Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Another big player in the recording industry joins Hollywood."

In the "News" section of "Daily Variety", there is news in a corner that "Jerry Weintraub Production Company" has officially announced the joining of a new director for its new film.

"Jerry Weintraub is ready to bring his talents to Hollywood. He told this reporter that up-and-coming director Ronald V. Lee will join the crew of 'The Kid' and serve as the director. It is reported , who is also the screenwriter of the film.”

"Praised by Stanley Kubrick as one of the most promising emerging directors, Ronald Lee is an alumnus of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts who directed Universal's 'Race to Richmond' High School', and the small production 'Night of the Comet'.

This is his first opportunity to direct a $7.5 million major production. Mr. Jerry Weintraub said that he admired Ronald Lee's talent and keen insight into teenage audiences.

Mr. Weintraub told this newspaper that the story of the film is adapted from real events. He said that "The Kid" will be an action romantic comedy that will be loved by young audiences. "

Ronald folded the newspaper and put it in his collection box. The day before yesterday, I went with my agent to sign a directing contract with Weintraub. A total of $200,000 in director's salary, plus a 1% profit share. Not counting the dividends, it's about the same as my screenwriter's salary. .

However, this kind of profit sharing is generally a term of honor for directors and actors, and most of the time, no one gets it. This is different from "Night of the Comet" in which Ronald invested part of his own money.

What Ronald valued was that the film had a maximum budget of $8.5 million, of which $1 million was a reserve. If it was not enough during the filming period, it could only be used after Weintraub signed off.

Moreover, Weintraub has signed a distribution agreement with Columbia, so the marketing and distribution of "Longwei Kid" are not a problem. As a veteran studio, Columbia must be much more stable than Atlantic in this regard.

Ronald still remembers the day he signed the contract and asked Weintraub what he thought of Pat Morita playing Master Miyagi. Weintraub categorically stated that Pat Morita would not be available as long as he was a producer. and declined further discussion.

Ronald had to put the matter aside for the time being and talk with Weintraub about the casting of several other major roles.

The male lead is confirmed and will not be looking for second-generation celebrities to star in the movie. Weintraub had Susan send out audition invitations to major Hollywood agencies.

However, because all the young actors are now auditioning for "Red Dawn," the audition for "The Dragon King" has to be held back a bit.

The heroine is a flower vase type character, as long as she is a beautiful girl with a girl-next-door temperament, the kind that Danny can fall in love with. Ronald secretly recommended Helen Slater to Weintraub.

After seeing the audition photos from his agent, Weintraub said that he could go directly to the second round of auditions. Once the actor Danny is confirmed, they can audition together to see the chemical reaction.

Master Miyagi is of Japanese descent, which is quite special. We have tried our best to find all the Japanese and Chinese actors in Hollywood to audition. I also asked Ovitz from CAA to ask for some photos of English-speaking actors from the Japanese film industry.

Ronald recalled Avelson's reminder. When Francis Coppola was looking for Marlon Brando to play Corleone in "The Godfather", he also faced strong opposition from the top management of the production company, but in the end he still did it. It became a thing. I came up with the idea of ​​visiting someone for Buddhist scriptures.

Coppola is busy. His second Hinton adaptation, "Betta," which was shot in Oklahoma, has been edited and is about to be released. This time, instead of going through Warner Bros., I used my own "Peep Show" company for distribution. It was a very busy time.

Fortunately, Niceta was also Coppola's agent. After his call, Ronald was able to visit him and Coppola agreed to give him half an hour to chat.

"Hey, Ronnie. What, I heard you want to see me for something?" Coppola's complexion was much better when he was on the set. The box office of "The Kid" was not high nor low, with more than 25 million US dollars. After the film was released, Warner Bros. shipped some of the copies in good condition abroad and began showing them overseas, expecting to earn close to another 10 million.

This gave Coppola's name credibility after the box-office failure of "Old Love, New Love". Studios started looking for him to direct again. The famous independent producer Robert Evans was also approaching Coppola to discuss a project.

"I won't waste your precious time. I have something to ask you. When you were filming 'The Godfather', how did you convince Paramount's executives to use Marlon Brando? I met someone like I would like to borrow your wisdom, Francis."

"Marlon Brando," Coppola adjusted his glasses, "It's a long story. Would you like some salami? My friend brought it from Europe. Want a glass of red wine? Produced on my estate. "

Coppola poured Ronald a glass of red wine, then lit a cigar and slowly recalled the events of that year.

"Brando's reputation was very bad at the time, and he encountered accidents in several consecutive films. He was a very smart man, and sometimes he would get angry and stop acting when he met a poor director. So when Paramount heard about it, I thought Enable him and immediately reject it.”

"Oh? This is very similar to what I encountered." Ronald took a sip of red wine. "This wine tastes very good, even better than the one at the Oscar dinner last time. I will buy a box and take it back."

"Of course, the weather this year is very good. If I were you, I would buy more."

"Then let me tell Niceta, it tastes really good."

"By the way, the president of Paramount told me at the time that I was forbidden to mention Marlon Brando's name or discuss his role in The Godfather."

"How can you ban the discussion?" Ronald felt that Coppola must have some tricks up his sleeve. Under such circumstances, he could finally let Brando star. It seemed that he came to the right decision this time.

"I lay on the ground on the spot, pretending to faint, in protest. If Brando is not even allowed to be mentioned by name as an actor, what kind of creative freedom is this? They promised me creative freedom at the time. "

"Hahaha..." Ronald was very happy.

"My move worked. The president immediately gave in and said I could mention Brando's name. But hiring him was impossible." Coppola then drank a little red wine, chewed a piece of salami, and then smoked He took a puff of his cigar.

"I fought with them for a long time, and finally the president said that Brando could be cast, but he had to agree to three conditions.

Gu Sheng

First, he had to star for zero pay.

Second, you must undergo an audition

Third, Marlon Brando must post a $1 million bond, which will be withheld if his misconduct on set causes filming to be delayed. "

"How did you get them to give up on such harsh conditions?" Ronald was curious. It was impossible for any actor to agree to such conditions.

"I immediately agreed and said yes." Coppola laughed. "You have to remember that these producers are amateurs. They said this just to show their power and that they can decide some things.

As long as Marlon Brando agrees to star, and I think he is the most suitable candidate, as long as the person who really has the decision-making power nods, the final conditions will be modified. "

"Oh," Ronald nodded in agreement. This was a key point and he had to learn it carefully.

"Brando couldn't accept the audition, so I called him and said there was a role for him, but it was Italian, so I wanted to go to his house and let him do some improv to get a feel for it.

Malone is a smart guy and of course he knew this was an audition. Like Japanese ninjas, my people quietly walked into his house and set up the camera. He understood what was going on as soon as he arrived.

He is a great actor, so he hates directors discussing how to act with him. I never told him how to act, so I brought him some salami and chino chips and crispy wedges and put them on the table.

This way he would be mentally relaxed and willing to audition for me. "

"So he auditioned in the end?" Ronald picked up a piece of salami and ate it with red wine. This thing is good with wine.

"Yes, Brando had just woken up from his nap, with long blond hair, and walked into the living room. He was only forty-seven years old at the time.

He had seen ‘The Godfather’ and knew I was auditioning. So he immediately combed his long hair and tied it into a bun behind his head. Then I took a box of shoe wax and made the hair exposed in front black.

He was very spiritual and told me that Vito Corleone had been wounded by a gunshot. This kind of person speaks very lightly. Then he muttered softly, "Yeah, yeah, yeah...".

He added that Vito was old and his cheeks would fall off. He took two more tissues, rolled them up and put them in his mouth, "Eh, uh, uh..."

I don't know what he's talking about, but I think it's a great performance. "Coppola imitated Brando's inarticulate acting method vividly.

"And then they were convinced by the audition?" Ronald asked.

"No, it's not. Ronald, you have to be flexible sometimes. There are bad guys in this business.

I got the audition footage I needed, put it on videotape format, and then as a little trick, instead of showing it to the president of Paramount, I flew to New York and showed it directly to the president of Gulf Western, the parent company of Paramount. Watch Charlie Bluehorn. "

"I told him I would only delay him for five minutes, and he agreed to take a look at the video."

At first Mr. Bluehorn was very reluctant and said to me, "No... no... no..." Then the scene came to Brando dyeing his hair black, putting a napkin in his mouth, and finally in a weak voice, ' "Uh huh huh..." when he muttered.

Charlie Bluehorn immediately grabbed my hand and said, "Francis, that's great!"

"That's how that classic character was born."

After listening to Coppola's story, Ronald was very helpful. Sometimes, don’t argue with the producers. They often don’t know what the director is thinking. Use actual images to convince them.

The other thing is to find the right people and show them the right clips at the right opportunity.

CAA has not found a suitable Japanese actor, but Ronald still agrees with the professional vision of fellow director Avelson. He thought for a long time, called Niceta from CAA, and made an appointment with actor Pat Morita to meet in private.

Pat Morita is a typical Japanese, small and very polite. He grew up in America and is a second-generation immigrant. It also fully accepts American values, so the name is completely Western-style, with the surname Morita at the back and the Western-style name Pat at the front.

"Hello, Ronald. So I still have a chance?" Pat Morita hasn't received any roles since the sitcom "Happy Days" ended. This is the most difficult time for actors. And since he is of Japanese descent, there is no suitable role for him except in specific series.

Ronald talked with him about his thoughts on the character of Mr. Miyagi. Averson is right, Morita is a good fit. As a child, he and his parents were imprisoned in a concentration camp for several years during World War II. And he himself was rescued by a kind-hearted church, which gave him free polio treatment, and he later had no sequelae.

This attitude of being both resentful and grateful towards America is a carbon copy of Master Miyagi. Except that he is a little younger than "Miyagi Seiyoshi", but this is not a problem under makeup.

"I have the same view as Mr. Avelson, but your appearance is not good, you have to make some changes.

First you have to grow a beard. On the surface, Master Miyagi is a solitary repairman who doesn't pay much attention to appearance. You have to grow a messy beard, just like a single person.

Secondly...your English is very good. "

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