Exploiting Hollywood 1980

As the closing ceremony approached, more Hollywood stars came. In addition to Robert Redford who was waiting for the award, there were also big names who came to support various movies.

The Chuck Norris mentioned by Gong Li also came. Ronald asked her that the movie that the investor asked Yiou to imitate was indeed "Delta Force" shot by Cannon, a poor B-level imitation of Stallone's "First Blood".

Ronald felt a little sorry for Yiou now. His ability was not limited to shooting such imitation B-level movies. Then he asked Gong Li to tell Yiou that as long as he was interested, he could come to Hollywood. If he was afraid of the language and cultural barriers, he could also try Hong Kong.

Gong Li was very happy. Yiou would have many more opportunities with such a friend in Hollywood. She was cheerful and said that there was another Chinese film participating in the main competition unit of Cannes this time, and another British film participating in the Directors' Fortnight. There was also a Chinese actress in it, but she was from the other side of the strait.

Ronald just wanted to meet more Chinese filmmakers, so he asked her to come forward and invite the two to come and have a chat.

The director from the mainland is Kaige, a bearded man. This time he brought a film about being a rural teacher in the southwest, called "King of Children".

The Chinese actress is Sylvia Gai-Chia, and she starred in the film "Sweet and Sour", which is about the struggle and helplessness of Chinese immigrants in a foreign land in Britain, as well as the dilemma of cultural incompatibility.

Chinese are relatively marginal in Cannes, and even film directors and stars have limited financial resources. Ronald invited guests to the only high-end restaurant in Cannes that serves Chinese food, Le Jard de Babou. This is a Vietnamese restaurant, but because there are fewer types of Vietnamese food, there are also a lot of Chinese food mixed in.

Kaige is a director with a strong desire to communicate. His film King of Children was rated average in the program book, and it is unlikely to win this time. He really wants to be recognized by Hollywood and the mainstream European film industry. After knowing that Red Sorghum won the Golden Bear Award, he insisted on sending King of Children to Cannes, because the level of the Cannes Film Festival is higher than that of West Berlin.

Sylvia G studied and lived in America, and speaks great English. She is more relaxed and helps Kaige translate. She used to make movies in Hong Kong. Because she studied in America and speaks fluent English, she was chosen by British director Mike Newell to star in this movie.

Kaige talked freely and said a lot of film theories that Ronald didn't understand. Ronald smiled but didn't say anything. Later, Kaige also noticed it and said to Sylvia G with a smile, "The foreigners are laughing at us for being backward."

"If you are interested, why not come to Hollywood and try it? There is no point in talking too much. Let's make a movie and see if the audience likes it." Ronald said in Chinese with a smile.

"Uh..." Kaige looked at Gong Li who was laughing and felt a little embarrassed. Who knew that this foreigner spoke Chinese so well that he laughed at him. Fortunately, his girlfriend is going to America soon. When there is a work, he will go to him and let him see that men in Beijing can also make movies.

Sylvia G understood Ronald's subtext and asked Ronald if he was willing to invest in Chinese people making movies in Hollywood.

"Of course, if you have any story scripts related to America, you can send them to me. I have a small company in Hollywood. If I come across a script with commercial potential, investment is not a problem."

The three Chinese filmmakers took the business card Ronald gave them and put it away carefully. Who knew that they could develop Hollywood connections by coming to Cannes?

...

For Daydream, the Cannes Film Festival is more of a trading market. Many small producers bring copies and try to sell them at a good price.

Some can't even pay the rental for screening, so they have to sell the converted videotapes. They may have invested all their savings in the filming of their first movie in their lives, and then hope to be noticed by a distributor who really understands movies, buy it, and go back to shoot the second one after making a profit.

However, Ronald has watched many movies recommended by Daydream colleagues that have potential, but they are all mediocre. The value orientation here is completely different from that of Hollywood, and it does not suit the taste of the American market.

But after all, Western Europe is still a developed country, and movie tickets here are very expensive. If a movie can be selected by distributors in the United States and released, the price can make some movies in underdeveloped areas a profit.

Empty-handed, destined to sell but not buy this time. "The King of Fighters" sold more copies in Cannes than the domestic box office revenue. Distribution manager Michel Cannold was very happy and said that he would sign a few more film contracts with the lead actor Jean-Claude Van Damme.

"It's too late. He is now shooting a blockbuster with a production budget of more than 20 million." Ronald replied. Cannon gave the "Cyb" the annual key production treatment. Daydreaming to find Jean-Claude Van Damme and Lundgren to make a movie again, only after this movie fails will there be a chance.

Minahan's "science fiction" + "action" + "comics" approach should fail... right?

The next day, Cannes welcomed several Hollywood bigwigs. One was the best actor Michael Douglas. He came to promote and solicit investment for the new film "Talk Radio" by Oliver Stone, the director who won him the Best Actor award.

After making several well-received films, Stone became more interested in social topics. This film was adapted from a stage play (avoiding the screenwriters' strike), which was about a host of a late-night radio program with large-scale content. Because he dared to make bold remarks on controversial issues, his listening rate gradually increased. When he was about to be broadcast on the national syndicated radio network, he was shot by an extreme fan.

This film is critical of American society and has no commercial value. It is difficult to obtain financing in Hollywood, so Stone came to the United States, hoping that European investors would like it. Michael Douglas came to endorse him to increase the attractiveness of the project.

Another big shot is George Lucas, who has been dormant for several years.

Under the two major blows of divorce and the box office failure of "Howard the Duck", he basically shrank in his own Lucas Manor, and worked with the magicians of Industrial Light and Magic to study movie special effects.

In his opinion, the reason why Howard the Duck failed at the box office was because the special effects were not good enough, so he invested a lot of money in computer-generated special effects methods. From last year to this year, he has been working hard on "Willow", a film directed by Ron Howard, who is closely related to him and supervised by him.

The filming of this film was completed early last year, but the special effects production seemed to be very long and has only just been completed. Lucas chose Cannes as the premiere location for this film, and it will be released in America soon.

Ronald, as a Hollywood person who came one step earlier, held a welcome dinner in the evening. A group of Hollywood directors and big stars welcomed them at the top Golden Palm Restaurant in Cannes.

These people are not used to Ronald's Chinese-style welcome, but after a tiring journey, they are still very satisfied with Ronald's arrangement to eat the top-notch food here and be accompanied by beautiful stars.

"Can the current technology of Industrial Light and Magic produce the effects in the comics?" Ronald found an opportunity to sincerely ask George Lucas. His Industrial Light and Magic represents the most advanced magic ability in Hollywood. Whether they can produce the effects of flying and hiding in the comics depends on whether they can do it.

If it can't be filmed, then I'm afraid we can only film it the old-fashioned way, wearing tights and hanging on wires.

"Why don't you come and see it for yourself tomorrow? Hahaha." Lucas has now adopted a son and a daughter, and is living a happy life as a single father at the Lucas Ranch. He looks much better than when he just got divorced. It seems that he really likes children. Except for this time when he came to support Ron Howard, who is half an apprentice, he would not leave home easily.

Ronald was very interested in the progress of special effects in the development of technology, and agreed on the spot. Everyone was full and started to go back to rest.

"Ronald, is it convenient for us to change places to chat?" Michael Douglas grabbed Ronald's arm at the door.

"Of course..."

Douglas, Oliver Stone, and a Dutch banker, moved to the quiet executive lounge in the hotel with Ronald, where they could chat conveniently.

Ronald asked Stone about Tom Cruise's Vietnam War movie. Stone said that he had planned to shoot in Vietnam, but the diplomatic relations between the two countries had not yet been normalized, so he could only shoot in the Philippines, where "Platoon" was filmed.

This time, he had experience and chose to go there in autumn, which happened to coincide with Tom Cruise's schedule.

Fortunately, Oliver Stone wrote all his own scripts. This "Born on the Fourth of July" was a movie he had written long ago and was supposed to shoot after finishing "Platoon". So it was not affected by the strike.

Stone also asked Ronald about the arrangement of the new project, and in return, several Hollywood bigwigs complained in unison about the strike of the Writers Guild.

Everyone really had no choice. Even Douglas had no movies to shoot, so they had to go out and look for opportunities for international cooperation.

The chat here aroused the interest of the banker. He also talked to Ronald and asked him if his new project could accept investment from the Credit Lyonnais Bank he represented. As long as Ronald directed the movie or Tom Cruise and Michael Douglas starred in the movie, he was willing to invest.

"You speak very authentic English." Ronald took the banker's business card.

"Frans Afman", a typical Low Countries surname.

"My first job was at Rotterdam Bank. At that time, Chicago First Bank had 20% of our shares. I learned how to operate international finance in Chicago. Now Rotterdam Bank has been acquired by Credit Lyonnais, and I am mainly responsible for investment in the entertainment industry."

Frans Afman introduced himself enthusiastically. Credit Lyonnais has been developing rapidly in international business since the early 1980s. It has absorbed a large number of deposits and good loan projects in the United States, the Netherlands, and Portugal.

Their investment tastes are particularly fond of Hollywood. They have invested in Superman II and Rambo II. Frans Afman's investment philosophy is to keep an eye on big stars and big directors. He would rather have a lower return on investment than to grab the second or third round of investment in such low-risk big productions (so that the dividend round will be later).

"Are you only interested in movies starring big stars?" Ronald looked at Afman and asked.

"This is our investment principle, but if it is a project invested by you and Director Stone, no matter what type of movie it is, I am interested in betting." Frans Afman smiled. After all, these two are famous directors in Hollywood who have rarely failed in recent years. As long as they are optimistic about the movie, there will generally be no problem.

"Hahaha, cheers for us." Stone and Douglas heard Frans Afman say this and knew that the investment in their small-scale script "Talk Radio" had been settled.

Unlike most Wall Street capital, Credit Lyonnais does not blindly seek to maximize the rate of return. They are also willing to reward the director for the opportunity to win more quotas in big projects and invest in their small-cost productions that are destined to lose money but also want to be filmed.

After all, they are outsiders in America. If they want to squeeze into big productions, they have to pay a lot of money for tickets.

Ronald also hopes that someone will come to invest, solve about 20% of the budget, and take a low-grade share. Such investment is actually not easy to find on Wall Street after the continuous interest rate increase and the stock market crash.

During the film festival, Cannes is the place with the highest density of beauties in the United States and even in Europe. Several big names in Hollywood are not short of beauties coming to chat with them. Frans Afman is even more passionately flirting with a beauty from the United States.

"Ronald", Michael Douglas, like Ronald, will not be moved by these vulgar fans. He sees the other two men chatting with beauties, and whispers in Ronald's ear, "My father asked me to bring you a message."

"What?" Ronald turned around suddenly. His father is Kirk Douglas. What does he want to find him for?

"He learned from Michael Ovitz that you are in Cannes. He is a little afraid of long-distance travel, so he said something to me and asked me to tell you in person."

"I declare in advance that I don't understand what he is doing. I am just responsible for bringing the message." Michael Douglas is not too close to Kirk because of his mother's divorce from his father. He is a new generation of Jews, and he doesn't understand the ideas of those conservative old men. It's just because of the benefits of Jewish identity that he doesn't complain in public.

Ronald made a gesture, indicating that he could speak.

"He asked me to ask you if you feel the satisfaction of family life. Young people can enjoy the company of beautiful women, but when they reach a certain age, they must marry mature women. If you are willing, he is willing to personally call the bride to you."

Ronald frowned. Mature women, when they reach a certain age, marry... This hinted very much. But they are too idle, are they also in charge of their own marriage? Is America still a society with religious freedom?

These Jews are too powerful in the media and financial industries. They always want to control this industry that is much more powerful than revenue and profit. Isn't this just opportunism, wanting to suck blood from the giant of America.

"The same words, in fact, my father often said when I was close to 30 years old that he would not stop until I married Diandra at the age of 33. Hahahaha"

Michael Douglas thought that his father was just a matchmaker, introducing Ronald to some old friend's daughter or something like that. He didn't think that a successful young man like Ronald, who was less than 30 years old, could tie himself to marriage at this time.

"So what's your reply?" Douglas laughed and patted Ronald on the shoulder.

"The answer is still no." Ronald said with a smile.

"That's right, my friend, when I was your age and not married, I was always chasing after beauties and being chased by beauties..." Douglas was very happy that Ronald was not as boring as his rigid and conservative father, "Actually, it's okay after marriage...hahaha"

"So you will tell Kirk my reply, right?" Ronald also took a sip of wine with satisfaction. It's good to stop these people's thoughts. Anyway, there are not many beautiful Jewish female stars in Hollywood, so there is no loss.