"Ronald, have you returned to Los Angeles? Come to my house and see you if I need anything."
Weintraub, the producer of "The Kid," called that day and asked Ronald to come to his home to talk.
Weintraub also lived with his wife, Jane Morgan, and he bought his young wife, Susan Akins, a small house where they lived sometimes, basically living a double family life.
"Did you go to crazy bitch Shirley MacLean's birthday party?"
Weintraub invited Ronald here this time mainly to remind him.
"I have to warn you, don't have too much contact with this person, otherwise you will also be disliked by mainstream Hollywood."
"I was her best man on the day of the Oscar, and I just went to her birthday party later." Ronald felt that Weintraub was making a fuss out of a molehill.
"I've been dealing with them long enough, and there's some history that you may not know. Do you know the 'rat pack' in Hollywood?"
It turns out that the Rat Pack is a small gang of Hollywood actors and singers, inherited from the ancient Humphrey Bogart era. After Bogart passed away, the leader of the Rat Pack became Frank Sinatra. There was also Dean Martin
, Sammy Davis Jr. et al.
They were notorious for being womanizers and alcoholics. Because Sinatra performed in Las Vegas all year round, he also had a deep relationship with gambling.
Shirley MacLean had been a female member of the Rat Pack for a long time and was very close to them.
"I'm Frank Sinatra's concert manager, but I never hang out with them. If you get the name of the Rat Pack, your reputation will be ugly in Hollywood." Weintraub pointed at Rob.
Nader said.
"I only attended a party once in a while. If that's the case, I won't go there anymore."
Weintraub nodded, "I'm not an alarmist. They compete in Las Vegas and Hollywood all year round to drink and pick up girls. Many beautiful actresses in Hollywood are passed on to each other by them. Although their power is great, in Hollywood
There are also many enemies."
"It's not that exaggerated, is it?"
"I'm just reminding you that the Rat Gang has been based in Las Vegas for a long time. In particular, a female prostitute like McLean has been hanging out with them for a long time, and now she believes in aliens and mysticism. If you don't believe in these, it's best to go with them.
They kept their distance."
"I know. I just went to attend her birthday party and get to know some people in the New York film industry."
"That's good, our movie has received the PG rating from MPAA. Colombia has said that it will initially premiere nationwide on June 22nd..."
The two of them chatted about the release of "The Kid" again, and Ronald said goodbye.
"Rick, is there something wrong with the Rat Pack? Weintraub specifically asked me not to get too close to McLean." After Ronald returned home, he still felt something was wrong and called his agent Niceta.
"The Rat Pack, they have been based in Las Vegas for a long time, and Frank Sinatra has long had deep connections with the gangs there.
These people make money and women, and their reputation is not very good. As for MacLean, she used to help the Rat Gang find new women to fill their harem."
"ah?"
"But they've been out of the Hollywood spotlight for a long time. Maybe Weintraub knows something new? He's a cunning old man, and you heard him right."
After hanging up the phone, Ronald realized something. No wonder Shirley MacLean always introduced him to beauties in the film industry. Was he treating himself as a new member of the Rat Pack?
No matter what, you have to keep Diane away from her!
Diane was still carefree when she received the call, "I know, what are you afraid of? I can't sleep on the red sofa because of my role. Besides, Streets of Rage has finally cut out the final version, and I haven't lost yet. Next month
I have to go to Los Angeles to attend the movie's marketing event, and I'll contact you then."
Diane was relatively clean, but another beauty, Natasha Kinski, came to see Ronald uninvited. She called and asked Ronald to introduce her and Konchalovsky to Cannon Pictures.
executives, hoping to find a distributor for their new film, "The Lovers of Maria."
On this day, Ronald was in the office of Cannon Pictures, meeting with the three leading actors of "Break Dance" and Minahan to discuss arrangements for marketing activities before and after the release.
"We are scheduled to premiere on May 4th, and it will be released simultaneously in over 1,000 theaters across the country. We will meet the audience at the premiere theater in Los Angeles that day. Then we will go to Chicago and New York. After that, the three of you will continue to
We attended fan meetings in major cities, and Ronald and I went to Cannes, China, to attend the film festival."
Minahan took out the schedule and handed it over.
Ronald himself asked to be involved in Minahan's overseas filming process, and would go to Cannes with him when he was lucky enough.
The three leading actors were chatting there. They all came from poor backgrounds and had never been to many of the cities on the list.
"Why aren't you happy?" Ronald looked at the black man among the three, the Boogaloo Prawn, who was a little listless.
"Hey, I'm very disappointed. In MJ's Pepsi commercial with the music of 'Billie Jean', Falcon and I were not credited as choreographers."
"No way? Is there a mistake?" Lucinda Dickey asked kindly.
"Not only is it not in the commercial, but my name is not even in his latest TV music video. His improved moonwalk, you can tell it is mine at a glance, and the way of exerting force like the East Coast's 'Crazy Legs'
It’s completely different. He also took away Falcon’s popular mechanical dance.”
"What's going on? Didn't you sign a contract? You can go to the union to complain, right?" Ronald saw that Boogaloo Prawn also encountered the same problems he encountered when entering and exiting the industry.
"It's not fair. Why don't you ask your agent to negotiate with them? If not, you can contact the Screen Actors Guild or the choreographers. The choreographers' union should be affiliated with the Truck Drivers' Union. They are very powerful."
Boogaloo Shrimp shook his head, "My agent advised me to get monetary compensation. There is no clause in our contract that requires signature, and he said that it would be troublesome to litigate."
"But it's a pity that you lacked a signature. Otherwise, you could have entered the industry right away and made your career as a choreographer for movies."
The Boogaloo prawn didn't speak. After a long time, he said, "He is the idol and hero of our black people. I didn't expect that he doesn't even have this kind of magnanimity."
"I'm afraid it's because of the black hero's idol status that he can't expose the flaw that his breakdancing moves are not original." Ronald touched his chin. I'm afraid this is the real reason why MJ didn't want them to sign his name.
"It's okay, your starring role in 'Break Dance' will be released soon, and it's as popular as ever." Ronald comforted the black guy.
"Stop talking about me, how are you prepared? Lucinda, have you learned how to back-spin?" Boogaloo was young after all. When Ronald said this, he immediately regained his good mood.
"Of course", Lucinda simply showed them a standard back spin on the floor of the office.
"Oh," Ronald took the lead in applauding her, "If you use this trick at the audience meeting, wouldn't it make the audience scream?"
"Of course, I am also a professional dancer." Lucinda glanced at Sabado, and if she had time to practice, she would be no worse than him.
"However, I may only be able to perform on the road until the end of July, if Breakdancing is still released at that time. Then I will go to see my good friends perform at the Olympics."
Lucinda Dickey was talking about her good friend who was selected for the American gymnastics team in the Olympics. "This time the Sewell League is very strong. They did not boycott the Olympics. My friend needs me to encourage her."
"Ronald," Minahan came over to invite him, "What's going on with your friend Miss Kinski's movie? Did she invest in it herself? What's the quality like?"
"I heard that her friend invested in it, but I haven't seen it either. But the director is Andrei Konchalovsky from the Soviet Union."
"Oh? Is it him?" Minahan said that he knew his name very well, "When can we invite them to talk?"
"I'll call her, but I don't know the quality of the video. You have to judge it yourself."
Natasha Kinski moved very quickly. To be honest, it was difficult to accept the investment from her friend. She brought Konchalovsky to Los Angeles to find Ronald.
Ronald took them, and the copies they had brought from the plane, to Minahan's place to try them out.
"What do you think?" After watching it, Minahan asked the two creators to go out first. He wanted to ask Ronald's opinion first.
"The filming is very good, the audio-visual language is very good, and Andre is indeed a master. But looking at the plot of this movie, it doesn't look like the type that would become popular in America."
"That means it's possible to gain favor in Europe?" Minahan's imagination was wide open.
"Well, it's possible." Ronald thought for a while.
Don't mention it, this idea is indeed possible. The quality of the movie itself is not bad. American audiences don't like this kind of tangled and humanistic story, but if it is put in Europe, especially those film festivals, the judges may not like it.
Discerning, is there anyone who likes this kind of cuckold story?
"It's too late for Cannes. I'll try the Venice Film Festival later. I happen to have a good relationship with their film selectors. I think if it's selected, I can pay to buy the film."
"You think about it yourself." Ronald didn't know anything about awards.
"I have been very busy recently. I am also busy releasing Ronald's blockbuster and attending the Cannes Film Festival. I have watched your film. It is difficult to release in America, but there is a market in Europe. If you are willing, I
You can pay to buy the copyright, at least you won't lose money."
After Minahan left, he immediately shared his thoughts with the two main creators.
Konchalovsky was already very satisfied. Coming from the Union, it was an unexpected surprise to be able to make his first feature film in such a short period of time and possibly send it to Europe.
Natasha Kinski has some doubts. She still wants to publish it in America. Her friends can get a share of the income and earn a little, so that the favor she owes can be repaid.
She said on the spot that it would take some time to think about it.
"Okay, you can come to me as soon as possible within a week."
Natasha Kinski discussed with her agent for a long time, but she was still unwilling to sell the film rights. A few days later, she called Minahan again.
"I still want to follow the usual distribution model because I want it to be in movie theaters in America."
"You think about it yourself, this is what we propose." Minahan was not here, and his cousin Yoram answered the phone. He didn't believe that there was a distributor here who would like this kind of movie.
Natasha Kinski realized that she had no negotiating advantage, and she had no choice but to find Ronald to clear the relationship.
In order to be busy with the release of Ronald's movie, Minahan has ignored his "Maria's Lovers" these days.
In just a few days, she realized Ronald's influence again. She dug out the audition photos Ronald had taken of her from her suitcase and looked at them for a long time.
"Anyway, it's not a loss for me." Kinski took out Ronald's phone number and called him.
"Ronald, I want to invite you to dinner. We haven't seen each other for a long time. I didn't expect you to have realized your dream and become a director in Hollywood..."
"Is it Miss Kinski?" There was a strange man on the other side of the phone. "I'm Ronald's manager Richard. He's going to attend the premiere road show of 'Break Dance'. All calls have been transferred to
If you have anything to do with me, you can leave a message."
"I...I want to congratulate him on the release of his new film..."