Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"My dear American citizens, just a few hours ago, America and its allies began to attack Kuwait from the air and ground, and are still continuing their actions..."

At nine o'clock in the evening, the commander-in-chief began his televised speech in the Oval Office.

cuu started a round-the-clock frontline news update. Ronald lay in bed and watched it with gusto. The latest news was available every hour, and various experts were interviewed, speculating on how this battle would be fought. How much equipment and soldiers does the Iraqi Guard have, what is their combat effectiveness, etc.

This kind of thing is very addictive for men. In the end, Diane, who couldn't bear it anymore, ordered him to either go to other rooms to watch it or go to bed immediately. Ronald then reluctantly turned off the TV.

But the company is not much better. This war started after the Vietnam War.

Michel Cannold was of French descent and was not so interested in the war. He handed a compiled form to Ronald.

"Is this the wrong unit price?"

Ronald saw that it was the income statistics of the "Firebird" movie copies purchased by the Ministry of National Defense. The number in the unit price column seemed to be wrong. The cost of ten copies was about the same.

"No, the other party was not satisfied with the price we gave. They insisted on changing it to this price. I asked someone to purchase some metal boxes made of stainless steel. They are super strong and can withstand rough loading and unloading without any problems. It can prevent moisture from entering, and it is a very reliable supplier they recommended." Michelle smiled and winked at Ronald.

"Oh, that's not bad." Ronald looked at the name of the company that sold him the metal box and knew that it was related to the Ministry of National Defense. What if the copy flying to all over the world gets damaged on the transport plane? There are so many US troops stationed on the island. What if the copies get moldy? It makes sense to get some special equipment, right?

Everyone makes some money, there is nothing unreasonable. It would be great if the US military had more purchase orders in the future.

At about the same time as the film was released at the U.S. military barracks, "Firebird" was released in full theaters in January.

The Monday immediately following this weekend is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday adopted under the previous administration. Ronald Sr. did not want to designate this date as a federal holiday, but both houses of the House of Representatives and the Senate passed the bill with more than two-thirds of the votes at that time, which also invalidated the President's veto power.

No matter what white people's attitude is towards this holiday, Hollywood welcomes it very much. In the weak period after the New Year holiday, there is a reason for more people to spend time in movie theaters.

Firebird is

Of course, if the number of viewers in the military camp is included, the box office performance may reach the top three.

This result makes everyone at Daydream Pictures very satisfied, although

On Tuesday, CEA SRES also gave an audience score of B one day later than usual. This result basically indicates that the domestic box office of this movie will reach four to six times the first weekend result. Everyone in the company is very happy. Excluding the Martin Luther King Jr. Day box office, "Firebird" is also expected to receive at least 25 million to 35 million at the domestic box office.

Considering that Nicolas Cage's salary is not high, Brooke Shields is returning to mainstream big screen productions.

The results of the CEA SRES questionnaire are also very interesting. When answering the question of what is the biggest reason to watch this movie, the top three answers are Helicopter Battle, Brooke Shields, and Nicolas Cage.

In addition to the current Operation Desert Storm, many boys are not satisfied with watching the green live TV scenes and want to watch real helicopter battles in the cinema. Many older male viewers want to go to the cinema to see Brooke Shields, an old friend.

In the responses from female viewers, Cage factors dominated

This also surprised Ronald. Cage has never played the leading role in any heavyweight commercial production, but he has a certain reputation among female audiences. This is a rare potential. Maybe he will become a superstar in the future?

The film critic's statement also confirmed Ronald's guess. Although they gave a negative evaluation to such a relatively tacky movie, many film critics, including Roger Ebert, had some feelings for Nicolas Cage. Kind words.

For example, New York Times film critic Vincent Canby compared Cage to William Gargan, a famous supporting actor from the old Hollywood era and the king of B-movies. Praise Cage's performance for making him instantly recognizable in a B-level exploitation film.

Canby also praised Brooke Shields, saying that her performance was fresh and natural, that she had gotten rid of the chronic problem of deliberately acting like a little girl that she had not overcome for many years, and that she had the opportunity to challenge bigger roles.

Of course, the most praised one is the supporting actor, Tommy Lee Jones, who plays the instructor. Canby praised his every performance, every expression, and every movement as accurate.

The entire film review also talked about some problems, such as Cage's performance being a bit overdone, the connection with other actors being flawed, or Brooke sometimes showing off her intelligence too much. However, these are clear criticisms but actually praises, and the audience will only love it more after watching it.

This critic's praise for the film made Ronald think that the company had done special PR for him. For example, two Chicago critics, Albert and Cisco, both gave the film one and a half stars, without any special recommendation. They just said it was a standard popcorn movie suitable for audiences who like "Top Gun".

Ronald asked Michael Gray and found out that Daydream didn't even give Vincent Canby any special gift. It was Vincent Canby's personal love that made him write such a film review that was full of criticism and help.

Ronald felt strange and called Canby to express his gratitude. But the other party said something he couldn't think of.

Brooke Shields and Ronald are both New York-born filmmakers who have won awards in Hollywood. In recent years, the film industry in New York has been declining. Not to mention that it can't compete with Hollywood, even survival has become a problem.

If you graduate from USC, as long as you don't mind taking the minimum wage, you can at least have the opportunity to participate in the filming of commercials, v or videotape movies.

However, students who graduated from the Tisch School of New York University and the Film Department of Columbia University now have no chance to enter the industry, let alone become directors.

This situation has become more and more obvious in recent years. Many film students also lack understanding of the industry, because only TV stations in New York have demand for these graduates.

The requirements for talent in TV series and movies are completely different. If you shoot a few more TV series, even the most talented people will be lost in the mechanical shooting method. They will never return to the big screen again.

Therefore, like several film critics in the New York Post, Canby grabs every opportunity and praises directors and actors from New York in large quantities, hoping that they can become idols for young people in New York who want to work in the film industry, and keep a little spark in their hearts...

"Alas, I didn't expect that the current New York film industry has degenerated to the point that even Roger Corman-style movies can't get investment."

Ronald put down the phone and shook his head and sighed. Without low-cost production for them to practice, the learning channels for film directors are almost cut off. Only those who truly love movies and are indomitable can find opportunities to direct movies independently. Kathryn Bigelow and Spike Lee may be the few directors who have emerged from the New York film industry in recent years.

"Hi, Marty..."

"Ronald, I'm so glad to see you."

Speaking of the New York film industry, Ronald's benefactor, Martin Scorsese, came to the house. The two wanted to discuss the Coca-Cola advertising project.

Coca-Cola has now decided to gradually abandon the creative system of large advertising companies and only hire production companies to shoot advertisements. But what they haven't figured out yet is whether Ovitz should be the one to take on this job, or whether it would be better to directly negotiate with big-name directors and star agents.

One group of people's opinions is to invite stars to shoot advertisements, not current stars, but preferably stars whose works will soon become popular, enter the rising period, and have a great rise in popularity. People like Ovitz know this best.

The other group believes that the so-called grabbing a popular star is too risky. There is no need to spend an extra huge price (paying Ovitz's consulting fees) to select the right person. Just find those whose artistic level has been proven to be qualified and whose celebrity temperament has been proven to be appealing, and hire them to shoot commercials.

One person may not become popular immediately, but if you find a few more people to shoot commercials, for example, if you find ten or twenty celebrities to shoot commercials, there will always be one or two who will become popular next year, right?

"So, Marty, what you need to do is to show off your skills and let Coca-Cola see that the master's hand is not something that those young directors who just debuted and shot a few Vs of Madonna can achieve. The ability of film directors to control images and emotions is far beyond their imagination."

"Ah, hahaha, so I just shoot one at random?" Scorsese was very happy to be praised by Ronald. He agreed to shoot the Coca-Cola commercial, more because he was moved by Ronald's sincerity and the pay, but some people praised him like this, as if the master shooting commercials is like a university professor teaching elementary school students.

"Pick any one, these are all creative ideas proposed by Coca-Cola. When the commercials shot by us and the people Ovitz found are broadcast, even a fool will know how valuable the Italian-American director is."

"Hey, then I'll pick two, but I heard that they also have to measure the promotional effect of the advertisement." Scorsese still has some doubts. After all, he is a famous director. If the effect of the film is not as good as that of the younger generation, wouldn't it be a bit embarrassing?

"Hey, when did you drink Coke because you watched their ads? Isn't it because of this taste?" Ronald also laughed. Advertising can have little short-term impact on brands of Coca-Cola's level. Even if the advertisement is well shot, it is difficult to see the effect in the short term.

As long as Coca-Cola no longer launches "innovations" like New Coke, its domestic sales will still be firmly higher than Pepsi. The so-called effect is more about the feelings of those executives. Then directors like Scorsese or Coppola must give people a much better feeling.

"I'll do this." Scorsese had an idea in his hand and asked Ronald, "What are you going to shoot?"

"I won't shoot it for now. You know, Ovitz and I are a little... I'm easy to be targeted by him if I shoot it myself." Ronald explained. This is of course one of the reasons, but the more important thing is that he is a little uninterested. He shot too many when he first debuted.

"Actually, there is another reason, that is, I want you to make more films, so that the audience can fall in love with the master's work. The current movie box office has not had a big breakthrough for a long time. I am actually worried about whether people in the future will still come in. Go to the cinema and watch a movie for an hour and a half to two hours in a dark place.”

Ronald told Scorsese what it was like to be a riding crop in the era of automobiles, and he resonated with it. Scorsese is also a loyal fan of old Hollywood. He is also very sad that today's movies are increasingly lacking the skills of the previous masters.

"Recently, I also heard about something. It is now difficult for new directors in New York to enter the industry. I wonder what can be done to help them? I still want to see a few more film masters coming out of New York in the future." Then. Ronald talked about the embarrassment of the New York Film Critics Circle again.

"You are right. If you can give those students from New York University and Columbia some opportunities, they will definitely produce talents. In fact, you should help them and give them a chance to succeed." Scorsese knew that Ronald was rich , immediately issued a request to him.

"Actually, I'm already doing it. I recently funded a Chinese director named Ang Lee, who is also a graduate of New York University."

"This is good, but it may not be enough. I think you need to preach more. Now that you are more famous among those students than me, you should give them some lectures so that they can also feel how Hollywood dreams are made. Something happened.”

"Me? I haven't even graduated from college." Ronald declined with a smile. The youngest son of the Tisch family had strong opinions on him, and he didn't want to go to the opponent's home court to give a lecture.

"That's pretty good, it's a good story." Scorsese knew this and didn't try to persuade him any more, "What are Coca-Cola's requirements for casting?"

"According to your preferences, I will let Daydream fully cooperate. It can be any Hollywood star or newcomer you like."

…

Soon, Coca-Cola began auditioning for the largest commercial in its history. In addition to already-famous actors, there are also many handsome men and beauties who dream of coming to Hollywood and becoming famous overnight. They are also among the applicants for these creative advertising shoots that Ronald is responsible for.

The people who auditioned were lined up in several circles around the office, extending to the sidewalk.

"Hey, handsome guy, are you here to apply too?" A blonde beauty with an explosive figure said to a handsome guy wearing corduroy pants next to her.

"Hey, yes." The handsome guy was still rehearsing how he should introduce himself when he arrived. He looked at the beauty's face and suddenly changed his smile, "Hi, honey, how are you today?"

"Tsk..." The blonde beauty has long been immune to this kind of flirting, "I think you seem to be of Italian descent. I heard that this place is the home of Italian directors, so you are going to take advantage."

"That's right, we Italians are the best at making movies. I said, do you want to go home with me after the audition? We can do it together..."

"You?" The blonde beauty touched the Italian actor's chest, which showed some muscles.

"Cameron, Cameron..." Just as he was about to agree, a girl came from behind and stopped the blonde beauty.

"I've been looking for you for a long time. Do you want to go to the invitation from the San Fernando Valley?"

"Hey, I still want to hold on." The beauty dug into her pocket, and there were only a few coins in it. "What if I get selected? If it doesn't work this time, I'll think about it again."

"Hi, stallion?" The beauty turned her head and found that the Italian stallion had disappeared. It seemed that it was his turn and he had already entered the queue.

"Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lane...it's your turn. Come with me. Don't speak loudly when you get inside. You will be asked to enter the audition room for an interview." A staff member came out and took the blonde The beauty also called in.

"God bless." Cameron Diaz pulled up his collar, raised his head and walked in with a catwalk.