Exploiting Hollywood 1980

After the three-minute strike ended, Ronald ran back to the hotel to rest for a few hours, and then waited for Eddie, the general manager of Daydream, to come and report the situation.

"The two major actor unions in the film and television industry, the TV Screen Actors Guild and the Screen Actors Guild, have begun a new round of agreement negotiations with the Producers Guild. The conditions of the Directors Guild have encouraged them. I guess they will propose the same residual dividend conditions next." Eddie began to talk about the news from the Producers Guild.

"This is a good thing anyway. Their conditions will eventually cut a piece of meat from the three major wireless TV networks and various small-scale cable TV networks. I guess there will be no major problems in the negotiations, and the 1980 actor strike will not happen again." Ronald replied.

Ronald knew that this negotiation was a union of various unions to ask for more benefits from the TV stations and make the pie bigger. The new media channel has achieved good benefits. Everyone is happy to talk about it, and the minimum wage will be raised. This is not like the last round of negotiations, when the unions united to ask for benefits from the producers, so the negotiations were difficult and triggered a long strike.

Just like the residual dividends that the Directors Guild insisted on this time, the internal materials of the union said that the dividends received from TV stations this year totaled more than 50 million US dollars, and it is expected to exceed 100 million under the new contract next year. With such a big cake, it is easier to pass the clause of raising the minimum wage for grassroots directors.

"What about other unions?" Ronald asked. The Producers Guild is different from the unions of a single type of work. He has to negotiate labor-capital contracts with all unions. If one is missing, he cannot start work.

"There is no problem with the technical staff behind the scenes. They do not enjoy dividends, and the increase in the minimum wage is expected to be acceptable. There is also the Writers Guild for positions on the art line. Negotiations can also begin in January next year. It is expected that the same dividend ratio as the Actors Guild will be passed to increase wages."

"That's great. The current production business is not easy." Ronald breathed a sigh of relief. The sequelae of the stock market crash have not passed. This stock market crash, which is comparable to the Great Depression, has left a very bad impression on the public. There are calls for strict investigations into the illegal behavior of Wall Street tycoons, and various loose financial market supervisions are probably coming to an end.

The financing capabilities of various studios on Wall Street have also been gradually restricted. Many studios that have taken on heavy debts will have problems with their ability to borrow new debts if their ability to repay old debts is affected. If this situation continues, it will affect the entire industry one day.

However, the problem of Daydream is different from those companies that have borrowed heavy debts. They mainly do not have good scripts worth investing in.

Having been in the industry for a short time, Daydream has only received scripts for small-scale exploitation films. Eddie came this time to urge Ronald to use his connections in the industry to get more scripts for his company to produce.

"Hey, this takes time and money. Our Daydream is not an old brand like the Seven, nor is it an upstart like Cannon, so let's take it slow." Ronald scratched his head. This matter is not so easy.

Many of the scripts that are sent to him now are actually aimed at Ronald himself. If he does not agree with the director or producer, many screenwriters will not sign with Daydream and turn to seek support from other studios.

The two chatted about the company's business for a while, and finally ordered takeout pizza to quickly solve lunch.

Eddie turned on the TV and ate while watching the noon news. "Your acting is really good," he joked, pointing at Ronald's performance at the strike site in the morning.

"Hahaha..." Ronald also ate pizza and drank Coke.

"The Securities and Exchange Commission is starting a series of investigations into Cannon Pictures to see if there are any violations."

"Huh?" Both of them were attracted by the next news, and Eddie went over to turn up the volume.

"As of today, in my opinion, the company can no longer make a normal profit." A female accountant in charge of auditing was interviewing the TV station and expressing her views.

"Cannon's movies are difficult to satisfy at the box office. In their accounts, there are incomprehensible huge expenses in the subject of 'sales and management expenses'. And the 400 million US dollars they raised through junk bonds on Wall Street before is also constantly generating high interest. "

"Cannon has a financial crisis? "Ronald was surprised when he heard the interview on the news. Would this old sly guy, Minahan, go bankrupt because of the poor box office performance of several big productions such as Superman IV and Jump?

"It's unlikely. Cannon has many production plans in the industry now. I met Minahan when I went to the Producers Guild, and he didn't look like he had any big problems."

"But it's on TV news, so there must be something wrong." Ronald thought about the script shortage encountered by Daydream, "I'll make a few calls..."

The first person he called was accountant Ed Bastian.

"Ed, I want to ask you to do an audit business, yes... not my Daydream, but Cannon Pictures. I need an assessment. How much are they still worth?"

"Do you want to acquire them? It's a very ambitious move, but I have to remind you that financing on Wall Street is very expensive now, unless you have additional financial sources..." Ed Bastian was very satisfied with his client's aggressiveness. As long as the source of funds is solved...

"No, no, no, Ed, I don't want to acquire Cannon just yet. I want to settle the account and be as clear as possible. Cannon is a listed company, and I just want to understand the situation through public financial statements. You know Generally, if a Hollywood company goes bankrupt and is sold, it will bundle its assets into different packages. I want to see if there are any opportunities for bargain hunting.”

"That's simple, but because of the delay in financial disclosure, you're not going to get a very accurate assessment."

"It's okay, I just want a rough idea, and you can send me the bill..."

Then Ronald dialed Minahan's number.

"Hello, I'm looking for your chairman, Mr. Minahan Golan."

"Hi, Ronald, I'm Minahan, why did you call me today?"

Ronald frowned, why didn't Minahan's secretary answer the call first?

"I saw on the news that you cannons..."

"Those are all tricks of the bankers. They just want to make some noise to reduce the amount of further financing we need. They are all actions that are not on the table. I am preparing a new big production here. If you don't believe it, you can come here Look... quack quack..."

Minahan's laughter was as hearty as ever.

"Why not? We haven't seen each other for a long time. You know my movies are doing well at the box office. Should I go over and talk to you? Maybe we can jointly produce a few movies."

"Quack, quack, then I'll be waiting for your arrival. When will you come over..."

Soon, Ronald arrived at the Cannon's office not far from CAA. Opposite was the new building built by Minahan. After it is completed, it will become the Cannon's office.

"It seems it's almost finished? When will you move there?" Ronald hugged Minahan and said hello when he came out to greet him. When he arrived at his office, he pointed to the new building opposite and asked.

"About next spring, we will be at about the same progress as Fox and others..." Minahan puffed on a cigar in his office.

"That's great. Don't forget to invite me to attend the inauguration ceremony." To be honest, Ronald was quite envious of companies like this that had the money to build their own buildings.

"Then I must not forget you..." Minahan took out a new cigar and handed it to Ronald.

"Hmm..." Ronald lit it and took a sip. It was not as good as the ones in the offices of the seven CEOs.

"I'm just curious, who wants to get in trouble with your cannon?"

"Aren't they just those jackals who are trying to attack us in the capital market... I will leave these matters to Yoram. He will be interviewed by reporters soon and make a statement. Now I only care about next year's film project."

"What big production do you have in mind?" Ronald saw that Minahan didn't want to talk about the financial issues in the news, so he took advantage of the situation and asked about Minahan's film projects.

"I'm going to continue to open a sequel to a movie with a budget of 30 million US dollars." Minahan heard Ronald ask about the movie and immediately became energetic again, "Do you remember that comic book 'He-Man' adapted into the movie Unicron? I We will make a prequel or sequel. This time we will cooperate with the copyright owner Mattel, and the tentative name is ‘He-Man’.”

"Sounds interesting, who will star?" Ronald remembered the box office hit "He-Man - Unicron", starring Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren, who played the villain of Rocky IV. His acting skills are so bad that I wonder if Minahan will continue to use them.

"I'm thinking about Stallone or Chuck Norris. What, who do you have in mind?" Mina rarely saw Ronald asking such a detailed question and showing interest, so he thought, "Do you want to play the role yourself? No. The problem...you are tall enough for He-Man."

"No..." Ronald quickly clarified, "I just watched He-Man's cartoons and wanted to know who would play the live-action version." He-Man is a muscular man shirtless and wearing underwear, and he doesn't want to play the role.

"Stallone is a little short, but he is a star and can help a lot in distribution."

The two of them were chatting blindly when the door of the office was pushed open with a click.

"Mr. Golan, you promised me to make me a movie star. Why haven't you given me a chance yet?"

A blond macho man rushed in, "I'll show you my abilities, uncle..."

The person jumped, his feet flew into the air, then he crossed his legs, his right foot brushed against Minahan's nose, and he launched a mid-air back kick..."

"Jean Claude, how many times have I told you, don't use this trick in front of me..."

Minahan didn't have time to react, and was startled by a sweeping kick in the air. This actor's action skills are good, and his fighting looks much better than Stallone, but he always likes to scare himself.

He was very familiar with this move and would not hit him, but no one could bear to be scared by him like this.

"I just want you to see my level and prevent you from forgetting me, Mr. Golan." The blond man chuckled, obviously this was not the first time he had done this.

"Jean Claude...do you remember me?"

Ronald next to him was also startled by the mid-air kick, but he knew who it was when he saw the person's appearance.

This is the Jean-Claude Van Damme who stole the spotlight with a backflip at the beach hip-hop scene during "Break Dancing". He also used this mid-air kick on himself back then. We haven't seen each other for a few years. He used it. Becoming more proficient...

"Ah...Ronald...No, Mr. Li, hello, hello." When Jean Claude saw it was Ronald, he immediately came up to shake hands and say hello, "I'll show you..."

"Jean-Claude, don't bother Ronald. I promised you that I would definitely give it to you. But you have to be patient now, patient..." Minahan continued to fool the action actor.

"Mr. Golan, but I have to survive in Hollywood. Acting coaches are also very expensive. I have to make movies to survive. Otherwise, I have to participate in karate competitions and make money as a coach."

"Are you making a movie now?" Ronald suddenly asked Jean-Claude.

"Not now, I'm looking for an opportunity, Mr. Li..."

"Just call me Ronald. If you are not busy, you can work for me temporarily for a while. Minahan is very optimistic about you and will definitely let you play the leading role if there is a chance."

"Why, do you want Jean-Claude to play in your new movie?" Minahan was like an old toy of his, which was suddenly spotted by other children. He found that this toy was really fun, and immediately asked Ronald.

"No, no, not making a movie. I have some other temporary work here. I want to invite Jean-Claude..." Ronald remembered the former bodyguard Siegel who was in the premiere of "Moonlight Temptation".

I want to go to the shooting site of his new film and learn about the new trend of action films. Siegel will definitely provoke me at the scene. Although I am not afraid of him, it would be embarrassing to fight with him. This Jean Claude Van Dam is quite skilled. Karate is a martial art with practical combat ability. He can act as my bodyguard.

"What is the job?" Jean Claude was overjoyed. It was a rare opportunity to work for Ronald.

"I want to ask you to be my bodyguard." Ronald told about the conflict with Siegel.

"No problem. I have been a bodyguard for big shots before. I know Aikido. I can fight well against ordinary people... against real martial arts, such as karate..."

"Very good, you go to help Ronald first, and when I have a new film ready, you will play the leading role for me." Minahan Golan suddenly liked Jean Claude Van Dam more and more. He had been Ronald's bodyguard, and it was also a gimmick for him to act in a movie.

"Who are you going to give the leading role to? Mr. Golan, you promised me first..."

While talking, another blond hunk walked in. He heard the last conversation between Minahan and Jean-Claude Van Dam, both of whom were actors of the same type, and immediately stepped forward to question him.

"Dolph? Don't worry, I'm talking about another movie. Your Unicron didn't do well at the box office, so it's normal for President Yoram to have doubts about the sequel. I'm on your side. You just need to improve your acting skills a little bit..."

Ronald took a look and found that it was the lead actor of the He-Man adaptation "Unicron", Dolph Lundgren.

"I've tried very hard to improve my acting skills, Mr. Golan, but Hollywood acting coaches are too expensive. I have to find a job first. Can you give me some stand-in or supporting role work?"

"Hehehe..." Ronald and Jean-Claude both laughed.

"What are you laughing at? What's so funny about this? Oh, Ronald, no... Director Lee." Lundgren recognized Ronald and immediately stepped forward to apologize, "I'm sorry, I just hope to gain a foothold in Hollywood, I hope you don't mind."

"What did you study?" Ronald didn't know him very well.

"I studied chemical engineering and completed my master's degree in New York." Lundgren replied.

"No, I'm asking what martial arts you learn..."

"I learn karate, Goju-ryu karate. I also know a little judo."

"Goju-ryu," Ronald thought, isn't it the style of Master Miyagi in "The Karate Kid"? He must be able to fight.

"I need a few temporary bodyguards recently, who can fight. Can you work for me?" Ronald invited him.

"No problem, I came to America to be a bodyguard for Gracie Jones, and I'm familiar with this business." Lundgren also knew that being a bodyguard for a big shot like Ronald was a good opportunity. After all, it's his old job and he can make money.

"Welcome to join..." Jean Claude shook hands with Lundgren, and the two naturally retreated behind Ronald, one on the left and one on the right. The two blond hunks immediately started to get into the role and became Ronald's bodyguards.

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