Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Ronald, I need your help. You have a lot of contacts in major TV stations. Can you help me talk to NBC again, or find a new broadcast platform for the new film?"

Steve Bannon approached Ronald about his involvement in investing in the TV series pilot "The Seinfeld Chronicles" produced by Castle Rock.

NBC did an internal pilot for "The Seinfeld Chronicles" and the audience feedback was very unsatisfactory, so NBC executives officially informed Bannon that NBC would not buy the TV series.

"I don't know. You put the video tape and the evaluation summary here. I have to watch it before I can give you an answer."

This is not a perfunctory statement. Ronald and Bannon are very familiar with each other, and there is not much conflict of interest in their cooperation. Bannon is responsible for finding money from Wall Street, and Ronald is responsible for coming up with ideas, so they speak very directly.

"I'll watch it with you here. This pilot episode is actually quite funny. The feedback from the pilot episode was not good, mainly because NBC did not find a suitable audience for the pilot episode." Bannon has a very nouveau style in doing things. Since Rona De agreed to consider it and just stayed here to read it with him.

The pilot episode is short, only 23 minutes.

The name of the lead actor and creator is Jerry Seinfeld. The lead actor in this TV series will also use the actor's real name.

The plot of the pilot episode is quite simple and interesting. Seinfeld was a Jewish man in New York. One day he was discussing the relationship between men and women in a coffee shop with old friends and neighbors, as well as a waitress.

Laura, a girl Seinfeld met in Michigan, is coming to New York, but he doesn't know whether she sees him as a potential date or just a friend.

A few friends were discussing there, what kind of signals does Laura give in her words and actions? It means that he is interested in Seinfeld, and there is a possibility that the two will develop a romantic relationship; what kind of signal is given to show that Laura only regards Seinfeld as a casual friend?

As a result, Laura, who was picked up by Seinfeld at the airport, gave an ambiguous signal every time she communicated with Seinfeld. It can be understood as either the first or the second.

Later, Laura asked to spend the night in Seinfeld's apartment. And when they arrived at Seinfeld's apartment, Laura took off her shoes, ordered a glass of wine, and turned off the lights.

Just when Seinfeld was feeling good and taking off his shoes, Laura received a phone call that was obviously about a relationship. Then Laura told Seinfeld never to get engaged, which made Seinfeld understand that Laura was not a good match for him.

The end of the episode is tragic. Although Seinfeld has no possibility of developing a relationship with Laura, he has promised Laura in advance that he will accompany her to visit various attractions in Manhattan and signed up for a five-hour sightseeing cruise.

"It's quite funny, and the casting of male and female actors is also very good, but I feel that this TV series is a bit too deep."

Ronald laughed non-stop while watching the pilot episode. This TV series is very suitable for the tastes of intellectuals and urban youth.

But the TV series is aimed at a national audience, and those Oklahoma parents may not be able to appreciate some of the sense of humor and laughter of New Yorkers, Jews, and idle urban white-collar workers.

"But you can't deny that he's funny, especially the actor named Jason Alexander. He looks like a traitor... It makes people laugh just by looking at him."

Bannon's understanding of film and television dramas still remains in those very naive ideas of good guys, bad guys, boyfriends, and girlfriends. But who knows? Maybe TV dramas are just a bit more childish than movies.

After all, TV series have two disadvantages compared to movies on the big screen. First, its screen is very small and generally can only show some close-ups and close-ups. If the actors' performances and images don't impress the audience, then they may not understand what the story is about.

Second, because when watching TV, it is not like watching a movie, sitting there with a group of strangers in a large dark room. There wasn't anything else to do except watch movies. It naturally forces the audience to watch only the big screen.

When people watch TV, they have many choices. They can change the channel, chat, drink Coke, or eat pizza. Therefore, at this time, some more exaggerated and dramatic performances are needed so that the audience can follow the progress of the plot after returning from the distraction.

Bannon is right. Jason Alexander is indeed as he said. He has a fat head, big ears, and a slight bald head. This kind of appearance is likely to be a supporting role for a character actor in the movie. But in TV dramas, it is very convenient to give him a close-up, and with that smile, the audience can understand that he is a bad friend.

"I can't say, Steve. I can't promise anything, but I will communicate with the people at NBC..." Ronald also thought he could give it a try. Anyway, it wouldn't be a waste of favors.

"This is what I'm asking you to do. I'm not asking for any extra care, Ronald." A smile appeared on Bannon's fat face, "But you have to worry about that Brandon Tartikoff. He is The biggest problem with our rejection from NBC was that.

All the executives and audiences who came to watch the internal preview liked the TV series and gave it high ratings. Only Brandon Tartikoff made a lot of far-fetched objections. But you are Hollywood’s authority on audience preferences, and no one knows better than you. As long as you express your objective feelings, I don’t think anyone can object to your intuition. "

The Brandon Tartikoff Bannon is talking about is the president of NBC. He is only forty years old this year and is a golden boy in management. After he switched from ABC to NBC, he turned this company, which was at the bottom of the three major TV stations in ratings, into a TV station with the highest ratings and credibility.

It includes family dramas led by "Family Ties", new police dramas led by "Hill Street Blues", and late-night talk shows led by Johnny Carson and David Letterman.

If such a business wizard takes the lead in opposing the purchase of this TV series, there must be a good reason.

So Ronald didn't quite believe Bannon's story, so he picked up the phone and called a partner at Castle Rock, the production company for The Seinfeld Chronicles, who worked on "Steel Magnolias" and "When Harry Met Sarah." Leigh's collaborator on both films, Bob Reiner.

"Hi, Ronald. How was the box office of When Harry Met Sally?" Bob Reiner answered the phone and asked Ronald about the box office of the movie. It turned out that the movie he didn't like was now getting very good reviews. , he regretted it a little, and admired Ronald's foresight to change the ending of the movie to the happy ending it is now.

"It's not bad. We managed to get more than 900 theaters to show it in the first weekend of large-scale screening. They saw the results of the small-scale screening in the first two weeks and were very satisfied. As long as it is a movie that both of us like, It must do well at the box office."

Ronald was very respectful to Bob Reiner and said that both of them liked the movie, with only a small difference of opinion on the ending. And he only mentions the box office, which is where both companies can share profits, and not the critical acclaim - which cannot be shared with Reiner.

"That's right, Bannon came to me here about the TV series Seinfeld. I want to ask, what is your attitude towards this TV series? What do you think of it?"

"Haha, the quality of this TV series is pretty good, but it's not suitable for the market. We'll probably give it up and focus on promoting Angelian's comedy instead."

Sure enough, Rob Reiner, as one of the partners of Castle Rock, told Ronald the truth.

When this TV series was piloted internally by NBC executives, it was actually welcomed by almost all executives. And the laughter density is very high.

But Brandon Tartikoff is a very mature manager. He never chooses TV series according to the taste of executives, but insists on using the feedback of the pilot family as the main indicator.

When NBC aired the pilot episode of this TV series, it invited 400 families to participate. These people signed a pilot agreement and were able to see some pilot episodes that other ordinary TV users could not see.

In exchange, they must submit detailed viewing reports and answer calls from ratings investigators. When necessary, they will be invited to the TV station to hold pilot feedback meetings, where everyone can discuss why they like or dislike a series.

It is said that "Seinfeld Chronicles" received one of the most horrific pilot responses in the history of television among these 400 families.

The top two reasons to hate Seinfeld are: "No audience is eager to watch the show again" and "None of the characters are particularly popular."

Rob Reiner's company produces TV series. In the promotion stage of TV series production, they usually only have the episode scripts of the first few episodes and the first episode that is filmed and broadcast to the TV station for pilot broadcast.

So for a company like Castle Rock, they have a lot of shows that are picked up by everyone at the same time every year. If this one doesn't work, they'll have another one that might stand out.

The TV series starring Angel Jillian that Reiner mentioned has received a 13-episode first season order from NBC. They have already decided internally to abandon Seinfeld.

"Thanks, man, I get it."

Ronald put down the phone. Unlike Reiner, Bannon is a broker between Wall Street money and Hollywood production companies. What he received from several Wall Street funds and anonymous individual investors was directed investment in "The Seinfeld Chronicles."

Therefore, if this TV series starring Seinfeld is not ordered by the TV station, he will be very passive. Those on Wall Street may think that he lacks real competitiveness and cannot grab the investment rights for TV series that are sought after by television stations.

Ronald himself didn’t know much about the production of TV series, and he was almost bypassed by Bannon, a Wall Street liar.

"Honey, I'm leaving first." At dawn the next morning, Ronald was kissing Helen Slater in the airport terminal.

"Well, every time you come, I'm in a good mood, but I can't stay with you for too long..." Helen smiled and wiped the lipstick on Ronald's mouth. When she and Ronald got together for a short period of time, she could still resist quarreling with him about their acting skills. But after more than a week, friction would definitely arise.

Even if Ronald gave in to her in a gentlemanly manner, Ronald could not hold back such a good temper for more than two weeks. It's best to get together for a short period of time like this, and you can still keep each other's best memories.

"Hey hey hey..." Ronald asked the waiter embarrassedly for a hot towel and wiped his mouth...

"Let's go..." Ronald, his bodyguard, agent, driver, and some of the crew's publicity staff boarded the Gulfstream business jet again.

The plane took off and flew to the west coast where the sun had not yet risen. Ronald asked the stewardess for a blanket to cover himself with and fell asleep. The crew and manager Richard all knew that he worked all night long (but their definitions of hard work were different...). Everyone sat far away from Ronald to give him a good rest environment. .

On the plane, Ronald always slept very soundly. In the dark space in front of him, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared.

"Anyway, I just want you to know that I will do everything I can to make the responsible parties responsible for changing the places they are responsible for, or at least be almost responsible..."

What appeared in Ronald's dream this time was not a big screen, but a small TV.

The 4:3 TV screen is very small, and the camera can only see the back of a man wearing a red shirt, facing an apartment door, and the profile of a blonde beauty wearing a gray velvet inside the door. The two were talking through the door, and they seemed to be strangers to each other.

"Oh, she's so beautiful." Ronald immediately recognized that the blonde beauty wearing a gray velvet coat was Helen Slater. Underneath the fleece is a T-shirt. Helen's blond hair is cut short and scattered on both sides of her ears. Her skin is white and rosy, and her two big eyes are shining.

The camera turned to the over-the-shoulder shot on the other side. The man in the red shirt was Seinfeld, the leading actor in Seinfeld. Like Ronald, he seemed to be attracted by Helen's stunning beauty and didn't know what to say, so he said a very stupid thing.

"Thank you so much!"

…

"It turns out that Helen will be filming a TV series later, and her acting skills are more suitable for TV series."

Ronald looked at Helen on the TV. She was a little older than she is now, but the charm of a young woman also made him very attracted.

…

When the camera turns, it's still the same place, still at the door

"The people from the insurance company want you to assess the damage to the car." The man in the red shirt

"I have already determined the loss. The total is 875 US dollars." The camera zoomed out slightly from the previous shot, showing a mid-range shot of Helen's upper body. This time she was wearing a dark shirt, with the buttons slightly unbuttoned, revealing a red T-shirt underneath, and a pair of jeans. She frowned slightly, as if she was confused that this man was knocking on his door again.

"Eight hundred and seventy-five dollars?" Seinfeld was heartbroken. He refused to admit that he had hit Helen's car. But I couldn't bear to have such an opportunity to deal with a beautiful woman. He took out his checkbook and said, "I'm telling you, I will write you a check for $875 on behalf of the person who hit your car right now, and then I will go to the perpetrator and ask him to compensate me."

Helen smoothed her blond hair, looking puzzled.

"Who should the check be made out to?" Seinfeld took the opportunity to want to know the name of Helen's character.

"Becky..." Helen spelled out the character's name.

Seinfeld ripped off the check, handed it to Helen, and asked, "What are you doing on the weekend?"

Karen grabbed the check and said, "You are really shameless...you hit my car, and then you didn't admit it, and now you're asking me out?"

"I didn't do it!"

"Sneeze!" Helen's character sneezed, and her acting skills seemed to have improved a lot compared to her current performance.

"You're so beautiful!" Seinfeld still looked like in the pilot episode, looking like he wanted to pick up girls but was also very cheap.

…

"This TV series actually ran for so many seasons?"

Ronald shouted in his sleep.

"Ah, oh..." Ronald woke up, took a cup of black tea handed by the stewardess and drank it. Everyone in the cabin is not surprised. They already know that their boss likes to dream when flying, and they have already told the flight attendant in advance what to do.

While drinking black tea, Ronald wrapped himself tightly in the blanket and chewed the wolfberry in the black tea.

Judging from the pilot episode, this TV series is about Seinfeld, a Jewish white-collar worker in New York, how he shamelessly disparages various things with his friends, and also tells how he meets all kinds of beauties and wants to pick up girls. things.

Helen Slater in the series is obviously more mature and feminine than she is now. If every episode or two had a new female guest character being courted by Seinfeld, the show would be renewed for many more seasons.

And after it has been renewed for many seasons, it can still hire an actress of Helen Slater's caliber and good looks. This TV series must have good ratings.

The more Ronald thought about it, the more he felt that it was right. This TV series might be beyond everyone's expectations and be an unpopular dark horse.

He waved to Richard, "Go and see if the satellite phone on the plane can be used now? I want to make a call to the president of NBC. This is my credit card..."

There is only one update tonight. What was missing yesterday will be made up tomorrow.