Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Didi took over the whole set. John Hughes focused on the performance guidance. The chores such as storyboarding were all handled by Didi. I think you can sit back and relax."

Ronald returned to Los Angeles to tell Ned Tanin the news.

"Thanks to you," Tanin was very happy. "You should sign a three-film contract with me, Ronald. Together we will be a great success with Universal's distribution network."

"I just want to take a break now. Shooting two movies in half a year is really keeping me busy."

"If you have a chance, if you have a chance, when you have new ideas, you must come to me." Tanin took two tickets for the Olympic closing ceremony and handed them to Ronald, "Here are two tickets, take them, they are Front row position. This time the organizing committee said that there will be a black star performing at the closing ceremony, and everyone guessed that MJ went back to make up for the regret."

"Thank you." Ronald took the ticket and went back to the airport to pick him up.

"Little Bud" saw a sturdy black guy from a distance, wearing a Marine Corps T-shirt and carrying a bucket bag, coming out of the departure gate.

The person who came was none other than Little Bud, the son of his uncle's comrade-in-arms. Ronald had previously tried to find a way to send him to the army to evade the court's sentence. When his term of service expired, he did not choose to continue joining the military, so he was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps.

"Sir", little Bud smiled so much that he showed two rows of teeth when he saw Ronald coming to pick him up in person.

"Hi, it's nice to see you. Come on... have dinner with me." Ronald hugged him warmly. Several years of military service have trained little Bud to abide by the rules, and he is no longer as out of touch as he was when he was a child.

The two found an American-style Italian restaurant and had a delicious meal of cheese chicken steak with mashed broad beans. Little Bud also sat upright when eating, which shows that he learned a lot in the Marine Corps. Of all the military services in America, the Marine Corps has the strongest discipline.

"Where are you going when you come back?" Ronald asked him.

"My mother told me to do what you say, sir," answered little Bud. "I want to work with you, if you need men here. I learned the use of weapons, maneuvers, and reading in the army, if you don't need them here. Me, I plan to go back to Staten Island and work in a leg warmer factory."

Bud was deployed overseas, spending two years each at bases in Hawaii and Japan. His experiences in the past few years have made him fully aware of the huge gap between ethnic groups and classes in America. He put away those unrealistic fantasies and just wanted to follow Ronald.

"Don't you want to go back and see your mother first?" Ronald asked.

"think,

But first I want to see if there's anything you can do to help here, Sir. "

"Okay," Ronald nodded with satisfaction, "You can be my driver for a few days. I'm going back to Staten Island next month. You go with me."

"Yes Sir."

"If you want to work for me, you have to put away this Marine Corps thing first. Hollywood doesn't pay attention to this. Just call me Ronald."

"Yes...Ronald, I understand." Little Bud scratched his head, showing a hint of youthful emotion, "Actually, I'm also afraid of spending money. The army only gave me a retirement allowance of just over ten thousand dollars."

…

"Breathe, pay attention to your breathing."

Ronald practices martial arts at Daryl Vidal's new dojo in Venice. Relying on the double salary of actors and stunt doubles received by the crew, Vidal bought this dojo and began teaching karate.

He now recruits many children, and there is no need to advertise at all. Parents line up to give him money. The reason is on a few posters outside.

At the entrance of the dojo, there is a poster of him, Mr. Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso, the two cosplayers of "The Dragon King".

Next to it is a still poster of him acting as a stand-in for Miyagi and kicking a crane on a wooden pile by the beach. Inside the door, there was another photo of him, Ronald and several main actors, with the words "The real master of crane kicking" written underneath.

It turned out to be a dojo opened by the inventor of "Crane Kick". Children from all over the West Side of Los Angeles clamored to come here to learn.

In order to restore his physical fitness, Ronald also started to exercise here recently.

Not only Los Angeles, but cities across the country have begun to revive the craze for karate. It turns out that karate, which had gradually declined after Bruce Lee's death, has started to fill up its enrollment again.

Unlike the last karate craze, it was not martial arts enthusiasts who came, but parents who signed up their children. The more cowardly and bullied children are, the more they are sent by their parents to learn the strong mentality and competitive attitude.

"I went to see another performance of 'The Dragon King' yesterday, and there were still a lot of spectators." Vidal personally stretched and relaxed Ronald.

"Yes, the feedback from Colombia is very good. In the past two months, the box office of a single theater has hardly dropped. Weintraub has invited me to find an opportunity at the end of the year to go overseas to promote and cooperate with overseas releases."

"How's it going? Isn't it boring to drive for me?" Ronald took a shower and got into the car with a change of clothes. Little Bud had been waiting for him.

"No problem, the Marines are even more boring than this."

"Okay, let's pick them up and then go to the volleyball hall." After Ronald gave the order, he took a nap in the back seat of the car. Little Bud developed good discipline and professionalism in the army.

"Ronnie, hey, aren't you?" Diane came out of the hotel and saw the black driver next to Ronald.

She had no makeup today and was wearing a T-shirt with the five Olympic rings logo, shorts and sneakers underneath. When he saw little Bud, he took off his big sunglasses and looked at him up and down.

"Miss Lane," Little Bud helped open the car door.

"Thank you, do you work for Ronald now?" Diane recognized Little Bud, a former leg warmer and pirated video salesman who often haunted Donna's house.

"He just came back from active duty and is helping me temporarily." Ronald asked Bud to drive the two of them to the volleyball hall in Long Beach. Today is the final of the Chinese and American women's volleyball teams.

"Yeah!" Ronald stood up and applauded.

The competition between the two sides was fierce in the first game. When the Chinese women's volleyball team led 14 to 10, the main attacker of the United States, Heyman, moved to the front row. She scored four points with a heavy spike, and the two sides tied at 14 to 14. fourteen.

Fortunately, the main attacker on the Chinese side also returned the ball and regained the right to serve.

"Dip..." Huaguo's head coach called for a substitution.

"USA, USA..." The audience cheered loudly, cheering for the American women's volleyball team.

Ronald and Diane were sitting in the ticket area provided by the Chinese team, surrounded by overseas Chinese. The two of them were also coerced, "Come on, come on..."

The roar of the audience made the referee's whistle almost inaudible, and Hua Guo's new server came up with a powerful serve.

"Oops," Ronald yelled in his mind. The ball was too powerful and was about to go out of bounds.

Members of the American team also watched the volleyball, waiting for it to go out of bounds. Unexpectedly, just as it flew past the front row players, the volleyball suddenly became weightless, falling rapidly, and would fall within the baseline.

"Inbounds, China, score." The referee made a gesture.

"Yeah!" Diane stood up and cheered because of the emotion.

"What's going on with this ball?" Ronald and all the spectators in the stands were confused.

The server retreated to the end again and served another powerful ball close to the backboard.

This time, the American players did not dare to be careless and waited in front of the baseline.

Unexpectedly, the ball lost weight midway and fell down early. The unprepared player jumped to save the ball and passed the net, but was dunked to death by China's main attacker.

"Very good", the head coach stood up with a smile on his face. The secret weapon worked really well.

The main attacker wiped the sweat from his hands. He was accustomed to eating Chinese food these days, and his smashing was awesome.

The Chinese team won the next two games easily, and the audience in the stadium witnessed this historic moment.

"What are you thinking about?" Diane and Ronald returned to the hotel. Little Bud drove the car back to the apartment and picked them up tomorrow morning.

"I was thinking about today's game and why the audience was so engaged. You see, it's like a great movie script. It has a wonderful beginning, a fun process, and twists and turns. At the last moment, one side came up with a secret weapon. .”

"Hehehe, if you support the Chinese team, it will be the finale of the drama."

"Huh? That's right," Ronald thought, and I unknowingly supported China.

"How have you been lately? Have you seen your mother?" Ronald hugged Diane, who was sitting on his lap, and rubbed her belly.

"Yes," Diane replied, "She's not as bad as I remembered."

Diane turned sideways and changed into a more comfortable position, "It turns out that my mother divorced Bert when I was sixteen days old. The two of them have been looking for lawyers for my custody rights for more than ten years. litigation.

I asked her why she kidnapped me at that time, and she said she was afraid that Bert would send me into the cruel entertainment industry, and she wanted me to live with her and my grandmother for a while to learn about different life choices before making a decision. "

"Do you believe her?" Ronald asked.

Diane nodded, "Both of them are full of malice toward each other. Maybe in their imaginations, they have magnified each other's malice countless times?"

"How is your acting career? If necessary, I still have some resources here." Ronald helped Diane comb her hair with his fingers. It was quite hard for the girl to walk by herself.

Diane lay in Ronald's arms and squinted her eyes comfortably, "No problem, "The Cotton Club" is scheduled to be released in December. When you are free, you will come to New York to attend the premiere."

Ronald is now considered a very good director, and being able to come to the premiere is considered a blessing.

"I will definitely go when I have time." Ronald gently rubbed Diane's head, "Also, if you need help, be sure to tell me."

"I know, brother Ronnie." Diane was touched by a warm hand and she cried out comfortably. She took the initiative to hug Ronald and ask for a kiss.

The next day, little Bud drove to pick up Ronald on time.

"Don't you have anything to ask me?" Ronald got in the car.

"One of the few things the army has taught me is that you have to follow orders. I am responsible for picking you up today." Little Bud responded.

"Let's go to Guber-Peterson."

The car arrived at Peter Gubel's office.

Peter Guber personally greeted Ronald at the door.

"Ronald, it's so nice to see you in Hollywood," the two embraced warmly.

This former casting assistant on the set of "Endless Love" is now the director of two blockbuster movies.

"I was very surprised to learn that you resigned as president of PolyGram Pictures." The two chatted about the past, and Ronald took the initiative to mention Gubel's career choice.

"Many things in large companies are not very free. I prefer to lead projects one by one. This is the job I like." Gubel explained.

"We can negotiate business with all major distribution companies, and we don't have to be limited to one company. In this way, scripts with different characteristics can find different distributors. They all have their own tastes, and our producers will have a much wider choice. "

“Like Spielberg’s ‘The Color Purple’?”

"Just like his 'purple'", Gubel snapped his fingers, Ronald understood well.

This time Spielberg hopes to make a movie that showcases his directorial capabilities, not just for the box office. For this reason, he was willing to give up his director's market value of US$1.5 million and only choose to receive the Directors Guild's minimum wage of US$40,000.

The secret of doing business is not that your bid is high, but that you understand what your customers need better than your competitors. What Spielberg wants most now is undoubtedly an Oscar recognition.

"The film Tanin talked about is also a project that leans towards classical literature. You can think of it as a modern version of Joan of Arc."

Ronald took over the script. The original name of this movie script was "Fairness is Fair". It actually tells the story of a resistance from the bottom of society.

The heroine and her younger brother were slandered as motorcycle thieves by the children of the wealthy class. The owner of the machine repair shop also took the opportunity to rape his sister. The Sheriff wanted to arrest them for theft indiscriminately.

In the end, the brother and sister escaped. Encouraged by Joan of Arc, the sister began to resist, and finally won the support of all the people, allowing the criminal to reveal himself. After trial, the brother and sister were acquitted.

In order to capitalize on the popularity of MJ's single "Billie Jean", after obtaining MJ's authorization, the sister's character's name in the script was changed to Billie Jean, and the name of the movie was also changed to "The Legend of Billie Jean".

Ronald didn't like the script very much. He smelled a strong smell of low-budget exploitation films in it. Why the siblings are wanted, how the shopkeeper bullies them, and finally why the public supports the siblings, the key points in the script are all unconvincing.

There are many signs that this script was not handled properly, but with the attitude of a B-level exploitation film, intending to make the audience admit that this is a low-budget movie, you just need to believe it.

For example, the key scenes of the movie’s characters are all passed through. Another example is that it is full of symbolic things, such as Billy King cutting his hair short, using Joan of Arc as a role model, etc.

"What? Doesn't it suit your taste?"

Guber admired Ronald very much and was willing to let him direct projects he led. But looking at Ronald's expression, he knew that the other party might not be satisfied with the script.

"You know I've made several movies like this, and I hope I can change some of the themes." Ronald declined politely.

"Of course, this is just a small production. If Gerald's daughter wants to give it a try, he is welcome to come." Gubel thought that was indeed the case. Ronald has already made two movies with a box office of more than 50 million US dollars. Letting him direct low-budget exploitation films again is wishful thinking on MJ's part.

"Thank you, Mr. Guber."

"It's okay," Gubel waved his hand, "You said you wanted to change the subject. Are you interested in high-concept movies?"

"Of course," Ronald nodded. He doesn't object to high-concept movies like "Flashdance" and "The Kid", but he just doesn't want to make those low-budget exploitation films anymore.

"Well, I'm currently discussing a new film with Paramount. If you're interested, you can come and talk about it when Eisner and I come up with the results."

"That's great." Ronald heard that it was cooperating with Paramount, and he was immediately interested.

"I have submitted a budget of more than fifteen million US dollars to Paramount. In addition, this is a movie that speaks well of the American army. You are not anti-war, are you?"

"If the Vietnam War theme is to speak favorably for the American government, then I am not suitable. My aunt is a Vietnam War widow."

"No, it's a modern theme." Gubel waved his hand, "Don't worry, I'm still waiting for Paramount's reply. Now is no different than when I was filming 'Endless Love'. I have a lot of production business. I’m too busy right now, so I’ll talk to you when there’s news.”

Ronald knew that his relationship with Gubel was limited and did not ask for more information. "Well, thank you for your trust, Mr. Gubel."

()

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