Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 614 Las Vegas Expo

  The Western Film Expo in Las Vegas, held once a year at the Bellagio Hotel. Named The West, it's actually America's largest domestic movie order fair.

  The fountain in front of the hotel's gate is very famous, and many tourists make a special trip to take photos here.

The promotion meeting of    "Top Gun" was held on the second night of the opening. At the on-site promotion meeting, Tom Cruise, and Val Kilmer, the three biggest stars of Kelly McGillis, all appeared on the podium.

   But they are not facing enthusiastic movie fans, but hundreds of movie theater buyers across the country who come to order.

Although   Ronald is already well-known in the industry, for these movie buyers, actors are more attractive.

  This is not only because the audience likes to watch stars star in movies, but they can also take this opportunity to take photos with the stars for autographs, which are good gifts to bring home to children.

"You're also from the Paramount crew? How about this movie? I heard it's a fighter jet. I've seen Clint Eastwood's 'Firefox' the year before, and air combat is always boring. "

   A very young buyer, chewing gum, sounded to Ronald sitting in the auditorium.

   "Tell you a secret, this movie looks like an air battle, but it's actually a hot-blooded sports competition movie, it's very good."

"Oh yeah? How did you know that?" The young buyer looked at him in amazement. Usually, the actual content of such movies is not in line with the propaganda. The one who knows the truth is a high-level executive from Paramount. Tube relatives?

   "Thomas, Thomas Stephenson", the buyer reached out and shook his hand.

"My name is Ronald, are you a buyer of the theater at such a young age?" Looking at the 30 or 40-year-old who started off the stage, Ronald had no shortage of employees in his 50s. Young people in their early years are also curious.

   "My dad runs a movie theater. I've been selling tickets at the box office since I was a kid, and then cleaning the movie theater. Hey, man, that's the most annoying job."

  No wonder, it turned out to be a family business. Ronald understood.

  Stephenson is a familiar person, and he had a good time chatting with Ronald very quickly.

He told Ronald about his situation. He is now the buyer of Dad's chain of theaters. The father and son own less than ten movie theaters in New Jersey. They also represent other movie theater owners in Las Vegas. Watching movies at the Vegas show is a big buyer.

   "Next, I invite Ronald Lee, the director of this film, to answer the question."

   "I have to go up."

   Ronald and Stephenson greeted him and went on stage to answer questions from buyers. For example, how many aerial combat scenes are there, how long the movie is expected to be, and whether there are any love scenes between the male and female protagonists.

"Ah...I remembered." Stephenson suddenly called out when he saw Ronald. Isn't this the first two movies that have been showing for seven or eight months in the latest multiplex theater that he owns at home? The director of "Long Wei Kid", and "Break Dance"?

   When I came here, my father, Thomas, specially told his son that such a director must keep an eye on him to see what films he will make this year. Many directors will have a period of time when their skills are smooth. During that time, no matter what the auction is, they sell well, and the audience just loves to see their works.

   I just didn’t expect to be so young, it seems to be about the same age as myself.

"Hey Ronald, I didn't expect you to be able to direct a Paramount hit at such a young age. I didn't recognize you just now because I didn't know you were so young. Can I invite you over for a beer and chat? ?"

   Little Stephenson took the initiative to learn more about the inside story of the movie.

   "No problem, we'll have time to chat together in the evening when I'm over here." Ronald also wanted to chat with these grassroots practitioners, who are a group of practitioners in the film industry who are closest to the audience.

   "How is your business? Now that the movie box office has recovered, it should be profitable, right?"

  In the evening, Ronald came out to meet with Stephenson Jr. The two found a bar, drank beer and chatted.

  Although Paramount spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build marketing materials for the exhibition, specially edited the preview, and invited three stars to join in, but most of the actual release signings were resolved in private chats in bars and cafes.

   "Actually, our profit margin is very low. The gross profit will not exceed 10% from the ticket revenue of the screenings alone."

   "Indeed, before film and TV became commonplace, there were literally two markets." Ronald believes this number, which matches his previous settlement with The Atlantic. Many movie theaters will default on their box office revenue for one year, and they will spend a year to renovate the movie theater, and they will grab a little interest.

"You're so right, you're the only one I've dealt with in so many studios, directors and actors who understand our business. They always think we're making a lot of money and deducting their profits. We rely on the box office, and if you buy the wrong one or two movies that don’t sell well in a year, it’s easy to do it for nothing.”

   "Then you have other ways to make money, right?" Ronald thought, no one would do it for the love of movies.

"I like your movies very much. My dad said that as long as they are directed by you, we will sign distribution contracts unconditionally. Our six old-fashioned theaters and the latest multiplex will buy a total of eight copies. , plus my colleagues in the surrounding towns, I can buy fifteen copies here this time."

   "Then I'll thank you." Ronald shook hands with him. Under the current distribution model, the country is divided into more than 1,000 "regions", each with a population ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands. In one region, a studio has an exclusive distribution deal with only one movie theater.

   This greatly reduces the number of film copies required. Nationally, an average movie only needs about 1,000 copies to meet the needs of national distribution. Even the most popular sequel blockbuster only needs less than 1,500 copies to satisfy the national audience.

   Expensive movie copies are also a big expense to distributors. Naturally, the less the better, so this mode of exclusive theatrical release has been retained to this day.

   "In addition, I have a sequel to Longwei Kid, and there will be a press conference tomorrow. You can also come and see."

   "Are you directing the sequel? If it is you, then I will definitely buy it." Little Stephenson is very straightforward, I am here for your name.

   "I haven't agreed yet, but it is very likely that I will participate. Even if it is not my director, the story will develop according to my ideas." Ronald replied.

"Very good, I'll go to the platform to order." Little Stephenson gave him a high five again, "Last time, breakdance 2 was not directed by you, so it was almost a bad thing if I bought it. Fortunately, the trend of breakdance has not passed, it is considered a bad thing. No loss."

"There will be no problem with the sequel to Longwei Kid. Mr. Weintraub and I will bring the story to Ryukyu this time. It will definitely look good. You can still buy more than a dozen copies, and you will not lose money." Ronald Just in time to promote his work, he also wanted to see how the other party reacted.

   "I will definitely buy it, but it's impossible to have the same amount. My family only needs five or six copies of Longwei boy, and the others have to make long-distance calls to see what the old men mean."

   "Oh, why? Aren't you optimistic about the sequel to my Dragon Power Kid?" Ronald was a little surprised. The buyer's confidence in Top Gun is obviously greater than that of the Dragon Power Kid sequel.

   "No, this is actually our trade secret. Hi... But you are the director, you know what I said, it's okay to chat with you."

Little Stephenson took a sip of beer, "Originally, I didn't have that much confidence in Top Gun, but on the one hand it was directed by you... On the other hand, I read your brochures and edited clips, and I found that This movie is very suitable for fathers to take their children to see."

   "Father took the children to see?" Ronald repeated. This short sentence contains a lot of business wisdom.

"Yeah, we always like this kind of movie that the whole family can send out. Last time on Spielberg's ET, we saw that we bought too many copies. In addition to the full box office of the show, we can rent it to the industry to make more money. a sum.

   This time your movie is suitable for fathers to take their children to watch. They buy coke and popcorn more generously than mothers. "

   "It's true that there is knowledge everywhere. It seems that this kind of action, sports, and competition-themed movies really attract audiences."

  …

   The next day, Ronald came to the booth of "Longwei Kid 2" again and gave Weintraub a platform.

"You know, Ronald, this hotel used to have Frank Sinatra's shares, and he made a lot of money. Later, the FBI targeted him and said he was involved in ... and he withdrew his shares. It was only after the commander-in-chief came to power that he completely escaped from the investigation."

   "The Grand Commander's Forgiveness?" Ronald was talking about a privilege of the Grand Commander. He could forgive the crimes of anyone who committed a crime when he was in office.

   "It didn't get to that point. Sinatra was already a star in Hollywood and the music scene. It was not easy for the FBI to move him. The commander awarded him a medal, and they automatically withdrew the investigation."

  Because "Longwei Kid 2" has not yet determined the heroine candidate, and the male lead Ralph Mazio is still filming, this time only Morita Noriyuki, who was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and Ronald came to the platform.

   "Why do you want this imported Mineral Water from Hair Country? Just use our own Wrigley."

  Weintraub was busy with the arrangements for the press conference, which seemed to save a lot of money.

   "Your big boss, can't you just tell your subordinates to do these things?" Ronald looked at him puzzled. Weintraub is not like Roger Coleman's business philosophy, he is also like a big production.

   "Probably because I'm Jewish, I saw this kind of small place, obviously I can save money, but I don't know why I'm talking about pomp, so I'm going to talk about it." Weintraub himself laughed.

   "However, I'll probably run out of these things soon."

   "What?" Ronald felt there was something in his words.

"I tell you quietly, you don't tell anyone else. The owner of MGM Studios and the owner of the MGM Hotel Group in Las Vegas, Kerkorian, has been talking to me for the past two days to restore 'Lianyi' ' brand, leave it to me to take care of it."

"Oh? Do you want to restore the configuration of the eight major studios?" Ronald raised his eyebrows. This is a major event. After United Art was acquired by MGM, the distribution channel was merged into MGM, but many experienced The old staff are still there. More importantly, United Arts is also a member of the MPAA agency in charge of grading, and a member of the Producers Association that negotiated with major unions.

   These two institutions are both old and powerful institutions. Outsiders, like Minahan Golan, take a long time to squeeze in. The MPAA, in particular, is still dominated by the Big Eight, and their films tend to receive looser ratings. "

   "Kerkorian hopes that United Arts will restore the tradition of artists making films. Ronald, a director like you who spends all his money on the screen, no one is worried.

   After you finish these two films, you can sign a long-term film contract with United Art. Then you can shoot whatever you want, whatever you want, whatever you want. If you want the actor to come, I will find it for you, how about it? "

"Very good terms, Mr. Weintraub. However, I have to discuss this kind of important matter with my agent first." Ronald remembered that Eisner, who was originally from Paramount, also told him this, but unfortunately he now Went to Disney, but still haven't sorted out the relationship. The so-called shoot whatever you want has become empty talk.

   "Of course, when the dust settles, our Longwei Kid 2 is basically finished, and we can talk slowly at that time."

  Ronald thought it was a big deal, so he went back to his room and called his agent as soon as possible.

  Nisita and Richard also heard rumors that Lianyi was going to return to the arena, but they didn't expect Kerkorian, the gambling tycoon, to choose Weintraub to operate.

  The three decided on the phone that they should wait until they return to Los Angeles to discuss the impact of this incident on the industry and whether to accept Weintraub's film contract.

   In the evening, Ronald went downstairs again and began to stroll around the Bellagio Hotel. Many movies that will be released in the second half of this year and next year will take the opportunity to promote it.

  Paramount's "Star Trek Movie 4", Fox's "Alien 2", and Weintraub's "Longwei Kid 2" and other movie posters are hung on both sides of the entrance avenue.

  Many movies have not yet determined the main creator, so they are just conceptual posters. For example, "Longwei Kid 2", there is only a big face of Mr. Miyagi played by Morita Noriyuki, and the following line is just the title of the film.

   However, those buyers, with this information, can make an inseparable judgment about the box office prospects of the movie, and thus sign an intentional contract first.

   "What movie is this?" Ronald saw a poster for the mid-sized producer "Orion," featuring only a soldier in military uniform, with his back to the audience, and a helmet occupying the center of the frame.

   "Platoon", Ronald stood on their platform for a while, picking up the pamphlet and looking at it.

  "It turned out to be the work of Oliver Stone", Ronald knew that the director who once wrote Conan the Barbarian, and now he is also directing and acting.

   "No one has made a Vietnam War movie in the past two years," Ronald muttered softly. However, Oliver Stone has never followed suit, and he may make a good work. He didn't miss much.

   "Cannon, cannon, ninja, breakdance, karate."

  Two young dancers dressed as bunny girls, dancing and spreading the introduction of Cannon Film to passersby.

   "Meinahan", Ronald went up and called his old friend.

   This Israeli still likes this kind of vulgar but effective propaganda tactics, which makes it look very powerful.

   "Ronald!" Minahan rushed over and hugged him fiercely.

   "How was the shooting of the runaway train?"

"Hey, Konchalovsky is so slow, if only he could be as fast as you." Minahan waved his hand and said regretfully, "It won't be released until the end of the year, only in time for next year's film festival. already."

  "But we also have a lot of new films", Minahan put several posters into his hands,

   "This is America's Ninja, this is Invasion of USA, The Adventures of Hercules, this is Vietnam Vanguard, remember? Chuck Norris."

   "That's the imitation..." Ronald laughed, isn't this the copycat version of Stallone's "First Blood 2" filmed by Minahan.

   "It's him, quack. We'll probably be out before his movie."

   The video conference is delayed today, and there is another chapter to make up tomorrow.

   (end of this chapter)