Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"They like the Christmas ads very much and hope you will continue to shoot their new ideas for next year."

JWT's creative director Darcy Maguire was very happy after seeing the Christmas ads shot by Ronald. This clip with a strong Christmas family atmosphere is very much to her taste.

It just so happened that Burger King also thought the Christmas ads were well shot, and Maguire agreed with them on the creative ads for the next year. It's better to use the familiar than the new, so he found Ronald again.

"Still a comparison ad?" Ronald took the materials.

"Burger King wants a more radical new idea. This time I want to change the way of cooperation and outsource the production to you. As long as you make an ad that satisfies Burger King, your company will handle all the details. We only offer a total price."

Wouldn't that make up a budget of $1.3 million for the film production? Ronald was very happy and quickly opened the materials and started to read.

"McDonald's hamburgers have 20% less beef than Burger King's," Ronald read the ad slogan again, "Is this true?"

"McDonald's fried beef patties appear to be smaller. The beef patties of several McDonald's franchise stores we sampled are indeed more than 20% smaller in volume."

'So it looks smaller, not smaller in weight?" Ronald muttered a little, will this be a problem?

"Let the little girl named Sarah appear on the screen?"

"Yes, after our test, the audience likes her the most among the actors who appeared in the Christmas ads. So for this new ad, we plan to let Sarah Michelle Gellar shoot first."

"Is this...an ad okay? Will it violate the regulations of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)? "Ronald knows a little bit about FTC regulations. It seems that few people do such direct attacks on competitors' advertising creativity."

"It doesn't matter. Burger King has a strong legal team. There is no problem with broadcasting. This does not violate FTC regulations. McDonald's only sued for a demand injunction, but according to the evaluation of Burger King's legal team, it is not enough to prevent Burger King's advertisement from being broadcast."

"Burger King has no problem, I am afraid I have a problem." Ronald thought to himself.

"I have to discuss it with Eddie. You know I am busy with my new movie. I have a lot of things to confirm before Christmas." Ronald began to shirk.

"Well, you discuss it first and give me a reply as soon as possible."

"No problem."

Ronald contacted his private lawyer Lindsay Doll.

"Ronald, your caution is justified. Maguire is right. The court generally will not support McDonald's strong relief to ban the broadcast of Burger King ads, because strictly speaking they are not lying.

However, McDonald's can sue you. Although you have freedom of speech under the First Amendment, this does not include explicit defamation, and they can sue you.

Although you won't have much trouble if you respond properly, it's McDonald's, and their legal team can make your next year quite troublesome.

Although you have a case to fight, I may make a little more money, but I would rather see the movie you made, be your lawyer who can't go to court, and review the contract, which is more in line with my taste. Hahaha."

"Thank you, Lindsay, I appreciate it. I will increase the retainer (Retaer) next year. With you, I can avoid a lot of potential trouble."

"And I will improve the quality of my service. Our business is good this year, and I have money to hire a few good legal assistants."

After discussing with Eddie, Ronald declined Maguire's invitation on the grounds that he wanted to concentrate on the film project.

Although Eddie lost a lot of income, Ronald promised him that in the future, for non-film business, they would change the cooperation model and let Eddie become a project producer, responsible for various details. When there are outsourced projects, they will share the money according to the proportion, so that Eddie will not suffer too much.

"Thank you, Eddie. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Ronald. I am Jewish, but you can wish me a happy Hanukkah instead of Christmas."

"Sorry, I always forget that you are Jewish. Happy Hanukkah."

In America, most Jews, except for a small number of liberals who have completely integrated into secular life, still maintain their Jewish beliefs. Jews do not recognize the status of Jesus as a god, but only think that he is a prophet.

So they do not celebrate Christmas, Easter, and a series of traditional Christian festivals. Their Hanukkah, which coincides with the date of Christmas, is a festival to celebrate the Jewish uprising against ancient Rome and the recovery of Jerusalem.

There is still more than a week until Christmas. Ronald decided not to go back to Los Angeles. He signed all the documents for the establishment of a film production company here, and reviewed the investment agreements of all parties with accountant Lawrence Wang and private lawyer Lindsay Doll. The complicated contract terms require cooperation between the two to ensure that they are correct.

During this period, Ronald also spent a lot of time with Aunt Karen and Donna. During the busy time in Los Angeles, sometimes he did not call his aunt. This time, Ronald finally had time to get together, and he felt very good.

In addition, he rejected the Burger King advertisement, so there is still a gap in funds. He can also consider contacting acquaintances in New York to see if anyone is willing to invest in him.

"Ronnie, I have something to ask you." After dinner at his aunt's house in the evening, Aunt Karen called Ronald to her bedroom.

"I heard Donna say that she heard you talking to a lawyer on the phone about financing?"

"Oh, yes, I'm looking for investors for my next movie." Ronald pretended to be relaxed while drinking the black tea made by his aunt.

"Why didn't you tell me? The leg warmers business is pretty good, and sales are increasing rapidly this year. If you need it, you can use it on your movie first." Aunt Karen said as she was about to take out her checkbook.

Ronald quickly held down his aunt, "No, no, you and Donna may have made a mistake. Film financing is a professional job, and no director will use his own money to make a movie. This is the rule of the industry. Even if the director is willing, the producer may not be willing."

"Although I still hope you can return to college to complete your studies, the leg warmers business was also established with your help, Ronnie. Since you want to fulfill your dream, why can't your family invest?" Aunt Karen insisted.

"No, film investment has its own particularity. You can't invest just because you have money. First of all, the film needs to be shown in the cinema. The distributors - just like wholesalers in the leg warmers business, they buy the distribution rights of the film and are responsible for contacting all the cinemas to determine the release date.

If they don't have a suitable return, they won't invest in my film. I'm lucky that my former boss, Mr. Roger Corman, admires me very much, so he has invested half a million.

Then the film needs to be sold overseas, and the boss of another distributor has also invested a lot of money.

If they don't give them a share of the investment, they won't get the excess profit brought by the big sales of the film, and they will be unwilling to distribute my film. This is a low-cost movie, even if you want to invest, there is no share."

"Is that so?" Aunt Karen didn't understand movies, and was persuaded by Ronald in a few words, "Well, if you need it again, remember to tell me. We all support your dream."

"I know, thank you, aunt." Ronald hugged Aunt Karen tightly. Movie investment is very risky. Aunt and Donna have finally got their lives on track. Don't let them take risks again.

"Ronnie, you finally get to spend Christmas in New York this time, call your girlfriend Helen to come along."

"Um, I heard from her that she wants to live with her parents' reconstituted family for a while and spend some time with them. She's going to Britain soon."

"What's the big deal? I haven't seen her for a long time. She's going to Britain to film a movie. Donna and I want to meet her too. I heard she's going to be gone for a long time this time."

"Yes, she's going to London to work out for four months after Christmas, and then it's another long filming period. I heard from her that, like Superman, this kind of stunt movie takes a long time to shoot."

"Call her." Aunt Karen picked up the microphone and handed it to Ronald.

"Okay, I'll ask her to come. The cape helped her a lot last time, and Helen kept saying thank you."

"Haha, that's not worth mentioning."

Ronald answered Helen's phone, "Helen, this is Ronald. Are you free before Christmas? Aunt Karen invites you to visit her home."

"Hahaha, of course I'm free." Helen smiled. Recently, she has been living in her parents' new families after their divorce, and it's rare for her to enjoy the warmth of the family.

"Come to my mother's house to pick me up. I'm in Long Island..."

...

"Take good care of Helen and send her back tomorrow." Helen's mother, Alice Joan, looked at Ronald and Helen with satisfaction.

Her daughter was holding her boyfriend's arm, and her eyes were full of sweetness.

Alice Joan looked very satisfied. She thought Ronald was good, a gentleman, and didn't have the casual attitude of men in the entertainment industry towards women. It's just that both of them were very busy at work and couldn't always be together.

"Aunt Karen has prepared a lot of dishes for you, and she has baked cookies. Now she is busy with the factory and hasn't baked cookies for a long time. I can only eat them because you are coming." Ronald said trivial things to Helen in the car.

"Ronnie, I'm going to London soon, will you miss me?" Helen asked gently while sitting in the co-pilot.

"Of course, I will call you. My film project will start shooting at the end of next month. It is a low-budget film. When I am done, I will visit the set in London."

Ronald smiled and shook Helen's hand.

"By the way, what Christmas gifts did you get this year? I didn't see any Christmas trees at Alice Joan's just now. Do you Long Islanders cut your own Christmas trees? Or do you buy them at the Christmas market in the suburbs?"

"Hahaha... Ronnie, you don't know me at all." Helen Slater stopped the car at a red light and gently touched Ronald's face. "We have been dating for a long time, and you don't know my family situation."

"Uh? Your father Gerald works for PBS, your mother is an environmental lawyer and anti-nuclear activist, and you have a brother David who lives with your mother's new family. Your father also married a new wife and had children. But they all love you very much. Am I right?"

Ronald looked at Helen, not knowing why Helen suddenly said that she didn't know her.

"Stupid, I'm Jewish, I don't celebrate Christmas."

"Ah?" Ronald was surprised, "I really didn't know that, you are Jewish? Isn't your last name Slater a Jewish last name?"

Ronald thought, are you kidding? If Helen's last name was Sleski or something, it would be possible.

Besides, Ronald looked at Helen's beautiful profile. Her nose was of moderate size and very straight, and there was no hump in the middle of her nose. How could she be Jewish?

"Yes, my grandfather is of Polish descent, and my maternal grandfather is of Russian descent. They are all of Jewish descent. But after immigrating to New York, my family also mixed with other descents such as British, German, etc. Because Jews are discriminated against, my grandfather and maternal grandfather changed their surnames to Anglo-Saxon-style Slater and Tiger."

"Oh, I didn't notice." Ronald kissed Helen gently, "Sorry, I really didn't think about it, I thought..."

"In fact, my parents are both liberal Jews. They don't go to the synagogue very often, but they still don't celebrate Christmas, haha..."

"Ding ding..." The light in front turned green, Ronald started the car, shifted gears, and started moving forward.

"By the way, Ronnie, what is your ethnicity?" Helen asked.

"Me? I don't know either. I have to ask Aunt Karen. My parents died early, and they didn't tell me... Well, maybe they did, but I was too young to forget."

Ronald changed the subject and drove Helen to her aunt's house.