Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 841 For love

   "Ding Dong..."

   "Ronald, nice to meet you, please come in." The one who opened the door for Ronald was Xueer's little boyfriend who made bagel bread.

   "Hello...uh..." Ronald was at a loss for words for a moment, he forgot the name of this Italian pastry chef who was 18 years younger than Cher.

  "Rob Camilleti", the other party was still a little unhappy, "Please come in."

   Italian surname, Ronald can't remember it very well. He followed the other party into the small apartment. "Where's Cher?"

   "She's on the phone with her agent." Rob gestured for Ronald to sit on the sofa in the living room, then went into the room and called Cher.

  Since Xueer received the salary of "Moonlight Sultry" and paid off the room fee owed to the hotel, she found a "small apartment" to rent in New York. Of course, although the apartment is relatively shabby compared to Xueer's status in the music scene, it is still very large and the location is good compared to ordinary people's residences.

   "Ronald, Ronnie, it's great to see you. How's Dirty Dancing going? I bought your soundtrack album and it gave me a little inspiration."

  Cher came out from the next room and hugged Ronald. She still wears weird see-through outfits. Ronald saw several pairs of men's shoes from the shoe cabinet at the door.

   "This boyfriend, has he moved in so soon?" Ronald wondered to himself, could Xueer come for real this time?

  Sitting in Cher's cozy apartment, Ronald explained the reason for his visit this time.

  Because it is related to her personal grievances with David Letterman, it is necessary to seek Xue Er's opinion in person for this hype.

  David Letterman arranged two proposals. The first is to put the main hype on the personal grievances between himself and Cher. In fact, the last time the two had only clashed verbally, there was no substantive conflict. This time the two are on the show, no matter whether they continue the feeling of conflict last time or get back together, it is a very good choice.

  The second plan does not involve the grievances between the two, and treats this incident as if it never happened. Instead, Cher's ex-husband, Sonny Bono, was invited to join her on the show.

  The two have never performed on the same stage since they broke up. Many American audiences still miss their ex-husband and wife. They used to sing the song "IGotYouBabe" every time they hosted a show.

   "David Letterman promised that in addition to the normal appearance fee, you can pull up your band at the beginning of the show and sing a song from your new album. It is equivalent to doing a new album promotion for free."

  Ronald finished the plan, and then put forward the conditions.

   "Then what can he get for this bastard?" Xueer was obviously moved. The sales of the new album were sluggish, and being able to sing live on Letterman's show had great commercial value.

   "He has you as a star on the show, and there are various gimmicks, which can obviously increase the ratings."

  Ronald smiled, "This is a win-win opportunity. If I were you, I would definitely agree. The question is just which plan to choose."

   "As for me, I got my heroine, in front of a national audience, a publicity stunt to invite everyone to the movie. You will say yes?"

  Xue Er didn't speak after hearing this, she looked at her boyfriend Rob, and then at Ronald, she smiled and remained silent.

   "Rob?" Ronald looked at the Italian man who made bagel bread.

"Why don't we choose the first option? Cher's every move is followed by paparazzi reporters. If she and Sonny appear on the same show, there will be many reports." Rob Camilletti suggested Choose the first option.

  "Good sign", Ronald breathed a sigh of relief, obviously Rob hoped that Cher would be exposed on the show.

   But I came here by myself, I originally wanted to persuade Xueer to accept the second plan to reunite with her ex-husband. The gimmick of the two of them teaming up again on TV is obviously more popular than David Letterman being scolded by the host of the late night show.

"People in America still want to see you and Sonny get together again, Cher. Sonny Bono has already been invited by David Letterman. He said Sonny is not a problem as long as you nod, He also needs this kind of exposure right now.

  As for the scale and topic of the dialogue, what can’t be said, Letterman can do everything according to your ideas. "

"But the paparazzi are always on the lookout for Xueer. If you hype up the matter between her and Sonny again, I think there will be a lot of gossip in the media. This is a very bad injury to Xueer. "

  Little boyfriend Rob Camilletti continued to give advice.

   Ronald leaned back, smiled slightly, not convinced.

  He picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip. Cher is a typical maverick woman. She can live with your boyfriend who is 18 years younger than you, or an ordinary bagel baker. What happened to the show with her ex-husband?

   Still getting hurt? Still don't know who hurt whom? David Letterman's face was flushed by his scolding. With this attacking power in the media, in the whole of America, it is estimated that only the female comedian who speaks without thinking, Joan Rivers, can fight.

   "Rob, go and help me see if the reservation for the restaurant we went to tonight is confirmed."

   Xueer also laughed, she sent her little boyfriend away first, and then spoke to Ronald.

"Ronnie, you've seen it too. I'm enjoying this relationship. I've met some big stars before. Tom (Cruise), Fang (Kimer), David (Geffen), Only when Rob met me, he was just an ordinary waiter in a restaurant.

  He knew I was a star, so he still left me a phone number, hoping to ask me out. I also called him and he made me feel very comfortable. That's why I let him live in my house.

  He is still young and doesn't know how to face the maliciousness of the media and the outside world. Now he has a conditioned reflex of psychological defense.

  The media nicknamed him Bagel Boy, and his name was not included in the reports. "

   "Are you serious?" Ronald saw Xueer protecting and paying attention to the fragile psychology of his little boyfriend, and found that Xueer seemed to be really serious about this relationship.

  "I'm serious about every relationship. I think it's better not to bring my ex-husband Sonny into it, otherwise the media will bring up my past with him again, and when Rob is mentioned, some people will only call him a bagel boy.

  Both of us are in the entertainment industry, so we understand that this does not involve personal grievances. But Rob doesn't understand that, and I don't want to embarrass him too much..."

   "Our seat has been booked, no problem." The little boyfriend made the call and came back soon.

  "Rob", Xueer held his hand very intimately, and the two palms were relatively close together, "Ronald agreed to use the first plan."

   "Smart choice..."

  Rob Camilletti still had the expression of a boy protecting his girlfriend. Although it was silly, Ronald somehow felt that it was a little warm. Forget it, anyway, it was Xueer's own choice.

   "Okay, I'll let Letterman's team arrange it, I still have something to go back to Los Angeles, so let's do it first."

   "Ronald!" Rob Camilletti jumped up from the couch...

   "Huh?" Ronald looked back into his eyes, and his eyes sparkled. I don't know you that well, do you just call me by my name?

  "Mr. Li. Sir", Rob lost his momentum immediately, "I am also an actor, making bagel bread is just my side job, I want to know, do you have a suitable role for me?"

   "Send your resume audition photos to my company. They will take care of it." Ronald and Cher hugged goodbye.

  …

"Robertson, the candidate for the Elephant Party, was accused of falsifying his experience. Several veterans of the same combat unit of the 1st Marine Division he claimed stood up and accused Robertson of never being on the battlefield at all, and never really faced a day. , facing the opponent's artillery fire and charge.

  Robertson's real task is to prepare drinks and snacks for the chief in the rear office every day..."

  At the Los Angeles airport, Ronald, who had just returned, was watching live TV in the business jet lounge.

   Roger Ailes' arrangement finally worked. Barbara quickly found Robertson's comrades through the CIA. Their testimony contradicted Robertson's claim.

   "The current deputy commander officially announced that he will run for the election of the next grand commander. He announced in front of reporters in DC today.

  The Deputy Commander announced that he would continue the economic, foreign and military policies of the current Grand Commander. But in domestic affairs, he will be softer with the people..."

   There was a smile on the corner of Ronald's mouth. This carefully chosen timing made the deputy commander seem to be the only candidate for the Xiang Party.

   Among the applauding crowd behind, Ronald also spotted Schwarzenegger and his wife from the Kennedy family. This is the official debut, backing up the party.

   "How can a person go so far? How did he become who he is now?"

  After the news, there is a campaign advertisement tailored by Ronald for Old George.

  On the screen, old George and Barbara, under the watchful eyes of the justice, held the Bible in their hands and began to take the oath to become the deputy commander of the United States of America.

   "Maybe it started more than 40 years ago when George became the youngest fighter pilot in the Navy..."

  The picture changed from swearing to a black-and-white photo of old George in the cockpit of a fighter jet on an aircraft carrier.

   "Or from this day in 1944, George was awarded the Outstanding Courage Flying Medal for his heroic behavior in the battle with the Japanese Navy."

  The picture changed to the scene of old George being rescued from the sea, and then faded back to the scene of George and his wife taking the oath.

"Anyway, then he started a business, brought his family to Texas and made it successful, then ran for Congress, continued to serve the American public. Then ambassador to the United Nations, then ambassador to China, then director of the CIA .

  The more you know about Old George, the more you will find that in this century, no one is more suitable than Old George and is more prepared to be the Grand Commander..."

   "Good job, good job." Ronald looked at the campaign advertisement shot by Emile Adolino and was very satisfied.

  This kind of documentary-style eloquence, without any special effects and tricks, just shows old George's resume in a very ordinary way. Emile came to shoot this style of commercial, it is very suitable.

   "Ronald, you are finally back."

   When Ronald turned his head, it turned out that it was Joel Silver who came to pick him up specially.

   "Has Schwarzenegger's agent contacted you? He has officially rejected us." Ronald pointed to the TV and said to Joel Silver. They are optimistic about action movie actors, and they would rather make comedy movies than continue action movies.

   "It's still Bruce Willis. I have been talking with the new Fox boss for a long time. We have to give Willis an unprecedented high price, so that he will agree to take care of both."

   "How much can you give? We definitely can't afford Stallone's tens of millions."

   "5 million is hopeful. The new president of Fox is also from a TV station. He is very interested in inviting a TV star to star in a movie. Let's talk while walking."

  Joel Silver hurriedly pulled Ronald into the limousine.

   Ronald was in the back seat of the car, looking at Silver's plan, and then raised his eyes to look at him.

  The other party nodded, and the two understood.

  The two of them are very familiar with this set of tricks in the budget. Joel Silver is very good at this set of inflated cost tricks. If the actor's remuneration is raised to 5 million, then some other expenses will not appear too high if they match his price.

  Ronald doesn't care about this kind of thing, the more the budget, the more room for the film to maneuver. This script has great potential. If it can hit the box office, the money is actually nothing.

   "Where is the card now?" Ronald heard that he was about to go to 20th Century Fox to meet President Leonard Goldberg.

  "Mr. Goldberg likes to see TV stars succeed in the film industry. His idea is to make TV stations and film production companies into an integrated media group.

   In this way, the resources on both sides can communicate with each other. Michael J. Fox's "Back to the Future" showed everyone that comedians can succeed across TV and film.

  Now what we need is for action stars to cross borders. "

   Ronald understood this Leonard Goldberg strategy. When he was in New York, he chatted with Bannon a little bit. Wall Street’s valuation of a company largely depends on how you can tell a story and make investors feel that you can really do it:

  A Integrate resources

  BReduce cost

   or AB, you can do both. Only in this way will the stock be sought after. The value of the president and CEO, to a large extent, lies in the communication with the investment community, and the stories they tell must make them believe.

  If they don't believe you, then the valuation of listed companies will be looked down upon, making life difficult for them.

   It's like Kerkorian who almost fooled Ronald. Since the loss of Ronald as the president, the prospects of the World Media Distribution Group in the Chinese market have begun to dim.

  No one can convince the capital market that Hollywood in America can enter the film market there and occupy a certain share.

  Hollywood stars who have friendship with the other side of the Pacific Ocean are not without exception, such as Gregory Peck who is friendly with China, the famous Italian left-wing director Bertolucci and others. But they are all left-wing stars, not very commercially appealing.

  The film can be released in China, and has a good relationship with commercial film producers there. Only Ronald can do both. It can not only select movies that the people like to watch there, but also gain official friendship.

  Kerkorian's two bond issuances on Wall Street have met with cold reception from banks. The first bond only reached 95 million U.S. dollars, and the other financing was done by the World Media Distribution Company, a joint venture of the three major studios, which is estimated to be less than 50 million U.S. dollars.

Therefore, Leonard Goldberg of Twentieth Century Fox is the same, as long as he can be convinced that the casting of Bruce Willis can convince Wall Street that they can make TV stars act in movies and sell them well, pay A salary of just 5 million is very cheap.

   "The only thing we have to convince Leonard Goldberg is that he is a good fit for the script of this movie, more than any other action star, and can make Fox money."

  Joel Silver explained to Ronald that Ronald, a busy man, is too busy now, so he had to catch him directly at the airport. My own credit with Fox's Goldberg is not as good as this commercial master who has never failed.

  The same words, the weight of what Ronald said is much heavier than his own.

  …

   "I need a reason, Ronald." Leonard Goldberg was sitting in the office. He worked overtime and stayed to see Ronald.

  "You know, before the Minahan Golan brothers went crazy, the highest salary for a Hollywood male star was 5 million US dollars. Now you are looking at Bruce Willis, the box office of the first movie is only average.

  You’re going to pay him like Dustin Hoffman, or Harrison Ford, so why wouldn’t I go for those two actors? "

   "He's an ordinary person." Ronald thought for a while and answered like this.

   "Ordinary people?" Leonard Goldberg didn't quite understand.

   "Yes, only if Bruce Willis plays this NYPD John McClane, we will believe that he is an ordinary person.

Whether you look for Schwarzenegger or Stallone, as soon as they appear on the stage, the audience will think, oh, this is the protagonist of that movie, a superhero, he will definitely be like Rambo, or the Terminator The enemy was defeated.

  And the audience's impression of Willis is still that funny detective in the blue moonlight. We can accept that he plays an ordinary person.

  The key to the success of this script is that such an ordinary person becomes a hero under certain conditions. By the way, he also solved the problem that he and his wife were about to divorce because they were separated in two places. The audience will resonate greatly.

   After all, those things that go to Vietnam to fight, or fly a plane and fight with alliance pilots are too far away from our lives, and they are larger than life roles.

   And this movie, the key to the box office, is to make the audience feel that the positive characters in the movie are as big and imperfect as they are. There were troubles and difficulties, and finally he gritted his teeth and went up to face the suffering in life, and finally defeated him.

   In a sense, this is an American dream. This is in line with the image of the traditional Hollywood small-town hero, except that the cowboys of the past have now become middle-class people in big cities. "

   Ronald said more and more smoothly. Now the degree of urbanization in America is very high, and the mainstream audience has already grown up in the city. These people also need civilian heroes who come out of big cities like them.

   Small-town heroes like Jimmy Stewart back then represented the mainstream of America at that time.

   "You have a good point, but how can you prove that Bruce Willis can do everything you say? After all, he is just a TV star."

   Leonard Goldberg was passionately said by Ronald, and he also felt it. Indeed, only a cutting-edge director like Ronald can grasp the current audience mentality. Those old people who rely on the old experience of the past cannot express such insights at all. Let alone filming it.

   "It's very simple, Mr. Goldberg." Ronald took out a document from his briefcase and handed it over.

   "This is a sample survey of Bruce Willis on the attitude of the audience to the movies he starred in. The score is very high."

   "We all understand what this investigation is", Leonard Goldberg did not move. He has also seen a lot of these tricks on TV. In order to obtain higher remuneration for the stars, the agent can investigate any results.

"This is done by CinemaScore. Their survey only has one question. If Willis starred in an action movie, would you be willing to watch it?" Ronald still passed the file forward, and he was asking CinemaScore to do a survey for Cher. At that time, I also made a copy for Bruce Willis by the way.

   "You are a very experienced expert. The quality of such a survey, even if there is space operation, will have little impact on the results. The following appendix is ​​their sampling method and sampling data."

   "You convinced me," Goldberg put down his reading glasses, he was very satisfied with the survey, "As long as Willis agrees, I will approve the 5 million salary."

"Ronald, I think your persuasive power seems to be stronger than before." Joel Silver looked at Ronald, it seemed that he went to New York, and he became more like a top Lie... no, a top producer.

"That's because I watched the performances of top-level scammers... ah, actors." Ronald thought of Kerkorian, who went to Wall Street to collect money, and Old George, who was involved in elections. The acting skills in life need to be better than him. The subject believes more in what he says.

   "Okay, we'll go see Bruce Willis tomorrow."

  …

   "Ronnie", "Mr. Silver".

   Likewise, it wasn't Bruce Willis himself who opened the door for Ronald and Joel Silver, but his new girlfriend, Demi Moore, who was living in his home.

  "Demi", Ronald was a little surprised, but he quickly adjusted.

  The two hugged like friends and said hello.

   "Bruce will be here soon. He was on the set of Blue Moonlight last night and stayed late."

   "Demi, who's here?" A voice came from upstairs.

   "Honey, it's Mr. Ronald and Joel Silver," Demi yelled upstairs.

"Oh, I almost forgot, just wait for me, it will be ready soon." Bruce Willis showed his head on the side of the stairs and greeted Ronald, and then he stuck out his head again, "Demi, I Where did you lose your pants last night?"

   "Come on", Demi gave Ronald a coquettish smile, as if to say, "Aren't you jealous? I can give you all these treatments." Then she went upstairs to help her boyfriend clean up.

   "What's that?" Silver looked at Ronald, and he also saw the abnormality in that smile.

   "Demi also wants to play a role, she is a very ambitious actress." Ronald had to say so.

"Oh…"

   "Sorry, something happened to the crew last night, and I stayed there late."

   After a while, Willis came down the stairs while buttoning up his shirt.

   "It's okay, Bruce. We're here to tell you good news. Fox has agreed to give you a salary of 5 million." Joel Silver began to persuade him to agree to both TV dramas and movies.

   "I'd love to, but you're late. We had a meeting last night, and the producers wanted me to play a bigger role in this season of Blue Moonlight. I don't have time to act in movies."

   "But this is a good opportunity for you to enter the film, 5 million US dollars, which is also the top salary of a Hollywood actor. If you miss this opportunity, the future salary pricing will be..." Joel Silver began to persuade.

   "Trust me, no one wants to act more than me. But my contract with the TV station..."

   "May I ask, what happened in the Blue Moonlight crew?" Ronald interrupted the confused Silver, patted his thigh, and signaled him to calm down first.

   "Isn't it for love?" Bruce Willis glanced at Demi Moore, held her hand tightly, and kissed her.

   "Huh?" Ronald didn't know why.

"The heroine, Sybill Shepard, recently became pregnant. She and the chiropractor, Bruce Oppenheimer, seemed to be in love. So this season, she can't play too much, a lot of it has been diverted To my character's side."

   Bruce Willis shrugged. He also regretted the opportunity.

   "For love?" Ronald grinned.

   "Shepard is 37, and this is her last chance." Demi Moore made up the knife next to her. She was also unhappy with Sybill Shepard, who played the leading lady in "Blue Moonlight." This woman was always competing with Bruce Willis for scenes, and now Willis couldn't do both.

  What a hassle!

  …

   "What a hassle!" Joel Silver complained to Ronald in the car.

   "No way, you can't condemn true love." Ronald also sighed, what is this called?

   Xue Er and Shepard, the choice they made for love, in fact, the biggest loss in terms of interests is themselves. Since I have no complaints and am willing to sacrifice my career for love, it is hard for others to say anything.

  America is a free society after all, and everyone has the right to make their own choices.

   "Let's find other candidates. Hey!"

   "Hey..." Ronald also sighed.

  He turned on the car radio.

  “Affected by the tax bill proposed by the Ways and Means Committee of the House of Representatives in the morning, today’s Dow Jones Index fell 95 points, a drop of 3.81% from yesterday. This is the first correction after the stock market has grown steadily by more than 60% this year.

  Analysts believe that the main reason for this brief and unexpected adjustment is the tax bill of the House of Representatives, which will reduce the tax benefits related to financing mergers and leveraged buyouts. Another important reason is that the third-quarter international trade deficit data released today failed to meet expectations.

  The sharp appreciation of the yen did not shrink America's trade deficit with Japan as predicted by economists.

   Next, let's listen to the analysis of experts. "

   "Hi..." Ronald tuned the radio. Fortunately, he didn't invest his money in the stock market.

   "Do you love me? Do you love me?"

  The original soundtrack of Ronald's "Dirty Dancing" came from the music station. This record is printing money for myself working overtime every day.

   "Hey hey..." Ronald laughed out loud.

  (end of this chapter)