Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Francis, this is my nomination letter to you. I may not be able to catch up with the opportunity to add stars for the first two times this year, but I am very sure about the third time. In the committee of the Walk of Fame, Columbia Company has several votes, and I voted for them all. Great greetings. Just in time for the release of your 400-year-old movie at the end of the year."

Ronald took out a letter he had written and handed it to Coppola, who he invited to his home for dinner. Today he was treated to fine Italian food, and the two of them were hosting a family dinner. Although Ronald did not have Coppola's ability to cook by himself, Diane was also the heroine he favored back then. Coppola, his wife and daughter Sophia were very happy.

"Oh, who am I with?" Francis wiped his mouth. Today's ingredients are obviously imported from Italy, and the chef is also very good. Ronald also opened a few bottles of wine from his own estate that he gave to him back then. Red wine really gives you face.

"I am going to nominate Roger Corman, but he is no better than you. Many people in Hollywood hate his film philosophy and do not agree that he is a member of Hollywood. I have to do more work, and I may not be able to get a good rating this time. ”

Ronald sighed. This is still a relatively easy Walk of Fame. If he wants to get an honorary Oscar for Roger Corman, it will be even more difficult.

"Roger, he deserves to win the award. Hollywood has greatly underestimated his contribution." Coppola agreed. This master of low-cost B-level movies, many people got their Hollywood jobs from him back then. Where are the tickets?

After the meal, the two drank Ronald's black tea and got down to business.

"This is a good idea of ​​yours, but I can't help with Malone's matter... My relationship with him was completely broken after Apocalypse Now."

It turned out that Ronald asked Coppola for help because he wanted to invite Marlon Brando, who played Don Corleone in "The Godfather", to guest star as a mafia boss in "Sugar-Coated Trap", which was Tom. Cruise plays a client who Mitchell helps avoid taxes.

But after contacting his agent, Brando offered the crew an impossible price. Ronald also wanted to use the friendship back then to get Coppola to lower the price, but Coppola said that he was also a victim back then.

When filming Apocalypse Now, the filming duration and remuneration were agreed upon, but Brando didn't even read the script and acted randomly based on instinct. Later, Coppola realized that he wanted to exceed the agreed time limit in order to get another one million overtime pay.

"God……"

Ronald was a little surprised by this behavior. He had only seen the 1990 movie "The Freshan", in which Brando played a comedy version of the Godfather and personally deconstructed Don Corleone back then. He thought that Brando would be more talkative as he got older, but now it seems that he is still the film industry prodigal who could make more money than less.

"This guy's acting is all based on interest. If the price you offer is too high, it means he is no longer interested. Is the role the same as his previous one?" Coppola understood Brando's thoughts and explained to Ronald. Marlon Brando was probably dissatisfied with the script, but if you offered him a big price, he wouldn't refuse.

"What about the supporting characters in The Godfather? What about Sollozzo and Clemenza?"

Ronald admires the casting of "The Godfather" and thinks it may be the best film casting in Hollywood. The one who threatened and assassinated the godfather, and the infighting could be seen from the words of the godfather and his eldest son, Sollozzo, the dragon crossing the river. And the godfather's right-hand man, the fat man Clemenza who still remembers to bring pancakes home for his children after killing people, are all actors with unforgettable images.

It is impossible for Brando to agree to blackmail Ronald. Allowing these two to guest star as the two Italian gangster clients is also a clever way to allow the audience to enter the prescribed situation very quickly.

"Al Lettieri [the actor who played Sollozzo] died of a heart attack at the age of forty-seven, so young. He was a John Wayne-level actor... As for Richard Castle No (the actor who played Clemenza), he also died a few years ago from a heart attack, and the producers always wanted him to be a little fatter, a little fatter.”

"Why……"

The plan of Pengci's "godfather" completely failed. Ronald could only comfort himself. Fortunately, Robert Duvall was also a member of The Godfather, although he was bald now and many viewers could not recognize him.

…

"Julia, please help me find out if there are any actors who look like these two people. I want someone with a similar temperament. At first glance, he looks like an Italian gangster..."

Ronald didn't give up yet, and resorted to another set of B-movie tricks. If you can't afford a star actor when making a B-level movie, then hire an actor with a similar appearance and temperament. This is also a kind of popularity...

"Ha, have you seen Scorsese's Goodfellas?" Casting director Julia Taylor laughed as soon as she saw the two photos in The Godfather. She must have been asked similar questions by other producers.

"Huh?" Ronald got up. In Marty Scorsese's previous "Goodfellas", the actor who joked and confronted the protagonist in the bar seemed a bit like Sollozzo, with the same temperament. The kind of dragon that crosses the river, showing no emotion or anger, tough on the outside but smart on the inside. And he can go from a calm state to a violent state at any time, which is very consistent with the appearance of a high-ranking gang member in the audience's mind.

"For Clemenza, you need to look for that fat image that is unique to Italians. It is difficult for other ethnic groups to portray that kind of temperament..."

"You seem to have put a lot of effort into this movie?" In Julia Taylor's eyes, Ronald was still the young photographer who worked for their casting studio. Seeing how devoted Ronald was, she was very concerned. .

"I also want to devote myself to it. Look at this adapted script..." Ronald took the script and turned it over. It was obviously one-third thicker than other scripts, and the copper nails used to bind the script did not stick out like ordinary scripts.

"This length..." Julia Taylor also understood that a script of one hundred and sixty pages is much longer than an ordinary movie. This kind of movie is also a double-edged sword for the director. Once it is filmed, it can earn both fame and fortune. The industry considers it to be a work that breaks away from ordinary commercial films. If you don’t shoot well, you will lose money very badly.

"What do you think of the heroine?" Julia Taylor had seen the audition photos of the three actresses. She knew that if Ronald liked it, the heroine would be produced between the three of them.

"I prefer Robin White, which can save me a lot of things. Bridget Fonda's image is the most suitable, but she has to be trained slowly. I heard that she does not seem to have inherited the acting skills of her grandfather and aunt..."

This kind of super-long movie really tests the actors' performances, and there are many scenes in the sugar-coated trap that require acting skills. If an actress is not good at acting, it will be really troublesome to shoot.

Julia Taylor puts a stamp on Robin Wright's name. She is not the kind of casting director who only caters to the director's preferences. In her eyes, Bridget Fonda seems to be a more suitable candidate.

As for Jane Tripplehorn, if the script is still the original outrageous version, her face that looks like Jacqueline's would be more suitable. In the eyes of American audiences, women who look like Jacqueline are relatively smart. I am afraid that they will take advantage of her husband Mitchell's cheating to take advantage of him, and it will not be so easy for him to return to Boston to live an ordinary life. People's lives are worth it.

"Very good, we will start auditioning according to this schedule, and there will be various supporting roles. This is a big project no less than that of The Godfather."

"Yeah, I won't see you off, Julia, I have guests from across the ocean, sorry."

…

The guest Ronald was talking about was Deputy Director Fei whom he met there not long ago. Sure enough, the speech he gave at the banquet last time was meaningful, and this time he came again.

This time he came with a large delegation. He mainly came to visit friendly Chinese people in the literary and art circles. Not directly to Washington DC. Ronald was the first person he visited in Hollywood.

"You're neglecting me, Deputy Director Fei. We, the capitalists in Hollywood, actually work very hard. You see, we have to work at home on weekends. We are so busy."

"Director Luo is joking..." Deputy Director Fei still called him Director Luo, just like the mainland filmmakers.

He came to Hollywood this time and brought good news to Ronald. His Daydream has been specially approved as the first Hollywood production company that can negotiate a split agreement with China Film. This is a reward for Ronald's consistent friendly behavior.

Of course, they also want to learn more about the inside story of Hollywood from Ronald. If you can help rehabilitate this important matter that the leaders are particularly concerned about, it will be considered a great contribution.

"You want to know who to talk to in Hollywood? I'm afraid those big studios are no longer as interested in the mainland film market as they were ten years ago."

Ronald also told the truth that the number of TV sets there has grown rapidly in recent years. It is said that several color TV production lines have also been introduced. His leather company that supplies TV series to Xujiahui TV stations has also done well recently, which shows that the mainland's TV market is developing at an alarming rate.

Similar to when Hollywood was beaten to a pulp by television stations, the mainland market is also experiencing the same thing now. The decline in movie box office compared to a few years ago is staggering.

Under such circumstances, it is not very easy for the seven major studios to be interested in it.

"I don't know. Which one does Director Luo think is more likely?" Deputy Director Fei took the initiative to ask Ronald, asking him which major studio is more likely to achieve breakthroughs and cooperation first?

"I suggest you look for MGM and Columbia. During World War II, MGM made a series of films that reflected the heroic resistance of the Chinese people against Japan. Katharine Hepburn also played a Chinese girl.

Columbia is now acquired by Japan. They have more experience in dealing with the mainland than other major studios. "

Ronald did not hide his secrets. According to his own understanding, he told some major studios that might cooperate with China Film and gave them some pointers as to who they could look for to move forward faster. At that time, executives who are friendly to China can be designated to talk, such as Mike Medavoy of Samsung Pictures, who can also gossip about Songhai.

"Before I came, I asked some teachers from the Chinese Theater Company. They said that Warner Bros. has recently made a lot of films that reflect Chinese people. I wonder if they are also suitable?" Before Deputy Director Fei came, he asked his secretary to ask the people from the Chinese Theater Company. I wrote a report that those studios like to make Chinese stories.

"Hey, you have to find those movies to watch yourself. I can't comment on them. I can only say that not all movies about Chinese people are friendly to Chinese people. Maybe in some movies, the image of Chinese people is deliberately distorted..."

When Ronald heard it, he knew that he was talking about movies like Chinatown and Year of the Dragon, which have Chinese people as the protagonists. They are either villains or gangsters, and there is no positive image. These movies are of course impossible to be dubbed into Chinese, so it is normal that the deputy director does not understand.

"Thank you for the great assistance of Director Luo..." Although Deputy Director Fei did not fully understand what Ronald meant, he also felt that such a statement might not be a good word.

The visit ended here, and their literary and artistic front could not help much, so they could only play a supporting role. Deputy Director Fei planned to leave.

"Stay for dinner, my wife has prepared the food..." Ronald thought to himself, how could Chinese people come to their home and not eat.

"Then it's better to obey than to be respectful..." Someone invited him to dinner, and it was official business, and they had reported... Everyone was very happy.

"Wait a moment, I have something to discuss here..." Ronald stood up and said goodbye.

"Hey, what do you think the Hollywood capitalists eat?" The translator and the assistant began to joke.

"You don't understand, Director Luo is a fan of Chinese culture. Didn't you see there is a garden here?"

"Is this a garden? It looks like a dry landscape in Japan, right?"

Anyway, Ronald's family has a little bit of everything. The young people began to argue.

"Hey, who does Director Luo's guest look like?"

Suddenly, Deputy Director Fei's trusted secretary pointed out that Ronald and a white man were walking towards another house from the garden. They looked a little familiar.

"Are they a little similar?" Deputy Director Fei was not sure, and suddenly his heart warmed up.

...

"George, how is the scenery in Beverly? Is it better than the scenery you saw in Texas?"

The guest Ronald received was George Jr. He suddenly appeared in Hollywood and went straight to Ronald's home after getting off the plane.

"My mother Barbara is very unhappy. I came to check something for her..."