Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Why did you fall in love with someone else? How am I inferior to Sydney Pollack?"

Ronald's movie "Ghost" has completed the final production and is about to arrange a small-scale preview.

At this time, news came that Lindsay Dolan, the vice president of Paramount who had advocated the establishment of the film and offered Ronald generous dividend conditions and the studio itself took the lead in investing a lot of money, resigned from Paramount.

She was forced out by Paramount's boring office politics. The discrimination against female management in Hollywood's big studios is very obvious. Although Lindsay Dolan has been working several jobs in the past few years, working more than ten hours a day, and advancing several projects in parallel. But after the film came out, the promotion quota did not fall on his head, and he had to continue to be a hardworking and diligent old ox. Lindsay Dolan was not happy...

Of course, a producer who can work hard, choose the script himself, and know which director to give it to will not be unappreciated. Just after resigning, he was poached by the famous Jewish director Sydney Pollack's company, Mirage Pictures, to serve as a producer.

"Hehehe, Sydney has a lot of very deep scripts, and I can be closely involved in the creation of the scripts and work in the editing room if necessary. I can supervise every aspect."

Lindsay Dolan smiled and replied to Ronald's joke. She actually really thought about joining Ronald's Daydream, but at that time, Daydream's Star-Spangled Banner series of B-level low-cost action movies were released one after another, which made her feel discouraged. If you make such movies every day, you will pull your hair out with regret, right?

"If you come, I will definitely invest in art films. I don't care what subject you want to shoot, what director you want to find, and what protagonist you want to audition. Consider it, kick out that old man Sydney Pollack, and my position here is ready for you..."

Ronald smiled bitterly and half-jokingly, trying to snatch this high-quality producer back. The most capable producers of Daydream are two women, Polly Pratt is experienced and Rachel Talalay is tough. If a producer like Lindsay Dolan, who has a delicate sense of art and is good at dealing with directors, can join, it will be a good addition.

"Are you kidding?" Lindsay Dolan didn't expect Ronald to think so highly of her, "I have already promised Sydney, but I will remember your invitation."

"It will be valid for a long time..." Ronald smiled. Producers are also specialized in their professions, and the two female actors in the romantic love drama are a little bit short of it.

"The preview of Ghost was very good. Almost all female audiences cried when they saw Sam turn around, bid farewell to Molly, and fly to the end of heaven... I haven't seen such a touching ending of a movie in Hollywood for a long time."

"Then why do you still resign? Why don't you continue to fight for a few months at Paramount, and when my movie is released, it will give you a lot of chips?" Wallard thought so, but when the words came to his mouth, they turned into "I will pray for the box office of this movie."

After having children, Ronald sometimes went to church on weekends. This made him more like a traditional American successful person.

Some people are just good at doing things, and some people are good at building relationships. If Lindsay Dolan knew this, she would not resign before the movie she led was about to be released. No matter what, she would have to finish this bet.

But if she knew this too much, Ronald would not want to recruit her to Daydream to play an important role (I guess Sydney Pollack has the same feeling).

"I heard that you are preparing a new movie? Is it also a romantic comedy? Have you found a good distributor..."

"That's not what you should consider..." Ronald smiled and shook his head. Although this person is capable, he is too persistent and naive in some things.

"For the distribution, although you have resigned, I still ask Paramount to let you participate in the activities in Los Angeles or New York. You can choose a convenient schedule. Patrick Schwitz and Demi Moore will attend." Ronald still remembers the enthusiasm of the fan who insisted on dancing with Schwitz.

"Ha, thank you..." Sure enough, Lindsay Dolan happily chose the time. The movie will be released in July. In addition to the screening activities, there will also be a series of TV interviews. With his own TV station, it became easier to integrate publicity resources.

…

There was no need to worry about the distribution of "Other People's Money". Columbia Pictures, Disney, and even Warner Bros., which sold the script to Ronald, all extended olive branches to him to distribute the film.

The reason was very simple, because the box office ability of "Pretty Woman" exceeded everyone's imagination.

In the second week of May, the film had already exceeded $100 million in domestic box office, and the momentum was heading for the annual box office champion. This was really like a bomb thrown into a closed room in Hollywood.

Until last year's "When Harry Met Sally", romantic love films were still seen as a genre of small and medium-cost markets. Since "Jaws" and "Star Wars" opened the era of screen special effects, the box office champions of each year have to be related to special effects production.

The few annual box office champions without special effects are also the trough of the annual box office curve. The last purely romantic film to win the annual championship date back to 1971's "Love Story".

It was a love tragedy between a rich man and a poor girl, who broke away from the fetters of the world and wanted to be together. In the end, the girl got sick and died unfortunately. This caused a movie-going craze at that time, and everyone went to the cinema with a handkerchief to cry. It was shown in theaters throughout 2071 and continued until 2072, earning a box office of 100 million.

But "Pretty Woman" only took seven weeks to achieve the feat of breaking 100 million at the domestic box office.

This is of course related to changes in film distribution models, economic development, and the renewed prosperity of the film market. But romance films are all low- to medium-cost genres, and most of them are star salaries. This one hired Richard Gere and only had a budget of 14 million...

You know, even last year's box office champion "Batman" took ten weeks to reach the box office of over 100 million. And his budget is a terrifying 50 million, not counting the 60 million dividends shared by Jack Nicholson!

The cost is low, the shooting cycle is short, and the post-production time is short, but the ability to make money is not bad at all... All Hollywood producers have been thinking about a question in their minds recently:

Could it be that the traditional romantic movie, in which the prince and princess live happily together, is coming back? Although the prince lives in a penthouse suite of a high-end hotel, and the princess also has to pick up guests on the street... But their core pattern is the same. Two seemingly impossible lovers finally came together because of love...

As the box office soared every week, Richard Gere received twice as many scripts, and Julia Roberts's salary offers doubled.

Director Garry Marshall is also being competed by many studios, but of course everyone still only trusts his ability to direct romantic films. In addition to the jump in salary, the level of stars he can invite is also rising rapidly.

From has-been male stars and new female stars, they quickly transitioned to established male stars, backbone female stars, and even faster to Oscar winner and best actress candidates. The latest news is that he has begun cooperating with Paramount to discuss new scripts with Michelle Pfeiffer, Warren Beatty, Sally Field, and Al Pacino.

Of course, in addition to the ill-informed studio executives, the manufacturers who really knew the various inside stories during the filming of "Pretty Woman" pointed their fingers at Ronald.

This film received strong support from Ronald, from establishing the director to casting and subsequent shooting. He was also the one who initially picked up the script and invested in it. It just so happens that his own directorial work, "The Love of Ghosts" is about to be released.

But Hollywood is an industry that competes to be the first. If you wait until "The Ghost Story" is released before you seek cooperation with Ronald, you will only be exposed to the exhaust fumes of his Ferrari sports car.

From "Moonlight", to "When Harry Met Sally", and then to "The Last Love", Ronald made three atypical romantic films. A love story between middle-aged people, a love story between urban youth, and a love tragedy. His latest project, "Other People's Money," is an authentic Hollywood love model, with two seemingly impossible love stories. Men and women come together because of love...

Therefore, Disney, which has tasted the sweetness, and Samsung Pictures, run by two old friends of Ronald, have given super favorable conditions.

Not only will they participate in the investment in film shooting, but they will also be given the best box office schedule and marketing treatment for first-class films. As for the casting, script revision, and final editing of the film, it depends on what Ronald needs, and they will help realize it!

However, Ronald is a little dissatisfied with the domestic distribution capabilities of Samsung and Disney. TriStar Pictures is originally a shadow brand of Columbia, and many of its distribution capabilities have been integrated by Columbia during the acquisition.

In terms of live-action movies, Disney can only produce some small and medium-cost productions and release them on not very good schedules. This time "Pretty Woman", they only mobilized 1,500 theaters to premiere in the weak period after the New Year, and it will be more difficult to add more after that.

As for Paramount, he is not willing. Now this studio, which was the most powerful five years ago, is in a period of internal chaos. His "love between people and ghosts" is not over yet, and the time slot is scheduled for the latter part of the summer season. , but with the departure of Lindsay Dolan, there is a lack of a real working vice president, and many senior executives are focusing on the company's fat men and enriching their own pockets. The distribution communication between him and Paramount is not very smooth.

As for Warner Bros., who wanted to turn back, Ronald once again proposed the adaptation copyright of "Forrest Gump" as a condition. Unexpectedly, this move made the Jewish executives feel that the goods were rare and insisted on not lowering the price. Ronald was so angry that he blacklisted them.

If it doesn't work out, Ronald plans to propose that Samsung Pictures and Disney jointly distribute this "Other People's Money" film. Anyway, this kind of cooperation between studios is not unheard of. The medium-strength distribution departments of the two studios can be compared with the other strongest distribution departments.

The most regrettable thing is that Columbia Pictures, which I promoted, hired Jewish Peter Guber. It is always difficult to deal with this group of Jews. All kinds of twists and turns and the mentality that if you don’t win, you lose, you always feel like you are negotiating with a poisonous snake.

But it was impossible not to deal with Jews in Hollywood. Ronald also has to deal with it carefully, because these people are very "unity". There is a tacit understanding of suppression against non-Jewish employees. It's really troublesome to have a serious relationship with them.

…

Early the next morning, while Ronald was revising the script, the fax machine squeaked and a black-and-white photo was printed. Then he received an international long-distance call from Cannes.

"Hey, Ronald, have you seen the photo I sent you?"

Martin Scorsese's voice appeared on the microphone.

"Marty? Is it night where you are? What kind of photo is this?" The resolution of the fax machine was very low, and the photo had a lot of grayscale loss. Ronald could only vaguely recognize the master Akira Kurosawa sitting in the middle. The man standing next to him has meticulously combed hair and a clean shave. He is so elegant that he doesn't look like Scorsese.

"Did you see it? Hahaha, this is our dinner to celebrate Mr. Kurosawa. Didn't you see that everyone has a glass of champagne in their hands?"

"Oh, no wonder, I heard that 'Dream', directed by Mr. Kurosawa, starring you, was the opening film of Cannes? Congratulations..." Ronald thought it was a group photo of the film crew.

The last time Martin Scorsese was at the Oscars, he was not qualified to award Akira Kurosawa an honorary Oscar. This time at Cannes, he was by the master's side every day, and he must have been the focus of the media. Ronald knew This is what you want to show off to him... Congratulations quickly.

"Hahaha, can't you recognize the handsome guy next to me? Look carefully, there is also the young man in front of me..."

"Ouch, I..."

Ronald picked up the fax and examined it carefully in the sunlight. He finally discovered that it was not a set photo.

All the people in this photo are famous directors, each holding a glass of champagne in their hands, paying tribute to Akira Kurosawa, the only one with a seat in the photo, sitting in the middle.

Next to Scorsese is Bertolucci, the director of The Last Emperor who dominated the world in 1987. The docile young man in front of him, squatting next to the master Akira Kurosawa, is the young director Steven Soderbergh, who became famous last year with "Sex, Lies, Videotape" and won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

The other people standing next to him were also world-famous directors. Ronald barely recognized Poland's Andrzej Wajda, Italy's Vittorio Tavini and others from the low-resolution photos. …

"It really makes me jealous. I wish I could take a photo with him right here in Cannes..." Ronald felt that Scorsese had some knots in his heart last time and deliberately said something to make him happy.

"Hahaha, you are not qualified, Ronald." Scorsese really felt a little confused.

"Why am I no longer qualified?" Ronald thought to himself, does Scorsese not hold a grudge that much? Does he really value Kurosawa's approval so much?

"Don't you see? Forget it, the fax effect is not good. Let me tell you, these are all winners of the Palme d'Or at Cannes."

"Uh..." Ronald was really jealous now. He just didn't make much achievements in awards. And Scorsese himself also won the Palme d'Or at Cannes for "Taxi Driver."

"Ronald-san?" Kurosawa Akira's voice came from the other side, "Let me have a word with him..."

Akira Kurosawa took the microphone and said, "Ronald-san, thank you for hosting us in Los Angeles last time. I missed you very much. I look forward to seeing you in Cannes."

"Hey, look, this is the magnanimity of a master." Ronald said to Diane who came after hearing the news, "Master Akira Kurosawa encouraged me to work hard and win the Palme d'Or in Cannes... better than Scorsese. It’s much better to show off your jealousy.”