Ronald, Hogan, and Linda went to Blockbuster Video to check out the sales of the first "Crocodile Dundee" movie.
The two of them couldn't wait for Little Bud to drive over, so Ronald had to walk with them across three streets to a newly opened chain store on Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.
This is a downtown area with a lot of people. Many of the people who visit the video store at this time are white-collar workers working nearby and those visiting New York. This new store is very large, and there is an advertisement for Ronald Dirty Dancing at the entrance.
Patrick Schwytz and Jennifer Gray hugging each other.
Ronald put on sunglasses and entered the store with two friends. Paul Hogan also tried his best to cover up, not wearing his iconic crocodile leather jacket and wearing a pair of glasses. He also didn't want to be recognized by fans on the road.
Come out and watch, otherwise the purpose of coming will be defeated.
"Do you have 'Crocodile Dundee' here?" Ronald came in and asked the clerk at the counter inside.
"It's among the best-sellers, right at the door."
The three of them came to the pile of video tapes pointed by the clerk. On the shelf facing the entrance, they were all the best-selling and rental videos. Ronald's "Dirty Dancing" and "Top Gun" were both
Impressively on the list, "Crocodile Dundee" is also in a very conspicuous position.
"Are all these movies new?" Ronald asked the clerk as he took samples of three movies.
"Um... Dirty Dancing is no longer available. If you don't mind, you can buy the version we rented, which is cheaper."
"Forget it, just Crocodile Dundee and Top Gun. Come and wrap up two new boxes for us," Ronald said to him.
"At the action movie place, you go get it yourself and come over to pay."
Ronald saw that the business was still going well. The clerk behind the cash register was still dealing with a few customers queuing up to rent movies and had no time to help them.
"How are the sales of these movies? I want to entertain my friends to watch them when they come over on the weekend. Isn't it unpopular?"
"Of course, these are some of the best-selling ones in our store..."
"What about leasing? Are there many people renting it?"
"There are a lot of them. Buying and leasing are both done at the same time. If you rent more, you will sell more."
Taking the two packaged video tapes, Ronald, Hogan and Linda went out, "It seems that there is indeed a problem with the sales statistics. Do you have a lawyer or accounting firm in America? I think Paramount needs it."
Some audit work.”
Ronald chuckled. Is this how Paramount treats Australian hillbillies? They are not afraid of Mr. Crocodile Dundee's anger.
"Do you mind if I ask about the sales of your Dirty Dancing video?" Paul Hogan and Linda said a few words, obviously looking anxious. They felt that they must have been cheated by Paramount.
I just don’t know how much. I don’t have any foundation in America, so I had to ask Ronald for advice.
"I don't know the latest sales figures. Last month they told me they had exceeded one million boxes." Ronald knew that Paul Hogan wanted to compare the sales of his movie Dirty Dancing. After all, the two videos
All are best-seller selections.
In fact, Ronald was not completely telling the truth. One month after the release of the Dirty Dancing video, it had already sold more than one million copies. This speed has set a record, even faster than "Top Gun". As of today, in fact, the sales of the video
The sales volume is close to two million. Ronald didn't want too many people to know this kind of business figure, so he only gave Paul Hogan an idea of the order of magnitude. Anyway, they could check it out on their own.
"Fair dinkum, these vampires are really outrageous." Paul Hogan said an Australian slang in anger. "Do you know any good lawyers? I have to let them know Stanley Jaffe.
, Mr. Crocodile will not be deceived so miserably."
Stanley Jaffe is a vice president of Paramount. He and Shirley Lansing also have an independent production company. They produced the movie "Fatal Attraction" that lost the Oscar to Cher.
of.
These two people are smart. When Lansing was the president of 20th Century Fox, Jaffe focused his main energy on independent production. When Lansing lost his job, Jaffe focused more on independent production.
Paramount, the business of Jaffe-Lansing Production Company was handled by Shirley Lansing.
These two Jews, balancing the roles of studio executives and independent producers, have a very Jewish approach. As long as they continue to produce works like Mr. and Mrs. Kramer and Fatal Attraction, major studios will
The studio really doesn't do anything to them.
"You can ask Mickey Kantor, the most famous person in the Los Angeles entertainment industry, we all call him Grey-Eyed Mickey, and you don't want him on your opponent's legal team."
Of course, Ronald did not introduce his personal lawyer to him, but instead found Mitch, who was familiar with the entertainment business. Anyway, Mitch Kanter, who was also Jewish, would not mind giving Jaffe money as long as it was consistent with professional ethics and God's will.
And stabbed Lansing in the back.
"Hello, are you Crocodile Dundee?" A young and beautiful woman came up and interrupted the conversation between Ronald and Hogan.
"Fair dinkum, that's what I am. But don't push yourself too far. If you want autographs or photos, let's do it alone. Don't attract crowds." Paul Hogan's popularity in America may be higher than that in his hometown of Australia.
The only problem is that fans only seem to call him Crocodile Dundee.
"My work place is right across the street. If you don't mind, you can go to my place and sit and rest for a while. It's a gallery. There aren't many customers at this time, so it's very quiet."
The beautiful woman smiled and pointed to the opposite side, which was a modern art gallery.
Opposite the Blockbuster on Sixth Avenue is the famous Chelsea neighborhood. There are many high-end galleries and customized luxury goods stores. They have always received customers who are either rich or expensive in the upper class. Therefore, the store clerks are also very polite.
, unlike ordinary fans who come up and scream.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Both Hogan and Linda signed autographs for the beautiful shop assistant and took photos together. Then they enjoyed coffee. Ronald was not recognized and looked at the paintings on the wall by himself.
"This style is so familiar..." Ronald recognized a set of prints that looked like soup cans sold in supermarkets. They were Andy Warhol's works that he had collected several pieces from.
"Campbell's Soup Cans." Ronald recognized the logo on the painting. "Are they really soup cans sold in supermarkets?"
"Yes, many of Andy Warhol's works are in the style of product packaging. The concept of pop art is to use popular culture and objects in daily life as the subject of art, emphasizing the artist's focus on consumer culture and
A challenge to popular culture..."
"How much does one like this cost?" Ronald interrupted his long speech. He only cared about the few paintings he bought not to depreciate too much.
"Sotheby's auction house recently auctioned a set of 32 Campbell's soup cans, with a total price of US$220,000..." The beautiful clerk was very familiar with it and quoted the price.
"Isn't that less than ten thousand dollars?" Ronald frowned. When he bought it, he wanted one for twenty thousand dollars. "Forget it, the ones I have at home are bigger than this..."
"That set is a painting that combines soup cans with different flavors. The price of selling them individually is even cheaper. If you need to know more..." The beautiful clerk also went to get an introduction material.
"No, no need..." Ronald left anxiously. What a thing, less than half a year after buying it, it had depreciated by more than half.
…
"They went too far and concealed so many sales. Mickey Kanter is a well-known tough lawyer in the industry and a hard-ball player. This time Jaffe is in some trouble."
The Australian Cowboys moved quickly. Just after the weekend, Ronald heard the news from his agent Niceta. Although exploiting foreign artists is a common practice in Hollywood, this movie, which has sold more than 300 million yuan, has
The sales volume of video tapes has been greatly exaggerated.
Grey-Eyed Mickey's lawyer's letter, coupled with the fact that the sequel is about to be released, and not wanting to cause any negative news, Jaffe and Lansing had to spit out some of the profits they originally wanted to secretly pocket.
Ronald smiled happily, and he didn't mind making trouble for these Jews who were entrenched in the studio's upper echelons.
"How do you know this gossip?" Niceta has a sensitive nose.
"When they came to New York, they asked me to watch the sequel to Crocodile and told me some issues about Paramount..." Ronald believed that Niceta could guess the truth from it. Don't admit this kind of thing to anyone.
, even on the phone.
"You said you were looking for me?" Ronald brought the topic back to the original intention of Niceta's call.
"Sybil Shepherd" replied Niceta.
"What does she want from me?" Ronald asked curiously.
"Remember how Bruce Willis in Die Hard was scheduled? His co-star in the Blue Moonlight TV series, Sybill Shepherd, had given birth and recovered and could continue filming the TV series.
However, the writers' strike has left her with no filming for the time being, and the new season will almost certainly be postponed. She is now looking for scripts everywhere, hoping to take the opportunity to make a movie.
Nowadays, not many film projects have been approved by the Screenwriters Guild, so when she heard that you planned to invest in a film, she found CAA and wanted to cooperate with you."
"Huh?" Ronald remembered that in order to let Bruce Willis come to film Die Hard, it seemed that he had promised Sybil Shepard a favor.
"I only invested three million in this movie, why is she also interested?" Ronald felt funny. Sybil Shepard was not the darling of Hollywood like she was when she was with Peter Bogdanovich, but she was still
The heroine of a popular TV series would not come to film this kind of...
"No, she wants to increase investment?"
Ronald knew that he had gone astray. It was obvious that Shepard had taken a fancy to the role in the script, so he wanted to participate. As for the budget, it could always be increased.
"I have no objection. There are only two conditions. First, Emile Adolino wants to be the director, and this is the opportunity I give him. Second, Sybil Sheppard should not change the script randomly..."
"Now she can't change even if she wants to. The union is still on strike..."
"Oh, that's right, then just let Emil remain the director. As for her wanting to increase investment, my daydream will have priority in dividends."
"She wants to meet you once and convince you to become a director."
…
"Ronald, I really like the touch of women in your film. I am also fascinated by the character in this film. I feel that Colleen Jeffries is myself..."
Soon, Sybil Shepherd met with Ronald under the arrangement of CAA.
She recovered well after giving birth to twins, and is one of the few white actresses who doesn't look too old. However, when it comes to emotional areas, the veins on her hands still reveal her age of thirty-eight.
Ronald looked at the female star whose time had passed, listened to her talk for a long time, and already understood most of her thoughts.
After thirty-five, beautiful female stars have entered a very embarrassing age group. Especially this kind of actors who are famous for their beauty. How stunning they were in "Taxi Driver" back then, they are so embarrassing now.
She still instinctively wants to play the role of a beautiful woman and fall in love with a beautiful boy on the screen (and off the screen as well). But at this age, she has gradually become able to play the role of a mother. Once a Hollywood actress plays a mother, she has to always play the role of a mother.
I continued to act until I got to the point where I played the role of my grandmother, and I couldn’t get any more scripts for the heroine.
This Life After Life happens to have a very special plot. At the beginning, Colleen Jeffries was still a fiancée. As the plot progressed, her dead fiancé reincarnated and fell in love with her daughter. She
I have become a middle-aged mother.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! But the plot also allowed her to develop a relationship with her daughter's boyfriend, especially when the male protagonist finally convinced Colleen that he was the reincarnation of her fiancé.
Such a movie, in which both a young and beautiful girl and a middle-aged and beautiful mother can be played, can allow the audience to seamlessly connect with the key changes in Sybil Shepherd's acting career.
"I'd love to challenge myself and play a young girl in a movie, and a mother of an adult girl. I'm very confident..."
"I will not be a director. I am still busy editing my last movie. Emile is a great director. My Dirty Dancing has a lot of his contribution in choreography. You see many classic love stories between the male and female protagonists.
The scene was arranged with the help of Emil."
Ronald declined Sybill Shepherd's idea to direct it himself, as this was a work for Emile to practice.
"Since you praise him so much, I think he must be a very good director." Sybil Shepherd said a lot about her understanding of acting, but Ronald was unmoved. Hey, was it possible that he was fascinated by it back then?
Is the charm of all the men in the crew gone forever?
"Then when it is officially confirmed that I will play the leading role, how much budget will be invested? I have never made a film with such a small budget." Shepard gave in. After all, scripts are rare at this time. She is willing to pay for the role.
Movies invested by Ronald's company will have a slightly lower pay, but the budget will have to be increased.
"That depends on the efforts of our Daydream production department and the recognition of the current cast of the film by several major studios." What Ronald actually wanted to say is that it depends on Shepard's current performance.
How many people have sold their accounts?
Her moment as a movie star is undoubtedly long gone. She hasn't appeared in a theatrical film since the 1980s.
But as a TV star, she is now very popular. Ronald is not sure how much appeal she will have if she comes back to act in movies as a TV star.
The investment in a movie actually has a lot to do with the star who plays the leading role. If an A-level star stars, it will be impossible to use the shooting standards of B-level movies. All technical personnel, equipment, and framing must be upgraded.
If this movie, with Shepard on board, no longer has a budget of at least 7 million, then the point of making it will be lost.
Now the production department of Daydream is facing this embarrassing problem. David Simkins asked around the circle and found that Sybil Sheppard's appeal was neither high nor low, so she happened to be stuck.
Online. No one from the major studios is willing to provide an additional budget of more than five million.
Nowadays, the distribution cost of movies is getting more and more expensive. The distribution and promotion expenses of a medium-sized production worth 10 million yuan and a large-scale production worth 30 million yuan are almost the same.
Either you can make a small production with 3 million and go the cheap guerrilla distribution route. Or you have to spend more than 10 million to make a small production and go the regular army distribution route. The 8 million card price is neither higher nor lower, which is very uncomfortable.
"If you don't increase the budget..." Simkins suggested to Ronald, "We will have to shelve this project and wait until Sybil goes back to shoot Blue Moonlight before we start it." Simkins actually hopes that the project will be promoted, so that
He can recommend more new scripts, which will also be good for his own influence.
"Safe operation also has the benefit of safe operation, otherwise a movie would put too much pressure on us. It is necessary to stick to the original investment figure."
Later, Michel Cannold was not very insistent on giving the green light. In his opinion, the return on investment for this kind of movie is actually not as good as five small productions.
"The appeal of female celebrities is still not comparable to that of male celebrities." Ronald had no choice but to sign the report. He could not directly go to Sybil Shepherd and tell her that it was not worth investing an extra two million.
"Your phone number..." Cannold answered the phone and handed it to Ronald.
"Ronald, someone is willing to invest in your Life After Life. The minimum investment is an additional ten million. There are no additional requirements."
"Who is it? I can't direct this film," Ronald thought to himself. Is there anyone who thinks so highly of me?
"People from Tristar Pictures, they said it was a direct instruction from the superiors of the parent company to give your project the green light."