Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Michael Jackson received a warm welcome at the airport. More than 600 reporters were waiting for the arrival of the King of Pop at Tokyo Narita Airport. This was also the second time he came to Japan after performing as a member of the "Jackson5" band in 1973. .

The first concert was held at Korakuen Stadium, home of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. More than 40,000 tickets were sold out within 5 hours of going on sale. The organizer said that it is in contact with Michael Jackson to discuss increasing the number of events.

MJ's pet, Bubbles the gorilla, arrived on another flight and was also greeted by more than 300 fans.

For this concert, a cargo plane was specially designed to transport more than 22 trucks of equipment, more than 700 lights, 100 speakers, and 40 laser generators to ensure the most perfect performance for the Tokyo audience. "

"It's really crazy, crazy."

Ronald stayed in the Okura Hotel's room. After making a reservation in advance, he finally ate the complete hair-style toast carefully made by the chef. It was paired with black tea, bacon, sausages, etc., which made Ronald very happy. Japanese people are good at cooking simple food carefully to create different flavors.

Diane, who was having breakfast with him, picked up the front row tickets for the concert that MJ's manager Frank DiLeo sent last night and looked around.

"It is said that a ticket is being sold for a sky-high price now. If you sell the two tickets in the front row, a girl will probably agree to them on the spot."

"What are you thinking about?" Ronald hugged Diane and sat on his lap. "We should leave early, otherwise we might be stuck in the crowd waiting for refunds at the door."

We exchanged contact information with Director Wu, and signed a distribution agreement for "Dirty Dancing" with the theater chain under the name of Kadokawa Shoten. We also have the commitment of two major Japanese entertainment industry bosses. We are just waiting for the seven major producers to return to Hollywood. The factory came to pay homage and seek cooperation.

Ronald was so satisfied that he simply extended his trip in East Asia and went to Xiangjiang to see if there were any opportunities for cooperation.

Just after the film festival ended, MJ came to Tokyo to start the global tour of his new "Bad" album. Ronald received two tickets from Di Leo and prepared to be a fan with Diane for a while.

At six o'clock in the evening, the lights in Korakuen Stadium suddenly started to light up in a row. Ronald and Diane immediately felt the volume of the 40,000 spectators shouting together, like waves, blowing through the stadium as if they were solid. .

"Pepsichore, I'm glad you got it," a friendly female voice began to announce the names of the sponsors over the loudspeakers in the venue. Ronald vaguely recognized them as Pepsi-Cola and Kony Camera.

The drumbeat began to increase from slow to fast, and the sound became heavier and heavier. Finally, at a moment, all the lights illuminated the stage, and a row of people wearing leather jackets loomed in the smoke.

"Ah...ah...ah..."

Amid the deafening shouts of the audience, the laser began to draw bright lines on the stage. A man wearing a top hat, his hair made like instant noodles, and sunglasses appeared in the center of the stage.

MJ unbuttoned the shiny diamond-encrusted leather jacket, put one hand on his crotch, and began to twist to a fast rhythm.

The eyes of the entire audience were focused on this strange man.

The concert started with the new song "The Way You Make Me Feel" from the new album. The laser flashed brightly and darkly to the rhythm, and all the audience couldn't help but stand up and dance to the rhythm.

The audience at Tokyo's Korakuen Stadium was mesmerized. They were led by MJ to cry whenever they wanted, to laugh whenever they wanted, and to applaud whenever they wanted, as if he was God at this moment, taking whatever he wanted.

Ronald only felt that the appeal of this kind of superstar was more powerful than the best Hollywood movies. After all, it was a live performance, and the careful guidance of a movie had a different impact on the audience.

The half-hour performance ended quickly. The Tokyo audience was very cooperative and exited slowly and in an orderly manner.

"These audiences really love MJ." Ronald looked at many female students wearing T-shirts who came to watch the show. They lined up at the door and called MJ's name to express their love.

Ronald and Diane arrived at the hotel, and Diane went to take a shower first. The concert made everyone sweat.

"I'm done," Diane came out wearing only a bath towel and called to Ronald.

"CBS News 60 Minutes even came to do a live interview with MJ, and it will be broadcast simultaneously in America tomorrow." Ronald looked at the program on TV and lamented MJ's popularity. News 60 Minutes is the oldest news interview program. , many people say that to understand America, just watch this show.

Ronald also took a shower, and the hot water washed away his fatigue. Ronald wiped his hair with a towel and came out to find Diane.

"No, Ronald San does not need such services."

Diane happened to be on the phone.

"What service?" Ronald asked.

"I don't know, someone called you to ask if you want a woman, and he spoke English."

"Huh?" Ronald was confused. He had never received such an unsolicited call in the Okura Hotel for several days in Tokyo.

Diane hung up the phone with a snap.

Ronald dried his hair and went to close the curtains. When he came back, he saw Diane answering the phone again.

"No, what? The prime minister's secret lover, no. We don't need it. OK, please don't call."

"What secret lover? That person again?" Ronald asked.

"Yes, he said that their service is very good. They are the Prime Minister's secret lovers. It doesn't matter if they have women."

Diane laughed as she said this, this Tokyoite has strange hobbies.

Ronald seemed to feel a familiar breath. He smiled and took the phone, "Hello? Michael, don't you want to rest? I see you are working very hard tonight."

Diane opened her mouth next to her, "What, is this a call from MJ?"

"He likes to call his friends, joking, and I have received them several times." Ronald explained to Diane while covering the phone.

"Hahaha, how did you recognize me?" MJ laughed loudly on the other end of the phone. He didn't have many friends, so he just liked to call and prank people in hotels.

"More than an hour is just a warm-up for me. Every time I finish singing, I feel in good spirits and can still sing."

"What, have you decided to sing a few more shows in Japan?" Ronald understood that a concert is a great exercise for the singer's body, just like a sports car preheating its engine. This kind of short concert of more than an hour, singing After finishing, the singer just reached her best state.

"Yeah, yes, the fans here are the best. They are so enthusiastic. I decided to perform five more shows here, in Yokohama and Osaka..."

"Yes, they are really nice. I saw many female students outside the court, shouting I love you MJ very enthusiastically."

"Hahaha..." Michael Jackson, who was in good spirits, chatted with Ronald on the phone.

"Where will you go next?"

"Me, I will go to Xiangjiang to see the film market there. You know, in addition to watching your first global tour concert, I am also here to sell movie copies."

"Hey, hey, I'll watch it if I have the chance." MJ was silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "Do you know any officials from mainland China?"

"I'm not very familiar with it. I just met the mayor once. The factory I invested in there won an advanced award."

"I was in Tokyo and saw one of their documentaries, 'Yangtze River', which was filmed by Japanese people about China. I liked the scenery there very much and wanted to have a concert there. But my manager Di Leo contacted me However, I haven’t found the right person.”

"It's more difficult to get a visa there. When I was traveling, I was able to get a visa only because they were invited by the women's volleyball team that won the championship at the Olympics." Ronald recalled that he almost didn't get a visa that year.

"I saw your news. You seemed to be speaking Chinese with directors from China at the film festival. Are you familiar with China? I really want to see it."

"Well, I can make a few calls, but I can't guarantee anything.

"It's such a mysterious country. If I can go there, I can do it as a tourist."

"Then I'll find someone to help me. Do you want to go to Xiangjiang? It's also from China. It's much more convenient to travel."

"Really? That's fine. It's all up to you. I'll let Dilio contact you."

…

After leaving Tokyo, Ronald and Diane went to Xiangjiang together. Received a warm welcome from Jackie Chan.

At the Fook Lam Moon Restaurant on Johnston Road in Wan Chai, Jackie Chan called all his team here. The two people who went to Los Angeles last time to help Ronald shoot a commercial were also there. They were helping Jackie shoot the Police Story series of movies.

"Michael Kissun is coming? That's a great thing. I'll call May right away. She really likes his new song. But will Michael come to Hong Kong to hold a concert? Our place is worse than Japan. Quite a few, there are no big venues, and there aren’t many fans who can listen to English songs.”

"He probably has no plans. In Tokyo, he always opens in a baseball stadium with 40,000 people. At most, he can come to Xiangjiang for a trip. His concert will continue for another two weeks, but he still has time to have fun." Ronald As he spoke to Jackie Chan, he used chopsticks to hold the food for Diane.

"But, he really wants to hold a concert in the mainland, and he asked me to ask you, is there any way you can help him contact him?"

"Hey, we don't have this ability." Jackie Chan seemed to be taboo about this matter. He shook his head, "But in Xiangjiang, just ask Mr. Zou and Mr. Shao to arrange it. Their relationship with the Hong Kong Governor is just a fight. call."

"Well, I'll ask someone else." Ronald thought of Chaoli, a Chinese actor he knew. He seemed to have a brother in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

Ronald put his worries aside and began to eat Cantonese food. His mouth was filled with all kinds of barbecued food and seafood. He suddenly remembered something, "By the way, I heard that the movie 'Break Dance' I made a few years ago is now very popular in China. Have you heard about it?"

"No," Jackie Chan said. She didn't know much about dance films. "Have you heard of it? You? You? You? Your brother Luo's affairs are my business. If you heard about it, ask me."

The martial arts masters shook their heads one by one. Only the last thin martial master remembered something, "I really want to hear it. Is it called Thunder Love? My girlfriend likes it."

"What did you say, break dance? Brother Luo was talking about break dance. What was its original name? Go and find out."

"Okay, brother, I'll be there right away." The man immediately stood up and went to make a phone call.

After a while, the man came back in a hurry, "I asked La, after Luo Sheng's movie was released here, many people couldn't understand it because it was a ghost movie. But Mr. Shao filmed a movie there It’s a follow-up movie, the box office is okay, it’s called Thunder Love.”

Then he took out two video tapes from a bag beside him, "My girlfriend is a dancer, and she happens to have video tapes of these two movies, and I brought them to Luo Sheng."

"Okay, you have done a good job, I will give you an abalone, come on..." Jackie Chan was very happy and turned the abalone over to him to eat.

Then he handed two video tapes to Ronald, "This is your movie and our follow-up..."

"Okay, I heard it." Ronald took down the two video tapes. By the way, I would like to propose a toast to the martial artist who helped.

…

"This seems to be the Chinese-dubbed version of break dancing that I dreamed about back then." Ronald returned to his suite at the Oriental Mandarin Hotel that night, found a VCR and started watching two video tapes.

"Did you authorize them to publish a videotape of your break dance?" Diane watched the people in the movie directed by Ronald speaking Chinese and found it interesting. Their lip-syncs were all correct.

"No, this is dubbed from the Mainland. They speak Mandarin, not Cantonese in Hong Kong." Ronald fast forwarded for a while, and several scenes that were too intimate were deleted.

"But the price they offered was very low. A movie was bought out for US$20,000. I couldn't get any money out of it."

With that said, Ronald put the "Thunderbolt Love" filmed here in Xiangjiang into the video recorder.

"Hahaha, what is this dance? It's not break dancing."

Diane couldn't stop laughing. This "Thunderbolt Love" was obviously a follow-up to the "breakdancing" trend, and Shaw Brothers were rushing to film it.

What's more interesting is that none of the people inside are doing break dancing. They don't have any charm or grace of break dancing. They are just for a name, following the trend and filming to make money.

Ronald flipped through it quickly and found that the plot was very localized and had something to do with martial arts.

"Shake shake... shake shake..."

Ronald patiently watched part of it, but there was nothing praiseworthy in terms of technique or content. Only the interlude, "Shake Shake" by a rock band with a female lead singer, was interesting.

"Ring ring ring ring" the phone rang Ronald picked up the phone.

"Mr. Ronald, this is your international call."

"Hey..." Ronald asked the operator to pick up the call, and a person was speaking in the noise.

"Ronald, this is Chao Li. I have conveyed your idea of ​​Mr. Jackson wanting to hold a concert in the Mainland. After research, it is not suitable for rock stars to hold concerts there. As for traveling, it is not suitable for rock stars to hold concerts there. You are very welcome and visa is not a problem.”

"Can't have a concert? I remember didn't John Denver go on a concert tour a few years ago?"

"He is different. He is a country singer, and he sings songs that praise the people. Rock stars still have a lot of controversy. If MJ goes to travel, it is best to go to the coastal areas of Guangdong and Guangxi."

"Okay, I'll pass it on. Thank you, Asari."

Ronald felt like he called MJ. He was very happy when he heard that he was allowed to travel to the mainland. He immediately called Dilio and planned to come to China for two days and then return to Japan immediately to pick up the newly added concert.

…

"Oh, coronation!"

Zou Sheng and Shao Sheng, two talkative people in the Hong Kong film industry, jointly organized a party to welcome MJ. Both parties tried their best to make the American superstar happy.

Zou Sheng asked the lion dance team to come to entertain MJ and manager Di Leo. This vivid lion dance activity, with dance and meaning, made MJ very interested. He went down to lift the lion's hood to see how they dance. .

At Shaw Brothers' place, they took out the costumes heirloomed by the film company and asked MJ to put on the emperor's clothes and hat to take pictures. Let MJ, who is full of interest, have a great time.

"It's very interesting. When I go around the world, I like to see how local people dance. Many dances are very interesting."

"Your visa has been arranged. This time you can go to the provincial capital near Xiangjiang, and you can also go to the countryside. Due to time constraints, we will visit these places first. China is really too big. You need to go there soon. Return to Japan."

Ronald brought a travel map and showed MJ the big cities in the south he would visit.

"Oh oh..."

After getting off the car, MJ and his party stayed at the White Swan Hotel in the provincial capital with Ronald Diane. This hotel is the first five-star hotel in the Mainland and does not require a certificate to check in.

Ronald even saw a garden inside. Ronald, who was very impressed by this, took Diane to take a photo in front of the artificial waterfall.

"Ronald, I realize that you are more famous here than I am."

After MJ walked around the hotel, he called Ronald.

"Huh? Why?"

Ronald didn't understand why he was more famous than MJ. Even if MJ was not introduced to the mainland, as a director, not many people would know him.

"I noticed a lot of people imitating your break dancing near the hotel."

"ah?"

Ronald quickly made an appointment with MJ to watch break dancing in China.

As soon as I left the hotel lobby, on the hardened ground next to me, there was a group of young people, wearing fingerless leather gloves, jeans, and some wearing Ray-Ban glasses like those in "Top Gun", dancing. Break dance.

Bang, rub...

The dance moves of these people are no longer exactly the same as those in the movie "Break Dance". They are improved compared to the movie, and many localized moves have been added.

Ronald felt that the movements of cleaning the glass and pulling the rope were very similar to his inexplicable jumping.

"I think they seem to have more of a hip-hop mentality." MJ commented from the side.

"It's true." Ronald also felt the same. Compared with Xiangjiang, people here have more of a break-dancing spirit: they are not afraid of being simple and show their own spirit and start dancing on the street.

There are many people competing to dance with each other to see who can dance better. The winner is judged by the size of the audience’s applause and cheers.

"Apart from the different costumes and looks, the street dancers here are really similar to the street dancers in Los Angeles and New York."

Ronald couldn't help but sigh that the spiritual outlook of big countries is indeed incomparable to small countries. Ordinary citizens of China and America have a spirit that we are born to be leaders.

"Hahaha, what is this, why is this cow in the water?"

After staying in the provincial capital for two days, Ronald took Diane and MJ to visit the countryside near the provincial capital under the arrangement of an escort sent by Chaoli's brother.

The farmers here plant paddy fields and use the crooked-horned buffaloes to plow the fields. MJ liked it very much when he saw the farmers wearing straw hats and letting the buffaloes walk slowly in the fields.

"This kind of buffalo is very docile. You can ride on it." Ronald touched the buffalo and felt as if he had been good friends with them before.

The buffalo was chewing the cud and grazing, moving its mouth against Ronald, looking so dazed and cute.

"Really? I want to touch it, hahahaha..." It was also the first time for MJ to see this kind of farming animal unique to Asia. It was very funny to see them eating grass.

"Come on, come on, Xiao Liu, take some photos for us." Ronald called a young man who was serving as a tour guide. He asked Diane to ride on the back of the buffalo, and MJ put on a straw hat like a cattle herder. , while holding the cow rope themselves, the three of them smiled at the camera.

"Hahahaha..." None of them had this kind of experience in rural areas in southern China. They were wandering around the villages on wooden boats and taking photos with various ancient buildings.

"I'm so thirsty." After finishing the bottled water that Diane brought from Xiangjiang, the three of them, led by the tour guide, went to a family's house to beg for a bowl of water.

"Young man, why don't you drink? It's well water. I boiled it. It's sweet." An old woman wearing blue clothes with a wrinkled face took out several bowls and poured water for them to drink.

Several people drank water. After being tired from walking, a bowl of water looked delicious.

"Thank you so much..." Ronald thanked the old lady.

"It doesn't matter, where did they come from? Why is that person so tanned?" the old woman secretly asked the tour guide Xiao Liu in dialect.

"He's from America. He's black, not tan."

"Do you want any money?" MJ drank a bowl and asked the old lady to add another bowl.

"No, no." After Xiao Liu translated it to her, she immediately raised her hands and shook her head, "It's just a bowl of water, why do you need money?"

After everyone drank water and felt a little tired, they walked to the parking area.

MJ secretly placed two Hong Kong dollar bills on the table while no one was paying attention.

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