Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 543 Everyone trusts Ronald

   "They think your audition is good, they don't need to notify your agent, let me tell you directly that you have been selected."

   Ronald walked out of the audition room and told Demi Moore, who was waiting outside.

   "Really?" Demi stared at Ronald, "I was chosen to be that Jules?"

   She didn't believe that happiness could fall on her head so easily, and confirmed again, "It's Jules, not the group, right?"

   "Yes, Demi, I know you are very ambitious, you did get a good opportunity, don't let it go." Ronald confirmed to Demi again, the girl was a little too happy.

   "Thank you, thank you!" Demi came up and kissed Ronald several times, then jumped on the motorcycle, ready to start.

"Pfft..." After the starter pedal was stepped on by her leather boots, she only hummed twice, Demi got out of the car and kicked the tire, "Shxt, it's broken again." Then she looked innocently at the tire. with Ronald.

   "Where is your home now, I'll take you off." Ronald looked around, there was no public transportation near Universal Studios.

   "Where do you live?" Demi asked rhetorically.

   "I'm in West Hollywood."

   "Then you take me for a ride, and when I get to your house, I can walk back by myself."

  Demi Moore, who was sitting in the co-pilot of Saab 900, let the wind outside the window blow her long hair and glanced at Ronald. This person did not buy a sports car to show off like those actors once he gained power, but got a low-key high-horsepower car, and he really valued the substance over the name. Then there will be some real rewards.

   "I'm here, are you sure you can walk back by yourself?" Ronald parked his car in front of his apartment.

   "It's not far away, don't worry. Can I go get some water? I was so excited just now that I was a little thirsty." Demi Moore got out of the car and stood at the door, not wanting to leave.

   "Come on", Ronald opened the door.

  Demi Moore followed, kicked the door shut with his leather boots, and hugged Ronald from behind who went to the refrigerator to get water. She turned Ronald around. She squatted down by herself, touching Ronald's belt buckle with both hands, and was about to unbutton it.

"Hey, Demi, don't do this." Ronald pulled the belt with both hands. He knew that Demi deliberately didn't start the motorcycle. When he arrived at the apartment, he excused himself to follow up to thank himself, but the thanks came too fiercely and quickly. .

"Then what are you going to do? Come from behind? It's up to you." Demi obediently turned around, started rubbing Ronald with her plump buttocks, then shook her hair, looked back at Ronald, tongue Twisted on the lips.

   "Whatever you want, I promise."

Ronald pulled Demi up and said, "That's not what I meant, this role is very suitable for you, a party girl who works in a large bank, open and enthusiastic, perfunctory about work, enthusiastic about friends, and very temperament with yourself. Like, just, don't screw it up this time."

   "How do you understand the distress of our lower-level actors?" Demi rolled her eyes at Ronald, opened the refrigerator by herself, and opened a bottle of Coke. I have no capital, only myself. In the last movie, if it wasn't for being preempted, how could the heroine be turned into a supporting actress. "

  It turns out that she met British actor Michael Caine last time because of Ronald and was introduced to the "It's all Rio's fault" crew. Originally, my role was to play the daughter of Michael Caine's hero friend's friend, and I wanted to have a year-long love with him in the movie.

  Unexpectedly, another actress who originally played Michael Caine's daughter found the right person, and her role was immediately swapped with her, and the final film was cut so that only a few scenes were left. Even if Demi herself is black, and the blond Michael Caine is not like father and daughter at all, there is no way.

   "I like your ambition to pursue your dreams, but I don't like the way you realize your ambition. In addition to relationships, movie casting also pays attention to the matching of actors and roles, as well as the chemistry between actors."

   "But if you didn't give me a chance, how would I show my acting skills and temperament?" Demi Moore has always had clear grievances. She put the Coke in one fell swoop, and the brown liquid leaked from the corner of her mouth, and the foam evaporated and boiled on her hot body, making a sizzling sound.

   "Ronnie, I will not disappoint your good intentions, I will work hard to climb up. As long as you can ensure that my role will not be replaced, today, I belong to you."

  Demi touched Coke's cold hand and put it on Ronald's neck. The cold feeling gave Ronald goosebumps all over his neck. Then another fiery body leaned up, "Director, a party animal like Jules, when he sees the right man, is he just taking the initiative? Can I act okay?"

  …

   "You're full of energy? Do you have any new script ideas?"

   The next day, Ronald and Minahan had brunch at Hollywood's famous "My Kitchen" restaurant.

"No... I don't have any new ideas. It's just that I took a vacation recently and added some exercise to restore some vitality." Yesterday, Demi repaid him, and the song was flattering. Make him very useful.

  Ronald opened the napkin, set it up, and started to eat chicken salad, "This is also recommended by the famous director Orson Welles, you should try it too."

"Hey..." When Minahan heard this, he put down his knife and fork and sighed, "Our efforts to invite famous directors have not been successful. Many people immediately rejected Cannonball Pictures when they heard about it. The first film is always difficult. Yes, just like the 'breakdance' you filmed for us, after the success, good commercial scripts have already begun to be delivered voluntarily."

  Meinahan took out a script from his bag, put it on the table and pushed it to Ronald, "Look, does this movie have box office potential?"

   "How did this script get to you?" Ronald took the script and read it, and it said "Runaway Train". It is the screenwriting work of Akira Kurosawa, a master of the Eastern film industry.

   "What? You've seen it, aren't you interested?" Minahan was a little disappointed. The script he bought from Akira Kurosawa's son originally wanted to surprise Ronald.

   "I have to remind you that this movie is not easy to make."

  Ronald quickly flipped through the script and found that there are a lot of shots inside and outside the train in the whole play. The last scene turned out to be a shot of a train driving quickly to a cave tunnel on the vast snow field, and then blowing up inside.

  Thinking about the effect Kurosawa had envisioned, Ronald felt his scalp tingling. In addition to the helicopter aerial panorama, there are also a lot of footage involving exploding trains and trains galloping. Repeatedly starting a train to shoot on the Great Plains covered in several feet of snow was life-threatening.

   "Don't be afraid, I've raised ten million dollars to make this big production."

   "Mr. Golan, your phone." The waiter came to call Minahan, and he got up to answer.

   Ronald ordered another chicken salad by himself and ate it. Now Minahan seems to be a lot more cautious, and 10 million is called a big production. Back then, he spent a lot of money to ask Bo Ji Xiaosi to shoot "Sahara", but it seems that it has also been worn away by the reality of Hollywood.

"I'm sorry, Andrea, the number of films that the Seventh Congress has a limited number of each year. You might as well ask those independent producers. As long as someone invests, I can help you find a distribution contract." On the table in the corner, two The middle-aged people stood up and hugged each other goodbye.

"Well, I originally thought of the free world. I can always make the movies I want to make. I didn't expect that there would be no National Film Commission and Hollywood capitalists to censor the creative freedom of our artists." glasses and speaks with a Russian accent.

  "Andrei", Ronald called out the latter's name, it turned out to be the famous director Andrei Konchalovsky who defected from the Soviet Union.

   "Ronald!" Konchalovsky was very happy when he saw Ronald, "Do you mind if I sit for a while?" He pulled out the chair and sat down at Ronald's table.

   "Thank you for your recommendation. The 'Maria's Lovers' I shot has been appreciated by the president of Cannon Films and can go to the Venice Film Festival to participate."

   "That's good, I'm here to eat with Minahan today." Ronald motioned to the waiter to bring another set of cutlery.

   "Who was that?" Ronald asked about the man who was chatting with Konchalovsky just now. The man had a strabismus in one eye and looked a bit like a mentally handicapped person. However, looking at Konchalovsky's attitude towards him, it seems to be a high weight.

   "It's Tom Pollack, a famous Hollywood lawyer and broker. He helped Lucas negotiate the contract for the last two Star Wars movies."

  "It turned out to be him", Ronald Zhidao can't be seen. The reason why George Lucas can become the richest director is because he signed an unprecedented sharing contract with 20th Century Fox, and Lucasfilm first takes the income and then shares it with Fox. In this way, Fox becomes a working horse for Lucas.

   "No luck?" Ronald asked.

   "He promised to help, but now the production budgets of major studios are very tight. The film I hope to shoot requires actors with acting skills, so I can only find them to cooperate."

   "Is this your new script?" Konchalovsky saw the "Runaway Train" on the table, "Is it convenient for me to take a look?"

   "Please," Ronald motioned to him, "This is a script acquired by Minahan, and the original author is Akira Kurosawa."

   "Commercial film?" Konchalovsky saw the synopsis of the plot, "But Tom Pollack also advised me that I must make a blockbuster commercial film first, and then consider my own creative direction."

   "That's true, Hollywood is a place that pays attention to making money. If you have a blockbuster movie, then the studio's requirements will be much looser on you. In Hollywood, everyone has to prove themselves." Ronald laughed.

   "Exactly, you are the youngest Hollywood director who can make commercial films. I have to learn from you how to make commercial films."

   Konchalovsky also realized that the freedom of Hollywood is freedom under the premise of making money, and no one is willing to invest in only making art films that lose money.

   "I dare not," Ronald hurriedly denied, "I was at New York University, and all I saw was your 'Uncle Vanya, who came to learn screenwriting and directing thinking.'"

"But Hollywood's mechanism is a movie made for ordinary audiences." Konchalovsky looked at the script in his hand, and the more he read it, the more interesting it became, "Although this movie has many scenes to please the audience on the surface, the core is the ultimate humanistic care.”

   Ronald pouted, these Russians can see humanistic care in everything.

   "What kind of humanistic concern?" Minahan returned from the phone and heard Konchalovsky's last sentence on Kurosawa Akira's script.

   "Meinahan, Andre, you already know each other." Ronald kicked Meinahan lightly under the table, this is the national treasure director of the Souvelle Union.

  Meinahan understood what Ronald meant, but he couldn't believe it, "Andre, are you really willing to direct this commercial film?"

"The script written by Akira Kurosawa can't be so superficial. These two prisoners who escaped on the train are symbols of evil human nature, but the warden they face will do everything possible to kill them. This belongs to the system. evil.

   Akira Kurosawa is probably discussing the ultimate question of life, the evil brought about by the animal nature of human beings, and the evil of the system, which is more evil? "

   Meinahan's eyes lit up, not knowing what magic Ronald did to Konchalovsky, he was actually willing to consider directing a commercial film. Isn't there great hope for his own famous mentoring plan?

   "Andre, I can guarantee that if you want to direct, I can fully support it. In addition to the budget of ten million dollars, I can also not interfere with your shooting."

   "Really?" Konchalovsky had already had a lot of backdoors. Ronald's words just now made him make up his mind to come up with a commercial film to prove himself.

   "To be honest, you are the most daring Hollywood producer I have ever seen. Even when you were there, the secretary general of the National Film Commission never supported a director's creation like this."

   "Quack..." Minahan was very happy to be flattered by the seemingly honest Russian guy. Immediately decided to start a discussion with him about filming "Runaway Train".

  The shooting scene of Ronald's fearsome snow train, in Konchalovsky's opinion, was not so difficult. There were several meters of deep snow on the ground of the Soviet Union, and the director there did not shoot the same way.

"Ronald, you have to help me, it's my first time in Hollywood to direct this kind of commercial film, about casting, I'm afraid I want to hear your opinion on what kind of actors the American audience likes to tell this story. , I need your opinion."

   Konchalovsky, who reached a preliminary image with Meinahan, also saw Ronald's position in Meinahan. To pull him together.

"It seems that you learn very quickly. Hollywood is actually cruel. If your movie does not sell well, it will be difficult for a producer to invest in you next time. Even Minahan, his tolerance for artists is based on the ability to bring him Come to think of more business.”

   Ronald also admires Konchalovsky, a veteran who can quickly adapt to the Hollywood system.

   "I understand, that's why I hope you can help me, I still have a lot to learn about the Hollywood commercial model."

  …

"Ronald, you have to help me, help me watch Konchalovsky." Minahan also found Ronald later. I really don't understand the true level of a director like Andrei. Can you help me to see his specific shooting? In addition, you have to help me check the casting. I am worried that he will choose some actors who are not pleasing to the audience. "

   "If that's the case, you can be a producer yourself?"

   "Hey, you know me. In fact, I invest in famous directors to improve the company's level, so that in overseas markets, when others hear that I can hire a big-name director, we are a big company in Hollywood.

  We cannons. If we want to hire a director with status, we can only compromise on art and let them shoot according to their own ideas. If I act as a producer, it is obvious that I don’t trust him. You are the director and speak better than me. "

   "Okay", since both parties were interested, Ronald decided to do them a favor by attending two casting meetings before filming, and then going to the scout class after filming started. In fact, both sides have unnecessary worries, but who makes Ronald the person they both trust?

   "Okay, I'll add your name to the producer."

   "Okay, let me take a vacation now, I've been busy for the past year."

   Ronald, who was still on vacation, suddenly received a good news call from his manager Nisita this morning.

   "Ronald, the commander wants to summon you."

   (end of this chapter)