Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The next day, Ronald contacted the production director of Fox's film department and went to the Die Hard 2 crew to check the accounts. If you don't check, you won't know that the production cost of this movie has exceeded 55 million US dollars and is still rising.

"What is this? I thought a large part of the airport scenes used frosted glass scenery and was handed over to the computer visual effects team?"

Ronald held the financial report with an incredible look on his face. He handed the production to Joel Silver, but it gave him a "surprise". The figures of various expenses were blown up like balloons.

The bill for Bruce Willis's visit to New York on a business jet to visit Demi Moore was also included. That's fine. It's normal for a star to reunite with his wife to regain his condition when he is not in good condition. But the bills for the set, shooting location rental, and aircraft rental cannot escape the eyes of Ronald, a veteran of the crew. .

Ronald has found two IT wizards and possibly the last experienced scenery painter in Hollywood to use computer software Photoshop to innovate technology, with the aim of reducing the cost of filming and the difficulty of actors' performances.

However, the report still showed a huge advance payment for runway rental fees paid to Denver International Airport and a long-term lease of a Boeing 747 passenger plane to a company called Evergreen International Airlines.

"Ronald, you are also an expert. You still need to shoot some panoramic views of the movie. We can't put all the hijacking scenes in the studio and shoot them with sets. The most important thing now is the Christmas snow scene. We also searched for a long time across the country before finding Denver International Airport. The runway there is long and wide. It will snow next month, and it will be heavy snow."

Joel Silver defended himself in pajamas with a cigar in his mouth.

"Don't talk nonsense. If you just want to take a panoramic view of the snow scene, do you need to rent the Denver International Market for two weeks? And why did you rent this Evergreen Airlines Boeing 747 passenger plane for a short period of time?"

"What can I say? Is it necessary for filming? The interior of this plane is often used in the filming scenes. It's still the same old problem. We can't simulate everything in the cabin in the studio. Today's audiences need to see real things. You can't fool them with a few sofas. They must see scenes that match their experience of flying in an airplane before they will buy it."

"You are not honest with me, Joel..." Ronald closed the account book, was silent for half a minute, and then stared into Silver's eyes and said.

"Hey, you went to shoot your new movie, and I was watching you every day when you went to the crew. You still have the nerve to say this? Are we still in the same group? Ronald, now it's Tom Sherak, that bastard from 20th Century Fox, who is looking for trouble with us." Joel Silver shouted dissatisfiedly.

"Do you think that I can't find the flight records of Evergreen International Airlines, which is a cargo aircraft company with military background?" Ronald stared at Silver calmly, but what he said made Silver a little scared.

"What do you mean?"

"Huh..." Ronald threw the flight records of the leased plane on the table, which had several records of going back and forth to the Caribbean island. Just because Tom Sherak of Fox couldn't find it doesn't mean Ronald couldn't find it. He called George last night and the fax was sent to the office early this morning.

"Ronald, I'm doing this for Bruce Willis's condition. His filming condition in the sequel was very poor, and I had to take him to the Caribbean to play often on weekends."

When Joel Silver saw Ronald took out the flight records, he immediately changed his face and came to beg for mercy...

"Ah... This is too blatant." Ronald sighed. It is almost a default rule in the industry that producers steal the production budget of large companies. Ronald didn't intend to investigate it, because the more tiring work of supervising the crew every day still had to be done by Joel Silver.

As a hands-off boss, he just coordinated the relationship between several parties, and then with some of the production rights of the first Die Hard, he could sit back and share the profits. In fact, he couldn't make things too clear.

But this time, 20th Century Fox said that they were dissatisfied with this, and Ronald had to give them an explanation. So he said to Joel Hilf, "Tell me the truth, how much more investment is needed for this movie?"

"About 60 million..."

"Hmm?"

"About 65 million... to 70 million..."

"Oh my God, how did you spend the money?" Ronald covered his face. If the sequel to Die Hard couldn't be a hit, this movie would become a Waterloo in his production career.

"There is no other way. Bruce Willis is the undisputed leading actor. If he is not in good condition, all of us in the crew will have to wait for him.

So the production budget keeps going up, and I have to add the cost of post-production visual effects and sound design, which are the most expensive parts of this kind of special effects action movie."

Ronald knew that Joel Silver's estimate was not too far-fetched this time. Whether it was the real explosion scene or the post-production visual effects made with computers, plus this action movie needed Dolby sound effects with six channels, these were all very expensive parts.

Ronald's budget estimates were always generous. He knew that 70 million might not be enough.

He roped in Joel Silver and prepared to present to 20th Century Fox to persuade them to invest more.

…

"Ronald, I don't mean to make things difficult on purpose. The cost of film production has skyrocketed recently, and I understand that. But we still have to be tighter, otherwise subsequent distribution will be difficult."

Tom Sherak, the director in charge of releasing the sequel at 20th Century Fox, was polite to Ronald, but not so nice to Joel Silver.

"There's now a consensus in Hollywood that a high-tech VFX version of Heaven's Gate is coming soon. We're now betting on who will be so unlucky as to become the second Michael Cimino. Now McClain's Gate The odds are the best.”

Tom Sherak compares "Die Hard 2" with "Heaven's Gate", which was responsible for the end of the New Hollywood movement of independent filmmaking in the 1980s.

But he didn't say this without any reason. The production costs of blockbusters shot this year and released next summer have all exceeded US$60 million. High-cost big-budget productions need box office miracles to reward them. If you are not careful, the studio will lose tens of millions and will be in a desperate situation.

"Top Gun", which was written by Tom Cruise himself, is called by some the racing version of "Top Gun" and cost more than $60 million to produce.

Eddie Murphy's "The Other 48" cost $50 million to make.

Director Paul Verhoeven's "Total Recall" had a budget of $60 million.

Warren Beatty directed and starred in a follow-up comic book adaptation. The production cost of "Dick Tracy" was also more than 55 million.

Coupled with the two Big Mac sequels Die Hard, the production cost has steadily exceeded 70 million. The production cost of the sequel to Back to the Future has soared, with the cost of co-production of the two films reaching over 90 million.

Superstars and VFX are so expensive. Executives at all the major Hollywood studios know that one of these movies will do poorly at the box office, sending the careers of the stars, directors, producers, and executives into freefall.

Tom Sherak is more outspoken, and for good reason. Because it was also guaranteed by Ronald, "The Abyss" directed by James Cameron, after gaining more than 10 million at the box office in its first week, the box office declined by more than 25% every week.

According to the derivation of the empirical formula, the US box office is around the end, it should be 16 to 18 weeks after the release, and the total box office will be around 65 million.

And this "Abyss" does not have a particularly famous international star starring. Therefore, the overseas box office expectations are not particularly high.

Of course, the total global box office of This Abyss should exceed 100 million. Coupled with the distribution of video tapes, recovering the cost is not a big problem. But when it comes to profitability, that's another story.

"You are really very straightforward..." Ronald had not met someone who talked to him like this for a long time, so he made a comment about Tom Sherak, whether it was praise or criticism.

"I'm sorry if what I said was offensive... I just think that the most respectful way for a very busy and successful director and producer like you is to save you time and energy, to be honest. The best strategy.”

"You are very good. In the future, whether it is related to the sequel to Die Hard or anything else, you can come to me directly..." Ronald actually admired Tom Sherak's professionalism.

He is only responsible for the distribution work, and the production cost overrun is not his responsibility. If he is not particularly ambitious, he will not do this.

"You are the most powerful producer and director in Hollywood. I have great respect for any of your projects." Tom Sherak's smile seemed a little weird to Ronald.

"Do you mean?"

Tom Sherak was a little dissatisfied and thought, can we expect this kind of thing to be hidden from us? By we mean we're Jewish, and Tom Sherak is one of the most common Jewish executives in Hollywood.

However, he was still very polite, "What I mean is that with you in charge, our expectations for Die Hard 2 at 20th Century Fox will be much higher. I hope you can come to the filming site more often..."

As he spoke, he glanced at Joel Silver next to him. The subtext was completely unspoken, he couldn't trust this playboy at all.

"I will..." Ronald glanced at Joel Silver. Not to mention Tom Sherak, he himself didn't trust Joel very much and planned to let Joel Silver continue to go to the set every day. While staring, he also had to suddenly airborne several times.

…

"What did he mean?" Ronald couldn't figure it out on the car ride home. What did Tom Sherak mean by the last few words he said to him? This person seemed to respect me professionally but also be a little hostile.

But it's not the kind of malicious hostility, but the kind of hostility towards a visible competitor in the market. As an executive of a production company, he is neither a producer nor a director. How can he compete with himself?

With doubts, Ronald was always a little uneasy. It has been a long time since I felt this kind of warning from my intuition.

When he was still a small figure, he had many rivals, so when he communicated with others directly, he could feel any malice and hostility more clearly.

However, the continuous box office success of the movies and Ronald's own financial success made people around him carefully hide their jealousy and hatred.

He had not "enjoyed" such direct competitive tone and eyes for many years.

For a moment, Ronald was a little confused about whether he really felt something or whether it was because this executive was more straightforward and could confront him head-on.

"What's wrong with you? It seems like you have something on your mind?"

Dane watched Ronald tossing and turning in bed, and simply turned on the light and chatted with Ronald.

Ronald briefly told Diane about the things that happened in the Die Hard 2 crew.

"There must be a problem. When I was auditioning in the crew and talking to other actresses, I knew there would be a problem if their expressions or tones were wrong." Diane has been running around between major crews for auditions for a long time, and she is very superstitious about the warnings generated by this intuition.

"Really? I'll call Nicita and Richard, you go to sleep first..."

This caught Ronald's attention. He got up and called the two agents, asking them to come to his house tomorrow morning to discuss this matter.

As a result, this matter caused great shock to the two agents. They ran to Ronald's place overnight.

"I think it should be taken seriously. See if there are other places where you can try it indirectly?" Nicita took Ronald's words very seriously. In the entertainment industry, the wind starts from the end of the green weeds, which is often an inconspicuous omen. If you don't pay attention to it, it will suddenly become a big deal.

In this industry, whether you are a star, a director, or a producer, a movie can make you go to heaven, and a movie can also make you go to hell. Unlike Ronald, the two of them have no other investment income. They mainly rely on Ronald's acting career, which is more nervous than Ronald.

"I'll call Barry Diller and Mr. Rupert."

The result is very worrying. Rupert did not answer his call. His secretary told him that Rupert had returned to Australia for a trip.

Barry Diller's secretary also said that he was very busy and just promised to pass on the message. But he didn't tell Ronald where Barry Diller went?

"Is this really a problem?" Ronald felt unusual. If everyone is unwilling to talk to you, it means that you have a big problem in this industry.

In order to confirm his idea, he called Eisner of Disney again.

"Ronald, you are really good. When I was your age, I was still a senior vice president of Paramount."

Eisner did not avoid Ronald's call, but chatted with him frankly.

"What did you say? What's wrong with my age?"

"Don't keep it secret from me. Several CEOs and presidents in Hollywood know where you will go next."

"Huh? What whereabouts, why don't I know?" Ronald heard something wrong.

"What? Are you kidding? So my information is wrong? This is... said, damn..."

The version before the power outage was found in Microsoft's onedrive, haha.