"So your opinion, we need a story to highlight the selling point of Diet Pepsi? Right?" asked Ronald's old friend, creative director Darcy Maguire.
"Yes, I have seen all the recent Diet Pepsi ads. You have invited many Hollywood stars, but you always highlight the stars themselves. Diet Pepsi is a product that the public does not know much about, so why not highlight the product itself? , what are the characteristics that make young people like it?" Ronald replied.
Niceta contacted Ronald's old partner. Darcy Maguire was very happy to learn that Ronald could come back to the world. He immediately contacted the Pepsi project and asked him to direct a small TV commercial.
Her current big customer is Pepsi-Cola. Recently, Pepsi-Cola has fired its old marketing director and has begun to reorganize advertising ideas and re-select advertising companies. She really wants to keep this big client.
"Which star do you think is more suitable, Ronald? They found Billy Crystal last year." Maguire asked.
"I heard that Pepsi's advertising slogan is 'the choice of the new generation'? Why did you choose a middle-aged comedian? Wait, let's find stars to star in the advertisement. Their budget is very sufficient?" Ronald suddenly discovered the problem.
"Hahaha, yes. Pepsi is beating Coca-Cola very hard now. They want to increase their advertising budget and truly become the winner of the cola war. This is a good opportunity, Ronald, as long as you are willing to take action, I will win the new season. The possibility of advertising contracts is very high.”
"Of course, we have known each other for a long time, so I speak frankly. The cash for the new movie's release budget is a bit tight now, and I hope to be able to pay as soon as possible."
It turned out that after the sales of the new flavor Coke launched by Coca-Cola last year increased in the first few months, the overall sales began to decline again.
The formula of New Coke has a softer and smoother sweetness. This new taste has been loved by consumers who often drink Coke in big cities such as New York and Los Angeles. Market research shows that their willingness to buy New Coke has not changed much from Old Coke.
However, in the southern states, New Coke's sales suffered a waterloo, and PepsiCo largely occupied the originally stable market.
The Chicago Tribune, where film critic Gene Sisco works, also published a special report specifically describing the cultural resistance to the new flavor of Coke in southern states.
Those states all belonged to the Confederacy during the Civil War, and the Coca-Cola Company, headquartered in Atlanta, has always been regarded by the Southerners as one of the few products that can conquer the Northern Yankees.
The new flavor of Coke was seen by the Southerners as a capitulation based on Yankee tastes. Many consumers in southern states originally believed that Coca-Cola represented the South, while Pepsi, headquartered in New York, represented the North.
The new flavor, with added sweetness, was the Pepsi-Cola of the Yankees, a surrender to the Yankees, and the Yankees once again conquered the South.
"This is too exaggerated. How can Coke be related to the Civil War?" Ronald actually doesn't like New Coke, but he is just used to the old taste. What is the conflict between the North and the South, and what is the cultural inheritance? Relationship?
"What's even more exaggerated is that some Southerners think this is a Cuban conspiracy."
"Huh? What's going on?" Ronald was stunned.
It turns out that the new flavor of Coke makes residents living in small towns in the South very dissatisfied. Unlike residents of big cities such as New York and Los Angeles, they often drink other flavors of drinks and appreciate the ability to tolerate innovative flavors.
The carbonated drink that small town residents drink their entire lives is Coca-Cola.
After the old taste they had been drinking for half a lifetime was replaced, they felt something was wrong, and many conspiracy theories emerged.
Coca-Cola Company, who led this taste change, is the company's chairman and CEO Roberto Guzueta. He is a descendant of Cuban immigrants. His father escaped from Fidel and smuggled his family to Florida. .
So residents of those states close to the Caribbean began to spread that this was a conspiracy by Cuban leader Fidel to destroy America's capitalist tradition.
The Coca-Cola Company has a hotline to handle orders and complaints. After the new flavor was launched, the number of complaint calls per day increased from 400 to 1,500.
It is said that some people were emotional, as if a relative in their family had died, crying bitterly over New Coke's betrayal of American tradition.
"Those people really like conspiracy theories," Ronald shook his head. In the Deep South, conservative evangelical religious forces are growing rapidly, and many farmers and small-town residents, who are scornfully called "rednecks" by big cities, do not have cable television or the popular magazines that are common in big cities.
With little information, many things they cannot understand are often attributed to the conspiracy of anti-Christian elements.
"It's ridiculous. In fact, Fidel of Cuba also made a public statement saying that he didn't like the taste of New Coke. He said that New Coke was a sign of America's depravity. Coca-Cola was originally one of the few people in this imperialist country to like. Everything was destroyed."
“Then Pepsi is making a lot of money, isn’t it?”
"Of course, why else would they take out a full-page, front-page ad in the New York Times saying that Pepsi has won the decades-long cola wars."
Darcy Maguire gave Ronald a newspaper, which made Ronald laugh out loud.
Above, Roger Enrico, Pepsi's head of North American operations, announces a company-wide holiday to celebrate winning the Coke Wars.
“Pepsi’s sales increased by 14% year-on-year, so they want to increase investment in one fell swoop to defeat Coca-Cola.
This year they are focusing on promoting sugar-free Diet Pepsi, which is a new trend that has become popular in big cities in the past two years. Start with diet to solve weight problems. "
"Pepsi's slogan is the choice of the new generation. In short, Billy Crystal can no longer be used. We have to find a star who can represent the image of young people to do this advertisement. Your advertising company should have survey data. Who has been in the past two years? Is he the most influential star in the eyes of young people?"
"Of course it's Michael J. Fox, but he's a movie star now, and movie stars don't advertise."
Maguire replied that some advertising companies had contacted Fox and wanted to use his influence among teenagers, but without exception, he was rejected by his agent.
"Wait a minute, don't say no so quickly, I'll give him a call."
"Hey Ronald, how are you? I heard you've finished editing your new movie?"
Michael J. Fox has a very good relationship with Ronald. His famous work "Back to the Future" was Ronald's proposal to change roles and give him the opportunity. After receiving the call, he specially found a time to meet and chat with Ronald.
"good……"
Ronald exchanged greetings with him and said, "I'm here this time to convince you to participate in a Pepsi commercial."
"Hey, I actually don't care about these. The price offered by PepsiCo is very good, but my agent said that the advertisement will affect my personal image and will be detrimental to my future movie shooting. So my attitude towards TV advertisements is to avoid them. of."
"Why? Even though others say so," Ronald knew that he had to challenge this ancient Hollywood iron law this time, otherwise Michael J. Fox would not agree.
"Isn't that just the same thing? The image of a movie actor should be used in movies. If he appears too much on TV, the audience will know the actor's image too well, which will have a negative effect on the role he plays in the movie."
"Michael, this reason may be true for other people, but it is completely false for you."
"Why?" It was Fox's turn to ask.
"You are a TV actor, have you forgotten? God. The audience sees you on TV every day. Your image has long been stereotyped as an independent, smart and street smart young man who goes to the big city to work hard."
"Haha, that's true." Michael J. Fox laughed. He first became famous in the TV series "Ties", and "Back to the Future" came later.
"There used to be legends in Hollywood that you can't act in TV dramas if you act in movies, and vice versa. The two acting methods are very different, and actors can't do both. But haven't you achieved great success across both movies and TV?"
"You are absolutely right." Michael J. Fox took out a new cigarette and lit it with the old one. "I can promise it, Ronald. But you have to promise that it will be your personal guidance. I don't want to For a commercial that is simple and repetitive, I wanted it to be a commercial with a story, similar to my screen persona, Marty from 'Back to the Future.'"
Fox stubbed out the old cigarette that was about to burn out on the sole of Ronald's raised leg. He smoked cigarettes fiercely, one after another, which was a sequelae left behind by rushing to film a TV series.
"I'm ready. Here's the script. Take a look." Ronald looked down and saw a scar burned by a cigarette butt on the sole of his shoe. Fortunately, no one saw it.
"Ah, hahaha..." Michael J. Fox was very happy after reading the short three-page script. Ronald wrote this script based on his own star image, and it is in line with the ideas of Pepsi's younger generation.
"I accepted it. This script is very interesting. It's a replica of the 'Secret of Success' story. No problem." Fox took another puff of cigarette, "By the way, who do you plan to cast as the heroine? Are you looking for me? My girlfriend Helen? That’s not bad, it’s like a warm-up advertisement for our movie.”
"This...?" Ronald didn't expect Fox to mention Helen, and he couldn't deny that he always wanted to find her. After all, when he asked Helen Slater to replace the heroine, he was inviting Michael... J. Fox helped cooperate, "I'll call Helen."
…
"Ronald, why did you think of asking me to act in this commercial?" Helen received Ronald's call and rushed to Ronald's apartment in the evening. She looked at Ronald with a pair of big blue eyes. .
"Don't you know that movie actors don't accept TV commercials?" Helen pointed at Ronald with her finger. "I know, hehe. Are you regretting that you have never directed me in a movie? You want to use this advertisement to Can you make up for your regrets a little bit?”
"Ah..." Ronald could only touch his beard. This could not be denied.
"You are so romantic, Ronald." Helen happily wrapped her hands around Ronald's neck, "I know you actually regret not directing 'The Secret of Success', right? Although I am a movie actor... but you If you say so, I’m willing to go.”
"Um..." Ronald looked at Helen. Anyway, Helen's acting potential was limited. After a few movies, Ronald had basically confirmed that she could only play roles that matched her true nature.
Although she talks a lot about Broadway and acting theories, and even started an experimental theater company with her best friend Helen Hunt, her actual acting skills are far from these well-versed theories.
"Well, anyway, this role is similar to your screen image." Ronald replied.
"Well, I also want to try some different roles. My acting skills have improved a lot. But the role in this commercial is similar to 'Secret of Success', so I treat it as a warm-up for the release of the movie. " Helen replied.
"good……"
The words Ronald was about to say were swallowed back in his stomach. Helen herself is still very pursuing.
But it doesn’t matter, Helen’s acting skills are always good in the one-and-a-half-minute commercial. And the heroine I wrote is actually more like a vase.
As for the height difference between Helen and Michael J. Fox, anyway, I took into consideration that Fox was always shorter than the actress, so when I was storyboarding, I tried my best not to let him and the heroine appear in the same shot.
"Ronald, in your script, Fox and I don't have the same scene. When you wrote the script, did you write it in my image to prevent me from bending down and stepping in the ditch again, so that I can be as tall as him?" Equivalent, right?”
"This...probably, maybe, this is what happened."
"I never thought that someone would be so romantic to me." Helen closed her eyes and was intoxicated in her imagination. Then she got close to Ronald, imitating the dance in "Dirty Dancing" and using her hip movements to Ronald rubbed his waist, "This is your reward, my dear."
"oh……"
Ronald also imitated the male protagonist. After a minute, he couldn't stand the teasing anymore and picked up Helen into the bedroom.
"By the way, who are you going to use for the actress at the end?" Helen asked Ronald, lying on her side with a red face and a little short of breath.
Ronald lay beside him leisurely, "Let CAA audition. Many newly debuted actors and models will be willing."
Soon, Pepsi found a weekend and started shooting the commercial.
Michael J. Fox was only free on weekends and did not have to film TV series. Ronald also prepared all other things in advance. He only had one day on the weekend to shoot all the scenes.
"This is Kristy, this is Director Ronald Lee." Niceta led a tall beauty to Ronald.
Ronald stepped forward and shook hands with the second female lead in the commercial. This was a three-way audition between the advertising agency, Pepsi, and CAA, and the final candidate was Kristy Turlington, who had just signed a contract with Elite Model Agency in New York.
"Very good. Is your hair originally dark brown?" Ronald lifted her hair and looked at it. Under the light, it had a slight golden-red glow.
"Yes, I have dyed it blonde before. I can dye it back as requested." Christy Turlington quickly replied, she didn't want to lose this opportunity because of the details of hair color.
"Have the hairstylist and the director of photography check to see if there's no reddish gold in the film, then it's OK."
There are two heroines in the entire advertisement. Helen has always been blonde since she played "Superwoman". So the second beauty needs brown hair (brue) to balance it out.
"Hi, honey!" Ronald dismissed Kristy Turlington and turned to say hello to Helen Slater, who was putting on makeup.
"We mainly shoot indoor scenes in the morning. Your dress and makeup are all close to the 'secret of success'. When acting, you should also look for the feeling in the movie."
"ok!"
"a!"
"Tuk Tuk..." The wooden door in the studio was knocked. Michael J. Fox wore a white shirt and gray wool vest, jeans and running shoes, which was very similar to the look in the movie "The Secret of Success" Yuppie style.
The door was opened a crack by Fox, and the beautiful face of a blonde stretched out from the door.
The camera retreated along the pre-laid track, taking a close-up of Helen's face as she slipped in through the crack in the door.
"Hi, I'm the new next door neighbor and I was wondering if you could lend me a can of Diet Pepsi?"
Helen's voice was very nice, and the recording pole on site recorded all her conversations.
"cut!"
Ronald stopped, stepped forward and whispered in Helen's ear, "You made a mistake. Talk to Fox, not the camera."
"Oh, I thought it was a close-up of the front." Helen knew that Ronald wanted to protect himself.
"It's okay, let's do it again."
After filming several scenes of Helen indoors, Ronald asked Michael J. Fox to go to the dressing room to touch up her makeup.
"Kristy?" Ronald called Kristy Turlington over, "Wait for a moment until Michael says the line 'Danny?' and then you can sneak in from behind the door."
Kristy Turlington looked a little nervous, but nodded in agreement.
"Pay attention to your appearance. You treat the camera as the designer of your favorite fashion. You want to show him your modeling skills. Do you understand? Give it a try." Ronald saw that she was a little nervous and hurriedly stepped forward to give her a Let’s talk about how to allocate attention.
As long as this young beautiful model has enough imagination, she can perform good visual effects. Anyway, she is a long shot, and there is no need for her more advanced acting skills.
"a!"
Michael J. Fox's head was sprayed with water from the dressing room, making it wet as if he had been caught in the rain.
Holding a can of Diet Pepsi, he panted, appeared in front of Helen, and handed it over, "Your Diet Pepsi!"
"Tuk-du..." Another knock on the door came.
"That must be my roommate, Danny." Helen gently took the Diet Pepsi and said to Fox.
"Danny?" Michael J. Fox had an embarrassed look on his face. Could it be that after all the hard work he had done to help his beautiful neighbor find Pepsi-Cola, she was actually living with her boyfriend Danny?
"Hi, my name is Danielle," Christy Turlington walked in the door with a catwalk, holding her waist with one hand, a standard debut action of a model on the catwalk.
“Do you still have Diet Pepsi?”
"Of course", Michael J. Fox's expression immediately changed to happy.
"cut!"
Ronald stopped, "Great, let's do it again."
Soon, all the scenes of the two actresses were shot in the morning. While Ronald was discussing the upcoming shoot with Michael J. Fox, Helen came over to say goodbye.
"My dear, I have to leave first. There is an acting training class in the afternoon."
"Okay, I'll see you off." Ronald greeted Fox and sent Helen outside the set.
"Well..." The two kissed goodbye, Helen got into Little Bud's car and left. Ronald turned around just in time to see Kristy Turlington standing next to him.
Kristy Turlington saw Ronald looking over and smiled. She is different from other models. She seems to be relatively well-educated in temperament.
"Are you waiting for the bus?" Ronald saw her smile and responded with a smile.
"Yes, I called a taxi."
"Taxis in Los Angeles are quite expensive. I'll ask the crew's assistant to take you there." Ronald turned around and entered the studio to continue filming Michael J. Fox's action scenes.
The crew moved to another studio nearby. The entire studio was covered with black cloth to cover the windows and roof, simulating a street scene at night.
Michael J. Fox had only a large empty bottle of Diet Pepsi in the refrigerator at home. In order not to embarrass himself in front of his female neighbor, he had to open the window and climb down the fire escape.
"a!"
Under dim lighting, the set simulated a street, the camera shot from behind Michael J. Fox, and across the street was a Pepsi vending machine.
Then the Focus overcame the traffic on the road and jumped from the roof of the car to cross the road.
After jumping off the roof of the car, another dog stuck its head out of the window of a car and barked at him.
"cut!"
Ronald raised his hand to indicate that the trainer was doing a good job.
The set crew started getting cars off the road and the motorcyclists started getting ready.
A time machine in "Back to the Future", the DeLorean sports car was pushed over to serve as the background, which is a little easter egg.
Afterwards, Fox encountered a group of gangsters and girls dressed in leather jackets, who emerged from the steam on motorcycles. It's full of the style of a noir street movie like "Streets of Rage".
Michael J. Fox flipped up his hair, and although he was scared, he walked through them, walked to the vending machine, put in a coin, and bought a can of Diet Pepsi.
"cut!"
In one day, Ronald shot all the footage for the commercial thanks to his thorough preparation.
"I'm waiting to see your finished film. It seems very interesting." Michael J. Fox said goodbye and left.
The next day, a copy of the negative was developed and went into the editing room again.
Ronald and several assistants cut the Pepsi commercial together.
In this scene, Fox is filled with pride and wants to buy Diet Pepsi for his beautiful neighbor. It seems to be a bit similar to the emotion in "Top Gun".
Ronald picked up the phone and contacted composer Kenny Loggins.
"I have a Pepsi advertisement and I want to use your 'Danger Zone'. Is that okay with you? Okay, I'll ask them to contact your agent and buy the right to use it."
"Dong...dongdong...dong..."
The familiar "Top Gun" opens with the F-14A fighter jet taking off from the aircraft carrier, and the background music is used again in the scene where Fox goes to buy Pepsi. Has a great sense of humor.
…
"This is the 90-second version, this is the 60-second version, this is the 30-second version..."
Ronald transcribed the edited footage onto a videotape and showed it to creative director Darcy Maguire.
"Oh, what you took is just like a movie trailer."
Maguire is very satisfied with Ronald's performance.
"I think so, so I tried my best to absorb some elements from popular movies. Fortunately, Michael J. Fox himself is the star of 'Back to the Future' and 'Secret of Success', so there is no problem in borrowing elements."
"And you are also the director of 'Top Gun'. Pepsi's money is really well spent. I will go and show it to Pepsi's marketing director."
"Okay, I'll just wait for your transfer check, hahaha."
Soon, news came from Pepsi's headquarters. Ronald's advertisement aroused a favorable response there. They all felt that finding Ronald and being able to persuade two well-known movie actors to agree to condescend to shoot commercials was a huge bargain.
So payment is very prompt. The next day, Ronald got the transfer check, which was a good supplement to the lost product placement and solved most of the problems.
"Fox and Helen's remuneration has also been paid. Pepsi is very happy. This 90-second commercial will premiere at this year's Football Super Bowl. Then the 60-second and 30-second versions will begin to be broadcast on major public television stations."
"Very good, I'm also very satisfied. Michael J. Fox, and his good friend John Candy, are fans of the Football Super Bowl. You can make some arrangements."
After receiving Ronald's hint, Darcy Maguire immediately went to discuss with Pepsi and gave the two Canadian actors good seats at the Super Bowl. During the halftime break, after the commercial, the camera just cut to Fox. , let’s have a linkage.
"A very good cooperation, Ronald, do you want to shoot other commercials? I also have McDonald's, Burger King, Green Arrow, Unilever, Procter & Gamble..."
"Except P&G," Ronald interrupted. I need cash now and I have short-term and quick projects, so why not make some money.
"Ronald," Niceta knocked on the door and walked in, interrupting Ronald and Darcy Maguire's plan to get rich.
"What's wrong?" Ronald frowned when he saw him.
"There is something wrong with the rating. Eddie has already gone to deal with it. You have to be prepared," Niceta said softly in Ronald's ear.
Ronald also frowned, and he turned back and asked in Niceta's ear, "Is it the old stubborn Jew who is causing this?"
"I'll leave first. When you're free, we'll talk about further cooperation." Looking at the faces of the two of them, Darcy Maguire knew that there was something big to deal with, so he wisely proposed to leave first.
"Okay, thank you. I'll contact you if I have any news."
Ronald, who saw Maguire off, came back, closed the door, and immediately asked, "What's going on? Who is causing trouble? Is there any news from Michael Douglas?"
"Don't worry, I had a phone call with Michael Douglas, and he said that his father Kirk had no action. This is not necessarily caused by the Jews. It is very common for MPAA to bully small production and distribution companies.
It's just that you were so careful this time, there were no frontal exposure shots, and it was rated R, which is a bit surprising. We still have the opportunity to appeal for revision. "
"What the hell, why are our independent production and distribution companies being bullied like this? It's hard to determine whether the Jews are using their influence."
In the evening, Ronald convened Daydream's general manager Eddie, distribution manager Michelle Cannold and others to have a meeting to discuss countermeasures. "
"What if we cut out some of the explicit sex scenes?" Michelle Cannold asked.
"Don't be childish..." Eddie replied.
"Yes, I participated in a movie called 'Endless Love' before. I was the heroine when Brooke Shields was popular. Just because the distributor was PolyGram, a newcomer in the industry, I was rejected five times in a row."
"Have you ever thought that if the rating is R, it might be a gimmick to attract viewers?" Michelle Cannold spoke again.
Everyone looked at Ronald together.
"Hmm... it's inappropriate." Ronald thought for a moment and rejected this opinion. "This approach of using R-rating to attract audiences is feasible for movies that are originally aimed at adult audiences. But our film 'Dirty Dancing' is aimed at teenage female audiences aged 14-18. It won't work if it doesn't make it pg-13."
If a movie aimed at teenagers is rated R, it will almost certainly mean that the box office will be cut in half. In many big city cinemas, many teenagers will not go to see R-rated movies that require the company of adults.
"Why is this? I watched Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark, and there were a lot of inappropriate shots in it. Wasn't it also rated pg in the end? Later, a pg-13 rating was added to specifically give these hints. , a film that is not explicit.”
Michelle Cannold's assistant, Dolly Bernstine, chimed in.
"That's different, Universal and Columbia, they have people in MPAA..." Niceta said, explaining that these distribution teams from Weston are used to distribution in the video tape market, and they are not responsible for the distribution of these regular theaters. I'm still learning and groping about the operation, and often speak in layman's terms.
"So, do we have anyone there?" Dolly Bernstine asked Ronald.
"Yes, I have someone too..."
Ronald suddenly realized, why didn't he use these connections in advance? It seems that I am still too unfamiliar with the operation of distributing movies.
"Let me make some calls."
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