Exploiting Hollywood 1980

A few days later, Tom Cruise flew to London with his agent Paula, where he was reshooting some scenes for Ridley Scott's "Legend." The set of the movie, which should have been completed long ago, burned down during filming. After recovery, the leading actors were summoned back to shoot again.

Ronald was invited by James Cameron to see a review screening of the finished film "Terminator". Orion has been set to premiere at the end of October.

"What do you think?" Cameron socialized with a group of film critics who came to see the movie for free with their Film Critics Guild IDs, and came to ask Ronald's opinion with a frown on his face.

"You're going to be famous, Jim." Ronald said yes, of course, and if the movie wasn't good, there would be no dream of its sequel.

The special effects throughout the film are breathtaking. The big explosion on the road and the final battle all make people secrete adrenaline faster. The ubiquitous cold humor and the melancholy ending allow the audience to experience emotional peaks and valleys.

Cameron was the first to direct a feature film, but he did an excellent job in controlling the structure and fine details required by directors of these commercial films.

"October is the cold season, maybe you will win the box office championship." Ronald encouraged his good friend.

"If only film critics said things like you." Cameron sighed.

"What's wrong? Did they give bad feedback?"

"Not very confident, Schwarzenegger insists that today's preview must be held and the reviews will be used to decide whether to participate in the premiere and subsequent promotions. The schedule at the end of October is sandwiched between the two strong schedules of summer and Christmas. in the middle." Gale came over and expressed concern.

"It's better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond," Ronald comforted the two. "If necessary, I will go to the premiere and say something nice to you."

"Thank you", Cameron squeezed his friend's hand tightly.

"Is your new movie confirmed?" Gale was very happy when Ronald agreed to attend the premiere. Although Ronald is not a big star, as the director of two blockbuster movies, if he can appear on the scene, there will definitely be some free newspaper pages mentioning "Terminator".

"Not yet, I'm still waiting for the results of the reshuffle." Ronald shook his head. The high-level changes involving the three companies are not completely over yet. The negotiations between Eisner and Disney have not yet concluded. All Paramount projects Also in frozen state.

"Perhaps I will consider the second part of 'The Kid' first. Weintraub is planning to go to Japan with me to see if any company is willing to invest in a sequel.

A few days later, news about the new head of the Disney Company finally appeared in the New York Times and other major media.

"Disney wants Eisner to wake up Sleeping Beauty"

The princess in Disney's animated film "Sleeping Beauty" sleeps for a hundred years. And Disney has only begun to take a nap in the past decade.

However, in this short decade, Disney Productions has fallen far behind the rest of the film industry.

It was Michael Eisner, Disney's new 42-year-old, curly-haired chairman and CEO, who cited the "Sleeping Beauty" image as a metaphor for Disney...

“People here are hungry for strong leadership,” said Mr. Eisner, sitting in a burger joint, drinking a chocolate milkshake, reflecting a boyish excitement as if Disney were his new toy.

Although he himself did not go further with the fairy tale metaphor. But there's no doubt that Disney sees Eisner as the prince who awakens the magical princess.

Despite Mr. Eisner's self-proclaimed "cheerleader," most Hollywood observers believe he will restore Disney to a serious contender.

It is reported that Wall Street investment banker Roland Bates expressed satisfaction with the funds raised for investment in Disney's live-action film shooting. "Eisner is one of the few good leaders in this industry, and we are very pleased that he has control of the fund." Very confident in its distribution and use.”

Frank Price, chairman of Universal Pictures Group, agreed: "Michael will bring Disney into a true first-tier player."

…

At the same time, at Paramount, new chairman and CEO Frank Mancuso also completed important personnel appointments.

Ned Tanen, a former Universal vice president who resigned to start his own independent production company and ran "The Breakfast Club," "Sixteen Candles" and "St. Elmo's Fire," was replaced by Frank Manku Thaw was named the new president of Paramount, with overall responsibility for production.

At this point, three of the seven major studios, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and Disney, have ended the turmoil and begun to restore calm, and everything is back on track.

"I have watched you for a long time, and your productions of 'Flashdance' and 'Beverly Hills Cop' have achieved amazing success. So from now on, you will have the same enjoyment here at Paramount as the Gubel-Peterson Company." With the authority, you can freely select suitable scripts and submit them directly to me for review without having to go through the initial selection by the film review committee.”

Ned Tanning, who had just taken office, immediately became Paramount's president of production, regardless of the two teen movies "The Breakfast Club" and "St. Elmo's Fire" that his studio had not yet released. Responsibilities.

Eisner earned his reputation by steadily producing blockbuster movies over the past decade. The most important thing is to secure this position at Paramount, continue this trend, and produce more blockbuster films.

So as soon as he took office, he began to look at the materials of Paramount's top ten most popular movies in the past five years. He found that two of them were related to the pair of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer.

"We want to have the autonomy to shoot movies." Bruckheimer made a direct request.

"As long as I give the green light to the project, you can decide. Just report the main creators and stars to me." Tanin was very generous. The two guys had sharp eyes. The two movies were not optimistic at the beginning, but later sold hundreds of millions of box office, which was much better than his own ability to select films.

"That's it, Ned. As long as we like the project, how can it not be a hit?" Don Simpson shook his long hair. This Tanin was only because he was obedient, so he was favored by the incompetent Frank Mancuso.

"I believe in your vision. You can choose all the scripts in the script library here. If there are scripts from other places, you can also buy them." Ned Tanin knew that now was the time to use people, and ignored Don Simpson's rudeness.

"Well, let's go back to the script library and pick the right one," Bruckheimer was more reasonable.

"Tsk, you're playing the good cop, bad cop game with me," Ned Tanin looked around. The office that once belonged to Eisner was very spacious, and there was also a small golf putting training ground. Once we have a firm foothold, we will have to redecorate this place.

"Don, we don't have to play the good cop, bad cop game with Ned," Bruckheimer said to his partner, "At least he gave us the same power as Gubel and Peterson."

"Bah, what does he know about film production? It's still up to the producer. I say, we have to pick a high-concept movie this time. We shouldn't pick any script that can't clearly explain the content of the movie in one sentence."

"Of course," Bruckheimer nodded in agreement. In this era when audiences no longer have the habit of going to the cinema regularly, film selection must have an inherent advantage in marketing, with an attractive title at first glance, stars you want to see on the big screen, and a director who can shoot this kind of drama that is very different from the most popular blockbuster in Hollywood in the past ten years.

The generation after the baby boom has graduated from high school and started working or going to college. Their interests and hobbies are what the new generation of movies want to please. The ratings of TV stations are getting higher and higher. The tastes of the current generation of viewers are very different from those of the previous generation.

The two asked their secretary to move a large box and put the scripts that had been circulating in Paramount for the past five years in Curry, and then went to Don Simpson's big house and began to read the scripts slowly.

...

"Do you still think we should make a story about Ali?" Weintraub asked Ronald who came to chat. The two lit a big cigar each and started drinking fine brandy. Ronald liked the feeling of being a successful person.

Columbia was also affected by this big reshuffle. With the appointment of three new presidents or CEOs, there are always many middle-level managers who start to move.

Finally, Columbia's personnel stabilized, and they had time to start formally discussing with Weintraub the filming of the sequel to "The Karate Kid" that had not yet been released.

"I always feel that there is no female teenage hero in all the classic Hollywood narratives. And Elizabeth Sue is a rare actress who has no difficulty in doing action scenes, so you can give it a try." Ronald still insisted on his own opinion, hoping to develop the plot of the second part around Ali as the protagonist.

"But have you ever thought that the lack of such a plot may also be because those who have tried it have failed." Weintraub is still upset about Elizabeth Sue not participating in the promotion tour. If possible, he wants to replace the heroine.

"That's not unreasonable."

Ronald thinks that a major trend in the 1980s is that the proportion of working girls began to increase significantly. Women are not just secretaries for a few years and then go home to take care of their husbands and children. The proportion of female executives in all walks of life is increasing.

However, there is no need to argue with Weintraub about this unverifiable concept.

"I still like your idea of ​​telling the story of Mr. Miyagi. I have arranged the time. At the end of the year, we will go to Japan together. As long as the rich people there are willing to invest, our approach of using Miyagi as the core of the story will definitely make them more willing to pay.

The Japanese are very good at manufacturing, and they have exhausted our industry. Do you know? The mascot of this Olympics, the eagle, is all made by Japanese factories. The last Moscow Olympics was clearly produced by our American companies."

"Ah ha?" Ronald thought that capitalists really make money when they have money. They can even make the Olympic mascot of the biggest competitor, the Suweier Alliance. As long as they make money, they can sell anything.

"We have to think about it carefully. It's a good time to go this time to see what the Japanese think of our interpretation of their karate."

"Okay, let's all think about it, especially you. The second part needs a new trick." Winterraub is most proud of the crane kick. Now when people in the circle see him, they will leave the ground with one foot and shout Mr. Miyagi's famous saying, "As long as you use it in the right place, you are invincible."

"Yeah, I have to think about it," Ronald thought. He hadn't dreamed about movies for a long time, and he didn't know what the trick was in the sequel to the original. Such a popular movie should have a sequel, right?

“Okay, think about it. The movie can still earn more than 3 million per week, and it can be released until the end of October. There is a good chance that the local box office will exceed 100 million. If we go to Japan with a local box office of 100 million, the distribution company there will definitely pay attention to it.”