Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Hey, man. Your packing party is a bit lame." Nicolas Cage drank a lot of alcohol at the big party after the filming. He patted Ronald's shoulder and started talking nonsense, "There's nothing about that."

"Ask Limato for me." Ronald handed Cage to Kevin Costner, who was also under Ed Limato's agent. Limato received a call from Ronald and heard that Cage was drunk, so he sent an assistant and a car to pick him up.

"I will." Costner nodded, and walked out with his assistant, helping Cage, who was going to continue rehearsing the new play next Monday. Before leaving, he turned around and said to Ronald, "Thank you, Ronald..."

"What a great party!" Director of photography Arthur Albert is a Latino who likes this kind of party where everyone eats and drinks.

"It's a pleasure to work with you. I have received several new jobs. If there is a chance, we can work together again. What are your plans next? Will you start editing immediately, Ronald?"

"I will give myself a two-week vacation. This is my habit. Do something that has nothing to do with the movie to cool my brain down so that I can see the flaws in the movie." Ronald replied.

"Good idea, have you decided where to go for vacation?"

"I don't know, maybe I will go to Britain to see my girlfriend."

After seeing off all the crew members, Ronald gave a little tip to each of the staff of the party service company who stayed to clean up.

Shooting a movie alone will not be as leisurely as the previous "Fast Pace" where only shooting and editing are taken care of. All things related to the movie need to be taken care of by Ronald himself.

The most urgent thing that jumped out of Ronald's notebook was the interlude song when the two heroines were trying on high-end fashion in the department store.

Ronald asked his agent Niceta to ask several record companies, but he didn't get a definite result. If the song "Girls Jt ;to Have Fun" was not found, then another song with similar rhythm and lyrics would have to be replaced.

In addition to the interlude, there is also the soundtrack. The total cost of the two together cannot exceed 8 to 10 percent of the total budget. Finding a cheaper composer has become a top priority.

Ronald has already asked Michael Gore, who won the Oscar for Best Original Song with him in "Famous". Gore's own net worth is already very high, and "Night of the Comet" cannot afford it. He promised to recommend a composer with better cost-effectiveness.

In addition to these technical issues, there is also the distribution of the film. Atlantic's previous film "Valley Girl" is scheduled to be released in April, and "Night of the Comet" needs to wait until it is released to recover some funds before it can be marketed and released.

A lot of things were waiting for Ronald to deal with, but the most important thing was to have a good sleep.

After returning to the apartment, Ronald lay down on the bed and began to sleep soundly. Two weeks of high-intensity physical and mental labor made him sleep soundly until he was awakened by the phone ringing at noon the next day.

"Ronald, Michael Jackson of Epic Records is looking for you. He said he wants you to see his break dance steps." It was Richard, the agent of CAA, who called.

"Hey? Why would a singer like him look for me? I'm still sleeping."

"The dance coach you introduced to him helped him practice the full set of moves, and he said he wanted to ask you to see it."

"Crazy legs?"

Ronald rubbed his eyes, got up and took a hot bath to wake himself up completely.

Richard soon came to the apartment and drove him to the recording studio of Epic Records in Los Angeles.

"Any news recently?" Ronald sat in the car, eating the "Burger King" hamburger, French fries, onion rings, and a cup of Pepsi brought by Richard.

"A lot of things." Richard told Ronald about the entertainment news of the past few weeks while driving.

"Your friend Cynthia Rhodes, the dancer in "Flashdance", was chosen by Stallone to play the leading role in "Dancing with the Dragon."

"Ah? I asked Niceta to say hello, but she doesn't have such a big influence, right? Does she have other ways?" Ronald asked while chewing a burger.

"I heard from Niceta that when he accompanied Cynthia to the audition, Stallone's brother Frank Stallone saw her and was pursuing Cynthia with all his strength. Frank will also play a supporting role, that is, the musician who dates the heroine played by Cynthia."

"Well, okay. What other news?" Ronald chewed a burger and started eating onion rings. The script of "Dancing with the Dragon" was changed into a mess, and he had no interest in it at all.

"The Los Angeles premiere of Flashdance has been confirmed. Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer have sent you an invitation. It will be in April."

"I will go." Ronald took a big sip of Coke.

"Your girlfriend Helen called you from the British studio and asked me to tell you that everything is fine and don't worry."

"I want to visit the studio in London, but I don't know when I will be free."

"I have asked my colleagues in London to send flowers to Helen on your behalf. If you set a time, I will arrange all the air tickets and accommodation matters."

"Thank you, Richard."

"It's nothing. The agent should help you deal with these things."

"Any other news?"

"That's what's relevant to you, and there are some major industry events. Columbia's president Frank Price failed in the struggle at the top. He let go of last year's biggest box office money-making machine 'ET Extraterrestrial' and was sent by the new owner Coca-Cola executives collectively demand resignation, and Colombia may announce it in the near future.”

"Huh? Where will he go?"

"I don't know. Industry rumors say that Twentieth Century Fox is the most likely. They fired Shirley Lansing and are in need of a male president. By the way, Lansing officially rejected Paramount's invitation and started her own production company. "Richard reported many major personnel changes in the industry.

"Hmm... let me think about it, that's right. The movie 'All Over' directed by Shirley Lansing has been handed over to a new producer. I heard that they will go to the original director Herbert ·Ross.”

"At that time, the two movies were planned at about the same time. I had already filmed them here, but they hadn't decided on a director yet."

“That’s the way the big studio system is, and it’s very difficult to wait for the green light.”

After Ronald finished his burger and Richard finished talking about the news, the two drove to the rehearsal hall of Epic Records.

In the rehearsal hall, the thin black singer Michael Jackson was talking to Crazy Legs on the stage, as if they were arguing about something.

"Hey, this dance is our resistance to capitalism. Why can't we dance those traditional dance steps? Use these militant lyrics? This is the tradition of black people using music to resist these white masters."

"Listen, my friend. That dance move was meant to go with the single from my new album, Billie Jean. Are you blaming my music?"

"Hi, MJ, the Ronald you're looking for is here." A man who looked like an agent came on stage and whispered a few words to MJ.

"Ronald, ask him to come in."

Ronald walked into the rehearsal hall and said hello to Michael Jackson and Crazy Legs.

"Hi, Ronald, glad you can come." MJ smiled with a sincere smile, "Music? I'll dance it again for Ronald to see."

Michael Jackson choreographed his choreography and performed it for Ronald.

"She told me her name was Billie Jean because she was causing a stir

Every head turned and eyes dreamed of being her."

Billie King's music played, and Ronald watched MJ dance on the stage. The white T-shirt and black top hat suddenly looked familiar to Ronald.

This choreography is very familiar. It seems like the one I know how to dance is like this. Could it be that I learned it from MJ in my previous life?

"What do you think?" MJ stopped with the music and asked Ronald on the stage.

"Okay!" Ronald and Richard both clapped. Although they were both moonwalking, it was obvious that MJ's dance was much prettier and more powerful than his own.

"Your dance will definitely cause a sensation." Ronald said sincerely, "That move is great, but it seems that you can do it more powerfully?"

"You like it? Ha, good, you like it." MJ jumped down and held Ronald's hand, "Crazy legs don't like the classic moves of my predecessors that I changed too much..."

Ronald raised his hands in the air, indicating that he didn't understand it at all, "I don't understand this at all, I just think it goes well with this song."

"Very good. Then I'll find a new dance coach. You won't be unhappy."

Ronald glanced at Crazy Legs, "Of course not, he and I have only worked together on the same crew."

"Okay, I've made movies before..."

After chatting about movies and songs, Ronald saw that the man next to MJ kept raising his hand to indicate his watch. Knowing that MJ was very busy, Ronald took the opportunity to say goodbye.

"Okay, you must come to Motown's commemorative concert when the time comes."

Ronald said goodbye to him and walked toward the door with Richard.

He came here out of nowhere. MJ asked him to come and watch the dance? Maybe Crazy Legs was introduced by himself, and MJ had to notify him first if he wanted to replace him? Are black people so particular about what they do?

"I told you, your album is an epoch-making work. What you need now is to be famous at Motown's 25th anniversary concert. The MV can be postponed and filmed later. We will arrange the most famous movie. The director is in charge, not an exploitation film director like him," the agent-looking man whispered to MJ.

"Okay, I just think the movies he made are very interesting. Brooke also mentioned his name to me." MJ spread his hands.

"I found two break dancing talents from Los Angeles for you. You are a star. Stars don't need to learn dance steps from anyone. No one can be your teacher."

"Okay, let's do some new music." MJ began to talk to his backup dancers without commenting on his arrangement. After rehearsing the Billy King dance all day, he wanted a change.

"When the day's work is over

Oh, girls, they want to have some fun."

The dance group changed a record and started dancing to the new music.

"Huh?" Ronald walked to the door and heard the singing coming from the speaker. It was the high-pitched female voice in the dream, singing the same song.

He turned back and asked, "Whose song is this? Who is the girl singing?"