Chapter 359 The Silence of the Lambs reaches its peak
"Ronald, have you seen the ratings of Seinfeld? Hahaha, it's exploded."
"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 results of Roland Garros. Because Seinfeld is on a good time slot at 9:30 pm on Thursday, while Roland Garros is on a Tuesday night after 10 pm. Tuesday has the lowest ratings of the week.
On that day, there were no popular programs earlier, and 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.
It has a lot of retained viewers.
"Seinfeld", which was supposed to take over "Working Girl", was able to move to this good time slot, which is also a matter of luck. This year, the number of NBC series canceled has reached a new high. "Seinfeld", which was supposed to fill the "Working Girl" time slot, only has five episodes.
, a blessing in disguise to fill prime time slots.
Sometimes, this is a matter of luck. If the "working girl" can have better statistics and survive until this weekend, there is hope that she can take this popular slot. But things are unpredictable, and now we can only watch.
Seinfeld has received good reviews and is looking forward to renewing his contract 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 renewal of the series will receive more investment.
You 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 director Jonathan Demi, who had 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 Demi
Mi put a lot of effort into the editing, and it was only recently completed.
"Hopefully, I can impress the distributor..." Demi smiled. Both this movie and "Dances with Wolves" were abandoned by Orion. How the richest man Kluge paid Orion willfully in the past few years, how can he let it go now?
He went bankrupt...
Fortunately, Ronald gave him a guarantee that he would definitely let the movie be released in mainstream theaters in America, and would do some publicity for the Oscars to win a nomination. Others didn't know it, but he knew that Ronald meant what he said.
OK.
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 star cluster composed of seven stars appeared on the screen, and then the stars quickly rotated in a circle. The remaining traces of Orion in this movie,
This is the 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 that female celebrities' appeal to audiences has increased in recent years.
The camera slowly moved and then sank. Jodie Foster jumped out of the fog in the distance and ran towards the audience with all her strength.
An indescribable emotion arose in the hearts of all the audience. Everyone glanced at the 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. Even Jonathan Demme can't shoot at this level every time.
"This is..." 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. And there is obviously something in this recording.
The performance of the musicians is not the kind of smooth remix of studio records.
"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 talked 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 at the end of summer.
I'll record it during the break at the end of the performance season.
The second act unfolds quickly. Agent Starling, played by Jodie Foster, goes to a high-security prison to meet Dr. Hannibal, played by Anthony Hopkins, trying to use his analytical skills to find the kidnapper.
The serial murderer who killed the congressman's daughter.
The felons walking past were very guarded, but when we arrived at Hannibal, the music suddenly became a little more elegant, even cheerful.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Hannibal, played by Hopkins, is actually gentle and intoxicated with the smell of Starling's perfume. Through the ventilation holes in the plexiglass partition wall, he enters into his boredom.
After entering the cell, there was a little bit of hormonal excitement.
Here, Jonathan Demme used frontal close-ups to shoot 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 key point of a thriller is to gradually give the audience a sense of "something is wrong" as the plot progresses. Hannibal, played by Anthony Hopkins, gradually analyzes the character played by Jodie Foster.
Starling’s background, and the sinister intentions of her being exploited by her superiors to exchange her beauty for clues. Finally, the psychological shadow that Starling suffered in her childhood was analyzed, which led to her current psychological reasons for doing everything possible to climb up.
Ronald felt panicked when he saw it, which was a good sign. Even a professional like him seemed to be in a lot of discomfort, 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 someone suddenly jumps out to scare you on a dark road. Originally, it was a poor technique in horror movies. But with the strong foreshadowing in the front, something is wrong in the audience's mind.
The accumulation has reached a certain level, and it would be a wonderful use to vent it 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 railings and beat him to death. This scene was so terrifying that Jonathan Demme actually used a symphony to accompany it. It seemed that for Hannibal, this was a
Elegant behavior.
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's bladders tense.
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 that Buffalo Bill's first victim, like him, was a tailor from a rural town in Ohio through the clues deliberately left by Hannibal. Starling found evidence, revealing that Buffalo Bill was making a conspiracy.
Clothes made of human skin. The criminal was a man named James Gamble, who believed he was transgender but was considered 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 discovered that there was a moth found on the victim in the room. She realized that the man was "Buffalo Bill". Gumball turned off the electric switch and put on night vision goggles to hunt Starling. In the suffocating first
In the first-person perspective, Starling still doesn't know that Buffalo Bill is behind her.
When Buffalo Bill raised his gun to kill Starling, most of the audience became restless and began to move their buttocks. Even Bannon, a former Wall Street banker, began to mutter to himself, "Oh God, God, turn around, Starling."
, turn around quickly..."
Finally, Buffalo Bill's voice revealed himself when he pulled the 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 party, 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 rhythm of the editing is very good, and the audience is there from beginning to end.
In a state of being carefully led by the director.
"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 was actually shot in the Bahamas in the end, right?" Ronald asked Jonathan Demme.
"Yes..." Demi's film philosophy is that every detail must make the audience feel sophisticated. You can't save the audience on some details just to save a little money. So for the last shot, the crew went to the Bahamas.
Photography.
"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 disturbing.
People are horrified.
"Three hundred tobacco hornworms were provided by the University of Virginia, and our props carefully painted patterns of Asian hornworms on some of them..."
"It's so scary, those needlework shots..." Claudia Wells was so frightened that she cried and her makeup was all gone.
"This is a masterpiece..." Ronald clicked his tongue. The painful thing was that he did not have the resources to promote two movies at the same time. And it would be a pity that such an excellent movie cannot be released on a large scale through a major studio.
Already.
"Jonathan, I want to talk to you alone."
Ronald asked everyone to leave, and he was alone with Jonathan Dem to talk about some publishing matters.
Ronald wants to negotiate with Columbia, Disney and other major studios with whom he has good relations for this completed film. If such a good movie wants to leave an impact on the box office and film history, it must have a major studio.
The studio used film arrangement resources to launch a large-scale distribution.
This is different from directorial debuts such as "Dances with Wolves". This is the work of a mature director and the pinnacle of his art. To put it bluntly, Jonathan Demme may not be able to produce such high-level works 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 a real office space for filming. You may not be able to find the Munich Symphony Orchestra to perform such a soundtrack 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 ask for help."
"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 sacrifice some of his own reputation.
"Come in..." Ronald opened the door, let his colleagues outside in, and then announced his decision. The employees of Daydream also cheered and high-fived. This movie can scare them all like this,
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 handed the document to Ronald, "And those film critics are changing their opinions now.
Already."
When it was first released, The End of the World didn't get very good reviews. But now that people are watching movies like this, they had 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, a comprehensive article praising this year's two romantic comedies appeared.
"Butterfly Lovers" and "Pretty Woman" would be tied as two of the biggest hits of the 1990s, with Ronald Lee and Garry Marshall eloquently proving that "relatively cheap romantic fantasy films" had a lot to do with the cost.
High-end "fantasy adventure films" also have huge box office potential.
Moreover, women have exerted a greater influence on movie viewing habits. The domestic box office trend of "The Love of Ghosts" is expected to exceed 200 million US dollars.