"Ronald, it's so infuriating. They didn't get nominated. What does that have to do with me? The other nominees for best original screenplay in the same category were Philadelphia Story, Dave, Sniper, and Piano Lesson...
…”
Ronald looked across at Nora Ephron, the director and screenwriter of "Sleepless in Seattle", shook his head helplessly, opened the menu and said, "What do you want to eat, Nora?"
"I want a salad, um, put the salad dressing on the side, don't stir it in. Chicken beans, don't want chicken, but I want to add some tomatoes, um, forget it, let's put some chicken, but don't want chicken breast... um, I still want it
Want a cocktail..."
Nora Ephron still looks like a typical middle-aged New York artistic woman, and she is very difficult to serve when ordering food.
"Um, I'd like a glass of dry ginger water and one of your sandwiches..." Ronald quickly ordered his own dishes first. They would be served right away. If it were any later, the waiter would probably go crazy.
Well, it will be troublesome later if I don’t know what “condiments” to prepare for the dishes on their table.
"I really don't know what Columbia is thinking. Why should they attack Sleepless in Seattle, which is also published by them?"
"You drink first, and we'll talk slowly..."
Ronald finally looked forward to the wine brought by the waiter, and quickly asked Nora Ephron to take a sip first, otherwise the meal served by Chef Mousso and Frank at the famous Hollywood restaurant would definitely not be good.
What Efron complained about was that she was singled out by some tabloid media and specifically targeted for attack.
Among this year's Oscar nominations, there was a film "Groundhog Day" distributed by Columbia and produced by a small company, but it did not get a single nomination. After the nominations were announced, they actually started personal attacks, saying that Nora Ephron's
"Sleepless in Seattle" didn't deserve to be nominated for best original screenplay. That spot should have gone to their "Groundhog Day" producer-director and screenwriter Harold Ramis.
Sleepless in Seattle was released by TriStar Pictures, while "Groundhog Day" was released by Columbia itself. There might be some problems. After Ronald learned about this, he immediately asked someone to ask.
TriStar Pictures CEO Metavoy, and Columbia's Peter Guber.
On the other hand, Nora Ephron was emotionally unstable and clamored for interviews with the media to retaliate against Harold Ramis' slander. Ronald had no choice but to go out on his own to appease his beloved general.
Nora Ephron also didn't understand why the producers of "Groundhog Day" were attacking her with all their strength, regardless of the other four nominated films. She was so angry that she didn't even follow the recipe.
Her request came and was not found.
"Maybe it's because Groundhog Day and Sleepless in Seattle are both romantic comedies..." Ronald knew very well that it is difficult to award the best original screenplay to a comedy. This is what the Oscars are like.
After many years of "dark" tradition, it seems that in the end the voting judges all felt that comedy is much easier to write than drama.
Of course, the screenwriters responsible for the nominations still have many sensible people. They also know that the size of comedy is the most difficult to grasp. But these people can only decide which films are selected for nomination, and the final award is mainly determined by the actor judges with the largest number of people.
Decide.
This gives "Groundhog Day" some opportunities to attack "Sleepless in Seattle" which is unlikely to win the award. In their opinion, it is a relatively risk-free approach. In short, no matter what their thoughts are
What, Sleepless in Seattle seems to be the best one.
"Mr. Li, your phone number..."
Musso and Franck's Little Chef was founded in 1919. It was once a place where Chaplin, Hemingway and others often dined. The place also maintained a bit of an old-school atmosphere. The waiter brought a telephone from a distance and put it on the table.
Nader's side.
"It's me, ah, Mike, do you know what's going on?"
The call came from Mike Medavoy of TriStar Pictures. He said that he had found someone to verify that TriStar Pictures had not done anything to attack Groundhog Day during the release and Oscar public relations process.
It's unclear why the other party took the initiative to attack.
After putting down the phone, the waiter was about to take it away when Ronald motioned him to put it down, "Someone will be looking for me soon..."
Sure enough, within five minutes, another call came.
"Ronald, I assure you, I did not do anything to attack Sleepless Night in Seattle, nor did I know anything about it... They acted on their own initiative, on their own initiative..."
The caller this time was Peter Guber from Columbia. He was as enthusiastic as ever on the phone... denying that he had anything to do with the Groundhog Day movie.
"So, this is all the work of someone from Groundhog Day?" Ronald wanted a sure promise.
"It's entirely their own initiative. I heard that they spent $650,000 to send video copies to the judges. If they don't win a single nomination, there will be problems in financing the next film of such an independent producer. You understand, Luo
Nader, sometimes they are like this, they would rather be stigmatized than get some media reaction..."
"So, what if I take counterattack?"
"That is entirely their own fault. I fully agree with you on any reasonable self-defense..."
"very good……"
Ronald waved to the waiter, handed him a tip of twenty dollars, and asked him to take the phone and leave, and not to let anyone disturb his table.
"Harold Ramis and Trevor Albert did it. You were just an innocent victim..."
Ronald cut the sandwich into four quarters and tasted it slowly. The food in this old restaurant is still prepared with care. To this day, many celebrities come to eat, and many movies are filmed here.
"Shxt! These people are really hateful. We might have won fewer awards as a romantic comedy..." Nora Ephron was so angry that she drank all her wine in one gulp.
This chapter is not over yet, please click the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Don't take it too seriously, Nora. That's the way it is in Hollywood. People often attack you for ridiculous reasons. You are now the No. 1 romantic comedy in Hollywood
You are a top-tier director. As long as you make one more film, your status in this genre will be unshakable..."
"Then let's forget it?"
"Of course not, we will definitely fight back, although I don't know what form it will take yet..."
"Of course, Ronald, I completely believe you. This matter is really too bad..." Nora Ephron stopped being emotional. It seems that one of the benefits of becoming a billionaire is that others are there.
You will naturally trust you in front of you...
…
After dealing with Nora Ephron, Ronald returned to Daydream's office, where Speed director Jan de Bont was waiting for him.
"Mr. Li, it's great. The feedback from our test screenings is first-rate..."
"Oh? Call me Ronald, we are old friends, Yang..." Ronald received the feedback from the audience test screening jointly organized by 20th Century Fox and Daydream.
In addition to more than 95% of the audience giving it the highest praise and expressing their willingness to recommend it to friends, there are also comments from the people responsible for the test screening.
"In this test screening, the number of viewers who went to the restroom was 30% less than in ordinary test screenings, and most of the audience who went to the restroom backed away with their faces facing the screen..."
"Hahahaha..." Ronald wanted to laugh when he read this. This is a variation of the bathroom evaluation method he used. There are only those extreme commercials where the plot is so intense from beginning to end that the audience can't bear to miss any minute of the plot.
This only happens in movies.
It seems that this high concept of a big bus detonating a bomb when the speed is less than 60 miles is indeed a genius idea. It is indeed the first idea that Kurosawa Akira came up with.
It seems that Fast and Furious is a sure shot to become the Die Hard on the bus in terms of box office and audience feedback.
"The last scene the audience saw was a black and white line drawing hand-drawn using separate shots, but they still liked the ending very much and applauded at the end..."
Ronald continued to read the review written by the person in charge of the preview feedback. He raised his head and looked at Jan de Bont, "What does this mean?"
"The people at 20th Century Fox told me that they felt that except for the elevator action scene at the beginning, the rest of the movie took place on the bus, which would be too monotonous, so they asked me to add a scene in the subway where the escaping bad guy is captured.
, the final scene of punishment.
I no longer had the budget to shoot this scene, so I drew separate shots to give the audience a signal..."
"But they still like it very much?" Ronald smiled slightly. Jan de Bont also deliberately let himself read the feedback so as to ask for money.
"Yes, the audience is looking forward to the final showdown between good and evil. They don't mind it being a sketch at all. I think they would be dissatisfied if it didn't have this simple ending."
"Very good, how much do you think it will cost to film? Well... let me call 20th Century Fox..."
Ronald has no objection at all to people like Jan de Bont who come to ask for money. If the movie is shot well and edited well, the audience will be happy to watch it. He needs to reshoot an ending that will make the movie even better.
, this may be the happiest situation in Hollywood for producers to increase budget.
Soon, the decision was made to increase the budget and reshoot an ending. Jan de Bont recalled the leading actors such as Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, found a studio and began to build the subway.
The scene went.
"Hey, that's what commercial films are like. As long as they grab the audience's attention and make them keep asking what will happen next..."
Ronald sighed for a while. During the preview screening of his own Forrest Gump, there was a similar phenomenon of a decrease in the proportion of people going to the bathroom. However, those who went to the bathroom did not walk backwards and their eyes were not clear.
They were reluctant to leave the screen, but when they left, they always lowered their heads and wiped their eyes...
There are still many touching scenes in Forrest Gump, scenes that almost make people cry. However, the pace of Forrest Gump is slower than that of Life and Death. The audience often runs to the bathroom and then runs back.
Although the expression is different, this is also a bladder destroyer...
A few days later, Daydream Script's supervisor, David Simkins, came to Ronald to report on the results of his work over the past few days.
"What we do know is that before Harold Ramis wrote the script for Groundhog Day, he approached Jonathan Shipp, who was scouting for his short film '12:01'
With the right investors, retention time stops, characters are trapped within the same day under this core idea, adding a more commercial plot and a happy ending.
But Harold Ramis appropriated this core idea, quickly wrote Groundhog Day, and then used his own connections to finance the film. After that, Jonathan Shipp found it difficult to find people willing to invest. In the end
We can only seek to make TV movies..."
"So that's it..."
Ronald looked at the information in his hand. This Jonathan Shipp is a very passionate young producer and screenwriter. He saw a short story "12:01PM" by the veteran science fiction writer Richard Lubov.
, tells the story of a person who is trapped in one moment of the same day, and ends up wandering around in pain throughout the day without being able to escape.
At the end of this novel, there is no plot like Groundhog Day, where the male protagonist finally finds true love and is freed. Jonathan Shipp used very little money to make a short film in 1990, and he also won an award.
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Film.
That's the thing about a fledgling filmmaker who can't find the right people to talk to about his movie, even if you're nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Film. Jonathan Heap can't find a big studio
The senior management of the company is willing to listen to his project introduction.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! In fact, even if you win the statuette for the best short film, you are still a new newcomer in Hollywood.
Jonathan Shipp didn't have a good producer, and he had bad luck. In the end, he met Harold Ramis, who was known for his terrible character.
Although this Jew is very talented, he has always been known for deception. When Amy Heckerling was still with her ex-husband, he was coaxed into cheating on her, and finally gave birth to a child for Harold Ramis, etc.
He didn't care for the baby after it was born. It directly inspired Amy Heckerling to write the baby comedy "Look Who's Talking".
Of course, it is very difficult for ordinary people to tell the difference between independent producers and liars. People who are talented and can inspire others are often scumbags who show mercy and refuse to admit their mistakes.
In short, Harold Ramis stole the core idea of the "12:01PM" short film without giving Jonathan Shipp any chance to participate in the project.
As soon as the Hollywood Reporter published the news about the "Groundhog Day" project, Jonathan Shipp collapsed. He went to Harold Ramis to argue, but he kicked him out again. Harold Ramis was so embarrassed
The young man had no choice but to sell the project to a small company, Chenming Pictures.
The latter simply did not have the ability to produce such a large project. In the end, it looked for investment everywhere but failed, so it could only make a crude movie, sold it to Fox TV, and broadcast it as a TV movie.
"Let's talk to him and tell him I'm interested..."
Ronald closed the file and said to David Simkins.
…
"Mr. Li..." Jonathan Shipp, who came from New York overnight by economy class, is a handsome young man. He was very nervous when he saw Ronald, even though he was only five years younger than Ronald.
"I have heard what David said about your experience. I want to tell you that Hollywood is not all liars like Harold Ramis. You are very talented. Don't give up on your dreams because of this. That time loop
The core idea is amazing..."
Ronald poured him a cup of tea and gave him gentle words of encouragement. Jonathan Heap stammered his thanks, with a hopeful light in his eyes.
"I'm very interested in your extended version of the script. Although it has been made into a TV movie, not many viewers have seen it. Such a movie deserves more investment to shoot and be released in theaters so that more people can watch it.
People see it.”
"Mr. Li, I don't know what to say..."
"Then don't talk about it. I have worked hard to write the script. To meet the standards of a Hollywood commercial film, there are still some areas that can be reconsidered."
"Thank you, thank you..."
Ronald's words are equivalent to giving Jonathan Heap an insurance policy. As long as he rewrites the script to a satisfactory level, he can start the project.
"By the way..." Ronald asked casually, "Have you ever taken any legal action against Harold Ramis for such bad behavior?"
"I have considered it and discussed it with Richard Lupov, the original author of the novel, but I am just a nobody in front of him, and I don't have the money to hire a good enough lawyer... I can only swallow my stupidity painfully.
The consequences..."
"Actually, this is also a very bad behavior within the Screenwriters Guild. As long as you report it, there will be relevant investigations. I happen to know a few well-known lawyers in the entertainment industry. You can talk to them."
Ronald said, asking his assistant to contact Jonathan Shipp to help him contact a lawyer, "In addition, it is also a good choice to find news media exposure. Don't be afraid of these evil people. Honesty is the best witness. I think everyone understands this
a little."
"I will, thank you..." Jonathan Shipp was not stupid, and quickly reported his experience to the Eastern Writers Guild, and then contacted several Hollywood media, saying that there was a scandal to be exposed.
"Groundhog Day allegedly plagiarized former Oscar-nominated genius youngster..."
"A number of Oscar judges who wished to remain anonymous said they would not allow Groundhog Day to be nominated for Best Original Screenplay because they had heard rumors of plagiarism..."