Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Exploiting Hollywood 1980 Main Text Volume Chapter 81 Comic Adaptation Movie Ronald read the name of the screenwriter that Samuel Goldwyn Jr. showed him and discovered that it was three directors named Lee when he was a student at New York University. One of the students, AngLee.

The encounters between people are like rivers on the plains, dividing and reuniting. When I was filming a commercial, I asked him to work as an assistant director with the black director Spike Lee. After not seeing each other for a few years, I already had a producer. and distribution company, while AngLee is still looking for directing opportunities for his first film.

"Really? He is your classmate? I have seen his graduation work, and I can make a movie just by watching it. When I started shooting my new film Modern Cinderella, I couldn't find anyone to change the script. Someone recommended him to me, and he Very knowledgeable about romantic comedies.

He submitted one of his scripts to me, and after the film is released, I will invest in his new film. Just use the original male and female protagonists of modern Cinderella, and I am very optimistic about him. "

Ronald thought that if he knew that AngLee had an idea, he would definitely give priority to investment.

AngLee's graduation film reflects his level very well. There has been no director's work in so many years. It's definitely not because he doesn't know how to film and can't find a production company willing to invest. The level of directing is like being pregnant. After seeing your work, I will know whether you can shoot or not. You can't deceive people. I guess I still insist on my own directorial work, and I am not willing to make all kinds of movies.

Ronald and Godwin nodded goodbye and made a note on their notepad, asking those who daydream to pay attention to AngLee. If there are suitable projects in the future, they can also invest in it. Talents are rare.

After leaving the Producers Alliance, Ronald and Minahan still found a place to chat for a while.

Minahan now has more free time, and Cannon no longer needs him to make the decision on many things. He only cares about the movie itself now.

Perhaps after understanding the lessons of success and failure in the past few years, Minahan is no longer obsessed with collecting all kinds of famous directors and stars who have passed. He focuses more on his favorite genre films—— Comic adaptation.

Minahan is in much better spirits now, and Ronald sees that he has somewhat regained his passion for movies.

Ronald chuckled. Minahan really likes movies based on comic books. In the past two years, he has filmed movies based on comics such as Superman 4 and Unicron He-Man.

In fact, when Minahan himself was a director, the films he made on other subjects also had an exaggerated, pretentious, and specious caricature-like feel. Maybe if he really shoots a movie of this style himself, it would suit his performance?

think about it,

At the Montreal Film Festival in Canada that year, that disgusting movie, if it had been a comic story, wouldn't the audience have thrown things on stage?

Ronald thought of the fifty-cent special effects in Minahan's movies. If he really wanted to make a movie based on a comic book, he would really have to invest money in special effects.

Minahan now criticizes his cousin Yoram's ideas a lot. He waved his hand and smiled, as if there was a big screen in front of him, and the Spider-Man, Captain America, and He-Man Part 2 he bought were playing on it. Fantastic Four and other movies.

Then the audience cheered, stood up, applauded for a long time, and threw all kinds of flowers at him...

"We just want

Only by making such a movie can the audience like it... Ronald, shall we work together again? "

, Ronald felt that this Israeli was a little crazy. After his cousin Yoram seized power, he had some symptoms of not accepting reality.

Until now, Hollywood comic book adaptations have been the favorite of low-budget producers like Roger Corman. Those biubiubiu green laser special effects don’t cost much. Only the first two films in the Superman series were truly successful in making big money with big productions.

There is a completely different level of tolerance for blockbusters and low-budget exploitation films. When you pay a dollar to go to a midnight theater to watch a Roger Corman science fiction film, you know that the stuff in it is horribly fake, and you accept the cheap costumes and make-up, focusing on the plot and a sense of ridiculousness.

But if you pay five dollars to see a science fiction movie from the seven major studios, you expect it to at least look real. This is why Superman spent so much money on flying special effects. Just one flight shot was shot over and over again for weeks, and that shot alone would have cost over a million dollars.

Ronald still shied away. Minahan's previous films had caused too much psychological harm to him. Cassandra Peterson, the heroine of Ecstasy, talked about the feeling of filming a movie for Minahan——

She heard that millions would be invested in special effects production, but it turned out that a total of two and a half yuan was invested.

"Hey, you don't know, I have obtained the adaptation rights from Marvel, Mattel, and several comic and toy companies. No one in Hollywood has more comic copyrights than me. I don't know anyone in Hollywood yet. I had already collected the potential of this kind of movie before they even realized it.

Only the people at Warner Bros. had some vision. They had planned a Batman movie, and it just so happened that we also made a Spider-Man to compete with them. You want to be a director, a producer, or an investor, it's up to you. This is a good opportunity. I haven't told anyone...

By the way, who is the best at making special effects movies in Hollywood right now? That friend of yours, the one who filmed The Terminator, can I invite him to film it? "

[In view of the general environment,

Ronald saw that Minahan had come up with Cameron's idea of ​​filming Spider-Man again. I know that this guy definitely has no plan, as soon as he thinks of it, it comes out. It would be better for me not to participate in the cannon project.

But did he really get so many comic book adaptation rights? This guy really has the guts to bet big, and his success and failure all stem from his willingness to make big bets.

…

Niceta came to report to Ronald with the results of the study.

Ronald counted the two major comic companies, plus the comic character copyrights owned by toy companies such as Mattel, and Minahan spent a lot of money on it.

, Niceta agreed,

Ronald recalled the time when he spent tens of millions to make a desert racing movie for Brooke Shields.

Niceta handed Ronald the Batman movie information.

Ronald was shocked when he saw the budget figure.

Rhône

De imagined it, and the temperament was very suitable, but both veteran actors passed away in the early 1980s.

Ronald thought that this combination was the classic Hollywood white hero with a black bad-mouthed partner.

director Tim Burton, and now Batman is confirmed to be played by Michael Keaton. He was originally auditioning actresses on a large scale, looking for the sexiest female star in Hollywood..."

Ronald really feels that the Writers Guild strike is too difficult to handle, and the seven major studios have no choice in dealing with this industry-wide mandatory union strike.

Niceta knew that this project would attract many of the sexiest and most beautiful actresses.

The image of Helen Slater flashed through Ronald's mind... No, Helen's temperament is not suitable for that kind of role...

…

It's been more than a week since Ronald finished shooting Working Girl, and he still hasn't completely forgotten his thoughts during the shooting, so it's not suitable to enter the editing room now. He continued his vacation in Los Angeles and returned to the new office building of 20th Century Fox on this day. Most of the projects he participated in over the past year were related to Fox.

The shooting on the building was completed, the top floors were finally renovated, and employees were gradually moved in from the old building.

Ronald, along with Joel Silver, chatted with people in the distribution department about the film's announcement.

After watching the sample, they were very confident in the movie, so they planned to move this Christmas story to the summer season, which is the period with the largest audience in America.

Ronald asked Joel Silver.

Silver smiled and gave Ronald the list of blockbusters expected to be released in the summer.

Ronald discovered the problem as soon as he flipped through it.

By various coincidences, there are no movies starring big-name action stars this summer. Schwarzenegger transformed into an action comedy and added many comedy elements to the movie. It is no longer just about posing with muscles to scare people.

Schwarzenegger feels that if he doesn't transform, American audiences will sooner or later become disgusted with his muscular acting style.

Stallone only has the third installment of Rambo this year. This series of movies has changed from the first installment, which dealt with the encounters of Vietnam War veterans and reflected social reality, to the second installment, a purely commercial film about fighting bad guys. I heard that the third sequel will follow the same path. , was not confident that it would be released in the summer, so it was moved to May.

Stallone and Bridget Nielsen finally divorced. This highly publicized divorce was chased by tabloids for a whole year, which seriously affected Stallone's energy. It is said that the quality of Rambo III has seriously declined.

Ronald agreed with Silver and asked them to see how a truly good action movie should be made.

…

When Ronald came out of the office, he heard a familiar voice. When he turned his head, it turned out to be his old friend Gale Hurd.

It was Zhan who spoke

James Cameron.

Gale turned around and saw Ronald. She picked up her notebook and exchanged greetings with Ronald before leaving.

Ronald looked back at Cameron,

Cameron and Gale have many conflicts in movies, concepts, and life. The last time I saw him, they were divorcing, and they were flirting with Kathryn Bigelow, the female director Ronald hired. Today Seeing that he and Gale seemed to have restored the tacit understanding between husband and wife.

Cameron shook his head and frowned.

It can be seen that Cameron is also very uncomfortable. This kind of deep-seated contradiction in film concepts is difficult to compromise, and he and Gale were united because of the film.

Now that their personal relationship has broken down, and they have to take care of the production of big projects, they have to become business partners. Switching between the two attitudes makes Cameron very painful...

Ronald had no choice but to comfort his old friend;

Ronald touched his nose, haven't you already let go of your mood and started flirting with other women? It seems that this kind of divorce is difficult for the iron-willed Cameron to handle.

It's really scary to get married without meeting the right person. Ronald patted Cameron on the shoulder.