Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The editing of the two versions of the commercial was completed quickly. For the commercial that imitated the 007 scene starring Pierce Brosnan and Diane, Ronald asked Corey Yuen to be responsible for the editing, and he personally edited the Demi Moore version.

In the screening room, Ronald and two martial arts stuntmen from Xiangjiang watched the sample film.

"Very good. This is an action scene that has never been seen in Hollywood. You guys did a good job and it was very efficient. I was very surprised. There is a great need for stunt coordinators like you here. Have you ever thought about staying in Hollywood?"

"I'm married, and I came here to make some money for my family. Director Luo, you've been very kind to us, but I still have to go home and take care of my husband." Yuen Qiu said that he should return to his family.

"Why? A woman can work even if she's married? If you look at the stunt directors in Hollywood, there are many husband-and-wife teams."

"My husband is also a director, so I have to go back and take care of him." Yuen Qiu replied.

Ronald shrugged. He knew that directors usually stay away from home for several months before filming, so it was really difficult to persuade this rare female stunt performer to continue working.

"They are a very loving couple." Corey Yuen explained from the side.

"What about you, Corey? Are you interested in staying in Hollywood? My company will soon invest in some small-budget movies, each with a scale of one to two million US dollars. If you are willing, you can submit the script to me." Luo Nader reached out to Corey Yuen.

This time, I saw that his directing, action design, and post-editing were all very efficient. Ronald developed a passion for talent.

"Corey is one of the top five or six action directors we have there. He is nominated for Best Action Designer at the Academy Awards every year." This is Yuen Qiu's introduction to Ronald.

Corey Yuen certainly wants to make a career in Hollywood. The small productions here also have budgets of millions of dollars, which is more than the big productions there.

He pondered for a moment and said, "I have to go back and help Brother Long. He will come back to film this year and he will need me in a lot of ways."

"Well, when you are free, you are always welcome to bring a script to try." Ronald knew that he had the ambition to be a director, and his knowledge and experience were sufficient.

"Thank you, Brother Luo. People think so highly of you. When the sequels of Plan A and Police Story are filmed,

Just come and give it a try. " Yuen Qiu was quick to talk, and he saw that Corey Yuen wanted to come over and give it a try, so he picked up the conversation.

"If you have any ideas, just call me and I will talk to Brother Long." Ronald smiled at them and gave his promise, "And you, Sister Qiu, want to come back to relieve your boredom, or give some advice in the future Remember to come to me if your kids want to earn some pocket money, there is a shortage of good female stunt people in Hollywood."

"Thank you, Director Luo, for your appreciation." The two stunt people are considered well-educated, and Ronald can win over them.

"I will ask my company's assistant, Ms. Chen, to accompany you to Los Angeles today, take some photos, buy some souvenirs, and put them all on the company's account." Ronald called the translator, Ms. Chen, and gave the instructions. He took out a credit card and handed it to her.

The two happily went out with the translator. The moment they opened the door of the screening room, a strong man walked in.

"Hi, Ronald, we meet again."

It turned out to be Bruce Willis.

"Bruce, Demi is not here today. Her scenes have been filmed." Ronald wanted to hide when he saw him coming.

This Bruce Willis, during the filming, fully demonstrated the extent to which a male star would go to pursue an actress.

During the filming, hundreds of roses were sent to the filming site every day, and there were dedicated people to wait on Demi Moore, using the mineral water and food he specially ordered.

And because he is a TV star, he also broke the rules and went to the filming site himself to tip the staff on site. Especially the dragon and tiger warriors who helped protect Demi Moore, Willis gave each of them hundreds of dollars in tips.

"You all must work hard to protect Miss Moore and never let her get hurt. I'm here to watch you..."

In the end, Ronald couldn't stand it anymore, so he acted like a director and drove him away.

Today he broke the rules again and came to the screening room where no one other than the director or editor could come. He didn't know what excessive demands he would make in order to please Demi Moore.

"Tell me, what do you want?" Ronald knew what Bruce Willis wanted to do as soon as he saw his evil smile.

"Hey, I want to see Demi's finished film."

Ronald rubbed his head. Not to mention that Willis was familiar with him, he was very thick-skinned. But the commercial is actually very short, unlike a movie that needs to be kept secret, so it doesn't matter if you show it to him.

"Oh, she is really very attractive, what do you think?" Bruce Willis looked at Demi's image on the screen, his eyes shining.

"Who says it's not?" Ronald curled his lips.

"Brother, I have never been like this before. She is so charming. Can I..."

"I'll give you a copy." Ronald quickly called the editing assistant to give Bruce Willis a copy of the videotape.

This man was so obsessed with picking up girls that he felt a little upside down, as if he had really fallen into Demi's trap.

"Thank you, Ronald. I have to go back. The progress at Blue Moonlight is very slow due to Sybil. I have to go to the studio."

"Bye..." Ronald quickly sent this simple-minded TV star away.

…

The finished films of the two advertisements were screened in front of Coca-Cola's marketing director Mellett.

"Put aside the one that looks like 007." Mellett liked Brosnan's ad more and read it again and again.

This is a bit beyond Ronald's expectation. Judging from the storyline, action scenes, and protagonist's performance, Demi Moore's version is more complete and smooth, and more in line with Diet Coca-Cola's products, but Mellett seems Save the male version of the ad for the Super Bowl.

"I like this version of the ad very much. James Bond fights the Japanese ninja. 007 should actually be played by this actor. Let's use this version of the ad as the Super Bowl halftime ad version. The version with the actress, we will next It will start playing every month.”

"You are the boss." Ronald was very happy to know that both pages of advertisements had been approved by the other party.

"If I may, I would like to ask, why did you choose the version with the male protagonist to save for the Super Bowl?"

"The main customers of Coke are men. Although the heroine in that version is very good, I'm afraid it won't arouse the reaction of many customers." Melette was in a good mood and explained a few words to Ronald.

"Thank you," Ronald said to Coca-Cola's marketing director and sent him out.

"Is his idea true?" Returning to the screening room, Ronald found Darcy Maguire, the creative director of the advertising company, for advice.

“That’s actually not true,” Darcy Maguire curled her lips. “Many six-packs of Coke are purchased by housewives. They are the decision makers for household purchases.

This kind of fast-moving consumer goods with large shipments actually has the most important impact on mothers and wives. So I think I should use the Demi Moore version. "

"Gender issue?" Ronald asked Darcy Maguire.

"Pretty much, this industry has been male-dominated in America for 80 years, and there are many rules in the industry that have been handed down from that time. Now that professional women and housewives in America have become more and more powerful, some old rules have also come to an end. It’s time for correction.”

"Maybe next time, but this time the male version took over."

…

A meeting was quickly held at Coca-Cola, and Ronald's commercial film passed review. Coca-Cola paid readily. Ronald held the check and was reading it under the lamp.

As long as I go to the bank to cash the check tomorrow, the dilemma of having no money this year can be greatly alleviated. In the first half of 1987, I only had normal expenses and didn't buy myself any expensive toys.

While admiring the presentation of his creativity, Ronald heard the phone ring.

"Hey, Ronald."

"Ronald, this is Demi."

On the other end of the phone was Demi Moore's husky and sexy voice.

"Demi, I was about to call you. Coca-Cola has approved the commercial. Contact your agent and he should get the check soon."

"Thank you, Ronald, thank you." Demi said excitedly on the other end of the phone. She hasn't received a new film for a long time, and she has to borrow money to buy new clothes. With this advertising income, which is equivalent to half of her salary, her financial situation will be greatly alleviated.

"I didn't call to say this." After thanking Demi, she resumed her lazy voice, "I can't thank you in the old way this time."

"Don't worry too much, we are friends." Ronald thought to himself, had he made any inappropriate hints? Originally, the matter had been settled, and there was no need to hold on to Demi Moore. He is not the kind of producer who can control an actress just by giving him a favor once.

"Yeah, I know, I know, you are very good to me..." Demi still said what she wanted to say.

"Bruce showed me the video he got from you today, and he took the opportunity to ask me to live in his home."

"Are you sure?" Ronald thought, why is it that in just a few days, the woman will move into the man's house to live together?

"I'm sure. On the one hand, I like Bruce, but on the other hand, he is the kind of man I dream of. I have no one to protect me in this industry, and I dream of such a man every day."

"Um, then, congratulations?" Ronald didn't know what to say.

"Thank you, you are the only close friend I have in Hollywood with whom I can talk about these things." Demi Moore is working in various camps in Hollywood, and she really doesn't have any real friends.

“Don’t say that, I’m happy for you.

"Thank you...well, I have one more thing...our previous ones..."

"Your secret is safe with me." Ronald heard the implication of Demi Moore. She abused drugs before, kept changing boyfriends, and secretly became her own traitor, stealing the secrets of her ex-boyfriend Emilio Estevez.

These things are all huge detractors for a simple-minded macho man like Bruce Willis.

Ronald was cautious about this kind of thing. He didn't tell anyone except his agent, not even his family knew about it. So in order to reassure each other and keep their secrets safe, the two made a tacit agreement to keep each other's secrets.

…

At six o'clock on Monday morning, Ronald was at home making breakfast and talking to Michelle Cannold on the phone.

The box office results of the second week were also compiled by Daydream Pictures. The screening scale has been expanded to 1,400 theaters, the box office of a single theater has only dropped 5%, and the total box office has exceeded 15 million. "Dirty Dancing" continues to top the box office charts.

"Cinema's analysis shows that female audiences account for the majority of moviegoers, accounting for more than 60%. Among them, female audiences over the age of 23 also exceed female audiences between the ages of 17-23. They said this is an unprecedented phenomenon. .”

"It's a great thing for us."

Ronald clamped the phone around his neck, then cut the sandwich in half into triangles and carried it into the living room with the milk.

"Yes, the effect of word-of-mouth is very obvious. In the Midwest of the Great Lakes, the Deep South, and some states in the West, the number of box office stars is better than the box office ratio of other movies in these places. Our word-of-mouth strategy has been successful."

"Dirty Dancing" goes against the rule of musicals being successful in big cities but not in small cities, and being successful in small cities but not in big cities. It works in both big cities and small towns.

Originally, the values ​​​​and appreciation tastes of these two groups of people are very different, and even opposite. But female viewers aged 23-58 have smoothed out all urban-rural gaps.

For those of you who are older, watching "Dirty Dancing" brings back memories of your youth. The younger ones enjoy the seductive mambo dance.

The underage audience is purely there to see Patrick Swayze, the sexy dream lover.

Therefore, although the box office performance among adult male audiences is very poor, the female audience group, those housewives who usually go to the cinema with their families once or twice a year to watch family movies, are crazy about telling each other about appointments. Go to the cinema to watch this rare and good film.

There are also many families where mothers and daughters go out together.

While these data surprised Cinema, it also began to make them examine their own evaluation standards. "Dirty Dancing" is a movie that breaks the rules no matter from which perspective.

In the past two decades, almost no movie in Hollywood relied on adult female audiences to support its box office.

Their usual entertainment is to watch TV dramas broadcast during the day to relieve their boredom. As time goes on, Hollywood studios rely on data analysis and become less and less able to make movies that suit the tastes of these female audiences.

The result of driving while looking in the rearview mirror is a vicious cycle. There are fewer and fewer movies suitable for adult women's tastes, and female audiences are less and less willing to go to movie theaters.

But those desires for a good story are still there. Ronald's movie "Dirty Dancing" is like unlocking a basement that has been dusty for decades, and all the desires spurt out like a flood that bursts a bank. .

The desire they had accumulated for so many years suddenly made them rush to tell each other and contact their classmates in high school and college. All the women in today’s social circles like Best Friends and Handkerchief need to see this movie that captures the story of a woman so beautifully.

Patrick Schwytz and Cynthia Rhodes also started to add a lot of stops to their fan meeting schedule. Even Jennifer Gray ignored her injured neck and started traveling in some cities around Eastern New York.

Before "Dirty Dancing" everyone was an unknown actor. This opportunity suddenly pushed them to the edge of A-list stars. Everyone was very excited and wanted to seize this rare opportunity and give their star status a boost.

With the salary from advertisements, Ronald began to have more money. The loan from Bannon has also been received, and it has begun to be invested in the production of video tapes, additional copying costs, as well as advertising and marketing on TV stations and various places.

Ronald asked his assistant to send the first batch of video tapes and records out of the factory to the Nashville fan club. Those lovely female fans received Ronald's gift and wrote a special letter of thanks. Their progress of watching Dirty Dancing 100 times has begun to move towards 30 times.

In short, the situation is not generally good, but unexpectedly good. It is clear that every dollar invested now can be exchanged for three to five dollars in income next year.

After Ronald had breakfast, he drove to the office and started processing some documents.

"Morning, Ronald."

Michelle Cannold arrived at half past eight and came to the office early.

He knew that Ronald had a lot of things to do, and he would usually come to the office two to three hours in advance to handle his work as the boss of Daydream Pictures. When everyone came to work one after another at nine o'clock, he would go home to do his work as an artist.

"Morning, Michelle."

The two said hello and started chatting about the production of the video tape.

"We are now accumulating a large amount of inventory. Three months after the release, our first batch of goods can be sold to those video rental stores. After that, we will enter supermarkets, department stores, grocery stores and other retail channels."

"Very good, you are an expert in this area, so I'll leave it to you." Ronald listened to the video tape sales plan and thought it was okay.

"Then I'll go first..." Ronald said goodbye to Michelle Cannold.

Just in time to see Jimmy Lehner, who was in charge of records, rush in.

"Ronald, congratulations, you are first."

"I know, we ranked first at the box office." Ronald wanted to give him a high-five to celebrate.

"No, no...it's not about the box office, it's about your record sales being number one on the best-selling album list."

Jimmy Lehner turned on the radio and tuned it to Los Angeles' KAMP channel, (97.1 FM).

"Okay, just now it's a song 'Do You Love Me?' from the soundtrack of the movie 'Dirty Dancing'. I strongly recommend all our listeners to buy a record. This has ignited my desire to dance. .

The movie is also a very good movie. My mom also went to see it with my aunt, and guess what, she started dancing in the kitchen today while making me scrambled eggs.

This movie and this record have an amazing magic that can make people's soles itch.

Let’s take a look at today’s number one single, MJ’s ‘Bad’. His new album of the same name also ranked second on the sales list..."

"Shxt! Our album sells better than MJ's new album that just came out?"

…

"Yes, yes, this is completely beyond our expectations at RCA."

A few hours later, RCA's senior vice president rushed to Ronald's office with new information.

"MJ will call me to cause trouble for me...hahahaha..." Ronald laughed endlessly.

"No, no, although our sales are very good, the songs in it, except for the theme song and the one sung by Mr. Schwytz, are all old songs, so it is impossible to challenge MJ's position on the charts."

"Oh?" Ronald thought, so that's it. No wonder the DJ on the radio just spent the second half of the show touting MJ's new song.

"The sales volume of our album has actually exceeded that of MJ's new album. After all, our movies are crazy attracting audiences in the market. However, after the promotion of MJ's new songs, it is normal for our sales to be surpassed by theirs."

"No problem, with this sales volume, we can get a platinum record, right?" Ronald looked at it happily and was thinking of a good thing.

When he visited RCA's headquarters in New York, he found many platinum album-certified metal medals hanging on the walls. It would be awesome if my own film company could have a piece of this. Who would have thought that a movie company could do miracles by selling records?

"There is no problem at all. I expect that it will soon reach the sales standard of 1 million copies. In time, double platinum or even triple platinum is also possible."

The vice president of RCA is very happy. This movie soundtrack album is about to make up for the huge deficit caused by the company's new albums of Diana Ross in the past two years. The stock price at the end of the year will look much better.

"cheers!"

Ronald took out some good wine and poured it for those sitting there.

"cheers!"

Everyone raised a toast to celebrate this rare miraculous moment when both movie and album reached the top.

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