Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 304 "Autistic" Ronald

   All marketing activities on the east coast were cancelled, leaving only a few media interviews on the west coast. Ronald also didn't go to any local California marketing events, and he let the two leading ladies do all the on-screen promotions.

   I had to call Brooke Shields to explain, but fortunately Brooke didn't mind, and postponed the talk show with David Letterman until after the movie was released to help cover up the past.

   Friends all know that Ronald is in a bad mood. He hides at home and watches sports programs on TV and late-night theaters every day, as if he is autistic.

   After learning the news, Spielberg called specially and invited him to write and revise the script for his Amberlin studio.

  Amberlin got a taste of the teenage market and began to collect a large number of scripts for teenage movies. Spielberg promised to give Ronald an independent directing opportunity within a year or two, as long as his script gets the green light from a publisher.

  Ronald thanked Steven for his concern and said that he was fine, just needed some time to organize and adjust.

   "Hey, the director's first work is very important. You can call his agent after a while and send out an invitation to adapt the script."

   Spielberg was very emotional, a blockbuster director will immediately become the darling of Hollywood, and if the box office fails, then you can only start from scratch and work hard again from scratch.

  If Ronald can survive this time and maintain a strong creative desire, then he may still advance and become a qualified Hollywood commercial director. If it's downright sluggish...

   During this time, several CAA agents have their own busy things. Nisita's newly signed Coppola is back in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for another Hinton novel adaptation.

  Nisita often flew in to look after him, and if the film were to succeed, Coppola would be nearly able to pay off the mortgage on the vineyard and house and get back on his feet.

   Paula Wagner won Tom Cruise a starring role in another movie "Risky Business", and now Paula has become Tom's nanny, taking care of him on set.

   Richard was the only one in Los Angeles, and he often stopped by Ronald's motel to bring Ronald something to eat.

   "Hi Richard, are you here?" Ronald squatted at home for a few weeks, his beard growing longer. He holds a football in one hand and is working out with throws while watching a videotape of a football game.

   "This is an invitation from Catherine from Amberlin Studios. What, are you going to make a football movie?" Richard saw that he was in a good mood and joked.

   "That might be the case." Ronald pressed the timeout to rewind. He was watching an NFL playoff game at the beginning of the year, the National League final against the San Francisco 49ers against the Dallas Cowboys.

  49ers quarterback Joe Montana was down by six in the final minute of the game when a long pass found wide receiver Clark in the end zone for a touchdown. The last point narrowly defeated the opponent, broke into the Super Bowl and finally won the cup.

   During this time, he asked Richard to find this classic game video, which the commentator called "The Catch", and watch it repeatedly at home to find some spiritual support for himself.

   "How is Tom in Illinois?" Ronald asked Richard as he played football.

Tom Cruise specially called from the "Good Boys and Crazy" crew a few days ago, saying that he still lacks an experienced assistant director here, hoping that Ronald can come to help him, and he can recommend it to the director .

  Ronald's help to Tom on the cast of "The Urchin" made him feel that his acting skills had made a breakthrough, and he wanted to ask him for help again. It is also a chance to give back to friends to make a comeback.

   Ronald declined, of course, his film has not yet been released, and he was not willing to fail.

   "Wait for Matt Dillon, the Italian pizza you brought is good, I'll save some for him."

   "Oh, is he coming to LA for the premiere of 'Texas'?" Richard learned that Dillon was coming and started calling the front desk to get some drinks.

   The doorbell rang, and it was Matt Dillon who walked in.

   "Hi Ronald, I came to see you at the request of Ms. Diane and Ms. Hinton." Dillon made a funny press secretary gesture, then came over and hugged Ronald. He had just flown in from a set in Oklahoma to attend Disney's "Texas" premiere.

   "You're in better spirits than I thought." Ronald handed a bottle of Coke.

   "Texas Guy" starring Dillon and Meg Tilly was just released nationwide on July 30, and the box office was only over one million in the first weekend. It should be comforted.

   "Shouldn't I say that?" Dillon let go of his worries when he saw that Ronald could still joke.

   "How many theaters did your movie show?"

   "Less than 500, most of them are in California." Ronald handed the pizza, "I'm still very optimistic about the box office."

   "Hahaha, I'm going to call Ms. Hinton and ask her to hear your voice. You're in good shape."

   Dillon called the set, and the assistant there found Ms. Hinton.

"Hi, Ronald. I have good news for you. I showed my agent the draft of the book you wrote on the cast of 'The Urchin', and he said it could be published, so it will be arranged at the end of the year, and now I am looking for an editor to proofread and proofread it. With pictures." Hinton was also very happy to hear Ronald's voice, and congratulated him first.

"That's really good news, I'm running out of money right now." Ronald said half-jokingly, the turmoil surrounding the release of the movie made him want to invest in a movie by himself, no longer subject to studio executives Constraints.

   "He also said that his movie will be higher at the box office than our 'Out of the World'." Dillon added fuel to the side.

   "Oh, is it? That's not easy." Hinton's words were full of joy. Southern ladies in America like Ronald, a boy who can maintain a sense of humor in the face of adversity.

   "Diane wants to talk to you." She handed the phone to Diane Lane who heard the news.

   "Hi Ronald. Your movie will be a success, I've always had confidence in you."

   "Thank you. Did Director Coppola give you special treatment this time?"

   "No, this time I play a poor girl."

   "Also, the agent called me, and the "Magic Stains" you helped me make up will also be released, but the scale is small, and it may eventually be bought by the TV station to broadcast."

   "It doesn't matter, that's also a good communication channel, and the audience will like you."

   "Uh, did I say something wrong? It seems that his films were also downscaled and then bought and broadcast by TV stations." Diane felt wrong after putting down the phone and asked the fat Ms. Hinton.

   "It's okay, Ronald is a man who can stand up to failure."

   After staying at home for a few days, the news spread and Ronald received consolation calls from family and friends one after another.

   Helen Slater called from the filming site of ABC's TV series and said that he would come to Los Angeles to accompany him after the filming.

   "Don't run around, I'll go back to New York after the movie is released."

   "Really? That's great, let's go to the museum again. Now I'm hoping that after the show airs, it will give me some audition opportunities."

  …

  Richard still came to see him every day, hoping that he would cheer up, but he guessed that Ronald had suffered a lot in a short period of time and needed some time to recover. When the movie is released, this "autistic" state will change.

The Israeli brothers of   Cannon Films also called. Their "The Last American Virgin" suffered a big failure at the box office. Only more than 100 first-tier cinemas showed their films in the first round, and they had to be transferred to the second round.

   However, in the second round of theaters, it seems to have gotten a good box office, but the lower share ratio of such theaters makes it impossible for them to recover the cost.

"Ronald, come and cooperate with us. We can get the money from European investors, you come to the screenwriter, director, we cooperate with him, we go to the popular stars to play, this time because there are no stars , MGM doesn't release our films.

  Let's do it together, the best picture, the best screenplay, the best director...all ours. Ronald, best director, Meinahan and Yoram, best film…”

   Putting down the two unreliable dudes, Ronald turned to visit his two good friends, Jim Cameron and Gail Hurd.

   "Look, I actually have nothing to do, just take a break."

   "Cheer up, Ronald, don't waste your talent." Gale snatched the remote control and turned off the TV as he watched him go to the videotape of the football game again.

   "Hey, don't turn off my TV." Ronald quit, took the remote control and turned on the TV again.

   "Cameron is writing his robot script, why are you autistic here? People who worked hard under Roger Coleman will not fail like this."

  Gail is a little angry. She recently got an investment from her father and quit her job to start her own production company.

   Seeing Ronald's appearance of not doing his job properly, he was also noncommittal about asking him for the script, so let's come and see it with Cameron.

  Ronald turned on the TV again, watched the video of the game "that catch", and was still playing with a football in his hand.

   "Did you watch the game? Gale?" Ronald asked Gale, pointing to the TV.

   "Why do you say Joe Montana is so sure that Clark, the wide receiver, will catch that ball?" Ronald asked, pointing to the quarterback on the TV.

  Joe Montana was forced to the sidelines by five or six defenders, and he was about to go out of bounds. A pass ran high and found wide receiver Clark in the end zone. Clark jumped to catch the ball and scored a touchdown. Ordinarily, the quarterback can't see the receiver's position at all, and it seems that he just throws it by feeling.

  The Dallas Cowboys defender was interviewed afterwards, and also believed that Montana was thrown by luck, and they were defeated by bad luck.

   "Because he's Joe Montana." Of course Gal knew the game, and Montana is now a national boy icon.

   "No, wrong."

   Ronald threw the football and Gale caught it with both hands.

   "He's Joe Montana because he knows the wide receiver is going to be there."

  Ronald corrected, "Why do you all think my film must fail? I see a different picture."

  Cameron pulled Laguerre, "Let's go, Ronald knows exactly what he's doing."

  The first weekend of August, "Fast-Paced Richmond High School" opens in California and other places on the West Coast.

   A total of 498 theaters showed the film, and the audience was thronged without any promotion and marketing.

   The box office in the first three days of the first weekend exceeded 2.5 million US dollars, and the average box office of each theater in the three days of the weekend exceeded 5,000 US dollars.

   This single restaurant is only a little short of the "Best Chicken House in Texas". Compared with "ET Aliens", it has reached more than half of them.

   As a youth exploitation film, "Fast-paced Richmond High School" was a box office hit.

   (end of this chapter)