Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Okay, that's it. If they still don't give in tomorrow, then I will take legal action and send them a lawyer's letter."

After discussing on the phone with attorney Lindsay Dole for more than an hour, Alan Parker's behavior was legally impeccable. The regulations of industrial unions are respected by the law, and revisions of less than one-third can be made without signature.

Of course, Ronald could argue that he wrote the more important plot, but that would require the Writers Guild to intervene in arbitration.

It’s back to the old Catch-22 problem: If you’re not a member of the Writers Guild, you can’t apply to arbitrate your signature dispute. To join the Writers Guild, you also need to have the signature of a screenwriter on a released film.

The two decided to take legal action next. Attorney Lindsay Dole explains the preparation, evidence and witnesses required for prosecution.

The lawyer said there was little hope of winning, and Ronald's most realistic goal was to force MGM to settle out of court.

This kind of script-stealing scandal will be picked up by the gossip media when the movie is released. If the audience has a strong negative perception of it, it may force the studio to settle the matter.

For example, Michael Cimino, the director of Fat Boy, had a falling out with Dalek Washburn, the screenwriter of "The Deer Hunter". Fatty said that screenwriter Dalek's first draft was so bad that he completely rewrote it. The screenwriter Dalek said that Fat Boy only changed a few dialogues and wanted to take the script as his own.

The controversy broke out when "The Deer Hunter" was released. Distributor Universal quickly reached an understanding with the Writers Guild and arbitrated the screenwriting credit to Dalek.

Ronald and the lawyer lady also pinned their last hopes on a similar situation.

But the side effects of doing this were also huge, and Ronald was a little hesitant. Totally offended the director, not the producer. MGM will also add itself to the blacklist, and other major studios will also know about its "glorious deeds."

It's better to send a lawyer's letter first and see the other party's reaction.

If it can be resolved, it's better not to go to court.

"Ring ring ring ring..." The phone rang.

"Hello, I'm Ronald."

"Ronnie? I'm Roger Coleman. Gale told me about you, how did it happen?"

While Ronald was thinking, he received a call from Roger Coleman.

I told Roger Corman the whole story of the whole thing, how I tried to challenge the producer, how I almost succeeded but was counterattacked by the director, and what legal action I was going to take next.

"Are you really going to take legal action?"

"I am still undecided. Both my lawyer and the other party's lawyer told me that the chance of winning the case is slim. I want to place my hope in the studio's negative public opinion when the movie is released and make them give in."

"Then what? Are you going to take that script with your signature and be kicked out of the film industry forever? Put the script in a bookcase at home and lock it up? When you are old, tell your grandson that grandpa also had the opportunity to be a movie star. The director makes the movie?”

"I admire your business acumen for discovering midnight movies in New York. But your plan to pursue legal action disappoints me a bit, Ronnie. I thought you could find a better way."

"What should I do, Mr. Coleman?" Ronald asked the other party immediately.

"Let me tell you something about lawyers, Ronnie."

"Lawyers make money not by winning or losing cases, but by litigating. As long as you go to court, they make money. So under the same circumstances, they always tend to let you use legal means to solve the problem."

"Businessmen don't think like this, you know? In the ten years after World War II, I made films for American International Film Distribution Company. I never signed a contract with them. The two parties just shook hands. Even if it was agreed, we would abide by the promise afterwards. ,Do you know why?"

"Because the people were simple and honest at that time?"

"Hahaha, of course not. Because those who negotiated contracts at that time were self-made bosses, unlike today's professional managers."

"Business cooperation is based on mutual benefit between both parties. The role of lawyers is only to formalize this mutually beneficial cooperation in legal form. As long as there is mutual benefit between both parties, why should we change the original commitment? In that slow-paced era, there were Without a contract, there is no big difference.”

"You are a business-minded person, and the idea of ​​the Midnight Cinema is great. When you encounter things in the future, don't just look at it from one angle."

"I understand, Mr. Coleman, thank you." Ronald felt that his perspective was indeed somewhat restricted.

“Confucius, the wise man from the East, once said that when looking at a problem, we must grasp the main contradiction.”

"In order to make Gone with the Wind in Hollywood, several rival studios even joined forces to contribute their own movie stars and cooperate to complete this masterpiece. The key is that everyone realizes that this movie will be a big hit once it is made. earn."

"As long as there is an expectation of increased profits, the conflicting parties will also bridge their differences. As long as there are common interests, there is no fear of non-cooperation between the two parties."

"Of course legal means are also important, but they are mainly used to deal with untrustworthy scoundrels, or to reduce losses afterwards."

After hanging up the phone with Roger Corman, Ronald began to re-examine the issue of the script's signature.

The reason why producers and directors are unwilling to change the contract and sign their names. There are only two reasons:

1. The value of your own script is not high enough to enhance the final box office and artistic achievement of the movie.

2 Without the support of the union, the troubles he faced were smaller than those faced by the original screenwriter, union member Christopher Gore.

The strategy of Miss Lawyer Lindsay Doll had solved the second problem. Now the main obstacle was director Alan Parker. As long as he felt that his script could solve his artistic achievement problem and help him make a classic masterpiece...

Ronald took out the script again and read it carefully.

The problem still lay in Doris's role. Director Alan Parker seemed to subconsciously feel the contradiction of this character, so he urged himself to revise it from time to time.

A shy singer who couldn't sing would not pass the entrance interview. An actor could only be admitted because of his appearance and body shape.

Ronald loaded the typewriter with letter paper and started writing again. He changed the setting of Doris. It was no longer the singer Barbara Streisand, but the undebuted actress Jane Fonda.

During the entrance interview, Doris was unable to perform the script as planned, but her shyness and anxiety were very real, and her appearance and voice were very good. The interviewer gave her a pending position, and she was lucky enough to enter the performing arts college.

When she went to see the midnight show of "The Rocky Horror Show" with the Latin boy Ralph Garcia, Doris was infected by the audience's enthusiasm for performance, rushed onto the stage, and joined the performance. The desire to perform finally broke through the barrier of shyness, and a real actor was born...

After revising all of Doris's main scenes, including interviews, love, transformation, etc., Ronald realized that it was already 4 a.m. When he was in the state, he really couldn't remember the passage of time.

After working for most of the night, Ronald's overall scenes had far exceeded one-third, close to half. This is mainly because Doris, like CoCo, is a link-type character connecting multiple main characters.

The several protagonists in the acting department were all driven by her plot. He fell in love with the Latin boy Ralph, and was also a good friend of the student Montgomery.

Ralph performed a stand-up comedy for the first time on stage, and Doris invited many students to support him. The character of Montgomery was able to come out publicly in the acting class because of Doris' encouragement.

Ronald poured himself another small glass of whiskey and honey to soothe his tired nerves.

With this bomb, he was not afraid that director Allen would not appreciate it. In that case, he would turn to support himself, right?

However, he could not directly show the script to the director.

Allen played a trick today, taking out his own script and rewriting two pages to replace it. If he showed it to him without finalizing the signature issue, he would definitely use the same trick again, taking his own ideas, and then changing some details and treating it as his own creation.

Ronald put down the glass and began to rub his forehead again. Long-term overload of brain use made his head a little swollen.

He could not let him see it in advance, but he had to let him recognize the value of his creation, so that his movie could take a step forward in art. What should he do?

Unless you find a middleman who also recognizes the director's artistic vision and has no direct conflict of interest with both parties.

Ronald took out his address book and business card book and began to flip through them one by one.

He still knows too few people in the circle.

Roger Corman is far away in Los Angeles, and Alan Parker may not recognize the artistic vision of his exploitation film tycoon.

Irene from the Stella Adler Center is just an acting coach, and her opinions are not authoritative.

It would be great if I knew an Oscar-winning director.

The fat face of Michael Cimino jumped out.

Forget it, Ronald waved his hand and drove away the fat boy's picture. I'll ask Julia Taylor from the casting studio tomorrow.

Unlike Margery, she no longer works for the "Hot Lunch" crew. And she has much more seniority than Margery, maybe the director will believe her vision.

By the way, speaking of hot lunch, is the snapshot of the adult movie poster still there? Ronald found the snapshot taken by Antonia, which is also a weapon that can be used.

This adult movie with the same name will definitely drag down the box office of the movie. If the producer is told, he should change the name of the movie to increase the box office.

It's still the middleman problem. If you tell it directly, this card will be invalid, but if you don't tell it, the producer won't believe it.

Where can you find a middleman that both parties can trust?

Ronald fell asleep while thinking.