Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Karate should be a philosophy, not a skill." Ronald copied a few excerpts from the library, some written explanations about karate, and then kicked the monitor for a long time, unable to write a word.

"Hey," he slapped the keyboard, "I can't write without inspiration."

I haven't found a karate coach like Vidal to discuss it carefully, and many things are superficial. Coupled with the release of "Night of the Comet", Ronald was so impatient that he had no intention of writing the script.

"Night of the Comet" did not invite film critics to watch the special screening first, but only opened a special screening for the audience. This is also because there is no money to print a complete version, and there are still copies with editing traces. If you invite film critics to see it, they will make jokes, and they will not be able to write anything good.

Simply do not invite one, and then let them enter the cinema freely after the release, and write their true feelings.

A low-budget movie, everything is out of your control. Without professional people and a lot of input, Ronald began to miss the benefits of the big studios again.

"Ronald, there is a review of your new film." Agent Richard called. "This is the only one for today."

"Oh, what newspaper?" Ronald was full of anticipation when he heard that there were film reviews.

"Valley Daily, an entertainment section of a newspaper in the San Fernando Valley."

"How do you evaluate it?"

"Victory for the Valley Girls!" Richard cleared his throat. "That's the title."

"With the song "Valley Girl", which hit the top of the charts, Hollywood will definitely not let the subject matter. Following last month's 'Valley Girl' directed by Martha Coolidge, Atlantic Pictures has released another "Valley Girl" Exploitation piece on the theme.

The story takes place after a comet wipes out most of the people in Southern California, two valley girls with their kind of innocence and splendor, indulge in shopping and dating in the apocalypse. It further deepened the stereotype of the girl in the valley.

...

The director seems to have a special fascination for the legs of young girls, and most of the characters' appearances start with close-ups of the girls' feet and calves, and are no exception. Even Samantha, one of the heroines, came out of the elevator, starting with the exposed legs of the cheerleading uniform.

 …”

"Okay, don't read any more." Ronald sighed "hey", "I'm not obsessed with calves and feet, that shot Kelly Maloney was going to audition for other projects, and I had to use it. Taken for a stand-in."

"Hahahaha..." There was a burst of laughter from the other end of the phone.

"I knew you were there, Nisita!"

"Don't be mad, it's just a tabloid in the San Fernando Valley town, and your reviews don't start mass-marketing until Sunday, or even Monday. We're just kidding you." Nisita grabbed the receiver and told Ronald said.

"Just laugh at me." Ronald also smiled, and his nervousness was relieved.

"It will take some time for the box office to count, I've got Richard staring across the Atlantic. But I went to see it with Paula last night, and the attendance was pretty good. I didn't get distracted throughout the movie, a lot The audience loves it too.”

"Go on, I love hearing this." Ronald also joked with him, and now he is nervous.

By Sunday, film reviews from all over the place were also published.

Variety's weekend edition wrote: "After 'fast-paced Richmond High', young director Ronald Lee is experimenting with teen themes again. But this time instead of repeating the school-themed growth story, he made A science fiction theme.

He has created a visually striking B-movie. I've used the "Liquid Sky" color scheme in it, and we can also see the plot content he borrowed from "The Day of the Trilobite," "Dawn of the Living Dead," and "The Last Woman on Earth."

I describe the film as "a successful parody of so many sci-fi films, making up for its lack of originality with a playful, wry flair."

"I haven't seen those two movies except 'Dawn of the Living Dead'." Ronald jumped up when he saw the evaluation of his films on the weekend edition of "Variety" in CAA's office. "Is this accusing me of plagiarism?"

"No, if all the plots are not similar to the previous movies, there will be no movie." Nisita patted Ronald on the shoulder and handed him a cup of coffee.

"Then why did they say that?"

"Let's discriminate against low-budget B-grade films. But don't worry, writing this way will not affect your box office results, but will attract the interest of those B-grade films that are small production hobbies. These reporters are very sophisticated, and they scold some of them. , but also to praise a part."

Ronald shook his head, forget it, for the box office, it's okay to be scolded a few times.

Next up is a New York Times film review column.

Film critic Vincent Camby wrote,

"Night of the Comet is a well-meaning, apocalyptic B-movie with a unique sense of humor that adds to the unpredictability of the film's plot and is a recommended movie for sci-fi fans.

From the opening narration, it is not difficult to see that "Night of the Comet" is a tribute to the B-type science fiction films of the 1950s and 1960s. Many call it comedy, but that's a little misleading. It certainly has some funny moments, and an all-around lightness, but much of the film is also fairly straightforward.

Where the film succeeds is its two female protagonists and their very believable responses to being the last man on earth. Faced with the end of mankind, what will they do? They go shopping for free! Be honest with yourself...isn't it? "

"Is this a good word?" Ronald asked.

"You can't expect a movie review of this kind of small production, like the last time Universal gave you a PR, it's all good words." Nisita pointed out.

Then there's Interview magazine's film critic Neil Gaiman.

Ronald recognized that it was the magazine of the eccentric artist Andy Warhol in New York.

"This is one of the funniest, most witty, most imaginative and thought-provoking films I've ever seen, and what's even more remarkable is that it was made on no budget ($1.2 million Budget, for sci-fi is no budget, you know what I mean).

Kathryn Marie Stewart, and Kelly Maloney, both did well in their roles. They're valley girls, but they're not cartoony, the version of the valley girls in Frank Zappa's chart-topping song.

In a movie where comets die and zombies stumble, these girls actually find their feet in the real world...  

Another highlight of the cast is the ever-great Mary Voronoff. This Roger Coleman movie veteran, is perfect for this movie.

We note that director Ronald Lee, also a graduate of the Coleman School of Cinematic Arts, owes much of the film to Coleman's filmmaking training. "

"It seems that Mary Voronoff's old friends are still very powerful." Ronald felt good in his heart. "Interview" magazine is still very influential among teenagers on the East Coast. Many high school students use this This magazine is a popular guide. With such a high evaluation, it should be able to attract some audiences.

In the first weekend, the Atlantic arranged for "Night of the Comet" to be shown in nearly 900 cinemas. These film reviews helped attract some audiences to the cinema. Next, it depends on the reputation of the film.

If the word of mouth is good, then more audiences will hear from relatives and friends that they have entered the cinema and continue to push up the box office. If the reputation is not good, then there will be such a wave, and then it will quickly deplete.

"And there's Sisko and Albert's movie review program." Nisita found a remote control and pressed a few times on the TV and VCR.

"Welcome to the Sisko and Albert Critic Show."

The glasses and the bald head, and they started their weekly TV movie reviews again.

Bald Sisko prefers the movie, "I think if the comet destroys most adults and turns them into ashes, then teens must be happy. They can go to a department store for a free changing show, and they can have sex with men. Friends go out on a date and come home past twelve o'clock.

Most sci-fi movies take the catastrophe of human beings in the future too heavy. It is a very good attempt in sci-fi movies to have such a movie to tell the extinction event in a relaxed manner.

Of course it's tragic for adults who have been wiped out by comets, or turned into zombies. But the two sisters who were substituted into the audience thought that they could wear good clothes that they couldn't afford before, and they could drive a sports car that they couldn't buy before.

This is simply what teenagers dream of. "

Spectacles Albert continued, "I also think the orientation of the film is very interesting, half of the last-apocalyptic films will leave adults, men, women, the elderly and children, and in this film only teenagers survive, maybe they play Too high, forgot the time."

"This guy must still hold a grudge against me. He exposed him at the roadshow last time." Ronald said bitterly, and Albert was criticizing himself in a weird way.

Sisko picked up the conversation again, "I think this movie deserves more screening time, although the latest episode of Star Wars will be released in two weeks, I still call on the cinema to give them more screenings, Those who haven't seen it should watch it now."

"Bald man, you still like my movies." Ronald lamented.

Albert added, "I think this movie is lackluster in science fiction, and the director just took advantage of a combination of science fiction, teens, romantic comedies, zombie horror, valley girls and other popular elements to grab a trend. I see It's not going to be a long-remembered movie."

Sisko disagreed, "No, it's not like that. I know you love sci-fi more than I do, but I have a good word for Ronald Lee.

The point here is that a lot of sci-fi directors are keen to teach the audience, they always have a mentality that you don't know what the future holds, and I'm smarter, so I'm making a movie to show you.

And Ronald Lee didn't have this burden. He didn't let the audience feel that the future must be gloomy, but let you explore by yourself. The audience has a sense of mystery about the ending of the film, not a sense of pessimism. Maybe the future It's good. Just like the end of the movie. "

"Okay, I reserve my opinion, let's see another new movie."

"Crack," Nisita pressed the pause button.

"That's it."

"Would they say that in the papers?"

"No, the Atlantic doesn't have PR for them. So your movie is just a new movie review part of the weekly film review, but they often have different opinions, and generally the films with different opinions have better box office attendance."

After another day of restless waiting, a phone call from Tom Coleman, president of Atlantic Publishing, came in person on Monday night.

"The box office statistics have come out. The total box office for the three weekends is 3.58 million, 898 theaters, and the average box office of a single theater is close to 4,000. We have won again!"

"Huh!" After Ronald answered the phone, he collapsed on the sofa in a relaxed state. He seemed to be soaking in the bathtub taking a hot bath.

The 4000 weekend single-hall box office results, although not as good as the previous "Valley Girl" in The Atlantic. However, his "Night of the Comet" has achieved results in nearly 900 theaters nationwide, unlike "Valley Girl", which is only shown in less than 300 theaters in big cities on the east and west coasts.

Considering that his movie has more films in multiplex theaters, the attendance rate must be higher than that of the other party, so Martha Coolidge is also convinced that he has lost, and can't complain that he has robbed her of the box office.

The box office of the whole film was 3.58 million over the weekend, ranking fourth among all the films, only two new films "Blue Thunder" and "Breathless", and the fifth week of the box office bursting release. Under "Lightning Dance".