Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 810 Twin Theatre Premiere

   In addition to the special places in the movie itself (such as the place where the original story took place), most of the premieres of America's movies will be held in Los Angeles or New York.

   In these two cities, there are large theaters suitable for the size of the premiere, and there are enough media to cover the premiere to increase the box office of the movie.

  Ronald's first release of his own film took a long time in two places. The advantage of Los Angeles is that it is convenient to invite celebrities, and the advantage of New York is that there are more national media. In order to attract more audiences to the movie theaters from the media coverage, Ronald decided to…

   Each of the two cities will hold one.

   The best movie theater for a premiere in Los Angeles is the Dome, and the best one in New York is the Ziegfeld Theater, both with halls capable of seating more than 2,000 people, as well as facilities for premiere press and meetups.

   But Ronald couldn't rent a single one. Not only can it be rented here with money, it also needs to have a suitable relationship and book in advance.

  Due to Ronald's temporary postponement of the release time of "Dancing Hot", he had no choice but to find other theaters for the premiere.

  Universal and Paramount have both extended an olive branch to have Ronald premiere in their cinemas. But those theaters are generally newer multiplex systems without large auditoriums and media facilities.

   In the end, it was Roger Coleman who took the initiative to find a well-known twin film company in the industry, and lent the twin theatres in Los Angeles and New York to Ronald for the premiere.

   As the name indicates, the Twin Theater is a twin theater composed of two thousand-seat auditoriums.

  Ronald enclosed two halls, one for the premiere audience and the other for the general screening that followed. The media facilities of the twin theaters in both places are just used to receive reporters from all walks of life.

   "The scale is very good, it looks like a blockbuster from the seven major studios, and only has the scale of the premiere."

  Jim Cameron was amazed at Ronald's arrangement. As a small company, Daydream can make such a large-scale premiere and invite so many media and stars to join us. It must be said that it is very admirable.

   "I hope you and Gail like it." Ronald greeted the stars at the door. Next to him is Diane, wearing a long red dress, greeting Gail Heard.

   "Oh, Jim, Jim..." Gail had short hair, showing more and more the temperament of a professional female producer, "You should wish Ronald's movie a hit."

   "My fault", Cameron smiled and Ronald corrected himself.

   "Dude, we don't have to do this between us. Tell me what you think about it when you see it." Ronald gave his old friend a questioning look. Why does Gale always seem to be picking on your words?

   "Yes, I'll give you my thoughts after reading it." Cameron made a "I'll talk to you later" look, and obediently walked over and stretched out his arms for Gail to embrace, and the two walked in.

   "Huh..." Diane was attending the premiere as the host's female companion for the first time, sticking out her tongue and looking at Ronald.

   "A little tired?" Ronald asked. Wearing this close-fitting skirt and high heels, greeting each guest and posing for a group photo with them was no easy task for a once rebellious girl like Diane.

   "Oh, I'm starting to regret wearing these high heels, these high heels are murdering me." Diane helped Ronald and made a painful expression. In order to look commensurate with Ronald, Diane spent a long time choosing last night before deciding to wear this figure-flattering dress and a pair of tall shoes.

   "I put a pair of your shoes in the lounge, the heels will be much more comfortable, you can rush in while there are not many people..." Ronald covered the eyes of the others and whispered to Diane in his ear.

   "Really? Thank you, Ronnie." Diane hurriedly trotted into the lounge and changed into comfortable shoes without any regard for grace.

  Ronald put on a professional smile again, and continued to play the hospitable host to the guests. In fact, the premiere was at night, and in the dark background, the photojournalists and paparazzi of the big media could only turn on the flash to the maximum and shoot the upper body of the person, so that readers can recognize who is who. Who is done.

   No one can take photos with layers and show the beauty of clothes without the aid of lights under such lighting conditions.

   Diane's dress and shoes are obviously overdressed and more suitable for the stage shrouded in professional lighting like the Oscars.

   But Ronald knew Diane's psychology, purely to play the role of his girlfriend. He just asked the assistant to secretly hide a pair of Diane-sized mid-heel shoes in the lounge to prevent her from working too hard.

   After a while, Diane came out wearing comfortable shoes, and her steps were much easier this time. I still don't have much experience in attending formal occasions, but fortunately, Brother Ronnie is fully prepared.

   Thinking of this, she stepped forward with a smile and took Ronald's arm.

   "Miss Lane." The one who was greeting Ronald was the manager of the CinemaScore market research company.

"Hi," Ronald turned back and gave Diane an encouraging smile, "Mr. Carlson is helping us test the general audience ratings for a random sample of five states across the country tonight, and tomorrow we'll know what audiences are saying about this movie. I like the movie."

   "The first thing tomorrow morning, I promise." The manager nodded to Di An, and went in to prepare for the investigation of the field.

   "How many points?" Diane whispered to Ronald.

   "Romantic comedies are generally not rated too high, I'm happy with a B+. Hi Roger!"

   "Hi Ronald, I'm really happy today." Roger and Julie Coleman walked slowly over.

   Ronald hurriedly joined Diane to take a group photo with the former boss and his wife who knew him well. "How does it feel?" Roger Coleman tapped Ronald on the shoulder as the two posed for the photojournalist.

   "To be honest, I'm very nervous. It's completely different from being a director with my own money. I'm still waiting for your box office forecast for me?"

   "Haha, take it easy and enjoy it slowly. I'll go to the movies first." Roger Coleman laughed, and Ronald also "enjoyed" the feeling of being a boss.

   "Ronnie, the box office will be good, right?" Diane's hand was slowly stroking Ronald's arm to relieve his pressure. Unexpectedly, Ronald confided his true feelings in front of the former boss, but he would also be nervous, and he seemed to be quite calm.

   "Yeah, but I don't have time to think about that right now..." Ronald also let out a sigh of relief.

"Let me tell you, Jim and Gail were inside just now, and the voice was a little loud, as if they were arguing." Diane rarely saw Ronald showing a nervous side, and quickly told Ronald the gossip he saw inside. listen.

   "Don't say it out", Ronald pressed **** Diane's waist. Cameron is indeed a bit abnormal. Gail may be the producer's pressure to do too much love. On ordinary occasions, there are also some producers' condescending attitude towards her husband Cameron and the director, which is not good. Phenomenon.

   "Hi Tom, Mimi, it's nice to have you here."

   "Ronald, Diane", Mimi Rogers grinned at her crooked mouth and came up to hug the two of them.

"Ronald, what can I say?" Tom Cruise's hair grew a little longer, with a red bow tie, red suit scarf, and Mrs. Mimi in a tight black dress with white trim The corsage dress is just right.

   Cruise saw Ronald and was still a little embarrassed that he was not invited to the wedding.

"Good luck and good luck, you have to say something nice to your fans for my movie." Ronald joked with him, then hugged Cruise tightly, "The wedding cake is still very good. good to eat."

"Hahaha..." Cruise put his mind down, took several pictures with Ronald Diane, then pointed to Ronald and said to all the reporters on the scene, "I like this man's film work very much. , I personally recommend that you all come to see it.”

   "Tom, when will you work with Ronald again next time?" The reporter was very respectful, the flash light clicked, and many reporters wanted to come up and ask questions.

   "Today is the premiere of Ronald's film, and I only answer questions about my good friend." Tom Cruise showed a heartwarming smile and praised the reporter that Ronald's new film was good.

Diane watched from the side. Cruise was still a supporting role when he was filming "Urchin", much less than Patrick Schwytz. Now he's a big star, but Schwytz starred in " Spicy Dance" also relies on Cruise to help appeal to the audience to watch it in theaters.

   All this is a change brought about by the men around you.

   "Here, Brother Ronnie." Diane took out a handkerchief from her pouch and handed it to Ronald, who was sweating a little from nervousness and the flash.

   "Oh, thank you." Ronald didn't expect Diane to be so careful, he picked up the handkerchief and wiped it, "Am I too nervous?"

   "Relax, your movie is sure to please the audience."

   "Hi Ronald".

   Here comes another star couple, the Jewish Michael Douglas and his wife. Ronald hugged them separately.

   "Those film critics didn't bother you anymore, did they?" Douglas came with the task of conveying goodwill to Ronald.

   "No, I'm glad they kept their mouths shut this time." Ronald still expressed his dissatisfaction.

   "Welcome, Deandra," Ronald then hugged Mrs Douglas and flipped the unpleasant page.

"I wish your movie a big hit. I heard it tells the story of Kennedy's time? I'm very interested in the story of that period." Deandra Douglas is more than 10 years younger than her husband and is the daughter of an Australian diplomat. , I am quite interested in Ronald's films.

   "Diane, right? I met your father when I was in New York." Douglas hugged Diane again.

The stars have already arrived one after another. Ronald finally took a picture with the director of "The Adventures of the Nanny" Chris Columbus and his wife, and handed over the next reception task to Michelle Cannold, himself. Enter with Diane into Screen 1 of the Twin Theatre.

   The structure of the Twin Theatre is very simple, like a double-yolked egg. In the middle is the ticket hall, the back is the lounge, and there are two passages on the left and right, leading to No. 1 and No. 2 respectively, two large screening halls that can accommodate thousands of people.

   "Can Babysitter's Adventures survive?" Ronald asked Columbus on the way.

   "Disney said that it can hold on for about two more weeks. The total box office will be above 33 million, but it will not reach 35 million."

  Columbus adjusted his glasses, and he was satisfied that he could receive such a result for his film debut.

   "It's already very good, and the current teen romantic comedy can break even if it exceeds 30 million."

   "To be honest, I'm very grateful for your help. This film helped me regain my confidence. I thought I had lost my ability to direct after so many years as a screenwriter."

   "Don't say that, this Nanny Adventure is very well done, I think someone will come to you to direct your second movie soon."

   "There are a few scripts to discuss now." Columbus laughed. "Elizabeth called me to take you there. She was a little disappointed that you didn't attend the premiere of The Nanny Adventures."

   "Don't mention it, I've been very busy for the past two months." Ronald briefly told Columbus about the mess he encountered.

   "What is the movie's box office forecast?" Columbus directed the movie for the first time, and he also tasted the warmth and affection brought by the box office. Seeing Ronald said so much, he was worried for him.

   "My unanimous answer right now is that I don't know. Let's see tomorrow's CinemaScore."

"Your movie is going to be a big hit. I won't be going to the post-premiere party later. Monica and I found a nanny to take care of the kids at home. I don't want to go back and meet Elizabeth Sue when I go back. "Columbus made a joke and took his seat.

   Michelle Cannold walked in and made a few scene remarks. The main actors didn't come today, and most of the audience came to see this movie because they were curious about the discussion of the JFK era in the newspaper. Others simply heard that Tom Cruise was coming.

   Ronald sat in his seat, nervous for a while. Looking around, most of the people who came were middle-aged women, except for some of Cruise's little fans.

   "What's the matter with you? Are you okay?" Sitting next to him, watching Ronald nervously untie his tie, Diane couldn't help holding Ronald's hand, but unexpectedly his hand was sweaty. Ronald, who was so nervous, had never seen him before.

   Brother Ronnie has always been a support for Diane in various crises. A capable person who can solve any troubles. It seems that he is under a lot of pressure to make his palms sweat like this.

   "It's alright, it's really hot today." Ronald ignored the low air conditioner in Hall 1 of the Twin Cinemas and began to find reasons to avoid saying he was nervous.

   Can you not be nervous?

   Originally, the target customers of this film were 17-23-year-old teenage women. As a result, Pauline Carr raised her arm, and the female film critics began to shout, and everyone discussed the background of the "Dancing Hot" movie story, the golden age of Kennedy in 1963.

   As a result, such a large proportion of the audience who came today were middle-aged women who came to nostalgia.

   These people don't look like the audience who will be crazy about **** dance. Back then, "break dance" attracted teenagers and high school students.

   When I think of the first love of a young girl who I photographed, will these viewers be a mother and an auntie, will they still be as moved as teenagers?

   "Did the critics push too hard? Attracting the wrong audience?"

   The more Ronald thought about it, the more frightened he became. "Why is the air conditioner turned on so low today? Dolly, Dolly!"

   Ronald whispered to Dolly Burnsteen, the deputy manager of the distribution department.

  Dolly ran over quickly and squatted on the edge of Ronald's seat near the aisle. The dome light on the ceiling had dimmed, and the show was about to start. Did Ronald find something wrong?

   "Is the air conditioner in this theater broken? Why is it so hot? Would you like to take a look?"

   Ronald asked Dolly in a low voice.

   "It's not broken, I think the air conditioner is running quite high."

   "Ah, yes, that's fine."

  Ronald took out the handkerchief Diane had given him and wiped it on his forehead and neck.

   "I don't think so, maybe I'm not wearing a coat?" Dolly Bernsteen gave Ronald a strange look, and walked to the back seat with a murmuring.

   "Relax, Ronnie." Diane found that Ronald was abnormal, and waved a waiter in a white suit and black bow tie. The Twin Theaters attached great importance to the premiere, and Ronald gave him a sufficient budget. Many waiters were arranged in the hall to serve VIPs at any time.

   "Bring us a can of iced Coke." Diane ordered the waiter.

   "Coming soon, iced Coke."

   The lights on the base of the aisle were dimly lit, the other lights were off, red squiggly letters appeared on the screen, the words "Daydream Pictures", and the movie began to show.

   "Boom... dong dong...

  dong...dongdong..."

With the rhythm of the hot dance, Ronald in the later stage, made the scenes of the dancers in the basement showing their style, and made them old. Now on the screen, it looks like a faded old movie, which suddenly made the audience feel The thoughts brought back the fiery era of 1963.

   "Produced by Ronald V. Lee."

  Ronald's was also typed on the screen with red squiggly subtitles.

   The title of "Dirty Dancing" is also written in red squiggles, followed by the names of Patrick Schwytz, Jennifer Gray, and Cynthia Rhodes in order of size.

   "Your Coke, sir." The waiter quickly returned with a glass of Coke and ice on a tray with a straw inserted into it.

   "Ah, thanks." Ronald took a $20 bill from his pocket and passed it as a tip.

   "Thank you, sir." The waiter happily stepped aside, such a generous guest is not common.

  Ronald was distraught, he drank two sips of Coke and it didn't work. He threw the straw and drank it from the glass, biting the ice cubes at the bottom of the glass.

   I was so nervous.

   Ronald looked around. In the newly renovated screening hall 1, dim lights were installed in the aisles to guide the way. With the dim light, Ronald could clearly see the expressions of the audience around him.

His neck was twisting and twisting. Those middle-aged audience members were not like young people at all. They would laugh out loud and even yell at the scenes they liked in the movie. These people still have old-fashioned movie watching etiquette. The screen is motionless, and I don't know what they are thinking, do they like it or not?

   "It was the summer of 1963, and our family was on vacation in the Catskills...everyone called me Baby..."

​​​​​

   "She's Jewish..." Ronald's ears were sharp, and he heard the voice of an audience member in the back row, and when he turned around, there was no sound again.

   I sweat more, do you like this or complain? These middle-aged viewers, with some knowledge, recognized the story of a Jewish girl through the name of the resort brought by Borsch and Jennifer Gray's nose.

  Ronald began to fidget again. He didn't know how these middle-aged audiences felt about Jews back then. After all, in the not-so-distant past, Jews had a bad reputation in society. They were all small shopkeepers engaged in grocery stores, laundry, and this kind of business.

   And the Jews are known for their shrewdness, a lot of people have been fooled by them, taken advantage of, etc. This is different from Italian bakeries and Chinese restaurants. At least the food provided by those industries is delicious, which can offset the dissatisfaction of many customers.

"It seems that it is wrong to hide Baby's ethnicity problem without exposing it, but subtly concealing it. I don't know what the audience will think when they see it." Ronald let out a long sigh of relief. It's not that hard, is it?

  The movie continued, and soon came the plot where Penny, played by Cynthia Rhodes, was pregnant and abandoned by the waiter at the restaurant. Baby performed the operation for her, and asked her father for a large sum of money to help Penny. In the end, because this kind of operation was illegal in many states at the time, she could only find a Jianghu doctor for $500.

  Penny had a sequelae, so Baby went to beg his father and a surgeon to clean up the mess.

   "Oh, that's me, that's how we are. We don't have the right to perform surgery. Some people have to find a hotel and let those doctors or nurses who make money do the surgery with those dirty instruments."

"Yeah, I still remember, I had a girlfriend who couldn't pay and did it herself with a wire hanger, it was so miserable. It was really hard to be a woman back then, Roe v. Wade's After the verdict comes out, our life will be better."

  Ronald heard the murmur of the audience behind him again.

   His sweat began to flow again. This episode was already a lot of controversy. The original sponsors and acne cream sellers all withdrew their funds because of this episode. Now it is seen again by these female viewers who are mothers.

   Do they like their plot, or are they dissatisfied with the filming?

  Middle-aged audiences also have trouble with middle-aged audiences, because they are too polite, and they stop talking and don’t want to affect others.

   "Waiter", Ronald beckoned to the waiter, "Give me another Coke with ice."

  Ronald took off his tie and tugged at the neckline, gasping for breath.

   "Sir, your Coke." This time a different waiter brought Coke. Ronald still handed her $20 as usual.

   "Thank you, your movie is very good." The waitress whispered, and took Ronald's finished Coke and pushed it aside.

   "At last someone said it looks good." Ronald pouted.

   In 100 minutes of a movie, Ronald asked for 4 glasses of Coke, and the waiters in the front row all received generous tips. The legend of the generous Ronald is circulating in the Twin Theaters.

   "Because, I have found the time of my life..."

   In the last episode, Baby was lifted off the stage by the dancer, accelerated all the way, took off one by one, and jumped onto Johnny's head. Johnny held the Baby in both hands, raised it, raised it again...

  The audience and dancers in the movie began to applaud.

   There were also a few young people in the audience, who looked like Tom Cruise fans, clapped twice, and then stopped when no one responded.

  Ronald's heart sank, so many of his films premiered, this is the only film that has not been applauded from the beginning to the end.

All the supporting characters on the screen started dancing, Penny hugged Dr. Hausman and thanked him, Baby's sister danced with Johnny's cousin, Mrs. Hausman started dancing with her husband, and finally the two old ladies put their shawls together. Lost, holding hands and jumping up.

  The lights in projection hall 1 began to light up, and Ronald's heart sank again. Not a single spectator got up and jumped along.

   When "Break Dance" premiered in New York, it ended with a large-scale dance scene, but the audience jumped on the spot and blocked the actors on the stage to prevent them from leaving.

  Ronald rallied his spirits, squeezed out a smile, accompanied a few stars who came to admire the light, went to the lounge next to him, and prepared to wait for the interview and party after the premiere.

   "Awesome, the movie is great."

   "Really good, your control of the dance scene is top notch."

  Celebrities spoke with sincere compliments, congratulated Ronald one by one, and then went to the lounge between the No. 1 and No. 2 theaters next to them.

   Ronald walked out of the No. 1 projection room, reluctant to enter. He asked a waiter for a cigarette and smoked.

   "Is it really bad?" Ronald asked Diane.

   "I think it's very nice, but the audience doesn't seem to react enthusiastically." Diane held his hand and gently rubbed the palm of his hand, so that he wouldn't be so stressed.

   "Huh... Maybe it's a mistake to invest yourself." Ronald breathed out his cigarette and silently reflected. This time, he invested all his net worth, little Douglas' pocket money for two years.

  "Ronald", Roger Coleman hurried over, "Why are you here?"

   "I'll see the audience's reaction." Ronald thought, this is a window for him to observe the box office. Originally, many audience members would chat about the movie when they were waiting in the bathroom, and it was also a good place to get real feedback.

   But this time, they didn't talk much.

   The staff of CinemaScore on the other side are looking for viewers who are willing to accept the questionnaire, and give them small gifts in exchange for the opportunity to take the questionnaire.

  Many people didn't take the questionnaires after going to the bathroom, and waved their hands to reject the chocolates they brought. They filed out one by one, walked out of the No. 1 projection room, and walked out in the direction of the gate.

   "Hey..." Ronald sighed, this reaction was really bad.

   "You may be getting rich, Ronald." Roger Coleman also watched them go out, but his judgment was the opposite of Ronald's.

   "Why?" Ronald gave Coleman a startled look, not seeming to be sarcastic, or comforting himself.

   "Follow out and have a look..." Coleman didn't answer, pushing Ronald out.

   Ronald pulled Diane and walked out.

  I saw more and more audiences pouring out, and no one was willing to waste time doing the CinemaScore questionnaire.

   They exited the No. 1 screening room, and the flow of people divided into two parts and gradually accelerated.

   Ronald followed one to the box office in the lobby.

   "Give me another hot dance."

   "I want two too."

   "Give me two. How many games are there tonight? I want one for each game."

   "Huh?" Ronald's mouth is open, these middle-aged female audience, are they turning their heads to the box office to buy tickets for the next show, and then go in to watch it?

   "You know what? Ronald, you may have won the jackpot in the Power Lottery." Coleman said beside him. He is well-informed, having been producing since the 1950s and getting into the distribution business in the late 1960s.

   When you look at this posture, you know it will be a strong movie. This kind of movie that middle-aged women, housewives, and professional women watch, can accumulate very high box office even without marketing. Those audiences of the "Sound of Music" movie may rarely go to the cinema once a year, but once they like a movie, their enthusiasm for calling friends is not comparable to that of young people.

  Once the housewife's circle starts to talk about a movie on the phone, and professional women use the movie as a topic at work, if anyone in the circle doesn't watch it, then the social circle doesn't even have the opportunity to talk.

"Where did the other half of the people go?" Diane asked from the side. The other half of the audience went straight out of the cinema door and didn't go to buy tickets, but the speed of their walking was not at all for those who bought tickets to watch the next show. slow.

   "Go and have a look." Ronald came to the spirit and walked out with them hand in hand with Diane.

   As soon as I left the cinema, I saw a record store around the corner, the audience went straight in, and then walked out happily holding a record.

   In less than a few minutes, the blackboard at the door of the record was written, and the album "Spicy Dance" was sold out today. In the replenishment, if you need it, you can leave your name and call for reservation.

   "Shxt!" Ronald yelled, "I've got to call Jimmy Reiner and get it printed."

   (end of this chapter)