Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"That was Martin Sheen's eldest son, Emilio Estevez, but his scenes were cut." Hours later, at Walter Mersey's home At the dinner table, he answered Ronald's question.

"Why are their last names different?" Ronald took the coffee from Walter's wife, Angie, and took a sip, "Thank you, Mrs. Mersey."

"Call me Angie, Ronald. Walter told me when he came back from Los Angeles last time that someone finally understood his editing theory. We have been talking about your coming for the past two days."

"Thank you for the dinner, Angie. It was the best meal I had in the West. I brought gifts for the kids."

"I'm glad you can get used to British food." Angie took the Polaroid camera, leg warmers, building blocks and other gifts suitable for boys and girls of different ages prepared by Ronald, and was very grateful to Ronald for his thoughtfulness.

Angie was from Britain and married Walter Mersey to California. She was a nurse and took good care of her family. So she went back to take care of the four children while Ronald stayed in the living room and continued chatting with Walter.

"Martin Sheen is a Latino. When he entered the industry, he did not want to affect his acting career because of his ethnicity and belief, so he adopted an Anglo-Saxon surname - Sheen. However, his eldest son Emilio did not want to inherit it. This stage name is based on the original name of a Latino.”

"Then he has a lot of backbone?"

"When Martin was dubbing his monologue for the film, he told me that he himself had always felt uncomfortable giving up his Latino surname due to pressure, so he very much appreciated his son's decision."

"So that's it." Since Ronald last learned about racial quotas in movies, he understands the idea that ethnic minority actors don't want to be classified. Emilio seems to be very confident in his acting skills and is not afraid of Latinos. Influence your own stardom.

"Since you won the Oscar, you have a lot of work now, right?" Ronald thought that Merzy had a lot of work orders now, and he was afraid that he would not have more time to teach himself.

"On the contrary, I was very busy, but it was all piecemeal work such as mixing and recording. There was no sound design work that could oversee the entire film."

"Why is this? Didn't the Oscars recognize your achievements? Why didn't anyone ask you to be responsible for the entire movie?"

“That’s the Academy Award curse.”

…

"simple,

You don't have to worry, all studio bids will be sent directly to this office via fax, and we'll just wait here. "Ovitz was in the CAA's president's office, trying to make Jane Fonda less nervous.

"I have experience, Michael. After I won the Best Actress Award in 1971, I was cursed by the Oscars for three years. Two consecutive films only received 200,000 box office. This time, although the box office of "China Syndrome" was okay , but that was just a coincidence of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, and I was very worried about Golden Pond and the box office performance of the next movie after that."

"That's why I insist all studios have one bid, Jane. Don't let them think you're a premium star," Ovitz told Jane Fonda about his considerations.

“The so-called Oscar curse, I personally think, is actually because after winning an Oscar, the market will give the winner an exorbitant price.

Often only those outsiders would pay such a price to hire new actors and actresses. Amateurs don't understand production, and their judgments are faulty. This often leads to films made by award-winning actors that do not perform well at the box office. "

"Think about the films you rejected over the years, Jane. First A Doll's House, and then Godard's Everything's Well, were not projects favored by the big studios. So this time we have to make sure that the big studios The studio is really optimistic that your performance in the movie can bring in box office, so it invests in the project, rather than gambling in which you are the only selling point of the whole movie.

I have no intention of lowering your salary. We just don’t need them to bid against each other and reduce other production budgets. As long as they can respect your status as a movie queen and choose the one with the highest price quoted. "

"So how much do you estimate the total price they can pay for the script, project, director, and my participation in the show?"

"It's hard to say. My feeling from communicating with them is that they are willing to pay an unprecedentedly high price for you, but it's hard to say how much they are willing to pay for the script and director. In their eyes, only you have star status, and that's it. The only bankable asset in the project.”

The so-called bankable refers to high-quality assets recognized by banks, a guarantee of box office success, and collateral that can be used for loans. The managers of the bank's loan department have no idea about film shooting. They will only grant a filming financing loan if someone they consider to be a bargain agrees to participate in the film project.

There are many types of packages, such as directors who have made consecutive blockbuster movies, leading male celebrities, or gold medal agents with a string of successful resumes. Jane Fonda is one of the few female stars who can rival male stars and is regarded as a bargain by banks.

"It's started," the secretary on the side said, pointing to the fax machine.

"Squeak...squeak..." The fax machine began to ring with difficulty, and one quote after another was faxed from five major studios.

"You are a professional, Ovitz. We hope that no matter who it is, my IPC Films will have the right to participate in investment. We will reinvest Jane's salary into film production, jointly participate in investment, and at the same time enjoy a corresponding share of the total box office. Divide.”

Jane Fonda's producer said from the sidelines.

After years of experience, Jane Fonda has long understood the various ways of playing Hollywood. This time I got a guarantee contract to ensure a guaranteed harvest in the event of drought and flood, and immediately turned back to the movie to pursue greater profits.

Of course, this is also a sign that she and the producer have confidence in Ronald's script and the director's control. Otherwise, they could just get paid and leave.

"Fox 2.8 million, Orion 2.9 million, Warner Bros. 3 million..." Ron Meyer collected the faxes one by one and reported each company's quotation.

Jane Fonda turned back and discussed quietly with the producer that the price was not satisfactory.

"Paramount 3.2 million..." The secretary did not wait for the last few lines of the fax to be sent, and hurriedly pulled the quotation page from the fax machine and handed it to Ovitz.

"Where's Colombia's offer?" Ovitz was also a little anxious. Don't go wrong at the critical moment.

"Squeak..." The fax machine began to spit out white paper again. There were so many faxes this time that the secretary cut off the long roll of paper that was flowing to the floor. Then wait in front of the fax machine, and once the fax has enough content, take it over and show it to everyone.

"Are these all revisions to the script?" Jane Fonda took the fax from Ovitz, flipped through it roughly, and exchanged glances with the producer.

"Yes, Columbia President Mr. Price was originally a script editor and reviewer for CBS TV. His professional opinions are very valuable." Ron Meyer, one of the partners of CAA, added next to him.

"The quotation is here..." The secretary quickly handed the last fax to Ovitz, and Ovitz motioned for her to give it directly to Jane Fonda.

"The total project purchase cost is 3.65 million, including Jane Fonda's 2 million pay or guaranteed salary and the script purchase of 350,000..." Jane and the producer quickly browsed, "Colombia will invest another 6.35 million in production costs, with a total production budget of 1,000 -12 million."

"This 2 million is the quota for your IPC company, Jane." Ovitz pointed to the last line of handwritten numbers. There was a pen, and after the printed number 10 million, the words "12 million" were handwritten.

"We call Mr. Frank Price, the president of Columbia." Ovitz directed his secretary to answer the phone.

"I'll inform the losers." Ron Meyer took the initiative to inform the bad news.

"Mr. Price," Ovitz greeted the other party first, "Congratulations on winning 'My Brother's Protector'

"Hahaha... It should be congratulations to all of us." Frank Price's laughter came from the loudspeaker, "Is Jane here? I have left an investment quota of 2 million US dollars for your ipc."

"I saw it, Frank. Thank you for your generosity." Jane Fonda decided to invest after discussing with the producer, "ipc will invest 2 million."

"This will give Columbia more confidence. Listen, Michael, now the project is ready for formal signing. We are ready to book a schedule for the summer of 2082. If you have no objections, we can start the project promotion plan."

"No problem, I got a strike exemption and I'm going to shoot 'On Golden Pond' right away. When the camera shuts down in two months, we can set the filming schedule."

"That's just right. We can take advantage of this time to make some modifications and refinements to the script."

"I've seen your comments Frank, let Ronald revise the draft carefully. Who do you have for the leading actor?"

"This is also a question I want to ask you, Jane. The interaction between the male and female protagonists determines the success of the movie..."

"Have Richard call Ronald and let him know that his script has been sold, but keep it quiet and wait for our promotion to start."

While listening to the call, Ovitz turned his head and whispered to his secretary.

…

"So this is what the curse of the Oscars means. If you win the award, you won't be able to get good projects." Ronald nodded.

"Yes, Ronald. I'm telling you, if you care about how many good movies you make in your career and not about fame, you'd better not win an Oscar, just get an Oscar nomination." Walter Mersey said.

"Why?"

"Oscar nominations can already prove that you are the top in the industry, and employers will appreciate you. But Oscar awards have another meaning. Employers will always worry about whether your price is exaggerated and whether your temper is greater. , have you become so self-inflated that you don’t listen to your boss’s opinions?”

"So that's it? But I don't think you have any signs of self-aggrandizement?"

"I have nothing to say about this. Sometimes things don't need to actually happen, but what everyone thinks will happen to you. Perceptions will replace the facts."

"Then what are your plans now?" Ronald couldn't help but worry about Walter Mersey.

"Usually, it takes three years to be unlucky after winning an Oscar. But I plan to use these three years to transform into a director. I wrote a script about the adventures of an archaeologist in Egypt. I hope Warner now owns this script. The brother asked me to be the director.

The script was originally written for Peep Show, but after Apocalypse Now, Francis ran out of cash to make the film, so he sold it to Warner Bros. It's been a few months since they bought it and they haven't contacted me yet, so I hope the script doesn't sit in Warner's script library and gather dust. "

"Why, didn't they buy it for filming?" Ronald was curious.

"This is no longer the 1970s. At that time, as long as the producer believed in the director and the money was available, filming could be done. Now the major studios are more cautious about project filming. The studios will stockpile a lot of scripts, but they will not start filming. many."

After chatting for a while, Ronald said goodbye and returned to the motel 6. The prices here are cheap, reasonably clean, and the service is pretty good.

"Mr. Li? Someone called you this afternoon and left you a message." When the front desk saw Ronald, he turned around and took out a folded note and handed it to Ronald.

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