being able to come to Hollywood and gaining Ronald's appreciation, he wanted to seize the opportunity to learn about this unique skill that only Hollywood and other places in the world could not have.

"Ha, you came at a bad time. Almost all the best special effects companies in Hollywood are busy with the final production of Director Spielberg's latest work."

"I heard about this movie, why hasn't it been completed yet? Isn't director Spielberg filming a new movie in Poland now? How can special effects still be made?"

Paul W. S. Anderson was indeed fascinated by special effects, and he had heard about this movie currently being made in Hollywood, so he really wanted to see the production process.

"It seems like you are really interested..." Ronald didn't expect Paul W. S. Anderson's interest was not just casual. "Steven is currently filming in Poland, but he is also monitoring the final production of this dinosaur movie at any time. He can see the new footage flown in every day, and he has daily meetings with the special effects team to discuss.

I can help you book a tour to get a general idea of ​​how computers work in special effects production, what they can and can’t do. But the more in-depth details are now Hollywood’s top secret…”

"I just want to see the general process, Ronald. When Terminator 2 came out, I suddenly found that I couldn't tell how those shots were shot. It made me feel that my previous knowledge was suddenly outdated. I was shocked. In fact, this time when I came to Hollywood, in addition to distributing my film, what I wanted to do most was to learn about the latest technological developments in Hollywood."

"Hahaha, OK. Jim (Cameron) is my good friend. If you stay in Hollywood for a while longer, I can arrange for you to go see his new movie when it starts shooting."

"Oh my God. I was transported back to when my dad gave me a super 8 camera as a kid. The most interesting, fun treasure trove of things just opened up to me."

"Don't forget another treasure trove, the Daydream script library. You can take a look at it. If you are interested, just tell me directly. If you are interested in any type of film, you can also tell me or Rachel..."

……

"Ronald, our talks went very smoothly. I think we'll be able to reach an agreement some time after the Oscars..."

In the morning, Ronald received an international call from Michelle Cannold from China. The negotiations for Hollywood film market access were going more smoothly than expected.

Perhaps it was the counselor's report that worked, and the other party's top officials realized that this was a good opportunity to persuade the current President William to favor China on the issue of renewing the most-favored-nation treatment.

The main reason used to oppose the renewal of most-favored-nation treatment and to link it to human rights is that China does not open its market to the Americas and still has many non-market economic practices.

If there can be a suitable concession on the issue of importing Hollywood movies, the highest voice of the opposition will be rendered ineffective.

Of course, the other party also has concerns. If concessions are made and the most-favored-nation treatment here is not renewed, it will mean that the investment will fail, which is definitely not what the other party wants to see.

Therefore, the main tone of this negotiation is to limit the annual import of Hollywood films to a very low level.

However, this number may be used as an excuse to attack China's closed market. This is also Ronald's strategy, to try to keep the window of non-revenue-sharing buyout imports open. At the same time, it will enjoy the same treatment as revenue-sharing films in terms of censorship.

In this way, the total import quantity can appear to be unlimited in text, and in case the most-favored-nation treatment is not renewed, it can be very convenient to limit the import volume to single digits.

"The final agreement is that there will probably be a total annual quota, and then each company will apply for it individually. It's like the other party gives you a big pot, and as for what kind of food to cook, each company has to throw it into the pot."

"What about the movie theater?"

Ronald asked about setting up a joint venture cinema in Xujiahui, and the progress of this matter is also very good. Xujiahui originally hoped to introduce some world-class multi-hall cinemas to drive the upgrading and transformation of local cinemas.

If the whole system is introduced, the government will certainly have concerns. However, if it is not introduced behind closed doors, there is a fear that it will only look like one, but the essence of operation and equipment configuration will not be learned.

This is a common way of doing things in China, allowing one or two friendly investors to come in and start some model cinemas. AIA, foreign-related hotels, and many service industries have adopted this method of letting one come in, occupying a small share, and making money while teaching the education industry.

Considering Ronald's connections with the Shanghai film industry and the smooth operation of the joint venture factory he set up in Qingpu, the pilot project of this cinema is likely to be approved.

"Very good. Don't be afraid of losses or short-term losses. What I want is to open a gap and gain a foothold. As for future matters, we need to slowly cultivate trust between the two sides."

(End of this chapter)