Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Before the Donald National Convention: The President of 1996; After: He's done"

"Hahaha..." Ronald read the newspapers and magazines sent by the public steward while eating breakfast the next day. The title of the political observation column in "Newsweek" has already sentenced the governor of Arkansas to political death.

"It's a pity, he's a handsome guy, smart and motivated," Donna said while drinking milk, and saw that the New York Times even wrote a classic lawyer joke for the governor.

Some folk jokes in America are actually not very friendly to certain groups of people, such as a joke called "It takes a few people to..."

For example, how many Poles are needed to change a light bulb?

Three, one is right.

In the political column of the New York Times, a reporter wrote a variation of this joke to the governor of Arkansas, "How many lawyers are needed in a room before someone tells the governor that he has the right to remain silent."

Ronald leaned over to take a look. The governor was actually right about the balanced budget issue, but after being ridiculed by the media, it is estimated that he will not be able to continue in politics, because no matter where he goes, this joke will follow him like a shadow. Just like Mondale, who was joked by the current president in a TV debate, no voters took him seriously wherever he went.

He called a car for Donna and sent her to work. Ronald was leisurely in a two-story city apartment, delivering work documents to Ricky Lake, the assistant in the New York office, the actor who played the fat girl in "Hairspray", for signature.

Lake is still thinking about returning to the film and television industry. After being an actor, people feel that he has no interest in doing other jobs. His conditions are not good, he is too fat, and he has not received any other audition invitations for roles.

But Rick is actually quite competent as an assistant. The fat girl works hard and tries to satisfy Ronald. In addition, she has lost ten pounds, so it is normal to give her a role.

"Call the people on the list and ask them to come to see me. Divide the time and don't let them come too heavy." Ronald, wearing a Hawaiian flower shirt and a casual vacation outfit, decided to meet those who work for him at home. Now he can also enjoy the privilege of successful people like Weintraub meeting him at home to talk about work.

"Okay, I'll make a call." Ricky Rick went to the telephone in the outer living room and made a call. Ronald looked at her back and didn't know what the fat girl was thinking. It's just that the fat girl only has a future in comedy, but he can't make a comedy. Besides, Rick is still too fat. He needs to lose ten more pounds to have a role.

The first to come was Ang Lee. He now has his own office. While helping Ronald read the script and getting a salary, he is also revising his own script. The best thing is that he started to bring money home for his wife. Because he didn't hang around at home, his wife didn't watch him all day, and the family relationship became better.

The two talked a lot about script selection, and Ronald was very satisfied. Ang Lee's conversation session ended early, and there was still some time to catch up and talk about industry news.

"Are there any movies worth watching in your hometown now?" Ronald remembered that he would select movies to send to the Palm Springs Film Festival at the beginning of next year. He planned to focus on Chinese-language movies, so he asked Ang Lee if there were any good movies in his hometown that could be bought and shown in America.

"I haven't been back for a long time because I have to wait for a green card. This time I can go back with my wife to celebrate the Spring Festival." Ang Lee was very grateful to Ronald, and the green card guaranteed by his company would be obtained soon. With a proper job, his father could be a little less strict with him.

"Then you can help the company when you go back. There are many Chinese Americans and audiences who like Chinese entertainment and kung fu movies in America. Our company must seize this niche market."

"I will, but there haven't been many commercial films in my family in recent years. Chief Song, who is in charge of culture and entertainment, thinks that Director Zhang won the Golden Bear in West Berlin, so the government supports art films and aims at the three major European film awards."

It turns out that Ang Lee's hometown imposes heavy taxes on film screenings. It is a place where it is difficult to make good films. In the past few years, a movie with good box office performance appeared thanks to a romantic drama by a female writer. Now Chief Song has given strong support to movies with a high chance of winning awards, with subsidies of hundreds of thousands for each movie and tax breaks. Many people in the film industry who make commercial films have to go to TV stations to make a living.

As for the two directors who have won awards in Europe, Director Hou won the West Berlin International Film Critics Special Award for "A Time to Live, a Time to Die" in 1985 (he is not as good as Yiou, this award is a small award ranked very low). Director Yang, who won the International Film Critics Award at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland with "Childhood Sweethearts" in 1986 (director Hou starred in this movie, and the two had a falling out), received strong support.

As long as they can win the gold medal at the three major European film festivals and surpass their opponents, there will be endless support in terms of money and resources.

"This is not a good strategy," Ronald felt that it was wrong when he heard this strategy. This kind of niche film with characteristics should have a place to survive in places with developed film markets, where there are enough niche films watched by specific people.

Blindly making movies that meet European aesthetics will inevitably shrink the basic commercial film market and fall into a vicious cycle. Commercial films are increasingly unpopular, and those that are made are despised. In the long run, Ronald is not optimistic about the development of the film industry in Ang Lee's hometown.

"So, were there any good movies in the past that were worth me buying the distribution rights in America?" Ronald felt that since it could nurture award-winning directors in Europe, the film market there should have been good in the past. After decades of accumulation, there will always be some good movies.

"Do you still remember our club activities at that time? I went to the Cultural Affairs Bureau to borrow Mr. Hu Jinquan's movies," Ang Lee replied. In his hometown, only Li Hanxiang and Hu Jinquan's movies were liked by people overseas. Maybe Ronald would also consider buying them?

Later, Li Hanxiang's Guolian Company went bankrupt, and he returned to Hong Kong to make romantic movies to pay off his debts. Only Hu Jinquan still insisted on his own ideas.

"Okay, if you have copies or videotapes, lend them to me. I want to watch their works in the next few days." When Ronald heard that one of them was good at shooting in clear and the other was good at shooting in clear, and both were very proficient in traditional culture, he became interested and it would be good to satisfy his hobby.

...

Next is Dolly Bernstine, the distribution director of Daydream. She has done a great job in acquiring theaters. Three of the Manhattan Mill Theaters are already owned by Ronald.

It's funny to say that although the Paramount Act that did not allow studios to acquire theaters was overturned, the movie theater business is no longer as strong as it used to be. Ronald offered a price, and the original owner couldn't wait to sell it and leave.

Bernstine is very enthusiastic about work. She is now mainly responsible for the videotape distribution business of Daydream.

"We performed very well in the videotape market this year, and we can even say that we are one of the top five videotape manufacturers. There are very few companies that can get good reviews for every videotape like us."

Bernstine admires Ronald's vision for film selection. "Hairspray" is the sales champion in the videotape market. It is especially popular among black people and fat people. The protagonist of this movie, the fat girl Rick, likes black culture, which is rare among black audiences.

White people in Eddie Murphy's movies respect him at most because of the roles he plays, and few white people like black culture.

However, black people have limited spending power, and many people do not have VCRs. The main customers who buy "Hairspray" videotapes are still fat people. Few movies take care of the mentality of fat people. Generally speaking, they are mainly ridiculed. Many comedy movies or comedy characters in movies are fat, such as Ronald's good friend, John Candy.

Audiences like to see people who are not as good as themselves suffer, and they can use sympathy, and they can also see people who are higher than themselves fall down, and there is an extra pleasure.

Another videotape sales winner produced by Daydream is the romantic film "Love is Not For Sale" co-invested by Ronald and Bannon, which is also well received in the videotape market. Many of the viewers who bought this videotape are obedient "geek" students.

These nerds who are not good at socializing may not want to go to the cinema with their classmates and friends and be laughed at and ignored by those social masters, but it does not prevent them from enjoying a romantic comedy at home about a geek turning over and falling in love with the most beautiful cheerleader. Who doesn't have such a dream? Moreover, science geek students are generally children from upper-middle-class families, so buying a video recorder is not a problem.

"In addition to these movies shot by Daydream, there are also videotapes of movies produced by other companies that you bought. The top two are "Rage Street" and "The Legend of Billy King", which are both sold very well. Boss, you have to find more such movies for us in the future." Bernstein said half-flatteringly, generally with a little admiration.

"You can't all rely on me, and you don't have to make money from every movie. The video market is so good now, and soon the big studios will recognize this market and taste. Unlike theater movies, we are afraid that we can't buy such cheap and good movies." Ronald was also a little surprised. The movies he bought to please two female friends, "Rage Street" starring Diane as a rock star, and "The Legend of Billie Jean" starring Helen, a modern Joan of Arc movie adapted from J's song, unexpectedly received very good recognition in the video market. It was so good that even NBC and ABC's late-night theater programs came to buy Ronald's TV broadcast rights to fill the empty program list due to the screenwriter strike. The income of hundreds of thousands of dollars for each movie allowed Ronald to carefully study the reasons for the success of these two cult movies. In fact, they all have the characteristics of B-level movies shot by Roger Corman for drive-in theaters back then, suitable for teenagers, overall stimulation, but not suitable for the mainstream market. If we use poetry as an analogy, this kind of movie is just a sentence without a chapter. It is particularly popular and beautiful in some occasions, and has moving emotions. But it does not meet the taste of the mainstream market and is only suitable for a certain group of people. Audiences who like it will like it very much and must buy a videotape to collect. For example, "The Angry Birds" is especially suitable for young male audiences who like the Godfather. They have no idea about the rules of the adult world, and this movie with a childish plot just fits their mentality.

The "Billy King Legend" is the girl version, a beauty who was wronged, relying on the power of friends and public opinion in society, defeated the authority, cleared the wrong, and gained love. Young girls also like it very much, it is their dream plot.

The sales of both films far exceeded Ronald's own expectations. The original intention was to please the two of them, so I prepared to give them the copyright of the video tape as a gift.

If you want to transfer it now, it will be particularly troublesome and you will have to pay an expensive tax. Diane and Helen probably don't have enough cash to pay next year's federal taxes.

Although it was a gift to the other party, Ronald had to pay an expensive federal gift tax. If the lifetime gift limit that a person can receive is exceeded (usually several million dollars), in order to make up for the legal loopholes, the two beauties have to wait to pay inheritance tax (looking at this year's income, the capital value of the two movies has exceeded the limit) .

In addition, if the two beauties want to transfer the ownership of the movie in the future, they will have to pay capital gains tax. If George Sr. fails to run for the leadership and does not continue to enjoy the tax extension benefits.

Ronald consulted lawyer Lindsay Dole. In this case, it was best to set up a trust and put the property rights of the two movies into it, with Diane and Helen as the beneficiaries respectively, so that they could receive a steady stream of money. The assets in the trust generate an annuity every year. You can enjoy the benefits without any worries.

Ronald felt that it was not a good idea to set up a trust for just one movie because the value of the two cult movies was still rising.

The video tape market is filled with young people, lower-level blue-collar workers, and some white-collar movie lovers. It is a combination of many mutually exclusive market segments. This is very different from the film market, which is a unified market dominated by young male and female teenagers.

The more niche you are, the easier it is to pay for what you like. Both movies have high potential for sequels, licensed comics, licensed toys, dolls, and video games, among other things.

So the final solution was not to transfer the copyright directly, but to transfer the annual income rights of the video tapes to the two people as income. In the future, when Ronald has more assets, he can arrange a unified trust and list both of them as beneficiaries. In the future, Aunt Karen and Cousin Donna can also deal with this problem.

In this way, they can get the peripheral income from their works every year without having to raise funds. They can handle the production of sequels and derivatives by themselves. They only need to collect checks at home four times a year.

…

The third person to come to see Ronald was Ed Bastian of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"In addition to the second quarter revenue from these tapes, the overseas copies of your box-office sales also made you a lot of money, as much as a domestic box office success movie. And the most profitable 'Dirty Dancing' , the income from the video tape is very stable, and another 20 million has been earned, and the original version is still very strong. The more Dirty Dancing, maybe because many of the songs are not from the movie, sales have begun to grow rapidly. Decreased."

"Hey, I don't know how to invest now, why should I still buy Coca-Cola?" Ronald had worries about happiness. Hollywood is such a magical place. After a movie becomes a hit, it can continuously bring huge income to the main creator.

Patrick Schwytz, the actor of "Dirty Dancing", has evolved from buying a small ranch, to buying a large ranch, to buying some Arabian horses to participate in horse racing, and then starting a breeding business.

Screenwriter Linda Gottlieb talks about her successful experience in the New York Jewish community every day, and has no intention of writing any more scripts.

"If you want to invest in the securities market, I suggest you transfer this part of your income to a corporate entity in Los Angeles." Ed Bastian gave Ronald an idea.

"Why?" Ronald was puzzled. Aren't they all my company?

"To avoid taxes?" Ed Bastian took out a document. This was a professional plan he had prepared before arriving.

It turns out that in America, in addition to paying personal and corporate federal income tax, you also have to pay state income tax. Ronald's resident status registration and his eligibility to vote fell in New York State. His income in California will be subject to state income tax separately from his income in New York State.

Moreover, state income taxes in both states are progressive. In other words, if the annual income limit is exceeded, the state tax rate Ronald has to pay will increase from the low 2%, to 4%, 7%, and finally to 9%.

But if the income is included in the two states separately, Ronald can deduct the taxes of other non-resident states. This can save millions of dollars in additional tax of 4%.

"My income for the first half of today was all in New York State, right?" Ronald asked the other party.

"Except for the tens of thousands of dollars in residual dividends from your previous directorial works, yes." Ed Bastian looked at the information and confirmed it.

"Well, let's join the company in California in the second half of the year." Ronald made a note in his notebook that he would soon open a new company in California and register a new identity. Such a technical adjustment saved millions of dollars in taxes.

This Puhua partner will not lose money by paying his consulting fees.

"If your income is to be attributed to a California company, then it is best to open an account with a California brokerage for your stock investment, otherwise your California income declaration may be flawed."

"Okay, recommend a few reliable ones, I'll let Lawrence do it." Ronald agreed, so let's buy Coca-Cola.

...

After a busy day, the videotapes that Ang Lee promised have been delivered, including several movies of King Hu.

"Does it feel a bit boring?" Ronald sat on the sofa and watched his "The Swordsman" slowly. The rhythm of this movie is not suitable for modern Hollywood, and the story is also boring, but the aesthetics and temperament are still outstanding.

Ronald was very happy to watch it. This pure Ming style clothing and way of speaking made him see what the director wanted to express.

However, a Chinese film is very old, and the beauty in his arms, Christy Turlington, is very boring. Turlington doesn't watch movies, but only looks at Ronald. Sitting in his arms, looking at the tough facial lines, she admires him a little.

Cindy Crawford didn't come today. Her relationship with another Hollywood star is going well. Maybe she can take him down. She will find an excuse not to come to such activities. They are all people in the Hollywood circle. It would be bad if the agent spreads it.

"Then I won't watch it." Ronald turned off the video recorder and looked at Christie Turlington intently. As an outstanding model, her facial lines must be very elegant. Because of Ronald's help, Turlington is now the top model of Yves Saint Laurent.

"Bo..." After staring at each other for a long time, Christie took the initiative to kiss Ronald's lips. Then the two lips pressed together passionately.

A warm feeling came from the chest. It was Christie hugging Ronald tightly.

"The FDA just approved the governor of Arkansas who spoke at the Donkey Party Convention. As an over-the-counter sleeping pill, surgeons across the country can prescribe it to treat insomnia."

The TV came with the jokes of NBC Late Show host Johnny Carson teasing the unlucky guy. Now that the writers are on strike, all talk show hosts are trying to come up with their own jokes. It's not easy to get a laughing stock for the whole country. If they catch him, they will blacken him to the end.

"Ah..." Turlington and Ronald were together, as comfortable as eating ice cream, which models cannot eat the most. He was uncontrollably placed on the sofa, and his back touched the remote control.

"Ziz..." The TV station changed the channel. "He may be the most boring speaker at the Donald Party Convention." ABC was also desperately blackening him and helping the presidential candidate Dukakis.

"Ah... Ziz..." CBS was also teasing, "For this speech, the most favorite word for the audience is 'finally...', and they can't wait to end.

"Ah... Ziz...", "This Kansas, not Tennessee, nor..." The host of the local black channel pretended not to know that the governor was from that small state in the South, "By the way, the young man from Little Rock, Arkansas, when he finishes speaking, the audience will have beards..."

"Pah...", Ronald pulled the remote control out from under Turlington's body and turned off the TV viciously. Without interference, he began to look at Turlington's pretty face carefully again... and then kissed her.