Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 600 Shocking the high-rise

   More than a dozen real TopGun flight academy elite pilots looked at each other, and no one was willing to make a sound.

   Fighter pilots are members of the disciplined forces and are reluctant to publicly admit that they want to go. But who hasn't thought about flying over the tower and stunning the gentlemen inside?

   They were neither willing to open their mouths to accept this action that actually violated discipline, nor to give up this opportunity. In the future, there would be less of a wonderful story to brag to their sons and grandsons.

"It's the same old rules, let's draw lots." Pete Pettigrew grabbed a straw from the refrigerator, took a pair of scissors on the table, cut one of them, aligned them in his hand, and let all the pilots draw lots. .

   "Fool, you come too, you are also a pilot." Pete called Bozo.

   "Uh..." The idiot looked at the straw in his hand, and everyone looked at him enviously.

  This low-speed leap over the tower, shaking the people inside the aerobatics action, any qualified F-14 pilot will.

   Everyone looked at the idiot with envy, and one by one they came up and put the straws in his hands. After hugging him one by one, everyone pinned their wish to vent their anger at the gentlemen who were high on the tower on the idiot.

   "Roger, I'm glad you came."

   Ronald happily hugged Roger Coleman, his guide in the film industry, when the crew was preparing for the camera.

   "Hey, you asked me to come and play a cameo as a naval officer, can I not come? Or are you funny enough to often invite me to play such interesting roles."

Roger Coleman is very happy. Now he is a producer of low-cost exploitative films, and then he is engaged in domestic distribution. He lived a very comfortable life, but he has worked for more than 30 years. Also seems boring.

   And Roger Coleman was happiest when he was invited by the lads who graduated from college to make a cameo appearance in a movie.

  "This is your uniform", Ronald handed over an officer's uniform, "This is coffee, I let them cool down."

  Colman put on his navy uniform and looked in the mirror with great air.

   "We've only got one chance at that time, the F-14A is going to go once, and they're going to charge $7,800, and those cameras and radio systems, and one more time I'm going to overspend."

   "Don't worry, Jack Nicholson and I are classmates in the acting training class." Roger Coleman is very confident, and he is actually very familiar with playing small characters.

  Ronald offered Coleman another cup of hot coffee, and the two chatted about some things in the industry.

   "God Is Crazy" ended the long rotation, and it was released from state to state, and it got good results and earned more than 30 million US dollars in America.

  Although Coleman's new company "Concord Pictures" didn't get a small commission in this round of screenings, it also gave him a bite.

  Because the team of lawyers who acquired New World did tricks when releasing Coleman's new work and failed to fulfill the terms of the contract at the time of the acquisition, Coleman is suing the New World company he founded.

   Coleman, on the other hand, failed to find a suitable low-budget film distributor, and he couldn’t help but start getting Concorde Pictures into the distribution business.

   "God is Crazy" just gave him enough income and conditions to rebuild and maintain a low-cost national distribution network.

"In the future, more foreign films will be introduced. Now American audiences still need such wonderful foreign commercial films, but they must be English-language films. Today's young people can't stand subtitles anymore." Coleman chatted. Movies are always gushing.

   "Well, the assistant director will tell you the timing of the performance, and he will count down in advance to remind you." Ronald saw the assistant director gesturing to himself, knowing that the pilot idiot was ready, and hurriedly walked out of the tower.

  A camera was set up inside the tower, facing Roger Coleman, who was standing in front of the window, and shooting towards the blue sky outside the large glass window behind him.

   Ronald walked to another tower next to the tower, which used to be the center of naval confrontation. "Attention from all departments, prepare for real shooting!"

  Ronald's shot this time involved a lot of scope, he picked up the radio and ordered.

The radio at the    confrontation center plugged into the headsets of the various camera groups, and then also connected to Bozo's microphone in the fighter's cabin.

  "Received the order", the idiot heard the starting order, "My direction is 0-9-0, please return to the field and fly over the tower."

   "You SOB, you've been looking forward to this day." Advisor Pete Pettigrew mocked him on the radio, "Agree!"

   "Camera ready!" Ronald then ordered.

  The cameras in various places began to turn on the reel motor, and the slate was fired, aiming at the direction where the F-14A was about to appear.

"Boom..." The muffled engine sound came. These F-14As have been replaced with a new general-purpose engine. The tail nozzle is no longer the black of the Pratt & Whitney engine, but the general-purpose white. The sound also makes people feel Powerful.

  The F-14A driven by the idiot in the distance, the variable wing controlled by the computer automatically, was turned to the forced retracted position by the idiot at low speed, and turned into the shape of a delta wing.

  F-14A, a bird of prey from a high altitude, turned into a light swallow at a low altitude. After closing the wings, it returned to the airfield at a very slow speed and flew towards the tower.

   Ronald looked down from the big window. The idiot flew the F-14A Tomcat very low. Looking down from the high-level confrontation center, this big guy passed under Ronald.

   What an amazing experience.

   The rumbling engine shook the ground where Ronald was.

   "Five, four, three, two, one..." In the tower, the assistant director counted down.

"start"

  Roger Coleman picked up the intercom and said a line, "Tower traffic is very high, the pass is calling for dismissal." Then he picked up the cold cup of coffee and gestured for it.

   "Boom..."

The   F-14A swept past the window behind him, making a turn, revealing the two engines under the belly.

  Roger Coleman was holding the coffee cup, startled by the rumbling engine, coupled with the shaking of the ground, his hand shook, and a cup of coffee was poured on him,

   "This SOB." Roger Coleman shook his coffee-stained hand and smiled helplessly.

   "Cut!" Ronald confirmed on the radio that the shooting went well and called off the shot. So far, all the scenes without the participation of fighter jets have been filmed. Next, the crew will contact the navy and go to the aircraft carrier on the mission to shoot the scenes with the aircraft carrier appearing for a week.

  …

   "Every weekend from now on, we'll have a meeting here to discuss the progress of each Paramount crew."

  Paramount Chairman and CEO Frank Mancuso held a weekly meeting. This is his new rule. Every vice president in charge of production has to attend this meeting. At the meeting, he has to check the progress of every preparation and filming crew, so that everything is under control.

   "Ronnie, Mancuso really wants to discuss the shooting progress of Top Gun. I will wait for his call outside the conference room. We will fight according to reason."

  Many of the crew's producers were listening outside the executive meeting room on the top floor of the Paramount Building, including Bruckheimer and Don Simpson.

Bruckheimer found a phone to tip Ronald. There are several coin-operated phones here. They are in the corridor in front of the large windows. On the opposite side are the executives in the high-rise buildings. They are literally on the highest floors. office.

   "How's the shooting progress of Top Gun? Did Fang Kilmer suffer unfair treatment from the crew again?"

   More than an hour later, Frank Mancuso finally spoke about the filming schedule of "Top Gun". When he came up, he was about to show that he knew the details of the crew's shooting well, and told the details of Val Kilmer's shooting in the crew.

   "There is no unfair treatment, Ronald's shooting schedule and budget are in line with the requirements, the crew is progressing smoothly, we are negotiating with the representatives of the Navy, and we will go to the Indian Ocean next week to shoot."

   He was answered by Ned Tanin, the vice president in charge of the "Top Gun" project. He knew from Ronald that there would be such a deal, so he mentioned Ronald's warranty period and the value of not overspending.

"But I heard that Ronald did some unfair things on the set. Is he young enough to shoot such a complex scene as an aerial battle? We at Paramount have some old directors who were filming with John Ford. Wouldn't it be better to let them check the news documentaries of the Midway Naval Battle during World War II to capture the navy's aura?"

  Frank Mancuso began to find fault with Ronald's inexperience again.

   "His ability to photograph modern jet fighters was recognized by Don Simpson and Bruckheimer."

   "They have made two blockbuster films, but one musical, one comedy action film, and experience should be respected for special dramas like air combat." Mancuso offered another reason.

Ned Tanin scolded inwardly, Mancuso's ability to seize power is very strong. By intervening in the filming of the crew, he wants to gradually get the power of production into his hands. In this case, it is necessary to find himself responsible for the production. What does that mean?

  This person is very boring. Not only is he afraid that his production ability will not be enough, but he doesn’t give up the power to the producers.

   "This is not only the consensus of the two producers, but also the consensus of the navy." Ned Tanin said neither softly nor hard.

   "People from the Navy?" Mancuso lowered his head, his eyes came out from the top of his glasses, and looked at Tanin. His brows were furrowed, as if he was questioning the credibility of Tanin's words.

   "The Navy's liaison officer, Matthew, is here. We are about to discuss the details of shooting in the Indian Ocean. We might as well ask him to talk about the Navy's ideas." Tanin pushed the Navy.

   "Okay, the gentleman from the Navy, please." Mancuso pressed the intercom and asked the secretary to invite Matthew in.

   "Hello, Matthew. I'm Mancuso, CEO of Paramount, can you tell me what the Navy thinks of Director Ronald? Is he qualified to shoot the Navy's fighter jets? Is the experience enough?"

   Matthew was wearing a white dress, sitting upright at the far end of the conference table.

   "Sir, Secretary of the Navy, Mr. John Lyman, and the Pentagon generals, agreed to only accept Ronald for fighter jets and aircraft carrier footage, and he was the only one who passed the unanimous approval of both the Department of the Navy and the Pentagon.

   He is the only one who can photograph the flight effect of fighter jets that the Navy is satisfied with. If you want to change people, we will consider and evaluate this cooperation project separately. "

"Ah..." Mancuso took a sip of coffee, "Ahahaha... It seems that the Navy has a lot of confidence in Ronald. This is also our hope. We hope that Paramount and the Navy can reach a long-term cooperative relationship. ."

   "Sir, I am only responsible for the liaison between the Navy and the crew, and explain the Navy's position to outsiders. As for the long-term cooperation you mentioned, it is not within my purview, and I will report it to my superiors."

   "Uh, well...Thank you Matthew, please go out and rest, we have to delay for a while."

  Mancuso was in a bad mood, and he quickly concluded the remaining project evaluations. He picked up the phone and also called his friends in politics to inquire about the situation.

   "Frank, don't take Ronald's idea. This time the Secretary of the Navy got a hint from the Deputy Commander to support this movie project."

   "Deputy Commander", Mancuso was stunned for a moment, the Deputy Commander of America actually took care of this matter? It seems that it is very difficult to join Top Gun this time.

   But the deputy commander has no real power in America's system, just a symbolic spare tire, undertaking some ceremonial visits. The one with real power is the leader.

  Mancuso thought for a while, then picked up the phone and called the boss of the "Rat Gang", Frank Sinatra. He is of Italian descent like himself, and one of the commander's best friends in Hollywood.

   "Hey... Frank, it's me Mancuso."

  …

   "Hey, it's me, Ned." After the meeting, Ned Tanin called Ronald when he returned to his office, "Just to let you know, I'm going to the Indian Ocean."

  Tanin took out the brandy and poured himself a glass. The opportunity Ronald gave himself was just in time, and Mancuso's efforts to intervene in the production were officially put back. As long as his intervention is ineffective this time, and the projects he leads can sell well, he can gradually dominate the future Paramount, and all the film productions are decided.

   (end of this chapter)