Exploiting Hollywood 1980

When I saw John G. Ivelson again, he put on a white Polo shirt, light gray trousers, and patterned soft-soled shoes. He was dressed like he was going to the golf course, looking more elegant. .

"I heard you want to see me?" Avelson was leaning on the sofa in the cafe, looking very relaxed.

"A cup of coffee," Avelson turned to the beautiful waiter and said, "Hey, today is my lucky day to meet such a beautiful girl, Laura, right?"

Avelson was still the same as before. When he saw the name on the nameplate on the waiter's chest, he started teasing the beauty.

"Weintraub wants me to take over 'The Kid,' and I want to know if you have already made a decision, John. I don't want to be the kind of substitute who watches the crew and is ready to come on at any time." Ronald also He took a sip of coffee and nodded to the handsome old guy Avelson.

Avilson and the beauty smiled, then turned back to Ronald and said, "I am really ready to give up on this project. Weintraub dislikes Pat Morita very much. I couldn't convince him, so I had to leave the project.

I actually like the story you wrote. It is a warm story, full of humanistic care for the people at the bottom. The weak defeats the strong, the lonely old man educates the fake, and he himself is comforted.

pity……"

"Apart from this, are there any other reasons why you gave up directing?" Ronald felt relieved. He could direct the script he wrote. It was another medium-sized production with a budget of "up to" eight million, he said. It's impossible not to be moved. However, curiosity still made him ask one more question.

"I made a fatal mistake. I flirted with Weintraub's secretary Susan. I didn't expect that Weintraub would come for real this time. It wasn't just a matter of fun with Susan. She might want to start a family with him."

"Huh? Isn't his wife the singer Jane Morgan?"

"I don't know about that." Avelson shrugged. "You are a good screenwriter, Ronald... and a handsome guy. You have to learn from my lesson. This is not the first time I have lost a good project because of my talk. ”

"Huh?" Ronald was surprised.

"In show business, a lot of times, people are complicated. The people you meet who come into the project, probably everyone has a different background. In 1977, I was originally the actor in Travolta's 'Saturday Night Fever' ' director.

But one day I asked one of my assistants on the set out on a date, and you know I was single at the time.

Unexpectedly, she turned out to be the girlfriend of the producer, the owner of RKO Records, and the boyfriend of Robert Sternwood.

boom! The casting, setting, and rehearsals that I had already done were all gone. My only legacy from that movie is the colorfully lit floor in the disco where Travolta danced. "

"Just a date?" Ronald knew Sterwood and had written the sequels to "Grease" and "Saturday Night Fever."

"Just a date." Avelson nodded.

"Fuxk", Ronald cursed secretly, what a mess this is. The boss's boyfriend's girlfriend lost her job after just one date. And he didn’t know what Avelson meant when they dated.

There are many such ignorant people in the film industry, but they have achieved great success.

"But your choice this time...Master Miyagi..." Ronald was dubious about Avelson's judgment of the reason for his dismissal. Weintraub did have an abnormal relationship with Susan, but he said that he would fire the director for making a few jokes... Moreover, Weintraub also gave a solution, as long as Avelson agreed to change someone to play Master Miyagi. That’s it.

"Of course, I also have other choices. But Pat Morita is indeed the best candidate to play this role. After you take over the director's job, I suggest you meet Morita first to know that what I am telling is not a lie."

Avilson was very free and easy, and even recommended actors he saw to Ronald.

"Oh, can you tell me why?" Ronald's curiosity arose again.

"Morita was recommended to me by a friend of mine. I had a conversation with him and he told me some of his childhood experiences. After I heard this, I felt that he must be the one to play the role of Master Miyagi."

Avilson changed into a comfortable position and continued to explain to Ronald.

"Morita has a sense of humor, explosive acting skills, and can perform in daytime sitcoms. As for the character you portray as Master Miyagi, you need an actor who understands both American culture and Japanese culture and history.

And... Pat Morita himself was imprisoned in a concentration camp as a child. When World War II broke out, he happened to be in middle school and grew up in a concentration camp. He had first-hand experience of this period of history, which allowed him to portray the pain of the lonely Japanese-American veteran.

And he has no resentment towards that period of history, because he was still a child at the time, so that memory will not be filmed as hatred, but as guilt.

So he was able to express Master Miyagi's love for Danny very well, and it felt real without having to act. Then he can project this emotion onto Danny, who lacks fatherly love in a single-parent family, so that he can perform the father-son relationship between the two.

And your script is actually about family relationships and the relationship between father and son. It is not about fighting or martial arts, nor is it a game for children to pick up girls. "

"Really? I seem to have just written a composition." Ronald thought for a moment.

Avildson actually made sense. Ronald did not write the script in the style of an exploitation film. The love between Danny and Ali only took up a small part.

Ronald also tried to popularize and philosophize the story of Danny learning karate, and did not spend too much time on the fighting itself.

As for the father-son relationship...

Ronald was silent. Maybe he did not have the image of his father in his memory in this life, so maybe... probably... he subconsciously projected his regrets onto Danny?

"So, which new project will you go for?"

Avildson smiled, "I might return to the 'Rocky' series. Work with Stallone again."

"Oh, who will Rocky fight this time?" Ronald asked. In each episode of Rocky, the opponent is different, which is also a topic that the American people talk about with relish.

"This time it's against the boxing champion of the Suvil League." Avildson smiled.

After Avildson directed the first "Rocky" and won the Oscar for Best Director, he was unwilling to direct the sequel because of some ridiculous vanity.

Stallone repeatedly requested and even wrote a heartfelt letter asking him to come out, but he still refused to direct the niche art film he liked.

After that, Avildsen never made any achievements that were worthy of an Oscar nomination. Later, he regretted rejecting Stallone. There was a sequel to "Rocky" that he should have made. After that, he could make the art film he wanted to make. Maybe he could even get Stallone to invest.

Fortunately, the two films directed by Stallone this time, "Rocky 3" and "Dancing with the Dragon", were both rated very low by critics. Ebert and Sisco, two Chicago film critics, gave both films the lowest score.

Stallone suddenly felt that his directing skills were questioned, and he began to doubt himself. Through CAA's agent, he invited Avildsen to come for an interview again.

The two put aside their past unhappiness and began to work together to prepare for "Rocky 4", and also talked about the sequel to "First Blood".

However, it seems that Stallone did not have a good evaluation of the young screenwriter and director Ronald. His "Dragon Flying and Phoenix Dancing" and the first draft of the script for "Rambo 2" were criticized by Stallone.

In short, this time Stallone wanted to take advantage of the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, the President took the offensive against the Suvil Alliance, and the people of the country began to regain confidence in the victory of the Cold War, and planned to write the sequel into a battle between Rocky and the heavyweight champion of the Suvil Alliance.

At that time, Rocky wore shorts with the American flag and fought against the Suvil warriors. It was exciting to think about it.

"Mr. Avildson, you also said that Pat Morita was the best candidate to play Master Miyagi. So how did you plan to convince Weintraub?"

Ronald's question interrupted Avildson's recollection.

"I haven't figured out a way yet. These producers are very persistent in their own ideas. You have to find ways to make them think that this is their own idea in order to make them change their minds." Avildson actually admired Ronald. The story of the little people's counterattack he wrote was very much to his taste.

"I have no idea at all." Ronald frowned. Now the obstacles to being a director have been eliminated, but he encountered such a big problem at the beginning.

"Hahaha, now that problem is your trouble." Avildson laughed and took a sip of coffee.

"Haha, that's right." Ronald thought it was right. Now that he took over the director position, Avildson was no longer obliged to give him advice.

"I'll give you a hint. You should know Coppola. When he was filming "The Godfather", he also encountered similar troubles. You should go ask him."

"The Godfather? Coppola?" Ronald remembered it silently in his heart.