Exploiting Hollywood 1980

“The Supreme Court decision in Johnson, Texas, continues to have a lasting and far-reaching impact in Congress…”

After getting married, one of Ronald's major changes was to try to have breakfast with his family at home every day. An American family tradition is to watch ABC's "Good Morning America" ​​program during breakfast.

Because of the time difference, what Ronald and Diane actually watched together was the recorded version of the East Coast program three hours ago.

Ronald still remembers the case of the rebellious Texas youth burning the Stars and Stripes, which eventually reached the Supreme Court with a 5:4 decision, declaring that burning the Stars and Stripes was protected by the First Amendment.

General George Sr. also took this opportunity to deliver a speech at a mass rally, claiming that he wanted to express the patriotism of the majority of Americans and urged the House and Senate to amend the law and make the protection of the New Bridge Flag a new amendment. .

Of course, this requires approval by a 2/3 majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then it has to be sent to the states for a vote. Only if 2/3 of the states, that is, more than 38 states pass it, can it become a new Twenty-Seventh Amendment.

The last time such an amendment was passed was in 1971. Because of the impact of the Vietnam War, young people were increasingly participating in politics, so the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18.

But for most state senators and representatives, this is a perfect opportunity for them to gain votes. Unlike congressmen from big cities on the east and west coasts who have to face voters with progressive values, congressmen from these inland states can win the support of many voters in their hometowns by adhering to a patriotic mentality.

The proposed amendment, which was repeatedly debated in Congress, was called the "Insult to the Stars and Stripes Amendment." Sen. Bob Dole (D-Kansas) said: "Americans may not understand every nuance of the law, but they know it's insulting when they see it. They demand action."

Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-South Carolina, D-Elephant) said in a statement to the Senate that the ruling "set off a geyser of emotion across our country, demanding immediate action."

Sen. Trent Lott (D-Mississippi, D-Elephant) told the Senate he "heard the outrage" while visiting constituents in Mississippi and that in "city after city," he claimed he witnessed several people complaining about The decision “brought tears to my eyes.”

One thing these three senators have in common is that they all served in the US military.

But senators from several large states on the east and west coasts voiced objections.

Senator Allen Cranston (D-CA) said: "The First Amendment is the most important amendment. It guarantees our freedom of speech, including the right to express opinions about the Star-Spangled Banner, even if those opinions unwelcome."

Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (N.Y., D-N.Y.) said: "The Star-Spangled Banner is a symbol of our country, but it is no more important than our laws. The First Amendment is the cornerstone of our democracy, and we You cannot violate a symbol to protect it.”

Very neatly, the two senators who supported the Supreme Court's decision were once university professors at Harvard and Berkeley.

Voters in big cities on the east and west coasts have completely different views on this matter than voters in inland and southern states. And this rare ruling does not affect everyone's economic interests very much. So these senators had fun shouting out to their supporters.

"Due to strong resistance in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, it is expected that there will be no new amendment motion before the summer recess of the 101st Congress. Some members told our reporter that they may bypass the amendment and switch to And seek ordinary legislation to stop this unpatriotic behavior."

This kind of ordinary law is much simpler. As long as it is passed by a simple majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and then signed by the President, it can become a law.

Ronald never discussed this with his relatives and friends. He silently changed the channel. After eating, he went to Daydream and found senior executives to speed up the filming of three low-cost patriotic movies.

The crew that formed the fastest among the three movies was Showdown in Little Tokyo.

The director hired Mark L. Lester, the director of Commando, starring Schwarzenegger. After directing the box-office success of Commando, his second film, The Bodyguard, failed miserably at the box office.

After that, he couldn't find a project, but Daydream's executives saw the excellent return on investment in a series of action B-movies he had directed before, and persuaded him to direct this small production.

Daydream plans to invest 6 million in production costs, and has found a lot of suitable actors and action directors. Except for Lundgren, who once served as Ronald's bodyguard, all the other supporting characters have Ronald-related backgrounds.

For example, the heroine Tia Carrera is a Japanese singer and model born in Hawaii. Another detective who plays a rising background is Brandon Lee, the son of kung fu master Bruce Lee.

The villain Yoshida in the movie is played by a Japanese actor Hiroyuki Tagawa who looks very bad and evil at first glance. This actor has an extraordinary background. His mother is Mariko Hatake, an actress from the Takarazuka Theater Company, and his father is a Japanese-American American soldier stationed in Japan.

Unlike those children born of mixed races of different races, his childhood was relatively happy. After his mother retired from the army, she and his father immigrated to the United States.

Tagawa Hiroyuki was very fond of Ronald's Ryuki Kid because he himself was a black belt in karate from Shotokan. During this meeting, I had the opportunity to meet Ronald and asked him for an autograph.

"I remember that you also had a role in The Last Emperor." Ronald looked at this bad face and was really impressed. Some actors may not be able to become popular, but the roles they play always make the audience appreciate it. remember.

"Hi Yi, I play a eunuch in it." Tagawa replied with a smile.

"Not only that, he also plays a Hong Kong policeman in the latest 007 License to Kill." The person who spoke was Ronald's earliest partner and the first president of Daydream Productions Eddie Cohen.

However, as the scale of the daydream expanded and there were many things to do, he made a lot of money and already proposed to Ronald that he would step down as president and pursue his own career. The president was going to be handed over to Michel Canold. .

Ronald did not treat him badly, the boss of the small New York brokerage company that helped him back then. He was given some token shares and then arranged for him to take a director's position in Daydream.

Eddie wanted to return to his old business, and opening a small brokerage company just matched Ronald's career. Tagawa Yoko Co. was one of the first customers he took a fancy to.

"Very good..." Ronald admired this person's performance ability. After Tagawa left, he asked Eddie, "Would this client be willing to sign under a small company of yours?"

"It's not a big problem. His face means he doesn't have many projects in Hollywood. There are only a few studios such as our Daydream that can mass-produce stories with East Asian characters."

"It turns out there is another reason. Don't miss Tia Carrera." Ronald pointed to the actor's audition photo and said to Eddie.

He has seen this Tia Carrera in real life, with bronzed skin and a special sexy beauty. Many Americans and East Asians would love his type of actor.

"In fact, I have talked with all the Asian actors in Little Tokyo, and most of them are willing to put their financial contracts with us. Only Brandon Lee..."

"Then don't worry about it..." Ronald knew that the son of a kung fu master was arrogant and he once went to Xiangjiang to make a film with his old acquaintance Jacky Chan.

Although his background is actually very suitable for development here, Ronald would rather praise the Chinese-American Qiu Yunbo and a group of action actors from Xiangjiang than find him. There is no other reason than that this guy really feels too good about himself and likes to teach directors how to film.

But the director likes him and I don’t know if the cooperation will go smoothly.

The second discussion at the meeting was "Best of The Best". Ronald also met with the confirmed cast.

There was an old acquaintance inside, Chris Penn, Sean Penn’s younger brother. Ronald had dealt with him before, but when he saw him today, he felt that his face seemed a little swollen. He also asked him with concern how he was doing.

But these Hollywood actors are always getting into all kinds of trouble, either with alcohol or drugs. Seeing Chris Penn saying that the swelling was just caused by poor sleep, he didn't say much.

In comparison, leading actor Eric Roberts is in pretty good shape. Although he had been drinking too much and had dark circles under his eyes and a dark complexion, it still fit the role of the prodigal son who turned back.

Similarly, there were many Korean actors in this movie, and they were all signed by Eddie Cohen. Their surnames were either Rhee or Park. Ronald couldn't remember much at once and just shook hands with them to express his congratulations.

One of the actors, Phillip Rhee, is also a martial artist himself, and he also gave Ronald a Taekwondo show. This martial art is obviously different from Japanese karate at first glance, focusing on leg movements. This is a great thing for film shooting and branding.

Finally, he appeared in the World Taekwondo Championship, and the coach of the American team was a black actor. He is middle-aged and has a stocky build. He wears a pair of black-rimmed glasses and speaks in a very strong voice.

"James Earl Jones, you can call me James. Nice to meet you, Director Li..."

"Did I hear wrongly? Or are you the one..."

"Yes, I am the voice of Darth Vader. Most people will ask this question when they meet me..."

"Haha, George (Lucas) didn't tell me this..." Ronald shook hands with him for a long time, and also talked to him about the current situation of Star Wars actors. The actor who actually played Vader had a very strong Welsh accent, so he was forced to do the dubbing.

His voice is very distinctive. If he were a white actor, he would definitely be offered various supporting roles. But because he is black, there are not many roles suitable for him in Hollywood. Only last year's American Journey starring Eddie Murphy did he play the king of an African country, which was considered a relatively important supporting role.

In Hollywood movies, black people are either playing gags, gangsters, musicians, etc., and other roles that have very black stereotypes. James Earl Jones's voice is upright, and there really aren't many opportunities to perform like this.

This time he plays the coach of the US team, which is a role that just fits his voice and appearance.

The last patriotic film about the Star-Spangled Banner was Kickboxer starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Kickboxing is a sport that was invented based on the fighting concept advocated by Bruce Lee. In the 1980s, before karate became popular, it was once a relatively popular fighting sport in the United States besides boxing.

In addition to Daydream's investment in this film, Jean-Claude Van Damme also brought in some money and found his martial arts friends in Hong Kong to participate in the filming. Chen Guoxin and Li Jiading were also invited to play supporting roles.

However, the heroine Jean-Claude Van Damme decided to use a Filipino actress Rochelle Ashana. This actress has also been a female stunt double in many movies. In this movie, she can perform many action scenes herself.

Daydream's production skills have been put to the test. Ronald learned the B-movie shooting method from Roger Corman. Shoot as cheaply as possible and as fast as possible. If it goes over time and exceeds the budget, As long as the spirit of tearing up the script is enough, it will be no problem for a small company like Daydream to start shooting three low-cost movies at the same time.

But if it's a big production, Daydream can't handle it on its own.

Joel Silver's Die Hard 2 once again required additional investment from Fox, and he chose Alpena, Michigan as the location for the second film.

Located on the west shore of Lake Michigan, it has great views and places for outdoor activities. One can engage in various activities such as hiking, fishing, boating and diving.

20th Century Fox had some doubts about Joel Silver's approach. They found Ronald and hoped that Ronald would confirm whether these scenes really had to be set in this relatively high-cost tourist destination. Come and shoot.

"I said Joel, you don't want to go on vacation, do you?" Ronald found Joel Silver and asked him face to face.

"It's not me. I'm innocent. You should ask Bruce Willis' agent. Bruce and his wife Demi Moore requested that it be convenient for his wife and children to visit there during the filming process. They I like water and outdoor sports." Joel Silver looked innocent. He was wearing pajamas and hugging the Canadian playboy beauty Pamela Anderson.

Ronald didn't know if what he said was true or false. However, he had a very good relationship with Demi Moore, so he called his home to inquire about the situation.

"Is this Ronald? Let me tell him..." Bruce Willis heard Demi's voice, and he came over and picked up the phone, "Hey, Ronald, do you want to come to my house to play?" Come on, bring your wife, we haven’t had a party together in a long time.”

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :