Exploiting Hollywood 1980

That morning, manager Richard came to see Ronald, and they went to visit Spielberg's Amblin Productions to see if the big director was interested in investing in his "Night of the Comet".

Money is hard to earn, and it's hard to face. The producer shook his head when he heard about the science fiction theme. Ronald has encountered many rejections.

The budget gap of more than one million US dollars is not a lot for filming, but no one is willing to invest. Ronald had an idea and considered whether to invest part of his own money.

"Directors will not invest their own wealth in filming. This is a Hollywood practice. You don't have to do this, Ronald," Richard advised Ronald in the car, "Nine out of ten directors who do this will go bankrupt."

"What about the other one?"

"The other one made money, but most of it was taken away by the production and distribution companies."

"Well, I won't." Ronald actually just thought about it. He also had the lives of his aunt and cousin, as well as his personal life. Investing his own money is very risky and he may not be able to bear such a risk.

Even if there is a dream of box office endorsement, it is one thing for the director's work to sell well, and whether he can get dividends is another.

I still don't quite understand how the distribution channels share the money. Except for old acquaintances like Roger Corman, he didn't deduct the money he deserved in the distribution of "Rock High School" and was trustworthy. Other companies offered him conditions to buy shares, but he didn't dare to agree.

"Isn't today Columbus Day? Why are there people on the street?" Ronald looked at some people in front of him, dressed as North American Indians, wearing feather headdresses, and red oil paint on their bodies and faces, walking on the street.

"It's tomorrow." Richard honked the horn twice. The team was still moving slowly. Although it was not large in scale, it was escorted by LAPD. It seemed that it was registered.

"Hey, man, what parade is this? Isn't tomorrow the day to celebrate Columbus' discovery of America?" Ronald leaned out and asked the Indian-looking man at the end.

"This is Indian Day, don't you know? The day before the Italian colonists broke into our land."

Delayed by the unexpected parade, when Ronald arrived at Spielberg's Amblin Studios, Spielberg had already started to receive the next wave of guests.

The two apologized to Spielberg's assistant, Katherine Kennedy.

Katherine indicated that it was okay, "Steven is very grateful for your help in contacting Jennifer Jason Lee. Now Vic Morrow's family has reached a settlement with Steven. This matter has not been widely reported, which is good for Steven."

After chatting with them for a while, Katherine asked Ronald to wait outside.

Ronald felt bored and looked around the studio.

\u0026The box office of Alien has exceeded 250 million, and it will definitely reach 300 million by the end of the year. Spielberg's production company also moved out of his home and found a house not far away.

"Ronald, I'm Chris Columbus. Do you remember me?"

The screenwriter named Columbus from Amberlin came out from the side and happened to see Ronald and greeted him.

"Of course, are you still writing scripts for Steven?" Ronald remembered this young screenwriter. He happened to meet him when he came to Spielberg last time.

"Ah, yes. I'm writing a script. Do you want to see it?"

Ronald shook his hand to indicate that he didn't need to. He would meet Steven later.

"It's a good story about little monsters." Columbus was in high spirits.

"Little monsters, what are they?" Ronald was moved by his enthusiasm and had to chat with him.

"It's a kind of elf, very small, but loves to make trouble. Loves to play pranks."

"So it's a science fiction movie?" Ronald became interested. What if Spielberg also likes science fiction movies?

"No, it's a comedy horror movie."

"Huh?"

Ronald didn't understand. Comedy movies are comedies, horror movies are horror movies, what are comedy horror movies?

"This is a new trend, and many people in Hollywood agree with it. Scientists have done experiments and found that when people laugh and when they are afraid, their brain waves are similar.

So horror movies can be combined with comedy to become a new genre."

"I see," Ronald nodded, "Who will direct it? Steven? Or you?

"Me? I can't. I only directed short films in college. I can only be a screenwriter. Steven also has to prepare the sequel to "The Lost Ark of the Covenant". When George finishes Star Wars, they will start preparing. "

"Who will be the director?"

"Joe Dante, have you seen his movies?"

"Oh, of course. He and I are old acquaintances." Hearing the name of an acquaintance, Ronald relaxed a little and chatted with Columbus for a few more words.

"Ronald," Catherine called Ronald.

It happened to be Spielberg's previous group of guests. The two came out of the reception room and nodded politely to Ronald when they met him.

Ronald also nodded and entered Spielberg's office.

"Ronald? Which Ronald? He is very young?" One of the guests in the previous group asked Catherine.

"It's Ronald Lee who gave you suggestions on the script, the new director who shot "Fast and Furious."

"It's him?" The two looked at each other and simply waited outside. They wanted to talk to Ronald.

"Hi, Ronald." Spielberg smiled and hugged Ronald.

The two directors' new films have both made a lot of money for Universal, and they also have a lot of connections, making it extremely easy to chat.

"I heard you have a new script?" Spielberg said straight to the point.

"It's a science fiction movie, with comets, girls, and zombies." Ronald stopped beating around the bush and directly stated the elements of the movie in front of real people.

Spielberg flipped through the synopsis of the script, "It's a good story, but my company has just been established, and the manpower is limited. The current production capacity can only produce one movie at the same time. If you are willing to wait, I I can buy your movie script first."

"I have been planning for a while and found a suitable special effects director. Now I am almost ready to invest. If..."

"It's still the same problem. My Amberlin is not strong enough. But I really like your script writing ability. If you can sign a three-movie script agreement with Amberlin, I will consider starting the next movie after it is completed. your movie.”

"I want to think about it again. I also want to meet people from other studios." Ronald thought this agreement was a bit harsh, so he declined.

"It doesn't matter, you haven't been to my new studio, right? There are the latest versions of Atari games here."

Spielberg enthusiastically invited Ronald to play a game, and the two played Big Bee.

Ronald was relatively skilled in operating airplanes and cannons, and Steven had a great time playing with him.

"Let me tell you a secret, ET Alien will also be adapted into a game. I like Atari's creativity very much. It will be launched next year and will be made into a special game for Atari 2600."

After playing a few games, Ronald said goodbye. Outside the door, he was stopped by two guests who had met Spielberg earlier.

"Ronald?"

"It's me, are you?" Ronald was surprised to see the two of them, who seemed to have been waiting for him here for a long time.

"Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale."

The two introduced themselves to each other.

Ronald thought of these two familiar names. Aren't these the signed screenwriters of the movie "Back to the Future" that Spielberg asked him to provide suggestions on the script?

"Hello, are you here this time?"

"Let's talk somewhere else."

The two called Ronald and his agent, and the group found a quiet cafe, and the two started chatting with Ronald.

"We really like the comments you made about 'Back to the Future'. The cost of the nuclear explosion scene is too high, and it is more realistic to use a sports car." Zemeckis wore glasses and looked very energetic.

"I hope you don't mind," Ronald replied.

"No, we really like your opinion on the adaptation. This is a movie that both of us must make. It has been in preparation for a long time. We would like to invite you to join in the adaptation of the script this time."

"To tell you the truth, I have my own script to be busy with, I'm afraid..."

"It doesn't matter, our movie won't be shot for another year or two, so..."

"That's no problem. This is my agent Richard. If I'm not in Los Angeles, he can find me."

Richard handed the two of them his business card.

"What? Are you planning a movie?" Ronald asked after hearing Zemeckis say that the movie would take a long time.

“The two most difficult things in the world are to put the thoughts in your own mind into other people’s minds, and to put the money in other people’s pockets into your own pocket.

Being a film director means doing two things at the same time, isn't it difficult? "

Zemeckis is very funny and makes everyone laugh with his one-liners.

"You just went to see Steven, right? Didn't he invest in you?" Ronald asked.

"We would rather work directly with the seven major studios. There is always a layer of separation through Steven, and he also has movies to be busy now."

Ronald nodded, indicating that he was in the same situation here. Spielberg is an artist as a director, but he is also a very shrewd businessman as a producer.

"So do you have any studios willing to invest in your projects now?"

"It's very difficult. It's very difficult to describe a movie that hasn't been made to the producers in words," Zemeckis said.

Ronald felt the same and sighed. Language has great flaws when describing pictures. Unless you have already made a similar movie, the producer probably doesn't know what you are talking about. The picture in his mind is different from the picture in your mind. Go far.

"So we took on an adventure film and after proving our ability to direct this type of film, we decided to make Back to the Future."

"Oh? What's your new movie?" Ronald didn't expect them to like "Back to the Future" so much.

"The Stone, Michael Douglas bought the script, and it was distributed by 20th Century Fox. Can you imagine? He bought the script from a barmaid."

"Huh?" Several people chatted for a while. It turned out that Diana Thomas, the screenwriter of Emerald, usually worked part-time as a restaurant waiter in Hollywood. When Douglas came to her restaurant for dinner one day, she took the initiative to recommend herself, and finally ended up with twenty-five The script was sold to Douglas for $10,000.

Hollywood is truly a place where dreams come true.

After leaving Zemeckis, Ronald and Richard exchanged many opinions.

Spielberg's contract is too demanding, so it's best not to sign with him. The big studios still doubt their directing experience, but Zemeckis's method may be a reference.

Ronald considered whether he should temporarily put this project on hold and make a movie that can better demonstrate his directing ability. Then he could promote the script of "Night of the Comet" and arouse greater interest from producers.