Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Another meeting that Ronald could not shirk from was an invitation from 20th Century Fox Vice President Joseph Farrow.

He served as executive producer, directed by Michael Gottlieb, and "Mannequin," starring Kim Cattrall and Andrew McCarthy, has finished filming and has completed the first rough cut in the editing room. sub-assembly.

  Ronald hangs up the title of producer, and at this time has the right to enter the editing room and check the director's work together with other senior executives of the production side.

  Since the 1950s, after the collapse of the traditional big studio system, the director has gradually gained the artistic decision-making power over the editing of the film. However, the producer is responsible for financing and the final box office results, so a handover point between the two parties is arranged in the system.

  After completing the first rough cut, the producer will find some people to watch the internal test screening, and then make a decision based on their own experience and the feedback from the test screening audience, whether the film meets the requirements, and make some modification decisions.

   "Ronald, I'm a little nervous, I've never been invited to an internal preview of a movie I've made before."

  Kim Cattrall sat in the chair next to him, leaning tightly against Ronald beside him. Generally speaking, actors have no power and no need to participate in internal test screenings.

  Ronald heard from Nisita that while filming in Philadelphia, Kim Cattrall worked hard, like never before, to make a breakthrough in his first real heroine film when he was only thirty years old.

   However, according to Ronald's understanding of the thoughts of all parties before the shooting, the director was shooting a feature film for the first time, and he was not very optimistic about the quality of the film. So he asked Catrol to come and exchange ideas with her.

  The internal test screening was called by some Fox company front desk, secretary, and the big brother of the worker on the set.

   They often attend such in-house screenings, and are accustomed to film copies without credits and credits. Experienced secretaries will also bet on the box office results of the movie based on some internal gossip.

  The title of the 20th Century Fox waving the lights in front of the theater didn't have time to assemble, and the movie opened directly without the title. This is the interior of a Pharaoh's pyramid, and Catrol's Amy, the Pharaoh's daughter, is wrapped in white cloth and dressed as a mummy to avoid the idea of ​​her mother marrying her.

  The whole body is covered with cloth strips, and only two eyes are exposed, but Catroll, who is naughty to avoid his mother's demeanor, vividly acted.

  Ronald turned his head and glanced at Catrol. After all, he still underestimated her acting skills and hard work. To be able to achieve this level is not something a blond vase can do.

  The audience can still see Amy's character from her eyes without seeing her full face. Catroll's appearance is very unusual.

"What do you think of my performance? This is the best role I've prepared for since my debut, and my body shape has become good after working out. You'll know when you watch it." Cattrol smiled, very brilliant.

   "The wedding is ready, you have rejected the pharaoh's jeweler, you have rejected the grain merchant, you have rejected the pharaoh's food poison tester, and now there is only one choice, you must marry Hazara."…

   "So, what does Hazara do?" Catrol took off the veil, his expression critical and curious.

   "He's a fuel dealer."

"mom!"

   "Well, he sells camel dung."

   "Don't even think about it!"

   "You don't think about it, you have to marry him."

  Then the queen said something and explained to her daughter that women have no power in today's era. If women can do what they want, wouldn't the mother encourage her daughter to do it?

  Amy is still full of dreams, she prays to the gods, hoping to go to an era when women have the right to chase their dreams. Then the blue light flashed inside the pyramid, the wall of the cave shook, and the last burst of ashes erupted, and Amy disappeared on the spot.

  Ronald turned his head to look at the director Michael Gottlieb on the other side. This shot was skillful and smooth, and the special effects were obvious. The cost was not high, but the effect was very good.

   Although the performances of the two actors may not be in line with the customs of ancient Egypt, for American teenagers, these lines and performances are just in line with their ideas.

   Gottlieb felt the kindness and appreciation in Ronald's eyes, and nodded and smiled at him.

   "It seems good." Ronald retracted his gaze. Gottlieb was able to balance so many interests, and with a limited budget, he made a movie with a good beginning.

  The opening theme song is not ready yet, and the camera changes to the modern day after the black screen. Jonathan was given the role of motorcycle rider Andrew McCarthy.

   Jonathan is an unlucky guy. He lost his job when he got up, picked up his girlfriend on a motorcycle, and was teased by his colleagues. After a heavy rain, his girlfriend also broke up with him.

"Forehead…"

   Ronald covered his face.

   Don't brag too soon.

  Andrew McCarthy doesn't know what's going on. He doesn't have the same level of acting as before. He is dumbfounded and only uses staring, grinning, and fake smiles to express the character's emotions.

   He recalled the practice of going to the Philadelphia studio where director Gottlieb tried to make everyone exaggerate. But hyperbole is hyperbole, why did Andrew McCarthy act so badly?

   "What the **** is going on here? How did Andrew act so badly?" Ronald couldn't help it. He approached Catroll's ear, covered his mouth with his hand, and asked softly.

   "Andrew? He was drunk every day on the set. When I was filming with him, I could smell a stench in his mouth."

   "Tsk..." Ronald let out a sigh, and in the whole movie, as long as McCarthy was in the scene, it always seemed out of tune with other characters.

  , together with it, also lowered Catrol's acting skills. Several times Ronald saw her and McCarthy hugging, approaching, kissing, etc., and Cattrall couldn't help showing disgust on his face. It seems that this boy gang member is really stinky.

   But compared with Andrew McCarthy's Jonathan, who was too exaggerated and looked very fake, the exaggerated performance of a supporting role did not make Ronald feel uncomfortable.

  It seems that the different roles also give different people's performances with different tolerance intervals. …

   Jonathan, is a foolish boy who is naive enough to believe that a wooden model can be turned into a living person because of his gaze when there is no one at night. Therefore, the audience has to believe in such a person in order to substitute for the whole story.

  That requires Jonathan's behavior to be authentic. The audience's tolerance for him is relatively low.

   And a few supporting characters, the security guard in the mall, the manager who eats inside and outside, and the allies of the corner, a black "Hollywood" with a strange orientation and a very feminine dress, are all exaggerated supporting roles in fairy tales.

  The audience has a high degree of tolerance for them, try to be as bad as possible, as strange as possible, as exaggerated as possible, and they will not feel abnormal.

   Ronald kept thinking about this question while watching the movie. In traditional fairy tales, it seems to be the same, the supporting role can be very extreme, and the protagonist must be believable. For example, the two sisters and stepmother in Cinderella are abnormally bad, and Snow White's seven dwarfs are also very weird and exaggerated.

After watching the preview, and since someone went to collect the opinions of the audience, Ronald asked Catrol to wait for him outside, and he entered the conference room with director Michael Gottlieb and executive producer Joseph Farrow. Discuss further modifications to the film.

   "I said Michael, what's the matter with your filming? Why are the characters so exaggerated? It's not like a live-action movie, but like those animated villains that Disney made."

  Executive producer Joseph Farrow took the time to watch the internal preview. His own project, with plenty of interest to share. If the finished film is still of this exaggerated quality, I am afraid that the distribution department will be very opinionated. They will be afraid that the release will not go out, and no theaters will be willing to show it, even in the traditional off-season.

   If someone raises objections and cuts the issuance budget, I am afraid that I will lose a large piece of cake.

"What do you mean by that? I put forward my opinion a long time ago. This kind of story, originally this is an unbelievable story, the wooden model has become a real person, and it is only told in this fairy tale-like way. The story can make people immerse, otherwise it will lose a lot of audience." Director Gottlieb began to argue for himself.

   "I know, but you're a little too exaggerated. I can already imagine how those film critics will comment on the actors' acting skills - not at all."

   "No, Catroll played very well, and those supporting roles also have their own characteristics."

   The two talked a little intensely for a long time, and finally Farrow remembered Ronald who said nothing.

   "What do you think, Ronald? Who do you agree with?"

"Actually, I agree a little bit with Joseph and a little bit with Michael." Ronald played a slick, "Actually I also think it's not a bad thing for the supporting characters in this movie to be exaggerated. The character of the person, who is also a supporting character, is exaggerated."

Ronald flexed and extended the fingers of both hands to put a quotation mark on the saying of "moving villain", "Cartroll played very well, and her figure was kept very well, and she changed with the wooden model. The shots are convincing. But Andrew, he's a bit of a let down. The whole movie's ability to put the audience into a dream, because of his facial expressions, goes down a notch."…

   "Ha... Andrew."

   The other two stopped talking.

   "What on earth did he do? I believe that if he can show the normal performance level of the last 'Beauty in Pink', the audience may not be aware of the dissonance in the film at all." Ronald asked.

   "He was crushed."

   Finally, Joseph Farrow spoke up, after all, Andrew McCarthy was the one he hired.

   It turned out that McCarthy, as a member of Hollywood's "bratpack", was increasingly criticized by public opinion.

The leader of the   Kids Gang, Emilio Estevez, got together last year with another of Ronald's nemesis, Italian indie producer Dino de Laurentiis.

   He saw the potential of Emilio and signed a three-film contract with him. The first "Chariot" was released by Laurentiis' own company in July of this year.

  The quality of the movie was average, and the audience generally hated Emilio's boy gang. This kind of teenage star who did not do a proper job left the theater after two weeks of release, and the box office did not even reach the production cost.

  Another "Wisdom" that he wrote, directed and starred in, it seems that the box office is also worrying, and he is looking for distributors everywhere in Hollywood.

   Rob Lowe, the main member of another kid gang, and Emilio's girlfriend Demi Moore co-produced a "Merry Last Night", which did well at the box office. The film directed by rookie director Edward Zwick, which just rolled off the production line, unexpectedly reaped 35 million at the box office.

   But Rob Lowe's star career is also worrying. He has scandals with a number of actresses, and a large group of fans claim to have an affair with him overnight.

The title of    "Boy Gang" was deducted on the heads of these young actors after they came out. No matter what they do, whether they are different from other actors, the audience's perception of them is very bad.

The bad reputation of the   Kids Gang has put a lot of pressure on even Andrew McCarthy. Many characters with good images will not be handed to him by the script, but many bad boy characters are waving to him.

   Coupled with the previous work "Beauty in Pink", the box office did not meet expectations. Andrew McCarthy was almost clinically depressed. He has since moved away from Hollywood and returned to New York, where his parents were. In this way, fewer scripts were sent, so that I was addicted to alcohol, and I was so drunk that I couldn't wake up every day.

   "Hey, the mentality of a loser." Ronald sighed inwardly, the best way to fight this kind of pressure from public opinion is to fight back with a successful character, instead of being afraid at home every day.

  Tom Cruise was also swept away by the reports of the "Boy Gang" at first, but once "Top Gun" came out, no one regarded him as a member of the "Boy Gang" anymore.

   "How is he now?" Ronald couldn't help but feel that the actor industry really depends on luck and pressure. In addition, many actors are emotionally sensitive characters, which are prone to psychological problems.

   "He arranged a reining center. So, what do you propose?" Executive producer Joseph Farrow shook his wrists, revealing a gold watch under the sleeves of his close-fitting handmade shirt.

   Ronald recognized it as a Rolex, but did not understand the model number. He also flicked his wrist, revealing his Casio digital watch, "It's still early, why don't we go to the editing room to discuss in detail?"...

"My idea, these close-up reaction shots, get Andrew McCarthy to reshoot if you have a chance. See if it works a little bit better. If you don't get a chance, just cut it out. Then cut down some of the frames he and Catrol are in, especially The awkward shots, in total, may lose half a minute of time, but when the audience is weird, you can reduce it by five or six times."

  Ronald was on the editing machine, fast forward and backward, found a few shots that he thought were not good, and suggested to the director.

   Remaking this kind of thing must be a helpless last choice. Because it's unlikely that the actors will go back to where they were when they were filming. So Ronald also just picked a few close-ups of a single person to suggest.

  "Hum..." Director Michael Gottlieb turned the **** on the editing table back and forth many times, and he reluctantly admitted that Ronald's plan was right.

   "What do you think? Joseph?"

   "Is that all it takes? I have no opinion, you are a professional, Ronald."

   "Hi hi..." Ronald covered up, Joseph Farrow said, as if to imply that director Michael Gottlieb was an amateur.

   "By the way, what about the theme song at the beginning and end? Let's take a look too." Ronald recalled in his dream, as if he had dreamed of a song, and it sounded good.

   "Here", director Michael Gottlieb found the recordings of the opening and closing theme songs, hung up the tape recorder and played it to Ronald and the others.

   "shxt!, you should have put this song in the test copy." Ronald confirmed that this was the song he had dreamed about in the clip himself. The overall melody of the song is very catchy, the voices of the two singers are also very magnetic, the rhythm is bright and upward, maybe it will be a good song on the charts.

   "You know what? I think we should find a singer to shoot an mv and play it over and over on the mtv station. You take some shots of the singer and cut it with the movie clips."

  Ronald is in a good mood. There is a well-known song at the end, which will add a lot of audiences to the movie to listen to the song and watch the movie.

  He picked up some of his own experiences, picked up what he could say, and told the two present.

   "I think it's a good idea." Director Michael Gottlieb nodded frequently.

   "Huh, that's it. I'll let the distribution and marketing department make an extra budget." Joseph Farrow was delighted to have more excuses to increase the budget.

   "Who would have thought that a forty-seven-year-old rock singer, Grace Slick, could sing such a song." Joseph Farrow exclaimed.

   "Will a lot of resources be invested in marketing before the movie is released? For example, does the protagonist have any TV interviews? Or special interviews in newspapers?"

   Ronald saw that he was in a good mood, and began to hint at him sideways.

"Of course, of course. I'll make arrangements." Joseph Farrow understood what Ronald meant. "The TV interview Fox will try to get the best chance to appear, and Andrew McCarthy is going to the rehab center, so we will put all the The resources are placed on Miss Cattrol. After all, she is the reason many audiences go to the cinema.

   Newspaper interviews will be shared with Miss Catrol and Michael. After the movie is released in February next year, it will depend on the situation whether additional resources will be added. "…

   "Kim will be happy." Ronald shook hands with Joseph Farrow.

   "She deserves it, her talent and hard work, we all see it."

   "Let's go, Kim. Mr. Farrow agreed to give you a lot of TV talk shows. Just before it hits theaters next year."

   Ronald came out and beckoned to Catrol, who was waiting anxiously beside him, and told her the good news.

   "Really? I..." Cattrol happily kissed Ronald on the spot, then hugged Ronald tightly.

   "You have to get used to it. This movie is well done, and you will have many interview opportunities. If necessary, I can find a public relations company to give you some media training."

   "You are so kind, Ronald." Cattrol hugged a little more, making Ronald fully feel his "thank you".

   "What a stunner." Ronald was also a little bit more energetic. He picked Catrol's coat from the chair, put it on her, and helped her pull the blond hair out of the collar.

   took advantage of the situation and put his arms around Cartroll's waist. There was a heat in the silk dress. This woman is truly passionate by nature.

  "Let's go", Ronald walked towards the gate with his arms around Catrol, the texture in his hand made him feel anxious.

"Is my waist very strong? I used to exercise every day for this movie, and I'm still doing it after filming. So what you see now is my best state." Whisper softly.

   "Who can stand this?" Ronald made a humming sound as blood rose from his ears to the top of his head.

   "When I was shooting, the costumer even praised me that my figure was better than those six sculptures."

   "Huh?" When Ronald heard this, he suddenly turned to look at Catroll. Cattrol, caught off guard, twisted his waist and leaned against Ronald, his eyes filled with spirituality just like the beginning of the movie, as if asking, "Did you feel it?"

   "No, wait a minute, where did your sculptures go?"

"In the warehouse at Twentieth Century Fox, I don't know. Six sculptures, in different poses. Some are seated, some are standing, some are half-sitting and looking back. All made for a certain shot. "

   "You better take them all back," Ronald reminded in Catroll's ear.

   "Why?" Catroll was puzzled. "My house is too small to fit."

   "You don't want that after the movie came out, you became famous, and some men brought those statues very much like you home, and then..."

   "Oh..." Catrol figured it out, and quickly dragged Ronald to the warehouse to get his sculpture back.

   "One, two, three, four...how come there are only four?"

   Sure enough, in the production warehouse of Twentieth Century Fox, Ronald's friend Day Young made six statues for Catrol, and only four remained on the floor.

   "I don't know, I'm just a keeper. I work day shifts every day." The warehouse keeper is a white man with a shaggy beard and the smell of beer.

   "Okay, let's take the rest, and if you have news about the two lost ones, let us know."…

   "This is the property of Twentieth Century Fox." The custodian was reluctant, and such a real-life statue is rarely seen in movie props.

   "You have a question, call Joseph Farrow." Ronald asked Catrol to sign off, then borrowed a cart and transported the sculpture to the parking lot.

  Little Bud was in the Mercedes-Benz, and hurriedly came out to take over, "Oh, is this the statue of Miss Catrol? It's very beautiful."

   "Thanks, Bud. I'll take it home, please take it to my apartment, this is the address. The concierge will take care of it."

   "No problem, I'll take over with the concierge." Little Bud put the three statues in the back seat of the car and the co-pilot, and fastened their seat belts.

"Put this on the back seat of my Ferrari", Ronald held the last statue, the half-sitting body forward and eyes looking back, put it on the back seat of the Ferrari, adjusted Take a pose.

  Catroll got into the car, and Ronald took her to the Beverly Hilton.

The doorman from the    Hilton Hotel came over to open the door, "Good afternoon, Mr. Li."

  "Hello", Ronald got out of the car first, took Catrol's hand, and waited at the door.

   "Miss, won't you come down?" The doorman said to the statue in the back seat, "Oh, shxt, this is a dummy."

   "Hahaha" Ronald and Catrol both laughed.

   "Thank you, and in an hour, bring us a bottle of champagne and a plate of strawberries." Ronald took out a $20 tip and handed it to the doorman, then helped place the statue on the sofa.

   "Okay, sir, thank you, sir", the doorman happily closed the door and left.

   Closing the door and turning around, Ronald found that Cattrall had taken off his coat and was in a red dress, also sitting on the sofa.

  Catroll also leaned forward, looking back at Ronald, "Which one do you think is sexier, me or the statue?"

   Ronald felt a little dazed for a moment, as if there were really two Catrols in front of him.

   This scene is a bit too similar to the scene in the movie where Cattrol turns from a statue to a real person.

  "Kim..." Ronald pulled Cattrol up, "You don't have to be like this, in my eyes, you will always be a diligent, brave, and very talented actress."

   "I like to hear you say that, go ahead." Catroll hugged Ronald, or was hugged by Ronald's palm, a warm current flowed into his heart.

   "You have a good figure and you are beautiful, but in the opening scene of the mummy, the audience was conquered by your temperament without even seeing your face. This is rare among actresses."

   "Oh... Ronald." The more he listened, the happier Cattrall was. He grabbed Ronald's hair and threw his head back sharply, feeling dizzy.

   "Can I see you again?" After the workout, Catrol has a very good physical strength. She is lying on the bed drinking champagne and drinking strawberries. The two aromas are mixed, which is extraordinarily good and gives people a sense of happiness.

   "Of course, you know, I appreciate your performance in the movie. You can always call my agent in the future, I'm usually busy, you can talk to Nisita or Richard if you have anything."…

   Ronald knew what Catrol meant. The contract between the two is about to expire soon, and then the two have their own projects to work on. Cattrall likes Ronald's performance and wants to catch this young blockbuster director.

   "Don't worry, I won't harass you. I'm just afraid that I won't forget you in the future." Cattrol picked a strawberry in good condition and put it into Ronald's mouth.

   "Mmmm..." Ronald was chewing strawberries, when it was sealed by Cartroll again, and a scent accompanied the champagne.

  …

   On the second day, the internal audition score of "Spirit" was given to Ronald.

In the total score of   10, more than 100 employees of 20th Century Fox gave it a score of 8.3.

   "What level is this score in the internal test screening?" Ronald didn't understand the scoring standard for the internal test screening, so he found his agent Nisita for advice.

"The specific standard is not clear, roughly equivalent to b to b on emascore, to give you a reference, Emilio Estevez's new film 'Wisdom', which was previewed in Fox's internal test, only got a score of 6.2 ."

   "It's nothing compared to that hunchback", Ronald gradually felt relieved when he heard the comparison. It seems that the box office of "Spirit" will not be too bad, and his famous eye for choosing movies will not be challenged for the time being.

   "Michael Douglas called. He just finished filming Fatattra and wanted to talk to you."

"Let's wait until the editing of my new film is completed. Please explain it to him, and I will find him when I am done." Ronald roughly guessed Douglas's intentions, and set the meeting time when the editing of "Spicy Dance" was completed. after.

   "Spielberg called from Xujiahui Film Studio and said that your friends Assistant Director Huang and Xiaoyan have helped him a lot. Thank you."

   "Remind me and call him back. Or you can get me a telegram first. International calls are hard to get through there."

   After finishing some of the things accumulated during the filming and vacation, Ronald was about to leave Nisita's office.

  "Rick", the door was pushed open and Paula Wagner walked in.

   "Oh, Ronald, you're here too." Paula hugged him, and then handed her husband Nisita a piece of paper. Nisita looked at it, and the two seemed to have something to discuss.

   "I'm just leaving." Ronald said to her husband that she seemed to have something to say, so he said goodbye.

   "That's right, Ronald. Do you still have stock investments?" Nisita suddenly stopped Ronald, "This new legislation was originally intended to be discussed with you."

   "The tax cut bill pushed by the President has been passed in both chambers, and the new clauses treat income from long-term stock investments as the same as other income, and are also subject to the highest tax rate.

   has also cancelled the 60% tax-free allowance for long-term asset income, you should contact your accountant immediately. If you don't sell it this year, the new tax law will apply next year. Rick and I, and all our stars, need to be notified. ' Paula went on to explain.

   "Huh?" Ronald didn't expect the new tax law to have such a trick. "Didn't you say that the commander-in-chief supports tax cuts? Why did you increase taxes?"

   "It's a tax reform bill, not a tax cut bill scribbled in the newspapers." Paula Wagner took it from an accounting firm, a concise description of the provisions of the new tax law that have a major impact on star actors.

   The top rate of federal personal income tax has been lowered from 28% to 20%, which is good news.

   But in the past, if you buy a house, buy stocks, hold the assets for more than one year and then sell the money, you only need to discount the profit and pay it as the tax payable. Under the various incentives, in fact, only about 30% of long-term capital income needs to be taxed.

   In this way, the actual tax rate for investing in stocks and real estate is only 10%. The "Tax Reform Act", which was promoted by the media as a tax cut bill, actually doubled the tax rate for these high-income people.

   In addition, the new bill also cancels many of the original tax deductions and exemptions, such as re-buying assets, there will be no tax deferred benefits in the future, and you will have to pay taxes if you make money from sales. .

   Therefore, stars have to start allocating their assets again to avoid high losses after the new tax law.

   "Fortunately, I sold all the stocks." Ronald secretly drew a cross, "Otherwise, wouldn't I have to pay another million in taxes? This still doesn't take into account the losses caused by the inevitable drop in stock prices due to tax increases."