Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 807 Polarized Film Criticism

"Dirty Dancing is smart and funny, touching and unabashed. It's a breath of fresh air on a hot summer's day. Worth seeing if it's just for the dancing...and Patrick Schwyz's body. "

Sheila Benson – Los Angeles Times, female film critic.

"On top of that, you have Jennifer Gray as Baby, a rich girl summering in the Catskills, who falls in love with Johnny, a working-class dance instructor played by Patrick Swayze. The chemistry between the leads is White-hot...well worth a watch.

At the very least, the two of them are really sexy when they dance! "

FX Feeney, LA Weekly, Film Critic.

"Dirty Dancing is a 'lightning dance' in which the main character has an IQ of over 100 points..."

Jay Scott, Globe and Mail, film critic.

"The dance itself in Dirty Dancing, especially the mamba choreographed by Kenny Ortega, looks very modern, or at least as modern as 'Saturday Night Fever.' This wild drive and gushing pulse give the film a real... thrill.

Vincent Canby, New York Times, film critic
"Heart-warming images, wild dancing, Dirty Dancing reminds me of a Roger Corman-esque B-movie vibe, very nostalgic.

You need a fire extinguisher when the main characters Patrick Schwitz and Jennifer Gray are dancing together..."

Julie Solomon, Wall Street Journal, Women Film Critic.

"Hot, Hot (with hot and sexy puns)...Hot... (the film critic wrote eight Hots in a row), 'Dirty Dancing' is 'Saturday Night Fever' with Caribbean dance music, it's borscht 'Lightning Dance' by the Leisure Band (a jewish vacation spot around New York State), is a romantic glitz set against a sultry '60s oldie.

In the 60s, oh my god, the big bosses were so sexy back then. ...

Absolutely romantic movie, played by Jewish girl Jennifer Gray, Baby Francis, represents women in that era of liberation and freedom.This is a typical Ronald Lee-style Sleeping Beauty-style low-cost movie, and the box office will definitely be surprisingly good. I heard that the premiere will be postponed to mid-August, so I look forward to it.

I recommend that all young girls, no, just women should go see it.This is our Rocky, and in the end Baby is just like Rocky, giving a technical knockout to the woman she's competing for Patrick Schwyz's Johnny Castle in a dance. "

Rita Kempley - The Washington Post, Women Film Critic.

……

Pauline Carr's influence in the circle of female film critics in New York, and in the country, is enormous.She came forward and invited some film critics to participate in the second special screening of film critics organized by Ronald in various places.

The effect is very good.Pauline specifically recommends this film from the perspective of women's liberation.Many female film critics are writing more than [-] or [-] positive film reviews.

Hollywood's unspoken rules for film critics, as a producer, Ronald can give benefits to film critics in private.However, it is not allowed to interfere with film critics' film reviews or ask for an increase in ratings.

And well-known film critics from major media will also submit their film review articles after the film critics' special session a few weeks before the film is released.

Regardless of whether it is good or bad, the producers have been given a certain amount of time to make corresponding adjustments to the marketing plan based on whether the film reviews are good or bad.

This time, Pauline Carr saved face and helped Ronald call those film critics to attend the second screening.Those who came were mainly female film critics, but also included many non-Jewish male film critics.

Normally, they would not attend the film critics' special sessions for such small productions. At most, after the film was released, they would be admitted for free with their membership cards of the New York Film Critics Association.Write a review later.

But Pauline has a very high status among Hollywood film critics, and "Bonnie and Clyde", the pioneering work of the New Hollywood movement, was praised by her film critics.This time, Pauline Carr praised Ronald very highly, saying that he has the opportunity to revolutionize Hollywood again, and once again bring mainstream movies back to major real issues.

Those female film critics have more or less benefited from the favor of Pauline Carr in order to find a position as a film critic in a major newspaper or magazine in the male-dominated Hollywood.They were also curious about Ronald's new film telling the story of the 60s, and they came to see it, and it really lived up to its reputation.

"Dirty Dancing" touched on women's abortion rights 10 years before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

Penny Johnson, played by Cynthia Rhodes, is a key fulcrum for the establishment of the entire film.Unmarried Penny was tricked into being pregnant by the waiter, so Baby had the opportunity to practice dancing with Johnny.

At that time, Penny had no money, so she had to find a quack doctor for surgery, which led Baby to ask her father to lend money to Penny, and then asked her father to treat Penny again to avoid accidents.This can lead to the plot where Baby's father, Dr. Hausman, turns against his favorite daughter and opposes her relationship with Johnny.

Such a plot is very difficult to ignore.As long as it is not those boys and girls who have not experienced the incident, they can understand and restore the original appearance of the matter from Ronald's restrained director and editing.

These film critics all came from the cause of women's liberation, which was surging in the 60s.It is clear how rare a good doctor like Housman was before the Supreme Court ruled Roe v. Wade.

It also made him agree with his daughter to associate with Johnny in the end, and to send Baby abroad to participate in the Peace Corps movement advocated by Kennedy to aid third world countries, how unusual it is.

This is literally every girl's dream.These middle-aged women, watching the movie, miss the past when they were young.Finally, in the scene where Baby and Johnny hugged each other again, they were almost moved to tears.

The most exaggerated is Rita Kempley of the Washington Post. She works for the largest newspaper in the political center of DC. She knows better than others that the two protagonists can overcome the huge gaps in race, class, wealth, and education. The difficulty of coming together in the end.

Rita pulled Ronald and asked him about the later plot:

"Come on, Ronald, did Baby and Johnny get married together later? Huh? Was Johnny cast in a Broadway musical? Baby married him right after he got back from the Peace Corps in Africa? Huh?"

"I can't say that, it should be decided by the audience." In order for the film to avoid being addressed by the Jewish gang, Ronald kept all the details secret, such as the hero and heroine just danced together in the end, There are no details that hint at their future endings.

"If you don't tell me, I'll write you a bad review!" Rita insisted.

"Yes, Ronald, you bastard, almost made me cry. If you dare to separate Baby and Johnny, I will scold you in the movie review, little bastard." Julie Solomon of the Wall Street Journal also came up to make a He threatened Ronald with a vicious look.

"I have something to say, I surrender." Ronald pretended that they succeeded in threatening, and said his difficulties again.Why was he threatened by Jewish forces in Hollywood just because the heroine was a Jewish girl?

Reached an agreement with the Jews that Baby's ethnicity will not be actively disclosed in the movie, and the sex scenes between Baby and Johnny, as well as the scenes of the two looking forward to the future and overcoming all difficulties together are all deleted.

As a result, this kind of concession still aroused opposition from Jewish film critics, so Pauline Carr had to be asked to make amends.

"Actually, I have been very reserved in this movie. Unless you grew up Jewish in the 60s, it is difficult for you to see that Catskills is a resort hotel that only caters to Jews in the borscht belt. You may not know that Baby is a Jewish girl. .This story will not change because of the ethnicity of the two protagonists."

"Yes, we support you. The center of this movie is actually the story of Baby's self-growth." Several female film critics began to go crazy. How could someone give such a good movie a low score?It's a crime!

And the actor Patrick Schwyz is so handsome, if only he could dance with him.

……

A few days later, after receiving the manuscripts sent by these female and non-Jewish male film critics, Ronald was very happy and celebrated with Michelle Cannold and others in the office.

"Look, I still have some contacts in Hollywood."

"That's for sure, Ronald. Since you became a director, almost all the films have done well at the box office. These film critics also have to follow in the footsteps of successful people." Kannold was very happy, and he praised the boss in disguise.

"The main reason is that this movie of mine has a plot of women's liberation, and the screenwriter Eleanor is of a high level." Ronald said modestly.

"That's because of your network. If it wasn't for Pauline Carr's help, we wouldn't have been able to find so many film critics from famous media."

"There, there, our Daydream Company has invested so many resources, we must be heard." Ronald nodded to the little Douglas who was giggling over there. movie, he is happy.

This time, for the extra marketing expenses, and the additional budget for the title song "The Time of My Life" of the original soundtrack album played by DJs on the major radio stations, the marketing expenses that kept daydreams as backups were spent again. Now If there is another accident, there is really no money.Fortunately, Douglas Jr. received living expenses from the family fund in 200. If he wanted money, he could invest another [-] million.

"No, no, your director level is still high. Look at those middle-aged female film critics, who are fascinated by your film. They are also going to the premiere in New York, waiting to dance with Patrick Schwyz. Body dancing." Douglas Jr. laughed when talking about the situation at that time.

Two film critics from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal held on to Ronald, insisting that he sign and confirm that the premiere would let the male lead dance with them before agreeing to give Dirty Dancing the best evaluation .

But at the expense of Schwyz, the film reviews I got today really praised Ronald's movies to such an extent that they are rare in heaven.

"I didn't expect these middle-aged women to like this movie so much. It would be great if female audiences in their thirties were as obsessed with this movie as they are. The absolute number of teenage female audiences is still small." Douglas Jr. lamented .

"Stop daydreaming, they are professional film critics, real middle-aged audiences, how can they be obsessed with this kind of old-fashioned romantic comedy? I just ask them to watch more." Ronald Shaking his head, this is a bit delusional.

"I also know...Hey, isn't this just a dream? We daydreamed about how many resources and energy we invested in releasing this movie. The Cannold distribution team worked very hard. I feel that our small team is almost as good as the distribution team of a big company like MGM.

The media interview packages we provide to the major media are also outstanding in Hollywood. Those reporters who don’t say good things are sorry for us. "

Ronald looked at Douglas Jr. with a smile and praised the publishing team. They were very cheered up when they heard this.They are all inexperienced young people who work with enthusiasm. Sometimes you don't tell them the difficulty of the work, but they complete the work very well.

"I can't promise anything, but if the movie is a hit, we will definitely give everyone bonuses. And if...not, once Dirty Dancing is successful at the box office, we will increase the size of the distribution department. Career development will be very good.”

Ronald draws a large pizza out of thin air for his team members.Sure enough, those employees who just graduated from college were very excited and raised their hands high-five each other.

"The ones that come first are the cheap ones. I found the resort hotel where we were filming and bought a weekend vacation package. All the colleagues in the distribution department will go to have a rest. You can bring a family, and the company will cover all the expenses."

The reward that Ronald asked his assistant to bring was that the lakeside resort hotel put their names after the subtitles on a separate line for the movie, and gave Ronald a benefit, which happened to let the team who had been busy for half a year rest and relax.

"Yeah, Ronald... Ronald..."

The young men began to cheer Ronald's name.

"You have so much resources to put into Dirty Dancing, why don't you give us some of 'Love Is Not For Sale'?"

Walking into the office and questioning Ronald was Rush, the director of "Love Is Not For Sale".

He had complaints about Ronald meddling in the final cut in order to get the film through with a PG13 rating, selling more box office than respecting artistic integrity.

I was even more angry when I saw so many good reviews for "Dirty Dancing" on the table.

Unlike the rave reviews here, "Love Is Not For Sale" has received extremely poor reviews.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, for example, gave "Love Is Not For Sale" half a star.

"If Love Is Not For Sale was meant to satirize American values—if cynicism was its goal—we might find something here.

But no, based on the evidence, the people who made this movie are so materialistic that they think it's a "teen comedy".Don't they see the rotten core of the script?

How can American people do such a nasty thing of using money to buy a girlfriend's affection. "

Albert really scolded "love is not for sale" in the film review.

It's not that there are good things to say. The New York Times Film Critic, which Ronald is focusing on, gave a positive evaluation:

"...director Steve Rush squanders an opportunity to make this a deeper, more interesting film. . . There is an identity crisis, a mirror image of protagonist Ronald himself.

He thinks he wants popularity at all costs, he is actually a sincere guy and ends up with Cindy's love.This movie could have been as sincere as Ronald, but what it really wanted was the box office, so like other PG13 'kids movies', it cut out its own originality. "

This positive comment just spoke to Rush's heart, cutting off the artistry for the box office.It's not as good as a bad review!
"Come on, Steve, calm down. Our distribution team spent no less time and energy on your film (actually a lot less, Love Is Not For Sale is sold as a tie-in for Dirty Dancing )." Michelle Cannodella explained to director Rush.

"It's okay," Ronald signaled Cannold to let him go.

"Come with me, I'll show you something." Ronald took Steve Rush to the office next door.

"This is the bad review I received for the movie Dirty Dancing, not much better than yours." Ronald took out all the bad reviews he had received before from the drawer and showed Rush.

"Proportionally, the scores of our two films are actually about the same."

"Okay, I'm sorry, Ronald," Rush swallowed his anger, and it seemed that his movie review might not be so bad.Roger Ebert didn't like Ronald's movies either.

"I have made a lot of efforts, but our Daydream is a small company, I hope you can understand. My movie will be rescheduled, and some of the original resources are now used for love is not for sale. I have arranged a premiere for you, Two opportunities to be interviewed on TV shows..."

"Thank you, you're a good producer and boss." Seeing that Ronald had diverted his resources to love is not for sale, Rush was a little ashamed of his anger just now, "You are different from those capitalist vampires, you It’s still on the artist’s side.”

"It's good for you to understand, it's not easy for me." Ronald put on a look that the company is too small to give you more support.

"Rush, you are here...don't be like this, Ronald has already given you good resources." Steve Bannon knocked on the door and came in.

"I know, I know, hey, if it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have made such a good movie with such a low cost." Rush left moved.

"Are you satisfied?" Ronald looked at Bannon, knew what he wanted, turned around and handed Bannon a media promotion plan.

"Very satisfied, Ronald. You are a natural filmmaker." Bannon saw those promotional plans, as well as the arrangements for the protagonists to participate in TV interviews on CBS and NBC, and he was determined.This low-budget film was shot with a budget of less than 100 million US dollars. It bought a Beatles song as the theme song from MJ at a floor price. As long as it can be exposed in the media, the profit is almost certain.It is a question of earning more and earning less.

As long as he can earn more than 1000 million, he can feel proud on Wall Street.Earning 500 million at the box office, those old colleagues will take the initiative to call to discuss investing in their own film funds.If he earns 2000 million, hehe... I'm afraid I will obediently stand outside my office, vying for the limited investment quota.

"How much do you expect to earn?" Bannon asked Ronald for advice in a low voice.

"Originally, the films for Dirty Dancing were given to Love is not for sale. In July, Disney will release 'The Adventures of the Nanny'. I negotiated with them. Originally, the two parties took turns to occupy the schedule. There will be about 1200 films that will be released.

It is conservatively estimated that staying in the theater for four weeks, between 2000 million and 2500 million is not a big problem.

However, there will be 007, Jaws 4, RoboCop, Superman 4, and Unicron and several other big-budget films after that. It is estimated that your movie will not last long.Don't expect too much. "

"Hahaha, 500 million, no problem. My foundation has raised enough money. When the time comes for our cooperation, you must reserve enough investment share for me." Bannon was overjoyed, Ronald's It is estimated that it actually exceeded my most optimistic box office forecast.This kind of return on investment, financing is not a problem, and then investing in a visionary producer like Ronald, I am afraid that it will not grow as fast as a snowball, and then you can issue a larger private equity fund, or even issue junk bond financing, or Further control the company's listing and reach the pinnacle of life...

It seems that retreating from Wall Street and joining Hollywood was the right choice.

Ronald looked at Bannon with an ugly smile, took out a pair of glasses, opened the brandy, poured two glasses of wine, "I wish us success!"

(End of this chapter)