Chapter 43 The Dirty Dancing video is selling like crazy
The preparations for "Working Girl" were slowly approaching, and in late January, Ronald had no choice but to press the pause button on his busy work in New York and fly to Los Angeles to attend the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.
The Golden Globe Awards are voted for by less than a hundred members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Many of these members are just nominal reporters, working part-time at some tabloids, translating news from America and sending it back.
Therefore, this award is the easiest to operate among all the acting awards in Hollywood. Ronald's "Moonlight" crew specially allocated a sum of money, and the marketing director Michael Gray was in charge of giving gifts to dozens of judges.
Received vacation vouchers for a luxury hotel in Palm Springs, as well as accommodation and breakfast vouchers for a five-star hotel in Hollywood.
Ronald himself also agreed to attend the award ceremony. The Golden Globe Awards is an organization that relies on television broadcasts to make money. As long as celebrities can agree to attend, they will usually award the award to you.
Due to the Golden Globe awards scandal in previous years, many real big stars did not want to attend the award ceremony to avoid being accused of buying the award.
In addition, Michael Gray's public relations work is too good. The Golden Globe Awards are hungry for talent, and they have a great impression of Ronald, who gives away things and gives face. They suddenly went too hard and gave Ronald two movies last year.
His works, "Dirty Dancing" and "Moonlight" both received several nominations.
Both films were nominated for "Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (The acting awards at the Golden Globe Awards are divided into two categories: drama and comedy musical)". Cher and Jennifer Gray were also nominated for comedy musical
Best Actress, and a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Olympia Dukakis. John Patrick Shanley was nominated for Best Screenplay for "Moonlight" and the "Spicy" song for "The Time of My Life"
The theme song of "Dance" was nominated for best episode.
Ronald's own Best Director nomination came for "Moonlight", which made him very happy. The Golden Globe Awards ceremony is held in late January, and the Academy Award nominations are announced a week later in February.
Early ten days. The close proximity of the two in time has a very hidden benefit.
Many Academy members who have the right to vote for nominations are actually very old. They may not have the energy to watch movies every year. Many of them actually vote based on their impressions. The list of nominees for the Golden Globe Awards has been published in the media.
According to reports, the live broadcast of the party will also be mentioned repeatedly.
These members probably had some impression of Ronald's film because of the awards received a few days before the deadline, and when they couldn't get enough nominations, they casually put his name on it.
Every year, people who don’t know why in the media regard the Golden Globe Awards as a benchmark for the Oscars. This is the secret. In the end, the union awards that have a higher degree of overlap are also because there is no live TV broadcast like the Golden Globe Awards.
Its spread is unknown to outsiders.
Ronald stood in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where the awards ceremony was held, for a long time. He had acquaintances from both movies to say hello.
The reputation of the Golden Globe Awards is getting worse every year. A few years ago, a rich man openly bribed his girlfriend to solicit votes, which greatly damaged the credibility of the Golden Globe Awards. It was also stopped from broadcasting by TV stations for three years. Originally, all A-list celebrities would attend.
After the resumption of broadcasts, important awards have become a gathering of has-been stars. The biggest one is only the veteran western movie star Clint Eastwood. This year the Golden Globe Awards will give the honorary "Dimir Award" (
Named after Hollywood director Cecil B. DeMille)" was awarded to him.
Among the celebrities who came tonight, the audience’s favorites were probably those from Ronald’s two crews. Patrick Schwytz tied his long hair into a ponytail and thanked Ronald with his wife, and then the women
The protagonist Jennifer Gray and her father, as well as the supporting actor Cynthia Rhodes and her boyfriend Richard Marks, etc., they all hugged Ronald for a long time and thanked him. For a while, the stars around him were surprised. "Dirty Dancing"
The deep friendship between the cast members.
The male and female protagonists are high-spirited and their mental state is not on the same level as other stars.
Ronald took a group photo with them and invited them in to sit on the round table of the crew. With a smile on his face, Ronald continued to wait for the "Moonlight" crew at the door.
A number of has-been stars, such as last year's Best Actress, the deaf-mute Marlene Matlin, and Ellie Sheedy from Brad's Gang, all came over to say hello to Ronald, even the one who just gave birth.
The child's daughter, Sybil Shepherd, also took the initiative to take a photo with Ronald.
Ronald never refused, chatted and laughed with them all, and made all the beauties laugh with his full sense of humor.
Being nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture and Best Director, Ronald was certainly happy, but what really made him so happy was that the "Dirty Dancing" video was selling well across the country.
No one could have imagined that the "Dirty Dancing" video would be a huge success in the market. Less than a month after it went on sale, more than 600,000 boxes have been sold. The new monthly video rental ranking list in the Hollywood newspaper
, "Dirty Dancing" also surpassed all movies in one fell swoop and ranked first.
At the current sales rate, it is expected that the number will soon exceed one million boxes, and it will continue to grow. Ronald's daydream began to rent all the video tape manufacturers he could find at a high price to produce video tapes with all his strength.
The video tape, which ultimately retailed for less than 40 US dollars, brought in astonishing revenue. "Dirty Dancing" has been in theaters for more than five months and has just been released, with a total box office revenue of more than 100 million. But the video tape
It seems that it may not take more than two months to achieve the same sales volume. Not to mention that the video tapes purchased by Blockbuster Company will continue to pay dividends to Ronald during the long-term lease.
In short, the happiest thing for Hollywood stars is a fat check. Ronald has already sent checks to the creators of "Dirty Dancing" in advance, and even the evening attire they wore for today's banquet was made by many celebrities.
The most expensive.
The crew of "Dirty Dancing" arrived later. Olympia Dukakis, John Patrick Shanley, and Cher were all dressed very elegantly. Compared to "Dirty Dancing", they were Oscar-nominated
The hope is much greater. Especially for Dukakis, who won basically all the union and film critic awards for Best Actress.
So this Golden Globe Awards ceremony is actually their preview of the Oscars. Even Cher, who always likes to wear see-through outfits, also changed into a high-end custom-made evening dress, which is very elegant.
Sure enough, "Moonlight" was the big winner in the end, and both Cher and Dukakis received the awards they were nominated for. The awards presented to them were acquaintances Cynthia Rhodes and Marlene Matlin.
Olympia Dukakis was very touched. She thanked Ronald for a long time and gave her a chance to start over as an actress. For an actress of her age to have a movie win the Golden Globe Award, it brought her great success.
Not only did he gain fame, but he also received an offer that doubled his salary more than ten times.
Cher's thank you speech was quite interesting. She thanked Ronald, the screenwriter Shanley, and her fans who have always been loyal to her. After all, in recent years, being a fan of see-through clothing enthusiast Cher still has to endure.
Social pressure for courage.
Of course, the two major awards that Ronald himself was nominated for, Best Film and Best Director, were lost to Bertolucci of "The Last Emperor".
Seeing Bertolucci thanking the Chinese people on the stage, Ronald was still a little emotional. The shock that "The Last Emperor" brought to the Western people was unmatched by other movies. The box office of the movie was silent.
Nine weeks later, it also started to exert its efforts, and with less than 100 theaters, it exceeded the 1 million weekend box office figure.
The producers began to collect copies and expand the scale of the screening. Today, it won the best picture, best director, best screenplay, best soundtrack and other awards. It is conceivable that there will be a wave of curious audiences.
Although Ronald did not win the award, he was not too disappointed after losing to an epic film like "The Last Emperor". It may also have something to do with the fact that Ronald was toasted too much by both crews during the award ceremony. Ronald
Nader was in a good mood and chatted with director Adrian Lyne, an old friend he met while filming "Flashdance."
Today he was also nominated for Best Director, and Michael Douglas, the leading actor in the movie "Fatal Attraction," won the Best Actor award.
"Is there hope for your Oscar nomination?" Ronald asked Adrian Lyne.
"It's about as big as your hopes..." Ryan is a very gentlemanly person in the British actor circle. He grew up in Cambridge and studied at Oxford University. Ronald and he got along very well.
He and Ronald's status in Hollywood are similar. They have made movies that have been successful at the box office, but they don't have much respect in the industry, and they still have one movie left to establish their status as directors.
This time's "Famous Attraction" is actually similar to the year before last's "9 and a Half Weeks," both of which are erotic films. But this time Michael Douglas, a Jewish star, was invited, and the plot also added respect for traditional values.
He asked his wife to shoot and kill the third party Shen Jingbing who interfered with the family, played by Glenn Gross.
This approach of actively moving closer to mainstream values is also very close to Ronald's film philosophy, which is to solve the box office problem first, and then add some profound thematic content.
"Hi, Adrian, Ronald, what are you talking about?" Michael Douglas came over to greet them.
"It's a great trophy, where are you going to put it?" Ronald greeted him with a smile.
"Oh, I have to keep it well. My last Oscar was won as a producer. This is my first acting award, I hope it won't be the last one..."
"Hahaha, I see you have won Best Actor at the Screen Actors Guild and Film Critics Association Awards one after another, and you will get the Oscar this time as well." Ronald said to Douglas with a smile.
"You've got a good chance, too," Michael Douglas responded with a hat. He was in the spotlight this year, winning the award for Gekko in "Wall Street," both of which were hits and critical acclaim.
"I'm lucky to be nominated." Ronald knew that if he could be nominated for an Oscar, he would have accomplished his mission. He didn't expect Douglas to be so powerful this year. For best actor, there are only John Lone and Nicholas Tse who were also nominated for the Golden Globe Award.
Cage's performance can be compared with him. However, both of them were selected for the Golden Globe Award for the first time, and the Oscars attach great importance to the actor's history. Douglas has almost no opponents this year.
"Hey, after all, the Golden Globe Awards... you know, if I am willing to come, the possibility of winning the award is very high. Oscars are decided by one vote." Michael Douglas was still very nervous when talking about the Oscars.
He previously won the Academy Award for Best Picture as the producer of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". But that was given to his son by his father, a Jewish boss, who bought the rights to adapt the novel. Really relying on his acting skills,
It still depends on this year.
"Yeah..." The three of them fell into silence. Everyone wants an Oscar, but it's really hard to say. For example, Glenn Gross, who plays opposite Douglas, has top-notch acting skills and has been nominated many times, but
I haven't received a single statuette.
"Sean...Sean...don't do this." The three people suddenly heard a familiar voice speaking on the other side.
"I don't have a problem with you, Michael, but if he doesn't come today, am I not qualified to meet and chat with him?" A man with a strong Scottish accent answered.
Ronald turned his head, and it turned out to be Michael Ovitz, the president of CAA, and Sean Connery, the first actor to play 007, talking. Both of them were a little excited. After realizing that something was wrong, they immediately returned to being amiable.
appearance.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! The three Ronalds pretended not to see anything and turned around to find their agents to inquire about the situation.
"It's Spielberg," Niceta quickly asked, got into the back seat of the luxury car, and whispered to Ronald.
It turns out that Michael Ovitz is still working hard to promote his first celebrity client under CAA, the long-past Sean Connery. At today’s Golden Globe Awards, he relied on Ovitz’s operation to win the award.
Ryan De Palma's film, the gangster thriller "The Untouchables," won best supporting actor.
This movie stars Kevin Costner and Robert De Niro as the two main protagonists, good and evil. The box office was very good, with more than 75 million. In the end, Sean Connery won the Golden Globe Award, which was completely behind the scenes.
Ovitz was driving the results.
The specific reason is very interesting. Sean Connery was Ovitz's most important signing during CAA's transformation into the film business. He was the first star to sign an agency contract with CAA, and he was also Ovitz's own client.
But Connery was in bad luck afterwards, and it seemed that no one in Hollywood was looking for him to make movies. For the sake of himself and CAA, this No. 1 client couldn't just let him go. Ovitz spent a lot of energy
and resources to put Connery back in charge.
Apart from this Golden Globe Award, the most important part of his plan is to ask Spielberg to consider writing Sean Connery into the latest adventure movie of Dr. Indiana Jones as the main character.
supporting role.
But Spielberg never agreed. The Golden Globe Award was originally a good opportunity for the two to meet, but who knew that this time Spielberg did not come to attend the award ceremony at all.
"Why? Isn't he willing to use Sean Connery, an old man?" Ronald heard that it was a supporting role, which was a bit strange. Spielberg is not the kind of director who is ruthless for the sake of the role.
"You may not have noticed that his Empire of the Sun only received a nomination for Best Picture tonight, but not for Best Director."
"Huh?" Ronald flipped through the awards list, and sure enough, "Empire of the Sun," which Spielberg worked so hard for, didn't even get a nomination for Best Director.
"I heard that it was Kirk Douglas's group of older Jews who were dissatisfied with him for not following Jewish traditions, especially for not educating his children according to Jewish traditions."
"Does it matter whether this child goes to a synagogue? Did these people still live before the First World War?" Ronald thought to himself. I don't usually go to church. I just donate some money to the church where my aunt lives.
"The Jews are a nation maintained by religion..." Niceta also chuckled.
All Italians believe in Catholicism, but the difference can be seen mainly by skin color, hair color, and other obvious DNA characteristics. In fact, after many years of separation, it is difficult for Jewish people to verify who was the original aborigine in the Middle East in terms of ancestry.
Over the years, the Ashkenazi Jews, who are particularly powerful in America, are actually converts to Judaism from some Eastern European countries. It is difficult to say how much blood relationship there is between our ancestors and the Jews who first settled in Jerusalem during the Old Testament period.
Therefore, if this nation wants to survive, the only common ground it can find is Judaism and the Hebrew language that was resurrected after the founding of Israel.
Spielberg said in public in the media that he would not raise his children in the traditional Jewish way. When a celebrity says this, it is undoubtedly a very bad example for many Jews who already have centrifugal tendencies and have turned to secularism.
It's no wonder that these conservative Jewish elders are trying to find ways to give Spielberg some color.
Thinking that this time, Spielberg may not even be nominated for the Oscar for Best Director, Ronald's ambition began to grow. Although he is old and qualified, it is very unlikely that he will win the award for his first nomination.
Small, but...what if?
With this in mind, and wanting to make the nomination foolproof, Ronald himself wrote a check to Michael Gray, who was responsible for the marketing of "Moonlight", to increase public relations investment. Many brokers received generous rewards.
An offensive was launched against the children of old directors from the golden age of Hollywood.
These children, grandchildren, took various coupons provided by the public relations company, went to Beverly Hills one after another, and began to visit their lovely grandparents. During the conversation, they accidentally mentioned Director Ronald.
"Moonlight Sultry" is pretty good.
However, when experienced grandpas asked them which plot was better, the grandsons and grandsons all revealed the truth. After all, what they really thought was "Dirty Dancing" was good.
This money was paid by Ronald himself. After all, the dividends from the "Dirty Dancing" video have arrived. Ronald's account has a huge sum of money. In the foreseeable future, every month
Such dividends will be credited into your own account.
Fortunately, the deputy commander he supports has agreed to the "Continuing Action to Promote Employment and Prosperity" committee to continue exempting or deferring personal income tax on investment income for wealthy people like Ronald.
Ronald was very happy and continued to increase his position in the stocks of Coca-Cola and Sony. Anyway, it was still the old investment philosophy. Buy some stocks of big companies. At least the dividends would be much higher than inflation and bank interest on large deposit certificates, and they would also be tax-free.
.
Ronald kept some cash and started buying gifts for himself and his friends. Ronald bought two apartments at the foot of Beverly Hills, next to the boutique shopping street. Although they were not as good as the lofts on Fifth Avenue in New York,
But it is also a top-floor retest building, so it is good to take a short break. There are also service staff to clean and keep it clean.
You can also park your own Ferrari sports car and motorcycle here. There is a dedicated person in the apartment who starts the car every week to prevent the battery from running out of power.
In addition, Ronald was a little envious of Norio Ohga, the president of Sony, who flew a plane himself, so he began to find a suitable personal trainer, hoping to get a pilot's license after practicing for the test.
Miss Lindsay, a private lawyer who flew over specially, and Lawrence, a private accountant, helped Ronald get the documents. After he signed a lot of documents, he successfully processed the proceeds from "Dirty Dancing".
"If you are not busy, can you go to the wedding with me tomorrow?" Ronald said to the two lawyers and accountants who now mainly serve him personally.
"Is it the wedding of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore? We all saw it in the Hollywood Reporter." Lindsay Dole is not married herself, she just has a son with her partner, but she is very interested in other people's weddings.
, she has also recently been thinking about whether to make up for this ritual.
"Yes, it's a small ceremony attended by people in the industry. The groom is still filming a new movie, but the bride doesn't want to postpone it any longer in case she can't fit into the wedding dress."