Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 787 I am also anti-war
The matter of joining the producer union will be done soon.Ronald commissioned Eddie Cohen, the general manager of Daydream Pictures, to attend the first meeting of the negotiations on the video dividend.

"Our Daydream is the first time to participate in this alliance meeting, and I mainly went with my ears." Eddie came back from the meeting, met Ronald and began to report.

"The leading force of this alliance is still the seven major studios, plus Orion, Caroco, Heimdell, and De Laurentiis, several medium-sized producers who have membership in the film association MPAA.

They have the main right to speak on the content of the negotiation.Nick Conte, the lawyer-turned-president, is mainly a candidate for negotiations, and he will make a negotiation posture based on the opinions of these members.

Basically, the current attitude of the Producers Union is not to make things big, because of the two-year strike situation in the early 80s. "

"Then do they want to confirm the proportion of the remaining dividends?" After hearing this, Ronald continued to ask about the details of the meeting.

"Actually, from my observation," Eddie took a sip of the coffee that Ronald handed him, "The seven major producers use the remaining dividends to stop actors and directors from thinking. This kind of dividend is With a fixed small ratio, the payment period is also delayed to more than one year.

For them, after admitting it, they can use this rule to block...stars and directors...hehe..."

"Stopping the excuse that the star and the director ask for a separate share ratio?" Ronald's dual identity still made Eddie a bit unable to switch.So he simply said it himself.

"Yes, that's right. Celebrities are also actors, and directors who make blockbuster films are also directors. Anyway, in the long run, the trend of distributing a little surplus to the three major trade unions is unstoppable. It's better to admit it earlier and let their ordinary actors, and Those head stars are biting each other."

"This group of capitalists... Actually, it's not a big problem to distribute some to the actors. Making a movie is a matter of luck. I make a lot of money and distribute part of it to the co-creators. I don't think there is any problem with this.

Many actors become famous or win Oscars, and then make a bunch of bad movies.In fact, the previous contract was unreasonable, and they lowered their artistic standards for the sake of money. "

Ronald has been in the industry for a long time, and he has a certain understanding of the Oscar curse.Before becoming famous, actors didn’t earn a lot of money, and it’s not easy to become popular. It’s human nature to hurry up and take more bad movies that pay for it and earn more during the time the audience remembers.

For example, Stallone must also want to make another "Rocky" or "First Blood" in his heart, which is a deep and popular movie.But he couldn't stop his wife Brigitte Nelson from buying a mansion in the most expensive part of Beverly Hills.

And Bridget Nelson is in the sequel to the hit action comedy, "Beverly Hills Cop."This movie was given up by Stallone, but it became very popular.

Stallone, an Italian, was very upset about this kind of thing that offended his self-esteem, but his own movie "Over the Peak" did not do well at the box office, and it was released within four weeks.He had no choice but to maintain his male status in his family by buying all kinds of expensive jewelry and clothes.

The entertainment newspapers have almost weekly stories about the couple's new toy purchase.

If it weren't for Minahan Golan, who gave him a salary far exceeding that of ordinary male stars, Stallone himself might lose his dignity at home.

"It's okay to distribute one or two movies generously to the main creators like this, but even those medium-sized studios have a production scale of about ten movies a year. The profits of many blockbuster movies have to be used to subsidize those that break even and lose money."

Eddie was right.The family is big and the business is big. If a hole is opened, everyone will want to share the money in the future.Now Hollywood's already very fragile financial balance may be broken.

"That's right, but I still have to share some of the money I make with the movies I invest in with the actors, as well as the screenwriters and directors of photography."

"I have no objection to this. We are daydreaming, and now we are about to gain some reputation in the industry. As long as you don't disclose the size of the dividend."

Eddie is very clear about the status of Daydream Films in the industry. It is a small company that shoots some low-cost exploitation films.Only the reputation of using actors and creators to make a lot of money can attract good actors.

"The president of the Producers Union, Nick Conte, is very interested in you. He asked me to bring you a message. If you go to the meeting of the directors' union, I hope you can bring a message to their president, Franklin Schaffner. talk."

"Talking? I'm not a traitor." Ronald thought that Conte wanted him to collude with the director's union president in private.

"Traitors are the most hateful. You can't do this kind of thing. I learned in school when I was a child that bats are neither birds nor beasts, and both sides should be disliked." Ronald frowned and objected to Eddie's idea.

"Hey? Is there such an article? Why don't I remember it." Eddie raised his eyebrows, "I don't want you to be a middleman in the negotiation between the two parties in private. It's really a sentence."

"Oh? What?"

"Conte hopes that the directors' union can start negotiations with the producers' union as soon as possible.

The cooperation agreement between the Producers Union and the three major artist unions will expire next year.If we can talk about it earlier, everyone will have more leeway.

Conte said that you can say this sentence in front of members, so as to avoid suspicion. "

"That's fine," Ronald nodded, speaking in such an open and aboveboard manner is a matter of both sides.

Anyway, there are not many directors and producers in Hollywood who have both identities. I am younger than Spielberg, so I should run errands.

……

"Because I am a member of both sides, I will not participate in your closed-door meeting. I am just helping the producer union express an attitude, and they hope to start negotiations as soon as possible."

A few days later, Ronald found a high-end hair country restaurant to entertain the old directors who came to the directors union meeting.

This restaurant is of a good class, the food is delicious, and the red wine is imported from Bordeaux.What's more, the waiters here are all wearing dresses and bow ties, and the decoration is very old-fashioned.Just right for the nostalgia of these old men.

"You're very nice, Ronald. You might have made a good apprentice if you were born in our time."

An old director took out a napkin and wiped off the food on his body.

"Don't brag, the sum of the films you directed is not as high as the box office of a young man's film."

"Can it be the same? It's all because Nixon abolished the gold standard. Our box office at that time, if you count inflation, is actually not bad now."

"That's right, plus inflation, the movies I watched back then were better at the box office than they are now. After all, there were no TV dramas back then." Ronald flattered the old men.

"Not only do you look like a director in the golden age, but you also speak and act like that." The old man put on his dentures. "Didn't you date Brooke Shields before? Back then, we dated all the popular female stars."

"You old man, stop bragging in front of young people."

"What am I bragging about? Me and Grace Kelly, hey hey hey..."

"Which director here has Grace never slept with? On the set...that is, she is strict and doesn't publicize it much. Unlike Katharine Hepburn, who likes to use the most vulgar words to scold the director she has an affair with."

Ronald was sweating when he heard it. These are all ancient secrets.I don't know how much is true and how much is bragging.

"Speaking of which, who was the best at picking up girls back then?"

Several old men thought about it for a long time, but they couldn't resolve the dispute. Some people said that it was John Ford, who always changed his female partner when he was not shooting movies.

Some people think it was Lubitsch, who also played and sang every night during the filming, and finally died of a heart attack on a woman's bed.

"Billy, who do you say?" a director asked about an old man sitting at a table, not participating in the discussion.Wearing a tartan suit with a scarlet scarf on his chest and tortoiseshell glasses, he is slowly sipping red wine.

"Anyone else, Orson?"

"Hey...it is indeed him." Everyone was amazed. Orson Welles, who had passed away, was not only posted by Rita Hayworth, a sexy Hollywood woman at the time, but also deeply affectionate.In order for Orson Welles to return to Hollywood, he did not hesitate to cut off his long hair and play a role.It also offended the studio.

None of the directors discussed above can have such a beautiful woman who sacrificed her acting career for him.

"Billy, you're actually not bad. After Audrey married you, you still have so many beauties as companions, and she's absolutely devoted to you."

"Yeah, yeah, you're amazing too." Everyone in the old man began to tease the old man named Billy.

"Mr. Wilder, do you have any secrets for this hand? Can you pass it on to me?" Ronald heard, this person who has shot classic business cards such as "Peach Apartment", "Some Like It Hot", and "Sunset Boulevard" Director Billy Wilder, still has this kind of ability.Quickly half-flattering and half-seriously asking him.

"This matter is actually very simple. Audrey is a smart woman. I was lucky to meet him."

Ronald nodded. Does that mean my wife doesn't mind?

"Also, you'd better look for those side effects, or doubles, not popular stars."

Well, it means not to let the status of lover make the wife feel threatened.This old man has a set of theories, so he doesn't know if it's reliable or not.

"Of course, the most important thing is, don't let them know each other's existence." Billy Wilder slowly said his most important secret.

"Hahaha..." Ronald picked up his glass and toasted everyone.This is not bad, how can it be so easy to do it.

The old men are very satisfied, the standard of today's banquet can be so-so comparable to those of those banquets back then.

"This year's Oscar nominations are coming out soon. It is not convenient for us to nominate your Top Gun. Is there a new film next year? If it is not so popcorn, we can vote for you and let your agent work. It is possible to win Nominated for Best Director."

Billy Wilder was an old man who lived very clearly. After eating, he quietly chatted with Ronald about Oscar.

"Next year I will collaborate with MGM on a movie called 'Moonlight'. It's a drama about a middle-aged love story. Maybe it's suitable for the Oscars?" Ronald also lowered his voice, quietly Learn from elders.

"Dirty Dancing" did not have the help of a major studio, and it was also a commercial film for the box office. It might not be suitable for Oscar's taste.

"Oscar award nominations require people from the same union to vote. We old men like to watch old-fashioned drama movies. If you ask the agent to work hard, you may be able to secure a nomination.

In this business, one nomination is all that is needed to convince producers and other star actors. "

Ronald quickly expressed his thanks.Personally put Billy Wilder in a limousine and drove him to his house in Beverly Hills.

"You're very interesting, you can call me later if you have anything to do." Billy Wilder was very satisfied with Ronald's respect.He's missing the respect from producers right now.

Ronald feels that this method is good, and he can learn a lot of skills from the old directors.

He then found Franklin Schaffner, the new president of the directors' union, and said that he could sponsor more union activities in the future.

……

A few days later, the nominations for the nine Oscars were officially announced.

The TV station's emphasis on the Oscars is not the same as the perfunctory Golden Globes.

Even the announcement of the list of nominations was broadcast on television.

"Best Picture Nominations, Platoon, Sister Hannah, Room With a View, Children of God Fallen From Grace..."

Ronald, Nisita, and Richard sat together to watch the nomination announcement in the CAA office.

"How many nominations have these films received? Are they concentrated?"

"The field platoon has eight nominations, and they are all five major awards." Richard took a form and recorded it.

"The best director is also Oliver Stone, and Woody Allen, and David Lynch who directed Blue Velvet."

"How can this old pervert be nominated?" Ronald was not too surprised to be nominated for best director for a movie that purely reflected the bad nature of humanity and his girlfriend Isabella Rossellini's large-scale nude scenes. understand.

"Film critics love his mystification." Nisita explains why.Some film critics are not only eligible to vote, but also drive the aesthetic trend in the circle.

"Best Actor for Paul Newman as Money Is, William Hurt as Children of God Fallen from Grace, and James Wood as Salvador."

"Both of Oliver Stone's films have received important nominations?" Ronald was deeply envious. The film reflecting the El Salvador war was also written and directed by him.

"Also nominated for Best Actress are Sissy Spacek, Jane Fonda, Katherine Turner in Peggy Sue's Getting Married, and Sigourney Weaver in the Alien sequel, with the last nominee being Mary Matline as the deaf girl..."

"This year's competition for best actress is very fierce... two have won best actress, and two have been nominated."

Ronald was happy for his friend Cameron, whose film finally got a nomination for five major awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Actor and Actress).

But it was my turn to be miserable, only the theme songs of two movies, "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun, and "Glory of Love" from "Dragon Boy 2", took two nominations for no pain .

As for the other films I have participated in, Crocodile Dundee won the best original screenplay, and all the others fell through. Even makeup, special effects, editing, these technical awards were not nominated.

"Paula..." Nisita was on the phone to his wife, and her client, Tom Cruise, was no better.

Needless to say, the lead actor in "Top Gun", the members of the Screen Actors Guild couldn't possibly vote for a young guy who was playing volleyball shirtless on the beach and arguing in the bathroom wearing a towel.

Even "The Color of Money", which he had high hopes for, co-starred with Paul Newman, was not nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

This is an insurance measure that he discussed with Paula and other agents. In order to increase the probability of nomination, he did not send the selection according to the leading actor, but picked a supporting actor with less competition.

The results of it?I was so unlucky that I met two actors from "Platoon", Tom Bellinger and Willem Dafoe, both of whom were nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Tom Bellinger, in particular, was one of the leading men in "Top Gun," who ditched popcorn for a brash sergeant in Vietnam.Sure enough, it also got the expected nominations in the awards.

In this project, there are also British actor Michael Caine, who plays "Sister Hannah", and Dennis Hope, who plays the supporting role in the basketball movie "Hot Coach Lawrence".

These are all old dramas that have been famous in the film industry since the 60s.Tom Cruise failed to get nominated.

"Tom was upset...he said he was going to continue working with the famous director."

Nisita told Ronald about the situation there. After learning that he hadn't been nominated for an Oscar, Tom Cruise seemed to lose his composure and yelled hysterically at home.

Luckily his girlfriend, Mimi Rogers, was there, soothed him right away, and audited him with a Scientology auditor until he calmed down.

"Is this nomination so important to him?" Ronald was a little puzzled. Tom Cruise doesn't need Oscar's affirmation, and he is also a sure-fire next-generation leading male star.

"It's very important to him, he needs the affirmation of an award." Nisita knew Cruise's mind.The impact of dyslexia on him, in fact, technically, with Cruise's status, he could have hired professionals to solve it.

What's more important is the psychological aspect. He is particularly eager for the outside world, especially the affirmation of his acting skills by professionals.

Ronald was not too obsessed with awards. Anyway, he was shooting exploitation films, so he didn't hold out hope from the beginning.

……

"Tom, Tom... can you say a word about losing the Oscar nomination?"

"I have nothing to say, the judges have their own standards." Tom Cruise is coming out of the Scientology Technology Center with his girlfriend Mimi.

Mimi said that there, there are more professional Scientology executives who will audit him and let him understand the real reason why he was not selected for the Oscar.Sure enough, after being hypnotized and counseled by David Miscavige, the successor appointed by the founder, Cruise has become much calmer.

"Tom Bellinger said he was nominated because of his film Platoon, which was anti-war, and your Top Gun was pro-military. What do you think about that?"

This question irritated Cruise again, and he took the real money, but lost the award.

Tom Cruise turned to look at the reporter and took off his sunglasses, "I'm also anti-war!"

"Ah..." The reporters found that Cruise seemed to have a deep heart for this award.

"Tom, what do you mean, you regret being in Ronald's Top Gun and want to be in Oliver Stone's Platoon?"

"No, I didn't say that. I'm personally anti-war."

"So will you do pro-military movies in the future? Like a Top Gun sequel?"

"No, no, I have always supported the anti-war position. This movie is about heroes, not for war..."

Mimi Rogers saw that Tom was stimulated and was a little angry, so she hurried up and pulled Tom into the car.

"Tom Cruise Says He's Not Going To Do A Top Gun Sequel For Anti-War Reasons...CBS Los Angeles For You."

The next day, Ronald was watching TV at home, and accidentally discovered that the media was reporting that Cruise had unexpectedly expressed that he was not going to participate in the sequel of Top Gun.

"Has he regretted it, and wants to participate in an anti-war movie like the Oscar-nominated Field Platoon." The young director Chris Columbus, who is visiting Ronald, pointed out to Ronald bluntly when he saw this. Ruth's tendencies.

"It can't be analyzed so simply. Field Platoon is actually a very complicated story, adapted from Oliver Stone's own experience in Vietnam.

It’s hard to tell if this is an anti-war or pro-military movie. In the U.S. military, there are villains like Sergeant Barnes played by Bellinger, and there are also villains like Sergeant Elias played by Willem Dafoe with a sense of justice. nice guy.

Besides, who doesn't want an Oscar? "

Ronald was saying excuses for Cruise, but he actually had a bit of a grudge in his heart.What is this?Although I can't nominate him as Best Actor, he has the star status that actors like Bellinger can't even dream of, and the love of thousands of fans.

It's hard to say, if Bellinger has the opportunity, does he want to exchange with Cruise.

Ring ring ring ring...

The phone rings.

"Ronald? I'm Tom. I'm calling to say sorry. I wanted to come by myself, but Mimi said that it's not convenient for me to go out now. It will be even more troublesome if reporters see me.

In that interview, when I was in a bad mood, the reporter chased me and asked, and I blurted it out.Doesn't mean anything else.

Mimi said that I still need to go to Scientology's technical center to do more audits, so that these alien creatures... In short, the negative emotions can be resolved. When things calm down, I will come to the door to apologize to you. "

Ronald felt a lot more comfortable, and Cruise still respected himself a lot.

"It's okay, you are a big star now and you are very busy. We have a chance to go to Paula and Rick and talk again."

"Okay, now Mr. Michael Ovitz wants me to star in a movie. He said that he has a good chance of being nominated for an Oscar. I have already explained to him that my first choice is you as the director."

(End of this chapter)