Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The preparations for "Working Girl" were slowly approaching. By late January, Ronald had no choice but to press the pause button on his busy work in New York and fly to Los Angeles to attend the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

The Golden Globe Awards are voted for by less than 100 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Many of these members are just nominal reporters, working part-time at some tabloids, translating news from America and sending it back.

Therefore, this award is the easiest to operate among all Hollywood acting awards. Ronald's "Moonlight" crew specially allocated a sum of money, under the charge of marketing director Michael Gray, to give dozens of judges vacation vouchers for luxury hotels in Palm Springs and five-star hotels in Hollywood. Accommodation and breakfast vouchers.

Ronald himself also agreed to attend the award ceremony. The Golden Globe Awards is an organization that relies on television broadcasts to make money. As long as celebrities can agree to attend, they will usually award the award to you.

Due to the Golden Globe awards scandal in previous years, many real big stars did not want to attend the award ceremony to avoid being accused of buying the award.

Plus Michael Gray does a fantastic PR job. The Golden Globe Awards were eager for talents, and they had a great impression of Ronald, who gave gifts and favors. Suddenly, he tried his best and gave Ronald last year's two works, "Dirty Dancing" and "Moonlight". "People" have sent out several nominations.

Both films were nominated for "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical." Cher and Jennifer Gray are also nominated for best actress in a comedy musical, and Olympia Dukakis is nominated for best supporting actress. John Patrick Shanley was nominated for best screenplay for "Moonlight" and best episode for "The Time of My Life," the theme song from "Dirty Dancing."

Ronald's own Best Director nomination came for "Moonlight". This made him happy. The Golden Globes ceremony takes place in late January, while the Academy Awards announce nominations a week later in early February. The proximity of the two in time has a very hidden benefit.

Many Academy members who have the right to vote on nominations are actually very old. They may not have the energy to watch movies every year. Many people actually vote based on their impressions. The nomination list for the Golden Globe Awards was reported in the media and was mentioned repeatedly during the live broadcast of the party.

These members probably had some impression of Ronald's film because of the awards received a few days before the deadline. When they couldn't collect enough nominations, they casually put his name on it.

Every year, people who don’t know why in the media regard the Golden Globe Awards as a benchmark for the Oscars. This is the secret. In the end, the trade union awards, which have a higher degree of overlap in awards, are not known to outsiders because they do not have the spread of live TV broadcasts like the Golden Globe Awards.

Ronald at the venue where the awards ceremony was held,

I stood in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton Hotel for a long time. He has two movie acquaintances to say hello to.

The reputation of the Golden Globe Awards is getting worse every year. A few years ago, a scandal involving a wealthy man openly bribed and canvassed votes for his girlfriend greatly damaged the credibility of the Golden Globe Awards, and the awards were stopped from being broadcast by television stations for three years. The important awards, which were originally attended by A-list celebrities, turned into a gathering of has-been stars after the broadcast resumed. The biggest name is only veteran western movie star Clint Easterwood. This year the Golden Globe Awards will award him the honorary "Dimir Award".

Among the celebrities here tonight, the ones that the audience likes the most are probably those from Ronald’s two crews. Patrick Schwytz tied his long hair into a ponytail and thanked Ronald together with his wife. Then came the heroine Jennifer Gray and her father, and the supporting actor Cynthia Rhodes and her boyfriend Richard Marks. They all hugged Ronald for a long time and thanked him. For a while, the stars around him were surprised by the deep friendship between the "Dirty Dancing" cast members.

The male and female protagonists are high-spirited and their mental state is not on the same level as other stars.

Ronald took a group photo with them and invited them in to sit on the round table on the set. With a smile on his face, he continued to wait for the "Moonlight" crew at the door.

A number of has-been stars, such as last year's best actress, deaf-mute Marlene Matlin. Ellie Sheedy from the Brad Gang also came over to say hello to Ronald. Even Sybil Shepherd, who had just given birth to a baby, also came over to take a photo with Ronald.

Ronald never refused, chatted and laughed with them all, and made all the beauties laugh with his full sense of humor.

Ronald was certainly happy to be nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture and Best Director, but what really made him so happy was that the "Dirty Dancing" video was selling well across the country.

No one could have imagined that the "Dirty Dancing" video would be a huge success in the market. Less than a month after it went on sale, more than 600,000 boxes have been sold. In the monthly video rental ranking list newly added to the Hollywood newspaper, "Dirty Dancing" also surpassed all movies and ranked first.

At the current sales rate, it is expected to exceed one million boxes soon, and it will continue to grow. Ronald's daydream began to rent all the video tape manufacturers he could find at high prices to produce video tapes.

The video, which ultimately retailed for less than forty dollars, brought in astonishing revenue. "Dirty Dancing" has been in theaters for more than five months and has just been released, with a total box office revenue of more than 100 million. But it seems that the video tape may not have achieved the same sales for another two months. Not to mention that the video tapes purchased by Blockbuster Company will continue to pay dividends to Ronald during the long-term lease.

In short, what Hollywood stars are happiest about is a fat check. Ronald has already sent checks to the creators of "Dirty Dancing" in advance, and even the evening attire they wore for today's banquet is the most expensive among the stars.

The crew of "Moonlight" arrived later, and Olympia Dukakis, John Patrick Shanley, and Cher were all dressed elegantly. They have a much better chance of getting an Oscar nomination than "Dirty Dancing." Dukakis, in particular, basically won all the union and film critic awards for Best Actress.

So this Golden Globe Awards ceremony is actually their preview of the Oscars. Even Cher, who always likes to wear see-through outfits, also changed into a high-end custom-made evening dress, which is very elegant.

Sure enough, "Moonlight" was the big winner in the end, with both Cher and Dukakis being nominated for awards. The awards given to them were acquaintances Cynthia Rhodes and Marlene Matlin.

Olympia Dukakis was so moved that she thanked Ronald for giving her a chance to start over as an actor. For an actress of her age to have a movie win a Golden Globe, it brought her not only fame, but also an offer that doubled her salary tenfold.

Cher's words of thanks were more interesting. She thanked Ronald, screenwriter Shanley, and her fans who have never left her. After all, in recent years, being a fan of Cher, a fan of see-through clothing, still requires the courage to withstand social pressure.

Of course, Ronald himself was nominated for the two major awards, Best Film and Best Director, both lost to Bertolucci in "The Last Emperor".

Seeing Bertolucci thanking the Chinese people on stage, Ronald was still a little emotional. This "The Last Emperor" has shocked Western people in a way that no other movie can. The movie's box office, after being dormant for nine weeks, has begun to gain momentum. With less than 100 theaters, it has exceeded the 1 million weekend box office figure.

The producers began to collect copies and expand the screening scale. Today, it won the best film, best director, best screenplay, best soundtrack and other awards. As you can imagine, there will be a wave of curious viewers.

Although Ronald didn't win, it wasn't too disappointing to lose to an epic film like "The Last Emperor." It may also have something to do with the fact that the two crew members were toasted too much during the award ceremony. Ronald was in a good mood and chatted with director Adrian Lane, an old friend he met while filming "Flashdance."

Today he was also nominated for best director, and Michael Douglas, the leading actor in the movie "Fatal Attraction," won the best actor award.

"Are you hopeful for an Oscar nomination?" Ronald asked Adrian Lane.

"As much as you hope..." Lai En is a very gentlemanly person in the British actor circle. He grew up on the Cambridge campus and studied at Oxford University. Ronald got on well with him.

He and Ronald's status in Hollywood are similar. They have made movies that have hit the box office, but they don't have much respect in the industry, and they still have one movie left to establish their status as directors.

This time's "Famous Attraction" is actually similar to the year before last's "Love You for Nine and a Half Weeks", both are erotic films. But this time Michael Douglas, a Jewish star, was invited, and the plot also added respect for traditional values, allowing the wife to shoot and kill the third party who interfered with the family, played by Glenn Gross.

This approach of proactively moving closer to mainstream values ​​is also very close to Ronald's film philosophy. First solve the box office problem, and then add some profound thematic content.

"Hi, Adrian, Ronald, what are you talking about?" Michael Douglas came over to greet them.

"It's a great trophy, where are you going to put it?" Ronald greeted him with a smile.

"Oh, I have to keep it well. My last Oscar was won as a producer. This is my first acting award, I hope it won't be the last one..."

"Hahaha, I see your Screen Actors Guild and Film Critics Association Awards have won Best Actor one after another, and this time the Oscar will be your wish." Ronald said to Douglas with a smile.

"You have a good chance," Michael Douglas responded with a bow. He's been on a tear this year, winning for Gekko in "Wall Street," both of which were hits and critical acclaim.

"I'm lucky to be nominated." Ronald knew that if he could be nominated for an Oscar, he would have accomplished his mission, but he didn't expect Douglas to be so powerful this year. For Best Actor, only John Lone, who was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award, and Nicolas Cage's performances can compare with him. However, both of them were selected for the Golden Globe Awards for the first time, and the Oscars attach great importance to the history of actors. Douglas has almost no opponents this year.

"Hey, after all, the Golden Globe Awards... you know, if I am willing to come, the possibility of winning the award is very high. Oscars are decided by one vote." Michael Douglas was still very nervous when talking about the Oscars.

He previously won the Academy Award for Best Picture as the producer of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." But it was his father, a Jewish elder, who bought the rights to adapt the novel and gave it to his son. To really rely on acting skills, we have to wait and see this year.

"Yeah..." The three of them fell into silence. Everyone wants Oscar, but they really can't decide. For example, Glenn Gross, who plays opposite Douglas, has top-notch acting skills and has been nominated for many times, but has never won a statuette.

"Sean...Sean...don't do this." The three people suddenly heard a familiar voice speaking on the other side.

"I don't have a problem with you, Michael, but if he doesn't come today, am I not qualified to meet and chat with him?" A man with a strong Scottish accent answered.

Ronald turned his head and saw that it was Michael Ovitz, the president of CAA, talking to Sean Connery, the first 007 actor. Both of them were a little agitated, and after realizing something was wrong, they immediately returned to their amiable demeanor.

The three Ronalds pretended not to see anything and turned around to find their agent to inquire about the situation.

"It's Spielberg," Niceta quickly asked, got into the back seat of the luxury car, and whispered to Ronald.

It turns out that Michael Ovitz is still working hard to promote his first celebrity client under CAA, the long-past Sean Connery. At today's Golden Globe Awards, he won Best Supporting Actor for Ovitz's work in the gangster thriller "The Untouchables," directed by Brian De Palma.

This movie stars Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro as the two protagonists of good and evil. It did well at the box office, with more than 75 million. In the end, Sean Connery won the Golden Globe Award, which was entirely the result of Ovitz's promotion behind it.

The specific reason is very interesting. Sean Connery was the most important signing during Ovitz's CAA's transformation into the film business. He is the first star to sign a brokerage contract with CAA, and is also a client of Ovitz himself.

But Connery was very unlucky after that, and it seemed that no one in Hollywood was looking for him to make movies. For the sake of his own face and that of CAA, this No. 1 customer cannot just let him fall down like this. Ovitz spent a lot of energy and resources to get Connery back on board.

Apart from this Golden Globe Award, the most important part of his plan is to ask Spielberg to consider writing Sean Connery into the latest adventure movie of Dr. Indiana Jones as the main character. supporting role.

But Spielberg never agreed. The Golden Globe Award was originally a good opportunity for the two to meet, but who knew that this time Spielberg did not come to the award ceremony at all.

"Why? Isn't he willing to use Sean Connery, an old man?" Ronald heard that it was a supporting role, which was a bit strange. Spielberg is not the kind of director who is ruthless for the sake of the role.

"You may not have noticed that his Empire of the Sun only received a nomination for Best Picture tonight, but not Best Director."

"Huh?" Ronald flipped through the awards list, and sure enough, "Empire of the Sun", which Spielberg worked so hard for, didn't even get a nomination for best director.

"I heard that it was Kirk Douglas's group of established Jews who were dissatisfied with him for not following Jewish traditions, especially for not educating his children in accordance with Jewish traditions."

"Does it matter whether this child goes to a synagogue or not? Did these people still live before the First World War?" Ronald thought to himself. I don't usually go to church. I just donate some money to the church where my aunt lives.

"The Jews are a nation sustained by religion..." Niceta also chuckled.

Everyone of Italian descent believes in Catholicism, but the difference can be seen mainly by skin color, hair color, and other obvious DNA characteristics. The Jewish people have actually been separated for many years, and it has become difficult to verify who was the original aborigine in the Middle East in terms of ancestry.

Over the years, Ashkenazi Jews, especially those who have become very powerful in America, are actually converts to Judaism in some Eastern European countries. It is difficult to say how much blood relationship there is between our ancestors and the Jews who first settled in Jerusalem during the Old Testament period.

Therefore, if this nation wants to survive, the only common ground it can find is Judaism and the Hebrew language that was resurrected after the founding of Israel.

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Spielberg publicly stated in the media that he would not raise his children in the traditional Jewish way. For celebrities to say such things, it is undoubtedly a very bad example for many Jews who are already centrifugal and turning to the secular world. It is no wonder that these conservative Jewish elders are trying to find a way to give Spielberg some color. .

Thinking that this time, Spielberg might even be denied an Oscar nomination for Best Director, Ronald's ambition began to grow. Although given my age and qualifications, the chances of winning an award for my first nomination are very small, but... what if?

With this in mind, and wanting to ensure that the nomination was foolproof, Ronald himself wrote a check to Michael Gray, who was responsible for the marketing of "Moonlight", to increase public relations investment. Many agents received generous rewards and launched an offensive against the children of old directors from the golden age of Hollywood.

These children, grandchildren, took various coupons provided by the public relations company, went to Beverly Hills one after another, and began to visit their lovely grandparents. During the conversation, they accidentally mentioned Director Ronald. "Moonlight Sultry" is good.

But experienced grandpas, when asking them which plot is very good, is better. The grandchildren all revealed the secret. After all, what they really thought was good was "Dirty Dancing."

This money was paid by Ronald himself. After all, the dividends from the "Dirty Dancing" video have arrived. Ronald's account has a huge sum of money. In the foreseeable future, every month Such dividends are deposited into your own account.

Fortunately, the deputy commander he supports has agreed to the "Continuing Action to Promote Employment and Prosperity" committee to continue exempting or deferring personal income tax on investment income for wealthy people like Ronald.

Ronald was very happy and continued to increase his position in the stocks of Coca-Cola and Sony. Anyway, it’s still the old investment philosophy, buy some stocks of big companies, at least the dividends will be much higher than inflation and bank interest on large deposit certificates, and they will be tax-free.

Ronald set aside some cash and started buying gifts for himself and his friends. At the foot of Beverly Hills, Ronald bought two apartments next to boutique shopping streets. Although it is not as good as the lofts on Fifth Avenue in New York, it is also a top-floor building. It is good to take a short break. There are also service staff to clean and keep it clean.

You can also park your own Ferrari sports car and motorcycle here. There is a dedicated person in the apartment who starts the car every week to prevent the battery from running out of power.

In addition, Ronald was a little envious of Norio Ohga, the president of Sony, who flew a plane himself, so he began to find a suitable personal trainer, hoping to get a pilot's license after practicing for the test.

Miss Lindsay, a private lawyer who flew over specially, and Lawrence, a private accountant, helped Ronald get the documents. After he signed a lot of documents, he successfully processed the proceeds from "Dirty Dancing".

"If you are not busy, can you go to the wedding with me tomorrow?" Ronald said to the two lawyers and accountants who now mainly serve him personally.

"Is it the wedding of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore? We all saw it in the Hollywood reports." Lindsay Dole is not married herself. She just has a son with her partner, but she is very concerned about other people's weddings. Interested, she has also recently been thinking about whether to make up for this ritual.

"Yes, it's a small ceremony attended by insiders. The groom is still filming a new movie, but the bride doesn't want to postpone it any longer in case she can't fit into the wedding dress."