Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The continued success of the films he produced and directed was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director two years in a row. "Dirty Dancing", a perennial hot seller in the video tape market, has made Ronald one of the rare rich men in the industry.

According to estimates by some industry lawyers and accountants, Ronald Hwang's income from the film's video tapes was at least $30 million per year (actually far more, because they omitted overseas distribution and two income from the original soundtrack).

And his vision for selecting scripts is also superb, so many people come to Ronald, not only to ask him to invest, but also to use his reputation as an investor to persuade other investors: You see, This is the movie script that Ronald is interested in...

Before Mike Medavoy came, Ronald was already surrounded by people from several projects, and every day people came to him with scripts looking for insight.

Of course, the scripts of these people must first be selected by David Simkins and evaluated by Michelle Cannold for their market potential before they are sent to Ronald.

In the middle, there are a few exceptions. They could bypass the daydream filter and send the script directly to Ronald's desk.

"This story is good and very philosophical, but is it the same as the "The Wedding Banquet" you wrote before the "When Harry Met Sally" script you revised for me last summer? Are they both Chinese scripts?"

It was Ang Lee who came over with the outline of the script. He went back to his hometown for the Spring Festival. As soon as he returned to America, he came to Ronald with two scripts.

Ronald frowned. Making movies is all about making money. Although I trust Ang Lee's artistic standards (his graduation works are very good), if I give him a special case, more people will come to me to make exceptions through connections in the future.

"That's right. When I went home to celebrate the New Year this year, the information bureau there was soliciting Chinese scripts from all over the world. I heard that if you win the award, you can get a bonus of 400,000 yuan..." Ang Lee said a little excitedly.

"Dollar?"

"NT$..." Ang Lee knew that this amount of money was too little. In fact, he did not rely on this money to make movies. "There is also an additional reward, which is to fund the filming of the award-winning script. There is a tutoring fund of NT$4 million. As long as we If we can find the rest of the money, then China Film Corporation will also underwrite the distribution there..."

Ronald understood what Ang Lee meant. He is still afraid of making English films and wants to enter the industry by making Chinese films first. He wanted to win an award for this movie, then get the investment and distribution contract there, and then come to Ronald to seek the remaining investment and distribution in America.

"Well, how much money do you need to make this movie?" Ronald thought about it. This kind of Chinese-language movie actually has a fixed audience of moviegoers in America, including Chinatowns in major cities, plus some art theaters. Wire. Because whether it is this movie Promoter or last year's Wedding Banquet, the story has an exotic appeal to the audience.

Many American viewers actually like to see the customs and customs of other places in the world. Traveling is too expensive, and watching movies is also a cheap way to increase bragging rights with friends.

"Um, I don't know..." Ang Lee's script has not been completed yet, and he has never made a feature film that has been released in theaters, so he is still in the dark about this.

"In this way, if you can win an award and have a distribution contract in your hometown, I will give you a budget of half a million US dollars. As a small-cost feature film, it is basically enough.

Daydream would then handle distribution in America and video distribution. You can ask a colleague from Daydream to be your producer, or you can find one yourself, and we will agree on a share ratio then..."

Ang Lee left happily. Now he just wants to try his best to perfect the two scripts, and then ask someone to collaborate and translate them into English versions. As long as you have Ronald's promise and return to your hometown to compete, you will naturally have one more guarantee than other contestants.

People there still quite recognize and even worship the great Hollywood directors. Especially the "Information Bureau" that organizes the draft competition allows such scripts to win awards and write a summary report. The award-winning script has also been recognized by famous Hollywood producers and directors... Isn't that a great achievement of the literary and art department?

Even if some local contestants are not convinced, you can use Ronald's name to convince them: They are all valued by big directors in Hollywood. Are you better than him?

…

"This is the revised opinion jointly given by Mr. Weintraub and I...you can refer to it. The American audience is not prepared for some settings and needs more preparation. You can also use the version released in Hong Kong Cut it again..."

After sending Ang Lee away, Ronald brought in Tsui Hark, the director of "The Kid 3" who had held several test screenings.

Several different audience groups conducted internal test screenings, and the reaction was the same, that is, everyone did not understand the background of this kind of martial arts that can make people fly to heaven. Different from the myth of martial arts in East Asia, American audiences with "little knowledge" are still stuck in the stage of real punches and kicks during fights.

Although the audience has seen Darth Vader's chokehold and teleportation on the screen, the first two Dragon Power films were very realistic kung fu fights. The style suddenly changed, and it seemed that some additions were needed. Just an introduction to the background of the story. Just like the plot of Luke Skywalker’s teacher Obi-Wan explaining the Force to him.

Anyway, it has been several years since the last movie, and the audience may not remember how Daniel won. Moreover, American audiences also accept that some people in ancient times had some strange abilities. As long as they feel comfortable in the cinema, it is not impossible to gain general acceptance.

In short, Weintraub is unwilling to reshoot some plots. His financial situation seems to have a big problem, and he is no longer willing to increase the shooting budget. It works or not. Anyway, this is the only time.

"Jean Claude, Dove, can you wait for me? I need to meet Mr. Mike McDavoy from Orion. He must have been waiting for me for a while... OK, thank you, Claudia, please talk to the two gentlemen first, their film has been edited and is ready to be released..."

Ronald first went to say hello to Jean-Claude Van Damme and Lundgren who had already arrived, and then introduced Claudia Wells to them. It is useful for beautiful women to be publicity managers. The two strong men recognized her and immediately began to introduce their new film "Bioman".

Daydream, whose business is getting busier and busier, has delegated many small projects to several important directors. Whenever Ronald receives some important clients, he likes to arrange all of them in one day and handle them all at once.

Mike McDavoy of Orion told him his purpose after the greetings. Orion has many big productions to be released this year, and the cash flow is a bit tight.

For example, the rock star Jerry Lee Lewis biopic "Fireball" starring Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder, and "She-Devil" starring Mel Streep, both have a production budget of about 20 million.

In addition, the film "Valmont" directed by Milos Forman, which is also adapted from the stage play "Dangerous Liaisons", has a production cost of 33 million.

The concentrated release of these blockbusters has drawn a lot of Orion's own funds in the publicity and distribution, resulting in insufficient investment in new films. So Mike McDavoy came to ask Ronald if he was interested in investing in their projects.

"I am indeed very interested..." Ronald knew that Orion's good films were as famous as their bad films. This is the result of the director-in-charge system. Giving the director full artistic decision-making power may result in a film that is several levels above the average, or a film that is so bad that it cannot be described.

I have my own dream references, and I have accumulated a lot of intuition about market reactions over the past ten years. As long as I can pick the right film project, it is still a sure win, and I may even be able to win a few Oscar nominations. After all, in the past ten years, they have won two best films and dozens of major awards.

"Mr. John Kruger really wants to work with you. He said that next year's big project of ours, you can pick whatever you want, and each movie can give you the most generous investment terms..." Mike McDavoy put several script outlines on the table and spread them out.

"It's really an honor. Thank Mr. Kruger for me." Ronald picked it up and read it.

This John Kruger is the owner of a communications company, Metropolitan Media. He sold his TV network business to Australian Rupert, the big boss of 20th Century Fox, a few years ago.

He then took out part of the money to buy 6% of Orion's shares. After that, Orion ushered in a year of explosive growth. Strong films such as "Platoon", "Hannah and Her Sisters", and "RoboCop" were well received and attracted competition from another rich man, Sam Redstone, the young master of a chain of cinemas. The other party also bought 6% of the shares.

This aroused Kruger's competitive mentality. He continued to increase his capital in a short period of time, and finally his equity rose to 26%, driving Redstone away and becoming the largest shareholder of Orion.

Kruger has a bit of a movie fan mentality and has approved many big productions, but there has never been a winner like Platoon. He felt that he didn't seem to have found the right director, so he didn't continue to be lucky. So he gave the green light to Mike McDavoy's proposal and was willing to offer the most generous investment terms to borrow Ronald's vision.

Ronald looked at them carefully one by one. Orion's style is really art first, without any consideration of business.

For example, "Hotspot" is a project of Dennis Hopper, a Hollywood veteran who has been addicted to drugs for a long time. He was the director and actor of "Easy Rider", the beginning of the new Hollywood. After his comeback, he was nominated for the Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay at the Oscars. He is a veritable all-round player.

However, the plot of "Hotspot" is a typical old-school black film, and there is no audience for this type of film now.

There is another "State of Grace", which is a more innovative script. It tells the story of an undercover detective who now works for the childhood friend of a gang leader, falls in love with his friend's sister, and finally his friend is killed. He successfully avenges at the funeral.

The "innovation" of this movie is that he actually plagiarized a lot of the plots of the popular TV series "SWAT 4587". Many Hollywood movies are always remade into TV series, but such reverse remakes are rare.

Ronald read it for a long time and didn't feel anything. He planned to keep the script outline first and see if he could dream at night. When he turned to the script at the end, he had come across it before.

"Is this Dances with Wolves being distributed by you, Orion?"

"Oops, sorry, there are still some problems with the contract for this movie. My secretary was careless and got in." Mike McDavoy took the script back, "Why, did Kevin (Costner) also contact you?"

"Actually, I contacted him. I am a little interested in that movie, but the author is his friend..."

Ronald thought, it seems that the genre of westerns is still as unpopular as black movies. A male star like Kevin Costner had to downgrade and find a second-tier Orion to cooperate, but it has not been negotiated yet!

"Actually, I like this script very much. I think it is different from all the westerns in the past. This movie is not based on cowboys as the core perspective, but with the magnificent Indians and their habitats, showing an epic picture..."

Mike McDavoy felt that Ronald had a special interest in this "Dances with Wolves", so he made a special explanation.

"Well, you are right..." Ronald nodded frequently, thinking that actually how could I know whether this unpopular movie could be a hit, or not I just dreamed of a great big scene shot? I guess even if it doesn't make much money, it will be favored by the Oscars.

I'm interested in the Oscars now!

"What's the reason for not reaching an agreement?" Ronald asked. From what he said, it seems that Orion is also optimistic? With the support of a wealthy man like Kruger, it's just a matter of money.

"Kevin (Costner) wants the final editing right..." Mike McDavoy said an answer that Ronald didn't expect.

It turns out that Kevin Costner not only directed and acted in the film, but also wanted to get the final editing right that only a few well-known directors in Hollywood have.

"Did I hear it wrong, or... this seems to be his directorial debut?" Ronald felt that male stars can really do whatever they want? These people have the audience's affirmation, and they are more fierce when talking about conditions than himself, a director who has always made money.

"If you can convince him and guarantee him, we can also find a workaround..." Mike McDavoy said slowly.

The so-called final editing right is actually not that rigid. Many new directors do not have the right to make editing decisions. After the first cut is made, the studio's senior executives will look at it and then give their opinions. Generally speaking, new directors can only follow the instructions. Those with strong communication and professional skills can try to argue.

Directors with successful experience, or big-name male stars like Kevin Costner or Clint Eastwood who try to direct, will have the power to assemble the final version. In other words, they can decide most of the editing shots within the film length set by the studio.

Only a few shots involving ratings will be interfered with by the studio. But the studio also has a cage for them. That is the length of the genre film. The general genre film is 90 minutes, the film with unique content is 120 minutes, and the particularly good epic film is two and a half hours.

In this way, the director can play his own role in the designated arena, and will not deviate too far from the mainstream commercial theaters.

In the last category, only directors like Ronald, Spielberg, and George Lucas who have almost never lost money can decide both editing and length. Of course, Ronald didn't exercise this power much, because he himself is also a believer in the logic of commercial films.

In this "Dances with Wolves", Kevin Costner asked for all the power. Ronald guessed that he was either overconfident or wanted to make an epic blockbuster, and he had to strive for more than two and a half hours for his ideal.

"Well, let's make an appointment with Kevin to talk..." Ronald and Mike McDavoy confirmed that he was interested in "Dances with Wolves".

"Okay, let's make an appointment and see each other. Kevin will value your opinion..." Mike McDavoy was happy about this. This movie is a direction that no one has explored, and it is just right for Orion to shoot.

And Kevin Costner's debut film was "Night of the Comet" shot by Ronald. He would value Ronald's opinion, and maybe let Ronald direct it by the way, wouldn't it be the best of both worlds?

...

Finally, Ronald invited in the two muscular men who were buzzing and talking big around Claudia Wells' skirt. Today they brought the edited version of "Bioman" and were about to show it to Ronald and the senior executives of Daydream.

"Huh? Is this movie about bioman?" Ronald couldn't help but doubt it after watching the preview.

When Menahan Golan launched the project, it was clearly a science fiction film, right? A half-human, half-mechanical bioman fights various monsters of the universe era, escorts medicine to save mankind, and shoots lasers all the time.

Although in the end, because Cannon was on the verge of bankruptcy and had no money to complete the special effects, Ronald bought it at a low price and asked Jean-Claude Van Damme to edit it. After the effect was determined, it would be released in theaters or directly released on the videotape market.

But Ronald couldn't imagine it being edited like this. The whole movie is no longer a science fiction film. Only the monsters and desert settings have a bit of science fiction color. The whole... how to say the whole? It has become a martial arts film!

"Ronald..." Claudia Wells is like a duck in water in her new position. Her beauty can also be greatly favored in real life. With two action stars vying to show their affection, it was only natural for her to say a few good words to Ronald.

"Well... the plot of your movie has been almost changed. Should it still be called Bio-Man?" Ronald thought about it. In fact, Jean-Claude Van Damme's editing skills have improved a lot. It is rare for him to edit this semi-finished product like this.

Except for too many slow-motion close-ups of himself and Lundgren, there are no other major problems. And this abuse of slow-motion techniques shows that Tsui Hark and other Hong Kong directors have led him astray...

"We are also planning to change the name. Corey helped us think of a name called Heaven and Earth Fire..."

Jean-Claude Van Damme quickly offered a new title.

"This is a Chinese idiom. The audience will not understand it when translated into English. Change it to something easy to understand. Otherwise, call it Bio-Warrior, no... Peak Warrior..."

"Okay, this name is good..." The two action stars kept flying over with overly deliberate flattery.

"Fuck, I'm not Claudia..." Ronald thought to himself that these two idiots didn't know how to say something nice when picking up girls, so straightforward... Forget it, they are just at this level, and there are a lot of female fans who like them, so they probably don't need any words to impress them.

Ronald decided that this movie would be released in the Hollywood theaters he was familiar with, just right. It was released just in time to fill the time slot before The Karate Kid 3.