Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Carly... 'Let a River Flow' has a good performance on the charts, right? Are you satisfied?" Ronald in New York met Carly Simon, the composer and singer of the theme song of "Working Girls".

"Oh, Ronald..." Carly Simon came up and hugged Ronald tightly, her eyes full of tears, trying not to let them fall.

This single, which was refused to be released by Arista Records, won the Oscar for Best Original Song. On the night of the awards ceremony, Ronald saw Carly, who had no record company to support her and was waiting for a taxi at the door. The two decided in the car that Ronald would make this song the main theme song of the movie soundtrack and promote this single.

In addition to using Carly's original version as the first song on the record, Jimmy Reiner, the music director of Daydream, also brought in the Manhattan St. Thomas Men's Choir to produce a harmony version as the last song. As soon as the record was released, it immediately formed a sales boom with the video tape of "Working Girls". Daydreams is getting more and more proficient at this sales method of linking movies, videotapes, and soundtracks.

This time, Ronald found Columbia Records to cooperate in the release of the record. The record company, which has been renamed Sony, worked hard on Ronald's project and directly pushed "Let the River Flow" into the top 20 of the charts and the top 5 of the adult lyric chart. If this kind of choir hymn form is not so popular now, it is not impossible to enter the top ten of the chart.

The sales of the single and record of this song are also very good, directly breaking all the record records of Carly Simon since the 1980s. This singer, who was already considered out of date, turned over with an interlude, so it seems that she will be invited to the Grammy again next year.

"I arranged a very good director to shoot the MV." Ronald smiled and comforted Carly Simon, who was too excited. Ang Lee's script has been written and officially sent back to his hometown to participate in the competition. Now it's just right to free up his hands to shoot some MVs for Ronald, and make some money from advertisements, so that he can hold his head up in front of his wife.

The music video is basically a typical movie interlude, with Carly Simon also boarding the Staten Island ferry to shoot some shots, and then mixing them with the film footage of Melanie Griffith and Joan Cusack in the movie.

…

In the New York office of Daydream, Ronald listened to the project summary of this quarter. "The Reincarnation of the Young Miss" was forced to be withdrawn by the cinema after just five weeks. The box office performance was not satisfactory, and it barely exceeded the production cost of $16 million.

If it were a few years ago, this movie would definitely lose a lot of money, and Ronald's Daydream might be in trouble.

However, now that it has been released on videotapes, and this movie has Sybil Shepherd, a star that many people like, leading the star, as long as it slowly collects money on the videotape rental market, it will eventually make back its investment.

However, this is also a rare failure of Daydream and even Ronald. Fortunately, the distributor TriStar Pictures has borne a large part of the production costs, so Ronald will at least not lose a lot of cash flow.

After much consideration, Ronald discussed with Ed Bastien and concluded the project. TriStar Pictures bought out the distribution rights of the videotapes, and Daydream took a small loss and left. Although he could get more money by slowly recovering the investment through the videotapes, it would be better to get some cash back quickly than to occupy the capital and pay interest for a long time.

Ronald thought it was like training Emil Adolino, and he was very open-minded. Unlike other directors, Adolino was shy and didn't want to deal with new producers. He was content to be the director of Ronald's Daydream. If someone wanted him to make a film, he would discuss it with Ronald as soon as possible.

And the heroine of this movie, Sybil Shepherd, also came to get the last paycheck.

Sybil Shepherd took the check, flicked it with her finger, and put it in her small handbag.

"Ronald, I have a new project here. Are you interested in investing? I promise to help you make back your losses this time."

"Uh, what did you say?... Oh, new project, what project?" Ronald was so shocked when he saw Shepard that he didn't hear what the other party said clearly.

Sybil Shepard had obviously had plastic surgery. Her facial skin was like someone had pulled it back hard at the chin and temples, so that the wrinkles disappeared.

However, such a plastic surgery method obviously affects the distribution of facial muscles and fat. Ronald can no longer recognize the female star of "Blue Moonlight Detective Agency". Her whole face is obviously strange. Only fans who often watch her movies and TV series can recognize that this is Sybil Shepard.

"Why are you looking at me like this? Is there anything different about me?" Sybil Shepard deliberately asked Ronald who was staring at her.

"Oh, you look so radiant today... It reminds me of your youth... Ah, your beautiful face in 'The Last Movie.'" Ronald almost let it slip. Female stars hate to be told that they are old. So he turned to talk about the movie that Sybil Shepherd became famous for. She also hooked up with Bogdanovich and broke up his marriage.

"It's okay, Ronald. Now that I'm a mother, I'm no longer afraid to hear the word young..." Sybil Shepherd said insincerely. "In fact, this project has a lot to do with the last movie, and Bogdanovich is the director who is best at shooting me."

"Huh? He... No, you got the investment?" Ronald thought this was a bit strange. Bogdanovich's last film failed spectacularly. The movie starring Rob Lowe didn't even make 300,000 at the box office, and it was released within two days of its release. And because of his video scandal, no one wants to release the video of the movie now. It's really strange that someone like this would ask him to direct a movie.

"It's Barry Speikin, and he's bringing together everyone who worked on the last movie to make a sequel that will take place thirty years later..."

Ronald understood that this was someone willing to take a gamble, and this person's name was quite familiar. But why does it sound so unreliable?

The last film is about young flesh and passion, the story of several high school students. The sequel takes place thirty years later, with Sybil Shepard, the youngest member of the original cast, now in her forties. As the saying goes, watching middle-aged porn is a form of torture. Ronald was about to refuse.

"It's Barry Speikin, the producer of The Deer Hunter. He is optimistic about this script. It is an adaptation of the new work of the original author of the last movie. I am not saying that it will definitely be successful, but it will be very popular at the Oscars. competitive."

"Thank you, but no, thank you anyway." When Ronald heard that he was a deer hunter, he felt even more disgusted. Several servant kings got together and figured out what they were going to do. The problem with some filmmakers is that they don’t understand that they are no longer in line with this era, and they are still trying again and again.

"Diane, where have you been? Why haven't I seen you in the past two days?" On the morning of the third day, Diane came back to see Ronald again.

"I'll give you some private space. Bert, I, and the lawyer will talk about something." Diane teased openly and secretly to give Ronald time to see Helen.

"Hi, you seem to be very busy. Is everything going well? If you need any help, please let me know." Ronald quickly changed the subject.

"We still have to wait here for a few days to get it done. When I need you to appear, I will come to you." Diane continued to remain mysterious.

"Is Bert okay? How is he doing?"

"It's still the same as before. The taxi has been rented to other people to drive, so he collects some rent. He likes teaching at the City University of New York, but he doesn't have much money." When Diane met her father this time, she also wanted to give him a sum of money. To Bert…

"What have you been busy with these two days?" Diane asked.

"I'm busy working on a movie, or busy not getting caught up in a movie..." After Sybil Shepherd, Peter Bogdanovich also called and asked Ronald if he could invest. This project, or help with the distribution.

Ronald was wondering if he was too talkative to be able to get a job like this. Angry, he directly told Bogdanovich that his ex-wife Polly Platt, who had been stolen by Sybil Shepherd, was working as a producer for him, and he would not invest to make Polly feel dissatisfied. of the movie.

"My dear, you are really a very moral and principled person..." Diane came up and hugged him, with some admiration in her eyes.

"Hey... I also took some predicted box office into consideration. Did you know? Sybil Shepard also went for plastic surgery, and she almost couldn't recognize who she was. These middle-aged female stars really do it for their looks. I can do anything..." Ronald thought to himself, my morals are not much better, I'm just slightly better than others and I won't lie to others openly.

"Hmm..." Diane touched the corners of her eyes.

"You don't want to have plastic surgery, do you?"

"ah?"

"Listen to me, you are an actress with very good acting skills. Please don't have any plastic surgery. Shepard's face is already stiff. Sometimes I can't tell whether he is smiling or sarcastic."

"Hehe, no... I'm scared when I think of having a knife on my face." Diane denied that she had such thoughts, but she touched the corners of her eyes with her hands.

Ronald tried to persuade him again, but Paula Wagner knocked on the door and came in.

"Paula? Why are you here?"

Wagner pointed her finger at Diane, who, in addition to being Tom Cruise's manager, was also her client.

"Oh, you guys talk first...I'm going to go outside for a walk." Rona left knowingly, knowing that the two of them wanted to talk about something private.

…

"Why do you want plastic surgery?" Ronald went to Daydream's office and met another actress, Jennifer Gray, who came to pick up the check.

The biggest winners of "Dirty Dancing", besides Ronald, are the two male and female protagonists. They signed a video tape bonus, and they can get the video tape bonus from Daydream every quarter. Jennifer Gray, although the bonus ratio is not as high as that of the leading actor Patrick Swayze, but among young actresses, she is already outstanding. Rich woman.

She got the money, not to buy a ranch like Schwytz had done, but to buy a house in Manhattan, as his father, Joel Gray, had taught her.

However, having money can guarantee that Jennifer Gray will not make movies she doesn’t want to make just for money, but there is no way to guarantee that she will be able to make the movies she wants to make. The big reason, at least in her own opinion, is her appearance. …

"It's just my nose..." Jennifer Gray is very distressed. This big Jewish nose has caused her to lose in the competition for the heroine many times. If "Dirty Dancing" hadn't been originally about a Jewish girl, nothing would have happened to her.

"Please don't have plastic surgery. God, I get angry when I hear the word plastic surgery. Aren't you beautiful? Otherwise, I wouldn't have chosen you as the heroine. Beauty should be diverse. Blonde, redhead, blackhead, slim, plump, long neck, short legs, you are all big beauties. Isn't it good to have more different beauties? Why does everyone want to be the same?"

"But my nose is really a big obstacle. You don't know, now I can't find a handsome actor to play opposite me. Now I can only find Rob Lowe who just came back after a scandal for half a year to play opposite me." Jennifer Grey said while looking at Ronald.

She did suffer a disadvantage in appearance, and her complaints were true. But the purpose of her coming to get the check in person was also to have a chance to meet Ronald by chance. What if he remembered to shoot the sequel of "Dirty Dancing"?

After waiting for a long time, Ronald did not respond, but frowned, as if he remembered something troublesome. Jennifer Grey did not dare to stay any longer, so she had to say goodbye and leave.

"Hey, why do all actresses have appearance anxiety?" Ronald actually thought of some of Diane's actions, and he felt a little uneasy.

"Ronald, there are some young agents in CAA who are restless again, and our plan has more guarantees." Nicita called to report to Ronald on the progress of the plan to deal with Ovitz.

"Wait a minute, Rick, I want to ask you something, I hope you can tell me honestly."

"What is it, just ask." Nicita adjusted her sitting posture. The client said this, maybe she didn't trust herself? This is bad.

"Is your wife Paula helping Diane?"

"What?" Nicita didn't expect this turn, it's not what he imagined... However, Wagner seemed to have done something to anger Ronald.

"They are hiding something from me, I don't know what they are planning, of course they don't shy away from telling me what they are planning... Hey, do you understand what I mean?" Ronald was a little incoherent.

"I see, you think Diane and Paula are planning something, they let you know they are planning, but don't let you know what they are planning."

"Yes, what has Paula been doing in Los Angeles recently?"

"Nothing unusual, just taking Cruise's girlfriend, Kidman, to the doctor for some minor repairs..."

"What, Paula is also doing plastic surgery? No way? I don't want Diane to have plastic surgery."

"No, Kidman grew up in Australia, and her teeth have some flaws..."

"I don't care, I don't like it... No, I mean Diane better not... Hey, you know, as a director, I don't like actresses to have plastic surgery... I don't want to face a stiff face."

"Okay, don't worry, no plastic surgery, no repairs. I think I can do this well."

"Why do so many people want plastic surgery recently? I don't want to use actresses who have plastic surgery." Ronald calmed down a little.

"There are several new cosmetic surgery methods circulating in Hollywood recently. I heard that one of them is to inject a highly toxic toxin into the face, which can make wrinkles disappear."

"Will that also make people unable to make expressions on their faces? That's terrible. I don't care. Help me deal with Diane. Don't do this..."

"Okay, I can help you control the expectations of other customers under your company." Niceta promised again.

"Well, and Helen..." Ronald thought of Helen again after a while.

"Please, she is not my client."

"Ah... Yes, I am confused." Ronald put down the phone and started to worry about Helen again.