"Ronald, can you go and see Jerry? I feel that he is in a bad situation right now. He doesn't smile every day. I think an old friend like you can bring him a little joy."
The person who called Ronald was Susan Akins, the production assistant of "The Dragon King."
Ronald's call through Richard was picked up by Susan, who was producer Weintraub's secretary. However, Weintraub was very busy with work recently and he was under a lot of pressure.
I'm interested in calling Ronald, who is now enjoying his life.
If it was an ordinary secretary, Susan would definitely not return the call. But as the lover recognized by Weintraub's real wife Jane Morgan, Susan still called Ronald, who made Weintraub successful in Hollywood.
A phone call.
"I'm looking for him to ask about the third part of The Dragon King. Some friends in Japan are very concerned about whether there will be a follow-up to this series of movies." Ronald said the reason for his visit.
"Of course, we are very interested, why not? The two leading actors, Ralph Marzio and Noriyuki Morita, have not had any successful works recently, and they both hope to open another Dragon King movie. If it is
If you tell me, I think Jerry will take it very seriously." Susan Akins almost begged Ronald on the phone to go to Weintraub Productions.
I remembered that when filming The Kid, Susan Akins stood firmly on her side and told Michael Cimino, who wanted to steal the director's position, to get out. I couldn't help but feel soft, and agreed to come down and meet my old friend.
"Aha, Ronald. I'm so glad to see you..." Weintraub didn't look as bad as Susan said. He was full of energy when greeting, and he shook hands and hugged forcefully. He was the boss of a medium-sized Hollywood production company.
appearance.
However, Ronald still saw some clues from his frowning from time to time. His old friend Weintraub's hair was a lot whiter, and he felt tired when he didn't speak. No wonder Susan was worried.
"Is this your office? The area is really big. I think we can play baseball in it." Ronald was still shocked when he looked at Weintraub's large office. There are two walls in the entertainment tycoon's office.
There were densely packed movie posters on it. It didn't look like a company he just established last year, but more like an old studio with a history of fifty years.
"Come and see, this is the film library I spent a lot of money to buy." Weintraub saw that Ronald did not put on airs, but showed a strong interest in his achievements in the past two years. Suddenly, he felt scared.
I feel relieved when I see an acquaintance.
He patted Ronald on the shoulder and took Ronald to visit his film library as he did when the two worked closely together.
Susan Aikins next to her breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, in Hollywood, a place where everyone wants to take advantage of others, only Ronald, a non-Jewish director who has witnessed the rise of Weintraub, can
There is something in common with Jerry, which reminds him of the time when he was filming The Dragon King. It turned out that filming a movie was a happy mood...
"Murder on the Orient Express", "Tragedy on the Nile"... Ronald looked at the posters one by one. There were also many famous movies adapted from the detective Poirot.
"I remember this was a British movie?" Ronald asked Weintraub. In Agatha's novel, the British people were unwilling to let Hollywood dominate at all costs. Therefore, most of the actors in it were British actors.
"How's it going?" Weintraub looked at Ronald looking at the poster intently, thinking that he was envious of his film library, "This can be said to be the greatest achievement since the establishment of my Weintraub Production Company.
.More than two thousand movies released by EMI, I bought them from those two Israeli rubes at Cannon."
"It turns out they bought it from the British..." Ronald nodded. After Minahan Golan received 400 million in financing, he bought a Starlight Cinema chain in Britain and the film library of the old film distribution company EMI.
.
Last year, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates and cut off financing channels for junk bonds. Coupled with the decline in company stock prices caused by the stock market crash, and the box office failure of "Superman 4" invested by Cannon. Several major events came together, and Cannon's financial situation was almost at a critical stage.
The edge of suffocation.
Later, it was Minahan's cousin Yoram who introduced investment from EMI in China, which stabilized the situation. This is why Minahan later faded out of the management team - film companies are not managed by emotions.
It’s about making solid money.
However, last year there was news that Cannon was being investigated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Nisita said that because of building his own buildings and shooting big-budget movies, the financial hole was quite big. This year, it was able to stabilize, and the industry's response to Yola
Mu's financial management ability is still very recognized.
"You bought it when their finances were unstable, right? This is really a good deal. How much did it cost?" Ronald complimented. As he looked at the poster, he thought, no wonder the cannon is stable, it turns out it is
Sold the most valuable film library to Weintraub.
Although the overall quality of this film library is not very high, there are some excellent products in it, and the copyright of the Poirot detective series is very valuable. This not only means that Weintraub can sell video tapes in the future, but also has the power to reshoot. These have a wide range of
Each of the best-selling novels by readers is of great value.
In addition to the Poirot series, EMI also has the Beatles-financed spoof movie "Jesus Christ", the classic gangster film "The Italian Mission", and the film adaptation of the sequel to The Three Musketeers, "The Four Musketeers".
Weintraub is indeed a Jew, and he took advantage of Minahan and others' distress to seize this kind of film library that had little chance of being sold.
"It cost me eighty-five million dollars..."
"Huh?" Ronald looked back at Weintraub, the price is not cheap!
"In Hollywood, you don't have some high-quality assets, and stars don't want to believe in your ability. They always have paranoia of being persecuted. It's like a newly established studio like ours, they come to them because of their name.
Selling random movies."
Weintraub showed a hint of helpless disdain. For someone like him, who relied on the success of his two "Kids" and founded a company named after himself, he is still considered an upstart in the Hollywood circle.
Unlike Ronald's daydream, it is a production company established by the director himself. When the stars see that the invitation is from Ronald's company, they always have a thorough estimate of the basic level of the film. Ronald does not
Maybe the lower limit of the movie is too low.
Weintraub's movies are hits, but who knows if he was lucky enough to find a director genius like Ronald? Look at him leaving Ronald, is it possible that he didn't even make a good movie?
In Hollywood, a place where no one knows the secret to success, Weintraub's company actually has a relatively low status. In this way, he can only declare to everyone in the industry that he is serious by buying high-quality assets that he can see.
, not a leather bag company.
"Do you think the price is too expensive? In fact, in my opinion, I actually got an advantage." Weintraub said this very skillfully.
"With this film library, I immediately got a heavyweight film adaptation project. Last year, I got the film adaptation rights of the Broadway musical 'Evita', which reflects the legendary wife of Argentina's president. I approached Olivier
Written and directed by Veron Stone, with Meryl Streep playing Mrs. Peron, it was only postponed due to schedule reasons..."
"Oh..." Ronald thought to himself, I also want to find Streep to play Catherine in Working Girl. They are going to Australia to make a movie. Even if there is a schedule, they must work with me first. Oliver Si
Tong is also preparing for a new Vietnam War movie with Tom Cruise. Tom will be working on that project after filming Rain Man.
"Unfortunately, there is another strike by the Screenwriters Guild, so this project will be postponed, but I am very confident that this will be a very good movie."
"Can Streep sing?" Ronald thought to himself. This famous Broadway play has a lot of solo parts. "Argentina, don't cry for me..."
"This guy may be cheating..." Looking at Weintraub's very skillful words, Ronald really felt that his situation was not good.
"I have many big projects now, but they were all delayed by the strike... The first movie released by my company will be released in the summer season in August this year. I can only buy movies that have been made by others from Europe. This movie is
The debut film of a director from China, The Big Blue, tells the story of humans and dolphins."
"Yes, now I am also affected by the strike and have no new scripts to shoot. It is very troublesome." Ronald agreed. The screenwriters went on strike, leaving all practitioners without work.
"Then I'm a little better than you. Before the strike, I managed to get a good script, a romantic comedy, 'My Stepmother is an Alien'. I found the popular comedy star Dan Aykroyd to star in it. My company
Full investment, a total of 26 million. I now go to the set every day to see that our real debut film is about to be born."
"Who is the heroine?" Ronald asked casually. Romantic comedies all rely on the chemistry between the male and female protagonists. Dan Aykroyd was not the most responsible of the three male protagonists in the most popular "Ghostbusters"
The one in love.
"Kim Basinger..." Weintraub revealed the answer. He liked to show off here, judging from the expression on Bin's face.
"Who?" Ronald was really surprised. This is the hottest sexy star in Hollywood right now. Since filming "Nine and a Half Weeks to Love You", a movie that vaguely hints at special behavior, it has become popular all over the world and everyone wants to buy it.
Take a video home to enjoy.
However, a sexy actress like her needs to be paired with a handsome guy like Mickey Rourke. A comedy star with an honest image like Dan Aykroyd seems to be unable to hold her down.
The aura of such a gorgeous beauty.
"Hahaha, they are filming on the beach right now, shall we go and take a look? I'll make a phone call to make arrangements." Weintraub said and was about to make arrangements.
Ronald was about to refuse, but behind him Susan Akins was making gestures asking for permission again.
When Weintraub went to call, Susan and Ronald told the truth.
Of the original 85 million used to acquire EMI's film library, 50 million was borrowed from banks. After the stock market crash, financial institutions had doubts about the valuation of the film library sold by Cannon, so Weintraub was under great pressure.
He must use this big-star production to give his company a head start. Only then will banks and the industry truly recognize him.
…
Looking at Weintraub's enthusiastic invitation, Susan was asking for permission from Akins. Of course, Ronald also wanted to meet Kim Basinger, the popular porn star. This is just like all the directors back then wanted to meet Marilyn.
Like Monroe, Basinger is now the new Monroe.
The spring sunshine in California was also very good. Ronald got into Weintraub's luxury car, and the two of them chatted about the third part of The Dragon King in the car.
"I didn't hurry up and shoot the third part, partly because without you, I didn't want to shoot it." Weintraub was asked about the sequel of this series, and he first flattered Ronald.
"The other two reasons, as you know, are that neither Ralph Mazzio nor Noriyuki Morita wanted to make commercial movies with such childish plots, so they tried other types of roles. But it seemed that the results were not good.
How good..."
Ronald smiled. Generally speaking, Hollywood trilogies are like this. The first part makes the name famous, the actors become famous, and the studio makes money. The second part increases the salary of the leading actor and continues to make money, but the profit of the studio
A big part of it was eaten up by the salary. The star of the third film asked for an exorbitant salary. After a lot of work, the studio did not make any money, which was the best result.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Weintraub obviously didn't want this. He paused the project just to wait and see. The two leading actors encountered obstacles everywhere before accepting the third part at a more reasonable price.
"So, apart from your Japanese friend, do you want to watch the third part yourself? Are you interested in continuing to direct?" Weintraub doesn't know who the so-called Japanese friend is, and he doesn't know if there is such a person.
Ronald made it up because he was short of scripts and came to collaborate.
"To be honest, I think the plot will be difficult. The stories that need to be told have been told in the first two parts..." Ronald really felt that he could no longer film the story of Daniel LaRusso.
"Besides, it's 1988 now, and the earliest the filming project will be approved will be in 1989. Ralph Mazzio is already 27 years old, why do you go back to film a scene where he is seventeen?"
"That's right, what do you mean?"
"Let me make it clear first that I am not suggesting ideas to you as a screenwriter..." Ronald made a joke first. He was also a member of the Screenwriters Guild. Such words were limited to Ronald and Weintraub, Su
It's enough for Shan and the others to know.
"I have some cooperation with Jackie Chan in Hong Kong. I think it is better to upgrade the plot and film the story of Goju-ryu Karate when it was first created. There is a team in Hong Kong that can shoot the action beautifully through hanging wires... like this
Ralph and Morita, playing themselves hundreds of years ago, will have no problem being older."
"When I think about it, it is true that many people in Hollywood want to introduce remakes of Jackie Chan movies..."
The three of them were chatting animatedly. The car had already arrived at the beach where the filming was taking place, and everyone was preparing for the evening scene.
This movie is a romantic comedy disguised as science fiction. Kim Basinger plays Celeste, an alien who transformed into a beauty. In order to have some sci-fi feel, director Richard Benjamin decisively plagiarized Celeste.
Mellon's scene in "Terminator" had Basinger appear like Schwarzenegger on the beach.
However, Ronald's arrival was unfortunate. It seemed that there was a problem between Kim Basinger and the director on set. Basinger refused to appear in such a nude scene. She hid in the trailer and did not communicate with anyone.
Weintraub awkwardly knocked on the door and tried to solve the problem. Ronald knew very well that this was a celebrity showcasing his celebrity. After Kim Basinger made a pornographic film, the last thing he wanted to do was to film such a role again and stereotype it.
own.
So on the one hand, she relied on her gorgeous image in "Love You for Nine and a Half Weeks" to charge a very high salary for a female star, and made a lot of money from several movies in a row. On the other hand, she refused to perform anything outrageous on the screen again.
lens.
Ronald had no choice but to pretend not to see this embarrassing scene, put on his sunglasses and watched the scene.
Director Richard Benjamin was originally an actor and made many small-budget productions and TV series in the 1980s. It seems that Weintraub also wanted to repeat Ronald's miracle with him.
However, the female star of "My Stepmother Is an Alien" is too famous, and Richard Benjamin, who has just started filming a big production, has a tendency to be unable to win over her.
"Ronald, is it really you?" While watching the scenery, a young actor came over and recognized Ronald.
"Seth?" Ronald vaguely remembered that this was when filming the movie "Love Is Not For Sale" invested by Bannon. A young actor on the crew played the classmate of the heroine Amanda Peterson and had many scenes.
"Yes, it's me, Seth Green." The young actor was very happy to see an acquaintance, "Let me introduce to you, this is Alyson Hannigan who plays my girlfriend in the movie. In fact, she is the protagonist.
Playing the daughter of Dan (Aykroyd) and Kim (Basinger)."
"Ah...it's Ronald. You are my favorite director. Boy Longwei is very good-looking. We all want to be Ellie." Alyson Hannigan, who is only fourteen or fifteen years old, plays the leading role.
's daughter.
"Hahaha, then you play well. Mr. Weintraub is the producer of Longwei Boy." Ronald smiled and chatted with the two young actors.
While they were chatting, Weintraub and Susan walked out of Kim Basinger's trailer. Basinger was behind them, being helped out by a man wearing glasses.
"Who is that?" Seeing that the matter seemed to be resolved, Ronald couldn't help but look more at the man who seemed to be Kim Basinger's boyfriend.
"That's Jon Peters. He's been visiting me a lot lately."
"That Peters from Guber-Peters?" Ronald frowned after getting confirmation from the young actor. This hairstylist-turned-Hollywood producer has always been very good at pleasing female stars.
It seems that there is no chance to get to know Kim Basinger in depth this time, Ronald thought to himself.
"This is Ronald, Ronald Lee. This is Jon from Guber-Peters. This one needs no introduction..." Weintraub saw Ronald and came up to introduce them to each other.
.
"Of course, Elizabeth of 9 and a half weeks needs no introduction. I heard Adrian Lyne (director of 9 and a Half Weeks) talk about you, and he said that you did a great job."
Ronald stepped forward to greet them and extended his hand.
When it was Kim Basinger's turn, Ronald found that the other party did not take his hand.
"What's wrong with you? Miss Basinger?" Ronald looked at Kim Basinger who looked pale and seemed to be sweating.
"Ah..." Kim Basinger yelled, threw away Jon Peters' support, turned around and fled into the trailer.
"Huh?" Ronald's head was full of questions, "Did I say something wrong?"