Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Herbert Ross, that's probably the best person we could find to direct 'Steel Magnolias,' besides you of course."

CAA's search operation was very effective. Within two days, Niceta came up with the most suitable candidate, veteran director Herbert Ross. Recommended to Ronald as a director.

"Oh, him..." Ronald nodded. This man actually had something to do with Ronald. He replaced Ronald as director in the earlier musical film "Body of Energy", which was a box-office success.

Helen Slater's previous film "The Secret of Success" with Michael J. Fox was also directed by the veteran director.

Why is he suitable for this "Steel Mulan"? Of course, there are two reasons. The first is that the two movies mentioned before are both related to southern towns. One is about Yankees going to live in southern towns, and the other is about Dixie coming to New York. He is very interested in southern stories. The characters and narrative are all appropriately experienced.

The second reason is that Herbert Ross was born on Broadway. He started out as a stage actor, then went to London's West End to perform in Shakespeare plays, and then turned into a director. After becoming successful, he entered Hollywood.

"Steel Magnolias" was originally a Broadway-changing work. The script by screenwriter Robert Harlin was very compact and conformed to the Trinity Law of stage plays.

The so-called three unities mean that the time, place and characters of the story must be compact. The entire drama can only have one story clue, it cannot take place more than one day, that is, 24 hours, and it must take place in one location.

This was originally a rule set up for the convenience of stage sets and makeup, and does not conform to the artistic rules of movies. Imagine if "Gone with the Wind" was performed on a theater stage, then after the end of the first act, the background would change from a rural manor in the South to the post-war metropolis of Atlanta. The heroine Scarlett Hao also had to immediately change from a girl's dress to a dress made of curtains.

The rest between each act is only a few minutes. How can it be possible to accomplish so much? Even if actors rush to the scene like a war, they will inevitably make many mistakes.

As for the expressive ability of movies, through editing, different places, different times, and even the time and space of the protagonist more than ten years ago can be put together through a flashback, allowing the audience to enjoy greater artistic enjoyment.

It is precisely because of this that the story of "Steel Mulan" is also concentrated in the same small town, mainly taking place in the heroine's home and the hair salon next door.

This, in turn, makes it difficult for the director. The audience has developed an appetite for other types of movies and is constantly looking forward to the story opening up new locations and new characters. The original story of "Steel Mulan" is limited to adaptation and cannot be The introduction of new scenes and characters will test the director's processing ability.

This type of movie often relies on the grasp of dramatic conflicts, character performances, and story trends to immerse the audience in it and forget that every scene is taking place in the same place. In fact, this kind of movie does not follow the rules of movie shooting, which is a bit thankless. It is just because Broadway is already famous, so it has a great advantage in marketing.

Ronald also has concerns about this. He is not very good at this type of small-plot movies. With a director who is good at this type of film to take charge of the film, Ronald will only focus on investment and overall casting, which is also a good choice.

…

"Ronald, we haven't seen each other for a long time..."

Herbert Ross was a typical Jew, wearing large tortoiseshell glasses and speaking with an indelible Brooklyn flavor. As the saying goes you can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but you can't take Brooklyn out of the boy.

This time Herbert Ross was able to condescend (at least he felt so) to participate in a young-people-led project of Ronald's because Michael Ovitz, the president of CAA, personally visited. He said it very sincerely. Ronald had gained the trust of screenwriter Robert Harlin, so he was able to get the general production rights from producer Ray Stark. If he didn't let go, it would be impossible for everyone to take it away. His directorial position.

Herbert Ross himself also had a production company and had strong connections on Broadway. The reason why he did not have time to snatch this movie that was most suitable for him was due to personal reasons. At the end of last year, after his wife of 30 years passed away unfortunately, he was busy embarking on the second and true love journey in his life (he said it himself).

His new fiancée comes from a prominent family. It is the sister of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, the "princess" Caroline Lee Radziwill. This princess is not just a nickname, but a serious noble title. Caroline received it from her second husband, Stanislaw Radziwill, a former prince of the Polish royal family.

Originally, Herbert Ross would not be so anxious to become a director, but this new fiancée is really too dazzling. The reason why Jacqueline Kennedy often made headlines in newspapers and magazines with her outfits was because her sister, Caroline, helped her sister select and match costume jewelry.

In addition to being a fashion socialite, Caroline Lee Radziwill (soon to be Caroline Lee Roth) was a patron of high art, and Ronald purchased several paintings from David Geffen Andy Warhol had a close relationship with her and received a lot of funding.

She was also very interested in music. After divorcing Prince Radziwill, she accompanied the Rolling Stones on their global tour of their new album. When the band was in America, they even lived in her house.

In addition, she was a sponsor of many ballet companies. The directors of the Paris Ballet, the London Ballet, and the American Ballet Company were all her guests.

It can be imagined that with such a fiancee who spent money like water, Herbert Ross was under a lot of financial pressure. Regardless of Ovitz's strong invitation to him to participate in the selection of the director of this film and what his own plans were behind it, Herbert Ross needed this job very much.

"I'm glad that you can consider Ovitz's recommendation of you." Ronald shook hands with Herbert Ross. Although this person was a more suitable candidate, Ronald saw with his own eyes that he had a bad temper on the set and often insulted the staff and even the actors. He always had to interview this old man to see if he could complete the work.

"Hahaha, you did a good job. I didn't expect you to do so well. You can rest assured this time. As long as I take over this project, I will definitely let you see a very good movie."

Ronald frowned. This old man seemed to have not figured out the situation. Who is interviewing whom?

"I will give a salary that is in line with the market price. In terms of artistic creation, I certainly believe in your consistent outstanding performance. However, this movie is a small melodrama in the South. I am in the casting..."

Ronald's idea is very simple. For this kind of adapted movie, there is actually not much room for the shooting method. As long as you set an all-star lineup and let many Oscar-winning actresses gather together, there will naturally be a lot of marketing influence.

"Of course, the most important thing for this kind of movie is casting. You may not have much experience in this kind of movie. I have been filming adapted Broadway scripts since my debut, and I have much more experience in casting. First, we have to start with the supporting roles. First, we have to decide on a few actors who play the mother, and then select two young actresses..."

"Hahaha...", Ronald laughed loudly. Is Herbert Ross confused? Who is the boss of this project? Who should he listen to?

"I'll give you enough time, you can interview them slowly, but I've already decided on several candidates who have won Oscars, you should interview them first." Ronald handed over a list of candidates.

"Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLaine..." Herbert Ross was interrupted, feeling unhappy, and picked up the candidates Ronald had given him, and his anger was slightly reduced.

These actors are indeed excellent in acting, and there won't be too many problems when directing them.

"Two young heroines..." After reading it, Herbert Ross thought this list was not bad, and he could brag about it later. They all came to participate for his sake, and it was rare for three actresses to join together.

"You can take your time to choose, but it's best for these two people to occupy one role." Ronald threw over the resumes of two actresses. "You are familiar with..."

It was Diane Lane and Helen Slater. One of them had worked with him in "The Secret of Success", and the other was once Coppola's favorite. It should not be a problem for her to play the secondary of the two young roles. But in this case, wouldn't I have no power at all?

"In addition, Michelle Pfeiffer has agreed to play the leading role. You can discuss it with her in depth when she comes back from Paris."

Ronald said, and threw another resume.

"Well..." Herbert Ross almost swore. Did he regard himself as those young directors? Can only cook according to recipes? However, the Jewish mentality did not make him act immediately, but he considered where he could operate and strive for more voice.

"Of course, I am not saying that you must choose these roles. It's just that from the marketing point of view, this movie needs these actors to join, so that there will be enough audiences to go to the cinema. Otherwise, the story of a mother in a small southern town who had kidney failure after giving birth due to diabetes, not many people would come to see it."

Ronald explained his intention, "These actors are indeed the best choice at the moment." This is very celebrity-like. Even if you go to cast yourself, you may not be able to choose more suitable actors than this. Besides, many of them came for their own face.

"Of course, these are all good actors, and I like the prospect of working with them. But I still need to communicate with my agent about this matter..." Herbert Ross has experienced decades of ups and downs, and he has long known that he should not express his dissatisfaction in person at this time.

"Then I look forward to our cooperation." Ronald was quite happy. With such an operation, a good movie will definitely be released. It seems that being a producer is not that difficult.

...

"I want to know, if my company also invests some money, and then CAA leads the film, what do you think? All roles will be given priority to CAA's contracted actors."

Looking back, Herbert Ross went to Ovitz and proposed that his company invest, and then CAA would be responsible for the actual production work and the co-screenwriter, kicking Ronald out.

He thought well, he had experience and appeal, and with CAA's control ability, he would not suffer in marketing and commentary. Ovitz got a director who was more likely to impact the Oscars, and more performance opportunities for his company's contracted actors.

"It's very tempting, but I'm afraid it won't work..." Ovitz thought for a moment and immediately rejected the other party's proposal.

Now is the critical moment of the most profitable business in his career (advising Sony to acquire Columbia). He can't make trouble at this time and openly oppose Ronald, so as to cause dissatisfaction from the Japanese side.

As far as he knows, Japanese people are very particular about loyalty and long-term friendship. Since Ronald can directly give advice to President Ohga, their relationship is not something he can separate with just one word.

"What? But?" Herbert Ross didn't expect Ovitz to reject him. Could it be that in his eyes, Ronald, that kid, is more valuable than himself?

"No buts, Herbert. Regarding the distribution of this movie, the other party only recognizes Ronald, do you understand?" Ovitz knew that Ronald was contacting TriStar Pictures, which has a close relationship with Columbia, for distribution. With his relationship with Sony, the executives in Columbia who are aware of the merger will definitely not be unhappy because of such a small matter.

"This... well... I hope we can forget this conversation..." Herbert Ross heard it and understood that there was an exchange behind it that he didn't know about. However, the princess still needs to pay for her wedding, and she needs the director's job to maintain her celebrity life after marriage.

"Herbert, I didn't say you can't fight for it in other ways, right?" Ovitz smiled. Not following Ross's idea and kicking Ronald out doesn't mean he can't take other measures, right?

This script was a big hit on Broadway and was well received by critics. Ovitz didn't want Ronald to take this opportunity to get the Oscar's favor. In this way, he wouldn't have enough chips to control the other party.

But he also didn't want the movie to fail commercially, so that multiple actors under his company couldn't take advantage of it to get promoted.

Therefore, the best plan is to let Herbert Ross, a Jewish man with a bad temper, be the director and steal Ronald's limelight. It would be even better if there was news of a disagreement between the producer and the director during the filming.

The ability to grasp this delicate situation is a major advantage that enables Ovitz to dominate Hollywood.

"But how to do it? That guy has already booked all the actors." Herbert Ross wanted to squeeze out Ronald. As long as Ovitz helped, he could find space by himself and use his rich experience to slowly squeeze Ronald out.

Besides, this movie looks promising. If his company invests in it, the financial space will be much larger. It is a Hollywood practice for him to make a little money as a producer.

"That may not be the case, especially for the heroine. You wait and see." Ovitz did not reveal the details and asked Herbert Ross to go back and make other preparations.

Michelle Pfeiffer is the most popular female star of rival William Morris, and John Malkovich is just a bald and ugly actor. It is worthwhile to take this opportunity to embarrass the rival.

Besides, Ovitz had already learned about Malkovich's weaknesses from his agent.

"Hello..." He sent Herbert Ross away and called his subordinate, John Malkovich's agent.

"How is John's mental state now?"

"Not very stable. He is depressed for a long time every morning and sometimes even cries. However, the director thinks that this emotional state fits the current plot. Count Valmont finally realizes the need to sacrifice everything for love, so the filming progresses very quickly. When he returns to Los Angeles after filming, I have booked a top psychological consultation for him."

"Very good..." Ovitz put down the phone and called in the secretary, "Who did I make an appointment with for golf this weekend? Well, add one more guest."

"Secretary, write down the name of a senior reporter in the Hollywood gossip section."