Ronald finally returned home to New York. He slept hard all day, forgetting all the strange experiences of his trip to Europe.
Early the next morning, he received another call from Niceta, "Ronald, Spielberg has something to do with you."
"What does he want from me?" Ronald felt strange and dialed Spielberg's phone number. "Steven, is there anything I can do for you?"
"Aha, Ronald, I have something to ask you."
"Huh?", Ronald thought to himself, has he reached a position where even Spielberg has to ask for advice?
"If you feel it's inconvenient to say it, you don't have to say it..."
"You ask." Ronald felt even more strange.
"I heard that you made a lot of money from your Dirty Dancing video. Can you tell me if this rumor is true?" Spielberg's voice on the other end of the phone showed envy.
"Big money doesn't count, I just have stable sales and can sell tens of thousands of boxes every quarter." Ronald gave a general figure.
"Is that true? What's your secret? Why is your pricing so different from others?" Spielberg became more interested as he spoke.
"There's no secret. If there is one, it's what you said, price the video tapes cheaper. Nowadays a box of video tapes mostly costs eighty or ninety dollars. I set the price at less than forty dollars, so everyone thinks it's a good value for money."
"Aren't you afraid of piracy? Video tape piracy is much easier than movie copying." When Spielberg's "ET" was released, he encountered the largest piracy group in the history of America. He is still concerned about this kind of thing.
I still have lingering fears, so I have always refused to release the video tapes of my movies.
"My dear Steven, haven't you heard of Macrovision anti-theft technology?" Ronald laughed. How much the director hates piracy. Since the lawsuit between Sony and Universal was pronounced in the Supreme Court, new video recorders
They are all equipped with Macrovision anti-counterfeiting chips. If you want to rip them by yourself, there will be a situation where it will flicker and make you unable to watch.
As a result, Spielberg didn't release videotapes for his movies, so he didn't know about the industry's processing methods. Although this can't 100% prevent pirates from dubbing it, and some viewers who bought the video recorder before the verdict was pronounced, it is relatively
Nothing compared to the astonishing profits from video tapes.
"I have to be cautious. Copyright protection is the lifeline of our directors." Spielberg does not believe that one technology can prevent the spread of piracy. He is planning to take a multi-pronged approach and add some anti-theft technologies. But since Ronald also said pricing
Low cost is the secret to the success of his video tapes. It seems that there is no mistake. The internal debate in Amblin can come to an end.
Ronald put down the phone and called Cannold, who was daydreaming. They might need to adjust the price of video tapes. He had been quietly making a fortune in the video tape business for more than half a year, but the news finally got out.
It is estimated that other major studios will lower the retail price of video tapes to obtain higher sales. After everyone discussed, they decided to lower the retail price to just over thirty US dollars to make preparations first.
After experiencing this unique trip to Europe, Ronald wanted to spend more time with his family. Besides work and entertainment, he also wanted to go home more and enjoy the company of his family.
He immediately returned to Staten Island and spent two days with Aunt Karen. The two chatted about many things, which recharged Ronald's spirit.
After sorting out his mood, Ronald also finished writing the end of the script at his home in Staten Island. He called and invited Nora Ephron, along with Carrie Fisher, who participated in the creation of the script as a script doctor.
, held a script discussion meeting over the weekend to finalize the script as soon as possible.
…
"Oh, how did you come up with this ending? I think it echoes all the previous details, and it's very powerful. I almost cried."
Nora Ephron was very excited when she saw the ending written by Ronald. In the end, Harry missed Sally very much on New Year's Eve. He couldn't call the renter, so he had to put on his running shoes and ran to the party where Sally was attending.
New Year's Eve activities.
Just when Sally felt lonely and left early, she rushed to the scene. Sally hated Harry for always staying in the friend stage like this. Every time he wanted to move forward, he retreated. When she wanted to completely sever the relationship, he appeared in front of them again. The two of them.
People cannot maintain this ambiguous relationship any longer.
And Harry said something that moved Sally very much. He didn't come here to hang Sally. Instead, he had already figured out that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Harry who had figured it out didn't want to waste a moment.
, want to start a life with Sally as soon as possible.
Finally, there is an interview with an elderly couple that runs throughout the film. This time it was Harry and Sally’s turn to be interviewed. The play ended with the sweet narration of the two.
"Yeah, how did you come up with it?" Carrie Fisher was also surprised. She originally thought that Ronald's screenwriting level was no more than this, but after seeing this coherent ending, she immediately understood that it was the work of a master.
All the previous foreshadowings pointed to Harry and Sally going their separate ways. But just when the audience was worried that the two would not be able to "live happily ever after", Ronald reasonably gave a reversal.
And that special ending is combined with the main line of another pseudo-documentary. It is very similar to the work of Billy Wilder, the golden pen of Hollywood back then.
"Did you ask Mr. Wilder for advice?" Everyone is a professional screenwriter, and they all smelled something extraordinary from this twists and turns ending.
"Just like the way you write..." Ronald smiled.
This script actually includes a lot of personal life details of Nora Ephron and the original director, Rob Reiner. For example, Ephron likes to be picky when ordering food, and Reiner and his wife divorced. All kinds of details have been changed and included.
script.
This chapter is not over yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! And Carrie Fisher also added some of her own life, such as Harry and Jess, Sally and Mary, two pairs of friends who like each other sleeping together
The habit of chatting on the phone in front of others.
"Oh?" Carrie Fisher and Nora Ephron exchanged glances. They knew that Ronald meant that he also drew this ending from his own experience.
Ronald is not married yet, who is he regretting missing out on? The two screenwriters' gossip hearts began to burn brightly.
"I think a plain and meaningful name is more suitable for this script, just called 'When Harry Met Sally'. What do you think?" Ronald also hopes to complete his unfinished business in the movie.
"Sounds great", "This name is very good", Fisher and Ephron became even more curious about Ronald's experience during his trip to Europe.
"That's it, I'll leave the rest to you to continue to improve. Fill in the details as soon as possible and come up with a completed draft of the entire script. Then we can start filming."
Now that the most difficult ending has been overcome, the two women said there is no problem and they will come up with a complete script as soon as possible.
Both of them are professional screenwriters. Since her last performance in Star Wars, Carrie Fisher has gradually lost control of her figure and has gradually moved behind the scenes. And Efron is a screenwriter who has worked his way up from the bottom of Hollywood. Moreover, the two of them are
Being a woman, Ronald himself may not be able to write better than the two of them.
…
"ET alien video tapes are available at major video rental stores and Wal-Mart supermarkets."
Spielberg's video tape is finally on the market.
Ronald went to Blockbuster to buy a box, and actually had to queue for twenty minutes to buy it. The advertising bombardment of major TV stations and the initial small-scale launch made it difficult for many customers to get a box of video tapes.
This movie, which was released more than five years ago, is still very popular with the audience. It has family-friendly content, with children as the protagonists and adventures with aliens. Many parents want to buy a box and put it at home, and their children invite their children to play at home.
It's a very honorable thing.
"Steven actually set the price at $24.95 all of a sudden." Ronald called Michelle Cannold from Daydream to discuss countermeasures.
"Yeah, I can't even rent it here, let alone buy it." Cannold also lamented. As soon as "ET Alien" was launched, it immediately won the weekend's video sales champion and Blockbuster rental champion.
Ronald's "Dirty Dancing" was immediately pushed to the back.
"He also used special packaging and anti-counterfeiting marks, which really cost a lot." Ronald held the "ET Alien" video tape in his hand. The tape protection flap on it was not the usual black plastic, but
It specially uses a piece of green plastic, which is very conspicuous at first glance.
In a row of black video tapes, the green color stands out so much that the audience cannot miss it.
There is also a Universal Pictures sticker on the textured surface of the carton packaging. It has the words laser anti-counterfeiting written on it. It is very similar to the anti-counterfeiting mark on a credit card. When it is shined under a light, it will reflect colorful light.
"ET is back with a vengeance. This stupid alien is making the children of America happy again..."
Many newspapers are reporting on the phenomenal video performance of "ET". A movie that has been around for so many years actually won the first place in both rental and sales as soon as it was released, which really shocked Hollywood.
Also on the market at the same time is the video tape of Disney's old film "Cinderella". This classic for more than 35 years is the focus of Disney's distribution strategy. In fact, the number of pre-sales is only less than half of that of "ET" which was rushed to the market.
arrive.
There is also a special green video tape protection port, which makes this video tape a topic beyond the film and television circles. Everyone still remembers the time when ET broke the box office record, and they only have fond memories of this movie.
For a time, the sales of video tapes increased rapidly, breaking the sales speed records of Ronald's "Top Gun" and "Dirty Dancing".
In the first weekend alone, the rental record of various video chain stores across the country exceeded 2 million, and is still growing rapidly.
"Why are they selling like crazy?", in the second week, Ronald was surprised by the news.
"The number of ET alien video rentals has exceeded 6 million. Sales figures have not been disclosed by Amblin and Universal, but according to estimates from market research companies, they are not much different from the number of rentals.
Seeing that big players like Universal also discovered huge business opportunities, Ronald knew that the opportunity to quietly make a fortune in the video tape market was over.
However, what is gratifying is that the sales volume of my cash cow "Dirty Dancing" has not declined, but has remained stable. The long-term sales of this video tape have been very good, and it is sold quietly like this, and no one who is not careful will probably find out.
"The reason why ET aliens are still popular..."
Roger Ebert, along with Sisko, also discussed the tape phenomenon on ET during their weekly film review show.
"I watched it again last night, and I'd like to quote Rolling Stone's review, Spielberg is this 'space age' Jean Renoir." Ebert felt that the film's popularity was mainly due to Spielberg
Ge has grasped the biggest aesthetic common denominator among the people, and everyone from six to eighty years old likes it.
"The word space age is very important. In addition to the superb performance of the child actors, the special effects of this movie are also a product of the space age. Five years later, we watch the video tape on TV, and ET's special effects are still so amazing.
.Especially the scene where Elliot takes ET and rides his bicycle across the moon. My children are very excited every time they watch it."
When Ronald saw this, his heart moved.
Indeed, after more than five years, Hollywood's special effects pictures have not made much progress. Now they have not surpassed the level of ET.
The reason why ET's video tapes are selling so well is that children can watch this kind of special effects spectacle at home.
Green video tapes, laser anti-counterfeiting, and aliens flying over the moon. When children see such things, they will naturally like them.
Perhaps, this kind of visual spectacle that surpasses the imagination of ordinary people and can only be seen on the screen is the most important reason why ET remains popular for so long.
Ronald tapped the table with his fingers. What he couldn't see on TV was probably the biggest reason for those people to go to the cinema.
What cannot be seen can be model special effects, actors' delicate performances, or computer special effects that Spielberg and George Lucas vigorously promoted.
Perhaps, when Moore's Law comes into play two or three more times, the rules that determine movie box office will change significantly. Whoever can obtain Hollywood's special effects production capabilities will have the ability to monopolize.
Ronald thought of the "Abyss" that his friend James Cameron was preparing. After all, he himself did not understand technology. He went to visit a class and asked the Hollywood director who had the most research on special effects besides Lucas. Maybe he was
when.
"Why are you here?" Cameron didn't expect Ronald to come to visit the team again. Knowing that Ronald came here for the progress of special effects, he was also very happy, "The containment vessel of the nuclear power plant has been filled with enough water.
, I will go diving by myself tomorrow to see the effect of the underwater camera."
"Um... isn't there any danger in this?" Ronald is very comfortable with flying, but he is always afraid of underwater things. Maybe it's because his grandfather died in a plane crash in the Atlantic Ocean.
.
"Haha, I go diving in the Atlantic Ocean every year. This level of still water is nothing. There is no danger, unless you rise too fast and you will get diving sickness. Do you want to go down with me and take a look? I will watch you."
Cameron said there was no danger and he had obtained an advanced diving instructor certificate.
"Ah, no, I have a fear of diving, (Diving phobia)".
"Haha, it's okay. It's safe when I take you down. The underwater world is fascinating."
"I know that with you here, it's unlikely that anything will happen to me, but why take the risk?" Ronald declined again.
"Okay, your loss..." Cameron didn't expect that Ronald was also afraid of something.