"Cyndi Lauper, a female singer born in 1953, previously served as the lead singer of the Blue Angels. After the Blue Angels disbanded, Portrait Records just signed her and is preparing to release her solo album this year.
First album 'She's So Different'.
After receiving your inquiry, I was surprised. My client's song has not yet charted on the radio, nor has it been officially released, so why do you know about it?"
A half-bald lawyer wearing a handmade suit, Eliot Huffman, asked Ronald to discuss the licensing of the song "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" in a coffee shop.
.
Wearing a pair of old-fashioned round glasses and a mustache on his lips, he elegantly picked up the coffee cup and took a sip.
"I heard this song as one of Michael Jackson's backup dancers, and as soon as I heard it I thought it fit a scene in my movie, Mr. Hoffman. It was two young girls trying on things in a department store.
Wearing all kinds of high-end women's clothing...doesn't it fit in well with this song?"
"That makes sense. MJ's company is Epic Records, and my client Cindy's company is Portrait Records, a subsidiary of Epic Records. On behalf of my client, I'm here to talk to you about this licensing matter."
Lawyer Hoffmann's beard is very similar to the protagonist "Polo" in the detective novel. It also has sharp corners on both sides. When drinking coffee, you have to be especially careful not to let the coffee get wet on your beard.
"Polo" Hoffman wrote a number on the paper and pushed it across the table, "This is our quotation."
The agent Niceta, who was sitting next to Ronald, helped pick up the note from the table, frowned, and handed it to Ronald.
Then he helped Ronald negotiate the price, "This number is too high. Generally speaking, the total price of the episode and soundtrack will not exceed 10% of the total shooting budget of the movie. Your price, my client will definitely
It’s unbearable. I think we’ll just have to find other songs.”
Hoffman touched his beard and said nothing.
Ronald saw him secretly squinting at him and knew that the other party actually wanted to sell. He thought for a while and said, "Mr. Hoffman, my movie is a small production, but I really want to use this song."
The song is used as an interlude.
I really can't afford this price, but I think that after my movie is released, it can also play a marketing role in Cindy's new song. I once wrote the lyrics for the theme song and the interlude of "Famous", and I know the song very well.
After the promotion of the movie, the promotion effect on sales is very strong, which is a win-win situation."
"You are right, it's a win-win situation. But Cindy's new song will also have a marketing effect on the release of the movie, so the promotion you mentioned is actually a two-way street." Hoffman responded.
"I don't deny that what you said is right, so we should join forces and coordinate the timing of the movie's release and the song's charting, so that both the single and the movie can benefit from it." Ronald continued to lobby the other party to reduce the price.
"You know, Mr. Young Director. In the past year, the most important exposure of many singles has been transferred from radio stations to television stations, especially MTV, which broadcasts music videos 24 hours a day.
And I have done some research, and it turns out that the first music video that caused a sensation and had a plot, ‘The Amazing Stains Band,’ was directed by you.”
At this point, Hoffman stopped talking and looked at Ronald with his eyes through the small round lenses.
"Mr. Hoffman, you might as well speak more clearly. Is there anything I can do to help you?"
"In this way, if you can direct a music video for Cyndi Lauper's new song, the song can be licensed for use in the film for free, and then I will convince Portrait Records to coordinate the marketing of the single and the film.
, play a large number of videos in the same period to achieve better results for both parties."
"Please let me discuss it with my agent."
Ronald and Niceta avoided Hoffman and whispered to each other.
Niceta said, "My client can provide you with directing services in exchange for licensing the song. We need to see the shooting budget and script, and then draw up a contract."
"Not only the director, but also the editing. Finally, it will be made into a music video that can be played on MTV."
"It's acceptable." Niceta and Ronald discussed it for a while and agreed to the request. Anyway, the shooting of the MV was relatively simple, so Ronald just changed his mind and made a short video.
"Plus the selection of scripts and actors."
"You must be joking, Mr. Hoffman. I would rather go directly to the record company to buy the license."
Ronald was angry. He was sure that he wanted this song and was trying his best to save money. The interludes of the movie can be the icing on the cake, but the quality itself is the foundation. Otherwise, why would you write a script and shoot a song for ninety-nine times?
Can a MV be a hit in just a few minutes?
Simply change the song, or find a way to find a new singer, buy the cover rights, and sing it again, so as to draw money from the bottom of the pot.
When Hoffman saw Ronald standing up and preparing to leave, he quickly held down Ronald's hand with one hand.
"Wait a minute, Mr. Director."
"In this way, I will arrange for you to meet Cindy. It is not easy for her. I have no choice but to propose this method. I hope to give her some help in her career. This girl only needs a chance."
"Okay, Mr. Hoffman, I hope we can all be honest. If you have any ideas, you can talk about it and stop making such excessive demands."
Hoffman waved his hand to indicate that he would no longer ask for excessive prices, and he told Ronald about Cyndi Lauper's situation.
It turns out that this female singer has been in the industry for a long time, but she has been imitating other famous singers to sing, or playing in bands. She has been rebellious since she was a child. Her mother is Italian. After her parents divorced, she couldn't stand the domestic violence of her stepfather, so she graduated from high school before finishing high school.
He ran away from home and supported himself by singing in bars and clubs all over the place.
Hoffman only became Cyndi Lauper's lawyer after she quit the band to pursue a solo career and signed with Portrait Records. After seeing her several times, he was impressed by her unique and high-pitched voice and believed that she would become a singer. He decided to hire her
Invest in yourself and bet on her future.
The record company didn't pay too much attention to Cyndi Lauper, and only gave a total filming budget of thirty-five thousand US dollars. With this money, she could probably just find a director and let Cyndi Lauper dance and lip-sync indoors.
Sing and then call it a day.
In order to gain greater exposure for this single, Hoffman even used his own private resources to find the producer of the comedy talk show "Saturday Night Live (SNL)" who was also his client, and rented it for free.
Filming and editing equipment, used for MV shooting.
Later, he heard Ronald come to talk about copyright. He learned a little bit about it and knew that Ronald Lee was the director who pioneered the trend of music videos with plots. He immediately decided to talk in person, hoping to exchange copyright authorization for Ronald Lee.
Nader's services.
After that, there were meetings and negotiations between the two parties. Hoffman wanted to repeat the same trick and get Ronald to direct the music video of this song for free.
Just seeing Ronald agreeing so readily, lawyer Hoffman's occupational disease broke out and he wanted to extract more value, which angered Ronald.
"Let's do this. I can provide directing and editing services. You can take care of other actors, equipment, and staff. I also require that you must be present during the filming. If there is any shortage of resources, you can take care of it on the spot.
This is my last bid."
After hearing this, Ronald felt that he could use his personal abilities in exchange for the license, so that he could squeeze out some money and make the special effects part better. Although he suffered a bit, but for the final effect of the movie, he did not care about these small things.
Account settled.
"That's great. I'm going to call Cindy and tell her the good news."
"where is she?"
"She's in New York."
"Ah? Then I have to go to New York to shoot?"
"You agreed, Ronald. Besides, Cyndi Lauper wrote her creative idea for the music video, which happened in New York." Hoffman paid for the coffee and took out some coins from his wallet.
Make a tip.
"That's okay. I'll just go back to New York during my two-week vacation." Ronald turned to Niceta and said, "Can you help me discuss the details with Mr. Hoffman? Two days of shooting, plus editing.
I have the final responsibility for art."
A few days later, Ronald, who signed a contract to shoot the music video for "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", returned to his hometown of New York.
Hoffman had already returned to New York in advance. He sent a luxury car to pick up Ronald at the airport to discuss the filming of the music video with Cyndi Lauper.
Arriving at Hoffman's office, Ronald finally met the song's lead singer, Cyndi Lauper.
Cyndi Lauper is not tall, but she can definitely be recognized in a crowd. Her fiery red and orange hair, like the tail feathers of a rooster, grows messily and looks very energetic.
Moreover, the clothes she wore were also very colorful and weird, making Ronald feel that she was not wearing clothes, but an impressionist painting.
"Miss Lauper, this is Ronald."
"Just call me Cindy, cindi, not cindy"
Cyndi Lauper herself is not as neurotic as she looks. She has been singing in bars since she was a child, so she can deal with all kinds of people with ease.
In front of Ronald, she also put away her carefully crafted eccentric image, and instead revealed her true nature as a singer. In fact, she is a very smart person.
"I heard from Mr. Hoffman that you have some creative ideas for your music video?"
"Yes, Ronald. This song was actually written by a male singer in 1979. It is what a man says to a woman. After I took over, I revised the lyrics and changed them to be narrated from the perspective of a girl. A girl
Absolutely, like men, they should enjoy all the opportunities that men can enjoy."
"So, this is a girl's ridicule and cry about the lack of opportunities for women in society?" Ronald read the lyrics again, and indeed the idea explained by the creator himself was more accurate.
"Yes, you see, for the same high school students, parents usually won't say anything if a boy comes home late, but if a girl comes home late, the parents will be very anxious and even scold them and ground them..."
"Is this because New York is a dangerous place? Public security is so bad, what responsible parent wouldn't be more careful?" Ronald complained in his mind about the other party's strange angle.
"But for this song, the girl comes home late or stays out all night, driving her parents crazy. It's really a good angle to enter the story."