Exploiting Hollywood 1980

“They loved the Christmas ad and want you to continue filming their new creative for next year.”

Darcy Maguire, the creative director of jwt, was very happy after seeing the Christmas advertisement shot by Ronald. This kind of Christmas family atmosphere is very suitable for her taste.

It happened that Burger King also felt that the Christmas commercial was well shot, and Maguire agreed with them on the advertising creative for next year. It's better to use the raw material than the familiar one, and found Ronald again.

"Are we still comparing ads?" Ronald took the material.

"Burger King wants more radical new ideas. This time I want to change the cooperation method and outsource the production part to you. As long as you make an advertisement that satisfies Burger King, no matter the specific details, your company will handle it all. We only produce A total price.”

Wouldn’t that be enough to raise a film production budget of US$1.3 million? Ronald was very happy and quickly opened the materials and started reading.

"McDonald's burgers have 20% less beef than Burger King's," Ronald read the ad slogan, "Is this true?"

"McDonald's fried beef patties seem to shrink in size. In several McDonald's franchise stores we sampled, their beef patties were indeed more than 20% smaller in size."

‘That’s because it looks small, not because it weighs little? "Ronald muttered a little, will this be a problem?

"Let the little girl named Sara be on camera?"

"Yes, after our testing, among the actors who appeared in the Christmas commercial, the audience liked her the most. So for this new commercial, we plan to let Sarah Michelle Gellar shoot first."

"Is this... this kind of advertising okay? Will it violate the regulations of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)?" Ronald knew a little about the regulations of the FTC, and it seemed that few people would do this to directly attack the advertising creativity of his competitors. "

"It doesn't matter. Burger King has a strong legal team and there will be no problem with the broadcast. This does not violate the regulations of the FTC. McDonald's only sued for an injunction, but according to the evaluation of Burger King's legal team, it is not enough to prevent Burger King's advertisement from being broadcast."

"Burger King is fine, but I'm afraid there is something wrong with me." Ronald thought to himself.

"I have to discuss it with Eddie. You know I'm working on my new movie and I have a lot of things to confirm before Christmas." Ronald began to shirk.

"Well, you can discuss it first and give me a reply as soon as possible."

"no problem.

"

Ronald then contacted private attorney Lindsay Dole.

"Ronald, your caution is justified. That Maguire said it right. Courts generally will not support McDonald's strong relief proposed by prohibiting the broadcast of Burger King advertisements, because strictly speaking they are not lying.

However, McDonald's can sue you. Although you have free speech under the First Amendment, that doesn't include explicit defamation, where they can sue you.

Although you won't have much trouble if you respond properly, this is McDonald's, and their team of lawyers can make your next year quite troublesome.

Although you have a case to fight, I might earn a little more money, but I would rather see the movie you make, be your lawyer without appearing in court, and review the contract, which is more in line with my taste. Hahaha. "

"Thanks, Lindsay, I appreciate it. I will raise my retainer next year, and having you here will save me a lot of potential trouble."

"And I will improve the quality of my services. Our business is good this year, and I have enough money to hire a few good legal assistants."

After Ronald discussed it with Eddie, he declined Maguire's invitation on the grounds that he wanted to concentrate on film projects.

Although Eddie lost a lot of income in this way, Ronald promised him that in the future non-film business, he would change the cooperation model and let Eddie become the project producer and be responsible for various details. When there are outsourced projects, they divide the money according to proportion, so that Eddie will not suffer too much.

"Thanks, Eddie. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas to you, Ronald. I'm Jewish, but on Christmas Day, you can wish me a Happy Hanukkah."

"Sorry, I always forget you're Jewish. Happy Hanukkah."

Except for a small number of liberals who have thoroughly integrated into secular life, most of the Jews in America still maintain their Jewish faith. The Jews did not recognize Jesus' status as God and only considered him a prophet.

So they didn't celebrate Christmas, Easter, and a series of traditional Christian festivals. Their Hanukkah, which coincides with Christmas, is a holiday celebrating the Jewish uprising against the Roman Empire and the recovery of Jerusalem.

Christmas was just over a week away, and Ronald decided not to go back to Los Angeles. He signed all the documents for the establishment of the film production company here, and reviewed the investments of all parties with accountant Lawrence Wang and personal lawyer Lindsay Doerr. Agreements, complex contract terms, require the cooperation of two people to ensure that they are correct.

Ronald also spent a lot of time with Aunt Karen and Donna during this time. During the busy time in Los Angeles, sometimes I didn’t even call my aunt. This time we finally had time to get together. Ronald felt very good.

In addition, I rejected Burger King's advertisement, so there is still a gap in funds. You can also consider contacting acquaintances in New York to see if anyone is willing to invest in you.

"Ronnie, I have something to ask you." After dinner at her aunt's house in the evening, Aunt Karen called Ronald to her bedroom.

"I heard from Donna that she heard you and your lawyer on the phone discussing financing?"

"Oh, yes, I'm looking for investors for my next movie." Ronald pretended to be relaxed while drinking the black tea made by his aunt.

"Why don't you tell me? The business of leg warmers is pretty good, and sales are increasing rapidly this year. If you need it, you can use it on your movie first." Aunt Karen said and was about to take out her checkbook .

Ronald quickly held his aunt down, "No, no, you and Donna may have made a mistake. Film financing is a professional job, and no director will use his own money to make a movie. This is the rule of the industry, even if The director may be willing, but the producer may not be willing.”

"Although I still want you to go back to college to complete your studies, Ronnie helped you establish the leg warmer business. Since you want to realize your dream, why can't your family invest?" Aunt Karen insisted.

"No, film investment has its own special characteristics. It's not something you can invest if you have money. First of all, the film needs to be released by cinemas, and the distributor - just like the wholesaler of the leg warmers business, they buy the distribution of the film Quan, responsible for contacting all cinemas to confirm schedules.

They won't invest in my film if they don't have the right revenue. I was lucky that my former boss, Mr. Roger Coleman, liked me so much that he had invested half a million.

Then the movie had to be sold overseas, and the boss of another distributor also invested a lot of money.

If I don't give them a share of investment, they won't be able to get the excess profits from the movie's success, and they won't be willing to distribute my movie. This is a low-budget movie. Even if you want to invest, you won't have the share. "

"Is that so?" Aunt Karen didn't understand movies and was convinced by Ronald's few words. "Okay, if you need it again, remember to tell me. We all support your dream."

"I know, thank you, Auntie." Ronald hugged Aunt Karen tightly. Film investment is very risky. Auntie and Donna finally got their lives back on track. Don't let them take risks again.

"Ronnie, it's hard to spend Christmas in New York this time. Please invite your girlfriend Helen to come with you."

"Well, I heard her say that she wants to live with her parents' reorganized family for a while and spend some time with them. She is going to Britain soon."

"What's the matter? I haven't seen her for a long time. She's going to Britain to film a movie soon. Donna and I also want to meet her. I heard she's going to be away for a long time this time."

"Yes, I will go to London right after Christmas for four months of fitness training, and then there will be a long shooting period. I heard from her that just like Superman, this kind of stunt movie is very slow to shoot."

"Ask her to come." Aunt Karen picked up the phone and handed it to Ronald.

"Okay, I'll ask her and let her come. The cloak helped her a lot last time. Helen kept saying thank you."

"Haha, that's not worth mentioning."

Ronald answered Helen's phone, "Helen, this is Ronald. Are you free before Christmas? Aunt Karen invites you to visit her home."

"Hahaha, of course I'm free." Helen smiled. Recently, she took turns living in her parents' new homes after their divorce, and it was rare for her to enjoy the warmth of the family.

"You come to my mother's house to pick me up. I'm on Long Island..."

…

"Take good care of Helen and send her back tomorrow," Helen's mother, Alice Jean, looked at Ronald and Helen with satisfaction.

His daughter held her boyfriend's arm, her eyes full of sweetness.

Alice Jean looked satisfied. She thought Ronald was good, he was a gentleman, and he didn't have the casual attitude toward women that men in the entertainment industry have. It's just that both of them are very busy at work and can't always be together.

"Aunt Karen has cooked a lot of dishes for you, and she has also baked cookies. Now she is busy with work in the factory and hasn't baked cookies for a long time. I can only eat them because you have to come." Ronald said Talking trivial matters to Helen in the car.

"Ronnie, I'm going to London soon, will you miss me?" Helen asked gently, sitting in the passenger seat.

"Of course, I will call you. My movie project will start shooting at the end of next month. It is a low-budget movie. When I finish, I will go to London to visit the cast."

Ronald smiled and shook Helen's hand.

"By the way, what Christmas gifts did you receive this year? I didn't even see a Christmas tree at Alice Jean's just now. Do you Long Islanders cut it down yourself? Or buy it at the Christmas market in the suburbs?"

"Hahaha... Ronny, you don't know me at all." Helen Slater stopped at the red light and gently touched Ronald's face, "We have been dating for a long time, and you don't even know me. family situation.”

"Uh? Your father, Gerald, works for PBS. Your mother is an environmental lawyer and anti-nuclear activist. You also have a brother, David, who lives with your mother's new family. Your father also married a new wife and had children. But they all love you. Am I right?"

Ronald looked at Helen, wondering why Helen would suddenly say that he didn't understand her.

"Idiot, I'm Jewish and I don't know about Christmas."

"Huh?" Ronald was surprised. "I really didn't know this. Are you Jewish? Isn't your last name Slater a Jewish surname?"

Ronald thought to himself, are you kidding? It would still be possible if Helen's last name was Sresky or something.

Besides, Ronald looked at Helen's beautiful profile. Her nose was medium-sized and straight, and there was no hump-like bend in the middle of the nose bone. How could she be a Jew?

"Yes, my grandfather is of Polish descent, and my maternal grandfather is of Russian descent. They are both of Jewish descent. However, after immigrating to New York, my family also mixed with Polish, German, and other ancestry. Because Jews There was discrimination, so my grandparents changed their surnames to the Anglo-Saxon Slater and Tiger."

"Oh, I didn't see it." Ronald kissed Helen gently, "Sorry, I really didn't think about it. I thought..."

"Actually, my parents are liberal Jews and don't go to synagogue very much, but they still don't miss Christmas, haha..."

"Didi..." The light ahead turned green, Ronald put the car into gear and began to move forward.

"By the way, Ronnie, what's your ethnicity?" Helen asked.

"Me? I don't know either. I have to ask Aunt Karen. My parents died early, and they never told me about it... Well, maybe they did, but I was too young and forgot."

Ronald changed the topic and drove Helen to her aunt's house.

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