Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The next day, Ronald attended a ceremony in West Berlin and announced that he would be donating copies of "Dirty Dancing" to Hannah's charity group, which would then be shown in three cinemas for a long period of time.

West Berlin was very moved by the ceremony and sent an official representative to attend the ceremony. At the meeting, charitable organizations and ordinary people expressed their gratitude to Ronald for his kindness, and the applause lasted for a long time.

Ronald felt very good, stretched out his hands, and waved them repeatedly to stop.

As a result, the gesture was misunderstood by the participants. Everyone thought that Ronald stood up and waved in the hope of more enthusiastic applause. So all the participants stood up and applauded, and some shouted slogans such as America and Hollywood in English. Some even came up and wanted to hug him.

Do you really love yourself? This was the first time for Ronald to be held up by the audience like this. His heart felt warm. He whispered to Cannold, and then announced that he had transferred a batch of video tapes of his movies to give to them for the convenience of those coming from East Germany. "Immigration" viewing.

I'm a little confused about the West Berlin people's favorable impression of America. Unlike the Japanese, who were also defeated in the war, and feared and obeyed America, the West Berliners seemed to really like America from the bottom of their hearts.

After chatting with Hannah about her observations, Hannah clarified Ronald's doubts. At the beginning of the Cold War, West Berlin relied on American airlift to ensure daily supplies. Commander-in-Chief Kennedy's "Today I am a Berliner" speech delivered at the Brandenburg Gate was once a warm memory for West Berliners.

Last year, the current commander-in-chief visited West Berlin again. At the same place, he once again delivered a speech with the theme "Mr. Mikhail, please tear down this wall!" as the commander-in-chief of America.

After that, the number of immigrants from the East through various channels doubled. The people of West Germany, especially the residents of West Berlin, regard America, which has a large German population, as an older cousin.

Ronald also likes this country where a high proportion of people speak English and has a favorable impression of Hollywood. The film production industry in his country is weak, which is the best place to dump movies. Cultivate a relationship with them now, and the movies you daydream about producing and releasing in the future will have a solid box office market.

In fact, many European producers have also discovered this opportunity. The Chinese film "Kung Fu Master" that participated in the Golden Bear selection this year also tried to be like a Hollywood movie and be released in German theaters immediately after the screening. The distribution manager of Tongguo met Michelle Cannold in almost every negotiation meeting this time.

The information Cannold brought back was that this Chinese film was favored by many film buyers.

"Oh, do Germans also like Kung Fu movies?" Ronald asked casually.

If you want to sell movies here, it's important to understand the preferences of local audiences.

"Haha, Kung Fu Master is the name of a video game. In fact, it is a typical Chinese movie, a story about a mother and her daughter's classmates, and there are nudity scenes." Cannold knew that Ronald didn't like French-language movies.

"Oh..." Nowadays, Chinese films no longer have commercial film masters like Truffaut, and have been reduced to using this kind of thing to attract audiences. But what is this "Kung Fu Master" game? It seems very popular in Europe now? According to Cannold, the film ends with the male protagonist Julian, a high school student, winning the game competition.

…

"Ada, Ada...ah..."

When Ronald returned to New York, he asked someone to find a "Kung Fu Master" cassette, inserted it into the newly purchased Nintendo game console, and started playing. This game is very addictive and completely different from all other plane shooting games.

This is a kung fu fighting game. The protagonist is an Oriental. After his girlfriend is snatched away by bad guys, he goes to an old castle alone, and then uses fists and kicks to defeat the enemies that keep coming on each floor, defeating them as he moves forward.

The most annoying thing is the enemies that come from behind and release flying knives from time to time. You have to crouch or jump to avoid the flying knives. Ronald finally reached the bottom of the level and saw a staircase leading to the second floor, but was knocked down by the boss who rushed towards him with a wooden stick.

"Hahaha, you died again." The person gloating next to him was Donna. She happened to come to see Ronald, and as soon as she entered the door, she found her cousin playing an interesting game.

"This game is really difficult." Ronald put down the controller and had been playing for more than half an hour without realizing it. It was really addicting. Today's video games have developed to such a realistic level.

"This protagonist looks like a certain movie. I saw it on the cover of your video tape." Donna pointed at the Kung Fu Master protagonist on the TV screen and said to Ronald.

"I don't know, the cry is imitated by Bruce Lee." Ronald had seen Enter the Dragon, and Ada, Ada's cry was exactly the same.

"But the person looks different, right? This person is fatter than Bruce Lee, and has long hair." Donna pointed to the release of Little Man and said to Ronald, "It's that movie or something, made by your friend in Xiangjiang of."

"Ja?" Ronald came back to his senses. This character indeed looked like him. I quickly dug out the "Food Truck" video tape that JA gave me. Isn't the chubby guy on the cover the protagonist in the game?

Ronald, who was full of suspicion, picked up the phone and called the ja in Xiangjiang.

"Hey, Luo Sheng, do you have anything to do with Aaron?" Sister Jiao gave the phone to Ja.

"Ronald, your movie 'Fighting World' is almost done. You can actually invite Brooke Shields to make a movie? There are many advertisers asking her to shoot commercials. We all want to cooperate with her. You Can you ask her to stay and make a few movies?"

"Porky has a lot of advertising contracts in Japan that are going to be continued. She will go there after filming Fighting the World. You can help the publisher in Hong Kong to put in a good word and maybe find the starting price that his Hong Kong advertiser can offer." Rona De declined on behalf of Brooke.

"I know, I know, Japanese advertisers offer high prices, and I also cooperate with them. Who are you calling this time?"

"I have something to ask you. Your 'Food Truck' has been adapted into a video game. I want to ask how the cooperation works here?" Ronald really wanted to ask. This "Kung Fu Master" game is so popular. , I have also filmed Long Wei Boy, and Break Dance. Adapting them into games to get licensing fees also opens up a profit channel for low-cost productions.

"What video game? I don't know? Who among you knows? Has anyone made a game using my look?"

It looked like Ja had no idea at all. Ronald did not expect that these Japanese game developers did not buy the pirated works that he had the right to use.

The two investigated for a long time, and finally the lawyer from Xiangjiang said that they had discovered this marginal video game, but because the name was changed to Thomas by the game company, and the character image was too low-resolution, it would be difficult to prove it in court. It is adapted according to ja's appearance.

It seems that they combined the ja's appearance with Bruce Lee's strange scream as a weird trick to avoid legal risks.

ja went to send a lawyer's letter to the game company, and Ronald also called in the lawyer Lindsay Dole for consultation.

The result of their legal team's research is that there is no well-known legal case for this kind of lawsuit involving video games imitating the copyrighted images of film and television characters. In addition to Sony, which has a lot of business in America, other Japanese game manufacturers, such as Nintendo and Sega, have their main game production operations in Japan, making cross-border rights protection very difficult.

Some famous Hollywood figures who have tried to defend their rights are easily avoided by Japanese lawyers. For example, the image design and name of the Nintendo game Donkey Kong produced in 1981 were copied from the famous Hollywood monster King Kong.

Universal is the copyright holder of King Kong's image. Ronald's old acquaintance, Universal's chairman Sid Sheinberg, sued Nintendo for copyright infringement, seeking huge compensation and the retail price of each game sold. 3% as image usage fee.

However, Nintendo is not easy to bully. They have been prepared for it. Donkey Kong that entered the American market was renamed "Donkey Kong" in an attempt to get away with it.

Ronald laughed out loud as he looked at the dossier. Nowadays, the display effect of game consoles on home TVs is very bad, and the characters are all color blocks. If not for this, it would be difficult to pass the test by insisting that a gorilla is a donkey.

Universal’s lawyers were not easy to mess with, and they immediately came up with another reason. In this Donkey Kong game, a man who looks like a plumber has to rescue a beautiful woman who was captured by a monster. On the way, you have to avoid the rocks thrown by Donkey Kong from above.

Universal believes that this plot is a plagiarism from the classic monster movie produced by RKO Pictures.

The male protagonist, the beautiful woman, the gorilla monster, these elements were combined, and the judge immediately began to favor Universal Pictures' view. Although Nintendo argued that the villain was a donkey rather than a gorilla, the similarity of plots cannot be denied.

Unexpectedly, just when Nintendo was about to admit defeat and pay compensation, one of the lawyers they hired named John Kirby discovered a big loophole in Universal's indictment.

It turns out that according to the latest revised copyright law. Classic American movies can enjoy 70-year copyright protection. The copyright for King Kong, filmed by RKO in 1933, will not expire until the next century.

However, after RKO's film library was purchased by Universal, there was a problem with the handover process. The copyright law revised in 1976 automatically enjoys 70 years of copyright for new films shot after that. But for previous movies, the studio needed to register the copyright in order to extend the copyright of the old movie to 70 years.

A large number of film studios such as RKO and United Artists that have now gone bankrupt and reorganized have had their film libraries sold to many film companies, with many hands-on transactions. For this blockbuster, Universal's legal department actually forgot to register the copyright. . Now according to copyright law, the copyright has expired and has entered the public domain, and anyone can use it without paying Universal.

Not only that, Nintendo also entrusted John Kirby to countersued Universal. After a verdict last year, Universal had to compensate Nintendo for US$1.8 million in legal fees and reputational damage.

After this incident, when game manufacturers enter the American market, they will rename characters suspected of infringement. For example, Ja's character image is used in this game. The Japanese version of the game is called Kung Fu Master, and the American version has been renamed Spartan X.

Ronald saw that there was no legal precedent on licensing fees to support his authorization to Japan Game Company to adapt Longwei Boy into a game, so he gave up the idea. However, he continued to ask Lindsay Dole to do research and follow-up on the copyright law of video games. Once there are legal precedents and opportunities, he can try to adapt his own movie.

Ronald, who continued to prepare "Working Girl" in New York, finally waited for Harrison Ford.

He caused a stir as soon as he came to the set, and the actors, including leading actress Melanie Griffiths and supporting actress Joan Cusack, rushed to speak to Harrison.

Harrison Ford, no matter where he goes, there will be a group of actresses following him around, pretending to discuss issues nearby, but actually looking at Harrison secretly.

Not only the actresses, but also the crew, makeup artists, hairstylists, recorders, and other female personnel all came over intentionally or unintentionally, wanting to talk to Harrison Ford.

Particularly egregious is the actress who plays Tess's companion secretary, Nora Dunn. She simply walked around Harrison Ford for a long time, and often stuck her head out from behind Ronald, trying to smile with her idol, or make flirtatious glances, hoping to induce Harrison to strike up a conversation with her.

"I can't do this..." Harrison Ford held the script, as if he had just begun to read it carefully today, and he turned to a page, which showed a scene of Jack Traynor and Tess flirting at the elevator entrance.

Jack Traynor wanted to date Tess, but Tess declined to further develop a personal relationship with him because she wanted to focus on her work.

"What can't be done?" Ronald was asked and his mind was full of questions. It's almost time to start filming, and you told me that you can't act?

"My image, ahem, I mean, it doesn't quite fit the Jack Traynor persona. He's a Wall Street loner, a lothario, and he doesn't talk to women like that. You know what, Jack doesn't know What does it mean to be rejected by a woman.”

Harrison Ford's intentions are clear, he is a star, and stars are always chased, dreamed of, and secretly loved by women. He cannot be rejected by a woman. There is no transformation like Tess not wanting to fall in love with him first, and then falling in love with him after getting to know each other better.

A star must make women fall in love with him as soon as he appears. No reason, no reason. Otherwise, why would they still be stars?

"This is a very good point..." Ronald felt that this made sense from Harrison Ford's perspective. Anyway, this is not an important part of the movie. If Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffith have chemistry in this way, it is not impossible.

"Oh, Harrison, that's the way you are, Ronald, we should listen to him, shouldn't we?"

Actress Nora Dunn, who had become a nymphomaniac, actually started speaking next to her.

Ronald turned to look at her. This stupid woman couldn't find a place to be infatuated? You are a director and producer, and you are negotiating terms with the biggest star of the crew. What's the point of you speaking out?

"Oh, I, I...I'm sorry..." Nora Dunn realized that this was not something she could comment on.

"It's okay, you must like the character I play, right? What's your name?" Harrison Ford was very kind to this fan of the actor. He looked at her with his trademark crooked smile, and then he was gentle and manly. Angrily, he got away from Nora.

"My name is Nora, Nora Dunn. Nice to meet you, Harrison." Nora Dunn almost cried. She secretly put her right hand into her pocket and took off her wedding ring with force. Then he stepped forward and hugged each other like a fan girl.

"Oh, be careful, be careful, I'm hugging you..." Harrison gave her a gentle hug.

Ronald looked at the ring-shaped skin on the ring finger of Nola's right hand, which was lighter than the rest of the skin, and put his hand on his forehead. This star's charm is really great.

There are stars who can assist the box office, but there are also problems caused by stars.

Ronald felt that there would be many temporary requests to modify the plot and lines in the script, so he made a phone call to screenwriter Kevin Wade. Let him be a permanent resident on the set. If there are some temporary problems, a screenwriter can work with him to revise Harrison's part of the script on the spot.

"Sorry, Ronald, I can't go to the set." Kevin Wade replied in a very soft voice on the phone.

】

"You can't come to the set? What do you mean you can't come to the set? This is your script, don't you want to watch Harrison Ford play the character you created, Jack Traynor? Kevin, you have to come over, if you If we have other business, we can discuss it, right?"

Ronald felt that things were a little rough since returning from West Berlin. Is Kevin Wade going to fight him in order to collect money?

"There is no other business, Ronald. Negotiations between the Western and Eastern Writers Guilds and the Producers Union are likely to break down. I received a notification letter from the union yesterday. Starting today, I am not allowed to participate in the script writing or revision of any crew. Or a screenwriter-doctor consulting program. I’m sorry, Ronald.”

"Ah..." Ronald heard the bad news. Why is there a strike?

"Mr. Ronald Lee, as a joint representative of the Writers Guild of the West and the Writers Guild of the East, I am here to inform you that as a member of the Writers Guild, we need you to suspend any screenwriting work pending notification from the union."

Sure enough, not long after, a union representative came to the door and personally delivered a notice, asking Ronald to suspend his work as a screenwriter.

"I'm also a member of the Writers Guild..." Ronald hadn't thought of this identity of his for a long time. I haven’t started writing by myself for a long time, and the dividends from the Screenwriters Guild are only tens or hundreds of dollars, which is only enough to pay my membership fees.

"Sorry, I am also the director of this film. As a director, I have to continue to do preparatory work here."

"This is your freedom, Mr. Li, but we will film crews that represent major productions in Hollywood, help supervise members of the Screenwriters Guild, and will not work in private before reaching an agreement. I hope you can understand." The union representative finished. gone.

"What the hell, what's going on? We idiots from the Producers Guild haven't reached an agreement with the Writers Guild yet. What's going on?" Ronald immediately called Daydream's general manager Eddie.

"The Writers Guild has a new negotiator. He is very tough and we have no way to communicate with him. It is impossible for the Producers Guild to give writers a higher bonus than the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild." Eddie answered on the phone.

"And their negotiators are stupid enough to interfere in the director's casting. They hope to get the right to negotiate roles in film and television projects. We can't give in..."

"Damn, who do they think the screenwriter is?" Ronald cursed. No, it seems that I am also a screenwriter myself, and I am still a member of the trade union.

"We have to have an alternative plan. Help me find if there are any good screenwriters who are not members of the Writers Guild. I would like to use them. British ones can also be used..."

"I'll make arrangements right away..."