Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1367 New Technology of Computer Editing

"Shirley, congratulations. Paramount's stock price went up as soon as you took office. This really shows your leadership. Yes, I have already found someone to let Weintraub take over the copyright of Forrest Gump. This way, no one can say anything. OK, see you when I come back from New York..."

Ronald's film "A Few Good Men" has been doing well in the box office since its release. It was shown in 1900 theaters in its first weekend and earned $1500 million.

In order to promote the film, he also had to go to New York to attend another premiere. Because many New York celebrities might not be interested in showing up at the premiere if he was not there in person. Many people came just to have a few words with Ronald.

Of course, these were all excuses. Ronald's real purpose was to come and see Helen, who was pregnant. Before coming, Ronald also communicated with Jerry Weintraub and decided that he would be the first to take over the script of "Forrest Gump".

Weintraub is Jewish and would not arouse suspicion from Warner Bros. and the original copyright owner. He himself does not have the ability to invest in such a large-scale production, so it is safer for Ronald to use him as a go-between.

"You want to buy Paramount stock?" Ed Bastian, the head of New York TV and newspapers, was right next to the phone. When he heard Ronald's words, he frowned and was about to advise...

"Hell No, the stock price has only gone up by 25 cents since Shirley Lansing took office. It's the worst of the worst. Can't I buy some other stocks with this money?"

Ronald cursed, saying that the work of the seven traditional studios was getting worse and worse, and everyone relied on the bosses who didn't understand the business to fight for their own interests. The whole industry was in a mess.

Shirley Lansing can only rely on her feminine gimmicks to attract media attention, and the entire Wall Street does not think highly of her at all.

Ed Bastian was relieved, and he came to ask Ronald about his business. Roger Ailes came up with a good program idea, a cable TV channel consisting entirely of talk shows.

Roger Ailes's idea is that the traditional family-friendly model of wireless TV stations has gone downhill. Now the audience is more stratified. The middle class prefers programs that can provide in-depth analysis of news events, and limited television fees are a good distinguishing criterion, which can distinguish the target audience whose time is valuable and who can pay from the audience who can only watch wireless TV stations full of advertisements.

Ed Bastian likes this business concept very much. It doesn't matter what topic is discussed, what analysis is made, or which ideology is biased. What is important is that there is an opportunity to make cable TV viewers deeply feel that they are elite in intelligence and vision that surpass the general public.

"Cable TV resources are still quite expensive right now. Do you have any ideas?" Ronald read the business plan and appreciated it very much, so he was determined to make this happen.

"It will be even more expensive in the future, once most people understand this business model. And the resources of cable TV stations, like the spectrum of wireless TV, will be regulated by the FCC. Any monopoly..." Ed Bastian thinks it is not expensive...

"Wherever there is a monopoly, there will be excess profits. Let me see what I can do. You make a more detailed business plan, including the selection of programs and hosts. Let's work together to make this happen..."

Ronald felt that this was something that could be done and that there was hope of making a profit in the short term.

"Roger Ailes has a lot of ideas about programs. I would suggest hiring him to be the head of this channel. As for programs, your former assistant Rich Lake is also a good choice..."

"That depends on whether she is willing to switch to cable TV... I don't care about that. Just make a comprehensive plan, seek Rich Lake's opinion, and report to me when the time comes..."

Ronald knew that "The Bodyguard" had good box office sales, and even better was the sales of the soundtrack. The song "I Will Always Love You," adapted from Dolly Parton, also topped the charts, a height that "Dirty Dancing" had never reached.

Anyway, it is a foregone conclusion that both the movie and the record will sell well. In the future, the sales of overseas distribution and soundtrack will bring me a steady stream of cash flow. It is very important to find a reliable place to spend this money.

Cable TV channels may be a product that will be in short supply in the future. As long as they can establish a name for themselves, they will definitely maintain their value.

……

"Great, your recording is really good..."

Ronald ran to Greta Garbo's former apartment. Helen had decorated the place very nicely and spent half of her time here resting peacefully.

She lived in the home of the most famous Hollywood star. She was in a very happy state and was in a good mood. She could eat well, and her condition, which had been bad due to morning sickness, improved a lot.

Now Ronald also took time to come and accompany her. Helen happily took out the prenatal education stories she had recorded for her child and played them for Ronald.

"This is really good. I like both Charlotte's Web and Andersen's fairy tales. Will the baby like them too?" Ronald was not talking nonsense. Helen Slater's voice was indeed one of those female voices that made people feel very good. She also had a lot of love for her unborn child. That love was injected into her voice when recording. I'm sure the children will like listening to it very much.

"I also recorded some Greek and Roman mythology stories, hahahaha... our children can listen to them until they are two years old..."

"This is really good. Children like to listen to bedtime stories. Yours is really good. I'll take it to Columbia Records and ask it to be released as soon as possible..." Ronald liked it very much. If it could be put on the market as a record or tape, maybe it would sell well.

"Then I have to go to the recording studio. I'm pregnant now, and I heard that radiation is not good for the baby..."

"Ah?" Ronald choked. "It's okay. I'll give the tape to them and ask them to do some technical processing. If that doesn't work, I'll ask them to bring their equipment to my house to record..."

"Is it really as good as you say?" Helen tilted her head. She had realized over the years that her talent was not outstanding.

"I don't care. I think it's good anyway. Their best-selling albums and best singles this year may be made by me. They must help with this. Having a child is very energy-consuming. If I'm not around, you can play the recordings for the child every night, so you don't have to tell stories yourself..."

"Oh, Ronnie, you're so good to me."

……

The next day, Ronald accompanied Helen to the screening room at New York University to watch the movie "Pushing Hands" in which she starred.

This was actually a thank-you screening. Ang Lee and James Schamus of Good Machine had just finished filming their second film, The Wedding Banquet, and hadn't started editing yet.

Ronald plans to take the new film to next year's Berlin Film Festival, and has signed it up for a series of film festival screenings in Europe and Asia as a tour to sell copies.

The Pusher had a very good box office in America. Many Asian audiences, both Asian theater audiences and white audiences in art theaters, came to see it. The final box office revenue exceeded 3 million. It was a small profit.

Such achievements have greatly encouraged various theaters that pay attention to Chinese-language films, and they are all looking forward to the release of several other Chinese-language films invested by Ronald.

But Ronald is not in a hurry. If this kind of niche film can be well received at European film festivals, it will sell for a better price both in overseas and domestic markets.

However, after the filming of the new film "The Wedding Banquet", director Ang Lee had psychological problems. He had symptoms of depression. I don't know if it was because the filming was too hard, or because the "tour" around the world last year to promote the film made him afraid of film marketing. After the filming of "The Wedding Banquet" was completed, he hid at home and didn't go out.

Ronald was very worried and asked a psychiatrist to come to Ang Lee's home for diagnosis. The doctor found that he was indeed suffering from mild depression. Fortunately, it was not serious and he needed a vacation or some activities to cheer him up.

Ronald arranged a vacation in Hawaii for the whole family to relax for a week, and also specially arranged this thank-you screening, inviting Chinese celebrities from New York and nearby areas, especially Chinese professors from all Ivy League universities, to watch the movie together.

"I am now afraid to watch this Pushing Hands. I feel that many parts are not handled well..." Ang Lee habitually made a depressing comment.

"My experience is that after I put aside a film for a while and watch it again, I will fall in love with my old films again, just like an old lover..." Ronald also knows that directors often have a lot of regrets after shooting their first debut film. Some directors want to shoot a second film as soon as possible to make corrections, while others will fall into regretful emotions. This is why he invited Chinese audiences to come and help Ang Lee get over it.

"Really? I feel embarrassed when I think about watching this movie..." Ang Lee's facial expression was as if he was constipated.

"Relax, you see they are all watching very attentively..."

As expected, most of the audience were Chinese intellectuals, and there were also many overseas students from the mainland. They all understood the cultures of both countries, and when they saw something touching, their smiles lasted longer than those of the average audience. After the show ended, they were also moved by the mutual understanding between the father and son, and the helplessness between the father and his blind date. They seemed to be thinking of their own parents, and they all looked like they were holding back tears with their heads down.

“Is this the best push-hand screening ever?” Ronald pulled Ang Lee and said to producer James Shams with a smile.

"Needless to say? Can the wedding banquet be screened as a thank-you beforehand? I find that these audiences are really the best Chinese salesmen for movies..."

"Of course..." Before Ronald could agree, Ang Lee shook his hand vigorously, "I never realized that my movie had such power, thank you!"

"Director Ang Lee, I've never seen so many university professors praising my acting skills. I'm so happy. My dad has always felt sorry that I didn't go to college. He's going to be so happy this time, hahahaha..."

As he was speaking, Helen Slater came over with a loud laugh to thank the director, diluting the sad atmosphere.

"Hahaha..." Ang Lee felt much better after feeling that his movie was appreciated by others. Ronald was also relieved. It was probably the kind of professional depression that professional directors often experience.

"Hi, hi, Lee, and you, Lee, your movie really... moved me to tears..."

The person who came over and spoke loudly was Spike Lee, Ronald and Ang Lee's college classmate. He praised Ang Lee's "Pushing Hands" again and again, saying that it was a very profound movie and the portrayal of the Chinese minority group was very vivid.

However, Spike Lee was not very satisfied with Ronald. His new film "Malcolm X" did not perform as well as "The Bodyguard" after its release and barely made it into the top five.

This biographical film about the life of Malcolm X, the leader of the human rights movement, doesn't actually have much significance. It just uses the fame of the figure and his influence in the black community to create a new commercial film model.

"I have helped you a lot. It is none of my business. It was you who cursed the Jews in the movie..."

"Fuck, I won't tolerate these people..." Spike Lee could only curse a few words. He was not qualified to be the director of this black biopic. He got the director position only after he scolded away two non-black directors.

This guy knows how to incite public opinion. Not only did he use the protests of his own base to get my position as director, but after the movie was released, he also stipulated that only black journalists could interview him and refused interviews from any non-black film critics and journalists. His reasoning was that only black people could better understand the background of the movie and could appreciate it.

This stirred up a hornet's nest among some Jews in the media industry, and some of them gave in and sent black reporters, but major media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times boycotted the film's marketing activities.

This puts the distributor Warner Bros. in a difficult position. I wonder if Spike Lee learned Coppola's method, agreeing to the film first, and then doing whatever he wants during the filming process and playing too hard on the producers... The box office was not good this time, and I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to shoot any good scripts in the future.

Ronald ignored Spike Lee's complaints of being ungrateful and just invited him and Ang Lee to reminisce about the past. The three of them brought their families over and had a big meal at a restaurant in Chinatown. In the end, the food conquered the black Spike Lee and his chatterbox finally calmed down.

"If you don't celebrate Christmas this time, you can go to Hawaii and have a nice vacation. When you come back, you can start editing 'The Wedding Banquet', right?" Ronald poured black tea for Ang Lee himself after having a good meal and a few drinks.

"Thank you. I'll start editing when I get back. This time, James Shams said there's a new editing technology that can be used to transfer film to tape and finally transcribe it to a disk. Editing on a computer can save time and is convenient... I want to try it..."

"What, there is such a way? I didn't even know about it. Are you willing to try it? Or we can use the old method this time. The new technology is actually a little inconvenient..." Ronald didn't really want to be a guinea pig.

"I heard it's cheaper and faster than using a film editing machine, so I want to finish editing it as soon as possible." Ang Lee still has the traditional Chinese way of thinking, that is, a man would die for his friend.

"Hahaha, don't worry about your vacation. I'll arrange everything for you. I'll use an old-fashioned editing machine to edit it. I'll also give me a set of new technology first. I'll try it out and see if it works. My film has a big budget, so they won't dare to cheat me..."

Ronald actually has some ideas about this new technology, but he is not afraid that the experiment will not work, as he can go back to the old editing method in a minute.

"What the hell is this crap...Send the manufacturer here and take their crap out..."

After returning to Los Angeles, Ronald tried to transfer part of the film of "Sugar Coated Trap" to the computer for editing, and the first time he did it made him furious.

The industry's largest 21-memory monitor is divided into four sections, and it's hard to tell what's being filmed in each section, let alone focus, expression, or any details.

It is fast and cheap to edit, as there is no need to make a working copy first. However, it is not usable for editing movies at all, and can only be edited to look like a live TV interview.

(End of this chapter)