Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 834 $25 Billion Big Business

  Early the next morning, Ronald opened the large refrigerator in the kitchen of the temporary apartment where McGillis and Foster lived together.

   This is a double-door refrigerator produced by GE, with GE's trademark in cursive characters on it. Ronald recognized that Aunt Karen's house also had such a machine, which was filled with baked biscuits and various ingredients.

   This is a brand that has accompanied American families for decades. It has been a good helper for American housewives from the beginning of gas-driven to the current use of electricity. Before entering politics, the current leader hosted a program for GE to promote these new electrical lifestyles.

   "Why is there no meat in the refrigerator?" Ronald searched for a long time, and the usual bacon, sausage, and steak were all gone, only some chicken breasts, among a large pile of vegetables, eggs, and juice.

"Whatever..." Ronald took a few tomatoes, washed them and cut them open, then added a few lettuce leaves, pickled cucumbers, scrambled a few eggs, and a few slices of bread that jumped out of the toaster. The slices of bread are put together, and then the four sides of the bread are cut off with a high-end knife, and then cut in half along the diagonal.

   Fresh OJ juice was added at the end, and Ronald carried the tray into the bedroom.

   "Oh, I didn't expect you to be a great chef." Jodie Foster came up and took a piece of sandwich, and happily bit it down.

   "He was good at making breakfast," McGillis also took a piece and put it in his mouth.

   "I wish you a good appetite and a pleasant meal." Ronald took a sip of orange juice himself, picked up the bread he had just cut and bit down.

"Hmm..." Jodie Foster's eyes lit up. This sandwich has red tomatoes, green lettuce and cucumber, served with yellow scrambled eggs, and some mustard sauce. Not only does it look pleasing to the eye, but it also tastes good It goes well together. It was a rare vegetarian breakfast, which was very appetizing by Ronald.

   "I didn't expect the breakfast you made to be so delicious, you really can do everything." Foster happily took another big bite, his eyes looked at Ronald with light.

  “When I was in high school in Staten Island, New York, my aunt had to work several jobs to earn money, and she came home late at night. I cooked breakfast every day for a long time.”

  As Ronald said, he smiled and wiped off the traces of the sauce on the corner of her mouth with his hand.

   "Ronald, have you ever been to Canada to shoot a film? How is the filming over there? This time we will also shoot in Canada throughout the filming process. Now there are fewer and fewer film crews staying in Hollywood."

McGillis came from behind and put her arms around Foster's shoulders. She was a circle bigger than Foster, and she sat with the petite Foster, as if delineating her own territory. Foster held back In her hands, the two felt a little like good sisters.

   "It's the first time I'm filming by myself. The original crew and my mother will go with me. It's still Canada..." Jodie Foster rarely showed a hint of young women needing protection.

"The law and order there is very good, and you don't have to worry about staying in a hotel. The language and customs are also very similar to America. As long as you live in the hotel of the crew and don't run around, it feels similar to here." Ronald also said, "The nanny The story of the dirty trash can, a prop in Adventures, being taken away by the cleaners early in the morning.

   "Hahaha..." Jodie Foster laughed hard. This is obviously not the reaction a high-achieving Yale student should have.

   "Fine, keep it up." Ronald understood that Judy was slowly beginning to take over the role of waitress who didn't graduate from high school.

"Really? Do you think I can use this method to cut in? I did have a mother who helped me take care of everything on the set before. The heroine was alone. Her mother found a new boyfriend after she ran away from home. She heard that her daughter After being violated, she is also indifferent, just thinking that this daughter will not destroy her life..."

  A highly educated female star is indeed ahead of other Ronald actresses in terms of depth of thinking. There are quite a few people in the acting industry who rely on intuition to perform. Forster, who has both intuition and understanding of performance theory, must be able to convey the director's intentions to the characters when cooperating with the director.

   "Hold on, Kelly would love a back-up actor like you."

  Ronald kissed the two beauties farewell, and he also went to MGM to talk about the upcoming marketing arrangements for his movie "Moonlight". In order to win the award, he needed the cooperation of MGM's marketing plan.

  …

MGM/United Artists is a listed company. After Weintraub failed to get the CEO position and left angrily to start his own independent production company, the company has been in continuous turmoil, and the stock price has also been abnormal in the bull market. fall.

   So much so that apart from the scheduled release time, no one from the distribution department took the initiative to negotiate with Ronald.

   Fortunately, Weintraub's secretary and lover, the red-haired Susan Eakins, had a great admiration for Ronald. Much of her knowledge about filmmaking was learned from observing Ronald closely in the two "Longwei Kid" crews.

After Ronald couldn't find the person in charge of the distribution department of MGM, and had no choice but to ask her for help, even though she was already the vice president of Weintraub Productions, she still specially accompanied Ronald to come When I arrived at the old company, MGM, I approached the distribution department to discuss the release plan of "Moonlight Sultry".

"Of course, MGM/United Artists will definitely promote the works directed by Ronald." A senior manager whom Ronald had met before treated Ronald and United Artists with a business-like attitude. Accompanied by Susan Eakins.

"Why are you like this? That's not what Mr. Weintraub taught you when he was here." Susan Akins was full of admiration for Jerry Weintraub. His business philosophy was abandoned in Columbia. Clearly, Susan was visibly overwhelmed.

"Moonlight is the first work of MGM/United Artists after resuming the production business. It was decided by Mr. Weintraub himself at that time. Ronald will bring the company a chance to revive. You guys In this way, it is tantamount to abandoning everything Jerry has done for this place, everything..."

  The senior manager was a little embarrassed by what Susan said. After all, he was a confidant promoted by Weintraub at the time. After Weintraub was kicked out of MGM by owner Kerkorian, he did not leave with Weintraub, but stayed at MGM/United Artists as a senior manager.

  Facing the confidants of his former boss, he always lacked confidence.

"Miss Akins, Director Ronald, I'm not trying to fool you. Mr. Weintraub is someone who can lead the company back to the top, but after he left, the boss, Kerkorian, sold the company last year. to Turner Television.

And Ted Turner, because he couldn't pay the rest of the money, sold the company back to Kerkorian this year. In the past year, we have done nothing but sell, split, merge, and sell back to the original owner. Didn't do it, just stopped in place. "

"what…"

   Ronald asked him about the situation, and then asked Susan about some details he didn't know. It turned out that so many funny things happened at MGM this year.

Ted Turner is the owner of the first cable network (CUU) to launch a 24-hour live news broadcast. He owns a number of media companies. Another well-known company is the Turner TV Network named after the support. Operates cable television networks in affluent regions on the east and west coasts.

  He used Wall Street bond financing to spend a huge sum of US$1.5 billion to buy MGM's production and distribution network, and more importantly, he bought a huge film library.

  This film library includes the copyrights of all films shot by MGM before 1986, all the film copyrights of UnitedArtists, and all the film copyrights of RKO before its bankruptcy.

   In addition, there are also the film copyrights of Warner Bros. before 1950 owned by the original MGM, and the copyright of the most famous "Popeye Popeye" in the Paramount cartoon business department.

   Ted Turner has high hopes for it. After he got the original film library, he immediately colored the old movies of the year and broadcast them on his own Turner TV network. In October last year, the first post-color movie to be released on the Turner Network was the legendary MGM production "Gone with the Wind," starring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh.

  It's a pity that the audience is not at all interested in seeing the color version of classic movies on TV, which sounds like a gimmick.

   Turner did not achieve the expected ratings and subscriber growth. On the contrary, his practice of destroying the precious original black and white copy of the film also caused great dissatisfaction among major Hollywood labor unions and film critics.

  Famous Chicago film critic, "Glasses Guy" Roger Ebert, flew into a rage and insulted Ted Turner with the headline "Saddest Day in American Film History" in a newspaper.

   "Gone with the Wind, or Casablanca, no one escapes Turner's clutches! No classic escapes his vulgar, computer-painted graffiti hands!"

  MGM's senior manager chatted painfully with Ronald and Susan about the damage to MGM's reputation caused by this move.

Even more outrageous things are still to come. Due to the broadcast of classic movies in color and color, Ted Turner failed to bring enough income. The installment payment for his acquisition of MGM is based on the advertisements brought by the old movies. Revenue and new subscriber revenue are collateralized bonds.

   Soon, at the beginning of this year, the second acquisition payment failed to enter the account of Kerkorian, the former owner of MGM, as scheduled.

   As a last resort, Turner sold the United Artists label acquired by MGM back to Kerkorian for 480 million. Immediately afterwards, the production department of MGM was sold back to United Artists for 300 million yuan.

  Then sold the laboratory and some Hollywood and Burbank properties to raise funds. In the end, Turner played a strong hand with Kerkorian, buying and selling various assets of MGM/United Artists back and forth. In the end, it was equivalent to Turner buying Hollywood Gold for less than 600 million. The film libraries of the three major studios MGM, RKO, and Warner Bros.

   MGM's production and distribution departments are at a loss in this kind of child's play buying and selling game.

"So do you belong to United Artists or MGM now?" Ronald was amused. Keep tossing, don't know what will happen.

   "I don't know either. In theory, I belong to MGM, but the company's listing code on Wall Street has changed from MGM to UA." The senior manager spread his hands.

  The trading game of the two big bosses has left a lot of tails. The film libraries of these three companies were finally sold to MGM through extremely complicated contracts after the Congressional antitrust case and the television impact on Hollywood.

  So how much of the film library acquired by Turner actually belongs to the Turner TV network is still a matter of legal controversy. Their lawyers are engaged in an offensive and defensive battle. Both sides have found various clauses from the pile of old papers, buried them in other unimportant documents, and submitted them to the court. Try to present it as strong evidence against yourself after the trial.

   "So, MGM can't give more support to my 'Moonlight Sultry'?" Ronald spread his hands and asked the senior manager.

   "MGM will still support normal distribution and marketing." The other party also shook his head helplessly.

   "Then there is no additional support? Such as awards or something." Ronald clicked his tongue, and it seemed that he had to rely on himself, and he wanted to talk to them about the change in the later sharing ratio. If you invest your own resources, will you also get a big share of it?

"Ronald," Susan tugged at Ronald's sleeve, "I know a very good talent in film marketing. Spielberg's ET and Third Kind of Contacts were all marketing plans made by him. I can talk to him if you want, and now he happens to be starting his own business, building his own company, if you're interested..."

"Very good, of course I want to meet." Ronald was a little overjoyed when he heard that he was the marketing and distribution director of ET Alien, which created a box office record. Susan was by Weintraub's side. familiar.

   "You mean Michael Gray?" the senior manager asked.

   "Yes, it's him. If you don't get involved, we can do it ourselves." Susan Akins wanted to facilitate this matter, and Weintraub also needed to have a good relationship with Ronald. Such a blockbuster director of a commercial film must be closely wooed, among other things, in the future the series of Longwei Boys...

   "Of course he is good, and now he has just started his own company and can have business..." The senior manager also recognized this talent.

  Ronald got up and said goodbye to him, "I would like to ask you to cooperate with me about the distribution of the movie."

   "I will, it is imperative."

The senior manager knew he was in the wrong, and carefully escorted the two out of the office. These two people are now very powerful figures, and I have to show them a lot of goodwill. The company's resources should be used as much as possible within the scope of power. man' above.

  No one knows the situation of MGM now. Kerkorian may continue to sell the company. In case the new boss continues to lay off employees, he will have a place to go.

"To meet the requirements of the Oscars, we only need to meet the requirements for release in December. Generally speaking, films that have been nominated for important Oscar awards will have a wave of box office rises at the beginning of next year. Distribution intensity. Waiting until April when the awards are presented, if one of the five most important awards can be won, there will be a wave of box office rises.

  This kind of movie, we generally operate in this way, and don’t invest in all distribution channels at the beginning. "

  The senior manager said as he walked, trying to make himself more important to the other party.

   "Is it like this year's "Platoon"?" Ronald mentioned the release strategy of Orion Films, which won seven Oscar nominations and won Best Film and Best Director earlier this year.

   "Like the field platoon this year."

   Several people walked and said that Ronald was quite satisfied with the manager's attitude, and the three walked to the elevator. The elevator doors jingle and open...

   I saw two rows of elite-looking people wearing exquisite handmade suits and combing their hair meticulously.

   At first glance, it looked like a Hollywood lawyer team. From the Italian-style tailoring of their handmade woolen suits and their tanned orange skin, Ronald recognized the temperament of Hollywood entertainment lawyers, both professional and entertainment industry.

  The two rows of people were clearly separated. Ronald looked at the senior manager behind him and lip-synced "lawyer".

  The other party nodded to confirm that it was the lawyer team hired by Kerkorian and Ted Turner to fight the film copyright lawsuit.

  Ronald deliberately took a step away, not letting the two lines of tense lawyers look up at the ceiling, and the "elites" whose Ego is bigger than himself, step on his feet.

  Two rows of people marched towards the large conference room ahead.

   Ronald smiled and was about to walk into the elevator.

   "Is this Ronald? Ronald Lee? The greatest contemporary director of musicals?" A greasy old voice came from the end of the two rows of people and stopped Ronald.

   "It's me, are you?" Ronald saw an old man with silver hair, a big nose, and two sausage mouths that were the product of suspicious plastic surgery.

   "Kirk, Kirk Kerkorian. I love your musicals, very golden age."

  The old man was not easy to provoke at first glance. Although he smiled, there was a kind of deepness behind the smile like Marlon Brando in the "Godfather" movie.

   "I have long admired your name, Mr. Kerkorian." Ronald reached out and shook hands with the owner of the MGM casino and production company.

   "Susan, Susan, you are here too... You and Ronald said bad things about me, right?" Kerkorian smiled and stepped forward to hug Susan Akins.

   "I have something to do with Ronald, can you give us a little private space?" Kerkorian asked Susan politely, but there was no option for the other party to refuse in his attitude.

   "You came here for your new movie, right? I heard it's a good movie, but unfortunately it's not a musical, but a movie about Italians. You know I don't like Italians..."

   After Kerkorian arrived at the office and sat down, he raised his hand to let Ronald sit on the sofa on the right.

   "Why? Do you have any grievances with them?" Ronald said this without expecting the other party to come up.

   "Hey, I know people outside say I'm a gangster, burying people alive in the Las Vegas desert. Actually, this is a legitimate business..." Kerkorian smiled.

   Ronald didn't know whether to believe what he said for a while, maybe he has indeed restrained his edge in recent years.

  “I just don’t like the exaggerated style of Italians. It’s okay to be an artist, but it’s very bad as a business partner or opponent. I’m from Armenia, and we take business commitments very seriously.”

   "Hahaha... Then you should watch my "Moonlight Sultry", the heroine Cher is also Armenian, although she plays an Italian..."

   "I will, child, I will..." Kerkorian put his fingers on the coffee table, and then tapped rhythmically.

   After a while, neither of them spoke.

   "What you want to talk to me about is this movie? I actually intend to do some distribution and marketing work myself. We just need to re-sign the contract..." Ronald couldn't hold back, and asked the first question.

   "No, No, Ronald, I'm not talking to you about a movie. It's a much bigger picture. So big that there are only a few people in Hollywood who can understand me, and you're one of them."

   "Me?" Ronald said in his heart, I don't know much about the casino business, and besides, I don't know how to deceive you.

   "I don't know how big your picture is?" Ronald discovered that one of Kerkorian's characteristics is that he doesn't speak first easily, but puts pressure on the other party to let the other party speak first.

   "$25 billion is big!"

   "Ha..." Ronald suspected that he had heard wrong.

"Per year!

   In the next ten years, the annual market potential is 25 billion. "

  (end of this chapter)