Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Click, click... click"

In Universal's small screening room, the newly edited dailies are being screened. From time to time, a black screen delay caused by the transparent tape on the film editing port appears on the screen, and a small popping sound from the transparent tape on the audio tape is also heard from the speaker.

But this did not affect the two producers, Lin Sen and Azoff's full concentration on the film. It also didn't affect the middle-aged man with a beard sitting next to them.

Ronald was also in the seat, as a working copy of "fast-paced Richmond High" was shown on screen for the first time.

In the last scene of the movie, Mr. Hand is correcting students' homework, and he covers his head dejectedly. Among the new students, there are many students like Spicoli who smoke and get high all day long and scribble their homework.

With a "pop" sound, the screen turned black, and several handwritten white numbers appeared and disappeared. They were small marks made by the editing assistant. This working copy has not yet been attached with the Universal Pictures logo at the beginning and the end credits. After two seconds, the black screen ended and the lights came on in the small screening room. "

Producer Art Linson turned his head and asked the bearded middle-aged man sitting next to him:

"Great movie, isn't it?"

Because there are some nonsense rumors about the movie within Universal Pictures, such as the director turning the comedy into a tragedy, the director not shooting enough material, the editing not being able to produce a finished film, etc. Universal executive Ned Tanning asked the famous director to see what was going on and whether it was really impossible to edit the film.

The middle-aged man who was entrusted by Universal executives to watch the samples is the recently famous comedy director John Landis.

In the past two years, Landis has been the darling of capital after Spielberg. The two recent comedies he directed, "An American Werewolf in London" grossed 60 million, and "The Blues Brothers" grossed 120 million.

In addition to the previous release of "National Lapoon's Anial Hoe" in 1978, the box office was 140 million.

Having hit three home runs in a row, he is already America's best comedy and horror film director. In particular, "The Blues Brothers", which he collaborated with comedian John Belushi, received an investment of US$30 million.

In this era of declining film investment, this investment is only less than Spielberg's 35 million budget "1941". The studio has full confidence in him.

Moreover, the box office hit of "The Blues Brothers" quadrupled its cost, while "1941" ended in heavy losses. Before Spielberg turned around with Lucasfilm's "The Lost Ark of the Covenant," Landis was actually more sought after by studios than Spielberg.

"What do you think?" Azoff, another producer, also asked Landis's opinion. They urgently need this middle-aged man to report the true situation to the world and dispel the rumors.

John Landis pushed up his glasses. He didn't really appreciate the movie. The laughter in it is relatively obscure and loose. The best-selling comedy movies in the past two years pursue dense and shallow laughter, just like the several movies he directed and the "Unprecedented and Unparalleled" that took off at the box office last year.

Although it doesn't suit my taste, the claims that the director can't shoot or edit are all nonsense. It seems like someone did it on purpose.

In fact, on the contrary, the young director Ronald not only knows how to shoot, but it is his first time to shoot a movie, and the film has an unexpectedly high degree of completion. In addition to the actors' performances, there is also the common problem of emotional intensity mismatch among novice directors.

But even experienced directors cannot completely solve this problem. Unless they are working with a long-term team, or return to the big studio model of the golden age of Hollywood and let actors form fixed partners, there is no way.

"As a newcomer's work, it is already very good." Landis replied.

The two producers breathed a sigh of relief. It is hoped that Landis can bring the true situation of the movie to Universal's senior management, match the corresponding publicity resources before the premiere, and match the number of theaters after the release.

"I would like to ask, what were your considerations in letting the actors speak in a Southern California valley accent?" Landis turned back and asked the young director.

"The California lifestyle is favored by young people in most other places, and I wanted to use a valley accent to represent that," Ronald replied.

"That's a good idea." Landis turned back, a little disapproving. The use of dialect accents in comedy movies is generally used to create some jokes. This large-scale use of dialect accents without corresponding jokes limits the movie-watching experience for non-Southern California audiences.

John Landis didn't say much. He stood up and left. This movie is not worthy of spending more time and attention. It is better to chat with his old partner, John Belushi, about the idea of ​​a new movie. He has not seen him for a long time.

"Ronald, it seems that Director Landis has a good impression of you. Your movie will be released in many theaters." Editor Eric said quietly to Ronald.

"Oh, yeah? I don't know, I hope so." Ronald didn't say a few words to Landis. Seeing as he didn't say anything about the shortcomings of the movie, it shouldn't be that Universal rejected this version of the edit. "

"Good editing, Ronald." Producers Lin Sen and Azoff came over to congratulate him. They were actually relieved today. Ronald's editing progress suddenly accelerated. He hurriedly made a copy before Landis came to see it, so as not to show the broken fragments to the special envoy of Universal executives.

Ronald stood up from the sofa and said to the two producers:

"With the soundtracks selected by Hecklin, the story and emotions can be better. Now we only need Motown music. The copyright of the Led Zeppelin band has not been negotiated yet, and the recording engineer has started mixing."

Another producer, Azoff, vice president of MCA Records, replied, "Motown Records has agreed to let us use the copyright of their singers, and you will be able to use Donna Summer's songs soon."

"There are some problems with the copyright of the songs in the Led Zeppelin IV album. Can they be replaced with songs from their other albums?" Azoff asked back.

Ronald turned his head and asked Cameron Crowe, who was a special reporter for "Rolling Stone" magazine and was very familiar with the rock circle.

"No problem. The audience won't notice that the nerdy Mark and Stacey didn't use the album recommended by the scalper Mike when they were dating. The music of the Led Zeppelin band is the same to the general audience."

"I want to talk to you about reshooting some scenes. Sean Penn's performance was unexpectedly good. I discussed with Cameron Crowe and hope to make up two scenes for him. Invite talk show star Johnny Carson and popular actress Brooke Shields to guest star."

The two producers were stunned when they heard this, and then they felt very interested. If they could really invite two stars to guest star, it would be very helpful for the promotion and marketing of the movie, and it would be a topic that could make the headlines for free.

"Do you have a way to invite them, Ronald?" Lin Sen was cautious.

"Johnny Carson's agent and my agent are in the same company. I have asked my agent to ask him about his wishes. As for Brooke Shields..."

"I remember that you directed the advertisement for her CK jeans, right?"

"Yes, I know her well. I asked someone to take a message to her agent. Her mother is in charge of her acting career. I want to contact her through formal channels first." Ronald replied. Terry is not an easy person to talk to, so he asked the agent to understand her ideas first.

"Very good idea, Ronald. After reading this work copy, I also think that the surfer played by Sean Penn is very outstanding and very popular with the audience."

"If you have a channel to contact Johnny Carson, please try it. I heard that he charges a high price for guest appearances."

Lin Sen nodded. Johnny Carson is not only a talk show host, but also has his own men's clothing brand. He also invested in a car company and is preparing to build a sports car with pure American blood. This is beyond the ability of most people in the entertainment industry. Building a car is not a simple matter.

"I'll ask for you, but you have to be prepared for failure."

"My agent has made a list for me. If he doesn't agree, we'll look for other show hosts. It won't hurt to try the most famous one first. What if he agrees?"

"Hahaha, that's it. Keep this mentality."

In the evening, John Landis returned to the office of Ned Tanin, vice president of Universal Pictures, and talked about his views on "Fast-paced Richmond High School".

"The director's skills are quite mature and experienced."

"Are there no shortcomings?" Tanin asked.

"There are no technical problems. The rhythm of the film is not in line with the recent hit comedies. He seems to be shooting the kind of slow-paced neurotic comedy of old Hollywood, plus some exposure shots of X-rated films in the 1970s." Landis commented.

"You mean, the box office won't be very high?"

"It's hard to judge, but he did not adopt the comedy model that audiences like in recent years, and the rhythm is slower than the recent hit comedies. You can see that the editing rhythm of 'Unprecedented and Unprecedented' is faster than his."

"Including your several hit movies, right?"

Landis smiled and tacitly agreed with Tanin's words.

"Thank you, John. How is the preparation of your new film going?"

"My new film seems to be postponed. I may accept Steven's invitation to co-direct a movie adapted from a TV series with him."

"Which Warner Bros. movie, huh? When will you make another comedy for us? Just with your old partner John Belushi?"

"John Belushi is in a bad situation. I think he is deeply trapped in the quagmire of banned drugs."

Landis sighed. His former partner is now like a different person. He asked to borrow money when he saw him. He didn't want him to continue to sink, so he refused the request for money.

He also called Belushi's agent. The agent was also very upset. He said he had called several of Belushi's good friends, including Robert De Niro and Robin Williams, and asked them to persuade Belushi to go to a drug rehabilitation center.

"God, he is a guarantee of comedy box office success. There are too many Hollywood actors who have been ruined by illegal drugs recently."

Ned Tanin said as he sent Landis away and took out an annual film marketing plan from his desk. He drew a line on the name of "Fast Pace" with a red pencil.

"In that case, just arrange some resources and sell it to Universal TV for broadcast."

A few days later, Ronald came to the producer's office to discuss reshoots with Lin Sen and Azoff.

"Johnny Carson has officially declined the invitation to make a cameo. He said that he will not go to work on Tuesday and does not want to give up time with his wife for a small movie." Lin Sen said. He asked Johnny Carson directly about his time through a personal connection.

"Then let's go with what's on the list. Carson seems to have a land, and David Letterman also hosts the morning show on NBC."

"Okay, let's ask one by one. How is Brooke Shields doing? Is she willing to make a guest appearance?"

"She was willing, but her mother offered a monthly price of 500,000 yuan. I was very angry and asked her to talk. I hope she can lower the price." Ronald said, "Whether she can come depends on you. How much additional budget can we get for reshoots?”

"We try our best to fight for it. Brooke Shields' charm is very high. Many viewers who went to see Endless Love came to see her. We will make a request to Universal's senior management. If you can convince Brooke Shields, I think they will agree. "

Ronald nodded, it seemed that he had to take action to deal with Brooke Shields first.

"In addition, there is good news. After a meeting, Universal's top executives came up with a new idea, allowing you to edit a version that meets the TV station's G-level standards. They will sell 'fast-paced' to TV stations under MCA. It seems that they are interested in the release of the movie. The box office is very confident," Lin Sen said.

Generally speaking, TV stations will offer to acquire movies only if they have excellent box office performance after release. Now that the TV version has been edited, it seems that the top management has given Landis's opinion and is confident about the prospect of release...