Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 822 Someone wants to give you money

   "How could this be?" Ronald looked at Kelly McGillis in amazement.

   Determined that the other party was not joking, Ronald got out of bed and put on his clothes, poured a glass of water, and handed it to McGillis. He held her hand lightly, and looked into the other person's eyes, "If you find it painful to recall... I'm afraid it will hurt you to say it again."

   "It doesn't matter. I saw a psychiatrist for a long time. It was five years ago. Now I can face this matter, and I really want to find someone to talk about this matter. I am a bit conflicted."

   "Take your time," Ronald felt that McGillis's hand was still shaking a little, even though it had been five years. It can be seen that McGillis was frightened and hurt deeply at that time.

"I had just divorced my first husband, and I was living with my girlfriend in a small rent-controlled apartment in Manhattan, New York. One night, I was taking a shower when two men broke in and they beat him with knives. I…"

  "Oh, I'm so sorry", Ronald listened to McGillis's complete recount of the situation at that time.

   McGillis, who was taking a bath, was put on the neck with a knife by one of the thugs. Forced into the bedroom, the two then took turns assaulting McGillis. They also spat on McGillis and kept hitting her, threateningly slashing him with a knife, and saying they were going to kill her.

   "They kept telling me that they would beat me until I died," McGillis said with fear at the time. "I thought I was really going to die, and I gave up."

   "Relax, you are safe now, I am here." Ronald took McGillis in his arms, and then gently comforted the unfortunate woman.

   "Afterwards, it was my girlfriend who went home. When I saw this, I immediately called the police. After the NYPD arrived, the two thugs were scared away."

   McGillis gradually regained his calm, "Since then, I have been unable to sleep for several months, and can only rely on alcohol to anesthetize myself, and barely sleep in the early morning every day."

   "It's all over, it's all over", Ronald didn't expect Kelly McGillis's kind of knot that must maintain independence, can't form an intimate relationship with men, and the reasons for alcohol addiction, actually here.

   "I saw a psychiatrist for more than a year in a row before I could fall asleep normally. In fact, up to now, sometimes when I am alone at home, I still have sudden fears."

   "Those two thugs must have been punished by the law, they can't hurt you any more." Ronald was still comforting McGillis silently, so that she could feel that there was still someone in this world who could protect her.

"Ha..." McGillis's body moved, "You guessed wrong, two people escaped on the spot and were arrested a month later. One's fingerprints matched those in my room, and they were finally sentenced to three years. The other was released directly because there was no direct evidence."

   "Why? You belong to the multiple felony crimes of robbery, intentional homicide, assault, etc. As long as you can identify them, plus fingerprint evidence and confessions, they will definitely not be able to escape, and they will stay in prison until the next century."

  Ronald wondered that New York's prosecutors weren't so incompetent that they would run away.

   "Because I didn't agree to testify." McGillis replied looking into Ronald's eyes.

   "Is there a secret?" Ronald comforted McGillis's arm slowly with one hand. He vaguely felt that McGillis was going to tell him next.

"You can trust me Kelly. If you want to talk to me, tell me, I don't judge who you are because of what you do. In my eyes, you are always the one full of An actress with confidence and style, a good actress."

"I believe in you." McGillis pulled the blanket over him, covered his face with his hands, avoided Ronald, and said in a very low voice, "Because the one who lives with me is my daughter. friend."

"what…"

  Ronald's hand froze, what's going on?

   McGillis just had a passionate fight with himself, how do you say he has a girlfriend? Is that what he meant by it?

  It must be, and only this kind of thing will make her unable to testify at that time, because if these contents are used as a confession, her relationship will be exposed under the public media. It is very likely that it will be exposed to the eyes of public judgment.

   "You're out of words?" McGillis grabbed Ronald's arm harder and harder, as if to see what his attitude was.

   "I think, in America, everyone has the freedom to choose their own way of life. It's just that some people in the people can't understand it." Ronald chose his words carefully.

   "Did you know? I'm only willing to tell you this today because you didn't have any barriers to getting along with Emil, your assistant director, at the party."

   McGillis could see at a glance that Emil, who served as Ronald's assistant in "Dancing Hot", was a group of people with her. Ronald never looked at anyone with a judgmental eye, and was very tolerant of these personal matters.

"Since you still have scars on that memory, why don't you just decline it completely. If you want, I can come forward and talk to Shirley Lansing. No matter how strong she is, I will still save face when I come forward." Der wondered if Lansing was always aggressively inviting him, causing McGillis to suffer psychologically.

"No, that's where I hesitate, I really want to make this movie, the story is very similar to my experience, the female victims are always judged, and the criminals are judged. Tolerance. I hope to change the perception of the American people about this injustice."

"but?"

   "But I can't play the role of the victim, as soon as I imagine that scene, the horror in my memory will pop out, I can't do it..."

   "It's okay if you really can't. Are there any other female characters in that movie?"

"There is also a female lawyer who seeks justice for the victim, who finally caught the criminal's flaws, applied justice for the victim, brought the criminal to justice, and scolded the bystanders who judged the victim. ."

   "Don't worry, Kelly. Even if Shirley Lansing thinks you're the perfect victim, I can put you in another role. What company released the movie?"

   "Paramount."

"That's right, their president Ned Tanin still owes me several times." Ronald comforted McGillis while hugging him, "It just so happens that this role can also allow you to do what you have long wanted to do, let Ami The people of Riga will also change their minds on this kind of thing."

"Um"

   Ronald felt that McGillis finally relaxed, his breathing began to stabilize, and his body was not as stiff as before.

   "I'll call Ned tomorrow, but..."

   Ronald remembered another thing.

   "What?" McGillis looked up at him, do you want to exchange something for yourself?

   "You have to tell me the truth. Do you want to win an Oscar when you make this movie, or is it purely for yourself and for justice for the thousands of victims?"

   "There is no actress who can refuse an Oscar nomination, but in my heart, I still hope to awaken the public to a correct view of this kind of thing. Beautiful women are not at fault, but criminals."

   Ronald nodded. This character is similar to the character in "Rain Man" accepted by Tom Cruise, and it is a character that leads to the main line of the story. In order for the audience to have sympathy for the protagonist's victim, it must be seen from the perspective of the lawyer's role in order to enter the plot.

  The role of a lawyer requires very high acting skills, but it may not be outstanding. The audience and those actors who don't know much about acting skills will ignore the lawyer's acting skills and recognize the performance of the victims with extreme twists and turns.

   "It doesn't matter, I didn't intend to win an award when I made this movie. Besides, the remuneration they gave is also very good, several times higher than Top Gun."

  Ronald saw McGillis make a decision and also supported her 100%. It takes a lot of courage to act like this, and it is also to make a break with his own past scars.

   Ronald hugged McGillis, and the two of them breathed each other. McGillis only felt calm and peaceful in his heart, and felt very secure.

"You know, in those two years, I was under a lot of psychological pressure. I ate too much and gained 30 pounds." Confessing his thoughts to a trusted close friend, McGillis seemed to feel that the impact of this past event on him began to really play down. . As soon as she was happy, she revealed the actress's biggest secret - her weight.

   "Actually, I think you are more beautiful if you are fatter." Ronald felt that the delicate body in his arms had a bit of Monroe's temperament. In fact, it was suitable for heavier weights. The way of heavy makeup was the best way to show the charm.

   "By the way, what's the name of this movie?"

   "The Accused"

   The two of them lay quietly hugging each other for a long time, until they looked at each other and smiled.

   However, Ronald seemed to have thought of something, and his body began to feel strange.

   "What's wrong?" McGillis keenly noticed Ronald's physical changes.

   "Cough..." Ronald scratched his head embarrassedly, "I didn't know you had a girlfriend, between us, do you really have feelings for me..."

   "Hehehe, you don't know much about us. Most don't reject close relationships with men." McGillis smiled and leaned into Ronald's arms, "Of course, I like you, macho!"

   "Then you now?" Ronald felt a little weird again.

   "Am I now? Have a girlfriend, don't worry, neither of us has the only commitment to be faithful to each other."

   "Hmm..." Ronald wrapped his arms around her, then kissed her neck from behind, his nose touched the messy hair, and a good scent entered his nose. McGillis's perfume was very tempting.

   "Ah..." A low moan came from McGillis' throat, and he raised his head sharply, and then dropped it again.

   "You were unforgettable just now, macho." McGillis felt that Ronald's energy just now was more intense and rewarding than all his interactions with him.

   "Did you think of being with me... Haha, do you want to introduce you to me?" McGillis, as a senior person, knew all about men's thoughts.

   "No no, I just want to hold you now and have a good rest."

  …

   "Comeon, Ronald. You are also a producer, and you understand the market. The selling point of this movie lies in those edge-to-edge shots. Otherwise, with such a small production budget and marketing budget, it would be impossible to attract audiences."

   Early the next morning, Ronald said goodbye to McGillis, and when he got to the office, he called Ned at Paramount. Ned Tanning complied with all of Ronald's demands. McGillis was still one of the leading actors anyway, and as long as she participated in the financing, it was enough.

   But when this McGillis-turned-lawyer, and the decision to cast the victim was notified to independent producer Shirley Lansing, she got so angry that she called Ronald to complain.

"Shirley, this is your problem, not mine. Besides, the marketing of a movie doesn't have to depend on money. The key is the movie's reputation." Ronald was sitting in the chair, faintly said.

   "Okay, are you interested in being a director? Or a producer. You have a first-class vision for women's films. It would be nice to recommend a few heroine candidates to me."

  Shirley Lansing was almost choked up. She knew that this was the privilege of successful people. Ronald was obviously teasing her poor marketing skills.

However, Lansing is also an old player who has been beaten. Although she was swept out of the 20th Century Fox because she was a woman, she has been an independent producer for so many years. She has long known that this "Robbery Pear Blossom" is very promising as a female film. Critics' acclaim.

Lansing's production level is average, and unlike Ronald, she is not able to see the movies with commercial potential, but she has been immersed in it for decades, and she still has predictions about which movies will be applauded by film critics. .

   "I'll see what I can do, Shirley. Bye"

   Ronald made no promises, this kind of thing has nothing to do with me.

   He put down the phone and looked at his company's assistant, "Where's Mr. Bannon? He was here just now."

  This morning, Steve Bannon just made an appointment to talk to Ronald about the follow-up to the movie "Love Is Not For Sale".

   "He's on the phone," the company's clerk, Miss Chen, replied.

   "Phone, there's no phone here, where did he go?"

   "I'll take a look", Miss Chen got up and opened the door of the office.

   "Hello? The signal is not good here, that's all, I'll call you later." As he was talking, Bannon held up a big brick-like thing, and gestured to Miss Chen as he walked.

   "What are you?" Ronald looked at the beige plastic thing, inexplicably familiar.

   "This is a Motorola mobile phone. You can make calls where you don't have a phone, just like a car phone, but this thing is battery-operated and can be made while walking."

   "Big Brother?" Ronald said inexplicably in Chinese.

"what?"

  "Nothing", Ronald waved his hand, "Is this thing easy to use? I listen to your signal."

"Yes, you have to be a certain distance from Motorola's communication station to make calls. I used it better when I was on Wall Street, where there are many communication stations, and they are concentrated. Unlike Los Angeles, you can't hear it a little further away. "

   "It's better to use a car phone and a coin-operated phone." Ronald felt that this was just a toy, so he could speak loudly with his own hands, and he might as well leave a message for the other party or find a phone to talk about. "

   "Tell me, what do you want to do with the dividends of 'love is not for sale'?"

  The news of Ronald throwing a big check at the party yesterday has spread in Hollywood, and many old friends have called to express their appreciation for their generosity.

  Bannon heard the news, and he must have come to ask. His "Love is not for sale" has been released, and he won 35 million in America. Bannon has begun to become a banker's investment object on Wall Street from a banker.

   "Can you pay dividends quickly?" Bannon certainly hopes to get the money as soon as possible, so that he can speak louder on Wall Street. Accounts receivable and cash, after all, are still different.

   "Film is a slow-moving business", Ronald remembered the words that the distributor Atlantic gave him when he filmed "Night of the Comet", took it out and used it from a different angle.

   "Those movie theater owners are unwilling to settle the bill. They are willing to delay me for a year, and then use the interest of this year to renovate the seats and upgrade the automatic candy machine.

   When I send them a lawyer's letter, and when it's time to threaten to sue, they'll settle the money as soon as they go to court. These people are also struggling with the profit and loss line, and I sometimes have a hard time. "

  "Understanding", Bannon raised his hands, indicating that he didn't mean to urge Ronald, after all, he still wanted to tie a relationship with Ronald, so that Wall Street would give him more confidence.

"If you want, I can talk to you about the early buyout. Your future income, discounted to the present, after discounting, I can settle it with you now. We will let the accountant and lawyer handle it." Luo Nader actually didn't want to settle so quickly, so he threatened him slightly.

   "Why? I don't want to do this. You shouldn't share it right away, but it's better to invest in new productions. Only then can the business of the film be recycled. This is the right way to do business, and I will always support you."

"You know what you're doing, Steve," Ronald was very pleased, and quickly retracted the hand that pretended to reach out to grab the phone, "Then wait until the theater line settles with me, I won't delay you. In addition, Michelle Cannold has several new projects in the pipeline, you can chat with him, and if you are interested, you can join and earn together, I have left you a share of the investment."

  Bannon rubbed his hands, and sure enough, he showed full confidence in Ronald. This is not a project investment opportunity.

   "Not only do I not want your money, but I also bring you a large investment." Bannon stroked his hair, then adjusted his tie, pretending to be mysterious.

   "Have you found Wall Street's money?" Ronald became interested. Compared with loans, the money from Wall Street funds has more favorable terms, and has more relaxed project intervention and assessment standards.

  Disney's Michael Eisner also got 400 million from the screen fund, and then slowly began to take the initiative in Disney. More than three times cheaper than the bond financing used by Minahan Golan.

"No, I went to Dongying to find financing. Because of the appreciation of the yen, companies there are now very interested in investing in Hollywood. And the friction between our two countries has made their entrepreneurs hold their breath and want to buy and invest in our industry. ."

   "Fuck, isn't this a good thing? We welcome investment." Ronald was very happy when he heard it, and wanted to come to Hollywood to invest? Good thing.

"The friction between our two governments ended with the victory of America and the signing of favorable agreements, which is a self-esteem injury to the people of Dongying. They always feel that the people of Dongying work harder and deserve better than our American products. inexpensive."

"Huh? Why? Isn't our market open to them? On the contrary, it is our films, which are difficult to enter the Eastern Ying market." Ronald has been there several times to market films, even if they are two films with Eastern Ying cultural background." "Longwei Kid", did not do well at the box office in Dongying.

  Vaguely, Ronald also felt that the movie theaters there seemed to have agreed, and they were not always invested enough in Hollywood movies.

"They feel that they work nine hours a day and eat a mouthful of rice as delicious hard workers, and they should make the best products in the world. Not only physical products, but also appliances, textiles, cars, and even movies." Ban. Nong told Ronald what he knew on Wall Street.

"So, Dongying entrepreneurs, who are suffering from friction, want to invest in Hollywood movies to make money? Go back to Dongying and tell the people there to buy Hollywood, right? Win-win, win-win... Hahaha." Ronald understood, There is also national self-esteem and a defeated country's mentality of wanting to get back in the market.

   "Hahaha, that's right!" Bannon laughed wickedly.

   "Okay, I'll call the presidents of Kadokawa Bookstore and Johnny's Office to have a chat." Ronald figured out that as long as he gave them the fake names they wanted, he and Bannon would get benefits.

  A Wall Street banker, and a Hollywood producer, two people who wanted to go to East Ying to pick up a bargain, laughed out loud.

  …

Ronald and old friends in Tokyo got in touch again. They learned that Ronald brought the box-office monster who killed the Quartet in America to Dongying again. They all expressed that this time they would show more sincerity and come to Hollywood. The youngest famous director to discuss cooperation.

   and Cannold and others arranged the itinerary, and Ronald also asked the laboratory to print copies, ready to sell to several countries in East Asia.

   "Brother Ronnie, my movie failed again." Diane's new film "The Prodigal Son of Las Vegas" failed again. More than 800 theaters have only received more than 700,000 box office, and the average box office of a single theater has not reached 1,000 US dollars. In the first week, it fell below the profit and loss line. The theaters will soon release them, and it seems that it is a one-week tour.

   The show was a big show, and it was a big failure.

   "Huh?" Ronald asked Diane to sit beside him, "Don't be sad, I told Tom Cruise about the heroine of his new movie, would you try it?"

  For fear that Diane would lose confidence due to the successive failures, Ronald deliberately downplayed the matter and gave her a good new chance.

   "I..." Diane pouted and hit the table a few times, "Um...um...um..."

   "This time, the film critics started to say that I was not good again. They also said that I played a stripper and didn't even have an **** scene."

"This... I look at your acting skills, it's not about your clothes. Besides, didn't you let the second female lead Suzy Amis get off the scene?" Ronald remembered forcing the producer to change the scene and not allow Diane to be too naked. thing.

   "They said that Susie played a single mother, but that scene was redundant." Diane was not very happy and was criticized by film critics, which was a kind of psychological damage to the actor.

"It's not your fault, right? There are Matt Dillon and Tommy Lee Jones in the movie. They are also responsible for the movie's failure to sell, and the most important thing is the idiot of the producer Martin Lansohoff. How could audiences in the 1980s appreciate a scene from the 1960s?”

   "Well... If I continue like this, I can only make B-level films."

   "Don't be stupid, I will find a way. Besides, there are also good B-grade movies."

   "Are you going to Dongying?" Diane saw the ticket on Ronald's desk.

   "Yes, I'm going to do a hot dance release."

   "Let me go with you, just as the advertiser of Dongying asked me to shoot a new version of the advertisement."

   "They are really loyal to you, and they make a new version every three years."

   "Well, they like to watch American people speak a few Japanese words and compliment their products."

   "Yes", Ronald smiled, this kind of arrogance on the surface, but in fact the inferiority complex of the Eastern Ying people, can be confirmed by what happened to Diane. In order to make the Dongying audience more immersive, Diane dyed blonde hair every time, more like the American girl in their stereotype.

   "Are you going to audition for Tom Cruise's new movie first? He seems to be playing a bartender who falls in love with a college girl."

   "Hmm," Diane said nothing.

   "What's the matter?" Ronald wondered, as if Diane wasn't very interested in this opportunity.

   "You know, when I was filming 'Crazy Boys', Tom approached me first, but I said something outrageous, I said my father would never let me play that kind of woman."

   "Uh..." Ronald understood. At that time, Diane was a hot child actress turned teenage movie star and Coppola's queen. Tom Cruise is just a fledgling kid with unaligned front teeth.

   At that time, he invited Diane, but after being rejected, he started off because of the "Good Boys Are Crazy", and began a journey that has skyrocketed in the past few years.

  Diane was afraid of going to the audition and felt awkward for both of them.

   "Go ahead and try, I think they'll treat them equally. That's all history, Tom won't be so." Ronald comforted Diane.

   But that is to say, Cruise is no longer alone. There are many people around him and he has become a community of interests. They are still willing to find Diane to play, but it is not under their control.

   "If we can compete fairly, I'll be fine. I'm afraid that because of this history, the two of us will play awkwardly."

   "I'll call Tom's agent. At that time, it's completely fair to decide based on your performance, and there's no personal relationship at all."

   "Hee hee..." Diane was still very serious about her acting skills. Hearing Ronald said this, he was happy again.

   "Paula, I'm Ronald." Later, when Ronald was alone, he called Cruise's agent, Paula Wagner.

   "Hello, Ronald." Paula's voice was a little tired.

   "When was the child born?"

   "Two months to go."

  The two chatted for a while, Ronald said to Paula, "Tom told me to invite Diane Lane to audition for the heroine of the new film."

"I know about it, I was about to talk to you about this 'cocktail'." Paula Wagner wasn't happy with Tom Cruise's choice, but his wife, Mimi Rogers, was so excited that she didn't Legal advice.

   "Diane, you just follow the normal audition? I guess you may also have difficulties?" Ronald asked tentatively.

   "Yes, Mimi gave me a lot of problems."

   "Hey..." Ronald didn't like this Scientology person either, "That's it, don't work too hard."

   "Mimi has her plans, and she has a lot of influence on Tom." Paula Wagner couldn't stand her anymore.

   (end of this chapter)