Chapter two hundred and fifty second unexpected counterattack
"ET" was released and the box office was full over the weekend.
In the film critic circles, this movie did not make much waves. The famous Ebert and Sisko did not even write reviews of it in their columns. Only the New York film critics said good things about it.
But regardless of what the critics said, audiences loved the movie and movie theaters were packed over the weekend.
"The box office of the first weekend so far is three million US dollars." Richard said to Ronald in the office.
"Three million? It doesn't seem to be as much as you thought?" Ronald continued.
"Idiot, that's the box office for one day on Friday. Today is Saturday, and it's estimated to reach 4.5 million. It's a foregone conclusion that it will exceed 10 million in the first weekend, and it may hit 11 million."
Niceta hit Ronald gently. The young director was too preoccupied with looking forward to the release of his movie.
"So many?" Ronald came to his senses, "What about Tom Mount?"
"His days are counting down, along with a bunch of old die-hards who support him. Tick-tock, tick-tock..." Niceta also suffered a lot from Mount's anger.
"No one expected that the new generation of parents would take their children to the cinema to watch ET. The previous model of children going to the cinema on their own has been replaced by a new model."
Ronald feels the same way. With the intensification of urbanization, the original lobby theaters located next to residential areas have begun to gradually decline due to the large-scale entry of blacks, Latinos and other ethnic minorities into the city center.
Most of the current moviegoers, white middle-class families, live in the suburbs. For them, to watch a movie, they have to drive into the city and go to the new multiplex theaters in department stores and shopping malls.
In this case, young children must be taken by their parents when traveling, instead of having brothers and sisters take them with them as before, or a few friends going to the cinema together. This has caused the box office of movies aimed at children like et to suddenly double
several times.
Yesterday, when ET was released on the first day, Ronald also went to the department store where "Fast Pace" was originally filmed to watch a show. The whole audience was drowned out by the happy shouts of children, and he couldn't hear some of the plot and dialogue clearly.
"When are we leaving?" Ronald asked. Today he went to CAA's office on the weekend to meet up with his agent and attend Vic Morrow's funeral.
Jennifer's mother, Vic's ex-wife Barbara, still organized the funeral of her ex-husband, but she wanted to make the funeral a small family affair, so in addition to inviting the director of her daughter's first big screen work, Ronald, and several
Other than friends in this circle, no other people in the circle were invited to participate.
Niceta didn't want to miss this opportunity to build relationships, so he took the initiative to contact Spielberg. After obtaining Spielberg's consent, he contacted Barbara on his behalf and expressed condolences to her family.
Barbara also knew that Steven was mainly busy with the release of Aliens and was not on the set on the day of the accident. It had nothing to do with the accident. She forgave Spielberg, as the accident actually had little to do with him.
Both parties agreed to use methods within the film industry to resolve the accident. Spielberg promised to spend a large amount of money to compensate Moreau's two daughters after "The Twilight Zone" was released, and to give Jennifer some entertainment benefits.
opportunities within.
Barbara agreed not to initiate a civil lawsuit, but to let the lawyers of both parties negotiate to resolve the matter, so that one of America's most powerful directors would not be tarnished as a defendant in a death case.
Vic Morrow, an alcoholic, domestically violent, and abandoned family prodigal, finally fulfilled his promise after his death and paved a path for his daughter Jennifer in the entertainment industry. He gave her Spielberg's promise and also gave his ex-wife
Comparing financial compensation with my other eldest daughter.
"Let's go now, I'll get a black tie."
Attending the funeral was a very formal occasion. Ronald, Richard, and Niceta all wore black suits, black leather shoes, and black ties or bow ties.
They went to attend the funeral this time, with the intention of paying tribute on behalf of Spielberg. It was not convenient for Steven to attend the funeral, and fearing that it would arouse more speculation from reporters, they simply let CAA's agent help with the conversation.
When they arrived at the scene, everyone put on black sunglasses to hide their not-so-sad eyes. Ronald came to Jennifer Jason Leigh, hugged him, and asked her to express her condolences.
He noticed that Phoebe Cates, who played Stacey's best friend Linda in the movie, was also here. They seemed to have become best friends in reality.
Ronald looked at her and nodded.
Soon, all the relatives and friends who came were quiet, waiting for the priest's eulogy.
Although Vic Morrow is a Jew, he has long given up Jewish religious customs and was called a secular Jew during his lifetime. In addition, Barbara raised her two daughters using Christian customs.
Therefore, the funeral was held in a family church. The priest specially reserved an area for today's funeral, which was separated from the outside world to prevent reporters from disturbing the peace of relatives.
"Almighty God, you are the source of life, you have saved us through your Son, please pay attention to Vic Morrow. His righteous deeds in the last moments of his life are like a righteous man, and he will definitely be ranked with you... Amen.
"
"Amen" Ronald joined everyone in observing the moment of silence.
"What is he here for?"
"Let him go, he is not welcome here."
"Murderer, murderer!"
The peaceful mourning ceremony was broken by a burst of noisy condemnation.
Ronald raised his head and looked at the source of the noise. It was a bearded man who seemed to have been hit hard. He staggered into the church from the aisle and walked into the crowd attending the funeral.
"It's John Landis." Richard whispered in Ronald's ear.
"I know." Ronald looked at Jennifer and Phoebe Cates. The disgusted looks on their faces also showed that they knew that this was the person directly responsible for the accident and the director who forced the filming regardless of the rules and safety requirements.
Producer, Landis.
John Landis walked up to the podium, took out a piece of manuscript paper, and started to speak at the funeral openly.
Barbara and Jennifer, as well as other relatives, were shocked by this shameless behavior and were speechless. They didn't know what to do to stop each other.
Ronald was also shocked by his shamelessness. This person showed up at the funeral without the consent of the relatives, which was a great offense to the deceased and the relatives. He didn't know what he was here for.
Show off his cheap sympathy?
Landis showed the priest a smile that was uglier than crying and began to read his eulogy.
"Vic Morrow is a friend of mine...
After filming started, he once told me that this was the best movie he had made in ten years...
On the day he died unexpectedly, he also thanked me for giving him the opportunity to participate...
I'm proud to have coached Vic in what he considers to be the best performance of his career..."
"vomit!"
Jennifer Jason Leigh felt extremely uncomfortable and started retching.
Barbara patted her back gently and whispered to Ronald next to her, "This is nonsense. Vic called me during the filming and he said this movie is a piece of shit."
"
"If you feel uncomfortable, you don't need to tolerate him." Ronald offered help to Jennifer and Barbara, "I can help you get rid of him."
"Thank you. I don't want Vic's peace in his last moments to be broken by shameless people like them."
"They should have come based on the lawyer's advice." Wearing sunglasses and covering her mouth with her hands, Niceta quietly approached Ronald and said to him and Barbara.
Barbara forgave Spielberg, who was not at the scene, but had no intention of forgiving John Landis. The criminal investigation is still continuing, and she plans to see what charges Landis will be charged with in the end.
"Vic is a dedicated person. At the last moment, before filming started, he even consulted with Steven on how to perform."
"Enough, you've said enough. I think the relatives of the deceased don't want to hear these excuses anymore. They want to have a peaceful funeral. Mr. Landis."
Seeing that he was directing his words to Spielberg, Ronald immediately came out to stop the other person's nonsense.
"Lies! Murderers! Murderers!"
Several relatives and friends began to accuse Landis along with Ronald.
There was a trace of panic on Landis's pale face, and he staggered. He almost fell, but fortunately he grabbed the edge of the podium to steady his body, then bowed his head to apologize to Barbara and Jennifer's family, and left in a hurry.
on site.
"Well done." Niceta came up and secretly praised Ronald, then went to comfort her relatives.
"What happened that night? Was Mr. Spielberg present?" Ronald was also a little unsure and asked Jennifer secretly.
"No, Vic shot it at around two o'clock in the morning. There is a clear timing on the film. Spielberg was busy with the release of ET at that time. Maybe he had visited the set two days ago, but in the end the helicopter flew low.
, and insisting on using illegal child labor are all Landis’ fault.”
Jennifer glanced at Phoebe and denied the rumors that Steven was present.
"This rumor seems to be well-prepared." Ronald thought to himself.
"It was Tom Mount and John Landis who got together." Niceta, who returned to CAA, made several phone calls to learn about the latest news, and finally came to a conclusion.
"Mount was hit hard by et Alien's box office, and his position was in jeopardy. Landis also faces criminal charges and huge civil compensation charges in the future.
His lawyer suggested that he adopt a bundling strategy and use his status as co-producer with Spielberg to tie him to Steven.
And Mount accused Spielberg of dragging him down in an attempt to affect ET's box office. He will not sit still and wait for death."
"Kathleen Kennedy called to say thank you, Ronald. She said that Steven already knew about your actions in stopping Landis at Vic's funeral and that he would remember it."
"Is Mount trying to undermine Universal's interests to keep his own position?" Ronald asked.
"I'm afraid that's the case, Ronald. I heard that he is jumping up and down, desperately trying to meet with the old people at Universal and the parent company mca, seeking support from his protective umbrella.
It is said that Sheinberg has decided to convene a board meeting to remove him when the box office dust has settled on the release of E.T.
We also have to be careful. Before he leaves, apart from attacking Steven, the only weapon he can use to attack Sheinberg is probably the 'fast-paced Richmond High School'."
Sure enough, within a week, Tom Mount's counterattack came as promised. The MPAA re-examined "Fast-paced Richmond High" and gave the film an X-rated rating.