"Are you sure? Animals are harder to photograph than children..."
Ronald's home welcomed another guest. This was Amy Heckerling, who competed with him for the director's position and later made the hit movie "Look Who's Talking" for Daydream.
"Look Who's Talking" stars John Travolta and Kirsty Alley, and the voice of the baby is Bruce Willis. The film unexpectedly gained the audience's love and grossed over $140 million domestically.
With a box office of over 10,000, Travolta's career was on the verge of collapse.
The next year, Amy Heckerling took advantage of the situation and launched the second film. Although the original cast was recalled, the box office was not satisfactory, with only less than 50 million.
This disappointed both Daydream and Samsung Pictures, which is responsible for distribution, and the third sequel has been shelved indefinitely.
But more than two years later, Amy Heckerling came up with another script and found the third part of the Daydream pitch series.
This script was not recommended by Daydream Pictures, but Samsung Pictures, the distributor of the first two films, was more optimistic. If everyone had different opinions, they came to Ronald for a decision. This became a face-to-face interview.
reason.
Amy Heckerling smiled and replied, "This is a request from Samsung Pictures. This is just a custom-made work. You may have noticed that I am not the screenwriter..."
Ronald nodded and said, this is the tacit understanding between independent filmmakers. If you take the initiative to make a sequel, I will put my name here and grant the copyright to deal with it.
"I'll make a call..."
Ronald picked up the phone and called Mike Medavoy of TriStar Pictures. This script was very unexpected. The baby scenes in the first two films were deleted, and the third film instead told the story of two dogs.
.Adult dubbing is also used to replace the non-speaking characters to express the inner monologue.
"Mike, this is Ronald, why did you approve this project?"
"This is a good opportunity, Ronald. Don't you think Columbia has released fewer movies since the second half of last year?"
Mike Medavoy's words suddenly made Ronald understand. He wanted to take the opportunity to attack Columbia CEO Peter Guber. Frank Price, the former CEO of TriStar Pictures, was no longer in charge of things. He was completely
It's Mike Medavoy who is helming the film project.
Peter Guber's distribution results at Columbia Pictures were not very good, and he was completely suppressed by TriStar Pictures in the past two years. Just as people at Sony were criticizing this, Mike Medavoy wanted to
Go one step further.
"But you didn't read the script, did you? Frank Price didn't read it either, did he?"
"Yeah, what's the problem? The first two films have achieved great results."
"Mike, wake up, this movie..."
"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry, I've been distracted by a lot of things lately."
After listening to what Ronald said, Mike Medavoy knew that something was wrong with him. Using dogs as the protagonists, acting cute and well-behaved in various ways, this kind of filming was popular thirty years ago, and there was also a
Dog star Rin Tin Tin. However, it is difficult for this kind of filming method to resonate with the audience. Audiences generally prefer animal movies in the form of animation. After all, it is difficult for a real dog to make such rich expressions and movements.
"Why don't you come here when you have time? Amy can..."
After Ronald discussed it with Mike Medavoy, he went back to discuss the outcome with Amy Heckerling.
"Daydream will not be deeply involved in this movie, and TriStar Pictures will not distribute it..." Ronald stretched out his hand to interrupt Amy Heckerling who was about to argue, "But I will let Columbia Pictures talk to you.
Talk about..."
Amy Heckerling understood immediately, "This is simply unexpected good news... Harold Ramis said that his new film has received great support from Colombia..."
"Who?" Ronald was stunned for a moment.
"Ah, that's right, that's my ex-boyfriend." Amy Heckerling turned around and took out her wallet, and took out a photo from it, which showed a photo of her, her daughter, and another man.
"Oh, he is the father of your daughter Molly... huh?"
"Forehead……"
Both of them realized something was wrong and changed the subject after a moment of embarrassment.
Ronald knew that Amy Heckerling's daughter Molly was born in 1985, so she named the heroine of "Look Who's Talking" after her daughter.
But at that time her husband was another Israeli, Neil Israel. Ronald had met her before at the premiere. But now looking at this recent photo, you can tell without a DNA test...
"What movie is Harold Ramis releasing?" Ronald knew that he didn't want to talk about this kind of thing and quickly changed the topic.
"Oh, it's Groundhog Love. It has a very interesting structure... Columbia put a lot of effort into marketing, and it had a box office of 12 million in the first weekend."
Amy Heckerling talked about the content of the movie. It is a weather forecaster who is acrimonious and full of complaints about life. He is trapped in the same day. No matter what he does every day, he will wake up and return to the six-month-old weather forecaster that day.
point.
After trying all possible things, the protagonist finally began to open his heart to love others, brought a good mood to many people in the town, and changed the world with love. Finally, after spending a night full of love with the heroine, the third
The second day finally arrived.
"How could Amy switch to this kind of script?"
Diane later also saw the script for the third part and made a tut-tsk sound incomprehensible.
"I'm not surprised at all. Back then, she was a person who focused on profits rather than art."
"Huh, I've never liked her." When Diane heard that Amy Heckerling had done such things against Ronald, she immediately started to say bad things about her.
"Tell me, is her daughter really born from her lover? Doesn't her ex-husband know?" Diane heard about the photo and became even more sure that this was a bad person.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Husbands are often the last to know about this kind of thing."
…
In the evening, Mike Medavoy did come to visit Ronald and apologized on his own initiative.
"I'm dealing with a divorce recently, so I haven't looked at many projects carefully..."
"Hey, Mike, I feel so..."
"It's okay, I should have seen her problem earlier."
Mike Medavoy's wife, Patricia Duff, is a Georgetown-educated political fundraiser. She was a Protestant before marrying him. In order to trap Mike Medavoy, who was then the president of Orion, she also
A special ceremony was performed to convert to Judaism.
Unexpectedly, a few years later, through Mike Medavoy's connections in the film industry and Jewish gatherings, she met the Jewish financier Perelman.
Perelman was very fascinated by the young blonde, and the two openly went out together on some occasions, which made Mike Medavoy so painful that he had to file for divorce.
And according to legal provisions, Mike Medavoy still has to pay her child support.
Most people in the industry don't dare to say this kind of thing, but there is still a lot of ridicule behind his back. Mike Medavoy couldn't tell his friends about this matter, and he was too depressed.
However, Ronald, as a big boss in the industry and his partner, would not laugh at him for this kind of thing. Medavoy did go into a lot of details.
Perelman met Patricia Duff in Paris. At that time, Medavoy was busy with projects at TriStar Pictures and fighting with Peter Guber in front of Sony bosses, so he did not accompany her to Paris.
Perelman was on vacation with his wife, Cohen, and arranged a dinner with their friends Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. Both are spokespersons for Revlon, which Perelman acquired.
Because Duff knew Don Johnson, he was introduced to Perelman after a chance encounter in the restaurant. The two fell in love at first sight and met frequently after returning from Paris, and began to meet with their respective divorce lawyers.
"Is this the Perelman who bought Marvel?"
"Yes, that's him..."
"Forget it, Mike, isn't this a good thing for you? That guy is an extremely stingy person. I suspect that Shakespeare wrote The Merchant of Venice after reading him."
"I just feel so ashamed..."
Mike Medavoy still couldn't stand being publicly humiliated. The old man almost cried. Ronald didn't mention it and invited him to have dinner at home.
Ronald chatted with him about the pandas that were coming soon and about his previous job as an insurance salesman in Xujiahui. Medavoy felt much better.
After the meal, the guests and hosts drank some light wine and chatted in the study. After Medavoy sobered up, he was still the very shrewd and capable film producer.
The two chatted about how to get Colombia to willingly swallow the movie "Look Who's Talking 3". The general principle is that you can't promote this kind of thing by yourself, otherwise the very sensitive Gubel will definitely feel that something is wrong. Why is it that Samsung Films
Karma will give up.
It is best to let Gubel take the initiative to request it, so that he will not be suspicious of it.
The two discussed some means. Medavoy stood up to add wine and found the portrait that Ronald had taken of Diane.
"Oh, which photographer took this portrait of your wife? It's very good. Is it Bruce Weber?" Bruce Weber is a famous fashion photographer who has taken portraits of many supermodels and movie stars.
"No, this was taken by me. You don't know that I was a portrait photographer before I made movies, right?"
"Good guy, you are not a director, but you are also a first-class portrait and fashion photographer. Your talent cannot be hidden anywhere..." Medavoy praised, he is indeed a great director, and he shoots all the Hollywood classics of the past.
Business card theme.
"This...doesn't it look a bit like it?" Medavoy saw the white costume with violet ribbons that Diane took at the end.
"This picture was taken at random. I think it looks a bit like a movie I've seen, but I just can't remember it."
"Hey, it's not a movie, Ronald. This is the Statue of Liberty from the opening of Columbia..."
"Why?"
After hearing this, Ronald thought about it and realized that it did look a bit like the Colombian title sequence, which showed a beautiful woman wearing ancient Greek clothing, but with a posture similar to that of the Statue of Liberty.
No wonder it looks familiar to me, but I can't remember it.
"Hey, isn't this the topic of conversation with Gubel?"
…
The Long Beach University women's volleyball team has been training for a long time, and the new gymnasium is also being built. Ronald was invited to watch the first friendly match against the University of Southern California women's volleyball team, which was considered the first game as the head coach of the former women's volleyball national team.
This was the first appearance of a sports team sponsored by Ronald. As a sponsor, Ronald invited many personal friends to watch.
In addition to Mr. Counselor, who was also invited to watch, there was also Peter Guber, CEO of Columbia Pictures, who "just happened to be free" and was invited to attend.
"This is Mr. Counselor. Now they are fighting for America's trade most-favored-nation status. Our trade representatives attach great importance to reciprocity between the two sides, so this is a good opportunity to open up the Chinese film market.
If all goes well, there will be a Hollywood delegation visiting China to discuss how to handle the negotiations on the copy sharing agreement. For us, if more studios can form alliances, then the other side will also have more partners.
It gives us face to choose new films, and we can also have a stronger bargaining chip, and try to nail the supervision and execution clauses of the share-sharing agreement..."
Ronald chatted with Peter Guber and talked about many advantages of entering the Chinese market first. He also gave AIA and Coca-Cola as examples.
Because after the international sanctions, they were determined not to leave the Chinese market. The other party was very grateful for this kind of friend. Greenberg, the boss of AIA, made an exception and obtained a wholly-owned insurance industry license. This was very important to the very conservative China.
For the financial industry, it was originally impossible to obtain.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! As Coca-Cola bucked the trend and increased investment, it also gained nationwide retail channels open to all Coca-Cola beverages.
"Is anyone interested in this?" Guber also heard about it, but was a little concerned about going along to be one of the first studios to negotiate.
"Paramount's Shirley Lansing is very interested, but there are requirements for content there. Disney is special and there is nothing dissatisfied with their cartoons. In addition, I heard that Warner Bros. also has plans, but that
That’s not what I know.”
After saying this, Gubel also understood. Warner Bros. and Ronald were not dealing with each other, but several companies that had good relations with Ronald showed signs of being persuaded. He originally couldn't think of anything, but it was no longer possible to negotiate with others.
Free riding, the domestic opposition to China’s most-favored-nation treatment is actually very strong.
But what Ronald said, about the other person's liking to interact with friends, made him a little moved.
"I heard from some friends that the White House is actually inclined to grant most-favored-nation status, but some extreme factions of the Donkey Party are dissatisfied. There is no need to be particularly vocal about this matter, we can just wait and see what happens." Ronald continued.
"Why, aren't you going?" Gubel asked after hearing this.
"As you know, there are all kinds of slanderous rumors against me. In fact, my output is not much. I can only work hard here, Mr. Counselor."
"Ronnie, we are old acquaintances. If you can introduce me, what do you need me to do for you?" Gubel made up his mind. He was pressed hard by Samsung Pictures, which was in the same group and under different brands. If he could open up a new
The big market has also been explained in terms of performance.
"Since we are old acquaintances, just remember me this time." Ronald smiled and shook Gubel's hand.
"Just in time, I have one more thing to ask you for help." Gubel looked at no one around and said to Ronald that he wanted some more potential movies to be released from the Columbia label.
"I don't plan to invest much in that sequel. You know, this script was not written by Amy Heckerling, and she can't direct it..."
"But she can produce, right? Ronald, how about giving me an inside review? What do you think of that movie?"
"I don't know, to be honest. The sequel movie is actually like that. It has a fixed audience, but the quality may not be as good as the first one, and the actors' remuneration is too high and it is not easy to make back their money...ahem..."
"But the protagonist of this movie is a dog, right..." Gubel smiled, "Ronald..."
"Look, Peter. Hecklin and I had a little conflict before, so I don't care if you want her movie. But you also have to do me a little favor."
"What?"
"You know, since Diane won the Oscar, many of the scripts she got were not the leading role. She is not happy, he is not happy, and I am not happy, right?"
"Don't say more, I will let someone pick some good scripts and send them to Diane."
"But you haven't released many movies lately?"
"Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
"Di An felt that her role in the script she received was not good, and the audience might forget about her after reading it. If there is something that the audience can always remember, she will also be happy. If she is happy, I will be happy."
Ronald took out the photo of Diane and showed it to Gubel, "Look, does it look a bit like..."
"Stop saying anything, Ronald, you have to do me a favor. Our Colombian opening LOGO has not been updated for decades. Now we urgently need a female star who can represent the image of the Statue of Liberty to remake it."
Edition, can you help Man persuade Diane?"
"I'll see what I can do...I'll introduce you to Mr. Counselor first..."