Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 800 Cannonball Brother

  The chairman of the jury has a great influence on the Cannes Awards. This year, the chairman of the jury for the Palme d'Or at Cannes is a handsome old man, Yves Montand.

   He is a famous singer and star with dual nationality in Italy and the country. He stood out on a jury of Sowell directors, British producers, and Polish directors and American novelists.

   "Why have a singer's botched actor be the jury president?" Ronald sat down for dinner with his agent Richard, the distribution manager of Daydream, Michelle Cannold. Holding the conference journal, he was very puzzled by the taste of the organizing committee.

"Ha, Ronald. You should understand. The film festival itself, like a movie, needs a publicity stunt. In Hollywood, the marketing cost of a movie without a star is more than double that of a movie with a star. ."

  Richard has been here for a few days, and he has seen a lot of promotional materials for the film festival. Yves Montan’s old face knows that Cannes has chosen a star to be the chairman for its own popularity.

   This old handsome guy also has a certain reputation in America. Like Alain Delon, he is one of the most famous handsome stars in Western European countries.

  Americans are most familiar with his history with Marilyn Monroe, who starred in one of Monroe's last films, "Let's MakeLove."

"Being a jury is a very serious matter, and it is very difficult. There are 300 films in Cannes a year, and only 20 films are selected for the Jury Prize and the Palme d'Or. Our judges are like lumberjacks. There's nothing but chop, chop, chop...it hurts my heart, all choices have to be judged by artistic standards."

   On TV, Yves Montan is being interviewed. Cannold’s assistant speaks French and translates it on the spot for a few people sitting there.

   Ronald saw Yves Montan on TV, his eyes were swollen and his eyes were swollen. At first glance, it was a puffy face caused by overindulgence. I wonder how this person is so embarrassed to talk about art?

"Behind all of these films, there is a huge effort by the director. We can't blame the director for the problems of the finished film because of other people's mistakes. Maybe the actors are not in a good state today, or the lighting people are distracted, or the editing People cut the body into three pieces, then put the head and tail together..."

   "Pfft..." Ronald laughed until the water spurted out of his mouth, and he quickly wiped it off with a napkin. Everything is expensive in Cannes during the film festival, and the price of mineral water catches up with the usual Bordeaux wine.

   This Yves Montan, I don't know why he started to praise the director. The author-director theory adhered to by the people of the hair country believes that the director controls all aspects of the film and is responsible for the final effect of the film. When it comes to Yves Montan, mistakes can be passed on to others, and credit goes to the director.

   "If only I made a movie in the hair country, it would be nice to be touted like that."

"Um... I'm afraid Cannes doesn't like our films very much, and it's impossible to even enter the secondary competition unit. We are just doing the premiere at the film festival." Michelle Cannold thought that Ronald wanted to participate, and said quickly Take your own observations.

  Cannes firstly disliked blockbuster movies, nor did they like the classic narrative method that appealed to audiences, and finally they hated Hollywood, believing that commercial movies had gone astray.

   "Don't worry, I'm just kidding", Ronald certainly understood that he had little chance at Cannes. Moreover, he has also made movies like "Top Gun" touting America's military strength. If the director of America was not anti-war, he would not be popular in Cannes at all.

   "But it's enough for us to welcome the audience."

  Cannold pulled out a finished poster featuring Jennifer Gray's flying skirt and Patrick Schwytz's sturdy body.

   "Very good, how about our audience booking?" Ronald put down his knife and fork and asked about the attendance at the premiere.

   "Very good, the audience here still remember your 'breakdance', and they were very enthusiastic when they saw you bring another dance movie. Our premiere is hard to get a ticket, and we are trying to find a way to add another one."

   "Very well, I'll go look for Minahan to see if he can do anything. Cannon is now the biggest filmmaker and sponsor of the Cannes Film Festival, and the roadside from the airport is full of their advertisements."

   That night, Ronald fell into a jet lag in a small hotel in Cannes. Every awards season here, the hotel is fully booked, and the price of such a small hotel is very outrageous.

   took off his shoes and socks and let his toes curl up on the carpet like a fist.

  Ronald remembered the little trick he dreamed about on the plane and did it a few times, and it seemed to have some effect. The congestion of the limbs caused by flying has improved a lot.

   Ronald seems to be more prone to dreaming about movies since practicing the breathing method of yoga. However, this kind of triggered dream is not as long and clear as before, often only a small clip, and I don't know which movie it is.

   The rhythm was so slow at the beginning, and it took a minute to shoot after getting off the plane. I’m afraid it’s not a slow-paced drama?

   Ronald found a notebook to write down the scene, took a hot shower, and fell asleep.

   This night, he slept very deeply, Ronald didn't dream of anything, the morning sun was shining on the bed through the window, and Ronald woke up with a warm feeling.

   "Go to Minahan", Ronald finished his breakfast and walked to the big hotel where Cannon's people lived with his agent Richard.

   "Now the Cannes Film Festival is really going to be renamed the Cannon Film Festival."

  The billboards on the roadside are also full of movie posters from Cannon Films. With two at most, one is "Superman IV", and the other is MastersoftheUniverse.

  The sturdy figures of Christopher Reeve and Dolph Lundgren above attracted many girls from the hair country to stop and watch.

   "Why aren't there any other movie posters? There are a lot of Cannon Company logos?"

  Ronald didn’t quite understand the arrangement of the cannons. These advertising spaces definitely cost a lot of money. Why didn’t they put movie posters, instead they were vacated for company logos?

   "I heard that many of Cannonball's films have been postponed this year, and the main focus will be on these two films." Richard participated in many events in Cannes and told Ronald some of the news he heard.

   "Oh," Ronald nodded. These two films have a lot of special effects, and Minahan also said that the two films are still in post-production, presumably to be a blockbuster and bring Superman back to the American audience.

   "Minahan, where's Minahan?" When they arrived at the hotel where the Cannonballers were staying, Ronald saw a group of people surrounding their president, Yoram.

   He was wearing a white long-sleeved T-shirt, beige trousers, and a pair of large sunglasses on his face, and the people around him were like treating a king, surrounding him.

   "Where's your money? Why hasn't the money been paid yet? When I do business, I always pay first hand, second hand delivery, and everyone competes fairly."

Most of the people around are movie buyers from all over the world. Many of them don't speak English, and they don't understand the outline of the story on the poster. They only know that there is Superman on it. Lundgren.

   But that's what makes them waver's check and buy a copy from Yoram's cannon and put it back. Hollywood stars, who doesn't like to watch? Anyway, Superman, or Seaman who is similar to Superman, can't understand the words and does not prevent the audience from understanding the plot.

   "Ronald", Yoram saw Ronald walk in, and immediately separated the crowd and came over to hug him.

"I'm so glad to see you again in Cannes. I remembered the past of killing the Quartet here. How about this time, is this dance film released overseas and handed over to our cannons? You know my reputation. Yes, payment has never been a problem."

   "Okay, you have negotiated with my subordinate Michelle Cannold, and I will hand over the distribution to him."

   Ronald didn't know much about overseas distribution, so he entrusted Cannold to handle it. Anyway, the price is high.

"Everyone, do you know him? This is Ronald Lee, the director of our cannon dance blockbuster, breakdance. He made another dance film this year. If you are interested, you can talk to him or me. Okay, we're all good friends."

   Those buyers from all over the world, as soon as they heard that Ronald was the director of "Break Dance", immediately rushed to surround him, speaking English with various accents, they wanted to buy his films.

   "Break dancing" has become all the rage in Europe and Asia in recent years. The global broadcast of the closing ceremony of the 1984 Olympic Games brought a wave of breakdance around the world. Just scraped in these backward countries.

   Their fashion trends are always a year or two behind America.

   "Okay, go and talk to my manager Cannold about it. We'll have the premiere in a few days, you can watch it if you like."

   Ronald was a little overwhelmed by the enthusiasm of these people, but fortunately Richard helped him block some people.

   "How about it? Our cooperation is a match made in heaven. Your movie is popular with audiences in the third world, and we have a complete global distribution channel."

"I'm still saying that, let's find Cannold. Under the same conditions, I will definitely find you cannonballs. By the way, what about Minahan? Why didn't you see him." Ronald didn't want to be taken advantage of, so he dismissed the appointment Ram asked him to let go of his request now.

   "He's talking to a few star actors about the production, right in the room. You...you take Ronald up to find my cousin." Yoram ordered an assistant and took Ronald upstairs.

"Relax, relax, we'll hold you up as Stallone's successor, it just takes a little time. Dove, do you think you're worse than Stallone? But it takes time to become famous. If your Mastersoft the Universe becomes famous , you're a star, right?"

   Ronald walked in and saw Minahan chatting with the muscular Dolph Lundgren.

   "Meinahan!" Ronald called to him.

   "Ronald, let me introduce you, this is Lundgren, another action star of our cannon." Minahan was very happy to see Ronald coming.

   "I've seen your performance, it's impressive." Ronald shook hands with Lundgren politely. In the Rocky series of movies, he played the boxer of the Souville Union, and in the first two movies, Rocky and his opponent, friend, and coach, the black boxing champion Apollo was killed.

   Of course, Ronald was being polite. In that movie, Lundgren only showed off his muscles and had no acting skills at all.

   But with this kind of exploding muscles, you don't need acting skills to play a villain. A block bigger than Stallone, the audience knew at a glance that this was the Russian Hercules.

   "Meinahan, I don't care what you say, I will interview the media myself. Sorry Ronald, we meet under these conditions."

   Lundgren puffed out his biceps at Minahan. Make a move to scare him. Then nodded with Ronald and went out.

   "Ronald, I made you laugh. Dove wants to become famous, and now his film is still in the late stage and has not been released in Cannes. After he came, he didn't have the opportunity to hold a press conference, and I was a little unhappy."

   "Oh, are you alright?" Ronald thought to himself, if he was fooled by Minahan, he could only help sell copies as a model at a trade fair, and he would be dissatisfied if he didn't have the opportunity to enjoy celebrity treatment and be interviewed by the media.

   "It's fine", it's just fine for me and you to go down for a walk.

The two went down the stairs, and Minahan didn't mention the "spicy dance" thing, "Now Yoram is in charge of most of the distribution and pre-sale business, and I'm mainly in charge of production. So for your movie distribution, I'll let Yorah I'm talking to your people. Let's still talk about movies, and at heart, I'm an artist."

   "Of course..." Ronald sensed the rising and falling power of the two brothers inside the cannon. He did prefer to have a little more conversation with Meinahan, who was obsessed with making movies.

  The two walked out of the hotel, put on sunglasses, and walked in the sunshine of Cannes.

   "Meinahan, you liar, where did you promise my movie investment?"

  The two walked out for a while, an actress with heavy eyeshadow, high hair combed, wearing a black leather coat and high heels, suddenly rushed in front of the two and began to scold.

   "Ah..." Ronald was startled and jumped to the side.

  This woman was dressed like a witch in the Middle Ages. Most importantly, her leather coat was still low-cut, and her sturdy figure appeared in front of Ronald.

"Kassandra, Cassandra, the Lost City of Gold, it's not our fault that the box office failed. Who let the actor named Stone screw up all the performances? The script I promised you must also be will shoot.

   But you have to be patient, be patient. The most important thing in making a movie is patience. "

"Hmph, how many months have you told me to be patient? I'm running out of patience. Can't I make 'Ecstasy Heavenly Master' without you? My mother, I dress like this just to find some big moneymakers in Cannes. , shoot it yourself."

   "Cassandra, don't do this, we agreed? This will be your famous work. Don't you believe me, don't you believe Ronald?"

  Meinahan said, pushing Ronald out.

   "Hello, Cassandra." Ronald remembered the actor who played the female villain in the Indiana Jones follow-up film, "The Lost City of Gold."

   "I remember giving you the business card. If you have a good script, feel free to talk to my daydream script assistant."

   "Really? When I get to Los Angeles, I'll look for it..."

   "Is this your outfit in the script?" Ronald asked her looking at this strange outfit.

   "Yes, yes, I just dressed like this, looking for a rich man willing to invest."

   "Good luck then." Ronald shook hands with her, which was indeed impressive.

   "They always want too much, too fast. We cannons to cultivate stars and have a long-term plan."

   "Of course, Stallone is still there, and the audience won't look at Lundgren's muscles." Ronald echoed.

  The two walked to the beach, where the spring breeze was blowing and the sun was very comfortable.

   "We haven't taken pictures for a long time, haven't we?" Ronald felt that the blue sky and white clouds, the beach and the coast were very beautiful, so he wanted to take a photo with his old friend Minahan.

   "I have a camera here." Minahan took out a small Rollei camera.

   "I'm sorry, can you take a group photo for us?" Ronald found a young man and woman with their backs to him, and politely asked each other for help.

   "Ronald, how are you?"

   "Yeah, what about you? Isabella, who is this?"

   Ronald reacted, wearing a plain T-shirt, trousers and sandals, no makeup, looking like a tourist, not a movie practitioner, it was Isabella Rossellini.

   Since her divorce from Martin Scorsese, Ronald and her have been seen less often. I only know that she became a model of Lancome, and she also filmed her boyfriend David Lynch's "Blue Velvet", and she made a lot of noise when she starred in it.

   But this time, the man next to her was not Lynch, but another European-looking man, about the same age as Isabella.

   "My mother likes Hair Country and used to live here for a period of time every year. I also want to enjoy a peaceful life. Not many people here recognize me."

  Isabella Rossinelli wears no make-up and dresses very modestly. At first glance, it is not recognizable.

   "Ah, it's impossible. Anyone who has seen Ms. Bergman's films would not recognize you." Minahan stepped forward to hold Isabella's hand and shook it vigorously. He was a big fan of Hollywood's golden age, and was overjoyed to meet Bergman's daughter.

   "This is Mr. Minahan Golan, who speaks for Cannon Films."

   Ronald introduced them to each other, "Who is this?"

  I have to introduce it without introduction. Ronald had to go up and ask, wondering if Isabella was on a secret trip with her lover.

   "Hahahaha..." Isabella saw the expression on Ronald's face and guessed what he was thinking, "This is Roberto, my brother."

   "Oh, I've admired it for a long time," Ronald thought. Isn't this the pregnant child that caused Bergman to leave her husband and run off with Italian director Rossellini?

   "Hello, let me take pictures for you." Roberto took the Rollei camera and let Ronald and Minahan stand together to take a few pictures. Then there's Isabella pictured with the two of them.

   "This year is the 40th anniversary of Cannes. The organizer will hold a birthday party. Will you go? Ronald?"

  Isabella is a supermodel, posing casually, taking a photo with Minahan made him laugh happily.

   "I'm not the director of the competition, and the organizing committee should not have given me an invitation."

   "How about that, I'll have someone give you one." Because of her parents' relationship, Isabella has many acquaintances in the film industry in hair country and Italy. If it weren't for her development in America, it would have been easy to enter the European film circle.

   "You must come." Isabella asked about Ronald's hotel, beckoned to him, and left with her brother.

   "She really looks like Bergman." Minahan was still sighing.

   Ronald shook his head, this dude is too addicted to the old Hollywood. Today's audience, the market, is completely different from the past. Television attracts most of the adult audience, and only the stars or dramas they are interested in can draw them back to the cinema.

   Repeating the classic movie scenes of the past like this will definitely not make a big-selling movie.

   "Hey", Ronald didn't know what to say, and patted Minahan on the shoulder. This old friend is actually a movie buff who wants to restore the glory of Hollywood in the past, and also wants to restore the rhythm of the big studio era, where stars are bound to studios and make four or five movies a year.

   Said that he has a deep love for classic Hollywood movies, or will he only seek a sword?

  In any case, the glory of Hollywood movies in the past has long since disappeared with the advent of television. To make a movie now, you still have to use some new thinking.

   "I said, you don't seem to be showing many movies in Cannes this year." Ronald asked Minahan on the way back.

   "There are two big productions that were originally scheduled to be released in Cannes, and the special effects are still being produced, so we can't do anything about it. Fortunately, Cannon's reputation is not good, and those movie buyers from all over the world still trust us."

   "Then do you have any extra screenings here that you can share with my 'Spicy Dance'?"

   "Of course, your overseas release... Forget it, let Yoram talk to you. I can't wait to see your second dance movie."

  Meinahan regained his enthusiasm, and took Ronald to chat about "spicy body dancing".

   (end of this chapter)