Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The third part of "Longwei Boys" has been officially approved. The new project company established by Weintraub is called Longwei Boys Films, which provides the production rights of the film (the right to shoot sequels). Ronald's Daydream participated in the investment and provided the screenwriting rights of the characters (the script written by Ronald, even if the sequel is not written by him, it must be written first in the screenwriter).

With such a combination, many movie investors are excited in Hollywood where there is a shortage of good scripts. Although it was not directed by Ronald himself, it was after all the official sequels of two movies with a box office of over 100 million, which attracted many investors to place bets on.

On Ronald's side, his old friend Bannon took the lead and got the first batch of investment quota of 3 million US dollars released (the first batch of investment, that is, the first batch of shares after the box office settlement).

Weintraub contacted the original publisher, Columbia, and followed up with an investment of 3 million US dollars. The rest of the investment amount was packaged and divided into several shares, and then sold to Wall Street.

The action directors of the first two films, Pat Johnson and Darryl Vidal, also return. Director of Photography James Crebe and Art Director William Cassidy agreed to come back and continue the adventure of Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.

Weintraub threw a big party to entertain everyone for the success of the project. Also take this to announce to Hollywood that Weintraub is not bankrupt yet! Weintraub will have no problem as long as I have the series of Longwei Kid in my hand! You see, this is not alive again.

At the party, Ronald and the leading actors all hugged and chatted a few words. In the past few years, everyone has not been very good, and there has been no progress in the acting career. This comeback is also meant to reappear in front of the audience by relying on the old series, to remind everyone that we are not dead yet.

Of course, at the party, Ronald also introduced the new director Tsui Hark by the way. Some clips of Xiangjiang action movies were playing on the TV, shocking the action actors in the previous film.

TsuiHark found some martial arts instructors from Xiangjiang to take charge of the scenes of flying in the sky. Coupled with the costumes responsible for part of the plot in Huaguo, this movie, which is about to officially start shooting and is scheduled to be released next summer, can also be a blockbuster co-produced by China and the United States.

"I have equipped you with a lot of senior professionals, including the director of photography for the first two films, and a capable first assistant director. You can rely on their professional ability in matters such as photography and crew scheduling. But those creative parts that American audiences have not seen have to rely on your own imagination.

These people have never filmed a scene of flying to the sky and escaping from the ground. They don't know how far you can do it. As long as you know what you want, just insist on following your requirements. If you have any questions, just call me. "

Ronald explained some creative principles to TsuiHark,

Then introduce him to the leading actor and the main crew.

"This is director of photography James Crebe..." Ronald introduced the director of photography of the first two films. He set the tone for the images of the first two Longwei Boys, and the third film will also follow this image tone. This is what Ronald is most concerned about, because many Xiangjiang films do not pay attention to this aspect. In a film, different batches, different models, or even different brands of film are used. When a lens is switched, the color tone is completely turned upside down, which makes the audience schizophrenic.

"Cough cough...cough cough" James Crebe coughed badly.

"What's wrong with you? Have you got the flu?" Ronald patted him on the back twice.

"It's okay, maybe I've been drinking too much these days. Cough..." Kelebe said it's okay, but he still couldn't stop coughing, and his face was a little pale. I'm sorry that I went to the bathroom later.

"It's back to the good old days..." Weintraub came over with a champagne glass. He escaped death this time and had hope of turning around again. A lot of emotion for a time.

"By the way, Jerry, you know Frank Sinatra, right?" Ronald happened to be looking for him.

"I'm familiar with him. I persuaded him to arrange his concert tour. He's a weirdo. During the live broadcast of the concert on NBC in New York, he came and sang on the spot in a helicopter. After singing the last song, he took the helicopter and left without any delay." Weintraub was very happy when talking about his favorite work. now

God let him taste the feeling of a successful person again.

"I want to use his song for an episode in my movie. Can you tell me about it? I found his agent, and it was very difficult, and he asked for a million dollars." Ronald took a fancy to Sinatra's song "It must be you (Ithad to be you)", which is very suitable for the storyline of "When Harry Met Sally".

But to use this old song as the theme song, Frank Sinatra, a famous singer, must be found to sing the copyright. Whether a big star is willing to give you the copyright is more a matter of his own displeasure. It would be much better if someone acquainted can bypass the agent and communicate directly with Sinatra.

"Are you going to use it in the movie? I can make a phone call." Weintraub agreed immediately, "Do you want the song as an interlude, or do you want Sinatra's singing version?"

"If you can, ask me about the price..." Ronald knew that the singing versions of singers were very expensive.

Soon, Frank Sinatra's reply came. You can pay a friendly price for using the copyright of the song, as long as 50,000 US dollars, but if you ask him to sing a version, you still have to give 1 million.

Of course, Ronald still hated Frank Sinatra's unique singing voice. He seemed to be narrating the narration in a straightforward manner, but he had the incomparable ability to infect American audiences...

Therefore, Ronald decisively rejected Sinatra's offer. He asked Daydream's music director, Jimmy Reiner, to sift through the jazz players, and finally found a jazz pianist and singer who had just turned twenty, Harry Connick Jr.

It is also very interesting to say that this person's singing voice is exactly the same as that of Sinatra when he was young. Ronald decided to let him record a version of "Ithad to be you", anyway, the audience would not be able to hear it if they didn't pay attention to the end credits.

Harry Connick Jr. not only has a good singing voice, but also has a good piano skill. Ronald simply asked him to sing all the jazz songs in the movie. Jimmy Leiner also found a small brass band and recorded several pure music versions of "Must Be You" with different rhythms and emotions. The total price was only 20,000 US dollars, which can be said to be very cheap.

...

"Help me find a meteorological expert and ask, when will New York have that kind of Christmas-like heavy snow this year? It is more likely?" Ronald's movie still has some snow scenes to be re-shot, and he assigned Richard a task. It is best to remind him a week in advance, so that he can have enough time to recall the leading actors and technical teams.

"Experts say that the possibility of accurate forecasting a week in advance is unlikely, at most three days in advance..."

"Okay, I know that by watching the weather forecast on TV." Ronald called Aunt Karen again.

"Is it snowing in New York? Staten Island is usually in early to mid-November, around the time when the general votes. In Manhattan, it will be later, in late November." Aunt Karen knows more than experts.

"I'm going to take some more shots at that time, and then I will go to Staten Island to see you. Bye, love you..."

Ronald arranged things, and then he lay on the custom-made big bed and watched TV alone. Diane is off to see Donna again in New York. Helen is also filming in British Columbia, Canada. Kim Basinger and Annette Bening both went to film in continental Europe. For a while, there was no one to accompany him.

How about calling Richard? Find two models you know well.

As soon as this idea came out, Ronald couldn't control himself a little bit. Just when he was about to touch the phone, the election news of the candidate Dukakis suddenly popped up on the TV.

"Wooooow..." A very unique engine noise came. It's not like the crispness of a traditional gasoline engine, nor the roar of a diesel engine, but more like a high-frequency buzzing noise from an electronic device.

"Huh?" Ronald was surprised to see that Dukakis was wearing a steel helmet with his name on it, sitting in a new General Dynamics M1 Abrams tank, poking his head out with difficulty, and waving to the audience.

The camera flashed by, and Ronald only left an impression that Dukakis had a big steel helmet, and he was wearing it like Charles Schulz's classic comic image Snoopy.

The camera cut to the live speech, and Dukakis was in the tank factory in Michigan, talking to the employees of the arms industry: After he became the general, he will increase investment in traditional weapons (tradition is relative to nuclear weapons).

This speech is very opportunistic. It appeals to his voters' fear of nuclear war, and it can boost support for veterans and military-industrial groups. George Sr., who hedged against a new campaign strategy, saw his support rise.

"Hey, Doug, have you seen the Dukakis TV news?" Ronald called Douglas Jr. quickly.

"What? I didn't read it..."

"Look at NBC..."

"What does this mean? Why is Dukakis flattering the military industry? It's still weapons for the Army and Marine Corps." Douglas watched the news for a while, and was also puzzled. If the TV screen was turned off and everyone just listened to the sound, no one would guess that it was old George who said such a thing, right?

"Don't you think this is an opportunity to knock out (KO) with a heavy punch?" Ronald, as a filmmaker, clearly saw the comedy potential of the scene of Dukaki in the tank. A politician who has never supported the budget for strengthening armaments actually acts like a fool, wearing a helmet to sit in a tank, and waving to the audience along the way...

"Damn it, you're so right, I'll go find Little George right away." Little Doug also reacted, "We'll call you when the time comes."

"Hey, Ronald, can you tell me what you said to little Doug again." Half an hour later, after little George was woken up in his sleep, he was also excited by what Douglas said.

But he felt a little dizzy after listening to the many reasons that Doug said. Still listening to Ronald, it feels clearer.

"It's a simple matter, George. The Donkeys don't like their side of the tank sitting in a tank and giving a public talk about funding the military industry.

People like the party will not like the funny look of a donkey party politician sitting in a tank. That was a defilement of their big beloved toy. This time, Dukakis seemed to put himself on a silver plate and hand it to your father with his own hands. Ronald used two simple metaphors to make things clear.

Dukakis may have become flustered because George Sr.'s approval rating was approaching. He knew that Old George was playing the military and veteran card, so he also wanted to play this card to reduce the momentum of Old George's pursuit.

"Damn it, you're right, this is a chance to KO Dukakis." Little George has a good intuition for ordinary people's perception. Just like when I was at Yale, I was opposed to the faction headed by Oliver Stone in my class. People who want to please both sides are often rejected by both sides.

"What should we do, Ronald?"

"Give Roger Ailes that shot of Dukakis in the tank right away, and he knows what to do."

Ronald put down the phone and could only laugh. For a man like George Jr., all the big meals are served on the table, and he has to ask others how to get the knife and fork to eat.

He looked at the time, it was already late. It was too late for Richard to contact the models now. He had no choice but to turn up the volume of the remote control. Fortunately, what ABC is broadcasting now is the emergency filming in Brisbane, Australia, to top the new filming of the old TV series that was too late to shoot due to the screenwriter's strike...

The opening song of "Dare to Count" came from the TV. Ronald felt that he was still attracted by the theme music and couldn't wait to watch it.

"This is really a million-dollar opening song..." Ronald continued to watch. To be honest, the rhythm of the shooting was a bit old-fashioned, and it was not as good as expected. But the opening song makes people want to watch it. This kind of old TV series has a signature opening song, which makes people come to watch TV from other places as soon as they hear it. I don’t know why there are no TV series like this now.

...

Although Little George is already very slow, there are still people who can't eat better than Little George...

At the emergency meeting jointly held by George Jr. and Roger Ailes that night, the two of them shared the video of Dukaki sitting on the tank that Ronald saw and the strategies he taught.

Unexpectedly, his younger brother Jeb was the first to object.

"We shouldn't use unethical means to attack our competitors. Otherwise, our voters will also have a bad impression of us. While reducing the support rate of our opponents, our support rate is also declining."

I don't know if he really thinks so, or he just doesn't want his brother to be in the limelight, but Jeb's reason is quite mentally handicapped.

"This is the era of television media. People don't care about logic or facts. They only care about whether their ideas are recognized by others. A strategy, no matter whether it is in line with the facts or whether it has logic, as long as it works, we will use it." Roger Ailes couldn't help it, and refuted Jeb face to face.

"But, how can you say that your strategy will succeed?" Jeb was not convinced. The other campaign manager sitting behind him also had a gloomy face. He didn't come up with such a strategy...

"I've asked a few people who've seen the clip, and they all told me that the audience down there was laughing when Dukáski waved to the crowd from the M1 tank.

Everyone at the scene would think this strategy is ridiculous. As long as we can let him broadcast on major TV stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the whole country will think it is a ridiculous thing. Then he is finished. "

Roger Ailes explained. This clip was only played for ten seconds on the news column, and it was never replayed. Their campaign office contacted the three major wireless TV stations, various cable stations, and even local TV stations in Michigan. The reply they got was either that the video tape could not be found, or they asked other TV stations to buy the pictures.

Anyway, we may have aired the news, but no backup tape (for you to fight Dukakis).

"If we didn't see that scene, how could we..."

"Jeb, I heard the scene from Ronald. He told me that it was a good opportunity. He is a big Hollywood director, so he won't be mistaken..."

"Hmph... Who doesn't know that most of Hollywood is from the donkey side, just like TV stations..."

What Jeb said was correct. The director of the TV station, like Ronald, obviously saw this fatal flaw. The TV stations are all progressives who lean towards the donkey party. They will not send the video tape of the program to the election office of the old George of the elephant party.

"You..." Little George was so angry that he was going to bully his brother.

"Enough, I believe Ronald's judgment, but Jeb is also right. Without a suitable picture, it is impossible for us to invest a lot of money to talk about a rumor. There must be a picture of Dukakis in the tank..."

Barbara stopped the two sons from attacking each other.

"What are you going to do?" Roger Ailes asked George Jr. He made up his mind that if George Jr. was not firm enough, he would fly overnight to Yinlinuo Yinzhou, where he would hold a campaign rally to win the support of the Air Force and Navy's military aircraft manufacturers.

"Damn it, I don't believe it, no one has live video, or recorded news footage." George Jr. snapped, "Everyone, I mean everyone..."

He clapped his hands twice, and mobilized all the election volunteers on his side, "Everyone, call me, call your family members, friends, high school classmates...ask them if they have this video of Dukakis in the tank. I don't care what method you use or how you got it, I just want that damn video

Whoever can bring that scene of Snoopy in the tank, I'll pay the prize out of my own pocket."

As he said that, George Jr. took out all the cash in his wallet, threw it on the table, and spread it into a fan shape, which was worth a thousand dollars. "This is the best opportunity for our team so far. For the idea that we worked together for my father's campaign, we must get a usable video tape."

"Hurry, hurry, act..." Little George began to applaud, encouraging everyone, "Go and make the phone... Whether our idea can succeed, whether we can stop Dukakis's Massachusetts Donkey Party (in the eyes of many conservatives, this term is used in a derogatory sense to describe those particularly "radical" progressives)

Donkey Party) to enter the White House, it depends on you. "