Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Damn it, she ran away again. This person didn't resign that day and just disappeared from the crew." When Niceta got the news brought by Richard, he immediately suspended everything he was doing and used all his resources. Resources track down the woman who secretly took away the inside information and leaked it to everyone in Hollywood.

However, this secretary obviously knew that he had been exposed. After seeing Ronald arrive on the set of "Above the Law", he disappeared that day.

"Who do you think is targeting us?" Ronald tapped the table with his hand and asked Niceta.

"Honestly, I don't know. The inside of CAA is like a colosseum, and everyone may be my enemy. It's not impossible for agents on the outside. Every move we make is watched, just like when I was at William Morris also has some inside information, but I still abide by the rules and don’t do anything like this to break the rules and leak secrets.”

Niceta hired me instead of us. In this matter, there is no benefit in offending a director with continuous commercial success. The person who spread the news was more aimed at Niceta and Richard's two agents, rather than Ronald himself.

"Our interests are the same. I will never forget that you signed me when I had no screenwriting work, and you stood by me in all the movie disputes. And... they messed up like this, which made me very passive, I don’t like it very much. Whether you are an insider of CAA or an outsider of WMA or ICM, you are my enemy.”

Ronald hated this unconventional approach. The reason why Niceta and Richard got along with him was largely because they were not Eastern European Jews and they valued mutual trust when doing things. A habit of winning his underwear.

When cooperating with such people, there can be conflicts of interest and bargaining. In the end, everyone can cooperate rationally and based on long-term interests.

But the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe, whether adversaries or allies, will win until they can no longer win. Doing business with them always feels like there are poisonous snakes lurking around you, and you don't know when you will be sold by them.

Niceta and Richard were obviously relieved after hearing what Ronald said. When this happens to many celebrity clients, the most common approach is to take the opportunity to terminate the contract with the agent and find a cheaper one. Fortunately, Ronald had no such idea of ​​taking advantage.

"I will continue to investigate and I will not stop until I find out." Niceta expressed her determination.

"Don't look at the evidence, just look at who can benefit from it. Who do you think may have instigated it?" After Ronald stated that he and his agent stood together, he wanted to know who they suspected.

It feels very bad to be plotted against someone like this without knowing who the other party is. Ronald felt as if he knew there were cockroaches in the room, but couldn't find them. He held his slippers and was so angry that he didn't know where to shoot them.

So Ronald would rather accuse someone wrongly than he needs to guide the person he suspects. When he asked, he pointed towards the office of CAA President Michael Ovitz.

"Let's go find an Italian restaurant for dinner. I heard that a new one has opened in Beverly Park at the foot of Beverly Hills..." Niceta stood up and put on her coat. This kind of thing is not appropriate to talk about in the office.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they found a table with no one around. After the waiter served the food, Niceta started talking, "What Ovitz made people do is very impossible, the height is impossible..."

He felt that it was impossible for Ovitz to instruct his secretary to do such a thing. It’s not that he won’t put spies into his subordinates’ offices, but it’s just that blatantly destroying the balance between agents from different factions within CAA. As the boss, doing this is not conducive to the company as a whole.

"So it's your enemy in CAA? Or who has a grudge against me?" Ronald asked for the names of several suspects, and then slowly investigated.

"There is such a person who meets all the conditions. He has conflicts with me, Richard, you, and Paula. And he can benefit from leaking the secret." Niceta lowered her voice and said.

"who is it?"

"Jake Rapke."

"Who?" Ronald felt that the name was a bit familiar, as if it happened a long time ago, but he couldn't remember it.

Niceta looked towards Richard, as if she wanted Richard to explain.

"Ahem..." Richard took out a handkerchief from his pocket, took off his glasses and began to wipe them. "Do you still remember the first script you wrote after we signed you?"

"My brother's protector?" Ronald said, as if the past seven or eight years ago were gradually emerging from the ocean of memory.

At that time, "My Brother's Keeper" was spotted by Ovitz. In order to sign Jane Fonda's agent contract, he bought it for $250,000 and gave it to Columbia and Jane Fonda. Director James Bridges was hired to direct.

This James Bridges is also a client of CAA, and his main agent is Jack Lapke.

For his own benefit, Rupke gave James Bridges the bad idea to find a suitor to write another edition and remove Ronald's signature. When the plot was finally discovered, Niceta and Richard had a huge quarrel with him about it, which went all the way to Ovitz.

In the end, Ovitz got together, retained Ronald's signature, bought out the script, and let James Bridges direct.

In addition to Ronald's affairs, Jack Lapke also had a personal grudge against Niceta and Richard.

When Richard Lovett first joined CAA, he was still an assistant agent. He read scripts for Jack Lapke in his spare time in exchange for Jack Lapke's recommendation, which allowed him to enter the fast track and be promoted to a formal agent.

Who knew that Jack Lapke used Richard's scripts for nearly half a year for free, and then when it came to recommending a formal agent, Richard's name was not included, but the daughter of a relative was recommended.

Richard was deceived and almost missed the formal promotion channel and was kicked out of CAA. Fortunately, Niceta took him in, and Richard worked for Niceta for another half a year before he got the chance to become a formal agent.

And Niceta, Paula and her husband, and Jack Lapke are mainly competing with each other as clients.

Lapke is an Ashkenazi Jew from Eastern Europe, and is actually a graduate of Tisch School of New York University. He has a natural advantage over most Jewish actors and directors in the industry.

He represented the famous British director Ridley Scott, and he also had several stars in his hands, which happened to be a competitor with Tom Cruise and others. They fought many times and undermined each other more than once or twice.

This time, the news that Ronald was interested in "Working Girl" was released, and many of his male and female stars were eligible to participate in the audition. The resources of "Working Girl" were no longer exclusive to Niceta and Paula's husband-and-wife shop. With his identity as an Eastern European Jew within CAA, it is very likely that he will get one or two roles.

"Is there any way to confirm it?" Ronald asked Niceta.

"I will find a way, and the private detective Frank McPike you recommended can also help a lot."

"Isn't he investigating that Pitt kid?" Ronald didn't understand how the investigation of Brad Pitt could help identify who was behind the scenes.

"It is a common thing in Hollywood for actors like Brad Pitt to rise to fame. In the final analysis, they only know how to please women and are experts in picking up girls. I have a list of all the actresses represented by Jack LaPuke..."

Ronald immediately understood, and the two sides confirmed each other. As long as this line is connected, it is very likely that Jack LaPuke is behind it.

He thought for a moment and said, "Does Jack LaPuke represent any singers? Don't forget about Cher and his boyfriend."

"I'll add the list right away."

The few people arranged things, and finally asked Richard to summarize all the progress of the investigation. He and Jack LaPuke had the deepest grudge, and he was almost kicked out of CAA as an agent. So he must be very careful and meticulous when he was handed over to look after it.

...

After finishing this, Ronald asked script assistant David Simkins to find a screenwriter, and he also got results. A few years ago, a martial artist named Frank Dukes accidentally boasted to a screenwriter Sheldon Lettich about his "personal experience".

He said that he was once a member of the CIA, and also learned Tanaka-ryu samurai sword fighting and Kyokushin Karate in Japan, and performed well in the CIA's special operations.

One day he suddenly received an invitation to participate in a competition representing the world's highest level of fighting - the World Martial Arts Conference.

This competition is unlimited, which means that participants must sign a life and death agreement, and they will not be held responsible for injuries or deaths in the competition.

Finally, Frank Dukes went through untold hardships and went to a small island in the Caribbean to participate in the competition. He won 62 games in the knockout rounds, and finally defeated the defending champion and won the World Martial Arts Tournament.

This plot, which was just bragging in a bar, aroused Sheldon Lettich's great interest. This story is similar to the Bruce Lee movies he watched when he was young and the popular TV series "Kung Fu" at the time.

Sheldon Lettich was originally a fan of martial arts movies and TV series, so he wrote it into a story, registered it with the Screenwriters Guild, and then promoted it everywhere.

David Simkins, who was looking for martial arts action movies everywhere, saw this script.

This script, called "Boxing King", can be matched with the traditional costumes of various schools of martial arts and the plot of multiple ring fights, which is just right for fighting experts such as Jean Claude Van Dam and Dolph Lundgren. Anyway, this kind of ring movie does not require any particularly good acting skills.

Ronald looked at Sheldon Lettich and asked him, "Does the prototype character you mentioned insist that this is his personal experience?"

"Yes, Frank Dukes is his real name, and also the name of the male protagonist. He told me that he was a former CIA employee and participated in the World Martial Arts Conference. He also introduced me to a martial arts friend, who swore to me that he also participated in the Martial Arts Conference. Everything Frank Dukes said was true."

"What do you think?" Ronald asked again. He didn't want such a liar to participate in the movie. If he didn't do it well, it would cause a lot of trouble after the release.

"Dukes and I often go to the bar. He told me a lot of nonsense stories. Among these absurd stories, I think the story of the Martial Arts Conference is the most suitable for being made into a movie."

"Hahaha, let the legal department handle everything..." Ronald saw that the screenwriter knew the rules, so he asked Daydream to contact the lawyer Mickey Kanter to eliminate the possibility of Dukes making trouble in the contract.

"Find someone to translate it into Chinese, and then send a copy to Hong Kong by express delivery so that Jackie can take a look." Ronald bought the filming rights of the script and asked David Simkins to send it to Hong Kong for professionals to give their opinions.

"Who are you going to cast as the lead actor?" David Simkins will also serve as the executive producer of "The King of Fighters". He doesn't know what Ronald is thinking. Is it Jean-Claude Van Dam or Lundgren who will play the fighter named Frank Dukes?

"This movie still requires some acting skills. I'll observe it again." Ronald thinks that not to mention the acting requirements in the normal scenes, at least in the ring scenes, it requires a lot of smiles to cope with close-up shots and how to perform the movements brilliantly.

Anyway, neither of them is famous, so let's see how good they are.

...

"Where are we going?"

Jean-Claude and Lundgren were taken by Ronald to the studio in Burbank. Jean-Claude was more curious and asked Ronald halfway.

"This time I'll take you to the editing room. If you want to be an actor, you have to be familiar with all aspects of filming."

Ronald took them to Walter Murch's editing room.

"Hi, Walter, how is your editing of 'Love in Prague' going?" Ronald saw that the beard of the editing master Walter Murch was longer than the last time he saw him.

"There are about two weeks left. I am like boiling the sauce for pasta, slowly boiling it over low heat. It is really a meticulous work."

Walter Murch has not communicated with anyone for a long time. The director Philip Kaufman completely let him make the final adjustments. At the last stage, it was all small adjustments, maybe only two or three places were edited a day. Ronald came to see him, and he was still very happy to have an expert to chat with.

"Great, so you can catch up with my new film. I plan to try some new ideas in this film. Without you to check it for me in the early stage, I am still not sure..."

Ronald's new film "Working Girl" has two super long shots according to the scene in the dream. Ronald only has a rough idea. He is not sure whether it can be realized on the editing table in the end. He has to pull Walter Murch to intervene during the shooting. If there are difficulties in editing, they can be reshot on the spot.

"Actually, you're fine. You just don't have experience shooting this kind of shot. I think you can do it if you do it a few more times." Walter Murch was very protective of Ronald and didn't want him to rely too much on himself. If the director explored innovative ways to shoot the film on his own, he would definitely gain more valuable experience than what he, an expert, suggested.

"I know, but this is a commercial production, and I want to add a layer of insurance." Ronald didn't want to make it like "Love in Prague", with all kinds of experimental ideas put in, and finally a master like Walter Murch had to spend several months on the editing table to fix it.

"Well, your remuneration is always generous, and my oldest child is about to go to college, and I have to save some tuition for him."

"Then it's settled, don't take a vacation after you finish here, and we'll go to New York to scout locations together."

"Excuse me, what is the principle? Put the two sides of the film together, and then use this machine to connect them together?"

Jean Claude Van Dam, who was overly curious, entered the editing room and began to look around at the various machines used for editing.

"Aha, yes, put a piece of tape I invented here, then press it, then press it again, and the sample will be connected." Walter Murch is very friendly to actors who are interested in editing.

"Is this your actor?" he asked Ronald. Many actors who enter the editing room just want to keep more of their close-up shots. There are not many people who are really interested in the principle and eager to try it like Jean Claude.

"They are all real fighters, European karate champions, and you may not believe it. They have also been my bodyguards..." Ronald introduced their backgrounds. "My small production company is now collecting scripts suitable for them. They are all materials for being the leading actor. This time, let them open their eyes."

"So that's how it is. In fact, those shots on your set must go through the editing room in the end before they can finally create the star image you see on the screen." Murch began to tell the two some common sense of editing.

"This is really interesting. Can I learn here?" Jean Claude Van Dam was very fascinated by the magic of editing, and immediately proposed to learn here.

"If Mr. Murch agrees, you can study here. What about you? Dove, do you want to come?" Ronald said hello to Walter Murch and agreed to Jean Claude's study here.

"I also have acting courses..." Lundgren was not very interested in these technical details. He wanted to hone his acting skills and become a star.

"Very good, then it's settled." Ronald also had an idea about the positioning of the two in his heart.

In fact, if a person wants to be a star, the most cost-effective investment is to learn some editing knowledge. Many times, the key to grabbing the camera is to understand why the director shoots the camera. Grabbing a good position in the camera that the director can't edit out is the key to leaving a deep impression on the audience on the screen.

Many directors are always bullied by stars on the set, asking them to shoot many shots that highlight the star's image. At that time, the director may have temporarily succumbed, but in the end, the power to enter the editing room and guide the editing was not open to the stars in Hollywood. This is still a restricted area for directors and editors.

Many stars spent a lot of effort, even unreasonable troubles, to shoot the shots, but the fate of entering the editing room is that they are cut off during the first rough cut, dropped on the floor, numbered and put away by the editing assistant, and then never see the light of day.

For a movie like "The King of Fighters" with many action scenes, knowing some editing can greatly promote the performance.

Whether it is Jean Claude's wide range of interests and abundant curiosity, or his innate understanding of the truth that the final creation of the movie is in the editing room, Ronald's inner balance has begun to tilt towards him.