"Today is the home game of the Seattle Mariners. Their rookie this year, Ken Griffey, is very powerful. In his last debut, he hit another beautiful straight-line double..."
Kevin Costner specially invited Ronald to his private residence to discuss the investment issues of "Dances with Wolves". He did not come up to make friends and sell the movie like other people, but entertained Ronald like an old friend.
Nader.
His wife, Cindy, brought them barbecue and light beer, and Ronald and he enjoyed a midweek family gathering and a baseball game like normal white American friends.
"Is he good?" Ronald looked at the black rookie on TV and asked Costner. He was a layman in the baseball game and did not understand this game with complicated rules like ordinary white people.
"Needless to say, I think he has hope of breaking Babe Ruth's home run record..." Kevin Costner is a baseball fan and has already filmed a baseball-themed movie "Millions of Gold Arms"
Already.
"This kid's dad is a major league player. He was the Baseball Player of the Year in 1987 in high school. He hit .478 RBI in two seasons and hit 17 home runs in total..."
Like a true baseball fan, Costner knows the statistics of this year's star rookies by heart.
"So he's great, right?" Ronald didn't understand how great high school baseball statistics represented.
"Hey, didn't you play baseball with your dad when you were a kid? This is the top score for a high school player in so many years, and he also played part-time on the football team in high school and also won a football bonus from the university."
"My dad died young, and he didn't play much baseball with me..." Ronald smiled. This white sport was indeed passed down from father to son. The actor in the previous movie, Billy Crystal, was also a great player.
fan.
"Oh, I'm sorry..." Kevin apologized in surprise. He didn't expect such a result. He originally invited Ronald here to show his closeness, but it was messed up.
"Oh, Ronald, I didn't expect you to be so unlucky. Kevin is just too obsessed with baseball. He doesn't mean any harm." Costner's wife Cindy came to the rescue. She hugged Ronald and pinched him.
Ordered French fries, called out the three children she had with Kevin, and said hello to Ronald. The atmosphere was finally harmonious again.
Ronald didn't pay attention. He held their little son and played with it on his knees...
"Oooh...home run!"
When Ken Griffey came on to swing the bat, this strong black guy hit a home run with one hit, flying high into the field. The opponent's outfielder could not catch up.
The two clinked glasses and drank a large glass of light beer to celebrate, and Ronald got up to go to the bathroom.
"What conditions does he want to put forward?" Ronald was thinking in the bathroom. For a novice director to want to make an epic film, this is actually very risky. Ronald himself felt that there must be something wrong.
A director is like a cook. He has a recipe (script) to cook, and this dish requires the cooperation of many people to make it. But no one has made this dish before, and everyone's idea of how to cook it all depends on the director's personal imagination.
How much seasoning to add, how long to bake, and how to prepare and mix the ingredients are all guided by the director's imagination of the final film. Just like this, we still have to expect a good result...
This kind of process requires a lot of experience and talent, and Costner...well, no one knows how strong his talent as a director is. Anyway, he has no experience at all.
"Ronald, I know you are worried about me making this movie, but today I just want to prove that I can do it well..."
Kevin Costner took advantage of the break to lobby Ronald.
"How to prove it? This is a big production, with a production budget of more than 20 million..." Ronald picked out a French fries and chewed it. Costner's wife was a high school sweetheart, they were childhood sweethearts, and their cooking taste was quite good.
.
"Look, Ken Griffey is also a rookie. Today is his first home game in Seattle, and he can hit a home run..."
"Hey, Kevin. We're not talking about baseball, we're talking about movies. You have to do better than this..."
"Although they are different on the surface, they are actually the same. I am also looking for other directors to join me. I will be very happy if you are willing to direct..."
"Sorry, I'm preparing another Orion movie..." Ronald had no experience in making westerns at all, and he couldn't even ride a horse.
"So, you have to believe in my talent, just like the Seattle Mariners believed in Ken Griffey and let a rookie hit a strong bat..."
"Wait a minute..." Ronald gestured to Costner to pause. He saw a line of subtitles below the TV, "This is big news now."
"DEA uncovered a transnational drug trafficking syndicate and arrested dozens of suspects in Hong Kong, America, and Mexico..."
Ronald called up the picture-in-picture of the news station (a new feature of Japanese TV). In the breaking news picture, many Chinese-looking people were handcuffed by Drug Enforcement Administration agents.
"According to a DEA spokesperson, this criminal group named FourteenK is based in Hong Kong. In the past few years, they have trafficked more than 1 billion US dollars worth of illegal drugs and poisoned hundreds of thousands of American teenagers...
…
They will be charged with serious crimes...It is understood that the operation will continue until the legislative goals required by the leadership and Congress are achieved."
"This FourteenK is actually a criminal group in Hong Kong. They are so brave..." Ronald thought...
After the baseball game, Costner discussed his thoughts with Ronald in detail.
He hoped that the film would fully reflect the lifestyle, clothing, customs, and even language of the real Indian tribes.
Yes, Costner didn't want to film the scenes with the Indian tribe in English. He actually wanted to film the entire scene in the Sioux language.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This makes Ronald a little worried. American audiences have been in the habit of watching movies without subtitles for more than ten years. Not to mention Su
The native language is a language that few people understand anymore. Even French and Spanish, which are commonly taught in American high schools, the audience does not like to watch.
In short, the content that Costner ambitiously wanted to shoot was content that would make any producer tremble with fear.
But on the other hand, epic films have an epic filming method, which is different from ordinary genre films. The originator of this type of film is "Lawrence of Arabia", which was shot in the desert for nearly a year and was finally presented on the screen.
It is a spectacle that the audience has never seen before (camel cavalry charging in the desert!).
Just like last year's Oscar winner "The Last Emperor", it also focused on the grandeur of the Forbidden City and the life circumstances of the mysterious last emperor of the East. The lamas, the dragon bed, and the grand enthronement ceremony were all elements that initially attracted the audience to watch.
.
In short, this kind of thing is a risky move. If it is shot well, it will be unique and exciting, but if it is overshot, a lot of money will be thrown into the water. A negative example is "Heaven's Gate" which led to the bankruptcy of United Artists. The director
I thought it was a big scene, with a group of country bumpkins roller skating and dancing, but the audience didn't like it at all.
"I have to think carefully, Kevin..." Although he had the background of the dream, Ronald was not sure that such an investment of tens of millions would make money. Although he would not lose money, or lose a little less, he would have a reputation for supporting art films.
, Raiders Oscar doesn’t seem to be completely losing money.
"By the way," Ronald thought of the scene in his dream of hunting American bison in "Dances with Wolves", "Can you shoot the scene of hunting bison?"
"Of course I want to take pictures! You support me, right? Ronald. I know you understand me. Now the American bison is on the verge of extinction. Only in some southern states are people still raising them on pastures. I am going to take real pictures of these.
The camera, without being imaginary, must capture the primitive, soul-stunning shots of thousands of bison galloping across the plains and being hunted by Indian tribes, passed down from generation to generation..."
"Well, I'm not that one...forget it, let me think about it..." Ronald's eyes lit up when he saw Costner. It seemed that he was really passionate and wanted to take the photo.
In fact, there are many directors whose debut films are hits, and Costner has made many western films, so he knows a lot about the scheduling of horseback riding scenes, at least better than himself.
Ronald returned to the company and saw Tsui Hark in the office at a glance. During this time, he was making final changes to Dragon King 3 based on the feedback from the test screenings.
"Hey, it seems that there will be big changes in Hong Kong's film investment..." TsuiHark happened to be watching the TV news about the detailed report of the Drug Enforcement Administration's arrest of FourteenK.
"How do you say that?" Ronald didn't understand. What does the end of a gangster have to do with movies.
"You don't know, because the film market in Hong Kong has been booming in recent years, many... such as FourteenK, etc., are also investing in movies, raising the salaries of stars very high..."
"Hey, isn't this a good thing? These people only raise the salaries of stars, and then make a lot of shoddy follow-up films..." Ronald thought to himself, we also have a stupid young man in Hollywood, Minahan Golan. The same thing
His source of funds, an export-import bank in the Netherlands, doesn't seem too clean either.
Movies are an industry that gray money likes very much. Here, gray or even black U.S. dollars can be legally turned into green.
The so-called Xiangjiang film market is booming. Now it seems that I wonder how much of it is for this.
"Yeah, the market has returned to normal, and maybe someone there will be willing to invest again..." TsuiHark had a lot of things he didn't like and wasn't used to in Hollywood, and he began to miss the working atmosphere and methods in Hong Kong.
…
After detailed research by the production department of Daydream, they came to the conclusion that the filming budget of "Dances with Wolves" must be controlled below 20 million US dollars, and then Kevin Costner must also invest part of it himself.
.
This decision is easy to understand, because if he only gets a salary, it is easy to spend money excessively. He must invest part of it himself, and then get the money according to the box office performance of the movie, so that the risk can be shared. Ronald and Orion are
Don't be taken advantage of.
In addition, reasonably filming in Mexico and other places can also significantly reduce film remuneration and shooting costs, because there are no unions there, and the wages of extras and technicians can also be squeezed to the minimum.
…
"Kevin, Cindy...please sit down." This time it was Ronald's turn to invite Costner to watch the baseball game.
What they were watching was another Seattle Mariners game, the local Los Angeles Angels playing against the highly anticipated Seattle Mariners at home.
Because it was a home game, Ronald took Diane and Costner and his wife to the box to watch. Costner would also appear on the balcony to cheer up the baseball team. He played the protagonist of the Million Dollar Man, and many baseball fans
They all love him very much.
"Oh, who is that pitcher from the Angels? I feel like he's a little weird..." Diane knew more about baseball than Ronald, and she noticed that the pitcher of the home team had a weird posture with his glove hand.
"Let's applaud rookie pitcher Jim Abbott..."
The announcer at the scene also called out the pitcher's name loudly. The pitcher put the baseball in his glove, then took off his baseball cap to question everyone.
Then he raised the baseball in his glove with difficulty, took out the baseball with his left hand, and weighed it a few times.
"Oh my god, he has no right hand..." Diane and Ronald were both shocked. How could a major league pitcher be a disabled person without a right hand?
"Jim Abbott, he was a pitcher for the national baseball team at the Seoul Olympics last year. He was the main pitcher in the finals and won us a gold medal..." Costner, who came back from the balcony, said to
Ronald explained.
Really inspiring!
Ronald applauded along with the entire audience. It was not easy for such a person to reach a professional level.
"Oh, another RBI, Abbott was seriously challenged today..."
During the game, this guy, who looked like the protagonist in a Hollywood inspirational movie, was having a very rough time. He was continuously hit and scored by his opponent.
"Oh, today is a very bad day for Abbott..." The opposing batter hit another high-flying two-run hit. The Angels were already trailing 7-0.
"Come on, Angels..." In the box, Diane was encouraging the home team.
"It seems that talent does not necessarily bring victory, Kevin. It also requires some luck and the cooperation of teammates..." Ronald also made a pun by taking advantage of the situation on the field. The other members of today's Angels team also
A lot of errors occurred.
Just like the work of a movie director, it may be the mistakes of other people in the team that prevent the director from producing the ideal image.
"Well, this happened, right?" Costner saw that Ronald was also talking about baseball, and he couldn't refute it for a while.
"In order to reduce the probability of this happening, we have to have some institutional arrangements, otherwise I think both me and Orion will have doubts about this movie..."
Ronald expressed his thoughts to Costner in a half-discussion, half-threat manner. If the other party did not agree to his conditions, then not many medium-sized studios in Hollywood would agree to the abandoned Orion project.
.
If you don't even dare to shoot Orion, then this movie must have unbearable risks.
Ronald suggested a few ideas:
First, the film must introduce foreign distributors and use the advance payments from distribution income to reduce risks. At this point, Ronald is considering bringing in Michael Douglas's relationship. Frans Aff, director of film investment at Credit Lyonnais Bank,
Man.
Second, Kevin Costner must include his remuneration as an investment in the film's investment amount. In other words, if the film fails at the box office, he will receive nothing but an advance payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
arrive.
If you want to get a star to devote all his energy to making a movie, the best way is to tie him up with a share contract.
Of course, if it is successful at the box office, he will also receive a large amount of income that ordinary stars dare not think of. But this will not cause any loss to Ronald and Orion.
Third, the final domestic distribution and video release must be guaranteed by Kevin Costner as the main star, and then to attract investment, he must be closely tied to the film project at the press conference, so that
More people will have confidence in this epic film. Just like Ronald's attitude towards financing "Silence of the Lambs" when it was tied together.
"I have to think about it too..."
Costner had no objections to the other conditions, but he was still a little worried about not receiving a salary and receiving dividends. Do he really want to make this movie? He still has to go back and discuss it with his wife.
…
"Ronnie...it's little Doug." Back at the hotel, Diane listened to the phone recording, which contained a message from Douglas. She picked up the phone and dialed it, then handed it to Ronald.
"Doug...it's my cousin..." That's where Donna answered the phone...
"Doug..." Ronald picked up the phone and said to him angrily. This kid secretly dated his cousin and kept it secret from himself, which made him very unhappy.
"Hi, Ronald."
It seems that the two of them are getting along well. After Donna grew up and started working, her aversion to Douglas, a successful man from the same hometown, has been reduced a lot. She is no longer as naive as she was in college, and compared to the investment world, those in Hollywood have better personalities.
A terrible man, but Douglas is much more pleasing to the eye.
"looking for me?"
"In this case, little George wants to ask you to shoot a promotional advertisement for his father. Have you seen the news about the recent DEA work? Our commander-in-chief wants the people to know who is responsible for this..."
"Good guy, are you planning to be re-elected so soon?"
Ronald couldn't help but be surprised. In a place like America, the first priority of politicians is to please the people.