Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 355 Chapter 3 Differences in Ideas
"Viewers, we have interrupted our scheduled program to present breaking news from the Sowell Union."

Ronald signaled Helen to turn down the news volume on the TV station. He was on the phone with his manager Nisita.

"How did Shirley Lansing get involved with the crew of 'Big Body'? Isn't she the president of Twentieth Century Fox?"

"No, Ronald. Lansing has left Fox. Melnick, the producer of 'Body', is her old partner. The two of them have produced a series of blockbuster movies. Now Hollywood is talking about Lansing Sheen will return to independent production."

"So now it's up to her to make the decision?" Ronald became interested. "What are we mainly talking about when we meet her?"

"Now there are three producers of 'Body Full of Strength', and Paramount is mainly responsible for the distribution with a small investment. Lansing and Melnick's company is the original production promoter, responsible for the art, and has the largest investment. It's Wall Street's Screen Investment Fund (Sliver Screen Partners), they are only responsible for paying the money, and they get the priority of return."

"This Wall Street fund only pays money, no matter how the film is made. Paramount is mainly responsible for distribution, and Lansing is now the producer, who decides who to hire as the director?" Ronald concluded.

"That's pretty much it, so she meets with you and talks to you about the script you revised and what you'd do with the movie if you were to direct it."

"Great, I'm going to prepare some storyboards of the important scenes I drew, and show them to her during the interview. What kind of person is she? What do I need to pay attention to?"

"Hollywood legend Shirley Lansing knows art, and she has her own set of criteria for evaluating scripts, so you just have to tell the truth.

Of course, besides you, she will also meet other director candidates.Herbert Ross was originally Melnick's favorite, but he moved on to other films because the time dragged on.

Your strong point is the grasp of the mentality of the teenage audience, and the guarantee of a blockbuster teenage movie.The weak point is that I have never made such a feature film with two protagonists. "

The two discussed on the phone how to meet Shirley Lansing, explain Ronald's directorial philosophy, and his vision for the finished film.

"Honey, are you going to be the director of 'All Your Body'?" As soon as he hung up the phone, Helen rushed forward, hugged Ronald's neck, and asked softly.

"I'm just one of the candidates, and it depends on Shirley Lansing's opinion. But indeed, this is the closest I have been to the director after I finished filming 'Fast Tempo'."

"Whenever we can make a movie, it will be great. You will direct and I will star. Acting in a movie is really long. I will go to Britain after Christmas and get ready for fitness. Hearing from Reeve, he is preparing Superman's The character has been exercising for more than four months, and I guess it will take about this long."

"You still have three contracts for Supergirl. At least I won't have the chance to direct your new film until you finish filming three." Ronald replied, "Do you want another slice of pizza?"

"Ronnie, don't you know that what actresses are most afraid of is getting fat? I probably gained more than a pound in two days. If this continues, I will become a fat girl." Helen hit Ronald.

"Anyway, you have to go to the gym to gain muscle. It's okay to eat more now. I was a high school wrestler, and I have to eat more to gain muscle, as long as the amount of exercise keeps up."

"Then I'll eat half of it. Well, it's so delicious." Helen tore off a small half and put it in her mouth, "Oh, Shxt, I shouldn't indulge myself."

"Huh? Why did the Sowell Union flag fly to half-staff?" Rona asked, pointing to the news on the TV.

"Just now it seems that their general secretary Leonard has passed away." Helen stood up and turned up the volume of the TV, then went into the bathroom, and she came out after a while, her face was a little red.

"Drink some water, you seem a little hot." Ronald handed Helen a glass of water.

His attention was still on the TV, where ABC anchors were relaying breaking news from the league.On November [-], the broadcasted ice hockey game was canceled and changed to "Swan Lake" by the Leningrad Ballet.Angola also did not receive a congratulatory message from the top leader of the alliance on Independence Day.

The next day, at [-] a.m. Moscow time, Moscow TV announcer Igor Kirillov officially announced Leonard's death, and a picture of the Kremlin flag flying at half-mast appeared.

The leader who occupied the highest power position of America's biggest rival for 18 years officially retired from the stage of history.

"Ronnie, don't you want to exercise?" Helen sat on Ronald's lap again, "Am I beautiful?"

"Of course, you are the most beautiful girl in the world." Ronald felt Helen's slender and bumpy figure, and carried her into the bedroom.

"We invited the former Secretary of State, Dr. Kissing, and Haig to express their assessment of the international situation." The host of ABC TV on the TV is still receiving calls from guests, discussing the death of Leonard, the international situation, Especially the impact of bilateral arms control.

……

"Ms. Lansing, hello." A few days later in the morning, Ronald and his agent Nisita came to meet the most powerful producer of "Full of Power", Shirley Lansing.

"Please take a seat." Shirley Lansing was very capable, and after the greetings, she asked Ronald to talk about her idea of ​​directing.

"What do you want to make this movie about?"

"Here are the storyboards of several scenes I drew." Ronald took out a few sketches from the portfolio and handed them to Lansing.

"I want to say something about the American dream of small-town youth..."

Ronald pointed to the tractor duel scene in the painting, "It's like the NASCAR racing car in the eyes of young people in small towns. They can drive either their father's tractor, or their mother's pickup truck or SUV.

Being able to engage in chicken duels with a tractor and drive nasties down a drain is like being able to see Han Solo star travel in the Millennium Falcon. "

Ronald also cites several "Star Wars" memes to explain clearly.

"This is the last dance scene. We used the group dance form in some old-fashioned musicals and added the latest dance style. This combination happens to be the most popular dance in the minds of young people in small towns."

Shirley Lansing listened carefully, interrupting Ronald from time to time to ask some details.

"In general, my idea is to make this film a high-concept new musical for young people in small towns. Urban youths went to small towns, overturned the conservative dance ban with their friends, and won the awards of two generations. Forgive me, this is an old story form, I want to add new meaning to it.

The overall tone of the story will be retro, but the choice of shots is realistic.In this way, a kind of recognition can be obtained among the young people in the small town.

In recent years, it has been difficult for urban teenagers to see realistic youth movies that truly reflect life in small towns. A young man from a big city came to a small town and led the people there to freedom. This is also a very engaging story for them. "

"What do you think of the story of the heroine Ariel?" Lansing asked the question when he saw that Ronald didn't talk about the female character's story.

"I think she is a very good introduction, leading to the story. In the beginning, she stood on two cars on the road, facing the opposite big truck, just to arouse the curiosity of the audience. Why would a pastor's daughter She made such a deviant and very dangerous action. In addition, she is also very brave in fighting her boyfriend's domestic violence."

"In this small town, only the heroine Ariel, her best friend Rusty, and her mother, the pastor's wife Wei, are the townspeople who truly embrace the spirit of freedom. If there is no heroine Lun Cong Chicago transferred here, and I want to take the lead in abolishing the ban on dancing, and it should be these female characters."

Ronald keenly noticed that Shirley Lansing listened more attentively to her own interpretation of these female characters.He quickly said more about his understanding of the main girls.

"Who do you think the leading actor Lun can play?"

"I'd recommend Tom Cruise. He had a supporting role in Coppola's new 'Urgent' and then starred in Warner's 'Risky Business', a teenage man coming of age story. .”

"Ha, I know him, he's pretty good, he did a good job on Fox's 'Lights Out'."

"There's also Rob Lowe, another actor in 'Outside Urchin', who's also a pretty boy for this type of role, and they're both convincing when they're both girls at first sight."

"Very well, we'll stop here today and we'll get back to you with further decisions. Thank you Ronald."

Ronald shook hands with Lansing, then exited the office with Nisita.

"Did I miss Lansing's point? I feel like she pays more attention to the story development of the heroine Ariel?" Ronald asked Nisita a little depressed after leaving the office.

"Not necessarily, I heard Lansing's style is like this. I'll go back and ask Paula Wagner, she dealt with Lansing during 'Lights Out'." Nisita replied while backing the car out of the parking lot.

"This Silver Screen Partners, they made most of the investment, why don't they do anything?" Ronald was a little puzzled because he didn't meet the biggest investor.

"The sponsor of this fund, Roland W. Bates, was originally a securities fund manager on Wall Street. It is said that the fund he initiated has a total of 8000 million yuan. It was originally to solve the problem of insufficient film sources for HBO cable TV.

The movies they invested in were all settled by HBO for TV broadcasting rights, and half of the funds could be recovered.Later, Eisner invited them to take a stake in Paramount's new film. They didn't know anything about film production. They didn't believe in their vision after watching Paramount's blockbuster films in recent years. "

"Oh, if only I had an investor who only invests in money and doesn't care about art." Ronald remembered his "Night of the Comet" project, but he was short of one or two investors who absolutely trusted him.It's a pity that my good friend in high school, Douglas Jr., doesn't have so much pocket money.

Meanwhile, Melnick was chatting with Shirley Lansing about the progress of the project.

"I say, Shirley. You've met both candidates. How do you feel?"

"Ronald Lee's story is rather plain, not the way to succeed in acting in a drama film. However, his casting is very good, and his agent happens to be the agent of Tom Cruise, the actor I am optimistic about.

As for Michael Cimino, his synopsis is more dramatic, and the story is more realistic and darker.Audiences will love the protagonist Len in the story.His director level has also passed the test of Oscar for Best Director, and now his worth is very cheap.It's just that we need to keep an eye on him on the budget.

We could put him on a contract where if the shoot went over $750 million, or three days behind schedule, he would be fired.If the budget is saved and the shooting is completed ahead of schedule, we will reward him.

As for Ronald, we can invite him to participate in the screenwriting work and give him a screenwriting credit.Cimino is not good at turning stories into real scripts and storyboards, which happens to be Ronald's strong point, and he sorts out the story structure very well. "

"Very well, it's time to use your charm, Ronald will agree, won't you? I hope to see the project start sooner."

(End of this chapter)