The summer vacation arrived in a blink of an eye. Ronald boarded a special plane early in the morning and flew to DC with Spielberg and Sidney Sheinberg. Ronald took his own special plane and specially took Jack, the president of the MPAA, with him.
·Valenti.
Unlike other commercial movies that usually premiere in Los Angeles or New York, the premiere of "Jurassic Park" was held in DC.
The content of this movie has nothing to do with DC, unlike the previous story of the Reincarnation of the Pretty Man, which happened here. The reason why Jurassic Park is placed here and so many famous people in the industry are invited to attend,
The most important purpose is to lobby on Capitol Hill.
And it just so happens that a number of trade agreements are being debated and voted on on Capitol Hill. As one of America's unique and very competitive export commodities, the Hollywood movie "Jurassic Park" is also expected to attract lawmakers by building momentum in the capital.
Let’s experience up close how much benefit it will bring to America’s strong product exports if these trade agreements are signed.
One of the leading actors, Laura Dern, was also sitting on Ronald's plane. She also kept complaining that Diane was not on the plane with her. Ronald had to tell her that because of his part-time job in the movie "Sleepless in Seattle"
", and the director's work "Sugar-Coated Trap" will also be released at the end of the month and the beginning of next month. Diane has her children and is unwilling to travel long distances.
This sentence made Laura Dern speechless for a moment. In fact, her psychology is easy to understand. She hopes to let everyone know that she is the heroine in Spielberg's movie. But in this movie, Ronald understands
, in fact, the actors are not very important, the real protagonists are those big dinosaurs.
After dismissing the actress who wanted to show her superiority in front of her best friends, Ronald took a tea cup and sat down next to Jack Valenti.
“What will be the effect of our lobbying this time?”
"Don't worry, Shenberg is an expert. He has already invited weapons of mass destruction."
Jack Valenti, Spielberg, Ronald and other big names in the industry all agree that it is time for Hollywood to once again conquer cities in the world and attack the markets of other countries.
Hollywood movies once invaded many European markets after the end of World War II. However, with the rise of television, this trend did not continue well. The victory of the Cold War also made America more popular in the eyes of other people around the world.
, has a very good image.
The mainstream narrative and ideology promoted by Hollywood, with the support of the Cold War and the subsequent Gulf War, are bringing a sense of shock to people in other parts of the world. Hollywood movies are also subtly promoting this
culture.
Not to mention those markets with strong consumption power, even in China, when Ronald went there, Xiao Yan also went to inspect the movies shown in underground pirated video halls on the market. As expected, Cameron's "The End"
2", is the most popular video there.
In all circles of knowledgeable people in Hollywood, everyone understands that markets around the world have delicious cakes waiting for big Hollywood productions to eat. But what stands between them and those cakes is Congress.
These ignorant congressmen gave up huge interests for a small profit.
This premiere in Washington DC is just to give them a little shock.
After arriving in Washington, everyone checked into the Four Seasons Hotel. After Ronald and Jack Valenti settled in, they were chatting at the bar when Valenti suddenly gave him a gentle elbow.
"do you know it?"
Ronald looked back and saw a tall, thin, white-haired Jew chatting with Sheinberg.
"do not know."
"Ha, you are too young. This is Levi Wasserman, the former king of Hollywood and the last movie tycoon."
Jack Valenti told him a few words. Wasserman once participated in the creation of MCA, the earliest film actor agency, and later became the boss of MCA. Universal Studios and Decca Records were affected by television and had difficulty operating.
At that time, he took the opportunity to buy it at a low price and became the boss of Universal Pictures and Universal Records.
He is also the most famous campaign broker in California, because the actors he signed include Bette Davis, former President Ronald Sr., and James Stewart. Obtaining his approval is equivalent to handling half of Hollywood.
ticket.
In the past ten years, his most famous move in the industry was to almost win over Disney in 1984. The price and terms were all agreed upon, but in the end the Disney family objected to Sidney Sheinberg becoming the CEO of the merged company.
, so it didn’t succeed.
After Universal was acquired by Panasonic, he was still a member of the board of directors and gradually began to live a semi-retired life. However, he was still working and facilitated many transactions.
"He was a good friend of Al Capone, and it was he who helped Ronald Sr. get the most critical position as president of the Screen Actors Guild. Tycoon is not an adjective."
After Jack Valenti finished speaking, he stood up to say hello to his old friend and introduced Ronald to this legendary figure.
"Our weapons of mass destruction are out, Levi"
"Don't be modest. Your campaign endorsement is no less powerful than mine."
Levi Wasserman smiled and patted his old friend's arm. The two of them are basically the spokespersons of Hollywood in Washington DC, responsible for the communication between the political world and Hollywood.
For example, before World War II, the President was preparing to use antitrust laws to dismantle the Hollywood theater chain-production trust. However, after World War II, movies became a propaganda tool, and it was people like Wasserman who persuaded the White House to postpone the split.
The big studio system has been allowed to survive for more than ten years.
In the subsequent McCarthy blacklist, the right-wing counterattack after the rise of New Hollywood anti-war films, and many other incidents, they all served as mouthpieces.
This time, for that big piece of cake, we invited this veteran broker out again.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "I have heard of you, young man, and Sheinberg has nothing but good things to say about you." Levi Wasserman is also a big boss among these big guys.
He is a big boss in the industry. He has deep qualifications and real influence. Several people present are his juniors. Ronald can almost be regarded as his grandson or great-grandson.
"Ah...ah, thank you Mr. Wasserman for your compliment."
Ronald seemed to be waking up from a dream, and he was busy picking up his cocktail glass to greet him.
At this time, even Valenti looked at Ronald strangely, why did this young man see Wasserman so gloomy?
"I understand, I understand, you artists are like this. When the muse favors you, it doesn't matter what time it is. If you have any good inspiration, you might as well tell us about it."
Wasserman didn't mind Ronald's rudeness at all, but talked to him with great interest. He started as an agent and knew how to deal with artists very well.
"Sorry, I just had a strange idea. This is Washington, DC. There are no planes except Air Force One that can fly over important places. I was thinking, what if the commander of America is also an action hero? For example
Air Force One is hijacked, and he can fight terrorist villains on Air Force One, you know, Die Hard in Air Force One..."
Several people were stunned. This idea was simply beyond imagination. How could it be filmed like this? Can the general be made into a hero in a western movie?
"Oh, this is a very good idea, but the White House won't like it." Wasserman smiled and nodded to Ronald, and he didn't mention it again.
Ronald didn't say anything knowingly, but his mind was still spinning rapidly.
Wasserman's resume, from the boss of an agency, to taking advantage of the film company's trough to bargain hunting, and finally taking control of a major Hollywood studio. This path looks very familiar. Doesn't it also happen in Hollywood now?
What do people want to imitate?
…
When it came to the premiere the next day, the guests gathered at the entrance of the cinema. This premiere was different from the traditional premiere where stars gathered. The guests were all industry leaders, media and audiences.
I don’t have much experience, but people in the industry have a feeling that something big is about to happen.
Especially the two gray-haired old men Wasserman and Valenti, what kind of movie requires them to come to the premiere? Is it a reappearance of movies like "Cleopatra" decades ago?
All heavyweights from Universal attended, as well as some other Hollywood investors and producers. Apart from the stars of the movie and a few minor actors, the entire premiere almost became a producers' union gathering.
In addition to people from Hollywood, Capitol Hill is only a few minutes away, and there are also some congressmen who brought their families and children to watch the premiere.
It was rare to have a premiere held in Washington, DC. These people also seized the opportunity to show a family-friendly smile in front of the media and gain some time to appear on TV.
"Oh, nice to meet you... Mr. Ali."
Ronald looked at the door for a long time before he saw a well-known figure. It was former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.
"Hello, take one of my leaflets and pay more attention to what is happening in Somalia."
Ronald didn't expect that the former boxing champion's popularity had declined so much, and what he did at the Jurassic Park premiere was hand out his own political leaflets.
Looking at the former boxing champion whose hands were shaking slightly and who was not speaking fluently, Ronald still took one.
"Thank you..." Boxing Champion Ali thanked him very politely, and not many people around him cared about him.
He just visited Somalia, hoping that the White House would not support the United Nations to continue stationing troops there and let the Somalis decide their own future, calling for a reduction in violence and discrimination against...
However, the leaflet stated that Mogadishu warlord Aidid actually opened fire on the peacekeeping troops and killed him because the national peacekeeping forces shut down his radio station (Aidid published a speech against the United Nations on the radio).
more than twenty soldiers.
It seems that Ali's pacifism is not very popular in today's world. Maybe the theme now is that America wants to be the world's policeman...
…
"Wow……"
Ronald saw the complete film in the cinema for the first time, and the children who attended the premiere also opened their mouths and made exclamations of surprise at the sudden appearance of the dinosaurs.
Spielberg deserves to be the best director to make movies for children. The size is perfect and the rhythm is precise. These little troublemakers often make loud noises in the cinema regardless of the plot when watching other movies in shopping malls.
Screams like "I want a dinosaur".
But Spielberg can make them temporarily forget about the idea of buying a dinosaur toy and have endless fun immersing themselves in the plot on the screen.
"Ahh..."
At the end of the plot, the shots of the terrifying Tyrannosaurus rex and its wide-open mouth also made the young viewers scream in fright.
If this movie hadn't been directed by Spielberg, and if Universal's Shenberg hadn't personally managed it, it would probably have been difficult to get a PG-13 rating. The frightening horror scenes in it, coupled with the first-class soundtrack, it's so delicious
Even a professional director like Ronald gave up analyzing the movie and watched it with gusto like an ordinary audience.
"A masterpiece, this is simply a combination of Jaws and ET."
After the movie screening was completed, Ronald took an opportunity to go over and congratulate Spielberg. This movie has both terrifying villains like Jaws and child actors like ET participating in the main plot, making the child audience more involved.
"Haha, thank you. Do you like it?" Spielberg valued Ronald's ideas.
"I like it very much. To be honest, I watched this one with the mentality of an ordinary audience. It is really beautiful. I will go back and watch it again with Diane. When my child grows up enough, I will watch it again."
I want to watch it again with him."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Hey, why don't you go to London with us? You helped set the stage for the royal premiere there."
Shenberg really wanted to drag Ronald along to participate in the marketing of the movie. What Ronald said just now was a very high praise. If he could repeat it in front of the media, and then go to London and speak to the media there, it would be very good for the box office.
The lifting effect may be significant.
"It's hard for me to formulate. I also have two movies coming out recently."
"Our London premiere is on the 15th next month. You must go if you are free..." Spielberg also wanted to communicate more with Ronald. Sometimes he was in this position and could discuss with him on an equal footing.
There aren't many people in the film arts either.
"Let me check the schedule..." Ronald was not sure whether the director would attend the movie premiere or something like that. But Helen's due date is coming next month. How will she manage her time well then?
, making enough time to spend with her is also a problem.
"This is a toy for your little Roger." Spielberg took a bag of toys from his assistant and handed it to Ronald. When he heard Ronald say that he wanted to watch it with his son, he was very happy.
I gave him a set of dinosaur toys that have not yet been fully launched.
"What about that, can you give me another one?" Ronald secretly asked his assistant later, and when the assistant looked at him with disgust, he took another one. In the future, there will be two children, and a bowl of water will have to be balanced.
…
"Ah, you are so thoughtful, Ronald, hey, hey, did you see the toys your father gave you..." That night, Helen was waiting for Ronald at home in New York and took out a few toys.
The stuffed dinosaur talks to its belly.
Ronald deliberately didn't tell whether the child was a boy or a girl. Looking at the stuffed toy, he thought it didn't matter if it was a girl, he should be able to play with it too.
He also touched Helen's belly, and the two sat for a while tenderly. Helen took the initiative to turn on the TV and let him watch the evening news.
"Capitol Hill became the domain of dinosaurs tonight, as lawmakers' support for multiple trade agreements increased..."