Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 344 Newspaper Interview

   figured out that this "Footloose" is for young people in small towns, and Ronald modified it very quickly.

   He himself spent several years in high school in the small town of Totterville on Staten Island, New York, and he knows the psychology of high school students in those small places. Their knowledge of popular culture in big cities is limited to TV shows, and many of their popular ideas are specious.

   Anyway, the general principle is to write the "popular fashion" in the eyes of the young people in the small town, and let them enjoy the victory of the rebellion. Therefore, the actor Lun from the big city of Chicago cannot be too powerful.

   He finally won in the town, and let the pastor change his mind, relying on the education and help of the young people in the town. Young people in big cities have to study in the fields of small towns in order to succeed in the end.

  With the guidance of principles and some reference of dream pictures, Ronald seemed to have come to inspiration and spent a day changing some unreasonable plots in the script and the wrong script writing format.

   "Ronald, you are such a genius, you changed it so quickly?" Nisita saw the script handed over by Ronald in CAA's office, and decided to praise it first.

   "You know, my hands are fast when I'm inspired. It takes a long time when I'm not." Ronald took a sip of Nisita's secretary-brewed coffee, which tasted great. Bigger office, better female secretary, Nisita has done well over the past year.

"Tell me, why did you write it this way? It seems that this script is very different from the 'fast-paced' script you wrote, and the rhythm of the two is very different? You have changed this script a bit like a classic Hollywood movie in the golden age, will it be too slow? ?"

   Nisita, who quickly browsed the script, had some doubts in her heart, and immediately asked Ronald this question.

   "I remember you and I talked about the definition of a high-concept movie. This movie is a high-concept movie for thousands of young people in small towns. If you give them a plot density like 'fast-paced', they won't be able to accept it."

   "Young man in a small town, I haven't heard this term for a long time." Nisita leaned back and pressed her fingers together.

  Hollywood's values ​​used to be based on small-town youth. Jimmy Stewart was once the perfect candidate to play the role of a small-town youth. The capitalists and politicians in the big cities are all bad people, and the simple young people in small towns are the backbone of America.

   In the "Mr. Smith to Washington" he played, it was a coincidence that a young man in a small town acted as a senator for a few days. Obstruction by reciting the Declaration of Independence in the Senate, reserving a riverbank for Boy Scouts, and rejecting greedy capitalists from building dams.

   But with the rapid rise of urbanization, big cities are like a water pump, constantly pumping people into small towns to work. Changes in population distribution have led Hollywood films to increasingly focus on the stories of urban youth.

  Looking at Nisita with some doubts, Ronald said, "Trust me, Rick. I grew up in a small town. The youth there are very boring, and the movie theaters there can't afford to rent copies of new movies.

   They can only watch "new movies" from two years ago, old movies from the 1950s, or some inferior 16mm copies. Most of the high school students in small towns still accept that old-fashioned movie language.

   Our entertainment is driving around town, from church to market and back home from the hardware store. Life is so boring, and the whole point of this film is to give them a little dream and make them feel like they're as 'trendy' as teenagers in big cities like New York or Los Angeles.

   And in the 1980 census, there were still 20 to 30 million young people in the town, which is definitely a neglected market. I think the screenwriter of the script is a genius..."

   "You persuaded me." Nisita got up and put on his coat. I will hand over the script to the producers. They will make an appointment to chat with you. Mr. Eisner has a good opinion of you.

   "By the way, 'Variety' will do a report on this year's box office growth. They want to do an exclusive interview with you. When are you free?"

   "Interview? This is my first time being interviewed by a newspaper. What should I do?"

   "Don't get too excited, Ronnie. Just a small story, the main story is this year's Hollywood box office growth. The tapes are coming, and last year's box office crash freaked everyone out.

   Fortunately, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this year dismissed Sony's case against Universal. Those pirated machines of the Eastern Ying people can finally be banned from being sold in America. "

   "Thank goodness," Ronald replied. He himself recorded a lot of classic old movies on TV stations with a VCR. If VCRs become popular, I am afraid the audience will be even more reluctant to go to the cinema.

   "The Dongying people have already appealed to the Supreme Court. These people still have a lot to learn. You must know that the current Supreme Court has a six-to-three advantage."

   "So it's Hollywood?" Ronald didn't quite understand these things.

   "Yes. And the current commander is from Hollywood. How can he see the great Hollywood and be defeated by piracy?"

  Nisita doesn't really understand, but most people in the industry are optimistic about this verdict and will continue to support the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision in favor of Hollywood.

  If the judgment of the Court of Appeal is upheld, the burden of proof of piracy will be thrown to the VCR manufacturer in Dongying, and Hollywood studios can sue the VCR manufacturer for compensation as long as they find pirated VHS tapes.

   Once such a case is opened, the last fortress of Hollywood can be defended. If piracy cases like "ET Alien" happen again, Universal could sue the VCRs, and the producers of the tapes, for huge compensatory and punitive damages.

  …

   Soon, a reporter from "Variety" came to interview Ronald.

  I'm "The Har of Variety Show?" A middle-aged male reporter introduced himself to Ronald.

   "Har?" Ronald couldn't understand what the name was.

   "You don't watch 'variety shows' very much?" The reporter smiled. "The reporters of variety shows all have nicknames. My name is Jim Harwood, or Har for short. All signed articles are these nicknames."

   "Sorry, I didn't really pay attention to this. I just read the report." Ronald smiled and adjusted his sitting position, then coughed.

   "I really like your 'Fast-Paced Richmond High School', can you tell us about your creative ideas?"

   "I read Cameron Crowe's novel and thought it was very real, and then I met him and found out that he went to high school to be an undercover agent for a year..."

   "Why do you think 'fast-paced' is popular with audiences?"

   "Not everyone likes it. I've heard critics accuse the **** scene of being too sloppy and ruining the actors. In my opinion, this is a movie that truly reflects the life of a big city high school.

   Many high school students in Hollywood movies are either mainly funny or naive. In fact, high school is the last time in many people's lives to think carefully about the huge issue of human society.

   They are all thoughtful young people, no worse than adults. And don't think too much of today's young people. The information they see on TV is richer than that of the generation who grew up reading newspapers.

   They are also imaginative and socially skilled generation. "

   "You are also very young, do you feel more identified with the young actor team?"

   "No, I grew a beard when I was on the set and wished I was more mature. The director is the leader of a crew and needs to convince the staff and actors."

   "How would you rate the actor's performance?"

   "They gave very good performances. In fact, I am very optimistic about their future in Hollywood. Even some actors with small roles may achieve success in Hollywood."

  …

The    interview went on quickly, and reporter Har had a few questions to end the interview.

   "What movie are you going to make next?"

   "I'm negotiating some scripts, which should be mainly youth films, or maybe science fiction themes."

   "The last question is for fans, what are your hobbies in life?"

   "I used to be on the high school wrestling team and love sports, and recently I'm a fan of the San Francisco Four-Nines and I like their quarterback Montana."

   "Our photojournalist will take a picture of you to use in the interview. Just by the window, yes, that's great."

   "Crack..."

  On the weekend, Ronald watched with joy as his interview was published in the newspaper. Wearing a look coat, he sat in front of the window, looking deeply into the distance. Below is the content of my interview.

   "It's just a little short", because of the "First Blood" advertisement, Ronald's interview was cut to a long strip that is only one-eighth of the page.

   (end of this chapter)