Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"You want to be a director, but this project is of interest to Emil Adolino. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have started filming..."

Ronald received a call from Barbra Streisand, who not only wanted to star in the film, but also to direct, or to use his name on the director's byline.

"But no one is irreplaceable, right? I want to talk to you in person..."

"All right……"

Ronald felt that Streisand was a well-known Jewish singer and movie star in America and an old artist, so rejecting him on the phone seemed insincere. I agreed to come down and meet him in New York.

…

"I like this script very much, but there are many details that need to be changed. For example, the dancer's psychological state should be the core of the film, not her erotic history..."

Barbra Streisand still did a lot of homework. She proposed to use the social mentality of women who made extraordinary performances in the conservative era of the past, and were openly despised in society, but secretly competed to watch them.

Using this as a background, the struggle and entanglement of a woman are photographed.

"I like it too, but this is a project belonging to Emile Adolino. If you are willing to cooperate with him..." Ronald still kept his old words and refused to let go.

"Oh, why don't you understand? I need a director's opportunity to prove my ability..." Barbra Streisand could not bear Ronald's confusion anymore. Am I the one who lacks a script? I am missing an opportunity to prove my ability as a director!

"I think what you want is an opportunity to express your heart, the grievances you have suffered in Hollywood for many years, and the feeling that a female star in a male-dominated industry is regarded as having only one pretty face (so Ronald also feels A bit regretful)..." Ronald saw that Barbra Streisand actually had lofty ambitions.

The feelings she brought up were all inner dramas. It is necessary to start with external plots and scenes to express the feelings of the character - that is, her own incarnation - in Hollywood and the recording industry for so many years. She wants to convey this feeling to the audience.

"Oh, Ronald. I'm going to fall in love with you. No wonder they all say you are the director who knows best about female stars. I have talked to so many people, but you were the only one who understood my heart right away..."

Sure enough, Ronald did speak to Streisand's psychological side. Rather than wanting to win an award, she wants to be recognized, a recognition that she is not a "pretty face" and has a brain.

"But I think you must also understand that it is difficult to make a promise in Hollywood. I have already promised Emile Adolino, and you don't want this movie to come to you like this, right? As for the script, I still have I will help you keep an eye out for someone who is suitable. Let’s work together. I have always felt that it is effortless for a good actor to become a director..."

"Dear, you are really a director who understands actors, just like Kevin Costner. I paid special attention to the causes and consequences of his Dances with Wolves. If it weren't for you...his talent wouldn't be able to Get the most out of it…”

"Ah, hahaha...", Ronald got goosebumps when he heard those dear words. Jon Peters, now the vice president of Columbia, helped her "comb her hair" before entering the industry as a producer.

"Well, you make me like it very much..." Barbra Streisand took a rare moment and personally took a bottle of mineral water for Ronald.

"Huh?" Ronald felt even more uncomfortable when he heard this.

"If you encounter any problems in Hollywood, just come to me." After saying that, Streisand stood up and saw him out.

"Oh, so you didn't mean to seduce me..." Ronald breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, what problems do I still have in Hollywood?

…

"I heard that Barbra Streisand wants to be a director?" Emile Adolino also heard the news and came over to discuss it with Ronald.

"I have rejected her. You have to choose another heroine... Let's see if there are actresses in Hollywood who are good at singing and dancing. I will ask someone to invite..." Ronald told the other party the "bad news" , Barbra Streisand no longer plays the role, and the film's investment may be downgraded.

"But why? There is a saying in Hollywood that no one is irreplaceable..." Emile Adolino has been losing weight recently, maybe because he was too busy filming The Nutcracker.

"Yes, no one is irreplaceable, so Barbara was replaced... You are one of our most valuable assets in Daydream. For us, you are the one who cannot be replaced... "

"I... this has been my wish for many years, to shoot a film like a backstage musical. Don't worry, after I finish shooting these two movies, I will make a commercial production again..." Emile Adolino Obviously a little moved. It's not easy for a studio boss to say this.

"Haha, Sisters Are Crazy is definitely going to make a sequel. If you want to make it, you can make it. If you don't want to make it, we can slowly pay attention to other scripts... You may not be able to catch up with Kevin Costner's new film, but Tom K. Both Ruth and Bruce Willis have new projects in preparation, and I will support you to compete..."

Ronald was happy, this was the best commercial director Daydream had ever recruited. Anyway, the time is right and good words are worthless, so just say them. Giving directors a certain degree of freedom is actually a very good way to win over them. After they make a film that focuses on personal expression, they will feel guilty and miss the convenience brought by commercial production, which is more conducive to making money.

"You know? It's such a pleasure to work for you." Emil Adolino was also happy. Having such a boss is very lucky for him, a somewhat introverted person. As long as he does well, The job you are best at is directing. Don't worry about anything else.

…

"shxt..." Winning over Emile Adolino was also a last resort. Daydream's production business has taken a bit of a hit lately.

With the reputation of winning two consecutive Oscars, Ronald and some popular movie stars were discussing cooperation.

Including Harrison Ford, after he tried the romantic love plot of "Working Girl", he felt that this kind of movie that mixed multiple genres and highlighted his beauty was the direction of transformation in the future.

So he would love to work with Ronald on his next film. The two sides had had many in-depth discussions about what elements the script must contain, but just last week, Harrison Ford's screenwriter wife, Melissa Matheson, suddenly informed Ronald that Harrison Ford would be next. Working with the famous Jewish producer Arnold Kopelson.

Another person he discussed cooperation with was actor Dustin Hoffman. He has always been famous for his classic method acting, and the directors he works with are often very broken.

But as a producer, working with him is painless. As long as you can grasp his desire to change the script, as a star he can save the producer a lot of trouble. Especially since several of the films he produced after Rain Man failed at the box office, his salary, voice in projects, etc. have all reached an extremely weak position. Only the audience still remembers him and can rely on this Get investors' money.

Although it was his first time working with him, Dustin Hoffman kept a relatively low profile this time. He personally visited Ronald twice and showed a very sincere attitude of cooperation.

Originally, the two had talked a lot about the content of the script, and they both admired each other, but something went wrong a few days ago. Dustin Hoffman suddenly expressed that he felt deeply insecure about his acting skills and hoped to take a break to recharge his batteries and perform a stage play on Broadway to regain his confidence as an actor.

Ronald was so angry that he threw a Coke. Didn't he treat me as a fool? I also chatted with you about the advantages and disadvantages of many scripts and which ones might be suitable for him. Didn’t all this become useless and given to this actor for free?

Fortunately, the relationship between Tom Cruise and him is still stable. After the filming of "A Few Good Men" ended, Cruise was willing to cooperate with Ronald again. He would direct it and he would play the leading role in a similar film. Movies like Top Gun solidify their position among the audience.

Kevin Costner has no problem with him, and is still inviting him to join his new project, a story between a popular singer and a bodyguard. According to him, the film was written by the famous director Lawrence Kasdan. , another script imitating Akira Kurosawa's "Yojimbo." Of course, Kasdan only made reference to the structure and plot, and did not copy it completely like Red Dead Redemption back then.

With the presence of these two stars, and the upcoming "Sleepless in Seattle" starring Tom Hanks, Daydream's big production has no break for the time being. But the dream of expanding production remained unfulfilled.

On the other hand, many small productions also experienced problems. Some actors have refused to work with Daydream for various reasons. As a result, they could only continue to bet on two second-tier action stars, Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Of course, what worried Ronald the most was the script. I haven’t had many dreams recently, and many of the scripts I had liked before were in the hands of major studios, and the price to buy them was too high.

Especially the movie "Forrest Gump" that he dreamed about twice. He passed through intermediaries many times, but Warner Bros. always rejected it.

You know, the main reason why Spielberg's Amblin Productions has been successful for many years is that he can attract enough high-quality scripts. Whether you direct yourself or support young directors, there is no problem.

So if we can persist for another year and produce movies with better box office and better reviews, then people in some Hollywood studios can't help it. This year, it is very difficult to say that Ronald relies on luck. When one or two big-selling movies appear next year, if you want to refuse Ronald's cooperation, you must be mentally prepared to step down.

"Where is Richard?" Ronald finished his work and was about to chat with Richard about the latest news as usual every Monday when he found that he did not appear in front of him uncharacteristically.

"I called him and his secretary said that CAA was holding an emergency meeting and seemed to be welcoming a new big client."

…

"I am happy to announce to everyone that Mr. Spielberg has officially become a member of our CAA, and I will personally serve as his agent...

As for who he is, I won’t introduce him much. No one in Hollywood doesn't know him. Because his project is very busy, we will not hold any more welcome ceremonies. Once his project is finished, we will hold a decent packaging celebration for him..."

Ovitz held a meeting on Monday morning, and the announcement was to welcome the great director Spielberg to officially become a signed client of CAA.

This move really made many agents feel that Ovitz was still the same Ovitz, a Hollywood godfather.

"Is Steven crazy about winning an Oscar? He paid the director's share so easily?"

They all regretted it. Now that Spielberg has become the boss of Amblin, it is unlikely that he will find another agent to share his money.

What agent can give Spielberg something that he can't get himself?

So the industry generally believes that Spielberg will no longer look for a strong agent to cooperate. He has become a holy grail in the Hollywood agent industry, the kind that everyone wants to get, but no one has.

So this news shocked the employees inside CAA. It can be imagined that after this news spreads, other agent companies and major studios will re-evaluate Ovitz again.

"In addition, I want to emphasize that all agents must relearn my CAA creed.

The package model is the foundation of our success. All projects, from today on, must strictly abide by this model. Any agent who does not put CAA's interests first does not conform to our values..."

"But..." Nicita interrupted Ovitz's speech. He wanted to put forward his own opinion. It may not be a good thing to constrain a successful person like Ronald in that packaged way. Such a director is willing to cooperate, which is a very good opportunity to promote other contracted actors. If he does not want to do the package, he can also cooperate in their way.

"There is no but. Hollywood is a business. No one is irreplaceable..."

After speaking, Ovitz also looked deeply at Nicita, Richard and Paula Wagner, and the other agents sitting next to them. Then he turned around and looked at the only remaining founder, Ron Meyer.

"CAA is still Ovitz's CAA..." He thought with some pride. Finally, he got Spielberg, although it cost a lot...

But the trump card is the trump card, with him, the actors of CAA will go crazy. With him, the actors have an expectation that they can make Spielberg's movie.

As for Ronald, anyway, he won't be packaged, so there will be fewer opportunities for CAA actors, and he has regained the initiative in the company. With the trump card in hand, many things that have not gone well in the past year can be gradually sorted out.

I believe that among those people, Niceta knows that the overall situation is important, and his Jewish wife is even more so. Jews can always communicate. As long as the young man who sticks closest to Ronald is kicked out, everyone will know that they should abandon their fantasies. And the only founding partner behind... Hehehe, he should also shrink back and support himself again as he has done several times before...

"Watch the ball..." After the meeting, Ovitz waved the baseball bat in the office again. A good slugger is like this, standing on the base alone, he can threaten everyone on the field...

...

"Is this his trump card?" Ronald then waited for the visit of the three agents.

"Yes, Spielberg's arrival will give great hope to the contracted actor clients. It can be said that this is his nuclear weapon..." Richard also had to admit that this chess game actually worked very well.

"Be happy, it's nothing great..." Ronald did not look depressed.

"What can you do?" Paula Wagner was under great pressure. She was no longer Ronald's agent. If her clients wanted to change their agent, she would have no chance to retain them.

"I don't have many ways now. Let's follow the emergency plan we made before. But I heard that nuclear weapons deterrence is only effective on the launch pad. After it is launched, it has no deterrent effect.

The last time the prince of Kuwait came to see the construction of the cinema, we chatted together, and he also told me an Arabic proverb...

Don't use your real skills easily. Once you use your real skills, others will know that your real skills are terrible..."