Exploiting Hollywood 1980

When Niceta came to Ronald to meet Spielberg, he was chatting with director Zeffirelli.

Zeffirelli thought Ronald knew Russian, and laughed when he learned the truth. He raised the red wine and took a big sip, and immediately spit it out. He looked at the label and it was from Napa, California, and complained:

"California red wine can only be used to wash socks."

"Then it can only wash red socks." Ronald replied.

"Hahaha..., Ronald, I'm very happy today, especially seeing you come on stage to receive the award. But I will soon return to Italy to direct operas. There is no place for me in Hollywood. Remember to write to me when the time comes."

Ronald saw that he was sad and asked what was going on.

"MPAA gave "Endless Love" an X rating for the third time. Polygram asked me to revise it again and send it for rating. But Gubel has been discouraged. Polygram may give up this movie and let him release it with an X rating. This is equivalent to giving up the box office efforts."

Ronald nodded at Brooke Shields opposite, meaning that it was because of her passionate scenes?

"No one knows. This is the first time that PolyGram has operated a cinema film. This is also the first time that I have encountered such a situation. We don't know what to do. I don't care. I will try my best to ensure my creative intention this time. If it is still X-rated, then I will go back to direct the opera "La Bohème". It just so happens that Pavarotti needs an opera for him to perform."

"Ronald!" Nicita gestured to him that the person he wanted to meet had come. Seeing this, Diane hurried over and took Ronald's hand and walked together.

Spielberg found a quiet place and waited for Ronald to come and talk about the ET script. Ronald saw that in addition to Spielberg, there was also a couple present. The man had a big beard and the woman had short and capable hair.

Nicita stepped forward to introduce, "This is Ronald Lee. These are..."

"No need to introduce, Mr. Spielberg, and Mr. Lucas, and..." Both great directors have been interviewed on TV and have been interviewed by Time magazine. Ronald has read them all.

"This is my wife Martha, hello Ronald."

"This is Diane Lane, she played in Sunset Bridge." Ronald introduced Diane.

"Do you think she looks like the young mother of Luke Skywalker?" Lucas saw Diane and asked his wife. It happened that he was discussing the outline of the prequel story after the end of the trilogy with Lawrence Kasdan recently.

"Don't be rude, George. Not everyone wants to listen to your Star Wars story." Martha said with a smile.

"I doubt you can find such a person in America, Mrs. Lucas." Ronald replied with a smile,

"Hahaha..."

Everyone exchanged a few pleasantries, and Ronald briefly introduced his experience.

"Do you know Walter? Oh, we are good brothers. He can have the opportunity to direct his own movie? That's great." George Lucas was very happy to hear about the new developments of his old friend. After his success, he and Martha bought a new house and visited less with old friends in the Zoetrope Company.

The Lucas couple was mainly curious about what kind of person their old friend Spielberg wanted to meet. After satisfying their curiosity, they said goodbye. They bought a large piece of land to build their new home, and they have been busy meeting designers recently.

If several of their subordinates had not won the Oscar Special Contribution Award this time, they would not have come to Hollywood, which is out of place.

"Ronald, I like your evaluation of the ET script very much, and I just came to meet you this time."

Spielberg told Ronald the reason for meeting him.

\u0026's script was revised twice, and Spielberg completely adopted Ronald, or rather, he and Ronald's ideas coincided. Removed the bad boy and added a bicycle scene.

This time I came to talk to Ronald in person to see if there are any new inspirations and ideas.

The two chatted for a few words, and Ronald found that he didn't quite understand Spielberg's ideas. The ET movie that Spielberg imagined seemed very different from the movie he imagined.

Some of the plots that he thought were very bland, Spielberg was very excited when talking about them, and this inconsistency made him deeply confused. Is it because he has never dreamed of a movie that he lacks the ability to turn text into audio-visual?

Ronald thought about it seriously and said:

"Mr. Spielberg, I don't quite understand the scenes you mentioned. When I write a script, I usually have a series of pictures in my mind, but this time with ET, it seems to fail. I can't imagine the world in your eyes."

"I understand your dilemma, Ronald." Spielberg nodded with a smile, "You don't have the opportunity to observe with me in the crew like Zemeckis. Let's put it this way, my new film "The Lost Ark of the Covenant" directed by me and produced by George will be released soon. After watching this movie, you will understand the problems of this type of movie. We will talk about it then."

"Oh, Ronald, you are amazing. You can chat and laugh with directors of the level of George Lucas and Spielberg. Although I don't quite understand what you say." Diane now has a feeling of admiration for Ronald. Why didn't she think that cousin Donald was a powerful person before?

"Ah, it's nothing, they are also human beings. The gap between people can be very huge, but it should not exceed the scope of imagination. Even if I can't achieve such great success as them, it is impossible for me to completely understand what they are saying. There is no problem with dialogue.

Besides, they are all representative directors of New Hollywood. They are not like the powerful people in old Hollywood who are ranked based on seniority and are difficult to contact. "

Ronald explained. This group of directors were all influenced by the hippie movement, just like their editor Walter Mersey, who were relatively easy to talk to in the film industry.

Niceta came up to him and asked, "How was it? How was your chat with Steven?"

"He asked me to watch his new film The Lost Ark of the Covenant, but he didn't say anything else."

"Why, didn't he talk to you about ET?"

"We talked, but I couldn't keep up with his rhythm, so he asked me to watch the new movie. He said that Zemeckis also watched him on the set before he understood his way of thinking. Who is Zemeckis?"

"Robert Zemeckis is the screenwriter of Spielberg's failed work '1941'. Legend has it that he was also Spielberg's apprentice.

The movie was a box-office disaster, and Steven had no new film dates for a long time. This time it was Lucas who asked him to direct The Lost Ark of the Covenant, otherwise Steven would have been silent for a year or two.

Hollywood tolerates all kinds of eccentricities and outrageous behaviors of stars, including alcoholism, domestic violence, and drug abuse, but there is only one behavior that cannot be tolerated, and that is losing money. "

"Isn't it okay for Spielberg to do that?"

"Yes, that won't work either. If it weren't for the support of Lucas and the help of Eisner, the president of Paramount Pictures, it would be difficult for a director like Spielberg who often overdues filming schedules and goes over budget. Received such a large-scale production worth 20 million yuan.

I heard that Lucas rejected several studios and insisted on using Steven to direct. "

"So now this ET will also depend on the box office performance of The Lost Ark of the Covenant before the studio is willing to invest?"

"You're smart, Ronald, that's what it is. Tom Mount at Universal just couldn't see the box office failure of Spielberg's last film and vetoed the ET project. Now he's in talks with Frank Price at Columbia, Hope to get investment.”

Columbia's president, Price, was a personal connection to Ovitz. What Niceta hopes more is that the ET project will cooperate with Universal, so that Sheinberg, the CEO of Universal's parent company MCA, can cooperate with his old friend Spielberg to suppress Tom Mount, who is from different factions.

And I can sell a favor to Xinberg. With this favor, I can accomplish a lot of things.

Frank Price, Ronald was thinking that name too.

The circle of the eight major Hollywood studios is very small, with familiar faces coming and going. Columbia president Frank Price, who bought his script for Jane Fonda, is now working on a new project with Spielberg.

"By the way, what's the progress of my sold script now?" Ronald asked.

"Jane Fonda reconciled with her father Henry because of the filming of On Golden Pond. Henry Fonda's health is very poor, and she now spends a lot of time with her father. In addition, she is not satisfied with the revised script, and the entire project is now on hold. state."

"That's right!" Ronald cursed secretly, and the three of them walked back to the banquet hall.

"The decision for the fast-paced Richmond High School is now in the hands of Tom Mount, and he still wants David Lynch. But now Lynch has a bad reputation, and we have a good chance. You are always ready to go. There is no telling when he will abandon Lynch."

After Niceta arrived at the banquet hall, she took Ronald aside and explained in detail.

"During the interview, you mainly talk about your filmmaking style, image quality, and other aspects. Simply put, it is what kind of movie you want to make."

Ronald nodded repeatedly.

"Originally, these words should not be said on the night you win the award, but since you live in New York, I have to explain it first. When you go back, you can make a draft and then practice it with a friend. I will also give you a mock interview on the long-distance phone. . Adequate preparation is the prerequisite for success.

If you have the chance, you can always fly over and explain your ideas to Tom Mount face to face. "

As expected, Niceta had much better connections than Richard, and within a few days, she had already figured out Universal's views on the film.

"Hi, Ronald." Someone called him again.

Ronald looked up and saw Natasha Kinski, the star of "Tess", accompanied by Demi Moore.

"Hi, Natasha, hi, Demi." Ronald greeted them with a hug according to Hollywood rules.

"I almost didn't recognize you, Ronald." Kinski smiled. "Добрыйвечер."

"I actually don't speak Russian." Ronald explained the counselor's request again.

"Hahaha", Kinski smiled happily. She is a language genius, but she can speak Russian.

"Ronnie, I..., I'm already married to Freddy." Demi Moore smiled at the other side, feeling extremely regretful in her heart. Today I saw the images of Ronald taking the stage twice on the TV broadcast in the outfield, and I started sighing.

But you have to look beautiful and sexy in front of him, and don't let him forget about you, so that you can have another chance in the future.

"Oh, when, I haven't congratulated you yet." Ronald replied with a smile.

Natasha Kinski looked at Demi with amusement in her heart. Her stardom is much worse than mine, first it was Polanski, and then Coppola, but the director still likes blond beauties like herself with a high nose and deep eyes.

Demi’s black hair usually plays intellectual women, just like Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. The sexy protagonist is always the blonde.

“Who is that? Is he your friend?” A middle-aged woman in the distance looked at Timothy Hutton, looked at Natasha Kinski and Demi Moore, and didn’t approach them. It was a bit strange. Looking more closely, he seemed to be a little afraid of the tall young man.

“No, it’s just a familiar screenwriter.” Hutton squinted his eyes and drank, “I will get familiar with the script of ‘Lights Out’ as soon as possible, Ms. Lansing.”