Exploiting Hollywood 1980

“The Supreme Court decision in Johnson, Texas, continues to have a lasting and far-reaching impact in Congress…”

After getting married, one of Ronald's major changes was to try to have breakfast with his family at home every day. An American family tradition is to watch ABC's "Good Morning America" ​​program during breakfast.

Because of the time difference, what Ronald and Diane actually watched together was the recorded version of the East Coast program three hours ago.

Ronald still remembers the case of the rebellious Texas youth burning the Stars and Stripes, which eventually reached the Supreme Court with a 5:4 decision, declaring that burning the Stars and Stripes was protected by the First Amendment.

General George Sr. also took this opportunity to deliver a speech at a mass rally, claiming that he wanted to express the patriotism of the majority of Americans and urged the House and Senate to amend the law and make the protection of the New Bridge flag a new amendment. .

Of course, this requires approval by a 2/3 majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then it has to be sent to the states for a vote. Only if 2/3 of the states, that is, more than 38 states pass it, can it become a new Twenty-Seventh Amendment.

The last time such an amendment was passed was in 1971. Because of the impact of the Vietnam War, young people were increasingly participating in politics, so the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18.

But for most state senators and representatives, this is a perfect opportunity for them to gain votes. Unlike congressmen from big cities on the east and west coasts who have to face voters with progressive values, congressmen from these inland states can win the support of many voters in their hometowns by adhering to a patriotic mentality.

This amendment was repeatedly debated in Congress and was called the "Insult to the Stars and Stripes Amendment." Sen. Bob Dole (D-Kansas) said: "Americans may not understand every nuance of the law, but they know it's insulting when they see it. They demand action."

Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina, D-Elephant) said in a statement to the Senate that the ruling "set off a geyser of emotion across our country, demanding immediate action."

Sen. Trent Lott (D-Mississippi, D-Elephant) told the Senate he "heard the outrage" while visiting constituents in Mississippi and that in "city after city," he claimed he witnessed several people complaining about The decision “brought tears to my eyes.”

One thing these three senators have in common is that they all served in the US military.

But senators from several large states on the east and west coasts voiced objections.

Senator Allen Cranston (D-CA) said: "The First Amendment is the most important amendment. It guarantees our freedom of speech, including the right to express opinions about the Star-Spangled Banner, even if those opinions unwelcome."

Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (N.Y., D-N.Y.) said: "The Star-Spangled Banner is a symbol of our country, but it is no more important than our laws. The First Amendment is the cornerstone of our democracy, and we It cannot be violated in order to protect a symbol.”

Very neatly, the two senators who supported the Supreme Court's decision were once university professors at Harvard and Berkeley.

Voters in big cities on the east and west coasts have completely different views on this matter than voters in inland and southern states. And this rare ruling does not affect everyone's economic interests very much. So these senators had fun shouting out to their supporters.

"Due to strong resistance in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is expected that there will be no new amendment motion before the summer recess of the 101st Congress. Some members told our reporter that they may bypass the amendment and switch to And seek general legislation to stop this unpatriotic behavior."

This kind of ordinary law is much simpler. As long as it is passed by a simple majority in both houses of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then signed by the President, it can become a law.

Ronald never discussed this with his family and friends. He silently changed the channel. After eating, he went to Daydream and found senior officials to speed up the filming of three low-cost patriotic movies.

The crew that formed the fastest among the three movies was Showdown Little Tokyo.

The director hired Mark L. Lester, the director of Commando (do) starring Schwarzenegger. After directing the box-office success of Commando, his second film, The Bodyguard, failed miserably at the box office.

After that, he couldn't find a project, but Daydream's executives saw the excellent return on investment in a series of action B-movies he had directed before, and persuaded him to direct this small production.

Daydream is planning to invest 6 million in production costs, and has found a lot of suitable actors and action directors. Except for Lundgren, who once served as Ronald's bodyguard, all the other supporting characters have Ronald-related backgrounds.

For example, the heroine Tia Carrera is a Japanese singer and model born in Hawaii. Another detective who plays a rising background is Brandon Lee, the son of kung fu master Bruce Lee.

The villain Yoshida in the movie is played by a Japanese actor, Hiroyuki Tagawa, who looks very bad and evil at first glance. This actor has an extraordinary background. His mother is Mariko Hatake, an actress of the Takarazuka Theater, and his father is a Japanese American soldier stationed in Japan.

Unlike those children born of mixed races, his childhood was relatively happy. After his mother retired, she immigrated to the United States with his father.

Hiroyuki Tagawa likes Ronald's The Karate Kid very much, because he himself is also a black belt in Shotokan karate. During this meeting, I had the opportunity to meet Ronald and asked him for an autograph.

"I remember that you also had a role in The Last Emperor." Ronald looked at this bad face and was really impressed. Some actors may not be able to become famous, but the roles they play are always remembered by the audience.

"Hi, I play a eunuch in it." Tagawa replied with a smile.

"Not only that, he also plays a Hong Kong policeman in the latest 007 License to Kill." The speaker was Ronald's earliest partner, Eddie Cohen, the first president of Daydream Productions.

However, as Daydream expanded in scale and became more and more busy, he made a lot of money and proposed to Ronald that he would step down as president and pursue his own career. The president was to be handed over to Michel Canod.

Ronald did not treat him badly as the boss of a small New York agency that helped him back then. He gave him some symbolic shares and arranged for him to sit in a director position in Daydream.

Eddie wanted to go back to his old business, and opening a small agency happened to be in line with Ronald's career. Tagawa Yoko was one of the first clients he had set his sights on.

"Very good..." Ronald admired this person's acting ability. After Tianchuan left, he asked Eddie, "Will this client be willing to sign with your small company?"

"It's not a big problem. His face means he doesn't have many projects in Hollywood. Only a few studios such as our Daydream can mass-produce stories with East Asian characters."

"So there is another reason. Don't miss that Tia Carrera," Ronald pointed to the actor's audition photo and said to Eddie.

He has seen this Tia Carrera in person. She has bronze skin and a special sexy beauty. Many Americans and East Asians like actors like him.

"In fact, I have talked to all the Asian actors in this Little Tokyo. Most of them are willing to place their economic contracts with us. Only Brandon Lee..."

"Then don't worry about it..." Ronald knew that the son of this Kung Fu master was arrogant and once went to Hong Kong to find his old acquaintance Jacky to make a movie.

Although his background is actually very suitable for Ronald's development, Ronald would rather support the Chinese-American Qiu Yunbo and a group of action actors from Hong Kong than to find him. There is no other reason, it is just that this guy has a very good self-esteem and likes to teach the director how to shoot.

But the director took a fancy to him, and I don’t know if the cooperation will go smoothly.

The second topic discussed in the meeting was "Best of The Best". Ronald also met with the confirmed cast.

There was an old acquaintance in it, Chris Penn, the younger brother of Sean Penn. Ronald had dealt with him before, but when he saw him today, he felt that his face seemed a little swollen. He also asked about his health with concern.

However, these Hollywood actors always get into all kinds of troubles, either alcohol or drugs. Seeing Chris Penn said that it was just swelling caused by poor sleep, he didn’t say much.

In comparison, the male lead Eric Roberts is in good condition. Although his dark circles and dark complexion have not changed due to excessive drinking and sex, this just fits the role of a prodigal son.

Similarly, there are many Korean actors in this movie, and they were all signed by Eddie Cohen in the end. Their last names were either Rhee or Park. Ronald couldn't remember too many at once, so he just shook hands with them to express his congratulations.

One of them, Phillip Rhee, was a martial artist himself. He even performed Taekwondo for Ronald. This martial art is obviously different from Japanese karate at first glance, and it is mainly based on leg movements. This is a great thing for the filming and branding of the movie.

The last actor who played the coach of the American team in the World Taekwondo Championship was a black actor. He was a middle-aged man with a sturdy figure, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses, and his voice was very powerful.

"James Earl Jones, you can call me James, nice to meet you, Director Lee..."

"Did I hear it wrong? Or are you the one..."

"Yes, I am the voice of Darth Vader, most people ask this question when they see me..."

"Haha, George (Lucas) didn't tell me this..." Ronald shook hands with him for a long time and talked to him about the current status of Star Wars actors. The actor who actually played Vader had a strong Welsh accent, so he had to do the dubbing.

His voice is very distinctive. If he were a white actor, he would have been offered various supporting roles. However, because he is black, there are not many roles suitable for him in Hollywood. Only in the American Journey starring Eddie Murphy last year did he play the king of an African country, which is a relatively important supporting role.

In Hollywood movies, black people are either gags, gangsters, musicians, etc., and other roles that are very stereotypical of black people. James Earl Jones' voice is upright, and there are indeed not many opportunities for such performances.

This time he plays the coach of the American team, which is a role that just meets his voice and appearance conditions.

The last patriotic film of the Star-Spangled Banner is Kickboxer starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Kickboxing, as a sport, was invented by Bruce Lee based on the fighting concept advocated by Bruce Lee. In the 1980s, before karate became popular, it was a relatively popular fighting sport in the United States besides boxing.

In addition to the investment of Daydream, Jean-Claude Van Damme also raised some money for this movie, and found his martial arts friends in Hong Kong to participate in the filming. Chen Guoxin and Li Jiading were invited to play supporting roles.

However, the heroine Jean-Claude Van Damme decided to use a Filipino actress Rochelle Asana. This actress has also been a female stunt double in many movies. In this movie, she can perform many action scenes herself.

Daydream's production ability has been tested. Ronald learned from Roger Corman the B-level film shooting method, which is to shoot as cheaply as possible and as quickly as possible. If it is overtime and over budget, the spirit of tearing up the script makes it no problem for a small company like Daydream to shoot three low-cost movies at the same time.

However, Daydream can't do it by itself if it is a big production.

Joel Silver's Die Hard 2 once again needs additional investment from Fox. He chose Alpena, Michigan as the location for the second part.

It is located on the west shore of Lake Michigan, with beautiful scenery and suitable places for outdoor activities. People can participate in many activities such as hiking, fishing, boating and diving.

20th Century Fox had some doubts about Joel Silver's approach. They found Ronald and hoped that Ronald would confirm whether these scenes really had to be filmed in this relatively expensive tourist destination.

"Joel, you don't want to go on vacation, do you?" Ronald found Joel Silver and asked him bluntly.

"It's not me. I'm innocent. You should ask Bruce Willis' agent. Bruce and his wife Demi Moore asked that during the filming process, it would be convenient for his wife and children to visit there. They like water and outdoor sports." Joel Silver looked innocent. He was wearing pajamas and hugging the Canadian Playboy beauty Pamela Anderson.

Ronald didn't know whether what he said was true or false. However, he had a good relationship with Demi Moore, so he called his home to inquire about the situation.

"Is this Ronald? Let me talk to him..." Bruce Willis heard Demi's voice, and he came over and picked up the phone, "Hey, Ronald, do you want to come to my house to play, bring your wife, we haven't been together for a long time."