Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 814 We have to read it 100 times!
After the party was over, Ronald still put his energy back on the marketing of the movie.

Two things required his immediate attention. When he and Helen went to two parties, his daydreaming colleagues had already rang up Ronald's manager's phone.

This is the disadvantage of being an artist and a businessman.Being a director and producer is one thing, being a distributor is another.Artists often focus on the preparation, shooting, editing and even final completion of a project for several months, day and night.Then you can rest, recharge, or let loose for inspiration.

Businessmen, on the other hand, have to pay attention to the details of business every day, and then make big and small decisions without rest.In English, business and busy are a cognate word (Business), which has a lot of reasons.

Ronald has now tasted the incompatibility of the two ways of thinking, and the way of allocating energy and time, and attacks on himself.

But Daydream was still a small company, and Ronald would have to be deeply involved in both before the distribution and production teams could be developed.

I really don’t know, how did Roger Coleman, who can produce more than 10 films in parallel and is responsible for the distribution of New World Pictures, do all this?

Moreover, Coleman also opposes the company's hierarchical management and business meetings. All things are decided by him alone, and then he orders his subordinates to do it.

Ronald felt sure he couldn't be like Roger Coleman.If all the energy and time are put into daily management, I will have no time to learn and improve, and I may stop at the current level for the rest of my life.

After all, he still prefers to be a director rather than a businessman.It is also very simple for him to choose one of the two. If there is a suitable person, he will throw out the distribution business. It is more comfortable to be a producer and director himself.

There are two things to worry about. The first one sounds more troublesome, but it is actually easier to solve.

Like the box office explosion, there are also record sales of the movie soundtrack "Dirty Dancing".Because the release of the movie was delayed by a month, the albums that no one cares about, after the premiere, consume the inventory at a super fast rate.

Especially for those record stores located within a mile of the cinema, the newly arrived records almost every day are snatched up by the audience who have just left the cinema.

And the record store, which didn't make any purchases at the beginning, was also calling the record company's distribution department day and night to urge delivery.These phone calls were gathered, and Jimmy Reiner jumped anxiously seeing the empty record warehouse. On the second day of the premiere, he went to contact the record factory to discuss reprinting.

But the original Columbia Records, refused to continue production for Ronald's soundtrack.Their production capacity is all occupied by Michael Jackson's new album.Since the publication of "Thriller" in 1982, which made MJ the highest-selling pop singer in history, the second album "Bad" will also be available in America at the end of the month.

Therefore, the record factories under Columbia are all fully stocking up, and there is no spare production capacity for the production of "Dirty Dancing".

Jimmy Reiner urgently contacted other record companies, and learned about the hot show of "Dirty Dancing" in the United States, and the grand occasion of the audience turning around to buy records after leaving the movie theater.These companies are all too willing to take over the rest of the recording production and distribution.

The conditions given by two of them can meet the requirements of rapid production and distribution.

One is David Geffen's Geffen Records, and he's willing to take over Dirty Dancing.With all the marketing, distribution, production, etc. contracted out, Ronald's film company only needs to wait for the release to earn a share.

The other is the old record RCA. They don't want to take over the record, but they are willing to provide cooperation in production and distribution.The two parties also adopted the sharing method to settle the settlement, but because they did not invest much, the requested sharing amount was also lower than Geffen's.

"Who do you think has better terms?" Ronald asked Jimmy Reiner on the phone.

"I think RCA is still reliable. Originally, this album was largely relying on movies for marketing. Most of the customers wanted to buy it because they watched the movie or saw the theme song on MTV. of.

Therefore, the conditions proposed by Geffen actually do not have much effect on us.The share he asked for was also too high, although it could be negotiated. "

"Negotiation..." Ronald recalled David Geffen's previous style of doing things, and he didn't give any hope that the mere Jimmy Reiner could negotiate with him.

The record label boss signed former Beatles John Lennon.Before Lennon's album was released, he was shot dead by demented admirers.

Geffen has also been romantically involved with Cher, the lead actress in Ronald's next movie, "Moonlight."A person who is interested in men openly fell in love with a beautiful woman, Xueer, and when they finally broke up, they had to take back all the jewelry given to her.

Whether it's luck or shrewdness, Ronald suspects that he is no match for the opponent.

"We don't have much room for negotiation, Jimmy. The important thing now is to produce a large number of records as quickly as possible, and then distribute them to the national market. In the past, we may have lost more."

"If you think so, Ronald. I'll go and contact RCA again to see if I can negotiate better terms." Jimmy Reiner still thinks like a broker. In his opinion, every deal is important. Letting employers get the best conditions and matching deals is the only way to pay attention to professional ethics.

"Don't talk about it, just agree to their conditions, and sign the contract as soon as possible. I happen to be in New York, and you let their people come to see me."

"Okay, boss. I'll tell you right away."

……

"Director Li, this is the headquarters of our RCA. Our company invented the 1931-rpm LP in 33, which can hold more songs than the 78-rpm common at that time."

Jimmy Reiner moved quickly, and Ronald arrived at RCA's headquarters in New York early the next morning.A distribution manager took Ronald on a tour of the RCA's historic honors room.

The factory, established in 1929, is a giant in the American recording industry.After entering the 80s, with the financing support of the financial market, they acquired 50% of Bertelsmann's Alista Records, and formed a joint venture with Bertelsmann to release each other's hit records in Europe and America.

After the second term of the Grand Commander, they signed two famous singers, Kenny Rogers and Diana Ross, with a signing fee far exceeding the market price.Trying to seize a larger territory in the record industry in America.

But luck is not on RCA's side. The two big stars who were popular in the 70s and early 80s, last year, the two stars quickly passed away under the fresh music style. RCA had to take back 2500 million worth of records that could not be sold in record stores.

This year is even worse, the record sales of its singers are sluggish, and they met superstars like MJ again, and began to release the second album in five years, which has been eagerly awaited by music fans.

The fixed budget that music fans spend on records is that much a year.And MJ only released an album in five years, and now many new records from other companies have been played.

In the first half of the year, RCA is expected to lose close to 4000 million yuan, and the annual loss may exceed 6000 million yuan.Therefore, under the pressure of the situation, RCA's policy now is to no longer invest huge sums of money in releasing records that require a lot of publicity and marketing.

Ronald's "Dirty Dancing" soundtrack album just met their needs. It can not only use the effect of the movie to avoid marketing expenses, but also digest the production capacity vacated by the weak record sales of the two superstars.

Therefore, RCA respects Ronald very much. A vice president specially discussed the details of cooperation with Ronald after Ronald visited the history of the record company.

"Our RCA also has many distribution channels in Europe, will your movie be distributed in Europe?"

"Of course, I have already signed distribution intentions with many distributors at the Cannes Film Festival. Now the film's box office has exceeded expectations. I think we will have many fans in Europe. They also hope to buy a record. Learn to mambo."

Ronald was confident that he would sell copies all over the world, and he kept telling the good news in front of RCA's vice president.

After all, the larger the volume of records released, the cheaper RCA's production costs would be, and they would be more willing to give some of the profits to Ronald's daydream.

"If, I'm talking about that time, when Dirty Dancing has achieved box office success in Europe, we can distribute products there. At that time, our share can be reduced by 10% on the original basis."

The vice president did the math. According to the current momentum, it is just around the corner to surpass the platinum record, and even in the long run, it will sell several platinum records.When the time comes, the average cost per record will be so low that the company's chief financial officer will laugh out loud. The most important thing now is to win this guaranteed profit.

"make a deal!"

When Ronald heard that there was still such a good thing, he immediately extended his hand to shake hands with the other party.

Now another factory as big as RCA is taking the initiative to extend an olive branch. All the production capacity is ready-made, and it can quickly produce and distribute goods to all towns in America within a week. What better partner than this?
Moreover, they have a joint venture with Bertelsmann, Europe's largest publishing group, and have ready-made overseas sales channels. "Dirty Dancing" will make RCA and Daydream both make money and get soft.

"Mr. Mitch Kanter's team will be fully responsible for our contract issues. He will come over tomorrow to discuss signing with you. Jimmy Reiner, as my plenipotentiary representative, will sign with you as soon as possible."

"Very good, we can actually start preparing for production in advance. After signing the contract tomorrow, the production line can start." Mr. Vice President is very satisfied, such a cheerful person is really hard to find.

……

In the evening, Ronald and Cynthia Rhodes boarded a plane to Nashville, Tennessee.

Both of them sat in the business class and sat together.As soon as Ronald got on the plane, he took out his pen and notebook and started writing something.

"Are you writing your next work?" Cynthia Rhodes just took off her shoes, and was resting comfortably while looking at the wine list.Ronald had just achieved great success at the box office, and he was still so diligent, which made her feel that he was destined to succeed.

"No, I'm analyzing the reason why our movie is particularly successful in the southern region." Ronald showed Cynthia the book.

"The box office here, according to the standard of an average single hall, is actually higher than that of New York. Hold some fan meetings."

"I don't understand, but the story of this movie really makes the girls in my hometown like it. They have already called me a lot and said that my acting is good." Cynthia Rhodes is not interested in these, but It's about my own experience.

"This is what I don't understand. Your hometown is a small town. Why do the girls there like this movie? The story happened in New York in 1963. A rich girl fell in love with a poor boy. What do you think? It's not in line with the conservative style of the south."

Ronald closed his notebook. This question had troubled him for several days. If he couldn't come up with a reasonable answer, it would be a bit risky to increase investment hastily.

Although the box office of "Dirty Dancing" is expected to be very good, it will take a long time to settle the payment. Ronald does not have much money to invest in marketing now, so he can only choose a breakthrough and concentrate resources.Sprinkling a little money everywhere, first, it may not be effective, and second, it is not enough to spend.

"Nashville is actually not conservative. There are many record companies in the town, and it is a holy place for rock music. It is impossible to be conservative. But leaving the center where many record companies gather, the rest of the place is still very conservative."

Cynthia Rhodes gave Ronald a brief introduction to the style of Nashville. In the southern state of Tennessee, the atmosphere is considered open, but compared with New York and Los Angeles, it is considered more conservative.

……

It didn't take long for Ronald to see this mix of conservative and progressive.

In downtown Nashville, the most prestigious movie theater is the Belcourt Theatre.

Not only are various Hollywood and European avant-garde films shown here, but many record company employees come back to watch them.On the other hand, it is also the residence of the Nashville Children's Choir, and nearby churches often come to borrow the venue to hold large choir singing.

……

"We want to see Johnny, we want to see Johnny!"

At the fan meeting, many female fans of the leading actor Patrick Schwyz occupied the venue, clamoring for Patrick Schwyz to show up.

This is exactly the opposite of the situation in which female stars are more popular than male stars in general movie marketing. This movie with women as the first perspective attracts fans who want to watch the male protagonist.

They chanted "I want to see Johnny, I want to see Johnny" and held signs saying "No one can leave the baby in the corner". They broke the routine of the fan meeting and clamored to see Schwyz .

Seeing that the momentum was wrong, Ronald hurried up to ease the situation.He picked up the microphone, knocked a few times, and said to the following,

"Do you want to see Patrick? If you want to see him, stop by and I'll tell you about the arrangements. How can I meet Patrick Schwitz, would you like to hear it?"

"Yes, just say it!"

"Uh...Patrick Schwyz is now in New York, and we are planning his itinerary. If the box office here is good, we will arrange for him to come and hold another fan meeting."

"Box office? Our box office here is very good. If you don't believe me, ask the manager of the theater?"

A blond woman in a T-shirt and jeans shouted at Ronald from below.

"Please give her a microphone." Ronald sweating profusely asked the staff to give her the first microphone.

"What's your name, please?" Ronald asked politely from above.

"My name is Kathy, when is Patrick coming?"

"Ah," Ronald felt beads of sweat slipping down his hair into his back again, these movie fans are too real.

"As I said, when we arrange a fan meeting, we need to look at the box office situation in various places, and the itinerary of the actors, and consider it comprehensively. For example, when we came to Nashville this time, we invited Cynthia Rhodes, who was born locally.

"Cynthia, hey, tell the director, when will Patrick Schwitz come to us."

"Cathy, I don't have the right, you have to ask the director." Cynthia also took a microphone and said to the old acquaintance below.

Seeing Ronald's questioning eyes, Cynthia smiled and lowered the microphone, and replied, "I'm a middle school classmate."

"So, as long as we can do well at the box office, you can let Schwytz come, right?"

Casey has the pungent side of a southern girl, usually gentle and amiable, but when it comes to critical moments, she knows what it means to do her part.

"Um, in fact, we don't arrange fans' activities completely according to the box office." Ronald sweated again, which was too tough.

"Come on, I see. If the box office hits, you'll let us meet Johnny. If the box office hits a record, you'll let Schwyz dance with me?"

"Haha, it depends on whether he is interested. He did dance with a few audience members and film critics in New York." Ronald had no choice but to say so.

"It doesn't matter, we have formed the 'Dirty Dancing' movie viewing club. We have watched the movie many times, and it will definitely make a good box office. Don't count your words, director."

"How many times have you watched it?" Ronald was a little surprised. This movie has only been shown in Nashville for a few days?

"I've watched it 6 times," Casey puffed out his chest proudly, "We have another one here, who has watched it 10 times and hasn't missed a single game."

"With all due respect, you guys watch 'Dirty Dancing' several times a day and don't want to see other movies?"

"No, this is the best movie to watch, no matter how you watch it, you won't get tired of watching it."

"No, every time I see Johnny go back to find Baby, I still cry."

"You don't know, director, what a beautiful movie you made. When we watch the movie, it's like seeing our own life."

In the end, the same girl who watched 10 shows told Ronald why they wanted to watch it over and over again.

Tennessee is a very conservative and backward state. These girls often graduate from high school, get married, and then have children.

In "Dirty Dancing", Baby's life is the kind of life they yearned for when they were young, but they didn't get it.

There is a well-educated, enlightened and wise father, and a handsome boy with small eyes is his lover, and he can dance such a sexy and beautiful dance.

Baby Housman, played by Jennifer Gray, wears a sweater and an ordinary skirt, but can experience such a good relationship and dance such a sexy dance. This is to live out their dreams for these girls.

"Okay, I will discuss it with Patrick Schwitz individually, and try to add a fan meeting for you guys."

Ronald was very moved. After the meet and greet, he went to the next-door burger restaurant for dinner alone with Casey and other hardcore members of the fan club.

These girls are really cute, cutting out stills from magazines and pasting them in scrapbooks, drawing all kinds of dialogue in water pen, it's like doing a graphic novel for Dirty Dancing Same.

They also carefully pasted the movie ticket stubs on the top of the scrapbook. The girl with the most tickets has accumulated 11 tickets.

"You don't want to watch Dirty Dancing over and over again, we're about to start making a video, and it won't cost more than $40, and then you can take it home and watch it over and over again. You watch the movie 10 times The money is enough to buy one."

Ronald also asked his assistant to bring a list, register the names and addresses of all the girls in the fan club, and promised to send them all a copy at his own expense after the video tape came out.

"It's a video tape, the big screen in the cinema we like to watch." Casey, the head of the fan club, waved his hand, indicating that the video tape belongs to the video tape, and they will continue to watch this movie over and over again.

"Why? Is my movie really that good? Of course, Cynthia's dance and performance are very worth watching. I'm just worried that you spent a lot of money."

"It's not wronged, it's just good-looking." Casey and other members of the fan club disagreed with Ronald's opinion.

Ronald didn't look polite at them either, with a puzzled expression on his face.

"Cynthia, you tell him." Seeing that Ronald still didn't understand, Casey asked Cynthia Rhodes to explain.

"Ronald, you don't know girls in Tennessee. At home, they have husbands, several children, and endless housework. Watching movies is the only time they can relax."

Ronald oh, this is something he has never experienced, and he has no such life experience.Going to the cinema to see the Baby in Dirty Dancing doing the things of their dreams is a rare time for these girls to escape reality and breathe a sigh of relief.

Watching videotapes at home and being interrupted by things at any time is not the same effect.

"Well, I'll pay for all the tickets for tomorrow's show, please watch it." Ronald felt that it was not easy for the girls in the fan club, so he asked them to watch it, hoping to save them some money.

"Oh yeah..." Everyone happily patted the table with their Coke cups.

"It's my luck to have fans like you." Ronald also greeted them with a Coke.

"When you watch 15 or 20 games, you will almost be able to set a record." Ronald said with great emotion, "In my previous movies, I rarely heard that someone watched 10 games in a row. You really surprised me. .”

"How can 15 games be enough?" Casey put down the Coke and looked at Ronald with wide eyes. "Our club has an agreement to watch 100 games in the cinema! Girls, isn't it?"

"Yes! We have to watch 100 games."

"Oh..." Ronald almost couldn't keep his mouth shut while he was eating a hamburger.

(End of this chapter)