Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 829 Spicy dance is Ronald's word-of-mouth guarantee

   "Hi, Ronnie. Is the trip going well?" Helen Slater drove more than two hours from her mother's house on Long Island to the nearest business airport to Manhattan, Teterboro Airport, to pick up Ronald.

"It's very good. The business jet flew to the airport in New Jersey, which is very close to Manhattan, and the noise on the plane was very low. I finished reading a novel." Ronald shook his hand to Helen. "Nothing is forever" , smiled and hugged Helen.

"If only you were parked at JFK Kennedy Airport, it's very close to Long Island. My car is so troublesome that it almost stalls on the road." Helen wants to help Ronald's suitcase in the trunk of her car. , and then personally drive Ronald to the hotel.

   "Business jets are parked at commercial airports, and the parking fee is too expensive." Ronald said in his heart that I was not your father Gerald, and had PBS TV as the backing to pay for it.

"Miss Slater, I arranged a car for Ronald to pick up and drop off. You can give me the car keys, and I'll have someone drive back to your house or hotel tomorrow." Little Bud, who came on the same plane as Ronald, Said to Helen with a smile. He took Helen's car keys and sealed them in an envelope.

   "Oh, Bud, you've helped me a lot, I've been worrying about what if the car stalls on the way back." Helen was delighted.

   A black Lincoln stopped in front of several people, and a driver got out and helped Ronald with his luggage.

   "You go back to Staten Island for a few days first, and we'll take you with us when we go back." Ronald smiled and waved to Bud Jr., and got into the Lincoln luxury car with Helen.

   "Bye...Little Bud", Helen was kind to everyone.

   "You came back this time..."

   "You were recently..."

   The two people in the back seat of the car spoke to each other at the same time.

"You speak first…"

"You speak first…"

   Ronald held Helen's hand and smiled, "I came back this time for the videotape factory, and at the same time looking for the next project. In addition, I have a small task to help choose the heroine for Paramount's new film.

   "Why? Do you want a director?"

   "No, they say that the female characters I shoot have their own characteristics, they just trust my vision."

  Ronald talked about the selection of the heroine for "The Pear Blossom".

   "This role seems to sound interesting", Helen Slater heard that it was a movie that advocated for women's rights and began to talk sideways.

   "The script is in my briefcase", Ronald smiled and took out the script and handed it to Helen.

   "What have you been up to in New York lately?"

   "Well, Helen (Hunter) and I are busy with the drama club, and the movie project needs more time. Huh...this is a...victim. One, two, three, four... ninety".

   Helen turned on the reading light in the back seat and couldn't wait to read the script, but she soon lost interest.

   There are more than a dozen scenes in the script about the flashbacks and memories of the crime scene. The movie is aiming for an R rating, mainly for these scenes. If it was all shot, it would take five minutes.

  Helen does not reject appropriate exposure scenes, but such a heavy-handed performance is a psychological difficulty for any actress.

   "If you direct, I can still act, but..."

   "Why?" Ronald was quite happy to hear Helen say this. Not to mention Helen's acting skills, it's actually not quite able to hold up the role in this movie. Moreover, even director Ronald, let her play with McGillis is too...

   "You are a director who treats actors very well. Our actresses will not worry about being deceived by the director and being cut in a mess."

   Ronald and Helen smiled at each other.

   The situation she said is not uncommon in Hollywood. A lot of directors coax actresses into taking big shots, like Phoebe Cates, the "fast-paced" actress Ronald previously worked with.

Her debut work was coerced and lured by the director and producer, who deceived her into performing a lot of scenes that "won't be edited into a movie", and finally cut into the final copy, making it look like an X-rated movie .

   And the **** scenes in Ronald's "Fast Pace" let Phoebe make his own choices, and the final scenes didn't have any extra flaunting hues, and they were all within the scope of the plot. After the performance, Phoebe Cates received praise from the film critics and audiences, and finally got the heroine of two Spielberg movies.

   So shooting **** scenes, in Hollywood, is something that actresses need to face every day. At this time, having a trusted director is one of the biggest reasons why actresses can agree to play.

  Lincoln drove into the Essex Hotel adjacent to Central Park in Manhattan, which was specially selected by Ronald's agent. It was a very old hotel with many business people and no entertainment reporters.

   Ronald and Helen entered the hotel. The front desk professionally used a pseudonym to help Ronald check in. The concierge doorman wearing a tuxedo style took them to the suite on the top floor with their luggage.

   "Well, how are you preparing for your new movie? Is there any difficulty?" Ronald hugged Helen and kissed him when he entered the door. Helen has been trying to produce it by herself recently, and she has not received any new scripts.

   "I tried it myself, only to know that it is really difficult to attract investment in movies. I admire you even more. It seems that everyone is rushing to make movies with you."

   Helen wrapped her arms around Ronald's neck. When several investors arranged by her father Gerald approached, they all implied or made it clear that if Helen could draw Ronald into the game, then money would not be a problem.

   "But I want to handle everything before and after a movie myself, so I don't want you to help me with this."

   After all, there is a well-connected father in the TV station, so it's not like Helen can't do the feat of her own production. It's just that without Ronald's intervention, she has to have a lot of discussions and negotiations with investors, and their trust in a slightly famous female star is limited.

"If, I mean, if you need any help, don't forget to call me." Ronald knew that Helen Slater had her own opinion on the movie, and it would be bad to persuade this kind of thing. reality to teach her.

  "I won't forget", Helen smiled and kissed Ronald, which felt really good.

   "By the way, do you think Helen (Hunter) has any hope of getting this role? She doesn't have much acting right now?"

  After the happy reunion, the two dispelled their lovesickness. Helen suddenly remembered the heroine of "The Pear Blossom" and began to think about her best friend.

   "Of course, but I'm worried..." Ronald rubbed Helen's blonde hair. Helen's point of view just now was indeed very representative. Any actress with a promising acting career would be reluctant to take such a role.

   "I asked her, when are you free?"

   "I have to go to the videotape factory tomorrow morning to deal with the videotape production contract for my movie. Well, the day after tomorrow. If she's interested, let's chat."

   "Okay, how about we go to see Broadway tomorrow night?"

   "Okay, what's the new drama?"

"There are a lot of good ones, just listen to me." Helen is very familiar with the new Broadway plays. She is very familiar with the actors on the stage, and the actor troupe she is busy with often goes to watch Shakespeare. Company and other first-class theater company performances.

   "I will listen to your arrangements..." Ronald's hand began to wander around Helen's waist again.

   "You're so good..." After this time, Helen was completely relaxed, Ronald was still as obsessed with his body as before. The two did not become emotionally estranged because of the separation, and they still needed each other so much when they met.

   "Which actor do you want to see this time?" Lying in Ronald's arms, he reconfirmed each other's feelings. Helen was not so careful, and directly said the question she wanted to ask.

   "Rosanne Arquette, who has acted in movies with Madonna before. And what's Kristen Davis called..."

   "Is it Roseanne?" Helen laughed.

   "What, do you know each other?"

   "Her mother is Jewish, I know her and her sister well, do you want me to call you?"

   "Alright, I asked Richard to meet them. If you can talk to me in private, everyone may tell the truth."

  "That's right", Helen got up from the bed and called Roseanne Arquette, "Hey, Roseanne, I'm Helen.

   Heard you were going to audition for the heroine of Paramount's new film? Who did I hear? Hee hee, it's not Ronald. He wants to meet you for a chat, and I happen to be talking about our relationship.

  He...he's right next to me, do you want to..."

   "Hey, Roseanne, I'm Ronald." Ronald picked up the handset handed over by Helen, 'Okay, then we'll meet and talk, and you can say anything you want. "

   "You know this Kristen Davis too?" Ronald looked at Helen.

   "The name is familiar, maybe a newcomer to the troupe? Let me ask you."

   "Okay, I'm going to bed first, and I'm going to the VCR factory tomorrow."

  …

   "Very good, Michelle, our videotape has started, packaging and printing, and the quality of the videotape is very satisfactory."

   The next morning, Ronald drove early to the videotape factory in New Jersey, where his distribution manager, Michelle Cannold, was already waiting for him. This used to be the video tape production base of Weston Films where he worked. Recently, Weston entered the cinema market, and the production capacity of this factory has been vacated a lot.

"It is not a problem for us to acquire this medium-sized video tape factory to make a profit this time. For video tapes, the most important thing in cost control is not to let the production line stop. If we can achieve full production, the cost is OK. down more than 15%."

"In this case, we need a lot of videotape sources, and we also need to understand that the movies in the videotape rental store sell better." Ronald had the idea of ​​having his own factory in his heart, but his success in "Dancing Hot" was a one-off , and then rely on what film source to maintain full load?

The market for    video tapes is expanding year by year, and now the annual sales of video recorders in the world have exceeded 10 million units. The video tape industry that followed, also began to grow rapidly. America's production company now in the video business is growing like sprouted corn.

   In such a market where many people are pouring in, being able to get some good-selling film sources may be a shortcut to success.

"I think we can find film sources from three aspects." Michelle Cannold's main business in Weston is actually to make films for direct video distribution. Compared with cinema films, he is more concerned about this. A piece of business is actually more familiar.

   "One source is the film that Daydream shot himself for the videotape market. It is not released in theaters, so we can use some low-cost equipment and scripts. As long as the genre is right, it can sell well."

   Ronald nodded. He also watched it at the video rental store these days. Many viewers came because they wanted to pass the time with their family and friends on weekends. So horror movies and comedy movies sell well, no matter what the quality is.

   "The second source is some Cult movies with fans. These fans just like some movies with a narrow audience, but they are very loyal. As long as they can publish video tapes, they will spontaneously follow them."

   "Like the Rocky Horror Show?" Ronald recalled the scene within a scene in which he filmed "The Famous". Indeed, there is enough Cult classic to watch a midnight movie repeatedly for several years without much publicity, and fans will buy it themselves.

   "Like the Rocky Horror Show," Michelle Cannold is familiar with the movie and has seen it in theaters. "The third source is some Sleeping Beauty movies that did well at the box office. At that time, many viewers hadn't seen the original version because of the schedule and publicity. Now they can see it in the video store. It's a good deal to spend three dollars to make up the lesson or rewatch it. of."

   "Very good, you make a plan, and we will start preparing this line of business after the video tapes of our hot dance are on sale."

   Michelle Cannold smiled and agreed. He still has some old relationships in Weston, and now he is buying an idle production line in Weston at the right price. As long as he can find the right film source, this piece will become a solid source of profit and power for him in Daydream Pictures.

  …

  Cannold confidently went to prepare for a big fight, and Ronald took the car back to Manhattan.

  The agent Richard arrived here in advance, contacted Kristin Davis, and chatted with Ronald about the "robbery of pear blossoms".

   "Director Ronald, may I ask, will you direct this movie?"

   Kristen Davis is an actress in her early 20s with no real movie experience. However, she is a graduate of Rutgers University. After reading part of the script, she can analyze the background of the heroine, which seems to Ronald to be good.

   In addition, her appearance is very good, suitable for film and television shooting. For the movie "Robbery Pear Blossom", it is also a good choice if newcomers are enabled.

   "No, I'm just helping Paramount chat with you. You know, this lead character needs a special actor, and we're having some difficulties. If you will."

   "I'm afraid not. If you were the director, I think any actress would jump on the chariot without hesitation. But..."

   "Okay, I see what you mean. Good luck."

   Kristin Davis came from a well-to-do family, and his stepfather was a college professor. And in the chat, Ronald also knew that after graduating from college, she had her own yoga studio in New York, and the income was good, not comparable to the usual high school graduates and part-time restaurant waitresses.

The same goes for    another candidate, Roseanne Arquette, who wouldn't want to play such a role if Ronald didn't direct.

   "Dancing Hot" is Ronald's word-of-mouth guarantee in front of all Hollywood actresses.

   For such a small production, there are one hundred more reasons for female actors to play revealing scenes to attract audiences.

   But "Dancing Hot" actresses, Jennifer Gray and Cynthia Rhodes, are well protected by Ronald. There are only beautiful love scenes, no outrageous **** scenes. Now both of them are rising in value, and the film contract is continuous.

  Hollywood actresses feel that the two have won the lottery. Such a film not only shows the beautiful plot that the audience loves to watch, but also shapes the characters and the fans who have gained it, without those exposed scenes.

  The audience who like to watch are housewives and working girls. There are not many middle-aged male audiences who go to the movies for the exposure of actresses.

   and Ronald's dividends to actors and staff are also widely spread in the circle. In such a matter of fame and fortune, the actresses are subsidizing money, and subsidizing people also.

   But if Ronald wasn't the director and he wasn't the producer, hey, wouldn't there be enough of Hollywood's repetitive stories? Being tricked into taking some exposure shots is not bad. There are many actresses who are empty of money and money, and it is not without them.

"Sorry, Kelly. I talked to both of them, but they were unwilling. I also met an actor Helen Hunt in the past two days. It is said that he also has certain acting skills. people.

  Well, don't be too discouraged, everything has a turnaround. "

  Ronald called Kelly McGillis to update her on her approach to actress candidates. The disappointment of the other party on the phone was still palpable, but Ronald was reluctant to direct such a movie, and McGillis understood it.

  …

   "Helen", Lincoln's special car drove to Helen's father's home in Central Park again, where Ronald and Helen Slater made an appointment to go to Broadway to watch a new play by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

   Next to Helen Slater is her best friend Helen Hunter.

   "You talk first", the place where Slater met was a cafe, and she asked Ronald and Hunter to discuss the movie first.

   "How is it?" After ten minutes of chatting, Ronald came over and took Slater to set off. They were going to the famous Music Box Theater at the corner of Broadway and Forty-fifth Street.

   "It's the same old thing", Ronald is already discouraged, I'm afraid no sensible actress will agree to this kind of movie plot.

   "Let's go to the play first."

   Helen Slater couldn't say it was a pity that Ronald didn't talk to Hunter. Seeing that Ronald looked a little frustrated, he hurriedly introduced a new play she had chosen.

   "Wait a minute, the gift I arranged should come." Ronald grabbed Helen Slater and smiled at Hunter, who was watching the play next to him.

   "What gift? Is it for me?" Slater smiled happily. Today is not an anniversary, Ronald can still think of giving a gift.

   "Richard", Ronald saw a BMW car approaching, and his manager Richard got off, and quickly stepped forward to say hello.

   "The keys and documents are in the box in front of the co-pilot."

   "Thank you", Ronald patted the other person on the shoulder, thanking him for the arrangement he made for himself.

   "Oh, this is your gift?" Hunter came up, circled around the red BMW, and saw Slater's eyes changed.

"Yes, Helen picked me up at the airport yesterday. The car almost broke down on the highway. I think for safety, I should get a new car." Ronald took Helen Slater's hand and handed the key to him. She, put her in the driver's seat.

  Om…

   When Helen ignited, the engine roared softly and steadily. Then Helen put the gear lightly, and the car started smoothly.

   "Very well, the documents and insurance are here. Just go through the formalities." Ronald opened the drawer in front of the co-pilot and checked that the documents were complete.

   "Sit tight." Helen stepped on the accelerator and the car sped up.

   "Oh, be careful." Ronald was startled by the pressure from the backrest.

   "Hahaha, I'm a New York girl, and we all drive like this." Helen happily steered the wheel. Under the driving habit of people competing for traffic lights and parking spaces in New York, having such a German imported car really took advantage.

   "Arrived", Helen slammed on the brakes, and the car just cut into the precious parking space on the street on Broadway.

   "Look, it's this play." The three got out of the car, and Slater said to Ronald, pointing to the large poster at the entrance of the theater.

   I saw a still photo of one man and three women, four wearing ancient aristocratic costumes and wigs.

   "What does this say?" Ronald didn't expect Helen to show him a classical play.

"It was written by the playwright Christopher Hampton, based on a 1782 novel from the hairy country. After it was performed in the West End, it was widely acclaimed and won the Laurence Oliver Award for Best New Play. On Broadway, they are all the original cast." Helen knows the situation of drama well.

   Ronald heard that it was a Chinese drama, and he was a little disapproving of it. The hairy country movies he saw did not have any good theatrical traditions. Not the kind of post-modern drama in Cannes, it's embarrassing to watch it when you're drowsy.

   "What's the plot?" he asked quickly.

"It means that a Don Juan-style playboy, the Count of Valmont, under the arrangement of the Marquise of Metheil, seduces the fiancée of the Count Bastide, who has deserted her lover, and destroys her reputation in revenge for her discord. Married lover."

   "Huh? It sounds good, and it fits the triad of drama." When Ronald heard this kind of plot of conspiracy and polyamorous love, he wasn't worried that he looked bored.

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

   "LesLiaisonsDangereuses", Helen said a word in French.

   "What?" Ronald felt that his knowledge level was challenged again.

   "It means a dangerous relationship." Helen reacted and quickly explained it in English.

   "Let's go in, the show will start soon."

   (end of this chapter)