Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Michael Jackson received a warm welcome at the airport, with more than 600 reporters waiting for the King of Pop at Tokyo's Narita Airport. This was his second visit to Japan after performing as a member of the "Ja5" band in 1973.

The first concert was held at Korakuen Stadium, the home of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. More than 40,000 tickets were sold out within 5 hours of the opening. The organizer said that they were in contact with Michael Jackson to negotiate more shows.

MJ's pet, Bubbles the gorilla, arrived on another flight and was also greeted by more than 300 fans.

For this concert, a cargo plane was specially used to transport more than 22 trucks of equipment, more than 700 lights, 100 speakers, and 40 laser generators to ensure the most perfect performance for Tokyo audiences."

"This is really crazy, crazy."

Ronald was in his room at the Okura Hotel. After making an advance reservation, he finally ate the complete shaved toast carefully prepared by the chef, which was paired with black tea, bacon, sausages, etc. Ronald was very happy. Japanese people are good at cooking simple food with great care and making it taste different.

Diane, who was having breakfast with him, picked up the front row concert tickets sent by MJ's manager Frank Dilio last night and looked at them left and right.

"It is said that a ticket is now sold at a sky-high price. If you want to sell these two front row tickets, I guess some girls will be willing to give themselves to you on the spot."

"What are you thinking about?" Ronald hugged Diane and sat on his lap, "We should leave early, otherwise we will probably be stuck in the crowd waiting for ticket refunds at the door."

He exchanged contact information with Director Wu, signed a distribution agreement for "Dirty Dancing" with the theater chain under Kadokawa Bookstore, and held the promises of two big bosses in the Japanese entertainment industry. He was just waiting to return to Hollywood to visit the seven major studios and seek cooperation.

Ronald was very proud and simply extended his trip in East Asia and went to Hong Kong to see if there was any opportunity for cooperation.

MJ came to Tokyo to start his global tour of his new album "Bad" just after the film festival ended. Ronald received two tickets from Dilio and prepared to be a fan with Diane for a while.

At six o'clock in the evening, the lights in the Korakuen Stadium suddenly began to light up in a row. Ronald and Diane immediately felt the volume brought by the shouting of 40,000 spectators at the scene, like waves, scraping across the stadium like a body.

"Pepsi Quola, Kuoni Kakamila", a friendly female voice began to broadcast the names of sponsors one by one on the loudspeaker in the stadium. Ronald vaguely heard that they were Pepsi and Coney Camera.

The drumbeats began to go from slow to fast, and the sound became heavier and heavier. Finally, at a moment, all the lights illuminated the stage. In the smoke, a row of people in leather jackets appeared faintly.

"Ah...ah...ah..."

Amid the deafening shouts of the audience, the laser began to draw bright lines on the stage. A man wearing a top hat and hair like instant noodles appeared in the center of the stage with sunglasses.

MJ unbuttoned his glittering diamond-studded leather jacket, put one hand on his crotch, and began to twist to the fast rhythm.

The audience's eyes were all focused on this strange man.

The concert started with the new song "The Way You Make Me Feel" from the new album. The laser flashed brightly and dimly with the rhythm, and all the audience couldn't help but stand up and dance to the rhythm.

The audience at Tokyo Korakuen Stadium was intoxicated. They were led by MJ to cry, laugh, and applaud, as if he was God at this moment, giving them everything they wanted.

Ronald only felt that the appeal of this superstar was more powerful than the best Hollywood movies. After all, it was a live performance, and the impact on the audience was different from the careful guidance of the movie.

The one and a half hour performance ended quickly. The audience in Tokyo cooperated very well and left slowly and orderly.

"These audiences really love MJ." Ronald looked at the many female students wearing T-shirts who came to watch the performance, queuing at the door and calling MJ's name to express their love.

Ronald and Diane arrived at the hotel. Diane took a shower first. The concert made people sweat.

"I'm ready," Diane came out and called to Ronald wearing only a bath towel.

"CBS News J is doing a live interview. It will be broadcasted in America tomorrow." Ronald watched the program on TV and sighed that MJ's popularity was invincible. News 60 Minutes was the oldest news interview program. Many people said that if you want to understand America, you just need to watch this program.

Ronald also took a shower. The hot water washed away his fatigue. Ronald wiped his hair with a towel and came out to find Diane.

"No, Ronald-san doesn't need this kind of service."

Diane was answering the phone.

"What service?" Ronald asked.

"I don't know. Someone called to ask if you want a woman, and he speaks English."

"Huh?" Ronald was puzzled. He had been in Tokyo for several days and had never received such an active call in the Okura Hotel.

Diane hung up the phone with a snap.

Ronald dried his hair and went to draw the curtains. When he came back, he saw Diane answering the phone again.

"No, what? The Prime Minister's secret lover, that's not necessary either. We don't need it, OK, please don't call me."

"What secret lover? That person again?" Ronald asked.

"Yes, he said that their service is very good. They are the Prime Minister's secret lovers. It doesn't matter if they have women."

Diane laughed as she said this, this Tokyoite has strange hobbies.

Ronald seemed to feel a familiar breath. He smiled and took the phone, "Hello? Michael, don't you want to rest? I see you are working very hard tonight."

Diane opened her mouth next to her, "What, is this a call from MJ?"

"He likes to call his friends, joking, and I have received them several times." Ronald explained to Diane while covering the phone.

"Hahaha, how did you recognize me?" MJ laughed loudly on the other end of the phone. He didn't have many friends, so he just liked to call and prank people in hotels.

"More than an hour is just a warm-up for me. Every time I finish singing, I feel in good spirits and can still sing."

"What, have you decided to sing a few more shows in Japan?" Ronald understood that a concert is a great exercise for the singer's body, just like a sports car preheating its engine. This kind of short concert of more than an hour, singing After finishing, the singer just reached her best state.

"Yeah, yes, the fans here are the best. They are so enthusiastic. I decided to perform five more shows here, in Yokohama and Osaka..."

"Yes, they are really nice. I saw many female students outside the court, shouting I love you MJ very enthusiastically."

"Hahaha..." Michael Jackson, who was in good spirits, chatted with Ronald on the phone.

"Where will you go next?"

"Me, I will go to Xiangjiang to see the film market there. You know, in addition to watching your first global tour concert, I am also here to sell movie copies."

"Hey, hey, I'll watch it if I have the chance." MJ was silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "Do you know any officials from mainland China?"

"I'm not very familiar with it. I just met the mayor once. The factory I invested in there won an advanced award."

"I was in Tokyo and saw one of their documentaries, 'Yangtze River', which was filmed by Japanese people about China. I liked the scenery there very much and wanted to have a concert there. But my manager Di Leo contacted me But I haven’t found the right person.”

"It's more difficult to get a visa there. When I was traveling, I was able to get a visa only because they were invited by the women's volleyball team that won the championship at the Olympics." Ronald recalled that he almost didn't get a visa that year.

"I saw your news. You seemed to be speaking Chinese with directors from China at the film festival. Are you familiar with China? I really want to see it."

"Well, I can make a few calls, but I can't guarantee anything.

"It's such a mysterious country. If I can go there, I can do it as a tourist."

"Then I'll find someone to help me. Do you want to go to Xiangjiang? It's also from China. It's much more convenient to travel."

"Really? That's fine. It's all up to you. I'll let Dilio contact you."

…

After leaving Tokyo, Ronald and Diane went to Xiangjiang together. Received a warm welcome from Jackie.

At the Fook Lam Moon Restaurant on Johnston Road in Wan Chai, Jackie called all her team members. The two people who went to Los Angeles last time to help Ronald shoot a commercial were also there. They were helping Jackie shoot the Police Story series of movies.

"Michael Kissun is coming? That's a great thing. I'll call May right away. She really likes his new song. But will Michael come to Hong Kong to hold a concert? Our place is worse than Japan. Quite a few, there are no big venues, and there aren’t many fans who can listen to English songs.”

"He probably has no plans. In Tokyo, he always opens in a baseball stadium with 40,000 people. At most, he can come to Xiangjiang for a trip. His concert will continue for another two weeks, but he still has time to have fun." Ronald While talking to Jackie, he used chopsticks to hold the food for Diane.

"But, he really wants to hold a concert in the mainland, and he asked me to ask you, is there any way you can help him contact him?"

"Hey, how can we do this?" Jackie seemed to be quite taboo about this matter. He shook his head, "But in Xiangjiang, just ask Mr. Zou and Mr. Shao to arrange it. Their relationship with the Hong Kong Governor is just to say hello. ”

"Well, I'll ask someone else." Ronald thought of Chaoli, a Chinese actor he knew. He seemed to have a brother who was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China.

Ronald put his worries aside and began to eat Cantonese food. His mouth was filled with all kinds of barbecued food and seafood. He suddenly remembered something, "By the way, I heard that the movie 'Break Dance' I made a few years ago is now very popular in China. Have you heard about it?"

"No," Jackie said. She didn't know much about dance films. "Have you heard of it? You? You? You? Your brother Luo's affairs are my business. If you heard about it, ask me."

The martial arts masters shook their heads one by one. Only the last thin martial master remembered something, "I really want to hear it. Is it called Thunder Love? My girlfriend likes it."

"What did you say, break dance? Brother Luo was talking about break dance. What was its original name? Go and find out."

"Okay, brother, I'll be there right away." The man immediately stood up and went to make a phone call.

After a while, the man came back in a hurry, "I asked La, after Luo Sheng's movie was released here, many people couldn't understand it because it was a ghost movie. But Mr. Shao filmed a movie there It’s a follow-up movie that’s doing okay at the box office, and it’s called Pili Qing.”

Then he took out two videotapes from a bag beside him, "My girlfriend is a dancer, and she happened to have the videotapes of these two movies, so she brought them to Luo Sheng."

"Okay, you have done a great job, so I'll give you an abalone, come on..." Jackie was very happy and passed the abalone to him to eat.

Then he took the two videotapes and handed them to Ronald, "This is your movie and our follow-up..."

"Okay, I heard it." Ronald took the two videotapes. By the way, he toasted the martial artist who helped.

...

"This seems to be the Chinese dubbed version of breakdance that I dreamed of that year." Ronald returned to the suite of the Oriental Mandarin Hotel at night, found a VCR and started watching the two videotapes.

"Did you authorize them to publish the videotapes for your breakdance?" Diane watched the people in the movie directed by Ronald speak Chinese, and she also found it interesting, their lip movements all matched.

"No, this is dubbed by the mainland, they speak Mandarin, not Cantonese in Hong Kong." Ronald fast-forwarded for a while, and several overly intimate shots were deleted.

"But the price they offered was very low, a movie was bought out for 20,000 US dollars, I won't get any money."

As he said that, Ronald put the "Thunderbolt Love" shot in Hong Kong into the VCR.

"Hahaha, what is this dance, it's not breakdancing."

Diane laughed non-stop, this "Thunderbolt Love" was obviously a follow-up film made by Shaw Brothers because of the "breakdancing" trend

What's more interesting is that the people in it are not breakdancing, there is no breakdancing charm and style, it's just for the name, to follow the trend and make money.

Ronald quickly flipped through it, the plot is very localized, and it's also related to martial arts.

"Shake shake shake... shake shake shake..."

Ronald patiently watched a part of it, there was nothing to praise in terms of technique and content, only the interlude, a rock band's "Shake shake shake" with a female lead singer was a bit interesting.

"Ring ring ring ring" Ronald picked up the phone.

"Mr. Ronald, this is your international call."

"Hello..." Ronald asked the operator to pick up the call. Someone was talking in the noise.

"Ronald, this is Chao Li. I told you about Mr. Jackson's idea of ​​going to the mainland to hold a concert. After research, they found that it is not suitable for rock stars to hold concerts now. As for traveling, they are very welcome there. Visas are not a problem."

"Can't hold a concert? I remember John Denver held a concert tour a few years ago?"

"He is different. He is a country singer. He sings songs that praise the people. There are still many controversies about rock stars. If MJ goes to travel, it is best to go to the coastal Guangdong and Guangxi regions."

"Okay, I will tell you. Thank you, Chao Li."

Ronald felt that he called MJ. He was very happy to hear that he was allowed to travel in the mainland. He immediately called Di Leo and prepared to come to China for two days and return to Japan immediately to take part in the newly added concert.

…

“Oh, he’s crowned!”

Zou Sheng and Shao Sheng, two leaders of the Hong Kong film industry, jointly organized a party to welcome MJ. Both sides showed their skills to make the American superstar happy.

Zou Sheng asked the lion dance team to come to entertain MJ and his manager Dilio. This lifelike lion dance activity, with dance and meaning, made MJ very interested. He personally went down to open the lion’s head cover to see how they danced.

Shao Sheng took out the heirloom costumes of the film company and asked MJ to wear the emperor’s clothes and put on a hat to take pictures. MJ, who was very interested, had a lot of fun.

“This is very interesting. I like to watch how local people dance all over the world. Many dances are very interesting.”

“Your visa has been arranged. This time you can go to the provincial capital near Hong Kong to play, and you can also go to the countryside. Due to time constraints, you can visit these places first. China is really too big, and you will return to Japan soon.”

Ronald brought a travel map and told MJ the big cities in the south that he would go to.

"Oh oh..."

After getting off the car, MJ and his party stayed at the White Swan Hotel in the provincial capital with Ronald and Diane. This hotel is the first five-star hotel in the mainland, and you can check in without proof.

Ronald even saw a garden inside. Ronald, who was very impressed by it, took a photo with Diane in front of the artificial waterfall.

"Ronald, I found that you are more famous here than me."

After walking around the hotel, MJ called Ronald.

"Huh? Why?"

Ronald didn't understand why he was more famous than MJ? Even if MJ was not introduced to the mainland, as a director, many people would not know him.

"I found that many people were imitating your breakdancing near the hotel."

"Huh?"

Ronald quickly made an appointment with MJ to watch the breakdancing in China together.

As soon as he left the hotel lobby, on the hardened ground next to him, there was a group of young people wearing fingerless leather gloves, jeans, and some wearing Ray-Ban glasses like in "Top Gun", dancing breakdancing.

Bang, bang, bang...

The dance moves of these people are not exactly the same as those in the movie "Breakdance". They are more advanced than those in the movie, and many local moves have been added.

Ronald felt that the actions of wiping the glass and pulling the rope were very similar to the ones he could dance for no apparent reason.

"I think they seem to have a more hip-hop mentality." MJ commented on the side.

"Indeed," Ronald also felt the same way. Compared with Hong Kong, people here have a more breakdancing spirit: they are not afraid of simplicity, they develop their own spirit, and they start dancing on the street.

There are also many people who are competing with each other in dancing to see who dances better, and the winner is judged by the size of the audience's applause and cheers.

"Except for the different costumes and people's appearance, the hip-hop dancers here are really very similar to those on the streets of Los Angeles and New York."

Ronald couldn't help but sigh that the spirit of a big country is indeed incomparable to that of a small country. Ordinary citizens of China and America all have a spirit that we are born to be leaders.

"Hahaha, what is this, why is this cow in the water?"

After staying in the provincial capital for two days, Ronald, wearing Diane, followed MJ and went to the countryside near the provincial capital for fun under the arrangement of the accompanying personnel sent by Chao Li's brother.

Farmers here grow paddy fields and use water buffaloes with curved horns to plow the fields. MJ likes farmers wearing straw hats and letting water buffaloes walk slowly in the fields.

"This water buffalo is very docile, you can ride on it." Ronald touched the water buffalo and felt like they were good friends before.

The water buffalo was chewing the cud and rubbing Ronald with its mouth moving. It looked cute.

"Really? I want to touch it, hahahaha..." MJ also saw this kind of animal used for farming unique to Asia for the first time. It was funny to see them eating grass.

"Come on, Xiao Liu, take a few photos for us." Ronald called over a young man who was a tour guide. He let Diane ride on the back of the water buffalo. MJ put on a straw hat like a cowherd, and he held the rope of the cow. The three of them smiled at the camera.

"Hahahaha..." None of them had the experience of this kind of rural area in southern China. They wandered between villages in wooden boats and took photos with various ancient buildings.

"So thirsty," Diane finished the bottled water she brought from Hong Kong. The three of them, led by the tour guide, went to a family's house to ask for a bowl of water.

"Young man, drink it. It's well water. I boiled it. It's sweet," an old lady in blue clothes with wrinkles on her face brought out several bowls and poured water for them to drink.

Several people drank the water. After walking tired, drinking a bowl of water seemed delicious.

"Thank you..." Ronald thanked the old lady.

"It's okay. Where are they from? Why is that person so tanned?" The old lady secretly asked the tour guide Xiao Liu in dialect.

"From America. He is black, not tanned."

"Do you want money?" MJ drank a bowl and asked the old lady to add another bowl.

"No, no," Xiao Liu translated it for her, and she immediately raised her hand and shook it, "It's just a bowl of water. Why do you want money?"

After everyone finished drinking the water, they were a little tired, so they walked towards the parking place.

MJ secretly put two Hong Kong dollar bills on the table while everyone was not paying attention.