Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"The thing is, two Israelis made a teen comedy called 'The Last American Virgin.' There are several plots in it that are very similar to 'Fast-paced Richmond High.'"

Niceta quickly briefed Ronald on the situation in CAA's office.

"They had a distribution agreement with MGM, so they sent the finished film to MGM for a test screening. But among the audience at the test screening, someone watched 'Fast Pace' and told the investigators about it. MGM After conducting an investigation, GM notified Universal."

The more Ronald heard, the more familiar he became, two Israelis, distributed by MGM, "What is the name of this company? Who are those two Israelis?"

"Cannon Pictures, named Minahan Golan and Yoram Gobulos. People around the world nicknamed them the go-go brothers from Israel. (The initials of Golan and Gobulos , the nickname is a very unpleasant derogatory meaning)”

Sure enough, it was these two fat men.

"Is it really plagiarism?" Ronald didn't believe it. Not long after the editing of "Fast Tempo" was completed, how did Minahan copy it? It’s too late?

"There are indeed a few things that are beyond the possibility of ordinary coincidence." Niceta handed over a piece of paper, which was a briefing from MGM.

“In one scene, the heroine went to the hospital for surgery. After seeing the mannequin, she remembered the pregnancy and vomited.

The other is the male protagonist who has always had a crush on the heroine. His best friend is the man who got the heroine pregnant.

But they are unlikely to plagiarize your finished film. Now it seems more likely that they will plagiarize the script or some details of the original work. There is a possibility that the script may be leaked during the filming process. "

"What does Universal mean?"

"The lawsuit against the other party has been delayed for a long time. Universal is not optimistic about the box office potential of their "The Last Virgin". Moreover, they are outsiders. No big distributor in Hollywood is willing to offend Universal and take over their distribution business.

Of course, Universal would also like to ask for your opinion on whether it needs to be released earlier than June to eliminate the impact of "The Last American Virgin" on the box office. "

Niceta lit a cigarette, took a drag and looked at Ronald.

"MGM has refused to distribute this film from Cannon Pictures due to film quality issues. However, Cannon Pictures itself has some distribution capabilities. They will try to contact theaters themselves and find enough theaters to release it in late July.

"

Ronald thought for a while and said to his agent, "Actually, I know these two fat guys. They met me at the Golden Globe Awards dinner last year and knew that I was writing a script for Universal to adapt this film."

"Is that so?" Niceta put out her cigarette. Why don't we meet them head-on, see the quality of their movies, and then make a decision? Your movie targets teenagers. If it were released in July as originally planned, it would have a lot more box office. "

"Yes, I don't need to be afraid of them. The last movie directed by Minahan, 'Apple', was very bad. It was trashed by the audience in Montreal, Canada. I feel that his level will not improve so fast."

Ronald dialed Minahan Golan's number in Niceta's office.

"Hey, Minahan, I'm Ronald. I heard you plagiarized my movie?"

"Hahaha," Minahan's rude laughter came from the phone, "You are such a joker, Ronald. How could I plagiarize your movie?"

Minahan was delaying time with laughter and gesturing to his cousin Yoram to come over and discuss it together.

"I don't think you are that mean. I have helped you in Canada and Los Angeles.

But I got a letter from MGM saying that the movie you asked them to release, "The Last American Virgin," had a very similar plot to my "Fast-paced Richmond High." "

Ronald and Niceta, who picked up the other receiver and listened, made a show of expression, indicating that they were testing each other.

"Nothing is wrong, I promise you. I swear on my two daughters that I will never plagiarize. At most...at most..."

Yoram next to him quickly wrote a word on the manuscript paper and handed it to Minahan to read.

"At most it's a reference, a coincidence. Ronald, to tell you the truth, 'The Last American Virgin' is a remake of the old film 'Lemonade' that Yoram and I made in Israel.

If you don’t believe it, you can come to me and I’ll show it to you. It’s a complete remake of our own Hebrew film, and there is no plagiarism. "

Ronald on the other end of the phone glanced at Niceta, asking for advice.

Niceta made an OK gesture to him, asking him to agree.

"Okay, my agent and I will go to your place now. If your new film is really a remake of your own old film, I won't mind. This kind of subject matter collision often happens in the film industry, but what if..."

"Ah, I know, Ronald, you are a reasonable person. I asked my subordinates to get ready, let's watch two movies together and compare..." Minahan hung up the phone.

"Minahan, you should not swear on your daughter again." Yoram said to Minahan. "Last time you used your oath on the bank to mortgage your two daughters to them without paying the money. Your wife I’m so angry that I want to divorce you.”

Minahan waved his hand, "I can't help it, Ronald is not that easy to deceive. I have to give him a first impression that we did not plagiarize, so that he will be inclined to think that the two plots are coincidences. I It also took a lot of effort to get his script...

Moreover, we are in a bad situation in Hollywood. Ronald is a genius and his scripts are infinitely creative. If we want to make big productions that will shock Hollywood, we still have to rely on him.

And his background and connections are unfathomable. At that time, he gave us a piece of news, so that we could get on line with the big distributor MGM, otherwise we still wouldn't be able to find a distribution channel now. "

Ronald and Niceta walked to Cannon Pictures not far away. There is no change here from last time. Many employees are still sitting in the corridor to work.

"Please, please...Ronald. Let's go to the screening room, and I'll ask an employee who understands Hebrew to translate the dialogue of the original 'Lemonade' for you on the spot." Minahan was waiting for Ronald at the door, saying ruthlessly She hugged him hard and invited him into the screening room.

The old Hebrew movie "Lemonade" was played first. An employee stood nearby with a microphone in hand and read out the dialogue of the characters in the movie.

Ronald noticed that the scale of this film was larger than the "Fast Pace" he shot. Moreover, among the several suspected plagiarism plots mentioned by Niceta, only the relationship between the two male protagonists and one female protagonist exists in "Lemonade", and there is no plot in which the female protagonist goes to the hospital for surgery.

Then there was the English-language film "The Last American Virgin." This movie almost kept intact the plot of the movie where the heroine visited the hospital again after the surgery and was nauseated and vomited after seeing the mannequin.

Ronald glanced at Minahan suspiciously. This must have been plagiarized from his own movie script, but the plagiarism was a bit weird. Why edit some inexplicable shots before and after? Could it be? Ronald quickly shut his mouth and suppressed his laughter.

"Mr. Golan, this part of your plot is very similar to my client's script..." Niceta said to Minahan after the playback.

"Absolutely not. I have not read Ronald's script at all. I have only read Mr. Crowe's best-seller. On the basis of his, I wrote this plot. If there is a coincidence, it is because Ronald and I Both are playwrights, and great souls often think alike.”

Ronald remained silent, closed his mouth without saying a word, and looked at Minahan.

"I promise you, Ronald. If you insist on holding us accountable, we will have no choice but to fight.

But we are not enemies, are we? Our films are not distributed together, and I have decided to use Cannon Pictures to distribute them on their own. And the release time we set is specifically two weeks later than your movie, so we won’t have any competition.

Ronald, you helped me twice and I won't forget it. You are indeed a top playwright. I want to buy your scripts at a high price in the future. If you are willing, I will also pay a high price to invite you to direct. "

Minahan spoke a lot, but Ronald still held back his words.

"Ronald, I will never forget your help to me. We have received financing from a bank in the Netherlands and will soon start shooting a multi-million-dollar production. I will never forget you." Mina rarely sees Ronald Still saying nothing, he stepped forward and hooked Ronald's shoulder while he was sitting.

"How about it? Are you willing?" he asked, shaking Ronald's shoulders. Minahan felt a little nervous, and he noticed that Ronald's body was shaking, as if his anger could no longer be suppressed.

After more than ten seconds, no one spoke. Finally, Ronald nodded, shook hands with Minahan, and then Minahan hugged him and kissed him three times on the cheek, left and right.

"Hahahaha..." After Ronald left, Minahan hugged Yoram and the two danced, "We finally shot our first movie in America, and we also got Ronald's understanding. We will definitely succeed. This movie will be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor and Actor."

"There is also the best supporting actor." Yoram is also very happy. It can prevent Ronald from taking legal measures, which is good news for the release of the film. Ronald also knows the lawyer named Mickey, whose The two Israelis had already seen the tactics when negotiating with MGM.

"Yes, there are also best director and best picture." Minahan became more and more happy as he talked. He picked up the cup and poured two glasses of strong wine, and drank them all in one gulp with Yoram.

"These Hollywood producers are not even willing to play golf or tennis with us. This time we must make a big splash and let them know about us, Cannon Pictures."

"Hahahaha..." After Ronald walked out of Cannon Pictures and crossed a few roads, he couldn't hold back anymore at a roadside where the Cannon Pictures office could not be seen. He leaned on the wall and laughed.

"Is that the hospital scene?" Niceta saw him laughing so fiercely and patted Ronald's back gently.

"Yes, he actually used the pizza cutting scene to make a montage, followed by the heroine being pushed onto the operating table. Hahaha..."

Ronald held it in for a long time and finally laughed enough.

Minahan is really a "directing wizard". He couldn't get enough of the plagiarized passages. When the heroine went to the hospital for surgery, he edited many scenes in parallel with the hero going to work in a pizza shop to earn money to pay for her surgery.

Finally, when the heroine was put on the operating table and the doctor picked up the scalpel, he cut the camera to show the hero cutting pizza with a table knife. Cut the pizza in half with a "swipe" sound.

"What kind of editing method is this? Hahaha..." Ronald felt like he had seen a cartoon.

"Just because of this, you won't pursue him? Do you think the audience can't accept this editing method? In the end, the box office was not good?" asked Niceta.

"That's certainly a reason. But the main thing is the ending, where the hero doesn't win the beauty.

The male protagonist who paid the heroine to have surgery did not get together with the heroine. Instead, he saw the heroine reconcile with the handsome guy who ignored her after she unexpectedly got pregnant.

We Americans don't have this kind of hobby. The hero must ultimately win and win the beauty. "

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