Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Shirley Lansing has officially become the president of Paramount. I'm going to get what I should get from her..."

"You should have gotten it long ago..."

Diane kissed Ronald, and he was going to find Shirley Lansing to get the reward she had promised when she supported her promotion, the filming rights to the "Forrest Gump" movie.

After taking office, Shirley Lansing accepted interviews from many media. In what is known as the "Year of the Woman" in elections (more than a dozen female politicians were elected to important federal positions), women also took over the corporate world. a symbol of.

She suddenly got on the bandwagon and began to become a new popular figure in Hollywood. While constantly giving interviews, she also made various tours within Paramount. All the projects she is currently working on have been influenced by her. Reassess.

On the way to Shirley Lansing's house, Ronald also made a point of flipping through interviews with the second female leader to run a major studio in many years (she was also the first, having served as a second-in-command director in the early 1980s). President of Tenth Century Fox).

Because she has managed two major studios, the media still treats her with high respect. This achievement can only be achieved by a few leaders, such as Michael Ice, who has succeeded at both Paramount and Disney. Accept.

The reason for this interview is that former CEO Brandon Tartikoff publicly resigned a few weeks ago.

"I've been offered this type of position several times but I've always turned it down. This time there were several factors. The first was Stanley. We've worked together for 10 years. For the past two years, I've been on my own, I miss that partnership.”

Ronald looked at the Los Angeles Times and saw that the Stanley Shirley Lansing was talking about was her long-time partner, Stanley Jaffe. He now serves as president of Paramount Communications, the parent company of Paramount.

The fired Brandon Tartikoff, who previously held a position at NBC, was the one who gave Ronald's recommendation for "Seinfeld" more opportunities. After resigning from NBC, he only stayed at Paramount for a year before losing a political fight with Stanley Jaffe and being driven out of Paramount.

But this quick dismissal also made Paramount Communications look bad, and its stock price fell by a few dollars. Because Tartikoff's predecessor, Frank Mancuso (the one who greenlighted Top Gun), was also eliminated in a political struggle.

Therefore, Wall Street has expressed doubts about whether Chairman Martin Davis can control the overall situation. Shirley Lansing stood out because she was one of the few executives who could continue to work with Stanley Jaffe.

…

"Shirley...Congratulations...Look who is on the cover story of Variety Magazine? Huh? The wind of the Year of Women has hit Hollywood, the new Tartikoff..."

Ronald was invited to Shirley Lansing's office by his secretary, and he waved at Shirley Lansing with the "Variety" magazine. Her picture above was a bit like Catherine's dress in "Working Girl", wearing red and tall ’s shoulder pads, a strong woman in a male-dominated industry.

"Oh, Ronald, Ronnie, when these words come out of your mouth, I believe they are sincere. I have heard too many insincere compliments in the past two days, especially after the interview. Please sit down... But My job is not to replace Brandon Tartikoff..."

Shirley Lansing was indeed very happy. After hugging Ronald, she personally brought him a cup of coffee.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was surrounded by joy after your appointment was officially announced. Everyone knows that I like to shoot female subjects. Will I have a special channel with you in the future? Can you give priority to my project?" Luo Nader was a little confused. Aren't these all CEOs?

"You have my promise that any project you have, I will personally read the script. And Tom (Cruise)'s... It's not like that. My CEO is from the film business department, which is a newly created title... They don't want to I don’t want to see any political struggle again, at least in the next two years.”

"I see, now you and Kerry McClurg are in charge of each other?" Ronald liked the taste of this coffee very much, much more than Diane. Sure enough, he was loved by Jaffe.

"Yeah, I don't do TV shows, he doesn't do movies, and none of us step on each other's toes. We all report directly to Stanley Jaffe."

"That's a good thing. When people talk about Paramount, they always think of his movie business first..."

"Do you really think so?" Shirley Lansing was actually a little dissatisfied. As a CEO, her scope of power was significantly reduced compared to her predecessor. She tapped her hand on the table a few times, and glanced at Ronald's coffee, thinking that I made it for you in vain.

"Of course, Kerry McClurg's Law and Order and Miami Cop are very popular TV series. But when it comes to exposure, Paramount's movies are much better..."

Ronald knew that what this female CEO liked most was not movies, but the various fame and fortunes that movies brought her. When he saw that he had said the right thing, the other person's face relaxed a lot, and the lines on her forehead were all smiles. Out. Ronald immediately added:

"No one compares Kerry McClurg to the new California Senator..."

"Oh, hahaha... Ronnie, you really flatter me. Would you like some brandy and cigars? I have both. Did you smoke cigars and drink brandy like this before when you were chatting with Michael Eisner and the others? ?”

"Of course, this is my first time drinking brandy and smoking cigars with a female CEO of a major studio..." Ronald took the initiative to cut the cigar, poured the brandy, and clinked glasses with Shirley Lansing.

"Ahem... I don't know what's so good about this thing..." Lan Xing still choked.

"But it feels good, like I have the power of life and death for all the studio's projects..." Ronald also blew out cigarettes. This was the hobby left by those white tycoons back then.

"I have bought your novel from Warner Bros., keep it here for a few months, and then transfer it to circulation. You can prepare to sell it to two companies that have nothing to do with you, and then you can prepare to start filming... …”

The two drank for a while, and Shirley Lansing knew Ronald's purpose and threw the adapted script of "Forrest Gump" out of the drawer to Ronald.

"How many more months will it take?" Ronald remained silent and opened the script and read it for a while. This satirical novel was adapted into a script with a strong comedy color. He was not very interested. , and pushed it back, "I just want an adaptation right. As for the script, it's not too important. Let's look at it when the transfer is officially transferred..."

"What, you just want to disgust Warner Brothers and Ovitz?" Shirley Lansing is no stranger to this kind of behavior. She has done it before.

"That's not true. My aunt is the widow of a Vietnam War veteran, and she has always wanted me to make one, but you know, the box office potential of Vietnam War movies now is not what it was a few years ago, and a new group of audiences are interested in the Vietnam War. No impression at all.”

Ronald knew that Shirley Lansing's agent was also Michael Ovitz. It was Ovitz who helped negotiate the power and salary of this position. Although she seemed dissatisfied, she was also There is no need to show your cards.

"OK, I'll keep it for you..." Shirley Lansing put the script into a drawer with an expression of "Really? I don't believe it."

Ronald suppressed the urge to take it from her now and continued, "I've almost finished editing Tom's new film. Are you interested in taking a look at some time?"

"How was it? How was the effect?" When Shirley Lansing heard about Tom Cruise's new film "Sugar-coated Trap", her interest was greatly increased.

"I see good potential at the box office, and Tom's performance has improved a lot. Could Paramount do some PR for his acting award?"

"Of course, there is also your director award. I will directly ask Paramount's public relations team to fully cooperate."

…

That afternoon, I watched the rough cut copy that Ronald had transferred and the final soundtrack and subtitles had not yet been completed. Shirley Lansing kept smiling on her face.

Although her skills in producing and selecting scripts are not very good, she still has good vision. Tom Cruise's performance in this movie is indeed refreshing.

One of the biggest problems when a star transforms into an actor is that he likes to use various acting techniques. He wants to shout to all the film critics and judges, come and see, come and see how good my acting is.

But a true acting master knows when to put away his acting skills and not fully mobilize his performance.

In previous movies, Tom Cruise has always been able to show off but not stop, but this movie is actually able to achieve so much restraint, which is simply eye-opening.

"Great, great, I will increase public relations funding. This year Paramount... So what, Ronnie, will you still cooperate with Tom on your next project?"

Shirley Lansing had just officially taken office and was in the stage of revenge. She then inspected several ongoing projects of Paramount and fired everyone who had offended her ten years ago. She also used the excuse that there was no potential in business and awards. The project required Stanley Jaffe to oust several of his old connections at Paramount Pictures.

This time Ronald brought him the film "Sugar-coated Trap" starring big star Tom Hanks. It has high box office potential and critical award potential. With this starting point, he dealt with a few internal people, It's like having an extra baseball bat in your hand.

"Cruise? He's not very suitable for this movie. It's difficult... Besides, don't you want him to continue filming commercial productions? Tom usually makes a movie for reviews and awards, and then makes a big commercial production. conducted interactively.”

Ronald thought to himself, although this "Forrest Gump" is also a fool, this fool is only a little bit dumber than normal people. It is completely different from the abnormality that can be seen at a glance in "Rain Man". .

I was about to carefully plan my sense of proportion in acting and production, but Tom Cruise actually still starred in commercial productions, which was more suitable for his appeal.

"Okay, you have the final say. I always have some communication problems with his former agent..."

Shirley Lansing is talking about Cruise's current business partner, Paula Wagner. It is normal for two middle-aged beauties to fight for a handsome young star and dislike each other.

"His new film A Few Good Men is about to be released. Are you interested in chatting with them?" Ronald was talking about the previous director Bob Reiner, Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson, Dai A Colombian commercial film starring Mi Moore and others.

"You sly little bastard, am I going to support Peter Guber at the Columbia premiere?"

Shirley Lansing's words have taken on a bit of frivolity, and it seems like she's really been enjoying herself during her time at Paramount.

"Okay, I'll talk to him. By the way, what methods will your public relations team use to publicize the Oscar nomination?"

"You are a cunning businessman. Who in Hollywood doesn't know that you are an Oscar public relations expert? We will definitely use your public relations service to send the videotape, hum..."

"I'll have Michael Gray contact you..." Ronald didn't have any award-winning movies this year, so he was happy that his public relations consultant would get more business.

…

"There are so many celebrities here tonight..."

At the premiere of A Few Good Men , Ronald observed his surroundings while waiting for Diane to be interviewed.

Gossip reporters now pursue their wives with much more enthusiasm than they pursue him. After all, the winner of the Oscar last time, this year's "Pink Alliance" has gained a lot of attention, and has also become involved with California's two new female senators.

Maybe relying on the momentum of the Year of Women, this year will also be a favorite for a series of film awards such as Oscars and Golden Globes?

"Ronald, will you support Diane to win the award?" A tabloid reporter noticed that Ronald seemed to be doing nothing next to him, so he asked a barbed question.

"What kind of nonsense is this? Of course I support any performance of Diane. In my eyes, she is a perfect actor." Ronald scolded the reporter, then hugged Diane in a loving gesture, which was convenient. Everyone takes photos.

"Why are you distracted? Did the reporter just ask me questions and leave you out in the cold?" Diane also hugged him and teased in Ronald's ear.

"I just wonder why there are so many washed-up stars. Look, that's Val Kilmer (a supporting role in Top Gun), that's Kiefer Sutherland (Julia Roberts' dumped ex-boyfriend), and that's I can’t even name the older ones.”

This Colombian premiere was a big one, and in addition to the main creators, people like Nicolas Cage and Val Kilmer who were somewhat related to me were also invited.

"I heard that Columbia, 20th Century Fox, Universal and other companies have increased their investment this year to expand their budgets for award-winning films. Your behavior of sending videotapes last year started an arms race..."

Richard came up and answered Ronald's question.

"Those old actors I can't even name..." Ronald said to a female star with a wrinkled face and a male star with a cane beside her.

"Yes, the main character of the Barbara Eden TV series I Dream of Jeannie, Matt Latanzi and Olivia Newton-John's husband..."

"I've never heard of it...Hello Barbara, I like you so much. I dreamed about Jenny. His wife didn't come and came to fuck her by myself?...Matt, how is Olivia doing recently, is she still touring and performing concerts? I I haven’t seen her for a long time. Be sure to come see me when you come to Los Angeles..."

After finally dealing with these has-been stars with the help of Richard, Ronald finally saw Bruce Willis and Demi Moore and could take a breather.

"Bruce, Demi, what are you doing?"

"Damn it, the scripts I've been looking for recently are all about police, LAPD, and NYPD. Recently I had to switch to Marine Police for a change. Do you have any characters who are not police officers?"

"Uh..." Ronald was about to speak, but was embarrassed again when Willis said it.

"Forget it, I understand, the fucking police in Hollywood want me to play the role. This is another Die Hard on a boat..."

"I also have a copy of Die Hard on the Bus..."

"Forget it, I can't stand it anymore..."