Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Daniel continued to learn karate with Mr. Miyagi. The next year...the annual Fernando Valley Karate Championship came again. This time, as the defending champion, he had to accept the challenges of masters from all walks of life..."

Ronald read Weintraub's summary.

"How about this? Is this a story okay? You are an expert. How about we devise a trick to let him defend his title in the championship?"

Ronald endured it but couldn't hold it back and told the truth, "Jerry, the first part has written Daniel's story to the end. If you want to make a sequel, the protagonist must focus on other characters, otherwise It's like filming the first film again with a new look. The audience won't buy it."

"Huh? How do you say that?" Weintraub was deeply impressed by Ronald's confident attitude on the first day of the movie. What he said must have some truth.

"Hmm... For example, in Lucas's 'Star Wars', if in A New Hope the Death Star is blown up, in the sequel the Empire builds a bigger Death Star, and then lets Luke go and destroy it. He exploded. Even if the force is several times stronger than before and the tricks are more powerful than before, the core of the story remains the same and the audience will not like to watch it."

"What you said makes sense." Weintraub put away the synopsis he wrote. "Then whose story do you think we should film?"

"It's better to film the role of Ali. There are a lot of things that can be explored in her. She is not a passive heroine. She dates Daniel, plays football, actively conflicts with Johnny, and encourages Daniel to persevere even though he is injured. I think she can make She becomes the second apprentice of Mr. Miyagi. It talks about women practicing martial arts to protect themselves.

Moreover, Elizabeth Su is a sports girl. She has a foundation in gymnastics and football, and is also very good at karate. She can perform action scenes by herself without a stand-in. After she completes part of her studies, we will find a summer vacation for her to come back and film the sequel. "

"Is that so? Does that mean we have to wait at least two years for the sequel to be released?"

"Yes, we have to wait a year before filming starts, so that we can give the audience time to reflect and look forward to it. Even Star Wars cannot be a movie every year."

"Is there anyone else?" Weintraub was actually a little annoyed that Elisabeth Shue refused to participate in the marketing campaign.

"Hmm..." Ronald thought for a while, "Then there is another option, which is to film the story of Master Miyagi, how he went from a Ryukyu fisherman to America, from a hero in the war to a The unassuming repairman in the apartment."

"An immigrant story? Like 'The Godfather Part II'?"

"right,

To unravel the mystery of Master Miyagi, I think there must be some stories behind his departure from Ryukyu. We can also let him return to Ryukyu again in the story to wrap up the previous stories. "

"Hmm... I like your idea better. Can we also film the story of the villain coach Chris?" Weintraub drew inferences.

"This?" Ronald didn't expect Weintraub to like fighting scenes so much, and all his thoughts revolved around more and more exciting fights.

"But he is a villain. Will the audience be interested in the villain? I actually didn't give him much ink in the movie."

"We can discuss it slowly, so you are still very interested in directing the sequel?" Weintraub laughed.

"Hahaha, maybe." Ronald is not disgusted with Weintraub's communication method, but whether he will continue to serve as screenwriter and director will be discussed later.

"How is the box office trend this week?" Ronald asked the two of them the topic they were most concerned about. If it can sell well at the box office, then the filming of the sequel will be guaranteed. The investment in the second part will definitely be much higher than the first part.

In today's movies, all actors sign a single film contract. If a sequel is filmed, the salary of the director and actors will increase. Only if the movie is a hit at the box office will studios and distributors invest more budget in making sequels.

"The momentum is very good, and the feedback from Columbia is that the single-box box office has even surpassed that of 'Legend of the Devil', and is on par with 'Gremlins'."

"The trend is really good." Ronald couldn't help but look forward to the second week's box office statistics. It is estimated that the drop will be very small.

…

"We need a director who is good at youth exploitation films." In the producer's office of 20th Century Fox, a middle-aged man lamented to his subordinates, think about it, who can take on this important task?

"This?" The subordinates looked at each other. The script of this movie was written by Noel Black (noel), who holds a senior position in the Fox Production Department, and then gave the green light.

However, I continued to approach many directors, but either expressed disinterest or were rejected by Black.

The current 20th Century Fox is in a state of chaos. After the female president, Shirley Lansing, was driven out by the new boss, the oil tycoon, the executives went their own way and took advantage of the short happy time without the president to start various performances.

Relatively speaking, Mr. Black only used his power to film the script he wrote, which is considered very moral, except that the script is a bit outdated.

But finding someone to direct his script is not an easy task. A director who is too good will have no interest in such an outdated script, but a director who is too bad will be dissatisfied with the results.

"Can't any of you think of a suitable candidate?" Noel Black started to shout loudly, "We must seize the time now and shoot as soon as possible."

"If we wait too long, this movie might be reconsidered when the new president comes." The subordinates all complained.

A subordinate in the corner, a fat man named Ben, raised it with trembling hands.

"explain!"

"How about we get Ronald Lee? He's been directing exploitation films and they're all hits."

"That kid who directed the breakdance?" Noel Black asked.

"Yes, he also directed 'Fast-paced Richmond High', and his debut film was a youth comedy about teenagers on campus."

"Pfft..." Another subordinate couldn't help laughing.

"Do you have any opinions?" Noel Black glared over, "I think Ronald is a good candidate."

"I don't have any problem with Ronald. I just think Ben may have been busy with work recently and hasn't watched movies. I don't know that Ronald Lee is the most popular director now. He has become a big shot and will not go back to direct this kind of thing." It’s a low-budget exploitation film.”

"What other movies has he directed recently? Didn't Breakdancing just come out?" Noel Black continued to ask.

"The best-performing new film this week, 'The Kid', is his work. It was released by Columbia with a production budget of eight million. He was highly praised by film critics. Roger Ebert of Chicago even gave him the best The rating is four stars.

In addition, the box office results are also very good. With this success, he has basically jumped out of the low-cost quagmire. "

"Eight million?" Noel Black thought for a while, "We can also invest him with eight million, and increase the director's salary to fifty, no, one million."

The subordinates below were overwhelmed by Noel Black's arrogance. "Heart and Soul" looks like a script from the 1960s, but he actually invested eight million to film it. Is this because he is pursuing his dream? Or is he using his power for personal gain and taking advantage of Fox's messy situation to turn his script into a film?

"What are you still doing? Go find Ronald Lee's agent. I want to interview him at Fox."

Everyone left the office in a mess and went to make phone calls separately.

Noel Black dug around on his desk, picked up the latest issue of the Chicago Sun-Times, and found the latest Roger Ebert movie review segment.

Sure enough, "Longwei Boy" was reviewed above.

"I wasn't planning on seeing this movie. Glanced at the title and thought it was either (a) an outdated martial arts fight movie or (b) a poor adaptation of a DC comic.

I was totally wrong. "The Kid" was the biggest surprise of 1984 - an exciting and heart-warming story about two people who have been together for years, and one of the funniest friendships we've seen on screen in a long time. one.

Two friends come from different worlds. A kid named Daniel (Ralph Marzio) is a New Jersey teenager who moves to Los Angeles with his mother. An old guy named Miyagi (Pat Morita Noriyuki) is the Japanese janitor in their apartment building...

Then begins the best part of "Kid Longwei", where the old man befriends the kid from Jersey and starts teaching him authentic Ryukyu karate. Miyagi's karate teaching system was offbeat, to say the least. He sent Daniel to wax the car, paint the fence, and scrub the floors.

Daniel complained that instead of learning karate, he was working as free labor. But Mr. Miyagi’s training is systematic.

"The Kid" was written and directed by someone I wouldn't expect, Ronald Lee. I've disparaged his directorial abilities before. I think he can only shoot some good-looking scenes, but lacks the ability to describe characters and wonderful narrative skills.

But this movie completely shattered my prejudices. It's not about the fight scenes, it's about the relationships. In addition to Daniel's friendship with Miyagi, there's also a sweet romantic relationship with Ari (Elizabeth Shue), your standard girl from the right side of town with typically snobbish parents.

Ralph Mazzio was an unusual and interesting choice for Daniel. He is not your typical handsome Hollywood teenager, but a lanky, energetic kid whose delivery always sounds natural, without any sense of reading lines.

He's a good, wholesome, interesting protagonist, but the film really belongs to Pat Morita (Noriyuki), an actor who's been in the business for a long time (he played Arnold in "Happy Days" ), but there has never been such a good role.

Morita made Miyagi a model of accumulation and success. His performance as Miyagi is a completely original character, which is really refreshing.

"The Dragon King" is a sleeper hit. Maybe his title gave you the wrong idea: this is one of the best movies of 1984.

Four stars!

"Well..." Noel Black put down the newspaper with satisfaction, "Only a director like this can produce good results for my semi-autobiographical script."

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