"I said, Ronald, do you really want to hold a screening before the Oscar nominations?"
Mike Medavoy came to the door and initially did not talk about his new project. Instead, he asked about what Ronald said in the interview.
"Hey, Mr. Medavoy, you are also the most senior veteran in Hollywood and the most capable of running the Oscars. I am just trying to defend my videotape tactics. How could such a thing be possible?"
Ronald felt that Medavoy was asking for a lot of help this time. He was old enough to be his uncle, so how could he call him brother? He didn't hide it, that statement was just a rhetorical statement of his, a Hollywood judge.
, actors who have performed very well over the years have joined. Now the average age is already over sixty. How can these old men and women be allowed to go to any special screening?
They don't have enough energy, so if they really want to hold a large-scale screening and let them participate, it will only cause complaints, but it will not cause more trouble.
What Ronald said is to give a thumbs up to those who attacked him unfairly. Don't you think it's unfair? Then let's have a fair marathon viewing. You don't have the energy to go to the movies and you still complain when I deliver the video to your door.
If you don't have the ability, don't complain.
"I've received a lot of calls from people recently. They all said they agree with your idea, but they definitely can't stand it. If the college adopts your suggestion, they will consider withdrawing from the college..."
Ronald scratched his head. He felt sorry that these old members were so serious, so he should organize some welfare card reward activities for them.
Nowadays, the Academy’s judges are really quite old. The latest batch of members are still the backbone of the New Hollywood movement twenty years ago. They are now about sixty years old. The older ones criticize
The committee members are those who have been qualified to vote since the big studio era. They are all in their 70s and 80s. Although they are very serious about the film art, who will take the initiative to withdraw from the qualifications of the judges?
A message was sent to Ronald through Medavoy, asking him to stop publicly calling for such life-threatening activities. Of course Ronald complied, and also issued them more welfare cards.
"What do these friends of yours like? I have marketing relationships with many commercial companies and can get some coupons for them..."
"Qualifications for admission to a nursing home, vacation vouchers for warm climates, and massage vouchers for spa retreats, preferably in Palm Springs or Hawaii." Medavoy smiled as he mentioned the common hobbies of these elderly judges.
"Okay..." Ronald didn't expect that the Oscar judges had already entered such an advanced stage of old age.
Closer to home, Mike Medavoy still stated his purpose.
"You want Kevin Costner to star in your new movie?"
When Ronald heard about it, it turned out to be a project led by Mike Medavoy. It was a romantic drama. The author of the script was Jeff Archie, who was a part-time screenwriter, wedding photographer, and taekwondo instructor.
He wrote a romantic drama about two lovers who got to know each other through a phone hotline, then wrote letters to each other as pen pals, and at the end, they met for the first time together on the Empire State Building.
"Are you copying the old movie 'The Corner Store'?" Ronald knew immediately that he was copying the plot of the romantic drama directed by Lubitsch and starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullivan.
In general romantic dramas, the male and female protagonists have a "meet cute" plot. After the two meet for the first time, they have a crush on each other (or a one-sided crush), and then various difficulties prevent them from being together.
Including but not limited to, parents' opposition, their respective partners, or separation due to war, etc... Two lovers played by Stewart and Sullivan became good pen pals through writing letters and admired each other.
But they both worked as salesmen in the same store, but they were enemies. It wasn't until the last moment that they met in a restaurant that they changed their attitudes and became a couple.
In his free time, Ronald likes to collect copies of old films. He watches a study when he has nothing to do. He is deeply impressed by this Lubitsch film. In other words, he is deeply impressed by all Lubitsch films. The particularly smooth narrative is
It’s not outdated even now.
So when he heard Mike Medavoy say it, he knew it was plagiarized...
"Not only that, but I also copied the plot of the Golden Jade Alliance, and ended up on the Empire State Building. Do you remember it?"
"Oh, yes..." Ronald turned to the end of the script. Sure enough, at the end, the man and woman made an appointment to meet on the top of the Empire State Building...
The Legend is a masterpiece by Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr. The hero, who is favored by a billionaire heiress, is engaged, and the heroine, who has a fiancé, met on a cruise ship back to New York and met each other.
Love each other. The two agreed to meet on the Empire State Building. If they both broke off their engagement and still loved each other, they would stay together.
In the end, Deborah Kerr was paralyzed in a car accident and did not go to the Empire State Building. This movie was played many times on TV stations. Audiences across the country, especially those in New York, loved it very much. Many people cried every time they watched it.
"You are too old-fashioned. Nowadays, young people are watching movies, and they don't like this anymore..." Ronald turned over the script and put forward his own opinion.
The plot of the movie is still very good. Well-educated people will appreciate it, and middle-aged people who have had emotional experiences will also appreciate it, but young people, the main audience of the movie, will not. The script is not particularly outstanding, either.
It is difficult to attract audiences by word of mouth.
"Isn't that right? I also think that only if a star appears can this movie be successful. Isn't that why I came to you? You have a good relationship with Costner."
"Who are you going to hire for the heroine?" Ronald asked casually. His relationship with Costner was not good enough to convince him to star in a subpar movie.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Meg Ryan... the screenwriter said she wrote this script while watching the video tape of When Harry Met Sally."
"..." Ronald felt that his vanity had been somewhat satisfied. Now his works have become the inspiration for others to imitate.
…
After he spent half an hour reading the script, Ronald still shook his head and refused.
"There are many things in this script that are unreasonable. Today's audiences don't like stories that are full of flaws."
"Is this really going to work?" Mike Medavoy's aesthetics has also aged. He heard Ronald's opinion and took it very seriously.
"Don't tell me that Costner won't accept such a script. Even if he does, if you hire Meg Ryan, it's unlikely to be a hit. If you want to support this screenwriter, ask him to come to me.
Give him a task, it just so happens that I want to write a script about Taekwondo..."
In the end, the Koreans did not invest in Ronald. They felt that their self-esteem was hurt, and they wanted to make a movie about Koreans winning the world championship in Taekwondo and taking the top three places. However, Ronald's "Black Belt Elite" had to continue to be filmed.
Come on, Eric Roberts won't be starring in the third film, and he will have to start over with new actors.
"Can't Garry Marshall do the same? I'm going to ask him to direct..." Mike Medavoy was still unwilling to give in. This was his main project and he had to compete with Peters and others from Columbia within Sony.
"This is not a problem with the director and the leading actors. The script itself is too old-fashioned, out of touch with the hobbies of modern audiences, and does not have that female touch. They are the main audience for this type of movie, and they will only find the plot too fake."
Ronald is a box-office master of romantic movies and women's movies, and he has a very good understanding of the psychology of modern urban women. In this script, the words and actions of women are not to the taste of urban women, while the male characters are not to their taste.
It's not attractive at all.
"What if I find someone to change it?" Mike Medavoy didn't want to give up.
"Change...", Ronald muttered a few words, "The framework of this story is very solid. The hero and heroine of the romance film don't meet until the end. You can't change much, unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless you can find a female writer-director like Nora Efron or Penny Marshall to revise it, it might be possible to bring it back to life. But they all have projects now, Penny is filming my women's baseball movie, and Nora is now
Now that I am a director..."
"Hey, I'll just go find Nora Efron and convince her to be the screenwriter if you don't believe me. The original screenwriter Archie bought out his script, gave him a signature, and asked him to write it for you.
How about a Taekwondo movie?”
"Are you so sure?"
"You don't know it yet, but Nora Efron's new movie is a box office hit. It's just when you need money..."
…
"I accepted your script. I like the essence of this movie very much..."
As expected, Nora Efron agreed to be a script doctor. After she made a small profit for a movie directed by Ronald, she felt that she could take on greater responsibilities. She independently directed "This is My Life"
", tells the story of a woman who works as a salesperson at Macy's in Queens and strives to become a stand-up comedian.
Breaking away from her sharpest romantic comedy, this film released by 20th Century Fox, gambling on her directorial talent, has earned a "high" box office of more than 2 million US dollars, although the shooting cost was only 10 million...
Now Nora Efron has been brought back to her original form, and Hollywood's view of her has changed from an emerging female film director to a romantic comedy screenwriter.
"Ah, the essence of the movie?" Ronald was stunned by what she said. What is the essence of "Sleepless in Seattle"? Is it plagiarized from Lubitsch?
"Yes, yes, Ronald, you really understand women. The essence of this movie is about how movies will affect people's views on romantic love. The heroine Anne established her view of beautiful love from the plot of The Golden Alliance.
All the imaginations of our generation. Many of our generation’s views on life are shaped by movies..."
"Oh..." Ronald was shocked. This statement was indeed very insightful. Many of the views of the new generation of Americans do not come from life itself, but from movies.
In this way, it seems logical for Anne to abandon a fiancé who likes her and has a good status, and falls in love with a widower whom she has never met and whose voice she only heard on a radio show. Who would do this if he were not a lover of romantic movies?
Woolen cloth?
"I need three weeks to rewrite this script. This should not be a comedy. I have to weaken the comedy elements as much as possible. This is a drama about love and movies. I have many places to revise.
Anne shouldn't have just lost her love. In this script, Sam is the center of the story. He lost his beloved wife, so whether he can get the blessing of life for the second time is the question that the audience pays attention to..."
Nora Efron chatted with Ronald for more than an hour at a time, sharing her views on Fang Zhen. It must be said that her understanding of female psychology is the real master. There are many places that Ronald could not see.
When she looked at the issues that arose, she realized that from a female perspective, the original script had lost focus.
"Go ahead and do what you want, I will convince Mike Medavoy..." Ronald thought clearly. The script also had to include a hopeless romantic woman like Nora Efron.
He decided to convince Mike Medavoy to use Efron's script without changing it at all...
"Can you direct? Let's work together again and repeat the last box office miracle..." Nora Efron was very excited. She remembered "When Harry Met Sally", her screenwriter, Ronald
Director, their collaboration is a perfect match.
This chapter is not over, please click the next page to continue reading! "Me? I may not be able to do it. When Harry Met Sally is actually a male perspective movie, with many plots from the male perspective. The final romantic confession is also haha
Lee took the initiative to run, but this script is completely from a female perspective, and the active party is Anne. It is best to find a female director..."
When Ronald said this, he thought of Penny Marshall who was filming the baseball movie "The League of Legends". She was actually very suitable. But Penny was filming herself and couldn't be distracted.
"Female director?" Nora Efron's voice changed a little.
"In this way, you can concentrate on revising the script. If the final result satisfies Mike Medavoy and I, I will convince him to let you be a director candidate, and I will support you..."
"Okay, you have to remember what you said..." Nora Efron jumped out of bed and went to turn on the computer barefoot.
…
"Let Nora Efron give it a try?" Mike Medavoy got the first draft revised.
Nora Efron didn't know whether it was because Ronald promised her to recommend a director or because she was already familiar with this kind of romantic comedy, so she wrote the revised draft in a week.
"I think this movie can only be made by a female director..." Ronald once again explained the theory that a female perspective is suitable for a female director. There are many small emotions that a male director may not be able to restore truly and accurately, let alone true and accurate reproduction.
Not noticeable.
"Unless you come... I think you are the best in Hollywood when it comes to shooting female subjects..." Seeing Ronald not responding, Mike Medavoy smacked his lips, "Okay, let her try... Let's not do it first.
Promise her and let her make a plan to compete with other candidates, so that she will be motivated..."
"Okay..." Ronald felt that this old man was very experienced in how to mobilize directors, so he smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Ronald, I heard a little bit of news that you have a new project, which is also a romantic drama like Pretty Woman. Do you think I can do it again?" Julia Roberts didn't know where she learned about this new project.
When I heard about the script, I heard that it was written by Nora Efron, so I quickly called to promote myself.
"I will not interfere with the casting of this project. Of course you are one of the best candidates..." Ronald decided to give it a go. He would not recommend this movie to anyone. The casting of this kind of movie is successful.
The biggest guarantee is that if you choose the right one, you will get a big sale, if you choose the wrong one, you will lose a lot, and there will be no falsehoods at all.
"Ronnie, I want to invite you to come to my house. Alec is always busy and I am very lonely now. I still remember your advice on my acting skills. I am stuck now and cannot improve my acting skills. I urgently need your face-to-face guidance...
…”
Kim Basinger, who already had a hot relationship with Alec Baldwin, also learned the news. She knew that finding Ronald was the shortcut to successfully getting the role. She immediately made an invitation to watch and figure out "Love You" with Ronald.
Nine and a Half Weeks” performance.
"I will not interfere with the casting of this project. Of course you are one of the best candidates..." Ronald lifted his pants and went to the refrigerator to get a bottle of milk. Alas...
"Ronald, how have you considered the proposal I made to you last time? How about you come to my house and we can talk face to face about how to operate it?" Michelle Pfeiffer also called.
"Why, you also want to play Annie? I will not interfere with the casting of this project. Of course you are one of the best candidates..."
Ronald felt very weird, why are so many first-line female stars trying to compete for this role?
"Ronald..." Even Jodie Foster called.
"You also want to act..."
"Richard, why are they all competing for this role?"
"This is a new theory put forward by a director named Paul Moritz last month, called the versatile actor...Many people in Hollywood believe this..."