Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 739 Box Office Nail Household

   "I'm coming back from Philadelphia. On average, I get five to ten calls a day who want to get in touch with you. I can't do much here anymore. The director made the 'spirited' look like a cartoon..."

"Okay, I've given up. Fox can play whatever they want. You and I say to executive producer Joseph Farrow, don't put my name in front of the title, just sign a normal producer The location is good.”

  Nisita couldn't stay in Philadelphia any longer. Ronald recommended to Paramount's "Crocodile Dundee", which swept America in the first week as a dark horse.

   Everyone is attracted to this kind-hearted and innocent character of the Australian country people, and they want to see the drama of the hillbilly from Australia entering New York.

From the perspective of a foreigner, especially a man who can fight crocodiles with his bare hands, who was raised by the aborigines and is full of primitive wild charm, looking at New York, a big and bizarre city, while making a lot of jokes, It also gives domestic audiences a special sense of superiority.

   Hollywood executives suddenly realized that Ronald can not only direct, but also produce, and even has a very high vision for selecting movies.

  Some people remembered the experience when he was the buyer of Roger Coleman when he bought the Oscar's best foreign language film "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears". All of a sudden, everyone wanted to chat with Ronald to see if there were any movies worth recommending in his pocket.

  Nisita couldn't, came back from the Philadelphia studio, and started to do everything for Ronald to deal with these things. Except for the phone call from someone of special importance, everyone else blocked it on the grounds that Ronald had to concentrate on preparing for the movie and was ready to join the group.

   They had to leave their contact information, hoping that when Ronald was free, he might remember them who were still looking forward to it, and were interested in letting them call and talk.

   Of course, some good friends are exempt from this restriction. Including "Crocodile Dundee" two stars, Paul Hogan, and Linda Linda Kozlowski.

"The end of the movie, as you suggested, is now very popular with American audiences. Linda and I went to a lot of cinemas to peek at the audience's reactions, and in almost every scene, Dundee and Sue hugged and reunited in the last scene. When the time comes, cheers and applause."

  Linda Kozlowski, wrapped in Paul Hogan's arm, sat on the sofa, sipping a glass of champagne and chatting with Ronald. Like the female reporter Sue Charlton in the movie, she fell in love with the actor who played Crocodile Dundee, Paul Hogan.

   "Yeah, I love that ending, especially the scene where Sue takes off her heels and goes after Crocodile Dundee.

   At that time, although we knew in our hearts that you would not shoot a tragic ending in a commercial film, our hearts were still hanging. The scene where we took off our high heels and pursued our true feelings really touched the female audience. "

   It was Gail Hurd who spoke. Ronald invited her along with Jim Cameron. Several good friends were the creators of the blockbuster movies during this period, and they had a small informal celebration in the luxurious big house arranged by the agent Richard.

   "Yes, the grasp of that part is very good, and it is very clear. The emotion of the film is too much, and the audience is easy to feel fake, but the rhythm of the closing is not in place, and the wonderful performance of the actors will be wasted."

  Cameron also commented on the ending of the movie.

  Jim Cameron's "Alien 2" has already surpassed $70 million at the box office, but last weekend's box office was close to $1.5 million, and it looks like it can last a week or two in theaters. The couple have already started preparations for the next movie.

   "That was Ronald's idea, hahaha." Linda Kozlowski began to laugh.

   A small gathering and no more people were invited. Ronald's friends just chatted quietly.

   Everyone started talking about the movie box office estimate.

  Cameron's "Alien 2" will be offline soon, and it seems difficult to break the 80 million limit.

  Ronald's "Top Gun" is still very strong, with more than 3 million box office per weekend, has accumulated 160 million, and it is very hopeful that it will last in the theater until next year.

   And Paul Hogan's "Crocodile Dundee" is well-received and seems to be a masterpiece with at least 70 to 80 million potential.

   "It's actually hard to compare, but I'm still optimistic about Ronald's Top Gun." Paul Hogan, like the character, is also an Australian accent. However, this is an improved accent, which retains the regional characteristics and removes the incomprehensible parts. It is not difficult for the American people to understand.

   Everyone looked at Ronald, wanting to hear his opinion.

   "I don't know, but you have actually discovered it. A movie with a strong box office is shown in a fixed number of theaters and screens every week, such as a thousand theaters, and everyone's box office results are similar."

   Several main owners picked up the newspapers to read.

   Sure enough, "Top Gun" and "Walk With Me" both fluctuated steadily at around 3 million over the weekend. This kind of movie, if it is compared to the age of human beings, belongs to the prime of life, and can still output stably for a period of time.

   "Dragon Mighty Kid 2", "Alien 2", and "There's a Wicked Husband in the House", all three films have fallen below 1.5 million after about ten to fifteen weeks of release time. All three films have reached the stage of old age, and in a week or two, after falling below one million, they will be offline.

   And "Crocodile Dundee" has just been released for a week. It is eighteen years old and has infinite possibilities.

"The difference between these movies is how many weeks it takes to reach that box office stage, so as long as you enter the club with a weekend box office of more than 5 million, you can basically be considered a success. The total box office is actually not every time you see it. Weekly average box office, but a film can be released for a few weeks.”

   "Top Gun" has been in theaters for 20 weeks, and it is estimated that it will take 25 to 30 weeks to reach the current 1.5 million senior line.

   And "Longwei Kid 2" and "Evil Husband at Home" fell to this line after fifteen weeks.

   "Alien 2" was just in his early ten weeks, and it had already fallen.

   The person who can most make a nail in the theater in Hollywood is Spielberg. His "Jaws" and "ET Aliens" both took more than a year to release before they could accumulate prohibitively high box office.

   Cameron, Gale, Paul Hogan, and Ronald himself are all moving into the realm of producers. As an actor, you can just act. The director has to care about all aspects of the film. Producers, on the other hand, have to consider the audience's reaction and the size of the market.

   For a while, several people were thinking about the factors that make some movies stay at the box office for a long time.

"Don't you think that what these films have in common is that they all have strong feminist leanings? Whether it's Instructor Charlie in Top Gun, Captain Ripley in Alien 2, or Sue Cha, a newspaper reporter in Crocodile Dundee. ton, they are all different from traditional female characters.

   They are not the foil of the male protagonist, but women with their own ideas and will. Even Kumiko in the most traditional "Dragon Power Boy" took the initiative to show her love to Daniel-san, and she could also take the initiative to point out what was wrong with Daniel's character. "

   "Hahaha, you're right, let's have a toast. Congratulations on our movie continuing to sell well."

   The one who interjected just now was Gail Heard's best friend Martha Coolidge.

   This female director is the director of the original "Valley Girl". She is good at everything, but she is especially enthusiastic about the career of female sex. No matter what the topic, she can finally lead to women's rights.

  She was supposed to replace John Hughes' assistant director Howard Deutch as the director of the new film "Some Kind of Wonderful."

   But she also changed the script for the sake of ideals. In the end, all the male characters in it became sissies and clowns, and the female characters were placed in the center.

   This measure made producer and screenwriter John Hughes, a straight man from Chicago, furious. After inspecting the crew once, I found that the male lead's makeup was covered with black eyeshadow and highlighted hair, which could no longer be tolerated.

  Hughes immediately recalled because he said his script was not as good as Ronald's idea, angering his assistant director Howard Deutsch, and then raided the crew the next day and fired Martha Coolidge on the spot.

  Masha, who made a fuss to no avail, had to leave. Gail Hurd brought her here to Ronald, and he also thought whether Ronald could give her a chance.

  Ronald can't stand Martha who is open and closed. The prototype of this story was originally conceived by Ronald. An ordinary boy pursues a woman who is a star and holds the moon, and finally finds that he is the girl next door to his buddy, who is his good match.

   In this kind of story, the male protagonist is made into a sissy, and there are hints of unclear orientation. Ronald felt that even if he produced it himself, he would fire her.

   Martha, who was split off by Ronald, wanted to speak, and Gale covered her face as she listened.

   Ronald sent a few friends away, and received Helen Slater, who had just finished filming "The Secret of Success", back from New York.

   Her hair was kept short, and she hugged Ronald's neck happily as soon as she walked in.

   "What's the matter, you're so happy?" Ronald looked at Helen's big eyes, as if there was something very good.

   "I used the acting tricks you taught me, and listened very carefully to Michael J. Fox's lines. Even Herbert Ross, the always strict director, finally praised me."

   "Really, how did he praise you?"

   "Well, he said that I originally played like a female soldier, but it gradually softened and became less rigid. The interaction with Fox was good and there was chemistry."

   "Really? Chemical reaction?" Ronald put his hand on Helen's waist and began to tickle.

"Hahaha, are you jealous?" Helen Slater smiled happily, "The chemistry in front of the camera. It's just that we have a lot of height difference, and when we took close-ups with him, we had to take two pads. plank."

   Ronald burst out laughing.

  The two quarreled for a while, and Helen lay in Ronald's arms and asked him what to do next.

  Ronald knew that Helen still wanted a chance to pick up some good scripts, but she was about to join the "Dancing Hot" crew soon.

   "Are you going to film at Mountain Lake Villa in Virginia? Before my parents divorced when I was a child, I also went to this kind of Jewish holiday area." Helen fell into memory.

   "Otherwise, I'll go visit the class at that time."

   "You can contact Little Bud and come if you want. But I'll be very busy and may not be free to accompany you."

   "It's okay, I just want to see how you are a director."

   (end of this chapter)