Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"This is really shocking. I never thought it could be so realistic?" Ronald exclaimed as he looked at the screen that had just been lit.

In the 20th Century Fox screening room, Ronald and Cameron watched the test screening of "The Abyss" together. The audience's reaction was very good, especially the shot of the tsunami's wall of water hitting the shore, and another shot of intelligently using water to simulate human faces, which caused waves of exclamations from them.

"But 140 minutes is really too long. I still recommend reducing it to 120 minutes, or at most 125 minutes. We can see the audience's feedback later..." The executive producer of 20th Century Fox continued to express his objections.

Ronald glanced at him sideways, ignored him, and continued to communicate with Cameron, "Is this all rendered through modeling? Why is the texture of the waves so realistic?"

"We have developed an algorithm to make the deformation of water more smooth and realistic, and engineers from Industrial Light and Magic have added some real water ripple textures to the surface of the model..."

The two discussed the technical details of special effects. Cameron spent a lot of energy to solve the problem of the combination of computer and real shooting. Computer-generated special effects can satisfy the imagination of filmmakers like never before, but there is still a distance between them and real-life images. A large part of the work of special effects production is to perfectly integrate the two.

Katherine Bigelow was nearby, watching the two men's discussion intently. Cameron had little hope of getting the final cut, and the water wall shot might not make it into the final version.

Ronald's support gave him room to bargain. On the whole, it would be a waste if science fiction and special effects-intensive spectacle movies could only have a market for ordinary movies.

"Mr. Diller..." The person who came in at the door was Fox boss Barry Diller. The executive producer immediately bounced like a spring. "I just got feedback from the test screening audience. Many people are in the market." The check mark is too long..."

These little tricks for doing market research were used very smoothly by this executive producer. With proper question design and given options, it is easy to get the results you want. He ignored the generally high scores given by the audience, and the issue of insisting on the duration once again sparked discussion, putting a little pressure on the director in front of his boss.

"Stop talking...Gary..." Barry Diller raised his index finger to his mouth, ordering this fool to shut up.

"Ronald, we should set off. Mr. Rupert is waiting at home..."

"Huh?" Ronald raised his wrist and looked at his watch. He stood up and said to Cameron and Bigelow, "We will find time to discuss the technical details next time. Katherine, I will see your samples then. ”

Bodyguard Dan got into the car in front, and Ronald and Barry Diller were chatting in the back seat of the luxury car.

"Is it okay for this movie to be 140 minutes long? People from the distribution department have told me several times that it is difficult for cinemas to schedule movies. I will increase some marketing budget..."

"No problem. The marketing consultant was Michael Gray. He came up with a gimmick to package the movie as the last collaborative movie between Cameron and Gale Heard before their couple broke up. Even after the two broke up, they still had a career. I’ve talked to them both about it, and I have no problem with it.”

Ronald replied with a smile. Cameron and Gale have collaborated on films such as "Terminator" and "Alien 2", which are classic productions for science fiction fans and are very prestigious among specific audiences.

The car drove to the famous old house "Fog Peak" in Beverly Hills. This was the mansion Rupert purchased from the descendants of MCA founder Jules Stein the year before, with an area of ​​more than 8,000 square feet. , there is also a small private library inside.

This was once Katharine Hepburn's mansion, and the backyard overlooks the entire Hollywood. Here at the front door, Ronald doesn't even feel like he's in Los Angeles. The mountain scenery has the aura of the famous Eagle's Nest in the German resort of Berchtesgaden.

Didi... Diane also arrived in Little Bud's car, and the two met here.

For the role, Diane returned to her original hair color, a dark brown with a reddish tinge. Wearing a red dress, a big bow on the belt, a dark blue coat on the upper body, and a sapphire and diamond necklace given by Ronald around the neck, her temperament is more mature than before, and she is at the most beautiful age.

When Ronald looked at her, he thought of the middle-aged version of Diane in his dream. She had a slightly shy temperament. When he was with her, she didn't have the picky feeling of a female star. She always looked like an ordinary person. american girl.

Thinking about it, Ronald couldn't help but smile sweetly. Now there were no wrinkles at the corners of Diane's eyes. Ronald touched the small scars at the corners of her eyes with his hand. Maybe it was this imperfect detail that made her not have that kind of... The temperament of a traditional female star.

Ronald's hand gently held Diane's waist, and the two of them moved forward together.

Diane was a little shy when Ronald saw him, but she was very happy and cuddled up to Ronald. The two adjusted their pace, followed Barry Diller and his wife, and headed deeper.

"What an enviable couple this is..." Rupert's wife Anna also greeted them in front of the mansion. She turned out to be a reporter from the Daily Mirror, and she spoke softly. She stepped forward and grabbed Diane. Have a chat.

"Mr. Rupert, it's nice to meet you. This is Diane..." After the introduction of the host and guest, the group walked towards the mansion. The decoration here didn't have many features, but it was more spacious than before.

"I have always been a fan of your movies. Whenever there is a choice on the flight, I like to pick the videotapes of your movies." Rupert chatted with Ronald enthusiastically in his Australian accent with earthy vowels.

Successful people are full of energy, and as long as they want to deliberately make friends with you, they can definitely make you feel like the most powerful person in the world.

"After I bought Fox, the movies you participated in directing and producing had the best box office and the highest return on investment. I hope you can consider cooperating with Fox in the future. If there are any good TV series, you can also consider broadcasting them on Fox TV..."

"Ah, my cooperation with Fox is also very pleasant. I also have the idea of ​​trying TV series. Thank you very much, Mr. Rupert..."

"I just want to know when you will shoot the sequel to Top Gun. My eldest daughter and two sons want to watch it." Mrs. Anna smiled and flattered him again to improve the atmosphere.

"My dear Anna, you should say that they like to watch Die Hard. The copyright of Top Gun is owned by Paramount..." Rupert was rarely humorous.

Everyone laughed out loud. Neither side pointed out the truth directly, but everyone knew that this was to reward Ronald for the shift in the daily news reports. After Sony's efforts, the focus of the US media began to shift from the Australian barbarians invading the American media to exposing the luxurious life of the Australian liar Scath.

Rupert's News Corporation thus disappeared from the radar again, quietly enjoying the privilege of the media company boss not being disturbed by gossip and sensitive news.

And Scath, who wanted to repeat the Australian stock market in Wall Street, was jointly besieged by the world's most powerful financial media (New York) and the most powerful gossip media (London). Even the fact that he reimbursed the meal expenses was dug out and made public.

His contract to acquire MGM was also dug out. He only paid an advance payment, and the subsequent payments faced more doubts. In particular, the Japanese reporting team that went deep into Queensland, Australia, sent back a documentary report on the Australian resort.

In the low interest rate era of Wall Street in the past few years, many European and American middle-class people who went there for vacation had their wealth reduced due to the interest rate hike. The first thing many people cut was unnecessary travel expenses.

According to the previous trend, the new luxury resort built by Scars is also facing the tragic situation of a customer depression. Once the real interview video was broadcast on TV media in the name of a travel program, Scars suddenly faced a huge crisis.

…

"This house is so big." Diane was still savoring it on the way back. She was instilled with a lot of acting skills and living standards of Hollywood stars in the golden age by her father since she was a child. In this "fog-covered mountain" mansion, there are also photos of Katharine Hepburn, Gary Cooper, John Wayne and others with the original owner, which are placed in the library.

The projection room in the basement also has a hand-cranked projector that can play silent black-and-white films when the first owner built it.

"The projection room built in my new home has the latest automatic projector. When the time comes, we can watch movies quietly without having to have someone to change the copies. The idea of ​​the library is good. I will discuss it with the designer and change it. ", Ronald felt that he had learned a lot from visiting the celebrity mansions of the past, and he wanted to build some grand facilities and modernize them.

"Well..." Diane smiled when she heard Ronald talking about watching movies, and looked at Ronald with a smile. Does this mean that Brother Ronnie inadvertently exposed his inner thoughts?

The next day, Diane came again and wanted to go to Daydream to work with Ronald.

"Don't you still have to prepare for the role in the new film? How come you are so free?" Ronald looked at the bread and coffee bought from the Italian cafe downstairs in Diane's hand, and wondered why Diane had changed her personality a little?

"I want to stay with you for a while..." Diane took off her sunglasses and handed him breakfast.

"Well? "Ronald made a satisfied sound. The Italian breakfast tasted very good, and the aroma made people's appetite grow.

Diane certainly couldn't be like the female stars in the 1930s, who had to make breakfast for their boyfriends or husbands at home. But in the last days of the 1980s, it was very rare to be able to enjoy the takeaway breakfast brought by female stars.

Among Ronald's many female companions, it was only Diane who remembered to make something delicious for him.

"Okay, let's go and watch the first cut of "Look Who's Talking" together." Ronald slowly enjoyed Diane's breakfast and took her to the company's screening room.

"You're fast?" Ronald looked at Amy Heckerling's messy hair and two big dark circles under her eyes. It seemed that she had been very hard working on shooting and editing recently.

"It's just two protagonists, a lot of indoor scenes, and Bruce Willis dubbing for a week. It's a simple movie. "Hecklin said it was nothing, and it was not much different from the TV series she had made in recent years.

"Let's get started," Ronald turned to his assistant, the fat girl Lake, and said, "Make some espresso for Ms. Hecklin, double shot."

The subtitles and soundtrack of the movie have not been completed yet, but the main plot is already very smooth.

The perspective of this movie is very interesting, telling the whole story from the perspective of a baby Mickey (voiced by Bruce Willis).

The heroine Molly and her boss Albert had an extramarital affair and had a child. She decided to give birth to the child and forced Albert to get married. Because there was no one to help, a kind and handsome taxi driver, James, stayed with her and helped change the child's diapers. When the child was born, Albert said he had no idea of ​​becoming a father.

Molly turned to wanting to be a single mother. Finally, in the park, when her little son Mickey said the first word of his life, "Da-da", Molly realized that her son had regarded the driver James as his father, and decided to He gives himself a chance.

The plot was filmed very well. Amy Heckerling has a unique female perspective and made the child's story very heartwarming. Two adults who had lost confidence and hope in life learned love and responsibility under the education of their children.

Best of all, Hollywood had never seen a movie like this from an infant's perspective before, with an actor voicing the inner monologue of a baby who couldn't speak.

This kind of monologue is very easy for the audience to accept. Many people have experience in raising children. What makes them uncomfortable is that they cannot communicate with their children and know what they want.

This kind of perspective is relaxed and enjoyable, and there is a trick in the narrative. It can easily create a good chemical reaction between the male and female protagonists. If you can't film it, just let the baby tell it.

Moreover, the audience has become more tolerant of couples in which the woman is strong and the man is weak, and they no longer require the male protagonist in the movie to be stronger than the female protagonist.

Heckerling also took a trick here. Although James, played by John Travolta, does not have as good a job as Molly, who is a designer, James's income is not low, and he has a strong heart and is still psychologically strong.

Anyway, after the filming was completed, the staff of Daydream, who were in the audience, applauded vigorously. They also found the film to be very touching and interesting.

"It's a beautiful photo. That baby is so cute..." Diane secretly expressed her thoughts in Ronald's ear. She put on her big sunglasses again after the screening. Now she is much more famous than before, and she never leaves her sunglasses in public.

"How's it going? What do you think?" Heikelin drank cup after cup of coffee to refresh herself. The most important opinion came from Ronald.

"You need to control the duration to about 95 minutes. I think we can send the film to the Western Film Festival in advance and prepare to seize the schedule in the second half of the year. There are not many viewers with children in the summer season, and the Christmas season is too crowded. Let's find a On the break.”

Ronald praised her. Heckling's film was edited very comfortably. Her rigorous training over the past few years finally paid off. There was no obvious place in the film that would make the audience feel uncomfortable.

"Great, I'll go back and tell my daughter Molly the good news..."

The heroine's name is actually the name of Heikelin's daughter.

"In addition, I will sign a supplementary agreement with you to give you bonuses in stages based on the box office performance. You can understand it as an agreement similar to profit sharing." Ronald took the initiative to give Heikelin a bonus.

He saw the potential of this movie, and maybe a sequel could be made... Now, he would tie Heikelin up with agreements and benefits to get the priority for the sequel.

There was something wrong with the writing assistant login, it was a little late.