Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Watching their filming for an afternoon, director Rush is pretty good, with skilled techniques, including Hollywood common techniques such as one main and two over-the-shoulder, which are all done very well.

In the evening, Ronald also watched some of their previous sample films. The shots of Amanda Jones, the cheerleader and coach, training other cheerleaders, were full of youthful vitality and attractiveness.

Ronald felt that there must be many boys who are not so popular in school in this movie. When watching it, he would put himself in the mindset of the male protagonist, a nerd with social barriers, using the money from part-time jobs to help the cheerleader buy new clothes, and finally being able to play a fake love and win the beauty. Isn't it a good story?

It can be used to test the trend of romantic love comedies. Do American high school students really know how to flirt with girlfriends? There is no need to fantasize at home.

At least Ronald feels that the real society is not like those portrayed in those campuses and movies. There are still many young boys who feel that the girls they like are out of reach. Therefore, they dare not pursue them.

And movies, aren't they a tool to help the audience realize their dreams? Just like the name of Ronald's company, strangers sit together in the daytime, turn off the lights, and have a sweet dream together in the dark.

Since everything was normal after the troublesome union representative left, Ronald no longer showed up at the shooting site.

He deeply remembered Roger Corman's teachings that the presence of producers, especially strong producers, on the shooting site is a strong pressure on the director. And under pressure, not everyone can relax and exert their 100% strength under pressure.

"Ronald, why are you still practicing this kind of girl's game?"

Bannon, who returned to the motel where the crew lived with him, found that Ronald had laid a mat on the carpet in the room and started practicing yoga, and couldn't help but be surprised.

"It's nothing, right? When I was wrestling, the coach told me to stretch myself and do flexibility exercises. And, didn't you notice that the actresses who practice yoga have much better figures and aging than the party queens?

Some of them didn't have plastic surgery, but there was no sign of sagging in their faces or figures. And they all have healthy and youthful temperaments.

I think practicing can help you stay young."

"Oh yeah? It seems I have to try it too. You said it can keep you young? Is it also effective in that aspect?" Bannon became interested.

"I don't know, I am very young myself."

Ronald certainly couldn't say that he wanted to dream, so he had to talk about the benefits of staying young and looking good. As for what Bannon would understand, that's fine.

At night, Ronald made his bed and went to sleep. He didn't pick pillows and bedding. Except for the fact that Aunt Karen asked little Bud to bring him a good woolen blanket when he went on a business trip, Ronald usually used the bedding in the hotel.

After practicing yoga breathing for a while, Ronald gradually fell asleep.

"What do you mean? My friend is talking to a girl in your 'territory' in the cafeteria, and you want to give him a hard time?"

Ronald was startled by a loud bang. He seemed to have just entered a state of separation between consciousness and body, and suddenly he dreamed of a scene from "Boy Rents Girl".

Ronald, the protagonist played by Patrick Dempsey, hit the dining table hard with a baseball bat. He taught a lesson to the top baseball team members among the boys in the school's social circle.

"Don't pretend to be another person. When you fell from a tree and broke your arm when you were a child, it was Kenneth who was scared by you and took you through twelve blocks to the hospital. We used to be friends, why do you have to pretend to be someone you are not?

It's hard for us to be ourselves."

"Huh, it seems to have worked. It seems to be because of breathing practice?" Ronald was overjoyed.

On the other hand, Patrick Dempsey is a talented actor. He just hit the table with a baseball bat and scared the actors next to him. He has good explosive power and empathy.

Because he began to think rationally, Ronald's breathing began to quicken again. The picture in the dream began to dim slowly and was about to disappear.

Ronald immediately gave up thinking and began to focus on the yoga breathing method, trying to find the long, slow breathing rhythm he had just come from.

Sure enough, the picture slowly brightened up again. But it seemed that a lot of time had been wasted, and the movie was almost over.

I saw Amanda Peterson jumped off the jeep with her girlfriend. After hesitating for several times, she still felt that she should follow her heart and not consider that nerds were at the bottom of the social hierarchy. She jumped on the lawnmower driven by her favorite male protagonist Ronald.

Patrick Dempsey started the lawnmower and carried Amanda Peterson, like a proud girl sitting on a sports car. He didn't care about face issues, but respected his heart. He hugged each other with his arms. The two kissed each other on the lawnmower under the morning sun.

"'tbuylove..."

As the picture of the two kissing passionately froze, an old Beatles song "Can't Buy Love" sounded, and the subtitles began to rise.

"Ah, this name is better than the original boy renting a girl." Ronald woke up.

The dream induced by practicing breathing is worse than the original dream that I didn't know how to dream.

In addition to fewer fragments, as long as I get distracted, the picture will disappear quickly.

But no matter what, it is always a good thing to have more channels to dream.

And, a good thing is that you won't roll under the bed when you wake up.

“’tbuylove…

I'll buy you a diamond ring

If you really want it..."

Ronald was in a good mood, humming old Beatles songs while taking a shower.

"Steve, I'm thinking of an old song, 'Can't Buy Love' by the Beatles. Do you think it would be better to use this name? And we can also buy their copyright and use it as an interlude. "

"To tell you the truth, the director also thought of this song, but the Beatles' copyright is very expensive. We asked about the price, but we couldn't get our hands on it at all."

Bannon looked at Ronald and thought, do you want to increase your investment to buy the copyright and name of this song?

"It won't be very expensive. You haven't found the right person. Leave it to me. I'm familiar with this."

Ronald remembered that the broker Jimmy Lehner had done the job quickly and well the previous two times he bought the copyright, so he would leave it to him this time too.

…

"Ha, the Beatles. You don't have to think about it. It's impossible to get the authorization without a million dollars."

Jimmy Lehner is working on the "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack. The copyright of the songs has been obtained, and the original master tapes from the record company still need to undergo unified technical adjustments so that the sound can remain the same when recorded into a record.

He's currently working at a record label in Los Angeles doing just that. This recording studio and equipment were rented to Ronald at a low price by Jerry Weintraub.

"No way, why are they so expensive? Aren't the other classic songs you bought very cheap?" Ronald was shocked.

"They are the Beatles, and they don't really like to give their copyrights to movies. I heard that there were some unpleasantnesses in the past. Some movie projects used their songs and had some bad plots.

So they are willing to negotiate only if the price is very expensive.

Moreover, since the death of John Lennon, their copyrights have changed hands several times, and now they are in the hands of new buyers, so they are very careful. Haven't you noticed that their songs are rarely used in Hollywood movies now? "

"That's right." Ronald thought about it. Although the Beatles' songs were widely popular in America, one person could hum the melody of "Yesterday". But there really aren't many movies that use their songs as interludes.

"There's nothing we can do? One million dollars is too expensive? Who owns the copyright now? Could you please contact me and I'll go talk to him."

Ronald felt that the price was too outrageous. The movie only cost 2 million yuan to shoot, but an episode cost 1 million in licensing fees? He is well-known. At this year's Oscars, two movie inserts were nominated for Best Original Film Song, putting many movie inserts on the charts.

As V's master of photography, he should give him some face. If the Beatles' song becomes popular again, wouldn't it be possible for the copyright owner to make a fortune?

"Others said that, so I advised them not to think about it. But if you come forward, it's really possible."

Jimmy Lehner looked Ronald up and down, "The current copyright holder of the Beatles songs is your old friend Michael Jackson. Since you can ask him to make a cameo in your movie Breakdance, it must be him. Friends, you can talk to him.”

"Yes, I would have forgotten it if you didn't tell me."

Ronald remembered that when he, Walter Murch, and Coppola were filming the three-dimensional short film "Captain Io" for J, wasn't he acquiring the property rights to the Beatles' songs?

…

Back in Los Angeles, Ronald contacted J's manager Dario through his agent. It just so happens that J is currently preparing for a new album and filming a series of promotional videos in Los Angeles.

Ronald came to visit with sincerity. Dario asked him to sit down in the reception room.

There was a cartoon style here, and Ronald found that there were many superhero dolls from comics, as well as a white skeleton. It seems hard to tell whether it is true or false.

Dario was amused when he saw Ronald's expression. Most of the guests who came here were shocked by the skeleton. He said, "It's true. It's allowed by law. He bought it from the hospital. He originally wanted to spend $1 million to buy the figurative man from the London Medical College (Joseph Merrick, who was made into a movie by David Lynch). ) skeleton, but was rejected.”

"He's the character in that movie? Are you really going to buy it?"

"He has always had a keen interest in movies..."

Ronald and Dario had nothing to talk about. As long as they were interested in movies, they might be able to get a cheap price for themselves.

"He is a little troubled now. When you see him later, don't be surprised by his skin color." Dario knew that Ronald and J were old acquaintances. They were friends before J was not so famous. Therefore, there are not many taboos about Ronald, and he mentioned the biggest taboo in J now.

"Oh, okay, what's wrong?" Ronald didn't care about J's news and didn't know what was going on.

"It's just that... when he performs on stage now, he uses thicker powder. Some tabloids are rumoring that he has bleached his skin. It's all nonsense."

"Tabloids, they are like parasites. They make a living by feeding on celebrities like J. Don't pay attention to them."

"Hi, Ronald." A soft voice greeted him. Ronald looked up and saw J walking out of the lounge, in good spirits.

"Hi, J...ah..."

I haven't seen J for a long time. When Ronald saw him for the first time, he was a little surprised. J has changed a lot in the past two years. The small pit in the middle of his chin is very deep. From the common chin type of black people, it has become a vertical double chin that is more common in white people.

The facial features seem to have become more three-dimensional. It's very similar to those handsome men and beautiful women in Hollywood, who always make some small adjustments to make themselves look better. "

More importantly, his skin seems to have not seen the sun for many years, and it has become a little whiter than before.

"It's not really vitiligo, right?" Ronald felt that his skin was indeed covered with thick powder.

J still spoke softly, motioning Ronald to sit down casually, "I heard that you want to buy the Beatles' songs for the movie interlude?"

"Yes, it's the song 'tbuylove'."

"I didn't want to, but Dario said it was your movie, so I have a request. As long as you can agree, I will sell it to you at a low price."

"What's the condition? "Ronald cheered up.

"You have to show me your movie first, and I have to be satisfied, otherwise you have to pay according to the market price."

"That's fine, you will like it." Ronald didn't know what kind of movie J liked, but he couldn't show his lack of confidence, so he started to talk nonsense, "This is a romantic comedy for young people. The hero has always felt inferior and felt that he was not worthy of the heroine.

Occasionally, the heroine needed money for an emergency, so the hero sold the equipment in his science class and asked the heroine to help her become confident. In the process of getting along, she found that the hero was her true love...

Hey, are you listening? J, do you like this story?"

Ronald found that J put on his sunglasses while listening, and he didn't know whether he liked it or not.

"Very good, I feel very touched when I hear you say that. You must let me be the first audience of your movie, promise me, Ronald."

"Uh, okay, I will contact Mr. Dario when I get the last copy, and watch it with you. If you don't come, I won't watch it. "

Ronald added.

"Very good, very good, that's it. I'm a little tired." J stood up to see him off.

Ronald touched his head. Could it be that J had a similar experience and remembered his past?

...

"You guys work hard. J said that as long as he is satisfied with the film, he can transfer the Beatles song to the crew at a low price. Not only will it be used as an interlude, but the name of the film will also be authorized."

Ronald immediately called the crew in Arizona.

"Low price? How low?" Bannon was most concerned about the price. His budget was only 2 million. Non-union actors were used in the filming, which saved a lot of money. It would take about 1.7 million to complete the filming. It would be best if the copyright fee could be settled within 500,000.

"Very low... J and I are good friends. Have you seen the breakdance I filmed?" Ronald asked.

"Very good, but... how low is it? Is it 500,000... lower than that? 300,000...? "

"Use your imagination, Steve. Do you think that with my relationship with J, he can come to make a cameo for free and charge me more than $100,000?"

"Okay, I'll let them shoot well."

"Don't put too much pressure on me. Just mention it. After the movie is finished, J will be the first audience to watch it."

Bannon used the good news that big stars liked their movie to motivate the crew.

Ronald began to prepare for the Oscars at the end of the month. This year's ceremony was held in late March.

Ronald had to attend this time and was assigned a female companion.

Or, in other words, the male companion of the female star.

She is the heroine of "Top Gun", Kelly McGillis, whom Ronald hadn't seen for a long time.

This arrangement is mainly to continue to promote the "Top Gun" video tape.

The number of pre-orders for the video tape, which is still a few weeks away from going on sale, continues to rise, and has now reached 1.9 million copies.

This is already three times the highest sales of the original movie video tape. And it also broke Jane Square Enix's record.

Paramount expects that after the sale, sales will continue to rise as the stock is put on the market in large quantities. They are very optimistic that they can sell more than 2.5 million copies in the end.

Ronald was really envious. He also decided that if "Dirty Dancing" did well at the box office and exceeded expectations, he would also release the videotape and set the price at around $30-40, which has been tested by the market.

That day, Ronald made an appointment with Kelly McGillis to try on clothes. The clothes of female stars always have to be booked in advance, and they have to avoid collisions with other people. Ronald has always understood the needs of female stars and arranged a luxury car in advance to accompany them.

"Is Ronald in there?" Kelly McGillis was wearing jeans and a leather jacket, wearing sunglasses, and didn't look like a star.

Little Bud pouted, "I'm on the phone."

"Why? The Oscars are a very grand occasion. They want you to sing. Why don't you want to come? ”

Ronald was on the phone with Terri Nunn, the lead singer of the band Berlin.

Her song "Take My Breath Away" was nominated for Best Original Song. Terri Nunn was invited to the Oscars ceremony while on tour, but she declined the invitation to the event.

The Oscars were very sorry. This single had won the first place in the singles chart last year. If the original singer could sing it at the awards ceremony, the ratings would definitely increase a lot.

Another movie of Ronald, "The Karate Kid 2", was also nominated. The singer Peter Cetera was very cooperative. He agreed to sing it on the spot. Ronald also felt sorry, so he called Terri Nunn to see if there was any room for remedy.

"I'm on tour, I don't have time." Terri Nunn had no complaints about Ronald. She would sing this song wherever she went. It has become her first masterpiece.

"Even Oscar can't spare time to perform live?"

"Hey, let me be honest. I wanted to go, but they said I could only sing a section. The other nominees could only sing the climax of a few seconds. I didn't want to lose face. I am the lead singer of the Berlin band. When did I fall to this point?"

Oh, Ronald understood. The Berlin band is now very popular, and all its concerts are full and tickets are hard to get. Their most popular song "Take My Breath Away" could only get a part of the chorus medley at the party, which must be unsatisfactory.

"You can't look at it that way. I used to win an Oscar. I tell you, it's for my family. My aunt and cousin were so happy when they saw me win the award. Now every time we talk about it, they are still very excited. I think I can remember the smiles on their faces for the rest of my life. You also want your family to see you win the award."

"Are you so sure that I can win the award?" Terri Nunn and her mother depend on each other for survival, and Ronald's words shook her a little.

"Almost. This Top Gun has such a good box office, it's unreasonable for them not to give a small award."

"Okay, I'll go."

Kelly McGillis had been watching for a long time. The man's face was touched when he talked about his family. She knocked on the door.

Ronald happily put down the phone and saw Kelly McGillis knocking on the door.

"Kelly, I'm so glad to see you... Hey... Why did you cut your hair?"