Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Latest website: "Today is the home game of the Seattle Mariners. Their rookie Ken Griffey this year is very powerful. In his last debut, he hit another beautiful straight-line double..."

Kevin Costner specially invited Ronald to his private residence to discuss the investment in "Dances with Wolves". He didn't try to make friends and sell movies like other people, but treated Ronald like an old friend.

His wife, Cindy, brought them barbecue and lager, and Ronald and he enjoyed a midweek house party and a baseball game like normal white American friends.

"Is he good?" Ronald looked at the black rookie on TV and asked Costner. He is a layman to the game of baseball and does not understand this complicated game like ordinary white people.

"Needless to say, I think he has hope of breaking Babe Ruth's home run record..." Kevin Costner is a baseball fan and has already filmed a baseball-themed movie "Millions of Gold Arms" .

"This kid's dad is a major league player. He was the Baseball Player of the Year in 1987 in high school. He hit .478 RBI in two seasons and hit a total of 17 home runs..."

Like a true baseball fan, Costner knows the statistics of this year's star rookies by heart.

"So he's great, right?" Ronald didn't understand how great high school baseball statistics represented.

"Hey, didn't you play baseball with your dad when you were a kid? This is the top score for a high school player in so many years, and he also played part-time on the football team in high school and also won a football bonus from the college."

"My dad died young and didn't play much baseball with me..." Ronald smiled. This white sport is indeed passed down from father to son. The actor in the previous movie, Billy Crystal, was also a great player. fan.

"Oh, I'm sorry..." Kevin apologized in surprise. He didn't expect such a result. He originally invited Ronald here to show his closeness, but it was messed up.

"Oh, Ronald, I didn't expect you to be so unlucky. Kevin was just too obsessed with baseball. He didn't mean any harm." Costner's wife Cindy came to the rescue. She hugged Ronald and pinched him. Order French fries, call out the three children she and Kevin had, and say hello to Ronald. Finally the atmosphere was harmonious again.

Ronald didn't pay attention. He held their little son and played with it on his knees...

"Oooh...home run!"

When it was time for Ken Griffey to take the bat, this strong black guy hit a home run in one hit and flew high into the field. The opposing outfielder was out of reach.

The two clinked glasses and drank a large glass of light beer to celebrate, and Ronald got up to go to the bathroom.

"What conditions does he want to put forward?" Ronald thought in the bathroom. It is actually very risky for a novice director to want to make an epic film. Ronald himself felt that there must be something wrong.

A director is like a cook, he has a recipe (script) to cook, and this dish requires the cooperation of many people to make it. But no one has made this dish before, so everyone’s idea of ​​how to make it depends entirely on the director’s personal imagination.

How much seasoning to add, how long to bake, and how to prepare and mix the ingredients are all guided by the director's imagination of the final film. Just have to look forward to a good result...

This kind of process requires a lot of experience and talent, and Costner...well, no one knows how strong his directorial talent is. Anyway, he has no experience at all.

"Ronald, I know you are worried about me making this movie, but today I just want to prove that I can do it well..."

Kevin Costner took advantage of the break to lobby Ronald.

"How to prove it? This is a big production, with a production budget of more than 20 million..." Ronald picked out a French fries and chewed it. Costner's wife is a high school sweetheart, the two are childhood sweethearts, and their cooking tastes quite good.

"Look, Ken Griffey is also a rookie. Today is his first home game in Seattle, and he can hit a home run..."

"Hey, Kevin. We're not talking about baseball, we're talking about movies. You have to do better than this..."

"Although it looks different on the surface, it is actually the same. I am also looking for other directors to join me. I will be very happy if you are willing to direct..."

"Sorry, I'm working on another Orion movie..." Ronald had no experience making Westerns at all, and he couldn't even ride a horse.

"So, you have to believe in my talent, just like the Seattle Mariners believed in Ken Griffey and let a rookie hit a strong bat..."

"Wait a moment..." Ronald gestured to Costner to pause. He saw a line of subtitles below the TV, "This is big news now."

"DEA uncovered a transnational drug trafficking syndicate and arrested dozens of suspects in Hong Kong, America, and Mexico..."

Ronald called up the picture-in-picture of the news station (a new feature of Japanese TV). In the breaking news picture, many Chinese-looking people were handcuffed by Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

"According to a DEA spokesperson, this criminal group named Fourteen K is based in Hong Kong. In the past few years, they have trafficked more than 1 billion US dollars worth of illegal drugs and poisoned hundreds of thousands of American teenagers. …

They will be charged with felonies... It is understood that the operation will continue until the legislative goals required by the Grand Commander and Congress are achieved. "

"This Fourteen K is actually a criminal group in Hong Kong. They are so brave..." Ronald thought to himself...

After the baseball game, Costner discussed his thoughts with Ronald in detail.

He hoped that the film would fully reflect the lifestyle, clothing, customs, and even language of the real Indian tribes.

Yes, Costner didn't want to film the scenes with the Indian tribes in English. He actually wanted to film the entire scene in the Sioux language.

This made Ronald a little worried. American audiences have been in the habit of watching movies without subtitles for more than ten years. Not to mention Sioux, a language that few people understand anymore, even French and Spanish, which are commonly taught in American high schools, are not popular with the audience.

In short, Costner ambitiously wanted to film content that would make any filmmaker tremble with fear.

But on the other hand, epic films have an epic filming method, which is different from ordinary genre films. The originator of this type of film is "Lawrence of Arabia," which was shot in the desert for nearly a year. What finally appeared on the screen was a spectacle that the audience had never seen before (camel cavalry charging in the desert!).

Like last year's Oscar winner "The Last Emperor", it also focuses on the grandeur of the Forbidden City and the life circumstances of the mysterious last emperor of the East. The lamas, the dragon bed, and the grand enthronement ceremony are all elements that initially attracted the audience to watch.

All in all, this is a risky move. If it’s well shot, it’s unique and exciting; if it’s poorly shot, it’s a lot of money thrown into the water. A negative example is "Heaven's Gate" which led to the bankruptcy of United Artists. The director thought that the big scene, a group of hillbillies roller skating and dancing, the audience didn't like to watch at all.

"I have to think carefully, Kevin..." Although he had the background of the dream, Ronald was not sure that such an investment of tens of millions would make money. Although in fact he would not lose money, or lose a little less, he would have a reputation for supporting art films. , Raiders Oscar doesn’t seem to be completely losing money.

"By the way," Ronald thought of his dream about the scene of hunting American bison in "Dances with Wolves", "Can you shoot the scene of hunting bison?"

"Of course I want to take pictures! You support me, right? Ronald. I know you understand me. Now the American bison is on the verge of extinction. Only in some southern states are people still raising them on pastures. I am going to take real pictures of these. The camera, without being imaginary, must capture thousands of bison galloping across the plains and then being hunted by the Indian tribes. It is a primitive and soul-stunning shot that has been passed down from generation to generation..."

"Well, I'm not that one...forget it, let me think about it..." Ronald's eyes lit up when he saw Costner. It seemed that he was really passionate and wanted to take the photo.

In fact, there are many directors whose debut films have become hits, and Costner has made many Western films, so he knows a lot about the scheduling of horseback riding scenes, at least better than himself.

Ronald returned to the company and saw Tsui Hark in the office. During this time, he is making final revisions to Dragon King 3 based on feedback from test screenings.

"Hey, it seems that there will be a big change in Hong Kong's film investment..." Tsui Hark happened to be watching the detailed report of the Drug Enforcement Administration's arrest of Fourteen K on the TV news.

"How to say?", Ronald didn't understand. What does the end of a gangster have to do with movies?

"You don't know, because the film market in Hong Kong has been booming in recent years, many... such as Fourteen K, etc., are also investing in movies, raising the salaries of stars very high..."

"Hey, isn't this a good thing? These people only raise the salaries of stars, and then make a lot of shoddy follow-up films..." Ronald thought to himself, we also have a stupid young man Minahan Golan here in Hollywood. Similarly, his source of funds, an Export-Import Bank in the Netherlands, does not feel very clean.

Movies are an industry that gray money likes very much. Here, gray or even black U.S. dollars can be legally turned into green.

The so-called Xiangjiang film market is booming. Now it seems that I wonder how much of it is for this.

"Yes, the market has returned to normal, and maybe someone there will be willing to invest again..." Tsui Hark had a lot of things he didn't like and wasn't used to in Hollywood. He began to miss the working atmosphere and methods in Hong Kong.

…

After detailed research by the production department of Daydream, they came to the conclusion that the filming budget of "Dances with Wolves" must be controlled below 20 million US dollars, and then Kevin Costner must invest part of it himself. .

This decision is easy to understand, because it would be easy for him to spend too much money if he was just getting a salary. He must invest part of it himself and then get the money according to the box office performance of the movie, so that the risk can be shared. Ronald and Orion will not be taken advantage of.

In addition, reasonably filming in Mexico and other places can also significantly reduce film remuneration and shooting costs, because there are no unions there, and the wages of extras and technical staff can be squeezed to the minimum.

…

"Kevin, Cindy...please sit down." This time it was Ronald's turn to ask Costner to watch the baseball game.

What they were watching was another Seattle Mariners game, the local Los Angeles Angels playing against the highly anticipated Seattle Mariners at home.

Because it was a home game, Ronald took Diane and the Costners to the box to watch. Costner would also appear on the balcony to cheer on the baseball team. He is the protagonist who plays the Golden Arm, and many baseball fans are very fond of him.

"Oh, who is that pitcher from the Angels? I feel like he's a little weird..." Diane knew more about baseball than Ronald. She discovered that the starting pitcher of the home team had a weird posture with his glove hand.

"Let's applaud rookie pitcher Jim Abbott..."

The announcer at the scene also called out the pitcher's name loudly. The pitcher put the baseball in his glove, then took off his baseball cap to question everyone.

Then he raised the baseball in his glove with difficulty, took out the baseball with his left hand, and weighed it a few times.

"Oh my god, he doesn't have a right hand..." Diane and Ronald were both shocked. How could a major league pitcher be a disabled person without a right hand?

"Jim Abbott, he was a pitcher for the national baseball team in the performance event at the Seoul Olympics last year. He was the main pitcher in the finals and won us a gold medal..." Costner, who came back from the balcony, said to Ronald explained.

Really inspiring!

Ronald applauded along with the entire audience. It was not easy for such a person to reach a professional level.

"Oh, another RBI, Abbott was seriously challenged today..."

During the game, this guy, who looked like the protagonist in a Hollywood inspirational movie, was having a very rough time. He was continuously hit and scored by his opponent.

"Oh, it's been a bad day for Abbott..." The opposing batter hit another soaring two-run hit. The Angels were already trailing 7-0.

"Come on, Angels..." In the box, Diane was encouraging the home team.

"It seems that talent may not necessarily bring victory, Kevin. It also requires some luck and the cooperation of teammates..." Ronald also made a pun using the situation on the court. The rest of the Angels' team made a lot of mistakes today.

Just like the work of a movie director, it may be the mistakes of other people in the team that prevent the director from producing the ideal image.

"Well, this happened, right?" Costner saw that Ronald was also talking about baseball, and he couldn't refute it for a while.

"In order to reduce the probability of this happening, we have to have some institutional arrangements, otherwise I think both me and Orion will have doubts about this movie..."

Ronald told Costner his thoughts, part discussion, part threat. If the other party does not agree to its conditions, there will not be many medium-sized studios in Hollywood that will agree to the abandoned Orion project.

If you don't even dare to shoot Orion, then this movie must have unbearable risks.

Ronald suggested a few ideas:

First, the film must bring in a foreign distributor and use the advance payment from the distribution revenue to reduce risks. Ronald is considering bringing in Michael Douglas's relationship. Frans Af, director of film investment at Crédit Lyonnais, Man.

Second, Kevin Costner must include his remuneration as an investment in the film's investment amount. In other words, if the movie fails at the box office, he will get nothing but an advance payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The best way to get a star to devote all his energy to making a movie is to tie him up with a share contract.

Of course, if it is successful at the box office, he will also receive a large amount of income that ordinary stars dare not think of. But this was nothing to lose to Ronald and Orion.

Third, the final domestic distribution and video release must be guaranteed by Kevin Costner as the main star, and then to attract investment, he must be closely tied to the film project at the press conference, so that More people will have faith in this epic film. Just like Ronald's attitude towards financing the Silence of the Lambs.

"I have to think about it too..."

Costner had no objections to the other conditions, but he was still a little worried about not receiving a salary and receiving dividends. Do you really want to make this movie? I have to go back and discuss it with my wife.

…

"Ronnie...it's little Doug." Back at the hotel, Diane listened to the phone recording, which contained a message from Douglas. She picked up the phone and dialed it, then handed it to Ronald.

"Doug...it's my cousin..." That's where Donna answered the phone...

"Doug..." Ronald picked up the phone and said to him angrily. This kid secretly dated his cousin and kept it secret from himself, which made him very unhappy.

"Hi, Ronald."

It seemed that the two of them got along well. After Donna grew up and started working, her aversion to Douglas, a successful man from the same hometown, became much less resentful. He is no longer as naive as he was in college, and compared to the men in Hollywood with terrible personalities in the investment world, Douglas is more pleasing to the eye.

"looking for me?"

"In this case, little George wants to ask you to shoot a promotional advertisement for his father. Have you seen the news about the recent DEA work? Our commander-in-chief wants the people to know whose credit is this..."

"Good guy, are you planning to be re-elected so soon?"

Ronald couldn't help but be speechless. In a place like America, the first priority of politicians is to please the people.

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