Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"We are Daydream Pictures, calling you from New York. We want to talk to you about the latest movie by Ronald Lee... Yes, the director of "Top Gun"... Wait, we are not scammers. No..."

"Ah... Ahhh." Donna started her summer job at Ronald's Daydream Pictures. She was often accused of being a scammer. She couldn't help but screamed out.

"Don't be like this, Donna. It's normal to be rejected in this industry. You have to get rid of those bad emotions and continue to make the next call." A female employee who looked a little experienced came to comfort Donna, who was always regarded as a scammer.

"Thank you, Dolly." Donna recovered her mood and went to make a cup of coffee to sort out her emotions.

Dolly Berinstein was a veteran recruited by Cannold from Columbia, who was responsible for distribution. Although she was a veteran, she didn't have much experience, but she was good at understanding the industry better than others and was willing to work hard.

"Hello, is this Mr. Thomas Stephenson from the Hollywood Cinema Chain in New Jersey? I'm Donna Parker from Daydream Pictures. I'm calling you to talk to you about the distribution of director Ronald Lee's next film." Donna gathered her spirits and continued to call the number on the list.

"Hey, it's me. I met Ronald at the Las Vegas Expo. Why isn't his next film distributed by the Big Seven?"

"Ah, thank you for believing me." Donna finally met a theater owner who didn't think she was a liar. "Ronald's next film is a small production, a love story between a Jewish girl from a wealthy family and a poor Irish dancer in 1963. For various reasons, Ronald decided to distribute the film himself."

"I'm very interested. You have my fax, right? Can you send me a brief introduction to the project?"

"Yes!" Donna finally talked to a theater owner with an image, and she shouted happily.

…

“Yes, yes, that’s right, these are the songs, very right.”

At this time, Ronald was in the office next door, and he found Eleanor, the screenwriter of “Dirty Dancing”, and began to ask her what she thought of each scene in the script.

For this kind of semi-autobiographical script, no one knows better than Eleanor what kind of movie she wants to make.

The two talked about each scene, confirming the appearance of each place, the background, the utensils, and even the music used in the dance.

Eleanor put a note on each scene in the script, and wrote down the music she wanted. They were all old songs from the 1950s and 1960s, and in addition, she also wanted a few new songs for interludes.

She also specially found a list of all the interludes she thought should be used, copied them from the record onto a blank tape, wrote “Eleanor’s Dirty Dancing interludes” on it, and gave it to Ronald.

Ronald took out the tape recorder and listened to it. It matched the interludes in his dream, and he immediately shouted happily.

"Very good, that's the flavor." Ronald was very happy and put the tape and the song list together.

"There are more than 20 songs in total." Ronald counted.

"Why, do you think there are too many old songs?" Eleanor was very happy to see that her movie had been approved. She felt Ronald's respect for her as the original screenwriter. In addition to the transfer fee of the production rights, there was also a small share of the profits, which made her feel happy and tried her best to help Ronald's production process.

"No, were these old songs very popular in the past?" Ronald asked.

"Of course, these were all frequent guests on the charts when I was young. Otherwise, I wouldn't play these songs when I was writing."

"The transfer fee from the record company is not cheap." Ronald tutted his lips. He only allocated a total of 4.5 million production budget for the project, and 1.5 million reserve funds. If the record company raises the price of these songs, it is likely that each song will cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Is that so? I don't know. If it really doesn't work, then change to other cheaper songs." Eleanor said frustratedly. The budget of 4.5 million is limited in many ways and needs to be used sparingly. It is unlikely that so much money will be spent on interludes.

"I'll ask someone first." Ronald also felt that it was a pity to give up those songs that fit very well. These were the songs that Eleanor had in mind when she was writing the script.

"Also, find someone to collect interludes." Ronald looked at the money in the budget form and knew that it was too expensive to ask those old friends to customize an interlude, so he decided to find a cheaper composer.

"What should we do next? Should we find a studio to build the scene?" Eleanor's understanding of filming was still ten years ago.

"Ah, we don't have that much money. Let's find a real scene." Ronald smiled.

Building a scene in a studio and imitating the actual scenery is the patent of big productions. Just like Diane's "Streets of Fire" and Helen's "Supergirl", with a budget of tens of millions, they can spend millions of dollars to build a real scene for one or two important scenes.

With his pitiful millions, he can only find a real scene in reality and shoot with natural light. Although the effect is slightly worse than artificial lighting, it is cheaper, and today's audience tastes are gradually shifting towards real-life shooting.

"Well, when I wrote this script, it was based on the Catskills (Catskills) where New York Jews vacationed when I was a kid. It would be great if it could be filmed there."

After bidding farewell to the screenwriter Eleanor, Ronald realized that the most urgent thing now was to find an art director, determine the location for the live shooting, and find the corresponding place in the Catskills for each scene.

Ronald's old connections were in Hollywood, and the Catskills were an exclusive Jewish resort in Greene County, New York. He had to find an art director who was familiar with New York's surroundings.

“Why don’t you ask Jonathan Demme? His ‘Sothg

Wild’ was filmed in New York and New Jersey. "

Niceta received a call from Ronald. He actually didn't know that the art director was familiar with New York, so he called Jonathan Demi.

"Hello, Ronald. My art director, Stephen Lineweaver, is very familiar with the area around New York. You just need to describe the scene you want to him and he will find the right location."

When Jonathan Demi heard that his junior brother needed someone, he quickly recommended an acquaintance who had worked with him.

Stephen Lineweaver is a bearded man who is very tall. After he and Ronald met, the two chatted very well. After Ronald gave him a standard contract, the two set out for the Catskill Resort.

"It's very interesting here. Catskill Village is a small town that mainly focuses on tourism and vacation. Every winter and summer, countless wealthy Jewish businessmen, lawyers, and doctors from New York and New Jersey take their families here for vacation."

After arriving at the resort, Lineweaver put on his sunglasses and introduced Ronald.

"Why only give holidays to Jews? Don't others accept them?" Ronald also put on sunglasses. He is not a Jew. Will the other party not be willing to rent to him?

"In the beginning, after World War II, many Eastern European Jews immigrated to the East Coast. At that time, the mainstream people did not like Jews. So some business-minded people among them opened such a place specifically to receive Jews. resort.

Because they don't have to worry about being discriminated against here, Jews generally value education and can afford it soon, so it develops very quickly here.

Later, Jews mainly liked to be with people of the same ethnic group, so everyone had the same customs. "

Ronald and Lineweaver walked to the resort, which is close to the mountains. In summer, the temperature is cooler than other places in New York. There are many mountain breezes and shady places, and there is no need to turn on the air conditioner when living here.

"There are a lot of tourists here, and they are very rich." Ronald saw many expensive cars parked outside the resort.

"Yes, the conditions here are the best. It is the best among all Jewish resorts within a two-hour drive around New York."

"Hello, welcome to my place for filming, Director Ronald."

The owner of the Catskill resort is, of course, Jewish. He heard that director Ronald Lee was interested in renting his place to shoot a movie, and he was so happy that the fat on his face kept trembling.

"How much shooting time do you need? How can we accommodate your shooting?"

"The shooting plan I made will take about four weeks. For two weeks, all the main attractions in the resort need to be used by the filming crew. For the other two weeks, only the locations that need to be filmed can be closed."

"Oh, although this will have some impact on our business, I am happy to cooperate with you." The boss took out a piece of paper and began to calculate, "We will not receive tourists for two weeks, and we will close some places for the other two weeks. , for your shooting use.”

"Yes, that's about it." Ronald felt that the boss also wanted to make a big advertisement for his resort, so he was more cooperative.

"The total cost is approximately this amount." The boss handed Ronald a cost breakdown sheet with various expenditures written on it.

"Ahem..." Ronald coughed after looking at the final total price.

It is simply impossible for this price to account for more than one-third of his production cost.

"Can it be cheaper? Our movie will become a big advertisement for your resort."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Li." The boss put the paper back with a puzzled expression. Ronald Lee is the director of "Top Gun" and it must be produced by a major studio. How come he can't afford the venue fee?

"Our daily operations are good, and we have many customers in New York and New Jersey, so we don't actually need too much advertising. This price is already the best price we have given, and it's because you want to shoot a Jewish movie. superior."

"Hey hey, okay, you don't mind if we look around and make a decision?"

"Please."

Ronald and art director Ryan Weaver said goodbye to their boss and wandered around the resort.

"This is the hall where the ball is held in the script, and this is the big house by the lake, where the dancers teach the guests to dance. The trees here are very good, and they are all decades old. It is very consistent with the summer in the script. Vacation look.”

Lineweaver kept praising the resort's exterior.

"Yeah, this is where the screenwriter Eleanor had in mind when writing the script. So it must be a similar scene.

"No wonder", Lineweaver held up the director's viewfinder and looked around.

"Why don't we wait until the summer peak season is over and shoot in the fall? Wouldn't it be much cheaper? I know that the price of a resort in the off-season is only one-third to one-fifth of the peak season. This way we will have enough money to rent a location."

Ryan Weaver suddenly thought of an idea. Filming is about cost. In order to save money, it is not a problem to shoot a summer scene in the fall.

"Good idea, let's go back and discuss it with the boss." Ronald clapped his hands and applauded, attracting many tourists to look over. The two turned around and wanted to go back to the hotel.

"Ha, you want to shoot a summer movie? It's better to shoot it before August. The leaves of the trees here will turn yellow and fall in the fall, so there will be no summer vacation atmosphere at all."

A chubby girl said to Ronald.

"What? The leaves here will change color and fall in the fall?" Ronald was stunned. He had lived in Los Angeles for a long time and forgot that the East Coast was dominated by deciduous trees.

"Yes, I was born and raised here, I know it best."

"Okay, thank you... You know how to make movies too."

"I've made movies too, I recognize you, Director Ronald."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot my manners," Ronald stretched out his hand to shake the fat girl's hand, "Thank you, you are...".

"Connelly, Jennifer Connelly. I played the childhood of the heroine in Once Upon a Time in America, because my nose is very similar to the heroine Elizabeth McGovern," the fat girl pointed to her nose and showed it to Ronald. On her smiling face, her fleshy nose was cutely squeezed out, and the surrounding area was wrinkled.

"Ah... Sorry again, I've been too busy with projects recently, no wonder you look familiar to me."

Ronald quickly apologized, not recognizing the actors was a great offense to them.

But it's not my fault, why are you so much fatter than in "Once Upon a Time in America"? Your face is round, but your figure is good.

"Ronald, can I call you Ronald? I wonder what movie you are shooting? Can I have a chance?"

"Uh..." Ronald was speechless for a moment, "How old are you this year?"

"I will be sixteen at the end of the year." Connery answered honestly.

"We are a movie with a tight schedule, telling the romantic love of an adult girl, so we need actors who can shoot for a long time."

"Oh..." Jennifer Connelly nodded. At her age, the Screen Actors Guild will definitely keep a close eye on her when she shoots a movie in New York. Are you working overtime? Are there teachers arranged to tutor high school courses? Are there any illegal overtime after 11 o'clock in the evening?

Generally, directors will not look for underage actresses unless they have to, and would rather look for older and adult actors to play.

"There will be some supporting roles with few roles. If you are interested, you can ask your agent to call me." Ronald took out a business card and handed it to the other party. If she hadn't reminded him of the drastic changes in the environment caused by the trees changing colors and falling leaves, the filming of the movie might have been ruined.