Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  The preparations for "Working Girl" were slowly approaching. At the end of January, Ronald had to press the pause button on his busy work in New York and flew to Los Angeles to attend the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

  The Golden Globe Award is voted by less than 100 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Many of these members are just nominal reporters who work part-time in some tabloids, translating news from America and sending them back.

   Therefore, this award is the easiest to operate among all Hollywood acting awards. Ronald's "Moonlight Sultry" crew specially allocated a sum of money, under the charge of marketing director Michael Gray, and gave dozens of judges vacation vouchers for luxury hotels in Palm Springs and bed and breakfast at five-star hotels in Hollywood. coupon.

  Ronald also agreed to attend the awards ceremony. The Golden Globes is an organization that relies on television broadcasts to make money. As long as celebrities agree to attend, they will usually award you the award.

  Golden Globe Awards Because of the awards scandal in the past few years, many real big stars don't want to attend the awards ceremony, lest they be labeled as buying awards.

  Plus Michael Gray's public relations work is too good. The Golden Globe Award was eager for talent, and it greatly increased its favorability for Ronald, who gave things and gave face. He used too much force at once, and gave Ronald two works last year, "Dirty Dancing" and "Moonlight Tease" People” sent out several nominations.

   Both films were nominated for the "Best Film—Comedy or Musical (Golden Globe awards are divided into drama and comedy musical nominations. Cher and Jennifer Gray are also nominated for Best Actress in a Comedy Musical, as well as Olympia Dukakis for Best Supporting Actress. John Patrick Shanley was nominated for best writing for "Moonlight," and best episode for "Time of My Life," the theme song to Dirty Dancing.

  Ronald's own best director nomination was obtained through "Moonlight Sultry". It makes him happy. The Golden Globes are presented in late January, while the Academy Awards nominations are announced a week later in early February. The proximity of the two in time has a very hidden benefit.

   There are many members of the Academy who have the right to nominate and vote, but they are actually very old. They may not have the energy to watch the movies every year. Many people actually vote based on their impressions. The list of nominations for the Golden Globe Awards has been reported in the media, and will be mentioned repeatedly during the live broadcast of the party.

  These members probably had a little impression of Ronald's film because of the awards a few days before the deadline, and when they couldn't make up the number of nominations, they just wrote his name on it.

  Every year, there are people who don't know why, and the media regards the Golden Globe Awards as the vane of Oscars, and this is the secret. In the end, the trade union awards with a higher degree of overlap are not known to outsiders because they do not have the spread of live TV broadcasts like the Golden Globes.

   Ronald stood for a long time in the lobby of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the venue for the awards ceremony. He has acquaintances from both movies to say hello to.

  The popularity of the Golden Globe Awards is not as good as each year. A few years ago, a scandal involving a rich man who blatantly bribed his girlfriend to solicit votes greatly damaged the credibility of the Golden Globe Awards, and the TV station stopped broadcasting them for three years. The important awards, which were originally attended by first-line stars, turned into a gathering of outdated stars after the rebroadcasting resumed. The biggest name is only the veteran Western movie star Clint Eastwood. he.

  Among the stars who came tonight, the audience's favorite is probably those in Ronald's two crews. Patrick Schwyz, wearing long hair in a ponytail, thanked Ronald with his wife, then leading actress Jennifer Gray and her father, and supporting actors Cynthia Rhodes and boyfriend Richard Marks, among others, all of them Hugging and thanking Ronald for a long time, the stars around me were amazed at the deep friendship between the crew members of "Dirty Dancing".

  The male and female protagonists are high-spirited, and the mental state of stars is not on the same level as other stars.

   Ronald took a group photo with them, and invited them in to sit at the round table of the crew. With a smile on his face, he continued to wait at the door for the "Moonlight Alluring" crew.

   A group of outdated stars, such as last year's best actress, the deaf-mute Marlene Matlin. Ellie Hitty from the Brad gang also came over to say hello to Ronald, and even Sybill Shepard, who had just given birth, also took the initiative to take a photo with Ronald.

  Ronald never refused to come, chatted and laughed happily with them, and made all the beauties laugh with a sense of humor.

   Being nominated for Best Picture and Best Director at the Golden Globe Awards, Ronald certainly had a happy event, but what really made him so happy was that the "Dirty Dancing" video was sold well across the country.

   No one could have imagined that the "Dirty Dancing" video would be a huge success in the market. Less than a month after it went on sale, more than 600,000 boxes have been sold. "Dirty Dancing" also surpassed all movies in one fell swoop and ranked first on the new monthly video rental list in Hollywood newspapers.

  Based on the current sales rate, it is estimated that it will break through one million boxes soon, and it is still growing. Ronald's daydream, began to rent all the videotape producers he could find at high prices, and devoted himself to producing videotapes.

  The videotape, which finally retailed for less than forty dollars, brought in amazing revenue. "Dirty Dancing" has been in theaters for more than five months, and just after it was released, it has grossed more than 100 million in box office revenue. But the videotapes appear to have achieved the same sales, perhaps in two months. Not to mention the videotapes purchased by Blockbuster, in the long-term lease, they have to pay Ronald dividends in a steady stream.

  In short, the happiest thing for Hollywood stars is a fat check. Ronald had already sent checks to the main creators of "Dirty Dancing" in advance, and even the evening outfits they brought to the banquet today were the most expensive among all the stars.

  The "Moonlight Alluring" crew came later, Olympia Dukakis, John Patrick Shanley, Cher and others all dressed elegantly. They have a much better chance of getting an Oscar nomination than "Dirty Dancing." Especially Dukakis, who basically won the Best Actress in all unions and film critics awards.

  So this Golden Globe Awards Ceremony is actually their preview of the Oscars. Even Cher, who always likes to wear see-through outfits, also changed into a haute couture evening dress, which is very elegant.

   Sure enough, in the end, "Moonlight Sultry" was the big winner, and both Cher and Dukakis were nominated for awards. Those who presented awards to them were acquaintances Cynthia Rhodes and Marlene Matlin.

   Olympia Dukakis was very moved. She thanked Ronald for a long time and gave her a chance to start again on the road of acting. For an actress of her age, being able to win a Golden Globe for a movie brought her not only popularity, but also an invitation to double her pay ten times over.

  Cher’s words of thanks are more interesting. She thanked Ronald, the screenwriter Shanli, and the fans who never left her. After all, in recent years, to be a fan of Xueer, a fan of see-through costumes, one must have the courage to withstand social pressure.

  Of course, the two major awards nominated by Ronald himself, Best Film and Best Director, both lost to Bertolucci of "The Last Emperor".

   Watching Bertolucci thank the people of China on stage, Ronald was still a little emotional. The shock that this "Last Emperor" brought to the Western people is beyond the reach of other movies. The box office of the movie, after being silent for nine weeks, also began to exert its strength. With less than 100 theaters, it broke through the figure of one million weekend box office.

  The producers began to mobilize copies and expand the screening scale. Today, they won the best film, best director, best screenwriter, best soundtrack and other awards. It is conceivable that there will be a wave of curious audiences.

  Although Ronald did not win the award, he was not too disappointed to lose to an epic film like "The Last Emperor". It may also have something to do with being toasted too much wine in the two crews during the awards ceremony. Ronald was having a good time talking, chatting with his old friend and director Adrian Lane, whom he had met before filming "Lightning Dance".

   Today he was also nominated for Best Director, and Michael Douglas, the leading actor in the movie "Fatal Attraction", won the Best Actor Award.

   "Is there hope for your Oscar nomination?" Ronald asked Adrian Lane.

   "It's about as big as your hope...", Ryan belongs to a very gentlemanly actor in the British actor circle. He grew up on the Cambridge campus and studied at Oxford University himself. Ronald and he hit it off very well.

  He has about the same status as Ronald in Hollywood. He has made movies that sell well at the box office, but he doesn't have much respect in the industry, and he is still one film away from establishing himself as a director.

  The "Famous Attraction" this time is actually almost the same as the "Love You for Nine and a Half Weeks" the year before last. They are all pornographic films. But this time Michael Douglas, a Jewish star, was invited, and respect for traditional values ​​was added to the plot, allowing his wife to shoot and kill the third party, played by Glenn Gross, who was involved in the family.

  This approach of actively moving closer to mainstream values ​​is also very close to Ronald’s film philosophy. First solve the box office problem, and then add some profound themes.

   "Hi, Adrian, Ronald, what are you talking about?" Michael Douglas came over to greet them both.

   "Very good trophy, where are you going to put it?" Ronald greeted him with a smile.

   "Oh, I have to keep it. My last Oscar was as a producer. This is my first acting award, and I hope it won't be the last..."

   "Hahaha, I think your Screen Actors Guild, and the Film Critics Association Awards have won Best Actor one after another, and this time the Oscars will come true." Ronald said to Douglas with a smile.

   "You have a good chance too," Michael Douglas responded with a top hat. He's in the limelight this year, winning Gekko in "Wall Street," both of which were blockbusters and critically acclaimed.

   "I'm very lucky to be nominated." Ronald knew that if he could nominate an Oscar, he would have completed his task. He didn't want Douglas to have the power to destroy the world this year. For the best actor, only Zun Long, who was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award, and Nicolas Cage's performance can be compared with him. But these two are selected for the Golden Globe Awards for the first time, and the Oscars value the history of actors very much. Douglas has almost no opponents this year.

   "Hey, after all the Golden Globes... You know, if I am willing to come, the possibility of winning the award is very high. The Oscars need to be voted out by one vote." Michael Douglas was still very nervous when he talked about the Oscars.

  He previously won the Oscar for Best Film Award as the producer of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". But it was the father of his Jewish tycoon, who bought the right to adapt the novel and gave it to his son. To really rely on acting skills, it depends on this year.

   "Yeah..." The three fell into silence. Everyone wants Oscar, but it's really hard to say. For example, Glenn Gross, who played opposite Douglas, has first-class acting skills and has been nominated many times, but he has never won a statuette.

   "Sean...Sean...don't do this" The three of them suddenly heard a familiar voice speaking from the other side.

   "I don't have any objections to you, Michael, but if he didn't come today, am I not qualified to meet and chat with him?" A man with a thick Scottish accent answered.

   Ronald turned his head, it turned out that Michael Ovitz, the president of CAA, was talking with Sean Connery, the first 007 actor. Both of them were a little agitated, and after realizing that the place was wrong, they immediately returned to their amiable appearance.

  The three of Ronald pretended not to see anything, and turned to find their agent to inquire about the situation.

   "It's Spielberg," Nisita quickly inquired, got into the back seat of the luxury car, and whispered to Ronald.

   It turned out that Michael Ovitz was still trying to sell his first star client under CAA, Sean Connery, who had been out for a long time. Today's Golden Globes, with Ovitz's work, he won the Best Supporting Actor for the film directed by Brian DePalma, the gangster thriller "The Untouchables (The Untouchables.

   This movie is Kevin Costner, and Robert De Niro plays the two leading roles of good and evil. The box office is very good, exceeding 75 million. In the end, Sean Connery won the Golden Globe, which was entirely the result of Ovitz behind it.

  The specific reason is very interesting. Sean Connery was the most important signing during Ovitz's transformation of CAA's film business. He is the first star to sign a brokerage contract with CAA, and he is also a client of Ovitz himself.

   But after that, Connery's star luck was very bad. It seems that no one in Hollywood is looking for him to make movies. For the sake of himself and CAA's face, the No. 1 client can't just let him down like this. Ovitz spent a lot of energy and resources to get Connery back on the job.

Apart from the Golden Globe Awards this time, the most important part of his plan is to let Spielberg consider writing Sean Connery into Dr. Indiana Jones' latest adventure movie as the main character. supporting role.

  But Spielberg has always refused. Originally, the Golden Globe Awards was a good opportunity for the two to meet. Who knew that Spielberg did not come to the awards ceremony at all this time.

   "Why? Is he unwilling to use the old man Sean Connery?" Ronald heard that it was a supporting role, which was a bit strange. Spielberg is not this kind of director who is unkind to the role.

   "You may not have noticed that his Empire of the Sun was only nominated for best picture tonight, but not for best director."

   "Huh?" Ronald flipped through the awards list, and sure enough, "Empire of the Sun", for which Spielberg paid a lot, didn't even have a nomination for best director.

  “I heard that Kirk Douglas’s group of veteran Jews are dissatisfied with his failure to follow Jewish traditions, especially educating children in accordance with Jewish traditions.”

   "Does it matter whether the child goes to the synagogue or not? Did these people still live before World War I?" Ronald thought to himself that I don't usually go to church, and the most I can do is donate some money to the church where my aunt lives.

   "The Jews are a nation that relies on religion..." Nisita also giggled.

   and Italians all believe in Catholicism, but the difference can be seen mainly by obvious DNA characteristics such as skin color and hair color. In fact, the Jewish people have been separated for many years, and it is difficult to verify who was the aborigine in the Middle East in terms of blood.

  For many years, the Ashkenazi Jews, especially in America, who are very powerful, are actually people who converted to Judaism in some Eastern European countries. It is hard to say how much blood relationship there is between the ancestors and the Jews in the Old Testament who first settled in Jerusalem.

   Therefore, if this nation wants to keep going, the only common ground that can be found is Judaism and the revived Hebrew language after the founding of Israel.

  Spielberg said publicly in the media that he would not raise children in traditional Jewish ways. It is undoubtedly a very bad example for celebrities to say such things to many Jews who are already centrifugal and turn to secularism. It is no wonder that these conservative Jewish old people try to give Spielberg a little color. .

  Thinking of this time, Spielberg may even be messed up for the best director Oscar nomination, and Ronald's ambitions began to grow. Although my age and qualifications, the possibility of being nominated for the first time is very small, but... what if?

  With this in mind and wanting to make the nomination safe, Ronald himself wrote a check to Michael Gray, who was in charge of the marketing of "Moonlight Sultry", for additional public relations investment. Many brokers have received generous rewards and launched an offensive against the children of old directors in Hollywood's golden age.

These children, grandchildren, took various coupons provided by the public relations company, went to Beverly Hills one after another, began to visit their lovely grandparents, and accidentally talked about Director Ronald "Moonlight Seductive" is not bad.

  However, experienced grandpas, when asking them where the plot is very good, what is better. The grandchildren all revealed their secrets one after another. After all, what they really think is good-looking is "dirty dancing".

This money was paid by Ronald himself. After all, the dividends from the "Dirty Dancing" video tape have already arrived in the account, and there is another huge sum of money in Ronald's account. There are such dividends scored into their own accounts.

   Fortunately, the deputy commander he supports has promised the "Continue to Promote Employment and Prosperity Action" committee to give investment income to rich people like Ronald and continue to exempt or postpone the collection of personal income tax.

   Ronald was very happy and continued to increase his positions in the stocks of Coca-Cola and Sony. Anyway, it is still the old investment philosophy, buy some stocks of big companies, at least the dividends are much higher than inflation and the interest on bank certificates of deposit, and it is also tax-free.

   Ronald saved some cash and started buying presents for himself and his friends. At the foot of Beverly Hills, on the side of the boutique shopping street, Ronald bought two apartments. Although it is not as good as the loft on Fifth Avenue in New York, it is also a re-examination building on the top floor. It is good for a short-term rest, and there are service staff to clean and keep it clean.

  Your own Ferrari sports car and motorcycle can also be parked here, and there is a special person in the apartment to start the car every week to prevent the battery from running out of power.

  In addition, Ronald was a little envious of Sony’s president, Norio Oga, flying a plane by himself. He started looking for a suitable personal trainer, and wanted to get a pilot’s license after practicing for the exam.

  Ms. Lindsay, a private lawyer who specially flew over, and Lawrence, a private accountant, helped Ronald complete the documents. After signing a lot of documents, he successfully processed the proceeds brought by "Dirty Dancing".

   "If you are not busy, go to the wedding with me tomorrow?" Ronald said to the two lawyers and accountants who are now mainly serving him personally.

"Bruce Willis and Demi Moore's wedding? We saw it on the Hollywood Reporter." Lindsay Dole is not married, but has a son with her partner, but is interested in other people's weddings , She is also thinking about whether to make up this ceremony recently.

   "Yes, it's a small ceremony attended by insiders. The groom is still filming a new movie, but the bride doesn't want to postpone it any longer, lest she won't be able to wear the wedding dress."