Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 648 Star Treatment
Ronald went back to the house that Master Miyagi set up for him in the first Long Wei Kid movie.A year and a half later, it was uninhabited and dilapidated, and the set spent a lot of money to renovate it.

Tomorrow, Ronald will start filming the scenes of "The Second Part of Dragon's Way Boy" in Los Angeles in the mainland of America.

"Ahahahaha..."

Morita Noriyuki, who plays Miyagi, holds a bottle of wine in one hand and a beautiful white woman in the other, and is drunk to see the shooting location.

"Morita, you should drink less tonight. A few days ago we mainly focused on the shots of you picking up flies with chopsticks. If you drank too much and your hands shook, I will give you a little less close-up shots." Ronald and Oscar Best The supporting actor nominee cracked the joke.

"No problem, it's all on me, ahahahaha... on board!" Morita didn't hear the dissatisfaction in Ronald's words, walked to his bedroom in the movie, sat down cross-legged, and began to chat with the beauty It reminds me of anecdotes from when I was filming the first film.

Ronald looked up to producer Weintraub, wanting him to remind Morita.The domestic box office of [-] million US dollars made the three leading actors of Long Wei Boy become celebrities.Elizabeth Sue has become the dream lover of thousands of high school students, and Ralph Mazio has become a potential star among young actors who is more responsible and better acting than the Boys.

Morita Noriyuki's life has changed the most.From an actor who acted in TV dramas and commercials with a minimum salary, he became a star with both critical and commercial success. He used the image of Mr. Miyagi to take on many commercials and Johnny · Carson's stand-up show to tell jokes.

For this sequel, I heard that Weintraub gave him more than 100 million dollars in salary.It is on the same level as Ronald, the screenwriter and director of the first film.

Of course, the bigger change was in his personal life. He and his second wife, the mother of two daughters, started a cold war, and got close to many young beauties who wanted to be in Hollywood.He drank and drank too much every day.

When the filming started, all these blonde beauties had to be driven away, Ronald secretly determined.

"No, my client has to get these treatment, this is a rising star in Hollywood, he can get these treatment, it is a breakthrough."

Ronald finally found Weintraub, who was struggling with the agent of star Ralph Mazio.

This time Ralph Mazio broke through the previous work and got a salary close to 150 million US dollars.His agent also put forward a lot of requirements, such as using his own makeup artist, hair stylist, and costume artist instead of sharing with the crew.Of course, these costs are still borne by the crew.

In addition, Ralph Mazio asked the crew to take on the latest trailer, as well as his personal driver, personal assistant, and most ridiculously, his mother and girlfriend, as well as an assistant producer on the crew. Their titles, and of course their work, were limited to taking care of Ralph's life.

All of these are the main culprits that directly doubled the budget of the sequel to more than 500 million.

"Oh, God, it's great that you're here, Ronald." Weintraub was so busy that his assistant, Susan Eakins, had no experience in handling these matters, so he had to do it himself. dizzy.

"Why would Ralph Mazio want such a bunch of useless rags? Are these things really useful? Can they make him perform better during filming?" Ronald didn't really understand, he As a director, he didn't ask for anything, he just brought an assistant, Bud, along with him.

"Sometimes, Ronald," Weintraub said, narrowing his eyes, "they do it because they can."

"Ralph Mazio asked for more, and he didn't know what it was for. His agent told him that Tom Cruise didn't get all that. That's it. Unprecedented special treatment given to a young actor, for the sake of this number one title, he must also get it."

"Hey, I hope their acting skills won't be inflated like their self-esteem." Ronald joked.

"Is that lightning lamp of yours ready?" Weintraub asked Ronald decisively after seeing the demonstration of the lightning lamp, and rented one, and was going to pack it and send it to the location in Hawaii in advance.

"Yes, when the time comes, it will be shipped from the warehouse in Los Angeles, and we will pack it up and send it away when the engineer comes." Ronald grinned, and George Lucas also reserved one for his new film, which is already the third lease business.

"I don't understand why you put your production on the east coast, and now you have to transfer people from New York when you rent equipment."

"Jerry, how many of the films you've started filming in Columbia this year are still being filmed in Hollywood studios?" Ronald didn't answer, but asked Weintraub instead.

"If you say that, it's really..."

Weintraub counted in his mind that many of the films that started shooting this year have gone to various locations in the United States, or even went to Canada, and only one or two films have actually started shooting in Hollywood.

Non-stop strikes, non-stop compromises to raise the minimum wage.The minimum wages of trade unions in various industries are rising rapidly.Producers began to vote with their feet. Anyway, the current audience is more accustomed to on-site filming. Why not go to places where the labor union is weak to save costs.

Besides, New Jersey, Georgia, and other states have also introduced preferential conditions for film shooting. Toronto, Canada, even has a large amount of tax rebates. Hollywood studios are starting to be idle.

"Besides, my business is only for rent and not for sale. In any case, the personnel and expenses for business trips are indispensable."

"Hello, Tomita. How are you preparing for the role?" While chatting, Ronald saw the young actor Tomita Tan Ling who was identified as the heroine in the previous paragraph.

"Hi, Ronald, I'm ready. During the rehearsal, there are no problems with the lines." Tomita's English is not a problem, with a slight Japanese accent, which was requested by Ronald.

"Well, very good, you will come with me tomorrow. Even though you don't have a role in the film, you can quickly get familiar with filming."

Ronald is now the only young actor who can be educated as a newcomer.She happens to be from the Ryukyu Islands and immigrated to America after she was born, so she was asked to act in her true colors.

"Action!"

Early the next morning, Ronald began filming the scene where Daniel and Ali had an awkward relationship.

Ali's family wanted to send her to prep school early so that her promotion to the Ivy League would be guaranteed.

Danny thought that Ali disliked his family background, and there were some small conflicts in their speech, and the words were a little more serious.

"Daniel, why are you like this? I went to the preparatory school to broaden my horizons. They don't have many programs suitable for personal development. I didn't say that I must go."

"Okay! Then you go to your prep school and don't stay with a poor boy like me."

"Okay, let's go, I thought you would be more mature if you won the championship."

"Cut!"

Ralph Mazio went to the trailer to rest immediately after hearing Ronald's call to stop.It was Elizabeth Su who came over to ask Ronald how he was doing.

"Very good, your performance is very natural, have you taken an acting class?"

"Hey, yes, but I've auditioned for a lot of movies now, and I don't pass."

"You have been away from Hollywood for a long time, and there will be a period of adaptation." Ronald comforted a few words. Now that all the resources in his hands have been released, besides, Su is not as close to him as Diane and Helen are. Let's talk again when we have a chance.

Su was a little disappointed, but still gave him a nice smile, and went to the trailer to prepare for the next shot.

Ronald looked at Ralph Mazio.Since this kid was included in the more progressive few in the kid gang, he has learned how to put on a star.The passion during the performance was not as full as that of the first part, which seemed to be a step-by-step process.

Fortunately, his body, more than a year later, still looks like a child's emaciated child.Acting in a youth movie like this, at least there is no problem with persuasiveness.

"Nisita, why do these actors act like this once they become famous? They don't devote themselves to acting as much as they used to." After a few days of filming, Ronald felt a little angry. He dragged his agent Nisita and complained for a long time.

"Ronald, it's an American disease," Nisita explained to him.

"The market in America is big enough that our audiences don't want to see actors in different types of roles like the audiences in Britain do.

In contrast, what we want to see more is that an actor, as a star, keeps repeating a similar role.

For example, Clint Eastwood, who has entered the top ten list of the audience's favorite stars, has broken Burt Lancaster's record of fifteen times on the list.

But our audience just loves to see him as a cowboy, or a hot cop, and shoot two bad guys first.

The same is true for Ralph Mazio, the audience wants to see him play the counterattack Daniel LaRusso.He has played this role many times, and it is normal to have no passion.

Let me tell you, I have seen many actors, in fact, let them repeat themselves constantly, and they themselves feel very uncomfortable, but if they play a different type of role, the audience does not buy it, the box office is not good, and they have to come back to play the one that made them become Similar roles of stars. "

"Hey, it's okay for him to say, I'll find a way to mobilize his enthusiasm. Morita Noriyuki is even worse. He hangs out with his lover every day and drinks a lot of wine. Today's scene of catching flies with chopsticks has been performed several times. I I had no choice but to take a few short close-up shots and solve them in post-production.”

"You have to understand that as an actor in his fifties who was nominated for an Oscar and made a name for himself, he must have accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction before. Now it is the stage of his life when he is full of ambition. It is understandable to do anything. Celebrities have it all."

"Hey, I'm really, I didn't expect that everyone would lose interest in making a sequel."

"Do you know? I heard a joke from Mr. Michael Ovitz today. There are three types of movies in Hollywood that can be released for more than two weeks. The first type is very sincere and successful at the box office. The second type It is filmed with sincerity, but the box office performance is average. The third is that the film is not sincere, but the box office is very good.

Sequel movies belong to the third category.There is a fixed audience and an expected story. As long as you can complete it above the standard, it is not difficult to break through [-] million again. "

Ronald could hear a trace of fatigue in Nisita's voice, but he had no choice but to continue chatting with him, so he suddenly stopped talking.

"Are you still there, Ronald?" Nisita asked on the phone.

"I'm here, Rick? Didn't I have any good news when I was chatting with you? I just noticed that every time I look for you, I always have something to do. Are you annoyed when you answer my phone?"

"Where did you say it? This is my job. Every work of yours, Richard and I will have a commission. If you have a problem, you should talk to me."

"Okay, I understand. I'm paying for psychological counseling, but the fee is a bit expensive." Ronald made a joke, and then laughed out loud.

"That's it, Nisita, I understand. In any case, I will try my best to do my best for this movie. I hope I will find you next time, which is good news."

(End of this chapter)