Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Do you feel used to Hollywood?"

"I was lonely at first, but now I'm at more parties and feel okay."

Diane and Nicole Kidman went to get their nails taken care of together, and exchanged some experiences of filming in Hollywood, how to deal with photographers, and win over makeup artists and hairstylists.

Tom Cruise, Niceta, Paula Wagner, and Ronald left their hotel room and went to another executive suite at the Beverly Hills Hilton. This room was opened by a name and credit card that had nothing to do with them. Richard, who had already come, opened the door for them. Ronald's bodyguard Daniel had thoroughly checked the room to ensure that there were no eavesdropping devices.

Several Hollywood people with closely related interests can openly talk about some sensitive issues in this room. They must first establish an offensive and defensive alliance to jointly target Ovitz's aggressive means.

Tom Cruise's Oscar dream was clamped by Ovitz. He was very much looking forward to his new work Born on the Fourth of July, and didn't want to be deceived and not nominated for Best Actor last time.

Ronald also had a desire for Oscars. Such a strong influence and manipulator of voting is what all stars and directors don't want to see.

The most important thing for Nicita-Wagner and Richard is to break the packaging strategy led by Ovitz. In CAA, which he controls, any movie participated by a star needs to listen to the opinions of this CAA tyrant.

However, as he gets older, his personal preference for stars is very out of touch with the actual taste of Hollywood audiences. A good actor like Jack Nicholson, because he signed the contract late, actually had to wait for a role behind Sean Connery, and he didn't even have a fixed office in the new CAA building.

The younger generation of agents and old partners like Nicita who had no chance of getting shares all had some resentment towards Ovitz, but they just refrained from expressing their opinions on the premise that he could get custom film producers and threaten higher pay to bring higher income to everyone.

However, long-term success gave Ovitz some illusions, and he really thought he was the most powerful person in Hollywood. Especially at the last Oscars, he was so powerful that he offended several other clients who were also signed to CAA and nominated, and also offended their agents.

For a time, everyone was secretly connecting, hoping to lead clients to leave at the right time, to William Morris and ICM, or simply to set up their own business.

Of course, this matter is still in the conspiracy stage, and everyone just vaguely feels the undercurrent. Everyone is waiting for the opportunity, and no one wants to stand out first and be targeted by Ovitz, who is still in power.

Tom Cruise, Niceta, Paula Wagner and Ronald are friends with a long history. Their interests are closer to others. Not to mention Ronald and Cruise’s many years of friendship, Niceta and Wagner are husband and wife.

So when encountering this kind of thing, they are the easiest to form an alliance. In addition, Ronald is best at commercial films, and there are many opportunities for cooperation with Tom Cruise. Regardless of history or the future, they are the first to reach an offensive and defensive alliance.

Everyone has reached some recognized principles. First, everyone should communicate in advance about any decision and move forward and retreat together. Second, no matter what measures are taken in the end, Ronald and Cruise should be more tied together.

Paula Wagner is the one who hopes this will happen the most. Tom Cruise's personal value is closely related to the movies he makes. If he is still so enthusiastic about the Oscars, he will make fewer and fewer commercial films and his value will be lower and lower. It is actually a way to maximize benefits to hang out with Ronald and make more movies like Top Gun that will rapidly increase his fans.

And Niceta is also happy to see the alliance. Ronald plus Tom Cruise, the two tied together, are enough to bargain with anyone. Even Ovitz can't take it lightly, otherwise the two of them leaving William Morris will shake the entire CAA.

After talking about the secret things, Ronald and Cruise went to the hotel's executive lounge to drink again. This kind of thing should be left to Niceta, Richard, and Wagner for discussion. Of course, Cruise and Ronald should also talk privately. There is also the issue of interest distribution between clients and agents.

"I heard that Paula found a big studio for you to back you up?" Ronald said to Tom Cruise with a smile.

"Yes, you can probably guess that Paramount may usher in another reshuffle, and my new film is a stepping stone. Ovitz is so strong, everyone should think more about it." Cruise is no longer a naive actor. He has been working hard to learn in the movies he participated in, and now he actually has a lot of his own considerations for his acting career.

"I heard that you are also very close to a big producer?" Cruise also asked Ronald in return.

"It's not convenient to say now, you will know in a few months. It's a big event that will change Hollywood. You go back and tell Paula." Ronald's cooperation with Sony can only hint at a few partners he trusts.

"In short, we will have more choices. Choice is always better than monopoly." Tom Cruise smiled and clinked glasses with Ronald. He only drank a little alcohol when he was with a good friend like Ronald.

Then there was some small talk. Cruise was obviously very interested in Nicole Kidman. He and Mimi Rogers had already started the divorce process. However, he had Paula, an agent who was like an older sister, to protect him. The prenuptial agreement and a series of wealth divisions were all done well to ensure that there would be no problems like Spielberg.

"Ronald, do you think that actors can also set up their own production companies?" Finally, Tom Cruise couldn't help but ask Ronald a question from his heart, "I also want to set up my own production company, but Hollywood still has more directors setting up independent production companies."

"Is there any problem with this? In the future of Hollywood, the power of stars will continue to increase. The current marketing cost is too expensive. Whether there are stars or not is related to the life and death of the film project. You now have the ability to influence the box office and audience evaluation of the film. It is no problem to set up a production company."

Ronald remembered that Cruise single-handedly raised the box office of the bad movie "Cocktail" to a higher level. Such ability will not be missed by producers and banks.

"Then what do you think is the most important thing in setting up an independent production company?" Tom Cruise can learn acting from his co-stars, and screenwriters and directors can learn from the crew members. Only Ronald can give him some useful advice on the knowledge of starting a company.

Other people around him are either actors who know nothing about business or people like Wagner who have conflicts of interest.

"If you want to talk about the most important thing, for artists like you, the most important thing for opening a production company is talent. I heard a famous investor say that in the 1990s, talent will become the most important asset."

Ronald thought about it. For people like them whose core competitiveness still belongs to the category of artists, it is almost impossible for them to become an outstanding businessman. God is fair and will not give a person too much talent.

"Talent?" Cruise thought thoughtfully.

"Yes, people actually have different pursuits. Not everyone regards money as the most important thing. The first key to my cooperation with talented people is to take good care of them, give them enough money and respect, understand what they want in their hearts, and then find a way to give them a stage to display their abilities. In this way, they will work hard for you and earn enough wealth for you. Of course, at the same time, they also get what they want, wealth or self-realization..."

"Nicole really has a face that the camera prefers. I am jealous..." Diane came back and told Ronald about her feelings. Nicole Kidman's appearance is a bit like Grace Kelly, the last actress who topped Hollywood. There are many good-looking people, but there are not many who have the opportunity to enter Hollywood and are favored by the camera.

Just like a widely circulated saying in old Hollywood, making a movie is to take close-ups of beautiful women's faces. Some darlings' faces can't see any flaws even when they are enlarged to a close-up of two floors on the screen. The audience becomes a fan of a star to a large extent, attracted by this human instinct for good-looking faces.

"Oh, don't say that, Diane. Grace Kelly left no impression on people except that face. What people really remember are those who are equally good-looking and have excellent acting skills, creating unforgettable characters."

"But it's rare for that face to be remembered..." Diane's jealousy is mainly directed at the screen image. The audience doesn't care too much about the acting skills, they just love to see the beautiful faces on the screen.

"No, I remember you..." Ronald kissed Diane's face. Although he didn't say it, Diane was still quite concerned about the small scar at the corner of her eye. Compared with Kidman's perfect face, Diane, who is usually quite confident in her beauty, is also a little jealous.

"I'm going to New York. I have some business to deal with. I'll come back to accompany you then." Ronald has been spending more time with Diane recently, and he also enjoys this feeling.

"I'll go with you..." Diane smiled and kissed Ronald back.

"What are you going to do?"

"I have my own things to deal with..." Diane and Ronald were bickering happily, and she smiled, "I want to go see old Bert. I still need his consent for the new film, and ask him some questions by the way."

"Oh, he is indeed very deep in his study of acting, and he is the person who knows you best." Ronald understood that Diane played a streetwalker, after all, she violated the agreement with her father, old Bert. There is no need to make the father-daughter relationship so stiff now. Anyway, this is a big production, and talking it out will actually help maintain the relationship between relatives.

...

Ronald arrived in New York and met with Ed Bastien. The other party has turned his main energy to acquiring the daily news and TV and radio stations for Ronald. He resigned from Pricewaterhouse just a few months before the acquisition was launched.

Ed Bastien is very capable and made a good acquisition plan for Ronald. The two companies and charitable foundations used for the acquisition have also been established. In this way, the equity can be dispersed, flying low under the radar of supervision and competition, and not causing too much resentment.

He also told Ronald about the business strategy for cooperation with Daydream Pictures after the acquisition.

In Ed Bastian's view, business is business and art is art, and the two cannot be confused. Orion's concept of regardless of production costs and just letting the director play in order to win Oscars does not hold true in the general trend of raising interest rates.

After the acquisition is completed, the most important thing to do is to recuperate and strive to make money with every movie, every TV series, and every business strategy.

The circulation of newspapers should reduce the number of color pages and increase the selling price appropriately to ensure that every reader is the target customer group of advertisers. Stop doing charity for readers who are too poor to afford any mass consumer brands.

TV stations need to reduce procurement costs and introduce as many cheap movies from Hong Kong, Japan, and Europe as possible, as well as some English TV series from Australia and Britain. Never appear in a big-production TV series just to make a name for yourself.

In his opinion, Daydream's annual output is still too small and it relies too much on Ronald's own vision and connections. The most suitable strategy for daydreaming is actually the early strategy of Roger Coleman and Minahan Golan.

A large number of small productions worth two to three million US dollars are produced, and more than ten films are financed and filmed every year, targeting action films, horror films, and low-cost comedies with a fixed audience. Try to rely on Ronald's good reputation in Europe and East Asia to collect advances and reduce the pressure on cash flow.

"I have investigated Hollywood's dark horses at the box office every year. Every year, there are actually some low-cost productions that stand out and earn considerable box office, and by the way, they sell again in the video market. This kind of thing is like luck. As long as we guarantee that all ten movies will be successful, Ben, as long as one or two of them can perform well, the profit figures for the whole year will be very good.”

"You seem to understand the business operations of movies better than me. It seems that I have found a good candidate for the president of the new company." Ronald read the plan and was very satisfied. Even if he could only achieve half of it, the new company would not As for subsidizing cash into it yourself.

"After all, movies are just a commodity..." Ed Bastian concluded. He is still more interested in the media industry than Pepsi-Cola. Aren’t movies and TV series more interesting than selling sugar water?

After the two finished chatting about business, Ronald and Bastian chatted for a while about the rules of film and television production, and the topic turned to CAA's Ovitz's recent strong moves.

"Tell me, why is Ovitz so crazy? Doesn't he understand that if he does this, he will offend a large number of actors, directors and screenwriters? This is the basis of his success."

"Hey, this is the curse of the successful." Bastian put down his pen and crossed his hands, "I have seen a lot of business at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Most successful businessmen will explain the reasons for their success. Make a summary. Then adopt it as a principle and let employees learn.

And most of these people think that this is the secret to their success, and that neither luck nor the market has anything to do with their success. When the business reaches a new level, they will use their original experience in new business areas.

It's clear that Mr. Ovitz considered his experience as a celebrity agent to be the main, if not the only, reason for the film's success. "

"Hmph..." Ronald thought carefully about what Ovitz had done, and Bastian really made it clear.

The most important thing for a celebrity agent is to strive for the role that brings the most benefits to the client. To this end, they can create many reasons to make the client appear to be the best candidate for the role.

In this, they can do many things, such as slandering competing actors, such as doing a good job as directors and producers, such as letting screenwriters express their opinions. After getting the role, they will strive for the highest salary, such as intimidating the studio to let the star quit if they don't pay a high salary. For example, they will secretly contact other studios, such as falsifying previous salary records, etc...

Ovitz's approach to winning Oscars is similar to his approach to winning roles. Coercing his actors to vote for the person he likes, creating public opinion that someone is determined to win an Oscar, etc.

When helping Sony acquire Colombia, he relied on private contacts with small shareholders to lower the price. After Sony did not adopt his idea, he privately contacted Australian tycoon Scars to bid to raise the price, creating an illusion for customers that it was him. These are all typical broker tactics.

Maybe Ovitz is overconfident, or he simply doesn't understand that different industries require different business operations. This kind of domineering attitude towards artists with exaggerated emotions and producers under severe financial pressure in the film industry is always ready to carry a golden parachute. Studio executives on the run, it really works. But in other industries, facing real business elites, it will seem naive and ridiculous.