Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 513 New York Film Circle

Ronald still underestimated the number of people Shirley Maclean had offended.After she won the actress, every time she was interviewed or attended a party, she kept her mouth shut about her past life, aliens, and UFOs, and she soon had no friends.

It seems that the Oscar curse will not let a victim go because of the unprecedented confidence in his acceptance speech.

"Ronald, you promised me that you must come." McLean's [-]th birthday party can't be deserted and there are no insiders to support her. She made a phone call to Ronald and asked him to come to attend . "

"I will," said Ronald, who is preparing for a "Breakdance" post-release tour.Minahan contacted movie theaters and disco nightclubs in big cities across the country. When the time comes, the three leading actors will perform break dancing throughout the process to promote the movie.

And Ronald only needs to attend meetings in several big cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.At that time, it will be necessary to jump a few times.

"Where is your banquet?"

"At the Spotlight Club in New York."

"Huh?" Ronald couldn't think of Shirley Maclean's "fame". He had to avoid Hollywood and go to New York to hold a banquet in order to find enough celebrities to attend.

Well, even if I go home and meet my aunt.Ronald also wanted to meet people from the film industry over there.

The day before Maclean's birthday, Ronald flew back to New York.Had a lovely dinner with my aunt and Donna.

Donna eventually applied to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), choosing this university with a strong atmosphere of engineering.Although the acceptance rate here is higher than that of Harvard and Yale, the average SAT score of students is better.

Ronald promised Donna that he would send her to MIT for the fall semester.

On the second night, Ronald put on his handmade suit and went to The Limelight on Sixth Avenue.It just opened at the end of last year. It was originally a church and was transformed into a nightclub.

As a nightclub dominated by disco and rock music, combined with the interior of the church, it has an indescribably strange feeling.

Ronald found that the people in the film industry who came here did not know him very well.Although I have studied at Tisch College of New York University, I don't have much contact with the so-called New York film industry.Most of the filmmakers here like to make art films, and the budget is lower than Ronald's exploitation films.

A lot of times it's a few thousand dollars, and it's just a [-]mm camera.Of course, they don't care much about the box office, but they care more about winning one or two awards at some film festivals.

"Ronald," Shirley Maclean herself stood up to welcome Ronald to celebrate her 50th birthday.

"Happy birthday to you, Shirley," Ronald kissed the actress.

"Let me introduce you to the people in the New York film industry," Shirley McLean was grateful to Ronald for coming.

"This is old Robert Downey," Shirley first introduced a bearded director, "he's about to shoot his first Hollywood work, invested by MGM/United Artists."

"Oh, Downey Jr. is your son, right? I've seen him in Hollywood." Ronald recalled that Robert Downey had also participated in the audition for "The Dragon King".

"It's my son," Old Downey was very proud of this talented actor son.

"This is Andrei from the Souville Union," McLean introduced the second guest, the film director Andrei Konchalovsky (Andrei Konchalovsky) who defected from the Union.

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" Ronald knew this name. He had done a lot of screenwriting work for Tarkovsky, and he was also a director. He once filmed the adaptation of Chekhov's famous book "Uncle Vanya".

"Hello, I heard Shirley say that you are also a director?" Konchalovsky is a tall man with good English and a little Russian accent.

"Yes, I do Hollywood exploitation films."

"Andre," Shirley Maclean surreptitiously tells Konchalowski about Ronald's background, the blockbuster director about to take off.

"Ha, I came to America just to be able to make the movies I want to make. You know, there are always various restrictions..." Konchalovsky immediately chatted with Ronald enthusiastically.

"Are you in Hollywood now?" Ronald asked.

"I've made my first feature film in America right now, and no distributor is willing to release it yet."

"What movie is it?" Ronald felt a little strange. Someone would definitely be interested in this kind of successful director.

"Maria's Lovers," Konchalowski replied, starred Natasha Kinski.

"Oh", Ronald nodded, Kinski is indeed an actor favored by European directors.After Coppola's "Old Love, New Love" failed at the box office, she probably did not do well in America, and she could not receive scripts from major mainstream productions.

"Natasha, Natasha!" Konchalovsky yelled, turning to the other side. "Meet the young Cossacks of Hollywood."

This film Konchalovsky was still in her fancy when she was having dinner with Kinski, and she tried her best to persuade Konchalovsky to make it first, and she herself was willing to cut her salary to play the heroine Maria.

"Hi, Natasha," Ronald smiled and hugged Natasha Kinski, and replied to Konchalovsky in her surprised eyes, "We have known each other for a long time."

"That's great, Natasha is also the facilitator of this movie, so I can chat with him about whether it can be released in America."

"You...are you in control of distribution channels now?" Natasha Kinski looked at Ronald, the boy who took audition photos for himself, and now he has climbed to the upper echelon of Hollywood, Lian Konchalov Sky wants to curry favor with him to sell the film.

"Misunderstood, I'm just a director of exploitation films." Ronald humbly said that distributing movies is not something he can handle. The most he can do is talk to Minahan and let him see if it's worth releasing. .

"Can I exchange a business card with you? I found a friend to invest in this movie. It is a good movie that reflects the destruction of humanity and love caused by war. Ivan came back from the battlefield of World War II with mental trauma. , Married to his lover Maria, but can't be humane...

…In the end, Ivan killed Clarence, who was having an affair with Maria, and adopted Maria's illegitimate son. In the end, love overcame the trauma of war, and the two could live together again. "

"No problem," Ronald and Natasha Kinski exchanged business cards.Kinski's friend invested a lot of money, and now there is no publisher willing to release it, and she is a little panicked.

But did these people start filming without finding a distribution channel beforehand?The thinking of these Europeans is really different from that of Hollywood.And the plot of this movie... umm... only Europeans will like it.

"Well, I'll be in Los Angeles next month, and we'll meet and talk then." Natasha Kinski looked at Ronald again and again. It's been less than two years. Why have they changed so much?
Ronald turned around again. Many people in the film industry in New York are very talkative, and they just chatted regardless of their status when they caught him.But they can't get much money. The film industry is not big in New York, and many low-level directors and actors lack opportunities.

"Dang dang dang..." A bell rang, a big cake was pushed out, Shirley Maclean gave a short speech to everyone, and she blew out the candles amidst the singing of everyone wishing you a happy birthday.

"Congratulations!" Ronald stepped forward and kissed Shirley goodbye.

"Don't go, why is there no girl you like here? I think you and Natasha have a good talk."

"We are old acquaintances, and I took audition photos for her before." Ronald smiled.

"That's just right, she doesn't have a major Hollywood production right now, and she's out with three strikes." Shirley McLean hinted, "Do you have plans for your next movie? I think you may have a predestined relationship in your previous life."

"Not yet, I have two movies coming out this summer, so it all depends on the results."

"Ha, don't you like European beauties? Come on, let me introduce you to an American beauty."

Shirley McLean pulled Ronald to prevent him from leaving the table early, and I will introduce you to another beauty, "This is another heroine of Coppola, Dangdang...Grace Kelly of the new era, Diane Lane."

"Why are you here?" Ronald looked at Diane's big eyes and was stunned.

"I came with Bert. Thank you, Ms. Maclean. Ronald and I are old acquaintances, and his sister is a good friend of mine."

"Ahahaha...then I won't bother you." Shirley went to greet other guests.

"You really want to be unhappy?" Ronald saw that Diane was wearing a blue shirt and a black skirt, looking mature and beautiful.It's the Cotton Club style with a bit of make-up remaining, which looks a bit classical.

Diane had actually seen Ronald a long time ago, but she had been with Daddy Burt all along.Now Bert went to drink and chat with other people, and she came over.

"Nothing," Diane brushed her hair.

"Tell me, what happened?" Ronald felt that something was wrong with her, so he pulled Diane aside and questioned her carefully.

It turned out that Diane's movie "Streets of Rage" has been postponed again.The "Cotton Club", which had just finished shooting, was under a lot of pressure. Even Orion Pictures was forced to issue a statement, saying that even if "Cotton Club" failed at the box office, it would not affect the company's cash flow.

Although the film still has a chance before it is released, the producers and distributors are obviously not optimistic about Coppola's finished film.

Ronald flipped his fingers in his mind, "Betta Fish", "Streets of Rage", "Cotton Club", Diane was obviously afraid that he would be out of the game with three strikes like Natasha Kinski, and be abandoned by the Hollywood mainstream.

"It's okay, I think your street photos of anger look good." Ronald quickly comforted him twice, and patted Diane's head.

"You just don't like the Cotton Club," Diane heard the implication.Looks like Ronnie still likes his look in "Streets of Rage".He raised his hand and hit Ronald twice.

"But the streets of anger haven't been cut out yet."Diane was troubled again.

"Huh? It's been packed for almost a year, right?" Ronald was surprised. The filming of "Streets of Rage" was almost finished at this time last year, and it was just a set of supplementary shots. How could it not be edited yet?

"I heard that the story couldn't be connected. They tried a lot of ways, but they couldn't cut it into a complete story."

"Don't worry, you won't be invited to act. I think you are a very good actor." Ronald suddenly felt that Diane was miserable. Her father Bert's idea of ​​​​selecting films was still too old. The quasi-director and producer don't seem to work very well now.

"I'm not worried. In the worst case, I will quit the film industry. Anyway, over the years, I have earned more than 200 million, and Burt helped me deposit it in my bank account. It doesn't matter if I don't work in the future."

"Don't say that, you are born to be an actress, a new generation of Grace Kelly. If you don't act, the American film industry will lose a lot." Ronald heard another girl who wanted to quit the film industry say this, Give each other encouragement right away.

Unlike Brooke Shields, Diane has really developed her acting skills since she was a child.It would be a real loss if she didn't act in the movie.

"Diane", Bert came over blushing from drinking, and he asked his daughter to go home with him.

"Bert," Ronald hugged him, "Are you okay? I'll take you home."

"Okay, thanks," Bert agreed, having had a little too much to drink.

At home, Bert let his daughter go in first, and during this time Diane went back to the old way and lived with him.

"Ronald, I made the mistake of not listening to you, putting Diane in Tom Cruise's 'Crazy Good Guys', and now I've picked a couple of movies that went wrong, hey, maybe it's me I'm old and can't keep up with the times. In the future, Diane's film selection will be decided by herself.

If you have any chance in the future, please don't forget her.

vomit……"

Ronald quickly patted Bert on the back to make him vomit better.

"Don't worry, Diane's acting skills have been cultivated very well by you. I will take care of her when I have the right opportunity."

(End of this chapter)