Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The next day, Ronald attended a ceremony in West Berlin and announced that he would give a copy of "Dirty Dancing" to Hannah's charity group, and then show it in three cinemas for a long time.

At the ceremony, the West Berlin side was very moved and sent an official representative to attend the ceremony. At the meeting, the charity organization and ordinary people expressed their gratitude for Ronald's kindness, and the applause lasted for a long time.

Ronald felt very good, stretched out his hands, and waved them to stop.

As a result, the gesture was misunderstood by the participants. Everyone thought that Ronald stood up and waved his hands, hoping for more enthusiastic applause. So all the participants stood up and applauded, and some people shouted slogans such as America and Hollywood in English, and some even came up to hug him.

Is this really loving himself? It was the first time that Ronald was praised by the audience like this. His heart was warm. He whispered to Cannold, and then announced that he had adjusted a batch of videotapes of his own movies to give to them, so that those "immigrants" from East Germany could watch them.

I don't understand the West Berlin people's good feelings towards America. Unlike the Japanese, who were also defeated countries, who were afraid and obedient to America, the West Berliners seemed to really like America from the bottom of their hearts.

After talking to Hannah about her observations, Hannah cleared Ronald's doubts. At the beginning of the Cold War, West Berlin relied on American air transport to ensure daily supplies. President Kennedy's speech "Today I am a Berliner" at the Brandenburg Gate was once a warm memory for West Berliners.

And last year, the current president visited West Berlin again, and in the same place, he once again delivered a speech with the theme of "Mr. Mikhail, please tear down this wall!" as the president of America.

After that, the number of immigrants from the East through various channels doubled. The West German people, especially the residents of West Berlin, completely regarded America, which has a large German population, as a big cousin.

Ronald also likes this country where a high proportion of the people can speak English, and has a good impression of Hollywood. The weak film production industry in his own country is the best place to sell movies. If he cultivates his relationship with them now, he can have a solid box office market for the movies he produces and distributes in the future.

In fact, many European producers have also discovered this opportunity. The Chinese film "Kung Fu Master" participating in the Golden Bear Award this year also tried to be released in German theaters immediately after the screening, just like Hollywood movies. The Chinese distribution manager met Michel Cannold at almost every negotiation meeting this time.

The information Cannold brought back was that this Chinese film was favored by many film buyers.

"Oh, do Germans also like kung fu movies?" Ronald asked casually. If you want to sell movies here, it is important to understand the preferences of local audiences.

"Haha, Kung Fu Master is the name of a video game. In fact, this is a typical Chinese movie, a story about a mother and her daughter's classmates, and there are nude scenes." Cannold knew that Ronald did not watch French movies.

"Oh..." Now there is no commercial film master like Truffaut in Chinese movies, and they have fallen to the point of using this kind of thing to attract audiences. But what is this "Kung Fu Master" game? It seems to be very popular in Europe now? I heard from Cannold that the end of the film is that the male protagonist, high school student Julian, won the championship of this game competition.

...

"Ada, Ada...ah..."

Ronald returned to New York and asked someone to find a "Kung Fu Master" cassette, inserted it into the newly bought Nintendo game console, and started playing. This game is very fascinating, completely different from all other games like plane shooting.

This is a kung fu fighting game. The protagonist is an oriental man. After his girlfriend was robbed by the bad guys, he went to an ancient castle alone, and then he had to use fists and feet to defeat the enemies who kept coming on each floor, and defeated them while moving forward.

The most annoying thing is the enemies who come from behind from time to time and throw flying knives. You have to squat or jump to avoid the flying knives. Ronald finally killed to the end of the level and saw a staircase to the second floor, but was rushed over by the boss with a wooden stick and knocked down with one stick.

"Hahaha, you're dead again." Donna was gloating next to him. She just came to see Ronald and found her cousin playing an interesting game as soon as she entered the door.

"This game is really difficult." Ronald put down the controller. He had been playing for more than half an hour without realizing it. He was really addicted. Nowadays, electronic games have developed to such a realistic level.

"Which movie does this protagonist look like? I saw it on the cover of your video tape." Donna pointed to the Kung Fu master protagonist on the TV screen and said to Ronald.

"I don't know, the voice is imitating Bruce Lee." Ronald has seen Enter the Dragon, and that Ada, Ada's voice is exactly the same.

"But the person looks different, right? This person is fatter than Bruce Lee, and has long hair," Donna pointed to the hair of the little man and said to Ronald, "It's that movie, shot by your friend in Hong Kong."

"ja?" Ronald came back to his senses. This character really looks like him. He quickly found the "Fast Food Truck" videotape that JA gave him. The chubby guy on the cover must be the protagonist in the game, right?

Ronald, full of suspicion, picked up the phone and called JA in Hong Kong.

"Hello, Luo Sheng, do you want to talk to A-Long?" Sister Jiao gave the phone to JA.

"Ronald, your movie 'Fighting World' is almost done. You can actually invite Brooke Shields to make a movie? There are many advertisers asking her to shoot commercials. We all want to cooperate with her. You Can you ask her to stay and make a few movies?”

"Porky has a lot of advertising contracts in Japan that are going to be continued. She will go there after filming Fighting the World. You can help the publisher in Hong Kong to put in a good word and maybe find the starting price that his Hong Kong advertiser can offer." Rona De declined on behalf of Brooke.

"I know, I know, Japanese advertisers offer high prices, and I also cooperate with them. Who are you calling this time?"

"I have something to ask you. Your 'Food Truck' has been adapted into a video game. I want to ask how the cooperation works here?" Ronald really wanted to ask. This "Kung Fu Master" game is so popular. , I have also filmed Long Wei Boy, and Break Dance. Adapting them into games to get licensing fees also opens up a profit channel for low-cost productions.

"What video game? I don't know? Who among you knows? Has anyone made a game using my look?"

It looked like Ja had no idea at all. Ronald did not expect that these Japanese game developers did not buy the pirated works that he had the right to use.

The two investigated for a long time, and finally the lawyer from Xiangjiang said that they had discovered this marginal video game, but because the name was changed to Thomas by the game company, and the character image was too low-resolution, it would be difficult to prove it in court. It is adapted according to ja's appearance.

It seems that they combined the ja's appearance with Bruce Lee's weird scream as a weird trick to avoid legal risks.

ja went to send a lawyer's letter to the game company, and Ronald also called in the lawyer Lindsay Dole for consultation.

The result of their legal team's research is that there is no well-known legal case for this kind of lawsuit involving video games imitating the copyrighted images of film and television characters. In addition to Sony, which has a lot of business in America, other Japanese game manufacturers, such as Nintendo and Sega, have their main game production operations in Japan, making cross-border rights protection very difficult.

Some famous figures in Hollywood who have tried to defend their rights can easily be circumvented by Japanese lawyers. For example, the image design and name of the Nintendo game Donkey Kong produced in 1981 were copied from the famous Hollywood monster King Kong (KG Kong).

Universal is the copyright holder of King Kong's image. Ronald's old acquaintance, Universal's chairman Sid Sheinberg, sued Nintendo for infringement, seeking huge compensation and the retail price of each game sold. 3% as image usage fee.

However, Nintendo is not easy to bully. They have already prepared. Donkey Kong that entered the American market was renamed "Donkey Kong" in an attempt to get away with it.

Ronald laughed out loud as he looked at the dossier. Nowadays, the display effect of game consoles on home TVs is very bad, and the characters are all color blocks. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to say that a gorilla is a donkey.

Universal’s lawyers were not easy to mess with, and they immediately came up with another reason. In this Donkey Kong game, a man who looks like a plumber has to rescue a beautiful woman who was captured by a monster. On the way, you have to avoid the rocks thrown by Donkey Kong from above.

Universal believes that this plot is a plagiarism from the classic monster movie produced by RKO Pictures.

The male protagonist, the beautiful woman, the gorilla monster, these elements were combined, and the judge immediately began to favor Universal Pictures' view. Although Nintendo argued that the villain was a donkey rather than a gorilla, the similarity of plots cannot be denied.

Unexpectedly, just when Nintendo was about to admit defeat and pay compensation, one of the lawyers they hired named John Kirby discovered a big loophole in Universal's indictment.

It turns out that according to the latest revised copyright law. Classic American movies can enjoy 70-year copyright protection. The copyright for King Kong, filmed by RKO in 1933, will not expire until the next century.

However, after RKO's film library was purchased by Universal, there was a problem with the handover process. The copyright law revised in 1976 automatically enjoys 70 years of copyright for new films shot after that. But for previous movies, the studio needed to register the copyright in order to extend the copyright of the old movie to 70 years.

A large number of film studios such as RKO and United Artists that have now gone bankrupt and reorganized have had their film libraries sold to many film companies. They have been resold many times. For this blockbuster, Universal's legal department actually forgot to register the copyright. . Now according to copyright law, the copyright has expired and has entered the public domain. Anyone can use it without paying Universal.

Not only that, Nintendo also entrusted John Kirby to countersued Universal. After a verdict last year, Universal had to compensate Nintendo US$1.8 million in legal fees and reputational damage.

After this incident, when game manufacturers enter the American market, they will rename characters suspected of infringement. For example, the character image of ja is used in this game. The Japanese version of the game is called Kung Fu Master, and the American version has been renamed Spartan X.

Ronald saw that there was no legal precedent on licensing fees to support his authorization to Japan Game Company to adapt Longwei Boy into a game, so he gave up the idea. However, he continued to ask Lindsay Dole to do research and follow-up on the copyright law of video games. Once there are legal precedents and opportunities, he can try to adapt his own movie.

Ronald, who continued to prepare "Working Girl" in New York, finally waited for Harrison Ford.

He caused a stir as soon as he came to the set, and the actors, including leading actress Melanie Griffiths and supporting actress Joan Cusack, rushed to speak to Harrison.

Harrison Ford, no matter where he goes, there will be a group of actresses following him around, pretending to discuss issues nearby, but actually looking at Harrison secretly.

Not only the actresses, but also the crew, makeup artists, hairstylists, recorders, and other female personnel all came over intentionally or unintentionally, wanting to talk to Harrison Ford.

Particularly egregious is the actress who plays Tess's companion secretary, Nora Dunn. She simply walked around Harrison Ford for a long time, and often stuck her head out from behind Ronald, trying to smile with her idol, or make flirtatious glances, hoping to induce Harrison to strike up a conversation with her.

"I can't do this..." Harrison Ford held the script as if he had just begun to read it carefully today. He turned to a page, which showed a scene of Jack Traynor and Tess flirting at the elevator entrance.

Jack Traynor wanted to date Tess, but Tess declined to develop a personal relationship with him because she wanted to focus on her work.

"What can't be done?" Ronald was asked and his mind was full of questions. It's almost time to start filming, and you told me that you can't act?

"My image, ahem, I mean, it doesn't quite fit the Jack Traynor persona. He's a Wall Street loner, a lothario, and he doesn't talk to women like that. You know what, Jack doesn't know What does it mean to be rejected by a woman?”

Harrison Ford's intentions are clear, he is a star, and stars are always chased, dreamed of, and secretly loved by women. It is impossible for him to be rejected by a woman. There is no transformation like Tess not wanting to fall in love with him first, and then falling in love with him after getting to know each other better.

A star must make women fall in love with him as soon as he appears. No reason, no reason. Otherwise, why would they still be stars?

"This is a very good point..." Ronald felt that this made sense from Harrison Ford's perspective. Anyway, this is not an important part of the movie. If Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffith have chemistry in this way, it is not impossible.

"Oh, Harrison, that's the way you are, Ronald, we should listen to him, shouldn't we?"

Actress Nora Dunn, who had become a nymphomaniac, actually started speaking next to her.

Ronald turned to look at her. This stupid woman couldn't find a place to go crazy? You are a director and producer, and you are negotiating terms with the biggest star on the show. What's going on with you speaking out?

"Oh, I, I...I'm sorry..." Nora Dunn realized that this was not something she could comment on.

"It's okay, you must like the character I play, right? What's your name?" Harrison Ford was very kind to this fan of the actor. He looked at her with his trademark crooked smile, and then he was gentle and manly. Angrily, he got away from Nora.

"My name is Nora, Nora Dunn. Nice to meet you, Harrison." Nora Dunn almost cried. She secretly put her right hand into her pocket and took off her wedding ring. Then he stepped forward and hugged each other like a fan girl.

"Oh, be careful, be careful, I'm hugging you..." Harrison gave her a gentle hug.

Ronald looked at the ring-shaped skin on the ring finger of Nola's right hand, which was lighter than the rest of the skin, and put his hand on his forehead. This star's charm is really great.

There are stars who can assist the box office, but there are also problems caused by stars.

Ronald felt that there would be many temporary requests to modify the plot and lines in the script, so he made a phone call to screenwriter Kevin Wade. Let him be a permanent resident on the set. If there are some temporary problems, a screenwriter can revise Harrison's part of the script on the spot.

"Sorry, Ronald, I can't go to the set." Kevin Wade replied in a very soft voice on the phone.

"You can't come to the set? What do you mean you can't come to the set? This is your script, don't you want to watch Harrison Ford play the character you created, Jack Traynor? Kevin, you have to come over, if you If there is other business, we can discuss it, right?”

Ronald felt that things had been a little rough since returning from West Berlin. Is Kevin Wade going to fight with him in order to collect money?

"There is no other business, Ronald. Negotiations between the Western and Eastern Writers Guilds and the Producers Union are likely to break down. The union notification letter I received yesterday says that starting today, I will not be allowed to participate in the script writing or revision of any crew. Or screenwriter doctor consulting sex project I’m sorry, Ronald.”

"Ah..." Ronald heard the bad news. Why is there a strike?

"Mr. Ronald Lee, as a joint representative of the Writers Guild of the West and the Writers Guild of the East, I am here to inform you that as a member of the Writers Guild, we need you to suspend any screenwriting work pending notification from the union."

Sure enough, not long after, a union representative came to the door and personally delivered a notice, asking Ronald to suspend his work as a screenwriter.

"I'm also a member of the Writers Guild..." Ronald hadn't thought of this identity of his for a long time. I haven’t started writing by myself for a long time, and the dividends from the Screenwriters Guild are only tens or hundreds of dollars, which is only enough to pay my membership fees.

"Sorry, I am also the director of this film. As a director, I have to continue to do preparatory work here."

"It's your freedom, Mr. Li, but we will send representatives to the crews of major Hollywood productions to help supervise the members of the Writers Guild and not work privately before reaching an agreement. I hope you can understand." The union representative left after saying that.

"Fuck, what's going on? Those idiots in our Producers Guild haven't reached an agreement with the Writers Guild yet. What's going on?" Ronald immediately called Eddie, the general manager of Daydream.

"The Writers Guild has a new negotiator. He is very tough and we can't communicate with him. The Producers Guild can't give screenwriters more profit points than the Actors Guild and the Directors Guild." Eddie answered on the phone.

"And their negotiators are stupid enough to interfere with the director's casting. They hope to get the right to negotiate the roles of film and television projects. We can't give in..."

"Fuck, what do they think screenwriters are?" Ronald cursed. No, it seems that I also started as a screenwriter and am still a member of the union.

"We need a backup plan. Can you help me find a good screenwriter who is not a member of the Writers Guild? I want to use him. Someone from Britain is also fine..."

"I'll arrange it right away..."

Exploitation Hollywood 1980