Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Latest website: In the recessed square in the middle of the new CAA building, Gene Hackman parked his car with a squeak.

Gene Hackman drives Toyota's Celica GT4165 civilian racing car. Like Paul Newman, he is also a semi-professional racing enthusiast. He once drove this car and participated in the lower categories of the Dynaton endurance race.

The gt4's headlights turned half a circle and were retracted into the hood of the cabin. Hackman looked unhappy;

"Mississippi Burning" missed out on Best Director and Best Actor, and did not make a second comeback at the box office as expected.

The lack of awards also contributed to weak sales in overseas markets and the videotape market. This made the actor, who gave up most of his salary due to the low budget and instead received a share of the movie, a huge financial failure.

Originally, with his ability, he could get a salary of US$4 million, which was slightly lower than that of Hollywood's top leading actors, but now he only received an advance payment of US$500,000.

His Hawaiian Japanese girlfriend, Arakawa, is a woman who spends money like water. Piano, parties, high-end clothing and all kinds of enjoyment are indispensable.

Gene Hackman already owed her something. They were thirty years apart and decided not to have children. This made Arakawa feel no guilt about spending Hackman's money, and he did not dare to say anything.

The tight financial situation forced Gene Hackman to take on many movies. He also sold the house he designed and decorated.

Because of his reputation as an actor and a villain in Superman movies, architect magazines also praised him and included several of his architectural works in the magazine's introduction.

So for the time being, the price of selling the house is enough for him and his girlfriend to live a luxurious life, but obviously there will be problems when the inventory is sold out.

"Gene..." Ovitz stood in the office to greet the very dissatisfied client.

"Michael... let's keep the story short. Do you have anything else to say about my termination of the contract with you?" Hackman had already contacted William after the actor was snatched away by his younger brother Dustin Hoffman. Morris is planning to buy out his contract and switch to a brokerage company that can contribute to his award-winning public relations.

"Are you really not willing to continue to cooperate with me? Gene? We have always been very considerate to you..."

"You bastard", Gene Hackman stood up and was about to hit him. No matter how thoughtful he usually is, stabbing Oscar in the back means nothing.

"Okay, let's not talk about that... I hope we are not just clients and brokers, we can also be friends... Let's talk about something else today." Ovitz was unmoved. He was Steve Siegel's Aikido apprentice, black belt!

If they really fight, the old man Hackman will definitely not be his opponent.

"I can't think of anything else to talk about. Have your secretary prepare the documents as soon as possible."

"I think we still have it. Let's talk about the filming rights of 'Silence of the Lambs' in your hands..." Ovitz raised his hand and asked his secretary to prepare the termination documents, while telling Gene Hackman what he wanted. things to talk about.

"Don't even think about it. It was a director's work that I gave to myself. I will star in it myself. You have to know that Hollywood is still a place where the works speak for themselves..."

"Hey..." Ovitz laughed out loud. Works, works have no use. What competes in this industry is business acumen.

"Gene, except for this Oscar, we have nothing unpleasant. The award voting is not something I can influence. I do favor Dustin, but it is just my personal vote for him... This deal is actually good for you. There are also benefits. We all know that producing a movie, directing a movie, and starring in a movie are not the same thing. Being a producer means that you are responsible for the profit and loss of the movie, so why not just be a starring role? Don't participate in the production, don't participate in the dividends, and only get a fixed salary. This is my last advice to you." This paragraph just hit Gene Hackman's heart.

If you insist on only getting a fixed salary, you won't be reduced to selling a house. This xxx Ovitz must have known his predicament.

"Silence of the Lambs" itself is fully involved, its own company will invest, and it will share the filming and publicity costs with the agreed publisher Orion.

I still want to be a director. If I fail, it won’t be a matter of not getting the full salary and dividends. I may also lose my many years of investment. The few investors I have recently found are not willing to invest in this film. Movie.

"Who do you want to sell to? Who will direct it?" Gene Hackman only had one idea, and he couldn't leave it to Ovitz and Dustin Hoffman. Barry Levinson and others could discuss it.

"I want to meet with the buyer..."

"Of course, no problem. He's the one you just met at the Oscar party..." Ovitz said Ronald's name slowly. This director, who also didn't win an Oscar, was much calmer. .

Young people are still easily satisfied... At the same time, Ronald ran to the homes of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore to discuss participating in the show

Something about the leading actor of “Look Who’s Talking.”

"Bruce, the remuneration you are asking for is too high. Columbia doesn't have much production budget right now, and my company doesn't have much cash. Can you change the payment method?" Amy Heckerling said according to Ro Nader's request, contacted because

Bruce Willis became famous in "Die Hard", but the other party's agent quoted a sky-high price of eight million.

Than he is

The pay in "Die Hard" was two million more. and

"Look Who's Talking" is a low-budget comedy, with a production budget of no more than 10 million and no more than 5 million spent on the film's salary.

The two sides couldn't come to an agreement, so things came full circle and it came back to Ronald. Ronald had to do it himself. He brought a lot of baby supplies and a jade Buddha bought in Chinatown, which he gave to Demi and his wife.

"I'm sorry. My agent is taking care of my affairs now. I don't interfere much now..." Although Bruce Willis is grateful to Ronald, business is business, favors are favors, and film remuneration is Things have finally gone up, and if they go down again, future movies will be priced accordingly.

"Bruce, look, your daughter is smiling and saying hello to Ronald..." Seeing that her husband was speaking directly, Demi Moore interrupted with her daughter in her arms.

"Cute child," Ronald looked at their daughter. She had the typical big eyes of a white child, fair skin, but her chin was a bit too square.

Fortunately, the gentle jade Buddha worn around her neck softened some of the hard lines on her face. After such an interruption, the three of them had a good time surrounding the little girl.

Everyone's attitude softened.

"Ronald, what do you mean by other payment methods? I heard that you are very good at making money..." Bruce Willis's TV series Blue Moonlight Detective Agency has decided to end, and more of his energy will be transferred to movies Come up.

"What do you think I rely on to make money?" Ronald saw Bruce Willis asking this, and his heart moved.

Bruce Willis's salary in television was not high, and he only accumulated viewers and fans. What really made him big money was Goldberg, the president of 20th Century Fox, who decided to give his first-line male stars a salary of 6 million.

Now he receives a lot

With the offer of a "Die Hard"-style movie, he was hesitating whether to go all the way down the road of being an ordinary action star.

If I don't become an action actor and continue to pursue comedies and dramas, I won't be able to get the salary figures for action movies, so I'm in a dilemma.

He is in the stage of just becoming a rich man and is on the threshold of being extremely rich, so he is very interested in making money.

"Well, I guess it's not the director's salary..." Bruce Willis scratched his bald head.

"It relies on the dividends from blockbuster movies, Bruce. I'm not saying that this movie is guaranteed to be a hit and make you a lot of money, but it is indeed an opportunity..." Ronald talked about some basic concepts of profit sharing.

Bruce Willis half understood what he was saying, but the eyes of Demi Moore next to him shone.

"Listen, Ronald, I love doing light comedies like this, but I also have to be responsible for my family. The lead role took too long to shoot, and I have to have more time to prepare for the next movie... so... ..." Bruce Willis didn't want to think too much. What he was thinking more about was how to take advantage of the current favorable situation and take on more short-term guest appearances to earn money for milk powder.

As for the protagonist, that needs to be carefully considered. So I declined politely.

"What if I give you another role?" Ronald suddenly thought and approached Willis himself, mainly because he wanted to bring his fame to Amy Heckerling in publicity.

In fact, it is not necessarily limited to the protagonist, the taxi driver. Moreover, for this kind of single-mother romantic comedy, a handsome guy like John Travolta is much more effective than Willis in attracting female audiences into the theater.

"Are there any other male characters in this script?" Bruce Willis said, and he opened the script again.

"You don't have to appear on camera, you just need to dub. I will ask them to pay you according to the same sharing conditions, and you will receive the fixed salary as a guest appearance. During filming, you only need to dub for less than a week, and it will not affect you. The salary level." Ronald said more and more smoothly. If the movie is a hit, then Bruce Willis can get an income commensurate with his status.

If the movie is not a hit, then charging a little less for a cameo will not affect his salary level in the mainstream film market.

Moreover, Daydream can still print his name in the most conspicuous position on the poster, attracting male viewers to see it.

"Is there such a good thing?" Bruce Willis thought about it over and over. After all, he had no losses, so he immediately agreed, waiting only for the agents and lawyers of both parties to complete the details of the contract.

Bruce Willis went to call his agent, and Demi took the opportunity to approach Ronald and asked,

"Ronald, when can you give me a chance?"

"Huh? I thought you and Bruce lived happily..." Ronald was a little confused.

"You..." Demi smiled like a former lover, and hit Ronald on the arm moderately.

"I mean, is there any chance for me to be a heroine? I don't want to just be a housewife..."

"Hey..." Ronald really didn't expect Demi to have such ambitions. Many female celebrities will take a break from acting for a while after becoming mothers, such as Deborah Winger.

"Don't worry, my body is recovering very well, and I feel I'm still in better shape than before..." Demi tied up her top. Her waist was slightly thicker than before, but her upper circumference was also one size larger.

"It doesn't matter if it's an action movie... Is there a female version of John McClane? I can play it too..." Demi Moore thought Ronald thought her abilities had declined after childbirth, so she rolled her eyes at him, and then A front handspring on the floor. "

"Ohmygod, be careful..." Ronald was startled and quickly reached out to support Demi.

"I will keep it in mind." Actresses who work hard like this are not common in Hollywood. Three days later,

The crew of "Look Who's Talking" has signed Bruce Willis, and Amy Heckerling has also convinced John Travolta to play the leading role of Taxi Driver.

CAA also wanted to make this project a packaged project. In order to unite more people into his own camp, Ronald agreed to this condition.

Anyway, it’s Amy Heckerling’s first time directing a romantic comedy, so having a few more experienced hands isn’t a bad thing. Of course, CAA cannot take all the benefits. Ronald also invited some other people who have collaborated with him many times to participate, such as his old partner Olympia Dukakis, who played the role of the child's grandmother.

The biggest star of this movie, Bruce Willis, voices Mickey, the child in the heroine Molly's belly.

The most unique thing about this movie is that it has the perspective of an unborn fetus, which serves as a lot of narration.

Willis only received an advance payment of a mere five hundred thousand, and the rest was converted into a share of the film's profits.

The production budget of the entire movie is less than 8 million. …

"Mr. Hackman..." Finally, Ronald had time to greet the person who wanted to sell the movie.

Gene Hackman of "Silence of the Lambs" production rights.

"Ronald, I remember the last time you came to Santa Fe, you were very interested in the movie at that time..." Hackman still has the airs of an older generation star.

"Yes, that was your old friend, Robert Duvall..." Ronald had an average impression of this guy. His acting skills were superb, but his understanding of the production industry was very superficial.

"What should I say, I want to sell the production rights of this movie. I have done a lot of deep thinking recently. I should not be stereotyped in this type of psychopathic bad guy. I need to make some breakthroughs..."

"Haha..." Ronald knew in his heart that this old guy was shrinking from the battle, and he said that he didn't want to be stereotyped. You had already been stereotyped.

Unexpectedly, you were immediately approached to play Luthor, the psychologically twisted comic book villain of Superman.

"I have many choices, but I just want to sell it to you. I don't want to sell it to a Jew, or a puppet controlled by Ovitz to take over the film. After all, I am of high quality, and I also want to sell it to you." A huge amount of money was invested in adapting the script..."

"Careful..." Ronald understood that the other party meant to recover all investments.

Of course, this is not a problem. In order to get this movie that appeared in his dream, Ronald did not care about these small sums of money.

"Who was the writer who changed the script?" Ronald asked.

"Ted Tully, I hired him at the end of fucking 1987. Orion and myself shared the pre-production investment, and he started working at that time..." Ronald smiled and listened patiently to the other party. of nagging.

In the end, he agreed to pay all Hackman's initial investment, as well as half of the copyright fee, plus a top-end fee, and obtained half of the production rights and investment share from Gene Hackman.

The production rights of this film have a long history. Originally,

The production rights for "The Silence of the Lambs" are in the hands of Neapolitan Dino De Laurentiis.

He is another early movie starring Hannibal

Producer of "Red Dragon."

"Red Dragon" failed at the box office, and he was severely damaged in the stock market crash. The company was facing bankruptcy, so it exchanged the distribution rights of their previous films in Italy with Orion Pictures, and exchanged the production rights of the sequel to Orion for free. .

But Orion itself is suffering financial difficulties. They didn't have enough investment, so Hackman happened to like the script and wanted to direct and star in it, so he took advantage of the situation and sold half of the power and investment amount to Hackman.

Both parties have to find external investors to fill the investment amount for this movie...the total amount is expected to be US$1,600 to US$18 million - the medium-sized production that Orion is best at.

After learning about the transfer, one of the founders of Orion, Mike Medavoy, also made an appointment with Ronald. It was great news that such a successful director of commercial films had bought the copyright.

It seems that Ronald's desire for an Oscar has not diminished, and he wants to be nominated for the third time for Best Director...