Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   "Is this your final version of the script?" Ronald put his hands on his forehead to prevent his frown from being seen by his good friend Cameron Crowe.

  After several months of constant communication with Ronald, Crowe rewrote the script of "Say Anything" several times. Originally a romantic love story, many fresh details have been added.

   But Cameron Crowe was still dissatisfied in the end, and bought a lot of his most admired Billy Wilder videos and watched them at home constantly, looking for inspiration. In the end, after drinking a few glasses of light beer and smoking a few cigarettes, he rewrote the story of the script with a sigh of relief.

  This time, Crowe no longer cared about Ronald's opinion, but moved forward indulgently according to his own inspiration and thoughts. For a while, thoughts flowed like a fountain, and various wonderful plots emerged one after another. By the time he finished writing the last full stop on the computer in one go, it was already late at night the next day. Relieved, he slept for a day and a night, took the printed and bound script, and came to see Ronald.

"Yeah, this is the version I am most satisfied with. I wrote it all day and night without sleep, as if the story ran out of my pen. My wife read the whole script while I was sleeping. She also thinks it is the best work I have ever written."

   Cameron Crowe was very happy. During these days, Ronald has maintained weekly communication with him, giving himself a lot of advice and inspiration. Ronald promised himself that after the script was written, he would invest in shooting for himself.

   Ronald felt a little difficult. There are many rough and unreasonable places in this script, and even the plot of anti-genre movies. For example, the hero is an ordinary high school boy who practices karate, and the object of his admiration is a girl with excellent grades, good looks, and a wealthy family.

  The girl in high school has never been in love (this is unlikely), and then she actually accepted the love of the male protagonist (this is somewhat possible). Of course, the resistance to love comes from the woman's father, a successful investor.

  The girl was persuaded by her father that such a boy who practiced karate a few times casually and dreamed of winning the championship in karate competitions was ordinary in all aspects and was not suitable for the girl's future. (Ronald was a little suspicious that this plot was a spoof of Long Wei kid), the girl returned the boy's gift.

  The boy felt that his first love would end without a problem, so he took a dual-card loudspeaker recorder and played the songs from the prom for the two of them repeatedly in front of the girl's window, and finally moved the girl (this is also a bit unlikely). A girl wants to break with her father and fall in love with a boy.

  Of course, the rich investor’s father will not give up like this. He used many tricks, such as cutting off his daughter’s college tuition, so that the girl can clearly see the mediocrity and incompetence of the boy.

  How to overcome the father's obstacle in the end? Cameron Crowe used a miracle here. The girl's father's wealth was not obtained through investment. He absorbed the pensions of many people and started a Ponzi scheme. The truth was revealed, and he was prosecuted and sent to prison.

  Finally, the girl got a scholarship from the University of Britain. On the plane to London, the boy gave up his "karate career" and accompanied the girl to face the unknown life challenges.

  This kind of romantic love movie actually needs a certain cliché. How to arrange such obstacles, how the hero and heroine overcome obstacles, and finally come together, this needs to be carefully arranged. Crowe's book is coherent, but the plot is not very well arranged, and the rhythm is a bit out of place.

   "Cameron, the love between these two people has to go through many tests...the final ending, put it on the flight..." Ronald tried to remind the other party in a less intense language. He has also written scripts himself, and he knows that this kind of experience of inspiration from heaven is rare. And once the screenwriter has this kind of experience, he must feel that the script is favored by God, and he doesn't think there are any flaws.

"Yes, for the last note, I put it on the plane, and the two of them looked at the seat belt indicator light, and after a ding, they could let go of the seat belt. This symbolized that the two of them finally broke away from the protection of the family, officially into adult society.

  The girl kisses the boy, saying no one thought the two of them would ever get together. It was the same with my wife Nancy, at the time no one thought that she, a popular rock singer, could get along with me, a screenwriter with no successful experience, but it was beyond everyone's expectations..."

   Crowe's eyes shone brightly. This script is different from the "fast-paced Richmond High School" written for Ronald before, and many of Crowe's own experiences and emotions are added to it. So he especially wanted to make this film his directorial debut.

   "This is a precious creative passion", Ronald thought to himself, and he couldn't destroy Crowe's passion. "In the end, the father gave up interfering with his daughter's relationship because his investment scam was exposed. Isn't that a bit too coincidental?" Ronald tended to accept this script, but in some places, he still put forward some opinions.

"Isn't life stranger than my script? Look at the people who went bankrupt in the stock market crash. And that Neapolitan film tycoon De Laurentiis, who once made good movies, is just dying .”

   Cameron Crowe is very excited, the muse is taking care of him, and such a script is the best.

  Ronald was also attracted by this kind of passion. In this industry where few people understand what movies make money, such passion and self-confidence are very rare, so it is worth cherishing.

   "I can approve the project, and I will invest in this movie, but the audition of the male and female leads requires my consent. After all, the most important thing in a romantic drama is the chemical reaction between men and women."

"Of course, if you don't tell me, I want you to choose. Your vision is the best. Dirty dance matches the love between men and women. Who would have thought that Patrick Schwytz and Jennifer Gray could also act as a couple. They are in Red Hate each other so much in the dawn."

  Ronald and Crowe agreed that Daydream is expected to invest five million dollars in filming funds, and then prepare a reserve fund of one million dollars. In terms of distribution, they began to look for distributors. It would be a pity if this movie only went to the low-end theaters of daydreaming.

   "This script doesn't seem to be very good?" David Simkins, the manager in charge of the production, raised a little objection. The script of this movie is flawed, and it seems that it is more suitable as a low-cost movie.

   "A script is a script after all, and a movie is a movie after all." Ronald waved his hand, indicating that the other party didn't understand. After all, Simkins has no directing experience. The scripts of many movies are not very good, but there are directors who can turn them into pictures, and actors who contribute wonderful acting skills. It can be said that after many wonderful movies are made, it is impossible to see that the script is So mediocre.

  David Simkins had a kind of blind admiration for Ronald's vision. Seeing that Ronald was so determined, he stopped arguing and went to make plans with his colleagues in the production department.

  Ronald is actually not very sure that this movie will be successful. But Cameron Crowe's firmness and ecstasy moved him, as if Crowe had already seen a wonderful finished film, and the images and sounds of the entire movie were already in his mind. It's worth giving a chance just like dreaming about it. Besides, five million dollars isn't a lot.

  However, the rookie director Crowe has to be assigned an experienced producer. Ronald thought to himself that he was the most suitable candidate, but he might not be able to spare the time to stay on the set, and he still had many movies to pay attention to.

   Well, Ronald flipped through the card case and saw the name of "Working Girl" art director, Bogdanovich's ex-wife, Polly Platt. If Polly helped me watch the movie, I would have nothing to worry about.

   "This script is very interesting and unconventional." Polly Pratt, who accepted the invitation, read Crowe's script in Ronald's office. She appreciates the pure love of the hero and heroine, and their attitude of bravely facing the unknown life.

"I'm glad you liked it, and I want you to be a producer on this movie, Polly. You promised me that if there was a movie you liked, you'd make me a producer, yes Bar?"

  Ronald quickly climbed along the pole, and took out what Polly had promised when he was half-joking, so that she could share her worries.

   "I remember when I said, also have a big check." Polly Pratt smiled and asked for salary.

   "Of course, I won't let you suffer." Ronald wrote down a salary of 30% more than the market price on a piece of paper, and also included a small amount of box office share and video tape share. Fold it up and hand it over.

   "Deal!" Polly Platt saw the number on the note, and immediately stood up to shake hands with Ronald, for fear that the other party would regret it.

   "Hahaha, I finally got some good news these days." Ronald stood up and hugged the old lady, then asked the secretary to print the contract and send it to the lawyer for review.

   "You really want to be a little troubled, Ronald." The old lady saw that Ronald was worried, and wanted to solve him.

   "Hey, it's not about the new steel magnolia." Ronald picked up a newspaper in the file basket on the table and handed it to Polly.

   "John Malkovich and his wife Glenn Headley are in a cold war...Suspected husband is caught in the suspicion of cheating"

Below the headline is a still from Malkovich's slightly bald "Dangerous Liaisons," followed by a bit of filming, and Malkovich's wife, actor Glenn Headley, who is seen in and out of divorces photo of lawyer's office.

   "On set romance?" Polly Platt was not happy about this sort of thing. The same was true of her ex-husband Peter Bogdanovich, who fell in love with the heroine Sybill Shepherd on the set, and then abandoned his wife and son, which made him very embarrassed.

   "I can't tell you who it is, but this incident caused the new film Steel Mulan I invested in to encounter a lot of passiveness in casting."

   After all, Polly is a person behind the scenes, and she is no longer active in the front line of Hollywood. Recently, rumors and gossip have spread everywhere in the circle.

   It is said that there was originally a local gossip newspaper in Los Angeles, and wanted to use a special feature to publish the affair between Michelle Pfeiffer and Malkovich. Includes interviews with various crew members, and some stories about Malkovich and Pfeiffer's partners.

  However, Pfeiffer's agent, Limato, a partner of the Italian-born William Morris Brokerage Company, has been monitoring the news in this regard. After receiving the tip-off from the insider of the newspaper, he took a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, he conducted public relations with everyone in the newspaper, and on the other hand, he took measures against Pfeiffer and Markovich.

  Michelle Pfeiffer was gagged. This kind of emotional gossip, the more you talk, the more heated it will be. What is needed now is to grit your teeth and not admit it, no matter how exaggerated the rumors in the industry are, stay at home and never leave the house, and never say a word to anyone.

Pfeiffer's husband, Holden, is also a client of William Morris. He has been promised a lot of benefits, and he also knows that having a big scandal with a big star like Pfeiffer may not be a good thing for his future, so he also honestly filmed on TV , All the scandals that reporters asked about Pfeiffer were completely refuted.

   But in fact, the two have already started talking and decided to break up peacefully. Have already begun to seek the help of a lawyer to divide the property. Michelle Pfeiffer has developed much better than Holden in recent years. In this divorce, Pfeiffer, as a wife, has to pay Holden alimony.

  If both parties can resolve it coldly, there will be no problem. But with John Malkovich, the other side of the affair, something went wrong.

  Markovich seemed to be genuinely moved. He was cut off from all contact with Pfeiffer, and all calls were rejected. Ovitz, who originally hoped that he would make more noise in CAA, also had to accept that this male star who had previously had a bad reputation in relationship between men and women suddenly became a pure man!

   Michelle Pfeiffer, along with John Malkovich, seems to be cursed by the drama "Dangerous Liaisons."

  In the play, Earl Valmont is also a villain, seducing women from all walks of life. Marie de Tourville (played by Michelle Pfeiffer), known as a virgin, was finally moved by him and started an affair with him, but Valmont was also moved by the love of this chaste woman, Also moved the truth.

   I don’t know if it’s because the love reaction in this drama is too engaging. Both actors have the symptoms of the characters in the drama. Mrs. Tourville finally returned to her family, while Valmont was fascinated by love, and finally died in a duel.

  John Malkovich had a little bit of Valmont's symptoms. When he returned to America after filming, he quickly found that Michelle Pfeiffer was avoiding him. Unwilling to lose the favor of beauties, he continued to launch offensives, but he was always rejected.

   Malkovich, who could not see his lover, developed severe depression, and even cried in front of his wife, calling for Mrs. Tourville. His wife, Glenn Headley, thought at first that he had a problem with filming and took good care of him. Later, I peeked at the letter he wrote to Pfeiffer, and learned that he was dumped by the beautiful Pfeiffer, which made him so sad.

   Glenn Headley was furious, moved out of the house, and enlisted the help of a divorce attorney. Although rumors spread that after being exposed by the media, she received threats and benefits from CAA and stopped confiding a word to reporters, but Markovich's problem did not get better.

  Now Malkovich's wife is divorced, his lover ignores him, and he is crying every day at home alone. CAA's agent saw that the problem was serious, so he had to hire a psychiatrist for treatment.

  Markovich's depression has reached the clinical stage. When he went to see the doctor, when the psychiatrist mentioned Pfeiffer's name, he cried so much that he couldn't have a conversation at all. It can only be postponed until the next course of treatment.

   But Malkovich still had the same performance in the next course of treatment, and the psychiatrist had to inform CAA of the severity of the symptoms.

  Although psychiatrists strictly abide by the privileges of doctors and patients and do not disclose to unrelated people, CAA is not a place where secrets can be kept. Soon, the gossip that Malkovich cried every day because of the beautiful woman in the scene spread like wildfire. It put a lot of pressure on him and Pfeiffer.

   Whenever he went to see a psychiatrist, he was surrounded by reporters. And Michelle Pfeiffer was also implicated and couldn't go out. Everyone is waiting for an opportunity. As long as Markovich collapses in public, they can get a suitable reason and seek Pfeiffer's explanation head-on.

  Can't go out, can't meet with director Herbert Ross, can't meet with Ronald to talk about the script. Gradually, Herbert Ross also got an excuse, and kept putting forward the idea of ​​changing the leading role.

  But for this kind of film project, the production rights do not belong to Ronald completely. The screenwriter also had an investment, and Ronald knew that he had to stand up at this time, otherwise Herbert Rose would get the heroine and continue to interfere with other castings.

   But Pfeiffer continued to avoid the media like this is not an option, making him a bit difficult to deal with.

"Ha... some women are like this, and all the men in the crew are fascinated by her. This kind of love because of the characters in the play is hard to avoid." Polly Platt patted Ronald's Shoulder, let him figure it out on his own. "But it usually ends after the filming is over. I thought Sybil (Sheppard) and Peter (Bogdanovich) were the same, but they obviously moved the truth. You just have to wait for time to let the passion die down. The shortest is six months. months, up to a year and a half, they will always fade away from their passion."

   "Six months?" Ronald covered his face, and in six months my "Steel Magnolia" is not about to die. The screenwriter still has the right to produce the film. If he can't start working, he will find someone else (such as Herbert Ross) and kick him away, which is the daily routine in Hollywood.

   No, I have to find a way.