"Ronald, have you seen the ratings for Seinfeld? Hahaha, they're through the roof."
"Well, congratulations, Bannon."
By the time Seinfeld aired, Ronald received a congratulatory call from Bannon and had no idea.
The ratings are a mystery. Last year, only five episodes of the short film were filmed. After being re-screened this year, it received nearly 18 million viewers, which is higher than the French Open.
Of course, this result cannot be directly compared with the hard-core result of Roland Garros. Because Seinfeld is on a good schedule at 9:30 pm on Thursday, and Roland Garros is on a Tuesday night after 10 pm. Tuesday is the day with the lowest ratings of the week, and there were no popular programs earlier. It was all thanks to the French Open's own strength.
Seinfeld's Thursday has always been the broadcast time for popular TV series. The evergreen drama "Cheers", which is in its eighth season, is broadcast during the prime time at 8:30. Following closely behind it, Seinfeld also followed. A lot of retained viewers were reached.
"Seinfeld," which was supposed to take over from "Working Girl," was able to move to this good time slot, just by luck. NBC has seen a record number of canceled shows this year. "Seinfeld," which was supposed to fill the "Working Girls" slot, only had five episodes, was a blessing in disguise to fill prime time slots.
Sometimes, this is a matter of luck. If "Working Girl" can have better statistics and survive until this weekend, there is hope that she can take over this popular slot. But things are unpredictable, and now we can only watch Seinfeld receive good reviews and wait for the contract renewal next year.
"Congratulations to us, Ronald. Hahaha." Bannon's TV series came back to life, and he also congratulated Ronald, one of the investors. Of course, next year's renewed series will receive more investment. Both of them can get a share of the second-run broadcast and video revenue, although the most money is still taken away by NBC's bare income.
"Okay, do you want to come over? The editing of Silence of the Lambs is ready, we can see how the shooting goes." Ronald changed the subject, not wanting to talk about this heartbreaking topic again.
"Huh? Tell me your address and I'll come over." Bannon, who was also a co-investor in the two movies Ronald invested this year, was immediately interested. He put down the phone and went to Daydream's rental in New York. Screening room.
…
"Jonathan...thank you for your hard work..." Ronald looked at the director Jonathan Demi with tired eyes and stepped forward to shake hands and hug him. The filming of "The Silence of the Lambs" was completed at the beginning of the year, but Jonathan Demme put a lot of effort into the editing and it was not completed until recently.
"Hopefully, I can impress the distributor..." Demi smiled. This movie and "Dances with Wolves" were both abandoned by Orion. How the richest man Kluge paid Orion willfully in the past few years, how can he let it go now? He is bankrupt...
Fortunately, Ronald gave him a guarantee that the film would be released in mainstream theaters in America, and that he would do some publicity for the Oscars and strive for nominations. Others didn't know it, but he knew that Ronald meant what he said.
In order to attract the attention of major distributors and strive for a better schedule, Jonathan Demme also spent a lot of energy on the post-production of "The Silence of the Lambs". We made the film a high-quality product, so that distributors will definitely like it. of.
Everyone present was the top management of Daydream, plus Ronald and Bannon. The Pleiades cluster composed of seven stars appeared on the screen, and then the stars quickly rotated in a circle. The remaining trace of Orion in this movie is this factory logo.
After Ronald's daydream and the logo of Jonathan Demme's production company passed, a gray-white forest appeared on the screen with heavy fog, giving people a heavy and mysterious feeling, as if some monster was coming. Like jumping out of the mist.
Then came the names of the two leading actors. Jodie Foster, who won the Best Actress Award, was ranked first, and Anthony Hopkins, who is not well-known in America, was ranked second. This is a small break. Routine is also a clear proof of the increasing appeal of female celebrities to audiences in recent years.
The camera moves slowly and then sinks. Jodie Foster jumps out of the fog in the distance and runs towards the audience with all her strength.
An indescribable emotion arose in the hearts of all the viewers. Everyone glanced at director Demi. Such an ordinary picture can actually stir people's emotions. The director's skills are very superb.
"Oh my God……"
Ronald is an expert, and he can tell at a glance that this is the highest level of performance in Hollywood. Not even Jonathan Demme can shoot at this level every time.
"Is this..." Ronald turned around and asked Demi.
The reason why this scene is so gripping is not only the lens, but also the very hard music in the background, which is very German, monotonous, boring, heavy, and lurking in danger. Moreover, this recording obviously has the performance of the musicians, and it is not the kind of smooth studio recording remixed.
"Howard Shore went to the Munich Symphony Orchestra to record it. I put special requirements on the composition. The effect is very good, isn't it? Ordinary audiences will never notice the music, but together with the picture it gives you the feeling I want. .”
Jonathan Demme talks about the process. This kind of scoring method is also rare. Howard Shore is his old partner. He knows his ideas and has contacts in Germany. He can mobilize a professional symphony orchestra to record at the end of the summer performance season. .
The second act unfolded quickly. Agent Starling, played by Jodie Foster, went to a high-security prison to meet Dr. Hannibal, played by Anthony Hopkins, and tried to use his analytical skills to find the kidnapper. The serial murderer who killed the congressman's daughter.
The felons walking past made people heavily guarded, but when they arrived at Hannibal, the music suddenly became a little more elegant, even cheerful.
Hannibal, played by Hopkins, is actually gentle and gentle. He is intoxicated by the smell of Starling's perfume, and the little hormonal jump that occurs after entering his boring cell through the ventilation holes in the plexiglass partition wall. Moving.
Here, Jonathan Demme used frontal close-ups to film the conversation between the two, which not only solved the performance problem caused by the discord between the two actors, but also allowed the dialogue to be expressed in an audio-visual language unfamiliar to Hollywood movie audiences.
The point of a thriller is to gradually hint to the audience that something is wrong as the plot progresses. Hannibal, played by Anthony Hopkins, gradually analyzes the background of Starling, played by Jodie Foster, and the sinister intentions of her being used by her boss to exchange her beauty for clues. Finally, it was also analyzed that the psychological shadow that Starling suffered in her childhood caused her to do everything possible to climb up.
Ronald felt panicked as he watched, which was a good sign. He seemed to be in a lot of discomfort even as a professional, and it was even more uncomfortable for ordinary viewers.
"ah……"
When Starling and Hannibal finished talking and walked out of the cell, another serial murderer suddenly threw a sticky liquid on Starling's face.
Daydream distribution manager and original Back to the Future actor Claudia Wells was so frightened that she screamed.
This is considered a sudden scare in a thriller, as if a person suddenly jumps out on a dark road to scare you. Originally, in horror movies, they were all inferior techniques. But with the strong foreshadowing in the past, the audience's inner feelings have accumulated to a certain extent, and it would be a wonderful way to vent them now.
"ah!"
Claudia Wells was frightened and screamed out again. Hannibal took advantage of the opportunity to meet the kidnapped girl's mother, the Senator, at the airport, stole the refill of the ballpoint pen, and opened the handcuffs.
Then he handcuffed the prison guard guarding him to the iron bars and beat him to death step by step. This scene was so horrific that Jonathan Demme actually used a symphony to accompany it. It seems like this was an elegant act on Hannibal's part.
Ronald silently took out his handkerchief and wiped his sweat. Jonathan Demme used a close-up. Anthony Hopkins's close-up with a mouth full of blood really made people nervous.
In the final scene, Hannibal escapes and kidnaps Buffalo Bill, the senator's daughter, misleading the FBI and everyone into thinking he is in Illinois.
Only Starling discovered through the clues deliberately left by Hannibal that Buffalo Bill's first victim was, like him, a tailor from a rural town in Ohio. Starling finds evidence that reveals Buffalo Bill is making a suit made of human skin. The criminal was a man named James Gamble, who believed he was transgender but was deemed too violent to apply for gender reassignment surgery.
The house raided by the FBI in Illinois was empty. Only Starling found the place where the victim was actually held. She knocked on the door, and it was James Gamble who answered the door.
Starling discovers the moth found on the victim in the room. She realizes that the man is "Buffalo Bill". Gumball turns off the switch and puts on night vision goggles to hunt Starling. In breathtaking first-person perspective, Starling doesn't yet know that Buffalo Bill is right behind her.
When Buffalo Bill raised his gun to kill Starling, most of the audience fidgeted and started moving their butts. Even Bannon, a former Wall Street banker, began to mutter to himself, "Oh God, God, turn around, Starling, turn around..."
Eventually, Buffalo Bill's voice gave himself away as he pulled the trigger on his revolver. Starling reacted quickly, turned around and poured all the bullets into Buffalo Bill's body, killing him.
The movie ends at the FBI celebration, with Hannibal, who has already arrived in the Bahamas, calling Starling to say hello.
"Huh..." Ronald also felt his heart beating rapidly. This ending really makes people feel relieved again. The editing rhythm is very good, and the audience is in a state of being carefully led by the director from beginning to end.
"Bah bang bang..." It was Ronald who took the lead in applauding, causing those colleagues who had not yet recovered from the movie to burst into applause to pay tribute to Jonathan Demme.
"Then it ended up being shot in the Bahamas, right?" Ronald asked Jonathan Demme.
"Yes..." Demi's film philosophy is that every detail must make the audience feel excellent. You can't save the audience on some details just to save a little money. So for the last shot, the crew also went to the Bahamas to shoot.
"Where did those ghost-headed moths come from? I think they are real, not fake moths made of props." Bannon also came over to ask. The scene where a large number of ghost-headed moths were found at Buffalo Bill's house was really shocking. People are horrified.
"Three hundred tobacco hornworms were provided by the University of Virginia, and our props carefully painted the patterns of Asian hornworms on some of them..."
"It's so scary, those needlework shots..." Claudia Wells was so scared that she cried and her makeup was all gone.
"This is a masterpiece..." Ronald clicked his tongue, painfully aware that he didn't have the resources to promote two films at the same time. And it would be a shame that such an excellent film couldn't be distributed on a large scale by a major studio.
"Jonathan, I want to talk to you alone."
Ronald asked everyone to leave, and he was alone with Jonathan Demi to talk about some publishing matters.
Ronald wants to negotiate with Columbia, Disney and other major studios with whom he has good relationships for this finished film. If such a good movie wants to leave an impact on the box office and film history, a major studio must use the resources to schedule and distribute it on a large scale.
This is different from a directorial debut like "Dances with Wolves". This is a mature director's work at the pinnacle of his art. To put it bluntly, Jonathan Demme may not be able to produce works of this level in the future.
Sometimes, the quality of a movie depends on the right time, place, and right people. In the future, we may no longer be able to gather actors like Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins who fit the role, and we may not be able to find the full strength of the FBI. Support and lend them real office space for filming. It’s also possible that you won’t be able to find the Munich Symphony Orchestra to perform such a score live.
Not wanting such a masterpiece to be regretted due to Daydream's relatively weak distribution capabilities, Ronald asked Jonathan Demme:
"Can you agree to postpone the screening until next year? I will go to Columbia and Disney myself to beg people."
"This..." Jonathan Demi was a little touched. This was Ronald using his face to fight for better marketing and distribution possibilities for him.
"There is one thing. If we talk about it now, we may not be able to get the summer schedule that is most conducive to box office and the end of the year schedule that is most conducive to awards. Of course, I promise that my company will use as many resources as possible to support this film. Nominated for a PR Oscar.”
"Hey, this is the best result relatively speaking. Thank you, Ronald." Jonathan Demi was originally very dissatisfied with Orion's approach. Now what Ronald does for him can be said to be no better than what Orion can do. It's bad.
"Okay, I'll make an appointment, and we'll go door-to-door to sell it." Ronald clapped his hands. With a movie of this quality, it's very cost-effective to give up some of his fame.
"Please come in..." Ronald opened the door, let the colleagues outside come in, and then announced his decision. The employees at Daydream also cheered and high-fived. This movie can scare them all so much, and it is definitely a work with great potential at the box office.
"Ronald...uh..."
Just as Richard walked in, he was a little confused when he saw the people suddenly cheering.
"What's the matter?" Ronald helped him out.
"The film's box office hit No. 1 again, breaking through 125 million." Richard put the document in Ronald's hand, "And those film critics are changing their opinions now. ”
When it first came out, Ghosts didn't get very good reviews. But now that people are watching movies like this, they have no choice but to change their tune and write new reviews praising the movie.
"The era of new female stars leading Hollywood has arrived..."
In the Los Angeles Times, an article appeared sweepingly praising two of this year's romantic comedies.
"Butterfly Lovers" and "Pretty Woman" would tie as two of the biggest hits of the 1990s, with Ronald Lee and Garry Marshall eloquently proving that "relatively cheap romantic fantasies" had a lot to do with the cost. High-end "fantasy adventure films" also have huge box office potential.
And, women have exerted a greater influence on movie-viewing habits. The domestic box office trend of "The Ghost Story" is expected to exceed US$200 million.
(End of chapter)
