Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Dirty Dancing is smart and funny, touching and unapologetic. It'll be a breath of fresh air on a hot summer day. It's worth seeing if just for the dancing... and Patrick Schwytz's body. "

Sheila Benson - Los Angeles Times, female film critic.

"On top of that, you have Jennifer Gray as Baby, a wealthy girl summering in the Catskills who falls in love with Johnny, a working-class dance instructor played by Patrick Swayze. The chemistry between the leads is White hot...worth watching.

At the very least, the two of them dance really sexy! "

F. X. Feeney, Los Angeles Weekly, film critic.

"Dirty Dancing is a 'flash dance' in which the protagonist has an IQ of over 100 points..."

Jay Scott, Globe and Mail, film critic.

"The dance itself in Dirty Dancing, especially the Mamba choreography by Kenny Ortega, looks very modern, or at least as modern as 'Saturday Night Fever.' But it's more This wild driving force and gushing pulse bring real... excitement to the film.

Vincent Canby, New York Times, film critic

“The heart-warming scenes, wild dancing, and Dirty Dancing remind me of Roger Corman’s B-movie mood, which is very nostalgic.

When Patrick Schwytz and Jennifer Gray dance together, you need a fire extinguisher..."

Julie Solomon, Wall Street Journal, female film critic.

"Hot, hot (a pun on hot and sexy)...Hot...(reviewers wrote it eight times in a row), 'Dirty Dancing' is 'Saturday Night Fever' with Caribbean hot dance music, it's borscht 'Flashdance' from the Recreation Zone (a popular Jewish resort around New York State) is a romantic and dazzling work set against the backdrop of sultry old songs from the 1960s.

In the 1960s, my God, the commanders were so sexy back then. …

An absolutely romantic movie, Baby Frances, played by the Jewish girl Jennifer Gray, represents women in that era of liberation and freedom. This is a typical Ronald Lee-style Sleeping Beauty-style low-budget movie. It will definitely do surprisingly well at the box office. I heard that the premiere will be postponed to mid-August, which is very exciting.

I recommend that all young girls, no, just women, should see it. This is our Rocky, and at the end Baby is like Rocky, knocking out the woman she was competing with for Patrick Schwytz's role as Johnny Castle in a dance by technical knockout. "

Rita Kempley - The Washington Post, female film critic.

…

Pauline Carr's influence among female film critics in New York and across the country is enormous. She came forward to invite some film critics to attend the second film critics' preview screening organized by Ronald in various places.

The effect is very good. Pauline specifically recommended this movie from the perspective of women's liberation. Many female film critics have written positive film reviews of 80 or 90% or above.

There are unspoken rules in the Hollywood film critic world. As a producer, Ronald can privately give benefits to film critics. However, you cannot interfere with film critics’ film reviews or ask for an increase in ratings.

Well-known film critics from major media will also submit their film review articles after the film critics' special screening a few weeks before the film is released.

Regardless of whether it is good or bad, the producers are given a certain amount of time to make corresponding adjustments to the marketing plan based on the quality of the film's reviews.

This time, Pauline Carr gave Ronald some face and helped Ronald call the film critics, and specially came to attend the second preview screening. The attendees were mainly female film critics, but also included many non-Jewish male film critics.

They generally would not attend this kind of small-production film critic show. At most, after the film is released, they can get free admission with their New York Film Critics Society membership card. Then write a movie review.

But Pauline's status as a Hollywood film critic was very high, and her film reviews made "Bonnie and Clyde," the pioneer of the New Hollywood movement, popular. This time Pauline Carr praised Ronald very highly, saying that he had the opportunity to revolutionize Hollywood again and once again bring mainstream movies back to major real issues.

Those female film critics, more or less thanks to Pauline Carr, were able to find a film critic position in a major newspaper or magazine in the male-dominated Hollywood. They were also curious about Ronald's new film, which tells the story of the 1960s. When they came over to take a look, it was indeed well-deserved.

"Dirty Dancing" touched on the issue of women's abortion rights 10 years before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

Penny Johnson, played by Cynthia Rhodes, is the key fulcrum on which the entire film is established. When Penny was unmarried and deceived by a waiter into becoming pregnant, Baby had the opportunity to practice dancing with Johnny.

Penny had no money at that time, so she could only find a quack doctor for surgery, which led Baby to ask her father to lend money to Penny, and then asked her father to treat Penny again to avoid accidents. This can lead to the plot that the baby's father, Dr. Hausman, turns against his favorite daughter and opposes her relationship with Johnny.

Such a plot is very hard to ignore. Anyone who is not an inexperienced boy or girl can understand the original appearance of things from Ronald's restrained direction and editing.

These film critics all came from the turbulent women's liberation cause in the 1960s. We understand how rare it was to have a good and enlightened doctor like Hausman before the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade.

It also makes it so extraordinary that he finally agreed to his daughter's relationship with Johnny and sent Baby to participate in the Peace Corps movement advocated by Kennedy to help third world countries.

This is simply the dream of all girls. These middle-aged women all missed their youth when watching the movie. In the last shot where Baby and Johnny hugged each other again, they were so moved that they almost cried.

The most exaggerated one is Rita Kempley of the Washington Post. She works for the largest newspaper in the political center of DC. She knows better than others that the two protagonists can overcome the huge gaps in ethnicity, class, wealth, and education and finally get together.

Rita pulled Ronald and asked him about the subsequent plot:

"Tell me, Ronald, did Baby and Johnny get married later? Hmm? Was Johnny selected by Broadway to perform in a musical? Did Baby marry him after she came back from working in the Peace Corps in Africa? Hmm?"

"I can't say for sure. It should be decided by the audience." In order to avoid the movie being threatened by the Jewish gang, Ronald kept all the details hidden. For example, the hero and heroine just danced together at the end, without any details hinting at their future ending.

"If you don't tell me, I will write a bad review for you!" Rita insisted.

"Yes, Ronald, you bad guy, almost made me cry. If you dare to separate Baby and Johnny, I will scold you in the film review, little bad guy." Julie Solomon of the Wall Street Journal also came up and threatened Ronald with a vicious look.

"Let's talk it over. I surrender." Ronald pretended that their threats were successful and told his own difficulties. Why was he threatened by the Jewish forces in Hollywood just because the heroine was a Jewish girl?

An agreement was reached with the Jews not to reveal Baby's ethnicity in the film, and Baby and Johnny's sex scene, as well as the scenes of the two looking forward to the future and overcoming all difficulties together were deleted.

As a result, this concession still aroused opposition from Jewish film critics, so Pauline Kael had to come forward to make up for it.

"In fact, I have been very subtle in this movie. Unless you are a Jew who grew up in the 1960s, it is difficult for you to see that the Catskills is a resort hotel in the Borscht Belt that only welcomes Jews. You may not know that Baby is a Jewish girl. This story will not change because of the ethnicity of the two protagonists."

"Yes, we support you. The core of this movie is actually the story of Baby's self-growth." Several female film critics began to get angry. How could someone give such a good movie a low score? This is a crime!

And the male lead Patrick Schweitzer is so handsome. It would be great if I could dance with him.

...

A few days later, Ronald was very happy to receive the manuscripts sent by these female and non-Jewish male film critics. He celebrated with Michelle Cannold and others in the office.

"Look, I still have some connections in Hollywood."

"That's for sure, Ronald. Almost all of your movies since you became a director have done well at the box office, and these film critics also have to follow the footsteps of successful people." Cannold was very happy and flattered his boss in disguise.

"It's mainly because my movie has a plot about women's liberation, and the screenwriter Eleanor is very good." Ronald was modest.

"That's because your connections worked. If it weren't for Pauline Carr's help, we wouldn't have found so many film critics from famous media."

"There, there, our Daydream Company has invested so many resources, and we have to make a good sound." Ronald nodded to the little Douglas who was grinning over there. This childhood friend didn't care much about the investment. As long as he could make a famous movie, he would be happy.

This time, for the additional marketing expenses and the additional budget for the main song "The Ti of My Life" of the soundtrack album that was played by DJs on major radio stations, Daydream spent a lot of money on marketing expenses as a backup. Now if something unexpected happens again, there will be no money. Fortunately, Douglas Jr. received living expenses from the family fund for 1987. If he needs money, he can invest one or two million.

"No, no, your directing skills are still high. Look at those middle-aged female film critics, they are obsessed with your movie. They also want to attend the premiere in New York and wait to dance Dirty Dancing with Patrick Schwitz." Douglas Jr. laughed when talking about the situation at that time.

Two film critics from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal pulled Ronald and insisted that he sign and confirm that the male lead would dance with them at the premiere before they agreed to give the best review of Dirty Dancing.

However, Schwitz was sacrificed. The film review received today really praised Ronald's movie to the point that it was rare in heaven.

"I didn't expect these middle-aged women to like this movie so much. It would be great if female audiences around 30 were as obsessed with this movie as they are. The absolute number of teenage female audiences is still small." Douglas Jr. sighed.

"Stop daydreaming. They are professional film critics, real middle-aged audiences. How could they be obsessed with such a clichéd romantic comedy? I just hope more of them will come and watch it." Ronald shook his head. This was a bit delusional.

"I know... Hey, this is just a dream. We have invested so much resources and effort in the release of this movie. The people in the Cannold distribution team have worked very hard. It feels like our small team is doing almost as well as the distribution teams of big companies like MGM.

The media interview packages we gave to major media are also outstanding in Hollywood. Those reporters are sorry for us if they don't say good things."

Ronald smiled as he watched Douglas praise the distribution team. They were very encouraged to hear this. They are all young people who have no experience and work with enthusiasm. Sometimes you don't tell them how difficult their work is, but they can achieve very good results.

"I can't promise anything, but if the movie is a hit, I will definitely give everyone dividends and bonuses. And if... not, once Dirty Dancing is a box office success, we will increase the size of the distribution department, and everyone here will have very good career development in the future."

Ronald drew a big pizza out of thin air for the team members. Sure enough, those employees who had just graduated from college were very excited and raised their hands to high-five each other.

"The first to come is the most affordable. I found a resort hotel where we filmed and bought a weekend vacation package. All colleagues in the distribution department can go there to have a rest. You can bring a family member. The expenses are all covered by the company."

Ronald asked his assistant to bring the reward. Anyway, the lakeside resort hotel put their names in a separate line after the credits for the movie. It was a benefit given to Ronald, just in time for the team who had been busy for half a year to rest and relax.

"Yeah, Ronald... Ronald..."

The young people began to cheer Ronald's name.

"You have so many resources invested in Dirty Dancing, why don't you give us "It's Not For Sale" a little bit?"

The one who walked into the office and questioned Ronald was Rush, the director of "It's Not For Sale".

He had complaints about Ronald's intervention in the final editing, in order to make the movie pass with a PG13 rating and sell more box office instead of respecting artistic integrity.

Just now, I saw that "Dirty Dancing" on the table received so many good reviews, which made me even more angry.

Unlike the rave reviews here, "It's Not For Sale" received extremely bad reviews.

For example, Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave "It's Not For Sale" half a star.

"If Love Is Not For Sale was meant to satirize American values ​​- if cynicism was its goal - we might find something here.

But no, based on this evidence, the people who made this movie are so materialistic that they actually think it is a "teen comedy". Can't they see the rotten core of the script?

How can Americans do such a dirty thing as buying the affection of their girlfriends with money?"

Ebert really cursed "Love Is Not For Sale" in his review.

It's not that there are no good things to say. The New York Times Film Review, which Ronald has worked hard to manage, gave a positive review:

"...Director Steve Rush wasted an opportunity to make it a deeper and more interesting movie..There is an identity crisis, which is a mirror image of the protagonist Ronald himself.

He thinks he wants to gain popularity at all costs. He is actually a sincere person and finally gets Cindy's love. This movie could have been as sincere as Ronald, but what it really wants is the box office, so like other PG13 "children's movies", it edited out its originality."

This positive review just speaks to Rush's heart, cutting out artistry for the sake of box office. It's worse than a bad review!

"Steve, calm down. Our distribution team spent just as much time and energy on your movie (actually much less, Love Is Not For Sale was sold as a tie-in product of Dirty Dancing)." Michelle Cannold pulled director Rush to explain.

"It's okay," Ronald signaled Cannold to let him go.

"Come with me, I'll show you something." Ronald took Steve Rush to the office next door.

"This is the bad review of my movie Dirty Dancing, it's not much better than yours." Ronald took out the various bad reviews he had received from the drawer and showed them to Rush.

"According to the proportion, the ratings of our two movies are actually similar."

"Okay, I'm sorry, Ronald," Rush put away his anger, and it seemed that his film review might not be so bad. Roger Ebert also looked down on Ronald's movie.

"I have made a lot of efforts, but our Daydream is a small company, I hope you can understand. My movie will be rescheduled, and some of the original resources will now be used by Love is Not For Sale. I have arranged a premiere for you, and two opportunities to be interviewed on TV programs..."

"Thank you, you are a good producer and boss." Rush saw that Ronald still used his resources to Love is Not For Sale, and felt a little ashamed for his anger just now, "You are different from those capitalist vampires, you are still on the side of our artists."

"It's good that you understand, it's not easy for me either." Ronald pretended that the company was still small and couldn't give you more support.

"Rush, you are here... Don't be like this, Ronald has already given you very good resources." Steve Bannon knocked on the door from outside.

"I know, I know, hey, if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have made such a good movie with such a low cost." Rush left with emotion.

"Are you satisfied?" Ronald looked at Bannon, knowing what he wanted, and turned around to take out a media promotion plan and handed it to Bannon.

"Very satisfied, Ronald. You are a natural filmmaker." Bannon looked at the promotion plans and the arrangements for the protagonists to participate in TV interviews in BC, and he was very relieved. This low-cost movie was shot with less than one million US dollars. The Beatles' song was bought from MJ at a floor price as the theme song. As long as it can be exposed in the media, it is certain to make a profit. It is just a matter of how much money you make.

As long as he can make more than 10 million, he can be proud of Wall Street. If he makes 15 million box office, those old colleagues will take the initiative to call to discuss investing in their own film funds. If he makes 20 million, hehe... I'm afraid they will not be obediently outside their office door, competing for limited investment quotas.

"How much do you expect to make?" Bannon whispered to Ronald.

"The schedule originally reserved for Dirty Dancing was given to Love Is Not For Sale. Disney will release "Adventures in Babysitters" in July. I have agreed with them that both parties will take turns to occupy the schedule, and there will be about 1,200 movies that will be released.

Conservatively estimated, it will not be a problem to stay in the theater for four weeks, between 20 million and 25 million.

But after that, there will be several big-budget blockbusters such as 007, Jaws 4, Robocop, Superman 4, and Unicron. I don't think your movie will last too long. Don't expect too much."

"Hahaha, 25 million, no problem. My foundation has raised enough money. When we cooperate, you must leave me enough investment share." Bannon was overjoyed. Ronald's estimate actually exceeded his most optimistic box office forecast. With this kind of return on investment, financing is not a problem. Then, with the investment of a visionary producer like Ronald, it will snowball and grow rapidly. Then, a larger private equity fund can be issued, or even junk bonds can be issued for financing, or the company can be listed on the stock market, reaching the pinnacle of life...

It seems that withdrawing from Wall Street and joining Hollywood is indeed the right choice.

Ronald looked at Bannon, who was smiling ugly, took out a pair of glasses, opened the brandy, and poured two glasses of wine, "Wish us success!"