Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Coleman's office was across from New World. Ronald and his agent Niceta walked to Millennium Pictures, found Coleman, and told him the situation.

"Raimi? Robert Raimi? No way? He worked for me for three years, became sales director, and then left in 1978 to go to Embassy Pictures...

I heard that he did a good job at Embassy Pictures. He successively produced movies with good box office, and increased the annual revenue from 20 million to 90 million. He was poached to Universal. I don’t know why he rejoined New York. The world is in trouble with you. "

Roger Coleman was a little surprised. He had a good impression of Remy. When he was in the New World, he was always able to meet deadlines and quantities, and often exceeded sales targets.

"That's right, Remy strongly opposed the release of Ronald's movie when he was at Universal, so after 'Fast Time' became a hit, he had a hard time at Universal and was under a lot of pressure. This is probably why he The reason for returning to the new world." Niceta interjected.

"That's right," Ronald thought to himself. Remy had previous experience in sales at New World, coupled with his performance in significantly increasing revenue at Embassy Pictures, and finally he was gold-plated as the vice president of Universal.

For the three lawyers who acquired New World, he knew both distribution and production, and had worked in a large company. His resume was indeed perfect.

"I'll give him a call. Their phone number shouldn't have been changed yet." Roger Coleman picked up the phone and was about to call to ask about the situation.

"Mr. Coleman, with all due respect, the distribution channels for Ronald's film project are now stuck. The key lies in how you and the new bosses of New World signed the contract at that time, and whether Ronald Can I get the guarantee of new world distribution?”

Coleman nodded to show that he knew, picked up the phone and dialed the switchboard of the New World, "I'm looking for Robert Remy, this is Coleman."

His other hand searched in the drawer for a long time, took out a contract and threw it to Niceta, and then explained:

"My purpose is very simple. I want to retire and spend time with my family. If I want to make a movie, there will be a professional distribution agency to help distribute it. So I signed a distribution contract with them for five movies in two years.

As long as it is a movie produced by me, New World will unconditionally distribute it with a distribution fee of 15% of the box office. However, Ronald did not sign a production agreement with me personally at that time, but with New World Company, so Remy would have a certain degree of autonomy. "

"Wait, the phone is connected\

,"Roger Corman signaled the two to be quiet, and then said into the phone, "Hello, Remy? This is Corman, and Ronald is here with me, and he said you don't want to release his movie?"

"The script is anti-America?...Huh?...Too much nudity?...Smearing government agencies?...Tell me, what do you have to do to release Ronald's movie? I promised this good boy .Revise the script until...? What about his withdrawal? What do you want to do?...I will discuss this matter with your three bosses...Okay, that's it."

Roger Corman hung up the phone, and then looked at Ronald calmly, "He said you have to revise the script until he is satisfied, otherwise he will not give you the green light for production. There can't be too much nudity, and How do you want to deal with making government-affiliated research institutions into villains?"

"Mr. Coleman, I can't do this. Without some ice cream for the audience's eyes, there really is no audience for this kind of small production. And the bad guys in the government research institute are an important plot twist in the third act. , the savior that everyone was hoping for turned out to be a bad guy.

I couldn't get rid of this plot, otherwise the third act would lack the twist and final climax... unless it was completely reinvented..."

"bullshxt, do you really want to change the script?" Coleman stood up in surprise. Originally, he meant to help Ronald withdraw the distribution agreement, but he didn't expect that he would actually consider changing it.

"I hate it the most in my life when people modify my scripts and edits. Ignore this bastard. Just find another distributor. Don't worry about my feelings. There is a clause in my agreement with them that I cannot get involved in film distribution for five years. , otherwise I will personally help you with the distribution."

"Mr. Coleman..." Ronald wanted to express his gratitude.

"You don't know why I started my own publishing company." Coleman waved his hand, opened the door and let his secretary make a few cups of coffee.

"At that time, I completed the filming and editing of America's first psychedelic-themed film, 'The Trip.' At the end, I arranged for the leading actor Peter Fonda to honestly tell the audience what psychedelics had to do with him. own effects and will not try it again in the future.

But that son of a bitch at American International Pictures, Samuel Arkoff, the genius who invented the Arkoff formula, recut the ending of my movie without permission and gave Peter Fonda a mirror-shattered The special effects freeze the protagonist in a state of mental disintegration.

In anger, I broke off cooperation with them, and then started my own distribution network from scratch. If a film director doesn't have the courage to stick to his own creativity, then he should stop doing this as soon as possible. "

"Mr. Coleman... I wonder if you have the financing limit?" Niceta interrupted Roger Coleman and wanted to discuss Ronald's financing issue with him.

Coleman picked up the coffee and drank it in one gulp, "I understand that the issuing company usually wants to take the dominant position, so unless you can get more than one million investment from the issuing company, they will not allow other investors to invest half a million. of the amount.

I have made an agreement with Remy, and he will allow you to withdraw the issuance contract, return the investment of 500,000, and we will have nothing to do with you from now on. In addition, I am optimistic about your movie, so I will continue to invest as long as you need it and within the license limit of the new distributor. "

"Thank you, Roger." Ronald was very moved in his heart. At this critical moment, Roger Corman treated himself not as a calculating businessman, but as a film director and artist.

If Coleman had not suppressed Remy and withdrawn the publishing contract. If Remy is stuck in his contract in the end, then "Night of the Comet" won't be able to go up or down, and he will be stuck in the middle, and he will definitely feel uncomfortable.

The careful director was blocked by Remy from releasing it. If he directed it haphazardly, he might be used to slander him.

"Can I borrow your phone? Mr. Coleman, I'm going to call Atlantic now. They have made it clear to Ronald that they are willing to distribute his movie." Seeing Coleman's clear stance, Niceta offered to borrow it. contacting via phone.

"Just use my phone and I'll make a cup of coffee. It's such a sleepy hour." Coleman gave the office to Ronald and Niceta so they could contact each other more easily.

After a while, Ronald opened the doors in the office and invited Coleman in again.

"Atlantic has expressed its willingness to take over. They will contribute another 400,000 US dollars. If we gather 500,000 US dollars in investment, as our publisher in America, we can sign a contract immediately. So you can only leave an investment limit of 100,000 US dollars here." Niceta Said, it is equivalent to Coleman and Atlantic switching investment amounts.

"No problem, come and get the check anytime after you sign the contract." Coleman patted Ronald on the shoulder, "There will always be problems of one kind or another in movie preparations, don't be discouraged. That's how making movies is, not here. Maybe that will do."

"Thank you, Roger. It's just that the funds at Atlantic are preparing for the release of 'Valley Girl,' which was shot last year, and they won't be able to find the funds to invest in the distribution of my film until it comes out in April."

Atlantic is a very small company, and all its funds can only guarantee the production and distribution of a small-budget film. Ronald also went to see this "Valley Girl" on set. It was directed by Gale's friend Martha Coolidge and starred Nicolas Cage.

"I haven't talked to you about this, Ronald. Are you too obsessed with the special effects? In fact, your script can be made very well for 500,000 to 800,000 yuan, and you don't have to worry about sales."

Coleman felt that Ronald was making a fuss out of a molehill. He couldn't make a science fiction film with $800,000? As long as you use the right method, you can shoot for 300,000 yuan.

"I roped in Jim Cameron and carefully calculated the required costs over and over again. It was impossible to reduce costs for the two major scenes. The first was the scene where the comet destroyed the earth, which was a big visual chocolate for the audience.

The second is the deserted city, which is a lonely quality that the movie must have. Without these two points, this movie is just a little bit..." Ronald didn't know how to word it.

"Kind of like one of my cheap science fiction movies?" Coleman laughed.

"Hahaha……"

Roger Corman also laughed, but he quickly returned to his seriousness and said to Ronald, "I will tell you two stories, maybe they will inspire you."

"I'm listening with both ears."

"One is Peter Bogdanovich. He was originally a film critic and later became an assistant director on my film 'The Wild Angels.' After the filming, he told me that he could make a movie.

I gave him some spare film, a set that hadn't been taken down yet, and then an actor, Boris Karloff, who owed me two days of shooting.

As a result, he asked Karloff to sit there, put on the costume of the previous movie, and started telling stories. The scene that originally cost a lot of money to shoot turned into a few old friends chatting, and through the third person's voice Stories told through the mouth.

This saves a lot of money. If it weren't for an old horror movie actor to tell the story and lead to the beginning, the movie would not be as exciting as it was. "

Ronald nodded and took note. He knew that Coleman's implication was to use script adjustments to avoid expensive shooting scenes.

"The second story is about a racing film I shot. I went to a sports car sales center to borrow a car for the film. The dealer promised to lend me his sports car for the filming, but asked me to sign an agreement to ensure that there would be no problems with the car, otherwise I would have to take photos. price compensation.

I knew that the most likely thing to cause trouble when shooting cars was the front windshield, so I removed the front windshields of all the cars, and then used a downgraded shooting method to shoot the high-speed chase scene. "

"This is to allow me to be creative and think of ways to save costs that others have not thought of, so that the effect of the final film exceeds the cost." Ronald wrote down the inspiration of the second story.

"Remember, Ronald, there's nothing a screwdriver and a roll of tape can't fix in making a movie. If it can't be fixed, tear up the script."

"I'm afraid this won't work," Ronald thought to himself. "In the era when Corman made movies, the audience could still tolerate this shoddy shooting method, but now with the sci-fi blockbusters of Lucas and Spielberg, the audience His taste has been spoiled.

Furthermore, this kind of third-party storytelling avoids big scenes, and I am afraid that the audience will throw rubbish on the spot. "

However, this idea can be used for reference. Ronald nodded and asked, "Even if I use a side profile to shoot the scene where the earth is destroyed by a comet, the deserted city is the key environment for the plot of the movie.

Without the effect of the desertion of this modern city, I am afraid that the lonely survivor temperament created by the movie would be discounted by more than half. No matter whether I use a set-up to shoot or apply to block traffic in Los Angeles for a few days, the cost cannot be reduced. "

"Why do we need the help of the police? Have you forgotten how we used to make movies in the new century? Guerrilla tactics?"

"This is also a way." Ronald agreed, disapproving in his heart. This important scene will take at least two full days to shoot, and there are so many related shots. If we follow Coleman's method and tear out the scenes in the script before it can be shot, we may not be able to get the kind of atmospheric shots required by the script.

Besides, with so many shots, it’s impossible to play hide-and-seek with lapd.

unless……

Unless you are shooting at night when the power of the lapd has faded.

But this is not appropriate. "Night of the Comet" is a zombie movie with a bright atmosphere, not a horror movie that focuses on dark night scenes.

Horror is not the background of this movie. In fact, this is a zombie movie with a romantic comedy background. Two valley girls are looking for their own romance in the lonely apocalypse. To a certain extent, it can be regarded as the combination of comedy and horror that CAA has always advocated.

Moreover, there are many scenes where the sky is covered with red comet dust. How do you shoot such a scene at night? I have only heard that there is a way to shoot night scenes during the day - "day to make night". I have not heard of shooting day scenes at night, and there are no such powerful lamps to bring out the illumination of the sun.

But these are details, and Ronald has two immediate problems to solve.

The first is to revise the contract with Minahan's Cannon Pictures. The original distributor of America has changed, and the guarantee terms need to be re-drafted.

The second is to discuss the schedule with Nicolas Cage. Now the movie will obviously be postponed, which will conflict with his new film. If it can't be accommodated in the schedule, he will have to find a new leading actor.

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