Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Ronald's firm support for Cameron played a crucial role. No matter how tough the new executives were, they could not withstand the pressure from the top. They gave Cameron unprecedented loose conditions, and the length of the film was relaxed to two hours and thirty minutes, so he didn't have to worry about the film not being able to tell the story as it should be.

Science fiction movies are different from other themes. They need more space to lay the foundation for the worldview. What kind of science is feasible in this world needs extra time to tell the audience. For example, the key breathing liquid that can be sustained in this "Abyss" needs at least five minutes in advance to lay the foundation, so that the protagonist will not feel abrupt when it depends on it at the critical moment.

Ronald feels that his influence is still in place. One of the main reasons is that the "Die Hard" produced by him and Joel Silver has achieved unprecedented success. The leading actor Bruce Willis successfully transformed from a TV star to a movie star. Rupert, the big boss of 20th Century Fox, hopes that Ronald can continue to create miracles...

"How is the preparation for the sequel going?" Ronald understood the truth and found Joel Silver, who has been working on the sequel to Die Hard.

"I have found a very good one. Let's continue with the adaptation of the first part..." Silver still had that sloppy face, wearing pajamas, holding a cigar, hugging a blonde beauty, and then picked up a book from the table and threw it to Ronald.

"Fifty-eight minutes," Ronald flipped quickly. This is a story about how a police officer at the airport prevented the terrorists who hijacked his wife's flight.

This book was published by Walter Wager in 1987. The original author of the first part, Roderick Thorpe, was not written by one person. But the story is very exciting, and it has a similar structure to the original book, which is a story about a detective facing his family at the crime scene, and finally saving them and other hostages with his own wisdom.

Anyway, the movie only needs to replace a few key factors in it and change it to the mighty John McClane.

Joel Silver was very happy to see that Ronald agreed to the adaptation. He patted the beauty's butt and asked her to go away and not to interfere with him and Ronald discussing confidential matters.

"The main character will definitely still be Bruce Willis, but we have replaced all the supporting roles, so it will definitely be cheaper..."

"For her?" Ronald pointed to the back of the beauty?

"How about Pamela Anderson, the Canadian bombshell. She is a cheerleader for the Canadian professional football team. She recently came to Los Angeles. I recommended her to Playboy. She will be the cover girl of a certain month..." Joel Silver laughed wildly. After Die Hard, the quality and quantity of beauties who threw themselves at him increased sharply.

"Are you crazy?" Ronald pointed to his head. "The success of the first part depends largely on the harmonious chemistry between Bruce and the supporting roles. This is not a traditional action movie that competes with muscles. Without the heroine Bonnie Bedelia and the black supporting actor Reginald Wil Johnson, Bruce's magic would fade by half!"

"Are you serious? Is that so?" Joel Silver's cigar almost fell off. No matter what Ronald said, it must make sense. "What about Alan Rickman? Film critics say he is one of the most charming villains in Hollywood history. Should we call him back?"

"Damn it, it's better if you don't say it. Once you say it, I will regret it. He was written dead in the first film. Who knew he would be so popular with the audience... Forget it, A-level productions can't play the trick of twin brothers..."

Ronald felt very regretful that Alan Rickman's character was completely killed in the first film without leaving any room. Otherwise, if he continued to compete with McLean in the sequel, he would definitely be able to come up with a lot of good plots, and it would be much easier to promote and distribute.

"Where's the director? John McTiernan?" Joel Silver felt that this producer's job was really the easiest since he entered the industry. He listened to Ronald on major matters and did whatever he wanted on minor matters.

"He must leave..." Ronald was unhappy when he heard McTiernan's name. He deceived the producer and made the male lead take unnecessary risks. He likes to make his own decisions so much, so he might as well be a producer himself and take the risk. ”

Anyway, the requirements for directors of this kind of action film are not high. All they need is experience in action shooting and the respect for producers and stars. The acting team is stable after the first one, and Ronald is in charge of the special effects. The rest are jobs that many people can do.

…

After finishing the preparations for the profitable sequel of "Die Hard", Ronald went to discuss his performance with Bruce Willis.

Sure enough, Willis was very happy to hear that he could work with the original cast, especially the actor who played McLean's wife and black partner again. This star actually relies on intuition for his acting skills. Working with his old partner is another easy and enjoyable job for him.

The dubbing work he had to do for Amy Heckerling's "Look Who's Talking" was already completed. If it was completed in five days, he would get a dividend equivalent to his first Die Hard salary. Bruce Willis felt that Ronald was his lucky star.

"You have to talk to my agent about my salary. This A-level production is a reflection of my worth. You can't give me too low a price..."

Ronald laughed secretly. This star, whose hairline was gradually moving upward, actually spoke like an ordinary blue-collar worker.

"Of course, I will treat you like an A-list star... Fox also hopes to set you an example of a successful transformation into a TV star, and will not treat you badly..."

"Do you have seven million dollars? Ronald, can you tell me the truth?" Bruce Willis pretended to discuss with Ronald in a low voice, but in fact he was showing off to his wife Demi Moore while returning the money. She winked.

"It should be more than this, and of course it will not exceed the salary of the best actor winner..." Ronald gave a measure. The agent of the new best actor Dustin Hoffman tried his best to package the qualifications of the two-time best actor, and gave him He offered a salary of eight million, which scared away a lot of movies that wanted him to star.

"Ah, hahaha..." Willis touched his head and laughed. While laughing, he took out his wallet from his trouser pocket, took out two hundred-dollar bills and handed them to Demi, "Honey, I want to have a drink with Ronald. You go take care of the child, and I'll give you the money..." "

"Papa..." This vulgar American blue-collar worker's behavior made Demi so angry that she hit him hard on the arm several times, then turned to Ronald and said, "I'm going to prepare something to eat." Yes, you can chat with Bruce here more..."

After enjoying an exquisite meal of takeaway food on the sofa in the living room, Ronald stood up to say goodbye. In the end it was Demi who sent him out.

"Ronald, how have you considered what I asked you last time?" Demi Moore did not forget the role she entrusted to Ronald last time. She was sure that Ronald was nostalgic. Under the same conditions, as long as she often asked him to ask for help, she would definitely be given priority.

"I have a thriller called The Silence of the Lambs, and I'm rewriting the script. Would you consider dating the perverted murderer Hannibal's heroine, FBI trainee agent Starling?"

Ronald asked her semi-seriously that this role was a bit troublesome and required a female star to dilute the theme, but female stars were generally unwilling to play such roles that would pollute their own image.

"Do you really think I'm suitable for acting? As long as you say a word, I will listen to you..." Demi put her hair behind her ears with her hands. She did not forget that her upper and lower circumferences were one size larger after giving birth. Use your biggest capital.

"I'm kidding, you're not suitable for this kind of role, you're too strong, Demi..." Ronald looked at the other party carefully, the mature style replaced the pure innocence and sexiness, Starling is a fresh college graduate, Demi This kind of temperament that is revealed from time to time, wallowing in the vanity fair, does not match well.

"Papa..." Demi was so angry that she hit Ronald several times on the arm. "Don't forget about me, Ronnie."

"No, what do you mean by that?"

"Don't forget that I am also an actor..." Demi looked at Ronald with innocent eyes. She used her acting skills to the fullest, which made Ronald feel as if his innocence had returned.

"I haven't forgotten that time..." But after one sentence, Demi's secret was revealed again. She was still the actress who could do anything to climb up in order to achieve her career goals.

"I will remember it and see if there are any opportunities for cooperation..." Ronald said goodbye to her.

…

"You seem to attach great importance to this movie..." In the car, Richard handed over a bunch of audition photos of female stars who took the initiative to promote to Ronald. He has blocked more than 90% of the self-recommendations, but there are always dozens of them recommended by various powerful people every week, or those with special looks.

"I won't watch it... The sequel to Die Hard is obviously about making money, and you can just sit back and collect money. Of course it's worth investing some energy on my part." Ronald waved his hand to show that he stopped looking at the photos of beautiful women.

"Have you decided about Silence of the Lambs? Are you going to direct it yourself?" Richard took the photo back and inserted it back into the envelope. It's one thing if Ronald doesn't look at it, but it's another thing if he doesn't show it to him according to the rules. In this regard, Richard is always very decent.

"Hey... I'm a little unsure. This movie requires a lot of lens language design and some unconventional image tones. I don't have time to meditate on the design. I'm too busy and I've lost my sense of being a director. …”

Ronald sighed. He expected the movie to make back its money at the box office, but critics wouldn't say much good things about the subject matter. But when it comes to filming, it must be very enjoyable as a director.

Historically, thrillers have always been a field that can only be shot well by a master. This script screams a thriller. There are no sudden monsters or demons like Chainsaw Mania. Instead, it relies solely on mobilizing the audience's psychological suspense to scare them enough to achieve a satisfying effect.

Those who have always been able to shoot this kind of psychological thriller are all famous figures in film history. For example, Hitchcock in his heyday filmed "Rear Window", and Orson Welles, who returned to Hollywood and let go, filmed "The Last Day". He also wanted to put down other things and go all out to create.

But as his fame and daydream business gradually grew, it also brought a lot of responsibilities. Ronald felt that he had dug a hole for himself for money. If there was someone as capable as Spielberg's Kathleen Kennedy, As a general manager, you can just focus on your art.

"If you find someone else to shoot, do you have any good candidates now?"

Ronald asked Richard that this movie needs someone who is proficient in various genres and has his own style of images to direct it.

"Why are you asking me? Don't you know the most suitable candidate?" Richard handed Ronald the latest newspaper he had sorted out.

"Who?" Ronald couldn't remember which one of his Daydream films was suitable for this kind of movie.

"Did you forget Shotgun Lulu?" Richard smiled. Ronald was really busy and confused now.

"Oh?" Ronald patted his head. Roger Corman's senior in college, Jonathan Demme, was indeed the right person.

This director is skilled in the use of genre films, and his image and sound design are rich in texture. Most importantly, you can tell who wrote his movies at a glance, which is a very important quality for psychological thrillers like "The Silence of the Lambs".

And Jonathan Demme has two very powerful skills. The first is that all the supporting roles are well-dressed, which is the standard of the master. Any supporting role in the master's movie can stand out in the character. This is different from commercial films like "Die Hard", which always find some flaws when watching them repeatedly.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, Director Demme has a skill in integrating various genres. His Shotgun Lulu started out as a romantic love movie, turned into a psychological thriller in the middle, and turned into an action movie at the end.

This is exactly what a thriller like The Silence of the Lambs needs. Psychological thrillers often need other aspects of rendering to guide the audience into the designed track. It is definitely not enough to rely on dialogue alone. This ability is actually very strange. Not every big director has it. Ronald doesn't have it either. He makes love movies, which are love movies, and musicals are musicals. The audience will not have a strange exclamation of "Why did he come here?"

"What project is he busy with now?" Ronald asked Richard, fearing that his senior brother would not have time to make his movie.

"I'm unemployed now..." Richard laughed. This Jonathan Demme is also a director with a strong personality. When he makes a movie, he needs a script that he is interested in, and he also has greater artistic decision-making power.

However, his first two movies, "Shotgun Lulu" and "Married to the Gang", although they received a lot of praise in the director circle (many innovative techniques), the box office was not very convincing, and the producer did not have the confidence in him like Ronald.

"Then invite him over, let's have a good chat..." Ronald thought that the directors who graduated from Coleman University were all weird, but undoubtedly very capable. They may have been spoiled too much by Coleman, and their imaginations could be freely played, and Coleman did not interfere, which nurtured these people's confidence and character.

Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, including Jim Cameron, are all people who have broken through the existing Hollywood landscape and explored a new world for later generations.

"The American media is just like their counterparts in London Fleet Street that they laugh at..." Ronald browsed the newspaper, and the New York media quarreled. Their positions were not much better than those of the London Sun.

The news coverage of the Central Park jogger case has gradually developed to an ugly point.

The New York Times expressed dissatisfaction with the New York Post, its main competitor in New York City, for its repeated attacks on black suspects. It published a warning editorial against the use of labels and questioned why these "well-adjusted young people" would commit such "barbaric" crimes.

The New York Post, which had a larger circulation, was angered by the fact that the suspect was not held accountable, and the upper-class community around Central Park where the victim lived was questioned for not fulfilling its social responsibility. The newspaper exposed the name of the only adult black person among the five black suspects who was not protected by minors, Carre Wise.

This incident made the black community unite and speak out in anger under the leadership of their black pastors. Two newspapers published in Brooklyn and Harlem with black readers as the main readers, the City Sun and the Amsterdam News, retaliated by publishing the name of the victim, Theresa Meili...

It is legal to publish the names of adult black suspects, while protecting the names of victims of rape and violent assault is required by law. The black newspapers broke the rules first, but the incident was dragged into the mayoral election to be held in the second half of the year.

The black candidate Dinkins was leading the primary election of the Donkey Party. Under the instigation of him and many black church pastors, no one dared to condemn this incident.

The group of reporters from the New York Times did not have the courage to expose this obviously illegal matter, which made many people who were not familiar with the law think that the blacks were right.

This cowardice eventually caused a counterattack from the wealthy white community. Newsday, a stylish tabloid based in Long Island and Queens, angrily fought back and published the true situation of the victim, Theresa Meili, who had 21 fractures in her head and one eyeball was knocked out. In addition to heavy blood loss, she was dragged on the ground for a quarter mile, and footprints were clearly visible in the grass at the scene.

Unprecedented racial confrontation began to emerge, and everyone stood in line because of their identity background, not right and wrong.

Because there were Latinos and religious backgrounds among the suspects, certain religious and Latino communities also stood on the side of the blacks. Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans stood on the side of the whites because of complaints about order and security.

New York is indeed the place with the most media and law firms. All parties began to discuss what ethnic groups the jury should be composed of to be fair.

"Fuxk, why does this New York Daily News also hint at my affairs?" Ronald turned to a tabloid with a large circulation, "Daily News", which hinted that a famous Hollywood director from New York was also attacked. Is there a possibility that there is a common suspect in the two cases? Does this director also need to testify in court..."

"Call Rudy, what's going on?" Ronald was so angry that his voice split. Didn't he agree that he would not be involved? How did Rudy do things?

"Shxt! This is a newspaper published in New Jersey... How come it also reported Ronald's affairs..." Richard thought he was derelict in his duty and didn't find any news that was unfavorable to Ronald. He quickly checked for a long time and found that it was this newspaper that competed with the New York Post. Because it was published in New Jersey and distributed in New York, Rudy's restraint on the media as the prosecutor of the Southern District of New York did not have an effect on this newspaper, and their reporters got in.