Exploiting Hollywood 1980

These movie fans all have ordinary jobs, and many are housewives, but they are willing to spend their little pocket money to go to the cinema to watch "Dirty Dancing" over and over again.

Ronald and their boss, Kathy, agreed not to rush the 100-club feat. "Dirty Dancing" would run for a long time, at least until the end of the year, and then move to a long-term run. Ticket prices at that time Cheaper.

"In short, I don't want you to go see it just to break the record or to fulfill your wish. We have made an agreement. As long as every time you go to see it, you want to see the story of Johnny and Baby, not for this record. . If you can do it, I will come to congratulate you when the time comes."

"Oh yeah!"

Everyone in the Women's Fan Club cheered happily, "You have to bring Patrick Schwytz with you then."

"Hahaha..." Ronald scratched his head, these movie fans are so cute.

"I want to do something for you, Kathy. I have made movies before, and I have never had this experience. No one came to tell me that she would like the movie to the point of watching dozens or hundreds of them."

"Really? Can we make a request?" Several fans were extremely happy. It is not easy for the director to make such a promise.

"As long as I don't let Schwytz dance with all of you..." Ronald recalled that after the movie was released, the male protagonist Schwytz was asked to dance with people everywhere, and he was asked to say that line. I had to half-jokingly ask these loyal fans to give up this request.

"No, no, that's not it." Casey, the head of the fan club, said with a smile, "We watched the movie and we all liked the dance in it. We also formed a dance club and met every week in the classroom of the primary school in the town. Dance.

However, the soundtrack of the movie was sold out as soon as it came out. It is difficult to find even in Nashville, a music city. We hope you can allocate a batch to us. "

"Just this little thing?" Ronald was surprised that they didn't make more requests. "In this case, our new record is being produced day and night in the factory. When the first batch comes out, I will ask them to send you 50 copies first. , and then added posters of Patrick Schwytz and Jennifer Grey.”

Ronald snapped his fingers and called in the Daydream employees to finalize the matter.

…

After saying goodbye to these lovely southern girls, Ronald did not continue the fan meeting trip in the south with Cynthia Rhodes, but flew back to Los Angeles.

"This is a list of people who want to meet you\

,"Niceta returned to Los Angeles early and handed Ronald a bunch of invitations. What Hollywood lacks most is money. Now it is clear that Ronald will make a lot of money. He is the next insider who can invest in his own movies. Stars want to strengthen their ties with him.

"Rick, please help me sort through the people I need to see first, and then I'll go meet them." Ronald looked at the thick list and whistled.

"Actually, you don't have to go see them. It's their turn to come see you. Why don't I find a company for you and hold a few parties to send a lot of people away at once. If you are interested, just chat a few words. If you are not interested, just perfunctory. What you are doing now Status, you can learn from Spielberg's style."

Rick Niceta looked at Ronald and knew that he had not yet transformed from a famous director into a powerful film company boss.

"Oh yeah? Can I?" Ronald let out a breath and threw the list on the table. "Then please help me choose."

"Of course," Niceta smiled and put away the list, "David has something to ask you about, and he also has a bunch of scripts squeezed in."

Niceta was the first to chat with Ronald, and he nuzzled at David Simkins behind him.

"Ronald, this is the script we recently received." David Simkins, the script assistant, had five large iron boxes brought in, filled with scripts. "Dirty Dancing" was shot on a shoestring budget and is yet another independently released film by Ronald Daydream Pictures.

This gives endless hope to those who want to turn their scripts into movies. So the scripts are now rapidly converging towards daydreams, with the scale and speed being ten times the original.

Ronald opened the tin box and took two random books inside. The cover was obviously dusty and had been rolled up by someone.

"It's those old scripts again. You help me choose them first, and then I'll take the time to read them carefully." Ronald knew that every time he made a successful movie, there would be a large number of unsuccessful screenwriters who "worked hard" to write it. His masterpiece was sent to try his luck. I hope this director knows his stuff.

There's good stuff in this, but I don't know why it's buried in the studio's warehouse and hasn't been filmed. But most of them were rubbish and were rejected by multiple studios, most likely because the script itself had problems or was not suitable for filming (some scenes were too expensive).

"Okay, boss."

"Our records can be sent to retail stores all over the country immediately. After the RCA contract was signed, the first batch of goods produced used different covers. It was almost the weekend and the situation of no goods in various places could be solved. Try to be in MJ's store 'Bad' took two weeks to sell before the new album."

Jimmy Lehner came for the third time, and RCA advanced funds for record production to show its sincerity. As for the marketing aspect, the demand from all over the country is very strong. As soon as the records arrive, they can be sold immediately. The mutual pull between movies and records is very obvious. RCA did not make more budget.

When the money comes back, RCA will split the money with Daydream.

"The repayment is still too slow." Ronald took out his checkbook and wrote a check for legal fees to Los Angeles barrister Mickey Kanter.

Daydream's funds have been spent on marketing, and now they are adding fan meetings and other activities in various places, and touring road shows in various states in America. On the other hand, Ronald is still talking to the lab about printing additional copies. Nowadays, multiplex theaters are optimistic about the box office potential of "Dirty Dancing" and hope to introduce more copies and play them on a loop.

The money Douglas Jr. invested in the later period was like a drop in the bucket, and it would dry up in less than a week.

Moreover, according to the share ratio between the two of them, Ronald would also have to invest millions of dollars, otherwise the two would have to sit down and have lawyers and accountants recalculate their share ratio.

The only way now is to use future box office revenue and record revenue to obtain mortgage loans from financial institutions, and then tide over the current depletion of cash.

Fortunately, the box office performance of "Dirty Dancing" is obvious to all, and the album is expected to achieve good sales next week, so it is not a big problem to borrow several million for an emergency.

Another person who came to chat with Ronald one-on-one was Steve Bannon, the producer of "Love Is Not For Sale".

"With my connections on Wall Street, I can earn at least this amount of interest." Bannon took the calculator on Ronald's desk and typed a number on it.

"If that's the case, I might as well go to the boss of the Screen Fund. You know, I have a good relationship with their directors.

Ronald pushed the calculator back.

"Okay, it can be as cheap as this amount, but you have to borrow at least 10 million." Bannon typed in another number.

"Ten million? Is my collateral worth such a high value?" Ronald looked at the interest, which was quite satisfactory. It was just a limit of 10 million. It seemed that the box office distribution contract and the record contract were not worth so much money.

"I personally vouch for you. I don't believe your movie is worth so much money. Since the release of Love Is Not For Sale, I have gone to the cinema to watch a movie every other day to observe the audience's emotions and reactions. Your 'Dirty Dancing' After it is released, I can responsibly say that your box office will be at least double that of mine."

Bannon shook his thick neck from side to side, his tie and shirt restraining him tightly. When he talked about his confidence in Ronald, he got a little excited and loosened his tie.

"What do you want?" Ronald was quite satisfied with the interest. Bannon took the initiative to help, so he had to see what the cost would be.

"Can you take me with you in your next movie?" Bannon threw aside the tie he was playing with and whispered to Ronald.

"I can't guarantee that you can participate in the movies I direct, but I will be open to your investment in the next movies I am interested in producing."

"It's a pleasure dealing with you." Bannon stretched out his thick hand and shook Ronald's hand. "Let the accountants and lawyers complete the rest of the contract work."

The last person to come in was Michelle Cannold, Daydream’s distribution director.

"Tonight, our box office will be over $10 million."

Cannold came up with the good news.

"Tonight? Are you sure? Today is the fifth day, right?" Ronald was a little surprised. He originally expected to hit the first 10 million box office by the weekend of the second week, but he didn't expect it to be possible several days in advance. ?

"Yes, the Deep South and the Midwest have seen unexpected box office growth. I've added a few more fan meet-and-greet stops in Alabama, Georgia and other states. Those small-town female audiences, really Love this movie very much.”

"Yeah, yeah..." Ronald stroked his beard. The biggest surprise of "Dirty Dancing" was that it gained a large number of die-hard audiences in the conservative Deep South.

"So our video tape production has to be accelerated." Michelle Cannold took the opportunity to push forward a video tape release plan.

"This?" Ronald looked at the summary. The plan inside was good, but the cost was also very expensive. He almost had to invest most of the loan he had just finalized with Bannon.

"We have to hurry up. In the second month of the release, pirates will take a fancy to the movie's box office and start trying to bribe the movie projectionists in the town.

Moreover, from the second to the third month, many small town cinemas began to rent copies to their counterparts, and loopholes began to appear in the management there. Generally, movie piracy occurred during this period.

We must distribute a large number of video tapes to video rental stores before the risk of piracy. "

"Okay, let's do it." Ronald looked at the back and saw Cannold's estimated sales and rental income, and immediately signed the proposal to confirm it.

If you spend all your money on "Dirty Dancing" now, you may get back several times the return next year.

"However, can the production cost be reduced?" Ronald asked, pointing to the unit price of a single video tape. "I know some details about the video release of 'Top Gun,' and their cost seems to be lower than ours."

"That's different. Top Gun is sponsored by Pepsi, and they're $6 cheaper per set." Cannold pointed to the average cost figure and said to Ronald.

"Oh, I forgot about this." Ronald patted his head, "It would be great if we also had videos sponsored by companies with deep pockets like this. I would be willing to shoot commercials for them. But this is a rare thing."

Cannold was about to ask Ronald when he was given the answer, looking frustrated.

"In fact, we need a company that can provide cheaper production costs, but..."

"Oh, how much cheaper can it be?" Ronald was interested. If all the loans were spent on production, there would be no production budget for the new movie, and there would be basically no savings in his personal account. It's always good to save a little.

"It's much cheaper, but they are a company from Xiangjiang."

"What happened to Xiangjiang?" Ronald asked.

"Piracy is rampant there."

"Oh," Ronald thought for a moment and decided to forget it. If manufacturers stick to their own piracy, pirated video tapes may be released together with the original ones, or only a short time behind them, which will eat up a lot of the sales of the original ones, and it will be too late to regret.

"Actually, their production capacity is good, the quality is very consistent, and they are cheap." Manager Liu also brought a large number of video tapes produced by them. I think the colors are very accurate. If it is not pirated, it is very suitable to give them to them.

Cannold asked his assistant to bring in a box of video tapes from outside, all of which had Chinese characters on the covers. The one on the top is starring Ronald's acquaintance Jackie Chan, and its name is very strange Spartan X.

"Put it here and let me take a look." Ronald knew that the other party was also attracted by such a cheap cost. If the sales volume were very good or the European video tape market was opened, the American market would have been eaten up by then. So few that I don’t care about more piracy in Asia.

The last ones to come in were Ronald's most trusted agent, Richard, and Niceta.

Niceta has already found a public relations company and booked a party time for Ronald. Richard took a bunch of information about important people and wanted to go through it with Ronald.

The working hours passed quickly, and after Ronald finished discussing with the two agents, it was almost evening.

"Ahem..." Ronald yawned loudly and stretched, "It's been quite tough these days. Traveling between the east and west coasts, the marketing road show is really tiring."

"Perhaps, you should consider renting a private jet. It will save time than civil aviation, and you can also rest on the plane."

Niceta closed the book and made a suggestion.

"Don't mention it, I'm in a cash crisis now. I've been spending, spending, spending this year. If I don't get the money back, I won't be able to afford to fly first class."

"Uh..." Richard hesitated.

"What?" Ronald saw his little move.

"When you were short of money, didn't you work in advertising production? The shooting could be completed in a day or two. Now your reputation is still rising, and the prices offered by manufacturers are increasing."

"Someone asked me to shoot an advertisement?" Ronald laughed, "That's a good thing. Which company is it?"

"Procter \u0026 Gamble..."

"Pass," Ronald interrupted immediately. During the filming of Dirty Dancing, Procter \u0026 Gamble withdrew the product placement for the Cleary Acne Cream because of the abortion plot, leaving Ronald very passive. This time it was obvious that the other party wanted to extend an olive branch, but Ronald was not interested in reconciling with them.

In the worst case, just save some money, or borrow some more, or go back to New York to feed your aunt, hehe. Ronald no longer wanted to aggrieve himself.

"Okay, let me see what I can do. Let the word out that you are willing to accept the advertisement and see what the results are."

"Very good, Ronald rubbed his eyes. His work is always unfinished, but that's it for today."

Taking a few boxes of video tapes sent by Xiangjiang Company, Ronald picked out a few Jackie Chan movies and went back to watch them for entertainment.

…

"Spartan

What kind of movie is this? The name doesn't reveal much about the content.

Ronald put the videotape into the machine, and after a burst of blue and pink anti-piracy credits passed, the movie officially started.

"This anti-piracy technology is pretty good. It's better than the last time I saw it." Ronald felt that those who deal with piracy are probably also top-notch in anti-piracy.

The opening scene shows Jackie Chan and one of his brothers getting up. Because the Italians were fighting and blocking the stairs, they decided to take a shortcut.

Jackie Chan rolled over from the balcony and jumped down. There was an awning in the fruit shop below. He did the splits on the awning, bounced it, and then rolled down and stood on the ground.

"Oh, Shxt", Ronald stood up. How was this shot taken?

He quickly grabbed the remote control and rewinded.

"Hey, there seems to be no editing point." Ronald muttered, "Is this really dancing?"

He pressed the play button.

"ah……"

The fruit shop owner put away the awning, followed by another actor named Yuen Biao who jumped down from the second floor and sat down on the ground.

"Isn't this also a real shot?" Ronald exclaimed.

This dangerous move of somersaulting from the second floor to sitting on the ground might lead to injury or even disability.

"He's willing to dance? No way, how can anyone be so stupid? There must be some special method." Ronald finished watching the movie, which was filled with many such action scenes, and the action was very beautiful.

But what impressed him most was the scene in the opening scene where he fell from the second floor, was caught by the awning, bounced up, and flipped to the first floor.

Encountering this kind of technical problem, Ronald's director addiction was aroused again, and he wanted to know how this was filmed.

After thinking for a long time, Ronald looked at his watch. It happened to be morning there and decided to make a call.

…

"Brother Long, there is a ghost guy looking for you. He speaks English. He said he is calling from Los Angeles."

"Ghost? Who's calling me?" Jackie Chan had already gotten up early and finished exercising. After taking a shower, she was preparing to eat.

"Hello? This Jackie Chan", Jackie asked word by word in his slightly accented English.

"Ronald, this is Ronald..."

"Sister Jiao, come and listen to me. This ghost guy talks so fast that I can't understand him."

"Hello", the beautiful woman called Jiaojie came over to answer the phone and was about to ask in English.

Ronald switched to Mandarin here, "I am a friend of Brother Long, my name is Ronald, Ronald Lee. If you say Ronaldinho is looking for him, he will know."

"Oh, Ronaldinho." Jackie Chan picked up the phone, "How are you in Los Angeles? When will the new movie be released in Hong Kong? We are having a good time together."

"I'm here to ask you a question about film shooting..." Ronald said on the phone.

"Don't take it seriously, let's learn from each other." Jackie Chan was very happy. She made an exaggerated face at Sister Jiao and whispered to her: "This ghost guy Xiao Luo said that he wanted to ask me about a movie. He was the ambition of last year. The director of Ling Yun, the one you watched."

"I just watched your 1984 movie "Food Truck". How was the scene where you jumped from the second floor and got bounced by the awning taken?"

"How to shoot? Just shoot." Jackie Chan stopped to play tricks with Sister Jiao and answered Ronald on the phone. He felt it was a bit strange. This action was quite difficult. He did it five or six times before he found the feeling and took the smoothest one.

But what would you say is the difficulty of this lens? That's not the case at all. Just put the camera there and shoot. Not as difficult as the fencing shot at the back.

"Shoot it directly? Did you really jump down and take one shot to the end?"

"Every one of them is really dancing. All the scenes in my movies are real." Brother Long began to show off to Sister Jiao again.

"Then the actor at the back, Yuen Biao, did he really jump off the second line and fall to the ground?"

"Of course, we have other martial arts skills. You can jump from higher floors."

"Okay, I'm convinced." Ronald chatted with him for a while and hung up the phone, "These are really a group of people who don't want their lives."

"Ghost Ronaldinho convinced me..." Jackie Chan danced happily and somersaulted in front of Sister Jiao.

…

"Ronald, I received a reply early this morning. Coca-Cola wants to work with you. Just like the commercial you shot for Pepsi last year, you also shot a Diet Coke commercial for Coca-Cola, which they used for their main TV commercials.

Their bid was pretty good, a little higher than Pepsi.

In addition, if you are willing to shoot a 60-second commercial, they can also follow the cooperation method with Pepsi and insert an advertisement in front of the "Dirty Dancing" video tape. They are also willing to subsidize you $6 per video tape. "

Early the next morning, agent Richard called Ronald to announce the good news.

"You know what? Richard, you made me happy today. I agreed, and you asked them to find someone to talk to?"

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