Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 791 Let Mount Get Out

Bannon was overjoyed to see Ronald Deken releasing the film.There is no need for the seven major studios to release this small-cost movie of $300 million.As long as he can sell it back at the price, he can rely on the success of this movie to form a new movie project.

With his contacts in Hollywood, what he needs is nothing else but the success of a model project, so that more people will believe him and invest in him.

Bannon was determined to finalize the release of the film, and proposed on the spot that Ronald should go to the crew that had already started to watch.

"Did you forget something?" Ronald smiled, his fingers facing each other, crossed together.

Bannon stroked his hair. The on-the-spot reaction from Wall Street made him not understand what Ronald was referring to, but he still pretended to understand and asked:
"What do you want me to do with that?"

"How do you want to deal with it? The grievances between me and your partner Tom Mount are well known, and you want to use my publishing ability..."

"Now I only get two-thirds of the production cost of 300 million, and Mount still needs to use his own money to continue to contribute 100 million. If you..." Bannon heard that it was a personal grievance, and immediately took advantage of it, talking about the production funds things.

Ronald knew that there were many problems in the production cost, and he didn't want to be cheated of money.Daydream only provides distribution capabilities, and it happens that its own "Dirty Dancing" can't fill this year's summer schedule. Many theaters originally thought they could provide more choices.

However, this film only has a production budget of 300 million. It seems that it is impossible to have any stars to participate in it. It is necessary to find another way to distribute it.

So he relaxed his body, leaned on the back of the seat, and put on a look of indifference: "You can only get a lollipop from me, Mr. Bannon. Either the contract is released, or you continue to cooperate with Mount .”

Bannon stroked the stubble on his chin and began to calculate.

Although Tom Mount has contacts and vision in Hollywood, he is just a springboard for his own entry into the entertainment industry and his bigger plans later.

Compared with his 100 million investment, the distribution channel promised by Ronald is more important.

With the distribution channel, he can go to Wall Street to raise funds. If it is not possible, he can also raise a little money by mortgage the distribution contract to the bank.

And Mount's so-called connections have rapidly depreciated in the five years since he left Universal.The last time I went to Dongpu to find money, even the people there didn't give him much face. Even if he wanted to find a partner in the circle, wouldn't it be better for Ronald who is now on fire.

As long as you cooperate with him once, if you have a good project in the future, whether Ronald can guarantee the release or invest in the end, you can endorse your old friends on Wall Street.

I heard that the deputy director's son's screen fund was connected by the young director.If you do this yourself, at least you can save a few years.

Thinking of this, Bannon made up his mind.

"The production rights of Boy Rent Girl are in my hands, as long as I return his investment, I can easily let him go with some tricks.

Mount was at the crew recently, taking classes with the main creators. He said he wanted to teach them some Hollywood filming methods, but I think he is talking nonsense. As long as we reach an agreement, I can make him stop talking about embarrassing things right away if. "

"I'll let the lawyer and my general manager Eddie talk to you, and we can start drafting a cooperation agreement." Ronald also wanted to see that Mount, who was able to decide his own destiny back then, is now determined by himself. What kind of expression is it.

In fact, both parties have a consensus on the film, which is a small-budget film that fills the gap very well, so the negotiations on various terms went smoothly.

The next day, Bannon drove himself and picked up Ronald to go to the place where the crew was rehearsing, and ended the partnership with Tom Mount face to face.

Bannon is very good at doing things. He knows that this transaction also includes kicking out Mount in person and making Ronald vent his anger.So get everything ready, just wait for Ronald to happily collect the interest for so many years of being pissed off.

On the set, Ronald met director Steve Rush under the introduction of Bannon.

Rush, like Ronald, has made a lot of MV music videos. This is the first time he has the opportunity to be the director of a theatrical film.

The director of photography made Ronald even more unexpected. It was Ronald's partner when he was a director for the first time, the "fast-paced" director of photography Matthew Leonetti.

Ronald was very happy to see his old friends and chatted with them.

Matthew is still shooting some TV movies, and small-budget theatrical movies.Since becoming famous at a fast pace, his work has continued, and he has been more respected than when he was a fledgling at the beginning of the year.

"Let me show you our new toy, Ronald. It would have been much easier for a fast-paced shoot if we had this."

When Matthew saw that Ronald was still the same, he had no airs. He chatted with himself about the technical details, as he did back then. He also put down his mind and chatted with Ronald, who liked new technology, about the new recording he got. equipment.

"This is a new recorder that complies with Dolby Laboratories' specifications. It is very useful to play background music on the spot. It can be directly mixed with the filmed film and mixed into Dolby's stereo sound on the post-production mixing equipment. We used it for on-site radio It took a lot of thinking about the noise problem."

Ronald saw that it was a Japanese brand.This brand of tape recorder can be directly connected to the tape recorder without being recorded by the on-site microphone, which can save a lot of time in the later stages of shooting.

Moreover, just like other electronic consumer products of Dongying, this tape recorder is still small and can be clipped on the camera, which is very useful in some special occasions.

Ronald was fascinated by the new technology and started playing with a professional tape recorder.Dongying's miniaturization technology is unrivaled in the world, and the various buttons feel very good. It feels like it can maintain the feel of a new machine even after tens of thousands of presses.

"Crack, click", Ronald had a great time playing.

Seeing this, Bannon nodded with him, almost going to find Tom Mount.

Seeing this, Matthew simply asked Ronald to play with the recorder in his hand, "This thing is very sensitive. I see some reporters in the White House also use this thing for professional interview recordings."

Ronald said goodbye to Matthew, and in one day he knew he would be the distributor of the film.

Bannon greeted the staff ahead of time, and Tom Mount was in a conference room in the back, chasing everyone else away and making himself his own office.

He leads the way. He has been in Wall Street for so many years, and he already knows how to use his partners' pigtails to force them to agree to his request.

Tom Mount is well known as a lewd man, and his industry connections largely rely on his wife's family connections. As long as he is done properly, it is not difficult to get him out.

The point is, Bannon glanced at Ronald behind, how to operate, so that Mount can get out, get out so that the man behind is satisfied, this is the focus of this transaction.

Ronald was playing with this new toy along the way, and this time he just tried the effect. If it works, he can use it in his next movie.

A professional tape recorder has more than a dozen buttons. Ronald found the specially made orange recording button, pressed it and put it in his coat pocket.The product design of Dongying people takes convenience into consideration, and the human-computer interaction never disappoints.

The two came to the door of the conference room one after the other.

There was no light inside, and there was only very faint light in the glass window on the door.

"No, Mr. Mount, I have to read the script with other actors."

A young woman's voice came from inside.

"Don't be ignorant of flattery, do you think I have no right to fire you if you get the role?"

Ronald frowned. It was Tom Mount's voice. Is this guy still so lustful after all these years?Want to do something on set?
"Lie down obediently, who do you think you are? A big star?"

Bannon looked back at Ronald, and it was just right that Mount took the opportunity to harass the actress, which was the best excuse, and he was caught by his enemy Ronald.

Ronald nodded to Bannon, and it happened to fall into his hands.

The two, one behind the other, were about to go up to open the door.

Suddenly, it seemed like Mount was starting to use a tough one.There was a bang, like the sound of a person's head hitting the table.

"Ah... ah... help..."

The actress did not obediently deliver it as Mount expected.He also threatened to report his sexual harassment to the actors union.

Hmph, I don't even look at who the top executives of the Screen Actors Union are. When I was in Universal, I paid to support the success of the election.

"Let go...let me go..."

"Slap..." It seemed that the actress was slapped again.

When Ronald heard something wrong, he stepped forward,
"boom!"

There was a loud thud and the door slammed against the wall and Ronald broke the lock.

"what……"

When Bannon, who came in from behind, turned on the light and made Mount a little dazed, the actress who was pressed under him broke away from Mount's hands, slipped out from under him, and fled to Rhone Behind De and Bannon.

"Puchi..." Looking at Mount who had taken off his trousers and only had a pair of shorts, Ronald let out a sneer.

"Long time no see, Tom."

"You? Ronald." Mount quickly grabbed the trousers that fell on the ground and lifted them up.

"Bannon, what's going on?"

"I'm here to inform you that you're going to fuck off. No matter where you are, it's illegal to try to force an actress. Besides, our heroine is not yet 16 years old."

Bannon stepped forward and pushed Mount away, pointing his finger at Mount's nose, telling him to be more honest.

Now, the heroine hiding behind Ronald, the girl named Amanda Peterson, covered her beaten face before she dared to poke her head out from behind.

"Hmph, are you going to kick me away? You're with that bastard Ronald? What benefits can he give you? More investment than me, or better industry connections than me."

"Shut up, what kind of bullshit connections do you have, you can't get investment in America and Japan. You look at Ronald, the screen fund is looking at his face. This movie has been in preparation for so long, and you don't even have a distributor. Can't figure it out, whether it's Universal, or the Columbia you're bragging about..."

"Your coercion of minors is a criminal case, and we will call the police." Ronald did not entangle with them, and directly asked Bannon to call the police.

Both Bannon and Mount turned their heads to look at Ronald. This kid is vicious, and he will beat Mount to the ground at once.

Bannon reacted quickly, knowing that this was not the time to hesitate. He knew that Ronald had a recording in his pocket, and the evidence was strong. He immediately picked up the phone on the table and dialed 911.
"Hi, this is West Hollywood... I have a 15-year-old woman here who seems to have been attacked."

The reason Bannon chose to call the police was a violent attack, so there is still some room for advancement and retreat.Whether Mount can get rid of the fate of ruin depends on this young Amanda Peterson.

West Hollywood is a place with high real estate value, sufficient taxes, and abundant LAPD manpower.

Soon, a West Hollywood detective arrived at the scene with two of his men.

After learning about the situation, he made a simple inquiry to Amanda Peterson on the spot, and then politely invited Tom Mount into the car and went back to accept the investigation.

"I'm going to call my lawyer." Mount was still yelling, how did this unspoken rule that everyone in Hollywood abides by become so serious?

Ronald was pleased with how quickly Bannon came to his side.He turned around to understand the situation with Amanda Peterson, who was slapped and knocked heavily on the head.

After a brief conversation, Ronald already knew that Amanda was a native of Colorado, and had participated in the audition for the Chinese film version of the musical "Annie" since she was a child.It's a pity that he was unsuccessful in the end and only played a supporting role.

From then on, he entered the show business circle and kept auditioning in Hollywood, wanting to play a role and become famous overnight.The heroine this time is already the third time she has participated in this kind of low-cost movie.

I am familiar with the road, so my parents are not by my side all the time.Unexpectedly, Tom Mount, who was in the position of producer, was going to force him in the office.

When Ronald heard that her parents were away, he called Paula Wagner, wife of his agent Nisita, to come over to deal with the problem for Amanda Peterson.

Paula appreciates Amanda Peterson's rebellious spirit because she is pregnant.She also hired a lawyer to accompany Amanda to the hospital for an examination, and then went to LAPD to explain the reason for the incident.

Ronald grabbed Paula and handed her the tape.Let her deal with the situation.

Because Mount was caught committing a crime, things became simpler.Soon, Bannon terminated his cooperation on the grounds of suspected criminal offenses.

Then and Ronald's Daydream initialed a cooperation agreement.

The 300 million filming funds turned into 200 million.Seeing that the shooting will be postponed.

Ronald looked at the budget of the filming, and said to Bannon, who wanted to work hard to get Ronald to invest, "Look at this report, the cost of filming in Los Angeles is very high. Especially the salary expenditure of the actors, it is Mount who made the investment. Did you shoot it here?

Isn't this the story of Arizona?There is also the scene of the aircraft cemetery of the navy and air force. Why didn't you go to Arizona to shoot it? "

"What Mount said is that when shooting in Hollywood, it is very convenient to have a variety of group performances, and it is much cheaper to set up a scene than to shoot on location." Bannon asked in surprise.

Bannon, who has been working on Wall Street, has not actually participated in filming. He has always used what Mount said as a professional reference.

"Will Wall Street bankers also be cheated by Hollywood producers?" Ronald picked up a red pencil with a smile, and began to draw a cross on the budget column.

"That's the old imperial calendar. Today's daylight-type film and lighter cameras can completely adapt to live-action shooting. So it's cheaper to go to the real scene to shoot the scene. How can it be cheaper to take so many planes for the set than to shoot on-site ?”

Bannon's face turned red. Wall Street bankers were deceived. This is an unprofessional performance. They have always been the only ones who deceive others.

"Also here," Ronald also crossed the hundreds of thousands of additional cost, "You go to Arizona to shoot, where there is no union interference. If your film is not registered with the union, they can't even control you. Will you pay the group performers?"

Bannon was even more annoyed. Didn't he say that the more Hollywood extras, the cheaper it is?
"If you don't believe me, you can look at the reports of the big companies. In the past two years, the minimum salary of the actors' union has increased by about 7% year by year. More and more projects have been filmed in Canada."

"I'm going to kill the bastard Mount." Simply calculating the cost of Ronald's fork with a red pencil, Bannon can easily figure out that the $200 million investment he found himself was used for filming. It's more than enough.

"Here." Ronald returned the shooting plan to Bannon. "You discuss the shooting plan with the director. The director of photography Matthew is an old friend of mine. If you are in doubt, you can ask him."

Ronald recognized Matthew's level very much. When the shooting was fast-paced, he used a special lighting method to save himself a lot of shooting time.

This time I met an old friend again, and simply persuaded him to work for Daydream, at least in the future, the daydream project will be given priority.For those low-cost movies, Matthew's level is good enough, and his character and price are trustworthy.

Bannon went to discuss a new shooting plan with director Rush. This time, he will not file with the actors union and make a non-union project.

Ronald occupied the original Mount's office and began to arrange work.

He is an insider and knows what is the necessary cost and what is nonsense to cheat the boss of his money.Get things organized quickly.

Around noon, Paula and Amanda's new criminal lawyer went to the office to update Ronald.

"Mount is finished. His wife found out about it and wanted to divorce him. He has nowhere to hang out in Hollywood."

Up, Paula Wagner picked Ronald's favorite to say it.

"Hey...he deserved what he deserved." Ronald smiled happily.

"However, regarding the issue of the criminal case, I suggest that Amanda Peterson reconsider. She said she would like to hear your opinion."

"How do you think about it?" Ronald asked, "Isn't this a public prosecution case?"

"Yes, but the other party's lawyer is very strong. Although Mount has no future in Hollywood, he is a rich man after all... well, before he lost his family property to divorce lawyers."

"Let's talk about it," Ronald became happier the more he listened. Hollywood divorce lawyers are all vampires. After several years of lawsuits, half of the property is not distributed to the ex-wife, but falls into the lawyer's pocket.

"This kind of case has never been easy to establish in Hollywood. The opposing lawyer will question Ms. Peterson's character, and her past events will be dug out by the opposing lawyer to attack her character. Considering Peter Ms. Sen is an actress, which is not very good for her future." The lawyer explained.

"Amanda is not yet sixteen, so this won't be a public trial."

"Of course, but the court may not be in the court. The other party is a high-level executive in Hollywood. They will definitely use the tabloids to pick up the heat and slander Amanda as a person who did not hesitate to seduce Mount for the role..."

"I still have the tape." Ronald remembered the tape he had given Paula.

"Ah... through the pocket, the recording is not very clear. The lawyer has heard it, but the other party is actually easy to raise doubts."

"Hmm..." Ronald suddenly had an idea of ​​Dongying's new toys, why couldn't he record clearly?

"We still have to consider this matter from Miss Peterson's point of view. Mount is willing to initiate a civil settlement..."

"Ask her what she means."

Ronald regrets not being able to send Mount to jail. "But when it comes to the tabloids, it seems..."

"The former president of Universal is suspected of..."

"How much will the former Universal Vice President lose when the Mounts file for divorce?"

"A number of actors and models came forward to accuse Tom Mount's true face..."

Soon, Mount's entry into the LAPD this time was exposed by revelations received by many newspapers.His name is on the public record, and the detectives and subordinates involved in the case also confirmed to the media that Mount was indeed suspected of being violent against the actor.

In the past, his behavior of sexually exploiting many actors, models, directors, etc. was also released.

"Ronald, several old guys called me and asked if you did what happened to Mount." Agent Nisita took a bunch of newspapers, put them on the table, and said to Ronald.

"I just happened to talk to Bannon about the release of the movie. Who knew he was so blatantly violating the heroine."

"Actually, this kind of thing is not uncommon in Hollywood, but Mount is really too much. Amanda Peterson is still underage. This is no longer the era of the 50s when producers did whatever they wanted and female stars had to sit on red sofas to get on the show. "

"Yeah," Ronald thought to himself, everyone signed the contract through the agent, didn't this Mount really disgrace the Hollywood producer.Can you still go hard?
However, he wasn't a capable person in the first place. Thanks to the fact that his wife's father was a senior executive of the bad ball parent company MCA, he was in a high position before he was even [-] years old.

"Don't care about it, he deserves it. I've negotiated with Ovitz here, you basically quit the Rain Man project, and he will compensate you with other resources. Your Dirty Dancing, he will use his connections to make film critics Good things to say about you.

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, and Sisko of the Chicago Tribune have promised to say good things about you in the papers and on TV.You just have to sponsor their Chicago Film Critics Association meeting next year.

That sponsorship spot is actually quite tight, and Ovitz reserved one for you by name. "

Ronald shook his head. These days, film critics are more powerful than directors.

……

"What? What did you say? You want to cancel the distribution contract of Mount Films?"

Tom Mount is angry after receiving his wife's divorce request.Columbia's distribution manager came to tell him that the three-film distribution contract signed by Mount Films and Columbia was also canceled because of his scandal.

"Yes, there are moral clauses in our cooperation. Your behavior makes the audience not like the movies produced by your company. Who told you to name your own film company after you?"

Tom Mount was hit repeatedly and knocked everything off the table at once.

"Wendy, Wendy, come and clean up." Mount calmed down, pressed the intercom and asked the secretary to come in and clean up.

"Mr. Mount, here is my resignation letter." Secretary Wendy packed up the things on the ground, then came in and handed a letter of resignation to Mount.

It's not good for your future to work for a suspected...suspect.

"You betrayed me too? Get the hell out of here."

Mount only felt that all his careers had been ruined by Ronald.

"Mr. Mount, it's time to pay your attorney's fees." The criminal lawyer in charge of his case came in and handed him a receipt.

After seeing the huge amount of legal fees above, Mount couldn't bear it anymore and yelled.

"Why don't you grab so much money?"

"If you don't pay, I will hire a special lawyer to collect it." The criminal lawyer had seen many such clients, so he straightened his clothes, picked up his briefcase and walked out.

"Get out, get out of here." Mount rolled the things the secretary had picked up to the ground again.

"Ronald, you bastard."

(End of this chapter)