Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Richard sent Ronald back to the hotel and drove away.

Ronald always felt that this was a bit unreliable. As a young screenwriter who was still wet behind his ears, even if he wrote a good script, he would not be able to write a script that would immediately have the influence to alarm the Oscar-winning actress.

The film and television industry is very particular about connections and qualifications, and many producers don't know why one movie will be a hit while another similar movie won't. Most people still judge your future value based on your past success history.

Unless his screenplay is nominated for an Oscar, that's still possible. But as a little screenwriter whom no one knows, there is no need for Ovitz to brag.

Ronald didn't think there was anything in him that Ovitz could covet, so he simply called a friend and asked.

First, he called Eddie Cohen, his advertising agent in New York.

"Have you ever heard a joke, Ronald?"

"What joke?"

“How to marry the daughter of a Standard Oil director?”

"You just need to tell the director of Mobil Oil that you want to marry her daughter, and say that you are the vice president of the World Bank. Then say that your father-in-law is the director of Mobil Oil and apply for the position of vice president of the World Bank."

Ronald laughed, "You mean, Ovitz is the young man who is looking for a job? Take my script and tell Jane Fonda that the studio liked the script and asked her to star, and then tell the studio Jane Fonda wants to film the script and ask them for investment? "

"Absolutely? Maybe Ovitz has better connections and a deeper insight into this industry, but I don't know." Eddie answered.

"Is it possible that Ovitz took a fancy to my script, then pitched it to Jane Fonda, and then waited for Jane Fonda to nod before pitching it to the studio? As he said to me, the screenwriter Priority strategy?" Ronald asked again.

"Ronnie. So which answer do you want me to tell you?"

"Hahahaha..." Ronald ended the call with a laugh.

I am also concerned and confused. If the script has a chance to be starred by an actress, sometimes I cannot think calmly.

Phone calls to Michelle Pfeiffer always go unanswered. She simply called her agent Limato directly and told his secretary that she had come to Hollywood to discuss the script with CAA.

waited for so long,

Limato finally called back and said that Pfeiffer was meeting with Lux's people in the past two days. The two parties might soon negotiate a contract. If Ronald could wait until the day after tomorrow, he would be free to meet.

Ronald had nothing to do in the afternoon and evening, so he called Gail, the assistant to the president of New World, and asked her to meet in the evening to catch up. Then he called Jim Cameron, and the three of them ordered several cocktails and beers in the hotel lounge, chatting while drinking.

Cameron's follow-up exploitation film "Battle of the Stars", which features special effects photography and model photography, has been edited and is waiting to be released in September.

"This is a piece of rubbish. Most of the so-called 2 million budget was given to the two big-name protagonists as salaries. Very little money was spent on special effects. I even stole a few McDonald's dinner plates to decorate the interior of the spaceship."

Cameron is still quick to talk and complained a lot about Roger Corman's stingy tactics.

"So the movie doesn't work well?"

"My job is to make this piece of garbage less glaring." Cameron held the mouth of the beer bottle with three fingers and poured the remaining beer into his mouth. "The final effect should be pretty good, not that bad. I thought about it. There are many ways.”

"Let's talk about your fame all over the world. I saw that the movie has been released in theaters?" Gale turned the topic to Ronald.

"Yes, the box office is average. The production cost is 8 million yuan, and it is a small-scale release. I heard from the producer that the box office in North America is less than 20 million. The cost of copy rental is probably not recovered."

"It seems like everyone is starting to calculate the total box office now, rather than the cost of copy rentals?" Gale was by Roger Corman's side and was very sensitive to these business matters.

"I heard from people at the TV station that film review programs are now broadcast live on TV. Audiences don't understand the meaning of copy rental fees, so they directly quote the total weekly box office, which makes the director and producer very nervous, fearing that the numbers will not be good. It affected subsequent box office attendance.”

"Yeah, a lot of people now watch that PBS movie review show, bald and glasses." Ronald replied.

"Hahaha, can you give them nicknames?"

After chatting about past events, Ronald asked his two friends for advice about his script being recommended to Jane Fonda.

"That's the thing. I always feel that something is wrong with this matter, but I can't find the problem, so I ask you to help me think about it. Am I worrying too much?"

"It's hard to say, but it might be true." Gale took a sip of his cocktail. "In Hollywood, it's the male stars who really make the big money. If two or three movies in a row are blockbusters, the studio can often Offer the sky-high price of $2 million."

"The remuneration for female stars is much less. Even if you are like Jane Fonda and have two consecutive blockbuster movies and are nominated for an Oscar, you can only get a maximum remuneration of 1 million. In short, there is gender discrimination in Hollywood. .”

"Relatively speaking, among the male and female stars that you see in the media with similar exposure, female stars are more accessible. They have higher requirements for scripts. When they see a script they like, they pay for it. It’s not impossible to have a chat with the screenwriter.”

"If it's Ryan O'Neal or Stallone, I think there's probably something wrong with this matter. If it's Jane, there's still hope." Gale is relatively familiar with the inside story of Hollywood, "And Jane Fonda may remember it. You disparaged The Deer Hunter on TV and helped her get a favor from the Oscar-winning actress, and maybe even promoted you.”

"Hahahaha..." Cameron laughed.

Ronald could only laugh in agreement.

"What do you think, Jim?"

"It's very simple. Just go and beat the agent if it's a lie. If it's true, then ask Jane Fonda out. Don't think too much, Ronnie."

"Hahaha……"

This time Ronald laughed heartily.

Indeed, it's useless to think too much. I don't have any chips in my hand. It just depends on the situation tomorrow.

"So will you do special effects in the new world next?" Ronald asked Cameron.

"No, Roger will not invest money in special effects films." Cameron shook his head.

"Why?" Ronald said he didn't understand. "Isn't he optimistic about the box office of War of the Stars?"

"No, Battle of the Stars is very special. Before filming, he sold the overseas rights to Orion Pictures (; Pictures), an upstart in the industry. It is said that it was enough to cover the filming cost of 2 million."

"Now he is talking to HBO about selling the TV rights, and the deal should be close to US$1 million." Gale added.

"Then why doesn't Roger continue?"

Gail explained to Ronald:

"The good times have passed. Whether it is Orion or HBO, they are entering new markets and enriching their film libraries. The founders of Orion are several company executives who were fired by United Artists. Starting from "Love at Sunset Bridge", they filmed The film was well received and they now want to get into distribution.

And HBO is scheduled to become a pay TV station that broadcasts 24 hours a day next year. It needs to order a batch of movies to be played before Roger has the opportunity to sell them at a high price. After that, it’s all about strength. Only movies that do well at the theater box office have the chance to sell overseas copyrights or TV station rights.

Coupled with the recent strike, Roger's new film plans have been suspended. "

"Hey, this unlucky strike." Ronald also lamented. Originally, he could go one step further and become the first assistant director of the Endless Love crew.

"What do you do, Jim?"

"Me?" he answered while drinking Ronald's new beer, "I will do the special effects planning for John Carpenter's new movie Escape from New York, and his movies don't have a high budget either. , he also wanted to achieve the effect of planes crashing into the twin towers of the World Trade Center on the screen. After watching my performance in Battle of the Stars, he called and invited me over."

"Congratulations, Jim. Cheers!" Ronald quickly raised his beer bottle and toasted to his old friend.

…

"cheers!"

At the same time, Michael Ovitz, president of CAA, and Frank Price, president of Columbia Pictures, raised champagne to greet each other.

Price felt so happy for the first time since he took office.

Before coming to Columbia Pictures, he worked at Universal Television Network. He has made great achievements during his tenure, launching the blockbuster science fiction TV series "Battlestar Galactica" and the criminal investigation TV series "Columbo", two trump cards.

But after taking office at Columbia Pictures, his hands were tied. The middle managers all discriminated against him because of his background in the television industry, and many projects were unable to implement his will.

However, Colombia only had enough liquidity for six months. He urgently needed to master some resources in the film industry to organize his own film projects. As long as there was a blockbuster movie, his authority in the new position could be established. Give those disobedient subordinates a hard slap.

The financing guarantee for film projects is star actors and star directors. Both are at William Morris (WMA), an established brokerage firm in the industry, and International Innovation Management (ICM), where Price does not have much influence.

WMA and ICM have made him suffer several losses, and his projects have been ranked behind other studios with whom he has long-standing relationships. So far, no movie under Price's control has been started.

Only Michael Ovitz, who is sitting opposite, represents CAA, a new player in the industry. Like himself, he urgently needs to make achievements to gain the right to speak.

"So what's your budget for Jane Fonda's film?"

"Four million," Ovitz gestured. "There are no war scenes in this movie. The biggest explosion scene is a grenade. Most of the scenes are emotional scenes between the male and female protagonists. That's why Jane Fonda was interested."

"Too expensive." Price shook his hand.

"Jane Fonda is my client. According to the rules, I have to work with her to inquire about prices from all the eight major studios who are interested." Ovitz approached Price with a glass of wine and lowered his voice and said, " If your result is obviously higher than that of your peers, then I can guarantee that you will get Jane as the heroine."

"3.5 million. No matter how high it is, I won't be able to approve it. It needs to be discussed at the management meeting."

"Just 3.5 million, plus giving Sean Connery a starring role in a Columbia-financed movie."

"Okay, it just so happens that 'wrong is right' needs a 007-style protagonist. Deal?" Price raised his glass and asked Ovitz.

"Frank, give Jane an unprecedented salary, 2 million."

"You must be kidding, Michael." Frank Price was unhappy. "This will destroy the tacit price agreement of Bada, and it will be difficult for me to do it."

"But don't you just want a big news? Mr. Price doesn't need that pile of garbage from Columbia, and he can also recruit the Oscar-winning actress to make a big production. This is a win-win situation, Frank, you think about it."

"Okay," Price pondered for a moment, "but you have to make sure I get this project and don't let other studios grab it."

"Don't worry, I'm a professional. The movie 'My Brother's Keeper' is yours. I never lie."

Ovitz raised his glass to pay tribute to the president of Colombia.

multiple copies

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