Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 415 First Weekend

   "Karate should be a philosophy, not a skill." Ronald copied a few excerpts from the library, some written explanations about karate, and then stared at the monitor for a long time, unable to write a word.

  "Hey", he slapped it on the keyboard, "I can't write without inspiration."

  I haven't found a karate coach like Vidal to discuss it carefully, and many things are superficial. Coupled with the release of "Night of the Comet", Ronald was so impatient that he had no intention of writing the script.

   "Night of the Comet" did not invite film critics to watch the special screening first, but only opened a special screening for an audience. This is also because there is no money to print a complete version, and there are still copies with editing traces. If you invite film critics to see it, they will make jokes, and they will not be able to write anything good.

   Simply do not invite them, and after the release, they will be free to enter the cinema and write their true feelings.

   A low-budget movie, everything is out of your control. Without professional people and a lot of input, Ronald began to miss the benefits of the big studios again.

   "Ronald, there is a review of your new film." Agent Richard called, "This is the only one for today."

   "Oh, what newspaper?" Ronald was full of anticipation when he heard that there was a film review.

   "Valley Daily, an entertainment section of a newspaper in the San Fernando Valley."

   "How did you evaluate it?"

   "Victory for the Valley Girls!" Richard cleared his throat, "This is the title."

"With the song "Valley Girl", which topped the charts, Hollywood will never let the subject matter. Following last month's 'Valley Girl' directed by Martha Coolidge, Atlantic Pictures has released another "Valley Girl" Exploitation piece on the theme.

  The story takes place after a comet wipes out most of the people in Southern California, and two valley girls, with their innocence and innocence, indulge in shopping and dating in the apocalypse. It further deepened the stereotype of the girl in the valley.

  …

  The director seems to have a special fascination with young girls' legs, and the appearance of characters mostly starts with close-ups of girls' feet and calves, and is no exception. Even Samantha, one of the heroines, came out of the elevator, starting with the exposed legs of the cheerleading uniform.

  …”

"Okay, don't read any more." Ronald sighed "hey", "I'm not obsessed with calves and feet, that shot Kelly Maloney was going to audition for other projects, and I had to use it. Taken for a stand-in."

   "Hahahaha..." A burst of laughter came from the other end of the phone.

   "I knew you were there, Nisita!"

"Don't be mad, it's just a tabloid in the San Fernando Valley town, and your reviews don't start mass-marketing until Sunday, or even Monday. We're just kidding you." Nisita grabbed the receiver and told Ronald said.

   "Just laugh at me." Ronald also smiled, his nervousness relaxed a little.

"It will take some time for the box office to count, I've got Richard staring across the Atlantic. But I went to see it with Paula last night, and the attendance was pretty good. I didn't get distracted by the whole movie, a lot The audience loves it too.”

   "Go on, I love hearing this." Ronald also joked with him, and now he is nervous.

   On Sunday, film reviews from all over the world were also published.

Variety's weekend edition wrote: "Young director Ronald Lee, after 'Fast-Paced Richmond High', is experimenting with teen themes again. But this time instead of repeating the school-themed growth story, he made A science fiction theme.

   He has created a visually striking B-movie that has a lot to offer. I've seen the "Liquid Sky" color scheme in it, and we can also see the plot elements he borrows from "The Day of the Trilobite," "Dawn of the Living Dead," and "The Last Woman on Earth."

  I describe the film as "a successful parody of so many sci-fi movies, making up for its lack of originality with a flirty, wry flair."

  "I haven't seen those two movies except 'Dawn of the Living Dead'." Ronald jumped up in CAA's office when he saw the evaluation of his films on the weekend edition of "Variety". "Is this accusing me of plagiarism?"

   "No, if all the plots are not similar to the previous movies, there will be no movie." Nisita patted Ronald on the shoulder and handed him a cup of coffee.

   "Then why did they say that?"

"Let's still discriminate against low-budget B-level films. But don't worry, writing this way will not affect your box office results, but will attract the interest of those B-level film production hobbies. These reporters are very sophisticated, and they scold some of them. , but also to praise a part."

  Ronald shook his head, forget it, for the box office, it's okay to be scolded a few times.

   Next is the New York Times film review column.

   Film critic Vincent Camby wrote,

   "Night of the Comet is a well-meaning, apocalyptic B-movie with a unique sense of humor that adds to the unpredictability of the movie's plot, making it a recommended movie for sci-fi fans.

   From the opening narration, it is not difficult to see that "Night of the Comet" is a tribute to the B-type science fiction movies of the 1950s and 1960s. Many call it comedy, but that's a little misleading. It certainly has some funny moments, and an all-around lightness, but much of the film is also fairly straightforward.

   What makes this film successful is its two female protagonists and their very believable responses to being the last man on earth. Faced with the end of mankind, what will they do? They go shopping for free! Be honest with yourself...isn't it? "

   "Is this a good word?" Ronald asked.

   "You can't expect a movie review of this kind of small production, like the last time Universal gave you a PR, it's all good words." Nisita pointed out.

   Then there's Interview magazine's film critic Neil Gaiman.

   Ronald recognized that this was the magazine of the eccentric artist Andy Warhol in New York.

"This is one of the funniest, most witty, most imaginative and thought-provoking films I've ever seen, and what's even more remarkable is that it was made on no budget ($1.2 million Budget, for sci-fi is no budget, you know what I mean).

   Katherine Mary Stewart, and Kelly Maloney, both did a great job in their roles. They're valley girls, but they're not cartoony, the version of the valley girls in Frank Zappa's chart-topping song.

   In a movie where comets die and zombies stumble, these girls actually find their feet in the real world...  

Another highlight of the    cast is the ever-great Mary Voronoff. This Roger Coleman movie veteran is perfect for this movie.

  We note that director Ronald Lee, also a graduate of the Coleman School of Cinematic Arts, owes much of the film to Coleman's filmmaking training. "

"It seems that Mary Voronoff's old friends are still very powerful." Ronald felt good in his heart. "Interview" magazine is still very influential among teenagers on the East Coast. Many high school students use this This magazine is a popular guide. With such a high evaluation, it should be able to attract some audiences.

  In the first weekend, the Atlantic arranged for "Night of the Comet" to be shown in nearly 900 cinemas. These film reviews helped attract some audiences to the cinema. Next, it depends on the reputation of the film.

   If the word of mouth is good, then more audiences will hear from relatives and friends that they have entered the cinema, and continue to push up the box office. If the reputation is not good, then there will be such a wave, and then it will quickly deplete.

   "And there's Sisko and Albert's movie review show." Nisita found a remote control and pressed a few times on the TV and VCR.

   "Welcome to the Sisko & Albert Critic Show."

  Glasses and bald head, and started a weekly TV movie review again.

Bald Sisko prefers the movie, "I think if the comet destroys most adults and turns them into ashes, then teens must be happy. They can go to a department store for a free changing show, and they can have **** with men. Friends go out on a date and come home past twelve o'clock.

   Most sci-fi movies take the catastrophe of the future human being too heavy. It is a very good attempt in sci-fi movies to have such a movie to tell the extinction event in a relaxed manner.

   For adults who were exterminated by comets, or turned into zombies, of course tragic. But the two sisters who were substituted into the audience thought that they could wear good clothes that they couldn't afford before, and they could drive a sports car that they couldn't buy before.

   This is a teenage dream. "

Spectacles Albert continued, "I also think the film's orientation is very interesting, doomsday movies generally leave adults, men, women, old people and children, and in this movie only teenagers survive, maybe they play Too high, forgot the time."

   "This guy must still hold a grudge against me. He exposed him at the roadshow last time." Ronald said bitterly, and Albert was criticizing himself yin and yang.

Sisko picked up the conversation again, "I think this movie deserves more screening time, although the latest episode of Star Wars will be released in two weeks, I still call on the cinema to give them more screenings, Those who haven't seen it should watch it now."

   "Bald man, you still like my movies." Ronald lamented.

Albert added, "I think this movie is lackluster in science fiction, and the director just took advantage of a combination of science fiction, teens, romantic comedies, zombie horror, valley girls and other popular elements to grab a trend. I see It's not going to be a long-remembered movie."

   Sisko disagreed, "No, it's not. I know you love sci-fi more than I do, but I have a good word for Ronald Lee.

   The point here is that a lot of sci-fi directors are keen to teach the audience, they always have a mentality that you don’t know what the future holds, I’m smarter, so I’m making a movie to show you.

And Ronald Lee doesn't have this kind of burden. He didn't make the audience feel that the future must be gloomy, but let you explore by yourself. The audience has a sense of mystery about the ending of the film, not a sense of pessimism. Maybe the future It's good. Just like the end of the movie. "

   "Okay, I reserve my opinion, let's see another new movie."

   "Crack", Nisita pressed the pause button.

   "That's all."

   "Will they say that in the papers?"

   "No, the Atlantic doesn't have PR for them. So your movie is just a new movie review part of the weekly movie review, but they often have different opinions, and generally a movie with a different opinion has a better box office attendance."

   After another day of restless waiting, a phone call from Tom Coleman, president of Atlantic Publishing, came in person on Monday night.

   "The box office statistics are out. The total box office for the three weekends and three days is 3.58 million. There are 898 theaters, and the average box office of a single theater is close to 4,000. We have won again!"

   "Huh!" After Ronald answered the phone, he collapsed on the sofa in a relaxed state. He seemed to be soaking in the bathtub taking a hot bath.

  4,000 weekend box office results, although not as good as the previous "Valley Girl" in The Atlantic. But his "Night of the Comet" was screened in nearly 900 theaters nationwide, unlike "Valley Girl", which was only shown in less than 300 theaters in big cities on the east and west coasts.

   Considering that his movie has more films in multiplex theaters, the attendance rate must be higher than the other party's, so Martha Coolidge is also convinced that he lost, and he can't complain that he stole her box office.

And the box office of the whole film was 3.58 million over the weekend, ranking fourth among all films, only two new films "Blue Thunder", and "Breathless", and the fifth week of the box office bursting release. Under "Lightning Dance".

   (end of this chapter)