Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Karate should be a philosophy, not a skill." Ronald copied some textual descriptions about karate that he had extracted from the library, and then he stood on the monitor for a long time, unable to write a single word.

"Hey," he slapped his hand on the keyboard, "I can't write without inspiration."

Without finding a karate coach like Vidal to discuss carefully, many things were superficial. In addition, the release of "Night of the Comet" made Ronald impatient and unmotivated to write a script.

"Night of the Comet" did not invite critics to a special screening first, but only held a special preview for the audience. This was also because there was no money to print a complete version, and there were still copies with traces of editing. If the critics were invited to see it, they would laugh at it and would not be able to write anything good.

Simply don't invite any, and let them enter the cinema freely after the release to write their true feelings.

For a low-cost movie, everything is out of your control. Without professional people and a lot of investment, Ronald began to miss the benefits of a big studio again.

"Ronald, the review of your new film is out." Agent Richard called, "There is only one copy today."

"Oh, what newspaper?" Hearing that there is a review, Ronald is full of expectations.

"The Valley Daily, a newspaper in the entertainment section of the San Fernando Valley."

"What's the review?"

"The Victory of the Valley Girls!" Richard cleared his throat, "This is the title."

"After the song Valley Girl topped the charts, Hollywood will definitely not let go of this theme. Following the "Valley Girls" directed by Martha Coolidge last month, Atlantic Pictures released another exploitation film with the Valley Girls as the theme.

The story takes place after a comet destroyed most of the people in Southern California. Two Valley Girls, with their innocence and romance, indulged in shopping and dating in the end of the world. This further deepened people's stereotypes about Valley Girls.

...

The director seems to have a special fetish for young girls' legs. The appearance of the characters often starts with a close-up of the girl's feet and calves, without exception. Even Samantha, one of the heroines, walks out of the elevator and starts with the legs exposed in the cheerleading uniform.

..."

"Okay, don't read it anymore." Ronald sighed, "I don't have a fetish for calves and feet, Kelly Maroney was about to audition for another project, so I had to use a body double for that scene. "

"Hahahaha..." There was a laugh from the other end of the phone.

"I knew you were there, Niceta!"

"Don't be angry, this is just a tabloid in the San Fernando Valley town, and your film review will not be available on a large scale until Sunday or even Monday. We were just joking with you." Niceta grabbed the receiver and said to Ronald.

"Just laugh at me." Ronald also laughed, and his nervous mood relaxed a little.

"It will take some time to count the box office, and I have asked Richard to keep an eye on the other side of the Atlantic. But I went to see it with Paula last night, and the attendance was still very good. I didn't lose my focus throughout the movie, and many viewers liked it very much."

"Keep going, I love hearing this." Ronald also joked with him, and he was nervous now.

On Sunday, film reviews from all over the country were published.

Variety Weekend wrote: "Young director Ronald Lee tried his hand at teen drama again after 'Fast and Furious Richmond High.' But this time he didn't repeat the school-themed coming-of-age story, but shot a science fiction film.

He created a visually striking B-movie that took advantage of many of the best. I saw the "liquid sky" color scheme, and we can also see the plot content he borrowed from 'Day of the Trilobite,' 'Dawn of the Dead' and 'The Last Woman on Earth.'

I described the film as "a successful imitation of many science fiction movies, making up for its lack of originality with a funny, teasing talent."

"Except for 'Dawn of the Dead,' I haven't fucking seen those two movies," Ronald said in the CAA office, jumping up when he saw Variety Weekend's evaluation of his film. "Is this accusing me of plagiarism?"

"No, if all the plots are not similar to previous movies, then there will be no movie." Niceta patted Ronald on the shoulder and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Then why do they say that? ”

“It’s still discrimination against low-budget B-level movies. But don’t worry, writing like this will not affect your box office performance, but will attract the interest of those who love small-scale B-level movie productions. These reporters are very sophisticated, and they will criticize some and praise some.”

Ronald shook his head. Forget it. For the sake of the box office, it doesn’t matter if he is criticized a few times.

Next is the film review column of the New York Times.

Film critic Vincent Canby wrote,

“Night of the Comet is a well-intentioned B-level movie about the end of the world. Its unique sense of humor increases the unpredictability of the film’s plot. It is a movie worth recommending for science fiction fans.

From the opening narration, it is not difficult to see that Night of the Comet is a tribute to the B-level science fiction movies of the fifties and sixties. Many people call it a comedy, but this is a bit misleading. It certainly has some funny moments and an all-round sense of ease, but most of the film is also quite straightforward.

Where this film succeeds is in its two female leads and their very believable reactions to being the last people on Earth. Facing the end of mankind, what will they do? They go shopping for free! Be honest with yourself... aren't you? "

"Is this a good word?" Ronald asked.

"You can't expect reviews of this kind of small-scale film to be full of good things like the last time Universal worked hard on your public relations," Nisita pointed out.

Then there's Interview magazine film critic Neil Gaiman.

Ronald recognized it as a magazine belonging to that weird New York artist Andy Warhol.

"This is one of the funniest, wittiest, most imaginative and thought-provoking films I've ever seen, and what's even more remarkable is that it was made with no budget ($1.2 million Budget, for sci-fi, means no budget, you know what I mean).

Katherine Mary Stewart, and Kelly Maroney, both did a great job in their roles. They were Valley Girls, but they weren't the cartoonish, Frank Zappa version of the Valley Girls in that chart-topping song.

In a movie where comets destroy the world and zombies stumble around, these girls actually have a foothold in the real world...

Another highlight of the cast is the always great Mary Woronov. This veteran of Roger Corman films is perfect for this movie.

We note that director Ronald Lee was also a graduate of the Corman School of Cinematic Arts, and much of this film owes much to Corman's filmmaking training. "

"It seems that Mary Woronov's old friends are still very powerful." Ronald felt good in his heart. "Interview" magazine is still very influential among teenagers on the East Coast. Many high school students regard this This magazine is a popular guide. With such a high rating, it should be able to attract some viewers.

Atlantic arranged for "Night of the Comet" to be screened in nearly 900 cinemas during the first weekend. These reviews helped attract some viewers to the cinema. The rest will depend on the film's reputation.

If the word-of-mouth is good, more viewers will hear about it from relatives and friends and go to the cinema, which will continue to push up the box office. If the reputation is not good, then it will only last a while, and then it will quickly decline.

"Then there's the Sisko and Albert movie review show." Niceta found a remote control and pressed a few times on the TV and VCR.

"Welcome to the Sisko and Ebert Film Review Show."

The pair, glasses and bald, started their weekly TV movie reviews again.

The bald Sisko liked the movie even more, "I think if the comet destroyed most of the adults and turned them into ashes, then teenagers would be very happy. They can go to department stores for free clothes-changing shows and have sex with boys. My friend went out on a date and came home past twelve o'clock.

Most science fiction movies take the catastrophe of future mankind too seriously. A movie like this that tells the story of extinction events in a relaxed manner is a very good attempt in science fiction movies.

For those adults who were exterminated by comets or turned into zombies, it is certainly very tragic. But the audience is immersed in the two sisters, thinking that they can wear good clothes that they couldn't afford before, and they can drive sports cars that they couldn't buy before.

It was a teenage dream. "

Glasses Albert continued, "I also think the direction of the movie is very interesting. Half of the apocalyptic movies will leave adults, men, women, old people and children behind, but in this movie only teenagers survive, maybe they are playing I was so excited that I lost track of time.”

"This guy must still hold a grudge against me. I exposed him during the last road show." Ronald said bitterly, while Albert criticized himself angrily.

Sisko took up the topic again, "I think this movie deserves more screen time. Although the latest episode of Star Wars will be released in two weeks, I still appeal to movie theaters to give them more screenings. Audiences who haven’t seen it should hurry up and watch it.”

"Bald man, you still like my movies." Ronald lamented.

Albert added, "I think this movie is lackluster in terms of science fiction. The director just cleverly combined science fiction, youth, romantic comedy, zombie horror, Valley Girl and other popular elements to steal a popular trend. I think It’s not going to be a movie that’s long remembered.”

Cisco disagreed, "No, that's not it. I know you love science fiction more than I do, but I have to put in a good word for Ronald Lee.

The point here is that many directors of science fiction films are keen to educate the audience. They always have a mentality that you don't know what the future will be like. I am smarter, so I made a movie to show you.

Ronald Lee does not have this burden. He does not make the audience feel that the future must be gloomy, but allows you to explore by yourself. The audience has a sense of mystery rather than pessimism about the ending of the film. The future may be It is good. Just like at the end of the movie. "

"Okay, I'll reserve my opinion. Let's look at another new movie."

"Pa", Niceta pressed the pause button.

"That's it."

“Would they say that in the paper?”

"No, Atlantic has no PR for them. So your movie is just used as a new film evaluation part of the weekly film review. However, they often have different opinions, and generally movies with different opinions have better box office attendance."

After waiting restlessly for another day, Tom Coleman, president of Atlantic Distribution, called me personally on Monday night.

"The box office statistics are out. The total box office for the three days of the weekend is 3.58 million. There are 898 theaters, and the average box office per theater is close to 4,000. We won again!"

"Huh!" Ronald answered the phone and fell on the sofa with a relaxed body. He seemed to be soaking in a bathtub and taking a hot bath.

The weekend box office of 4,000 per theater is not as good as Atlantic's previous "Valley Girl". But my "Night of the Comet" is really a result of being released in nearly 900 theaters nationwide, unlike "Valley Girl" which was only released in less than 300 theaters in major cities on the east and west coasts.

Considering that my movie is scheduled more in multi-theater theaters, the attendance rate must be higher than that of the other party. In this way, Martha Coolidge can be considered to have lost convincingly and can't complain that I robbed her box office.

The film's weekend box office of 3.58 million ranked fourth among all movies, only below two new films, "Blue Thunder" and "Breathless", and "Flashdance", which has been in its fifth week of box office success.