Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1265: Good friends of filmmakers from three places in Hollywood

After settling on this animated commercial featuring a polar bear drinking Coke, Ronald flew back to Los Angeles. Coca-Cola used its own plane to send him back, and Ronald increasingly wanted to buy his own private plane.

Darcy Maguire heard the news and immediately flew to Los Angeles to discuss with Ronald. She received special authorization from the company's general manager and must negotiate cooperation with Ronald.

The people in these advertising agencies on Madison Street were really frightened by Ovitz. If multinational companies followed Coca-Cola's example and abandoned their own advertising creativity, then the prospects of this industry would become bleak.

"I don't have the idea of ​​opening my own advertising agency. How can I have the energy?" Ronald couldn't help laughing when he heard Maguire talk about their idea. How could these people think they would be like Ovitz?

"All our resources can be used by you. In short, we are angered by Ovitz's idea. This man has taken all the food in his own industry into his own bowl, and he still wants to come to Madison Street to eat... "

"Oh, that's great. I happen to lack some talent in prototyping here. Coca-Cola's polar bear needs to make some improvements to the aesthetics of the 1990s. Can you help?"

"No problem, but we have a request..." Darcy Maguire hopes to establish a solid alliance with Ronald. A big client like Coca-Cola has an astronomical annual budget, and there will often be a new round of bidding in a year or two. Her advertising company wants to sign a long-term contract at once...

"Okay, but I also have a request. You must be in charge of this polar bear advertising project. I lack leading talents like you..." Ronald also took the opportunity to send out an invitation, and Van Fleet and his friends all He is a technical geek and needs a senior talent in project management and creativity to support him.

It’s tiring to build an advertising agency from scratch and subvert the existing rules of the game. And it may not be sustainable. Ronald himself will not be as ugly as Ovitz, and he will make a fortune by relying on his sales ability. My investment performance is good, so I don't have to work hard to earn this small amount of money.

Winning this project to get revenge on Ovitz is one thing, but training the computer special effects team is the more important purpose.

"Boss, boss..." Yang Yanzi rushed in furiously, "Ah, I'm sorry, I didn't know you still had guests."

"It's okay, I've finished talking to your boss." Maguire put away the cooperation rules, nodded and left the office.

"Tell me, what's the matter?" Ronald threw a can of Coke to Yang Yanzi. This man was good at everything, efficient at work, and had the ability to handle several things in parallel, doing everything in an orderly manner. It's just that sometimes I don't respect Ronald like a boss, but just talk about it.

But Ronald is also used to her way of doing things. After all, those are just false reputations, and he is not someone who needs the courtesy of his subordinates to gain self-esteem.

"I have contacted Director Huang, and she will come to Los Angeles with Ms. Zhao, the heroine of Hi Frank. I think this is an opportunity. Daydream can become a monopoly investment and distribution center for Chinese-language films in America. .”

"Ah, well, you arrange a time for me to have dinner with them." Ronald was happy.

"I also heard news this time that the new film directed by Yimou cannot find a distributor in America. I think Daydream can get it. Now Hollywood is very interested in international cooperation, especially Asian directors... "

"Huh? Why didn't he come to me directly?" Ronald was a little angry. He wanted to publish it in America. Instead of talking to himself, he went to other publishers?

"Directors from the Mainland have different ideas from ours... maybe they have other ideas?" Yang Yanzi said with a smile. This boss is very proud of having a good job in the three places in China. Yimou's new movie doesn't come to him, which feels like a loss of face.

"Go to Director Wu and call him to ask him. Did I do anything that was sorry for mainland movies?"

"Don't be angry, director, I heard that this matter may not be Yimou's own wish..." Seeing that Ronald was really angry, Yang Yanzi came to persuade him.

It turns out that "Raise the Red Lantern" was invested by Heung Kong and XX Capital, and it was not a purely mainland film like the previous films shot by Yimou. Therefore, the distribution of overseas copyrights belongs to Xiangjiang’s investors. The director may not have any say in it.

……

"You boy, have your wings grown hard? You made such a good movie and you want to distribute it in America, but you don't come to me? Do the people in Xiangjiang understand the situation here?"

Director Wu, who was daydreaming about a Chinese film preservation and collection project, still found out about this incident. He called Xiangjiang and scolded Director Yimou who was there.

"Director, I can't help it. As you know what happened at the beginning of the year, I was prevented from going to Hollywood to attend the Oscars, so this time I tried to find an investor in Xiangjiang. This time I wanted to use the money from Xiangjiang to quota to participate in the competition.

When people take money, they have their own arrangements, and I can't say..." Yimou still called Director Wu the director of the factory.

"You are stupid, but you still don't admit it. Don't you know how powerful Ronald is in Hollywood? Be proactive and talk to the producer about this matter. How many of his actors have won Oscars? How many of his actors have won Oscars this year? It also won best picture.

The best foreign language film also needs to be promoted. Your producer, who doesn’t understand the situation in Hollywood at all, found a company like Orion to distribute it. Isn’t this just ridiculous? "

Director Wu has a deep love and deep responsibility. I desperately want Yimou to become famous in one fell swoop. When I heard that my old friend still only cared about the director and didn't care about other characters, I felt a little resentful.

"Isn't Orion very good at promoting movies? I heard that they give directors maximum creative freedom and respect them..."

"Let me see, your producer from Xiangjiang doesn't even know which way the door to the Oscar awards party opens. He is also a layman." Wu Dao was angry and put Orion facing bankruptcy and reorganization. Two movies Ronald's daydreams took over and the big success told him.

"Hurry, go discuss with the producer quickly and change America's distribution agreement. Director Luo told me that he will be very sad if you don't go to him."

"Ah, this is indeed a mistake. If it is a mistake, I will go to Hollywood to apologize." Yimou slapped his forehead. He was in the mainland of Hong Kong, so he didn't know much about the situation in Hollywood.

"Let A Gong come with us...to see the Hollywood star system."

"Okay, okay..."

……

"Welcome back, Director Huang." A few days later, Ronald received Director Huang and his party at the airport. The script of "Hi, Frank" has been polished for the first time. This time, professional screenwriters from Hollywood will make some modifications based on Hollywood principles.

"Director Luo, hello." Director Huang and Ronald hugged according to Hollywood etiquette, then pointed to an old lady coming down from behind and said to Ronald, "Let me introduce to you, this is the candidate for the heroine, Zhao Lirong. Zhao."

"Hey, do I have to practice foreign etiquette with this foreigner?" Teacher Zhao felt a little uncomfortable seeing men and women hug each other when they met.

"As the locals do, Teacher Zhao, come and give me a hug." Ronald laughed, replied in Chinese, and then hugged Teacher Zhao, which frightened the old artist from China, so he did not kiss her on the cheek.

"Good guy, Director Luo speaks Chinese better than me."

"Hahaha……"

The group of people arrived at Ronald's mansion. Today, the feast was Cantonese food from Chinatown. After two days, their appetites have adapted to the American style, and then they will be treated to Italian food.

"Good guy, Director Luo is very good at using chopsticks..." Teacher Zhao, an actress, has a very interesting trait, that is, she is very approachable. In a few words, they talked like Ronald's old friend for many years.

Director Huang took advantage of her going to the bathroom and asked Ronald what he thought of the casting. Ronald gave her a thumbs up in agreement. This drama actually crosses the cultural and language barriers between China and the United States, and the heroine's affinity is essential. Teacher Zhao and Gregory Peck both have that kind of natural charm. The audience will identify with them at a glance. Such people will also help a stranger who does not understand the language in real life.

"Mr. Zhao is in Hollywood during this period. If you have anything you are not used to, just tell me. If I'm not here, you can ask Yanzi or my wife Diane. When we make movies in Hollywood, the most important thing is to let the stars make them." Happy. If you have any requirements, you can put them forward in advance. We will stipulate them in the contract and try our best to meet them..."

"Hey, my old woman is not a star. I think someone like Gregory Peck is a star."

"I said you are a star, you are a star. You will definitely become popular." After meeting the real person, Ronald's confidence in the movie greatly increased.

"This is their Hollywood filming rule. There is an actors union here. Teacher Zhao, just mention it." Yang Yanzi also helped explain.

"If you ask for it, I really do have one." Teacher Zhao thought for a while and suddenly said.

"Please say……"

"Can you pair me with an assistant who can speak Chinese and English? I need someone to help me read the script."

"Ah... that's no problem... some of our big Hollywood stars also need assistants to help read scripts..." Ronald glanced at Teacher Zhao. Could it be that she, like Tom Cruise and Cher, also has dyslexia? disease?

"Huh? Are there any Hollywood stars who are illiterate?"

"what?"

After asking about the situation, Ronald realized that it turned out that Teacher Zhao didn't know much about writing when he was young, and he only learned writing after 1949. So for scripts with a lot of lines, she has to have someone read them for her.

However, her memory and imitation ability are outstanding. She can basically memorize lines that others have read once, so it does not affect the filming.

"How did she perform this?"

In the evening, Ronald and Director Huang watched the video tape of Teacher Zhao's new movie, "New Year" in the screening room.

Although the video quality was not good, Ronald was impressed by the superb acting skills. This is a story about a New Year's reunion. Each family has its own thoughts. The three sons and two daughters each have their own secrets, which are all exposed on the day of the New Year's reunion.

Teacher Zhao's performance is particularly wonderful, which can be described as still water flowing deep.

There are advantages to not reading the script lines. That is, actors must understand and figure out the background of the lines and the unspoken subtext behind them based on the plot. It is indeed very exciting.

"This movie was directed by a well-known mainland director (Huang Jianzhong). He was originally Director Xie's assistant director, and I am in the same school..."

"Okay, okay, I've been daydreaming about this movie since I watched it. I'll find a way to distribute it... It has the potential to win awards... In fact, you mainlanders also have the qualifications to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, so why not just send this one The department is ready."

"Then I want to thank you on behalf of the director and actors, but this matter is not something we can decide. We need to find the leader..."

……

Soon, Yimou came to Hollywood with the producers of "Raise the Red Lantern" in Hong Kong.

"Yimou, welcome..." Ronald met the two people who came with Director Wu in Daydream's office.

"I really am..." Yimou is devoted to making movies. Due to his personality, he doesn't really care about the production business, and sometimes he can't talk about things without losing face. The year before Red Sorghum was filmed, friends in China invested in a commercial production called "Codename Jaguar", which was nothing like his director's work.

"Oh, I'm glad you're here. I didn't award the Best Foreign Language Film award to you this year. Let's try again next year..." Ronald didn't mention the past at all, and just gave him a thumbs up.

"Oh, Director Luo, I am..."

"Ah, who are you?" Ronald showed no mercy to the producer and gave him a slap on the back of the head.

"We at Times International really want to cooperate with powerful companies like Director Ronald and Daydream, but we are often discriminated against in Hollywood. We can't find a temple if we want to find a true Buddha, so we are Companies like Orion get ripped off.”

This producer's flattery skills are quite high, and he made Ronald happy in just two or three sentences.

"It's easy to talk, everyone here is a guest, what do you call me..."

"My surname is Qiu, and I am from XX. My uncle is the founder of Era International. Director Hou Hsiao-hsien's Sad City, which won the Venice Golden Lion Award in 1989, was shot by us."

"Oh, good..." Ronald has not seen this movie, but after hearing that it won the Golden Lion Award, it seems that it is also a capable producer who knows how to compete for awards.

The few of them had a very pleasant chat about this. Xiao Qiu was worthy of being a film producer from his family. He knew how to deal with producers and industry leaders. He made Ronald feel that he was greatly respected. In Ang Lee's hometown, there are not many Hollywood movies released there, most of them are high-quality, and the audience is mainly the educated class. According to Xiao Qiu, several of Ronald's movies there are rare Hollywood westerns that can be appreciated by both refined and popular tastes. .

"When will Director Luo be free to come to X North? We there are really looking forward to having someone like you come there..."

"Hey, I'm very busy..."

"If you have a chance, can you come with your wife, Miss Diane? Don't be afraid to say something that makes you unhappy, Director Luo. In North X, Miss Diane is more famous than you, Director Luo. She is a popular idol there, even us The local popular idol is also a fan of hers..."

"Ah, hahahaha... Okay, Diane and I will definitely go take a look if we have the chance."

Ronald's mood improved and he immediately asked Yang Yanzi to arrange a meal with them.

"Boss, Mario Casal from Carocco is looking for you..."

"Just say I'm not here..."

Carloco encountered the problem of financial overruns in the post-production of "Terminator 2". The original computer special effects cost of million has already set a Hollywood record, but who knows it may not be enough. Mario Casal had no choice but to seek help from investors.

However, this time the investment amount has expanded to more than 100 million, and no investor dares to add more. Ronald was also chased by him and made several phone calls, and now he has a headache.

(End of this chapter)