Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 197 The Son of Grease

   "Do you remember the 1978 movie Grease?" Nisita asked.

   "Of course, with Travolta and Olivia Newton-John in the Broadway musical adaptation."

   "They're making a sequel, tentatively titled 'Sons of Grease', and producer Robert Stigwood needs a screenwriter who understands both teens and musicals."

   "But Rick, this movie is a big box office winner, how could the sequel find me?" Ronald was a little unconvinced.

"Yeah, it's not your turn to write the sequel to a movie that grossed $130 million in North America." Rick Nisita switched the receiver to another ear, "but an unfortunate event happened, but for you lucky."

  Bronte Woodard, the screenwriter of the original film "Grease" and the hero who adapted the classic Broadway musical into a movie, died suddenly in a Los Angeles hospital two days ago due to acute kidney failure.

  Producer Robert Sterwood was in a hurry and was scheduled to shoot in the second half of the year. The film that will be released next year suddenly has no screenwriter. So I flew to Los Angeles from my hometown of London, looking for an agent all over the world, looking for a screenwriter with experience in teenagers and musicals to continue writing.

   Ronald, who has experience as a screenwriter of "famous world", was highly recommended by Ovitz. Robert Sterwood was satisfied with Ronald's resume, but he was a little confused about his age. But knowing that he is the screenwriter of Jane Fonda's new film, he immediately decided to invite him to Hollywood to discuss.

   "This time, Mr. Sterwood paid for all the travel and accommodation expenses, round-trip business class, and stayed at the Marriott Hotel. If you want, I'll ask the secretary to book the tickets for you."

   "Of course, I definitely meant it." Ronald was overjoyed, and he was really lucky. Do you want to go to church another day? No, this seems to be a Chinese rule. No matter what, Taoist temples, Buddhist temples, churches, all go to worship.

   "Okay, my secretary will tell you the address of the travel agency where you picked up the ticket."

   "Yeah!" Ronald yelled.

   Donna and Diane heard him yell and came out to see what was going on.

   Ronald explained the content of the call, "When Aunt Karen returns, I will tell her that I will be flying to Los Angeles tomorrow."

   "Uh, musical movies, too old-fashioned." Diane Lane stuck out her tongue, indicating that it wasn't her thing.

   "Is it old-fashioned?" Ronald asked curiously, "Was Grease still number one or number two two years ago? It's about the same as the Superman movie. And the soundtrack is selling well, and BeeGees are very popular."

   "You already have a generation gap with us." Diane stroked her hand in front of her, indicating that she couldn't talk with him.

   Ronald looked at Donna, the aesthetics of the rebellious girl may not be accurate.

Unexpectedly, Donna also nodded, "It's really old-fashioned, my classmates don't like to watch movies based on musicals. It feels normal to watch musicals on Broadway, but on the screen it looks very dirty, and the characters often dance in everyday situations. Kind of awkward."

   "We actually prefer the 'Famous in the World' that you wrote. The songs and dances in it are very beautiful, but the songs and dances are all reasonable in plot, and at other times they are mainly talking." Donna said.

   "But that movie didn't do well at the box office..."

   "You're an artist, Ronald, if you don't talk about it, it's the box office." Diane began to complain again.

   "What you said is right", Ronald raised his hand to surrender to the rebellious girl.

   "Ronnie, let's talk." Aunt Karen, who returned home, heard Ronald's new job opportunity, called him aside, and started chatting.

"I'm so happy for you, Ronnie, that you were able to achieve so much at such a young age," said Aunt Karen, "but don't forget what I said to you, your parents wanted you to go to college. Graduate, they have high expectations for you."

   "I understand, Aunt Karen. This time it's a screenwriting assignment. I'll go to Los Angeles for a few days and then come back to New York to write the script. There are some college electives for the new semester starting next month, and I can choose some of the less difficult ones."

  Ronald is deeply involved in my brother... Now it should be called "Her Brother's Protector". The dream is broken. He no longer wants to drop out of school in the second year of sophomore year. He should watch more classic movies and learn more, and get some credits.

   In addition to Scorsese's movie appreciation class, Ronald also participated in the pirated movie viewing circle organized by Spike.

   In order to join this small circle, participants must provide a copy of a pirated film as a certificate of entry. Ronald specifically asked Roger Coleman for a power of attorney, went to the Soviet embassy in the United States, and applied for a copy of "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" with English subtitles.

  Ronald also specially learned how to play movies, and as soon as the copies arrive, they can be shown to everyone.

   "Don't lower your expectations, Ronnie." Aunt Karen was satisfied.

  …

  The service level of business class is not comparable to that of economy class. Ronald drank red wine and ate steak, feeling the sincerity of producer Robert Stigwood.

   I was even more satisfied when the main agent Richard picked him up at the Marriott Hotel.

   "Where are we going to see Mr. Sterwood tomorrow?" Ronald asked Richard as he hung his suit in the closet.

   "Sterwood has a mansion in Hollywood, and he told you to go see him alone tomorrow. We'll go to CAA first, Mr. Ovitz wants to see you, and has some important things to tell you about the meeting."

   "Ah?...Okay." Ronald was a little confused, and he had to meet and explain in person.

   "Some things must be said in person, Ronald." Ovitz was still surrounded by two secretaries, and his schedule seemed very tight.

"Robert Sterwood, in addition to being the producer of Grease, is also the president of RSO Records. His company's BeeGees band, which had six songs, went on to top the charts in 1978, and by 1979, BeeGees' little brother AndyGibb went on to dominate the top 10 for 10 weeks."

   "I know him, Mr. Ovitz. I'm the lyricist for two episodes of 'Famous,' and the soundtrack to 'Famous' was released by Sterwood's RSO Records."

   "You can still write lyrics?" Ovitz was surprised, "Is your economic contract for lyrics writing also signed at CAA?"

   "Actually I was inspired by composer Michael Gore, and writing lyrics is not my specialty."

   "Okay, okay." Ovitz put away the idea of ​​signing all of Ronald's business.

   "Since you know his name, I can tell you. This time, I asked you to come, mainly to tell you some taboos when meeting producers, and Sterwood has a lot of taboos in particular."

   "Oh?" Ronald opened his ears.

   "Stewwood went out of his way to use John Travolta and BeeGees songs, so he was rewarded handsomely. That means he has a full say in this sequel.

   And he was gay. He has many semi-regular male companions who travel with him. So at no time do you offend those male partners. Don't take the initiative to mention his orientation, this kind of behavior was still a crime in Britain more than ten years ago. "

   Ronald nodded in understanding.

   "In addition to male partners, he has many female partners, or female partners of his male partner. You should also not despise these people. Any disrespectful behavior towards them will cost you the job."

"I got it."

   "Also, don't mention any sights and people you see in his mansion to the third person, understand?" Ovitz tapped on the table to emphasize.

   "Is there such an exaggeration?" Ronald came out of the office and asked his chief agent Richard.

"There's a lot of gossip in our business. One is that John Avelson, who won an Oscar for best director for 'Rocky', was the director of 'Saturday Night Fever' made by Sterwood. ... But he tried Jostwood's boyfriend's girlfriend to go out and got fired two weeks before the start."

  Richard said, "I don't know if this rumor is true or not, but it's better to be careful."

   The next morning, Richard drove Ronald to the mansion in Sterwood.

   "Ronald, you're welcome, I've always wanted to see you, and I appreciate your reputation."

  Stwood, in his pajamas, hugged Ronald warmly. He's a tall Briton, with a Briton nose, mid-parted hair, and a handsome face that looks more like a rock star than a record company boss when he doesn't speak.

   "Ah, I'm just one of the signed screenwriters. The original credit for this movie also belongs to Mr. Christopher Gore."

"You're too humble, that's not a good quality in Hollywood." Sterwood led Ronald to a lounge chair under two umbrellas by the very large swimming pool, picked up the cigar beside his seat and took a sip ,

"Christopher was one of us and he told me the whole story, and the parts you edited. I've always felt that the Writers Guild rules are very unfair, and sometimes a page of a script is more important than the rest. part."

   "Thank you, Mr. Sterwood, why did you come to me?" Ronald turned a blind eye to the playful men and women in the swimming pool next to him, and listened intently to Sterwood.

  Stwood was also satisfied with his self-control, "You have to help me Ronald, I'm in a predicament."

  The industry boss speaks more directly. It turns out that "Grease" is in cooperation with Paramount, Sterwood is in charge of production, and Paramount's Alan Carr is in charge of marketing and opening up the film distribution channels.

After the release of Grease, Paramount immediately signed a contract with Sterwood, agreeing that if there is a satisfactory script within three years, Paramount is willing to invest 12 million US dollars to shoot a sequel, and the production cost is doubled on the original film.

   But the original screenwriter Bronte Woodard never submitted the final script. On the 2nd of this month, Bronte was sent to the hospital by his family for emergency treatment, and died in the hospital the next day due to acute renal failure. Sterwood sent for the script and found nothing but a pile of whiskey bottles.

   Desperate, Sterwood immediately consulted with Alan Carr. Paramount learned that there was no script and hoped to give up the contract and postpone the shooting of this sequel.

  Stewwood was unwilling to give up the opportunity to shake this cash cow, and promised to come up with a satisfactory script within two months, and finish filming in the last two months of this year to catch up with next year's summer vacation.

   "I'm going to cast Andy Gibb, the younger brother of the BeeGees, as the lead actor in the sequel "Son of Grease," making him the second John Travolta.

  John Travolta and Olivia Newton - John also promised me that they would come back for a cameo and tell a story of their children's youth 10 years after the original. "

  $12 million production cost, and two star guest appearances? Ronald felt his expectations for the sequel could be set a little higher.

"You know what? When I went to Paramount to talk about finding a screenwriter to complete the script, their production president, Mr. Katzenberg, was so impressed with you that he recommended you to me. He told me it was you who gave the script. The New York Times script written by Jane Fonda.

   When we asked Ovitz later, he recommended you right away. I'm sure you won't let me down, will you? "

  Stwood, drinking, smoking cigars, and chatting with the men and women in the pool from time to time.

   "The main actor is available, Mr. Steerwood, did the previous screenwriter leave a plot summary?" Ronald was more cautious and learned more about the situation.

"No, this unfortunate person has nothing left. There is only one story I came up with, more than ten years after the story of Grease, their children reached high school age, just in time when the hippies were flourishing, the tough guy gang ( T-Bird and Pink Lady, singing rock against war."

  Ronald knew that the Tough Guys and Pink Girls were the names of the high school gangs where John Travolta and the hero and heroine played by Olivia Newton-John belonged.

   "Then is the director sure?"

   "Not yet, the director of the original, Randall Kleiser, shot Blue Reef, right at a time when Hollywood was hot, with no intention of directing the next sequel. We're still looking."

"If John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John can participate and keep the style of the original film, I'm willing to give it a try." Ronald thought again and again, the director vacancy impressed him, so he told the other party Expressed his willingness to take over the script.

   "That's great, you can ask anything you want."

   "I would like to talk to the original film's creators, especially the choreographers. The way musicals are shot is very different from other films, and my script needs to be adjusted specifically for this."

"Very good," Sterwood stood up and slammed back the water volleyball from the pool, "you didn't disappoint me, I'll arrange for you to talk to the choreographer. Hollywood musicals, half The success of the choreographer counts."

   "Did you know? Olivia Newton-John's new film, 'Xian Le Du', starring her and veteran musical star Gene Kelly, was a bad box office hit.

   is because Universal spent 20 million investment, but used that old and confused part-time choreographer of Gene Kelly, and moved the boring dance choreography of the 1950s. After the release, the box office was very unsatisfactory. "

   "Then I'll wait and choreograph..."

   "Patricia Birch, I'll arrange for her to meet you."

  Stwood finished talking about business and stood up from the sun lounger, "Have fun with us?"

   "I'd better go to Mr. Ovitz from CAA first to make some preparations for the Son of Grease." Ronald thought of Ovitz's advice and declined the invitation.

   "Okay, there's a chance later." Sterwood took off his pajamas and wore only a pair of swimming shorts, stepped onto the springboard, and jumped into the water, cheering the men and women.

   (end of this chapter)