"Didi took over the whole set. John Hughes focused on the performance guidance. The chores such as storyboarding were all handled by Didi. I think you can sit back and relax."
Ronald returned to Los Angeles to tell Ned Tanin the news.
"Thanks to you," Tanin was very happy. "You should sign a three-film contract with me, Ronald. Together we will be a great success with Universal's distribution network."
"I just want to take a break now. Shooting two movies in half a year is really keeping me busy."
"If you have a chance, if you have a chance, when you have new ideas, you must come to me." Tanin took two tickets for the Olympic closing ceremony and handed them to Ronald, "Here are two tickets, take them, are they
Front row position. This time the organizing committee said that there will be a black star performing at the closing ceremony, and everyone guessed that MJ went back to make up for his regrets."
"Thank you", Ronald took the ticket and went back to the airport to pick him up.
"Little Bud" saw a sturdy black guy from a distance, wearing a Marine Corps T-shirt and carrying a bucket bag, coming out of the departure gate.
The person who came was none other than Bud, the son of his uncle's comrade. Ronald had previously tried to find a way to send him to the army to escape the court's sentence. His term of service expired and he did not continue to choose to join the army, so he returned from the Marine Corps with honorable discharge.
"Sir", little Bud smiled so much that he showed two rows of teeth when he saw Ronald coming to pick him up in person.
"Hi, I'm so happy to see you. Come on... have dinner with me." Ronald hugged him warmly. Several years of military service have tempered little Bud to abide by the rules, and he is no longer as out of touch as he was when he was a child.
.
The two found an American-style Italian restaurant and had a delicious meal of cheese chicken steak with mashed fava beans. Little Bud also sat upright when eating, which shows that he has learned a lot in the Marine Corps. Among all the military branches in America,
The discipline of the Marine Corps is the strongest.
"Where are you going when you come back?" Ronald asked him.
"My mother asked me to listen to you, sir," replied little Bud. "I want to work with you, if you need help here. I learned how to use weapons, maneuver, and read in the army, if you don't need help here."
I, I plan to go back to Staten Island and work in a leg warmer factory."
Little Bud was deployed overseas and spent two years each in Hawaii and Japan. The experience of these few years made him fully aware of the huge gap between ethnic groups and classes in America, and he put away those unrealistic fantasies.
, I just want to have a good time following Ronald.
"Don't you want to go back and see your mother first?" Ronald asked.
"Yes, but I want to see if there is anything you can do to help first, sir."
"Okay," Ronald nodded with satisfaction, "You can be my driver for a few days. I'm going back to Staten Island next month. You go with me."
"yes sir."
"If you want to work for me, you have to put away this Marine Corps thing first. Hollywood doesn't care about that. Just call me Ronald."
"Yes...Ronald, I understand." Little Bud scratched his head, showing a hint of youthful emotion, "Actually, I'm also afraid of spending money. The army only gave me a retirement allowance of just over ten thousand dollars."
…
"Breathe, pay attention to your breathing."
In Daryl Vidal's new dojo in Venice, Ronald is practicing martial arts. Relying on the double salary of actors and stunt doubles received by the film crew, Vidal took over this dojo and began teaching karate.
He has recruited many children now, and there is no need to advertise at all. Parents line up to give him money. The reason is just on a few posters outside.
At the entrance of the dojo, there is a poster of him, Mr. Miyagi and Daniel LaRusso, the two cosplayers of "The Dragon King".
Next to it is a still poster of him acting as a stand-in for Miyagi, Crane Kick on a wooden pile on the beach. Inside the door, there is another photo of him, Ronald and several main actors, with the words "Real Crane Kick" underneath.
The words "Master".
It turned out that it was a dojo opened by the inventor of "Crane Kick". Children from all over the West Side of Los Angeles were clamoring to learn here.
In order to restore his physical fitness, Ronald also started to exercise here recently.
Not only Los Angeles, but cities across the country have begun to revive the craze for karate. It turns out that karate, which had gradually declined after Bruce Lee's death, has begun to fill up enrollments again.
Different from the last karate craze, it is not martial arts enthusiasts who come, but parents who sign up their children. The more cowardly and bullied children are, the more they are sent by their parents to learn the mentality of the strong and the competitive attitude.
.
"I went to see another performance of 'The Dragon King' yesterday, and there were still a lot of spectators." Vidal personally stretched and relaxed Ronald.
"Yes, the feedback from Colombia is very good. In the past two months, the box office of a single theater has hardly dropped. Weintraub has invited me to find an opportunity at the end of the year to go overseas to promote and cooperate with overseas releases."
"How's it going? Isn't it boring to drive for me?" Ronald took a shower and got into the car with a change of clothes. Little Bud had been waiting for him.
"No problem, the Marine Corps is even more boring than this."
"Okay, let's pick them up and then go to the volleyball hall." After Ronald gave the order, he took a nap in the back seat of the car. Little Bud had good discipline and professionalism in the military.
"Ronnie, hey, aren't you?" Diane came out of the hotel and saw the black driver next to Ronald.
She had no makeup today and was wearing a T-shirt with the Olympic rings logo, shorts, and sneakers. When she saw Little Bud, she took off her big sunglasses and looked at him up and down.
"Miss Lane," Little Bud helped open the car door.
"Thank you, do you work for Ronald now?" Diane recognized Little Bud, the former leg warmer and pirated video salesman who often haunted Donna's house.
"He just came back from active duty. He can help me temporarily." Ronald asked Bud to drive the two of them to the volleyball hall in Long Beach. Today is the final of the Chinese and American women's volleyball teams.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Yeah!" Ronald stood up and applauded.
The competition between the two sides was fierce in the first game. When the Chinese women's volleyball team led 14 to 10, the main attacker of the United States, Heyman, moved to the front row. She scored four points with a heavy spike, and the two sides tied at 14 to 14.
fourteen.
Fortunately, the main attacker on the Chinese side also returned the ball and regained the right to serve.
"Beep..." Hua Guo's head coach called for a substitution.
"USA, USA..." The audience cheered loudly, cheering for the American women's volleyball team.
Ronald and Diane were sitting in the ticket area provided by the Chinese team, surrounded by Chinese and overseas Chinese. The two were also hugged, "Come on, come on..."
The roar of the audience made the referee's whistle almost inaudible, and Hua Guo's new server came up with a powerful serve.
"Oops," Ronald yelled in his mind. The ball was too powerful and was about to go out of bounds.
The members of the American team also watched the volleyball, waiting for it to go out of bounds. Unexpectedly, just as it flew past the front row players, the volleyball suddenly became weightless, falling rapidly, and would fall within the baseline.
"Inbounds, China, score." The referee made a gesture.
"Yeah!" Diane stood up and cheered because of the emotion.
"What's going on with this ball?" Ronald and all the spectators in the stands were confused.
The server retreated to the end again and served another ball with great force against the backboard.
This time, the American players did not dare to be careless and waited in front of the baseline.
Unexpectedly, the ball lost weight midway and fell down early. The unprepared player jumped to save the ball and passed the net, but was killed by the Chinese attacker's head.
"Very good", the head coach stood up with a smile on his face. The secret weapon came on and it worked.
The main attacker wiped the sweat from his hands. He had been eating Chinese food for the past few days and the smash was awesome.
The Chinese team won the next two games easily, and the audience in the stadium witnessed this historic moment.
"What are you thinking about?" Diane and Ronald returned to the hotel. Little Bud drove the car back to the apartment and picked them up tomorrow morning.
"I was thinking about today's football match and why the audience was so immersed in it. You see, it's like a great movie script, with a wonderful beginning, a fun process, twists and turns, and at the last moment one side came up with a secret weapon.
.”
"Hehehe, if you support the Chinese team, it will be the finale of the drama."
"Huh? Yes," Ronald thought, and I unknowingly supported China.
"How have you been lately? Have you met your mother?" Ronald hugged Diane, who was sitting on his lap, and rubbed her belly.
"Yes," Diane replied, "she is not as bad as I remembered."
Diane turned sideways and changed into a more comfortable position, "It turns out that my mother divorced Burt when I was sixteen days old. The two of them have been looking for lawyers for my custody rights for more than ten years.
litigation.
I asked her why she kidnapped me at that time, and she said she was afraid that Bert would send me into the cruel entertainment industry, and she wanted me to live with her and my grandmother for a while to learn about different life choices before making a decision."
"Do you believe her?" Ronald asked.
Diane nodded, "Both of them are full of malice toward each other. Maybe in their imaginations, they have magnified each other's malice countless times?"
"How is your acting career? If you need it, I still have some resources here." Ronald helped Diane comb her hair with his fingers. The girl had a hard time walking by herself.
Diane lay in Ronald's arms and squinted her eyes comfortably, "No problem, "The Cotton Club" is scheduled to be released in December. When you are free, you will come to New York to attend the premiere."
Ronald is now considered a very good director, and being able to come to the premiere is considered a blessing.
"I will definitely go when I have time." Ronald gently rubbed Diane's head, "Also, if you need help, be sure to tell me."
"I know, brother Ronnie." Diane was touched by a warm hand and she cried out comfortably. She took the initiative to hug Ronald and ask for a kiss.
The next day, little Bud drove to pick up Ronald on time.
"Don't you have anything to ask me?" Ronald got in the car.
"One of the few things the army has taught me is that you have to follow orders. I am responsible for picking you up today." Little Bud responded.
"Let's go to Guber-Peterson."
The car arrived at Peter Gubel's office.
Peter Guber personally greeted Ronald at the door.
"Ronald, it's so nice to see you in Hollywood," the two embraced warmly.
This former casting assistant on the set of "Endless Love" is now the director of two blockbuster movies.
"I was very surprised to learn that you resigned as the president of PolyGram Pictures." The two chatted about the past, and Ronald took the initiative to mention Gubel's career choice.
"Many things in large companies are not very free. I prefer to lead projects one by one. This is the job I like." Gubel explained.
"We can negotiate business with all major distribution companies, and we don't have to be limited to one company. In this way, scripts with different characteristics can find different distributors. They all have their own tastes, and our producers will have a much wider choice.
"
“Like Spielberg’s ‘The Color Purple’?”
"Just like his 'purple'", Gubel snapped his fingers, Ronald's understanding was very good.
This time Spielberg hopes to make a film that showcases his directorial abilities and is not solely aimed at the box office. For this reason, he is willing to give up his director's market price of US$1.5 million and only choose to receive the Directors Guild's minimum wage of US$40,000.
.
The secret of doing business is not that your bid is high, but that you understand what your customers need better than your competitors. What Spielberg wants most now is undoubtedly an Oscar recognition.
"The film Tanin talked about is also a project that is biased towards classical literature. You can think of it as a modern version of Joan of Arc."
Ronald took over the script. The original name of this movie script was "Fairness is Fair", which actually tells the story of a rebellion at the bottom of society.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The heroine and her brother were slandered as motorcycle thieves by the children of the wealthy class. The owner of the machine repair shop even took the opportunity to rape his sister. The police chief used the theft method indiscriminately.
Catch them for crime.
In the end, the brother and sister escaped. Encouraged by Joan of Arc, the sister began to resist, and finally won the support of all the people, allowing the criminal to reveal himself. After trial, the brother and sister were acquitted.
In order to capitalize on the popularity of MJ's single "Billie Jean", after obtaining MJ's authorization, the sister's character's name in the script was changed to Billie Jean, and the name of the movie was also changed to
"the legend of billie jean".
Ronald didn't like this script very much. He smelled a strong smell of low-cost exploitation films in it. Why were the siblings wanted, how did the shop owner bully them, and finally why did the people support the siblings? Key points in the script
None of them are convincing.
There are many signs that this script was not handled properly, but with the attitude of a B-level exploitation film, intending to make the audience admit that this is a low-budget movie, you just need to believe it.
For example, the key scenes of the characters in the movie are all passed by. Or there are some symbolic things in it, such as Billy King cutting his hair short, using Joan of Arc as a role model, etc.
"What? Doesn't it suit your taste?"
Guber admired Ronald very much and was willing to let him direct the project he led. However, looking at Ronald's expression, he knew that the other party might not be satisfied with the script.
"You know I've made several movies like this, and I hope I can change some of the themes." Ronald declined politely.
"Of course, this is just a small production. If Gerald's daughter wants to give it a try, he is welcome to come." Gubel thought that was indeed the case. Ronald has already made two movies with a box office of more than 50 million US dollars.
Letting him direct low-cost exploitation films again is wishful thinking on MJ's part.
"Thank you, Mr. Guber."
"It's okay," Gubel waved his hand, "You said you wanted to change the subject. Are you interested in high-concept movies?"
"Of course," Ronald nodded. He doesn't object to high-concept movies like "Flash Dance" and "The Kid", but he just doesn't want to make those low-budget exploitation films anymore.
"Well, I'm currently discussing a new film with Paramount. If you're interested, you can come and talk about it after Eisner and I discuss the results."
"That's great." Ronald heard that it was cooperating with Paramount, and he immediately became interested.
"I have submitted a budget of more than 15 million US dollars to Paramount. In addition, this is a movie that speaks well of the American army. You are not anti-war, are you?"
"If the subject of the Vietnam War is to speak favorably for the American government, then I am not suitable. My aunt is a Vietnam War widow."
"No, it's a modern theme." Gubel waved his hand, "Don't worry, I'm still waiting for Paramount's reply. Now is no different than when I was filming 'Endless Love'. I have a lot of production business.
I’m too busy right now, so I’ll talk to you when there’s news.”
Ronald knew that his relationship with Gubel was limited, so he did not ask for more information, "Well, thank you for your trust, Mr. Gubel."