Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Three months passed quickly.

It was May 12th. At the Los Astor Plaza Theater on Broadway in New York, a large "Top Gun" billboard was installed on the top of the theater's foyer. All the people passing by the busiest Broadway Street would see this billboard.

In Times Square, Paramount also placed a sky-high-priced advertisement, and many theaters and restaurants in Manhattan also put up posters.

All this cost Paramount millions of dollars in budget, just to increase the audience for the opening of "Top Gun".

The protagonist on the poster is Kelly McGillis, who stands behind and hugs Tom Cruise who is sitting. .

Cruise's height is a flaw. Paramount's marketing department took a long time to select this photo to cleverly conceal the fact that the heroine is taller.

Kelly McGillis has curly blonde hair, which is exactly the same as the one on the poster, and her hair has grown longer. McGillis stood in front of her large poster to welcome the arrival of various stars.

"Tom," Ronald went over to shake hands with Tom Cruise, who arrived first, to celebrate.

Cruise wore an Italian-style suit today, with a Japanese-printed spun silk shirt underneath his gray suit.

"Many stars came today, and it looks like we'll have a lot of fanfare." Cruise looked around, and some photographers were snapping photos.

"No problem, there will be a lot of reports tomorrow."

"I know, Cher..." Cruise whispered in Ronald's ear, and he was taking the opportunity to date his girlfriend Cher this time.

"Cher is already inside," Ronald also whispered in his ear. Paula Wagner had greeted him specially, and Cher was even more anxious than Cruise, and entered the cinema long in advance.

"Thank you," Cruise turned around and raised his hands to greet the fans, then went up to sign a few autographs, took a few photos for the photographers, and then happily walked into the theater.

Ronald wore a dark blue suit with a white shirt, which was neat and tidy. It was a perfect contrast to McGillis's white coat and dark shirt.

McGillis and Ronald smiled at each other. Good news keeps coming. During this period of time, American audiences have regained their interest in movies like "Top Gun" about air battles between pilots of the Suvil Alliance.

For several months, the Challenger accident has experienced ups and downs like a roller coaster. The accident investigation committee wanted to shirk responsibility and hope to conclude that the explosion was an accident. They also wanted to silence the engineer who pointed out the real cause of the accident before the launch, that the booster O-ring seal failed at low temperatures.

Unexpectedly, this engineer secretly found Nobel Prize winner Feynman. At the press conference in February, physicist Richard Feynman, who was seen by the outside world as a window dressing for the investigation committee, gave other committee members and NASA a sudden blow.

He sat at the edge of the podium at the press conference, holding an O-ring seal material for the space shuttle booster in his hand. After asking for a glass of ice water, he used a pair of pliers to clamp the seal material and then dipped the material in it.

After waiting for more than ten minutes, when the reporter finally politely asked Feynman about his opinion on the cause of the accident, everyone thought he would say something ambiguous.

Unexpectedly, Feynman took the sealing ring material out of the ice water and opened the clamp. The material that was designed to rebound to seal the booster could not rebound for dozens of seconds in a low-temperature environment. It could not play the role of sealing the fuel leakage of the booster as designed, and finally caused the fuel to leak into the external fuel tank, causing a big explosion.

Everyone saw the material being taken off the pliers on TV, and the white sealing material did not rebound. Public opinion was in an uproar, and NASA was immediately questioned for ignoring the risks of astronauts and forcing the Challenger to launch in sub-zero temperatures in order to complete the scheduled number of launches and to keep the funding.

The President ordered a thorough investigation of NASA's responsibility, and during this period, the launch of the space shuttle was suspended.

This dramatic scene was beyond everyone's expectations. However, what was even more unexpected was that the American people had more trust in the country.

Feynman's experiment on TV proved from another perspective that America is a free country. Some people made mistakes, some people pointed out the mistakes, and some people corrected the mistakes and moved on.

Compared with the nuclear power plant accident in the Suvil Union last month, the contrast is too clear, which just fits the views of most American people on the two countries.

One country is transparent and has a free media. The other country is opaque and the government wants to cover up a huge accident.

If the monsoon had not blown the radioactive materials from Chernobyl to countries such as Sweden and Norway in Northern Europe, where they were detected by scientists there, the Suvil Union might not have planned to disclose the actual explosion of Unit 4.

The people's confidence in the country has been restored, which makes Ronald and the two producers very happy. The nuclear accident in the Suvil Union has caused panic in other countries in the world, and the fear of the powerful military force of the Suvil has returned. This month's television has been reporting the horror of the nuclear power plant explosion.

Paramount's two subsequent previews have restored the audience's interest in beating the Union MiG fighter on the screen, and the response is very good.

Encouraged by the test screening results, Paramount approved this grand opening ceremony. Ronald used up all his connections at once and invited all the stars and friends he knew in the industry to attend the premiere of "Top Gun" in New York.

If everything goes well, a huge amount of discussion can be set off in the media one week before the official opening.

"We are reporting to you the premiere of Paramount's new film "Top Gun" on Broadway in New York..."

A cable TV host was still reporting entertainment news at the entrance of the theater.

"We are seeing Jennifer Beals, the heroine of "Flashdance", and she is accompanied by her Yale classmate, former child star, and Oscar-nominated winner Jodie Foster.

Waving to the fans across the street, Jodie Foster and Jennifer Beals appeared on the scene together. They looked intimate, like a pair of good sisters.

"Jennifer, Judy! This is Kelly, Kelly, Judy and Jennifer. "Ronald came forward to welcome them and introduced McGillis to them.

The three beauties hugged happily and then stood on both sides of Ronald to let the photographer take pictures. These were reporters arranged by Paramount, and all the photos would be reviewed by Paramount first, and then published in the media as appropriate.

McGillis and Jodie Foster stood on both sides of Ronald, and they looked at each other secretly, as if they were passing some secret code.

Jennifer Beals and Jodie Foster took the pictures and walked into the theater hand in hand.

"Spike! Katherine!"

Those who arrived earlier were some not-so-famous people in the circle. Ronald came forward to say hello to two friends in the NYU circle.

McGillis didn't know them, she whispered a few words to Ronald and went into the theater first.

"How are you? "Ronald hasn't communicated with them for a long time. This time, he used all the connections he could to achieve the box office results for the opening. The two of them have some reputation in the university film circle in New York, and they can mobilize some college students majoring in film and drama to support them.

"Not bad, man, not bad."

Spike Lee's graduation work won some small awards from the African American Foundation and the Outstanding Graduation Work Award from New York University. With this award, he also got the investment for his first commercial feature film, which is in production.

"I'm still looking for opportunities."

Katherine Bigelow was not so lucky. Her movie did not cause any waves, and there are no new movies to shoot now. As a female director, there are not many opportunities in this male-dominated industry.

"When I'm done, let's talk again." Ronald had some ideas. This kind of high-quality director with good cost performance could be won over.

"What opportunity is it?" Bigelow became interested.

"Ronnie! ”

Another group of stars came over.

They were the director Cameron, producer Gale Hurd, and the leading actress Sigourney Weaver of the "Alien 2" crew.

"Let me introduce you, these two are my good friends, Jimmy and Gale. These are the talented directors I met at New York University, Spike Lee and Kathryn Bigelow."

Several directors and producers started chatting together.

"Hello, Ronald. Congratulations on your new film. I'm Sigourney."

"Ha, Lieutenant Ripley needs no introduction." Ronald recognized the middle-aged actress who played the role of fighting aliens in the Alien series.

Cameron always likes to arrange such a strong female protagonist in the movie. He seems to have a special hobby for this kind of women, and his wife Gale is also a strong woman.

"If there is a chance, I really hope to work with you on a movie."

"Arnold! Long time no see. ”

The next person to come was Arnold Schwarzenegger, the leading actor of Cameron's previous "Terminator", and with him came Maria Shriver, a New York socialite and niece of the Kennedy family.

"Hello, Ronald. I am looking forward to your new film." Schwarzenegger winked at Ronald.

"Welcome, is this your beautiful wife, Ms. Shriver? I have seen your show."

"Hello, Director Ronald. "

Maria Shriver is a TV reporter.

Ronald knew what Schwarzenegger meant. He had been having a hot relationship with Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen before. After dating Maria Shriver, he used trickery to dump Nielsen for Stallone. So Ronald didn't mention Stallone and Nielsen.

Paramount also invited the newlyweds Stallone and Brigitte Nielsen, but neither of them intended to attend.

Shrive recently wanted to use the family's influence to enter the film industry, and wanted to talk to Ronald more. However, new stars came one after another, so she had to ask her husband and Ronald for a business card for future contact.

"Helen, Betty, Danny! "

Next came the three main actors of "The Evil Husband".

Helen Slater's family is in New York. Bette Midler and Danny DeVito both act in Broadway and Hollywood and have apartments in New York.

They finished the filming of "The Evil Husband" and came to show their support for the producer Ronald.

"Ronnie," Helen hugged Ronald tightly. Her acting career has improved. After all, "The Evil Husband" is the work of the famous director Jerry Zucker.

"Congratulations, you are so famous." Bette Midler and Danny DeVito, two veteran actors, were very uneasy. There were some problems in the filming of "The Evil Husband". Both of them didn't know if their performances were too childish. The directing style of Zucker's trio was very superficial. They all felt that their film careers were going to suffer a Waterloo.

"You guys go in first, I have to wait for the important guests here." Ronald whispered to Helen quietly.

"Okay, I'll go in first." Helen looked at the reporters outside. She hadn't been watched by so many people for a long time. She took the opportunity to pose for photographers to take pictures.

"John!"

"Ronald!"

Ronald welcomed a new group of stars, John Hughes, and the actors of two new films he directed and produced.

"Pretty in Pink" was the movie that Ronald came up with as inspiration. The heroine is Molly Ringwald, and the two people beside her are Jon Cryer who plays a friend, and Andrew McCarthy who plays a crush. Andrew originally appeared in Ronald's Burger King commercial.

"Congratulations, Ronald." John Hughes, still wearing the same pair of big frame glasses, came up to congratulate Ronald first.

"Congratulations to you too. When will your Pink Family be released?"

"The test screening went poorly. I may have to change the ending."

"I told you..."

Ronald smiled.

The plot I proposed at the time was two women chasing one man. American audiences can accept a girl next door falling in love with her childhood sweetheart, but they can’t accept a beautiful woman failing to pursue a handsome guy and instead marrying a ‘friend’ boy next door.

John Hughes messed up the story in order to continue to flatter his muse Molly Ringwald. In the end, he didn't even direct it himself, leaving it to Howard Deutsch, who was the assistant director when he was filming "The Breakfast Club."

"Let me introduce to you, these are the two leading actors of my director's "Spring Is Not a Day to Read".

Behind Hughes are two more young actors. The man is Matthew Brodick, the protagonist of the "War Games" that made Ronald buy a computer and connected to the Internet. The woman has worked with Tom Cruise. Mia Sara in a fantasy film 'Legend'.

"Hello, hello" Ronald was busy shaking hands and hugging the five young actors.

Mia Sara is very beautiful, with black hair. I don’t know if she is of Italian or Chinese descent.

"Hello, Ronald, I like your movies very much." Mia Sara was still very innocent. She wanted to have a chat out of her love for Ronald's movies.

"I also loved your collaboration with Tom on 'Legendary'"

There was little opportunity for in-depth conversation in the foyer, as Ronald continued to receive bigger celebrities who were arriving one after another.

"The next thing is...is..." The TV host did not recognize the next couple of celebrities who came over.

"Paul, Linda!"

Here came Paul Hogan, who was wearing a crocodile leather jacket, and his girlfriend Linda Kozlowski. They fell in love on the set of "Crocodile Dundee" and became a couple in real life.

"Howdy!"

Hogan still speaks with an Australian accent. Their movie "Crocodile Dundee" has been released in Australia and broke local box office records, so he wanted to come to Hollywood to promote it.

"This is my business card. Let's talk in depth in two days."

Ronald knew what Hogan and Linda were thinking from his agent and welcomed them in first.

"Next up is the Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress, Goldie Hawn, and her boyfriend Kurt Russell."

The host finally recognized the next star.

Ronald chatted with the two of them for a while. The production of "Monsters in Chinatown" has been completed, and Diane's scenes have been retained. It will premiere in two months. Goldie Hawn and Russell were going to collaborate on a movie next, and they also wanted to see if Ronald was interested in directing it.

"r /\u003e

"Oliver," Ronald hugged him.

Stone's new Vietnam War film has been shot in Southeast Asia. Behind are two actors, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen.

Ronald looked at Charlie Sheen and laughed again, remembering the "Top Gun" spoof movie in his dream.

Charlie Sheen also laughed. He used Ronald to prevent his brother Emilio from having any new opportunities. Now he is directing and starring in a new movie with his girlfriend Demi.

Many people from the "Platoon" crew came to cheer, including Willem Dafoe, Tom Bellinger, who almost played "Top Gun", and Johnny Depp, an actor dressed in a feminine and weird costume, and his girlfriend.

This actress looked a bit like an old-school Hollywood movie star, and her eyebrows were very similar to those of female stars from the golden age. Ronald took a second look.

"Let me show you my new tattoo." Johnny Depp saw Ronald's gaze and quickly showed his new tattoo to his girlfriend.

"Sherilyn Fenn?" The girlfriend saw the tattoo, realized it was her name, and sweetly hugged Depp's arm and went in.

"Next up are star William Hurt and his co-star Mary Matlin in the new film 'Children of God.'" the TV reporter continued.

"Welcome, William" Ronald stepped forward for a hug.

"Hello, Ronald. I just heard Kathryn Turner talk about you and she had nothing but great praise for you."

"Hahaha, I also like your performance very much."

Hurt and Turner, who had co-starred in the erotic thriller "Body Heat" a few years ago, are friends. Just a while ago, Ronald went to the set of Coppola's "Peggy Sue is Getting Married". Kathryn Turner hated the acting skills of the leading actor Nicolas Cage, and the two were very wrong. Ronald After talking to Cage for a few words, he improved in the later period.

So Turner had a good impression of Ronald.

"Ronald is a very good director..." William Hurt explained to Mary Matlin next to him in sign language.

"I've seen his movies, and I like him very much." Mary Matlin answered one by one in sign language.

"Children of God" is a movie about deaf-mute people, and the heroine Mary Matlin is a real deaf-mute. William Hurt learned sign language specifically to act in the movie well. He and Mary Matlin also fell in love because of the play, and the two are dating now.

"Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, John Candy..."

"Hello", these three are the trio who just co-starred in "Volunteers".

"Noriyuki Morita, Ralph Mazzio, Elizabeth Shue..."

"Hi, it's up to you in two months", these are Ronald's direct people.

"Isabella Rossellini, and director David Lynch..."

"Hello, Isabella, hello, director Lynch." This is the teacher's wife, um, the former teacher's wife and her new boyfriend.

"Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner..."

"Hello... Hello..." The two co-starred in the sequel to "Emerald" "The Jewel of the Nile".

"Jane Fonda..."

"Jane, nice to meet you..."

"Ronnie, well done."

The stars who came next became more and more famous. The host was happy and could easily call out their names.

Ronald stood at the door for more than half an hour, his smiling face was a little stiff. The arrival of these stars was equivalent to bringing him free news reports. In tomorrow's entertainment section, these star movements can occupy at least two or three pages of reports.

The opening box office of a movie depends entirely on the marketing resources invested by the distribution company and the stars who come to attend the premiere. After that, it depends on the word of mouth. Being able to open the movie is strong, which is much better than making a Sleeping Beauty-style movie.

These stars, on the one hand, look at Ronald's face, and on the other hand, Paramount has given a lot of support. Many people who do not live in New York also rushed to attend the premiere, which is very face-giving.

"Ronald, congratulations!"

The last two heavyweights to come were Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, two directors who dominated the 1980s and monopolized the most popular film series.

"George, Steven, Ronald, look over here!"

The photographer shouted to the three.

Ronald stood on the left of the two directors, stepped back a little, put on a smile, and posed for them.

"Please come in, I'm glad you can come to support us, thank you!"

"Steven said your new film is very interesting, I'll come to see it too." Lucas said with a smile as he walked. He had gained some weight after his divorce and was in a good mood. "My new film will be released soon, and you should come too."

"Thank you, thank you, definitely." Ronald saw the two heavyweights and of course accompanied them in person and went into the theater with them.

"Have you contacted them? What did they say?" When they got to the theater, Spielberg came over and whispered to Ronald.

"I conveyed your idea to them. In principle, they agree to any crew going there to shoot, but they need to hire some professionals from their factory. The level is very good and the salary is not expensive."

"Very good, I'll let Catherine follow up."

Spielberg bought the rights to adapt J.G. Ballard's novel and prepared to shoot a new film in the mysterious East. Ronald helped to contact the Xujiahui Film Studio. After reporting, they welcomed Hollywood visitors, but required to hire local technicians and pay in US dollars.

After letting the big guys sit down, Ronald quietly walked to a seat by the aisle.

"Ronnie," said Aunt Karen, who held his hand and gently comforted Ronald, who was a little nervous.

The premiere was held in New York this time because Paramount was considering marketing. It is more convenient to market this movie on the West Coast, while the East Coast needs more exposure opportunities.

This arrangement is also convenient for Ronald to go home to see his aunt.

"I hope the audience won't hate it too much." Ronald whispered to his aunt.

The film has a fast editing rhythm, breaking the traditional narrative rhythm of Hollywood. Many plots are not fully presented, and the audience has to fill in the blanks by themselves.

And unlike the previous films that reflected the Vietnam War, "Top Gun" did not "reflect" on the Vietnam War at all. The whole film was about the strength of naval pilots. Only in the conversation between the Lone Ranger and the gun flight instructor "Viper" did it touch on some of the unfair treatment suffered by the Lone Ranger's father in the Vietnam War.

Ronald didn't know what audiences like his aunt's age would think of his positive handling of the war.

After the host's short speech, the movie was quickly shown.

"Dang... Ding..." The bell in the theme song of "Top Gun" rang again.

The hundreds of audiences who spent a lot of money to buy tickets sat behind the stars and watched the premiere of "Top Gun" together.

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－－

Two chapters merged into one