Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Brooke Shields came over for a day of filming. She didn't do any underwater scenes, and the make-out scenes were limited to hugs and a kiss on the cheek."

Ronald sat at the mixing desk and introduced Brooke Shields' guest appearance to Cameron Crowe and his girlfriend Nancy Wilson who came to help.

"Hey, that's Brooke Shields. If we can invite her to make a cameo, will we make a lot of money at the box office?" Cameron Crowe was very excited. As the author of the original novel, he could not have imagined the character Spicoli in his novel. , can actually end with saving Brooke Shields.

"The negotiated price is US$150,000. Whether we make a profit or lose money depends on the final box office results."

"One hundred and fifty thousand a day? This appearance fee is not much different from that of the most popular band Van Halen." Nancy Wilson was surprised.

"We also invited the Van Halen band to make guest appearances, but they have been busy touring in the past few years and have not even had time to release records. Fortunately, Azoff got the rights to use the video footage of their concert and will edit it into Spicoli’s birthday party scene.”

"Oh, so he spent a lot of money?" Crowe had been a columnist for a rock magazine and knew that the right to use the video of such a popular rock band was not cheap.

"Yes, it will cost about three hundred thousand dollars in total." Ronald nodded, "And the host of NBC's Tomorrow Show has agreed to make a friendly guest appearance, so our movie may be raised to a higher level."

"When I started discussing the script with you, I didn't expect this movie to be shot on such a scale. Well done, Ronald!" Crowe came up and high-fived Ronald. "If Amy Heckerling had If you become a director, you can’t hire Brooke Shields.”

Ronald grinned, "But the soundtrack she chose for us is pretty good. The ending song "goodbye, goodbye" is very suitable for explaining the ending of each protagonist. "

"Where is she now? I haven't seen her for a long time." Crowe's girlfriend Nancy Wilson was unaware of Ronald's competition with her for director, and Heckerling was just an ordinary associate producer.

"She said she was writing a script and was going to write a comedy that would be a parody of a gangster movie, imitating 'All the Time'."

While Ronald and Crowe were chatting, the sound engineer was nearby and also wrapped ogobogo's single tape on each reel and started playing it. The ending scene of each character is matched with the rhythm of the four-bar music, and the explanation is short and powerful.

The level of the singing was adjusted along with the recording, and when it reached the appropriate volume, it was mixed into the live sound track.

"Ronald, give me some advice." The sound engineer asked Ronald after listening to the mixed music. "You are the winner of the Oscar for Best Original Song. I know you are also an expert."

"I trust you, I have no objection to this paragraph." Ronald himself knew that this Oscar was a copied word, and it did not mean that he had any musical professionalism.

"Okay, if you have any ideas, tell me already." The sound engineer put on the monitoring headphones again, "By the way, haven't you finished the Led Zeppelin IV album yet?"

"No, this is their best-selling album. Producer Azoff put in a lot of effort, but the price they asked was too high. In the end, they sold Cameron Crowe's face and agreed to authorize us to use another album. First single 'Cashmere' instead."

"You are the boss." Ronald high-fived Crowe again.

Cameron Crowe glanced proudly at his girlfriend Nancy. Nancy Wilson also glanced at Crowe with admiration and adoration.

Ronald watched the couple look at each other affectionately, and felt a little ripple in his heart. He seemed to think of a girl, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"This is the list of copyrights purchased for the TV version. You replace these songs in the TV edit. Cameron, please take a look at it for me. I'll go find the producer, Mr. Lin Sen." Ronald took a list Handed it to the sound engineer, got up and walked.

The copyrights for each soundtrack purchased by Azoff can only be played in theaters. TV stations are unwilling to purchase the broadcast rights of so many songs, so in some places, the soundtracks are replaced by commercial products with low copyrights or no copyrights.

Ronald came out of the mixing room and took a walk. I walked to the office where producer Lin Sen was located, and before I even knocked on the door, I heard Lin Sen talking on the phone inside.

"What? When did it happen? What if he agreed to our guest appearance?"

"What's going on?" Ronald opened the door and entered.

"Tom Schneider, the host of The Tomorrow Show, was fired from NBC this morning because the ratings were not up to standard. His agent gave me a call."

"What should we do?" Ronald was also stunned for a moment. Is it such a coincidence? As soon as he agreed to make a cameo, he was fired by his employer.

"Let's go find him at the entrance of NBC's studio." Lin Sen picked up the coat on the hanger and put it on.

NBC's Universal Pictures has extensive cooperation, and many NBC TV programs are shot in Universal's studios.

Ronald Linson came outside the studio of "Tomorrow Show", and the host who had just been fired walked out of it. Reporters waiting outside immediately stepped forward to ask questions.

"Tom, what do you think about NBC firing you?"

"No comment."

"Will you continue your career as a talk show host on another TV station?"

"Yes, but I need to rest for a while first."

…

"What questions do you have?" The host answered several reporters' questions and saw Ronald and Lin Sen standing in the back. There was no photographer following them. Maybe it was a newspaper media?

"Mr. Schneider, we are from 'Fast-paced Richmond High School'. We would like to invite you to play a guest role as a host in the movie."

"Oh, I remember you. I'm very depressed today and just want to find a bar to get drunk, but thank you for remembering me."

Ronald and Lin Sen had to say goodbye to him. Now the host is gone again.

"What should we do?" Ronald asked, "Do you have other candidates on your list?"

"Youdao has, but NBC is gone. It's troublesome to find people from other TV stations, why don't we find their sports show hosts?"

"Only some teenagers who like sports know the hosts of sports stations, and the effect is not as good as talk show hosts."

"But Johnny Carson has already refused, David Letterman's agent has also refused, including Tom Schneider, NBA has only these three talk show hosts."

"Wait, you said Letterman's agent rejected us? What's his attitude?"

"He usually respects the choice of his agent. Usually Letterman is a very private person. We can't find him by phone. Only his agent can contact him."

"I remember you said that Letterman once had the opportunity to participate in "Unprecedented Flying All Over the Sky", and after his agent refused, he also regretted it a little?"

"Yes, many people know about this."

"Can we think of a way to talk to Letterman himself..."

Ronald and Lin Sen both think this matter has hope. David Letterman is a man with a great sense of humor. He might be happy to make a cameo appearance in a movie.

It’s just that the host has to host the show every day, unlike movie actors who have time to rest. Their daily affairs are usually handled by their agents. Otherwise, it will delay the daily live broadcast status, which is very troublesome.

So they will disappear after the show every day, go home to enjoy their private life, prepare for the challenges of the next day, and make millions of viewers laugh again.

So the agent’s preferences, instead of Letterman himself, became the principle for Letterman to attend other things.

Ronald and Lin Sen each found a way to contact Letterman himself and bypass the agent to attract his attention.

Ronald first thought of his agent.

"Yes, Letterman and Mr. Ovitz are old acquaintances. But David is a very private person. No one can find him during his rest time except his agent.

And recently NBC is going to change his show time from morning to evening, and make a new show "Late Show" right after Johnny Carson's show. He may not be free to guest star in your movie."

Nicita's voice came from the phone. He is very familiar with Letterman's business. In CAA's office, there is a large whiteboard that tracks the recent movements of all the stars in Hollywood and TV stations.

"I don't ask you to help sell this notice to Letterman, I just ask for a chance to contact him." Ronald replied.

"I don't think I can help you. The first person an agent is loyal to is his client. You don't want me to tell others your phone number against your will, right?"

Ronald thought about it and it was right. This is the basic ethics of an agent. If he made an exception and told himself Letterman's phone number, I'm afraid the agent would be fired soon.

"Okay, I'll think of another way."

"Here's a hint for you. Before Letterman came to NBC to write jokes for Johnny Carson, he worked as a writer for CBS for many years and had good relationships with many CBS hosts. They might have his contact information." Niceta still gave Ronald a hint.

CBS host? It seems that he knows one.

Pia, the eldest daughter of movie star Ingrid Bergman, is a host at CBS New York. But he is not very familiar with her. He can only talk to her half-sister Isabella Rossini, who is the wife of his teacher Scorsese.

This kind of thing may not be convenient, after all, they are not born by the same father, and Bergman also abandoned Pia who stayed in New York for Isabella's father.

He should know another relationship. Ronald thought of the figure of a girl, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

The first time he went to Pia's house, it was Helen Slater who took him there. They were all left at the door of Club 54 by their respective male and female companions. Later, Helen took out the invitation and went to Pia's mansion in the Upper East Side of New York.

After dialing the number Helen gave him, Ronald heard a female voice answering the phone.

"Hello, this is Alice Joan"

"I'm looking for Helen. Is she at home?"

"Helen, someone is looking for you." The lady covered the phone and called her daughter, "Who are you?"

"My name is Ronald. I once filmed an advertisement for Helen. I asked her to help introduce a host of CBS TV."

"Oh, are you the director who filmed the gum commercial for her? I've seen the version you filmed. Helen sang Carpenter's songs."

"Yes, that's me..."

"Hey, Mom, don't talk nonsense with my friends." Helen ran to answer the phone.

"He's all your fault." Helen's mother patted her daughter and walked out of the living room.

"Helen, it's Ronald. I want to ask you a favor..." Ronald told Helen Slater his thoughts.

"It's no problem. I'll call Pia, and then you can talk to her yourself. Take note of her phone number."

"Thank you, Helen. How are you doing?"

"It's not bad. My agent arranged several auditions for me. But I wasn't selected at any of them. I wanted to listen to you and find another agent, but no agent was willing for a while, and my mother didn't have anything. resource."

"If you need, I can introduce my agency..."

"Forget it, I like theater, so I want an agent in New York who has some connections with Broadway."

"Then I can't help. I only know Eddie in New York. He's just an advertising model agent."

"Hehe, is that the guy from the chewing gum commercial?"

"Yes, that's him. What auditions have you participated in recently?"

"They are all auditions for writing TV series and TV movies. What about you? Do you have any plans for a new movie? If there are new roles, don't forget about me."

"I approached Pia just to find David Letterman to guest star in the movie. I heard that they were colleagues in the past."

The two chatted for a long time about each other's current situation, and then said goodbye.

Ronald looked at Pia's phone number on the paper with a smile and would call her later.