Exploiting Hollywood 1980

On his first night in San Francisco, Ronald didn't sleep at all and was still thinking about the sale of the script for "My Brother's Keeper."

Simply walk to the front desk of the Super 8 Hotel and ask the staff about interesting places nearby. After being directed, Ronald came to a bar, which was open late and served cheap and delicious drinks. There was also a live band playing some country and rock music.

The best thing is that there are no weird fringe people here, only straight men and cool hotties, who obviously share the same aesthetic orientation as Ronald.

Ronald, who came alone, found the bar, sat on a high stool, and ordered a glass of "Pina Colada." Now he is more and more fond of this cocktail that originated in Puerto Rico. It has the fresh taste of coconut milk, mixed with rum and pineapple juice, and has a strange taste of cola. It is a perfect drink to relieve the summer heat.

While Ronald was drinking, he was humming the "Pina Colada Song" softly along with the band. Most of the people in the bar were dressed as cowboys and shaking their bodies to the accompaniment of the live band, which made him feel good.

"Hey, young people nowadays like this kind of soft songs. It's not like we could drive across several states to attend the Woodstock Music Festival." A middle-aged man dressed as a cowboy was also sitting at the bar. The young man broke Ronald's peaceful state of drinking and listening to music.

"Yeah? Yeah, the young people at that time were even more angry. Nowadays, as long as children work at McDonald's, they can earn money to buy the toys they want, or use it to pay for college tuition." Anyway, it's just blindness between strangers. During the chat, Ronald expressed his true thoughts, “Anger comes from dissatisfaction with life.”

"You know what? You may be right." The middle-aged man wore a blue plaid shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows, jeans and a pair of Martin boots. Under the slightly long blond hair is a pair of piercing eyes.

The uncle may have been a hippie when he was young, and his words always had a philosophical flavor.

"But human beings are inherently lonely. As Confucius said, even if a person is not understood by others, as long as he is noble and wise, he should not feel angry. Rock and roll and the hippie spirit attracted the young people at that time When we got together, the young people at that time had a sense of mission.”

"Did you know? You are the first American I have ever seen who can accurately quote Confucius." Ronald raised a toast to the middle-aged man.

"But obviously you can also accurately understand Confucius's works, and you are very familiar with Confucius's lecture notes and selected speeches." The middle-aged man's words were a bit convoluted. In fact, he was also familiar with the Analects of Confucius in Quaronna, otherwise it would be impossible to tell the difference. I have actually read the works of Confucius.

“My name is Ronald and I’m a film screenwriter.

"

"John, you may not believe it, but I am a singer. I released a few records when I was young. I used to be quite famous, but I no longer sing."

"Of course," Ronald actually didn't believe it, "I'm actually quite successful. My script will soon be starred by an Oscar-winning actress."

"That's great." The middle-aged uncle took a sip of beer. "Actually, I also have a glorious past. I once went to the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. It was my turn to take the stage at midnight, and I drove back to Virginia the next day. When I was there, I also wrote a song.”

"That's great." Ronald clinked glasses with him. It feels really good to brag with strangers in a bar.

The middle-aged man saw the insincerity of his words, "Why, you don't know me? Do you think I'm lying to you? If the owner of the record company hadn't defrauded me of all my money, I wouldn't have stopped singing.

This bastard boss’s name is Saul. He also bribed several other bastards in my band to sign an agreement. Now I can’t even sing the songs I wrote. "

ah? Can American law also deprive you of singing your own songs? Ronald was even more sure that the other party was bragging and telling stories.

"I'm telling you, that bastard boss Saul used my money to invest in movies and even won an Oscar. Damn it, that should all be my money. You have way more liars in movies than in music. ”

"Then your boss really went too far." The more Ronald thought about it, the more amused he became, and he simply agreed with the uncle, "To be honest, I also think there are a lot of liars in the film industry."

The middle-aged man became more and more angry as he talked, ordered another large glass of beer, and began to curse loudly at his record company boss, Sol, saying that he had deposited his money in the bank owned by his boss. As a result, the bank collapsed and the money disappeared, and he I only received several hundred thousand in deposit compensation guaranteed by the federal government.

"People in San Francisco are still more interesting. They can brag very well in bars. We New Yorkers can only brag about making a lot of money. The guys in San Francisco are artists when they talk about it. Even a Hollywood screenwriter like me can't write these plots." Ronald thought about it, finished the remaining wine, took out two banknotes and pressed them under the wine glass, then went back to the hotel to sleep.

It's just that the uncle's voice is still a bit familiar, as if he's heard it somewhere.

…

At the same time, the lights were still brightly lit in the president's office of CAA in Hollywood. President Ovitz was having a conference call with his deputy, Ron Meyer, and Columbia President Frank Price.

"Michael, you have to ensure that Columbia can get this project. I need Jane Fonda to make a movie for Colombia." Frank Price was already speaking very fast, and you could hear that he was a little anxious.

"Otherwise, Sean Connery will never get that role. You CAA can prepare to kiss the former Mr. 007 goodbye."

"Don't say that, Frank. I am Jane Fonda's agent first, and then the arranger of this film project. I need to protect her interests first, otherwise I will be fired." Ovitz told Next to him, Ron Meyer winked.

Meyer was listening with another receiver, covering it with his hand to prevent Price from hearing he was there.

"Fair deal." Meyer wrote a few words on the paper and pushed it in front of Ovitz.

Ovitz nodded, "Mr. Price, this is a fair bid. We have sent invitations to every studio, and Jane will also be there to see the bid you faxed. I can't be so big on her." influence to make her give up the highest bid.”

"I can't get Jane, and you'll lose Sean, it's that simple." Price's tone became increasingly impatient.

"Don't be like this, Frank, we've known each other since you were the president of Universal Television, and we've done several deals. You know I'm not a person who betrays his friends." Ovitz became more skillful as he spoke.

"In this way, I will not treat my friends badly. I will reveal a bottom line. This is the psychological bottom price that I and Fox, Orion, Paramount, and Warner Brothers have peddled. As long as your bid can be significantly higher than theirs, Jane will be on the same level." Why not choose you under the conditions?"

"So you're raising the price again? How much is it this time? You vampire."

"On the contrary, I'm risking my reputation for work ethics to help you get the popular stars you so desperately need to star in your films.

As far as I know, Jane is slightly biased towards Orion. After all, they have a reputation as a small joint art company. You know, artists have high requirements for artistic autonomy, including director James Bridges, who has a great influence on Jane. influence. "

"But they can't afford it, so they can only make a little over 3 million, and Fox is also poor. Your biggest competitors are Paramount and Warner Bros., and I don't think they can afford more than 3.5 million at most.

I think, slightly higher than their offer, say 3.8 million is a price that Jane can't refuse. "

"3.6 million."

"What you need is an insurance factor, not a preoccupation with 100,000 or 200,000, Frank. Let's do this, 3.75 million."

"365."

"It's 3.7 million. Don't argue with me. I'll lower the broker's agency fee at most."

"365."

"Okay, okay, 3.65 million. In order to complete this project, I have reduced the commission ratio to the minimum. But you have to ensure that our other actors at CAA can participate in this project as much as possible."

"make a deal."

"So there's an agreement? Very good."

"Let's talk about Jane's contract issue. Jane needs a guaranteed contract, and it's time for me to tell Jane about the contract conditions." Ovitz confirmed again.

"She wants 'pay or a performance contract (Pay or)'?"

"Yes, she insists. Look, Frank, Jane is hot right now, so hot, and everyone wants her, so you have to lock her in with this contract."

"So if the movie can't be shot for any reason, I have to pay her 2 million."

"Frank, Jane is very popular, but the Vietnam War theme is also very popular. She will not give up. If she gives up, we will go to Mary Tyler Moore, or the British Maggie Smith. Do you think Jane will watch helplessly?" Did her main competitor get a script that she liked first? This contract was just a way to lock in her schedule and let her say no to scripts from other studios."

"Okay, okay, I'll give you this contract. How do you plan to distribute the remaining 1.65 million?"

"The screenwriter is 350,000, and the remaining 1.3 million is used as service fees for hiring directors and producers. In addition, Jane's IPC production company participates in the production and enjoys the corresponding box office share."

"350,000 to a 20-year-old screenwriter? Isn't it too much? This is beyond the regular price of Hollywood. The screenwriting genius John Milius, I remember that a script only sold for 350,000. But he is John Milius Urs, screenwriter of Apocalypse Now.”

"Hollywood's regular price will not give the heroine a 2 million Pay or guaranteed contract, Frank. Our purpose is to create momentum in the media and make the accusations of the hostile acquirer Kerkorian unreasonable. Go back to him." to Las Vegas.

Also, if you can win over Jane Fonda, the most popular person in Hollywood, who would doubt your ability to control Colombia? Frank. "

"We'll start with the newspapers, hyping up Ronald as a talented screenwriter, and then bring it to your management capabilities, Frank. This is what I plan to do..."

"You are right. I will find a way to get CBS to cooperate with your publicity plan."

"Yeah, Bingo." He and Columbia President Frank Price arranged the details of the bidding and the subsequent publicity plan. When the other party hung up the phone, Ovitz couldn't wait to high-five Ron Meyer in celebration.

"So what's Paramount's bid? Less than 3.5 million, right?" Meyer asked.

"The total is 3.2 million, which is 450,000 lower than Columbia. The other companies are all less than 3 million. We obtained a remuneration of 2.35 million for Jane and Ronald, which is a total commission of close to 200,000. As for the director, who makes him not What about our customers? Let him take the market price."

"A script worth $350,000, so you're really going to give Ronald, that newbie, $350,000 for a script? Our other screenwriting clients would go crazy."

"This is not a question of script quality, but a question of CAA's ability, Ron." Ovitz seemed confident. If we can sell a 20-year-old newcomer's script for 350,000, the price of John Milius , what do you think other screenwriters will think? What do screenwriters signed to other agencies think? "

"Well, that's the truth. Of course, we need the cooperation of Frank Price."

"Yes, after all, there are rumors in Hollywood that the profession he is most suitable for is a script reviewer. He is the only president of a major studio who reads scripts by himself."

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