Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Excuse me, did you know about this prenuptial agreement before you married Spielberg?" Amy Irving's lawyer has a big nose, and his face and exposed skin parts, such as hands and neck, are all orange from the sun, and he speaks very aggressively.

Ronald met the best makeup artists on the set. Seeing that the lawyer's skin color is not natural, it may not be naturally tanned, but may be a fake color.

Ronald looked at the lawyer Lindsay next to him, and when she nodded to indicate that she could speak, he simply answered: "I heard Mr. Spielberg talk about it."

"Did Spielberg tell you that he wanted to get married in New Mexico in order to reduce the property that my client, Ms. Amy Irving, might get when she divorces."

"Objection, induce witnesses..." Spielberg's lawyer raised an objection, and the court-appointed staff also said that the problem violated the rules and invalidated the words that the stenographer had already typed.

"Then let me put it another way. Do you think Mr. Spielberg's prenuptial agreement is fair to my client?"

"Objection, Mr. Li is a famous director and producer, he is not a divorce lawyer..."

The evidence collection process is so boring and long. Ronald was questioned by lawyers from both sides for more than an hour. The final conclusion was that Ronald did not hear Spielberg say anything that violated the regulations in the prenuptial agreement written on the napkin.

He also did not find that Amy Irving was forced to accept an unequal agreement because of her female identity. Simply put, Ronald's testimony did not provide any valuable information.

But Ronald's testimony was not useless. On the contrary, his testimony confirmed Spielberg's statement that the two fell in love and got married without any reluctance or coercion, and there was no situation of hiding anything from Amy Irving.

Spielberg was very grateful to Ronald, who was the most powerful witness on his side. Amy Irving did not find any flaws in the terms of the agreement, and the New Mexico marriage law did not support the woman, so she could only form a legal opinion based on the opportunity cost method.

That is to say, Amy Irving has not received the role opportunities she deserves for taking care of the family for several years because she married Spielberg. She was originally a Hollywood commercial production actress, but after marriage she only voiced the cartoon characters of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". These are all sacrifices due to marriage, and Spielberg needs to compensate her.

According to her average salary before marriage and the frequency of one play per year, Spielberg only needs to compensate Amy Irving for her career losses of several million to tens of millions in one lump sum. Although the other party's lawyer still has reasons to argue, it is almost the same.

…

Ronald's house in Los Angeles has begun construction, and Lao Wang from the Southeast Garden Bureau has brought workers to build a lotus pond and an arch bridge. With a new house similar to the neoclassical style of the East Coast, it has a unique temperament of combining Chinese and Western styles.

An additional small screening room was built, equipped with the latest Balco projector and an underground film library equipped with refrigeration equipment. These are all experiences learned from Spielberg's family screening room.

After watching the construction progress and looking forward to the life after the construction is completed, Ronald went back to his daydreaming. Jonathan Demme encountered difficulties in casting and was waiting to discuss with him.

"Michelle Pfeiffer still didn't agree?" Ronald looked at Demme who was a little discouraged.

"I persuaded her twice, but she didn't agree. When we talked in person, I felt optimistic about her joining, but she called again the next day to refuse.

Jonathan Demme's directing style is very meticulous. He used Pfeiffer, who he had worked with, mainly because he needed the actors to understand his meaning and perform it. This requires the right actors and time to run in, just like Bergman or Antonioni who can make movies with small plots that the general audience is fascinated by, and fixed actors are an indispensable part of their movies.

But this is Hollywood, and this method that European filmmakers like doesn't work here. Ronald guessed the area of ​​the problem and called Michelle Pfeiffer's agent Limato in the office.

"Ronald, it's been a long time since we last met. Do you have any new movies and want to find my client Nick to play the leading role? "Limato is also Nicolas Cage's agent. He is cunning and knows that Ronald is looking for a role in "The Silence of the Lambs", so he recommends Cage first.

"If there is a suitable script, I will consider it, Ed, you know why I called. What conditions do you want to get Michelle (Pfeiffer) to participate?"

"It's not a matter of money, Ronald. You have to know that Michelle's star image has finally recovered from the extramarital affair after a six-month break. What she needs is a positive, active, and lovable beauty, just like the last film "Married to the Mob" directed by Demme."

"This film "The Silence of the Lambs" is also very good, with a lot of room for acting. A female FBI agent bravely captured a serial killer. The audience will fall in love with her, Ed."

"I admit that Starling's character is lovable, but her feelings for Hannibal are really hard for ordinary audiences to accept." Limato has also read it, and Starling and Hannibal clearly go beyond the ordinary love between men and women.

"Ed, don't be like this, there is nothing like this in the movie..." Ronald argued with him, but Limato was very opposed to this movie. Even if the audience would not hate Michelle Pfeiffer because of this, it is better not to associate a movie that expresses some positive qualities of a murderer with Pfeiffer's image of a beautiful girl.

"Ed, we have known each other for a long time. You tell me a condition, and I will definitely meet it if I can..." Ronald wanted to try whether Limato had any requirements. He lowered his voice, "I won't harm Michelle... you know."

"Unless you can guarantee that she can win the Oscar for Best Actress..." Limato felt that the only thing that could make Pfeiffer sacrifice her star image might be the little golden man.

"Who can guarantee this, Ed, you have nothing to talk about?"

"Sorry... I can't do anything that is harmful to the value of Michelle's image." Limato hung up the phone

"You saw Jonathan, not every actress in Hollywood thinks that acting is the most important thing. This is a business decision, not something that can be solved by money." Ronald shrugged at Jonathan Demme, indicating that he had tried his best.

"You should try to contact Jodie Foster. I heard that she doesn't raise her salary as much as those actresses who won the Best Actress Award."

"But movies are art after all, and we can't consider them completely according to commercial requirements..." Demme was a little sad. Ronald, like Roger Corman, was tolerant of artists within the budget.

"In fact, there are also good things about Judy playing this role. For example, she is more innocent and shorter than Pfeiffer. This figure can arouse the audience's desire to protect her..." Ronald still strongly recommended the match in his dream.

Seeing that Demme was still hesitant, Ronald thought of someone, "Well, I'll let my lawyer Lindsay meet a real female detective of the FBI. You and I will go to New York to meet her and see what the temperament of real FBI female employees is like. I believe you will change."

What Ronald said was the female deputy detective of the FBI New York Branch who accidentally detained Ronald when Michelle Pfeiffer was coerced by the vegetarian group. She is also an expert in serial murders and a real hero who has brought several serial killers to justice. Later, she helped find Diane who was kidnapped by her mother.

"OK, I just want to talk to them about some details..." Demi agreed. Ronald was very happy and asked the lawyer to arrange it. Back then, she was the best female detective to him and helped him get rid of the handcuffs. He hadn't seen her since he became famous.

"When are we going?" Demi couldn't wait to hear Ronald's experience of the female detective.

"Wait for me to go to South Dakota first. There is a problem there."

Ronald rented a business jet and flew to the Badlands National Park in South Dakota. The crew of Dances with Wolves has arrived here and started shooting the exterior scenes.

David Simkins, a script expert, was sent by Ronald to serve as the on-site executive producer, responsible for the budget and the progress of the shooting.

However, Simkins, who performed very well in script selection, was still unfamiliar with the role of producer. In other words, in front of Kevin Costner, his weight could not be suppressed, and the shooting was delayed for a long time, and he could not control the crew.

The entire filming team listened to Costner instead of Simkins. For some reason, those people all recognized Costner's artistic choice and stood on his side.

Seeing the serious delay in the filming progress and the serious overspending on the report, Ronald had no choice but to go and solve the problem even if it meant suppressing Costner or frustrating Simkins' confidence.

After all, Orion Pictures could no longer invest in "Dances with Wolves". Ronald now has multiple projects, and his personal funds have been invested in rebuilding the house, acquiring Capcom shares, and buying Microsoft shares. He didn't want to sell Coca-Cola for additional investment, after all, Buffy told him to hold it for the long term.

"A!"

Kevin Costner wore the uniform of the Union Army officer during the Civil War, had a mustache glued on, signaled to the camera, and then quickly got into the role and walked towards a group of topless actors dressed as Indians.

"Cut!" Let's do it again. Although it was the first time for Costner to be a director, his temperament was still very director-like. The technical staff of the entire crew all admired him. The screenwriters, actors, and photographers of the creative team were all on his side.

David Simkins had become a site manager, helping with chores, and had no say in the filming of the movie.

"Kevin..." Ronald obviously saw the problem. In this desolate national park, everyone was born to obey the strong in life. This was not a Hollywood studio, and the title did not bring any power.

"Aha, Ronald, I'm so glad you're here. I still have some questions for you about directing." Kevin Costner was very happy. The team Ronald arranged for him was very cooperative and had good technology, so his artistic ideas could be fully displayed.

"I came here to talk to you about technical matters first," Ronald made a money-twisting gesture with his hand.

"Everyone, take a break. Let's take a break for an hour." Costner understood that this was Ronald's way of maintaining his authority in front of the crew, and he was grateful. But what is coming is coming. Someone will always take care of the things that waste money and time. I just didn't expect to alarm the boss of Daydream himself.

"Ronald, I have to tell you that this movie will be a masterpiece. Don't let a small cost issue hinder our smooth creation." Costner entered the RV, took two bottles of light beer from the refrigerator, threw one to Ronald, and started complaining.

"I don't know the situation, but any producer, seeing that the cost of shooting in the first few weeks was overspent by 100% and the progress was half behind, their first reaction is to fire the director..." Ronald also laughed. He was so eloquent and had a trustworthy face. No wonder Simkins, who was originally a screenwriter, couldn't suppress him.

"Hey, you can't..." Costner was anxious. He had been shooting for a few weeks and was about to get into the groove...

"Hey, hahaha, I was fooled by you, are you kidding me?" Costner looked at Ronald calmly there, half-smiled, and realized that he was scared by him. His cards had been seen through, and the only thing he could do next was to persuade him kindly.

Costner talked about a lot of his creative ideas, how to find a herd of bison, how to let the second group of directors shoot bison materials for his own research, how to organize a training class for the Sioux language, and how to let the heroine Mary MacDonald overcome her shyness...

"You are also a director, Ronald, you know, we all entered a space for this movie, and everyone got into the state when they arrived at the set every morning, ..." Costner also said a few words in the Sioux language to prove their efforts.

"I haven't said anything yet..." Ronald laughed, "Well, let me see the sample film you shot first."

...

"That's all?" Ronald, Costner, and Simkins drove to the nearest town. They booked a movie theater and started playing the daily sample films shot in the first two weeks.

The number of samples is normal, but the number of shots is unexpectedly small. Many shots were shot many times, and many shots were scrapped because the director was unfamiliar with the film.

"That's it... I don't want to defend myself, but can't these shots shock the audience?"

Ronald said to himself, this is not too bragging. The audience has not seen a big western for many years. In recent years, westerns have gradually become low-budget movies, with many good and evil characters confronting each other and shooting guns. There are few magnificent scenes of the struggle between humans and nature between heaven and earth in westerns before the 1950s.

"I agree with this, but why did you shoot it sequentially?" Ronald's dissatisfaction with Costner mainly focused on this aspect.

The plot of Dances with Wolves is complicated. Lieutenant Dunbar fought on the battlefields of the North and the South at first, and then settled in a border town, got acquainted with the Indian Sioux tribe, and met the white woman "Standing with Fists" who was adopted by the Sioux since childhood. The scenes switched back and forth in various natural environments.

The normal way of shooting a blockbuster should be to classify it according to the scene. First, some scenes of the grassland should be concentrated to save a lot of budget.

I don’t know whether Costner is a rookie director or has his own artistic considerations. He actually classified the movie according to the scenes in the script and shot them one by one in sequence.

For example, the war between the Sioux and the Comanche (a very aggressive Indian race) has several scenes going back and forth. If these extras, horses, and cameras are shot in sequence, it means that they have to be rented and hired again every time, which wastes a lot of money.

"But don’t you think that the filming is very contagious?" Costner certainly knows the normal way of shooting. He deliberately wants to shoot in this order to get the best chemical reaction.

"First, I will withdraw Simkins and send you a more experienced on-site producer. She will be responsible for the cost issue." Ronald thought about it and made a decision. The effect of the sample film is very good, so Costner is not wasting money and not releasing the film.

So his shooting method should be affirmed, but there should also be experienced producers to restrain him, otherwise too much money will be wasted.

"Second..." Ronald took the script and the shooting plan and turned to the scenes of the galloping buffalo and the war between the Sioux and the Comanche...

"Shh..." Ronald tore off the pages with force, "These scenes cannot be shot in sequence. They must be shot together. I don't care about the others."

"This... okay" Costner had no way to refute it. These scenes were too expensive. People who couldn't deliver on time couldn't argue with investors in such a place.

"I will come back to check again in a few weeks. If the cost and progress are not under control, I will propose to Orion Pictures to suspend the shooting until we find someone to invest more... Do you understand?"

"Okay, okay, but you have to send me a producer who respects the director this time. It can't just control the budget. Making a movie is not like producing Coke."

"Don't worry, you shoot well. I sent you Polly Pratt. She is a tough person who divorced her husband Bogdanovich and can still serve as an art director for her ex-husband. She definitely has artistic judgment... You do a good job..."

Ronald patted Costner who was stunned. Now I'm sending you the most powerful female producer, and you won't be so easily fooled.

"By the way, I also brought you a few portable toilets and mobile freezers. You guys worked hard on the filming, so it's important to provide good support. We asked the air force base next door to purchase the ice cream, so we can guarantee a sufficient supply."

"I..." Costner was shocked by Polly Pratt's reputation. It seemed that he couldn't shoot as he wanted in the future.

"Thank you, Ronald." Costner held the portable toilet parked behind the trailer, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.