Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"The end of sequels? The Hollywood box office formula is no longer powerful?"

Diane has recently resumed her love of making coffee. Ronald's coffee for breakfast every morning is also espresso made by Diane using a coffee machine. This kind of coffee was invented by Italians and has one advantage: you can drink it in one sip...

"Is it true that sequels are not popular with the audience?" Agent Richard brought the latest media reports and asked after seeing the criticisms of last week's box office.

"Gremlins 2" has recalled many of the original cast, especially Phoebe Cates, the sexiest and most beautiful in the film, and is still produced by Spielberg and directed by Joe Dante, but the box office has plummeted by 35% compared to last week...

"Another 48 Hours", directed by Walter Hill, Eddie Murphy returned, but it did not make the two realize their wish of a comeback. This week's box office plummeted by 44%, and the critics were calling for a run out of ideas.

Dutch director Paul Verhoeven, his new film "Total Recall" is very popular, with Schwarzenegger and a blonde beauty starring passionately. However, the second film of his popular "RoboCop" series had a big drop in box office after the director was changed. The box office fell by 58% this week...

In addition to "Back to the Future 3" which was released a month ago, the sequels generally performed poorly in this summer. So much so that the media and critics began to think that the era of sequels as a money-making code has passed.

"Hey, this is caused by the lack of seriousness of the main creators. The producer (Joel Silver) took the lead. From the leading actor (Bruce Willis) to the actors who played the main supporting roles in the first film, everyone was thinking of making a quick buck first, and the upper and lower classes followed suit..."

Ronald did not think there was any change in the model. The sequel is still a very powerful money-making framework. These are all old problems that have continued after the collapse of the big studio system.

Because actors and directors are freelancers and no longer work for film companies for a fixed salary. So the pay will fluctuate greatly depending on the box office performance of the previous film. For a hit movie like "Die Hard", everyone's pay has increased greatly in the sequel.

Only because the previous director was replaced, the new director had to rely on the sequel to make a name for himself, so he was the most dedicated person in the crew.

"So you agreed to go to the premiere of Die Hard 2?" Richard took out a small notebook and prepared to record it.

"Yes, I am also one of the investors and producers, so I still have to go once. Besides, I agreed to Tom (Cruise)'s invitation to the premiere of his new film. If I go to Tom's side and not Bruce's side, it will be unreasonable."

Ronald took the orange juice that Richard drank, poured it into his glass, and drank it.

"Honey, do you want some coffee?" Diane has recovered her figure very well recently. She made a few new clothes and prepared to wear them at the premiere of the movie "Days of Thunder" starring Tom Cruise and his girlfriend Nicole Kidman. It is a way to announce her comeback to the public.

"I've had enough. I just drank orange juice. Give Richard a glass..."

"Ronald..."

"Tom..."

This movie "Days of Thunder" is about the NASCAR racing that the American people love to watch. This is a track car race, and the appearance of the car is also an ordinary civilian vehicle, not the weird appearance of the Formula One. Americans always have a strange confidence that I can win the race after some modification, so they also like this kind of race more.

Because of this, the stars who came to the premiere today all dressed like people in the racing field.

Tom Cruise and his girlfriend Kidman are inseparable. The two also wore couple outfits, both white fashionable shirts and jeans. Cruise wore a pair of black square-framed glasses, and Kidman held a black Prade leather bag. The two appeared in simple fashion, which was very eye-catching.

Ronald and Diane are another match. Diane wore beige pants that symbolize women's equality, and a vest over a white office shirt. Her long wavy hair gave people the feeling of a successful female lawyer.

Ronald wore a light-colored suit, light gray pants and handmade boat shoes from Milan, and he also looked like a Mediterranean business tycoon. The two dressed like a successful prodigal entrepreneur and his responsible secretary.

For a moment, the photographers' cameras turned around and clicked the shutters of the two handsome men and beautiful women.

"Ronald, what do you think of this movie starring Tom?" The reporter also asked in a hoarse voice behind him. In this kind of occasion, if the star is not directly related, it is okay not to answer. But Ronald's image among reporters has always been good, and he is willing to cooperate with the reputation of reporters, so many reporters come to try their luck.

"Like you, I haven't seen the movie yet. I'll tell you after I finish watching it. But I'm always looking forward to Tom's movies. He is the best." Ronald gave a thumbs up to the camera, and it felt like imitating a film critic.

"What do you think of his performance in the recent movie?" Another reporter wanted to make a big news and wanted to ask Ronald about Tom Cruise's narrow defeat to Daniel Day-Lewis in "Born on the Fourth of July".

"Tom is the best. When he was filming 'Top Gun', he was in the cockpit of the F-14A. When he was filming 'Days of Thunder', he was also in the driving seat of the racing car. He is a model of actors who practice what they preach..."

"Ronald, Diane!"

Fearing that a reporter would ask Ronald again what he thought of Tom Cruise's sitting in a wheelchair in "Born on the Fourth of July" as a kind of physical practice, he quickly put on a smiling expression, pretended not to hear, and pulled Diane into the cinema.

"Oh... look at the way they look at each other..."

The movie came to the scene where Nicole Kidman, a female doctor, examined the body of the racing driver played by Tom Cruise. The two looked at each other in a close-up, and the affectionate look was not acted at all. All the audience at the scene were very sure that this was the actor's own emotional expression.

When the intimate scenes between the two came later, there was a burst of admiration in the cinema.

Nicole Kidman's face shape and facial features have the feeling of a standard movie actor. And Cruise's handsome face, two youthful bodies, let the audience's hormones begin to secrete crazily.

The screen magnified the most beautiful human body dozens of times and showed it to the audience in every detail. Even Ronald and Diane, who were not involved in the film, felt a little embarrassed.

Fortunately, the two leading actors are stars and are accustomed to such things (Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's debut films both have nude scenes). They sat happily in the front seats, holding hands and kissing each other from time to time.

"I don't want to see your passionate scenes on the public screen, Diane." Ronald couldn't stand such passionate scenes between the closest people on the movie screen.

"Hey, I don't want our child Roger to see his mother's scenes when he grows up and reaches puberty..."

After having a child, Diane's thoughts have changed a lot. She gradually agreed with her father Bert's values ​​and didn't want to shoot such scenes. Isn't it said that people change when they have children?

"The Oscar judges just don't like me... Unlike you, the people of the Directors Guild voted for you. Our Actors Guild just likes jealousy and internal friction, and let an Irishman win the award..."

"Hey, your Actors Guild doesn't like me either. The Directors Guild may nominate me, but the Actors Guild decides who wins."

After the movie was shown, Ronald and Tom Cruise, two Oscar losers, began to exchange their failure experiences in the lounge.

"I don't think he is better than me... The most important thing is the subject matter, plus the judges like disabled people. The character I play is in a wheelchair, but it's still worse than his..."

This is the first time Tom Cruise has been nominated for Best Actor this year. He didn't win the award, and he was very disappointed. He had some opinions about the winner Daniel Day-Lewis.

Cruise played Ron Kovic, who was paralyzed in the war and almost lost a leg. Daniel Day-Lewis played Christy Brown, a cerebral palsy patient with only one leg that can move.

In fact, it is impossible to compare who has better acting skills fairly, but Lewis has a better acting crutch because of his more serious disability, so he does have better acting skills in the eyes of laymen.

And there are actually many laymen among the voting members of the Screen Actors Guild, and there are even more who don’t want Tom Cruise, a handsome guy, to gain recognition for his acting skills while taking advantage of his appearance...

"Actresses in Britain, especially drama actors, have taken a big advantage here. The same story, which happened in America, just doesn’t make people feel tasteful as it happened in Britain..."

"What is your next project?" Ronald couldn't listen any more. Tom Cruise's desire for Oscars is no less than his own. If he continued to listen, everyone might get depressed.

"Tell you, I also found a story that happened in Ireland, the British Isles, and America. Nicole and I will act together..."

"Uh..." Ronald was speechless. It seems that Tom Cruise is even more obsessed than him and has begun to merge the formula for Oscar success with similar items. I'll add Irish and British elements to your film this time, and see what you have to say.

...

"Did Tom invite you to direct the movie 'Far and Away'?" After returning home, Diane changed into her pajamas and started talking to Ronald.

"I refused. This is not the field I can direct..." Ronald knew himself. This kind of Irish peasant uprising, the son of the tenant farmer rebelled, and smuggled to America with the daughter of the landlord, and then experienced all kinds of hardships, and finally bought land in Oklahoma and became a landlord in the New World...

This kind of plot is actually not too dramatic, and it is a costume drama with a large investment, but it is difficult to shoot it well.

"Nicole seems to want to persuade you through me, Tom seems to be a little..." Diane said a little worriedly.

"Hey, Oscar, I want it too..." Ronald muttered to himself. If this happened to others, I could analyze it objectively, but if it happened to me, my directing was not bad, why didn't I win the award? Is Rain Man really better than my directing? Isn't it because the protagonist in your movie is a fool, it looks better in the eyes of laymen...

When the box office statistics came out on Monday, "Days of Thunder" only earned 15 million in more than 2,300 theaters, with an average box office of only 6,700 US dollars per theater.

This result fully proves that even the combination of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman does not have the box office power of "Top Gun" directed by Ronald.

The scenes of driving a racing car are easily boring, and the audience is always switching between turning in circles and close-ups of the cab, which is far from the thrilling feeling of Ronald dealing with fighter jet combat.

Paramount's senior management has begun to examine what they have done poorly and is preparing to write a report.

Tom Cruise, passionate and mechanical sports. Nicole Kidman is a qualified vase with a decent career. Music by Hans Zimmer. The producers are also Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson...

Is there any difference in the blockbuster formula of this movie? Is the competition too fierce? Maybe if "Die Hard 2", released next week, doesn't do well at the box office, the audience will watch more of "Top Gun", a racing car?

…

"Don't forget to say that Bruce is the best this time..."

Diane changed into another set of clothes, this time a black professional style, with a knee-length skirt and cute shoes. Diane also put her hair up, looking like a professional strong woman.

Ronald more formally changed into a navy-style top with double-breasted metal buttons and a diagonal striped tie.

This time the style of the two of them is closer to that of an alumni couple who attends parent-teacher meetings at an Ivy League private university and donates countless dollars to the school so that their children can attend college.

"Remember to remind me that this time there won't be as many interview questions as last time. If no reporters ask, I will have to wait at the door for a while..."

Ronald smiled and held Diane's waist, and the two got into Little Bud's car.

Sure enough, it was pretty much what Ronald expected. Today's premiere of "Die Hard 2" had several times more stars than "Thunderbolts", and they all appeared in pairs.

"Ronald, Ronald...you are finally here..." Joel Silver saw that the car had stopped and quickly came up and opened the door.

Others don't know, but he knows. The test screening of "Die Hard 2" did not perform well. In order to attract more viewers to watch the movie during the opening weekend, he tried his best to recruit as many celebrities as possible.

But giving other stars a premiere platform is not a good choice for A-list stars. Unless they are friends in the industry or work with the same agent, no one would want to lend their fame to other people's movies.

If Ronald hadn't picked up the phone and contacted a few people at the last moment when he saw that the movie he invested in might fail, he might have made a big fool of himself today.

20th Century Fox was already dissatisfied with him and Bruce Willis enriching their own pockets. If the premiere failed to invite enough stars and the box office failed, wouldn't it have to be thrown at them?

"Aren't they here yet? Let the reporters ask me first. I've memorized the answers." Ronald smoothed the back of his suit, then bent down to help Diane get out of the car.

"Ronald, Ronald, Diane, Diane..."

Reporters have been waiting for a long time. Except for the has-been star Stallone who just passed by, none of the celebrities who had been rumored to be coming did not come. Diane Lane finally came and everyone went to take photos.

"Ronald, what do you think of Bruce Willis' performance in the sequel?"

"Oh, Bruce, he's the best. In the first episode he fought terrorists in a building, and in this one he fights terrorists at the airport. I don't know where else he can show off his skills..."

"What do you think of Die Hard 2? What are your expectations as an investor?"

"This is all Joel's credit. I can only say that I like this story very much. The performance of the director and Bruce is an indispensable key to the story of this movie." Ronald let Joel Silver out , whether you are making money or losing money, you should still bear the blame.

"Julia...Julia..."

"Patrick...Patrick..."

While Ronald was busy avoiding difficult questions, two more luxury cars came behind the parking line.

Julia Roberts cut her hair short and hid behind her boyfriend Kiefer Sutherland. She seemed to have lost a lot of weight. The two of them didn't answer many questions and hurried into the cinema.

The car behind is Patrick Schwytz. He was in good spirits and came with his wife.

"Demi, Bruce and I are all good friends, and I am a fan of their movies." Patrick Schwytz was also a little surprised that Roberts did not accept an interview, so he had to make up for it himself and answer a few questions.

His and Demi Moore's new film "The Last Day" was about to be released. Ronald called him and suggested that the two parties exchange attendance at each other's premiere...