Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Break Dance" sold so well overseas that Minahan happily treated Ronald to a feast.

Remembering Natasha Kinski's plea, Ronald asked Minahan what he thought of "Maria's Lovers."

"I originally didn't have a particularly strong preference for releasing this movie. If the price was right, I would buy it. If the price was too high, I wouldn't want it. But your movie made us a lot of money, and my priorities have changed."

Minahan picked up a white napkin and wiped his mouth. "Cannon wants to gain a foothold in Hollywood, and there is no future by relying solely on low-cost exploitation films. So I hope to sign some famous directors and let them make films for Cannon."

In the golden age of Hollywood, directors and stars signed long-term contracts with studios. The studio is their home, and they only make movies for the studio. If we can have one or two famous directors with long-term contracts, stars will be attracted to film with small and medium-sized companies like Cannon. "

Ronald understood what Minahan meant, and to some extent, his strategy was to attract stars to the film by signing writers and directors. With stars, there is an opportunity to expand the size of the company. Otherwise, if we always shoot low-cost productions worth one or two million, we will never have a chance to join the ranks of the top seven.

“So, I didn’t buy ‘Maria’s Lovers’ because of Natasha Kinski, but because of Konchalovsky, the person who could give us an Oscar nomination.”

"It seems that in his eyes, Kinski is not yet a qualified star. Although she can win awards at European film festivals, no audience in Hollywood is willing to enter the cinema to see her." Ronald thought.

"Do you think her new film has a chance of winning the Palme d'Or?" Ronald knew that "Texas, Paris" was a favorite for this year's award. If it can win the award, "Maria's Lovers", also starring Kinski, may have higher commercial value.

Ronald tried his best to learn from Minahan, but he still had a lot to learn in terms of film business operations.

"Perhaps," Minahan was in a good mood, "The chairman of this year's jury is a British person. Among the judges are Stanley Donan, a senior director from America, and Vadim Yu, a famous photographer from the Soviet Union. Sufu.

So I don’t think the grand prize will go to John Huston, who is still making films in his seventies in America. And although “Paris, Texas” was filmed in America, the director and the filming company were both from West Germany. Choose them among several popular movies, and those judges from the Eastern camp will be less likely to object strongly. "

But there is no connection between European film awards and American box office. "

Ronald agreed on this point. Most Americans have a sense of being the chosen one, and everything is the best in America.

"Ask your friend Kinski to come. I'll give her a better deal. We just need more directors who are willing to sign long-term contracts with us." After saying that, Minahan looked straight at Ronald.

"I'll tell him," Ronald smiled. It was impossible for him to sign a long-term contract with Minahan. He couldn't be bound to a company like Cannon. To make the movie he wanted to make, he still had to be like Seven. A company with charisma.

Natasha Kinski was surprised to receive a call from Ronald and immediately invited Ronald and Minahan to attend the premiere of "Texas, Paris".

Wim Wenders, the director of "Texas, Paris" is a West German and looks like a tall, lanky man who is a bit shy.

He was a leading figure in the New German Film Movement in West Germany. This is a funding project funded by the West German government in the 1970s to expand its cultural influence and support film shooting. At that time, a generation of stars represented by Klaus Kinski, Natasha Kinski’s father, was also promoted.

However, this kind of government-funded project does not produce many blockbuster films. After all, leaving the market is just a tool for the director's self-realization and awards. The New German Film movement quickly declined, and Wim Wenders had to borrow money and space from Hollywood to make his new films.

"Congratulations, you made a great movie," Ronald complimented Wim Wenders after watching the premiere.

how to say? This movie is indeed very well shot, the actors' performances are precise, and the emotional expression and narrative are very high-level. But this can only be understood by viewers who have similar life experiences to the protagonist.

After all, it is not an eternal story of revenge, love, or defeating opponents that has not changed for thousands of years, but a story of a frustrated middle-aged man looking for memories of the past.

Soon the guests at the scene came up one after another to congratulate the director and starring. Ronald quietly left the creative team and asked Minahan to go back with him.

"So East Germany also succumbed to the pressure of the Sewell League and participated in the boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics? Didn't you ruin the hard work of the athletes for four years for political purposes?"

"You can't say that. It was you Americans who first initiated the boycott in the last term. We can say it was just tit for tat."

"But your late former General Secretary-General Yuri took a positive attitude towards participating. We have prepared the Olympic Village for you in Los Angeles, and there will also be a documentary film team tracking athletes from various countries."

"You know old friend, we now have the new General Secretary Constantine."

A sound of conversation floated into Ronald's ears.

He felt that this Russian-accented English was a bit familiar. He looked at it carefully and thought, Huh?

"Mr. Counselor, I didn't expect that we would meet here."

The person who spoke was the cultural counselor of the Suvil Union who sat with Ronald when he received the Oscar for Best Theme Song Lyrics.

"Aha, Ronald, I didn't expect to see you here. Let me introduce you to you. This is the mastermind behind your Hollywood, the number one cultural enemy of our union, Mr. Jack Valenti, the president of the American Film Association."

"Hello, Mr. Valenti." Ronald also recognized the president who often spoke at the Oscars.

"Hello, I've heard of you." Jack Valenti shook Ronald's hand enthusiastically. "Your address is a bit wrong. Mr. Counselor has been transferred back to his country and is now a commissioner in the film bureau of the union."

"Congratulations, Mr. Commissioner."

"It's nothing. I just came here to accompany Mr. Yusuf, a member of the jury, as a routine matter."

Well... Ronald understood the implication. Konchalovsky of "Maria's Lovers" defected to the country of Mao on the pretext of shooting a new film. This kind of thing happened many times in the early 1980s.

The Secretary-General tightened the policy. For the honorary position of the Cannes Film Festival judge, a trustworthy official must be filmed to accompany the artist. Yusuf is a minority in the Union. He has been working with Tarkovsky as a photographer for a long time and has been traveling abroad for competitions all year round, so the superiors are not very reassured.

"What do you think? Do you think the Union should boycott the Los Angeles Olympics this time?" Jack Valenti looked at Ronald with interest, wanting to hear the young director's opinion on the issue they were arguing about.

"Me? I think we should still come. Without athletes from the Union and the Eastern Bloc, the competition will not be at the highest level." Ronald answered decisively. For example, in gymnastics, without the entire Eastern Bloc Union and Romania, wouldn't it depend on America?

"Hahaha", Jack Valenti was very satisfied with this answer and glanced at Mr. Commissioner.

"Not all Eastern Bloc countries participated in the boycott. Some countries chose to participate, such as China." Mr. Commissioner did not choose to continue arguing about this matter, but stated the facts.

"Oh?" Ronald was refreshed after hearing this unexpected news. Is the Olympics in the summer soon? Then you can go and see the athletes from the motherland in the previous life perform.

"When you go to Los Angeles in the future, you can come to participate in the exchange activities of our film association more often." Jack Valenti felt that Ronald's ideas were in line with the mainstream values ​​of America, advocating freedom and competition. So he invited him to participate in more activities of the association in the future.

"Mr. Commissioner, I also brought a movie I directed to Cannes this time. I would like to ask if there is a chance to sell it to the league?"

"Hahaha", Mr. Commissioner was amused by Ronald's American profit-seeking attitude towards movies.

"To be precise, we do introduce a small number of American movies, but they all need to be reviewed and conform to the values ​​of our country. And generally only pay a buyout price."

"Oh..." Ronald was a little disappointed. It seems that it is not so easy to sell movies to the Eastern camp. In their view, "breakdancing" is not a capitalist dance?

"If you really want to..." Mr. Commissioner dragged out his tone.

"Hey, I forgot to introduce that fat guy, he is the producer of the movie. I wonder if it is possible to invite Mr. Commissioner to dinner?" Ronald understood the other party's hint and quickly called Minahan, who was negotiating with Kinski, to invite the Commissioner to the best restaurant in the country.

"Hmm..." The Commissioner scooped up a spoonful of the best Black Sea caviar, "You know? This is a specialty of our Black Sea. Our annual export volume is very limited, but it can be eaten in any high-end restaurant in the country."

The Commissioner talked about something that had nothing to do with the film trade.

"Is this because of? Smuggling?" Ronald asked tentatively.

"Yes, a carload of caviar, crude oil, and various specialties of Mother Russia were transported to East Germany by train, and then transferred to West Berlin and even your United States through various unknown underground channels. And when they return, they will bring back cheap TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, and... movie copies."

"I think Mr. Commissioner must need the latest Japanese large-screen TVs and VCRs to study literature and art." Ronald asked.

"And your wife also needs some perfumes from the United States and bags from Italy. They are both good materials for studying literature and art," Minahan immediately received.

"Thank you for your kindness. I say this to remind you that although our camp cannot freely import Hollywood movies, good movies shown in West Berlin will appear in East German cinemas a month later, and then continue to spread to other Eastern European countries."

So that's it.

No wonder West German distributors will postpone making a decision. The copies they purchased will not only be shown in their own country, but will also be supplied to the entire Eastern European region through underground channels. In this case, they have to see how well East Germany accepts the two movies "Breakdance" and "Hot Street Kids" before making a decision.

"I wonder what principles East Germany uses to select movies?" Ronald asked Mr. Commissioner again. Minahan snapped his fingers, called the waiter, and gave Mr. Commissioner two bottles of brandy for him to take home and taste.

"Hahaha, as you know, East Germany is also called a satellite state of the Soviet Union by you Americans. In terms of movies, the attitude of our alliance can also appropriately affect their preferences for movies."

"Then please give me some kind words, Mr. Commissioner."

Mr. Commissioner got two bottles of brandy and was very satisfied when he saw the words VSOP on them. Ronald is an old acquaintance of his. He was promoted and returned to China because of Ronald's choice of "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" which won the Oscar.

There is no risk of making a small deal with such an old friend, and this guy and the fat producer are very smart.

So he spoke up and said, "No, you should let me criticize you severely."

"Why?" Ronald and Minahan looked at each other to confirm that the commissioner was not joking.

"Have you ever heard that the more forbidden something is, the more widely it spreads?"

"Oh..." Ronald understood. In the Eastern camp, the more they are not allowed to be released, the more the audience wants to see what is not allowed inside.

“I think ‘Hot Street Boys’ does a good job of exposing the exploitation of American capitalism and racial discrimination. The black people in the slums are forced to dance in the streets. This is a work of American realism.

And the film "Break Dance" with the same theme did too much to beautify their poor life. Blacks and Latinos can work in supermarkets, afford tape recorders, and wear synthetic clothing that only the wealthy can afford, as well as ankle-protecting ankle boots that only ballet majors can afford.

We don't like this glorified work. "

The next day, during an interview with the media, the commissioner of the Soviet Union Film Bureau also commented on the Hollywood films exhibited at the Cannes Film Festival and praised the Orion film.

"Happy cooperation! Hans!"

Minahan happily signed a high-priced copy-number buyout agreement with local German film importers, which was enough to supply the entire Eastern Europe beyond West Germany. Now copies of "Break Dance" could be distributed to underground theaters in Eastern Europe and even Moscow and Leningrad.

On the other hand, Minahan also happily paid a higher price to buy "Maria's Lovers" shot by director Andrei Konchalovsky, who defected from the alliance, and prepared to continue his efforts and show it at the Venice Film Festival. Enter the competition.

This is their first battle to establish their artistic reputation and attract more famous directors to make movies.