Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Paula is very capable. My audition for this movie went very smoothly. In the second round of interviews, I acted opposite Tom Hanks. Yesterday, Paula called me to congratulate me. I can play the leading role again."

"Well, as I told you before, Paula is very good at considering the development of actors in the long term. She doesn't choose a script based on which movie pays the most, but on which movie will earn you the most in five or ten years."

"Ronald, I'm so happy..."

"I'm happy for you, too, Diane..."

Back in Los Angeles, Ronald heard the good news from Diane. She was chosen by Penny Marshall to play the leading role in "Big" and film with Tom Hanks. This made up for the opportunity to work together in "The Little Mermaid" that she missed a few years ago.

Paula Wagner didn't tell Diane that Ronald asked director Penny to recommend her. Based on her own strength and acting skills, Diane finally defeated many actresses and got the role with her good chemistry with Tom Hanks.

Diane was very excited. It had been a long time since she had received such a leading role with a lot of scenes. She talked to Ronald about the performance of this play, how Hanks played a role of an adult with an inner age of 13 years old. How she was aroused by Hanks, and many lines were very touching to read.

"Do you think I have gained some weight? I haven't played such an intense role for several years. Will I be rusty?"

After the excitement, Diane began to worry about gains and losses again. She looked in the mirror in the huge bathroom of the Beverly Hilton Executive Suite, trying to pinch the fat on her waist, and then recited the lines in the audition.

"No, you did a good job. Penny Marshall is a veteran actor who turned director. She must have chosen you because of your acting skills and your first-class cooperation with Hanks." Ronald hugged Diane from behind, rubbing her smooth and flat abdomen with one hand.

Diane has been learning yoga from Ronald since last year. The daily practice kept her in good shape, and the last bit of baby fat gradually faded, becoming more mature and charming.

"But Penny Marshall is a female director, I think she will be very picky... Well," Diane was a little confused by Ronald's kiss on her neck, and she closed her eyes before she finished her sentence.

"Believe me, I'm also a director. This kind of thing depends on the reaction between the male and female protagonists. With this reaction, everything else is secondary." Ronald looked in the big mirror and saw that Diane's snow-white skin began to turn red a little. She opened her eyes, looked at the mirror, and closed them shyly.

Ronald turned Diane over and kissed her from the lips. The silk pajamas were hanging, and the heat of the skin inside came out...

...

After a long time, the two hugged each other and lay on the king-size bed to watch TV. The remaining heat and a sweet smell in the air were still swirling and stimulating Ronald and Diane's nasal cavity.

"Well, I feel like I'm the best candidate for the heroine now, hahaha."

After a happy time with Ronald, Diane's fear and anxiety were completely eliminated, and what remained was the security and confidence after being satisfied.

"By the way, have you decided on your role in the new play?" Diane hugged Ronald, her neck resting on his chest, and she had extra energy to care about Ronald.

"So far, everything is fine," Ronald replied with a smile.

After returning to Los Angeles, he and Julia Taylor immediately asked Alec Baldwin and Joan Cusack, who came from New York for the audition, to find Demi Moore to read the script to see if she was capable of playing an ugly duckling who could work as a secretary for ten years.

As for Kevin Spacey, who always couldn't distinguish between reality and drama during the audition and was suspected of harassing the actresses, he was left in New York and did not come with the two audition stand-ins.

The audition went very smoothly. Demi Moore is the kind of beauty whose beauty is closely related to makeup and clothing. Wearing very old-fashioned clothes, exaggerated makeup, huge earrings, and an ugly golden wig, Demi really can't see much of her beauty.

However, the biggest surprise is the two audition stand-ins.

Alec Baldwin obviously knew that this was his best opportunity, so when he was in New York, he had been training himself day and night for several audition scenes, and even found Broadway friends to practice with him.

He himself was originally a handsome guy, playing a gangster named "Cucumber" in Jonathan Demme's new movie "Join the Gang". This time he also borrowed the costumes from the movie through his connections and wore them during the audition in Los Angeles.

After the interpretation of the movie "The Godfather", the dress of Italian gangsters is now close to the elite class. So wearing the costumes, Alec Baldwin looks like an elite on Wall Street.

The chemistry between Demi Moore and Alec Baldwin was immediately aroused by the latter's carefully prepared lines. The dialogue between the two was like two goldfish biting each other's tails. The second round of audition script reading was turned into a Broadway performance, full of tacit understanding.

In addition to Hollywood investment banker character Jack Traynor, Alec Baldwin also read lines for Tess's other boyfriend, chef Mick Duggan. He read the character traits of both types of men. Not only was casting director Julia Taylor very satisfied, but Demi Moore also asked Ronald privately which actor he was and whether he would star opposite her. , should you play a chef or a banker?

Another audition stand-in, Joan Cusack, is new to the Chicago theater scene and is also an excellent dramatic actress.

This actress's line skills and understanding of the character are absolutely fine. But her chin was a bit too big to ruin her overall face shape. In the theater world, this isn't a big problem, but in the movie world, Joan can't play a very positive female role.

Although the lines she read to Tess's boss Catherine and secretary friend Xin were both very good, if it were a movie, they would only be suitable for the role of secretary Xin.

After the audition was completed, Julia Taylor grabbed Ronald and said, "Just give Alec a chance. He is absolutely qualified to play the role of Jack Traynor. You know I never recommend an actor I don't believe in. Alec Baldwin is definitely one of the best actors for this role."

"Where's Joan?" Ronald did not reply immediately, but asked Julia Taylor what she thought of Joan Cusack.

"She can only play Xin, and her acting ability is fully qualified. Although the role of Xin is the driving force of Tess's plot several times, her time and status in the movie are not enough. If you ask me my opinion, she Also in my top three recommendations.”

"Tell them to stay while I go see Goldberg."

Ronald took the audition tape and went to the Fox Tower to meet Goldberg, the president of 20th Century Fox.

"Mr. Goldberg, we seem to have won the lottery. Look what I found when I auditioned?"

Goldberg picked up his glasses, put them on, and watched the audition tape that Ronald had brought.

After a long time, he put down his glasses and said, "It's really very good. The level of these two actors is extraordinary..."

Hearing Goldberg say this, Ronald knew that the other party agreed. With such a wonderful performance, Goldberg has no reason to disagree.

"But..." Goldberg took out the fine brandy from the cabinet and poured a glass for Ronald and himself. "Catherine, you must find a well-known movie star to play the role. I can't let three of the four protagonists play the role." They are all actors that no one knows.”

"I understand that Julia Taylor is contacting suitable female stars everywhere. If you like their performances, can you give them some encouragement?" Ronald took the opportunity to speak.

"Encouragement?" Goldberg didn't understand.

"If the president of Fox can attend their next audition to read the script, and then personally say a few words of encouragement..." Ronald laughed.

"You kid..." Goldberg picked up the phone and called his secretary, "What are my plans for the afternoon? Okay, clear the time before three-thirty. I'm going to watch Ronald's audition."

"Very good, very good, thank you, Julia, would you be interested in working full-time for Fox?"

Goldberg watched the script-reading audition with makeup on in the afternoon, and it felt better to watch a real performance than watching it on a videotape.

"Thank you, but I prefer independent casting now." Julia Taylor declined with a smile. Many castings in big studios are not based on roles. She doesn't like to compromise just to let TV stars star in movies. .

"This is Alec Baldwin and this is Joan Cusack." Ronald quickly introduced the two actors to Goldberg.

"Hello, hello..." Goldberg shook their hands and went back to chat with Demi Moore.

"You came to Goldberg just to say hello to Alec and Joan?" Julia Taylor whispered in Ronald's ear.

"Yes, these high-level people, if you don't let them nod on the spot, they might regret it in two days. If you do this, they will be embarrassed to regret it later." Ronald replied quietly. He learned this trick from Coppola. Yes, when Marlon Brando was asked to play the role of Godfather Vito, it was just like this that he went to the big boss to finalize the decision.

…

"Ring ring ring ring..."

Ronald, who was sleeping with Diane in his arms, was woken up by the ringing of the phone.

"Hello..." Ronald found the phone in the dark, picked it up and listened in a daze.

"Mr. Li, this is the wake-up call service you set. It's three o'clock in the morning. Do you still need me to call to wake you up in ten minutes?"

"Ah... No, thank you." Ronald rubbed his sleepy eyes and went to the bathroom to take a hot shower.

After drying his hair, Ronald put on a high-thread-count shirt and light gray trousers, then took two dark blue and reddish-brown coats and gestured at himself. I am going to the strike site in Burbank today, and there will definitely be media there, so I have to dress nice.

"Well... Honey, you look so handsome in this navy blue jacket and this tie." Diane was wearing pajamas, took a bright yellow tie, and placed it on Ronald's shirt from the back for comparison.

"Did it wake you up?" Ronald turned around and kissed Diane.

"You're so handsome, I'll watch the TV news later." Diane kissed him, yawned and went back to sleep.

"Ding dong", Ronald, who had put on his blue coat, happened to hear little Bud ring the doorbell.

"Bud, let's go to the entrance of Columbia and Warner in Burbank."

Just after five o'clock, the car stopped quietly opposite the gate of Columbia in Burbank. There were already many cars like his waiting here.

Ronald rolled down half of the window and looked at the protesters gradually gathering at the factory gate.

Today is the Directors Guild. Because of the residual dividends from TV broadcasts, they went on strike in New York and Los Angeles. They proposed to the Producers Guild to modify the directors' dividend agreement, get more dividend points, and renegotiate what kind of film copyrights purchased by TV stations meet the dividend conditions.

Ronald is a senior member of the Directors Guild and the chairman of a member company of the Producers Guild. According to the regulations of the Directors Guild, he must appear at the strike site at six o'clock and participate in the union activities. The Producers Guild has a special person to negotiate with the Directors Guild, and he does not need to attend as a member unit.

This strike is mainly aimed at the residual dividends.

The so-called residual means that after the box office dividends of the movie are over, if it is broadcast on the national syndicated TV network, the part of the profit generated must also be distributed to the main creative staff according to the labor-management agreement. The director is the group with the largest share.

The original agreement had a very high standard for calculating the residual formula. For example, the syndicated TV network that broadcasts the program must occupy a minimum proportion of the entire American TV ratings in order to participate in the residual dividend.

In addition, only those movies that are shown in theaters and are more than 80 minutes long can receive dividends after being sold to TV networks.

In this strike, one of the main demands of the Directors Guild is to modify the calculation standard. As long as the program is more than one hour, even if it is not a theater movie, it can participate in the residual dividend. Instead of calculating the minimum ratings share occupied by the syndicated TV network that broadcasts the program, as long as it is broadcast on a city TV station, it can be included in the residual dividend system.

Another major demand, of course, is the unchanged minimum wage for each strike. The Directors Guild's condition is that the basic wage will increase by 5% immediately and increase by another 5% within 18 months.

For example, at present, a TV director is guaranteed to receive at least $17,935 in minimum wage for 15 days of preparation and shooting of a one-hour TV program.

"Why hasn't anyone come yet?" Ronald looked at the reserved strike venue opposite with a telescope. Only a few young people gathered there.

"Pop..." Little Bud turned on the car radio, where he could hear the entertainment radio in Los Angeles and the New York radio broadcast via satellite.

"Joan Rivers, as the supervisor of the strikers, has gone to the front of the NBC building. On behalf of the Screen Actors Guild, she said that she would stand firmly with the Directors Guild and resist any scabs who tried to disrupt the strike. She also brought a message that the TV Actors Guild had provided hot drinks to the directors who had been on strike for more than two hours."

"Shxt!" Ronald cursed. Hollywood directors still had no discipline. The TV directors and advertising directors in New York had been on strike for more than two hours in front of the NBC building in New York early in the morning.

"Nicholas Conte III, president of the Producers Guild, and Gilbert Gates, leader of the Directors Guild, said that the negotiations are going smoothly. They are confident that they can reach a new three-year agreement in a short time to prevent TV viewers from having no new movies and TV series to watch in the new year."

"I don't understand," Little Bud turned back from the driver's seat and asked Ronald, "Why is it that the Directors Guild seems so easy to talk to during this strike? The last screenwriter strike almost shut down Hollywood? Is it because you directors are not very united?"

"Hahaha," Ronald laughed when he heard Little Bud's question, "No, no, we directors are too united."

"Ah? Too united?"

"Yes, our Directors Guild and the Producers Guild are too united."

Ronald was still looking at the opposite team while explaining to Little Bud.

In fact, among the more than 200 member companies of the Producers Guild, a large number of them are actually production companies established by directors themselves. And among the 8,500 members of the Directors Guild, those who are able to get the remaining dividends from TV broadcasts are actually the backbone of those film, TV series, and talk show directors.

So there are many people in these two groups who are like Ronald, straddling both sides.

The biggest resistance to the so-called re-signing of the profit-sharing agreement did not come from the Producers Guild, but from public television stations such as NBC and ABC. This is why the main force of the strike was not in Los Angeles, but at the doorstep of the television station headquarters in New York.

The biggest effect of the clauses that lowered the threshold for residual profit sharing was to cut meat from the television stations. Movies that were not originally involved in profit sharing now had to pay for being broadcast on local television stations.

And TV programs that were previously broadcast freely now had to pay the director as long as they were more than one hour long.

Time passed slowly, and the sky gradually brightened. After talking all night, the union and the union representatives finally reached a preliminary agreement at 9 a.m. Eastern Time and 6 a.m. Western Time.

Gilbert Gates, interim chairman of the Directors Guild, and Nicholas Conte III of the Producers Guild joined forces to walk from the NBC building where the negotiation took place to the strike site, where they would hold a joint press conference.

"Beep, beep..." The car phone began to ring.

"Hello?" Ronald pressed the red call button.

"It's done. Let's hold a live press conference right away." Richard's voice floated through the loudspeaker in the car.

"Shxt! So fast, damn, hurry up..." Ronald quickly threw away the sandwich he was eating, opened the car door and ran out.

The cars next to him saw Ronald running out first, and they also turned on their headlights. The directors inside, some fat, some thin, some old, and some young, followed Ronald and rushed to the big iron gate of Columbia Studios across the street.

"We want dividends!"

"We want fairness!"

Instantly, dozens of Hollywood directors appeared, and the strike team expanded to the point where it could be scanned by TV cameras and appeared to be crowded.

The staff of the radio and TV stations that were broadcasting live also began to lazily turn on their equipment and start broadcasting.

"Hurry up, hurry up, the news from New York is that the two sides have reached an agreement, and we can only capture the strike scene for a few minutes here." The host of the TV station heard the shocking news from the headphones and hurriedly urged the cameraman to turn on the camera.

"Dear viewers, dear viewers, this is a live report from New York. Ken Orsatti, the national executive secretary of the TV actors' union, said that she has not yet learned the terms of both parties. She hopes that directors will be willing to support his union's next strike action just as her union supports the directors' strike.

A spokeswoman for the Writers Guild told us that her union declined to comment on the newly reached contract until it is more familiar with the details."

The joint press conference of the Directors Guild and the Producers Guild was short. The two sides announced that they had reached an agreement and then persuaded NBC to agree to the new agreement. ABC still needs further negotiations.

The host on the scene had to interview other union leaders who came to help.

"Okay, thank you for the live interview"

The host of the NBC studio was unwilling to give the female comedian Joan Rivers, who was banned by them, a shot. When she saw her rushing forward to speak, she cut her off.

"Okay, let's take a look at the strike scene in Los Angeles."

"Ah, hello, this is the strike scene in Burbank, Los Angeles. The news that the two sides in New York have reached an agreement has just reached here. The directors have stopped demonstrating. They are very happy that the two sides have reached an agreement..."

The camera turned around, and some well-known directors such as Ronald had put away their signs and ran away. Only some new directors were left on the scene to comment on the TV station.

"Okay, that's it, thank you Los Angeles..."

"Huh..." The staff on location in Los Angeles breathed a sigh of relief. They finally fooled the location. These directors were too uncooperative. They just ran out and shouted twice, which was considered to be cooperating in taking some long shots, and then they refused to accept interviews and ran to the luxury car across the street to enjoy themselves.

"These directors have only been on strike for three minutes. Is this the shortest strike in history?"