Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 533 Ronald is the key man

"Ronald, have you read the Chicago Sun?" Weintraub called again, "I'll read to you, Albert is saying good things about you throughout, giving you four out of four stars. ."

  "I'm reading", Ronald didn't bother Weintraub this time. He looked at the praise full of words and Albert's admission that he had misunderstood his directing ability.

   "Ding dong", after the call, the manager, Richard, rang the doorbell.

   "Let's go here?" Ronald put on a new hand-sewn suit, which he had made in Los Angeles with Armani's garments. Italian-style cut, very suitable for the figure.

  Richard had changed to a bigger Toyota Camry, and the two went to the headquarters of Twentieth Century Fox together. Today Ronald received a third invitation to negotiate with other studios.

   "We've come to Mr. Noel Black with an appointment."

  Noel Black is still in meetings. Ronald and Richard had to wait at the door.

   "Didn't you agree on this time?" Ronald was a little dissatisfied, now he is a successful director who can direct medium productions. Even if you are a high-level studio executive, it is impolite to not be punctual.

   "Ronald? Is that you? Ronald?"

   With a strong South African accent, a cry of surprise came.

Ronald turned his head and saw that this wasn't when he was working for Roger Coleman. When he went to the Montreal Film Festival, the one he met... was the producer of "God Is Crazy", what is it called? ...

   "Mia Tosky", the other party saw Ronald's predicament and took the initiative to remind him of his name.

   "Mia, really long time no see, are you here this time?"

"God is crazy and finally got permission for a large-scale release in America. This time we are looking for the executives of Twentieth Century Fox, hoping they can give us a little more theaters. In any case, fifty theaters are not enough. of."

   "That's really less." Ronald still remembers this unusual comedy, "What? The American government's sanctions against you?"

"Yes, it's loosened. ANC Mandela has been transferred from the humble Robin Island prison to a better prison in Cape Town. Doctors are giving him a full medical examination. So, After a special application to the American Congress, we can finally put the film in America."

   "That's great, when we finish talking, let's find a place today and have a chat."

   "Definitely, we have traveled a lot in America, and it is rare to see a Hollywood person who is so enthusiastic about helping us." Mia shook Ronald's hand and agreed.

  …

   "How about my script? This is what I rewrote based on my memory, my experience when I was young. I cherish this memory and have been looking for an opportunity to film him."

  Noel Black finally finished the meeting and summoned Ronald in the office. When he came up, he first handed the script of "Heart and Soul" to the other party.

"Written from memory," Ronald glanced at Blake, who was already in his forties, and thought to himself, "No wonder there is a musty smell, this is all a high school experience in the 1960s. High school kissing is out of the question? Racing in classic cars, and the prejudice that Latinos are bad guys, how can young people in the 80s see it now?”

   "I know that you are a screenwriter, I respect your opinion, and I can mention anything." Noel Black is eager to promote this film in a short time, so Ronald is also Corporal Li Xian.

"Mr. Black's script is very exciting, and I have to read it carefully before I can give specific opinions. But from my simple reading, whether the time is a little old, those antique cars, the current audience may not understand. ."

   "No, Ronald, those are the beauties of my youth. Whoever owns one, it's easy to get a girl."

   It seems that he really likes his script.

   "Then give the audience a little more ice cream, and let the hero show some exposure when he is seduced by this girl.

   "Isn't that going to be R-rated? I hope more people can see this movie, especially middle school kids."

   "This is a balancing act, Mr. Black." Ronald felt that he had nothing to say. He was so obsessed with his script that he could just play with his director. There is no scene to watch, how can such an old script attract the audience?

   "Well, I'll think about it."

  The words are not speculative, and the two of them can’t continue after talking for a while.

"It seems that he is also a business-first director. Should I listen to him and make an R-rated film? This way, although there will be fewer audiences, it may be released longer." Noel Blake in Ronald After saying goodbye, I began to think about my thoughts, "It doesn't matter, let's go according to his advice. If we don't step up filming this month, we will have a lot of dreams when the new president arrives."

   Ronald found Mia Tosky and his party, and they found a small restaurant and chatted while eating.

   "So you and Fox made a deal?"

   "No, they still insist on showing only 50 theaters." Mia shook her head, Hollywood has always had a prejudice against South African movies, thinking that such a small market cannot produce high-quality products.

   "Then what are you going to do?" Ronald felt that it was a crime for such a fine movie to not be able to meet more American audiences.

"We're going to let it go state by state." Mia Toski is worthy of being the daughter of the owner of South Africa's largest cinema chain, and she made up her mind that since 20th Century Fox, the only one of the seven that was interested in them, didn't If you are willing to release it on a large scale, it is impossible to find other people to do it.

   "A state-by-state screening in the past?"

"Yeah, don't you know? In your America, there's no law restricting producers from reaching out to theatrical screenings. People go to distributors because they think they're cheaper. I'm crazy about 'God too' I’m very confident in the quality of the company, as long as we let it go state by state, we will always be able to accumulate good returns in a year.”

   Ronald raised his glass in admiration for Mia. This kind of distribution is very hard work. The screening laws are different in each state. They have to take hundreds of copies and cruise along America all the way. If they are not very interested in exploring the American market, they have no motivation In this stupid way.

"Since you say that, you must not sign an exclusive agreement with Fox. I know two small-scale distributors here. They may be interested in your movie, but most of their distribution theaters are relatively poor second-tier... …”

   "It doesn't matter, Ronald, we are willing to..." Mia stood up excitedly.

   "Relax, since you are interested, I can call both of them, and then we will make an appointment to see the movie."

  Roger Coleman's Concorde and Meinahan's Cannon were on Ronald's mind. As long as one of the two families is willing to distribute, they can make a little money and participate in the domestic distribution market, and their understanding of the film industry will be deeper.

   "That's right, I was so excited all of a sudden", Mia sat down, and this matter finally found a suitable person to promote it.

  The world's largest movie market is technically very open. As long as someone is willing to watch your movie, you can release it here. But it is very conservative in culture, and audiences and distributors are biased against films made in small foreign markets.

  Ronald has seen his own "God is Crazy" again, and he still thinks it's pretty good. Just now at Fox, he negotiated directly with Vice President Noel Black. Black still respected him in his words and actions. He must be an important figure in Hollywood now. He was accompanied by the person who looked like a manager in a suit and leather shoes next to him.

  Mia's business acumen made her start to flatter Ronald, intentionally or unintentionally. Ronald is "God is crazy" and the key person to enter the American market.

   "Ronald, I didn't expect you to have achieved your dream and made four films." Mia was very emotional when she learned about his recent situation.

   "I know that your directors all want good scripts and actors. Are you willing to use foreign scripts and actors?"

   "Of course, as long as they pass the English test, I have nothing against it." Ronald affirmed Mia's idea, "Do you have anyone to introduce?"

"It depends on what you like. We foreign filmmakers who work hard in the Aramco market have a small circle, especially those from the southern hemisphere like me, who need to communicate with each other. We have one on weekends. Small party, if you are interested, I will ask the assistant to pick you up... and your agent, Mr.

   "That's good." Ronald thought, it would be nice to meet foreign filmmakers.

Richard next to    smiled and did not object. He took out his notebook and wrote down Ronald's itinerary.

   "Do you think our movie can be popular here?" Mia started talking about the release of "God is Crazy" again.

   "I think it's really good, it's a rare high-quality movie."

   "I don't quite understand why Fox is not willing to release it on a large scale. They are not optimistic about this movie."

"Well..." Ronald recalled the episode he watched back then, "If you have concerns, maybe this movie contains too many slang words in Afrikaans, and the American people will be a little cultural when they hear it. The estrangement above, some humorous places are lost."

   "We did run into this problem, and we only had to put subtitles to explain it during the screening."

   "The subtitles are also worth watching. Young people nowadays don't really like movies with subtitles." Richard interjected.

   "That makes sense." Mia nodded.

   "Have you considered re-dubbing?" Ronald recalled watching "Break Dance" in a dream, and it even spoke Chinese.

   "Dub?"

   "Yeah, get two local actors, rewrite the dialogue, and replace the South African actors' voices."

  "This is a good way", Mia suddenly became enlightened, who said that English movies can't be re-dubbed?

After    and Mia separated, Richard drove Ronald back again.

   "Ronald, I think I saw Barry Diller when you went into the office to talk."

   "Who?" Ronald was thinking, but couldn't hear.

   "Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO of Paramount. I saw him in the offices of Twentieth Century Fox."

   "Huh?" Ronald glanced at Richard, "Are you sure?"

   "I'm sure, I have all the photos of the seven high-level executives, I'm afraid I didn't recognize it and missed the opportunity. I will report to CAA tomorrow."

   (end of this chapter)