Exploiting Hollywood 1980

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The continued success of the films he produced and directed was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director two years in a row. "Dirty Dancing", a perennial hot seller in the video tape market, has made Ronald one of the rare rich men in the industry.

According to estimates by some industry lawyers and accountants, Ronald Hwang's income from the film's video tapes was at least $30 million per year (actually far more, because they omitted overseas distribution and two income from the original soundtrack).

And his vision for selecting scripts is also superb, so many people come to Ronald, not only to ask him to invest, but also to use his reputation as an investor to persuade other investors: You see, This is the movie script that Ronald is interested in...

Before Mike Medavoy came, Ronald was already surrounded by people from several projects, and every day people came to him with scripts looking for insight.

Of course, the scripts of these people must first be selected by David Simkins and evaluated by Michelle Cannold for their market potential before they are sent to Ronald.

In the middle, there are a few exceptions. They could bypass the daydream filter and send the script directly to Ronald's desk.

"This story is good and very philosophical, but is it the same as the "The Wedding Banquet" you wrote before the "When Harry Met Sally" script you revised for me last summer? Are they both Chinese scripts?"

It was Ang Lee who came over with the outline of the script. He went back to his hometown for the Spring Festival. As soon as he returned to America, he came to Ronald with two scripts.

Ronald frowned. Making movies is all about making money. Although I trust Ang Lee’s artistic standards (his graduation works are very good), if I give him an exception, more people will come to me to make exceptions through connections in the future.

"That's right. When I went home to celebrate the New Year this year, the information bureau there was soliciting Chinese scripts from all over the world. I heard that if you win the award, you can get a bonus of 400,000 yuan..." Ang Lee said a little excitedly.

"Dollar?"

"NT$..." Ang Lee knew that this amount of money was too little. He actually did not rely on this money to make movies. "There is also an additional reward, which is to fund the filming of the winning script. There is a tutoring fund of NT$4 million. As long as we If we can find the rest of the money, then China Film Corporation will also underwrite the distribution there..."

Ronald understood what Ang Lee meant. He is still afraid of making English films and wants to enter the industry by making Chinese films first. He wanted to win an award for this movie, then get the investment and distribution contract there, and then come to Ronald to seek the remaining investment and distribution in America.

"Well, how much money do you need to make this movie?" Ronald thought about it. This kind of Chinese-language movie actually has a fixed audience of moviegoers in America, including Chinatowns in major cities, plus some art theaters. Wire. Because whether it is this movie Promoter or last year's Wedding Banquet, the story has an exotic appeal to the audience.

Many American viewers actually like to see the customs and customs of other places in the world. Traveling is too expensive, and watching movies is also a cheap way to increase bragging rights with friends.

"Um, I don't know..." Ang Lee's script has not been completed yet, and he has never made a feature film that has been released in theaters, so he is still in the dark about this.

"In this way, if you can win an award and get a distribution contract in your hometown, I will give you a budget of half a million US dollars. As a small-cost feature film, it is basically enough.

Daydream would then handle distribution in America and video distribution. You can ask a colleague from Daydream to be your producer, or you can find one yourself, and we will agree on a share ratio then..."

Ang Lee left happily. Now he is just waiting to try his best to perfect the two scripts, and then ask someone to cooperate in translating them into English versions. As long as you have Ronald's promise and return to your hometown to compete, you will naturally have one more guarantee than other contestants.

People there still quite recognize and even worship the great Hollywood directors. Especially the "Information Bureau" that organizes the draft competition allows such scripts to win awards and write a summary report. The award-winning script has also been recognized by famous Hollywood producers and directors... Isn't that a great achievement of the literary and art department?

Even if some local contestants are not convinced, you can use Ronald's name to convince them: They are all valued by big directors in Hollywood. Are you better than him?

…

"This is the revised opinion jointly given by Mr. Weintraub and I...you can refer to it. The American audience is not prepared for some settings and needs more preparation. You can also use the version released in Hong Kong Cut it again..."

After sending Ang Lee away, Ronald brought in Tsui Hark, the director of "The Kid 3" who had held several test screenings.

Several different audience groups conducted internal test screenings, and the reaction was the same, that is, everyone did not understand the background of this kind of martial arts that can make people fly to heaven. Different from the myth of martial arts in East Asia, American audiences with "little knowledge" are still stuck in the stage of real punches and kicks during fights.

Although the audience has seen Darth Vader's chokehold and teleportation on the screen, the first two Dragon Power films were very realistic kung fu fights. Suddenly, the style needs to change, and it seems that some additions are needed. Just an introduction to the background of the story. Just like the plot of Luke Skywalker’s teacher Obi-Wan explaining the Force to him.

Anyway, several years have passed since the last movie, and the audience may not remember how Daniel won. Moreover, American audiences also accepted the ability of some people in ancient times to have some weird and mysterious abilities. As long as it makes them feel comfortable in the cinema, it is not impossible to gain universal acceptance.

In short, Weintraub was unwilling to reshoot parts of the plot. His financial situation seemed to be in serious trouble, and he was no longer willing to increase the shooting budget extraneously. Okay, okay, that's it.

"Jean Claude, Duf, can you wait for me? I want to meet Mr. Mike Medavoy of Orion. He must have been waiting for me for a while...Okay, thank you, Claudia, please You and the two gentlemen should have a chat first. Their movie has been edited and is ready to be released..."

Ronald first went to say hello to Jean-Claude Van Damme and Lundgren who had already arrived, and then introduced Claudia Wells to them. A beautiful woman is useful as a publicity manager. The two strong men recognized her and immediately began to introduce their new film "Cyborg".

The business is getting busier and busier, and many small projects have been delegated to several important directors. Ronald only needs to receive some important customers, and he likes to arrange these people into one day and solve them all at once.

After exchanging pleasantries, Orion's Mike Medavoy revealed his purpose. Orion has many big productions to be released this year, so cash flow is somewhat tight.

For example, "Balls of Fire", a biopic of rock star Jerry Lee Lewis starring Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder, and "She-Devil" starring Mel Streep, both cost 20 million. production budget of around.

In addition, the film "Valmont" directed by Milos Forman, also adapted from the "Dangerous Liaisons" stage play, has a production cost of 33 million.

The concentrated release of these blockbusters has diverted a lot of Orion's own funds from promotion and distribution, resulting in insufficient investment in new films. So Mike Medavoy came to ask Ronald if he would be interested in investing in their project.

"I'm definitely interested..." Ronald knew that Orion's good movies were as famous as their bad ones. This is the result of the director responsibility system. If the director is given full artistic decision-making power, it is possible to produce a movie that is several levels better than the average, or it is possible to produce a movie that is extremely bad.

I have dream references, and I have accumulated a lot of intuition about market reactions in the past ten years. As long as I can pick the right movie project, I can still make a steady profit, and maybe even get a few Oscar nominations. After all, they have won two Best Pictures and a dozen major awards in the past ten years.

"Mr. John Kruger hopes to cooperate with you. He said that you can choose any of our big projects next year, and we can give you the most generous investment terms for each movie..." Mike Medavoy handed over several scripts The summary was placed on the table, spread out word by word.

"This is really an honor. Thank you Mr. Kruger for me." Ronald picked it up and read it.

This John Krueger is the boss of a communications company, Metro Media. He sold his television network business to the Australian Rupert, the big boss of 20th Century Fox, a few years ago.

He later used part of the money to buy a 6% stake in Orion. After that, Orion ushered in a breakout year. "Platoon", "Hannah and Her Sisters", "RoboCop" and other strong films were well received and sold well, attracting another rich man, Shaodong of the theater chain. Sam Redstone competition. The other party also bought 6% of the shares.

This aroused Kruger's competitive mentality, and he continued to increase capital in a short period of time. Finally, his equity rose to 26%, driving away Redstone and becoming Orion's largest shareholder.

Krueger has a bit of a fan mentality and has given green light to many big productions, but there has never been a winner like Platoon. He felt that he didn't get lucky because he didn't find the right director. Therefore, he gave the green light to Mike Medavoy's proposal and was willing to offer the most generous investment terms but also to borrow Ronald's vision.

Ronald looked at each one carefully. Orion's style is truly art first, without any commercial considerations.

One, for example, is "Hot Spot," a project from Hollywood veteran Dennis Hopper, who has long been addicted to drugs. He was the director and actor of "Easy Rider," the genesis of New Hollywood. After his comeback, he also received Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay, making him a veritable all-rounder.

But the plot of "Hot Spot" is that of a typical old-school film noir, a genre that doesn't have much of an audience these days.

There is another "State of Grace," a more innovative script. It tells the story of an undercover police detective who works for a childhood friend who is now a gang leader and falls in love with his friend's sister. In the end, his friend is killed and he succeeds in revenge at the funeral.

The "innovation" of this movie is that it actually plagiarized many plots from the now popular TV series "SWAT 4587". Many Hollywood movies have always been remade into TV series, but such reverse remakes are rare.

Ronald read it for a long time, but didn't feel anything. He was going to leave the outline of the script first, and then see if he could dream about it at night, when he turned to a script at the end, which he had come across before.

"Dances with Wolves, is your Orion publishing it now?"

"Oops, I'm sorry, there are still some problems with the contract for this movie. My secretary was careless and got in." Mike McDavoy took the script back. "Why, Kevin (Costner) is also looking for Pass you?"

"Actually, I approached him. I was a little interested in that movie, but the author is his friend..."

Ronald thought to himself, it seems that Westerns are still as unpopular as film noirs. Male stars like Kevin Costner will eventually be demoted to find second-tier Orion to cooperate. Not yet Negotiated!

"Actually, I like this script very much. I think it is different from all the western movies in the past. This movie does not take the cowboys as the core perspective, but uses the majestic Indians and their settlements to show an epic picture. …”

Mike Medavoy felt that Ronald had a special interest in "Dances with Wolves", so he specifically explained it.

"Well, you're right..." Ronald nodded frequently, thinking to himself, how do I know whether such an unpopular movie can be a hit? Did I just dream of a great scene? Presumably even if it doesn't make much money, it will still be favored by the Oscars.

I'm interested in Oscar now!

"Then what's the reason for the failure to reach an agreement?" Ronald asked. From the way he said it, it seemed that Orion was also very optimistic about it? With the backing of a wealthy man like Kruger, it’s a matter of paying for it.

"Kevin (Costner) wants the final cut..." Mike Medavoy said an answer that even Ronald didn't expect.

It turns out that Kevin Costner not only directed and acted, he also wanted to get the final editing rights that only single-digit well-known directors in Hollywood have.

"Did I hear wrongly, or...this seems to be his directorial debut, right?" Ronald thinks male stars can really do whatever they want? These people have the approval of the audience, and they talk about conditions more harshly than me, a director who has always made money.

"If you can convince him and vouch for him, we can also find a workaround..." Mike Medavoy said slowly.

The so-called final right to cut is actually not that rigid. Many new directors do not have the right to make editing decisions. After the initial cut is made, the studio's senior management will read it and give their opinions. Generally speaking, new directors can only follow the instructions. Those with particularly strong communication skills and professional abilities You can try to argue.

Directors with successful experiences, or big-name male stars like Kevin Costner or Clint Eastwood who try directing, will get the power to assemble the final version. In other words, they can decide most of the editing shots within the movie duration specified by the studio.

There are only a few scenes where grading is involved and the studio will interfere. But the studios also have a cage around them. That’s the length of a genre film. A typical genre film lasts 90 minutes, a movie with unique content lasts 120 minutes, and a particularly good epic film lasts two and a half hours.

This allows the director to perform on his own in a designated arena, without deviating too far from mainstream commercial theaters.

In the last category, only directors like Ronald, Spielberg, and George Lucas, who have almost no losses, can decide both the editing and the duration. Of course, Ronald has not exercised this power very much, because he himself is also a believer in the logic of commercial films.

In "Dances with Wolves", Kevin Costner wants all the power. Ronald guesses that he is either overconfident or wants to make an epic blockbuster and has to win two for his ideals. More than half an hour in length.

"Okay, let's make an appointment with Kevin..." Ronald and Mike Medavoy confirmed that he was interested in "Dances with Wolves".

"Okay, let's make an appointment to see you again. Kevin will pay attention to your opinion..." Mike Medavoy was so happy. This movie is a direction that no one has explored, which is suitable for Orion to shoot.

Moreover, Kevin Costner's debut film was "Night of the Comet" shot by Ronald. He would value Ronald's opinions, and maybe let Ronald direct it. Wouldn't it be the best of both worlds?

…

Finally, Ronald invites in two muscular men who are buzzing around Claudia Wells' skirt. The edited version of "Cyborg" they brought today was about to be shown to Ronald and Daydream's executives.

"Huh? Is this movie about cyborgs?" Ronald couldn't help but feel suspicious after watching the test screening.

When Minahan Golan was developing this movie, it was obviously a science fiction film, right? A half-human, half-machine cyborg fights with various monsters from the universe era, escorts medicines to save mankind, and BiuBiu's laser is the selling point.

Although in the end, Cannon was on the verge of bankruptcy and had no money to complete the special effects, so Ronald bought it at a bargain. After Jean-Claude Van Damme finished editing, he decided whether to release it to theaters or directly release it to the video tape market based on the effect.

But it was beyond Ronald's imagination to cut it like this. The whole movie is no longer a science fiction film, only the monsters and the desert setting have a bit of science fiction color. The whole movie...how to say the whole movie? It turned into a martial arts movie!

"Ronald..." Claudia Wells is very comfortable in her new position, and her beauty can also receive great preferential treatment in real life. With two action stars vying for their attention, she deserves a good word from Ronald.

"Well... the plot of your movie has almost been changed. Is it still called Cyborg?" Ronald thought about it for a moment. In fact, Jean-Claude Van Damme's editing skills have improved quite well. He can edit this semi-finished product. It's rare to be like this.

Apart from giving too many slow-motion close-ups of himself and Lundgren, there are no major flaws. And this kind of abuse of slow motion, it seems that Tsui Hark and those Hong Kong directors have led him astray...

"We also plan to change our name. Corey helped us think of a name, called Heavenly Thunder and Earthly Fire..."

Jean-Claude Van Damme quickly offered up the new title.

"This is a Chinese idiom. If it is translated into English, the audience will not understand it. Let's change it to one that is easy to understand. Or call it biochemical warrior, no...peak warrior..."

"Okay, that's a good name..." Overly deliberate flattery from the two action stars flew over.

"Damn it, I'm not Claudia..." Ronald thought to himself that these two idiots didn't know what to say nicely when trying to pick up girls, so straightforwardly... Forget it, they are only at this level, usually There are a lot of female fans who like them, and they probably don’t need any words to impress them.

Ronald decided that the movie would be released in the Hollywood theaters he was familiar with. It happened to be the freezing period before the summer season, and theaters were not very picky about the quality of movies. It was just launched to fill the schedule before Dragon Boy 3.