Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

"At this time, we will increase the release of the trailer for The Silence of the Lambs, but the cost is not small. Fortunately, it is a relatively unpopular period after the New Year holiday..."

At Daydream Pictures, several managers are planning to launch Ronald's temporary marketing plan.

"Trailers in movie theaters take advantage of the schedule, but advertising on TV stations costs a lot of money now. The hottest news is the coalition bombing Baghdad and Iraq's Scud missile attacks on Israel. Why do we If Iraq doesn’t dare to fight back, why should we attack Israel instead?”

Several male managers began to discuss this topic. Patriot anti-aircraft missiles have been shipped to Saudi Arabia and Israel. Many Scuds were shot down in mid-air, and some fell into the desert due to their own accuracy problems. The real consequences for personnel and Property damage limited.

"Claudia, tell me?" The two chatted for a long time without knowing what was going on. When they saw Claudia Wells coming over, they happened to ask her, a Jew, for advice.

"You still don't understand the psychology of the people in the Middle East. Iraq is deliberately trying to get Israel to fight back, so that the Arab people will think that the Jews and America are bullying the Arabs. At that time, Saudi Arabia may be in a dilemma and even withdraw from the coalition. .”

"Will that happen?" The managers were all interested.

"Dream, that madman in Iraq has a bad reputation in Arab countries. Those people have made enough oil money and they don't want to fight Israel anymore. But don't say this in front of the real Jews... …”

Claudia Wells was forced to turn behind the scenes because the Jews were not "authentic" enough. She personally expressed her disapproval of those so-called Jews who claimed to be Jewish to gain benefits but did not dare to go back to Israel to join the army. I don't owe you any favor at all.

However, they still have to continue to contact TV stations where Jews hold high positions, and find ways to get more trailer time for "Silence of the Lambs" during this period when advertising time is relatively expensive.

"Isn't this movie from Orion? Why did you daydream come to buy time slots to promote it?"

Those TV station executives had a bit of a strange request from Daydream Pictures. Movie studio and television executives, half of whom were Jewish, had heard about the film. Generally speaking, publishers do the marketing.

"Hey, haven't you heard? Mike Medavoy of Orion has now gone to TriStar Pictures. TriStar Pictures took over the distribution of this movie. Our boss, Ronald Lee, also invested in this film. Movie. He felt that the quality of the movie was unusually good, so he paid for it out of his own pocket in order to let more people see it..."

"Your boss is really a rare artist..."

TV stations are just trying to make money. Since Daydream is willing to invest money, it is logical to add trailers in some time periods.

Suddenly, trailers for The Silence of the Lambs began to play in the middle of "TV Cinema" programs on TV stations, as well as on radio stations, newspapers, and other pre-movie advertisements.

……

“Why is there no Silence of the Lambs in your Orion Pictures list?”

A fat man with a big head and big ears, holding a cigar in his mouth, stood opposite Kruger, the richest man named by Forbes, scratched his protruding belly, held the cigar between his fingers, and then asked the question .

"I don't remember. I don't have time to take care of these things." Kluge scratched his head angrily. Last year, all Orion movies lost money. Only Dances with Wolves made money, and it was sold to Ronald.

"Marvin, if you want to buy Orion, just give me an answer. I don't have time to waste time with you..." Klug put on the airs of the richest man.

"You have to let me understand, right?" The name of this 300-pound fat man is Marvin Davis. He is a shrewd businessman who is notorious for his ability to buy low and sell high when doing business.

He started out in oil and real estate. In the early 1980s, he briefly took over 20th Century Fox. He also fired Shirley Lansing, the first female CEO of Hollywood's Big Seven, on the grounds that women were unreliable.

Despite his vulgar appearance, what Marvin Davis is best at is pretending to be a pig and eating the tiger. After he managed 20th Century Fox for a few years, he sold it to Australian businessman Rupert at a high price.

He once bought the famous Beverly Hills Hotel on Sunset Boulevard for $1.35 million in 6500. In the bidding, he defeated the Sultan of Brunei. But soon after, he increased the price by $ million and sold the hotel to Sudan.

He can always shrewdly see the true value of an asset, and then acquire it at a low price when others are not optimistic about it. After a while, they are sold to those who desperately want them at a high price.

For example, last year he made a big deal and sold California's most famous Pebble Beach golf course, which he had previously purchased with 20th Century Fox, for 840 million to Japanese businessman Minoru Kumagori.

You know, when he acquired Fox, Fox had just purchased the Pebble Beach Stadium and the Aspen Ski Resort in Colorado for $70 million due to profits from Star Wars.

Marvin Davis originally bought Fox for more than 700 million, and the film company's shares were sold to Rupert for 580 million in two installments. Pebble Beach Golf sold for $840 million, doubling its value in ten years, and still has a famous ski resort in its hands.

Japanese golf businessman Kumatori Tanimino, known as the Golf Sage, relied on the guarantee provided by Osaka real estate developer Itomitsu and borrowed money from Mitsubishi Bank to acquire Pebble Beach in an all-cash transaction.

Marvin Davis, who had a lot of cash in his hand, learned that the richest man John Klug was selling Orion Pictures. He couldn't help but think of the good old days of picking up bargains and wanted to repeat his successful experience.

"Hmm..." Marvin Davis swayed back and forth on his chair, which was tortured to the point of making all kinds of obscene noises. He actually looked at those documents very seriously.

"No, why doesn't this include The Silence of the Lambs? Many TV stations are showing the trailer now, and you sold it too?"

"Fxck, are you fucking done yet? How can I remember the names of these movies? If you want to buy them, just give me a price..." John Kluge was hit in a sore spot. At that time, he felt that his subordinates were fooling him and wasting his money. His money, in order to avoid being cheated, refused to invest more marketing funds to release these two movies.

Who would have known that after being bought by a young and outrageous director, he would be making a lot of money now. Poor Mr. Richest Man has bought Orion for so many years and has rarely seen a movie with such a profit.

"Uh-huh……"

Marvin Davis didn't know it yet, but he had pressed his opponent's most sensitive button. How many more clicks does this take?

The next offer he made was based on the pretense that the rights to the two films had already been sold, at a low price that infuriated Kluge.

"I would rather let him go bankrupt than sell him to that fat pig!" After sending away Marvin Davis, Kluge's roar resounded throughout his mansion, and all his subordinates fell silent. It was very bitter, because you had to sell it at that time. Who knew that these two movies had such high box office potential?

……

"Dances with Wolves won Best Film and Best Director at the Kansas Film Festival, and Kevin Costner was delighted to fly out to attend the closing ceremony."

At the same time, Ronald happened to discuss the two movies with Richard and others. The Oscar nominations will be held soon, and various trade union awards and Film Critics Association awards will be awarded intensively during this time.

Ronald's own film "The End of the World" also applied for all the major awards in one go. However, critics still dislike this box-office hit that combines a romance film with a science fiction film. Only Whoopi Goldberg was nominated for several Film Critics Circle Awards.

Ronald was only nominated for one award from the Directors Guild for Best Director. This is the result of the old directors' special preference for him.

"Hey, debut novels are all like this. I was very excited when I found out that I had won a small award."

Ronald was also amused. Kevin Costner has won many awards as an actor, but this is the first time for him to be recognized as a director by a small award so quickly, which is a great encouragement to him.

The first time I was recognized in the directing category was when I was filming "Night of the Comet" and I was nominated for the Saturn Award for science fiction films. Costner was still the leading actor at the time. It is difficult to compete for this year’s Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. After all, there was Coppola's much-anticipated trilogy ending with The Godfather Part III, and Martin Scorsese's "Goodfellas," hailed as his best work since "Raging Bull."

Italian directors have always been thoughtful, artistic, and commercial. They have many fans among the Oscar judges. Many newcomers, to put it a bit exaggerated, learned to make films by watching their films.

However, Ronald still paid for the prize-winning PR. For people in the industry, this is not only the hope of winning awards, but also related to the treatment of a star. If Ronald doesn't follow the rules to prepare Kevin Costner's Oscar PR, then the two of them might turn against each other.

After all, in addition to being a director, he is also an actor and is now a quasi-A-list male star. Ronald, who has always been kind to others, signed the plan. Anyway, the possibility of him and himself winning the prize is very small, it can be said to be almost non-existent.

"Ronald, Judy called."

"Oh, okay, I'll go..."

Jodie Foster looked anxious on the phone, "Ronald, are you coming to New York for the premiere?"

"What? Didn't I agree to participate in the Los Angeles stop? By the way, are you satisfied with my additional marketing investment?"

"Oh my gosh, Ronald, I don't know what to do, can you come and save me? I think the trailer makes me nervous, you should have shown me beforehand, what now?"

"What should I do? Is there anything wrong with this trailer?" Ronald was confused.

"Yes, I came to New York specially first and talked a lot with the director Jonathan (Demi). This trailer was not edited by him. I'm afraid there will be big problems. You know, I never ask for anything special. treatment, but this time, I especially want to see you and have an interview with you."

"Can't we talk on the phone? Okay, okay, don't get excited. There's nothing we can't talk about. I'll fly to New York right now and attend the premiere."

Ronald put down the phone and looked back at Diane. Originally, the two made an appointment to go to Palm Springs to attend the film festival there and take a vacation.

"Go ahead, I'll prepare your luggage." Diane smiled. Ronald was very busy at work, so there was nothing he could do about it. She also specifically asked, "You have to be patient with Judy. We actresses will have this kind of particularly nervous moment before the movie is released. If you are kind to us at this time, we will remember it for a long time."

"Well...then can I be nice to you?" Ronald immediately hugged Diane into his arms, "The big bathtub in our house has a fountain function, which is actually similar to a hot spring."

"Ah, hahahaha..."

The two laughed together, hugged each other and kissed.

……

"Did you see that? Did you see that?"

At the Four Seasons Hotel in Manhattan, New York, Jodie Foster looked excited, pointed at the trailer on the TV, and cried to Ronald. When it came to being emotional, she hugged Ronald and cried.

"What's wrong?" Ronald saw that there were his and Foster's agents, director Jonathan Demme and others nearby. What's going on?

"I'm a bit stupid. What's wrong with this trailer?"

"This trailer is all about Anthony Hopkins. I was bullied by him on the set. He made fun of the West Virginia accent I picked up, and he also threatened me on the set. I don't want this.

You see, my name is listed before his in the trailer, so why am I not as important as him in it? "

"this?"

Ronald was a little confused. He put Jodie Foster on the sofa, then rewound the video tape to the beginning, and checked the time with his watch.

"Judy, both your overall shot time and the length of your close-ups are longer than Anthony (Hopkins). Can you tell me what you really want?"

When filming the movie, Jodie Foster had a lot of dissatisfaction with Anthony Hopkins. Because she is an Oscar-winning actress, she should occupy the biggest star position. But Anthony Hopkins, with his British habit of relying on his acting skills, kept teasing Judy on the set. Later, he even won the support of the crew and regarded him as the first A star.

During the filming, Jonathan Demme also tried to persuade Jodie Foster by saying things that were beneficial to the filming. Now at the stage of roadshows for the release, Judy started to quarrel over the treatment again.

"I'm only telling you." Jodie Foster didn't want to reveal the truth in front of everyone.

"Okay, please give us some private space." Ronald gave Jonathan Demi a helpless look. The other party made a gesture to express understanding and went to wait outside first.

"Tell me..." Ronald asked, looking at Jodie Foster, who was alone on the sofa.

"The trailers are all centered on Anthony Hopkins. All the focus is on his shots, I am just a foil!" Jodie Foster puffed out her chest, and her petite body fought for treatment, But it's very aggressive.

"Hmm..." After hearing this, Ronald pressed the remote control again and played the trailer again.

Not to mention, Jodie Foster is quite sensitive. I don’t know who made this trailer. Indeed, for more than a minute, every rhythmic accent falls on the charming tension of Hannibal played by Anthony Hopkins.

Anyway, as an ordinary viewer, after watching it, what you are thinking about must be to see this high-IQ perverted criminal, not the female FBI agent.

And Jodie Foster is an actress who particularly cares about fame and being the center of attention. She doesn't think her performance of FBI agent Clarice will be as good as Hopkins'.

Moreover, Ronald heard that she was still seeking to become a director herself, and it would be very detrimental to her career development if she was regarded as a minor star.

"I'll have someone edit it again and play it for the same length of time as this version. You can ask to check it."

Ronald agreed to the petite star's request. It's not that he sees her as pitiful, but Jodie Foster is a familiar face to the people of America, and her popularity is far greater than that of the British actor.

It would be a crime against one's money not to make full use of her charm to drive audiences to the cinema.

"No, I completely believe you. Ronald, you are the best man to me since I entered the industry." Jodie Foster hugged Ronald and kissed him on the cheek.

"Oh, I forgot my lipstick." Judy immediately hurriedly wiped Ronald's face.

"You have to be careful about Judy, she is not easy to deal with." Jonathan Demi, who came in from behind, smiled and looked at the blush on Ronald's cheeks.

"Ha, it's not like you don't know that she likes women. We are friends." Ronald smiled and waved his hand.