Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The accidental death of Vic Morrow and two young actors attracted a lot of attention from the public, which far exceeded Ronald's expectations.

The news section of the TV station paid attention to this incident for several days. They also sent a camera crew to find the "Indian Ranch" where the filming was performed. Several helicopters surrounded the scene for aerial photography.

Next to the half-crashed helicopter leaning on the edge of the lake, the surviving helicopter pilot, a Vietnam War veteran, was interviewed.

"I accepted the interview because I didn't want the helicopter pilot to have such a tragedy again. The director loudly asked us to fly lower, fly lower. I don't know what happened. The helicopter's tail was disturbed. , we couldn't control the plane and it crashed near the lake."

"Why are we still talking about the tragedy of their driver? Isn't this the tragedy of the actor and two innocent children?" Ronald couldn't help complaining.

"This is all after the advice of a lawyer. Didn't you see that he deliberately showed the scratch on his lip?" Agent Niceta, who accompanied Ronald to watch the TV news with Richard, answered Ronald question.

"Deliberately dumping the blame?"

"Yes, this accident will cause more trouble than we originally imagined. The public's attention is very high, and all parties involved in the incident have begun to distance themselves from each other at the speed of light."

The TV camera turned and showed an aerial shot of a helicopter rotating over the scene of the crash. The helicopter flew very low and the wreckage of the helicopter below was clearly visible. The news host’s voiceover is still ringing:

"The helicopter crash during movie shooting caused the highest number of accidental deaths in recent years. We call on the union to establish a safety system as soon as possible to reduce unnecessary helicopter aerial footage to prevent this kind of tragedy from happening again."

"Well, pfft." Ronald couldn't help it for a moment, "It's okay, I'm sorry."

"The producer said that all the shots required for the movie have been shot." The voiceover ended with a comment related to "The Twilight Zone" to end the news.

"What does this mean?" Ronald felt something was wrong and turned around to ask Niceta.

"The distributor, the filming team, the victim's family, everyone needs an unlucky person to take responsibility. Now it seems that they have begun to take action. The director of this part of the plot, John Landis, may be the one they selected to be responsible. people."

"This is director Landis's hint to Warner Bros. that the movie has been finished, so don't give up on him, right?" Richard seemed to have some realization.

"Is Landis also a producer?"

"Yes,

He and Spielberg are both producers. "

Niceta saw the potential danger and went out to find the president, Michael Ovitz. CAA has recently lost promising comedy star John Belushi and cannot afford to lose Spielberg again. They have to do something for him.

Although Spielberg is not a client of CAA, he takes care of a large number of actors signed by CAA. At this critical moment when ET Alien is about to be released, no mistakes can be made.

Ronald and Richard continued to watch the news in the office.

"Safety issues in film shooting are the focus of public attention. Our station interviewed Warner Bros., the distributor of 'The Twilight Zone' over the phone. A spokesman for Warner Bros. said that this is a tragedy and was not caused by human negligence. It also depends on the outcome of the police investigation.

Then we went on to get on the phone with other major studios. Universal did not grant an interview, and Disney had no comment. Paramount, no comment. 20th Century Fox, no comment..."

Ronald and Richard looked at each other. Originally, "No comment" is a normal press spokesman's expression, but when it was edited by the TV station, it seemed that the studio's attitude was very prevaricating. After the audience saw it, they would be upset. Create a feeling of sympathy for the victims and condemnation of the capitalists.

"We're taking a call from a couple of viewers, Mary from Maryland...

Hello, I think the government should restrict the wanton behavior of film producers and directors. Last year's Heaven's Gate cost 40 million U.S. dollars for a bad movie. Do you know how many public schools can be funded with so much money and how many low-income people can be educated? Do the people have enough to eat?

…Okay, thank you Mary from Maryland. What we are going to get next is..."

"Why don't the producers come out to refute? If the TV news is allowed to make such accusations, something will happen." Ronald felt more and more wrong, as if this accusation was increasingly directed at directors who made a lot of money, accusing them of ignoring the bottom of the crew. Regarding the life and death of employees, the public began to point their fingers at them.

"Because Landis did make a big mistake, the studio also has to worry about the police investigation." Richard was well-informed at CAA and there were no outsiders present, so he told the truth.

"You know, Ronald. The Screen Actors Guild prohibits underage actors from working overtime late at night. Two extras like this who are under ten years old are prohibited from filming any scenes after eleven o'clock at night."

"Of course. I know." When Ronald himself was filming "Fast Pace", on the first day of filming, due to various reasons, he almost failed to film the scene with the young actor before the deadline. Fortunately, he succeeded.

“This scene was a night scene, and the first assistant director, pyrotechnician, and helicopter team all thought that Landis would use technical means to work day and night and add filters to the camera during the day to complete the shooting.

However, for the sake of shooting effect or to catch up with the schedule, he still shot the scene at two o'clock in the morning. In order to avoid the regulations, he instructed the second assistant director to give cash to the two young actors so that their names would not appear in the filming crew list. , to evade the supervision of the Screen Actors Guild. "

"Is this? Is it for the sake of shooting effect, or to save money by rushing on schedule?" Ronald disagreed with this approach. Landis was not shooting a low-cost production, so why should he be stingy in a place like this?

"You guys come with me. Universal's Tom Mount proposed to convene a high-level meeting involving Steven's ET and your 'fast-paced' distribution issue. Ovitz has already rushed there. We at CAA will defend your interests. ." Niceta opened the door in the office and said to Ronald and Richard.

A group of people hurried to Universal. The impromptu meeting called by Tom Mount had already begun. MCA President Sheinberg, Universal Production Vice President Ned Tanin, and the two vice presidents in charge of marketing and distribution were all at the top. The executive conference room on the first floor discussed the release of et alien.

Niceta went to inquire about the news, and Ronald and Richard met the two producers Lin Sen and Azoff downstairs.

"Why is there a meeting? What impact will it have on our film?"

"A meeting about the release of our movie and ET was convened by Mount at short notice. Spielberg is the producer of 'The Twilight Zone', and we should be related to Jennifer. It shouldn't have much to do with us. What we should worry about is She." Lin Sen nuzzled at a professional woman opposite.

It was Spielberg's assistant Kathleen Kennedy. Ronald nodded and greeted her, then walked over to say hello.

"Why are you here too?" Catherine was a little surprised to see Ronald.

"The heroine of my new film, Jennifer, is the daughter of Vic Morrow who was tragically killed."

"Oh, I didn't expect this matter to involve you."

"Where's Steven?"

"Fortunately, he was just one of the producers of 'The Twilight Zone'. Landis was responsible for the part that went wrong. Some people are just unwilling to fail."

At the same time, in the executive conference room with the best location on the top floor of the Global Building, several senior executives of Global were discussing.

Tom Mount seized the unexpected opportunity and proposed a meeting to reduce the number of theaters in which "ET" would be released in the first weekend.

"Steven is one of the producers of 'The Twilight Zone'. Public opinion is now focusing on the crew for not complying with regulations and causing deaths. I think this will make the audience have a worse impression of him. And ET is also a small film. It’s a children’s movie, but two children lost their lives in this accident.”

"We have already made a definite plan for this matter. The current public perception is mainly directed at Director Landis who ignores union rules. I think we should stick to our distribution and marketing plan.

et's test screening score was A+. We worked hard to get it to 1,100 theaters for the first weekend. This number is expected to increase in the second week. "

The vice presidents of marketing and distribution sided with Sheinberg.

"What's your opinion?" Tom Mount also expected this situation, and without saying much, asked Sheinberg's attitude directly.

"I support their opinion. The existing marketing rhythm should not be modified. There is only one week left before the start of the campaign. Temporary changes will cause chaos."

Tom Mount knew that this matter would not be solved so easily, so he first asked Sheinberg to fully endorse Spielberg. This kind of movie aimed at young audiences has no precedent for box office success.

"And in that movie 'Fast Richmond High', the heroine Jennifer Jason Leigh is the daughter of the murdered Vic Morrow. If you show her nude scenes in the movie, it will cause controversy. "

Mount changed the topic and began to attack Ronald's film again.

"This is a low-cost youth film. Without these scenes, how can it attract the key audience of summer moviegoers, male teenagers?"

The vice president of distribution did Ronald justice.

"Now is the time when the whole nation pities Vic Morrow. Do you really want to go against public opinion? What do you think?" Mount asked Sheinberg.

Shenberg was afraid of the group of retired old guys behind Mount, and he didn't want to publicly fall out with Mount right now. How could he support Ronald's movie? He thought for a while and was about to speak.

"Jennifer Jason Leigh's mother, Barbara, and Vic Morrow have been divorced for more than ten years. Now the focus of the media is on the accident itself, and no one will bother the relatives."

It was Ned Tanin who had a good word for "Fast Pace". I didn’t expect that this old fogy would actually say good things about Ronald’s revealing scenes.

Tom Mount glanced at Tanin. Tanin had always been known for insisting on his own opinions. His persistence was right and wrong, but the old guys always remembered the ones he was right about. However, is it true that no one would dig into the old accounts of relatives?

"There are no changes and our issuance plans will continue as usual."

Soon, the decision in the executive conference room on the top floor reached the ears of Ronald and others waiting downstairs.

"It seems that Tom Mount's days at Universal will be counted in days." On the way back, Niceta said suddenly. If he opposes Spielberg like this, ET will be a box office hit next week, and his supporters will shut up.

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