Coleman's office was across from New World. Ronald and his agent Niceta walked to Millennium Pictures, found Coleman, and told him the situation.
"Remy? Robert Remy? No way? He worked for me for three years, became sales director, and then left in 1978 to go to Embassy Pictures...
I heard that he did a good job at Embassy Pictures. He successively produced movies with good box office, and increased the annual revenue from 20 million to 90 million. He was poached by Universal again. I don’t know why he rejoined New York.
The world is in trouble with you."
Roger Coleman was a little surprised. He had a good impression of Remy. When he was in the New World, he was always able to meet deadlines and quantities, and often exceeded sales targets.
"That's right. When Remy was at Universal, he strongly opposed the release of Ronald's movie, so after 'Fast Time' became a hit, he had a difficult time at Universal and was under a lot of pressure. This is probably why he
The reason for returning to the new world." Niceta interjected.
"That's right," Ronald thought to himself. Remy had previously been in charge of sales at New World. In addition, he had significantly increased revenue at Embassy Pictures, and finally he was the vice president of Universal.
The position is gold plated.
For the three lawyers who acquired New World, he knew both distribution and production, and had worked in a large company. His resume was indeed perfect.
"I'll give him a call. Their phone number shouldn't have been changed yet." Roger Coleman picked up the phone and was about to call and ask about the situation.
"Mr. Coleman, with all due respect, the distribution channel for Ronald's film project is blocked. The key lies in how you and the new bosses of New World signed the contract at that time, and whether Ronald
Can I get the guarantee of New World Distribution?”
Coleman nodded to indicate that he knew, picked up the phone and dialed the switchboard of the New World, "I'm looking for Robert Remy, this is Coleman."
His other hand searched in the drawer for a long time, took out a contract and threw it to Niceta, and then explained:
"My purpose is very simple. I want to retire and spend time with my family. If I want to make a movie, there will be a professional distribution agency to help distribute it. So I signed a distribution contract with them for five movies in two years.
As long as it is a movie produced by me, New World will unconditionally use 15% of the box office distribution fee to distribute it. However, Ronald did not sign a production agreement with me personally at that time, but with New World Company, so Remy would have a certain
autonomy.”
"Wait, the phone is on." Roger Coleman signaled the two of them to be quiet, and then said into the phone, "Hello, Remy? This is Coleman, Ronald is here, he said you don't want to release it.
His movie?”
"The script is anti-America?...Huh?...Too much nudity?...Smearing government agencies?...Tell me, what do you have to do to release Ronald's movie? I promised this good boy
.Revise the script until...? What about his withdrawal? What do you want to do?...I will discuss this matter with your three bosses...Okay, that's it."
Roger Corman hung up the phone, and then looked at Ronald calmly, "He said you have to revise the script until he is satisfied, otherwise he will not give you the green light to make it. There can't be too much nudity, and
How do you want to deal with making government-affiliated research institutions into villains?"
"Mr. Coleman, I can't do this. Without some ice cream for the audience's eyes, there really is no audience for this kind of small production. And the bad guys in the government research institute are an important plot twist in the third act.
, the savior that everyone was hoping for turned out to be a bad guy.
I can't get rid of this plot, otherwise the third act will lack the twist and final climax... Unless it is completely reinvented..."
"bullshxt, do you really want to change the script?" Coleman stood up in surprise. Originally, he meant to help Ronald withdraw the distribution agreement, but he didn't expect that he actually considered changing it.
"I hate it most in my life when people modify my scripts and edits. Ignore this bastard and just find another distributor. Don't worry about my feelings. There is a clause in my agreement with them that I cannot get involved in film distribution for five years.
, otherwise I will personally help you with the distribution."
"Mr. Coleman..." Ronald wanted to express his gratitude.
"You don't know why I started my own banking company." Coleman waved his hand, opened the door and let his secretary make a few cups of coffee.
"At that time, I completed the filming and editing of America's first psychedelic-themed film, 'The Trip'. At the end, I arranged for the leading actor Peter Fonda to honestly tell the audience about the impact of psychedelics on him.
own effects and will not try again in the future.
But that son of a bitch at American International Pictures, Samuel Arkoff, the genius who invented the Arkoff formula, recut the ending of my movie without permission and gave Peter Fonda a mirror-shattered scene.
The special effects freeze the protagonist in a state of mental disintegration.
In anger, I stopped cooperating with them, and then started from scratch and established a distribution network. If a film director does not have the courage to stick to his own creativity, then he should stop doing this business as soon as possible."
"Mr. Coleman... I wonder if you have the financing limit?" Niceta interrupted Roger Coleman, wanting to discuss Ronald's financing issue with him.
Coleman picked up the coffee and drank it in one gulp, "I understand that the issuing company usually wants to take the dominant position, so unless you can get more than one million investment from the issuing company, they will not allow other investors to invest half a million.
of the amount.
I have negotiated with Remy, and he will allow you to withdraw the distribution contract, return the investment of 500,000, and we will have nothing to do with you from now on. In addition, I am optimistic about your movie, so as long as you need it, within the license limit of the new distributor, I will
Will continue to invest.”
"Thank you, Roger." Ronald was very moved in his heart. At this critical moment, Roger Corman treated himself not as a calculating businessman, but as a film director and artist.
If Coleman hadn't suppressed Remy and withdrew the publishing contract, and finally let Remy get stuck in his own contract, then "Night of the Comet" would have been stuck in the middle, stuck in the middle, and it would have been very uncomfortable for him.
A director who works hard is blocked by Remy for distribution. If he directs randomly, he might get used to slandering him.
"Can I borrow your phone? Mr. Coleman, I'm going to call Atlantic right now. They have made it clear to Ronald that they are willing to distribute his movie." Seeing Coleman's clear stance, Niceta offered to borrow it.
contacting via phone.
"Just use my phone and I'll make a cup of coffee. It's such a sleepy hour." Coleman gave his office to Ronald and Niceta so they could contact him more easily.
After a while, Ronald opened the door to the office and invited Coleman in again.
"Atlantic has expressed its willingness to take over. They will contribute another 400,000 US dollars. If we gather 500,000 US dollars in investment, as our publisher in America, we can sign a contract immediately. So you can only leave an investment limit of 100,000 US dollars here." Niceta
Said, it is equivalent to Coleman and Atlantic switching investment amounts.
"No problem, come and get the check anytime after you sign the contract." Coleman patted Ronald on the shoulder, "There will always be problems of one kind or another in movie preparations, don't be discouraged. That's how making movies is, not here.
Maybe that will do."
"Thank you, Roger. It's just that the funds at Atlantic are preparing for the release of 'Valley Girl,' which was filmed last year. They won't be able to spare the funds to invest in the distribution of my film until it is released in April."
The scale of Atlantic Company is very small, and all the funds can only guarantee the production and distribution of a small-cost film. Ronald also went to see this "Valley Girl" live, and it was Gale's good friend female director Martha Coolidge.
Starring Nicolas Cage.
"I haven't talked to you about this, Ronald. Are you too obsessed with the special effects? In fact, your script can be made very well for 500,000 to 800,000 yuan, and you don't have to worry about sales."
Coleman felt that Ronald was making a fuss. Can't you make a science fiction film with $800,000? As long as you use the right method, you can make it with $300,000.
"I roped in Jim Cameron and carefully calculated the required costs over and over again. It was impossible to reduce the cost for the two major scenes. The first was the scene of the comet destroying the earth, which was a big visual chocolate for the audience.
The second is the deserted city, which is a lonely quality that the movie must have. Without these two points, this movie is just a bit, a bit..." Ronald didn't know how to word it.
"Kind of like one of those cheap science fiction movies I made?" Coleman laughed.
"Hahaha……"
Roger Corman also laughed, but he quickly regained his seriousness and said to Ronald, "I will tell you two stories that may inspire you."
"I'm listening with both ears."
"One is Peter Bogdanovich, who was originally a film critic and later became an assistant director on my film 'The Wild Angels.' After the filming, he told me that he could make a movie.
I gave him some extra film, a set that hadn't been taken down yet, and an actor, Boris Karloff, who owed me two days of filming.
As a result, he asked Karloff to sit there, put on the costume of the previous movie, and started telling stories. The scene that originally cost a lot of money to shoot turned into a few old friends chatting, and through the third person's voice
Stories told by mouth.
This saves a lot of money. If it were not for an old horror film actor to tell the story and lead to the beginning, the movie would not be as exciting as it was."
Ronald nodded and took note. He knew that Coleman's implication was to use script adjustments to avoid expensive shooting scenes.
"The second story is about a racing film I shot. I went to a sports car sales center to borrow a car for the film. The dealer promised to lend me his sports car for the filming, but asked me to sign an agreement to ensure that there would be no problems with the car, otherwise I would have to take photos.
price compensation.
I knew that the most likely accident in car shooting was the front windshield, so I removed the front windshields of all the cars, and then used a downgraded shooting method to shoot the high-speed chase scene."
"This is to allow me to be creative and think of ways to save costs that others wouldn't think of, so that the final effect of the film exceeds the cost." Ronald wrote down the inspiration from the second story.
"Remember, Ronald, there's nothing a screwdriver and a roll of tape can't fix when it comes to making a movie. If it can't be fixed, tear up this script."
"I'm afraid this won't work," Ronald thought to himself. "In the era when Corman made movies, the audience could still tolerate this shoddy shooting method, but now with the sci-fi blockbusters of Lucas and Spielberg, the audience
His taste has been cultivated.
If you tell the story from a third person and avoid big scenes, I'm afraid the audience will throw rubbish on the spot."
However, this idea can be used for reference. Ronald nodded and asked, "Even if I use a side profile technique to shoot the scene where the earth is destroyed by a comet, the deserted city is the key environment for the plot of the movie.
Without the effect of the desertion of this modern city, I’m afraid the lonely survivor temperament created by the movie would have been discounted by more than half. No matter whether I used a set to shoot or applied to block traffic in Los Angeles for a few days, the cost could not be reduced.
."
"Why do we need the help of the police? Have you forgotten the old way of making films in the new century? Guerrilla tactics?"
"This is also a way." Ronald agreed, disapproving in his heart. This important scene will take at least two full days to shoot. There are so many related shots. If you learn Corman's method, you will tear out the scene in the script before it can be shot.
, I’m afraid I can’t get enough of the atmospheric shots required by the script.
Besides, with so many shots, it’s impossible to play hide-and-seek with lapd.
unless……
Photographed when PD power fades.
But this is not appropriate. "Night of the Comet" is a zombie movie with a bright atmosphere, not a horror movie that focuses on dark night scenes.
Horror is not the background of this movie. In fact, this is a zombie movie with a romantic comedy background. Two valley girls are looking for their own romance in the lonely apocalypse. To a certain extent, it can be considered a comedy that CAA has always advocated.
A combination of horror.
Moreover, there are many scenes where the sky is shrouded in red comet dust. How do you shoot such a scene at night? I have only heard of a method of shooting night scenes during the day - "day to night". I have never heard of shooting day scenes at night.
There are no such high-power lamps to produce the illumination of sunlight.
But these are details, and Ronald still has two immediate problems to solve.
The first is to revise the contract with Minahan's Cannon Pictures. The original distributor of America has changed, and the guarantee terms need to be re-drafted.
The second is to discuss the schedule with Nicolas Cage. Now the movie will obviously be postponed, which will conflict with his new film. If the schedule cannot be allocated, a new leading actor will have to be found.