"Ronald, it's nice to see you, please come in." The person who opened the door for Ronald was Cher's little boyfriend who made bagels.
"Hello...uh..." Ronald was speechless for a moment. He forgot the name of this Italian pastry chef who was 18 years younger than Cher.
"Rob Camiletti", the other party was still a little unhappy, "please come in."
Ronald didn't quite remember the Italian surname. He followed the other person and entered the small apartment. "Where's Cher?"
"She's on the phone with her agent." Rob motioned Ronald to sit on the sofa in the living room, and then went into the room to call Cher.
Since Cher got the salary for "Moonlight" and paid off the hotel room fee, she found a "small apartment" to rent in New York. Of course, although the apartment is very shabby compared to Cher's status in the music industry
, but it is still very large compared to ordinary people’s residences, and the location is also good.
"Ronald, Ronnie, I'm so happy to see you. How's the box office of your Dirty Dancing going? I bought your movie soundtrack album, which gave me some inspiration."
Xueer walked out of the next room and hugged Ronald. She was still wearing strange see-through clothes. Ronald saw several pairs of men's shoes from the shoe cabinet at the door.
"This boyfriend moved in so quickly?" Ronald secretly wondered if Xueer was here for real this time?
Sitting in Xueer's warm apartment, Ronald explained the purpose of his visit.
Because it was related to her personal feud with David Letterman, Cher's opinion had to be sought in person for this hype.
David Letterman arranged two plans. The first one was to put the main hype on the personal feud between himself and Cher. In fact, the two people only had a verbal conflict last time, and there was no substantive conflict.
Conflict. This time the two of them are on the show. Whether they continue the feeling of conflict from last time or get back together, it is a very good choice.
The second option is to treat the incident as if it never happened without involving the grudge between the two. Instead, she invites Cher's ex-husband, Sonny Bono, to appear on the show with her.
The two have never performed on the same stage since they broke up. Many American viewers still miss the song "I Got You Babe" that the ex-couple used to sing every time they hosted a show.
"David Letterman promised that in addition to the normal appearance fee, you can pull up your band at the opening of the show and sing a complete song from your new album. It is equivalent to a free promotion of the new album."
Ronald finished explaining the plan and then put forward the conditions.
"Then what does this bastard get?" Cher was obviously moved. The sales of her new album were sluggish. Being able to sing live on Letterman's show, this opportunity has great commercial value.
"With you as a star on the show and various gimmicks, he can obviously increase the ratings."
Ronald smiled and said, "This is a win-win opportunity. If I were you, I would definitely agree. The only question is which option to choose."
"As for me, I got my movie heroine, in front of a national audience, as a publicity stunt inviting everyone to go see the movie. You'll agree, right?"
Xueer listened and said nothing, looked at her boyfriend Rob, and then looked at Ronald, smiling and saying nothing.
"Rob?" Ronald looked at the Italian man making bagels.
"Why don't we choose the first option? Cher's every move now is followed by paparazzi reporters. If she and Sonny appear on a show, there will be a lot of reports." Rob Camiletti suggested.
Choose the first option.
"A good sign." Ronald relaxed a little. It was obvious that Rob wanted Cher to be exposed on the show.
But I came here originally because I wanted to persuade Cher to accept the second plan to reunite with her ex-husband. The stunt of the two of them teaming up again on TV was obviously more scolded than David Letterman, the late-night host.
I want more people to like watching it.
"The people of America still want to see you and Sonny reunited again, Cher. Sonny Bono has been invited by David Letterman. He said that as long as you nod, Sonny is not a problem.
He also needs this kind of exposure opportunity now.
As for the scale of the conversation, topics, and what cannot be said, Letterman can all follow your ideas."
"But the paparazzi always won't let Cher go. If you hype up her and Sonny's affairs again, I think there will be a lot of messy gossip news in the media. This will be a very bad harm to Cher.
"
Boyfriend Rob Camiletti continues to give his opinion.
Ronald leaned back and smiled, not believing it.
He picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip. Cher is a model of a maverick woman. She can live with a boyfriend who is 18 years younger than you and an ordinary bagel baker. What happened to the show with her ex-husband?
Are you still being hurt? You still don’t know who hurt whom? David Letterman was so scolded by him that he blushed. This kind of attack power in the media is probably the only one in America, that female comedian who speaks without thinking.
Joan Rivers can fight.
"Rob, go and help me see if the reservation for the restaurant we are going to tonight is confirmed."
Xueer also smiled. She sent her little boyfriend away first, and then spoke to Ronald.
"Ronnie, you have also seen that I enjoy this relationship very much. I have met some celebrity tycoons before. Tom (Cruise), Fang (Kilmer), David (Geffen),
When Rob met me, he was just an ordinary waiter.
He knew I was a celebrity, so he still left me his phone number, hoping to date me. I also gave him his phone number, and he made me feel very comfortable. That's why I let him stay in my house.
He is still young and does not know how to face the media and the outside world's malice. Now he has some psychological defense conditioned reflexes.
The media nicknamed him Bagel Boy, and his name was not included in the reports."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Are you serious?" Ronald saw Cher protecting and paying attention to his young boyfriend's fragile psychology, and found that Cher seemed to be really serious about this relationship.
"I take every relationship seriously. I think it's better not to bring my ex-husband Sonny into the relationship, otherwise the media will bring up my past with him, and when Rob is mentioned, some people will just call him Bagel Boy.
Both of us are in the entertainment industry, and we understand that this does not involve personal grudges. But Rob doesn’t understand this, and I don’t want to embarrass him too much..."
"Our place has been reserved, no problem." The little boyfriend made a call and came back soon.
"Rob," Xueer held his hand very considerately, and the palms of the two of them were relatively close to each other, "Ronald agreed to use the first plan."
"Smart choice..."
Rob Camiletti still had the expression of a boy protecting his girlfriend. Although it was silly, Ronald felt it was a bit warm for some reason. Forget it, it was Cher's own choice anyway.
"Okay, I'll let Letterman's team make the arrangements. I still have things to go back to Los Angeles, so let's do this first."
"Ronald!" Rob Camiletti jumped up from the sofa...
"Huh?" Ronald looked back at him, his eyes sparkling. I'm not that familiar with you, so you just called me by my name?
"Mr. Li," Rob's aura immediately dropped, "I am also an actor, and making bagels is just my side job. I want to know if you have any roles that are suitable for me?"
"Send your resume and audition photos to my company. They will take care of it." Ronald and Cher hugged each other goodbye.
…
"Robertson, who proposed to run as a candidate for the Elephant Party, was accused of falsifying his experience. Several veterans of the same combat unit of the 1st Marine Division, as he claimed, came forward to accuse Robertson of never being on the battlefield and never really facing a day.
, the opponent's artillery fire and charge.
Robertson’s real task is to prepare drinks and snacks for the commander in the rear office every day..."
At the Los Angeles airport, Ronald, who had just returned, was watching live TV in the business jet lounge.
Roger Ailes' arrangement finally worked. Through the CIA, Barbara quickly found Robertson's comrades in arms. Their testimonies were all contradictory to Robertson's claims.
"The current deputy commander-in-chief officially announced that he will run for the next election as commander-in-chief. He announced to reporters in DC today.
The deputy commander announced that he will continue the economic, diplomatic, and military policies of the current commander-in-chief. But in domestic affairs, he will be more moderate to the people..."
A smile appeared on Ronald's lips. This carefully chosen moment made the deputy commander appear to be the natural and only candidate for the Elephant Party.
Among the applauding crowd at the back, Ronald also spotted Schwarzenegger and his wife, who was from the Kennedy family. This was an official appearance, supporting the Elephant Party.
"How can a person go so far? How did he become what he is now?"
Behind the news is Ronald's tailor-made campaign advertisement for George Sr.
On the screen, George Sr. and Barbara, under the gaze of the justice, held the Bible in their hands and began to take the oath to become the deputy governors of the United States of America.
"Perhaps it starts with George becoming the youngest fighter pilot in the Navy more than 40 years ago..."
The scene went from taking the oath to a black-and-white photo of George Sr. in the cockpit of a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier.
"Or maybe it starts from this day in 1944, when George received the Flying Medal for Distinguished Valor for his heroic actions in the battle with the Japanese Navy."
The scene changed to a scene of old George being rescued from the sea, and then faded back to a scene of George and his wife taking an oath.
"Anyway, he started a business, brought his family to Texas and started a successful business. Then he ran for Congress and continued to serve the public in America. Then he became the ambassador to the United Nations, then the ambassador to China, and then the director of the CIA.
.
The more you know about Old George, the more you will find that in this century, no one is more suitable and more prepared to serve as the commander-in-chief than Old George..."
"Well done, well done." Ronald looked at the campaign advertisement shot by Emile Adolino and felt very satisfied.
This kind of documentary-style narration, without any special effects or tricks, just displays old George's resume in a very ordinary way. It is perfect for Emil to shoot this style of advertisement.
"Ronald, you are finally back."
When Ronald turned around, it turned out that it was Joel Silver who had come specifically to pick him up.
"Has Schwarzenegger's agent contacted you? He has officially rejected us." Ronald pointed to the TV and said to Joel Silver. The action movie actor they liked was willing to make a comedy.
, and I don’t want to continue with action movies.
"It's still Bruce Willis. I've been talking to the new boss of Fox for a long time. We have to give Willis an unprecedentedly high price, so that he will agree to take care of both ends."
"How much can you give? We definitely can't afford Stallone's tens of millions."
"There is hope for 5 million. The new president of Fox also comes from a TV station. He is very interested in inviting a TV star to star in a movie. We will talk as we go."
Joel Silver hurriedly pulled Ronald into the limousine.
Ronald was in the back seat of the car, looking at Silver's plan, and then raised his eyes to look at him.
The other party nodded, and the two of them understood each other.
Both of them are familiar with this set of little tricks in budgeting. Joel Silver is very good at doing this trick of inflating costs. If the actor's salary is raised to 5 million, then some other expenses will cost
If it matches its price, it won't seem too expensive.
Ronald doesn't care about this kind of thing. The bigger the budget, the more room the film can make. This script has great potential. If it can be a box office hit, the money will be nothing.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Where are you stuck now?" Ronald heard that he was about to go to 20th Century Fox to meet President Leonard Goldberg.
"Mr. Goldberg likes to see TV stars succeed in the film industry. His philosophy is to make TV stations and film production companies into integrated media groups.
In this way, resources from both sides can be exchanged. Michael J. Fox's "Back to the Future" made everyone see that comedy stars can succeed across television and movies.
What we need now is for action stars to cross over."
Ronald understood Leonard Goldberg's strategy. When he was in New York, he had some conversations with Bannon. Wall Street's valuation of a company depends largely on how you tell stories.
Make investors think you can really do it:
AIntegrate resources
B Reduce costs
Or you can do both AB and AB. Only then will the stock be sought after. The value of the president and CEO, to a large extent, lies in communicating with the investment community and telling stories that paint a big picture so that they can believe it.
If they don't believe you, then the valuation of listed companies will be underestimated, which will make their life difficult.
Take Kerkorian, for example, who almost deceived Ronald. Since losing Ronald as president, World Media Distribution Group's prospects in the Chinese market have begun to dim.
No one can convince the capital market that Hollywood in America can enter the film market there and occupy a certain share.
There are many Hollywood stars who have good relations with the other side of the Pacific, such as Gregory Peck, who is friendly with China, and the famous Italian left-wing director Bertolucci. But they are all left-wing stars and do not have much commercial interests.
Appeal.
Movies can be released in China and have a good relationship with commercial film producers there. Only Ronald can do both. He can not only select movies that people there like to watch, but also gain official friendship.
The two bonds Kerkorian issued on Wall Street met with a cold reception from banks. The first bond only raised US$95 million, and the other was financed by World Media Distribution, a joint venture between three major studios.
Less than 50 million.
Therefore, the same goes for Leonard Goldberg of 20th Century Fox. As long as he can be persuaded that the casting of Bruce Willis can convince Wall Street that they can get TV stars to star in movies, they will also be successful.
The salary is only 5 million, which is very cheap.
"The only thing we have to convince Leonard Goldberg is that he is very suitable for the script of this movie and can make Fox money more than any other action star."
Joel Silver explained to Ronald that Ronald, a busy man, was too busy right now, so he had to catch him directly at the airport. After all, his credibility with Fox's Goldberg was not as good as
This master of commercial films has never failed.
In the same way, the weight of what Ronald said was much heavier than what he said.
…
"I need a reason, Ronald." Leonard Goldberg was sitting in the office. He worked overtime specifically and stayed to see Ronald.
"You know, before the brothers Minahan Golan went crazy, the highest salary for a male star in Hollywood was US$5 million. Now you are interested in Bruce Willis, and the box office of the first movie was only average.
You're going to give him the same salary as Dustin Hoffman or Harrison Ford, so why wouldn't I go to those two actors?"
"He is an ordinary person." Ronald thought for a while and replied.
"Ordinary people?" Leonard Goldberg still doesn't understand.
"Yes, only if Bruce Willis plays the role of NYPD John McClane will we believe that he is an ordinary person.
Whether you look for Schwarzenegger or Stallone, as soon as they appear, the audience will think, oh, this is the protagonist of that movie, a superhero. He will definitely bring out the characters in the movie like Rambo or the Terminator.
The enemy was beaten to pieces.
The audience's impression of Willis is still that funny detective in Blue Moonlight. We can accept that he plays an ordinary person.
The key to the success of this script is that an ordinary person becomes a hero under certain conditions. It also solves the problem that he and his wife are about to get divorced because they live in two places. The audience will resonate greatly.
After all, those things like going to Vietnam to fight in the war, or flying planes and dogfighting with Alliance pilots, are too far away from our lives, and they are larger than life roles.
The key to the box office of this movie is to make the audience feel that the positive characters in the movie are as big as themselves and imperfect. They have troubles and difficulties. In the end, they gritted their teeth and faced the hardships in life head-on, and finally defeated them.
he.
In a sense, this is an American dream. It is in the same vein as the traditional image of small-town Hollywood heroes, but the cowboys in the past have now become the middle class in the big cities."
The more Ronald talked, the smoother he became. America is now very urbanized, and the mainstream audience is already people who grew up in the city. These people also need civilian heroes like them who came out of the big cities.
.
Small-town heroes like Jimmy Stewart represented the American mainstream at the time.
"What you say makes sense, but how can you prove that Bruce Willis can do everything you say? After all, he is just a TV star."
Leonard Goldberg was touched by what Ronald said passionately. Indeed, only emerging directors like Ronald can grasp the current audience mentality. Those veterans who rely on the past
Experienced old people cannot express such insights at all, let alone photograph them.
"It's simple, Mr. Goldberg." Ronald took out a document from his briefcase and handed it over.
"This is a sample survey conducted for Bruce Willis. It shows the audience's attitude towards the movies starring him. The score is very high."
"We all know what this kind of investigation is." Leonard Goldberg didn't move. He had seen these tricks many times on television. In order to get higher salaries for the stars, agents would do whatever they wanted.
The results can all be found.
"This is done by Cinema Score. Their survey only has one question. If Willis stars in an action movie, would you like to see it?" Ronald still handed the document forward. He was asking Cinema Score to do it for Cher.
During the investigation, I also made a copy for Bruce Willis.
"You are a very experienced expert. The quality of such a survey, even with spatial operations, will have little impact on the results. In the appendix below, there is their sampling method and sampling data."
"You convinced me." Goldberg put down his reading glasses. He was very satisfied with the survey. "As long as Willis agrees, I will approve this 5 million salary."
"Ronald, I think your persuasiveness seems to be stronger than before." Joel Silver looked at Ronald, as if he had gone to New York, and his whole person became more like a top-notch person.
Lied... no, a top producer.
"That's because I watched the top liar...ah, the actor's performance." Ronald thought of Kerkorian who went to Wall Street to make money, and the old George who engaged in elections. Acting skills in life require that he be able to do it.
You believe what you say more than your partner does.
"Okay, let's go meet Bruce Willis tomorrow."
…
"Ronnie", "Mr. Silver".
Similarly, the person who opened the door to Ronald and Joel Silver was not Bruce Willis himself, but his girlfriend, Demi Moore, who had recently moved into his home.
"Demi", Ronald was a little surprised, but he quickly adjusted.
The two hugged and said hello like friends.
"Bruce will be here soon. He stayed late last night on the set of Blue Moonlight."
"Demi, who's here?" A voice came from upstairs.
"Honey, it's Mr. Ronald and Joel Silver." Demi shouted upstairs.
"Oh, I almost forgot, just wait for me, I'll be fine soon." Bruce Willis showed his head at the edge of the stairs and said hello to Ronald, and then he stuck his head out again, "Demi, I
Where did you lose your pants last night?"
"Here we come," Demi gave Ronald a charming smile, as if to say, "Aren't you jealous? It turns out that I can give you all these benefits." Then she went upstairs to help her boyfriend clean up.
"What is that?" Silver looked at Ronald, and he also saw something abnormal in that smile.
"Demi also wants to play a role. She is a very ambitious actress." Ronald could only say this.
"oh……"
"Sorry, something happened to the crew last night and I stayed there very late."
After a while, Willis came down from the stairs while buttoning his shirt.
"It's okay, Bruce. We are here to tell you good news. Fox has agreed to give you a salary of 5 million." Joel Silver began to persuade him to agree to do both TV series and movies.
"I would love to, but you guys are late. We had a meeting last night and the producer wanted me to increase the proportion of my role in this season of Blue Moonlight. I don't have time to act in movies."
"But this is a good opportunity for you to get into the movie. Five million US dollars is also the top salary for a Hollywood actor. If you miss this opportunity, the price of your future salary will be..." Joel Silver began to persuade.
"Believe me, no one wants to act more than me. But my contract with the TV station..."
"Can I ask what happened on the set of Blue Moonlight?" Ronald interrupted Silver, who was confused, and patted his thigh to signal him to calm down.
"Isn't it about love?" Bruce Willis glanced at Demi Moore, held her hand tightly and kissed her.
"Huh?" Ronald didn't know why.
"The heroine, Sybil Shepherd, is pregnant recently. She and the chiropractor, Bruce Oppenheimer, seem to be in true love. So this season, she can't have too many scenes, and many of them have been transferred
It’s my character’s side.”
Bruce Willis shrugged, regretting the opportunity, too.
"For love?" Ronald grinned.
"Shepard is already 37, and this is her last chance." Demi Moore was making up for it. She was also very dissatisfied with Sybil Shepard, who played the heroine in "Blue Moonlight"
.This woman always competes with Bruce Willis for scenes, and now Willis can't take care of both sides.
What a hassle!
…
"What a hassle!" Joel Silver complained to Ronald in the car.
"No way, you can't condemn true love." Ronald also sighed, what is this?
Cher and Shepard made the choice for love. In fact, they themselves suffered the greatest loss in terms of interests. Since they themselves had no complaints and were willing to sacrifice their careers for love, it was hard for others to say anything.
After all, America is a free society, and everyone has the right to make their own choices.
"Let's look for other candidates. Hey!"
"Hey..." Ronald also sighed.
He turned on the car radio.
"Affected by the tax bill proposed by the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee in the morning, today's Dow Jones index fell 95 points, down 3.81% from yesterday. This is the first correction after the stock market has steadily increased by more than 60% this year.
Analysts believe that the main reason for this short and unexpected adjustment is the tax bill of the House of Representatives, which will reduce the tax benefits related to financing mergers and leveraged acquisitions. Another important reason is the third quarter international trade deficit data released today
Unsatisfactory.
The sharp appreciation of the yen has not narrowed America's trade deficit with Japan as economists predicted.
Now, let’s listen to the experts’ analysis.”
"Hi..." Ronald turned the radio to a different station. Fortunately, he didn't invest his money in the stock market.
"Do you love me? Do you love me?"
Ronald's "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack came from the bandstand. This record made me work overtime every day to print money.