Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Is it really over?" Ronald looked at the ratings of the latest episode of "Working Girls" and still saw no improvement.

"It's over. We are also making decisions based on the cost line. Even if it doesn't make money, we hope to finish the show. After all, it is a collaboration between Daydream and NBC.

The speaker is NBC's evening program director, Rick Ludwin. He showed Ronald a financial report.

A 30-minute sitcom has about three to four commercial breaks. Each break is two to three minutes long, and four to six 30-second ads can be played. Now in NBC's evening time slot, each ad costs 100,000 to 120,000.

Now that the ratings of "Working Girls" are low, only four ads can be sold during each commercial break, and three After the commercial break, plus various broadcast and investment costs, the remaining money could not even make back the average production cost of 450,000 per episode of Working Girls.

Rick Ludwin did his best. He paid for the production of the remaining four episodes and bought the full broadcast rights, trying to broadcast them on non-syndicated NBC TV stations during non-prime time... After all, Ronald is a well-known commercial film director in the Hollywood industry. If he fails this time, there will be another chance next time.

Ronald was also very tactful. He knew that the other party did a good job, so he quickly signed the notice of consent to the cancellation.

"Then what series will you use to fill this time slot?" Ronald knew that "Working Girls" was also used to fill the gap of other cancelled dramas, and now it has been abandoned. NBC has canceled dramas twice in a row, which is very bad news for Rick Ludwin, the program director.

"I plan to introduce French Open next month. The response to the pilot is very good. The taste of TV drama viewers has changed significantly. I think it's time to launch this kind of TV series that has been well received in pilots in big cities.

Anyway, those viewers in small towns and rural areas will definitely find it fresh to see stories about big cities. Today's TV viewers are different from before. If you shoot small town stories for them, they won't want to watch them. "

Rick Ludwin explained. Their previous selection experience of NBC has repeatedly hit a wall this year. After the writers' strike, the audience had no TV series to watch for several months. It seems that they have developed a "bad" habit. If there are no good TV series, they can watch videotapes!

This habit continued after the strike ended. Those mediocre dramas could still find some viewers to chat and watch. Now, it is more likely that they will take out a box of videotapes and watch a Hollywood movie with the whole family.

"As for the time slot of this Working Girl, we don't have any good choices. Do you have any recommendations?" Rick Ludwin is the person in charge of the evening program. Half of his energy is to find new dramas with potential, and the other half is to try to keep the cost of old dramas within the budget.

"Would you consider Seinfeld? "Ronald remembered the sitcom about the life of Seinfeld, a Jewish man in New York, that Bannon had mentioned to him.

"Oh, yes, we can try them instead..." Rick Ludwin also remembered this one

"Let them broadcast it again and see, this time it will be syndicated..." Rick Ludwin decided to use this short series to fill the remaining Thursday night slot. This time slot is really unlucky this year, it has already

...

"I have notified Jerry Seinfeld. He said he would come to thank you in person. Without your recommendation, his show would not be on NBC." Bannon ran to Ronald and thanked him. Seinfeld was rumored to be on NBC, and his own reputation on Wall Street rose a little.

"Hey, goodbye. Your show can be on, mainly because the ratings of Working Girls are not good. After it is over, the ratings will be over the line, and it will be renewed.

Ronald waved his hand. This is not necessarily a good thing worth celebrating. Just like Sandra Bullock, the heroine of the TV version of "Working Girls", who was full of dreams of becoming a star, was suddenly hit the bottom again.

After the broadcast was cancelled, Sandra Bullock suddenly felt ashamed to go back to the restaurant where she worked before and made money as a waitress. She cried in the office. Her agent persuaded her for a long time, but she found out that she could still shoot TV series and commercials. Daydream has many TV series and movies, and she could make guest appearances there, which would earn her more than being a waitress.

As for the 12 episodes of "Working Girl" that had been filmed, Ronald had to try to contact European TV stations through Daydream's European channels to see if they had any intention of buying it. Then send it to Sino-American Entertainment Company. If they think it's suitable, they can give it to them for free dubbing.

"Hi, Diane, is this the costume for the new show?" Bannon put away the broadcast file and saw Diane Lane, who was wearing a black suit, a short skirt, stockings and high heels, and a pair of glasses, walking in. Her hair was also tied up high, and she was holding a black leather briefcase in her hand, a very authentic working girl outfit.

"Yeah, what do you think?" Diane adjusted her glasses. "Compared to Wall Street lawyers, what else needs to be improved?"

This time, in order to shoot "Other People's Money", Diane had already rushed to New York in advance and followed Ronald's lawyer Lindsay Doll for two weeks of internship. Little Roger was also picked up by a special plane and lived with his nanny Wang Ma in a hotel near Wall Street in downtown. It was convenient for Diane to see her son after get off work.

"Well..." Bannon is a shrewd person. He saw that Diane really wanted his opinion as a Wall Street banker, so he stood up, held his chin, and looked up and down seriously.

"Diane," Ronald looked at his wife with a smile. She looked really energetic in this outfit. He put his arm around Diane's waist.

"Don't make trouble, Ronnie. I want to hear Mr. Bannon's opinion. He has met many female lawyers and female bankers on Wall Street. I have studied with Lindsay for several days, but I always have some subtle temperaments that I can't grasp. ” Diane pushed Ronald’s hand away.

"Okay..." Ronald made a gesture of zipping up his mouth. This attitude is very good. Professional elites are different from other types of characters. They have a certain characteristic that the audience can tell at a glance whether you look like them or not.

You can play such female characters as ordinary students or housewives however you want, and the audience will not feel like they are acting out, because there are always students or housewives in life who have a temperament that matches the star herself.

Therefore, in professional dramas, it is best to actually spend some time with professional elites and learn and copy their professional habits. How you talk, how you walk, this kind of temperament that is immersed in your ears and eyes will make the audience recognize you at once.

"Tsk, I want to say, Diane, you are really great. You are already very similar to ordinary lawyers. But... your temper is a little too good..." Bannon thought about how to speak, and wanted to praise him first. , and then point out the problem.

"What does it mean to have a good temper?" Diane didn't understand. He took off his glasses. The glasses had a rope hanging on the back. If you took them off, they would hang around your neck. They were just the kind of glasses that career women like.

"Lawyers are all people with high IQs, especially Wall Street lawyers, who are even smarter. Their time is very precious, so they are naturally impatient with people with low IQs. If you are her colleague, ask Ask a stupid question and she will choke you out of her words.

If you are her client, she may hide her edge and explain to you, but she may also show impatience. Every time I see that look on the face of my expensive attorney, I know I've made a mistake. "

"Oh..." Diane suddenly realized that no wonder he didn't act like a lawyer. The lawyer always had that "you're too stupid, you don't understand, let me tell you..." look on his face.

"Haha..." Ronald had actually seen the problem a long time ago, but it would be best if Diane could figure it out on her own. His hands quietly wrapped around his wife's waist. After the diligent yoga training after giving birth, my figure has recovered very well, and I have regained a touch of the charm of a young woman, making me even sexier than before.

"Ronnie, you are a director. You should know how precious moments like this are for an actress. Don't disturb an actor's epiphany." Diane put the folder on Ronald and patted it on her body, and immediately acted with her new understanding. stand up.

"Ah ha ha ha... I'm leaving first." Seeing that the two couples were still having fun, Bannon left immediately.

"Hey," Ronald saw Bannon leaving and opened his desk.

"Huh? So beautiful." Diane opened it and saw a pair of Cartier diamond earrings, shaped like a swan. They didn't look like ordinary styles, they seemed to be custom-made or limited edition.

"Why did you give me earrings?" Diane was a little worried. This time when he came to New York, Ronald had obviously arranged it so that Helen and he would not appear on the same occasion at the same time. Is it a kind of compensation to give you valuable jewelry this time?

"I bought it a long time ago, just waiting for you to find the postpartum role of Kate Sullivan. Congratulations." Ronald patted his thigh and asked Diane to sit down. Fortunately, Richard was able to remind himself to arrange his time, and then called the manager of Cartier to visit and choose a pair of earrings.

By settling down with the client's family and satisfying them, you can also satisfy the client. This is the special skill of a senior agent.

"Really?" Diane was happy and put on the two earrings, "Do they look good?"

"Oh, my God, I think I'm in love with this female lawyer Kate." Ronald deliberately made a mistake and hugged Diane and kissed her. It's terrible, my figure has improved a lot since I became a mother.

"Let's go back to the hotel..." Diane whispered in his ear, the female lawyer's tone really made people feel itchy.

"Leave right away, Bud, Bud..." Ronald quickly called the driver, Little Bud, and the group returned to the hotel suite. When they entered the door, they hugged each other and kissed, as if they had found their newlyweds again. hapiness.

Female celebrities have this advantage, they never lack freshness.

…

"Oh, the French Open is premiering tonight." Ronald fell asleep tiredly, and when he woke up, it was already night. I quickly got up and washed my face with hot water, then turned on the TV and waited for the new NBC TV series.

This drama is the new season drama that NBC is focusing on. Rick Ludwin believes that the French Open has great potential. Ronald had long wanted to see what was wrong with the working girl he had made.

"In the field of fighting criminal crimes, there are two groups of people with different but equally important tasks. The police are responsible for investigating crimes. The district attorney is responsible for prosecuting suspects. This is their story... Dangdang"

"This beginning is so concise and powerful..." Diane had already gotten up and was reading the lines. When she saw Ronald staring at the TV, he came over curiously, saw the title, and made a comment.

"It's true, this TV series is too hardcore..."

Ronald also agreed, starting with the two-line title of the play divided into red and blue. After the opening words were spoken, and after two electronic sounds, the camera immediately cut to the crime scene, neatly and neatly, without wasting a second.

There were people coming and going in the emergency room of a public hospital, and all kinds of people were rushing through. Suddenly, a young girl wearing jeans began to convulse on the hospital bed. The nurses immediately went to check on the situation and called the doctor.

The respirator and chest compressions also failed to work. The doctor asked for a defibrillator, and then a balding middle-aged man came over worriedly and said that he was the girl's father...

Ronald read it carefully.

This TV series is actually a bit innovative, that is, it combines traditional detective dramas with lawyer dramas. The first half hour is about the investigation, and the second half hour is about the prosecution and the offensive and defensive battle between the prosecutor and the defendant's defense lawyer in the court.

The characters in the play speak at a pace that is almost twice as fast as that of working girls. That alone is actually okay. Originally, this kind of melodrama is more sophisticated in plot than sitcoms.

But the professional knowledge in this French Open game seems too hardcore. At the beginning, in the emergency room, nurses and doctors blurted out all kinds of professional vocabulary, and high school graduates may have problems understanding those words. Even if you are a college student, if you are not studying medicine, you may only have half an understanding of it.

The court content that follows is even more realistic. The contents of various cross-examinations, cross-examinations, and closing arguments are obviously much more profound than traditional legal dramas.

Originally, legal dramas such as Mason Lawyer and California Lawyer can at most educate the audience on some basic legal principles. Many places deviate from reality and deliberately add dramatic elements to make the audience like it (such as the most famous one pointed out in court Who the murderer is is almost impossible to show in an actual court).

After watching those legal dramas, I can at most understand some simple principles of jeopardy, Miranda rule, and the very basic principle that everyone is innocent until the verdict.

In this TV series, even the order of cross-examination, the tactics of cross-examination, and the strategic discussion of setting traps step by step to make key witnesses contradict themselves were filmed.

and

New immigrants' qualifications were not recognized in their original countries and they had to work in hospitals as junior doctors.

The information density is so high that it doesn’t feel like a TV series anymore, but more like the capacity of a TV movie...

"Can the audience really understand such a TV series?" Ronald was confused. Most viewers of TV series need to relax. Isn’t this density of plot and emotional mobilization even more tiring? What kind of disease is it if you still have to look up a dictionary while watching a TV series?

…

“The first episode of ‘Death Prescription’ received 14 million viewers, ranking first in the U.S.

When the ratings data came out and Ronald arrived, he was surprised again. How can so many people watch this TV series that looks like lawyer training? If Working Girl had this rating, it wouldn't be cut in half.

"No way?" Ronald felt that his knowledge was shattered. How many people watch a TV series with such difficult content? Could it be that the education level in America has improved? Or are college-educated people across America watching this show?

Ahem, what about that? I didn’t code out the second chapter today. I’ll make it up over the weekend tomorrow.