Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Chapter 24 B-grade action movie

"What projects are you working on at Cannon?"

Ronald took Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Dam back to Daydream. Of course, he didn't really ask the two action actors to be his bodyguards, but just to support the scene when needed.

Lundgren and Jean-Claude looked at each other, knowing that the opportunity had come, and quickly told him about the project they were negotiating with Cannon Pictures.

Minahan Golan is a bit strange when making movies. No matter what kind of movie, it looks a bit like a comic. Minahan gave the two new actors the protagonists of comic movies.

The project that Minahan prepared for Jean-Claude was a live-action movie of He-Man. This year, Lundgren starred in the movie "Unicron" adapted from He-Man. But Lundgren's acting skills were too bad, so next year, in cooperation with Mattel, a movie that really got the "He-Man" image license, Minahan turned to Jean-Claude, whose acting skills were slightly better than Lundgren, to play He-Man.

Lundgren's image among the audience still remains in "Rocky IV", the emotionless fighting machine made by the Suvil Alliance. Since he didn't have the acting skills to create a new role anyway, Minahan created a script for him, letting him continue to play a fighting machine of the Suvil Alliance and go to Africa to fight against the rebels of a country.

After being bullied by Cuban mercenaries, he was rescued by the local tribe and moved by the free people. He in turn drove away the Cuban mercenaries and Czechoslovak instructors under the Suvil Alliance, and finally won the support of the black brothers.

Both of them have been preparing for a long time, but Minahan has been delaying for various reasons. They didn't dare to really turn against Minahan, so they had to go to the office every now and then to inquire about the progress. It happened that Ronald came today...

Ronald heard that their project had been delayed for half a year, and thought that what Minahan said was not important. What he did would truly reflect the financial situation of the cannon.

"Did Minahan give you a time point to start shooting?" Ronald touched his chin and asked the two action actors.

"He said it would be at least until the middle of next year, but I see his usual evasive behavior, maybe it will be the end of next year." Jean Claude has not yet got the role of Cannon, so he doesn't trust Minahan very much.

"That's not the case. Mr. Golan is very serious about making movies." Lundgren has already participated in a Cannon blockbuster, although in the end, because there was no money for special effects, the final effect was as bad as a low-quality cartoon. "But maybe you are right. Now Cannon's big projects have been suspended. We don't know what's going on. There are a lot of rumors."

"I can't promise you anything, but before Minahan starts your "big project", you may be able to shoot some small and medium-sized productions for my daydream... If you are willing." Ronald looked at the two very skilled action actors and had the idea of ​​getting a bargain in his heart.

"Excuse me... is it directed by you?" The two looked at each other and asked Ronald.

"Haha, my Daydream is a small production company that can only shoot movies with a budget of less than 5 million dollars. So I can only be an executive producer at most, and the director and producer will be found separately. But I can guarantee one thing, you will all be the absolute leading actor of the movie, and you will give full play to the characteristics of your karate movements. I will find the best action director to make your movements look good on the screen."

Jean Claude and Lundgren looked at each other. Ronald said so, so they had to believe it. Anyway, except for Minahan and Ronald, no one in Hollywood would ask them to shoot a serious movie, and the leading actor. A small budget or something, in fact, is nothing. First make a movie to make some money, and wait until Minahan's big production starts.

"Very good, very good, I will prepare the script now, and then find an action director to tailor a good-looking fight scene for you."

Ronald was very happy. It is not that easy to find such an actor who knows karate, fights well, and has received film shooting training. Anyway, there are many martial arts directors in Hong Kong's JA. When the time comes, find two of them to come over and shoot some Hong Kong-style action movies. Replace the protagonists with blond and blue-eyed Westerners. Just think about it, there will be a market. The audience here really has never seen that kind of Eastern martial arts.

"I will pay for you to find a suitable acting coach. You should study hard and practice karate to keep your skills. When you are needed, you can just be my bodyguards."

Ronald patted the shoulders of the two and called to practice JA himself, making the two fighters wonder what Ronald is up to.

...

"Luo Sheng, no problem. If you want to cooperate in making a movie, there is no problem at all. You can come to Hong Kong to shoot it, or I can send someone to Hollywood, hahahaha... Sister Jiao, please translate it for him..." When JA heard that Ronald wanted to cooperate in making a movie, he immediately patted his chest and said that there was no problem.

"Well, I'll prepare the script and send someone to negotiate with you. Don't worry, your people will come to help me, and the income will be in accordance with Hollywood standards."

"Mr. Luo is too polite, we are all friends..."

Ja hung up the phone and said to Sister Jiao, "Hollywood has many rules. Director Luo said it was a small production, but he was so rigorous in writing the script. When his people come, remember to remind me to receive them well..."

"Jackie, other people's small productions also cost millions of dollars, but if you put them here, they are big productions. Do you think they are like Xiangjiang Films and have Flying Paper Boys, who write scripts on the spot?"

"Don't tell me, their stuff is still good. The tapes Luo Sheng gave me last time were stuck on the walls during filming. For plastic ones, use special plastic tapes, for painted walls, use special tapes for pink walls, and for wallpapers, use special tapes for wallpapers. If I had these good things when I was shooting the food truck, I wouldn’t have to pay the owner of the castle for decoration after the shoot.”

"Ronald, you asked me to investigate the financial situation of Cannon Pictures, and I already have the results." Ed Bastian, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, flew to Los Angeles to report the investigation in person to Ronald. Condition.

Ronald took the report and read it.

"What do you mean, Cannon's current financial situation is not bankrupt, but it is unable to make large investments?" Ronald asked Ed after hurriedly flipping through the report.

"Yes, in fact Cannon's 400 million financing has been spent, and its main destinations are divided into three places:

The first is to acquire Britain's largest cinema chain, Starlight Cinemas. The acquisition gives them European distribution capabilities. As a result, they cooperated with EMI in China and obtained theater chain holdings in Italy, Spain, and Italy. Now Cannon is Hollywood's company with the strongest distribution capabilities in Europe.

The second is that more than 40 movies are shot every year, ranging from small productions worth 6 million to large productions worth 30 million. Most of the original shooting budget for Cannon was obtained from pre-sales in Europe, and then through a mortgage issuance contract, a bridge loan was provided by a bank in Belgium. However, this bank is currently under investigation for money laundering. There is a gap in their capital chain, so they will use this financing to make up for it.

The third is the new office building they built. The size of this building is only slightly smaller than the new building of 20th Century Fox. The real estate market has been very good in the past two years, and this is one of their best assets. "

"So lavish, you spent all 400 million in two years?" Ronald lamented that Minahan's spending ability is also top-notch.

"Spending money reasonably and quickly is actually a kind of ability. If you look at these three investments, they are actually relatively cost-effective." Ed Bastian quickly explained to Ronald the difference between running a company and personal wealth. The cost of raising money from the bond market is interest. If you can identify and purchase high-quality assets, you can not only cover the interest, but also increase in value. It would be a waste if this money is not spent in the bank.

"British Starlight Cinemas is a high-quality asset. In fact, Cannon encountered financial difficulties this time. Their first move was to mortgage Starlight Cinemas and obtain a loan of 80 million pounds from British banks."

"So it turns out that it's easy to get a mortgage loan for the cannon building, right?" Ronald understood the nature of the company's investment.

"Yes, Cannon's financial crisis is actually a temporary difficulty in cash flow. They are seeking a US$300 million loan on Wall Street, using the soon-to-be-topped building as collateral. Now it seems that they have a high chance of success." De Bastian acknowledges his clients’ inferences.

"So, their financial crisis is mainly caused by the second item, the big movies they invested in did not pay back?" Ronald continued to flip through the materials.

Cannon was previously a film company focusing on small and medium-budget exploitation films. Twenty or thirty exploitation films are made every year, most of which can be sold on television and earn back their money at the box office. And among the 20 or 30 films, it is difficult to guarantee that there will be one or two hits that will be successful. For example, "Break Dance" filmed by Ronald for them is the biggest success project.

Although this kind of business may not be a big hit or win an Oscar, it is more stable, has a short payment cycle, and is a good business even if the money flows steadily.

But after receiving 400 million in financing, Minahan seemed to be a new person, starting to play big productions and big stars. Not only did he destroy Hollywood's star salary structure, giving Stallone a salary of more than 10 million US dollars, he also invested in several major productions worth more than 30 million US dollars a year.

It just so happened that he had bad luck this year. None of his big productions were successful at the box office, and he did not follow the tradition of obtaining a bridge loan from a bank. Instead, he advanced the funds for filming himself, so there was no difficulty for the time being.

As a small company, Daydream has made money with the success of "Dirty Dancing", but it must learn a lesson and not gamble with its own money over and over again.

"On the surface it looks like this," Ed Bastian knocked on the table with his hand, "but there are deeper reasons. Cannon could have continued to raise funds in the market by issuing bonds, at least according to their current financial statements. , which is better than a few years ago, and you can get issuance conditions with lower interest rates.

However, some profound changes are happening on Wall Street. Milken, who previously handled the bond issuance for him, is now being investigated by the prosecutor of the Southern District of New York and is in big trouble.

Cannon Pictures' bonds are also part of Milken's series of suspected irregular financial operations, so there are no bond brokers on Wall Street willing to get involved in the company's bond issuance operations. "

"So what's your conclusion?" Ronald understood. Minahan's company's assets were still abundant, but its cash flow was a bit dry. The original financing channels of bond issuance were blocked by special investigations. No wonder some people started to let loose and wanted to take advantage of him.

"As long as they are willing to take out the building as a mortgage, it will not be difficult for the Cannons to get through this difficult period. But they have to make a truly blockbuster movie. Just one movie can make bankers change their view of them.

Otherwise, if the market continues to question their ability to make money in the future, it will only be a matter of time before problems arise again. "

"Hmm..." Ronald didn't quite agree with Ed Bastian's conclusion. Making money from filmmaking is largely a matter of luck. No one is sure of victory. To truly be able to operate healthily, we still have to go back to the route of making small-scale productions and making quick profit-making exploitation films.

Make a small amount of money steadily every year, and then look forward to one or two profitable movies.

"Thank you. I'll keep this report here. Maybe it will come in handy in the future..."

Ed Bastian said his goodbyes and left, and Richard walked in.

"Mr. Ovitz has arranged a time for you to go and see the filming set of Steve Siegel's new movie. However, he has other things to do, so he will not accompany you to the set this time."

"Okay, let's go by ourselves." Ronald nodded.

Steve Siegel, Ovitz's aikido coach, gained Ovitz's appreciation and contacted Warner Bros. to produce and distribute a B-level action film with Siegel as the leading actor.

Although Ovitz is the owner of an agency, he has actually done a lot of work as a producer and has a good vision. "Ghostbusters", which was previously packaged by CAA, was a huge success and became the annual box office champion.

The project that Ovitz set up for Siegel was definitely not to repay his master, but because he saw the box office prospects of this kind of movie. Ronald wanted to try to steal what kind of action movie it was, and even Ovitz was optimistic about it.

"What has Mr. Ovitz been busy with recently?" Ronald asked Richard.

"Well, I know that he continues to contact Mr. Spielberg, and I don't know anything else..."

"Oh, he's quite persistent."

Spielberg has been unwilling to sign an agent contract. He is able to move between Universal, Warner Brothers, and Paramount studios without being tied to any distribution company. And with his strength, he doesn't actually need Ovitz to help him get the project done.

If we talk about the role of producer, Ovitz and Spielberg actually have some competition with each other. Therefore, Ovitz's plan to acquire Spielberg and further control his stars has never been successful.

"He has been very busy recently, and we can't always find him. No one knows where he has gone except his secretary. This time, I happened to see his secretary arranging his schedule, and I found him through every opportunity."

"Okay, let's go alone. Call Duff (Lundgren) and Jean Claude (Van Dam)."

"Duff, Jean-Claude, we are going to the set of a new movie shot by an actor named Steve Seagal. He likes to scare people with Aikido and is well-known in Hollywood. So you two The main task is to prevent him from touching Ronald.

This person often arranges for photographers to hide nearby and take photos of guests being frightened by him. Although Ronald is not necessarily afraid of him, we must prevent this from happening. "

On the way to the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Richard told two combat experts about the day.

"Hehehehe..." Ronald laughed beside him. In fact, he was not afraid of a fight on the spot, just in time to see the quality of Sigel's self-proclaimed Aikido master certificate.

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