Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Harrison Ford said in an interview that he had not discussed with 20th Century Fox about the new film adapted from Roderick Thorpe's novel. His meeting with the famous director and producer Ronald Lee was just a normal exchange between friends.

They admired each other's works. But Hollywood stars may not know each other if they have not worked together. Fortunately, they have worked with Kelly McGillis, George Lucas and Spielberg respectively, so they hit it off at first sight.

"I had a pleasant conversation with Ronald, and I hope I will have the opportunity to work with him in the future. No, no, I didn't talk to Fox about that action movie, that's it..."

At the Los Angeles airport, Ronald, director John McTiernan, Joel Silver and others watched Harrison Ford being interviewed by entertainment reporters in the waiting room.

The fact that Harrison Ford and Ronald attended the party together was deliberately notified to the media by Silver. Immediately the next day, he was surrounded by the media, asking him to clarify whether he would cooperate with Ronald in the next movie.

Harrison Ford is the most popular male star now. He is used to these gossip reporters and did not think that it was Ronald who released the news. Or, even if he knew, he would not mind being used by Ronald. He has the roles of two big-selling movies and can make any movie he wants.

"So, did Harrison really contact us?" Director John McTiernan asked. Having such a big name participating in the film is certainly better for him than the box office expectations of TV star Bruce Willis.

"Yes, but he has opinions on the details of the script, his own lines, and even what shots to use. We didn't reach an agreement with him before, and this time it was just a personal chat." Ronald certainly couldn't say that he just asked Harrison Ford to pressure Willis's conditions.

"Oh, that's right. Bruce Willis is more suitable for John McLean..." When John McTiernan heard that the star wanted so much power, he, a director who had just become a little famous, was afraid that he would not be able to beat the other party. It seems that Willis is still better.

"Have you guys decided on the heroine?" Ronald was very happy to see that director John McTiernan had come to his senses. It is not a good habit to be too ambitious. With Bruce Willis, he still wanted Harrison Ford. A good star is one that can be controlled.

"Bruce recommended Bonnie Bedelia. He said that Bonnie left a deep impression on him in the previous movie "My Heart Keeps Turning", which filmed the first female racer in hard-court racing." John McTiernan replied. .

"Oh? How is she?"

"Bonnie is very good. She is 39 years old and fits the mature temperament of a middle-aged professional woman, but her face looks young. It just happens to match with the older Willis. I asked him to come for an audition during the break of filming the TV series. The chemistry between the two is good."

Ronald let director McTiernan do the subsequent auditions and other work. He took the photo of the heroine and saw that it was the heroine in his dream.

"Very good, your vision is first-rate. This is Mrs. McLean, who uses her maiden name in the script. She is gentle and opinionated, which fits the character very well. To be honest, I thought Bruce Willis would recommend her girlfriend Demi." .... "Demi Moore did recommend herself, but she is too young and has no children, so it is difficult for her to play the temperament of a middle-aged woman."

"Hey, I don't think Bruce wants his girlfriend to play this role." Joel Silver reminded the two directors that they could board the plane.

"My assistant heard Bruce say to Demi outside the audition room that she should tidy up her room at home. This role is not suitable for her."

"Hey, it's still a righteous man." Ronald got on the plane with a small bag.

...

"Here are the tickets you want, Mr. Li." The lobby manager of the St. Regis Hotel where they stayed was a very resourceful man.

The tour of "Dangerous Liaisons" on Broadway is coming to an end, but as long as they can afford it, the managers of these hotels can get tickets for any popular drama for the guests staying in the hotel.

Many guests in these hotels in Manhattan are tourists, and one of their must-see items is the Broadway classics. Managers of different hotels have a trading network to exchange what they have.

Tickets for football, basketball, baseball, and Broadway can all be sold at a certain price. The NBA's New York team has a sharp increase in ticket prices because they selected the No. 1 center last season and a high-ranking point guard this year.

In order to exchange three tickets for "Dangerous Liaisons" for Ronald, the manager paid two regular season tickets for the Knicks.

"That's him," Ronald went to see the show with director McTiernan and Silver, and he pointed to the corner Alan Rickman on the poster and said.

"He really looks like a knowledgeable and courageous villain. Sanctimonious." McTiernan looked at the huge poster, and it was like a shot in a movie, capturing Alan Rickman's appearance very clearly.

"You'll know if you go see his performance, it's absolutely great."

...

"Wow, wow, wow..." McTiernan said loudly in Ronald's ear amid the applause of the audience, "Very good, really good, very good. He should play the leading role in some movie."

Then he repeated his impression in Silver's ear, "We may be lucky to find him to play the villain. This person's acting skills can make him famous as the protagonist."

"But his accent and nationality limit him." Ronald replied.

Unlike Hollywood, which relies on the huge North American market, many roles can be subdivided into types and played by different types of stars.

The theater and film markets in Britain are very small, and they can only find a few actors with superb acting skills to play different types of roles.

This also resulted in different viewing tastes of audiences in the two places. British audiences can appreciate an actor playing a role whose appearance does not match the appearance, but focus on the acting skills. American audiences, on the other hand, prefer a star to specialize in one type of role.

"Humph, that's right." McTiernan looked at Alan Rickman. His typically deep, elegant, and somewhat lazy voice would have a narrower path in Hollywood, which has evolved to a faster pace. .

But the main villain in this movie is an elegant villain who comes from a high-class family, which suits him just right. …."Alan!" After the actors finished their curtain call, the three of them ran to the lounge backstage and met the actors.

"Hi, Ronald. Are you coming to make a movie with me? Hahahaha, I've been looking forward to it for a long time." When Rickman saw his acquaintance Ronald, he thought he was here to support him again. In Britain, the relationship between theater and film is much closer than in Hollywood. Many directors major in both theater and directing, and they sometimes discuss acting skills with actors.

"You are absolutely right, but the director is not me, but Mr. McTiernan. John, this is Alan Rickman, the actor I recommended to you, and this is Lindsay Duncan, the heroine. "

Ronald smiled and nodded, then introduced the director and Rickman to each other.

"You really asked me to act in a movie? What role?"

"A character similar to that in Shakespeare's plays, very challenging. It can be said to be like a modern Richard III, evil and powerful."

"Are you kidding?"

"Of course not, Mr. Rickman, I just watched your whole performance and I was already conquered by you." McTiernan stepped forward to shake hands with him.

"Ah..." The heroine Lindsay Duncan didn't expect that as a member of the famous British theater family - the Duncan family, she had not yet had the opportunity to have the movie released in Hollywood, but she was preempted by Rickman?

Other supporting actors also came up to congratulate them. "Dangerous Liaisons" will soon end its Broadway tour. Rickman and Duncan, both of whom have not been chosen by the director of the film adaptation, will return to Britain before Christmas. Unexpectedly, it took a turn of events.

"Alan, congratulations to you. I didn't expect that your film debut would be a major Hollywood commercial film." Lindsay Duncan also came up to congratulate her, and by the way, she secretly pointed out that Alan Rickman had never made a movie.

"Of course, we still have some auditions, but I'm very optimistic about you... No, it was Ronald who was optimistic about you first. It's his vision that I'm optimistic about." McTiernan realized something was wrong mid-sentence, so he turned around and started filming. flattered Ronald.

"We contacted your agent before we came here, but you are preparing to go on stage. I am telling you now because I want to give you a surprise." Ronald also stepped forward to shake hands with Rickman. "I remember that after the performance, you all went back. Let’s chat and drink beer at the bar. Let’s go and chat today. I’ll treat you.”

Then seeing the actors around him still surrounding him, he said, "Please come along if you are free. We have many supporting roles open for auditions. If you are interested, you can leave your contact information with Mr. Silver."

"Oh..." The supporting characters became happy.

"I'm sorry, Allen, Mr. Li, I already had a date with an admirer." The heroine Lindsay Duncan felt a little embarrassed and politely expressed that she didn't want to go.

"It doesn't matter." Ronald didn't say anything to persuade him to stay, and just left Duncan where he was.

"Oh..." Lindsay Duncan covered her mouth. Hollywood really doesn't take their elite actors from London's West End seriously. "Well, I wish you a pleasant chat."

Alan and I, everyone is going to the old place. If you are free, you can come over later." Ronald did not pursue it further. He laughed and walked out of the Music Box Theater with everyone, and went to the bar next to him. ... Arriving at the bar , everyone had a round of drinks. Alan Rickman listened to McTiernan talk about the role, and then he realized that Ronald invited him to play a big villain.

After hesitating for less than five minutes, Rickman's agent also arrived. After whispering to him the salary proposed by Ronald and Silver, he immediately agreed without any hesitation.

It happens that I am short of money, and the production cost of the movie is very high. If I act well and the movie box office is good, it will open up the American market. The movie didn't do well at the box office, so I patted my butt and acted in a play in London, so I didn't suffer any loss.

"How are they? These Broadway actors are good, aren't they? They are high quality and cheap." Ronald saw Joel Silver on the side collecting his business cards and came over to talk to him.

While filming on the set of "Moonlight", Ronald learned that if Broadway actors are willing to deign to play supporting roles, they will often be the highlights of the movie.

"It's good, but I don't know how many are willing to go to Los Angeles to start work. Their play has just ended, and they all have some spare money. When they are not so urgent, they may be more willing to wait for a new play on Broadway."

Joel Silver was a little surprised by the quality of the actors here, but after chatting, he found that it was not a problem to get a few actors to play the supporting roles that did not appear much.

"This is your trouble. I have helped you solve the big problem of the main villain today." Ronald patted his butt and walked away.

Ronald went to the bar and asked for another beer. Looking at the actors in the same play who were happily blessing Alan Rickman, he was still very emotional.

Drama actors still admire acting talent. Alan Rickman's acting skills are obviously higher than the three heroines. The praise of the whole play depends on him. The congratulations of the supporting actors are from the heart. I hope that more audiences can see his acting talent.

"Dangdangdang..." Ronald knocked on a clock on the bar.

"I'll buy a round of beer," Ronald said to the bartender who came up with a smile.

"Okay, a round of free beer." Several waiters also came to help, and a waitress came up and kissed Ronald boldly.

The waitress who kissed Ronald was still with everyone else, holding a few glasses of beer in one hand and serving beer to the people across the street.

Ronald noticed that Kevin, the actor who told the talk show jokes last time, was also there.

"Hi, Kevin." Ronald raised his glass to him.

"Thank you, Ronald." Kevin smiled at him, and then said to the waitress, "Honey, come and sit here."

Then he stretched out his hand and pinched the waitress's butt.

"Get out of the way, Kevin. If you tease me again, I will tell the boss to move your talk show to the worst time."

"Don't..." Kevin raised his hands to surrender.

"Hahaha..." Everyone burst into laughter, and then raised their beer in their hands to toast Ronald. An actor with a square chin shouted to Ronald: "Cheers, thank you Ronald for bringing us beer and bread."

This was a compliment to Ronald for bringing them job opportunities.

"Hello, what's your name?" After drinking, Ronald came forward and chatted with them.

"I'm a Broadway actor, Alec." The rare one stretched out his hands.

"Hello, Alec." Ronald shook hands with him, "You don't seem to be an actor in Dangerous Liaisons, but I think you look familiar. Have we met before?"

"Yes, I just finished the revival of Tennessee Williams' famous play "A Streetcar Named Desire", I played Stanley." Alec smiled and said to Ronald, "As for why you think I look familiar, it may be because I used to be a bartender at Club 54, many people say so."

"Maybe, I've been there a few times." Ronald was not sure.

"Do you have a business card? We can keep in touch." Ronald knew that Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire" was a famous play, and the protagonist Stanley in the movie version was played by Marlon Brando. Since this Alec can play the protagonist of the Broadway version, he must have good acting skills, so he wanted to get to know him.

"And you, Kevin, you haven't called me since last time."

"I'm busy with my talk show career and honing my acting skills." Kevin took out his business card and handed it to Ronald.

Ronald also took out his two business cards with only his agent's phone number and handed them to Alec and Kevin.

He looked at the two business cards in his hand, "Alec Baldwin; Kevin Spacey..."

.

Moscow fitter Guosha reminds you: Remember to collect after reading