Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Why did you lie to me?"

In the new house on Staten Island, New York, Ronald's aunt Karen laughed and scolded her boyfriend Eric.

The relationship between the two was developing very well. Eric relaxed his guard. When preparing to attend the premiere of Karen's nephew Ronald's new film "The Karate Kid 2", he accidentally let it slip that he had no military experience, worked in a restaurant since he was a child, and dreamed of becoming a chef.

"I... As soon as I saw you, I felt that you were the person I would spend the rest of my life with. I heard from the neighbors that your husband is a Vietnam War veteran, and you usually go to the Veterans Service Center to volunteer, so I thought I would pretend to be a veteran so that I could spend time with you." Eric was very nervous.

"You don't have to do this, Eric. Being a chef is also my dream. When I was a waiter in an Italian cafe, I envied the chef's higher salary than us...hahahaha"

The aunt patted her boyfriend's arm and laughed, took the handbag handed over by the other party, and the two drove to the Ziegfeld Cinema in Manhattan.

Although the center of the film industry is in Hollywood, the center of the media is in Manhattan, New York. Not only are most of the serious newspapers with national influence here, but more and more TV stations have also moved their studios from Los Angeles to New York.

America is divided into time zones, and in many cases, in New York on the East Coast, breaking news can be caught earlier. Public television stations are broadcast nationwide, and the advantage of making news programs in New York is increasing. Television media in the Midwest and the West Coast have a tendency to quickly slide into local programs.

Therefore, the premiere of "The Karate Kid 2", the martial arts sequel that the children have been looking forward to for two years, was also held in the largest movie theater in Manhattan, the Ziegfeld Cinema.

"Hi, Susan!"

Ronald found Susan Aikins, Weintraub's lover and assistant, in the lobby at the door. She was also listed as the producer of the film, and went to Oahu, Hawaii to experience the filming together.

"Ronald," Susan came up and kissed Ronald on the cheek, "I'm so nervous. This is my first time to be a de facto producer. I hope it will be a big hit at the box office."

"You should have confidence in me."

"Of course, of course, what I mean is... I mean that even if there are problems with the box office, it shouldn't be blamed on you. After all, you made a phenomenal movie like Top Gun. No... I don't mean to say that the box office will not be good..."

Susan became more and more nervous and her face turned red.

"Ronnie, you are here to bother Susan again." Weintraub saw Ronald coming and pretended to come up to relieve his lover Susan.

"There are quite a few media here today." Ronald looked around. Although it was not as good as a blockbuster movie with stars, there were also many reporters who came to show their support.

"The sequel to a hit movie should have reporters. If I were in charge, there would be twice as many reporters as this." Weintraub gave some advice and talked about how he would improve the work of the distributor Columbia if he was in charge of publicity and distribution.

After all, he has entered the senior ranks of MGM/United Artists. Casino tycoon boss Kerkorian promised him that he would first take charge of the United Artists label. If the performance is good, he can become the general manager of the two labels.

"I heard that you are preparing a romantic comedy? After filming teenagers, you are finally going to get involved in the more important part of life?" Weintraub pulled Ronald to the lounge and asked Ronald about his new film directly.

"Nicita told you? We are old friends. I have something to say. MGM/United Artists suspended its production business some time ago. Have you resumed it now?"

"I am dealing with it and it will resume soon."

"I have two companies interested in Paramount and Disney now. I gave them two weeks to consider. If they say they give up, we can talk. As for which label to put it in

Now MGM and United Artists have become a joint venture. Both labels have been acquired by Kerkorian and actually share a distribution channel. Many of the distribution personnel who were laid off in the middle were picked up by Fatty Minahan and reorganized the distribution channel of Cannon.

"It's up to you which label you want to put it in. I was busy the past two weeks. The merger was still a bit of a mess. It turned out that the senior executives of MGM were unwilling to give up their power, and the negotiations took up a lot of my energy. I had to talk to them one by one about the layoffs and mergers.

The boss's energy was mainly focused on the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas, so now the two companies have become de facto warlords, and I have to spend energy dealing with them.

In fact, just give me your script. You can use any label you want. I can make an investment of less than 10 million yuan with just one word. "

Ronald didn't expect that Winterraub had such high confidence in himself. Paramount and Disney both needed to make an assessment before making a decision, but Winterraub seemed very wealthy.

Seeing Ronald's expression of "Have you made a fortune?", Winterraub leaned his head closer and said, "Your screen fund inspired me. I also found a relationship with Wall Street and pulled in a fund called the Star Fund. They can invest in any project I give the green light..."

"Oh, they are willing to invest more than 10 million? ”

This is the problem Ronald encountered at Disney. Eisner came to explain it to Ronald in person. Screen Fund conducted market research before investing. Hollywood's low-cost productions have the highest average return on investment, so they prefer low-cost investment projects (under $8 million according to the standards of 1986).

"As long as I invest, they can follow suit at a one-to-one or even a one-to-two ratio."

Oh, Ronald looked at Weintraub. It turns out that his way of playing is different from that of the Screen Fund and Disney. Weintraub also has to invest real money before the Star Fund is willing to play with him.

Eisner's way of playing, where the Screen Fund is responsible for all financing, is based on his successful resume in the past ten years. Weintraub has hit the jackpot in the past two years, and Wall Street is still a little skeptical about him.

"Okay, thank you for your trust, Jerry. I will receive their reply next week, and we will talk then."

"Okay, let's go out."

...

"Director! You are here!" The heroine Tomita Tanling attended the premiere for the first time, and she was very happy and nervous. She was wearing a kimono from the movie, and she came over to greet Ronald as soon as she saw him.

Ralph Mazzio next to him was much more skilled. He and Morita Noriyuki dressed up as the characters in the movie, and sang in unison with the characters in the movie to chat with reporters.

"Director Ronald, can you tell us about the sequel? Which parts are you most satisfied with?"

"Will the audience like the sequel? What tricks have you prepared for Ralph?"

When the reporter saw Ronald, he left the two protagonists behind and came to interview the director.

"I think it's better for you to watch it yourself instead of me answering it. I won't spoil it.

In fact, the producer Mr. Weintraub and I started planning the sequel a month after the original film was released. I promise that the tricks this time will be very exciting, Master Miyagi will also be very powerful in Ryukyu, and Daniel will make further progress in karate training."

"Ronald, now Top Gun is still ranked second in the box office, surpassing the new film "Spring is not a good time to study", and only behind Orion's "Back to School". Are you worried about the box office conflict between your sequel to "The Karate Kid"?"

"I'm not worried. It's a great honor that the audience likes to watch our movies. I think they like both movies, so they can achieve good results. Besides, there is no conflict at all when watching movies. The audience can watch The Karate Kid first and then Top Gun. Hahaha... This is the premiere of the second part of The Karate Kid. It doesn't seem good to talk about other movies."

"Hahaha..." The reporters also cooperated and laughed at Ronald's not-so-funny jokes.

Everyone cooperated to enter the screening room. Ronald stayed to pick up Aunt Karen and her boyfriend. The family sat together and watched the premiere happily.

Halfway through the movie, Kumiko was asked by Daniel about her dream. The two saw the scene of Antonia dancing alone in "Famous" outside the electrical store.

"Antonia", Aunt Karen recognized the ballet beauty and looked at Ronald deeply. Her boyfriend Eric noticed and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing", Aunt turned around, and the scene had passed.

Daniel and Kumiko sat opposite each other in the cabin, drinking Japanese green tea. Daniel was obviously very amazed by the kimono Kumiko was wearing, and the two slowly moved closer and kissed.

"Ronald, doesn't Daniel have another Ali in Los Angeles? Which girl are you going to arrange for him to be his girlfriend?"

Aunt Karen couldn't help it, and pulled Ronald's arm, asking her nephew to give her an answer.

"This is a movie, and each one must have a separate heroine, otherwise it will be difficult to write the script." Ronald explained.

"What about the third part? Daniel will have to go back to his country, and I think Kumiko will also come to America to pursue her dream of ballet. Who do you want to arrange with Daniel?"

"I haven't thought about it yet. Maybe a new heroine? It depends on how the screenwriter writes it and who has time in the end."

Ronald didn't expect that Aunt Karen was still a die-hard fan of the "King of Karate Kid" series of movies, and was so concerned about the emotional life of the protagonist Daniel.

"Woo..."

A strong wind blew on the screen, and the typhoon was coming. The plot quickly entered the third act. Aunt Karen no longer entangled in the protagonist's emotional entanglement, but turned back to watch it with relish. There must be a big battle soon, and Daniel defeated the powerful opponent with a trick.

Miyagi teacher reconciled with his childhood friend Sato, but his apprentice Changshan couldn't accept it and challenged Daniel. He also slapped Kumiko, who was in love with an American, on the stage.

"Oh...why do you even hit girls?" Aunt Karen exclaimed.

Daniel accepted the challenge and had a big battle with Changshan.

Daniel had only learned karate for the ring, and was obviously no match for Chang Shan, who practiced karate for actual combat.

In order to defeat his opponent, Daniel also used the trick from the first part, "Crane Kick!"

As a result, Chang Shan, who was prepared, caught Daniel's crane kick with his hand, threw him to the ground with a throw, and kicked him twice.

Daniel, who was in a mess, rolled over and climbed up, looking at Mr. Miyagi. Every time Daniel was unconfident, Mr. Miyagi was his biggest source of confidence.

Miyagi had a serious face. Once the opponent was prepared for the trick, he could not use it unexpectedly, otherwise it would not be a trick. He took out a rattle, held it with both hands, and shook it with a dong dong dong dong.

Sato, a childhood friend, also joined the ranks and took out a rattle from his clothes and shook it. Suddenly everyone followed suit, and a group of people were shaking rattles, making a neat dong dong sound.

The sound reached Daniel's ears, and he remembered Miyagi's teachings. Yin-Yang karate should be like a rattle, with the waist as the axis, and the two arms are like the two drumsticks of the rattle, driven by the waist to defend and attack at the same time.

Once the trick of "fighting and attacking" was used, Daniel could defend Changshan's punch with one hand while the other hand was driven by the waist to counterattack.

Daniel was the first to break Changshan's fierce attack, and finally knocked Changshan, who was angry and furious, to the ground.

Changshan was beaten to the ground without being able to fight back. Daniel prepared to attack and opened a heavy punch in front of him.

"Do you want to live or die?" Daniel asked.

"You kill me." Changshan closed his eyes and waited for death.

"Wrong, martial arts is not for bullying others." Daniel changed his fist into a finger and scratched Changshan's nose hard.

Kumiko came up and hugged Daniel.

"Oh, oh, oh..." The audience was moved by the climax of the ending, the wonderful action scenes, the exquisite exotic scenery and costumes, and finally a philosophical thought.

They began to stand up and applaud.

Peter Setera's song "Glory of Love" sounded at the right time.

"The End" The ending appeared on the screen, then it turned black, and the subtitles began to appear.

The lyricist and lead singer of this theme song are the lead singer and bassist of the original "Chicago" band.

The band disbanded last year, and he also started to go solo. This song was originally going to participate in the theme song bidding for Stallone's "Rocky 4", but at the call of Bill Conti, the music director of the film, it was used as the theme song for "The Karate Kid Part II".

The Chicago band has been famous in America for a long time, and many parents who came to watch the movie are their fans.

When watching the subtitles slowly rise, they even started to sing together.

"It seems to be very effective." It was the first time that Ronald saw such an excited audience at a premiere. He said hello to Aunt Karen and went to the bathroom to secretly listen to the audience's reactions.

"Please help us fill in the ratings."

"Please help us fill in the ratings."

The audience was blocked at the door. It turned out that the "Cinema Rating (ceasre)" company hired by Columbia was doing an exit rating survey.

"Did you also randomly sample the whole country this time? When can the results be released?" Ronald asked the staff member.

"Hello, director. Yes, this is also a random sampling survey of cities across the country. The results will be available after the weekend."