Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 355 Chapter 306 Divergence of Ideas

   "Friends, viewers, we have interrupted the original program and are now broadcasting the breaking news of the Souvelle Union."

   Ronald motioned for Helen to turn down the news on the TV station. He was on the phone with his agent, Nisita.

   "How did Shirley Lansing get involved with the 'Full Body' crew? Isn't she the president of Twentieth Century Fox?"

"No, Ronald. Lansing has left Fox, and Melnick, the producer of 'All in One' is her old partner, and the two of them have made a series of blockbuster movies. Now Hollywood is spreading Lansing. Sim will return to independent studios."

   "So now the decision is in her hands?" Ronald became interested, "What are we going to talk about when we meet her?"

"Right now there are three producers, Paramount is mainly responsible for the distribution and small investment. Lansing and Melnick's company is the original production promoter, responsible for the art, and has the largest investment. It's Wall Street's Screen Investment Fund (SliverScreenPartners), they are only responsible for the money, and they take priority in return."

   "This Wall Street fund only pays, no matter how the film is made. Paramount is mainly responsible for distribution, and Lansing is now a producer, who decides who to hire as a director?" Ronald summed up.

   "That's pretty much it, so she makes an appointment with you to talk to you about your revised script and what the movie will look like if you come to direct."

   "Great, I'll prepare some storyboards of the important scenes I drew and show her during the interview. What kind of person is she? What do I need to pay attention to?"

   "Hollywood legend Shirley Lansing understands art, and she has her own set of criteria for evaluating scripts, so you just have to tell the truth.

   Of course, besides you, she will also meet other director candidates. Herbert Ross was Melnick's choice, but it took him too long to make other films.

  Your strengths are grasping the mentality of teenage audiences and guaranteeing a blockbuster teen movie. The weak point is that there has been no such drama with two protagonists. "

   The two discussed on the phone and decided how to meet Shirley Lansing, expounding Ronald's directorial philosophy and his vision for a finished film.

   "Honey, are you going to be the director of 'Full of Strength'?" As soon as he hung up the phone, Helen rushed up, hugged Ronald's neck, and asked softly.

   "I'm just one of the candidates, and it depends on Shirley Lansing's opinion. But really, this is the closest I've been to the director since I finished 'Fast Pace'."

"Whenever we can make a movie, you will direct and I will star. It's really a long time to act in movies. I'm going to Britain after Christmas to get ready for fitness. I heard Reeve say that he's preparing for Superman. The character has been working out for more than four months in total, and I estimate that it will take about that long."

   "You still have three Supergirl movie contracts. I won't have a chance to direct your new movie until you finish making at least three of them." Ronald replied, "Do you want another slice of pizza?"

   "Ronnie, don't you know that what actresses are most afraid of is getting fat? I've probably gained more than a pound in two days. If this goes on like this, I'm going to become a fat girl." Helen hit Ronald.

   "You have to go to the gym anyway to gain muscle. It's fine to eat a little more now. I was a wrestler in high school, and I needed to eat more to gain muscle, as long as the amount of exercise kept up."

   "Then I'll eat half of it. Well, it's delicious." Helen tore a small half and put it in her mouth, "Oh, Shxt, I shouldn't indulge myself."

   "Huh? Why did the Souvelle Union fly at half-staff?" Rona pointed to the news on the TV and asked.

   "It seemed like they said that their general secretary Leonard passed away." Helen stood up and turned up the volume of the TV, then walked into the bathroom, and she came out after a while, her face a little red.

   "Drink some water, you seem a little hot." Ronald handed Helen a glass of water.

   His attention was still on TV, the ABC host was broadcasting breaking news from the league. On November 10th, the ice hockey game that was originally broadcast was cancelled, and it became the "Swan Lake" of the Leningrad Ballet. Angola also did not receive a congratulatory message from the Union's top leader on Independence Day.

   The next day, at 11:00 a.m. Moscow time, Igor Kirilov, an announcer of Moscow TV, officially announced the news of Leonard's death, and the scene of the Kremlin's flag flying at half-staff in mourning appeared.

  The leader, who held the highest position of power in America's biggest rival for 18 years, officially retired from the stage of history.

   "Ronnie, don't you want to exercise?" Helen sat on Ronald's lap again, "Am I beautiful?"

   "Of course, you are the most beautiful girl in the world." Ronald felt Helen's slender and concave figure, and carried her into the bedroom.

"We invited the former Secretary of State, Dr. Kissing, and Hague to give an assessment of the international situation." The host of ABC TV on the TV was still answering the call of the guests, discussing Leonard's death and the international situation. Especially the impact of bilateral arms control.

  …

   "Ms. Lansing, hello." A few mornings later, Ronald and his agent, Nisita, came together to meet Shirley Lansing, the most powerful producer of "Full Body" now.

   "Please take a seat." Shirley Lansing was very capable, and after the greeting, she asked Ronald to talk about her directorial philosophy.

   "What do you want this movie to be like?"

   "This is a storyboard of a few scenes I drew." Ronald took out a few sketches from his portfolio and handed them to Lansing.

   "I want to say something about the American dream of small-town youth..."

   Ronald pointed to the tractor duel scene in the painting, "It's like the NASCAR race car in the eyes of the young people in the small town, what they can drive is either their father's tractor, or their mother's pickup or SUV.

  Being able to do chicken duels with tractors and drive nasties down the drains is like seeing Han Solo drive the Millennium Falcon on interstellar travel. "

   To explain clearly, Ronald also cites several "Star Wars" memes.

   "This is the last dance scene. We used some old-fashioned group dance forms from musicals and added the latest dance styles. This combination happens to be the most popular dance among the young people in the town."

  Shirley Lansing listened carefully, interrupting Ronald to ask some details from time to time.

"In general, my idea is to make this film into a new high-concept musical for young people in small towns. Urban youths go to town, overturn the conservative dance ban with friends, and win the favor of two generations. Forgive, this is an old story form and I want to add new meaning to it.

   The overall tone of the story will be retro, but the lens choices are realistic. In this way, a kind of identity can be obtained among the youth of the small town.

   In recent years, it is difficult for urban teenagers to see realistic teenager movies that truly reflect the life in the small town. A young man from a big city came to a small town and led the people there to freedom. This is also a very immersive story for them. "

   "What do you think of the heroine Ariel's story?" Lansing took the initiative to ask the question when Ronald didn't talk about the female character's story.

"I think she's a very good introduction to the story. The first shot of her standing in two cars on the road, facing the big truck on the opposite side, was just to arouse the audience's curiosity. Why would a priest's daughter, She made such a deviant, very dangerous move. Plus she was brave against her boyfriend's domestic violence."

"In this small town, only the heroine Ariel, her best friend Rusty, and her mother, the priest's wife Wei, are the residents of this town who truly embrace the spirit of freedom. I transferred from Chicago, and I want to take the lead in proposing to repeal the dance ban. It should be these female characters."

   Ronald keenly noticed that Shirley Lansing was more attentive when she listened to her elaboration of these female characters. He quickly said more about his understanding of the main girls.

   "Who do you think the lead actor Lun can be starred in?"

"I recommend Tom Cruise. He had a supporting role in Coppola's new film 'The Outer Boy,' and then starred in Warner's 'Risky Business', a teenage man coming of age. "

   "Ha, I know him, he's pretty good, he did well on 'Lights Out' on Fox."

   "And another actor in 'Outdoor Urchin', Rob Lowe, he's also a pretty boy, suitable for this type of role, and the two of them are convincing at first sight by girls."

   "Very good, we're here today, we'll contact you with further decisions. Thank you Ronald."

   Ronald shook hands with Lansing, then exited the office with Nisita.

   "Am I missing the point of Lansing? I feel like she pays more attention to the development of the heroine Ariel's story?" Ronald asked Nisita in a depressive way out of the office.

   "Not necessarily, I heard that Lansing's style is like this. I'll go back and ask Paula Wagner, she dealt with Lansing during 'lights out'." Nisita replied, backing the car out of the parking lot.

   "This screen investment fund (SliverScreenPartners), they made most of the investment, why don't they care?" Ronald was a little puzzled that he had not seen the largest investor.

   "The founder of this fund, Roland W. Bates, turned out to be a Wall Street securities fund manager. It is said that the fund he started has a total of 80 million. It turned out to be to solve the problem of insufficient film resources for HBO cable TV station.

  The movies they invested in were all settled by HBO for TV broadcast rights, and half of the funds could be recovered. After that, Eisner invited them to take a stake in Paramount's new film. They didn't know anything about film production. They didn't believe in their vision after watching Paramount's blockbuster movies in recent years. "

   "Oh, it would be great if I had such an investor who only invests money and doesn't care about art." Ronald remembered his "Night of the Comet" project, but soon there will be one or two investors who absolutely trust him. It's a pity that my high school friend, little Douglas, doesn't have so much pocket money.

  Meanwhile, Melnick was chatting with Shirley Lansing about the progress of the project.

   "I said, Shirley. You've met both candidates, how do you feel?"

   "Ronald Lee's story is rather bland, not the way to win dramas with his acting skills. However, his casting candidates are very good, and his agent happens to be the agent of Tom Cruise, the actor I like.

   As for Michael Cimino, his synopsis is more dramatic, and the story is more realistic and dark. Audiences will love Len, the main character in the story. His directing level has also been tested by the Oscar for best director, and now he is very cheap. It's just that we need to keep an eye on him on the budget.

   We can sign a contract with him and fire him if the shooting budget exceeds 7.5 million or is three days behind the shooting schedule. We reward him if he saves the budget and finishes the shoot ahead of time.

   As for Ronald, we can invite him to work as a screenwriter and give him a screenwriter signature. Cimino is not good at turning stories into actual scripts and storyboards. This is exactly Ronald's strength. He has a good combing of the structure of the story. "

   "Very well, it's time to show your charm, Ronald will agree, right? I wish I had seen the project start sooner."

   (end of this chapter)