Chapter Three Hundred and Four Pauline Carr Angrily Rebuked Ronald
The week before the Veterans Day weekend, the usual theater size of just over 1,000 theaters achieved a box office of 9 million. This result made everyone on the crew look forward to the Memorial Day weekend next week.
Nisita said that sometimes it is the schedule that makes the movie, just like many commercial films released in the summer. Sometimes it is the movie that makes the schedule. A successful movie can turn an originally mediocre schedule into a
A good schedule will be a key point for similar movies to compete for at the annual Las Vegas booking fair in the future.
The most typical example is Spielberg's "Jaws." In the mid-1970s, the summer box office was a relatively low period of the year.
His "Jaws" attracted a large number of teenagers on summer vacation to watch in theaters, creating a North American box office of 260 million, which directly changed the landscape of Hollywood. From now on, the summer movie will become a competition for the seven major studios, and every year
Best schedule.
Memorial Day is a short holiday, the last Monday in May, and the weekend of the previous week. It was originally an inconspicuous small time in the film industry. However, Ronald's "Top Gun" was released a week in advance, which created a lot of hype in advance.
heat.
When word of mouth spreads over the weekend of Veterans Day, there will be a terrifying situation where the box office in the second week will increase abnormally compared to the first week. This virtuous cycle will continue to ferment, keeping the box office hot in the next few weeks, and the popularity will be high.
Ramon will also add more copies depending on the situation and continue to expand the scale of the show.
"Thunderbolt 5", which was released at the same time, only had one-third of its box office, and other movies also failed.
With a series of operations, a small weekend schedule can be stretched back and forth into a large schedule of three to four weeks, creating a schedule before the summer vacation that is almost exclusive to "Top Gun"
, when the summer season arrives, a second and third wave of movie viewing peaks will be formed.
This is the risky plan led by Paramount's distribution manager, Sid Ganis. If successful, it will be equivalent to giving "Top Gun" two films to enjoy alone for five weeks longer than others in the summer of 1986.
Summer time.
As expected, two Chicago film critics, bespectacled Roger Ebert and bald Gene Sisko, unblocked their previously written reviews after the release and published them in the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Forum as quickly as possible.
in the film review section of the newspaper.
The two of them also spoke favorably of "Top Gun" during their film review program on PBS.
"In the opening moments of 'Top Gun,' an ace Navy pilot flies upside down about 18 inches above a Russian-made MiG and takes a Polaroid snapshot of an enemy pilot. Then he gives the opponent a
middle finger.
It was a stunt as cheap as a hot dog, but it made the pilot (Tom Cruise) famous among a small circle of Navy personnel who could receive information about close encounters with enemy aircraft. The code-named Lone Ranger
's pilots are selected to attend the Navy's elite flight school, dedicated to the dying art of aerial combat."
The film critic first talked about the plot and gave Ronald's special effects a sensational rating. However, Ronald didn't care. Over the years, he has long understood that film critics always prefer films with dramatic and strong stories.
But the box office of the movies they prefer is not as good as the exploitation films they make.
"Aerial scenes always present special challenges in movies.
There is a danger that the audience will become spatially disoriented.
We're used to seeing things within a framework that respects left and right, up and down, but fighter pilots live in a world of 360-degree turns. The extraordinary achievement of 'Top Gun' is that it presents seven or eight aerial encounters, the choreography of those aerial encounters
So good that we actually get to follow them most of the time, and the movie gives us a good idea of what aerial combat might be like."
Ronald put a lot of effort into carefully editing the air combat clips. Sisko and Albert both said a lot of good things. This is Ronald's advantage. He combined the fast-paced techniques of shooting music videos and commercials,
The technique of predicting the audience's psychology taught by Walter Murch is integrated into these short air combat scenes.
Ronald is very confident that no other director can do a better job than himself. Although the air combat scenes are not long, with cuts every three to five seconds, only a few minutes in total, the time and energy spent here are almost
It accounts for one-third of all editing time.
At the premiere at Miramar Naval Base, those real fighter pilots, even though they were not satisfied with the combat action, recognized the rhythm of the air combat and the real sense of pursuit.
This is probably the reason why teenagers are very satisfied with the two big air battles at the beginning and end. Some military magazines and even "Scientific American" have published articles discussing the fighting movements in air battles, as well as the various types of American fighter jets and their respective unique skills.
.
According to Niceta, in addition to Ray-Ban glasses and flight jackets, Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter jets, licensed aircraft model and toy manufacturers have also received large orders.
"With the chemistry between Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay in 'The Witness' and Kelly McGillis and Harrison Ford in 'The Witness'
In comparison, the chemistry between Cruise and McGillis seems pale and unconvincing. Kelly McGillis is obviously more emotional when looking at the camera..."
"Cruise and McGillis spend a lot of time squinting uncomfortably at each other, communicating like air-to-air missiles, and when they finally get passionate, the two leads look like one of those sexy newbie stars.
Perfume advertising.
There is no flesh and blood, no emotion, director Ronald Lee is amazing, he completely wiped out McGillis' top emotional performance in "The Witness"..."
"Hey, hey, you movie critics don't understand at all. McGillis is looking at me behind the camera..." Ronald read the 2.5 and 3-star movie reviews with a smile.
Ronald is no longer easily angry about film reviews. He remembers his teacher Scorsese saying that film critics are like cavalry. When directors and actors are exhausted from fighting in the battlefield, they come over lightly to reap the fruits of victory.
But Ronald's favorite comment came from a book by Richard Feynman, an expert on the Commission of Inquiry into the Space Shuttle Challenger crash. He bought a copy of the just-released autobiography "Cut it Out, Mr. Feynman."
Look, it's rare for a physicist to write so well.
Feynman quoted a passage from Einstein in his book, and all creators should not take the critics' words too seriously.
If they had the creative ability, they would definitely have made movies themselves. Ronald still remembered that Roger Ebert worked as a screenwriter for exploitation films, and he became a film critic only after the box office didn't do well.
As a New Yorker, Ronald pays more attention to the evaluation of his films by New York film critics. He still remembers that when his debut film came out, he was also attacked by Ebert. In the end, it was the film critics in his hometown of New York who rectified his reputation.
Pauline Carr, a leading figure in the field of film criticism and a film critic writing for "The New Yorker" magazine, gave herself a notarized evaluation and praised her talent. This turned the situation around and allowed Universal to print a batch of copies and get rid of it.
Overcome the dilemma of no nationwide distribution.
Richard was very careful about himself and kept a pile of film reviews from New York. He knew that he had the habit of reading film reviews on the second day of the first weekend. He came to the apartment very early to put away the copies of the manuscripts.
Ronald picked it up and read it one by one, and sure enough, the New York Times, New York Post, etc. all praised it. In the end, film critics strongly recommended that audiences go to the theater to watch "Top Gun", making it the first choice film for Memorial Day.
"Huh? The New Yorker film review came out so early?"
"Yes, Ms. Pauline Carr went to see it specially. She wrote the movie review overnight, which is unusual for her." Richard picked out one and handed it to Ronald.
Ronald took it over happily to see how the old lady praised him this time.
“Top Gun features an extra-long MTV.
I'm here, I'm posing, I'm a hero...
Burly Kelly McGillis is an astrophysicist employed at Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego to teach elite fighter pilots in training; she enters the room sideways, slouching so she doesn't overwhelm
Her co-star, the relatively short Tom Cruise.
He was probably the boldest among her students, molesting the teacher in public.
But when McGillis leaves the screen, the movie becomes a glossy gay ad: pilots strutting around the dressing room, towels hanging precariously around their waists.
As if masculinity has been redefined as a young man taking off half his clothes, as if narcissism is all there is to being a warrior.
In between shirtless maneuvers, shots of jets with ugly nostrils take off, whoosh across the sky and then land, while a soundtrack conjures the end of the world and the Second Coming - even as we watch
It's a training exercise.
What is this movie selling? It's selling stuff, selling Ray-Ban sunglasses, selling leather bomber jackets, selling Honda motorcycles, and selling Ferrari sports cars! Because that's what producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer would do
.
That's something famed advertising director Ronald Lee knows how to do.
Selling was what they thought filmmaking was about. The result was a whole new 'art' form: advertising masquerading as film."
"this?"
Ronald put down the New Yorker film review in a daze.
Then he picked him up again and said, "Are you mistaken? Are you sure this was written by Pauline Carr?"
"I'll go check it out." Richard didn't read this review either. He also thought that Pauline Carr would continue to favor Ronald, a fellow New Yorker.
"Ronald, this is Niceta. I confirmed with the people in New York that it was indeed a film review written by Pauline Carr. She asked me to give it to you to take a look."
"Me? Hey!" Ronald sighed. He was just making some high-concept movies for popcorn. Why would Pauline Carr, who had promoted him in the first place, angrily criticize him?
"Did she say anything else?"
"She said she was very disappointed with you. You had lost the aura you had when you were filming 'Fast Richmond High' and had become a craftsman. She also said that when you go to New York, you can go to her to have a debate. She
I wonder what you think about why you don’t continue to make films that balance both art and business.”
Niceta repeated Pauline Carr's exact words.
"Okay, I'm going to Staten Island for Memorial Day next week. Please help me make arrangements. I'm going to visit Pauline."
Although Pauline Carr was cruel to Ronald and ridiculed him severely, the young people in America obviously ignored the old lady's criticism.
In other words, even if they saw it, they didn't care. Instead, they would regard the shortcomings she pointed out as advantages. They must go and see what the so-called super-long MV of the large advertisement for air combat is all about.
Monday's box office continued to surge, with the average box office per theater rising to $11,000. Paramount's distribution department happily invited dancers to perform in the office. Marketing manager Sid Ganis climbed up on his desk in person to give everyone
Jumped a bit.
After opening more than a dozen large bottles of champagne, spraying everywhere, Sid Ganis dragged the two producers into the manager's office. After "Top Gun" became a hit, I'm afraid he will also be promoted and go to
There is a larger office at the corner with two sides of glass.
"Ronald, come on, we need your help in this video tape." Don Simpson dragged Ronald in to discuss it.
"Does it still matter to me?" Ronald was confused. The sales of video tapes have always been handled by distribution companies like Paramount, and the director had no room for comment.
"I made a plan. This time for Top Gun, we are going to change the video tape pricing model. I have done calculations. If we sell at a reduced price, we can increase sales by more than ten times. In this way, we can make small profits but quick turnover.
, it can also reach several times the previous price of $99.”
"Oh, tell me more about it?" Ronald was very interested in the sales of video tapes, so he asked Sid Ganis to explain it in detail.
"$99 is more suitable for selling to video rental stores. There are thousands of such rental stores across the country. But what if we can lower the price to $49? I'm afraid tens of thousands of families will buy the video to take home and watch over and over again.
Not paying a rental fee of $3 per night.
What if it can be reduced to $39, or $29? How much more can we sell? Even if we only sell 50,000 copies, the profit will be greatly increased."
"This?" Ronald thought for a moment.
Indeed, the video rental fee is $3 per night, and you will be fined if you exceed the time limit. If it is a very good movie, you can buy one for $29, which is the price of watching it 10 times. There is such an explosive "Top Gun" at home.
, it is very honorable to have friends over to drink beer and watch.
What if the child’s classmates come to visit the home?
"However, is Paramount willing to sell it so cheaply?"