Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 842 Busy Ronald

   "This is Rachel I was talking to you about, Boss. She was very meticulous in her work as the production director on the last 'Babysitter'."

   Ronald's script assistant, David Simkins, introduced a young, slender woman to Ronald.

  Simkins hopes to develop in the direction of a producer, and Ronald also needs a subordinate who can act as a producer, who can serve as his substitute and supervise the shooting progress of the crew in each crew.

  This time, Ronald gave him a chance to be the producer of Daydream in "Ecstasy", which was co-produced by Daydream and Roger Corman's company, which started filming in Los Angeles. Follow the old man Coleman to learn more skills.

   But at the same time to raise funds, there is also a new musical film "Hairspray" written and directed by John Waters. In order to save costs, Director Waters proposed to shoot in Baltimore, Maryland, where the story took place.

   There is no trade union power there, and Director Waters is a native of Baltimore. There are plenty of familiar relationships there, and access to quite a few free extras from his previous high school.

   Ronald is not very worried about whether Director Waters will tamper with the budget. This guy has always been a director of super low-budget movies, and "Hairspray" was the dream story he'd always wanted to make.

  In this case, the director will take high-quality shooting as the highest pursuit. As for falsely reporting some costs during filming, Ronald can tolerate it without going too far. The entire movie had a budget of only $2.5 million anyway.

   Still, Waters is a lone ranger. He did all the chores by himself in those super crude movies that were made for hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the actors who made movies with him even put on their own makeup and brought their own costumes...

  In such a formal film project, Ronald certainly cannot allow this kind of thing to exist. Therefore, he asked Simkins to recommend a careful candidate who knew all the chores in filming to be the producer of the "Hairspray" crew.

  Simkins recommended Rachel Talalay, the production director he met in "Nanny Adventures".

"Rachel, I think David has already told you the main content of this job, which is actually similar to what you did when you were in Toronto." Ronald went up to explain the job to Rachel Talalay .

"Is there anything I should pay special attention to?" Rachel wrote down the chores that Ronald explained. This time, although she is named as a producer, she is actually working similarly to the production director, helping the crew to solve all the problems. The problem. It doesn't have the right to interfere with the director's shooting like a real producer.

"It's nothing, you're mainly accumulating experience. After one or two films, you should be able to actually take on the role of producer. Just like what David is about to do." Ronald smiled to Rachel who was a little nervous Said.

   "OK!", Rachel immediately relaxed a little.

   "Here's my call, if you see something wrong with the director on the first day of shooting in Baltimore, just report it to me. If everything goes well, then you don't have to worry about the shooting situation.

   After all, John Waters has far more experience than you. "

   "He is indeed very experienced, and now I can only help him with some chores, such as arranging the bus." Rachel felt that Ronald was right.

   "What bus?"

   "Oh, didn't Director Waters tell you? In order to save money, he decided to let the main members of the crew take the bus to Baltimore."

"Oh, what... It's not necessary, it's not necessary, change it to a plane. At most, you can take economy class." When Ronald heard this, he thought to himself that this Waters is too cheap, and now he is not taking pictures of those The $250,000 **** is a "big production" with a production cost of $2.5 million.

  Ronald and Rachel rushed to the starting point of the big bus, and the two buses were preparing to leave. One was full of actors and the other was some crew.

   "Oh, Ronald, you're an angel. Just thinking I've managed to do a big production and have to be in this bus makes me want to strangle that **** John."

  A bald, fat actor inside was very excited. He got out of the car and thanked Ronald, hugging him tightly.

   "This is our main actor, Divine." Rachel hurried up and introduced to Ronald.

   "Ah, okay, don't worry, if you have any problems in Baltimore, just tell Rachel." Ronald was a little strange, the voice and figure of this Divine were a little strange. He is a typical obese patient, his upper body is fat like a woman.

   "What role is he playing?" Ronald asked Rachel in a low voice. He didn't pay attention to the cast list and wanted to say something to encourage morale, but he couldn't say it.

   "He played Edna, the main character's mother."

   "Oh, good. Edna is a very important role. Director Waters can find you to play. His vision is very good."

   "Hahaha... John and I have known each other for a long time, and I'm in every piece of **** he makes." Divine grinned so happily that he could finally make a normal movie.

   "No, it's not right!" Ronald finally found out what was wrong with Divine. This is obviously a middle-aged woman's role, why did you find a man to play it?

"Hahaha", Divine smiled smugly when she saw Ronald's appearance, "Isn't it right?" She took out a wig from her bag and put it on her bald head . He tidied up proudly and took two poses.

   "Uh, boss, he's a DragQueen." Rachel hurriedly whispered in Ronald's ear. She thought the boss already knew about director Waters' eccentricities, and this Divine appeared in every one of his movies.

   "Ah, ah... Sure enough, sure enough, this is really much more pleasing to the eye."

   Let the actors get into the car and drive to the airport. Ronald also told Rachel in the back car, "When you arrive in Baltimore, for the first few days, you have to call back to the company every day to report the shooting situation, you know?

  Simkins said that you don't need to call, and you stop the daily report. "

  Ronald felt a burst of cold sweat. The director John Waters actually used DragQueen to play the heroine's mother. He didn't know what messed up would happen.

"Well, well, don't worry, boss, I will report every day until you approve of my work." Rachel thought it was her own approval of the actor to go to the bus, which made the boss feel that there was a problem with her work ability. Check every day.

   "John, John, look, Ronald is a generous boss, let's fly to Baltimore."

   Arriving at the airport, Rachel took Ronald's credit card and went to buy tickets for everyone on the spot. Divine got a flight with Director John Waters. He happily hugged Waters who was waiting at the airport, making him speechless.

   "Hi, Ronald, I just want to save some money on the shoot." Waters managed to break free from Divine's arms and explained his idea to Ronald.

   "It's okay, these costs still have to be spent. If you take the bus, the fatigue of the actors will take a long time to adjust."

   "It's okay, these are the partners I have worked with many times. Besides, I can also get free housing in high school in Baltimore."

  Ronald put his heart back a little bit. It seems that Director Waters is still trying to make the movie well, after all, it is his personal semi-autobiographical work.

   "Hi, Sonny. Have you been contacted by my agent? Unfortunately, Cher did not agree to appear on Letterman's show this time."

   Ronald went back and talked to a middle-aged man with a mustache next to the director.

   This is Cher's ex-husband, Sonny Bono. This time, he also got a role in the crew. Because of his fame, only the director and him can enjoy the treatment of flying to the shooting location.

"It's okay, I'm already very grateful." Sonny looked like a soft-spoken man, "I'm actually not doing it for myself this time, it's because of me and Cher's daughter, Chastity. Guardia is in a performing arts high school, and my daughter is very talented in singing, so I want Xueer to help us bring our daughter to debut."

   "Oh, I don't know..." Ronald thought to himself, I didn't know your brother had this idea, if I knew it, I would have played this card when I persuaded Xueer to be on the show.

"It's okay, Cher and I have a rocky relationship, but she's a good mother." Sonny Bono said kind words about his ex-wife, "If you have the chance, I mean if, I hope you can give my daughter Chester Ti has a chance in the acting circle. She majored in singing and acting at the same time in the performing arts college, and your theme song of "Famous Around the World" is her favorite."

   "Aha, majoring in singing and acting at the same time, it's the same as the role of CoCo played by Irene Cara, who sang the theme song of "Fame". Your daughter has talent, has opportunities, has opportunities..."

   Ronald was busy all morning before he sent everyone in the crew away.

   "Afternoon, what time is my appointment with Joel Silver?"

  Daydream's secretary, Ms. Zhang, took out the appointment book and was in his office at three o'clock in the afternoon. We would go there after we had some lunch.

   "Okay, let's order Burger King casually. Speaking of burgers, they are indeed better, although the stock is not as good as McDonald's."

   “Dow Jones, continuing yesterday’s decline…”

  Go to Joel Silver's office, he's watching the financial news.

"Ronald, are you here?" Silver muted the TV. "Now we have two options. The first is to find another male star to replace Bruce Willis. The second is to postpone the shooting until next year, Bruce." In the summer, when TV dramas are off season, you can spare time to shoot."

   "What do we have in place?" Ronald nodded, TV stars tend to be available in late spring to summer. TV shows in America are usually New Year's Eve, and every summer, there will be several months of rest.

  Michael J. Fox is like this now. Every summer, he takes a TV drama break and comes out to shoot two movies.

   "The best candidate is Harrison Ford. I talked to his agent. He is also trying to figure out a way to transform now, and he just happened to be watching new scripts from various parties recently."

   "Hmm..." Ronald pondered for a moment, Harrison Ford is actually a good candidate. His temperament is similar to that of Bruce Willis, a kind of bad image of ordinary people. Han Solo in "Star Wars" and Dr. Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" are the kind of heroes who can fail.

   But his shortcoming is also here. The images of these two characters are too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. If John McLean, the leading actor in this movie, is played by him, will the audience recognize him?

   "Let's get in touch first. We're actually not sure that Harrison will agree. And he's a big star, which will help the film's marketing." Joel Silver seemed to agree with the casting.

   "Let's get in touch first." Ronald was a little worried. This kind of popular star will definitely fight for power in the crew. How will he shoot and who will he listen to? will be a problem.

   "Huh..." Ronald returned home, took out the quick-frozen food in the refrigerator, and started to make a quick dinner for himself.

   Tomorrow I'm going to talk to Roger Coleman about the work on "Ecstasy".

  Ronald turned on the TV and ate the tuna fish sandwich he had just made. You don't need to cut the sides when you eat it yourself.

"Thursday's Dow Jones Index continued to fall by 57.61 points, and the decline narrowed to 2.39%. Compared with the highest point of this year, it has fallen by 12%. Analysts said that this indicates that the stock market has reached a phased bottom, and fund managers It means that the bull market is still going on, and the market outlook is expected to rebound."

   "Well, I sold the stock to make a movie last year, but I still missed the big bull market that rose by 50%." Ronald thought while eating, but fortunately, the movie "Dirty Dancing" was very profitable. Wait for the box office to be recovered and the video tapes to be sold, and then look at the stock market to see if there is investment potential.

  …

   "Ronald," Roger Coleman welcomed his students with open arms.

  "Roger", Ronald stepped forward to hug him, "This is the first time we have collaborated on a film since Rock High School?"

   "Hey, yes. It's been eight years."

  Roger Coleman couldn't help but lamented how fast time passed, and even sold his New World Company.

"Cassandra Peterson is a very good actress, and her script has great potential." Coleman liked the joint venture project recommended by Ronald, "This is exactly the kind of horror movie I like best , with this sense of humor."

   "Yes, it's the kind of movie you are best at. How about it, do you want to direct yourself?" Ronald asked the former boss.

"Hahaha, I do have itchy hands." Coleman laughed loudly, "But let's wait until later. Now my energy is devoted to production, and I have to guarantee about ten films a year. Small and medium-sized productions have already taken up the cost of recovering their costs. All the time."

   “This time I found James Signorelli, who has directed a few episodes of Saturday Night Live and also directed the sequel to the blockbuster Police Academy, and he just happened to be in the right place.”

   "I have no doubts about your vision." Ronald looked at the director's materials that Coleman had found and agreed. Coleman's vision of picking a director may not be stronger than him in Hollywood.

  The two of them finalized the cooperation in a few words. The rest of the work was handed over to Coleman's wife, Julie, and Ronald's producer, David Simkins, to connect.

  Roger Coleman still decided to shoot this movie in Hollywood, Los Angeles. He has a deep knowledge of dealing with labor unions and is also very trustworthy in the industry.

   "Your Dirty Dancing is profitable." Roger Corman is sensitive to the box office of this kind of movie.

   "It's not bad, I hope to get good box office results overseas." Ronald replied, "I'm also planning to release video tapes. I hope this time I can make a little more money so that I can continue to invest in other movies."

"You are very good. Producers who entered Hollywood at the same time as me have invested in real estate after success." Roger Coleman has been in this industry for a long time. People like him who continue to invest in the film industry are not failed companies. Bankruptcy means quitting after making a lot of money.

   "However, you also have to invest in some other industries. This industry is now more and more profitable."

   "Hahaha, in fact, I also invested in a little real estate." Ronald said with a smile.

   "There is also the stock market, which is also a good investment target. I think the recent stock market correction has been severe, and it is time to buy the bottom."

   "Ah, really? You also invest in the stock market? Then I have to think about it."

  …

   Unexpectedly, Roger Coleman is also investing in the stock market. Ronald remembered that Joel Silver was also watching the Money Channel yesterday. This year's stock market has really gone up quite fiercely, and I missed a big bull market.

  After returning home, Ronald turned on the TV and tuned to the financial channel.

   "The chairman of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Kerkorian, today announced a bond offering totaling $35 million to finance MGM's new business venture..."

  Ronald ordered Domino’s Pizza delivery today and listened while eating. Kerkorian’s financing was not smooth, and it only raised 35 million US dollars, and the interest was not low.

   "The most violent hurricane in the North Atlantic this year hit the coastal cities of Britain and France, causing dozens of casualties.

  Britain is expected to have more than 15 million trees broken, and the power company's lines were severely damaged. Financial centers including the London Stock Education Institute and the London Futures Exchange announced today that they would be closed due to power outages. "

   "So powerful?" Ronald looked at the scene of the hurricane in the news, the picture from London, and the outdoor host was blown by the wind and couldn't complete his speech.

   "Today in the New York Stock Exchange, the Dow Jones Index continued to fall, closing at 2246.74 points, and the trading volume hit a record high."

   "Fell again?" Ronald picked up the phone and called Donna, who works at the New York Fund, to ask about the situation. Is it possible to buy the bottom?

   "Hello? Donna, I'm Ronald. The stock market fell again today? Can I copy..."

"Ronnie, I'm very busy now. The London exchange is closed today. Mr. Simmons has some procedural transactions that have not been confirmed by the London exchange. Our employees are all on the phone...I don't have time to chat now, let's talk about it next week... "

   "Oh... yes, I love you. Goodbye!" Ronald was very comforted when he heard that Donna, who had returned to work in Long Island, was in a state of affairs now.

"I love you too, Ronnie, your BMW has helped me a lot, so that I can end my internship early and return to the company to participate in the company's main business of program trading... Let alone, I still have a dozen calls to make, bye! "

  (end of this chapter)