At the Western Film Expo in Las Vegas, at the 20th Century Fox booth, there was a super large poster with the big face of Bruce Willis and several words bigger than his face.
Die Harder”.
Many people gathered around the booth to ask for tickets to Fox's trade show. Sequels to such successful action movies generally make steady money. Cinema buyers across the country want to confirm their share of copies to buy as soon as possible.
Thomas Stephenson Jr., who runs the Hollywood theater chain in the east, also came. After he took over the operation of the theater, the number of theaters he joined in the chain has exceeded 100, and it is still growing. Now, he no longer needs to be in the exhibition hall below.
It was crowded, but there was a seat 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 cinemas 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 already begun investing in movie theaters in shopping malls in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Six
The cinema with its oasis palm tree symbol has become the latest and most luxurious multiplex cinema standard and is very popular among teenagers.
These theaters were invested by Bandar. He was impatient to manage them, so they all joined the Hollywood theater chain. They were run by a management team sent by Thomas Stephenson Jr., and all adopted advanced stereo surround sound systems.
There are no more than sixty seats, and there are no steps in the middle like in old theaters.
Multiple movies can be flexibly adjusted and scheduled, which is the product of the latest theater management ideas. The Saudis are very willing to give money, and Thomas Stephenson Jr. is very welcoming to their joining. Prince Bandar gets stable income, and Hollywood theaters
With more franchised theaters, Ronald's low-budget films have a relatively stable release channel, and everyone is very happy.
"We are looking forward to your romantic comedies. I will schedule more of them during the summer. Summer movies on the East Coast have many teenage girls as the main moviegoers. The more movies like this, the better."
"Don't forget about another movie that I participated in. Look who's talking, and I have to ensure some filming rates." Ronald didn't forget about another movie that he participated in the production of.
"Is it okay to make a baby movie? 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 James Bonds 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 chatted cordially with buyers from several theater chains about this year's summer schedule. All he was responsible for was smiling and praising each other for their good cooperation in the past. The rest of the details were left to the distribution director Mi who came with him.
Sher Cannold implemented.
"Ronald, uh, Mr. Li, it's really thanks to you this time."
While Ronald was drinking Coca-Cola, Kevin, an executive producer from Twentieth Century Fox, came over to give Ronald a compliment. After seeing the friendship between Ronald and the two Fox bosses, he immediately changed his tune.
He tried his best to create opportunities to communicate with Ronald, and he always paid attention to 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 fight 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.
, your colleagues in the distribution department all 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 has no way of promoting their current projects. As soon as the theater buyers see his name,
I just shook my head, no matter how hard I sold it, I couldn’t sell it.”
"Oh? Who is it?" Ronald heard the other party talk about such a private matter, and it would be a shame not to gossip about him who came to him on purpose.
"I'm only talking to you, Ronald. He is John Hughes, who became famous in youth films just like you a few years ago. His consecutive films 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 Pace" and filmed "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" a few years ago.
He even filmed a photo of him that was praised as "Spring is not a day for reading". Why did he stop working so quickly?
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! After calling Michelle Cannold to find out more, it turns out that this matter has something to do with me.
John Hughes started out in teen movies, and 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 Mazio filmed Ronald for Longwei
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, whom 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 of his transformational films, "The Heart of the World", "Into the Wild" and "Uncle Buck", all suffered box office failures. For a time, he was no longer a guaranteed profit maker for commercial films that were even more famous than Ronald.
"What's going on?", Ronald felt a little bit embarrassed. Like him, John Hughes is also a Hollywood talent with all-around directors, producers, and screenwriters. He produces no less movies than Ronald every year. The popularity of Hollywood
The trend changed very quickly. Such a talent was no longer recognized by Hollywood in the blink of an eye, and even asked Fox to distribute it.
"What, are you interested? If you are interested, that's another matter. How about I show you the script?" As soon as the executive producer heard that Ronald was interested, he immediately changed his appearance.
, and 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 agreement to relinquish the copyright of the script with Daydream's legal counsel. Although Hughes failed three times in a row, he could not find anyone to give him the script.
Invest in becoming a director.
"You will understand after watching his recent movies. This person 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 taste and 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 has exhausted his talents cannot be said to be nonsense without a bit of evidence. It is one thing that the movie box office is not affected by market changes and other factors. The main reason why Hollywood dislikes such a former blockbuster director is
There was a big problem with his directing techniques.
In the two films he personally directed, "The Heart of the World" and "Uncle Buck," John Hughes followed the technique of his last blockbuster film, "Spring Is Not a Day to Read," and allowed the male protagonist 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. It means that there are walls on three sides of the theater, and only one side is empty facing the audience. However, actors are traditionally not allowed to go in the direction of this empty side.
Show that you are aware of the audience.
Their plays are all limited to the scope 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 a feeling of "Oh, I am actually watching this."
"Drama" effect. Sometimes this alienating effect can actually make the audience more immersed in it.
However, this technique seems inappropriate when used on a large scale in movies. 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 is okay. Every five minutes,
It only takes ten minutes, and all the emotions that were aroused by the movie are gone.
No wonder Fox doesn't dare to 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 thinks that as long as the director is changed, maybe this movie will be the same.
Movies that are close to the "Look Who's Talking" target audience.
Amy Heckerling is still in intense post-production and preparing for the sequel. Ronald thought about it and found that Chris Columbus, who filmed "Adventures in Babysitting", would be a good fit. There were also many children in that movie.
The action scenes were shot in a childlike way.
"Chris, it's me. There's a children's film script here. Are you interested in trying it?" Ronald immediately called Columbus regardless of the fact that it was already evening.
"Are you offending 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 agreed with them to contact them again after returning to Los Angeles.
The next day, Ronald took a business jet back to Los Angeles late at night and went to Jonathan Demme's place. Ronald fell a little in love with the feeling of flying on a private jet, mainly because it was low-noise, good rest, and he could also customize it according to his own schedule.
Flexible arrangements.
Demi got in touch with his lost cousin who was a pastor again. The cousin who worked for the poor and blacks had similar value orientations to his. 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 the intense work. He has already chosen the candidate to play Dr. Lecter, and is contacting him through CAA to have a joint audition with Jodie Foster.
"Why did you choose him?" Ronald saw that it was not the British-accented actor he 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 novel. He could not restrain his criminal impulse and committed
Serial murder.
But when he is not sick, this is a person who seems to be polite to the audience. It is difficult for me to find a more suitable person than him."
Jonathan Demme showed Ronald a lot of work. This is a director who works very hard and is fully prepared for the inner world of the character. Ronald really can't find any reason to deny this casting.
Unless I dreamed it.
"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 movie star. 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 make a phone call this time, but flew to meet Ronald in person.
"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 regularly." 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."
Dahe 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 could clearly see 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 question?
"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, Da He Sang. This is nothing. Japanese companies will definitely have to pay some additional 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 meeting a great artist, which inspires me a lot.
As for people like Ovitz, I just feel that they are not worthy of running a big business. They are like a pork seller. Every time he cuts meat for a customer, he is still short of a few pounds. In my hometown, this kind of butcher is impossible.
Survival."
"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 at 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? Isn't it enough to be fooled once? A big studio like this has many complicated personnel relationships. I have to deal with people like Gary from Fox every day, and I feel sick to death?
If we were to follow the example of Frank Price, the former president of Columbia, who focused solely on production, he would definitely be joined by those Jewish executives to cause trouble, and he might be framed just like Price.
Besides, to enjoy a braised pork delicacy, 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 be given priority with Columbia."
cooperate."
"It's settled, Ronald-san, it's our honor to be able to contribute to you." Although Norio Ohga was disappointed, such a cooperation agreement with the Hollywood commercial film machine will 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.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! We spent money to buy his new resort at a low price. The respectable deputy general manager told us. In fact, it was Ovitz who contacted Scars on his own initiative.
…”
"Hey...", Ronald thought to himself, you Japanese people are also very good at finding Australians. I don't know what kind of benefits you promised the 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
There's nothing better than 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 to accept it." 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 we 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 San'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 that Ovitz might fall out with him soon. Anyway, Richard and Niceta had a complete response plan. Agents are really not the masters of Hollywood.
, the success of the past few years gave Ovitz the illusion, and it was 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 became furious with 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 and said, "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 the prize. He must not be allowed to find suitable actors, otherwise his plans will fail. If he can help Ronald get the statuette without his own help, just
It's not something you can control anymore.
He must let his project 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..."