Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Bugsy, which received the same loud praise as in the movie, has ten nominations leading the Oscar nominations, making it the biggest hit movie of the year.

Mike McDavoy, president of TriStar Pictures, said that this result has greatly boosted the box office of "Bugsy", which is still in theaters. The number of theaters showing it next week will return from less than 500 to more than 1,200.

Mike McDavoy said: "The nominations have given us an extraordinary boost and given the movie a second spring."

His boss, Peter Guber, chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, happily stated that the films produced and distributed by Sony (including TriStar) have received a total of 36 nominations, which is one of the highest totals in the history of Columbia Studios.

"This is an affirmation from our peers," he said. "The emotional and psychological rewards - knowing that you have performed well - are vital to our company."

"Shameless..." Mike McDavoy complained to Ronald in his garden. It is dozens of meters away from the nearest room, surrounded by Ronald's land, and with the inspection of professional bodyguards, there is no expectation of eavesdropping.

What Medavoy complained about was that Gubel came to pick peaches. He was nominally the head of Columbia and TriStar Pictures, so the nominations won by TriStar Pictures were also counted on his head. He ignored the fact that he had refused the distribution and production of many films at that time, and now he came to take the credit.

"Don't complain, you have made a lot of money..."

Ronald took a can of original cola from the portable small refrigerator and handed one to Medavoy. This guy was interviewed for Warren Beatty's movie, which made him very dissatisfied.

"Didn't I also speak well of The Silence of the Lambs? The media doesn't understand, always thinking that the more nominations, the more they can win..." Mike Medavoy took a big sip of cola and didn't dare to say back. He needed the box office of the released movies to prove that his and Frank Price's old method of gaining recognition by making a good movie can still work.

"What I really care about is Diane's nomination, you have to help..." Ronald glanced at him. The internal struggle of Sony has also spread to the American branch. His practice of selecting suitable projects from scripts brought by United Artists and Orion is still out of date in this era of star dominance.

"I'm trying my best to vote for you. I've been hanging around the houses of those old guys in Beverly Hills all this time, just like a Fuller brush salesman."

"I appreciate it..."

Ronald waved his hand and asked someone to bring snacks. The two pretended to appreciate the Chinese-style decorations here, but they were actually sprinting around the Oscars that were about to be held.

"So this signature?" Mike McDavoy had not forgotten the purpose of his visit.

"No problem, this is what should be done..."

Ronald signed two documents and handed them to the other party.

These are two of the many controversial events of this year's Oscars. The first is that "Beauty and the Beast" was nominated for the best film.

This really hurt many judges, especially the actor judges. For no reason, a live-action movie was robbed of a nomination position by an animated film. How can those who hang out in Hollywood every day and expect an Oscar nomination feel?

So many people have launched a letter of intent to add an award to the Oscars - the "Best Animated Feature Film Award". In this way, traditional animation companies like Disney don't have to dig their mouths into the big trough of the best movie to grab food.

Of course, animation companies like Disney are also happy to see this happen. Because it's not every year that there are masterpieces like "Beauty and the Beast" that are loved by both children and adults. If the best animated feature film is added in the future, wouldn't it be equivalent to setting up an award for yourself?

After talking to Katzenberg on the phone, Ronald knew their attitude, so he signed the letter of intent happily.

Another letter of intent seems more sad.

Howard Ashman, the composer of the episode of "Beauty and the Beast", died in March 1991 before the movie was released because... He was diagnosed with a disease in 1988, and Katzenberg admired his talent very much and still used him to compose music for Disney's Aladdin.

He was also the main composer and arranger of "Beauty and the Beast" later. In order to prevent him from being overworked, a studio was specially opened for him near St. Vincent Hospital in New York where he was receiving medical treatment, so that he could work there.

Although he received the latest treatment, his condition deteriorated quickly. Therefore, he did not wait until the movie was released and became popular and was nominated for the best original song.

Oscars are generally not awarded to deceased people. Most of the exceptions in the past died after the winners were nominated. The only exception is James Dean in his early years. After his death in 1955, he was nominated for two consecutive years.

Ronald also learned about this from Katzenberg. This time the Oscars are likely to make an exception for him. But the necessary procedures still need to be done, such as many Hollywood people petitioning the Academy for him.

Ronald certainly agreed to this kind of icing on the cake. After all, the song written for "Beauty and the Beast" is obviously of a very high level, and the award is well deserved.

"Hey... these (minority-oriented) artists, I don't know if God has some special features when creating them, and their level is very high..."

Mike McDavoy took the signed letter of intent and sighed. He has been in Hollywood for so many years, of course he knows that many early stars are... just for the audience's perception, and the studio arranges for them to formally marry female stars.

"I don't know if the talent of this composer is related to..., but this disease has now been confirmed to be unrelated to......" Ronald glanced at Mike McDavoy.

"Huh?"

"Don't you know why Magic Johnson of the Lakers announced his retirement?" Ronald knew more than him. The news announced by Magic Johnson caused a big wave in Hollywood.

Before, everyone mistakenly believed that this disease was associated with a minority group. Magic Johnson made it known for the first time that playboys who like beautiful women can also be infected.

"I really didn't know, my goodness, no wonder several stars have turned down film contracts recently and went on 'vacation'"

Mike McDavoy suddenly realized that these people were queuing up to go to hospitals with testing capabilities for examinations, right?

"I can see that you don't watch professional sports games, Mike..." Ronald shook his head. The Lakers lost their main player, and the New York Knicks couldn't even stop the Eastern Conference Finals. The two cities where he lived were trampled by the Chicago Bulls. Hey, Jordan was really good at playing basketball, why did he go to Chicago?

…

"You want me to sign this? Why should I sign for her?"

After a while, Richard came and gave Ronald a new letter of intent, asking him if he would sign it. Ronald got angry when he saw the content.

This was a letter from Barbra Streisand. She was very angry after the Oscars announced the nominations, because although her directorial debut "Prince of Waves" received seven nominations including Best Actor, Best Picture, and Best Cinematography, she herself was not nominated for any award.

Not only did she fail to replicate Kevin Costner's miracle of Best Director last year, but she was not even nominated for Best Actress, which she thought was a sure thing.

You know, this is Barbra Streisand's first sex scene in many years...

However, this kind of thing is not easy to expose, so Barbra Streisand found a reason, saying that she was not nominated for Best Director because she was a woman, so she was discriminated against.

The logic here is quite clear, just compare it with Kevin Costner last year. Costner is also a star who is directing for the first time, and so is she. Costner also made a movie about the background of the great era, and so is she. Costner also had the "on-site guidance" of the director of photography and the producer as a director, and so was she...

It was the same thing, but in the end Kevin Costner won the Best Director statuette, and she didn't even get a nomination, and even lost the Best Actress nomination. Isn't this pure sex discrimination?

Barbra Streisand not only publicly said on TV that the Academy's failure to nominate her was sex discrimination, but also specifically targeted Hollywood's male hegemony for many years. In the end, she even swore that if the Academy did not correct this mistake, she would not go to the awards ceremony.

"You are one of the first directors in Hollywood to shoot independent and strong female characters. Now you are the most popular director among feminists. You must be the one for this kind of thing..." Richard smiled. He turned the file to the back and showed Ronald the many feminist organizations that Barbra Streisand had joined.

"Just decline for me. Say that I support them and I like to shoot movies about independent women. But signing will offend the big studios in Hollywood, which is still a male-dominated society. It may affect my shooting of more movies with female protagonists as the main perspective..."

Ronald thought about it and explained it to Richard.

These people are really not easy to offend. Their ability to organize various protests is almost as strong as those of minority groups. Ronald still remembers the protests when The Silence of the Lambs was released. It is better not to take sides in this kind of thing...

...

"Warren, you support me, right?"

At a Hollywood canvassing party, Barbra Streisand spoke to Warren Beatty. Now she is not nominated for Best Director, and the passionate Barry Levinson is the favorite. Harvey Keitel and Ben Kingsley were nominated for Best Supporting Actor in The Passionate World, and Kate Nelligan was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Prince of Waves. The two awards were just staggered. So they can become allies for the time being and canvass for each other's votes.

"Barbara... Of course I support you, but not going to the Oscars is a very unfriendly behavior..."

"But as long as you support me and let the Academy speak, I will go back..." Barbra Streisand was wearing a dress and white stockings, a weird combination. A hand touched Warren Beatty's chest.

"Warren..."

Annette Bening's voice followed, "That's Oliver Stone over there, do you want to talk to him, sorry, Barbara..."

Bening gave a look, really helpless. She didn't know many people in Hollywood, but every female star she knew had an affair with Warren Beatty. Every one...

"Warren, give me a word, do you support it or not? We should have helped each other..." The nominations for the Director Award were voted by the directors. So Barbara asked Warren Beatty (also an Oscar winner for Best Director) to speak out about this matter.

"Support..." Warren Beatty was anxious to canvass votes from others, so he said a perfunctory sentence and left.

"Honey, you are the best..." Annette Bening cast an adoring look at Warren Beatty. Only big stars can effectively canvass votes.

"My dear, do you think that many of them have never seen The Greatest Love?" Warren Beatty had a bad feeling in his heart. The film was a failure at the box office this time. If it had not been nominated, it would have been removed from theaters.

This is completely different from his last Oscar-winning performance in "The Reds." At that time everyone was talking about this movie...

"It doesn't matter, honey, they voted because of you..." Bening now particularly believes in the power of celebrities.

In the end, Warren Beatty still did not escape his love debt and agreed to speak for Barbra Streisand. Saying that the film's director was ignored by the Academy was a regrettable mistake. Like last year's film "The Awakening," directed by Penny Marshall, it was also ignored, with some taking it at the time as a slight on her because she was a woman.

Columbia's Guber, who also directed the production of "The Prince of Waves," issued a written statement saying, "It is shocking that Barbra Streisand was overlooked for a Best Director nomination."

"Those who are silent are also complicit in this discrimination, especially male directors who have the right to vote, because it is to their advantage to win awards that they persist in this discrimination against female directors.

That’s all for the older generation. The new generation of directors don’t have the courage to break bad habits. I’m disappointed with their silence. "

Seeing the unusual statement issued by Gubel, Ronald became very angry. If you want to praise your own award-winning movie, what do you mean by criticizing me? Which movie I nominate is my professional judgment, it is not your turn as a producer to make irresponsible remarks.

The reason why Barbra Streisand was not nominated was largely because her peers had doubts about how much of "The Prince of Waves" was directed by her.

There were many rumors from the set that Barbra Streisand spent less than one-third of her time directing as she did acting.

"Mike..." Ronald dialed Mike Medavoy's phone number, "What's going on?"

"Gubel wanted to highlight Prince of Waves, and this was a project he took on himself. The money from Haoqingsihai and others came from Price's and me's Samsung Pictures label

"Do you have another movie called Boyzn the Hood?" Ronald suddenly remembered the black director John Singleton.

"That was also Guber's project, released by Columbia label. He felt that it was a compensation for the black star Eddie Murphy after years of complaining about the Oscars' discrimination against black people. The possibility of the boy from the block winning is very small, and a nomination is the biggest reward. Already..."

"I said, he is also a young director, right?" Ronald knew that this Singleton was nominated for Best Director at the age of 24, and also stole his record as the second youngest nominee for the Academy Award for Best Director. …

"Hehehe, that's it..."

"I'll have someone contact you..." Ronald also smiled, Gubel, aren't you going to speak out for Barbra Streisand's sexism? Let you try to shoot yourself in the foot.

"All you have to do is add fuel to the flames of this matter. Then you just have to wait until the trend becomes popular and give an interview and say a few words. Your movie attaches great importance to black people and women. This is your biggest advantage..."

PR crisis consultant Pat Kingsley came over to discuss the counterattack with Ronald. In her opinion, this matter only needs to give black people a platform to speak.

…

"Some people think I stole the nomination from Barbra Streisand, which is not true, but I'm a huge fan of hers. Boy on the Block is a black-written, black-directed, black-produced movie that tells a black story. You shouldn’t be accused like this…”

One day later, John Singleton was interviewed by Rich Lake, a female host on a local television station in New York.

Soon this interview was widely screened by television stations such as NBC and ABC. Many black celebrities also came together to complain about Singleton. You Jews have taken so many advantages. This time we get a nomination, and you will be jealous too. ?

"Ah, I have always believed that movies are a reflection of the social reality in America. The kind of movies we have should be based on the kind of people we have. So in my movies, I often shoot stories about black protagonists and female protagonists, which should not be ignored. their contribution to society.”

Ronald also accepted a phone interview, and the politically correct words of not asking for money kept pouring out.

"So I also think that directors need to have women, black people and other ethnic minorities as directors. I am a fan of the works of these two directors and I have watched them several times." Ronald replied while looking at the cheat sheet in his hand.

"I attach great importance to the multiculturalism of our country, so I have also invested in two films directed by Chinese and Japanese directors. They are expected to be released to the audience next year. I hope everyone will remember to watch it then..."

"Honey, you didn't forget to promote your movie during the interview?" Diane came over to talk. Before the Oscars, in order to look good in her clothes, Diane hired a body sculptor to come to her home to arrange fitness and appropriate nutritious meals.

A few weeks of scientific diet and exercise can work wonders. Not only does the body look better, but the skin also becomes more elastic and shiny.

However, the continuous scientific diet still made people feel irritated. Ronald went out with her on the weekend to attend the premiere of Michael Douglas' new film, and ate a delicious meal without counting calories as a reward for himself.

"Hey, isn't this a public and private benefit?" Ronald smiled and put on his coat. The two walked hand in hand to the Beverly Cinema... The new film "Basic Instinct" is a thriller story. After The Silence of the Lambs, the box office of this kind of movie is generally optimistic.