Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Ronald's firm support for Cameron played a key role. No matter how tough the new executives are, they are no match for the pressure from the top. They gave Cameron unprecedented loose conditions. The movie length was relaxed to two hours and thirty minutes, and he no longer had to worry about the movie not being able to tell the story it should have.

Science fiction movies are different from other themes and require more space to lay out the world view. What kind of science is feasible in this world requires extra time to tell the audience. For example, the crucial breathing liquid in "The Abyss" needs to be laid out for at least five minutes in advance, so that the protagonist relies on it for survival at the critical moment so that it does not feel abrupt.

Ronald feels that his influence is still in place. A big reason for this is because of the unprecedented success of "Die Hard" produced by him and Joel Silver. Starring Bruce Willis has successfully transformed from a TV star to a movie star. The Australian Rupert, the big boss of 20th Century Fox, hopes that Ronald can continue to create miracles...

"How are the preparations for the sequel?" Ronald understood the reason and found Joel Silver, who had been working on the sequel to Die Hard.

"I have found a very good book. Let's continue the adaptation process of the first one..." Silver still had the same scrawled face, wearing pajamas, holding a cigar in his mouth, holding a blond beauty, and sat on the table. Picked one up and threw it to Ronald.

"Fifty-eight Minutes," Ronald flipped through quickly, was a story about a police officer at an airport who thwarted an attempt by terrorists to hijack his wife's flight.

This book was published by Walter Wagg in 1987. Roderick Thorpe, the original author of the first volume, did not write it alone. But the story is very exciting, and has a similar structure to the original work. It is the story of a police detective who faces his family at the crime scene and finally saves them and other hostages with his own intelligence.

Anyway, the movie just needs to replace a few key elements and change it to the mighty John McClane.

Joel Silver was very happy when Ronald agreed to adapt it. He patted the beauty on the butt and told her to go away and not to hinder him from discussing confidential matters with Ronald.

"The protagonist is definitely still Bruce Willis, but we have replaced all the supporting characters, which will definitely make it cheaper..."

"For her?" Ronald nuzzled at the beauty's back?

"How about it? Pamela Anderson, Canadian bomb. She is a cheerleader for the Canadian professional football team. She recently came to Los Angeles. I recommended her to Playboy. She will become a cover girl for a certain month..." Joel Silver laughed wildly. After Die Hard, the quality and quantity of beautiful women throwing themselves into his arms has increased dramatically.

"Are you out of your mind?" Ronald pointed to his head, "The success of the first film largely depends on the harmonious chemical reaction between Bruce and the supporting characters. This is not a competition. A muscular traditional action movie, without the heroine Bonnie Bedelia and the black supporting actor Reginald Will Johnson, Bruce's magic will fade by half!"

"Are you serious? Is that so?" Joel Silver almost dropped his cigar. No matter what, what Ronald said must make sense anyway. "What about Alan Rickman? Film critics say he is one of the most charismatic villains in Hollywood history. Do you want to bring him back?"

"Damn it, it's okay if you didn't say it. I regretted it once I said it. He was so damned dead in the first film. Who knew he would be so popular with the audience... Forget it, A-level productions can't be played. The twin brothers' tricks..."

Ronald regretted that the first film completely killed off Alan Rickman's character without leaving any room for it. Otherwise, if he continues to compete with Mike Lian in the sequel, he will definitely be able to create a lot of good scenes, and the publicity will be much easier.

"Where's the director? John McTiernan?" Joel Silver feels that this job as a producer is the easiest since he entered the industry. He listens to Ronald for big things, and for small things, he can do whatever makes him happy. .

"He has to go..." Ronald was unhappy when he heard McTiernan's name, deceiving the producers and allowing the actor to take unnecessary risks. He likes to make his own decisions so much, why not become his own producer and take risks. "

Anyway, this kind of action film does not have high requirements for the director. It only needs to have experience in action shooting and know how to respect the producer and stars. The acting is done by a stable team formed in the first film, Ronald is responsible for the special effects, and the rest are jobs that many people can do.

…

After finishing preparations for the lucrative sequel to "Die Hard," Ronald went to discuss his role with Bruce Willis.

Sure enough, Willis was very happy to hear that he could work with the original cast again, especially the actor who played McClain's wife and black partner. This star actually relies on intuition for his acting skills. Working with his old partner seemed to him to be another relaxing and enjoyable task.

His work on the voiceover of Amy Heckerling's "Look Who's Talking" has already been completed. If it's completed in five days, you'll get a dividend equal to your salary for the first Die Hard movie. Bruce Willis thinks Ronald is his lucky star.

"You have to discuss my salary with my agent. This A-level production is a reflection of my worth. You can't give me too low..."

Ronald chuckled to himself. This star whose career line was gradually moving up actually spoke like an ordinary blue-collar worker.

"Of course, I will treat you like an A-list star... Fox also hopes to set you an example of a successful transformation into a TV star, and will not treat you badly..."

"Do you have seven million dollars? Ronald, can you tell me the truth?" Bruce Willis pretended to discuss with Ronald in a low voice, but in fact he was showing off to his wife Demi Moore while returning the money. She winked.

"It should be more than this, and of course it won't exceed the salary of the best actor winner..." Ronald gave a measure. The new best actor Dustin Hoffman, his agent worked hard to package the qualifications of the two-time best actor, and gave him He offered a salary of eight million, which scared away a lot of movies that wanted to star in him.

"Ah, hahaha..." Willis touched his head and laughed. While laughing, he took out his wallet from his trouser pocket, took out two hundred-dollar bills and handed them to Demi, "Honey, I want to have a drink with Ronald. You go take care of the child, and I'll give you the money..." "

"Papa..." This vulgar American blue-collar worker's behavior made Demi so angry that she hit him hard on the arm several times, then turned to Ronald and said, "I'm going to prepare something to eat." Yes, you can chat with Bruce here more..."

After enjoying an exquisite meal of takeaway food on the sofa in the living room, Ronald stood up to say goodbye. In the end it was Demi who sent him out.

"Ronald, how have you considered what I asked you last time?" Demi Moore did not forget the role she entrusted to Ronald last time. She was sure that Ronald was nostalgic. Under the same conditions, as long as she often asked him to ask for help, she would definitely be given priority.

"I have a thriller called The Silence of the Lambs, and I'm rewriting the script. Would you consider dating the perverted murderer Hannibal's heroine, FBI trainee agent Starling?"

Ronald asked her semi-seriously that this role was a bit troublesome and required a female star to dilute the theme, but female stars were generally unwilling to play such roles that would pollute their own image.

"Do you really think I'm suitable for acting? As long as you say a word, I will listen to you..." Demi put her hair behind her ears with her hands. She did not forget that her upper and lower circumferences were one size larger after giving birth. Use your biggest capital.

"I'm kidding, you're not suitable for this kind of role, you're too strong, Demi..." Ronald looked at the other party carefully, the mature style replaced the pure innocence and sexiness, Starling is a fresh college graduate, Demi This kind of temperament that is revealed from time to time, wallowing in the vanity fair, does not match well.

"Papa..." Demi was so angry that she hit Ronald several times on the arm. "Don't forget about me, Ronnie."

"No, what do you mean by that?"

"Don't forget that I am also an actor..." Demi looked at Ronald with innocent eyes. She used her acting skills to the fullest, which made Ronald feel as if his innocence had returned.

"I haven't forgotten that time..." But after one sentence, Demi's secret was revealed again. She was still the actress who would do anything to climb up in order to achieve her career goals.

"I will remember it and see if there are any opportunities for cooperation..." Ronald said goodbye to her.

…

"You seem to attach great importance to this movie..." In the car, Richard handed over a bunch of audition photos of female stars who took the initiative to promote to Ronald. He has blocked more than 90% of the self-recommendations, but there are always dozens of them recommended by various powerful people every week, or those with special looks.

"I won't watch it... The sequel to Die Hard is obviously about making money, and you can just sit back and collect money. Of course it's worth investing some energy on my part." Ronald waved his hand to show that he stopped looking at the photos of beautiful women.

"Have you decided about Silence of the Lambs? Are you going to direct it yourself?" Richard took the photo back and inserted it back into the envelope. It's one thing if Ronald doesn't look at it, but it's another thing if he doesn't show it to him according to the rules. In this regard, Richard is always very decent.

"Hey... I'm a little unsure. This movie requires a lot of lens language design and some unconventional image tones. I don't have time to meditate on the design. I'm too busy and I've lost my sense of being a director. …”

Ronald sighed. He expected the movie to make back its money at the box office, but critics wouldn't say much good things about the subject matter. But when it comes to filming, it must be very enjoyable as a director.

Historically, thrillers have always been a field that can only be shot well by a master. This script is a subcategory of psychological thrillers under thrillers. It focuses on mobilizing the audience's psychological factors. There are no screams, no sudden monsters, and no demons like Chainsaw Mania. It is achieved by mobilizing the audience's psychological suspense. Let them be scared to death and get a satisfying effect.

Those who have always been able to shoot this kind of psychological thriller are all famous figures in film history. For example, Hitchcock in his heyday filmed "Rear Window", and Orson Welles, who returned to Hollywood and let loose, filmed "The Last Day". He also wanted to put down other things and go all out to create.

But as his fame and daydream business gradually grew, it also brought a lot of responsibilities. Ronald felt that he had dug a hole for himself for money. If there was someone as capable as Spielberg's Kathleen Kennedy, As a general manager, you can just focus on your art.

"If you find someone else to shoot, do you have any good candidates now?"

Ronald asked Richard that this movie needs someone who is proficient in various genres and has his own style of images to direct it.

"Why are you asking me? Don't you know the most suitable candidate yourself?" Richard handed Ronald the latest newspaper he had compiled.

"Who?" Ronald couldn't think of any one under his Daydream banner that was suitable for this kind of movie.

"Did you forget the shot?" Richard smiled. Ronald was really busy now.

"Oh?" Ronald slapped his head. Roger Coleman's senior brother at the university, Jonathan Demme, was indeed a suitable candidate.

The director is skillful in using genre films, and his image and sound design are rich in texture. Best of all, his films are instantly recognizable as whose work it is, a very important quality in a psychological thriller like "The Silence of the Lambs."

Moreover, Jonathan Demme also has two very powerful abilities. The first is that all the supporting characters have the same look, which is the standard feature of the master. Any supporting character in the master's movie can stand up as a character. This is different from commercial films like "Die Hard" where you will always find some flaws when you watch it repeatedly.

Second, and perhaps more importantly, Demme has a knack for blending genres. His Scattered Lulu starts out like a romantic movie, becomes a psychological thriller halfway through, and ends like an action movie.

This is exactly what a thriller like The Silence of the Lambs needs. Psychological thrillers often need other aspects of rendering to guide the audience into the designed track. Dialogue alone is definitely not enough. This ability is actually very strange. Not every great director has it. Neither does Ronald. He makes romance films, which are romance films, and musicals, which are musicals. The audience will not have any strange exclamations of "how did you get here?"

"What project is he working on now?" Ronald asked Richard, fearing that his senior brother would not have time to shoot his movie.

"I'm currently out of work..." Richard smiled. Jonathan Demme is also a director with a lot of personality. When he makes a movie, he needs a script that interests him, and he also has greater artistic decision-making power.

However, although his first two films, "Shot" and "Married to the Gang", received a lot of praise from the director circle (with many innovative techniques), they were not very convincing at the box office, and the producers still did not like him. There is no such confidence as Ronald.

"Then invite him here and let's have a good chat..." Ronald thought to himself that the directors who graduated from Coleman University were all weirdos, but there was no doubt that they were all very capable. Perhaps they received too much pampering from Coleman, allowing them to use their imaginations freely, and Coleman cultivated the confidence and character of these people without interfering.

Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, and Jim Cameron are all people who have the ability to break through the existing Hollywood landscape and explore a new world for those who come after them.

"The media in America are the same as their counterparts in London's Fleet Street that they laughed at..." Ronald browsed through the newspaper. The media in New York started arguing. Their positions were no better than those of the London Sun. How much better.

News coverage of the Central Park jogger's case has grown to ugly proportions.

The New York Times, unhappy with its chief rival in New York City, the New York Post, published a series of articles attacking black suspects, publishing a warning editorial against the use of the label and questioning why these "well-adjusted young people" would commit such crimes. "Barbaric" crime.

The claim that the upper-class community around Central Park, where the victims lived, had failed to fulfill their social responsibilities instead of pursuing the suspects, angered the New York Post, which has a larger circulation. This newspaper exposed five black people. The name of the only black man among the suspects who is an adult and is not protected by minors, Kare Wise.

The incident brought the black community together, rallying in an angry voice led by their black pastors. Two newspapers published in Brooklyn and Harlem with primarily black readers, the City Sun and the Amsterdam News, retaliated by publishing the name of the victimized woman, Teresa Meili...

It is said that the release of adult black suspects is allowed by law, and the protection of the names of victims of rape and violent assault is required by law. The black newspaper committed the foul first, but this matter was involved in the mayoral election to be held in the second half of the year.

The leading candidate in the Donkey Party primary was the black candidate Dinkins. Instigated by him and many black church pastors, no one dared to condemn this incident.

The reporters from the New York Times did not have the courage to expose this obviously illegal thing, which made many people who were not familiar with the law think that black people were taking advantage of it.

This cowardice ultimately sparked a backlash from wealthy white communities. Newsday, a stylish tabloid based in Long Island and Queens, struck back angrily and published the true story of the victim, Teresa Meili's injuries, which included twenty-one head fractures and a missing eyeball. She was beaten to pieces, and in addition to losing a lot of blood, she was dragged along the ground for a quarter of a mile. Footprints were clearly visible in the grass at the scene.

Unprecedented racial antagonisms began to emerge, with everyone taking sides because of their identity and background, rather than merits.

Certain religious and Latino communities also sided with blacks because of the Latino and religious backgrounds among the suspects. The Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans sided with the whites because of their complaints about order and security.

New York is indeed a place with the highest concentration of media and law firms, and all parties have begun to discuss what ethnic groups should make up the jury to be fair.

"Fuxk, why does this New York Daily News still hint at my affairs?" Ronald turned to a tabloid "Daily News" with a large circulation, which hinted that a famous Hollywood director born in New York also suffered from Attack, is there the possibility of a common suspect in the two cases, and does the director also need to testify in court..."

"Call Rudy, what's going on?" Ronald's voice broke with anger. Didn't he promise that he wouldn't get involved? How does Rudy do things?

"Shxt! This is a newspaper published in New Jersey... Why did it report about Ronald..." Richard thought that he had neglected his duty and did not find any news that was unfavorable to Ronald. He hurriedly checked for a long time, and it turned out that This newspaper competes with the New York Post. Because it was published in New Jersey and distributed in New York, Rudy's restraint on the media as prosecutor for the Southern District of New York had no effect on this newspaper and was wormed in by their reporters.