Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Are you going to the ballet performance?" After watching the premiere, Princess Diana and her sister-in-law Princess Ferguson chatted with Ronald in the lounge. Unlike the Queen, Diana could not express any opinions about a certain movie. The princess always liked to live like a middle-class woman. Being able to chat with Hollywood directors and stars is also a way for her to prove herself.

"No, I have to go to Paris to attend the premiere there." Ronald declined.

"Ronald, I remember you sponsored a dancer. You know, in the European royal tradition, this is the same as keeping her as a mistress...hahaha..." Princess Sarah Ferguson is a red-haired girl who speaks more bluntly and directly tells Ronald's story.

"Hahaha, that's a good friend of mine. When I was an assistant on the crew, she was very nice to me..." Ronald changed the subject without leaving a trace.

Princess Diana's face changed a little when she heard this. She was very dissatisfied with the tradition of nobles keeping mistresses. She said to Ronald, "I heard that your wife is pregnant..."

"Ah, yes, we will have a baby next year..."

Then the topic shifted to parenting and Diana's two lovely children.

...

"Thank you, Mr. Michel Cannold will continue to discuss cooperation with you here. I still have publicity to do in Paris. If you have any questions, you can call my agent Richard directly..."

After staying in London for two days, Ronald, with the help of Minahan Golan, met with several people in charge of the British Starlight Cinema Line, which was originally acquired by Cannon. He wanted to establish his own distribution channel in Europe, and then get the funds from the cinema to buy movie pre-sales, which would greatly reduce the cost of filming Daydream's movies.

It just so happened that the person in charge of Starlight Cinema Line was also undergoing changes. After acquiring Cannon Pictures, the Italian banker Giancarlo Paretti wanted to continue the acquisition of the big business through leverage and open a wallet in Europe again.

European banks thought that the best collateral they had was Starlight Cinemas. A large part of the money Giancarlo Parretti used to acquire Pathé Films was from the collateral of Starlight Cinemas.

Giancarlo Parretti himself had no interest in making real movies. He preferred to use the aura of movies to play financial games. In this way, Starlight Pictures' original fixed channel for purchasing Hollywood B-movies gradually dried up.

After watching the videotapes of several action movies brought by Ronald, they were very happy. Now martial arts are beginning to revive in Europe and Britain, and the annual karate championships are very popular.

Ronald's movies are either karate, taekwondo, Muay Thai, or a hodgepodge of Asian martial arts. It's just that The Karate Kid 3 was a bit fantasy, so they were not sure. They happily bought 200 copies of the other movies.

With this kind of international pre-sale theater order, Ronald's B-movie shooting business can reduce a lot of risks, and the output is expected to reach ten films per year.

Leaving Cannold in London to discuss the details, Ronald prepared to board the plane to Paris.

In the lounge of the business jet, Ronald was looking at the newly published "Times", which also began to report on Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures.

"Some Americans are sad that their cultural souls are being sold because Sony bought Columbia Pictures, which has produced thousands of films from "Lawrence of Arabia" to "When Harry Met Sally".

As a result, they forget that this is just a business behavior, and various arguments that Japan has invaded Hollywood have also appeared in large numbers. Just two years ago, when Sony acquired Columbia Records, there was no such accusation..."

"Yes..." Ronald slapped his thigh. The magazine's report is indeed much higher than that of the newspaper. Let them investigate slowly when they have time, and then write a more in-depth investigation report. Ronald was very excited and wanted to talk to the reporter face to face.

It was also Japanese capital that acquired the cultural industry of America. Why didn't anyone say that the Japanese invaded when they acquired Columbia Records?

It seems that Hollywood movies do have an influence beyond ordinary commodities. It is not what Ronald thought before that selling movies is the same as selling Coca-Cola.

In addition to being a commodity, movies have more important functions. Otherwise, the opening, mergers and acquisitions, and distribution of the film industry would not always require the government or government-like organizations to come forward to discuss.

Ronald witnessed the negotiations between the MPAA Film Association and the Minister of Culture of the United States on the opening of the US and French film markets, which involved the presidents of the two countries speaking out. It seems that movies are indeed related to the fundamental issues of a country.

"Is that you, Ronald?" Ronald, who was reading with great interest, heard a woman greeting him.

"Hey? It's me, you are..." Ronald looked up and saw a thin woman wearing a hat and big-framed sunglasses, covering her tightly. This energy is very much like a movie star.

"Uh, Miss Irving..." Ronald recognized the person who came, Spielberg's ex-wife, movie actress Amy Irving.

"Call me Amy..." Amy Irving sat down opposite Ronald confidently, and the two began to chat like old friends.

Perhaps because he was in a foreign country, Ronald felt that Amy Irving's enthusiasm for him exceeded the scope of ordinary Hollywood acquaintances. Doesn’t he remember that he helped the great director’s ex-wife?

"You helped me a lot, Ronald..." Amy Irving seemed to understand Ronald's confusion and took the initiative to talk about the reason. It turned out that she thought she could get hundreds of millions of dollars in property in the divorce lawsuit, and Ronald's honest testimony played a big role.

Her lawyer told her at the time that the judge's decision was largely based on his interpretation of the law. If there were strong testimony or evidence at this time, it would be difficult for the judge to declare the premarital information hastily written on a tissue. If the agreement is invalid, Amy Irving will not be able to get so much property.

"I just told the truth..." Ronald thought to himself, it doesn't have much to do with me. I don’t dare to commit perjury in court. There is no need to take such a big risk for Spielberg’s property.

Amy Irving has a huge fortune, but she doesn't have many opportunities in Hollywood. Although Spielberg did not completely block his ex-wife's career prospects like George Lucas did, there are only some independent productions for Spielberg's sake. I will ask her to star in a movie, get some investment, and get a little bit of Spielberg's popularity...

She is also looking for an opportunity to come back. The country is another important town in the world's film circles, outside of Hollywood. She also wants to see if there is a chance to star in an art film to rekindle the memory of the audience and critics.

Because her plane was delayed, Ronald saw the hint in her words and invited her to take his business jet.

"Guess who I met at the London airport?" Ronald called Diane and reported that he was safe...

…

When he arrived in Paris, Ronald also chatted with the theater manager of EMI about some business matters. There is not much difference between Parisians and Londoners when it comes to making money from selling copies. It's just about writing contracts and payment terms.

Ronald's Daydream is not expensive to copy, and it fits well with the current craze for kung fu movies in Europe. Like Hong Kong's kung fu movies, Daydream's kung fu movies also have hard-fought fighting scenes like those of Hong Kong's martial arts directors, making it easier for the audience who are spoiled by Hong Kong's kung fu movies to tolerate them.

And unlike Xiangjiang's kung fu movies, the protagonists in his movies are all white. This is completely different from the situation in Jackie's movie, where white people can only be the villains at best.

Having a Chinese star like Jean-Claude Van Damme defeat the martial arts of other countries has also allowed the young people of the country to find confidence on the screen.

However, they were not as polite to Ronald's artistic achievements as the British. With the existence of the Cannes Film Festival, the largest film art center outside of Hollywood, the Chinese people actually don't care much about film directors like Ronald.

Their cultural circles worship film directors and like directors who are authorial and have their own philosophy on art. But for box-office successes like Ronald, only theater managers support him.

In fact, it’s not just Hollywood directors like Ronald, but also the country’s own national treasure director Truffaut. Because in his later years he was keen on commercial production and focused on box office success, the country’s literary and art circles gradually did not regard him as a new wave. The pioneer of the era.

This time, Ronald's old friend Andrei Konchalovsky no longer lived in Paris, and no one introduced him to the Paris film circle. After staying for two days, Ronald was bored and missed him. Wife, as soon as Michelle Cannold arrives, he will go back to Los Angeles.

"Ronald, meet again?" This time it was a coincidence that Ronald met Amy Irving again at the Paris Airport.

She was treated the same as Ronald. This was a star who became famous after appearing in various commercial films. The film industry in China had never been very accepting of this kind of actress. The two magic weapons she used to get involved in the project were Spielberg's ex-wife status and the fact that she knew many wealthy people and invested in the project. These were not easy to use in a country where the government funded film shooting, so she left in frustration. .

"Let's take my plane together?" Ronald asked her with a smile. He would take her with him once and twice.

"I'm going to take the Concorde. I want to get back to Los Angeles as soon as possible. I don't want to stay here anymore..." Amy Irving is not afraid of spending money. She chose the Concorde, which can be reached in two hours.

"I'm afraid of the noise, so I'd better take my Gulfstream..."

For Ronald, the most important thing is to get enough sleep, and he will not let go of a possible opportunity to dream on the plane. The huge noise of the Concorde and the small space make it impossible to fall asleep...

…

Ronald was watching the French current affairs magazines "Le Pot" and "L'Express" in the waiting room. These two magazines, similar to Business Week and Time, also reported on Sony's acquisition of Colombia.

Michel Cannold translated most of the French content for him. In fact, the attitude of the Chinese people is also very interesting. After criticizing the influence of capital on film art, he actually showed some jealous emotions, as if to say, why Why didn't Japanese Capital propose to acquire the film company in Laoguo? Although our Ministry of Culture will certainly not agree.

"Ronald, Ronald..."

Just when he was about to take a rest, Amy Irving's voice came over again.

"Why, you still decided..." Ronald thought she had changed her mind and responded casually, but when he looked up, Amy Irving was not alone, there was a tall woman crying beside her.

"Huh?" Ronald was stunned for a moment:

"Why is it you? Brooke?"

"Wuwuwu... I abandoned my mother Terry..." Brooke Shields cried breathlessly.

"What? Drink some water and talk slowly", Ronald thought, what is this plot? He asked Amy Irving, "What's going on? I think Brooke can't speak..."

"Hey, I saw her crying alone on the Concorde, they are all Americans, I thought she had something sad, who knows..."

Amy Irving told Ronald a story that made people laugh and cry.

It turned out that Brooke Shields also came to the country with her mother Terry to seek opportunities. But Terry still held the position of Brooke's manager and treated her like a girl who had not grown up. She refused all erotic scenes and also sought a certain right to share in the shares.

In addition, she drank alcohol every day and was half drunk during many negotiations, which ruined a big project of Godard.

Brooke Shields could no longer bear it. She felt that if she continued to be controlled by her mother, she would not have any chance of recovery. On the way to the airport, Terry drank whiskey again and could not get off the taxi at the airport.

Brooke was so angry that she took both passports and wanted to leave and get rid of Terry, the burden...

But after all, she was a child who grew up with her mother, and she didn't have such a real vicious spirit. When Brooke arrived at the gate of the departure hall, she ran back and threw her mother Terry's passport and a roll of banknotes into the car window.

"Madeoiselle, what are you going to do with your mother?" The taxi driver asked her.

"Whatever..."

Although leaving her mother in the taxi made Brooke Shields feel a little free, the guilt soon overwhelmed her. After boarding the plane, she cried on the Concorde until she was recognized by Amy Irving, who was also an American.

"My ticket is expired..." Amy Irving said to Ronald with a smile. She asked Brooke Shields on the plane if there was anyone who could help her deal with this mess. Brooke hesitated and said Ronald's name. She smiled and got her off the plane. The two came to Ronald.

"Take my plane..." Ronald shook his head. Brooke still had a childish temper, but her weight showed another story. Brooke Shields was at least 20 pounds fatter than when she was a model, and her face was no longer as cute as it was back then. Although she was still a beauty, she was obviously not as good as an American girl.

"I'll have someone look for your mother, Terry. She'll be fine in the taxi..."

"No, I don't want to take the same plane with her..."

"Okay, let's find her first..." Ronald turned around and told Richard a few words.

Seeing Brooke looking at him with expectation, Ronald shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I'll make a phone call first..."

The call was connected to the mansion in Beverly Hills, "Diane, honey, guess who I met at the Paris airport?"