Chapter 445: Over 10 million box office in five days
These movie fans all have ordinary jobs, and many are housewives, but they are willing to spend their little pocket money to go to the cinema to watch "Dirty Dancing" over and over again.
Ronald and their boss, Kathy, agreed not to rush to complete the 100-club feat. "Dirty Dancing" would run for a long time, at least until the end of the year, and then it would move to a long-term run. Ticket prices at that time
Cheaper.
"In short, I don't want you to go and see it just to break the record or to fulfill your wish. Let's make an agreement. As long as every time you go to see it, you want to see the story of Johnny and Baby, not for this record.
.If you can do it, I will come to congratulate you when the time comes."
"Oh yeah!"
People in the women's fan club cheered happily, "You have to bring Patrick Schwytz with you then."
"Hahaha..." Ronald scratched his head, these movie fans are so cute.
"I want to do something for you, Kathy. I have never had this kind of experience in making movies before. No one told me that she would like movies to the point of watching dozens or hundreds of them."
"Really? Can we make a request?" Several fans were extremely happy. It is not easy for the director to make such a promise.
"As long as I don't let Schwytz dance with all of you..." Ronald remembered that after the movie was released, the male protagonist Schwytz was asked to dance with people everywhere and asked him to say that line. He had no choice but to
Half-jokingly, I asked these loyal fans to give up this request.
"No, no, that's not it." Casey, the head of the fan club, said with a smile, "We watched the movie and we all liked the dance in it. We also formed a dance club and met every week in the classroom of the primary school in the town.
Dance.
However, the soundtrack of the movie was sold out as soon as it came out, and it is difficult to find it even in Nashville, a music city. We hope you can allocate a batch to us."
"Just this little thing?" Ronald was surprised that they didn't ask for more. "In this way, our new record is being produced day and night in the factory. When the first batch comes out, I will ask them to send you 50 copies first.
, and then added posters of Patrick Schwytz and Jennifer Gray.”
Ronald snapped his fingers and called the Daydream employees to finalize the matter.
…
After saying goodbye to these lovely southern girls, Ronald did not continue the fan meeting trip in the south with Cynthia Rhodes, but flew back to Los Angeles.
"This is a list of people who want to meet you." Niceta returned to Los Angeles in advance and handed Ronald a bunch of invitations. What Hollywood lacks most is money. Now that it is clear that Ronald will make a lot of money, it is about to happen.
An insider who can invest in the production of movies by himself, stars all want to strengthen their ties with him.
"Rick, help me sort out who I need to see first, and then I'll go meet them." Ronald looked at the thick list and whistled.
"Actually, you don't need to go see them. It's their turn to come see you. Why don't I find a company for you and hold a few parties to send a lot of people away at once. If you are interested, just chat a few words. If you are not interested, just perfunctory. What do you think now?
For status, you can learn from Spielberg's style."
Rick Niceta looked at Ronald and knew that he had not yet transformed from a famous director into a powerful film company boss.
"Oh yeah? Can I?" Ronald breathed out and threw the list on the table, "Then please help me choose."
"Of course," Niceta smiled and put away the list, "David comes to you if he has something to do, and he also has a bunch of scripts squeezed in."
Niceta was the first to chat with Ronald, and he nuzzled at David Simkins who was behind him.
"Ronald, this is the script we recently received." David Simkins, the script assistant, had five large iron boxes brought in, filled with scripts for "Dirty Dancing".
The shooting cost was very low, and it was another independently released film by Ronald's Daydream Pictures.
This gives endless hope to those who want to turn their scripts into movies. So scripts are now rapidly gathering into daydreams, with the scale and speed being ten times the original.
Ronald opened the tin box and took two random books inside. The covers were obviously dusty and had been turned around.
"It's those old scripts again. You help me choose them first, and then I'll take the time to read them carefully." Ronald knew that every time he made a successful movie, there would be a large number of unsuccessful screenwriters who "worked hard" to write it.
I sent this masterpiece to try my luck. I hope this director can recognize the goods.
There are good things in it, but I don’t know why they are buried in the studio’s warehouse and have not been filmed. But most of them are garbage and have been rejected by multiple studios. The most likely reason is that the script itself has problems or is not suitable.
Filming (some scenes were too expensive).
"Okay, boss."
"Our records can be sent to retail stores all over the country immediately. After the RCA contract was signed, the first batch of goods produced used different covers. It was almost the weekend and the situation of no goods in various places could be solved. Try to be in MJ's store
'Bad' took two weeks to sell before the new album."
When Jimmy Lehner came for the third time, RCA advanced funds to produce records to show its sincerity. As for the marketing link, the demand from various places was very strong. As long as the records arrived, they could be sold immediately. The mutual pull effect of movies and records
It's very obvious. RCA didn't have more budget.
When the money comes back, RCA will split the money with Daydream.
"The repayment is still too slow." Ronald took out his checkbook and wrote a check for legal fees to Los Angeles barrister Mickey Kanter.
All the funds from Daydream have been spent on marketing, and now they are adding fan meetings and other activities in various places, and touring the states of America. On the other hand, Ronald is still talking to the lab about printing additional copies. Now
The multiplex theaters are optimistic about the box office potential of "Dirty Dancing" and hope to introduce more copies and play it on a loop.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! The money Douglas Jr. invested in the later period was like a drop in the bucket, and it would be exhausted in less than a week.
Moreover, according to the share ratio between the two of them, Ronald would also have to invest millions of dollars, otherwise the two would have to sit down and have lawyers and accountants recalculate their share ratio.
There is only one way now, which is to use future box office revenue and record revenue to obtain mortgage loans from financial institutions, and then tide over the current cash depletion.
Fortunately, the box office performance of "Dirty Dancing" is obvious to all, and the record is expected to achieve good sales next week, so borrowing millions for emergency use is not a big problem.
Another person who came to chat with Ronald one-on-one was Steve Bannon, the producer of "Love Is Not For Sale".
"With my connections on Wall Street, I can earn at least this amount of interest." Bannon took the calculator on Ronald's desk and typed a number on it.
"If that's the case, I might as well go to the boss of the Screen Fund. You know, I have a good relationship with their directors.
Ronald pushed the calculator back.
"Okay, you can still get this much cheaper, but you have to borrow at least 10 million." Bannon typed in another number.
"Ten million? Is my collateral worth such a high value?" Ronald looked at the interest, which was quite satisfying. It was just a limit of 10 million. It seemed that the box office distribution contract and the record contract were not worth so much money.
"I personally guarantee you. I don't believe your movie is worth such a small amount of money. Since the release of Love Is Not For Sale, I have gone to the cinema to watch a movie every other day to observe the audience's emotions and reactions. Your 'Dirty Dancing'
After it is released, I can responsibly say that your box office will be at least double that of my movie."
Bannon shook his thick neck from side to side, and his tie and shirt held him tightly. When he talked about his confidence in Ronald, he got a little excited and loosened his tie.
"What do you want?" Ronald was quite satisfied with the interest. Bannon took the initiative to help, so he had to see what the cost would be.
"Can you take me with you in your next movie?" Bannon threw aside the tie he was playing with and said to Ronald in a low voice.
"I can't guarantee that you can participate in the movies I direct, but I will be open to your investment in the next movies I am interested in producing."
"It's a pleasure to deal with you." Bannon stretched out his thick hand and shook Ronald's hand. "Let the accountants and lawyers complete the rest of the contract work."
The last person to come in was Michelle Cannold, the publishing director of Daydream.
"Tonight, our box office will exceed 10 million US dollars."
Cannold came up with the good news.
"Tonight? Are you sure? Today is the fifth day, right?" Ronald was a little surprised. He originally expected to hit the first 10 million box office by the weekend of the second week, but he didn't expect it to be possible several days in advance.
?
"Yes, there has been unexpected growth in the box office in the Deep South and the Midwest. I have added a few stops to meet fans in Alabama, Georgia and other states. The female audiences in those small towns, really
Love this movie very much.”
"Yeah, yeah..." Ronald stroked his beard. The biggest surprise of "Dirty Dancing" was that it gained a large number of die-hard audiences in the conservative Deep South.
"So our video tape production has to be accelerated." Michelle Cannold took the opportunity to push forward a video tape release plan.
"This?" Ronald looked at the summary. The plan inside was good, but the cost was also very expensive. He almost had to invest most of the loan he had just finalized with Bannon.
"We must seize the time. In the second month after the movie is released, pirates will take a fancy to the movie's box office and start trying to bribe movie projectionists in small towns.
Moreover, from the second to the third month, many small town movie theaters began to rent copies to their counterparts, and loopholes began to appear in the management there. Generally, movie piracy occurred during this period.
We must distribute a large number of video tapes to video rental stores before the risk of piracy."
"Okay, let's do it." Ronald looked at the back and saw Cannold's estimated sales and rental income, and immediately signed the proposal to confirm it.
If you spend all your money on "Dirty Dancing" now, you may get back several times the return next year.
"However, can the production cost be reduced?" Ronald asked, pointing to the unit price of a single video tape. "I know some of the details of the video tape distribution of 'Top Gun', and their cost seems to be lower than ours."
"That's different, Top Gun is sponsored by Pepsi-Cola, and they are $6 cheaper per plate." Cannold pointed to the average cost figure and said to Ronald.
"Oh, I forgot about this." Ronald patted his head, "It would be great if we also had videos sponsored by companies with deep pockets like this. I would be willing to shoot commercials for them. But this is a rare thing."
Cannold was about to ask Ronald when he was given the answer and looked frustrated.
"In fact, we need a company that can provide cheaper production costs, but..."
"Oh, how much cheaper can it be?" Ronald was interested. If all the loans were spent on production, there would be no production budget for the new movie, and there would be basically no savings in his personal account. It is always good to save a little.
.
"It's much cheaper, but they are a company from Xiangjiang."
"What happened to Xiangjiang?" Ronald asked.
"Piracy is rampant there."
"Oh," Ronald thought for a while, but let it go. If the manufacturer insists on piracy, the pirated video tapes may be on the market together with the genuine ones, or only lag behind for a short period of time, which will eat up the genuine ones in large numbers.
sales, it is too late to regret.
"Actually, their production capacity is good, the quality is very consistent, and they are cheap." Manager Liu also brought a large number of video tapes they produced. I think the colors are very accurate. If they are not pirated, it is very suitable to give them to them.
Cannold asked his assistant to bring in a box of video tapes from the outside. They all had Chinese characters on the covers. The one on the top starred Ronald's acquaintance Jackie Chan, and its name was very strange.
Up to X.
"Put it here and let me take a look." Ronald knew that the other party was also attracted by such a cheap cost. If the sales were very good or the video tape market in Europe was opened, the American market would have been eaten up by then.
So few that I don’t care about more piracy in Asia.
The last ones to come in were Ronald's most trusted agents, Richard and Niceta.
Niceta has already found a public relations company and booked a party time for Ronald. Richard took a bunch of information on important people and wanted to go through it with Ronald.
The working hours passed quickly. After Ronald and the two agents finished discussing, it was almost evening.
"Ahem..." Ronald yawned loudly and stretched, "It's been quite tough these past few days. Traveling between the east and west coasts, the marketing road show is really tiring."
"Perhaps, you should consider renting a private plane. It will save time than civil aviation, and you can also rest on the plane."
Niceta closed the notebook and made a suggestion.
"Don't mention it, I'm in a cash crisis right now. I've been spending, spending, spending this year. If I don't get the money back, I won't be able to afford to fly first class."
"Uh..." Richard hesitated.
"What?" Ronald saw his little move.
"When you were short of money, didn't you work in advertising production? The shooting could be completed in a day or two. Now your reputation is still rising, and the prices offered by manufacturers are increasing."
"Someone asked me to shoot an advertisement?" Ronald laughed, "That's a good thing. Which company is it?"
"Procter & Gamble..."
"Pass," Ronald interrupted immediately. During the filming of Dirty Dancing, P&G withdrew the product placement for the Cleary Acne Cream because of the abortion plot, leaving Ronald very passive. This time it was obvious
The other party intended to extend an olive branch, but Ronald was not interested in reconciling with them.
In the worst case, just save some money, or borrow some more, or go back to New York to enjoy his aunt's meal, hehe. Ronald no longer wants to embarrass himself.
"Okay, let me see what I can do. I'll let the word out that you are willing to accept the advertisement and see what the results are."
"Very good, Ronald rubbed his eyes. He always has a lot of work to do, but that's it for today."
Taking a few boxes of video tapes sent by Xiangjiang Company, Ronald picked out a few Jackie Chan movies and went back to watch them for entertainment.
…
"Spartan
What kind of movie is this? The name doesn't reveal much about the content.
Ronald put the videotape into the machine, and after a burst of blue and pink anti-piracy credits passed, the movie officially started.
"This anti-piracy technology is pretty good, it's better than last time I saw it." Ronald felt that those who deal with piracy are probably also top-notch in anti-piracy.
The opening scene shows Jackie Chan and one of his brothers getting up. Because the stairs were blocked by a fight between Italians, the two decided to take a shortcut.
Jackie Chan rolled over from the balcony and jumped down. There was an awning in the fruit shop below. He did the splits on the awning, bounced it, and then rolled down and stood on the ground.
"Oh, Shxt", Ronald stood up, how was this shot taken?
He quickly grabbed the remote control and rewinded the tape.
"Hey, there seems to be no editing point." Ronald muttered, "Is this really dancing?"
He pressed the play button.
"ah……"
The fruit shop owner put away the awning, followed by another actor, named Yuen Biao, who jumped down from the second floor and sat down on the ground.
"Isn't this also a real shot?" Ronald exclaimed.
This dangerous move of somersaulting from the second floor to sitting on the ground may lead to injury or even disability.
"He's willing to dance? No, how can anyone be so stupid? There must be some special method." Ronald finished watching the movie. It was filled with many such action scenes, and the action was very beautiful.
But what impressed him most was the scene in the opening scene where he fell from the second floor, was caught by the awning, bounced up, and flipped to the first floor.
Encountering this kind of technical problem, Ronald's director addiction was aroused again, and he wanted to know how this was filmed.
After thinking for a long time, Ronald looked at his watch. It happened to be morning there and decided to make a call.
…
"Brother Long, there is a ghost guy looking for you. He speaks English. He said he is calling from Los Angeles."
"Ghost? Who's calling me?" Jackie Chan had already gotten up early and finished exercising. After taking a shower, she was preparing to eat.
"Hello? This Jackie Chan", Jackie asked word by word in his slightly accented English.
"Ronald, this is Ronald..."
"Sister Jiao, come and listen to me. This ghost guy talks so fast that I can't understand him."
"Hello", the beautiful woman called Jiaojie came over to answer the phone and was about to ask in English.
Ronald switched to Mandarin here, "I am a friend of Brother Long, my name is Ronald, Ronald Lee. If you say Ronaldinho is looking for him, he will know."
"Oh, Ronaldinho." Jackie Chan picked up the phone, "How are you in Los Angeles? When will the new movie be released in Hong Kong? We are having a good time together."
"I'm here to ask you a question about film shooting..." Ronald said on the phone.
"Don't take it seriously, let's learn from each other." Jackie Chan was very happy. She made an exaggerated face at Jiao Jie and whispered to her: "This ghost guy Xiao Luo said that he wants to ask me about a movie. He was the ambition of last year.
The director of Ling Yun, the one you watched."
"I just watched your 1984 movie "Food Truck". How was the scene where you jumped from the second floor and got bounced by the awning taken?"
"How to shoot? Just shoot directly." Jackie Chan stopped to play tricks with Sister Jiao and answered Ronald on the phone. He felt it was a bit strange. This action was quite difficult. He did it five or six times before he found the feeling.
, I took the smoothest one.
But what do you think is the difficulty of this shot? That’s not true at all. Just put the camera there and shoot it. It’s not as difficult as the fencing shot behind.
"Shoot it directly? Did you really jump down and take one shot to the end?"
"Every one of them is really dancing. All the scenes in my movie are real." Brother Long started to show off to Sister Jiao again.
"Then the actor at the back, Yuen Biao, did he really jump off the second line and fall to the ground?"
"Of course, we have other martial arts, you can jump from higher floors."
"Okay, I'm convinced." Ronald chatted with him for a while and hung up the phone, "These are really a group of people who don't want their lives."
"Ghost Ronaldinho convinced me..." Jackie Chan danced happily and somersaulted in front of Sister Jiao.
…
"Ronald, I received a reply early this morning. Coca-Cola wants to work with you. Just like the commercial you shot for Pepsi last year, you also shot a Diet Coke commercial for Coca-Cola, which they will use for their main TV commercials.
Their bid is very good, a little higher than Pepsi.
In addition, if you are willing to shoot a 60-second commercial, they can also follow the cooperation method with Pepsi and insert an advertisement in front of the 'Dirty Dancing' video, and they are also willing to subsidize you $6 per video tape."
Early the next morning, agent Richard called Ronald to tell him the good news.
"You know what? Richard, you made me happy today. I agreed, and you asked them to find someone to talk to?"