Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 567 The dust settles

  Tom Cruise flew to London with his agent Paula a few days later, where he reshot some of Ridley Scott's "Legend." The film, which was long overdue, burned down during filming. After recovery, the main actors are called back to shoot again.

  Ronald was called by James Cameron to see the pre-screening review of "The Terminator". Orion has already decided to premiere at the end of October.

   "What do you think?" Cameron socialized with a group of film critics who came to see the film for free with a certificate of the Film Critics Association, and asked Ronald's opinion with a gloomy face.

   "You'll be famous, Jim." Of course Ronald said yes, if the movie wasn't good, it wouldn't be dreaming of a sequel.

  The special effects of the whole film are amazing, the big explosion on the road, and the final battle, all make adrenaline secrete faster. The ubiquitous cold humor and the faintly sad ending at the end allow the audience to have emotional peaks and valleys.

   Cameron was the first time director of a feature film, but he did an excellent job of controlling the structure and fine details that these commercial film directors needed.

   "October is the low season, maybe you will win the box office championship." Ronald cheered his good friend.

   "If only the film critics said so." Cameron sighed.

   "What's wrong? Did they give bad feedback?"

"I'm not very confident, Schwarzenegger insisted that we must hold today's test screening, and see the comments to decide whether to participate in the premiere and follow-up promotion. The schedule at the end of October is sandwiched between the summer and Christmas schedules. in the middle." Gal came over and expressed concern.

   "It's better to be a big fish in a small pond than to be a small fish in a big pond," Ronald comforted the two of them. "I'll go to the premiere if I need to and say something nice to you."

   "Thank you", Cameron squeezed his friend's hand tightly.

   "Is your new film finalized?" Gail was very happy when Ronald agreed to go to the premiere. Although Ronald is not a big star, as the director of two big-selling movies, if he can appear on the scene, there must be some free newspaper pages mentioning "Terminator".

"Not yet, I'm still waiting for the result of the big reshuffle." Ronald shook his head. The high-level changes involving the three companies have not yet been completed. The negotiations between Eisner and Disney have not yet come to a conclusion. All Paramount projects is also frozen.

   "Maybe I'll consider the second part of "Longwei Kid" first, Weintraub is going to ask me to go to Dongying to see if there are any companies willing to invest in the filming of the sequel.

   A few days later, news about the new head of Disney finally appeared in the New York Times and other major media.

   "Disney wants Eisner to wake Sleeping Beauty"

  The princess in the Disney cartoon "Sleeping Beauty" slept for a hundred years. And Disney has only started dozing off in the past decade.

   In this short decade, however, Disney Productions has fallen far behind the rest of the film industry.

  It is Michael Eisner, Disney's new 42-year-old, curly-haired chairman and CEO who cites the image of "Sleeping Beauty" as a metaphor for Disney...

   "People here crave strong leadership," Mr. Eisner, sitting in a hamburger joint, sipping a chocolate milkshake, reflects a boyish excitement, as if Disney were one of his new toys.

   Although he himself did not further use fairy tale metaphors. But there's no doubt that Disney sees Eisner as the prince who awakens the magical princess.

  Despite Mr. Eisner's self-proclaimed "cheerleader," most Hollywood watchers believe he will make Disney a formidable contender again.

It is reported that Roland Bates, an investment banker on Wall Street, said that he is satisfied with the funds raised for the investment in Disney's live-action film shooting. distribution and use with great confidence.”

  Universal Pictures Group chairman Frank Price thinks so too: "Michael will bring Disney into a true first-class player."

  …

   At the same time, at Paramount, new Chairman and CEO Frank Mancuso also completed important personnel appointments.

Former Universal VP, who resigned to start his own independent production company, ran "The Breakfast Club," "Sixteen Candles," and Ned Tanin of "St. Elmo's Fire," by Frank Mancu Sow was named the new Paramount president with overall responsibility for production.

   At this point, three of the Big Seven studios, Paramount, Twentieth Century Fox, and Disney, have ended the turmoil, calm has begun, and everything is back on track.

"I've watched you for a long time, and you've made 'Blitz Dance' and 'Beverly Hills Detective' and they've been phenomenal success. So you're here at Paramount from now on as you have with Guber-Peterson. You can freely select suitable scripts and submit them to me for review. There is no need to go through the initial selection of the film review committee.”

Ned Tanin, who just took office, and regardless of his studio's two teen films "The Breakfast Club" and "The Fire of St. Elmore," directly began to serve as Paramount's president of production. responsibility.

  Eisner's exploits are the result of his steady production of blockbuster movies over the past decade. It is the most important thing for me to secure this position in Paramount, continue this trend, and produce more blockbuster films.

   So as soon as he took office, he started watching the material of the top 10 top-grossing films of Paramount in the past five years. He found two of them, both related to the pairing of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer.

   "We want to have the autonomy of film shooting." Bruckheimer directly asked.

"As long as I give the green light to the project, you can all decide. Just report the main creator and star to me." Taning is very generous. With hundreds of millions of box office, it is much stronger than his own film selection ability.

"Come on, Ned. As long as we like projects, how can they not sell?" Don Simpson tossed his long hair, this Tanning is nothing more than obedience, and will be incompetent Frank Mancuso. fancy.

"I believe in your vision. You can choose all the scripts in the script library here. There are scripts from other places, and you can also buy them." Ned Tanning knew that it was the time to hire people and ignored Don Simpson. rude.

   "Okay, let's go back to the script library and choose the right one", Bruckheimer is more reasonable.

   "Hey, we even played the good cop, bad cop game with me." Ned Tanen looked around. The office that once belonged to Eisner was very spacious, and there was also a small golf putting practice field. Once you get a firm foothold, you'll have to redecorate here.

   "Don, we don't have to play the good cop, bad cop game with Ned," Bruckheimer said to his partner, "At least he gave us the same power as Guber and Peterson."

   "Bah, what does he know about filmmaking? It doesn't depend on the producer. I said, we also have to choose a high-concept film this time, and we don't choose any script that can't explain the content of the film in one sentence."

"Of course", Bruckheimer nodded and said yes, in this era when audiences have no fixed habit of going to the cinema, film selection must have an innate advantage in marketing, and there are titles that are attractive when you hear them, and there are titles you want to see on the big screen. star, but also to find a director who can make such a blockbuster, which is completely different from the top-grossing drama in Hollywood in the previous decade.

  The generation after the baby boomer has graduated from high school and started to work or go to college. Their hobbies and hobbies are the objects that the new generation of movies will please. The ratings of MTV are getting higher and higher, and the tastes of the current generation of viewers are very different from those of the previous generation.

   The two asked the secretary to move a large box and loaded the scripts that had been lying in the Paramount script circulation library for the past five years. Then they went to Don Simpson's big house and began to read the scripts slowly.

  …

   "Do you still think we should make a story about Ali?" Weintraub asked Ronald, who came to chat. The two of them each lit a large cigar and began drinking good brandy. Ronald kind of likes the feeling of successful people.

  Colombia was also affected by this big reshuffle. Three new presidents or CEOs took office, and many middle-level managers began to flow.

   Finally, Columbia's personnel have stabilized, and they have time to formally discuss with Weintraub about the filming of the sequel to the "Longwei Kid" that has not yet been released.

"I always feel that in all the classic Hollywood narratives, there is not a single female teen hero. And Elizabeth Shue is a rare actress who has no difficulty in doing action dramas. You can try it." Ronald still insisted on his own opinion, hoping to revolve around Ali is the protagonist to start the second part of the plot.

"But have you ever thought that there is no such plot, or it may be because everyone who has tried has failed." Weintraub is still haunted by Elizabeth Sue's failure to participate in the promotion tour. If possible, he would like to put The heroine has also changed.

   "It's not unreasonable to say that."

Ronaldo thinks that a major trend in the 1980s was that the proportion of working girls began to increase significantly. Women were not only serving as secretaries for a few years and then returning home to help their husbands and children. The proportion of female executives in all walks of life are rising.

   However, there is no need to argue with Weintraub for this unverifiable idea.

"I still like your idea of ​​telling Mr. Miyagi's story. I have already arranged a time. When the end of the year is over, we will go to Dongying to see. As long as the rich people there are willing to invest, we will use Miyagi as the core of the story. It will definitely make them more willing to pay.

  East Ying people are very strong in manufacturing, and our industry is exhausted. do you know? The mascot of this Olympics, the eagle, was made by Dongying Factory. In the last Moscow Olympics, it was clearly produced by our American company. "

   "Aha?" Ronald thought to himself that capitalists really make money when they have money, and even the Olympic mascot of the biggest competitor, the Solville Union, can be made. As long as you make money, you can sell anything.

   "You have to think about it. Just this time, I will go to see what the Dongying people think of our interpretation of their karate."

"Okay, let's think about it, especially you. In the second part, we need a new trick." Weintraub is most proud of the crane kick. Now people in the circle see him, and they have to leave the ground with one foot. , shouting the famous words of Teacher Miyagi, "As long as you use the right place, you will be invincible."

   "Yeah, I have to think about it too", Ronald thought, it's been a long time since I dreamed of a movie, and I don't know what the trick in the original sequel was. There should be a sequel to such a blockbuster movie, right?

"Okay, think about it. The movie can still earn more than 3 million yuan a week, and it can be until the end of October. It is very hopeful that the domestic box office will break 100 million yuan. If we go to Dongying with a local box office of 100 million yuan, there will be The issuing company must take it seriously.”

   (end of this chapter)