Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Dear viewers, we have interrupted the scheduled program and will now report breaking news from the Soviet Union."

Ronald motioned to Helen to turn down the news volume on the TV station. He was on the phone with his agent Niceta.

"How does Shirley Lansing get involved with the cast of 'All Over'? Isn't she the president of 20th Century Fox?"

"No, Ronald. Lansing has resigned from Fox. Melnyk, the producer of 'All About Me', is her old partner. The two of them have produced a series of blockbuster movies. Now there is a rumor in Hollywood." Sheen will return to independent production."

"So now the decision is in her hands?" Ronald became interested, "What is the main reason why we go to see her to talk about?"

"There are now three producers of 'All About'. Paramount is mainly responsible for distribution and small investments. Lansing and Melnyk's companies are the original production sponsors and are responsible for the artistic aspects, as well as the largest financial contributions. They are Wall Street's screen investment funds (sliverspartners). They are only responsible for providing money and get priority in returns."

"This Wall Street fund only provides money, no matter how the movie is made. Paramount is mainly responsible for distribution, and Lansing is now the producer and decides who to hire as the director?" Ronald concluded.

"That's pretty much it, so she made an appointment to meet with you and talk to you about your revised script and what the movie would look like if you were to direct it."

"Great, I'm going to prepare some storyboards of important scenes I drew and show them to her during the interview. What kind of person is she? What do I need to pay attention to?"

"Hollywood legend Shirley Lansing understands art and has her own criteria for evaluating scripts, so you just have to tell the truth. When

Of course, besides you, she will also meet with other director candidates. Herbert Ross was originally Melnyk's intended choice, but time dragged on and he went to make other movies.

Your strength is your grasp of the mentality of teenage audiences, and you are guaranteed to have a blockbuster teen movie. The weak point is that I have never made a feature film with two protagonists like this. "

The two discussed on the phone how to meet with Shirley Lansing to explain Ronald's directorial philosophy and vision for the finished film.

"Honey, are you going to be the director of 'Better Days'?" As soon as she hung up the phone, Helen rushed forward, hugged Ronald's neck, and asked softly.

"I'm just one of the candidates, and it depends on Shirley Lansing's opinion. But indeed, this is the closest I've been to a director since filming 'Fast Times.'"

"Whenever we can make a movie, it will be great. You will direct and I will star. Acting in a movie takes a long time. I will go to Britain after Christmas to prepare for fitness. I heard Reeve say that he is preparing for Superman. The character has been working out for more than four months, I guess it will take about that long.”

"You still have three Supergirl films scheduled. At least until you finish filming three of them, I will have the opportunity to direct your new film." Ronald replied, "Do you want another slice of pizza?"

"Ronnie, don't you know what an actress fears most is gaining weight? I've probably gained more than a pound in the two days I've been here. If this continues, I'm going to become a fat girl." Helen hit Ronald.

"You have to go to the gym and build muscle anyway. It's okay to eat a little more now. I was a high school wrestler and I had to eat more to build muscle. As long as I keep up with the amount of exercise."

"Then I'll eat half a piece. Well, it's so delicious." Helen tore off a small half and put it in her mouth, "Oh, shxt, I shouldn't indulge myself."

"Huh? Why did the Soviet Union lower its flag at half-mast?" Rona asked, pointing to the news on the TV.

"It seems that their general secretary-general Leonard passed away." Helen stood up, turned up the TV volume, and walked into the bathroom. She came out after a while, her face a little red.

"Drink some water, you seem a little hot." Ronald handed a glass of water to Helen.

His attention was still on the TV, where the host of ABC was broadcasting breaking news from the league. On November 10th, the originally broadcast ice hockey game was canceled and turned into the Leningrad Ballet's "Swan Lake". Angola also did not receive a congratulatory message from the top leader of the Union on Independence Day.

The next day, at 11 a.m. Moscow time, Moscow TV announcer Igor Kirillov officially announced the news of Leonard's death, and showed the Kremlin flags flying at half-mast in mourning.

The leader who has occupied the highest power position among America's biggest rivals for eighteen years has officially withdrawn from the stage of history.

"Ronnie, don't you want to exercise?" Helen sat on Ronald's lap again, "Am I beautiful?"

"Of course, you are the most beautiful girl in the world." Ronald felt Helen's slender and curvy figure, and picked her up into the bedroom.

"We invited former Secretary of State, Dr. Kissing, and Haig over the phone to express their assessment of the international situation." On the TV, the host of ABC TV was still receiving calls from guests, discussing Leonard's death and his assessment of the international situation. Especially the impact of bilateral arms control.

…

"Hello, Ms. Lansing." A few mornings later, Ronald and his agent Niceta came to meet with Shirley Lansing, the most powerful producer of "Full of Energy".

"Please take a seat." Shirley Lansing was very capable. After greetings, she asked Ronald to talk about his directorial philosophy.

"What do you want this movie to be like?"

"This is a storyboard of a few scenes I drew." Ronald took out a few sketches from his drawing folder and handed them to Lansing.

Gu\u0026lt;/span\u0026gt;"I want to talk about the American dream of small town youth..."

Ronald pointed to the tractor duel scene in the painting, "This is like the NASCAR racing in the minds of small town youth. They can drive either their father's tractor or their mother's pickup truck or SUV.

Being able to use a tractor to fight chickens and drive annoying people into the sewer is like seeing Han Solo driving the Millennium Falcon for interstellar travel in the city boys."

To explain it clearly, Ronald also quoted a few "Star Wars" jokes.

"This is the last dance scene. We use the group dance form in some old musicals and add the latest dance style. This combination happens to be the most popular dance in the minds of small town youth."

Shirley Lansing listened carefully and interrupted Ronald from time to time to ask about some details.

"In general, my idea is to make this movie into a high-concept new musical for young people in small towns. Urban youth go to small towns and overturn the conservative dance ban with friends, gaining the understanding of two generations. This is an ancient story form, and I want to add new meaning to it.

The overall story tone will be retro, but the shots are all realistic. This can gain a sense of identity among young people in small towns.

In recent years, it is difficult for urban teenagers to see realistic youth movies that truly reflect small town life. A young man from a big city goes to a small town and leads the people there to freedom. This is also a very immersive story for them."

"What do you think of the story of the heroine Ariel?" Lansing took the initiative to ask questions when he saw that Ronald did not talk about the story of the female character.

"I think she is a very good introduction to the story. At the beginning, she stood on two cars on the road, facing the big truck on the opposite side, just to arouse the audience's curiosity. Why would a pastor's daughter make such a rebellious and very dangerous move."

"In this small town, in fact, only the heroine Ariel, her best friend Rusty, and her mother, the pastor's wife Wei, are the residents of the town who truly embrace freedom. If the male protagonist Lun had not transferred from Chicago, I think the people who took the lead in proposing to abolish the dance ban should be these female characters."

Ronald keenly noticed that Shirley Lansing was more attentive when listening to his explanation of these female characters. He quickly said more about his understanding of several main girls.

"Who do you think can play the male lead, Lun?"

"I recommend Tom Cruise. He played a supporting role in Coppola's new film, 'The Outer Worlds', and then starred in Warner's 'Riskybess', which is also a story about a teenage man growing up."

"Ha, I know him, he's very good, and he performed well in Fox's 'Lights Out'."

"And Rob Lowe, another actor in 'The Outer Worlds', is also a pretty boy, suitable for this kind of role. Both of them were very convincing because the girls fell in love with them at first sight."

"Very good, we'll stop here today, and we'll contact you if we make further decisions. Thank you, Ronald."

Ronald shook hands with Lansing, and then left the office with Niceta.

"Did I miss Lansing's point? I feel like she's more concerned about the development of the heroine Ariel's story?" Ronald asked Niceta a little depressed after leaving the office.

"Not necessarily. I heard that Lansing's style is like this. I'll go back and ask Paula Wagner. She had dealt with Lansing during 'Lights Out.'" Niceta answered as she backed the car out of the parking lot.

"This Screen Investment Fund (SliversPartners) has invested most of the money, so why don't they do anything?" Ronald was a little confused about not meeting the largest investor.

"The founder of this fund, Roland W. Bates, was originally a securities fund manager on Wall Street. I heard that the total amount of this fund he initiated was 80 million. It was originally to solve the problem of insufficient film sources for HBO Cable TV.

The movies they invested in were all purchased by HBO for TV broadcasting rights, so they can recover general funds. Zong Cong Eisner invited them to invest in Paramount's new film. They don't know anything about film production. They just believe in their vision because they see that Paramount has produced many hit movies in recent years."

"Oh, I wish I had such an investor who only invests money and doesn't care about art." Ronald thought of his "Night of the Comet" project, but he didn't need one or two investors who absolutely trusted him. Unfortunately, his high school friend, Douglas Jr., doesn't have that much pocket money.

Meanwhile, Melnick was also chatting with Shirley Lansing about the progress of the project.

"Say, Shirley. You've met both candidates, what do you think?"

"Ronald Lee's story is rather bland, and it's not the way to win with acting skills in a feature film. But his casting is very good, and his agent happens to be the agent of Tom Cruise, the male lead I'm optimistic about.

As for Michael Cimino, his story outline is more capable of dramatic conflict, and the story is more realistic and darker. The audience will like the protagonist of the story, Len. His directing skills have also been tested by the Oscar for Best Director, and now his price is very cheap. It's just that we need to keep an eye on him in terms of budget.

We can sign a contract with him. If the shooting budget exceeds 7.5 million or is three days behind schedule, he can be fired. If the budget is saved and the shooting is completed ahead of schedule, we will reward him.

As for Ronald, we can invite him to participate in the screenwriting work and give him a screenwriter's signature. Cimino is not good at turning stories into real scripts and storyboards, which happens to be Ronald's strength. He is very good at sorting out the story structure. "

"Very good, it's time to show your charm. Ronald will agree, right? I hope to see the project start earlier. "

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