Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Except for the special places of the movie itself (such as the place where the original story takes place), the premieres of most movies in America will be held in Los Angeles or New York.

These two cities have large theaters suitable for premieres, and there are enough media to report on the premieres to increase the box office of the movie.

Ronald spent a long time choosing between the two places for the first time to release his own movie. The advantage of Los Angeles is that it is convenient to invite stars, and the advantage of New York is that there are more national media. In order to attract more audiences to see the movie from media reports and be attracted to the cinema, Ronald decided...

Hold it once in each city.

The most suitable cinema for premieres in Los Angeles is the Dome Theater, and the most suitable one in New York is the Ziegfeld Theater. Both have halls that can accommodate more than 2,000 people, and various facilities for the media and meet-and-greet for the premiere.

But Ronald couldn't rent any of them. It's not just about paying money to rent here, but also about having the right relationship and booking in advance.

Due to Ronald's temporary postponement of the release date of "Dirty Dancing", he had to settle for the second best and find other theaters for the premiere.

Universal and Paramount both extended olive branches to Ronald to premiere in their cinemas. However, those cinemas were generally newly built multi-hall systems without large screening halls and media facilities.

In the end, it was Roger Corman who took the initiative to find the well-known Gemini Pictures in the industry and lent the Gemini Theaters in Los Angeles and New York to Ronald for the premiere.

As the name suggests, the Gemini Theaters are twin theaters consisting of two screening halls with thousands of people.

Ronald booked both halls, one for the premiere audience and the other for the subsequent ordinary screenings. The media facilities in both Gemini Theaters were just right for receiving reporters.

"The scale is very good, it looks like the premiere scale of the blockbuster movies from the seven major studios."

Jim Cameron was amazed at Ronald's arrangement. As a small company, Daydream was able to hold such a large-scale premiere and invite so many media and celebrities to show their support. It must be said that it is very admirable.

"I hope you and Gail like it." Ronald greeted the stars at the door. Next to him was Diane, wearing a long red dress, greeting Gail Hurd.

"Oh, Jim, Jim..." Gail had short hair, and she looked more and more like a professional female producer, "You should wish Ronald's movie a hit."

"My fault," Cameron smiled and corrected his remarks with Ronald.

"Hey, we don't have to be like this. Tell me what you think when you see it." Ronald gave his old friend an inquiring look. Why did Gail always seem to find fault with his words?

"Yes, I'll tell you my thoughts after I see it." Cameron made a "I'll tell you later" look, walked over obediently and stretched out his arms for Gail to hold, and the two walked in.

"Huh..." Diane attended the premiere as the host's female companion for the first time, stuck out her tongue, and looked at Ronald.

"A bit tired?" Ronald asked. Wearing such a tight skirt and very high heels, welcoming and seeing off every guest, and posing for photos with them, it was not easy for Diane, a rebellious girl in the past.

"Oh, I'm beginning to regret wearing these high heels. These high heels are simply murdering me." Diane supported Ronald and made a painful expression. In order to look like Ronald, Diane spent a long time last night choosing this outfit that shows off her figure and a pair of very high shoes.

"I put a pair of your shoes in the lounge. The heels will be much more comfortable. You should go in now while there are not many people..." Ronald covered the eyes of others and whispered to Diane in her ear.

"Really? Thank you, Ronnie." Diane didn't care about her demeanor and hurried into the lounge to change into comfortable shoes.

Ronald put on a professional smile again and continued to play the role of a hospitable host to the guests. In fact, the premiere was at night, in the dark background, and the photographers and paparazzi of the big media only turned on the flash to the maximum, bang bang bang at the upper body of the people, and let the readers recognize who was who.

No one can take photos with layers and show the beauty of clothes under such lighting conditions without the help of lights.

Diane's dress and shoes were obviously overdressed, more suitable for the professionally lit stage of the Oscar Awards.

However, Ronald knew Diane's mentality, purely to play the role of his female companion. He just asked his assistant to secretly hide a pair of mid-heel shoes in Diane's size in the lounge to prevent her from working too hard.

After a while, Diane came out wearing comfortable shoes, and her steps were much easier this time. She still didn't have much experience in attending formal occasions, but fortunately Brother Ronnie was well prepared.

Thinking of this, she walked forward with a smile and took Ronald's arm.

"Miss Lane." The manager of Cea Sre Market Research Company who was greeting Ronald.

"Hi," Ronald turned around and gave Diane an encouraging smile, "Mr. Carlson is helping us test the general audience ratings of random theaters in five states randomly sampled nationwide tonight. Tomorrow we will know how much the audience likes this movie."

"First thing tomorrow morning, I promise." The manager nodded to Diane and went in to arrange the survey for this scene.

"How many points will it get?" Diane asked Ronald secretly in a low voice.

"Romantic comedies usually don't get high ratings. I'll be satisfied with a B+. Hi, Roger!"

"Hi, Ronald, I'm really happy today." Roger and Julie Coleman walked over slowly.

Ronald quickly took a photo with Diane and his former boss and his wife who had been so kind to him. "How do you feel?" Roger Coleman patted Ronald's shoulder, and the two posed for the photographer.

"To be honest, I'm very nervous. Using my own money to distribute is completely different from being just a director before. I'm still waiting for your box office forecast for me?"

"Haha, relax and enjoy it slowly. I'll go to the movies first." Roger Corman laughed, and Ronald also "enjoyed" the feeling of being a boss.

"Ronnie, the box office will be good, right?" Diane's hand slowly stroked Ronald's arm to relieve his pressure. I didn't expect Ronald to reveal his true feelings in front of his former boss. He was actually nervous, but he seemed to be quite calm.

"Yeah, but I don't have time to think about this now..." Ronald also let out a long sigh.

"I'm telling you, Jim and Gail were in there just now, and they were a little loud, as if they were arguing." Diane rarely saw Ronald showing his nervous side, and quickly told Ronald the gossip she had just seen inside.

"Don't tell anyone," Ronald pressed Diane's waist hard. Cameron was indeed a little abnormal. Gail might be too much pressure from the producer. In general occasions, she also had a condescending attitude towards her husband Cameron, just like the producer does to the director. This is not a good sign.

"Hi, Tom, Mimi, I'm glad you're here."

"Ronald, Diane," Mimi Rogers grinned and came up to hug the two.

"Ronald, what can I say?" Tom Cruise's hair grew a little longer, and he wore a red bow tie and a red suit scarf, which matched his wife Mimi's tight black dress with a white corsage.

When Cruise saw Ronald, he was still a little embarrassed that he was not invited to the wedding.

"Good luck to you, you have to say a few good words to your fans for my movie." Ronald joked with him, then hugged Cruise tightly, "The wedding cake is still delicious."

"Hahaha..." Cruise put his worries aside, took several photos with Ronald and Diane, then pointed at Ronald and said to all the reporters at the scene, "I like this man's film works very much, I personally recommend it, you all have to come and see it."

"Tom, when will you work with Ronald again next time?" The reporter was very respectful, the flash was clicking, and many reporters wanted to come up and ask questions.

"Today is the premiere of Ronald's movie, I will only answer questions about my good friend." Tom Cruise showed a charming smile and praised Ronald's new film to the reporter.

Diane watched from the side. When filming "The Untamed", Cruise was still a supporting role, with much less scenes than Patrick Schwitz. Now he is a big star, but Schwitz's "Dirty Dancing" still relies on Cruise to help call the audience to go to the theater to watch.

All these are changes brought by the man around him.

"Here you go, Ronnie." Diane took out a handkerchief from her bag and handed it to Ronald, who was a little sweaty because of nervousness and flash.

"Oh, thank you." Ronald didn't expect Diane to be so attentive, and took the handkerchief to wipe it, "Am I too nervous?"

"Relax, your movie will definitely be liked by the audience."

"Hi, Ronald."

Another celebrity couple came, the Jewish Michael Douglas and his wife. Ronald hugged them separately.

"Those film critics didn't embarrass you again, right?" Douglas also came to convey goodwill to Ronald.

"No, I'm glad they kept their mouths shut this time." Ronald still expressed his dissatisfaction.

"Welcome, Diandra," Ronald then hugged Mrs. Douglas and turned over the unpleasant page.

"I wish your movie a big hit. I heard it tells the story of Kennedy's time? I'm very interested in the stories of that period." Diandra Douglas is more than 10 years younger than her husband. She is the daughter of an Australian diplomat and is quite interested in Ronald's movie.

"Diane, right? I met your father when I was in New York." Douglas hugged Diane again.

The stars have arrived one after another. Ronald took a photo with Chris Columbus and his wife, the director of "The Babysitter", and then handed the next reception task to Michelle Cannold. He and Diane went to the No. 1 screening room of the Twin Theater together.

The structure of the Twin Theater is very simple, like a double-yolked egg. In the middle is the ticket hall, and behind is the lounge. There are two passages on the left and right, leading to No. 1 and No. 2, two large screening rooms that can accommodate thousands of people.

"Can The Babysitter last?" Ronald asked Columbus on the way.

"Disney said it can probably last for about two more weeks. The total box office will be more than 33 million, but not 35 million."

Columbus adjusted his glasses. He was satisfied with the results of his debut film.

"It's already very good. Nowadays, a teenage romantic comedy can break even if it exceeds 30 million."

"To be honest, I'm very grateful for your help. This movie helped me regain my confidence. I originally thought that after working as a screenwriter for so many years, I had lost the ability to direct."

"Don't say that. This nanny adventure is very complete. I think someone will come to you to direct the second movie soon."

"We have a few scripts to discuss now." Columbus smiled. "Elizabeth called and asked me to bring them to you. She was a little disappointed that you didn't attend the premiere of Adventures in Babysitting."

"Don't mention it, I've been very busy these past two months." Ronald briefly told Columbus the messy things he encountered.

"How's the movie's box office expected?" Columbus was directing a movie for the first time, and he also had a taste of the warmth and warmth brought by the box office. Seeing Ronald talk about so many difficulties, he became worried for him.

"My unified answer right now is that I don't know. Let's see the score of Cea Sre tomorrow."

"Your movie will definitely be a big hit. I won't attend the party after the premiere later. Monica and I found a nanny to take care of the children at home. I don't want to encounter the kind of situation played by Elizabeth Sue when we go back. "Columbus joked and sat down.

Michelle Cannold came in and went on stage to say some words. None of the leading actors came today, and most of the audience came to see this movie because they were curious about the discussions about the JFK era in the newspapers. Others simply heard that Tom Cruise was coming.

Ronald sat in his seat, feeling nervous. Looking around, except for some celebrities who are fans of Cruise, most of them are middle-aged women.

"What's wrong with you? Are you okay?" Sitting next to him, watching Ronald untie his tie nervously, Diane couldn't help but hold Ronald's hand, but unexpectedly it was sweaty. I have never seen such a nervous Ronald.

Brother Ronnie has always been Diane's support in various crises. He is a capable person who can solve any trouble. To make his palms sweat like this, it seems to be a lot of pressure on him.

"It's okay, it's really hot today." Regardless of the low air conditioner in Hall 1 of the Twin Cinema, Ronald began to find reasons to avoid saying that he was nervous.

Can you not be nervous?

Originally, the target customer of this movie was teenage women aged 17-23. As a result, Pauline Carr cheered up, and female film critics began to make noises. Everyone discussed the background of the "Dirty Dancing" movie, the golden era of Kennedy in 1963.

As a result, a large proportion of the audience today were middle-aged women who came to reminisce.

These people didn't look like an audience that would go crazy for sexy dance. Back then, "break dancing" mainly attracted teenagers and high school students.

When I think about the fact that I am photographing young girls having their first love, will the audience be as moved as teenagers if these are mothers and aunties?

"Are the critics trying too hard? Attracting the wrong audience?"

The more Ronald thought about it, the more frightened he became, "Why is the air conditioner turned on so low today? Dolly, Dolly!"

Ronald softly called Dolly Bernstine, the deputy manager of the circulation department.

Dolly ran over quickly and squatted next to Ronald's seat near the aisle. The overhead light on the ceiling had dimmed and the screening was about to start. Did Ronald discover something wrong?

"Is the air conditioner in this theater broken? Why is it so hot? Go check it out?"

Ronald asked Dolly in a low voice.

"It's not broken. I think the air conditioner is turned on quite loudly."

"Ah, really, forget it."

Ronald took out the handkerchief Diane gave him again and wiped it on his forehead and neck.

"It doesn't seem like it. Maybe I'm not wearing a coat?" Dolly Bernstine gave Ronald a strange look and walked to the back seat muttering.

"Relax, Ronnie." Diane noticed something was wrong with Ronald, and waved to call a waiter in a white suit and black tie. The Twin Theater attaches great importance to the premiere, and Ronald has given a sufficient budget. There are many waiters in the hall to serve VIPs at any time.

"Bring us a can of ice-cold Coke." Diane ordered the waiter.

"Come right away, ice cold Coke."

The lamp on the base of the aisle glowed dimly, the other lights were turned off, the words "Daydream Pictures" appeared on the screen in red squiggles, and the movie began to show.

“Dong…dong dong…

Dong... Dong Dong..."

When the rhythm of Dirty Dancing picked up, Ronald in the later stage made the shots of the backup dancers showing off their style in the basement old. Now it looks like a faded old movie on the screen, which suddenly captivates the audience. My thoughts brought back the fiery era of 1963.

"Produced by Ronald V. Lee."

Ronald's was also printed on the screen with red squiggle subtitles.

The title of "Dirty Dancing" is also written in bright red cursive letters, and then the names of Patrick Schwytz, Jennifer Gray, and Cynthia Rhodes appear in order of click size.

"Your Coke, sir." The waiter quickly brought back a glass of Coke with ice on a tray with a straw inserted into it.

"Ah, thank you." Ronald took out a 20-dollar bill from his pocket and handed it over as a tip.

"Thank you, sir." The waiter stepped aside happily. Such generous guests are not common.

Ronald was upset and took two sips of Coke. He threw away the straw and drank heavily from the glass, biting the ice cubes at the bottom of the glass until they clicked.

It was so stressful.

Ronald looked around. In the newly renovated screening room, dim lights were installed in the aisles to guide the way. With the dim light, Ronald could clearly see the expressions of the surrounding audience.

His neck was twisting and turning. Those middle-aged viewers, unlike young people, would laugh out loud or even yell at their favorite plots in the movie. These people still have old-school movie-watching etiquette. Watch The screen was motionless, and I didn't know what they were thinking. Do they like it or not?

"It was the summer of 1963, and our family went to the Catskills for vacation... At that time, everyone called me Baby..."

Jennifer Gray's monologue in the voice-over brings the audience back to the scenes of that era.

"She is Jewish..." Ronald's sharp ears heard the voice of an audience member a few rows behind. When he turned around, the voice was gone again.

I'm sweating more. Do I like it or complain about it? These middle-aged viewers are still somewhat knowledgeable. They recognized this story of a Jewish girl through the name of the resort in the Borscht Belt and Jennifer Gray's nose.

Ronald began to feel restless again. He didn't know what these middle-aged viewers thought of the Jews back then. After all, in the not-too-distant past, Jews did not have a good reputation in society. They were all small shopkeepers engaged in grocery stores, laundry, and other industries.

Moreover, Jews are known for their shrewdness, and many people have been deceived, taken advantage of, etc. among them. This is different from Italians opening bakeries or Chinese opening Chinese restaurants. Those industries at least provide delicious food, which can offset the dissatisfaction of many customers who are preoccupied.

"It seems that we did the right thing by not making the issue of Baby's ethnicity explicit, but by hiding it cleverly. I don't know what the audience will think when they see it." Ronald let out a sigh of relief, and the previous movie was released. It's not so painful, is it?

The movie continued to play, and soon it came to the plot where Penny, played by Cynthia Rhodes, became pregnant and was flirted with and eventually abandoned by the hotel waiter. Baby performed surgery on her and asked her father for a large sum of money to help Penny. In the end, because this kind of surgery was illegal in many states at the time, he could only find a quack doctor for $500.

When Penny suffers from sequelae, Baby goes to ask his father, a surgeon, to clean up the mess.

"Oh, that's me. We don't have the right to perform surgeries. Some people have no choice but to find a hotel and let those doctors or nurses who make money and risk their lives use those dirty instruments to perform surgeries."

"Yeah, I still remember, I had a girlfriend who couldn't pay for it, so she used a wire hanger to do it. It was really miserable. It was really not easy to be a woman at that time, Luo v. Wade After the verdict, our life became better.”

Ronald heard the whispers from the audience in the back again.

He started to sweat again. This plot was already controversial, and the original sponsors, those selling acne cream, withdrew their funding because of this plot. Now it is seen by these female viewers who are mothers.

Do they like their plot, or are they dissatisfied with it being filmed this way?

Middle-aged audiences also have trouble with middle-aged audiences, because they are too polite, stop talking and are unwilling to influence others.

"Waiter," Ronald waved to the waiter, "bring me another Coke with ice."

Ronald took off his tie, then tugged on the collar, breathing heavily.

"Sir, your Coke." This time a different waiter came to deliver the Coke. Ronald took the $20 and handed it to her as usual.

"Thank you, your movie is great." The waitress whispered, then took the Coke that Ronald had finished and pushed it aside.

"Finally someone said it looked good." Ronald curled his lips.

During a 100-minute movie, Ronald ordered 4 Cokes, and the waiters in the front row received generous tips. There is a legend of Ronald being generous in the Twin Theaters.

"Because, I have found the time of my life..."

In the last scene, Baby was lifted off the stage by the backup dancers, accelerated all the way, took off, and jumped on Johnny's head. Johnny held the baby up with both hands, lifted it up, and lifted it up again...

The audience and backup dancers in the movie began to applaud.

There were also a few young people in the audience who looked like fans of Tom Cruise. They clapped twice and then stopped when no one responded.

Ronald's heart sank. Among all the premieres of his films, this was the only one in which no audience applauded from beginning to end.

All the supporting characters on the screen started dancing. Penny hugged Dr. Houseman to thank her. Baby's sister danced with Johnny's cousin. Mrs. Houseman also started dancing with her husband. Finally, the two old ladies put on their shawls. Throw it away, hold each other's hands and jump up.

The lights in Auditorium No. 1 began to turn on, and Ronald's heart sank again. Not a single member of the audience got up and danced along.

When "Break Dance" premiered in New York, there was also a large dance scene at the end. The audience jumped up on the spot and blocked the actors on the stage to prevent them from leaving.

Ronald braced himself, forced out a smile, and accompanied a few stars who came to enjoy the show, to the lounge next to him to prepare for interviews and parties after the premiere.

"It's great, the movie is great."

"It's really good. Your control of the dance scene is first-class."

The stars said some sincere praises, congratulating Ronald one by one, and then went to the lounge between the No. 1 and No. 2 screening rooms.

Ronald walked out of the No. 1 screening room, reluctant to go in. He asked a waiter for a cigarette and smoked it.

"Is it really not well shot?" Ronald asked Diane.

"I think it's very good, but the audience doesn't seem to respond enthusiastically." Diane held his hand and gently rubbed his palm, asking him not to be so stressed.

"Huh... maybe it was a mistake to invest." Ronald exhaled a puff of cigarette and silently reflected. This time, he invested all his wealth and Douglas's two-year pocket money.

"Ronald," Roger Corman walked over quickly, "Why are you here?"

"I want to see the audience's reaction." Ronald thought to himself that this was a window for him to observe the box office. Many audiences would talk about movies while waiting to go to the bathroom, and it was also a good place to get real feedback.

But this time, they didn't talk much.

On the other side, the staff of Cea Sre were looking for audiences who were willing to accept the questionnaire survey and gave them small gifts in exchange for the opportunity to do the questionnaire survey.

Many people did not do the questionnaire after going to the bathroom, and shook their hands to refuse the chocolates offered. One by one, they filed out of the No. 1 screening room and walked quickly along the direction of the gate.

"Hey..." Ronald sighed, this reaction was really not good.

"You may be rich, Ronald." Roger Coleman also watched them walk out, but his judgment was opposite to Ronald's.

"Why?" Ronald looked at Coleman in surprise, and he didn't look like he was saying something sarcastic or comforting himself.

"Let's go out and see..." Coleman didn't answer, and pushed Ronald out.

Ronald pulled Diane and walked out.

I saw more and more audiences pouring out, and no one was willing to waste time doing the Cea Sre questionnaire.

They left the No. 1 screening room, and the flow of people split into two groups, gradually accelerating.

Ronald followed one group and went to the box office in the hall.

"Give me another Dirty Dancing."

"I want two too."

"Give me two. How many shows are there tonight? I want one for each show."

"Ah?" Ronald's mouth opened wide. Are these middle-aged female audiences coming to the box office to buy tickets for the next show before going in to watch?

"You know what? Ronald, you may have won the first prize of the Powerball Lottery." Coleman said beside him. He is well-informed. He has been producing since the 1950s and started to get involved in the distribution business in the late 1960s.

As soon as he saw this posture, he knew it would be a strong movie. This kind of movie that middle-aged women, housewives, and working women all watch can accumulate very high box office even without marketing. Those audiences of the "Sound of Music" movie may rarely go to the cinema once a year, but once they like a movie, the enthusiasm of calling friends is not comparable to that of young people.

Once the circle of housewives starts talking about a movie on the phone, and working women use this movie as a topic at work, whoever in the circle has not watched it will not even have a chance to speak in the social circle.

"Where did the other half of the people go?" Diane asked from the side. The other half of the audience went out of the cinema directly without buying tickets, but their walking speed was not slower than those who bought tickets to watch the next show.

"Let's go and have a look." Ronald was in high spirits, and walked out with them hand in hand with Diane.

As soon as they left the cinema, they saw a record store at the corner, and the audience walked straight in, and then each of them walked out happily holding a record.

In less than a few minutes, the blackboard at the door of the record store was written with the words "Dirty Dancing" album sold out today, restocking, and those who need it can leave their names and phone numbers to make reservations.

"Shxt!" Ronald shouted, "I have to call Jimmy Reiner and print more quickly."