Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Do you remember the movie Grease, which came out in 1978?" Niceta asked.

"A Broadway musical adaptation starring Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, of course."

"They are going to make a sequel, tentatively titled 'Sons of Grease,' and producer Robert Stigwood needs a screenwriter who understands both teenagers and musicals."

"But Rick, this movie is a huge box office winner, how could the sequel find me?" Ronald didn't believe it.

"Yes, for a movie with a box office of 130 million US dollars in North America, it is not your turn to write the sequel." Rick Niceta changed the receiver to another ear, "But an unfortunate incident happened, but for you It’s lucky.”

It turns out that Bronte Woodard, the screenwriter of the original film "Grease" and the man who adapted the classic Broadway musical into a movie, died suddenly in a Los Angeles hospital due to acute renal failure two days ago.

Producer Robert Sternwood was very anxious and scheduled to shoot in the second half of the year. The movie to be released next year suddenly had no screenwriter. So I flew to Los Angeles from my hometown in London and searched for agents all over the world, looking for a screenwriter with experience in teenagers and musicals to continue the script.

Ronald, who had experience as a "famous" screenwriter, was highly recommended by Ovitz. Robert Sterwood was quite satisfied with Ronald's resume, but he was still a little confused about his age. But after learning that he was the screenwriter of Jane Fonda's new film, she immediately decided to invite him to Hollywood for discussions.

"This time, Mr. Sternwood will pay for all travel and accommodation expenses. Round trip business class and accommodation at the Marriott Hotel. If you are interested, I will ask the secretary to book the tickets for you."

"Of course, I definitely intend to." Ronald was overjoyed, he was really lucky. Should I go to church again to fulfill my vows another day? No, this seems to be a Chinese rule. No matter, go to Taoist temples, Buddhist temples, and churches to worship.

"Okay, my secretary will tell you the address of the travel agency where you can pick up your tickets."

"Yeah!" Ronald yelled.

Donna and Diane heard him yelling and came out to see what was going on.

Ronald told the contents of the call, "When Aunt Karen comes back, I'll tell her that I'll be flying to Los Angeles tomorrow."

"Um, musical movies are too old-fashioned." Diane Lane stuck out her tongue, indicating that it was not her cup of tea.

"Is it very old-fashioned?" Ronald asked strangely,

"Two years ago, was Grease number one or number two at the box office? It was about the same as Superman. And the soundtrack sold well, and the Bee Gees were very popular."

"You already have a generation gap with us." Diane waved her hand in front of her body, indicating that she couldn't go with him.

Ronald looked at Donna. The aesthetics of a rebellious girl may not be accurate.

Unexpectedly, Donna also nodded, "It's really old-fashioned. None of my classmates like to watch movies adapted from musicals. Watching musicals on Broadway feels normal, but on the screen it looks very old-fashioned. The characters often jump up in everyday situations. It’s a bit embarrassing.”

"We actually prefer the movie 'Famous' written by you. The songs and dances in it are very beautiful, but the songs and dances all have a reasonable plot. At other times, the main focus is talking," said Donna.

"But that movie didn't do well at the box office..."

"You're an artist, Ronald, don't open your mouth and it's the box office." Diane started to complain again.

"Everything you said is right," Ronald raised his hands in surrender to the rebellious girl.

"Ronnie, let's talk." Aunt Karen, who returned home and heard about Ronald's new job opportunity, called him aside and started chatting.

"I'm happy for you, Ronnie, that you've been able to achieve so much at such a young age," Aunt Karen said, "but don't forget what I told you, your parents wanted you to go to college. Graduation, they have high expectations for you.”

"I understand, Aunt Karen. This is a screenwriting assignment. I will go to Los Angeles for a few days, and then come back to New York to write the script. There are some college electives in the new semester starting next month, and I can choose some that are less difficult."

Ronald was deeply involved in the production process of My Brother..., which should now be called "Her Brother's Keeper". He no longer wanted to drop out of school in his sophomore year, so he decided to watch more classic films and study for credits.

In addition to Scorsese's film appreciation classes, Ronald also participated in a small circle of pirated movie watching organized by Spike.

In order to join this small circle, participants must provide a pirated copy of the movie as a nomination. Ronald specifically asked Roger Corman for a letter of authorization, went to the Soviet Embassy in the United States, and applied for a copy of "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" with English subtitles.

Ronald also learned how to play movies so that he could show them to everyone as soon as the copies arrived.

"Don't lower your requirements for yourself, Ronnie." Aunt Karen was quite satisfied after hearing this.

…

The service level of business class is not the same as that of economy class. Ronald drank red wine and ate steak, feeling the sincerity of producer Robert Stigwood.

When the main agent Richard picked him up and took him to the Marriott Hotel, he was even more satisfied.

"Where are we going to meet Mr. Sternwood tomorrow?" Ronald hung the suit in the closet and asked Richard.

"Stwood has a mansion in Hollywood. He has asked you to meet him alone tomorrow. We will go to CAA later. Mr. Ovitz wants to see you, and there are some important things to tell you about the meeting."

"Huh?...Okay." Ronald was a little confused as to why he had to meet and explain everything in person.

"Some things must be discussed in person, Ronald." Ovitz was still surrounded by two secretaries, and his schedule seemed very tight.

"Robert Sterwood, in addition to being the producer of Grease, is also the president of RSO Records. His company's Bee Gees band once had six songs that successively topped the charts in 1978. By 1979, the Bee Gees Andy Gibb’s younger brother continues to dominate the charts for 10 weeks.”

"I know him, Mr. Ovitz. I wrote the lyrics for two interludes on 'Famous,' and the soundtrack to 'Famous' was released by Sterwood's RSO Records."

"You can also write lyrics?" Ovitz was surprised. "Is your financial contract as a lyricist also signed with CAA?"

"Actually, I was inspired by the composer Michael Gore. Lyrics are not my specialty."

"Okay, okay." Ovitz put away the idea of ​​signing all of Ronald's business.

"Now that you know his name, it's easy for me to tell you. The main reason I want you to come here this time is to tell you some taboos about meeting producers, and Streetwood especially has a lot of taboos."

"Oh?" Ronald opened his ears.

"Sternwood went against all odds and used songs by John Travolta and the Bee Gees, so he was richly rewarded. In other words, he has full say in this sequel.

And he's gay. He had many semi-regular male companions who traveled with him. So at no time should you offend those male companions. And don't bring up his sexual orientation, which was a crime in Britain more than a decade ago. "

Ronald nodded in understanding.

"In addition to his male companions, he also has many female companions, or the female companions of his male companion. You should also not despise these people. Showing any disrespect to them will cause you to lose this job."

"I got it."

"Also, don't mention any scenes or people you see in his mansion to a third person, understand?" Ovitz knocked on the table for emphasis.

"Is it that exaggerated?" Ronald came out of the office and asked his main agent Richard.

"In our industry, you hear a lot of gossip. One of them is that John Avildsen, who won the Oscar for Best Director for the movie 'Rocky', was originally the director of the movie 'Saturday Night Fever' produced by Sterwood. . But he tried to ask out Sterwood’s boyfriend’s girlfriend and was fired two weeks before filming started.”

Richard said, "I don't know whether this rumor is true or not, but it's better to be careful."

Early the next morning, Richard drove Ronald to Sternwood's mansion.

"Ronald, you are welcome. I have always wanted to meet you. I admire your fame very much."

Sternwood was wearing pajamas and hugged Ronald warmly. He is a tall Briton with a British nose, long hair parted in the middle, and a handsome face. If nothing else, he looks more like a rock star than a record company owner.

"Ah, I'm just one of the signed screenwriters. The original credit for this movie also belongs to Mr. Christopher Gore."

"You are too humble, which is not a good quality in Hollywood." Sterwood led Ronald to sit on a lounge chair under two umbrellas next to the very large swimming pool, picked up the cigar next to his seat and took a puff. ,

"Christopher was one of us, and he told me the whole story, and the parts you revised. I've always felt that the rules of the Writers Guild are very unfair. Sometimes the importance of one page of the script outweighs the rest. part."

"Thank you, Mr. Sternwood, why did you come to me?" Ronald turned a blind eye to the men and women playing in the swimming pool next to him and listened intently to Sternwood's words.

Sternwood was also relatively satisfied with his self-control, "You have to help me Ronald, I'm in a dilemma."

Industry bosses spoke more directly. It turned out that "Grease" was a collaboration with Paramount. Sturwood was responsible for production, and Paramount's Alan Carr was responsible for marketing and opening up film distribution channels.

After Grease was released and became a hit, Paramount immediately signed a contract with Sternwood, agreeing that if there was a satisfactory script within three years, Paramount was willing to invest $12 million to shoot a sequel, twice the production cost. in the original film.

However, the original screenwriter Bronte Woodard never submitted the final script. On the 2nd of this month, Bronte was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment by his family, and died in the hospital the next day due to acute renal failure. Sternwood sent someone to look for the script, but found nothing but a pile of whiskey bottles.

A frustrated Sternwood immediately consulted with Alan Carr. Paramount learned that there was no script and hoped to abandon the contract and postpone the filming of the sequel.

Unwilling to give up the opportunity to shake this cash cow, Sternwood promised to come up with a satisfactory script within two months and wrap up filming in the last two months of this year to catch up with next year's summer schedule.

"I'm going to let Andy Gibb, the little brother of the Bee Gees, play the male lead in the sequel "Grease" and make him a second John Travolta. John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John also promised me , will come back to make a guest appearance, and then tell a story about their children’s youth 10 years after the original work.”

The production cost was US$12 million, and there were two guest stars? Ronald feels that expectations for this sequel can be set a little higher.

"Did you know? When I went to Paramount to talk about finding a screenwriter to complete the script, their president of production, Mr. Katzenberg, was deeply impressed by you and recommended you to me. He told me that you were the one who gave me the script. Jane Fonda wrote the script that made the New York Times.

When we asked Ovitz later, he recommended you immediately. I believe you won't let me down, right? "

Sternwood, while drinking and smoking cigars, chatted with the men and women in the swimming pool from time to time.

"We have the leading role. May I ask Mr. Streetwood, did the previous screenwriter leave a plot summary?" Ronald was more cautious and wanted to know more about the situation.

"No, this unfortunate man left nothing behind. There is only a story I came up with. More than ten years after the story of Grease, their children reached the age of high school, which happened to be the moment when the hippies were flourishing, and the tough guy gang ( The children of T-Bird and Pink Lady sang rock and roll against the war."

Ronald knew that Tough Guys and Pink Ladies were the names of the high school gangs where the heroes and heroines played by John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John belonged.

"So has the director confirmed it?"

"Not yet. The director of the original film, Randall Kleiser, filmed The Blue Lagoon at a time when Hollywood was hot and has no intention of directing the sequel. We're still looking."

"If John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John can participate and maintain the style of the original film, I am willing to give it a try." Ronald thought about it again and again, and he was moved by the director's vacancy, so he asked the other party Expressed his willingness to take over the script.

"That's great. If you have any other requests, you can make them."

"I hope to talk to the creative staff of the original film, especially the choreographer. The shooting method of musicals is very different from other films, and my script needs to be specially adjusted for this."

"Very good." Sterwood stood up and hit back the water volleyball from the swimming pool. "You didn't disappoint me. I will arrange for you to talk to the choreographer. Hollywood musicals, half The success must be attributed to the choreographer.”

"Did you know? Olivia Newton-John's new film, 'Celestia,' starring her and veteran musical star Gene Kelly, did not do well at the box office. It's because Universal spent 20 million on investment, but used that Gene Kelly, an old fool who worked part-time as a choreographer, brought over boring choreography from the 1950s, and the box office was very unsatisfactory after it was released."

"Then I'll wait and dance with the choreographer..."

"Patricia Birch, I will arrange for her to meet you."

After talking about the business, Sterwood stood up from the sun lounger and asked, "Would you like to have some fun with us?"

"I'd better go to Mr. Ovitz of CAA to make preparations for Son of Grease." Ronald thought about Ovitz's advice and declined the invitation.

"Well, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Sterwood took off his pajamas and only wore a pair of swimming shorts. He walked onto the springboard and jumped into the water. The men and women cheered.

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