Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Movie love is a dividend that is not for sale. Why did you buy it out?" Steve Bannon, who often invests in Ronald's projects, brought some Japanese specialty semi-finished food to visit Ronald. He didn't know where he found out that Diane liked to cook for Ronald, so he gave him some food that could be cooked by just heating water to please Diane.

"If shareholders want to withdraw, let's just ask little Doug to give him a discount..." Ronald looked at Diane who was happily trying to make hot soup, and he was also very grateful to Bannon for his considerate behavior. If the newlywed wife is interested, let her enjoy it as long as she doesn't make food that offends her taste buds.

"The shareholder you are talking about doesn't happen to have something to do with the current first family in the White House, right?" Bannon took a sip of the coffee made by Diane, frowned, and said nothing.

"This shareholder did not want to disclose his identity, so he chose a company registered in Delaware..." Ronald was noncommittal. It was impossible to share such a strong relationship with Bannon casually.

"Oh, have you seen the new TV series I invested in? My pilot episode has been filmed, and I am now negotiating pilot agreements with many TV stations. Let me tell you, the guy who came up with the theme of this TV series must be a genius. "

Bannon failed to test and immediately changed the topic.

"What TV series? What is the theme?" Ronald asked him. Although he has never filmed a TV series, he also knows that the production methods of TV series and movies are very different. TV series will be more loose and need a theme for the audience to remember so that Watch every week.

"It's called The Seinfeld Chronicles, and it's a sitcom." Bannon proudly showed Ronald the promotional stills made for the pilot. Above is a man with a very low growth line and a somewhat Jewish appearance.

"Sitcom? I thought it was a historical drama when I heard the name." Ronald looked at a few stills and didn't understand what this sitcom was about. Today's TV dramas are more popular with families as the background, with detectives, courts, and wealthy families fighting for power. I can't tell what this Seinfeld is about.

"That's the genius of this guy, the theme of this show is that it's not about anything..."

Bannon explained his thinking. The so-called "nothing about anything" is because current TV dramas try to add too many themes to comedies, such as family ties to promote the neoliberal values ​​of the Elephant Party, and Growing Pains, in turn, try to promote the traditional values ​​of the Donkey Party.

Therefore, the main creator of this TV series, Jerry Seinfeld, designed this comedy. It is just for laughter, without any preaching or any profound meaning. It is just a New York Jew and a group of idle friends. daily life.

"I don't understand..." Ronald was confused. Does anyone watch such a comedy? There is also Jerry Seinfeld, who uses his name as the name of the male protagonist in the TV series. It is doubtful whether this approach of retro TV series in the 1970s is still effective today.

"Production company, Castle Rock?" Ronald flipped through the promotional materials and unexpectedly discovered at the end that the production company of this TV series was Bob Reiner's Castle Rock.

"Ask him for advice then." Ronald thought about it.

"What, you also have the idea of ​​​​producing a TV series? How about you concentrate on the production and leave it to me to promote it to the TV station? I have been meeting with creative geniuses from Hollywood every day in my office in Los Angeles recently. I just need to tell them that Rona and I When director De. collaborated with "Love Is Not For Sale," everyone would exclaim, and then everything would be easy to discuss. "Bannon saw that Ronald had an idea and immediately seized the opportunity...

"I do have an idea. My Daydream Company needs some continuous shooting projects such as TV series to maintain the director and technical team... In addition, I have a lot of film copyrights and have been contacted by several TV stations. I want to Let me adapt the TV series based on the plot of the movie.”

"Very good, you are absolutely right not to sell the adaptation rights to them. After all, who can understand the connotation of those movies more deeply than you? Let's work together again. You will produce, and I will negotiate terms with the TV station. I will definitely To be able to copy the success of Love Is Not for Sale..."

After saying that, Bannon rubbed his hands and looked at Ronald, wondering which movie he would adapt? Is it the "Love Is Not for Sale" thing that I and him often did, or the "Top Gun" that was so successful that year...

"I'm considering turning Working Girl into a TV series." Ronald had done some homework to some extent. This kind of story with workplace plot, romantic love between man and woman, and power struggle in the office will have a much higher chance of success if it is adapted into a TV series than a movie adaptation with only one theme.

Bannon grinned happily. He has established a Bannon Company this year and began to serve as a bridge between Hollywood and Wall Street full-time. It not only helps Wall Street acquire Hollywood companies, but also helps Hollywood obtain Wall Street financing.

Ronald's name is very valuable both on Wall Street and in Hollywood. If he can bear the name of this project, his company will be even more popular on both sides.

Of course, this advantage did not come in vain. I used real money to raise an additional investment of 10 million for "Dances with Wolves", which is currently being filmed in South Dakota. Speaking of which, the investment in that movie has been greatly expanded. Could it be...

It's okay, Bannon comforted himself, Ronald hasn't missed many mistakes in Hollywood.

"Ronald, shall we go to South Dakota together to check the progress of the filming? Costner is a new director after all. Sometimes he has to figure out what he doesn't know how to shoot. If you go, you can help him save a lot of filming time and budget by giving him some guidance."

Bannon thought about it but still felt uneasy, so he wanted to take Ronald with him to supervise the work.

Diane, who was carrying a bowl of hot soup and wanted Ronald to taste it, had already pricked up her ears. Hubby is going to South Dakota? Should I go with him? Oh, there is still an audition for "3000" to do...

"I won't go. I'm still on my honeymoon. I want to accompany my wife. I just want to be a nine-to-five office worker now, so I can see Diane every night when I go home..."

"Hahaha, okay, I'll go there by myself and report back to you." Bannon said goodbye with a big laugh.

Ronald's sweet words made Diane blush. She smiled and handed the hot soup to Ronald. Didn't Brother Ronnie talk so sweetly before?

Ronald took the hot soup. Well, it tasted better than the coffee Diane made herself. Looking at Diane's red face, Ronald hugged her and sat on his lap. The two of them shared a bowl of soup.

...

"Bob, so you are not particularly optimistic about this Seinfeld Chronicles?"

After resting in the afternoon, Ronald called Bob Reiner, his partner in "When Harry Met Sally", and asked him about Seinfeld.

Jerry Seinfeld has been working hard in New York, doing a lot of stand-up comedy, and also appeared on Letterman and Johnny Carson's shows to do imitation shows. This TV series is his first attempt at a TV series.

Reiner's Castle Rock Company has invested a lot in such TV series. Because these series are subject to the challenge of pilot episodes, the production costs are actually not high, and only one or two episodes need to be covered.

Bob Reiner is actually more optimistic about another TV series they invested in, the Ann Gillian Show created by actress Ann Gillian.

"I'm just trying. NBC is short of programs in the prime time of the evening. I recommended several pilot episodes. Anyway, it's not a big deal."

"Oh, thank you, I see." Ronald put down the phone, almost being cheated by Bannon. These bankers from Wall Street are really good at sales, and they never lie, but the story is completely different when they come out of their mouths.

Sometimes Ronald suspects that such people are also good at developing in Hollywood. They can star in a villain in a movie, or host a talk show. Bannon can talk about it for an hour without repeating himself.

In the afternoon, Diane took Bud's car to continue discussing the movie script with director Penny Marshall.

Ronald stayed in the hotel alone and made some food with the Japanese ingredients brought by Bannon. This kind of semi-finished food tastes good as long as you have some cooking skills. In the evening, Diane hadn't come back yet. Ronald suddenly felt like he had become a househusband, looking forward to his wife who worked full-time to come back.

This situation was unacceptable, so Ronald immediately called Richard and his personal accountant Lawrence and asked them to recommend some chefs and maids... If they were good during the trial period, they could be hired full-time after the new house was completed.

After marriage, everything would become a long-term consideration, and Ronald began to get used to everything.

…

Diane and Penny Marshall stayed together for the whole afternoon. When they returned to the hotel, Ronald was still on the phone in the back room. She quietly watched Ronnie working and felt that he was very handsome. But she was suddenly startled by Ronald's rising voice.

"What the hell, what's going on? Joel? I didn't care about any special effects in the first Die Hard. How come the new director is so much worse than John McTiernan? What's so difficult about this? For the explosion at the airport, put more explosions and more gasoline. If the new director can't do it, just change him."

"I've asked all the famous special effects experts in Hollywood. This shot really can't be shot. It's not a technical problem. Let's find an airport for real shooting?"

"Do you know how much it costs for real shooting? Where can I find an airport that can park a Boeing 757 to shoot the explosion? There are no planes to take off and land during the shooting? Or do you say we should build one in the wilderness of Minnesota?" Ronald was a little dissatisfied with Joel Silver's approach. Movies can't be made by piling up money. If all these shots are shot in real life, a budget of 100 million can't cover it.

"Then come and see if there is any way to solve it. This airport explosion scene is the most important climax scene of the sequel. It can't be saved..."

"Honey, who are you talking to on the phone?" Diane saw Ronald's unhappy face and knocked on the door to come in.

"Honey, you're back. I was on the phone with Joel Silver, the producer of Streets of Rage. This guy has a huge appetite for money. But the difficulties he said are not without reason. I'll go to see it in person tomorrow."

When Ronald saw Diane, he felt that all his worries were gone. The two sat down to eat happily. Ronald ordered takeout today, and the chef recommended by Lawrence will come for a trial tomorrow.

If I had known that getting married would be so happy, I should have gotten married earlier...

...

The next day, when they arrived at the site, Ronald and Renny Harlin, the director of the sequel to Die Hard, who had made Nightmare on Elm Street 4, were not bad at special effects and atmosphere.

Joel Silver selected him, and he was confirmed by Fox. His directorial skills are on the level. It was difficult to shoot the finale scene of the Die Hard sequel, but it wasn't because of his incompetence.

But in the script, in order to surpass the rooftop explosion in the first film, this plot was made too huge by the screenwriter. At the airport in Washington, D.C., McClain, played by Bruce Willis, had to hold on to a large plane with both hands so as not to fall off, and open the plane's mailbox to let aviation kerosene pour on the runway along with the plane. All over the place.

Then on the wing, he had a fierce battle with the villain boss, and was finally knocked off the wing. Just when the villain thought he could fly away with the Nicaraguan villain leader, Mike Company used a lighter to ignite the fuel on the runway, and the fire was faster than the plane took off. At a faster speed, it caught up with the plane, and finally exploded into a ball before taking off.

The flames on the runway were seen by the passenger plane on which his wife Holly had run out of fuel and had to make an emergency landing, landing successfully.

The entire scene is impeccable from a dramatic perspective, but the scene is too large. The plane had to run thousands of meters on the runway to film the fight scene between the two on the wing. To shoot such a long shot, any traditional special effects method would be impossible.

If you shoot indoors, there is no way to find such a large studio. This scene would have been too expensive to shoot on location.

Ronald stared at the scenes. The live-action shooting would definitely not be approved by Fox. The effect of the indoor shooting would definitely be poor. The sequel would not have more exciting scenes than the first one, and the audience's reputation would definitely not be good.

Joel Silver, this guy, definitely wants to ask Fox for a higher budget, and Fox will definitely have to invest an equal proportion of it. He is not willing to pay for the filming of this kind of scene. "Tomorrow, I will ask the best actors in Hollywood." Good special effects expert.”

…

"Jim, do you think this scene can use computer-generated special effects?" No way, Ronald found Cameron who was helping Bigelow film the scene.

"No, this shot is too long, the scene is huge, and it is difficult for computers to process this kind of explosion scene. It looks fake to the audience." Cameron is the best special effects expert in Hollywood. He shook his head after watching it.

"What about using front-end projection in the studio?" Ronald asked again.

Front-end projection is Cameron's specialty. In the old Hollywood movies, when Grace Kelly and Cary Grant were racing, they would have people use cameras on the cars to shoot exterior shots, and then let the stars sit in the studio cars with a screen behind them. There are pictures that have been taken and taken twice.

This method of projecting behind the actors is called back-end projection, and the perspective imbalance looks fake. Cameron himself replicated Kubrick's technique for the ape shot at the beginning of "2001: A Space Odyssey" by projecting the image from the front of the actor and then shooting it again so that the perspective ratio was correct and the audience looked shocked.

Ronald actually came to ask Cameron for help with this front-end projection in mind.

"No, your scene is too huge and involves the sky. I don't know how much it costs to do a front-end projection of this scale. Moreover, your scene has a shot of a plane flying wildly, such a long sports shot, and it is at night. The front-end projection is difficult to handle low-light scenes..."

Cameron shook his head at this.

Ronald also sighed, could he just cancel this scene? Change the ending? Anyway, I definitely can't be taken advantage of and I'm not a fool who doesn't care about the return on investment just for the sake of filming.

"Well, but maybe you can try a special effects technology that is older than projection shooting." Cameron is a Hollywood special effects master after all, and he still came up with an idea.

"What technology? Older than Grace Kelly's time?"

"Projection is to re-project the film into the scene. Without this technology, how did Hollywood's special effects experts use to simulate the actual background in the studio?"

"What solution?", Ronald couldn't think of anything.

"painting……"