Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 303 Voting Decision

"If this goes on, it's going to sit still and you have to stud, at least to stop the release of that teen exploitation film." Tom Mount's eyes were red, when he learned that ET's box office continued to rise, and "Fast Pace" took back the R-rating standard After that, it became a little hysterical.

   found John Landis, who was in a desperate situation, and let him come out to bite Spielberg and drag him into the water, so that he would not have to pay for the accident and death.

   And my "friends" in the news world, with Spielberg's negative news, can hedge against the unparalleled popularity of ET now, and make ET's box office growth less scary.

   Then he found several retired old men and complained to MPAA in the name of conscientious film workers who had seen the internal test screening. Successfully downgraded the movie "Fast-Paced Richmond High School" to an X.

  The board of directors evaluates the performance of the top management of the studio, which is in the decision of whether to shoot each film project. I voted against both of these films, and the box office results will become negative KPIs for my year-end assessment. Now that Simberg's power on the MCA board of directors has soared, I can just take this opportunity...

  If he can drag the two films that Simberg advocated for shooting as he wishes, and prevent them from setting a record at the box office, he will be able to keep his position on the MCA board of directors at the end of the year with the support of some senior MCA executives.

In the position of president of a big studio, he can decide the life and death of other people's projects with one word. When he tasted this, he asked him to resign to start his own production company, and from now on, he can see other people's faces. Think about this kind of day. All terrible.

   But these two counterattacks were unsuccessful.

   himself asked Landis to read a eulogy at Vic Morrow's funeral, and Ras Spielberg went into the water. It was expected to release Steven's black material on this.

   But who knew that Spielberg, an artist like a big boy, actually became mature, ignoring the dirty water splashed by Landis, and moved forward in a detour.

He gave Landis his own idea, and the tactic was empty. Spielberg did not directly face Landis, and focused the discussion on whether he was the same as Landis, who was responsible for Vic Morrow's death. Responsibility to come up.

   After a few days of cold treatment, several Jewish-controlled newspapers and television media reopened, focusing on Landis and the pyrotechnician, the helicopter pilot, who was to blame.

  Landis' PR campaign for the funerals of several victims brought him more notoriety, but did not harm Spielberg's golden body in the slightest.

The box office of   ET Alien is also rising day by day. The 300 copies printed have been sent to theaters across the country. Not only has the number of theaters increased to 1,500, but the box office of a single theater has not dropped, but has risen from $2,000 a day to more than 3,000. .

   This anomalous phenomenon fully demonstrates that "ET Alien" will be a phenomenal movie. It is very likely to break the North American box office record and go down in history forever.

  Why didn't you see it in the first place?

Don't say that you are against the release of ET Alien. Even if the president of Columbia, Frank Price, transferred the filming rights of ET to Universal, and signed a contract to let Colombia take 5% of the net profit, the fierce man was also rejected by the new owner. The vice-president sent by Coca-Cola was criticized.

   scolded him for letting go of the biggest fish in the movie market in 1982, seeing that the position of president was shaky.

   Although he is not the same as Senior Script Reader Price, he has the support of the parent company's board of directors, MCA. However, if there are consecutive phenomenal movies that are missed, they will inevitably be abandoned by their own supporters on the board of directors. They aren't their only option to check against Simberg.

   Who knew that Hollywood, an industrial base in its seventies and entering its twilight years, actually showed signs of returning to light?

   It's all the fault of the young director Ronald. He stopped Landis at the funeral, and did not let the reporter capture this power point. Landis also suffered from neurasthenia because of this, and gave up the opportunity to save himself in vain.

There is also "Fast-paced Richmond High School", which was originally a project that I liked. Whether it is David Lynch or later Amy Hecklen, the success of this film should be counted as his own merits. .

   And now if this youth film is a hit, it will become the discerning eye of the opponent Simberg.

   Rated it as X, which has already declared the movie box office doomed. Who knew that Ronald cut the negatives ingeniously, passed the third review of MPAA, and got the R-rated release license again.

   He didn't choose to remake? The more Tom Mount thought about it, the more angry he became, and the follow-up package he prepared for Ronald was empty.

  The prepared counterattack plan is missing the most crucial link-a second-generation Jewish star who has been oppressed, and his father has just died in an accident.

   But never mind, no plan can be executed flawlessly. This is the last attempt to save my own destiny.

  Tom Mount tore off his tie, tossed it aside, picked up the phone and dialed a number.

   "Beep...beep..." After two beeps, an old but powerful voice answered the phone, "Hey, it's me."

   "Call those old die-hards, I need their help now."

   "Now it's time to consider a decent resignation, Tom. I sent you to Universal to keep Simberg in check, not to do that..."

   "The movie market is in decline... The future is cable TV... No one will go out after 1990... Talents in the film industry can be moved to make TV... Remember? Who told me that at the time?"

"Okay... For the sake of my daughter Nicola, I will support you one last time, this is the last time." The old man put down the phone and called in a subordinate, "To our old guys at Universal Call and get them to support Mount."

   After he finished speaking, he shook his head gently, squeezed the base of his nose between his eyes with both hands and rubbed it vigorously twice. This Mount was still too young, maybe it was a mistake to let him go to Universal at the time.

   The key to Simberg's success in the MCA is that he tied Spielberg, and the executives who can make money are the executives the board likes.

   No matter whether it is movies or cable TV, as long as you make money, those capitalists will not care what you do.

   "Mr. President, this is a joint letter from the current and retired executives of Universal Pictures, and the stars who want to prevent the release of 'Fast-Paced Richmond' High School."

  Simberg is sitting in his office, flipping through ET's latest box office numbers. I was interrupted by the secretary.

   "What's the reason?" Simberg didn't read the joint letter, but asked his secretary directly. He opened the drawer, took out a cigar, lit it and started smoking. ET Alien's box office continued to rise, and company-wide resources were poured into this epoch-making work.

   Whether "fast-paced" is a hit or not has become insignificant.

   "It's still the same old school, over-promoting love between men and women, not in line with American values, exposing too much, and exploiting young Jewish actors..."

   "Vic Morrow's daughter?" Simberg put the cigar in the ashtray. "That's a fresh reason."

   "But it's all the same old stuff. I promised Steven that the director's movie will be released as scheduled. What's so special about this time, let you come in and tell me.?"

   "Because there are more than 20 signatures this time." The long-term secretary of Simberg handed over the last page of the joint letter.

  Simberg's face became a little dignified, put on a cigar, and took the joint letter.

  More than 20 people, including current and retired executives of various departments, and star actors in the history of the world.

   "Are they going to have a one-time showdown?"

   "I'm afraid yes, they said they heard a lot of rumors and called for a preview meeting to discuss whether the film should be released or not."

   "Shxt!" Simberg scolded after reading the letter. This ill-timed joint letter ruined my good mood to celebrate that ET's box office was about to break through the $100 million box office.

   "Get me Mr. Spielberg." Simberg gestured to the secretary.

   "Hello, Steven. Tom Mount has assembled twenty retired executives and retired stars to demand a re-examination of 'Fast Pace', I'm afraid I can't protect your little friend."

   "Yes, they have gathered more than 20 retired executives and stars, and they have a lot of momentum. I had to agree to their opinions and hold an internal film viewing meeting."

"Of course, everything will be decided at the release meeting of the five voting executives. I have two votes in hand, and Mount has an executive at his command. Maybe the fate of Ronald Jr. depends on Ned. Tanin means it."

   Ronald, who learned that the movie was going to be collectively reviewed by several retired executives, was preparing for a national marketing trip to prepare for the premiere in two weeks. He was a little confused when he suddenly heard the news.

   "Why do they have this power to decide the fate of my movie?"

"Because twenty retired executives and stars of the Golden Age have jointly written to Simberg asking for a re-examination of the release decision. If he doesn't agree, they threaten to publish the letter in the newspapers, completely messing up the story. the release of the film."

Richard, who hurried over, said to Ronald, "Mr. Spielberg called and said that after ET's celebration is over, he will personally arrange your next project. Amberlin has a The new teen movie is waiting for you to revise the script, and when you get the green light from the studio, he'll ask you to direct."

   "Thank him for me, Richard." Ronald hurried to Universal's large screening room, where the old guys had rarely set foot since Universal's shrinking of film production in the 1960s.

   "Hi, Linda."

   "Hi, Mr. Smith."

   Several retired executives and stars reunited in this place that brought them glory and memories. Some stars have also acted with James Stewart or Marlene Dietrich, and they brought their grandchildren with them.

   Looking at these old people wearing outdated and old-fashioned dresses and watching movies, Ronald seemed to be looking at actors who came out of a period theater.

  I was not qualified to talk to them yet, and Ronald, who interrupted their reminiscences, sat at the edge of the auditorium and watched the audience's reaction.

   The lights dimmed, and the Universal title with MCA appeared on the screen, and there was a sigh from the audience.

  The movie enters Spiccoli eating in class, being taught by Mr. Hand, and walking out of the classroom indifferently when the chairs at the scene begin to creak. Ronald could think of the embarrassment of these old men.

  In the high school cafeteria, Linda taught Stacey to put carrots in her mouth. During the live teaching, the creaking of the chair began to be more frequent and intensive.

Brad fantasizes about Stacey emerging from the pool like a hibiscus at home. During that dreamy episode, the sound of the chair springs popping twice is already unbearable for retired executives. Get up and go.

   "No, Grandpa, let me see it again." His grandson refused to leave and wanted to stay in his seat to watch this fun movie.

After the screening was completed, the senior vice president in charge of production, Robert Remy, walked out angrily, "This is a scandalous movie, if we young people in America grow up watching this kind of movie, will it be okay? ?"

   He has the vote that Tom Mount counts on.

   Retired stars and executives are starting to leave with their grandchildren, valuing more respectful invitations and reunions with old friends. As for movies, it's secondary, they've made too many similar low-budget exploits in their lives, and this one is no exception.

   However, their grandchildren like to stand and watch the ending scene when the subtitles are raised. Spiccoli and Brooke Shields appeared at the end of David Letterman's talk show scene to their cheers.

   "I'm going to tell my friends that the swimming pool bikini was so beautiful..."

   "Yeah, it's so funny that Spiccoli rescued Brooke Shields in the end, if only I could be like him..."

   Ronald noticed that his grandchildren were discussing several episodes in the movie.

  The old people began to leave the stage. There was only one old lady, who played many supporting roles in the golden age of Hollywood, and later married an executive of the film company, and came over to say goodbye to Ronald.

   "To be honest I don't like this movie, it's too sexual. You're a competent director, but watch more classic movies.

   I don't understand the new Southern California dialect, but my granddaughter seems to like it, and the cheerleaders speak the same way as she does, without paying attention to grammar.

   Also, good luck. "

   "If there's nothing else to say, let's start voting." Simberg presided over the ensuing meeting.

   "I object, this film should not be released. In the future, before our film is released, it is best to hold a meeting to vote." Robert Remy, senior vice president, was the first to express his attitude.

  Tom Mount got one vote and Remy is a very conservative guy.

   "The issuance plan has been made, and if we withdraw it now, we will lose a sum of money."

  Simberg got a vote from the VP of distribution.

   Focused on Ned Tanin.

  Tanin was indecisive.

   If you agree, you can gamble on your own vision. At that time, I also agreed to Ronald's additional budget for the supplementary shooting. The box office can be counted as its own score.

   But if this "fast-paced" box office is also good, Simberg may get a higher authority and make a statement within Universal Pictures. The reduction of Tom Mount's power is a high probability event.

   So it looks like you will report to Simberg in the future?

   Don't you agree? If he does not agree to the release, he may later be regarded as a fellow of Mount's party.

   "I heard from a retired actor who said that a lot of the characters in the movie speak the Valley accent of Southern California, and people elsewhere sound handicapped."

  Tanin finally spoke.

   "This movie is not suitable for simultaneous national release, but there is a large audience on the west coast. We can release it for a week or two, see the box office results, and if it is good, we can sell the movie to Universal Television Network.

   If it can achieve good box office results and stay in theaters for more than four weeks, it can also be sold to NBC TV. "

  …

   Ronald waits outside the door for the high-level people who will decide the fate of his debut novel to make a decision.

   "Why can't I show up at the meeting that decides my own destiny?"

   Ronald, who was thinking about it, saw Simberg and Tom Mount and others come out.

   "Not the best outcome, not the worst." Simberg nodded to him.

   "Let Mr. Tanin explain to you." Tanin's compromise at the last moment made both parties not too satisfied.

"Nationwide screenings canceled and we'll replace the original schedule with Dolly Parton's movie 'The Best Chicken House in Texas.' Hundreds of theaters. Good luck."

   (end of this chapter)