Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Exciting air combat of modern aircraft."

"Exciting air combat and shallow romantic love story between men and women."

"Highly recommended, the best movie in recent times."

There are many more newspapers in London than in New York, and the film reviews in various major newspapers and tabloids are more open than in America. All kinds of exaggerated stories and gossip are published on the same page together with the film reviews, making people feel like they are reading stories from another world.

Ronald flipped through the film reviews. The premiere in Britain received good response. The box office also made the distributor Paramount very satisfied.

The cinemas here are mainly traditional halls. Ronald secretly went to one to watch the movie. The proportion of family members who came out to watch the movie here is higher than that in America. So he has a good expectation for the box office in Britain.

"Ronald, where have you been? Paula has been looking for you for a long time." Tom Cruise looked at Ronald as if he had just met him for the first time.

"What's wrong? Did something happen in Hollywood?"

"No, the Queen wants to see you." Paula Wagner came over and handed Ronald an invitation to a grand ball, which invited him to attend the Queen's gathering of literary and artistic figures.

The Queen was going to meet Ronald at the dinner for literary and artistic figures.

"Can I not go?" Ronald felt a little surprised, and he didn't know the Queen.

"Why don't you go? This is a good opportunity? If the crew wants to be on the newspaper, it depends on you." Producer Bruckheimer was unhappy and hurriedly urged Ronald to attend.

"Well, actually I only brought one dress." Ronald specially prepared a dress for the premiere, and he couldn't wear it to the dinner, otherwise it would be rude.

"It's okay, I asked my colleagues in CAA's London office to buy it." Paula also hoped that Ronald would attend the dinner, and of course it would be better if he could bring Tom Cruise, but unfortunately there was only Ronald on the invitation.

Ronald was the only one in the entire "Top Gun" crew who received the invitation, which made Tom Cruise, McGillis, Paula Wagner, and producer Bruckheimer who came with him look at Ronald with a new eye.

Although Americans and British people speak the same language and look down on each other, most people still have a natural respect for the royal family. An audience with the Queen is a special honor, and this kind of news can also be published in newspapers in large quantities, which is an alternative royal marketing.

For the box office of the movie, Ronald stayed and waited for the Queen's summons.

"Why did the Queen summon you?"

"I don't know either?"

"Did you help Princess Diana in the White House?"

"No."

"Are you Princess Diana's long-missing cousin?"

"You're so humorous. Actually, I don't know either. Maybe Her Majesty the Queen is going to meet many people in the arts and suddenly heard her son say that Top Gun was well made, so she remembered me."

Not only did the crew members not believe that Ronald was summoned by the Queen for no reason, but his agent Niceta also didn't believe it. He called from Los Angeles. Under the bad call conditions, the two shouted loudly and completed a meaningless call.

...

The next day, Ronald wore a dress sent by CAA and a bow tie and came to the venue of the dinner. In fact, men's clothes look similar, but the details need to be distinguished, so the collar style on the casual dress this time has been changed to a new style.

"Ronald!"

"Minahan?"

"Why are you here too?"

"You were also received by the Queen?"

In the hall outside the room where he was waiting for the Queen's reception, Ronald unexpectedly met his old friend, Israeli Minahan Golan.

"Ha ha ha... What a surprise, this is my good friend, Ronald Lee. Hey, do you know him? His 'Break Dance' was filmed for our Cannon Pictures."

Minahan, wearing a tacky purple dress, introduced Ronald to the British film industry people around him.

Ronald stepped forward to shake hands with them and greeted them. In fact, in such an occasion, being with Cannon Pictures' chairman Minahan Golan was not good news.

Ronald felt that these people in the film industry who were waiting to be received looked down on him a little, and they all knew what it was like to be with the upstart Minahan.

No wonder they were dissatisfied. Minahan Golan acquired the famous British cinema owner, Kenneth Reeve's Carnival Cinemas, and successfully merged with the original Cannon Cinemas to become one of the top five cinema chain owners in Britain.

Coupled with the five-year exclusive distribution agreement he signed with the UGC Cinema Line in the United States, Cannonball's distribution strength in Europe and Britain has instantly become the first in Hollywood.

"Ha ha ha", Minahan was unaware of the contempt of everyone for him, and pulled Ronald to chat.

"I said, you beat Stallone's movie. This week, your "Top Gun" box office has surpassed ours and has become the first in America again."

"Paramount just added some copies." Ronald knew the box office results of the third week, and "Top Gun" returned to the first place.

Menahan's Stallone movie lacked stamina, and the single-theater box office fell rapidly after its release. It gave up the first place in less than a week and returned it to Ronald.

"I'm still very convinced by you. Do you have any ideas about directing Stallone?" Minahan said the name of the popular Hollywood action star loudly, as if he wanted to say it to the people around him.

"You know, I have a bit of a feud with him." Ronald replied softly with a smile. He knew that the fat man wanted to use Stallone's name to shock the snobs around him.

"Seriously, you happen to be the director and you want him to obey your instructions?" Minahan also lowered his voice and stretched out his finger to Ronald, making a twenty-five sign.

"I signed a 25 million film contract with Stallone to make two or three movies. He is now our Cannon man. I must make a masterpiece. Stallone is not only a simple action star, but also has rich inner drama. ”

Minahan fully felt that Stallone had acting potential, and with a director like Ronald, joining forces, maybe he could win an Oscar?

At this year's Oscars, Konchalovsky's "Runaway Train," starring Jon Voight, was nominated for Best Actor, but lost to William Hurt of "Kiss of the Spider Woman."

Under the reign of Sidney Pollack's "Out of Africa," best actor was one of the few films at this year's Academy Awards to steal away from that monster.

It's a pity that the Oscars are not like the Golden Globes. Even though Minahan has a lot of cash, he can't buy the votes of the judges.

“I don’t have the confidence to let him do another ‘Rocky’ movie.”

Ronald smiled and didn't take it seriously. Maybe Stallone has potential, and his acting skills in "Rocky" are indeed not bad.

But now that he has been a star for a long time, does he still have the passion to challenge himself? Isn't it very comfortable to hide in the image of Rambo and Rocky and get high box office and high income by acting casually?

And after becoming famous, Stallone began to show off his temper and had a very bad temper. He has gone further and further away from the humble character of Rocky Balboa.

The box office of "Rocky 4" was not as good as its predecessor, and even John Avildsen, the director of the original "Rocky" that made him famous, was so angry with him that he no longer wanted to work with him.

"Okay, okay, no Stallone, what do you think of Kim Basinger in '9 and a Half Weeks?' Sex bomb, I ask her to come and let you direct one?"

"No, I don't have Adrian Lyne's pornographic skills."

The two were talking about the new movie "Nine and a Half Weeks of Loving You" which was released in February this year. This is the new work of Adrian Lyne, the director of "Flashdance", who will return to Hollywood directing after a few years.

The male lead was someone Ronald had met, played by Mickey Rourke, the second male lead, in Coppola's black-and-white film "Betta" shot by Diane. The heroine is Kim Basinger, the latest sexy blonde in Hollywood.

Her sexy image is unrivaled, and her sacrificial large-scale performance in "Nine and a Half Weeks to Love You" also allowed her to gradually replace Kathryn Turner and close to the title of the sexiest woman in Hollywood.

"Hey, I really want to make another movie with you." Minahan sighed. Now Ronald is coming to film, and he is also going to film blockbusters with celebrities joining him. The past years when the two of them worked closely together on "break dancing" can no longer go back.

"I'm sorry, are you director Ronald Lee?" A fat man with a thick neck who looked somewhat similar to Minahan came over and introduced himself, "My name is Jeremy Thomas, and I'm here to attend the Queen's dinner today. I'm an independent producer."

"Oh, hello." Ronald had never heard of this person's reputation.

In fact, he comes from a film family, and his father and uncle are both film directors. When he arrived, he became an independent producer and produced a series of movies starting in the late 1970s. Although he was not a big hit, some people in Hollywood had heard of his name.

"Hello, are you making any new movies recently?" Ronald asked politely.

"I recently got an invitation and a shooting permit from there. I can go to that ancient country and the royal palace of the last dynasty to shoot real scenes, just like going to Buckingham Palace to shoot the history of the British dynasty."

"Oh, then you are in luck. We in Hollywood haven't shot a movie there yet. When will you start filming?"

"Just next month, I'm going there right away to join director Bertolucci. You know, it's all because of his identity that I can be the first filmmaker to shoot in the Forbidden City." Jeremy Thomas said proudly.

The two chatted about movies for a while.

It turned out that Bertolucci was a left-wing director in Italy who had always wanted to shoot a live-action film there.

Because of his status, he was given a lot of conveniences there. Bertolucci submitted two shooting plans. One is the adaptation of "The Fate of Man" which was a best-seller in China in the 1930s, and the other is the story of the last emperor of the last dynasty who lived in the Forbidden City.

Originally, Bertolucci and Jeremy Thomas both liked "Destiny of Man" and thought they would choose "Destiny of Man". After all, it was unlikely that the Forbidden City would be open to filming by filmmakers.

Unexpectedly, they were more optimistic about "The Last Emperor" and provided many conveniences. During the filming period, they even suspended tourists from visiting the museum transformed from the Forbidden City.

Jeremy Thomas, who was looking for money everywhere, was so desperate that he called everyone in the phone book to ask for money. With the approval and commitment from the government there, many people soon came to ask for money.

He raised US$25 million in investment within six months and started filming this masterpiece.

"Do you have any more financing? I like this story, too." Ronald half-jokingly said that he was in Hollywood and was not very well-informed about European news. He did not expect that this person had already gone to the ancient country to shoot on location before Spielberg.

"Hahaha, I will definitely remember to find you for the next project."

"Her Majesty is here..."

A person dressed in formal attire, holding a scepter, walked into the hall and shouted.

A little old lady, dressed in decent clothes and wearing a feathered hat, entered the hall. It was Her Majesty the Queen of Britain.

"Your Majesty," Minahan Golan bowed and laughed.

"Thank you for your contribution to the British film industry."

"Your Majesty," Jeremy Thomas also bowed and saluted.

"Thank you."

The Queen walked along the way and nodded slightly in return to everyone in formal attire on the aisle, which was considered a formal reception of the guests.

"Your Majesty," it was Ronald's turn, and he also imitated her and bowed slightly to salute the Queen.

"Hello, Ronald. I heard that you are Annette's grandson? You are very good." The Queen shook hands with him, patted Ronald's shoulder vigorously, and whispered a few words in his ear.

"Hey?"

The Queen winked at him. Countess Spencer was her royal friend. Her Majesty was also very happy to hear that the descendants of her relatives had been found.

"Please follow me. Her Majesty and the Queen have some instructions."

A man who looked like a butler came up and asked Ronald to go inside for a detailed discussion.

"Oh..."

The butler had a sharp temperament and took out a document and handed it to Ronald.

Ronald opened the file bag, which contained a yellowed document and a photocopy. It turned out that this was his father's birth document.

Ronald's grandmother was a lady from the Spencer family. During World War II, she served in the Royal Air Force and fell in love with Ronald's grandfather James. The marriage documents of the two may have been lost, and perhaps there was no wedding, so grandmother Annette became pregnant and gave birth to his father.

After grandfather James died in the war, the child was raised for a while and was finally sent back to America. The Jerome family also did not accept this child without a formal marriage, Ronald's father.

"The king's wife said that it is not convenient to grant you a title now, because your father is an illegitimate child after all."

"It doesn't matter, this document?" Ronald didn't care about the so-called noble status. He was more in favor of his great-grandfather Li Enfu's bloodline that relied on his own struggle.

"You can take it away." The butler nodded, and the king's wife's order was almost completed. "The royal family and the British government don't want you to disclose your blood relationship to the media. After all, you and Princess Diana, and the future Duchess Sarah, are cousins ​​separated by two layers."

"I don't want you to disclose my grandmother either. After all, we Americans emphasize personal struggle and the progress of the times. I don't want Hollywood to think I'm a British guy."

Ronald took out a copy of his father's birth certificate indifferently, and then returned the original to the butler.

Hollywood really doesn't like people of British descent. Back then, Chaplin was so talented, but he was driven away to Switzerland.

"As you wish," the butler smiled and took the original.

"He is still a young man with character. The bosses at MI6 will like him to hear this. The dignity of the royal family is important, and the prince does not want to be associated with the illegitimate descendants of the princess's family."

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