Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Ronald still sent his experience and analysis of "God Is Crazy" to New World Production via fax.

Roger Corman admired Gale Hurd's talents very much, and she gradually started to get started with some things. After receiving Ronald's fax, Gale also made a long-distance call to confirm the viewing effect of "God Is Crazy".

The film broke box office records during its run in South Africa. However, the social impact of South Africa's imprisonment of black leader Nelson Mandela also made Coleman, who heard Gale's report, stop the idea of ​​introducing it. The motto of New Age Productions is to take no risks.

Ronald continued to watch movies in Montreal.

It must not only meet the aesthetics of American audiences, but also have a strong story and be cheap. It's really not easy to find movies that meet the three criteria.

Just when Ronald suspected that he was going to leave empty-handed, the second screening film of the Soviet Union delegation was released.

The name of this movie is very strange, called "MoswDoesNotBelieveTears".

After asking officials from the Soviet Union State Film and Television Committee (Gosko) whom I met last time, I learned that this is an old Russian proverb, and its real meaning is that Moscow will not be moved by tears. When you encounter setbacks, you should wipe away your tears and rely on struggle to win the favor of fate.

The plot of the movie is a bit cliche. In 1958, three young girls from a small town, Katarina, Lyudmila, and Antonia, went to work in a factory in Moscow and lived in a workers' dormitory. One of Catalina's relatives was a university professor. When she was showing a house to them while they were on vacation, Catalina pretended to be the professor's daughter and held a party with her two girlfriends.

Rudolf, a Moscow TV cameraman, takes a fancy to Caterina's social status and pursues her. Caterina was afraid that Rudolf would look down upon her because of her origins, so she lied that she was the daughter of a professor. When the two were discussing marriage, Rudolf went to the factory for an interview and accidentally discovered Catalina's true identity.

Rudolf's mother refused to let her son marry Caterina, a girl who came to the city to work. Catalina was already pregnant at this time. She asked Rudolf to borrow money and tried to have an operation but was rejected, so he could only give birth to her daughter. Raising her daughter alone with the help of two girlfriends. Catalina worked hard and got into college.

The structure of the film is very classical, with an intermission at one hour and ten minutes. This is the two-act structure of old blockbusters like "Gone with the Wind." There is an intermission for the audience to use the restroom to touch up their makeup.

Ronald also went to the bathroom. He felt more and more that the film reviews he heard from the audience here were more reliable than the film critics. But most people spoke French, which he couldn't understand. I overheard several audience members talking in English, and most of them lamented that they didn't expect there to be unwed mothers in Suville.

Ronald felt the same way. This story would be much more harmonious if it happened in America. Pregnancy out of wedlock, single mother, young man from small town to big city, no matter how you look at it, it is all a story that is unique to America. No wonder Gosko officials said the movie broke attendance records in Sewell. The audience there has never seen this kind of plot, right?

Went back to our seats to watch the second half. The time has arrived in 1979, Catalina graduated from university and has become the director of her factory. Lyudmila divorced her alcoholic hockey player husband and is still looking for a rich husband. Only Antonia married the country farmer Volodya and had several children to complete the family.

The divorce rate in this movie is almost as high as America. Ronald was even more convinced that the director was a little off base.

After visiting her friend Antonia in the countryside, Caterina met Guosha, a fitter, on the train back to the city. Guosha fell in love with Caterina at first sight and immediately began to pursue her. However, he mistakenly thought that Catalina was an office clerk, so that the strong man and the weak woman could last long. Instead of ending in divorce like my last marriage.

Guosha helped Caterina's daughter Alexandra fight off the gangsters and played the role of a father. Just as the two were getting closer and preparing to get married, Alexandra's biological father, photographer Rudolf, went to the factory to shoot an advertisement and recognized Caterina.

Rudolf rashly breaks into Caterina's house for dinner and reveals the secret that Caterina is the director of the factory. Guosha was angry at Catalina's deception and left home on the spot.

Two friends, Lyudmila and Antonia, decided to help Katerina find Gusha. With a few clues, Antonia's husband Volodya finally found Guosha, who was drinking at home, and the two solved their knot by fighting for wine. Eventually Guosha returned to Catalina's house and the family had dinner.

How did Ronald feel after watching the movie?

The movie is certainly a good one, and it did well at the box office in Suville. But this kind of routine is already common in American movies. And after all, the movie is shot in another world, and there are some subtle differences in culture that the audience may not necessarily accept.

Moreover, the movie lasts two hours and twenty minutes, and there is an intermission. Movie theaters in America have some trouble scheduling the movie.

Thinking about these disadvantages, Ronald chatted for a while with the officials from the National Film and Television Commission whom he met last time.

Can feel the other person's obvious frustration. The film received a cold reception from buyers. Although they all congratulated Sewell for making a box office hit, they were not interested in importing it to their respective countries.

One of the roles of the National Film and Television Committee is to promote the culture of Sowell. This film was exhibited at the West Berlin Film Festival in the first half of this year but received nothing. The West Berlin Film Festival, which was influenced by American capitalism, certainly did not like this film.

Despite all the controversial plots, it ended with a happy ending. The judges did not vote for such films that did not deeply expose the dark side.

Seeing Ronald, the officials became excited again. If they could get American film producers to introduce this film and land in American theaters, it would also be an achievement that could be written into the annual summary to ask for credit from the top.

He couldn't help but think of the secretary-general of the committee's advice to him before he left, that he must let Western audiences understand Sowell's artistic achievements.

After thinking about it, he took out his trump card.

"Mr. Ronald, in order to let the American people see the real life of the Suvil people and deepen the mutual understanding, our Suvil National Film and Television Committee can sell you a few copies of this movie at a symbolic price. As long as you can guarantee that it will be shown in theaters.

If you can get a commercial release in theaters in America, you can contact the cultural counselor of the Soviet embassy and consulate in the United States and order more copies. We will negotiate the price at that time."

"This..." Ronald's mind turned quickly. It was in line with Coleman's philosophy. There was no risk. It was equivalent to getting movie copies for free. Many art theaters needed movies to fill the gaps in the release of commercial films and were willing to accept such copies, such as New York's late-night theaters...

"You know, Comrade Director. America is a commercial society. If the audience does not accept this movie, the theaters will lose money, and we will lose money..."

"No, we have already submitted it as a candidate for this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. We will definitely not lose money."

"This? Will your Suvil Alliance's movies also participate in the Oscar selection?" Ronald was a little surprised.

"Of course, Seville's films have won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film twice." The director began to talk about Seville's film achievements.

It turned out that as early as 1969, the series of films "War and Peace" directed by Bondarchuk won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. This film, starring more than 120,000 Soviet troops, caused a great response in the West and collected 58 million rubles at the box office worldwide.

Another one was "Dersu Uzala" introduced by Roger Corman and shot by Akira Kurosawa in Seville, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1976. Since the investment belonged to the Seville Alliance, this film was also selected by the Soviet Union to send to the Oscars, and the award also belonged to the Soviet Union.

Ronald was overjoyed. If this "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" could be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film, there should be some people willing to go to the cinema to try it. It would be even better if it could win the award, plus the copy with almost no cost, this is a sure win.

However, he still said calmly, "Comrade Director, the American people have a bad habit of not being interested in what happens in other parts of the world. If it is a European audience, they will definitely go to see the artistic masterpieces nominated by the film festival, but the American people..."

"I understand, I understand, this is also the distress of me as the director of the American Department of the National Film and Television Committee." The director said that he understood Ronald's distress very well.

"Can we ask the main creators of the film to promote our film when they go to Los Angeles to attend the Oscars? You know, the American people worship heroes. A Suwei film won an Oscar. They may want to see which heroes can do such a feat."

"Ah...ah...this, this has to wait for our committee to make unified arrangements." The director said awkwardly. Director Menshov was criticized by some conservatives for this film. Who asked him to shoot some controversial plots about unmarried mothers and alcoholic husbands?

Although the Secretary-General of the Suwei League is a movie fan, he personally approved the release of the film after watching it, and it also achieved good box office results. But those people used the excuse that his films had bourgeois tendencies and they were afraid that he would defect, so they had banned him from going abroad to participate in international film festivals.

On the contrary, Andrei Tarkovsky, the director of "Stalker", although no one could understand his films, was highly respected by Europeans and often won awards to win honors for the alliance. He was able to go abroad to participate in film festivals and even go to foreign countries to shoot movies.

"In short, we will definitely support the release of this film in America." Seeing that Ronald seemed to be retreating, the director immediately began to flatter him. This is for the mutual understanding between the peoples of the Soviet Union and the United States, and it is a great cause. "

"Alas, this business still has no prospects if the main creative staff is not present."

"I will send a telegram to my superiors immediately to report this matter." The director said seriously, "Leave your address, and we will instruct the cultural counselor of the Soviet Consulate in Los Angeles to directly allocate a few copies to you..."

"Our New World Company." Ronald quickly took over.