Exploiting Hollywood 1980

No one can answer Ovitz's question. The special contract signed by Spielberg has become a well-known secret in CAA.

This kind of agency is actually very similar to law firms and accounting firms. Everyone is actually a small agency. They get together and cooperate temporarily because of some benefits. It is not like a factory where workers cannot produce without machines.

The reason why Ovitz had the final say in CAA before was mainly because he could provide more casting opportunities for young agents and help their clients get higher pay, that is, agents can get higher commissions.

It's just that the studio hates Ovitz's package agreement. He monopolized nearly half of Hollywood stars before, and everyone dared to be angry but not speak out. Now that the contracts signed by several directors have been leaked, everyone understands that Ovitz is more or less a paper tiger.

The production company founded by Tom Cruise has become a touchstone. Can they bypass Ovitz and deal directly with his star agents? If CAA is not of one mind, then they are no different from ordinary agencies.

Other stars also see this as a touchstone. Although CAA can package new projects for some old stars who have passed their prime, and can also put some second-tier stars in package contracts to strongly improve their ranks, first-tier stars don't like the package approach very much.

The reason is actually very simple. The quality of casting directly affects the overall quality of the film. The reason why the former United Artists, the later Orion, and the current Daydream have been able to win Oscars and achieve box office success is that they respect the director's creative leadership.

This method can select the most suitable candidate, rather than the most obedient actor of CAA. Of course, this method will also cause the quality of the entire film to depend on the director's ability and integrity, and there will be more failures than successes.

CAA's package approach can only produce 80-point movies, but it will not fail. From a commercial point of view, it may be that CAA's approach can better guarantee a return on investment, but first-tier stars don't want these, they want to go to the next level and leave their names in film history.

The new Kruskwagner Films urgently needs a distribution contract from a major studio. Ovitz also used many connections to sabotage this cooperation.

First-line stars need big productions, of course, and medium-sized companies like Daydream cannot release big productions during the peak season. Only large studios can afford the investment and risk of booking time slots a year in advance.

For a time, Paula Wagner and Ovitz appeared on the meeting list of presidents and CEOs of major studios, and it was just a matter of time to see who would win.

This matter is a civil war between two Jews, and the top executives of major studios are probably Jews. Ronald can't intervene, but many people come to him for information.

…

"Really? Really set up your own production company and cooperate directly with major studios?" Kevin Costner's eyes were full of desire for money.

If his production company had directly invested in major studios for the previous two films "JFK" and "Dances with Wolves", the profits from the film dividends would have been many times more than now.

"You can try to negotiate first. I tell you, this kind of thing depends on how much bargaining chips you have."

"What do you mean?" Costner avoided a black female star next to him and whispered to Ronald about the key things. He knew that Ronald might be telling him a secret worth tens of millions of dollars.

"Do you know why the studio is willing to let the director's studio participate in the investment of the movie and share the profits with them?"

"I've always wanted to know..." Although Kevin Costner won the Oscar for Best Director, he is actually an actor. When talking about some secrets of the director, he was also confused.

"Because no one in this industry knows why a movie will be a hit..." Ronald whispered to him the biggest secret of Hollywood.

Because no one knows why a movie will be a hit, the studio cannot mass-produce hit movies.

Unlike Coca-Cola, you can make thousands of cans of Coke if you understand a formula. Movies are a mass entertainment product. You finally found a formula, but you can only sell it once. It is impossible to remake the original movie many times and still have people willing to watch it.

The only way to continue the successful formula and continue to make hit movies is to shoot sequels. But the original stars in the sequel will definitely take advantage of the situation to increase their prices, and no one can maintain the original profits.

Therefore, the best way for the top executives of those studios is to find some alternative formulas to try to increase their success rate.

Some people like to make a certain type of film, such as Universal's previous series of youth films. But not every film of this type can be a hit, and the audience's taste is constantly changing.

Some people like to rely on one or two successful directors and keep letting them shoot the type of film they are best at. For example, Universal's Shinberg must tie up Spielberg to shoot science fiction films.

Others like to tie up with stars, such as MGM, which has always used superstar tactics. Big stars will always be a hit, but they may not make money.

The most brilliant one may be Michael Eisner during the Paramount period. His tactic is to take credit for his subordinates. He himself cannot identify which movies are popular, but his group of producers are masters in this field, so they just need to be given the autonomy to choose projects.

If Kevin Costner wants to take the lead in the project, he can only take the route of star bundling. That is to build his own star brand and let him occupy the first position among the protagonists of a certain type of movie. As long as there is such a big production, he is the first candidate.

And the most suitable for him is undoubtedly the traditional Hollywood image of being quick in action but slow in speech. It is the kind of role that makes people feel at ease at first glance, and they know that it is the kind of role that the protagonist appears. Of course, his image is more subtle. Unlike Jimmy Stewart, the spokesperson of this type of role, who is right-leaning, Costner's image is mixed with a lot of centrist colors who agree with the ideas of former President Ronald.

So, with such a role and such a script, when the big studios negotiate with him, Costner is in a very advantageous position. If he agrees, it will be a big production in Hollywood. If he doesn't agree, the studio can only look for a substitute with a lower influence, and can only cut costs to make a medium-sized production.

With this irreplaceable monopoly, there is a bargaining chip. In the negotiation with the studio, you can get a very advantageous position.

Kevin Costner originally only had some vague and intuitive understanding. When Ronald said this, it was like a revelation. He patted Ronald's shoulder heavily, "This is the second time you have pointed out the direction of the future for me... Hahaha, I will never forget it..."

The first time he said was when he was chosen by Ronald to star in the sci-fi small production "Night of the Comet".

"Hahaha, people need friends in Hollywood..." Ronald also laughed. This is not a kind heart, but he needs more stars like Tom Cruise to stand up, break Ovitz's monopoly, and directly contact the studio. The more stars like this, the weaker Ovitz's packaging strategy will be. Although there are too many Jews in Hollywood, as long as everyone has their own project company, they can better fight for their own interests by using interests to divide them.

"What are you talking about? You are so happy?" The black female star next to them heard their laughter and hurried over.

"Ha, let me introduce you. This is the great director, my guide, Director Ronald Lee. This is Whitney Houston, who came to audition with me today for the heroine of the new film..."

"Ha, I've heard your songs, they are very nice." Ronald looked at the black singer and looked at her carefully. Her appearance is really suitable for making movies.

In general, singers don't have very good facial lines, otherwise they will definitely go the acting route. For example, Madonna, who is determined to be an actress, has a gap in her front teeth. In fact, it is only suitable to be shot from a certain angle. You can still find a little bit of Marilyn Monroe's charm, but from another angle, it is an ordinary Italian girl.

There are also those who can't be shot from any angle, such as Paula Abdul, who is now popular. She is now old and has gained weight due to uncontrolled eating. She looks like an old lady no matter how she is photographed.

Whitney Houston's body shape is very similar to that of a movie actor, and the lines of her face can be photographed in beautiful close-ups on both sides. She is one of those black stars who is more in line with the aesthetics of white people. She won't lose most of the audience even if she plays a leading role.

"What? How about it? Can I be a movie star like Madonna?" Whitney Houston saw Ronald looking at her, straightened her waist, turned her body halfway, and showed her most attractive buttocks.

"Of course, you are more suitable for this role than Barbra Streisand..."

Ronald still doesn't forget to tease the Jewish star.

To say that this movie that Kevin Costner is preparing to take over was actually written for Barbra Streisand and Steve McQueen. When Lawrence Kasdan wrote it, he aimed at these two stars. A singer and a tough guy, it would be best if they both played themselves.

In 1975, the film script was sold for $20,000. But perhaps because it was too cheap, both stars Barbara and Steve didn't like it and turned to make other movies.

In 1987, the film was recommended to Diana Ross and Ryan O'Neal. Also a singer and a tough guy.

This time, Lawrence Kasdan was invited to direct it himself. Just when the project was going smoothly, Diana Ross's marriage with her first husband Robert Ellis Silberstein came to an end.

Diana Ross, exhausted by the divorce, withdrew from the project, which also caused the film to be shelved.

Because of the special nature of the script, no one was interested in it except the singer and the tough guy. The script was shelved all the way until 1985. At this time, Kasdan was no longer interested in directing this film, but the script was favored by a tough guy and a singer, namely Whitney Houston and Clint Eastwood.

Who knew that the script was shelved again because of Eastwood, and Houston's road to becoming a movie star was interrupted.

Until recently, Kevin Costner, the new generation of Western tough guy, picked up the script again, so the previous candidate Whitney Houston was naturally invited to audition.

"Bye..." After the audition, Whitney Houston specially asked her assistant to bring two CDs of hers, signed them and gave them to Ronald and Costner.

Ronald took it in his hand and saw that it was her new song "Tonight I'm Your Baby". In addition to the signature, there was also the song title written in marker.

This popular black singer actually knows the rules of the entertainment industry very well. Costner has the leading power of the project, and he actually has a lot of say in choosing which female singer to play. And Ronald is a director respected by Costner, so she has to win him over.

"I think she's pretty good. This movie was written by Kasdan imitating Kurosawa's Yojimbo, which happens to be my favorite Kurosawa work. There's such a Japanese-style female singer, isn't it a perfect match?"

Kevin Costner seemed to like the female singer very much. When the two auditioned, they did have some chemistry. Anyway, the focus of this script is the conflict and love brought about by the identities of the tough guy and the singer. Both of them are first-class in their respective categories, so it's not surprising that they have chemistry.

"You shouldn't ask me this question, Kevin, you are the star who leads the project..." Ronald replied with a smile. I just taught Costner how to use his own star as a bargaining chip in negotiations to take the initiative...

"I mean, do you want to direct this movie?" Costner said his thoughts.

"Why? Don't you direct it yourself?" Ronald felt strange. Kevin Costner's directing level, shooting this typical commercial genre film, can be said to be not difficult, at least much simpler than Dances with Wolves.

"I just feel that I still have a lot to learn from the master..." Costner's words have a certain sincerity. After he unexpectedly won the Best Director award, he still felt the gap between himself and the top directors during the process of working with Oliver Stone. Thinking of Ronald's experience directing him, he had new feelings.

Oliver Stone's movies all have a strong personal temperament. A typical commercial film director like Ronald may be more suitable for learning.

"I don't have the Best Director Oscar yet?" Ronald was not very happy. Although this was flattering, it was a bit strange to hear Costner say it. And Costner was quite persistent when he was a director. If he directed him, who would he listen to on the set in the end?

Ronald would rather direct a bigger star like Tom Cruise than Costner. Stars who have been directors always have more ideas...

"I have other projects on hand. Can't you just find a qualified director in the industry? It's up to you to decide how to shoot it specifically?" Ronald thought about it and rejected Costner.

"I need you to steer the ship at the critical moment, Ronald. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to shoot the key parts of Dances with Wolves..." Costner still felt a little guilty about his overall control.

"How about this, can you also invest in part? Neither you nor I are nominal directors, but you have to help me with ideas at critical moments..."

Kevin Costner, on the other hand, was a little unconfident about negotiating a new form of cooperation with the studio. He wanted to use Ronald's reputation to gain more benefits for himself.

"That's no problem. I'm very optimistic about the movies starring you."