Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Ronald, I'm Billy, Chris is next to me, we are the editors of Top Gun, do you remember us?"

"Of course, how could I forget? Have you gone to see the finished film? We may be very successful this time, and it is expected to be in the top three at the box office of the year."

Ronald suddenly received a call from the two editors of Top Gun, and he chatted with them about the box office situation with a smile.

There was another anomaly at the box office in the fourth week. This week, Paramount added more than 400 theaters nationwide and released more than 700 new copies.

The weekend box office suddenly increased by 20%, once again exceeding the 10 million mark.

Two abnormal box office rebounds, Hollywood has not seen such a strong movie in many years. The king's appearance has appeared, and various evaluations, analyses, and hindsight have come in one after another. Everyone is analyzing why "Top Gun" is so powerful.

Some people believe that Ronald is good at using hit singles and movies to promote each other. Starting with "Night of the Comet", every movie has a good interlude, which was in the top ten at the time of the movie's release.

This time, "Take My Breath Away" shot to the top of the charts and stayed there for a long time. Fans and moviegoers influence each other. After watching a movie, they feel that the songs are good, which will boost sales. After watching a TV single, many people are attracted to go to the cinema.

Others felt that it was Ronald who set the pace for a fast-cut narrative. The film critic also found videos and commercials shot by Ronald, and pointed out that "Top Gun" was the first Hollywood blockbuster to learn the editing rhythm of videos and commercials.

The first generation of teenage viewers after the baby boom have grown up, and more viewers are still watching music videos on TV and advertisements on all public television stations every day.

To cram a complete plot, or story, into within ten seconds to three minutes, a faster editing speed and shorter shots must be used to reconstruct the grammatical content of the movie.

He described Ronald as the first director in the 1980s who deeply understood the tremendous changes among teenagers. It is also predicted that in the future, Hollywood’s fast narrative rhythm and shooting method that omits a large number of transitional scenes will gradually become a popular trend.

Others feel that no matter what movie Ronald makes, there is always a sense of reality. The fighter plane combat scenes are very much like that. And when he shoots karate, he gives people the feeling of a professional karate master.

The in-depth understanding and presentation of industry-related content is what makes Ronald's films attractive.

Of course, Ronald didn't think it was true. Especially the third theory, the instructor pilots at Miramar Base still criticized a lot of their air combat scenes.

"Of course we watched it, Ronald. We called you this time because we wanted to tell you something." The two editors, Billy and Chris, brought up the topic.

"Oh, please speak." Ronald said

"Last weekend, Paramount's top management sent a project manager over and asked us to pull out all the stunt footage from 'Top Gun' and look at it in detail. They even found some scraps that you didn't use. Come on, put it together again according to the editing log, and take it away.”

"I remember that I didn't take any extra shots. Basically, I used all the usable shots in the feature film. The rest either had no impact or were defective and couldn't be used. Even the launch of the Sidewinder missile specially approved by the Navy I have used the lens several times.”

"Yeah, that's what we said. But the manager didn't care about that. He took all the working copies away. We thought it was unusual, so we gave you a call."

"Okay, thank you. Did that person say what it was going to be used for?"

"We asked, but he didn't answer. But he asked us a lot of questions, how long was the original film, and checked the editing log one by one. He worked here for a whole day and checked all the films before leaving. ”

"Okay, thank you. I'll remember this favor."

Ronald hung up the phone and immediately called Niceta, "Call that bastard Ned Tanin. What does he want to do? Take my remaining footage and shoot a sequel?"

"I know, I'm going to protest." Niceta switched the phone to another ear, "However, theoretically you do not have ownership of the movie lenses. Even if these lens films are not used in the feature film, the property rights still belong to Paramount Yes. They are the production company, so in theory, if they really do that, we can only blame them morally. It is best not to make trouble outside the circle."

"Fcuk! It's impossible. I almost didn't get the footage for all the aerial combat stunts I shot. If they want to make a sequel, they can figure it out on their own and don't get any filming tips from me. Damn it, Ned really It’s shameless.”

"As long as he doesn't take advantage of it, I will work with several CAA agents to put pressure on Paramount. This is really disappointing."

The gold and dollar storm caused by Minahan Golan has greatly affected Hollywood. In the past, the CEO of the Seventh Group would not be able to do such a thing to a popular director. But now the film remuneration is skyrocketing. If we don't do some outside work, next year's financial report will be a loss, and we will lose our seats, and we won't be able to worry about the future.

Ronald even felt that in this era, being a senior executive of one of the seven major studios, although one has a high position and can decide the fate of many people, is also greatly restricted by stars and famous directors.

This is not an easy job. If you can quit after working for a few years, then start your own production company and get a contract to guarantee distribution, I guess Ned Tanin, Tom Pollack and others would not be willing to take that position.

"Sorry, let's continue."

After answering the phone, Ronald walked into the office of Daydream Pictures in West Hollywood.

There were two middle-aged women sitting there, one was Eleanor Bergstein, the screenwriter of "Dirty Dancing", and the other was the producer she found, Linda Gottlieb.

There was also a middle-aged man, Michelle Cannold, the production director of Weston Pictures, the videotape production and distribution company that Linda found.

"It doesn't matter. We saw the script that Linda brought and wanted to invest in this movie. This is a very unusual movie. It tells the whole story from a girl's perspective. This is a female version of "Breakdance."

Michelle Cannold continued the previous topic. Weston wanted to buy the production rights and start filming this "Dirty Dancing".

Weston is a small company in Connecticut. Before 1986, they mainly produced videotapes for the seven major studios and were outsourcers to the seven major studios.

In addition, they also produced some x-rated movies, which were not shown in theaters but directly sent to video rental stores.

But starting this year, the truth could not be hidden. Weston's profitability was very good, and they began to acquire other production companies and distribution channels. This aroused the vigilance of the seven major studios. Since the videotape market was so profitable, why outsource it and not do it themselves?

So starting this year, Weston could no longer get the outsourced videotape production and sales orders for Hollywood blockbusters. They started to shoot movies themselves, and Michelle Cannold was the production director they found, who had experience in producing two B-level movies.

"What you said is very interesting, but I originally wanted to buy the production rights of the entire movie and shoot it myself. Weston is a steal."

Ronald glanced at the screenwriter Eleanor.

The producer Linda attached great importance to this film. Because Ronald went to London for the premiere, she took this opportunity to persuade Linda to meet Weston's people. The two sides hit it off immediately, and Weston said that he could invest 5 million US dollars to produce and shoot this film.

But as Michelle said, whether it was the screenwriter Eleanor or the producer Michelle Cannold, the first director they thought of was Ronald.

There was no way, they came back to contact Ronald, hoping that he could direct this small production.

"It's not that I don't want to make this movie. I am very optimistic about it. But the movies I am making now are all budgets of tens of millions. For this kind of small production, unless it is produced by my company itself, I have no reason not to direct those movies with stars."

"Yes, this is also what we want to talk to you about." Michelle Cannold is a very frank person. All his production experience is x-rated videotapes. If you want to shoot a story about a Jewish girl like this well, it is best to find an experienced person to take charge.

"So what do you think?" Ronald also learned that when encountering something, you should listen to the other party first.

"We think like this, ahem..." Michelle Cannold cleared his throat, "We can give up a part of the investment share of Weston, and let your Daydream Films be responsible for the production. We will join the cooperation with investment and distribution. This is the second movie we Weston has shot independently, and the first movie that is not x-rated. We want to release it in theaters."

"Okay, I agree to participate in the production in principle, and the director will be found according to your ideas. I can check the art, and then help you find suitable teenage actors to audition."

Thinking that he did not get all the production rights, Ronald was not very interested. Since he had a little investment share, he would do as much as he could.

"Okay, I'm glad you can join this project. Let's go back and discuss it with the senior management of Weston."

"You'd better hurry up. I'm going to Japan soon to attend the premiere of Top Gun there. I don't want to cause trouble."

After suffering a loss in this matter, Ronald figured it out. He told General Manager Eddie the bottom line of the contract conditions and let him take full control of the negotiations. At that time, he will participate more in this "Dirty Dancing". It can be regarded as the first time for Daydream to get involved in the production and distribution of theater movies, accumulating experience for the future.

"Ronald, don't you have a chance to direct?" Screenwriter Eleanor asked quietly.

"I said, why didn't you wait for me to come back? If I invest myself, I might be interested in directing."

"Linda is my best friend. When we were young, we even went on a double date. So she begged me, saying that the name of this movie is worth a million dollars, and I agreed to go to Weston to see it."

"Okay, then I'll let my agent intervene and introduce you to a few suitable directors. As long as I communicate fully with the director in production, I can still grasp the overall temperament."

Ronald thought that since he had dreamed of several wonderful dance clips, he would draw the storyboards for this part, and the director must be able to execute it well.

...

"Ronald, you're not going to be a director anymore? Then I don't want to act anymore." Michael J. Fox called Ronald when he heard that Universal had changed the director.

"That's not necessary. I quit directing for other reasons. You don't have to quit acting because of me, if you like this movie."

"I quite like this script, but I originally wanted to work with you once. It's not nonsense like creative differences, right? Is it because the new president of Universal has a conflict with you..." Fox said on the phone.

"Not really. I can trust you, right, Michael." Ronald asked.

"Of course, what's the secret?" Fox's curiosity was piqued.

"Have you heard the rumors about that Universal high-level boxing match?"

"What? Is that true?"

"Absolutely. I happened to witness everything from the side, so it's not convenient for me to continue the project led by Frank Price. In fact, it has nothing to do with you."

"What about your girlfriend Helen? If you want her to be the protagonist, I will let the agent say it. If you don't become the director, I will resign. When they come to beg me, I will help you take her with you. ”

"You're too polite. It's better not to interfere too much in the new director's choice. Besides, Helen..."

"What's up with her?"

"It's nothing. When I was a director, I didn't like to be interfered with in casting, so I didn't want to do this to others. That's what Confucius said." Ronald didn't say anything. Helen was much taller than Fox. If the two of them were To really play the leading role of a hero or heroine, you have to make various adjustments like McGillis and Tom Cruise.

"That's it. Don't forget me if you have the chance in the future. We will always make a movie together."

…

"Damn it, Ronald, that cunning guy, couldn't find a single second of usable air combat footage in Top Gun. He edited it all into the movie." After hearing the report, Ned Tanin cursed loudly. , the sequel was scrapped.

"What does Michael J. Fox mean?" Tom Pollack asked the production director of "Secret of Success" with squinting eyes. "He still wants to work with Ronald?"

"He said that he originally came to the crew because of Ronald. Unless we find a replacement who is on the same level as Ronald, he will consider quitting the project."

"Hmm...it seems that without Ronald, this project really won't be successful."

"I have to give him some benefits. I remember the heroine is one of Ronald's girlfriends?"

"But Helen is too tall and can't play well with Fox."

"What do you think?"

"Ronald submitted a casting call for the opening scene, how about we grant his wish?"

"Okay, you go and communicate with Niceta, we don't mean to offend Ronald."

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