Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The victim appeared.

Diane informed Paramount of the conditions that Ronald had joked with him. Lindsay Dolan, a female executive of Paramount, was overjoyed and immediately came to visit Ronald with her secretary.

"We agree to all your conditions, as long as you agree to be the director. And supervise all script revisions, casting, shooting, and subsequent marketing..."

"Are you kidding?"

Ronald opened his mouth in surprise. The total cost of shooting such a movie in a Hollywood studio can easily soar to more than twice that of shooting in Canada.

"Why don't you find a young director who is good at shooting romantic comedies, and it is easy to control the production cost of the entire movie to about 10 million US dollars?"

As an outstanding graduate of Roger Corman Film University, Ronald instinctively expressed dissatisfaction with this production method that would rather waste money. Although this crazy method is greatly beneficial to him.

Lindsay Dolan not only agreed to let him lead all aspects of the film, but also gave him a certain investment amount for Daydream Production to participate in the production of the entire film and share the profits afterwards. This is particularly difficult in the current environment where the entire Hollywood is shocked by Jack Nicholson's split of tens of millions of dollars from Warner Bros.

"This is the best script in Paramount's film library. How can I just find a young and inexperienced director to shoot it casually... You know, Ronald? Before you expressed your interest, I only wanted two directors to direct this movie..." Lindsay Dolan seemed very excited, and was quite dissatisfied with Ronald's idea of ​​wasting such a classic script on a young director.

"Ah? Who do you want to find?" Ronald was also shocked by her serious expression. Did she really want to make this movie a classic in film history?

"Of course before you, I only considered two directors, Milos Forman and Stanley Kubrick..." Lindsay Dolan put on an expression of "Look at what you said, we are discussing very serious things now."

"Ah? Oh..." Ronald stared at the middle-aged woman in her early 40s for a long time, and did not find any traces of acting on her face. It seems that she really has high hopes for this script.

"When I heard the news, I was in a meeting at the Western Film Fair in Las Vegas. When I heard that you were interested, I immediately interrupted the meeting and rushed back." Lindsay Dolan continued to express that she attached great importance to Ronald's interest in this film.

Ronald hugged Diane's waist, who was sitting next to him, and watched Lindsay Dolan tell her reasons one by one, and he couldn't help but believe it a little.

This was not because Lindsay Dolan's reasons were sufficient and powerful, but because of her professional family background.

Her father was a senior Hollywood producer, and her mother was a script typist for Columbia Pictures before she got married. She also has a brother who used to be a marketing manager for Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey".

She herself has been a production supervisor for a long time at a TV station, and has some experience in the smell of scripts and the estimation of commercial prospects. But Ronald still didn't understand why he felt that it was the most appropriate choice for him to direct this movie.

"It's simple. Who else can make love more touching than you? Moreover, this is a love between a person and a ghost that transcends life and death..."

"Is that so?" Ronald certainly didn't believe it. He wasn't the only director in Hollywood who was good at making love movies.

"Of course, the more important reason is that all the current female stars want to work with you..."

"This sounds like a common sense reason..." Bernard understood that the real reason was here. The biggest point for this kind of love commercial film to be successful at the box office is to find very suitable actresses, and then find men who match them and have chemical reactions.

If Ronald joins, all the actresses in Hollywood who can participate in this movie will be willing to come for an audition.

"So the crew's staffing is determined by me?" Hearing him say this, and seeing Diane nodding slightly, Ronald felt that he could try to explore the possibility of filming this movie.

Lindsay Dolan shrugged, saying that of course, as long as Ronald proposed a candidate, she would agree.

"Let me find time to talk to the screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin..." Ronald didn't have a very deep understanding of the movie script. So he had to talk to the screenwriter before making a decision.

"Okay, I'll arrange it."

"I'll find long-term partners for the director of photography, art director, editing and sound design..."

"No problem."

"Daily filming is in Paramount's Hollywood studio. I go to work every morning and go home on time at six o'clock in the evening..."

"Of course, no one will come to clock in for your daily attendance. I can guarantee that."

"I see that there are many ghost scenes in the script, and a special effects team is needed. I have my own partners that I am used to." Ronald thought of Cameron's special effects team for the Abyss, and the team that made the frosted glass scenery in Die Hard 2, which can be borrowed to shoot the special effects shots of this movie.

"Of course, we will take your opinion as the standard..."

Seeing that the other party agreed to all his conditions very straightforwardly, Ronald also felt Lindsay Dolan's sincerity.

"What is the investment share of Daydream, and the scope of participation?"

"I estimate the budget for the whole movie will be 22 million to 25 million. You can get no more than 1/4 of the share. In addition, you have the second-rank right to share besides Paramount."

"What about overseas distribution, TV broadcasting rights, and videotapes?"

"The proportion will be lower than the box office share. Why don't we let our agent and lawyer finalize a number that both parties are satisfied with?"

Seeing that all the conditions will be agreed, Ronald has no reason to doubt the other party's sincerity. After he and the other party agreed on a time to discuss the specific investment details, he picked up the script and slowly flipped through it.

"Honey, do you really want Demi Moore to play the heroine?" Diane came over and asked Ronald.

"I don't know, she is just one of the final candidates. In the end, it depends on who is most suitable for the role..."

...

"Demi, Paramount intends to make that ghost into a movie. Let your agent send me the audition photo..."

"Really? Really? Oh, Ronald, I love you..." Demi Moore jumped up happily on the other end after receiving the call. Who doesn't know that working with an actress in Hollywood like Ronald will make you soar to the top like a roller coaster.

"Hey, who are you in love with?" Bruce Willis heard it over there.

"Shh, Ronald wants to invite me to audition for his new movie."

"Ah, Ronald? Give me the phone..." Bruce Willis grabbed the phone and said to Ronald. "Hey, brother, thanks for your message, 20th Century Fox has increased my salary."

"I heard about the extra $1.5 million, ha..." Ronald laughed.

Bruce Willis's salary for Die Hard 2 increased by another $1.5 million, but 20th Century Fox refused to let him participate in any share.

"Thank you, I owe you one..."

"We don't need to talk about this, but are you free to attend the premiere of See Who's Talking as a voice actor?"

"I'll ask my agent to reserve time for that weekend, and then I'll go with Demi... By the way, speaking of Demi, will she really be in your movie?"

"Participate in the audition, you know I always choose the most suitable one..."

"Hey, it seems that he has other candidates besides you..." Bruce Willis put down the phone and joked with his wife.

"Really, did he say who it was?"

"No, I forgot to ask..."

"Fuck, what's the use of you? I'll call my agent right away to find out which bitch is trying to steal this role from me..." Demi Moore was so angry that she swore, and then immediately went to discuss with her agent how to get this role?

...

Ronald did not start the audition work immediately, but began to study the box office and reviews of "When Harry Met Sally".

After seeing the box office results of the second weekend after the expanded screening, Ronald also understood why Lindsay Dolan was so enthusiastic to cooperate with him in a romantic film.

In the second weekend of its large-scale release, the single-theater box office of When Harry Met Sally remained above $10,000. The scale of the release in more than 800 theaters across the country also generated more than $10 million in box office.

What is even more rare is that in the east and west coasts, as well as in central areas such as Chicago, the movie has caused a viewing craze in all city theaters.

Meg Ryan's value has risen accordingly. The romantic love film currently being filmed in Hawaii may be the last chance for Hollywood to invite her to play the leading role in a romantic love movie for less than $2 million.

The most frightening thing is that even a comedian like Billy Crystal, who used to play comedy, has received invitations to one romantic love movie after another, and the salary offered is no less than that of first-line male stars.

Hollywood is so exaggerated and so practical. Many producers are asking a question: Why didn't anyone find that Billy Crystal was actually suitable for acting in love scenes before?

The standard answer in Hollywood is not to ask why? Since Ronald has developed this side of him, the remaining thing is to squeeze the value of this part of Billy Crystal until it is exhausted.

Ronald, who was discussing the subsequent marketing of the film with marketing consultant Michael Gray, also discovered this. If a male star is only suitable for a certain type of film, the salary he gets is generally more than 30% lower than that of a male star who is suitable for two or three types of films.

Just like Stallone and Schwarzenegger, although they are the first batch of Hollywood stars to break through $10 million in salary, they are now far behind the salaries of male stars who have both comedy and action styles, such as Eddie Murphy and Bruce Willis.

"What is the prospect of this movie in the awards season?" Ronald asked Michael Gray. He was still quite concerned about not winning the Oscar for two consecutive years.

"Not only you, the actors and screenwriters of this movie are not highly recognized by the voting actors in the Academy."

"The remaining poison of the method school is really annoying..." Ronald was also very angry after hearing this.

The Oscar award has a very clear feature, that is, its award is dominated by the voting orientation and taste of actors, and actors have never liked those actors who get big box office by making romantic films.

Comedy and romance films have always been the hardest hit by the Oscars. Actors who have received so-called orthodox Hollywood method training think that being funny is not an orthodox acting skill, and are naturally inferior to actors who play dramas and tragedies.

Actors who shoot romance films are even worse than comedians. As long as they are beautiful and have a chemistry with their opponents in front of the camera, the rest is left to the director and the camera.

What acting skills are there in romance films? There is no such thing. They just look good in the camera. If I am also favored by a director like Ronald, I can also become the heroine of a hit romance film.

This is the general mentality of Hollywood actors who have voting rights. They are eager to become stars, but they look down on stars...

"But we can try our luck in Britain and the European continent. The European distribution of this film also needs to get some nominations in the awards selection on the other side of the Atlantic..." Michael Gray told Ronald another workaround from the perspective of film marketing.

In Britain, on the other side of the ocean, there is also a so-called academy award called BAFTA Awards, also known as the British Oscars.

In fact, this award is not only for British films, but also for all English films in the world. Of course, if your film is produced in Britain or has British directors or actors. Then it will undoubtedly get extra help at the BAFTA Awards.

"I will call the princess's secretary..."

If you can't get an Oscar nomination, it's also good to try your luck at the British Oscars. Ronald certainly won't let go of his greatest relationship in Britain.

He contacted Princess Diana's secretary and sent a formal invitation, asking the princess and her husband to invite members of the royal family to attend the premiere of the film in London in November.

The British people like their princess Ronald with a civilian mentality very much, and this is also to build momentum there. On the one hand, it promotes its overseas distribution, and on the other hand, it also hopes to influence the organizing committee of the BAFTA Awards and give their film some nominations.

As a result, good news came that not only the princess, but also Her Majesty the Queen was very interested in Ronald's new film, and he and the king's wife would also come to the royal premiere in London.

"Her Majesty said that she hopes your new movie will make the Queen happy. The latest James Bond movie really disappointed the Queen and her husband."

"I am willing to serve your Majesty..." Ronald laughed, Daydream's overseas distribution capabilities. This time, in When Harry Met Sally, it will be put to a better test.

...

After finishing this, Ronald also met with the screenwriter of Ghost, Ruth Joel Rubin, and talked about their understanding of the script.

Screenwriter Ruth Joel Rubin was very satisfied with Ronald's idea. For him, Ronald was much better than Stanley Kubrick and Milos Forman to be the director of his script. The 45-year-old film screenwriter actually has a deep connection with Ronald.

Like Ronald, he is also a dropout of the Tisch Film School of New York University. But he was not as lucky as Ronald and quickly entered Hollywood. He was a 1962 class, and he had to wait until the 1980s to see his first script being put on the screen.

When he was studying at New York University, he was a classmate of Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma. People's circumstances are often amazing.

"Can you tell me who you think will play the male and female protagonists?" Ruth Joel Rubin asked Ronald. He actually finished writing this script in 1983, but he was persuaded by his classmate Brian De Palma, who saw the potential of his script, to return to Los Angeles from San Francisco to develop.

"In fact, Paramount is very supportive of our film and has sent audition invitations to all the popular male and female stars in Hollywood."

Romande took out a list and handed it to the other party. The male star column included Jack Nicholson, Harrison Ford, Michael J. Fox, Crocodile Dundee Paul Hogan, Tom Hanks, and even contacted Tom Cruise and Bruce Willis, who were less likely candidates.

The female star column also included those who were and are popular. Michelle Pfeiffer, Molly Ringwald, and Meg Ryan are all potential candidates. Paramount is most optimistic about Tom Cruise's new girlfriend Nicole Kidman and Bruce Willis' wife Demi Moore.

If a couple can be invited to perform, it will undoubtedly be a very good gimmick for the promotion of the movie.

"If you were the director, which actress would you choose to play Molly?"

Ronald asked screenwriter Rubin. Sometimes the screenwriter's opinions are very worth referring to. Because when they write the script, they will use the image of a certain female star as a prototype to create the character.

"I don't know that when I wrote the script, I imagined the black female star Diana Ross. I always feel that the heroine Molly has a mixture of a romantic artist's temperament and a very realistic housewife's temperament.

Well, I think she is more like the heroine in my imagination. Michelle Pfeiffer is too beautiful to be the wife of an ordinary bank manager."

Rubin pointed his finger at two audition photos, one of Demi Moore and the other of Nicole Kidman.

"Ha..." Ronald put away the audition photo. He didn't notice it at first. It was the audition photo sent by Demi Moore. It was the one he took for her when he was a portrait photographer many years ago.

And Nicole Kidman, with her strawberry blonde hair and sparkling eyes, also looked very fairy-like...