"My dear citizens of America, just a few hours ago, America and its allies began to attack Kuwait from the air and ground, and are still continuing their actions..."
At nine o'clock in the evening, the commander-in-chief began a televised speech in the Oval Office.
CUU started a 24-hour non-stop frontline news update. Ronald lay in bed and watched it with gusto. The latest news was available every hour, and various experts were interviewed, speculating on how this war would be fought. Iraq
How much equipment and soldiers does the Guard have, what is their combat effectiveness, etc.
This kind of thing is very addictive for men. Finally, Diane, who couldn't bear it anymore, ordered him to either go to other rooms to watch it or go to bed immediately. Ronald then reluctantly turned off the TV.
Early the next morning, Ronald started watching the live broadcast again, and the morning passed in a flash. He was surprised to find that the battlefield in the live broadcast attracted too much curiosity, and he immediately jumped up and took the car to the company.
But the company was not much better. This war was the first major war after the Vietnam War, but there were only planes dropping bombs in the sky and no brutal battles on the ground, so everyone became military enthusiasts.
Michel Cannold was of French descent and was not so interested in the war. He handed a compiled form to Ronald.
"Is this the wrong unit price?"
Ronald saw that it was the revenue statistics of the Ministry of Defense's purchase of movie copies of "Firebird". The number in the unit price column seemed to be wrong. Ten copies cost about the same.
"No, the other party was not satisfied with the price we gave. They insisted on changing it to this price. I asked someone to purchase some metal boxes made of stainless steel. They are super strong and can withstand rough loading and unloading without any problems.
It can prevent moisture from entering, and it is a very reliable supplier they recommended." Michelle smiled and winked at Ronald.
"Oh, that's okay." When Ronald looked at the name of the company that sold him the metal box, he knew that it was related to the Ministry of Defense. What if the copies flying to all over the world were damaged on the transport plane?
?With so many US troops stationed on the island, what if the copies get moldy? It makes sense to get some special equipment, right?
There is nothing unreasonable for everyone to make some money. It would be great if the US military has more purchase orders in the future.
At about the same time as the movie was being screened at the U.S. Army barracks, the general release of "Firebird" also began in the third week of January.
The Monday immediately following this weekend is the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday approved by the previous president. Ronald Sr. did not want to set this date as a federal holiday, but the Senate and the Senate at the time
The House of Representatives passed the bill with more than two-thirds of the vote, which also invalidated the president's veto power.
No matter what white people's attitude is towards this holiday, Hollywood welcomes it very much. In the weak period after the New Year holiday, there is a reason for more people to go to the movie theater to kill time.
Firebird was screened in more than 1,000 theaters across the United States during its first weekend, earning a box office of just over 6 million. This is a very good result, ranking closely behind Home Alone and Penny Marshall's new film "Speechless".
, ranked fourth after Kindergarten Cop, and ahead of Dances with Wolves, which has been in theaters for ten weeks.
Of course, if the number of viewers in the military camp is included, the box office performance may reach the top three.
This result makes everyone at Daydream Pictures very satisfied. Although the box office dropped a lot in the second week, it is already very impressive for a movie like this that purely relies on current events to make money in the theaters for a month.
A considerable achievement.
On Tuesday, Cinema Scores gave an audience score of B one day later than usual. This score basically indicates that the domestic box office of this movie will reach four to six times the first weekend score. Everyone in the company is very happy. Except
"Firebird" is also expected to gross at least $25 million to $35 million at the domestic box office on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Considering that Nicolas Cage's salary is not high, and Brooke Shields is the first film to return to the mainstream big screen, the production cost of 10 million has been guaranteed to be paid back in the box office market. The next overseas release
And the income from video tapes is pure profit.
The results of the Cinema Scores questionnaire are also very interesting. When answering the question of what is the biggest reason to see this movie, the top three answers are Helicopter Battle, Brooke Shields, and Nicolas Cage.
In addition to the current Operation Desert Storm, many boys are not satisfied with watching the green live TV scenes and want to watch real helicopter battles in the cinema. Many older male viewers want to go to the cinema to see Brooke Shields, an old friend.
Among the answers from female viewers, Cage's factor occupied the first place. They all said in their answers that they like to watch Nicolas Cage's performance. Although his B-level exploitation films are not very exciting, he is
The role he played made the female audience like him very much.
This also surprised Ronald. Cage has never played the leading role in any heavyweight commercial production, but he has a certain reputation among female audiences. This is a rare potential. Maybe he
Will he become a superstar in the future?
The film critics' statements also confirmed Ronald's guess. Although they gave negative comments to such a relatively tacky movie, many film critics, including Roger Ebert, had some feelings for Nicolas Cage.
Praiseful words.
For example, film critic Vincent Canby of the New York Times compared Cage, a famous supporting actor from the old Hollywood era, with William Gargan, the king of B-movies. He praised Cage's performance as one of the best in B-movies.
Let people recognize him at a glance.
Canby also praised Brooke Shields, saying that her performance was fresh and natural, that she had gotten rid of the chronic problem of deliberately acting like a little girl that she had not overcome for many years, and that she had the opportunity to challenge bigger roles.
Of course, the most praised one is the supporting actor, Tommy Lee Jones, who plays the instructor. Canby praised his every performance, every expression, and every movement as being accurate.
The entire film review also talked about some problems, such as Cage's performance being a bit overdone, the connection with other actors being flawed, or Brooke sometimes showing off her intelligence too much. However, these are all clear criticisms, and the audience only saw it.
Will like it more.
This film critic's praise of the film made Ronald think that the company had done special public relations for him. For example, two film critics in Chicago, Albert and Sisko, both gave the film one and a half stars, which was nothing special.
Recommendation. I just say it is a standard popcorn movie, suitable for viewers who like "Top Gun".
Luo asked Michael Gray carefully and found out that Daydream didn't even give Vincent Canby any special gift. It was Vincent Canby's personal love that made him write such a novel.
Movie reviews criticizing Big Helper.
Ronald felt strange and called Canby to express his gratitude. But the other person said something he could not have imagined.
Brooke Shields and Ronald are both filmmakers born in New York who have won awards in Hollywood. In recent years, the film industry in New York has been declining. Not to mention being unable to compete with Hollywood, even survival has become a problem.
If you graduate from the University of Southern California, as long as you don't mind earning the minimum wage, you will still have the opportunity to participate in the filming of commercials, music videos, or video films.
However, students who graduated from New York University Tisch College and Columbia University's film department have no chance to enter the industry, let alone become directors.
This situation has become more and more obvious in recent years. Many film students also lack understanding of the industry, because only television stations in New York have a demand for these graduates.
TV dramas and movies have completely different requirements for talent. If you shoot a few more TV dramas, no matter how talented you are, you will never look back in that mechanical shooting method. You will never be able to return to the big screen.
.
Therefore, Canby, like several film critics in the New York Post, seized the opportunity to praise directors and actors born in New York, hoping that they could become idols of young people in New York who want to work in the film industry and remain in their hearts.
A little flame...
"Hey, I didn't expect that the current New York film industry has fallen to the point where it can't even get investment for a Roger Corman-style movie."
Ronald put down the phone and shook his head and sighed. Without low-cost production for them to practice their skills, the learning channels for film directors are almost cut off. Only those who truly love films and persevere can find the opportunity to direct films independently. Kathryn Bigelow, Spike
·Li may be one of the few directors who has emerged from the New York film industry in recent years.
"Hi, Marty..."
"Ronald, it's so nice to see you."
Speaking of things in the New York film industry, Ronald's benefactor, Martin Scorsese, happened to come to the house. The two wanted to discuss a Coca-Cola advertising project.
Now Coca-Cola has made up its mind to gradually abandon the creative production of large advertising companies, and instead only hire production companies to shoot advertisements. But one thing they have not yet figured out is whether Ovitz is the person to take on this job.
Forget about it, or it might be better to negotiate directly with big-name directors and stars’ agents.
One school of thought is to invite celebrities to shoot commercials. What you want is not the current stars, but preferably stars whose works will become popular soon, enter the rising period, and have a huge increase in popularity. People like Ovitz know this kind of thing best.
.
The other group believes that grabbing a popular star is too risky. There is no need to spend a huge additional price (consultant fees paid to Ovitz) to select the right candidate. As long as you find those whose artistic level is known
If they have proven their qualifications and their star quality has been proven to be attractive, just hire them to shoot commercials.
One person may not become famous immediately, but if you find a few more people to shoot for, for example, if you find ten or twenty celebrities to shoot commercials, there will always be one or two who will become popular next year, right?
"So, Marty, what you need to do is to show off your skills and let Coca-Cola see that the master's handiwork is beyond the reach of those small directors who have just debuted and shot a few Madonna MVs. Film directors are very familiar with images and
The power of emotions is far beyond their imagination."
"Ah, hahaha, so I just shoot one?" Scorsese was very happy to be praised by Ronald. He agreed to shoot the Coca-Cola commercial. He was more moved by Ronald's sincerity and salary, but some people
To praise him so much is as if a master shooting an advertisement is like a university professor teaching primary school students.
"Just pick one, these are all ideas proposed by Coca-Cola. When the commercial we shot with the people hired by Ovitz is played, even fools will know how valuable the Italian director is."
"Hey, I'll just pick two, but I heard that they also have to measure the promotional effect of the advertisement." Scorsese still has some doubts. After all, he is a famous director. If the effects of the shots are not as good as those of his juniors, it is not
A bit embarrassing?
"Hey, when did you drink Coke because you saw their advertisements, or because of the taste?" Ronald also laughed. The short-term impact of advertisements on a brand like Coca-Cola is actually not big, even if the advertisement is filmed
It's great, but it's hard to see results in the short term.
As long as Coca-Cola no longer launches "innovations" like New Coke, domestic sales will still steadily surpass Pepsi. The so-called effect is more about the feelings of the executives. It must be like Scorsese or Coppola.
The director made it feel much more powerful.
"This is what I'll do." Scorsese took an idea in his hand and asked Ronald, "What are you going to shoot?"
"I won't be filming for the time being. You know, Ovitz and I are a little bit...it's easy for him to target me if I film by myself." Ronald explained. This is of course one of the reasons, but more importantly, he is a little uninterested.
I took too many photos when I first debuted.
"Actually, there is another reason, that is, I want you to make more films, so that the audience will fall in love with the master's work. The current movie box office has not had a big breakthrough for a long time. I am actually worried about whether people in the future will still come in
Go to the cinema, and then watch a movie for an hour and a half to two hours in a dark place."
Ronald told Scorsese about the feeling of being a riding crop in the era of automobiles, and he also resonated with it. Scorsese is also a loyal fan of old Hollywood, and he has less and less interest in current movies.
The master's skills are also very disappointing.
"Recently, I also heard about something. It's difficult for new directors in New York to get into the industry. I don't know what can be done to help them? I still want to see a few more film masters coming out of New York in the future." Then.
Ronald talked about the embarrassment of the New York Film Critics Circle again.
"You are right. If you can give those students from New York University and Columbia some opportunities, they will definitely produce talents. In fact, you should help them and give them a chance to succeed." Scorsese knew that Ronald was rich.
, and immediately issued a request to him.
"Actually, I'm already doing it. I recently funded a Chinese director named Ang Lee, who is also a graduate of New York University."
"This is good, but it may not be enough. I think you need to preach more. Now that your reputation among those students is much better than mine, you should give them some lectures so that they can also feel how Hollywood dreams are made.
Something happened."
"Me? I haven't even graduated from college." Ronald declined with a smile. The youngest son of the Tisch family had strong opinions on him, and he didn't want to go to the opponent's home court to give a lecture.
"That's pretty good, it's a good story." Scorsese knew this and didn't try to persuade him any more, "What are the requirements for Coca-Cola in casting?"
"According to your preferences, I will let Daydream fully cooperate. You can choose any Hollywood star or newcomer you like."
…
Soon, Coca-Cola began the largest audition campaign for advertising in history. In addition to already-famous actors, there were also many handsome men and beauties who dreamed of coming to Hollywood and becoming famous overnight. They were also among the applicants for the creative shooting of these advertisements that Ronald was responsible for.
The people who auditioned lined up several times around the office, extending to the sidewalk.
"Hey, handsome guy, are you here to apply too?" A blonde beauty with an amazing figure said to a handsome guy wearing corduroy pants next to her.
"Hey, yes." The handsome guy was still rehearsing how he should introduce himself when he arrived. He looked at the beauty's appearance and suddenly changed his smile, "Hi, honey, how are you today?"
"Tsk..." The blonde beauty has long been immune to this kind of flirting, "I think you seem to be of Italian origin. I heard that this place is the home of Italian directors, so you are going to take advantage."
"That's right, we Italians are the best at making movies. I said, do you want to go home with me after the audition? We can do it together..."
"You?" The blonde beauty touched the Italian actor's chest, which had some muscles.
"Cameron, Cameron..." Just as he was about to agree, a girl came from behind and stopped the blonde beauty.
"I've been looking for you for a long time. Do you want to go to the invitation from the San Fernando Valley?"
"Hey, I still want to persist." The beauty dug into her pocket, and there were only a few coins in it. "What if I get selected? If it doesn't work this time, I'll think about it again."
"Hi, stallion?" The beauty turned her head and found that the Italian stallion had disappeared. It seemed that it was his turn and he had already entered the queue.
"Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lane...it's your turn. Come with me. Don't speak loudly when you get inside. You will be asked to enter the audition room for an interview." A staff member came out and took the blond man out.
The beauty also called in.
"God bless." Cameron Diaz pulled up his collar, raised his head and walked in with a catwalk.