On the first night in San Francisco, Ronald couldn't sleep at all and was still thinking about the sale of the script for "My Brother's Keeper".
He simply walked to the front desk of the Motel 6 hotel and found the staff to ask about interesting places nearby. After being directed, Ronald came to a bar that was open until late and served cheap and delicious drinks. There was also a live band.
, sing some country and rock music.
The best thing is that there are no weird fringe people here, only straight men and cool hotties, who obviously share the same aesthetic orientation as Ronald.
Ronald, who came alone, found the bar, sat on a high stool, and ordered a glass of "Pina Colada." Now he is more and more fond of this cocktail originated in Puerto Rico, with the fresh taste of coconut milk, mixed with rum.
Wine, pineapple juice, and a strange taste of cola appear, which is a perfect drink to relieve the heat.
While Ronald was drinking, he softly hummed the "Pina Colada Song" along with the band. Most of the people in the bar were dressed as cowboys and shaking their bodies to the accompaniment of the live band, which made him feel good.
"Hey, young people nowadays like this kind of soft songs. It's not like we could drive across several states to attend the Woodstock Music Festival." A middle-aged man dressed as a cowboy was also sitting at the bar.
The young man broke Ronald's peaceful state of drinking and listening to music.
"Yeah? Yes, the young people at that time were even more angry. Nowadays, as long as children work at McDonald's, they can earn money to buy the toys they want, or use it to pay for college tuition." Anyway, it's just blindness between strangers.
During the chat, Ronald expressed his true thoughts, "Anger comes from dissatisfaction with life."
"You know what? What you said may be right." The middle-aged man wore a blue plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, jeans and a pair of Martin boots. Under his slightly long blond hair, there was a pair of
Bright eyes.
The uncle may have been a hippie when he was young, and his words always had a philosophical flavor.
"But human beings are inherently lonely. As Confucius said, even if a person is not understood by others, as long as he is noble and wise, he should not feel angry. Rock and roll and the hippie spirit attracted the young people at that time
When we got together, young people at that time had a sense of mission."
"Did you know? You are the first American I have ever seen who can accurately quote Confucius." Ronald raised a toast to the middle-aged man.
"But obviously you can also accurately understand the works of Confucius, and you are very familiar with Confucius's lecture notes and selected speeches." The middle-aged man's words were a bit confusing. In fact, he was also familiar with the Analects of Confucius in Ronaldo, otherwise it would be impossible to tell the difference.
It turns out that I have actually read the works of Confucius.
"Actually, I only flipped through it." Ronald thought to himself, "Who can't learn the first chapter?"
"My name is Ronald and I am a film screenwriter."
"John, you may not believe it, but I am a singer. I made several records when I was young. I used to be quite famous, but I no longer sing."
"Of course," Ronald actually didn't believe it, "I'm actually quite successful, and soon my script will be starred by an Oscar-winning actress."
"That's great." The middle-aged uncle took a sip of beer. "Actually, I also have a glorious past. I once went to the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival. It was my turn to take the stage at midnight, and I drove back to Virginia the next day.
When I was there, I even wrote a song.”
"That's great." Ronald clinked glasses with him. It felt good to brag to strangers in a bar.
The middle-aged man saw the insincerity of his words, "Why, you don't know me? Do you think I'm lying to you? If the owner of the record company hadn't defrauded me of all my money, I wouldn't have stopped singing.
This bastard boss’s name is Saul, and he bribed several other bastards in my band to sign an agreement, and now I can’t even sing the songs I wrote.”
Ah? American law can also deprive you of singing your own songs? Ronald was even more sure that the other party was bragging and telling stories.
"I'm telling you, that bastard boss Saul used my money to invest in movies and even won an Oscar. Damn it, that should all be my money. You have way more liars making movies than you do music.
Already."
"Then your boss really went too far." The more Ronald thought about it, the more amused he became, and he simply agreed with the uncle, "To be honest, I also think there are a lot of liars in the film industry."
The middle-aged man became more and more angry as he talked. He ordered another large glass of beer and began to yell at his record company boss, Sol, saying that he had deposited his money in the bank owned by his boss. As a result, the bank collapsed and the money disappeared. He
I only received several hundred thousand in deposit compensation guaranteed by the federal government.
"People in San Francisco are quite interesting. They can brag in bars with great sense. We New Yorkers can only brag about making a lot of money. The guys in San Francisco are artists when they talk about it. Even a Hollywood screenwriter like me can't write these plots."
Ronald thought about it, finished the remaining wine, took out two banknotes and put them under the wine glass, and went back to the hotel to sleep.
It's just that the uncle's voice is still a bit familiar, as if he's heard it somewhere.
…
At the same time, the lights were still bright in the CAA president's office in Hollywood. President Ovitz, his deputy Ron Meyer, and Columbia President Frank Price were having a conference call.
"Michael, you have to ensure that Columbia can get this project. I need Jane Fonda to make a movie for Columbia." Frank Price was already speaking very fast, and you could tell that he was a little anxious.
"Otherwise, Sean Connery will never get that role. You guys at CAA can prepare to kiss the former Mr. 007 goodbye."
"Don't say that, Frank. I am Jane Fonda's agent first, and then the arranger of this film project. I need to protect her interests first, otherwise I will be fired." Ovitz told
Next to him, Ron Meyer winked.
Meyer was listening with another receiver, covering the receiver with his hand to prevent Price from hearing that he was there.
"Fair deal." Meyer wrote a few words on the paper and pushed it in front of Ovitz.
Ovitz nodded, "Mr. Price, this is a fair bid. We have sent invitations to every studio, and Jane will also be there to see the bid you faxed. I can't be so big on her."
The influence caused her to give up the highest bid.”
"I can't get Jane, and you'll lose Sean, it's that simple." Price's tone became increasingly impatient.
"Don't be like this, Frank, we've known each other since you were the president of Universal Television, and we've made several deals. You know I'm not a person who betrays his friends." Ovitz became more skillful as he spoke.
"In this way, I won't treat my friends badly. I will reveal a bottom line. This is the psychological bottom price that I and Fox, Orion, Paramount, and Warner Brothers have peddled. As long as your bid can be significantly higher than theirs, Jane will be on the same level."
Why not choose you under the conditions?"
"So you're going to raise the price again? How much will it be this time? You vampire."
"On the contrary, I'm risking my reputation for work ethics to help you get the popular stars you desperately need to star in the movies you're starring in.
As far as I know, Jane is slightly biased towards Orion. After all, they have a reputation as a small joint art company. You know, artists have high requirements for artistic autonomy, including director James Bridges, who has a lot of influence on Jane.
influence.”
"But they can't afford it, so they can only provide a little over 3 million, and Fox is also poor. Your biggest competitors are Paramount and Warner Bros., and I don't think they can afford more than 3.5 million at most.
I think, slightly higher than their offer, say 3.8 million is a price that Jane can't refuse."
"3.6 million."
"What you need is an insurance factor, not a preoccupation with 100,000 or 200,000, Frank. Let's do this, 3.75 million."
"365."
"It's 3.7 million. Don't argue with me. I'll reduce the broker's agency fee at most."
"365."
"Okay, okay, 3.65 million. In order to complete this project, I have reduced the commission ratio to the minimum. But you have to ensure that other actors at CAA can participate in this project as much as possible."
"make a deal."
"So there's an agreement? Very good."
"Let's talk about Jane's contract issue. Jane needs a guarantee contract, and it's time for me to explain the contract conditions to Jane." Ovitz confirmed again.
"She wants 'Pay or Play'?"
"Yes, she insists. Look, Frank, Jane is hot right now, so hot, and everyone wants her, so you have to lock her in with this contract."
"So if this movie can't be shot for any reason, I still have to pay her 2 million."
"Frank, Jane is very popular, but the Vietnam War theme is also very popular. She will not give up. If she gives up, we will go to Mary Tyler Moore, or the British Maggie Smith. Do you think Jane will watch helplessly?"
Did her main competitor get a script that she liked first? This contract is just to lock in her schedule and let her say no to scripts from other studios."
"Okay, okay, I'll give you this contract. How do you plan to distribute the remaining 1.65 million?"
"The screenwriter is 350,000, and the remaining 1.3 million is used as service fees for hiring directors and producers. In addition, Jane's IPC production company participates in the production and enjoys the corresponding box office share."
"350,000 for a 20-year-old screenwriter? Isn't it too much? This is beyond the regular price of Hollywood. The screenwriting genius is John Milius. I remember that a script only sold for 350,000. But he is John Milius.
Erth, screenwriter of Apocalypse Now.”
"Hollywood's regular price will not give the heroine a 2 million Pay or Play guaranteed contract, Frank. Our purpose is to create momentum in the media, so that the accusations of the hostile acquirer Kerkorian become unreasonable, go back
His trip to Las Vegas.
Also, if you can win the most popular Jane Fonda in Hollywood, who would doubt your ability to control Colombia? Frank."
"Let's start with the newspapers and hype Ronald as a talented screenwriter, and then bring it to your management capabilities, Frank. I plan to do this..."
"You're right. I will find a way to get CBS to cooperate with your publicity plan."
"Yeah, Bingo." He and Columbia President Frank Price arranged the details of the bidding and the subsequent publicity plan. When the other party hung up the phone, Ovitz couldn't wait to high-five Ron Meyer in celebration.
"So what was Paramount's offer? Less than 3.5 million?" Meyer asked.
"The total is 3.2 million, which is 450,000 lower than Columbia. The other companies are less than 3 million. We obtained a remuneration of 2.35 million for Jane and Ronald, which is a total commission of close to 200,000. As for the director, who makes him not
What about our customers? Let them get the market price."
"It's a script worth $350,000, so you're really going to give Ronald, that newbie, $350,000 for a script? Our other screenwriting clients would go crazy."
"This is not a question of script quality, but a question of CAA's ability, Ron." Ovitz seemed confident. If we can sell a 20-year-old newcomer's script for 350,000, the price of John Milius
, what do you think other screenwriters will think? What will those screenwriters signed with other agencies think?"
"Well, that's the truth. Of course, we need the cooperation of Frank Price."
"Yes, after all, it is said in Hollywood that the most suitable profession for him is as a script reader. He is the only president of a major studio who reads scripts by himself."