Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The Okura Hotel in Tokyo is a Japanese-style hotel specially built to welcome the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. All the interior decorations here are in traditional Japanese style, which is in sharp contrast with the modern hotel appearance.

"Good morning, sir, and welcome, Ronaldo-san, ha, Diane-san. Please come with me, the room is ready."

The waiter, wearing spotless white gloves and a formal gown, bowed deeply, then stood up and welcomed Ronald and Diane into the suite they had reserved.

Ronald arrived at the suite. There was a translucent window on the wall of the living room. The reflection of the bamboo forest outside the window was reflected into the room. With the tatami covered with bamboo mats on the floor and the low coffee table, there was really a harmonious coexistence between the West and the East. temperament.

"Thank you," Ronald took out his wallet from the back pocket of his jeans, pulled out a $20 bill and handed it over.

"You're welcome, Ronald-san, please feel free to call me if you need anything." The waiter did not accept the tip, but bowed to Ronald again, turned around and walked out.

"Japanese people think that their service is of high quality and generally exceeds that of the West. Your tipping is an insult to their service." Diane, also wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, came up to explain the case. She has spent some relatively long time in Japan and filmed many commercials. She knows the customs and customs here better than Ronald.

"My bad", Ronald smiled and put away his wallet. The interior decoration of this hotel was a bit old, but it was well maintained.

Steve Bannon persuaded him to stay here, one of the most prestigious high-end hotels in Tokyo.

Moreover, the Japanese chaebol knew that he lived in this hotel which was very close to the Emperor's Imperial Palace, only a twenty-minute walk away, so they would have some idea of ​​Ronald's strength. Here is the top representative of the Japanese Wind Hotel. Now the Japanese entrepreneurial consortium has opinions on American entrepreneurs. Being able to respect their culture will be beneficial to the financing matters discussed next.

"Let's go down for some brunch. I heard that the Chinese cuisine here is very good." After tidying up with Diane for a while, they went to eat hand in hand.

Passing through the spacious lobby, the walls are decorated with diamond rhombus textures, and four musicians are playing chamber music quartet in front. Musicians in suits and female audience members in traditional kimonos. With the simple interior shapes of geometric shapes and the strings of lanterns hanging from the ceiling, Ronald felt that here, the East and the West coexisted wonderfully for a moment.

When he arrived at the restaurant, of course Ronald ordered the hair-style toast that Bannon highly recommended.

“Sir, today’s reservations are sold out.

"The restaurant waiter bowed again and told Ronald that he would like to have an early breakfast tomorrow. The toast here has a quota, and it will be gone after it is finished.

"Do you also need to make a reservation for toast? What the hell, just bring up what you have." Ronald shook out the napkin and spread it. Japanese people have a pursuit of form. In fact, if a snack is difficult to make, it will not be served well. That’s it.

"The toast here is indeed good, but you usually have to come in the morning." A familiar voice spoke English and said behind Ronald.

"Huh? Mr. Pike. Why are you here?" Ronald looked back and saw that the person slowly enjoying the hair-style toast in the corner was none other than the famous American movie star, Gregory Peck. He was wearing a dark blue navy jacket, light-colored trousers underneath, a red tie, a pair of big glasses on his face, a full head of silver hair, and a handsome demeanor.

"Do you mind if we come together?" Ronald asked Gregory Peck.

"Come here, little Ronald. We haven't seen each other since the last time I went to China. I also watched your recent movie. It was very good."

Gregory Pike waved, and the waiter quickly came over to move the chairs, and Ronald and Diane sat at his table together.

"You are still so energetic." Ronald looked at him and said.

"I'm here to be a judge at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Are you also here to participate in the film festival?" Gregory Peck pushed the hair-style toast he ordered to Diane, and then poured a cup of maple syrup on it. .

"Thank you, um... it's so delicious, it tastes like soufflé." Diane began to exclaim, this toast is really delicious.

"They soak the bread in egg liquid for 24 hours, then fry it and then bake it, so you need to come early to eat it." Gregory Pike is already 70, and looking at Diane is like looking at his granddaughter.

"I'm not here to participate in the film festival," Ronald replied with a smile, "I'm here to release Dirty Dancing. In fact, I didn't even know there was a film festival in Tokyo with a competition section."

"It's normal that you don't know. This is only the second time they have organized it. It is the only A-level film festival in East Asia that has competitive sections and is not divided into genres. They asked me to be the chairman of the jury just to expand their influence."

"Mr. Parker, if you are the chairman, it will be fair." Ronald couldn't help but think of this year's Cannes, where the chairman made a mess of the awards.

"Well, I'm glad you said that, but we all know that they only do it because my appearance fee is cheap."

"Hahaha……"

Ronald smiled. Gregory Peck still has such a sense of humor. He is semi-retired and has not made many movies in recent years. He likes to travel around the world and watch movies from other places.

"Are there any good movies that have participated in the competition in recent years?"

"Let me tell you, there is a Chinese movie that moved me very much. It was directed by a young man named Wu. The techniques and lens language are a bit backward, but it is very simple and powerful. The actor is also very good. It has the power to let me see different movies.

It was the British guy on the jury who always made trouble with me. He put forward many opinions, but he could not stop my determination. "

"I heard that the chairman of the jury has a lot of power?" Ronald didn't know how the film festival worked. He only spoke from his own experience of the awards farce in Cannes.

"I have a lot of power, but I can only convince them, but I can't decide for myself. Would you like to watch this movie? I can use your opinions as a reference during the meeting."

"I may have different opinions from you. I will only speak according to my own opinion." Ronald didn't eat the hair toast, so he joked with Gregory Peck, who had occupied the last two portions. .

"Haha, of course. Americans are free to express their own ideas. But I strongly suspect that you and I have the same aesthetic. What you said last time in China won my heart. Movies are not limited to Hollywood. One way of shooting.”

"Well, there are also government-sponsored ones like the ones in the country, which I can't understand either."

"Hahaha..." Diane laughed, picked up a piece of toast with a fork, and put it in Ronald's mouth.

"Yeah, it's really delicious." Ronald also felt that the Japanese chef put more thought into such a small food than the main dish.

"Well, Mr. Parker, if that movie is still showing, I will go see it and write down my opinion for you."

"Of course, I will let them show you a special show. This is a story about people in northwest China who have been digging wells to find water for hundreds of years, but they have continued to fail."

"Sounds good." Ronald ate the omelette benedict. "These Japanese people make English breakfast even better than the British people. By the way, the one who opposed you in the jury Who are the Britons?”

"Alan Parker, British Londoner."

"It's him, no wonder." Ronald didn't expect to meet the director who was "famous all over the world" in Tokyo. Why didn't he make a movie and come to Tokyo?

Ronald agreed to Gregory Peck, and then waited at the hotel for Bannon, who had just returned from the American Embassy nearby.

"We're going to meet with the reporters from Kadokawa Bookstore and Johnny \u0026 Associates tomorrow."

"Okay, let's get in touch with them first. By the way, why are you going to the embassy?"

"Wall Street matters, and many overseas matters, require assistance from the embassy." Bannon replied, "What are your arrangements for the evening? I will go see my old friends."

"I also went to meet old friends and met Gregory Peck. There is now a film festival here and he is a judge."

"Ah... Isn't 'Her Royal Highness' here?" Bannon is also a loyal fan of the old movies starring Audrey Hepburn and Parker.

"I didn't hear that."

…

In the evening, Ronald and Diane went to the place where Pike mentioned and watched a Chinese movie.

The movie with only subtitles and Chinese lines was called "Old Well". Diane couldn't understand it clearly, and Ronald sometimes translated some plots for her.

But the movie itself is very powerful, and Diane's own guess about the plot is pretty close. The pace of this movie is not fast, and the audio-visual language lags behind the great development of Hollywood in recent years.

Ronald and Diane can guess the direction of the plot by looking ahead. Even so, the performances of the male protagonist and the two female protagonists, as well as the performances of the supporting actors, are all outstanding and directly touch the common soul of mankind.

In the end, the male protagonist, whose name literally means "good for getting out of the well (prosperous spring)", relied on the betrothal gift earned from his first love's marriage and the dowry from the widow's wife to finally get out of the well. The camera ends with more than a hundred people standing on the edge of the well. The name of the ancestors who failed to dig a well over the years, and finally the name of the protagonist appears at the end, success!

Diane couldn't understand the lines and was moved to tears.

Ronald even felt that the film's simplicity was its most powerful strength. If the actor's performance is powerful enough, it can replace skills and stories and move the audience equally.

"I agree with you. I think this is a very moving movie, especially the simplicity of the male protagonist Yimou. His silence can move the audience more than his lines."

Ronald wrote a short review, called the waiters, and asked them to deliver it to Gregory Peck.

"Ronald, I knew you would agree with me." Early the next morning, Pike called. He was very satisfied with Ronald's comments. "Tomorrow, I will vote for you in the final vote." One year of comments can crush the British ideas..."

"I'm glad I could help." Ronald put down the phone, tidied his clothes, went out to find Bannon, and went with him to an appointment with the presidents of Kadokawa Bookstore and Johnny \u0026 Associates.

…

"Ronald, old friends meet again."

Haruki Kadokawa and Johnny Kitagawa met with Ronald in an intimate sushi restaurant.

There is only one table of guests served here at noon every day. Basically, only senior executives of large companies and some politicians can make appointments. Ordinary people can only wait for the time, but the lucky ones can show off in their circle of friends for a long time.

"Hello everyone, how is the Japanese film market now?"

Ronald got straight to the point. He wanted to sell the movie to Japan and also wanted to introduce Japanese investors.

"You don't know yet, in the past two months, Japan and the United States have been fighting fiercely over the chip issue. NEC, Toshiba, Fuji and other companies are all considering whether to abandon the American market because of the dynamic memory chip issue. .”

"What chip?" Ronald looked at Bannon.

"Dram, a type of chip used in computers, is now manufactured in Japan at a much lower cost than ours, so the old guys in Congress are starting to wield the big stick of sanctions again."

"First it was textiles, then electrical appliances, then cars, and now it's chips. America's concept of free trade is not the same when dealing with Japan." Haruki Kadokawa is Japanese and retains American citizenship. Johnny Kitagawa was different. He talked straight to the point about the current form of friction between Japan and the United States.

"Now we, pro-American industrialists, are under great pressure in our operations in Japan." Johnny Kitagawa also said beside him.

"Free trade works in both directions. You teachers prevent our movies and other cultural products from entering the Japanese market, and our intellectual property products are pirated in large quantities by you."

"Don't say you don't know," Ronald stopped the two entrepreneurs who wanted to refute. "The most powerful product in Japan right now is the game console. Most of the characters in it are copied from Hollywood. For example, that one King Kong, and your latest Contra, the two protagonist warriors are obviously Schwarzenegger and Mr. Stallone."

"We're not here to quarrel, right? We're here to talk about cooperation." Johnny Kitagawa also understood that in the agreement signed by the two countries, the Japanese side was actually trying its best to use various secret means to not cooperate.

Japan is a vertically integrated market, with several large financial giants controlling many industrial chains. Take the film industry here as an example. Bookstores and newspapers are the controlling shareholders of several major producers, and they also control most of the theater chains.

As for Hollywood movie copies, they secretly asked movie theater owners not to show them or to show fewer copies. On the other hand, they told the people from the American Film Association who came to hold them accountable that this was a spontaneous choice made by movie theaters under the free market.

"Of course, what do you think can make the Japanese 'audience' accept our Hollywood movies?"

"Why don't you make some movies cooperating with Japan and Japan?" Kadokawa Haruki came up with an idea, "We Japanese people can't just be ridiculous villains in Hollywood movies, we also have to have some positive images. And Hollywood is in Japan. There are still too few movies on location, so as long as you are willing to cooperate, we have plenty of people here who are willing to invest."

Ronald and Bannon looked at each other. This method was better than what they had discussed. Isn't it just to get some positive Japanese characters and place part of the story in modern Japan?

…

"It's a pleasure to cooperate." The two presidents discussed a cooperation framework with Ronald and Bannon, and continued to invite Ronald to Kitagawa's territory to watch their artists perform.

Ronald declined the invitation, saying it could be postponed for a few days. He also wanted to go back with Diane to see the results of Mr. Gregory Pike's strategizing.

"Is Dian Ansang here too? Why not let her be the award guest at this film festival?" Kitagawa and Kadokawa, the two big guys, also have a lot of say in the film festival. In just a few words, it was decided that Diane should be the award guest for the best actor at the film festival. This would greatly enhance the influence of the film festival.

After leaving the hotel, Ronald pulled Bannon aside and said, "Who did you meet when you went to the embassy yesterday?"

"Don't be like this. It's just an acquaintance from the Commerce Department. The chip friction between the United States and Japan has become very acute now. The agreement is about to break out. All American businessmen who come here must inquire and report the situation."

"Okay, don't overdo it." Ronald understood that Bannon was not simply a Wall Street banker.

…

"Have you finished filming the diamond ring commercial?" Ronald returned to the hotel and had dinner with Diane.

"There are still several shots to be taken tomorrow. I dyed my hair blond specially, you see." Diane showed her blond hair to Ronald.

"Why don't we pause tomorrow? They invite you to be the award guest at the film festival."

"Oh, really? I haven't given out an award yet? What project was the award given to, and who won the award?"

"I don't know, let me ask." Ronald dialed the switchboard and asked them to be transferred to Gregory Peck.

"Mr. Parker, Diane will be the guest of honor for Best Actor. Let me ask if there are any results in your vote?"

"My boy, your review helped a lot. I won big, Best Film, and Best Actor both went to 'Old Well,' and Britannia only got a Special Jury Award, and Best Actor." Best heroine."

"Oh, who is that?" Ronald heard Pike's report and felt happy for Chinese movies. Both director Wu and leading actor Yimou can win awards. I heard that this is China's first best actor and film festival award in many years.

I don’t know who the heroine is?

"Australia's Rachel Ward, her new film 'The Woman' has to balance things out."

Well, they were acquaintances again. Ronald felt that Ward's new movie was not very good, so he had to come to this new film festival to expand his influence.

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