At the 20th Century Fox booth at the Western Film Expo in Las Vegas, there was a super large poster with Bruce Willis’ big face and several words bigger than his face. Die Harder”.
Many people gathered around the booth asking for tickets to Fox's trade fair. Sequels to such successful action movies generally make steady money. Cinema buyers across the country want early certainty on their share of copies to buy.
Thomas Stephenson Jr., who ran the Hollywood theater chain in the East, also came. After he took over the operation of the cinema, the number of cinemas in the chain has exceeded 100 and is still growing. Now he no longer has to squeeze in the exhibition hall below. There is a place for him in the VIP hall on the second floor.
"So what exactly is the story of Part 2?" Thomas Stephenson Jr. asked Ronald, who was sitting next to him, and Joel Silver, the producer duo of Die Hard 2.
"This is still a secret. In short, the scenes are bigger than the first one, the explosions and fireballs are bigger, more lives are saved, and the bad guys we face are more cunning."
"Very good, we like movies with certainty like this." Thomas Stephenson Jr. was very satisfied with Ronald's answer. The sequel continued the blockbuster code of the first movie, so that the cinema would have a strong movie in the summer. , can support the box office.
Silver went to communicate with other theater buyers, and Ronald stayed here to continue chatting with Stephenson. Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia has begun investing in movie theaters in shopping malls in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The six cinemas with oasis palm trees as their logo have become the latest and most luxurious multiplex cinema standards and are very popular among teenagers.
These theaters were invested by Bandar, who ran them impatiently, so they all joined the Hollywood theater chain. They were run by a management team sent by Thomas Stephenson Jr., and all used advanced stereo surround sound systems. There are no more than sixty seats, and there are no step separations like those in old movie theaters.
Multiple movies can be flexibly adjusted and arranged, which is the product of the latest theater management ideas. The Saudis gave money readily, and Thomas Stephenson Jr. welcomed their joining. Prince Bandar earns stable income, the Hollywood theater chain has more franchise theaters, and Ronald's low-cost movies have relatively stable release channels. Everyone is very happy.
"We are looking forward to your romantic comedies. I will schedule more of them in the summer. Summer movies on the East Coast have a lot of teenage girls as the main moviegoers. The more movies like this, the better."
"Don't forget about another movie I participated in. Look who's talking, and you have to ensure some filming." Ronald didn't forget another movie he participated in the production of.
"Is a baby movie okay? Tell us what you think the box office potential is."
"Of course, don't forget ET. Any movie that children like to watch will definitely do well at the box office."
"Okay, I'll give you some more. There are losers every year in the summer season. This year's Ghostbusters 2, Lethal Weapon 2, and Raiders of the Lost Ark are all sequels. The new movie Fireball, Batman, and the old 007 , I always feel that at least one of them is going to be finished. The current James Bond is ugly and has a sad face, whereas the first two were so chic..."
"There is also Dragon King 3," Ronald added. The relationship with the theater chain gives him an advantage in scheduling the movies he participates in.
"There's also Dragon King 3. It's a pity that you won't be directing this series."
"I found that the action scenes I directed were not as good as those from Hong Kong. You will know after watching them."
Next, Ronald had a cordial chat with buyers from several theater chains about this year’s summer schedule. All he is responsible for is smiling and praising the other party for their good cooperation in the past. The remaining details were implemented by the publishing director Michelle Cannold who came along.
"Ronald, uh, Mr. Li, it's really thanks to you this time."
Ronald was drinking Coca-Cola when an executive producer named Kevin from Twentieth Century Fox came over and gave Ronald a compliment. After seeing the friendship between Ronald and the two bosses of Fox, he immediately changed his tune and worked hard to create opportunities to communicate with Ronald. Anyway, he paid attention to all the projects he participated in.
"Haha, they purchased it mainly because of the glorious history of 20th Century Fox and the professionalism of you executives." Ronald said perfunctorily. He had seen many such villains in major studios. Yes, there is no need to go against them.
"I'm not exaggerating. You are the one who can grasp the pulse of the audience. As long as it is a project for which you are the producer, the buyers will not ask for details and directly book the maximum number of copies. We have also saved too many things. , all your colleagues in the distribution department worship you as a genius."
"Haha, you said that, I'm so happy..."
"To tell you the truth, some people just have talent, and some people just don't. For some directors who have had a glorious history, our distribution department can't sell their current projects at all. As soon as theater buyers see his name, Just shake your head, you can’t sell it no matter what.”
"Oh? Who is it?" Ronald heard the other party talk about such a private matter, and he would be sorry if he didn't gossip about it.
"I'm only talking to you, Ronald. It's John Hughes, who became famous in youth movies just like you in the past few years. His consecutive movies bombed the box office, and both Universal and Paramount couldn't stand him anymore. We are ready to take another gamble on him, and now it seems that the booking number is really..."
"Oh..." Ronald was a little surprised when he heard that it was John Hughes who worked in the office next door to him while filming "Fast Times" and filmed "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" a few years ago. He was also photographed and praised as "Spring is not a day for reading". Why did he stop doing it so quickly?
After calling Michelle Cannold to find out, it turned out that this matter had something to do with me.
John Hughes got his start in teen movies. His muse was Molly Ringwald, who led to the Brat Pack, a group of teen stars.
In the end, Emilio Estevez disappeared after being suppressed by Ronald, Rob Lowe retired due to the video scandal, Andrew McCarthy filmed the show, and Ralph Mazzio filmed Ronald Boy, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis got married, Jennifer Gray went to film Ronald Dirty Dancing...all the actors he used who were comfortable can no longer be filmed, or don't bother to film his movies.
In the end, Molly Ringwald, the one he valued most, couldn't bear to continue playing a girl and broke up with him. John Hughes had no choice but to switch to comedies.
However, several transformational films such as "The Heart of the World", "Into the Wild", and "Uncle Buck" all suffered box office failures. For a time, he was no longer guaranteed to make money in commercial films that were even more famous than Ronald.
"What's going on?" Ronald felt a little embarrassed. Like him, John Hughes is also an all-round Hollywood talent with director, producer, and screenwriter. He produces no less movies than Ronald every year. Popular trends in Hollywood are changing very quickly. Such a talent is no longer recognized by Hollywood in the blink of an eye, and even asks Fox to distribute it.
"What, are you interested? If you are interested, that's another matter. How about I show you the script?" When the executive producer heard that Ronald was interested, he immediately changed his appearance. , immediately asked the assistant to get the script.
"This is a children's film, but no one dares to let Hughes direct it anymore..."
"Why?" Ronald signaled that he would not accept the script and asked him to sign a formal script copyright relinquishment agreement with Daydream's legal counsel before getting started. Although Hughes failed three times in a row, it's not like he can't find anyone to invest in him as a director.
"You will understand after watching his recent movies. This man is crazy... If you are interested, and... if you are not interested in directing, just recommend a director to us. Who in Hollywood doesn't know that you are not only interested in actors? He has a good eye and he has a great eye for directors.”
…
"What is this..." Ronald received a videotape from Fox that night and fast forwarded to watch three new John Hughes films.
The legend that John Hughes ran out of talent cannot be said to be nonsense without a bit of evidence. It's one thing for movie box office to be adversely affected by market changes and other factors. The main reason why Hollywood dislikes such a former blockbuster director is that there are big problems with his directing techniques.
In both films, "Uncle Buck" and "Uncle Buck", which he personally directed, John Hughes followed the technique of his last blockbuster film "Spring Is Not a Day to Read", allowing the hero to face the camera from time to time and have some inner conversations. monologue.
This technique is often used in the theater world and is called breaking the fourth wall. This means that there are walls on three sides of the theater, and only one side is empty facing the audience. But in this empty direction, actors traditionally cannot show that they see the audience.
Their plays are limited to the confines of the stage. Some avant-garde comedies deliberately break this gambling wall and communicate directly with the audience below. In the theater, the audience will have an effect of "Oh, I am actually watching a show." Sometimes this alienating effect, On the contrary, it makes the audience more immersed in it.
But when this technique is used on a large scale in movies, it seems inappropriate. Movie audiences often have to be distracted. It is occasionally used at the beginning of the movie to speed up the narrative rhythm and exaggerate the atmosphere. It happens every five or ten minutes, and the emotions that were just lifted by the movie are gone. .
No wonder Fox doesn't dare let him direct this new film.
However, the script of this movie is actually quite interesting. A child is alone at home and outsmarts two gangsters. Many people have had this kind of fantasy when they were young, right? Ronald felt that as long as the director was changed, maybe this would be a movie that could be close to the target audience of "Look Who's Talking".
Amy Heckerling is still in intense post-production and preparing for the sequel. Ronald thought about it for a while, and found that Chris Columbus, who had filmed "The Adventures of Babysitter" back then, would be a good fit. There were many action scenes for children in that movie, and the filming was very childlike.
"Chris, it's me. There's a children's film script here. Are you interested in trying it?" Ronald called Columbus immediately regardless of the fact that it was already night.
"Did you offend Eisner? It doesn't matter. This time it's 20th Century Fox. Their big boss is an Australian. There won't be any Jewish... Hey, there are producers who are ignorant of current affairs to boycott you. Are you interested? ?Okay, ask your agent to call my agent, and I will make an appointment for you to go for an interview."
After arranging an interview with Chris Columbus, Ronald received a call from the office of the president of Sony America, saying that President Dahe wanted to talk to him.
Because bodyguard Dan said there were no confidential lines in Las Vegas hotels, Ronald made an appointment with them to contact them after returning to Los Angeles.
The next day, Ronald, who took a business jet back to Los Angeles late at night, went to Jonathan Demme's place. Ronald fell a little in love with the feeling of flying on a private plane, mainly because it made less noise, had a good rest, and could be flexibly arranged according to his own schedule.
Demi got in touch with his lost priest cousin again. The cousin who worked for the poor and blacks had similar value orientations to him. Unfortunately, he was not loved by the suburbs and had to wander in poor places such as New Jersey and Brooklyn.
Demi donated some money to him and came back to continue his intense work. He himself has already chosen the candidate to play Dr. Lecter, and is contacting him through CAA for a joint audition with Jodie Foster.
"Why did you choose him?" Ronald saw that it was not the British-accented actor he had dreamed of, but the first 007 actor, Sean Connery.
"This is what I think. Dr. Lecter must have a strong body and look like someone who can kill people with his bare hands."
"It's true that the image of James Bond left a deep impression on the audience."
"Yes, this is the second reason. We have to find an actor who the audience thinks is a good person to play this criminal. Lecter is a very stylish gentleman in the film. He could not restrain his criminal impulse and committed a series of crimes. Homicide.
But when he is not acting sick, this is a person who seems to be polite to the audience. I would be hard-pressed to find a better fit. "
Jonathan Demme showed Ronald a lot of work, and this is a director who works very hard and is well prepared for the inner world of his character. Ronald really couldn't find a reason to deny this casting, unless it was my dream.
"Okay, let's give it a try, and do you have a backup candidate? I heard that Sean is difficult to deal with. He is unwilling to learn an accent unless you can accept a Lecter with a Scottish accent." Ronald still said One shortcoming is that Connery is a bastard star in movies. He will never change himself for the role. He must make the role accommodate him.
…
"Dahe Sang, why are you here in person?"
After Ronald returned to the hotel, Norio Ohga did not call this time, but flew in person to interview Ronald.
"The hotel's confidential line is not guaranteed. After much thought, I decided to come in person. When Ronald Sang's private house is built, we can still talk on the phone frequently." Dahe learned about Ronald's house building and returned it to Ronald De recommended a Japanese-style designer, and Ronald selected a few rooms and created them in the style of a tea room according to Oga's wishes, as well as a small Japanese-style dry landscape courtyard.
"Is there anything important?" Ronald knew that Dahe's coming in person must be something very important.
"The insider who leaked our strategic plan to acquire Columbia Pictures has been found." Dahe got straight to the point.
"who is it?"
"That's the consultant we hired, Michael Ovitzsan."
Da He picked up the small cup of Kung Fu tea that Ronald made for him, smelled the aroma of the black tea, and drank it in one gulp. Although this tea ceremony from the south is not as good as Japan, it still has an artistic beauty.
But Ronald clearly saw Da He's hand holding the teacup trembling slightly.
"I really don't understand why we spent so much sincerity only to get betrayed by this Jew!"
Ronald had no choice but to remain silent. How should he answer this?
"We Japanese people always like to be sincere to others and value long-term cooperation. In the first few businesses, we were even able to suffer a slight loss for the sake of long-term cooperation. But these people always regard our goodwill as weakness."
"This is a difference in business philosophy, Dahe Sang, this is nothing. Japanese companies will definitely have to pay some extra costs if they want to enter America." Luo Jian advised.
"It's not like we haven't made good friends in America, such as forward-thinking businessmen like Ronald Sang. You are the most intelligent Hollywood businessman I have ever seen. I will communicate with you. It's like facing a great artist, which inspires me a lot.
As for people like Ovitz, I just think they are not worthy of doing big business. They are like a pork seller who is still short of money every time he cuts meat for his customers. In my hometown, it is impossible for this kind of meat seller to survive. "
"Da He Sang, calm down. America is a complicated country of immigrants. You can see all kinds of nationalities." Ronald poured another cup of tea for Da He.
"Forgive me for being rude, I'm so... Hey, originally I wanted to hire him to be the president of the new Columbia company after our acquisition..."
After Da He said this, he stared into Ronald's eyes to see his reaction, "Now that he has exposed his character in advance, I wonder if Ronald Sang is interested in helping us manage Columbia Company. What about all the production and distribution operations?”
"Me? Thank you Dahe Sang for your consideration. In fact, I am not suitable to manage a big production company. My own daydreams are very troublesome. I wish I had a management genius to help me manage it. I can put more energy into it myself." Put it on directing work." Ronald firmly refused.
Are you kidding me? Being fooled once is not enough. Such a large studio has many complicated personnel relationships. I have to deal with people like Gary from Fox every day. Isn't he sick to death?
If we were to follow the example of Frank Price, the former president of Columbia, and focus on production, the Jewish executives would definitely join forces to cause trouble, and they might be framed just like Price.
Besides, to enjoy a delicious meal of braised pork, you don’t necessarily need to open a meat stall.
Ronald spoke again, "However, I like the distribution departments of Columbia and TriStar Pictures very much. Their professionalism is rare in Hollywood. I am willing to reach a strategic agreement with the new company after your acquisition. In the future, my films will have priority with Columbia." cooperate."
"It's settled, Ronald-san, it's our honor to be able to contribute to you." Norio Ohga was disappointed, but such a cooperation agreement with a Hollywood commercial film machine would definitely be a good shot in the arm after the acquisition.
"I wonder if what Ronald said is an exclusive cooperation agreement?" Dahe felt that this trip was worthwhile.
"Please have another drink..." Ronald heard this and just smiled without saying a word. Preserving competition is the best bargaining chip. "How did Oga-san find out about the mole?"
"This was discovered by our investigation team in Australia. The main reason why Scars came to bid for Colombia was because his company was in financial crisis and its cash flow was about to break, and he wanted to use this to speculate on the stock.
We bought his new resort at a low price, the respectable deputy general manager told us. It was actually Ovitz who contacted Scars..."
"Hey...", Ronald thought to himself, you Japanese people are also very good at finding Australians. I don't know what benefits you promised this vice president to sell out his boss.
"By the way, Ronald San, this time we went to Australia and purchased the best beach vacation home in Brisbane from Scars Company. It was newly completed last year, with complete facilities and personnel. Business jets flew over, and women It’s perfect for a weekend with friends, so I’ve left you two of the best sets, and the documents and keys will be sent to your agent Richard.”
"Then I'm ashamed of myself." Ronald knew that this was Dahe's reward for helping him on the Daily News. Besides, once the cooperation agreement was signed, he and he were now in the same trench.
"We will terminate negotiations to hire him as president after the merger, and will also stop his advisory services for future acquisitions. We can no longer indulge such a mole.
But this way he will soon get a whiff of Ronald Sand's involvement from the Daily News. If there is anything we need to do, please call my secretary directly. "
Norio Ohga left in a hurry. Ronald knew in his heart that Ovitz might fall out with him soon. Anyway, Richard and Niceta already had a complete response plan. Agents are really not the masters of Hollywood. The success of the past few years has given Ovitz the illusion. It's time for him to understand.
…
"Sneeze, what, Chris Columbus went to 20th Century Fox to interview the director of that children's film? Sneeze, who did it?" Ovitz sneezed several times in the office and got angry at his secretary.
After offending Disney CEO Eisner, who is also Jewish, he still has the opportunity to win such a big project. Whose path is this guy taking?
"Ronald? Why is it him again? He and Sean Connery were invited to the two projects of Orion?" Ovitz heard the news from Ronald again. He thought for a while, "Please Mr. Connery." Call me back when you have time."
Ronald spent a lot of money to invest in these two projects in order to win prizes. He must not be allowed to find suitable actors, otherwise his plans will fail. Ronald, who can get the statuette without his own help, is beyond his control.
His project must fail, preferably a one-step failure, so that his value can be highlighted.
"Hey, Sean. I'm Ovitz. I heard that you were invited to play the role of Silence of the Lambs. Do you want to take it? Why do you want to take this kind of villain? You are a born hero, Sean. Think about it, Indiana Jones The doctor's father, 007, I have a better choice here, and I can also let you speak with a Scottish accent. What role? Or a spy, how about? Go to Russia and fall in love with a beautiful woman..."
(End of chapter)
