Exploiting Hollywood 1980

William Morris' senior agent Ed Limato is still the same, likes to use the metaphor of an extended family to describe the relationship between him and his clients.

"Nick is my child. He is a very dedicated actor. I am very optimistic about him. Although CAA took advantage of Francis Coppola's eagerness to reduce financial pressure and signed him, the hearts of Italians are still together."

"Stop talking nonsense, how much does it cost for Nick to star in my movie?" Ronald was too lazy to talk to Limato. He took a cigar from the Italian's desk, threw it into the sky, and caught it again.

"Hey, this is Cuban, you little bastard."

Ronald also threw the cigar into his arms and said, "Make a price. I'll give him the leading role, although it's not too much."

"In this way, a salary of fifty thousand US dollars..."

Ronald turned around and was about to leave. The price far exceeded Nicolas Cage's worth and was much higher than the minimum wage.

"Don't be like this, Ronald. We are old acquaintances." Limato took Ronald's hand.

"I didn't make the price randomly. Originally, Michelle Pfeiffer was going to play 'Valley Girl' with Nick. But with my unremitting recommendation, she was chosen by Brian De Palma, and she will star with Al Palm. Sino plays 'Scarface,' and they gave Pfeiffer that number."

Limato made a "ten" sign.

"What are you doing? That's a big project worth 20 million yuan for Global World. I'm making it at a small cost. The price is 5,000 US dollars for two weeks. If you don't want to, forget it."

Ronald looked angry, Brian De Palma gave up "Flashdance" to shoot Universal's big-budget "Scarface", can it be the same as his own low-budget exploitation film?

"Ten thousand? Okay..." Limato proposed a price that was not too high. Cage has not been able to prove his work yet, nor has he participated in a big production. "But Nick will participate in the new film during your filming." If you audition, you have to let people go."

"This is easy to discuss. But this is a small production, and the audition should not take more than one day."

After negotiating a verbal agreement for Nicolas Cage to star, Ronald continued his journey of finding money.

…

"sly, sly..."

Ronald entered CAA's office,

I heard Ron Meyer, one of the partners, making a phone call at the front desk. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses, looking like a tropical vacation, and he was carrying a big bag.

"What's wrong with Mr. Meyer?" Ronald asked Niceta in the office.

"Stallone," Niceta pointed to her forehead twice with one finger, "he was unwilling to do a comedy and turned down the 'Beverly Cop' project that both Ovitz and Meyer were optimistic about. Meyer I'm going to Hawaii to try to convince him to take this movie."

"A fusion of comedy and action movies?" Ronald sat down at his desk.

"Yes, Sly said that he doesn't like to ruin his tough guy image. You know, stars always attach great importance to screen image."

"A tough guy with a sense of humor seems to be pretty good, right?" Ronald thought for a moment, and the current commander-in-chief has a bit of this style. He has also played a tough guy in western movies in the past, and he has a great sense of humor. He has been on TV recently. When you make jokes about the Soviet Union, the public support rate is very high.

"But he's Rocky, and Rambo." Niceta made a fisting gesture twice.

"Also, his characters are all unsmiling."

After Ronald finished talking about Stallone, he stretched out his hands and rubbed them in front of him, "How much can you give me for this script?"

"One hundred thousand dollars. The script has actually been written in two drafts, but Mr. Robert Sternwood, the boss of RSO Records, is still not satisfied. He remembered the sequel to 'Grease' that you wrote for him, and this time he named it and asked you to revise it. 'Saturday Night Fever' sequel script."

"That's great. I'm about to collect the budget for filming 'Night of the Comet'."

Ronald took the script for the sequel to "Saturday Night Fever" and opened it to read.

It all starts with John Travolta, the leading actor in this hit musical.

Since Travolta starred in the two musicals "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" and became the new Hollywood dance king, there were originally a lot of musicals waiting for him to act.

However, Travolta did not want to repeat his screen image. He wanted to transform into a real actor and declined all musicals.

After the successful romance film "Cowboy", he took on the thriller "Blow Out" directed by Brian De Palma. But the new genre film he co-starred with Nancy Allen failed so badly at the box office that he couldn't find a good script for him to star in.

Seeing that more than a year has passed without a suitable movie, John Travolta has to return to musicals, hoping to use the sequel of his masterpiece "Saturday Night Fever" to regain his strength and once again become a first-line male star in Hollywood.

Hollywood often refers to these big-budget movies, which are intended to help male and female protagonists become famous, as "catapults." An actor, through the launch of a "catapult" movie, suddenly surpasses actors of the same level and reaches the status of a star.

The script of the sequel has the same name as the original, using the name of the song by the Bee Gees, called "staying alive".

In fact, this sequel was written the day after the original "Saturday Night Fever" was released in 1977 and became a hit.

In the original work, Tony Manero, who came out of a poor family in the Italian Quarter of Brooklyn, came to Manhattan and tried to find a world in a Broadway musical.

However, due to his background and lack of formal training in music and dance, he spent a lot of time in Manhattan without finding any suitable roles. Eventually I became a trainer at a fitness center.

Travolta has always welcomed sequels, but he didn't like the realistic script. He hopes that Manero will be successfully selected for the musical based on his talent and will succeed on Broadway.

RSO's Stewart, and Paramount's executive producer, spent a lot of time trying to convince Travolta to accept such a realistic ending. Because of the success of the original film, it was attributed by film critics to a very realistic depiction of Italian life in Brooklyn.

The originally stalemate situation took a turn for the better after Travolta suffered a major failure in his acting career.

"So what is Mr. Sternwood's request?" Ronald looked at the script and asked what kind of ending should be given to the protagonist Manero?

"It is more optimistic than the original, but we cannot give up realism. It is very far from reality. This would be too far away from the spirit of the original work. I am afraid that the audience will be disappointed to watch the sequel."

"Can I meet John Travolta?" Ronald asked.

He had never met Travolta in real life. Based on the script alone, he was afraid that he would not be able to dream of a movie, so he asked to meet the leading actor.

"That's no problem. Travolta has a lot of ideas for the movie. You just have to chat with him."

John Travolta is also a client of CAA, and the meeting was arranged at a high-end gym in West Hollywood.

Travolta was wearing a headband and a baggy T-shirt, lifting a barbell. He is working hard to get back in shape. He knew very well that a large portion of the audience, especially the female audience, came to see his sexy body dance hotly.

Six years later, he needs more efforts to regain his former strong figure.

"Hello, Mr. Travolta." Ronald stood aside and watched him do squats with the help of his coach.

"Call me... um... John... um" Travolta put down the barbell and took a towel to wipe his sweat.

"Are you Ronald? I really like the script you wrote for 'The Grease Sequel'. It's a pity that they didn't stick to your script, otherwise I would have made a cameo in it, so we would have been able to collaborate a long time ago."

Travolta is no different from the one on the screen poster, with thick hair, blue eyes, and small dimples on his chin. Many American women like this chin very much and think it is a sign of sexiness and masculinity.

"John, how do you imagine the ending for Manero?"

"Ronald, look, Manero is so talented." Travolta pointed to the famous "Saturday Night Fever" poster on the wall.

Travolta, wearing a white suit, pointed diagonally to the sky with one hand and the ground with the other. Travolta posted him in the gym, motivating himself to work out. This movement has also been imitated by many dancers.

"Why can't such a dancing talent be noticed by Broadway producers to star in a musical? I don't understand. They always say that this is not realistic enough. I don't understand what is unrealistic."

"I think what they mean is that the original work is full of the struggles that a little person needs to go through to get ahead in Brooklyn?" Ronald thought for a while and said, "Manero couldn't go to college. If it weren't for his dancing talent, he would be very difficult. Maybe get a job in a garage."

"Yes, Ronald, yes. Many Italians start working as soon as they graduate from high school. But Manero's talent is enough to support him in finding a job on Broadway."

"It seems like your own debut didn't go so smoothly." Ronald cursed. His agent told him that Travolta got the lead role in the Broadway remake of "Grease" by hooking up with Diana Hyland, an actress 18 years his senior.

He also did "Grease" on Broadway, and that was just a backup dancer.

By the way, backup dancers.

Ronald said, "John, I think that in addition to Manero's talent, his own struggle is also very important. Don't you think he should be rewarded for his hard work? Why not let him be spotted by a Broadway producer and serve as the first How about backup dancers for the new musical?”

"Backup dancer?"

"Yes, now that we are in the third part, we still have stories to tell. Manero climbed from a backup dancer to the leading role."

"I like your idea, Ronald." Travolta thought about it and smiled. It seemed that he was a little satisfied. "Just like Rocky, huh? Struggle, defeat one opponent after another, and achieve success!"

Travolta punched the air twice.

"How about we give Manero a love life? A dancer who struggles with him and both end up getting roles in musicals?"

"You have a great idea." Travolta nodded. The actor who played the heroine Stephanie in the original film is now 37 years old and no longer matches him well on camera. Manero needs a new girlfriend.

With Travolta's approval, Ronald returned to the apartment excitedly. I followed Jane Fonda’s fitness video and did yoga for a while, then took a hot bath and went to bed early.

"ah……"

Ronald saw the alarm clock next to the bed, it was already pointing to six o'clock the next morning, and he didn't dream of anything!

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