"Shirley, congratulations. Paramount's stock rose as soon as you took office. It really reflects your leadership. Yes, I have already found Weintraub to take over the copyright of Forrest Gump. This way
No one can say anything, okay, see you when I get back from New York..."
"A Few Good Men", which Ronald financed and participated in the production, has done well at the box office since its opening. It was released in 1,900 theaters during its first weekend and earned 15 million in box office revenue.
In order to promote the movie, he also has to go to New York to attend another premiere. Because many New York celebrities may not be interested in coming to the premiere if he is not present. Many people come here just to be with Luo
Nader said a few words before he was rewarded.
Of course, these are all excuses. Ronald's real purpose was to come and see the pregnant Helen. Before coming, Ronald also communicated with Jerry Weintraub and finalized that he would take over "Forrest Gump".
"Pass" the first line of the script.
Weintraub was Jewish and would not arouse the suspicion of Warner Bros. and the original rights holder. He himself had little ability to invest in such a large-scale production. It was safer for Ronald to use him as a transfer agent.
"You want to buy Paramount stock?" Ed Bastian, the director of New York TV stations and newspapers, happened to be next to the phone. When he heard Ronald's words, he frowned and was about to admonish...
"Hell No, Shirley Lansing has gained twenty-five cents since she took office. It is simply a junk stock among junk. With this money, why don't I buy some other stocks?"
Ronald cursed, the work of these traditional seven major studios was getting worse and worse. Everyone relied on their bosses who did not understand the business to fight for their own interests. The entire industry was in a state of chaos.
Shirley Lansing can only rely on her female gimmick to get into the media, and the entire Wall Street does not think highly of her at all.
Ed Bastian was relieved as expected. He came here to ask Ronald about business matters. Roger Ailes came up with a good program idea and created a talk show.
Cable TV channels.
Roger Ailes' concept is that the family-friendly model of traditional wireless stations has gone into decline. Now the audience is more stratified. The middle class prefers programs that can provide in-depth analysis of news events, while limited
Television fees are a good criterion for distinguishing those target audiences whose time is precious and can pay, from those who can only watch wireless stations full of advertisements.
Ed Bastian likes this business idea very much. It doesn't matter what topic he talks about, what analysis he does, or which ideology he prefers. What's important is that now there is an opportunity to make cable TV viewers feel deeply.
A sense of eliteness in which one's intelligence and vision surpass those of the general public.
"Cable TV resources are still quite expensive now. Do you have any direction?" Ronald read the business plan and liked it very much, so he had the idea to promote this matter.
"It will be more expensive in the future. If most people understand this business model, and the resources of cable TV stations, like the spectrum of wireless TV, will be controlled by the FCC, any monopoly..." Ed Bastian
On the contrary, I think it’s not expensive…
"Whenever there is a monopoly, there will be excess profits. I will see what can be done. You will make a more detailed business plan, including the selection of programs and hosts. Let's make this happen together..."
Ronald feels that this can be done, and there is hope of making a profit in the short term.
"Roger Ailes has great ideas about the program. I would recommend hiring him to be the director of this channel. As for the program, your former assistant Rich Lake is also a good choice..."
"It depends on whether she is willing to switch to cable TV... I don't care about that anymore. You can make a comprehensive plan, ask for Rich Lake's opinion, and report it to me when the time comes..."
Ronald knew that "The Bodyguard" was doing well at the box office, and even better was the sales of the original soundtrack, which was adapted from Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" and topped the charts.
This is a height that "Dirty Dancing" has never reached before.
Anyway, it is a foregone conclusion that both the movie and the record will sell well. In the future, the overseas distribution and the sales of the original album will bring a steady stream of cash flow to me. It is very important to find a reliable place to spend the money.
Cable TV channels may be a product that will be in short supply in the future. As long as they can make a name for themselves, they will definitely maintain their value.
…
"That's great, your recording is really good..."
Ronald ran to Greta Garbo's original apartment. Helen had decorated the place very well and spent half of her time resting here.
She lived in the home of the most famous star in Hollywood. She was in a very happy state. She was able to eat when she was in a happy mood. Her condition, which was originally bad due to morning sickness, improved a lot.
.
Now Ronald also took time to come and accompany her. Helen was happy and took out the prenatal education story she had recorded for her children and played it to Ronald.
"This is really good. Whether it's Charlotte's Web or Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, I like them all. Do babies like listening to them too?" Ronald said this was not nonsense. Helen Slater's voice did belong to Jean.
She has a very good female voice, and she has a strong love for her unborn child. During the recording, that kind of love was poured into her voice. Children will definitely like to listen to it.
"I also recorded some Greek and Roman mythological stories, hehe hehe... Our child can listen to it until he is two years old..."
"This is really good. Children like to listen to bedtime stories. This is really good. I'll take it and get it released by Columbia Records..." Ronald likes it very much. If it can be released as a record or tape, maybe it will be released.
There is some sales.
"Then I still have to go to the recording studio. I'm pregnant with my child now. I heard that radiation is not good for children..."
"Ah?" Ronald choked, "It's okay. I'll give them the tape and let them do some technical processing. If it doesn't work, let them bring the equipment to record at home..."
"Is it really as good as you say?" Helen tilted her head. In fact, she has seen over the years that her talent is not very outstanding.
"I don't care. Anyway, I think it's good. Their best-selling album and best single this year may be all caused by me. They will definitely have to help with this. Having a baby is very energy-consuming. If I'm not here then,
By your side, you can play recordings to your children every night, saving you from having to tell stories yourself..."
"Oh, Ronnie, you're so good to me."
…
The next day, Ronald accompanied Helen to the screening room of New York University to watch the movie "Push Hand" in which she starred.
This was actually a thank you screening. Ang Lee and Good Machine's James Schamus had just finished filming their second film, "The Wedding Banquet," and hadn't started editing yet.
Ronald plans to send this new film to the Berlin Film Festival next year, and has signed up for a series of film festival screenings in Europe and Asia as a tour to sell copies.
It can be said that "Push Hand" has done very well at the box office in America. Whether it is Asian audiences in Asian theaters or white audiences in art theaters, there are quite a lot of people watching. The final box office exceeded 3 million. It is very impressive.
Made a small profit.
Such achievements have greatly encouraged all theaters that pay attention to Chinese-language films, and they are all looking forward to the release of several other Chinese-language films invested by Ronald.
But Ronald is not in a hurry. If such a niche film can be well received at European film festivals, it will sell for a better price in both overseas and domestic markets.
However, after the filming of the new film "The Wedding Banquet" was completed, director Ang Lee had a psychological problem. He had symptoms of depression. I don't know whether it was because the filming of the film was too hard, or because last year's "tour" around the world for promoters made him
I have a fear of movie marketing. After filming the "Wedding Banquet", I hid at home and didn't go out.
Ronald was very worried and asked a psychiatrist to come to Ang Lee's home to diagnose him and found that he was really suffering from mild depression. Fortunately, it was not serious and he needed a vacation for recuperation or some other activity to cheer him up.
Ronald arranged a vacation in Hawaii and invited their family to relax for a week. He also specially arranged a thank-you screening, inviting all Chinese celebrities from New York and nearby areas, especially all Chinese professors from Ivy League universities, to watch it together.
This movie.
"I'm afraid to watch this movie right now. I feel like a lot of things haven't been handled well..." Ang Lee made another habitual depressive comment.
"My experience is that if you put it aside for a while and watch it again, you will fall in love with your old films again, just like an old lover..." Ronald also knows that directors often have a lot of regrets after filming their first debut film.
.Some directors want to make a second revision as soon as possible, and some will fall into regret. This is why he invites Chinese audiences to help Ang Lee come out.
"Really? I feel embarrassed just thinking about watching this movie..." Ang Lee's facial expression looked like she was constipated.
"Relax, you see they are all very engaged..."
Sure enough, most of the audience are Chinese intellectuals, and there are also many overseas students from the mainland. They all understand the cultures of the two countries. When they see something they understand, their smiles will last longer than the average audience. Finally it ends.
Later, they were also moved by the mutual understanding between father and son and the helplessness between father and blind date. They seemed to think of their parents, and they all looked like they were hanging their heads and holding back tears.
"Is this the best screening ever?" Ronald pulled Ang Lee and said to producer James Shams with a smile.
"Does this need to be said? Can there be a thank-you screening before the wedding banquet? I found that these audiences are really the best Chinese salesmen for the movie..."
"Of course..." Before Ronald could agree, Ang Lee held his hand tightly, "I have never found that my movies have such power, thank you!"
"Director Ang Lee, I have never seen so many college professors praising my acting skills. I am so happy. My dad has always felt sorry that I did not go to college. This time he is going to be so happy, hahahaha...
"
Just as he was talking, Helen Slater came over to thank the director with a loud laugh, which diluted the sad atmosphere.
"Hahaha..." The strong feeling that her movie was appreciated by others made Ang Lee feel better. Ronald was also relieved, which is probably the kind of professional depression that professional directors often suffer from.
.
"Hi, hi, Lee, and you, Lee, your movie is really... I was moved to tears..."
The person who came over and spoke noisily and loudly was Ronald and Ang Lee's college classmate Spike Lee. He praised Ang Lee's "promoter" and said that it was a very deep movie.
, a penetrating interpretation of the Chinese ethnic minority group.
However, Spike Lee was rather dissatisfied with Ronald. His new film "Malcolm
This biopic, which reflects the life of the human rights movement leader Malcolm
Movie mode.
"I have helped you a lot, but I actually have nothing to do with this matter. Who asked you to curse Jews in the movie..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Damn it, I'm not used to these people..." Spike Lee could only curse a few words. Originally, he was not qualified for this role.
The director of a black biopic. He only got the director's position after scolding two non-black directors.
This guy knows how to incite public opinion. Not only did he use the protests of his base to get me the position of director, he also stipulated that only black reporters could interview him after the movie was released, and refused interviews from any non-black film critics and reporters.
, the reason is that only black people can understand the background of this movie better and understand this movie.
This stirred up a hornet's nest among some Jews in the media industry. Some gave in and sent black reporters, but major media such as the Los Angeles Times boycotted the film's marketing campaign.
This put the distributor, Warner Bros., in a difficult position. I wonder if Spike Lee learned Coppola's method and agreed first, and then went his own way and played the producer too hard during the filming process... This time the box office was not good.
, I’m afraid it will be difficult for him to film any good scripts in the future.
Ronald ignored Spike Lee's complaints about being cheap and being nice, and just invited him and Ang Lee to reminisce about old times. The three of them brought their families over and had a feast in a restaurant in Chinatown. In the end, it was delicious.
Conquered the black Spike Lee and finally calmed down his chattering mouth.
"If you don't miss it this Christmas, just go to Hawaii for a comfortable vacation. When you come back, you can start editing the 'Wedding Banquet', right?" Ronald was full of wine and food, and poured black tea for Ang Lee himself.
"Thank you, I will start editing when I come back. This time James Shams said that there is a new editing technology that can transfer film to tape and finally transfer it to disk. Editing on the computer can save time and is easy to use.
...I want to try..."
"Why, is there such a way? I don't even know. Are you willing to try it? Or you can use the old method this time. The new technology will actually have some inconveniences..." Ronald didn't really want to be the one.
Experimental items.
"I heard that it is cheaper and can be edited faster than using a film editing machine. I want to finish the editing as soon as possible." Ang Lee still believes in traditional Chinese thinking, and a soldier will die for a confidant.
"Hahaha, don't worry, go on vacation. I'll make arrangements for you. I'll use an old-fashioned editing machine to edit. I'll also give you a new set of new technology. I'll try it to see if it works. My film has a big budget and they don't dare to do it.
Lied to me……"
Ronald actually has ideas for this new technology, but he is not afraid that the experiment will not work and he can return to the old-fashioned editing method in a matter of minutes.
"What the hell is this crap... Let the manufacturers come and get out with their crap..."
After returning to Los Angeles, I tried to convert part of the film of "Sugar-coated Trap" to a computer for editing. The first time, Ronald was furious.
It is the largest 21 memory monitor in the industry, and it is divided into four grids. It is difficult to see clearly what is captured in each grid, let alone the focus, expressions, or any details.
Editing is fast and really cheap. There is no need to make a working copy first. However, it cannot be used for editing movies. It can only be edited to look like live interviews on the TV station.