Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Ronald turned on the TV and he got a call from his aunt that Ingrid Bergman had died.

"Ingrid Bergman passed away in London. After a long battle with illness, the famous movie star passed away on her sixty-seventh birthday, with her ex-husband Lar Schmidt by her side.

She won the Best Actress Oscar twice for "Gaslight" and "Princess". In her personal life, her extramarital affair with Italian-born director Roberto Rossellini shocked American society.

But her performance with Humphrey Bogart in "Casablanca" may be the scene people talk about when they recall her. "

"Ronnie, have you watched the news?"

Helen also called and she also saw the news of Bergman's death.

Americans love "Casablanca" the most, and TV stations have begun to review Bergman's performance. The video of her previous interview for the filming of "Casablanca" was also found and replayed.

"When I acted in 'Casablanca,' I had no idea that this movie would become a classic," the elderly Bergman on TV was being interviewed by Dick Cavett, the host of the three major talk shows.

"I asked them whether I should love my husband or Humphrey Bogart. They (referring to the director and screenwriter) said that they haven't decided yet, and you should play the middle path. When I later watched my performance in this movie, They are all expressionless because I don’t know which character I should love.”

"This is such sudden news." Ronald also sighed. This big star with a heart-warming demeanor was reaching her third golden age as an actress, and when a large number of grandma dramas came to her doorstep, she unexpectedly...

"I called her daughter Aunt Pia and told her that Bergman's body would be buried in his hometown in Stockholm. They planned to hold a memorial service and would invite us to attend."

Pia is already an American, and her sister Isabella has also lived in New York for many years. Memorial services were held in accordance with American custom.

There was not a lot of sadness, but relatives and friends of the deceased talked about the details of getting along with Bergman. Some people's speeches were very humorous, and the audience's smiles diluted the sadness a lot.

Bergman's formal funeral will be held later in Stockholm.

At the memorial service, Ronald also saw Bergman's other daughter, Isabella Rossinelli, and they chatted for a while.

Isabella decided to become a model. Although she was already thirty years old, this daughter who looked most like Bergman was still very beautiful.

She has the legacy of her mother in the fashion industry, and many brands and photographers are vying to collaborate with her.

"I wish you good luck." Ronald wished her good luck. In any case, being a model at this age is a bit of a hit-and-miss affair. "Is Marty okay? He was not in good health last time."

"He should be pretty good." Isabella said goodbye to Ronald and Helen, and turned back to Pia's house.

"Did I say something I shouldn't have said?" Ronald asked Helen next to him.

"She seems to have separated from her husband." Helen heard some gossip.

No wonder Scorsese did it last time... Ronald thought.

The beautiful woman wants to be an actress, but her husband, a famous director, is too focused on his own movies and doesn't let his wife play any roles. The last time Isabella acted in a movie, it was an Italian film in which her Italian colleague Roberto cast her as a guest star.

However, in America, which values ​​privacy, it is difficult for outsiders to know the real reason for the breakup unless the person involved speaks out.

When it was late when he got home, Ronald saw his cousin Donna still looking at the stars through a telescope.

"Did you see Halley's Comet?"

"No, but I saw the two split comets." Seeing that her cousin was back, Donna stepped aside and let him look at the telescope.

"Is this the big broom?" Ronald looked at the telescope and saw a large comet in his field of vision, with a bright head and a thick, short and curved tail, a very large star.

"Yes, you may not believe it, Ronnie. That bright comet tail is sweeping over the earth. But we can't feel it at all. Those are composed of very thin gas and dust, and they glow by reflecting sunlight... "

"Don't people on Earth feel that way? That's interesting." Ronald thought it was a good thing for Donna to go to a key high school, as his cousin could hardly understand a lot of the knowledge.

The next day, CAA's agent Richard came to see Ronald again.

"Universal sold the TV broadcast rights of 'Fast Pace' for two million, and the movie's box office has exceeded 25 million. The TV station wanted it very much and quickly agreed to the price.

The TV version you edited has passed the review of the TV station. They are very satisfied with your editing. The swearing and nudity were all replaced by dialogue, and it was directly given a G rating.

According to the latest Directors Guild labor agreement, if the TV is played more than ten times and the video tape is sold, you will get the "residual". For this money, you will receive a check from the Directors Guild every quarter. .

Ronald nodded, "What's going on with video tape sales? I don't seem to see anyone selling movie tapes. There are only Jane Fonda's fitness videos in department stores and supermarkets."

"Universal is in a legal battle with Sony, the Japanese video recorder manufacturer. They believe that videotape will destroy the movie industry like television did.

Mr. Spielberg has officially rejected Universal's request to sell et alien vhs video tapes. Although vhs and Universal are in a lawsuit, Sony's betamax is not a standard video tape, they are in a competitive relationship. "

"I don't understand. Isn't it possible to make a lot of money by selling video tapes? Why did Spielberg refuse?" Ronald dreamed of watching video tapes. It seems that video tapes will become the main way to watch movies in the future. Why refuse?

"Hollywood is now very afraid of video tapes. The Japanese have made it very easy to copy video tapes. With just two video recorders, you can copy them at home. Who would go to the cinema to watch movies?"

"Yeah," Ronald thought, "What about our movie?"

"Mr. Sheinberg has decided not to release the tape, no matter what format it is in. The lawsuit between Universal and Sony has reached the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and all of Hollywood is watching the outcome of this case, and his decision will become precedent in the future.

Universal is not going against Hollywood as a whole. "

"Then will we win?" Ronald felt a little uneasy when he heard that it would become a precedent.

The impact of the television invasion on Hollywood is still lingering. At that time, a large number of creative talents were unemployed and the market was shrinking. If I really have to be recorded by a video camera again, I'm afraid I will have fewer and fewer opportunities to make films in the future.

"We are still relatively optimistic now. Universal and other major studios sued Sony in the Central District Court of California in 1976. At that time, we were defeated by the judge on First Amendment grounds. The court ruled that it was not illegal for ordinary customers to use video recorders. .

However, after appealing to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, a very favorable result was achieved. If users pirate and rip video tapes, Hollywood does not need to bear the burden of proof, but companies such as Sony that sell video recorders will automatically bear joint liability.

Now the Japanese are appealing again, hoping to reopen the hearing. However, Hollywood is generally optimistic about the prospects of the case. "

"Then I'm relieved. It's a good thing that we don't release the video. At least we can sell more tickets at the box office."

…

"FBI busted movie piracy gang!"

A few days later, the headlines of The Hollywood Reporter released a shocking news.

et Alien was pirated, and Universal was unwilling to release the official video tape, but pirates helped him buy hundreds of thousands of pirated video tapes.

This is the first time a Hollywood movie has suffered serious losses due to pirated video tapes, and it has also affected Ronald's "fast-paced" box office.

The cause of the matter is simple. "ET" continues to be popular. In many small town movie theaters, copies have not been available for a long time. The residents of the small towns complained a lot. Any movie theater that can borrow a copy of "ET" can become a small town hero.

Pirate gangs noticed a shortage of copies of the film in small towns and bribed a Tennessee movie projectionist to steal a copy and give it to pirates.

Based on this copy, the pirates successfully produced a video master tape. Then they copied a large number of video tapes in vhs and beta formats and sold them all over the country through the stolen goods network.

Because et is so popular, many regular stores have also stocked it for sale. Even though the pirated video tapes were sold as genuine ones, with a price tag of ninety dollars, many people still bought them.

This time, though, the projectionist and the pirate factory in the Bronx, New York, were captured. However, a large number of pirated video tapes have been circulated, and new pirated versions have been copied on this basis, which has flooded the country.

"How much is the expected loss this time?" Ronald called his agent and asked about the loss to ET Box Office due to this piracy.

"The estimated value of the case is more than 20 million." Richard replied. "If you add in the fact that the pirated video tape was copied again and the box office lost because you didn't go to the cinema to watch it, the total loss is estimated to be 30 to 40 million."

"What about the impact on us?"

"Universal has ordered rectification of its print management, and 'Fast Pace' will no longer produce new prints. Theaters on the East Coast and Central China will have to wait until the West Coast is released before they can get the prints."

"This is really a disaster." Ronald lamented.

The theft of copies of et Alien made Global executives furious. The film was expected to break box office records for Star Wars: A New Hope by the end of the year, but now it has to be postponed until next year.

Distribution agencies all over the country began to strengthen the management of copies because this piracy was caused by paying projectionists to steal film copies and make copies.

It wasn't much use, but it did succeed in slowing down the rotation of a copy between local movie theaters. It also caused resistance from major studios such as Universal to printing more copies.

The order for the last batch of reprints of "Fast Pace" was cancelled, and the old copies were transferred to central and southern states after they were released in theaters on the West Coast for two weeks.

"Now, even my box office revenue will be reduced by several million." Ronald complained.

"It's all those pirates' fault," my aunt agreed.

"Actually, Universal also has a responsibility. If they were willing to sell genuine video tapes, there wouldn't be so many pirated copies." Donna had just chosen economics and came to express her opinion.

"Forget it, this is not something I can control. Besides, the box office has far exceeded my expectations." Ronald ignored these troubles and began to pack his clothes, preparing to meet Helen and go to Flushing Park Stadium to watch Vincent Van Patten, the leading actor from "Rock of Ages", an old friend, appears.

The actor/tennis player made it to the third round as expected and met the world's number one "bad boy" John McEnroe, whom he had defeated before.

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