Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"So is Eric really going to be replaced?" Helen Slater asked while having dinner with Ronald.

"This is not something I can decide. The producer of 'Back to the Future' is Spielberg. He will overall weigh the pros and cons of changing or not changing."

"But I always think his acting skills are very good. His acting skills are not superficial. Every reaction is from the inside out. Just because he doesn't fit the temperament of the movie, should he be replaced?"

Ronald forked a piece of fried shrimp cake into his mouth. The juice seeped out from the golden and crispy fried skin. The delicious taste mixed with the aroma of deep-fried shrimp seemed to explode on his tongue.

"Have a piece of this shrimp cake," Ronald advised Helen to eat more. After suffering from anorexia, Helen was always cautious. But she should be able to try some of this delicacy.

"Well, it tastes very good. I remember eating this in Manhattan when I was a kid. The chef of this Greek restaurant is very good." Helen really praised it after trying it.

"In fact, a movie is like a carefully cooked dish. The raw materials, techniques, chef's skills, and the speed of delivery to our table all determine the final taste." Ronald took a sip of white wine and pointed to the dish. vegetable.

"If the shrimp here were replaced with fish, the elasticity would be gone. The dish might still be delicious, but it would no longer be as delicious."

"I understand what you mean, but Stoltz shouldn't have to pay the price for this. If he can find the right role, such as the last "Mask"..."

Ronald continued to eat, but he didn't take this well. It is true that there were problems with the casting of this role, and Eric Stoltz should not have been cast. But Zemeckis may have been under schedule pressure and could not wait for his favorite Michael J. Fox, so he compromised.

It seems this is a lesson worth pondering. For such a big-budget movie (the budget for Back to the Future is more than 15 million), when the right actors are not found, they would rather postpone or cancel it than compromise, making it difficult to get off the ground.

"What's the matter with you asking me to follow you?" Helen finished eating, wiped her mouth with a napkin, then tilted her head and asked Ronald.

"I promised Gerald, so I will go with you to meet Cannon Minahan tonight."

"Cannon? A break-dancing company?" Helen felt that those exploitation films did not require any acting skills, as long as the person was beautiful. However, her good upbringing prevented her from saying it directly, "Thank you Ronnie. In fact, my father also wanted me to pursue an acting career. You don't have to help me find it like this. After these things, I understand that there are not so many opportunities in the entertainment industry." of,

I can understand. "

"This time it's not an exploitation film, it's a new film directed by Andrei Goncharovsky. Written by Akira Kurosawa." Ronald finished the last piece of food and wiped his mouth. "You should have heard of him, his last film went to Venice to participate in the film festival 'Maria's Lovers'."

Helen raised her eyebrows, it would be very interesting to work with such a director.

…

The next day Ronald took Helen to the cannon. Helen went to interview Konchalovsky first, while Ronald chatted with Minahan here.

"This week's box office of 'Break Dance' suddenly increased significantly."

"Why?" Ronald was a little surprised. "Break Dance", which has been released for such a long time, can still grow?

"Why, why?" Minahan stood up and turned around twice, "Ronald, this is all because of you! Gaga gah."

Minahan suddenly came over and hugged Ronald, and kissed him three times on the left and right sides of his face. "The video of your interview at the opening ceremony was broadcast all over the world. In addition to America, the box office increased by another 30%, bringing it back to life. In addition, many foreign countries also asked us to increase copies."

"Is it so awesome?" Ronald was also surprised. Although he was looking forward to the popularity of the Olympic opening ceremony, he did not expect that the movie that was about to be released would suddenly become popular again.

"Let your accountant do it. Our domestic box office has exceeded 57 million. If the popularity continues, we hope to hit 100 million." Yoram walked in from outside and interjected.

"I'll call him right now." When Ronald heard the box office figures, his energy immediately changed. If you can have a movie that exceeds 100 million yuan, your worth and voice in the industry will be different, right?

But who knows, the charm of a movie is that no one knows why it is a hit or why it is not a hit. In his two new films, "Long Wei Boy", which he put more energy and effort into, is still earning more than 5 million per weekend. Although it hasn't dropped much, it doesn't look like it has exceeded 100 million at all. It's just slowly creeping up the box office charts.

Of course, a large part of the box office of "Break Dance" did not make the list, because entertainment industry newspapers such as "Hollywood Reporter" only count the box office of movies released by the seven major studios. After "Break Dance" was released by MGM for the first six weeks, it was transferred to Cannon's own distribution company.

Outsiders only know that the box office of "Break Dance" has stopped at the figure of more than 40 million. Only insiders are surprised by the still high filming figures in second-run movie theaters everywhere.

"Ronald, I have arrived at the Los Angeles Airport and am on my way to the Cannon. Okay, we will see you later." Lawrence Wang, Ronald's personal accountant, heard the call and immediately took a night flight to Los Angeles.

He also did not expect that the movie project that Ronald participated in would break through 57 million box office in America. In this way, the one client he serves brings him more revenue than all the others combined.

When Ronald received the call, he was already continuing to chat with Minahan in Cannon's office.

"But I heard Helen say yesterday that Andrei admired her understanding of acting skills. I thought Andrei would choose her." Ronald heard Minahan say that Andrei Konchalovsky was not I like Helen, but I was also surprised that she didn't want Helen to star as the heroine in "Runaway Train".

This is nothing more than an exploitation film with an intense plot and a large investment. With Helen's figure and face, wouldn't it be perfect to be a vase? I didn't expect her to have a very deep acting skills. The role of a female technician who was kidnapped on a train by two escaped prisoners did not require much acting skills.

"If you want Helen to play, then we'll let Helen play." Minahan also disapproved of Konchalovsky's rejection of Helen Slater. This old man still thinks he is a figure. He dares to refuse Ronald's girlfriend, no, it is said to be his ex-girlfriend, who has helped him the most?

"Don't say that. Let's hear his reasons."

"Ronald, to be honest, do you think Helen is beautiful?" Konchalovsky was called to Cannon Pictures. After understanding that Minahan asked him to explain the reasons for not wanting Helen, he touched his hairless hair. head, asked.

"Of course it's beautiful," Ronald said inexplicably. Among the women he has dated, Helen has the best looks. "Do I have aesthetic preferences in people? What do you think, Minahan?"

Sometimes, some people have a preference for women with a certain appearance and think they are the most beautiful. This is normal. Like Spielberg’s fiancée, Amy Irving. Many people think she is not a top beauty, but Spielberg likes her and calls her a peerless beauty.

Ronald has always felt that his aesthetics are closer to those of the public. I wonder if he is not clear about his own problems and is a little biased?

"What's not beautiful about Helen? She has blond hair, blue eyes, long legs and a thin waist, and a good figure." Minahan also felt puzzled. Konchalovsky, what kind of beauty do you want to be satisfied with?

"No, it's just because she's so beautiful."

"Huh?" Ronald waited for his next words.

"The character is a train mechanic who is occasionally kidnapped by two escaped convicts. She wears a dirty mechanic outfit throughout the film, so I needed someone who could be very beautiful but also take it back, The kind of beauty who turns into an ordinary girl. Do you understand?”

Konchalovsky looked at Ronald. He knew that Ronald, who was also the director, should understand what he meant.

"Hiss..." Ronald curled his lips, this statement made sense. A beauty of Helen's level is still very beautiful even if she wears a torn T-shirt. She doesn't have the ability to put her edge into her body and show her approachable side.

"However, if he is unwilling, then the favor he owes to Gerrard will be in vain again?" Ronald hesitated again whether to use his influence to force Konchalovsky to agree.

"If you insist on using Helen, then I won't shoot." Konchalovsky originally left the alliance because of artistic constraints. Seeing Ronald's expression, he immediately took out nuclear weapons, or listen to me , or you can hire someone else.

"Ronald", Minahan pulled Ronald aside, "If you want Helen to change to another movie, I will keep him. If you insist on Helen being the heroine, I will fire him, but you Gotta take over.”

"The Female CEO's Almighty Soldier"

"Me? How can I film a snow train scene?" Ronald refused immediately. He originally turned it down because he thought it was too difficult to film.

"But what other good scripts do you have here? Aren't they all plagiarized scripts from Ramblers 2?" Ronald knew that Helen had to arrange a decent movie. He had no choice but to do the other way around. Hopefully Back to the Future will keep Stoltz around so Helen can stay on to play Jennifer as well.

A phone call was made to Helen's father, Gerald, and Ronald informed him of the situation.

Gerald was very reasonable, "I know that Hollywood is not as good as the TV industry, and there aren't that many opportunities. I won't put pressure on you. Anyway, just remember this. Helen's 'Superwoman' will not be released until the end of the year." It has just been released, so you just don’t want her to have no more movies to make.”

"This is quite stressful." Ronald hung up the phone and asked Helen to start filming the second movie before and after the release of 'Supergirl'. He still had to hurry up. Let’s go back and ask Spielberg about his decision.

Ronald finished his business here, grabbed the accountant Lawrence, and the two went to dinner.

"When are you going back to New York?" The two of them found a Guangzhou Restaurant in Chinatown. The side dishes here were pretty good and suited their tastes.

"I will stay here for a while. This time China sent a delegation to participate in the Olympics. New York's Chinatown was very excited. My street association also entrusted me to come to Los Angeles to cheer for the delegation and also donated funds. They brought some money."

"Money? Is their delegation short of money?"

"Yes, food and accommodation here cost US dollars. I heard that they are quite tight on foreign exchange and many athletes cannot afford to eat well."

"How can this be done?" Ronald took out his checkbook, "How much have you donated? I'll also donate a share, so that they can eat well so that they can participate in the competition and get good results."

"Okay, thank you. I knew you had a good impression of China, Ronald."

"Thank you to the overseas Chinese in New York Chinatown for your help. On behalf of the Olympic delegation, I thank you."

The leader of the Olympic delegation accepted the donation brought by Lawrence in Los Angeles' Chinatown and said on the spot that he would strive to achieve good results and bring glory to the Chinese and overseas Chinese.

"Is this Ronald Lee also an overseas Chinese?" the team leader asked Lawrence when he saw that one of the checks was in his name.

"Ah, no, although his surname is Li, he is actually a foreigner and a film director. However, he has always supported us Chinese Americans and made a lot of efforts and help to combat the unfair treatment we have suffered here." Lawrence explained why Ronald donated.

"He said that he likes your team very much and also likes the results you have achieved. He heard that you are not eating well, so he specifically told me that the money should be spent on the meals of the athletes."

"Please rest assured, this foreign friend, that we will definitely use his concern as motivation and strive to create good results."

Ronald's money was more than enough to treat all the athletes and coaches of the representative team to a big meal. After discussion, the team leaders decided to make small arrangements for a few teams that were hopeful of achieving good results, and let the women's volleyball and gymnastics teams come to Chinatown restaurants for extra meals the next day.

"This is a foreign film director. He saw your energy at the opening ceremony and liked it very much. He specially donated it to our women's volleyball team so that you can improve the food. Think about it, if he knew that you lost one to three How disappointing can you be to lose to Team USA in the group stage?"

The coach of the women's volleyball team is a very majestic-looking man. "Next, after eating, we have to practice more in the evening. The team leader asked me if I could make it to the finals. If I made it to the finals, he would give the foreign friend a ticket. If you can’t do it, just tell him earlier and we won’t be embarrassed if we don’t eat from him.”

"Why can't we? We must make it to the finals." The attacker punched the table.

"Okay, think about it, we also want to give some gifts to foreign friends and overseas Chinese. I'll discuss it with the team leader first."

The coach left first and left all the meals specially prepared by the hotel to the players.

"What gift should we give back?" several team members discussed.

"Write him a letter."

"Not this time. This foreign friend is a foreigner, not an overseas Chinese. He can't understand." The setter was more thoughtful.

"Then we don't have anything to give as gifts?"

"How about giving him some of that drink?"

"It's okay. The orange water flavor tastes better than the Coke given by the organizing committee. That one tastes like Chinese medicine."

"Thank you, thank them for me." Ronald didn't expect to receive a gift in return, some cans of drinks, a reply letter from the team members asking for translation, and two tickets to the women's volleyball finals.

"Thank you Director Li for your love and support for us. We will definitely repay your kindness with results. China is a country with a long history and vast territory. I hope you will have the opportunity to make a movie to promote our country's beautiful mountains and rivers and friendly people." people."

Ronald read the Chinese letter directly.

"It's interesting. It seems I have to go to China in the future." Ronald put the letter away and went out to attend a meeting with the "Back to the Future" crew.

Before leaving, he took out the box of cans, opened one, and drank it.

"The orange water tastes pretty good. It seems a bit like a sports energy drink like Gatorade." Ronald felt a familiar taste. He put the can in his hand, with green pictures surrounding it. Portrait of a discus thrower.

"Jianlibao?" The name of the drink is written in Chinese on it.

…

"Frank, do you think I should perform at the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games?" In a studio in Los Angeles, MJ asked his new manager, Frank DiLeo, after a day of practice.

"I think you should make your own decision whether you go or not. Not only are you a great artist, I've worked for many artists and they didn't have the same business instincts as you."

"But Quincy said that my current status is not suitable for participating in the closing ceremony. If I want to participate, I should also go to the opening ceremony."

"Didn't he also disapprove of you performing 'Beat it' live at the opening ceremony?"

"Yeah", Michael Jackson actually regretted it a bit. The ratings for the opening ceremony were very unexpected, with about one-third of American households watching the live broadcast or subsequent rebroadcast.

When Ronald was being interviewed, he said that it would be great if MJ came to perform, which deeply hurt him. Why can’t the most popular pop star appear at the most popular opening ceremony of the Olympic Games?

"I don't know what his reason is, but you really shouldn't miss such a top exposure opportunity. Fortunately, your song is still played at the opening ceremony." Di Leo continued to add insult to injury.

"Yeah", MJ regretted even more. His guest appearance in Ronald's "Break Dance" did not cause many people to question the originality of his break dance moves. Instead, he took advantage of break dance's popularity across the United States and his record sales began to increase again.

"We should really have a good relationship with a director who is good at pop culture. You can also let him direct your other singles. The song 'Girls Just Want to Have Fun' he directed has already won the newly established Music Award ’s seven nominations. Next year’s Grammy…”

"Well", MJ felt even more unhappy when he thought of Quincy Jones arbitrarily asking John Landis to direct his single MV. This veteran producer's production skills are indeed great, but he likes to make his own decisions in other aspects of himself.

"It turns out that PolyGram CEO Gubel didn't want you to license the name of the single to make a movie? How about we give it to him and invite Ronald to make it. He is particularly good at this kind of feature films with music and dance. .”

"Well, I'll leave this matter to you." MJ finally found an aspect that he could control. Maybe he could make a guest appearance in a movie again.

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :