Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"How could this happen?" Ronald looked at Kelly McGillis in surprise.

After confirming that the other party was not joking, Ronald got out of bed, put on his clothes, poured a glass of water, and handed it to McGillis. While holding her hand gently, he looked into the other person's eyes and said, "If you find it painful to recall it... I'm afraid it will hurt you to say it again."

"It doesn't matter. I've been seeing a psychiatrist for a long time, five years ago. Now I can face this matter, and I really want to talk to someone about it. I'm a bit conflicted."

"Take your time." Ronald felt that McGillis's hands were still shaking a little, even though five years had passed. It can be seen that McGillis was deeply frightened and hurt at that time.

"I had just divorced my first husband, and I was living with my girlfriend in a small rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan, New York. One night, I was taking a shower when two men came in and held me at knifepoint. I……"

"Oh, I feel so sad," Ronald heard McGillis describe the situation in full.

McGillis was taking a shower when one of the thugs held a knife to his neck. Forced into the bedroom, the two took turns assaulting McGillis. They also spat at McGillis, beat her repeatedly, cut him threateningly with knives and said they were going to kill her.

"They kept telling me that they were going to beat me until I died," McGillis said, his voice still filled with fear. "At that time, I thought I was really going to die. I had given up."

"Don't worry, you are safe now, I am here." Ronald held McGillis in his arms, and then gently comforted the unfortunate woman.

"Later, my girlfriend came home and immediately called the police when she saw this situation. When the NYPD arrived, they scared the two thugs away."

McGillis gradually regained his composure, "Since then, I couldn't sleep for several months. I could only rely on alcohol to anesthetize myself and barely fall asleep every morning."

"It's all over, it's all over." Ronald didn't expect that Kelly McGillis's need to maintain her independence, her inability to form intimate relationships with men, and her addiction to alcohol were all here.

"I have been seeing a psychiatrist for more than a year in a row before I can sleep normally. In fact, now, sometimes when I am alone at home, I still have sudden fears."

"Those two thugs must have been punished by law. They can't hurt you anymore." Ronald was still silently comforting McGillis, so that she could feel that there were still people in this world who could protect her.

"Ha..." McGillis's body moved. "You guessed it wrong. Two people escaped on the spot and were arrested a month later. One of them's fingerprints matched those in my room, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. . And the other one was released directly because there was no direct evidence."

"Why? What you are dealing with is a multiple felony of robbery, intentional homicide, assault, etc. As long as you can identify them and add fingerprint evidence and confessions, they will definitely not be able to escape and will stay in prison until the next century."

Ronald felt strange that the prosecutors in New York were not so incompetent and would let them run away.

"Because I didn't agree to testify." McGillis answered, looking into Ronald's eyes.

"Is there something hidden?" Ronald slowly comforted McGillis' arm with one hand. He vaguely felt that McGillis was going to tell him next.

"You can trust me, Kelly. If you are willing to talk to me, just tell me. I will not judge what kind of person you are because of your actions. In my eyes, you will always be the one who is full of An actress with confidence and style, a good actress.”

"I believe you." McGillis pulled the blanket around him, covered his face with his hands, and said in a low voice after avoiding Ronald, "Because the person who lives with me is my daughter. friend."

"ha……"

Ronald's hand froze, what's going on?

McGillis had just had a passionate sex with him, how could he say he had a girlfriend? Is that what he meant?

It must be, and only this kind of thing would prevent her from testifying at the time, because if these contents were used as a confession, her relationship would be exposed to the public media. It is very likely that you will be exposed to the judgment of the public.

"Are you speechless?" McGillis grabbed Ronald's arm harder and harder, as if to see what his attitude was.

"I think that in America, everyone has the freedom to choose their own way of life. It's just that some people among the people still don't understand." Ronald chose his words carefully.

"You know what? I'm only willing to tell you this today because you didn't have any barriers to getting along with Emil who was your assistant director at the party."

McGillis could tell at a glance that Emile, Ronald's assistant in "Dirty Dancing," was the same person as her. Ronald never looked at anyone with a judgmental eye and was very tolerant of these personal matters.

"Since you still have scars from that memory, why not just refuse it completely. If you need it, I can come forward and talk to Shirley Lansing. No matter how strong she is, I will still lose face when I come forward." Rona De felt that Lansing always made strong invitations, causing McGillis to suffer psychologically.

"No, this is where I hesitate. I actually want to make this movie. This story is very similar to my experience. Female victims are always viewed with judgment, while criminals are treated with harsh judgment. Tolerance. I hope to change the American people’s perception of this unfair thing.”

"but?"

"But I can't play the role of the victim. As soon as I start imagining that scene, the horror deep in my memory will jump out. I can't..."

"If you really can't, that's okay. Are there other female characters in the movie?"

"There is also a female lawyer who seeks justice for the victims. Finally, she catches the criminal's flaw, seeks justice for the victim, brings the criminal to justice, and scolds the bystanders who judge the victim. .”

"Don't worry, Kelly. Even if Shirley Lansing thinks you're best suited to play the victim, I can cast you in a different role. Which company is distributing the movie?"

"Paramount."

"That's just right. Their president Ned Tanning still owes me several times." Ronald hugged McGillis and comforted him. "It just so happens that this role can also allow you to do what you have wanted to do for a long time. Let Ami Liga people will also change their views on this matter."

"Um"

Ronald felt that McGillis finally relaxed, his breathing began to become steady, and his body was not as stiff as before.

"I'll call Ned tomorrow, but..."

Ronald remembered something again.

"What?" McGillis looked up at him. Do you want to give him something in exchange?

"You have to be honest with me. Did you make this movie to win an Oscar, or did you do it purely for yourself and to seek justice for thousands of victims?"

"No actress can refuse an Oscar nomination, but from my heart, I still hope to awaken the public's correct view on this kind of thing. Beautiful women are not the fault, but the criminals are."

Ronald nodded. This role is similar to the role that Tom Cruise accepted in "Rain Man". It is a role that leads to the main line of the story. In order for the audience to sympathize with the protagonist victim, they must see it from the perspective of the lawyer character before entering the plot.

The role of a lawyer requires very high acting skills, but it may not necessarily be outstanding. The audience and those actors who don't know much about acting will ignore the lawyer's acting skills and recognize the performance of the victim with extreme twists and turns.

"It doesn't matter. My intention in making this movie was not to win awards. Besides, the salary they paid was also very good, several times higher than Top Gun."

Ronald saw that McGillis had made the decision and supported her 100%. It took a lot of courage to star in this role, and it also required a break with the scars of his past.

Ronald held McGillis in his arms, and the two breathed each other. McGillis just felt quiet and calm in his heart, and felt very safe.

"You know, I was under a lot of psychological pressure during those two years. I overeated and gained thirty pounds." After confiding his feelings to a trusted close friend, McGillis seemed to feel that the impact of this past incident on him began to really fade away. . When she was happy, she revealed the actress's biggest secret - her weight.

"Actually, I think you are more beautiful if you are fatter." Ronald felt that the delicate body in his arms has a bit of Monroe's temperament. In fact, it is suitable to be heavier and use heavy makeup to best show your charm.

"By the way, what's the name of this movie?"

"The Robbery of Pear Blossoms (The)"

The two of them lay holding each other quietly for a long time, until they looked at each other and smiled.

But Ronald seemed to have thought of something again, and his body began to feel strange.

"What's wrong?" McGillis keenly noticed Ronald's physical changes.

"Ahem..." Ronald scratched his head in embarrassment, "I didn't know you had a girlfriend. Between us, do you really have feelings for me..."

"Hahaha, you don't know much about us. Most of us don't object to being intimate with men." McGillis smiled and leaned into Ronald's arms, "Of course, I like you, macho!"

"What about you now?" Ronald felt a little strange again.

"Do I have a girlfriend now? Don't worry, neither of us has the sole commitment to be loyal to each other."

"Hmm..." Ronald put his arms around her, and then kissed her neck from behind. His nose touched the messy hair, and a nice fragrance passed into his nose. McGillis' perfume was very tempting.

"Ah..." There was a low groan in McGillis's throat, and he raised his head suddenly, and then dropped it again.

"You were very unforgettable just now, macho." McGillis felt that Ronald's energy just now was more intense and exciting than any of her interactions with him.

"Have you thought about being with me... Haha, do you want to introduce me to you?" McGillis, as a senior person, knows the thoughts of men very well.

"No, no, I just want to hold you and have a good rest."

…

"Come on, Ronald. You are also a producer and understand the market. The selling point of this movie lies in the side shots. Otherwise, we would not be able to attract audiences with such a small production budget and marketing budget."

Early the next morning, Ronald said goodbye to McGillis. After arriving at the office, he called Ned at Paramount. Ned Tanning agreed to all Ronald's requests. Anyway, McGillis was still one of the starring actors, so for financing, it was enough for her to participate.

But when the decision to cast McGillis as a lawyer and a victim was notified to independent producer Shirley Lansing, she was so angry that she called Ronald to complain.

"Shirley, this is your problem, not mine. Besides, the marketing of a movie does not necessarily depend on money. The key is the reputation of the movie." Old Ronald sat on the chair and said calmly said.

"Okay, are you interested in being a director? Or a producer. You have a first-class eye for female-produced films. You might as well recommend a few heroine candidates to me."

Shirley Lansing almost choked up. She knew this was the privilege of the successful. Ronald was obviously teasing her about her poor marketing skills.

However, Lansing is also a veteran player who has suffered a lot. Although she was kicked out of 20th Century Fox because she was a woman, she has been working as an independent producer for so many years. She has long known that this "Pear Blossom" is very promising as a female film. Raves from film critics.

Lansing's production skills are average, and she is not as discerning as Ronald about movies with commercial potential, but after decades of experience, she still has a good idea of ​​which movies will be praised by film critics. .

"I'll see what I can do, Shirley. Goodbye."

Ronald has no promises, so this kind of thing has nothing to do with me.

After putting down the phone, he looked at his company's assistant, "Where is Mr. Bannon? He was still here just now."

This morning, Steve Bannon happened to make an appointment to talk to Ronald about the follow-up to the movie "Love Is Not For Sale."

"He's on the phone," replied Ms. Chen, the company's clerk.

"Telephone, isn't there a phone here? Where has he gone?"

"I'll go take a look." Ms. Chen stood up and opened the office door.

"Hello? The signal here is not good. That's it. I'll call you later." As he was speaking, Bannon held up a large brick-like object and gestured to Miss Chen while walking.

"What is this?" Ronald looked at the beige plastic thing, feeling inexplicably familiar.

"This is a mobile phone from Motorola. You can also make calls in places where there are no phones, just like a car phone, except this thing uses batteries, so you can make calls while walking."

"Big brother?" Ronald said a Chinese sentence out of nowhere.

"What?"

"Nothing," Ronald waved his hand, "Is this thing useful? I'll listen to your signals."

"Yes, you have to be at a certain distance from Motorola's communication station to make a call. It was better to use it when I was on Wall Street. There are many communication stations there and they are concentrated. Unlike Los Angeles, you can't hear clearly when you are a little further away. "

"It's better to use a car phone or a coin-operated phone." Ronald felt that this was just a toy. He could hold it and speak loudly, so he might as well leave a message to the other party or find a phone to talk to. "

"Tell me, what do you want to do with the dividends from 'Love Is Not For Sale'?"

The news that Ronald threw a big check at the party yesterday has spread in Hollywood, and many old friends called to express their appreciation for his generosity.

When Bannon heard the news, he would definitely come and ask. His "Love Is Not For Sale" has been released and has grossed 35 million in America. Bannon has begun to change from a banker to an investment target of bankers on Wall Street.

"Can you pay dividends quickly?" Bannon certainly hopes to get the money as soon as possible so that he can speak louder on Wall Street. Accounts receivable and cash are, after all, different.

"Movies are a business that pays back very slowly." Ronald recalled the rhetoric given to him by the distributor Atlantic when he was filming "Night of the Comet", and he took it out and used it from a different angle.

"The movie theater owners are unwilling to settle the bill. They are willing to delay my payment for a year, and then use the interest earned during this year to renovate the seats and upgrade the automatic candy machines.

When I sent them a lawyer's letter and when it came time to threaten to sue, they settled the debt as soon as they saw that they were going to court. These people are also struggling with the profit and loss line, and it is difficult for me to handle it sometimes. "

"Understood." Bannon raised his hands, indicating that he had no intention of urging Ronald. After all, he still wanted to have a relationship with Ronald, so that Wall Street would give him more confidence.

"If you are willing, I can talk to you about an early buyout. Your future income will be discounted to the present. After the discount, I can settle the settlement with you now. We will let the accountants and lawyers handle it." Luo Nader actually didn't want to settle the matter so quickly, so he threatened him slightly.

"Why? I don't want to do this. You shouldn't share it immediately, but it's better to invest in new production. This way the film business can be recycled. This is the right way to do business. I will always support you."

"You know your stuff, Steve." Ronald was very happy and quickly retracted his hand that pretended to reach out to grab the phone. "Then wait until the theater chain settles the settlement with me. I won't waste your time. In addition, Michelle Cannold also has several new projects in preparation, you can chat with him, if you are interested, you can join and make money together, I will leave you a share of the investment."

Bannon rubbed his hands. As expected, he showed full confidence in Ronald. This was not a project investment opportunity.

"Not only do I not want your money, but I also want to bring you a large amount of investment." Bannon smoothed his hair, straightened his tie, and said mysteriously.

"Have you found money from Wall Street?" Ronald was interested. Compared with loans, money from Wall Street funds can be used on more favorable terms, and the interference in projects and assessment standards are looser.

Disney's Michael Eisner also received 400 million from the screen fund, and then he slowly began to take the initiative in Disney. It is more than three times cheaper than the bond financing used by Minahan Golan.

"No, I went to Japan to find financing. Because of the appreciation of the yen, companies there are now very interested in investing in Hollywood. Moreover, the friction between our two countries has made their entrepreneurs hold their breath and want to invest in our industry. .”

"Fuck, isn't this a good thing? We welcome investment." Ronald was happy upon hearing this. Want to invest in Hollywood? Good thing.

"The frictions between our two governments all ended with America's victory and the signing of a favorable agreement. This hurt the self-esteem of the Japanese people. They always feel that the Japanese people work harder and should be better priced than our American products." inexpensive."

"Huh? Why? Isn't our market open to them? On the contrary, it is very difficult for our movies to enter the Japanese market." Ronald has been there several times to market movies, even two with Japanese cultural background." "Long Wei Boy" did not do well at the box office in Japan.

Vaguely, Ronald also felt that the movie theaters there seemed to have agreed not to invest enough in Hollywood movies.

"They feel that hard workers who work nine hours a day and treat a mouthful of rice as delicious food should create the best products in the world. Not only physical products, but also home appliances, textiles, cars, and even movies." Ban Nong told Ronald something he knew about Wall Street.

"So, Japanese entrepreneurs who have suffered from friction want to invest in Hollywood movies to make money? Go back to Japan and tell the people there to buy Hollywood, and feel proud, right? Win-win, win-win... hahaha." Ronald understood. , there are also national pride and the mentality of a defeated country that wants to win back in the market.

"Hahaha, that's right!" Bannon smiled wickedly.

"Okay, I'll call the presidents of Kadokawa Bookstore and Johnny \u0026 Associates and let's talk." Ronald figured out that as long as they gave them the false reputation they wanted, he and Bannon would get benefits.

A Wall Street banker and a Hollywood producer, two people who wanted to go to Japan to pick up bargains, burst out laughing.

…

Ronald contacted his old friends in Tokyo again. They learned that Ronald had brought the box-office monster that killed everyone in America to Japan, and they all expressed that they would show greater sincerity this time to fight with Hollywood. The youngest famous director, discussing cooperation.

After arranging the itinerary with Cannold and others, Ronald also asked the printing laboratory to print more copies and prepare to sell them to several countries in East Asia.

"Brother Ronnie, my movie failed again." Diane's new movie "The Hustler" failed again. More than 800 theaters only received a box office of more than 700,000 yuan, and the average box office per theater did not reach 1,000 US dollars. It fell below the profit and loss line in the first week. The theaters will soon release them, and it will be a week-long trip.

It was released with great fanfare to build momentum, but failed with great fanfare.

"Ah?" Ronald asked Diane to sit next to him, "Don't be sad. I told Tom Cruise that he would like to have the heroine in his new movie, do you want to try it?"

Afraid that Diane would lose confidence due to successive failures, Ronald deliberately downplayed the matter and gave her a good new opportunity.

"I..." Diane pursed her lips and hit the table a few times, "Um... um... um..."

"This time the film critics started to say bad things about me again. They also said that I played a stripper without even a single erotic scene."

"This...I see your acting skills, not just the number of clothes. Besides, didn't you ask Suzy Amis, the second female lead, to do an extra scene?" Ronald thought of forcing the producer to change the scene to prevent Diane from going too far. The nudity thing.

"They said that Susie played a single mother, and that scene was redundant." Diane was not very happy. She was criticized by film critics, which was psychologically harmful to the actor.

"It's not your fault, there are Matt Dillon and Tommy Lee Jones in the movie. They are also responsible for the movie not being a hit. The most important thing is the idiot producer Martin Ransohoff. How can audiences in the 1980s appreciate it if we use plots from the 1960s?"

"Hmm... If I continue like this, I will only be able to make B-level movies."

"Don't be stupid, I will find a way. Besides, there are good B-level movies."

"Are you going to Japan?" Diane saw the ticket on Ronald's desk.

"Yeah, I'm going to do a Dirty Dancing release."

"I'll go with you. It just so happens that the Japanese advertiser asked me to shoot a new advertisement."

"They are really loyal to you. They shoot a new version every year for three years."

"Well, they just like to see Americans speak a few words in Japanese and praise their products."

"Yes." Ronald smiled. The Japanese people's seemingly arrogant but actually inferior mood can be confirmed by Diane's experience. In order to make the Japanese audience feel more immersed, Diane would be dyed blonde every time to look more like their stereotype of an American girl.

"You'd better audition for Tom Cruise's new movie first? He seems to play a bartender who falls in love with a female college student."

"Well", Diane said nothing.

"What's wrong?" Ronald was very surprised, as if Diane was not very interested in this opportunity.

"You know, when we were filming 'It's Crazy', Tom approached me first, but I said some outrageous things. I said my father would never let me play that kind of woman."

"Uh...", Ronald understood. At that time, Diane was a popular child star turned teenage movie star, and she was also Coppola's favorite heroine. Tom Cruise is just a young boy with crooked front teeth.

At that time, he invited Diane, but after being rejected, he started to star in the movie "Also Crazy" and started a journey that has soared to the sky in the past few years.

Diane was afraid of auditioning and felt awkward towards both of them.

"You go and try it first. I think they will treat her equally. That is all history, and nothing will happen to Tom." Ronald comforted Diane.

But having said that, Cruise is no longer alone. There are many people around him who have formed a community of interests around him. Whether they are still willing to find Diane to play the role is beyond his control.

"If the competition can be fair, I have no problem. I'm afraid that because of this history, the two of us will act awkwardly."

"I will call Tom's agent. Then the decision will be completely fair and based on your performance. There is no personal relationship at all."

"Hehe..." Diane was still very serious about her acting skills. Hearing what Ronald said, she became happy again.

"Paula, this is Ronald." Later, when Ronald was alone, he called Cruise's agent, Paula Wagner.

"Hello, Ronald." Paula's voice was a little tired.

"When will the baby be born?"

"Two months to go. "

The two chatted for a while, and Ronald said to Paula, "Tom told me to invite Diane Lane to audition for the heroine in the new movie."

"I know about it, I was just going to talk to you about this 'Cocktail'." Paula Wagner was not satisfied with Tom Cruise's choice, but his wife Mimi Rogers was very enthusiastic and she was not Legal advice.

"Diane, can you just follow the normal audition? I guess you may also have difficulties?" Ronald asked tentatively.

"Yes, Mimi gave me a lot of problems."

"Hey..." Ronald didn't like this Scientologist either, "That's it, don't work too hard."

"Mimi has her own plans, and she has a great influence on Tom." Paula Wagner couldn't stand her anymore.

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