Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"I say, Ronald, are you really going to hold a screening before the Oscar nomination?"

Mike McDavoy came to the door and did not talk about his new project at first. Instead, he asked Ronald about what he said during the interview.

"Hey, Mr. McDavoy, you are also the most senior and capable veteran in Hollywood to operate the Oscars. I am just defending my videotape tactics. How can such a thing be done?"

Ronald felt that McDavoy wanted to ask him for a lot of help this time. How could he call him brother when he was old enough to be his uncle? He did not hide it. That statement was just a rhetoric. The judges of Hollywood are actors who have performed well over the years. Now the average age is already over 60. How can these old men and women be asked to watch a special screening?

They are not energetic. If they really want to hold a large-scale screening and let them participate, it will cause complaints, which will be more troublesome.

Ronald said this to stretch those who attacked him for being unfair. Didn't you say it was unfair? Then let's have a fair marathon viewing. If you don't have the energy to watch a movie and I deliver the videotape to your door and you still complain, don't complain if you don't have the ability.

"I have received a lot of calls from people recently. They all said they agreed with your idea, but they definitely couldn't watch it. If the Academy adopts your suggestion, they will consider withdrawing from the Academy..."

Ronald touched his head. He felt bad for making these old members so serious. He decided to organize some welfare card rewards for them.

The judges of the Academy are really old now. The latest batch of members are the backbone of the New Hollywood movement 20 years ago. Now they are about 60 years old. The older batch of judges got the voting qualification in the big studio era. They are all in their 70s and 80s. Although they are very serious about the art of film, who will take the initiative to withdraw from the qualification of judges?

I sent a message to Ronald through Madavoy, asking him not to publicly call for such life-threatening activities. Ronald did as he was told, and gave them more welfare cards.

"What do your friends like? I have a lot of marketing relationships with commercial companies, and I can get them some coupons..."

"Nursing home admission, warm climate vacation coupons, and spa massage coupons, preferably in Palm Springs or Hawaii." McDavoy smiled and said the common hobbies of these elderly judges.

"Okay..." Ronald didn't expect that the Oscar judges have entered the elderly stage so deeply.

Getting back to the point, Mike McDavoy still told the purpose of his visit.

"You want Kevin Costner to star in your new movie?"

Ronald heard that it turned out to be a project led by Mike McDavoy. It is a romantic love drama, and the author of the script is Jeff Archie, a part-time screenwriter, wedding photographer, and taekwondo coach.

He wrote a romantic love drama about two lovers who got to know each other through a hotline, then wrote letters to each other as pen pals, and at the end, they climbed the Empire State Building together to complete the story of their first meeting.

"Is this a copy of the old movie 'The Shop on the Corner'?" Ronald knew it was a copy of the plot of the love drama directed by Lubitsch and starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan.

In general romantic dramas, the hero and heroine have an "etcute" plot. The two have a good impression of each other (or a one-sided impression) after they meet for the first time, and then there are various difficulties that prevent them from being together, including but not limited to, parents' opposition, their respective partners, or separation due to war, etc.... The two lovers played by Stewart and Sullivan became good pen pals through writing letters and admired each other.

But they were both salesmen in a store, but they were enemies. It was not until the last moment that the two met in a restaurant that they changed their attitudes and became lovers.

In his spare time, Ronald likes to collect copies of old movies. He would watch one to study when he had nothing to do. He was deeply impressed by this Lubitsch movie. Or he was deeply impressed by all of Lubitsch's movies. The particularly smooth narrative is not outdated even now.

So when he heard Mike McDavoy say that, he knew it was copied...

"Not only that, but it also copied the plot of The Jade Man, and it ended on the Empire State Building. Do you remember?"

"Oh, yes..." Ronald turned to the end of the script, and sure enough, at the end, the couple agreed to meet on the top of the Empire State Building...

The Jade Man is the masterpiece of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. The male protagonist, who was favored by the billionaire's heiress and engaged, and the female protagonist, who had a fiancé, met on the cruise ship back to New York and fell in love at first sight. The two agreed to meet on the Empire State Building at that time, and if they both broke off their engagement and still loved each other, they would be together.

In the end, Deborah Kerr was paralyzed due to a car accident and did not go to the Empire State Building. This movie was broadcast on TV many times, and audiences across the country, especially those in New York, loved it very much. Many people cried every time they watched it.

"You are too old-fashioned. Nowadays, young audiences watch movies and don't buy into this..." Ronald flipped through the script and expressed his opinion.

The plot of the movie is still very good. Well-educated people will appreciate it. Middle-aged people who have had emotional experiences will also appreciate it, but the main audience of young people will not. This script is not particularly outstanding. It is difficult to attract audiences by word of mouth.

"Isn't it? I also think that only stars can make this movie work. Isn't it you who are you going to invite? You have a good relationship with Costner."

"Who are you going to invite for the heroine?" Ronald asked casually. His relationship with Costner was not enough to convince him to act in a mediocre movie.

"Meg Ryan... The screenwriter said that he wrote this script while watching the videotape of When Harry Met Sally."

"..." Ronald felt that his vanity was still satisfied. Now his work has become an object of inspiration for others to imitate.

...

After he spent half an hour reading the script, Ronald still shook his head and refused.

"Many parts of this script are unreasonable. Today's audiences don't like such a story full of loopholes."

"Really not?" Mike McDavoy's aesthetics have also aged. He heard Ronald's opinion and took it very seriously.

"Don't say Costner won't take such a script. Even if he does, it's unlikely to be a hit if you find Meg Ryan. If you want to promote this screenwriter, let him come to me. I'll give him a task. I just happen to be writing a script about Taekwondo..."

The Koreans didn't invest in Ronald in the end. They felt their self-esteem was hurt. They wanted to make a movie about Koreans winning the world championship in Taekwondo. However, Ronald's "Black Belt Elite" had to continue. Eric Roberts would not play the third part. He had to start from scratch and use newcomers.

"Garry Marshall is not okay? I'm going to ask him to direct..." Mike McDavoy was still unwilling. This was his main project. He had to compete with Peters and others from Columbia within Sony.

"This is not a problem with the director and the lead actor. The script itself is too old-fashioned, out of touch with the tastes of modern audiences, and lacks the touch of women. They are the main audience of this type of movie, and they will only think that the plot is too fake."

Ronald is a box office master of romantic movies and women's movies, and he has a very good understanding of the psychology of modern urban women. In this script, the women's speech and behavior will not suit the taste of metropolitan women, and the male characters are not attractive to them.

"What if I find someone to change it?" Mike McDavoy didn't want to give up.

"Change..." Ronald muttered a few words, "The framework of this story is very solid. The hero and heroine of the love movie don't meet until the end. There is not much that can be changed, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you can find a female screenwriter and director like Nora Efron or Penny Marshall to modify it, it may be able to revive it. But they all have projects now. Penny is filming my women's baseball movie, and Nora is now directing herself..."

"Hey, I'll go find Nora Efron. If you don't believe me, tell her to be the screenwriter. The original screenwriter Archie, buy out his script, keep a signature for him, and let him write a taekwondo movie for you, how about it?"

"Are you so sure?"

"You don't know yet, Nora Efron's new movie is a box office failure, just when you need money..."

...

"I'll take your script, I like the essence of this movie..."

Nora Efron really agreed to be a script doctor. Ever since she made a small fortune from the movie directed by Ronald, she thought she could take on greater responsibilities. Her independently directed film, This Is My Life, tells the story of a woman who works as a salesperson at Macy's in Queens and strives to become a stand-up comedian.

A departure from her most incisive romantic comedy, this film, released by 20th Century Fox, gambled on her directing talent and earned a "high" box office of more than two million US dollars, although the filming cost was ten million...

Now Nora Ephron has been beaten back to her original form, and Hollywood's view of her has changed from an emerging female film director to a romantic comedy screenwriter.

"Ah, the essence of the movie?" Ronald was stunned by what she said. What is the essence of this "Sleepless in Seattle"? Is it plagiarized from Lubitsch?

"Yes, yes, Ronald, you really understand women. The essence of this movie is about how movies will affect people's views on romantic love. The heroine Annie is based on the plot of the Golden Jade Alliance. All her imaginations of beautiful love. For our generation, many of our views on life are shaped by movies..."

"Oh..." Ronald felt shocked. This statement is indeed very insightful. The new generation of Americans, many of their views do not come from life itself, but from movies.

It seems logical for Anne to abandon a fiancé who likes her and has a good status, and fall in love with a widower whom she has never met and whose voice she only heard on a radio program. Who would do this if not such a romantic movie lover?

"I need three weeks to rewrite this script. This should not be a comedy. I have to try to weaken the comedy elements. This is a drama about love and movies. I have a lot of places to revise.

Anne shouldn't have just lost her love. In this script, Sam is the center of the story. He lost his beloved wife, so whether he can get the blessing of life for the second time is the question that the audience pays attention to..."

Nora Efron chatted with Ronald for more than an hour and shared her views on the matter. It must be said that her understanding of female psychology is the real master. There were many problems that Ronald could not see, but when she looked at them, he realized that from a female perspective, the original script had lost focus.

"Go ahead and do what you want, I will convince Mike Medavoy..." Ronald thought clearly, the script also had to involve a hopeless romantic woman like Nora Efron. Only then can you write well. He decided to convince Mike Medavoy to use Efron's script without changing it at all...

"Can you direct? Let's work together again and repeat the last box office miracle..." Nora Efron was very excited. She remembered "When Harry Met Sally", her screenwriter, Ronald Director, they are a perfect match together.

"Me? Maybe I can't. When Harry Met Sally is actually a male perspective movie, with many plots from the male perspective. The final romantic confession was also made by Harry on his own initiative, but this script is entirely from a female perspective. Yes, the one taking the initiative is Anne, it’s best to find a female director..."

When Ronald said this, he thought of Penny Marshall who was filming the baseball movie "Pink League". In fact, she was very suitable. But Penny was filming herself, so she couldn't be distracted.

"Female director?" Nora Efron's voice changed a little.

"In this way, you can concentrate on revising the script. If the final result satisfies Mike Medavoy and I, I will convince him to let you be a director candidate, and I will support you..."

"Okay, you have to remember what you said..." Nora Efron jumped out of bed and went to turn on the computer with bare feet.

…

"Let Nora Efron give it a try?" Mike Medavoy got the first draft revision.

Nora Efron didn't know whether it was because Ronald promised her to recommend a director or because she was already familiar with this kind of romantic comedy, so she wrote the revised draft in a week.

"I think this movie can only be made by a female director..." Ronald reiterated the theory that a female perspective is suitable for a female director. There are many small emotions that the male director may not notice, let alone true and accurate reproduction.

"Unless you come...I think you are the number one in Hollywood when it comes to shooting female subjects..." Seeing Ronald not responding, Mike Medavoy smacked his lips, "Okay, let her try...let's not do it first. Promise her and let her make a plan to compete with other candidates, so that she will be motivated..."

"Okay..." Ronald felt that this old man was very experienced in how to mobilize directors, so he smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Ronald, I heard a little bit of news that you have a new project, which is also a romantic drama like Pretty Woman. Do you think I can do it again?" Julia Roberts didn't know where she learned about this new project. When I heard about the script, I heard that it was written by Nora Efron, so I quickly called to promote myself.

"I will not interfere with the casting of this project. Of course you are one of the best candidates..." Ronald decided to give it a go. He would not recommend this movie to anyone. The casting of this kind of movie is the biggest guarantee of success. If you choose it right, it will be a big hit, if you choose it wrong, you will suffer a big loss, and there must be no falsehoods.

"Ronnie, I want to invite you to come to my house. Alec is always busy and I am very lonely now. I still remember your guidance on my acting skills. I am stuck now and cannot improve my acting skills. I urgently need your face-to-face guidance... …”

Kim Basinger, who was already having a hot fight with Alec Baldwin, also got the news. She understood that finding Ronald was the shortcut to successfully getting the role. An invitation was immediately made to watch the performance of "Nine and a Half Weeks to Love You" with Ronald.

"I will not interfere with the casting of this project. Of course you are one of the best candidates..." Ronald lifted his pants and went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of milk. Alas...

"Ronald, how have you considered the proposal I made to you last time? How about you come to my house and we can talk face to face about how to operate it?" Michelle Pfeiffer also called.

"Why, you also want to play Annie? I will not interfere with the casting of this project. Of course you are one of the best candidates..."

Ronald felt very weird. Why are so many first-line female stars trying to grab this role?

"Ronald..." Even Jodie Foster called.

"You also want to act..."

"Richard, why are they all competing for this role?"

"This is a new theory put forward by a director named Paul Moritz last month, called the versatile actor...Many people in Hollywood believe this..."