Exploiting Hollywood 1980

This morning, the manager Richard came to see Ronald, and they went to Spielberg's Amblin Production Company to see if the great director was interested in investing in his "Night of the Comet."

The money is hard to make, the face is ugly, and the producer shakes his head when he hears the science fiction theme. Ronald has already faced his fair share of rejections.

The budget gap of more than one million US dollars was not very large for a film shoot, but no one was willing to invest. Ronald came up with the idea of ​​investing part of his own money.

"Directors will not invest their own wealth in film shooting. This is the practice of Hollywood. You don't have to do this, Ronald." Richard advised Ronald in the car, "Nine out of ten directors will do this. Everyone is bankrupt."

"Where's the other one?"

"Another one made money, but the production and distribution companies took most of it."

"Okay, I won't." Ronald actually just thought about the life of his aunt and cousin, as well as his personal life. It is very risky to invest his own money, and he may not be able to bear such risks.

Even if there is the endorsement of Dreamland as a hit, it is one thing for a director's work to be a hit, but it is another thing to be able to get dividends.

I still don’t quite understand how distribution channels divide the money, except for old acquaintances like Roger Corman, who did not deduct the money they deserved during the release of “Rock and Roll High School” and are worthy of trust. Other companies offered him conditions for buying shares, but he didn't dare agree.

"Isn't today Columbus Day? Why are people taking to the streets?" Ronald looked at some people in front of him, dressed as North American Indians, with feather headdresses, and red paint on their bodies and faces, walking on the street. Move around.

"It's tomorrow." Richard honked the horn twice, and the team was still moving forward slowly. It was not a large group, but it was escorted by lapds. It seemed that it had been registered.

"Hey, man, what kind of parade is this? Isn't it tomorrow to celebrate Columbus's discovery of America?" Ronald stuck his head out and asked the Indian-looking man at the end.

"It's Indian Day, didn't you know? The day before the Italian colonists invaded our land."

Delayed by the unexpected parade, by the time Ronald arrived at Spielberg's Amblin Studio, Spielberg had already begun to receive the next wave of guests.

The pair apologized to Spielberg's assistant, Kathleen Kennedy.

Catherine said it was okay,

"Steven appreciates your help in contacting Jennifer Jason Leigh. Now Vic Morrow's family has reached a settlement with Steven. This matter has not been widely reported, which is a good thing for Steven." .”

After chatting with them for a while, Catherine asked Ronald to wait outside.

Ronald felt bored and looked around the studio.

The box office of "ET" has exceeded 250 million, and it will definitely reach 300 million by the end of the year. Spielberg's production company also moved out of his home and found a house not far away.

"Ronald, I'm Chris Columbus. Remember me?"

Amblin's screenwriter, also named Columbus, came out from the side and happened to see Ronald and said hello to him.

"Of course, are you still writing scripts for Steven?" Ronald thought of this young screenwriter. He happened to meet him when he came to see Spielberg last time.

"Ah, yes. I'm writing a play. Do you want to read it?"

Ronald waved his hand and said no, he had to see Steven later.

"It's a very good story. It's about a little monster." Columbus was very interested.

"Little devil, what is that?" Ronald was moved by his enthusiasm and had no choice but to chat with him.

"It's a kind of elf, very small, but loves to cause trouble. Loves to play pranks."

"So it's a science fiction film?" Ronald became interested. What if Spielberg also likes science fiction films?

"No, it's a comedy horror movie."

"Why?"

Ronald didn’t understand. Comedies are comedies, horror movies are horror movies, what are comedy horror movies?

"This is a new trend, and many people in Hollywood recognize it. Experiments conducted by scientists have found that the brain waves of people are similar when they are laughing and when they are afraid.

So horror movies can be combined with comedy and become a new genre. "

"I see," Ronald nodded, "Then who will direct? Steven? Or you?

"Me? I can't. I only directed short films in college, and I can only do screenwriting. Steven also has to prepare the sequel to 'The Lost Ark of the Covenant'. They will start preparations when George is finished with Star Wars."

"Then who will be the director?"

"Joe Dante, have you seen his movies?"

"Ah, of course. He and I are old acquaintances." Hearing the name of an acquaintance, Ronald relaxed a little and chatted a little more with Columbus.

"Ronald", Catherine called Ronald.

Just in time to meet Spielberg's last wave of guests, the two came out of the reception room and nodded politely to Ronald when they met him.

Ronald also nodded and entered Spielberg's office.

"Ronald? Which Ronald is it? Is he very young?" one of the previous guests asked Catherine.

"It's Ronald Lee who gave you advice on the script, the new director who made 'Fast Pace'."

"Is it him?" The two looked at each other and simply waited outside. They wanted to chat with Ronald.

"Hi, Ronald." Spielberg smiled and hugged Ronald.

The two directors' new films have both made a lot of money for Universal, and they also have a lot of connections, making it extremely easy to chat.

"I heard you have a new script?" Spielberg said straight to the point.

"It's a science fiction movie, with comets, girls, and zombies." Ronald stopped beating around the bush and directly stated the elements of the movie in front of real people.

Spielberg flipped through the synopsis of the script, "It's a good story, but my company has just been established, and the manpower is limited. The current production capacity can only produce one movie at the same time. If you are willing to wait, I I can buy your movie script first."

"I have been planning for a while and found a suitable special effects director. Now I am almost ready to invest. If..."

"It's still the same problem. My Amberlin is not strong enough. But I like your script writing ability very much. If you can sign a three-movie script agreement with Amberlin, I will consider starting the next movie after it is completed. Your movie."

"I want to think about it again. I also want to meet people from other studios." Ronald thought this agreement was a bit harsh, so he declined.

"It doesn't matter, you haven't been to my new studio, right? There are the latest versions of Atari games here."

Spielberg enthusiastically invited Ronald to play a game, and the two played Big Bee.

Ronald was quite skilled in operating airplanes and cannons, and Steven had a lot of fun playing with him.

"Let me tell you a secret, et Alien will also be adapted into a game. I like Atari's creativity very much. It will be launched next year and will be made into a special game for Atari 2600."

After Ronald finished playing a few games, he said goodbye. Outside the door, he was stopped by two guests who had met Spielberg earlier.

"Ronald?"

"It's me, are you?" Ronald was surprised to see the two of them, who seemed to have been waiting for him here for a long time.

"Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale."

The two introduced themselves to each other.

Ronald thought of these two familiar names. Aren't these the signed screenwriters of the movie "Back to the Future" that Spielberg asked him to provide suggestions on the script?

"Hello, are you here this time?"

"Let's talk somewhere else."

The two called Ronald and his agent, and the group found a quiet cafe, and they started chatting with Ronald.

"We really like the comments you made about 'Back to the Future'. The cost of a nuclear explosion scene is too high, and it is more realistic to use a sports car." Zemeckis wore glasses and looked very energetic.

"I hope you don't mind," Ronald replied.

"No, we like your opinion on the adaptation very much. This is a movie that both of us must make. It has been in preparation for a long time. We would like to invite you to join in the adaptation of the script this time."

"To tell you the truth, I have my own script to be busy with, I'm afraid..."

"It doesn't matter, our movie won't be shot for another year or two, so..."

"That's no problem. This is my agent Richard. If I'm not in Los Angeles, he can find me."

Richard handed the two of them his business card.

"What? Are you planning a movie?" Ronald asked after hearing Zemeckis say that the movie would take a long time.

“The two most difficult things in the world are to put the thoughts in your own mind into other people’s minds, and to put the money in other people’s pockets into your own pocket.

Being a film director means doing two things at the same time, isn't it difficult? "

Zemeckis is very funny and makes everyone laugh with his one-liners.

"You also went to see Steven just now, right? Didn't he invest in you?" Ronald asked.

"We would rather work directly with the seven major studios. There is always a layer between us through Steven, and he also has movies to be busy now."

Ronald nodded, indicating that he was in the same situation here. Spielberg is an artist as a director, but he is also a very shrewd businessman as a producer.

"So do you have any studios willing to invest in your projects now?"

"It's very difficult. It's very difficult to describe a movie that hasn't been made to the producers in words," Zemeckis said.

Ronald felt the same and sighed. Language has great flaws when describing scenes. Unless you have already made a similar movie, the producer probably doesn't know what you are talking about. The scene in his mind is different from the scene in your mind. Go far.

"So we took on an adventure film and after proving our ability to direct this type of film, we decided to make Back to the Future."

"Oh? What's your new movie?" Ronald didn't expect them to like "Back to the Future" so much.

"Romancing the Stone, Michael Douglas bought the script and 20th Century Fox distributed it, can you imagine? He bought it from a barmaid."

"Huh?" Several people chatted for a while. It turned out that Diana Thomas, the screenwriter of Emerald, usually worked part-time as a waitress in Hollywood. When Douglas came to her restaurant for dinner one day, she took the initiative to recommend herself, and finally ended up with twenty-five The script was sold to Douglas for $10,000.

Hollywood is truly a place where dreams come true.

After leaving Zemeckis, Ronald and Richard exchanged many opinions.

Spielberg's contract is so demanding that it's best not to sign with him. While major studios still have doubts about their own directing experience, Zemeckis's methods may have something to learn from.

Ronald considered whether he should put the project on hold and make a film that better showcased his ability as a director. When the time comes to promote the script of "Night of the Comet", it will arouse greater interest from the producers.

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