Exploiting Hollywood 1980

By its second week, "Swagger" continued to hold the No. 2 spot on the box office charts. The average weekend box office per theater dropped only slightly to $5,700.

As for "Over the Top," directed by Minahan himself, the average price per museum has fallen to less than $2,000.

"Sly, it's great to be able to talk about movies with you again." The famous Texas film critic and TV movie host Bobbi Wygant's interview with Stallone began to play on TV.

"Now there is some controversy over too much violence and fighting in the movie. Is it because of this that you starred in a movie without any violent scenes?"

"Ah... this is one of the main reasons. There are violent scenes in movies, and it also depends on what caused it. The world we live in is full of violence. If we have the ability to stop the violence of bad people, then That’s what’s good…”

Stallone looked tired on TV, and the box office plummeted in the second week. He once again fell behind in the competition with Schwarzenegger for the number one action star.

Although the salary for one movie for Cannon is more than the previous three to five movies, if you make too many bad movies, you will not have the opportunity to act in those good scripts in the future.

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Ronald was in the hotel, sitting comfortably on the sofa and watching the TV interview, feeling very happy.

Bobbi Wygant is very seasoned and guides Stallone in every possible way with seemingly harmless questions. Audiences still like to watch action stars fight. Although this kind of boring arm wrestling is not violent, no one watches it.

She then asked Stallone what he thought of the box office, "Sly, your movie ranks third on the box office list. In front of you, in addition to 'Platoon,' which reflects the Vietnam War, there is also a romantic film, 'Swagger.' , some people now believe that movies that profoundly reflect major social issues do not do well at the box office. What do you think?"

"Huh? In fact, the movie box office... I hope more viewers will watch this movie. After all, single-parent families are now a very common phenomenon in America." Stallone sometimes looked at the lights, sometimes scratched his forehead with his hands, and My eyes are getting duller and duller.

This kind of question made Stallone very angry. The other person asks the question in a flattering manner, but the answer is frustrating.

A big star gets a salary of more than 10 million, but the budget of the whole movie is less than 8 million, and it is released in only half of your theaters, and the box office is still ahead of you.

"damn it,

This Ronald, why are the movies he produces so popular? Does this guy have some magic? "

After the interview, Stallone stayed where he was. He would conduct the same interview many times.

"Hey, I bet Stallone hasn't found it yet. Why isn't this movie a hit?" Ronald turned off the TV and said to his agent Niceta who came over to chat with him.

"Oh, why? Do you know the answer? I can sell it to Stallone's agent at a high price."

"Don't forget to give me a share," Ronald also joked. He knew that Stallone's agent was personally served by CAA president Michael Ovitz and another shareholder Ronald Meyer. This is the first popular star signed by CAA in its early days.

However, Stallone was very conceited and refused to listen to Ovitz's arrangements. He refused to make the action comedy "Beverly Hills Cop". The black movie star Eddie Murphy, who had been passed over for the leading role, took the opportunity to take over. Now he is doing well in the film industry. Hollywood's momentum is very strong, and it has already surpassed Stallone.

"Actually, I went to the cinema to watch Over the Top. Stallone's performance was very good, but every arm-wrestling scene was very ridiculous. When the arm-wrestling scene came, the audience started eating popcorn, drinking Coke, and chatting with friends.

Every time the audience is immersed in the plot, only half of them can get back into it after being interrupted. After repeated arm-wrestling, when the show finally ended, everyone was no longer focused on watching the movie. "

"This is a very interesting discovery." Niceta didn't understand this herself, but she only felt that what Ronald said made sense.

When I usually watch movies or videos, there are all kinds of things that interrupt me. As expected, I am so involved that it would be better to go to the cinema with Paula to watch it.

"If they don't understand the story, how can they have emotional resonance? So when they get home, they won't recommend it to their friends." Ronald concluded.

"I've already released the news about the low-budget movie you asked me to help find. Nowadays, there are very few people making small productions like Roger Corman did in the past. I guess I'd be interested in joining your 'Dirty Dancing' show." There aren't many summer releases either.

In addition, many people have already obtained issuance contracts from large companies and used financing. To find a distributor after filming requires a strong sense of adventure, or a lot of confidence in the script.

Wait until next week, there will probably be a lot of news. "

Niceta clapped her hands and told her about helping Ronald find a low-budget movie.

"The theory you mentioned is that if the audience gets distracted from the plot, it will be difficult to go back. Is it true? Why do I find it interesting?"

"I'm not 100% sure, but based on my experience, this is what happens in many movies." Ronald added a few wolfberry berries to the cup, which Xiao Yan specially carried on his back.

"Look at that high-spirited movie, which was said by film critics to be worthless. The story is actually very funny, but the only good thing is that the supporting characters are as dedicated as the protagonist and they acted very well. Although the audience came back to their senses after watching it When you come, you will find that many plots in the movie are far-fetched.

For example, how the puppet played by Kim Cattrall has survived from ancient Egypt to today. And there's that plot device where if a man other than the male protagonist played by Andrew McCarthy sees Sarah, she turns back into a puppet. But it was obvious that he was taking Sara out on a motorcycle, didn’t many people see her?

In the end, the hero rescued the puppet from the crusher. Why was the curse broken? What is explained here is also very unclear.

But will these flaws make the audience laugh while watching it?

Nope? When they watch the movie, they don't know the overall story, and they don't have time to dwell on some of the flaws. They are all immersed in Kim Cattrall's beauty and her constant costume changes.

In the end, the love story of the two people broke through many obstacles and finally came to fruition. The bad guys were punished. From the beginning to the end, the audience had no chance to lose focus. This is probably what makes this movie better than Over the Top. "

"Then, how can we achieve this?"

Niceta nodded frequently. Ronald was talking about common sense, but common sense is indeed what people in Hollywood lack the most.

"Then I don't know. This is just a result. The director may have a hundred ways to keep the audience in the plot. As long as this effect is achieved, the audience's reputation will basically be good."

…

"So I decided to use Dean Martin's 'That's Love' as the opening music. I thought about opening with an opera aria from 'La Bohème', a famous song that most audiences have never heard of. It is not conducive for the audience to immerse themselves in the plot as quickly as possible.

On the contrary, this song by Dean Martin can be said to be a household name in America. As soon as the audience hears it, they know that it is a love and romance story.

In this way, they quickly resonated with the beautiful middle-aged widow played by Cher, and began to look forward to who she would fall in love with..."

Having figured out the key factors that produced a good reputation for a movie, Ronald immediately applied what he learned and shared his views with Walter Murch in the editing room.

"It's a very common sense perspective, very good. I have always felt that there is something wrong with your cold little hands and the scene of Cher working. I understood it as soon as you said it. My two editing assistants have never heard of this. This opera, I didn’t know it was an aria from the famous love tragedy ‘La Boheme’.”

"Okay, since you agree, then I will ask Jimmy Lena to stop contacting Pavarotti."

After another busy week in the editing room, Ronald basically completed his part of the work. The remaining sound design was not his forte, so he simply entrusted it to Walter Murch, who was capable of both sound design and image editing.

I started my vacation early and only waited for the final mixing of the movie to see the overall effect.

By the third weekend, "Spiritual" continued to sweep the box office charts with its powerful appeal that kept the audience immersed from beginning to end.

On the third weekend, the box office of a single theater was still US$4,200, and the total weekend box office remained above 4 million.

It seems that this small production that no one is optimistic about has the potential to stay in theaters for more than two months.

Ronald learned a lot from analyzing the box office of "Top Gun." In fact, movies with the same theme have a relatively certain audience. The final determining factor of the box office is actually how long you can stay in the cinema.

There are many shortcomings in the release of Dan Ji now, but it also has a big advantage, that is, there is very little competition.

There are only some old films that have been in theaters for more than ten weeks, including "Platoon" at the top of the list.

Ronald also went to watch that movie. Oliver Stone is very capable. Not only did the audience focus on the story, but even the number of people going to the bathroom was much less than in ordinary movies.

As for "To the Top", its reputation is getting worse and worse. Judging from the audience, it can probably only influence three new viewers through word of mouth. The box office of a single theater has dropped to US$1,200, and will soon fall below the cost line. It is expected to be released next week.

Cannon paid a huge price to recruit Stallone, and the boss personally directed it. It opened in 1,700 theaters and released it at the same time. With such a huge momentum, everyone was about to get out.

Movies are really a very cruel industry. If you can't do it, you can't do it. No matter how famous you were in the past, no one will watch an unsightly movie because of the star's reputation.

…

However, another movie that Ronald has done some good work, this week's newly released "Fantastic" starring Leigh Thompson and Eric Stoltz, has a "very bad" box office performance. status.

Sitting in the screening room of Paramount Company, director Howard Deutch and Vice President Ned Tanin were all sitting in their seats, not daring to express their opinions, just waiting for Ronald to express his opinion.

"snort……"

Ronald, who was sitting in the seat, was originally going to Palm Springs to relax, but he was dragged here to analyze the film's problems and see if there was any way to remedy it.

Ronald, who was not very happy, made a sound of dissatisfaction when he saw it for twenty minutes.

"What, is there something wrong here?"

Regardless of the pale-faced director Howard Deutch, Ned Tanin has great trust in Ronald's vision, and any sound he makes is very important!

"Is there a section cut here?" Ronald asked.

"Yes, there was originally a conversation here where the male protagonist Keith promised to send the neighbor girl Watts home. Later, Keith was attracted by his crush Amanda Jones and promised to send her home, letting Watts go. ” director Howard Deutch explained to Ronald.

"Why is it cut like this? Isn't there a plot in the back where Watts is angry? When the audience sees this, it's very funny!"

Ronald asked the director, pointing to the furious look on screen of Mary Stuart Masterson, who played Watts.

"I...this..." Dutch glanced at Ned Tanin.

"It was my request because the movie ran over time by a few minutes and I asked Dutch to cut it a little bit."

"But why is it cut here? I'm very confused. Especially Mary Stuart Masterson's performance is very good. Where did her angry mood come from? There was no plot where Keith angered him. Now she He and Keith are not a couple, so why would Watts be so angry when he dated Amanda?

Even if Watts likes Keith, they are good friends and they won't be so upset just because a good friend is dating the man of his dreams. Moreover, Watts later drove him to and from the scene and helped Keith chase Amanda. The emotions here were so entertaining to the audience. "

"You still haven't written it down?" Tanin quickly asked Dutch to record Ronald's opinion.

"Because...because I showed the finished film to John Hughes, and he said that this section is relatively dull and can be deleted to make up the required length."

"It's two minutes overtime. You might as well cut out a complete plot. Although this scene is mediocre, it explains the key factors. Why was Watts angry, and why did he later help drive Keith and Amanda? The date… Keith’s attempt to take Amanda home failed because the car Watts lent Keith broke down.”

Howard Deutch quickly jotted it down in a small notebook.

"By the way, this old car is quite fun. It's small, but has big headlights. Girls will like it. What kind of car is this? I've never seen it." Ronald stopped criticizing and changed to another one. topic.

"This is a European mini Cooper. America only imported more than a thousand of them more than ten years ago. We got them from a car repair shop."

Howard Deutch was distracted by Ronald and almost failed to follow Ronald's train of thought.

Ronald actually saw this and already knew that the movie would not be good.

There were two or three more key background plots that were not good that were cut out like this.

For example, Keith invited Amanda to a restaurant for dinner. Amanda's rich ex-boyfriend was originally going to beat him up there, but in order to be perfect, Keith temporarily changed the restaurant so that they could miss out.

This episode was also deleted, causing the audience to be confused when Keith was said to be too timid to go to a restaurant later when he was about to quarrel with his ex-boyfriend.

"Hey..." Ronald lamented. This episode is hilarious again.

"What's wrong? Isn't it good here? Write it down, write it down." Ned Tanning glared at Howard Deutch.

"Is this John again?"

"Yes, John Hughes's opinion. He said that this episode was too long, a bland transitional episode, and not interesting."

Ronald glanced at Dutch and said, "You really listen to John Hughes."

"I……"

Dutch blushed. He was an assistant director to Hughes, and Hughes was kind to him, so it was natural that he would consult with Hughes first because of the overtime.

But who makes the movie fail at the box office? There are more than 1,080 theaters, but the first weekend box office is less than 3.5 million, and the box office of a single theater is less than 3,500.

I was also confused for a moment. Ronald was the one who helped me regain the director position, and he also helped me deal with technical accidents. I should have invited him to take a look.

At that time, I felt that Ronald was too busy, and maybe there was some jealousy that he was too young. On the contrary, Hughes was nearly forty years old, and he was the teacher who helped him debut, so he didn't feel too burdened to ask for advice.

Alas, I deserve to be scolded by Ronald.

Ronald actually admires Dutch's directorial skills. He handles some small places very thoughtfully.

At the end of the movie, Amanda began to appreciate Keith, but after discovering Watts' love for Keith, she returned the expensive ruby ​​earrings to Keith.

Keith caught up with Watts who was crying alone, and the two hugged each other on the empty road at night. The camera slowly rose behind them, and the close-up shot gradually faded away, turning into an overhead shot, which was very beautiful.

The credits begin to rise to the beautiful chorus of children singing "I Can't Stop Falling in Love with You."

Finally, Watts asked for the earrings Keith bought Amanda and put them on herself. The two were chatting about when they went shopping for earrings together. When Watts tried them on, he thought they would be his.

Ronald loved the treatment of this sequence, the close-ups of Amanda's kindness, Keith's sudden understanding of who he truly loved, and the tearful Watts on screen. They are all very exciting to the audience.

Ordinarily the box office wouldn't be so bad.

The subtitles continued to rise again, and Keith and Watts walked into the distance. The singing began to drown out the two people talking.

"Huh?" Ronald held back a question from his throat.

"What's wrong, is there something wrong with the ending?" Tanin became angry again.

"I want to ask, why didn't Watts return the ruby ​​earrings to Keith? Keith bought them with his own college tuition, and Watts is his best friend. I believe the audience saw this, They all think that the kind-hearted Watts will let Keith take off the earrings so that he will not delay his important life event, going to college, right?"

Ronald asked, pointing to the two people walking away on the screen.

"This... was originally taken, but..."

"Hughes said it's not important, right? Doesn't my opinion matter? Why don't you come and ask me?"

Ronald is a little angry, judging from this ending shot. If these few small steps and editing are good, the box office of this movie may even double. It's a pity that the three leading actors performed exceptionally well.

net

There are several key points, the plot is missing, and only more than a minute of footage is missing, but it has already made the audience laugh two or three times.

And the final ending, the key finishing touch, was cut by Dutch. The emotions of the audience have been brought here step by step, just like a football wide receiver who has already got the ball in front of the end zone and is about to score a touchdown, but inexplicably throws the ball out of bounds.

"I..." Director Dutch was speechless.

Ronald felt deeply sorry for the film, which failed to handle several small details. Now it is impossible to recall all copies and modify them again.

"Write it all down. If the company still has plans to make video tapes, change them." Ned Tanin ordered Dutch, and then sent Ronald out of the screening room.

"What, you want to make a videotape of this movie?" Ronald asked Tanin.

"Yes, the video pre-sales of Top Gun were very popular, and the company decided to use the new pricing strategy and try it on other movies."

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