Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Exploiting Hollywood 1980 Text Volume Chapter 21 Dirty Dancing's second $20 million business jet returned to Paula, and soon picked up other VIP guests. After the plane stopped for a while, it refueled and took off, flying to Tennessee. Nashville, state.

The plane was landing, and in the lounge at the airport, Ronald and many people were waiting for the business jet to land.

Ronald, who left New York to attend the Kansas Film Critics Awards, did not take a commercial flight directly to Kansas City. Instead, he headed to Tennessee, not far from Kansas.

"Is this your first time in Nashville?" Ronald looked at the tall man wearing a formal suit next to him. He was Ed Bastian, the new partner-designate of PricewaterhouseCoopers.

"Honestly, yes, I dreamed of being a rock star when I was young, and this is my dream place." Ed Bastian was excited and danced a few times.

The "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack from RCA Records actually ranks first in sales in the United States. Michael Jackson's "bad" album is far behind the sales of his miraculous album four years ago. It's just that the original album didn't receive much attention from the record industry, and Ronald took the initiative to lower the public record. Sales figures allowed MJ to return to the top of the sales list.

In addition to the nearly 8 million sales in the country, the record's overseas sales are also scary. Canada, Australia, and other English-speaking countries have all ranked first in sales, and Britain has sold more than 2 million copies.

In fact, what is even more surprising is that the record sales in non-English speaking countries, including China, Germany, and Nordic countries, have also broken records. In this country, where almost everyone speaks English but no one recognizes it, more than one million copies were sold.

Germany even surpassed Britain in sales figures, not counting the number of pirated copies flowing to East Germany and Poland through underground channels.

Even Latin American countries, where the mambo dance originated, are selling well. Brazil even sold gold records. This is the highest praise for a mambo record from America that sings in English. It can be sold in Brazil.

This time around the end of the year, it is the second time that RCA has shared record sales revenue with Ronald. The sales volume settled this time has doubled compared to last time. Although the overseas sales revenue share is much less than that in China, it cannot withstand the very high sales volume.

Therefore, this time Ronald's income was around 20 million again, which surprised PricewaterhouseCoopers. A random client who came to my door turned out to be the accounting firm that contributed the largest client income in the entertainment industry.

Ed Bastian brought a large amount of income to PricewaterhouseCoopers because he unexpectedly became an account manager. He also successfully passed the annual partner selection and will soon become a new New York office partner.

Ed Bastian finished handling the accounts and helped Ronald put the check into his account. He was captured by the happy Ronald and flew with him to Nashville, the mecca of the southern record industry. There were still things for him to deal with here.

"Ronald!"

Ronald and Ed Bastian were dancing happily in the terminal. On the business jet that had already landed, a male star with a single eyelid and a great figure stepped out. He greeted Ronald immediately and then quickly Step forward and hug him.

"Patrick...hi, how are you doing?"

Ronald was approached by none other than "Dirty Dancing" actor Patrick Schwytz. This time Ronald called him and asked him to pick up the dividend check. Patrick Schweitz didn't want to come because he and his wife were planning to buy a ranch.

Of course Ronald refused, threatening to give him a check until the New Year if he didn't come. Then he asked a business jet to pick him up and forcibly "kidnapped" him to Nashville.

When he arrived at the hotel, Ronald took the account from the accountant Ed, then attached a check and handed it to Schwyz.

"Oh, thank you, Ronald." Patrick Schwytz looked at the number on the check and whistled happily.

"Lisa is a little upset that you insist on me coming to Nashville, but she'll be happy with this check. We've been looking to buy a ranch for a long time. With this money, we can buy a nicer ranch." . Ranches with good water sources in California are very expensive. You know, the previous dividend was not enough for us, and we are hesitating whether to take out a loan or start with a small ranch."

Patrick Schweitz got excited when he talked about the ranch. He grew up in Texas. After making money from making movies, he always hoped to buy a ranch of his own with his wife Lisa and run it.

"Are you trying to attract vacationers from New York?" Ed Bastian has also handled accounts for ranch companies. He knows that if a small ranch like this is run by a movie star, most of them will turn to vacation ranches. develop. Cattle, sheep and horses are more of just props to make tourists happy.

"No, I want to raise horses. I don't want to receive tourists, they are too troublesome. I have loved horses since I was a child. I want to run the business slowly with Lisa. When we have money, we can buy an Arabian horse and let him participate in horse racing competitions. , if you win the prize, you can breed them and make money.”

"Is an Arabian stallion expensive?" Ronald didn't understand, so he asked Schwytz.

"Fortunately, those with bloodline certification are more expensive. If they are descendants of famous horses that have won the bid, they will be very expensive. Including specially built stables, jockeys, trainers, etc., the total expenditure will be more than 500,000. "

Patrick Schwytz is as passionate about raising horses as he is about being an actor.

"Of course, the income of a successful horse is no less than that of our movie actors. I plan to make a few more movies and slowly accumulate money to start buying my first Arabian stallion. Once I can achieve success in state competitions, You can use breeding to pay for it.”

"Hahaha... Actually, you don't have to wait." Ronald took another check from Ed Bastian and handed it to Schwytz, "The one just now was yours." He was like the wind. 'The share of lyrics, music and singing, this one is your share of the entire record as the main creator of Dirty Dancing. It can just meet your expectations of buying an Arabian horse."

"This..." Patrick Schweitz looked at the check in his hand, then turned it over, and then turned it over again. There are six more digits after the number 1 above, "This is so surprising..."

"You deserve this. Maybe you don't know that our movie soundtrack sales are higher than MJ's new album."

Ronald brought a record over, unwrapped it and handed the case to Schwyz. Then he picked up a signature pen from the table and handed it over, "Get ready, you will sign a lot of names next." of."

…

Ronald walked into a small local community center, which was decorated very enthusiastically by fans of the "Dirty Dancing" fan club. Many people attended in costumes, and there was also a local high school girl band to cheer up.

In the middle of the podium is a large basket of flowers with the number 100 in the middle.

"Kathy, congratulations." Ronald recognized Kathy, the founder of the club at the time. Today, as the president of the fan club, she will certify a total of seven fans for 100 movie viewings. With them, more than 10 spectators have become members of the 100-game club.

"Girls, let's give the omnipotent Director Ronald a little applause..."

The fan club, all women, clapped and stamped their feet happily to welcome the director who had brought them countless joys to the stage.

"Thank you... thank you... no matter where I travel, I will always think of you. You are my best fans. The 100 movie viewing figures are very touching. To commemorate entering the 100 movie club today As a new member, I specially brought a gift..."

Ronald waved his hand, and the assistants pushed in a fully loaded dining cart with pink balloons surrounding it. There was a pile of things covered under a cloth with the word 100 written on it in the middle.

"boom!"

Among the colorful strips flying all over the sky, Ronald unveiled the cloth. Inside were the first batch of "Dirty Dancing" video tapes that had not yet been released. What was shipped to Nashville this time was a hardcover version. In addition to the video tape, it also came with a movie poster and many stills of the main creators.

Ronald unfolded the poster, with Patrick Schwytz at the back and Jennifer Gray at the front. The two embraced passionately. Above them, there was a squiggle title of "Dirty Dancing".

"Oh..." The girls in the fan club started cheering again.

Ronald presented gifts to them one by one. Those who entered the 100-game club received special signed editions with the signatures of the main creative staff.

The last person to receive the gift was Chairman Casey, "Ronald, you haven't fulfilled what you promised us last time."

"Which promise did I make?" Ronald pretended not to know. "Didn't I bring the signature of the main creator, the video tape, and the poster immediately? The video tape will not be available nationwide until after Christmas. You are the whole world. One of the first people to get their hands on the hardcover video tape of 'Dirty Dancing'.

"We want Patrick Schwitz, we want Johnny, and we want to dance with him." The last time Casey saw Ronald, she specifically proposed that she would dance with Johnny like the baby in the movie. .

"Are you all going to dance with Johnny?" Ronald asked the remaining members.

"Oh, yeah...we want Johnny, we want Johnny..." The girls started to clamor, Ronald said this, is it true...

"The moment of my life..." The Dirty Dancing theme song suddenly started playing, the lights suddenly dimmed and a spotlight found its way to the entrance.

Patrick Schwytz, wearing a black shirt and trousers from the movie, walked in slowly to the beat.

He walked all the way to Kathy's side, then took her hand and said: "No one can let the baby stay in the corner..."

"Oh oh..." The whole venue went crazy, and the club members rushed to the front, surrounded Schwytz and their club president Kathy, and clapped happily to give Patrick Schwytz the rhythm.

Casey was the first to finish a song, then the second immediately followed, then the third...until Patrick Schwytz and all the 100 Club members had danced for a while.

Ronald picked up his camera and acted as a photographer, taking a few souvenir photos of everyone in the club dancing with "Johnny".

Southern girls are enthusiastic but polite. Seeing that Patrick Schwytz was also tired, and after jumping with a few lucky people, he let him sit down.

Then those members who had not watched 100 games came up one by one with videos and posters to ask Schwytz for his autograph. They also got some instant cameras of their own and were waiting to ask their idol to sign the group photo.

"Oh, they are really the best movie fans in the world..." Late that night, Patrick Schwytz, who was a little cramped after signing the autograph, was having supper with Ronald in the hotel restaurant.

He was still thinking about the movie fans who worshiped him crazily just now, as if they were worshiping him as a god.

"Yes, they are the best movie fans." Ronald also felt that they were really crazy and enthusiastic. A female movie fan who worked a very simple job in a small town actually watched "Dirty Dancing" 100 times in more than half a year.

And these 100 times are all genuine people who paid for the tickets to see it. Patrick Schwytz also signed the book in which they collected their ticket stubs. If you do the math, you basically have to watch one show every day to achieve such an ambitious goal.

…

Early the next morning, Ronald said goodbye to the girls in the fan club who were reluctant to leave, and Ronald continued his schedule for various awards at the end of the year.

This time I came to Kansas City, Kansas.

The reason why the name is so long is because the city with the same name as the state is located exactly on the border of Kansas and Missouri, at the junction of the Missouri River and the Kansas River.

West of the river is Kansas City, Kansas, and the city of the same name on the east side of the river is called Kansas City, Missouri.

The Kansas Film Critics Awards, awarded at the end of each year in this city, are the second oldest Urban Film Critics Association Awards in the United States after the New York Film Critics Circle Awards. The first awards were awarded in 1965.

It is a very important one among the series of pre-war small prizes before the annual prize season.

There were not many directors and actors who came here to receive the award in person, and Ronald was considered the biggest one among them.

"Best Actress, Moonlight is sultry, Cher", the award organizer announced the results of the Best Actress.

Ronald went up to accept the award on Cher's behalf, "Thank you to the organizing committee for your love, and to all the film critics who voted. This is a great honor. Cher couldn't come to receive the award in person because of her concert schedule, so she entrusted me to Come and collect it on your behalf. Thank you all."

The film critics eligible to vote here all work in media outlets in southern states. So if celebrities come, it means greater respect for them. They all understood that Cher had a busy schedule and could not come to present the award in person. It would be a great honor for the Best Supporting Actress winner Olympia Dukakis to come to receive the award in person.

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The remaining Best Director Spielberg, Best Actor Michael Douglas, and Best Supporting Actor Sean Connery all had their awards accepted on their behalf.

"Congratulations..." Ronald hugged Olympia Dukakis after receiving the award, "What's your number?"

"The second one wins, the third one is shortlisted." Dukakis waved the crystal trophy. Her nationwide awards trip was sponsored by Ronald. She was on vacation with her husband. Seeing that she was winning more and more film critics awards, she began to dream of being nominated for a Golden Globe or even an Oscar.

There are more and more phone invitations from the agent, the basics are getting better and better, and the salary has begun to rise. The person Olympia Dukakis is most grateful to now is Ronald.

"Is it possible for you to be nominated for Best Director?" Dukakis now most hopes that Ronald will be nominated for Best Director. Winning is the best. Best Supporting Actress is not an impressive award. If we can get a few more, when people talk about "Moonlight Sultry" in the future, they will also remember her supporting roles.

"Ha, this may not be big," Ronald said angrily to Catherine, the manager who came to accept the award on Spielberg's behalf. "Now that Steven is starting to exert his strength, it may be him and 'The Last Emperor' The competition between the two Bertoluccis."