Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 960 Dixie and the Yankees

  It is pleasant to chat with a mature woman like Annette Bening. Ronald has no pressure, can relax and enjoy the typical American family life atmosphere happily.

  After the party ended, Ronald drove his Ferrari and sent Bening home.

   This two-year-old girl who is older than Ronald is very good at observing words and expressions, and she didn't make any demands. She just focused on chatting with Ronald, and flattered him without leaving a trace.

   Ronald, who had just been hard-pressed by Gene Hackman and tortured by his uncomfortable chat style, feels good. The actress was unlike any Hollywood actress Ronald had approached before, more demure than aggressive, with an immediate ambition. It's a great conversation partner.

During the conversation, Annette Bening learned about Ronald's family background, and said a lot of good things about Aunt Karen with empathy, and touched Ronald's face with the back of her hand, showing a kind of pity look.

   Ronald, who had never been so properly cared for by a woman of his age, was very surprised. Originally, he always took care of the feelings of intimate women, but in turn, he was taken care of by Benin, who was like his sister, and he felt a little comfortable in his heart that he had never felt before.

   "You haven't talked about your experience yet? How did you become an actor on Broadway? Did you also join the drama club since high school?"

  Ronald also wanted to know more about Benin’s experience. This kind of conversation with women is the more formal way for men and women in America to get along for the first time.

   "It doesn't really count. I'm different from most New York and Los Angeles actresses. I was born and raised in the South. I like theater, but it took me a long time to find a role on the theater stage."

  Bening’s experience is indeed very complicated. Her position on Broadway is entirely achieved by herself.

  She was born in a small town in southern Kansas, and moved to San Diego, California with her father, an insurance salesman, in middle school. The youngest of four children in her family, she was raised in a strict Southern Episcopalian education.

   It goes without saying that such a southern girl is discriminated against by the "valley girls" in California very seriously. Bening, who is very talented in comedy, starred in the school troupe's "Sound of Music" in high school, but did not receive any theater scholarships to go to college.

Bening, who wanted to be an actor, had to work to earn money by himself. He worked on a yacht on the west coast, worked as a cook for the rich people who went fishing, and also worked as a diving instructor. He studied while earning money. Until 1985, Only then did he land a full-time job as an actor with the Denver Theater Company in Colorado.

   Her performance of "Pygmalion" in Denver was well received, and she entered Broadway in 1987. Her performance in "Coastal Disturbance", the first leading actress, was nominated for a Tony Award.

  With a lot of accumulation, she naturally attracted the attention of Hollywood and starred in "Into the Wild".

   "So you're still a Dixie girl?" Ronald joked.

"Yeah, my time growing up in Kansas shaped me, finding opportunities in the theater business and touring in the South. Yankees..." Bening called Ronald the Yankees in turn, because he was an orthodox New Yorker people.

  Benin put a hand on Ronald's waist, and when he looked over, there was a mixture of admiration and appreciation.

   Ronald touched Benin's little hand back, and then turned to look at her. Bening also generously let him look at him with aggressive eyes, shook his hand back hard, and then retracted it.

  For a while, Ronald felt that he and Benin belonged to each other.

  The two had similar experiences, and the conversation resonated very much. After a while, they arrived at the small apartment that Bening rented in Los Angeles.

   "My home is here, thank you for sending me back." Annette Bening didn't take out the key and invited Ronald in.

   "Aren't you going to invite me in?" Ronald said to Annette Bening who was saying goodbye to him at the door.

"Next time, I don't have any preparations. Next time I will buy some seafood and vegetables, and let you try the dishes I learned when I was a chef on the ship." Bening laughed and rejected Ronald's idea, and then A kiss on the lips.

   "Well... well, let's talk again when I come back from New York", Ronald took Bening's perfume smell, pulled her back and hugged her, then got in the car and left.

  This actress can move forward and retreat freely, and she also cooks for Ronald herself, which makes Ronald feel turbulent. This is the demeanor of a mature and independent woman.

  …

   "Annette's first movie is 'Into the Wild,' which is a comedy, and her agent says she's more of a non-comedy role, so she's looking around."

   On the plane to New York, agent Richard reasoned with Ronald about what Annette Bening wanted right now.

  This actress is not a fledgling girl. She was nominated for the Tony Award and at the critical moment of entering Hollywood, she was separating from her husband and going through a divorce. She was a woman who knew exactly what she wanted.

  An actress like her understands the rules of the industry very well, plus she has a good personality, so Ronald won't have any problems getting along with her.

   "By the way, her father has German-Jewish ancestry, and her mother is from the Anglican Church. She also works part-time in the choir." Richard saw Benin's family background information again.

   "I said, her Jewish nose is not obvious."

   "Gentlemen, we are about to land, and the local time in New York is 3:20 p.m.

  The temperature is 62 degrees Fahrenheit, and your car is already waiting at the airport. At this time, the stewardess came over to remind the two that New York was coming soon.

  The two are going to visit this time, the author of the third adaptation of the script that may be bought, Robert Haring.

  His "Steel Magnolia" is now playing on Broadway, while another cast is also on a national tour.

  Robert Haring, a middle-aged white man, looks like a typical Southern Dixie. He was born in small-town Alabama, went to college in Louisiana, and finally got a law degree in New Orleans.

   Later, because of his love for drama, he gave up the bar exam and went to New York to work as a screenwriter. In 1985, after his sister Susan passed away due to complications from diabetes, he wrote the story "Steel Magnolia" based on Susan in ten days.

  After I adapted the story into a Hollywood drama script, I got the chance to release it in 1987. Once it was released, this Broadway play was praised by many parties. Broadway audiences who are used to watching big city stories like this kind of drama about family affection in a small southern town.

   Harlem, who became famous in the first battle, also got the opportunity to enter Hollywood.

   Of course, the first to arrive is the off-Broadway producer of "Steel Magnolia", Ray Stark (Ray Stark). The Broadway and Hollywood producer has a successful production history.

  Ray Stark is a typical Manhattan Jew. He first started out as a literary agent like many Jews in the showbiz, and later seized the opportunity to make the box office hit movie "The World of Suzie Wong (The World of Suzie Wong, playing Suzie Wong's Guan Nanshi (Nancy Kwan), She is the first Chinese-American **** idol in Hollywood.

  After Stark focused on adapting the famous Broadway play into a Hollywood movie, he served as the producer. Among them, the business cards that have received multiple Oscar nominations include Barbra Streisand's "Wonderful Girl" and "Goodbye Girl" starring Martha Manson.

  The old producer saw the potential of Robert Haring's script at a glance. According to the additional terms in the sale of the drama script, he invested 350,000 US dollars to buy the production rights of the film adaptation.

  However, Ray Stark was also affected by the Wall Street stock market crash. He could not use the gimmick of successful Broadway dramas to attract investment everywhere as before. His own wealth is not enough to support the cost of such a large production.

  So after Ronald expressed his interest in this script, both the producer Stark and the screenwriter Harlem felt a little overjoyed.

"I noticed that your last movie 'Moonlight' and the yet-to-be-released 'Working Girl' both used Broadway actors on a large scale." After Ray Stark shook hands with Ronald and his group, they sat down The first question talked about Ronald's preference for Broadway.

   "Of course, for some scripts and some roles, it is very suitable to use Broadway actors." Ronald looked at the two, not knowing what they thought.

"My successful experience is also like this. If you find the leading actors with good performances on Broadway, match them with good scripts, and invite good directors, you can make good movies at the Oscar level." speak out.

   "Heh...Hollywood has undergone profound changes in the past ten years. Only when stars star in marketing can we gain advantages in financing and publicity."

  Ronald said to the screenwriter Robert Haring, although he has sold the production rights, but for things like projects, the power is not necessarily allocated as written in the contract.

   Ray Stark, an old man, even used his successful experience before the 1970s to fool Harlem. If the current big productions are not starring stars, it will be difficult for you to make money at the box office.

   "That's hard to say. To win an Oscar, you must have superb acting skills as an endorsement." Ray Stark's complexion was not very good, and he began to refute.

   "Fortunately, there are many female stars with superb acting skills in Hollywood, and many of them have Broadway theater experience." Ronald continued to instill his own ideas in Harlem. Movies are not shot on the Broadway stage with a camera. Only theaters that are familiar with movie shooting can better perform the essence of the play.

   "What you said makes sense." Robert Haring has a good impression of Ronald. In the movies he made, many female characters played well. I also want to use Susan as the prototype and my mother as the prototype to show the background of the southern family, so that it can also satisfy my original intention of writing the script—to let their stories be interpreted on the screen. remembered by the audience.

   "I suggest using actors from the Broadway tour, which is not a bad thing." Ray Stark was not convinced, "When I filmed Goodbye Girl, Martha was just an ordinary actress."

  Martha Manson is also an ordinary actor now.

Of course Ronald did not say this, although the actress Martha, who is married to the famous Broadway screenwriter Neil Simon, has won two movie adaptations of "Goodbye Girl" and "Chapter Two" with her husband. Nominated, but neither won nor became a female star with box office appeal.

  In the same movie, Richard Dreyfus, who played the leading role and was already famous in Lucas's "American Graffiti", won the Oscar winner.

   It can be seen that you have become famous, blessed by a good script, and then won an award. This is the universal law of Hollywood. There are not many heroines who rely on their Broadway drama skills to counterattack Hollywood.

  Let’s put aside casting for the time being and start discussing other cooperation issues. Soon, everyone reached a lot of consensus outside of casting.

  But in general, the difficulty and key of this movie lies in the casting of female characters. In addition to playing the diabetic daughter and the mother who donated a kidney for her daughter, there are also the mother's hairdresser, best friend, and former mayor's wife, as well as a runaway woman from out of town who leads the whole story.

  If you choose the Broadway crew, then their salary will definitely not be high. Ray Stark can occupy a relatively large investment share and have the highest voice in the crew.

   But Ronald is definitely unwilling. In his opinion, this movie must have many famous actresses to act in it, so that this kind of warm town story can be made into a movie that audiences are willing to pay for tickets to watch. Otherwise, it might as well just make it into a video tape.

   Besides, if we increase investment and choose famous actresses to act, then Ronald will get the most of the investment, and the entire crew will work hard in the direction they want.

  However, if the six main female roles are all cast by celebrities, the investment of the entire movie will have to exceed at least 10 million yuan. Ronald's own daydream can't be fully invested, and he has to get the publisher to sign the distribution agreement before he can find other investors.

  In this way, for several main characters, Ronald and Ray Stark, whoever can get a well-known female star to agree to play becomes the most important bargaining chip.

  Ronald had his own ideas, and after initially determining the image of cooperation with the producer and screenwriter, he left Ray Stark's company and went back to the big house on Fifth Avenue to rest.

   "Mr. Lee? A Mr. Robert Harling is looking for you."

  The concierge called, and Ronald hurried to meet Mr. Screenwriter.

   Unexpectedly, that night, Harlem came up to talk to Ronald alone, which seemed to be a good sign.

   "What to drink? I have everything here", Ronald greeted the Dixie screenwriter, opened the refrigerator door and asked him, "Ginger water, Coke, or some whiskey?"

  The attic room on Fifth Avenue has very good service. When Ronald is away, the service staff often come to clean and refill the refrigerator.

   "Whiskey? Do you have Tennessee?" Harlem frowned when he heard the Coke.

  Ronald took a bottle of Tennessee Legend, a small-scale whiskey, better in taste and quality than the Jack Daniel's sold in supermarkets across the United States. Poured a glass and handed it to Harlem.

  Harling held the whiskey in both hands, took a sip, and then said with a sad face, "I listened to your thoughts today, and I think you are the right way to make this script into a movie that people will remember for a long time."

  Hearing what Harlem said, Ronald felt a lot relieved. I have done my homework very well, and Robert Haring's greatest wish is to let this story of Susan be remembered.

   "Ray's idea can't be said to be wrong, but it's already eight or eight years now, and the situation in Hollywood has been turned upside down. His last successful Broadway adaptation film was still in seven or nine years." Ronald took the opportunity to take some eye drops.

"You're right, I'm here to show my support for you." Harlem took another sip of the southern whiskey, "I want to ask, can you tell me who will play the role of my mother? Who will come As Susan?"

   "I haven't fully figured it out yet, but what do you think of Shirley McLean? I have a very good relationship with her. The mother in her first successful work, "Mother and Daughter Love", must have enough acting skills."

   "She's not bad, but she doesn't quite fit the role of my mother in this movie." Harlin shook his head in disapproval.

   "Why? What about Olympia Dukakis? The new best supporting actress Oscar, and I know her very well." Ronald saw that Harlem seemed to have some ideas of his own, and mentioned his candidate again.

   "She's also... nice, but, Olympia is a Northern Yankee woman, too."

   "Ah...OK..." Ronald thought, that's what Harlem was worried about.

  It is true that women in the south have a very different temperament from those in the north. Although the actors can be adjusted, if some actors have the same temperament, it is best to act with both form and spirit.

"I'm not trying to make my own choice, but I think the characters in my script, the people I grew up with, have a temperamental fit. There's always something wrong with a Yankee woman playing Dixie. "

   "I understand", Ronald thought that this idea is not wrong. It seems that he is still very persistent in the role of his mother and sisters.

"We can choose together slowly. This kind of thing also depends on the other party's wishes." For a while, Ronald's mind drifted through the choices of many actresses. He decided to be cautious and first find the casting director and agent. Let's discuss.

   "Which company would you use to distribute the film?"

  Harlin recently communicated with Ray Stark and was taught a lot of Hollywood lessons, knowing that this kind of movie needs to find a reliable distributor. Stark's own Stark Films, and Ronald's Daydream, are still inexperienced in releasing such large-scale productions.

   What's more, if there are seven big companies to issue, then there will be a bonus in financing.

"This kind of movie is not a high-concept script with strong commercial elements and a very dramatic plot. So we don't have many choices. It depends on the distributor, who is interested in our casting, and the family relationship between mother and daughter. interested in movies."

  Mother and Daughter Love was released by Paramount back then, but Eisner, the president at the time, had already gone to Disney. And Ronald's best relationship now is Columbia, and Samsung Pictures, which has changed its skin.

   Now that the acquisition case continues to approach, the senior executives of the Sony America branch are trying to persuade Columbia to show affection to Ronald, who has a close relationship with Chairman Dahe.

   "I just don't want Columbia to release it..." Robert Haring frowned in pain, and choked out a sentence, "Other things you think are OK, I have no problem."

   "Why? Columbia is actually very interested in this kind of movie..." Ronald also frowned, this guy is not something you can decide.

   "If it was Colombia, then I would vote no. I don't want to work for Coca-Cola and make money for them."

   "Huh?" Ronald saw the anti-Coca-Cola American for the first time. Is he a fan of Pepsi?

"Susan is the prototype of the heroine, my sister, she drank too much Coke when she was a child, got type 1 diabetes, and finally died of kidney failure due to this complication. The kidney transplant my mother gave her didn't save her. Her, so I think you can understand."

   "This..." Ronald rubbed his chin. Even if he convinced the other party about this kind of thing, the media might have to reveal it...

   But, is there any relationship between drinking Coke and getting diabetes?

Perhaps seeing what Ronald was thinking, Haring said, "We in the South like to drink Coca-Cola, which is one of the few products we are proud of in Dixie. But there are also cases where children drink Coke and cause diabetes. serious.

  Susan's doctor said he saw a similar situation with drinking too much, but Coca-Cola would not let this kind of research be published. I asked many lawyers and they all said that it is impossible to sue on this ground. No doctor would publish a study linking diabetes and cola consumption. "

  Harlin put the wine glass down, "If you can satisfy my paranoid belief, I will tell Ray that I will not authorize anyone else to shoot except you."

   "Okay, but this way, I need some time to sell your script to major publishers, and you will also be a salesperson when necessary."

   "That's no problem." Harlem agreed without hesitation.

  (end of this chapter)