Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"This is Ronald's home. I have something to do and it's not convenient for me to answer the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep."

"It's me, Weintraub. Answer the phone."

Jerry Weintraub's voice came to mind on Ronald's home answering machine.

Since the last time Ronald helped him block a tackle, Weintraub's attitude towards Ronald has become much more affectionate. He opened up to Ronald about the reasons why he had to ask John G. Avelson.

The total investment in "The Dragon King" was eight million US dollars, all raised by Jerry Weintraub, and Columbia was only responsible for distribution. Therefore, as a real investor, Weintraub is unwilling to have a low return on his investment.

So Weintraub desperately needed a star to participate in the film's production to secure free coverage and Columbia's cooperation for distribution.

In comparison, the cost of star directors is much lower than that of star actors. After "Rocky", John G. Avelson didn't have any well-known new works, and his agent only offered him a salary of half a million dollars. The most powerful male stars, such as Dustin Hoffman, who starred in "My Fair Lady", earned as much as $5.8 million.

Even for new stars like Tom Cruise, the price is generally more than one million US dollars.

Weintraub is a man with ambitious goals but careful calculations. Of course, he chose the director award between the two Oscar winners. John G. Avelson also won Best Director, and the free coverage was the same anyway.

However, Ronald Lee was willing to help him cover up the scandal and did not take the opportunity to blackmail him. Weintraub, a street boy from the Bronx, knew that such acts of loyalty had to be rewarded accordingly.

So I quickly contacted Ronald's agent Niceta and agreed to invest in Ronald's next film, whether it was a new film written by himself, or the script acquired by Weintraub was one that Ronald liked. .

Even once "Longwei Boy" is successful, you can consider teaching him to direct the sequel.

"It's me, Jerry." Ronald answered the phone and started talking to Weintraub.

"You come to my office early tomorrow and I will introduce you to director John G. Avelson. He likes your script very much and you can have a chat. Then we will go to Frank Price at Columbia and he will give the green light. From now on, we can prepare for the crew to start shooting. I have an idea. You will participate in the production of this film throughout the entire process, and I will give you the title of co-producer."

Weintraub means,

Give Ronald a little extra monetary reward. He had readily paid the full amount of the script, which cost 200,000 US dollars.

"Whenever, I will be there on time."

The next day, Ronald and Niceta went to Weintraub's office again.

At the door, they saw a middle-aged man in his forties. The medium-length blond hair is neatly combed and slightly whitened. With a strong nose and deep-set eye sockets, it can be seen that he must have been a handsome guy when he was young.

"Ronald, hello, I'm John, John G. Avelson"

The handsome middle-aged man took the initiative to shake hands with Ronald.

"Hello Mr. Avelson, I'm a fan of your movies, 'Rocky' I particularly like, and the shot of Rocky running on the steps of Philadelphia's City Hall with his arms raised, if I'm not mistaken, is the first Is this the first time Steadicam stabilization has been introduced in a movie?"

"Haha, yes, that shot took Stallone half a day."

Avelson was very enthusiastic about Ronald and told many things about his youth. Ronald discovered that the two had many connections.

Avilson is of Norwegian descent and started his career as a director by making exploitation films in his early years. In the earliest days, he worked at Cannon Pictures before it was acquired by the Minahan brothers, specializing in making Norwegian and Swedish films.

Although the movie was shot in America, the dialogue was in Nordic languages, which could trick a group of audiences into watching it. At that time, Swedish director Ingmar Bergman's movies were popular around the world. The exploitation films he shot had a lot of nudity, and they were really good at the box office. He was also a gold medal director of exploitation films for a period of time.

Later, he was appreciated by Jack Lemmon and directed "The Tiger", which fulfilled Jack Lemmon's Oscar-winning actor dream and was gradually accepted by the mainstream of Hollywood. Behind him is the famous "Rocky".

The two chatted for a while, and the red-haired secretary named Susan Akins belatedly invited them in.

"Hi, Susan, nice to meet you." Ronald greeted her with a smile. This kind of secretary who is a little shy when meeting people is rare in Hollywood. Ronald nodded at her in good faith.

"Hello, Ronald." Susan led the way.

"Hey, honey, won't you go have a drink with me tonight?" Avelson flirted with Susan, half-jokingly.

"Mr. Avelson," Susan smiled and continued to lead the way.

"John, Ronald, it's great that you have met. I was about to give you some good news."

"What is it, Jerry?"

"You know, Ronald. The name of your movie, 'The Karate Kid', happens to have the same name as a young hero from DC Comics. I contacted DC and they were very kind and agreed to authorize it. We’re using this name so we don’t have to change it.”

"That's great, but I really didn't mean to plagiarize them. I came up with the name myself." Ronald quickly defended that he didn't plagiarize on purpose.

"Of course, if Susan hadn't looked up the information and told me, I wouldn't have known. There are so many comic heroes under DC, and many of them are unknown to us and we don't know about them."

"So, John, do you have an actor in mind?"

"I haven't started thinking about it yet. Who do you have in mind?"

"I have an idea, and you guys should help me think about it." Weintraub began to talk about his blueprint. I think that for the role of the master, it would be better to hire Toshiro Mifune, the favorite actor of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. He has played so many Japanese swordsmen and is also very famous in America. "

"What a great idea. We have to fly him to Los Angeles for an audition. I really can't wait to work with him." Avelson winked at Ronald and immediately agreed to Weintraub's request.

"I also have an idea for the male protagonist and his opponents in the Cobra Kai dojo. Why don't we invite the sons or nephews of famous actors to play the roles. On the one hand, they don't need much acting skills; on the other hand, they don't need much acting skills. It's a free wave of publicity. These celebrities really want to raise their children, don't they?"

"This?" Ronald didn't expect Weintraub's imagination to be so open. He wrote this script. He knew that the protagonist Danny was not that easy to act. From a weak boy to practicing hard and finally defeating himself and the enemy, the rhythm and level of emotional changes in the middle required a person with outstanding acting skills. Only ability can control it.

"Jerry, would Danny consider using professional actors? I think the ones Coppola picked in "The Little Mermaid" were pretty good."

"Oh yeah? What do you think? John?" Weintraub asked Avelson.

"I think we might as well let them all try. If the star's son auditions well, this is indeed a better choice."

"I think you're right. And what about the heroine? What do you think?"

"Well, I don't have any fixed ideas. What do you think?" Elson seemed to have no ideas of his own.

"I needed a girl who was particularly beautiful so that Danny and Johnny's love for her would be convincing."

"I think you are right, we will audition according to this template. What do you recommend, Ronald?"

"It depends on everyone's feelings. I don't care. I think it's best if most of the audience feels like the best of the girls next door." Ronald also learned to follow Weintraub's lead. Speaking of which, this person’s ego is too big.

"I think you are right. Once Price gives the green light, we will send invitations to all major brokerage firms. Let's go to Colombia immediately, lock the briefcase, and get the order." Weintraub said with a big hand With a wave, several people stood up and walked out.

After leaving the office, Ronald saw his secretary Susan getting up to see him off.

"Sweetie, are you really not considering going out with me tonight for a romantic date?" Avilson returned to his true self as a handsome guy and teased her again, making Susan blush.

"Let's get in the car first, Susan, you and I will take one. Ronald and John will go to that one."

"Ronald, do you know why I didn't comment on the casting in front of Weintraub?" Avelson got into the car and sat in the back seat with Ronald. It can be seen that he is in a good mood. After "Rocky", he has not directed a major project funded by Hollywood for a long time.

"I was just about to ask for advice." Ronald thought to himself, isn't it just flattering?

"I like your script very much. It is a story about an underdog's counterattack and success. I know that only talented people can write it. But I have been in Hollywood longer than you. A little bit, you know why I didn’t do more big productions? Rocky was actually a small production too.”

"Perhaps their producers didn't realize your talent, Mr. Avelson?"

"Call me John. I never understood it, until one day, I had the opportunity to meet Frank Capra. He is a three-time Oscar winner for best director. Do you know Clark Gable's It Happened One Night?"

"Ah, I saw it in my classic film appreciation class at NYU. I know his name."

"Oh, you are also from New York University. It seems that we are still alumni." Avelson said, "Where were we talking? By the way, I asked Frank Capra, how do you get the top executives of those studios? Why? How can you get so many opportunities to direct classic and large-scale productions?"

After speaking, Avelson looked at Ronald.

"Then, why?" Ronald was also interested. Dealing with the top management of the studio had always made him miserable. Those people didn't understand art or business, they just knew how to secure a high-level position. , he is an expert in office politics.

"It's very simple. Let them think that your idea was their own."

"Wisdom?" Ronald thought to himself. This was the wisdom of successful directors under the big studio system back then, and it is still of great reference value today. But isn’t that what it is? If I had known this secret at that time, I might have been able to become a director of tens of millions of productions.

Meanwhile, in another Mercedes. Weintraub was particularly concerned about Susan, "How do you feel about working here these days? Your father and I are good friends. If you have anything to say, you can tell me."

"I feel like I can learn a lot from you and meet a lot of interesting people. In short, I feel very lucky to be able to do this job in the film industry."

"Oh, who do you think is funnier? Ronald?"

"He's very polite, and I think Mr. Avelson is funnier," Susan replied.

"Oh, hahaha, it seems you like older ones," Weintraub then asked, "Do you like riding horses? We went to ride some of my horses together on the weekend. I bought them for a lot of money. , there’s never time to ride.”

"Okay, I like horses, and I also like the smell of green grass at the racecourse."

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