Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 519 Going to Cannes to sell films

   "Well, thank you, Auntie." Ronald started packing his passport and other documents after breakfast.

   Aunt Karen helped him pack up and put it aside.

   "The Soviet Union suddenly announced a boycott of the Los Angeles Olympics and would not send a delegation to participate. The reason was that America was experiencing great-power chauvinism and hysterical anti-Soviet disease.

   Bulgaria announced a boycott, the attitude of the other Eastern bloc countries is unclear. "

   "Hey? Didn't you say you came to participate this time?" Ronald watched the "Good Morning America" ​​program on TV, and the big news broke again.

   "This is a newspaper for you, bro!" Donna happily drove out in the red car early in the morning, bought Ronald's major entertainment newspapers, and focused on the second week's box office.

   "Well, thank you."

   Ronald flipped out the "Daily Variety Show" and turned to the weekly box office column.

   "Break Dance" still ranked first in the weekend box office with a box office of 6.3 million, with a cumulative total of 16.3 million..."

   "Haha..." Ronald was very satisfied with this number.

   In second place is the new film, Robert Redford's "Born to Be", at just over five million dollars.

  The third is yet another new film "The Arsonist", based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, 4.7 million.

   "Sixteen Candles" has dropped to fourth with only 3.2 million.

   The "Breakdance" box office that many had been anticipating plummeted in its second week and didn't exist.

Richard kept calling Ronald to report the aggregated news that Universal's box office for "Breakdance" this week was expected to drop rapidly, while "Sixteen Candles" won by word of mouth, the second week's drop would be lower. much smaller.

   They have a lot of reasons, what "breakdance" is a fan movie that only Latinos and blacks see. The box office of "Break Dance" was brought by MJ's fans, and the fans stopped going after they found out that it was a cameo.

   All are fallacies!

"It seems that your long-term box office is not good?" Ronald did the math. Compared with the first week, the box office of "Sixteen Candles" fell by nearly 30%, while the decline of "Break Dance" , only eighteen percent.

   "No one can stop us

  No one does it better than us

  The red light can't stop us

No no no no,……"

  Ronald hummed the song "No One Can Stop Us" at the beginning of "Breakdance", in a very happy mood.

"Can I take you to the airport? My driving skills are good. The coach Smith who taught me to drive said that my driving level exceeds that of many old drivers." Aunt Karen was busy with the factory. Donna's driver's license was looking for a coach. Learned.

  "Okay", Ronald took off the suitcase. Although Donna's red car is very compact, it has a lot of space. Ronald, at over six feet tall, was not crowded at all.

   Meet at the airport with Minahan, and the two board an Air France flight to Paris. This time they did not choose the Concorde, but took an ordinary passenger plane, slept for seven and a half hours on the plane, and landed at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. Then, I went to Cannes, a small seaside town in the southeastern part of the hair country, without stopping.

  "What a beautiful place", Ronald took out his sunglasses and put them on, his clothes were blown by the sea breeze and the sun was very comfortable.

  Cannes has a pleasant climate. The average temperature in May is around 20 degrees, so it is a good place for vacation. Everything is good except for the high prices due to the film festival.

   Yoram, who came early, came to pick up the two of them and stayed in the pre-booked room.

   He has lived here for three or four days, and a large number of leaflets are stacked in Yoram's room. Minahan was very polite, sharing a large room with his cousin and giving Ronald a smaller single room.

   "This is your pass", Yoram handed Ronald a pass.

   Ronald took it, it said "Marché du Film Badge", and he looked up at Yoram, who didn't know French.

"The meaning of the market pass is that this kind of pass has the highest authority. You can go anywhere in the film festival. If you want to see the Cannes market, I will apply for you. Originally, you can apply for a film practitioner pass. That kind of comparison Cheap, you can go anywhere except the market.”

   "Oh, thank you." Ronald hung it carefully around his neck so he could look around at will.

   "Our breakdance, did you participate in any selection? What number is the booth?" Ronald asked about the arrangement of the Cannon Company.

"Ahem, our 'Break Dance' was shot in a hurry, and we didn't have time to send it to the film festival, and even the trading market was robbed. I'm trying to find a way to buy a booth from other people and sell it. our movie."

   Yoram is actually a bit overwhelmed. This "Break Dance" was an impromptu idea in early 1984, and it was filmed not long after. Whether it's a screening or a sale, it's too late, so I have to go to Cannes and try to find a way.

   "Oh?" Ronald thought to himself, and fell into the trap of these two brothers again. They said that something had been done, but what they actually meant was that we just had an idea.

   "Don't worry, things will be fine, Ronald."

Minahan saw that Ronald looked wrong, stood up and massaged Ronald's shoulders a few times, "Our two brothers came to America from Israel back then. Because of foreign exchange controls, each of us carried five hundred dollars in his arms. Here it is. Still a success?

   It's the same in Cannes this time. With your film, everything will go smoothly. "

   "Then what are you going to do?"

"Every year in Cannes, there are many lucky people who have sold movie copies to withdraw their booths ahead of schedule. We will always have a place." Yoram said, "It really doesn't work, we just take business cards and posters and sell them outside the showroom. ."

   The two began to pick up the phone and take turns calling, contacting all acquaintances, and looking for a solution.

  Ronald watched them work so hard and wondered if they could get a booth at the movie market.

   He picked up on the table a list of films and screenings that participated in this year's competition, as well as a list of manufacturers in the film trading market, and looked at it for himself.

   "Huh?" Ronald found out that on May 22, the film "BeatStreet" shot by Orion Pictures was going to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

   "Meinahan, is 'Hot Street Kid' a participating film?" Ronald asked, frowning.

   "No, they are Horscompetition", Yoram responded with a French noun.

   "It means not participating in the screenings. Orion doesn't participate in any awards in Cannes, it's just showing here. You know, putting a movie here will always attract some movie buyers who come to the market."

   "The themes of the two films are the same, is it really okay for us to sell the film like this? Do we have to find a way to show it in Cannes?"

   "Relax, Ronald. I can't beat you in making movies, but I know a thing or two about selling movies, quack quack." Meenahan's drake sounded again, reassuring Ronald.

  Ronald felt a little bit of a drum in his heart, but the two brothers' Cannon Films has been selling copies and investing in Europe. If they didn't get any results in the past few years, they wouldn't be able to last, right?

  Thinking of this, Ronald decided to go out for a walk. He changed into a primary-color cotton and linen shirt, wore sunglasses, and white trousers. He walked out of the hotel and walked on the street. The sea breeze was blowing slowly, and he slowly forgot his troubles.

After a while, Ronald walked along the main road to the main venue of the Cannes Film Festival, the Palais des Festivals. There was a large poster hanging at the entrance. It was the opening film of this year's Cannes, "Sagamburg". .

   Above the name of the movie, are the avatars of the two hairy movie stars, which means that they are big-name starring actors and enjoy online treatment.

   Fortunately, Ronald still knew each other.

  The male star with a very big nose is Gérard Depardieu.

  Ronald is more familiar with female stars. With a beautiful face with French femininity and blond hair, it is Catherine Deneuve, a national treasure actress of the hair country.

   There is a desert behind the two stars, and a row of people are riding on camels and carrying guns.

   "Why does it seem like it looks like a 'Sahara' again." Ronald complained.

   At the bottom of the movie poster, there are several pictures of supporting characters. One of the actresses, who also looks baby fat, looks a bit like Diane.

   "Sophie...Masso, Marceau?" Ronald spelled out a name that he had never heard in Hollywood.

   "I don't know when Diane will be able to regain the figure in "Rage Street"?" Ronald muttered.

   "tesvousunacteur?" a girl's voice asked.

   "What did you say?" Ronald turned to see a girl wearing a white vest and a miniskirt with a bulging chest.

   "Did I say you were an actor?" The girl pointed to the pass on Ronald's chest. She found the tall handsome guy and came up to talk to her.

   "Oh, I'm not, I'm a film director."

   "Director? Hee hee hee..."

   "It's true, I want to sell the film I made at Cannes, called Breakin'"

   "Break?" The girl made a gesture of hammering something with her hand.

   "Breaking? BreakDance, a dance, break dancing." Ronald simply put on two poses.

   "Where is your movie showing? Can you take me to see it?" The girl's eyes lit up and she immediately sent an invitation.

   "We haven't found a place for the screening." Ronald looked at the girl, with a graceful figure and good looks, "Did you come with friends?"

   "Yes, they are there", the girl pointed to the beach in the distance, which is the place with the highest density of beautiful women in Cannes during the film festival.

  In mid-May every year, it seems that beauties from all over Europe who are aspiring to be movie stars come to this small coastal town in the hair country, expecting a miracle to happen to them.

   "Leave your contact information, and I'll call you after I confirm the time and place of the show." Ronald made a phone call gesture.

   "Okay", the girl left her phone and left with a smile.

  Ronald put his sunglasses back on. He understood that Europeans today don't know anything about breakdance. If you only say the English title of "Breakin", many people will not understand.

  Ronald continued to walk around the film palace, and all the films that participated in the "Palm d'Or" awards were posted with posters.

   "Huh? Isn't that Natasha Kinski?" Ronald found a picture of an acquaintance also on a movie poster.

   "Texas · Paris"

The    poster featured Natasha Kinski wearing a magenta coat, looking back and smiling, looking very charming.

   Ronald stared at it for a long time and felt that this German actress was really too suitable for filming. Unexpectedly, the movie she starred in also participated in this Cannes.

   Just don't know how the "Maria's Lovers" she invested in are selling? Have you made a deal with Minahan?

   took a circle and Ronald returned to the hotel.

   "Fuck, it looks like we're really going to hand out flyers on the streets." Before entering the door, Ronald heard Minahan and Yoram yelling scolding next door.

   "What happened?" Ronald entered the door and saw that Minahan's face was flushed red.

   The original Cannes film market staff rejected Minahan's idea of ​​buying a booth at a high price.

   "Why don't they sell at a big price?" Ronald wondered. The country is still a capitalist society.

   "They say that Cannes is an orderly place, and you must go through the relevant procedures in advance." Yoram came over to explain, "But I think the real reason may be that Orion is working hard."

Yoram continued, "I have a friend who works on the organizing committee, and she told me that Orion protested, slandering our films as pre-release and follow-up piracy. Because the themes of the two films are indeed similar, and they are official show film...

   So Cannes is not willing to arrange theaters for us to show, nor sell us suitable booths. "

   "Then what do we do?"

"We found our partner EMI Films in Hair Country, they will support a set of outdoor projection equipment, and we will show on the beach", Minahan clapped the table, "Now we are going to play a big game, in During the opening ceremony, we will hand out flyers at the entrance of the Cinema Palace!"

"So what?" Ronald took out a pen, "I just discovered a situation, our English title, the cultural gap in the hair country, the audience can't understand that this movie is about a dance. We have to Change your name."

   "What?" Minahan's eyes widened, "You're right, the word Breakin, Europeans don't understand it's the name of a dance."

   "But we only have two days left, and Cannes will officially open the day after tomorrow."

Ronald took out the contact information left by the girl again, "Since the flyers are distributed, you might as well find some beautiful girls. We will make some clothes temporarily and embroider new names on them. As for the flyers, you can find someone to come. Change it by hand."

   "You met the beautiful local girls so soon?" Minahan cast a "you can do it" look.

   "This is a good idea, don't look for anyone else, just me and Yoram change it." Minahan picked up a marker and brought a stack of leaflets over, "What should we change the name?"

   "BreakDance?" Ronald suggested, followed by dance, got it right.

   "It's better to call it BeatDance (Hot Dance, Yoram began to hold back his bad idea again, "It looks like BeatStreet (Hot Street Kid), and many movie buyers will think that Orion is made by us."

   "Quack...I knew it, your kid really has a bad idea."

   (end of this chapter)