Exploiting Hollywood 1980 Chapter 898

  Chapter 898 Stars shall prevail

   "What more do you want?"

  Harrison Ford, who saw Ronald again, was still a standard star. But Ronald still felt that Ford was a little impatient.

"Polly and I have prepared costumes, a team of props, and an accent coach suitable for Wall Street elites," Ronald said with a smile on his face, and said politely to Harrison Ford, "We mainly want to know your schedule. Arrange, when can I go to New York to prepare for the shooting..."

   "Get ready..." Harrison showed a standard Han Solo smirk, and he looked at the manager Patricia beside him.

   "Harrison doesn't need to make extra preparations, as long as you come up with the shooting plan, he can arrive in New York a few days in advance." Patricia replaced the employer and said what needed to be said.

   "Eh..." Ronald was choked up and couldn't speak. Is this star so straightforward? You don't read the script before shooting, and you also have your own dressing room for custom-made photos. What kind of life experience, accent correction?

   Ronald didn't know if this was the style of a star, or Harrison Ford wanted to get some special treatment, so he had to look at Polly Pratt who came with him.

"Harrison, I've known Ni and Melissa for a long time, and this movie has potential, and if you take the time to prepare it, you could have an awards and critical breakthrough. This script has potential, I think both lead actresses and lead actors have room to act. If you don't believe me, go back and ask Melissa."

   Polly Pratt is really experienced enough, of course she knows that this is a common style of stars. The biggest difference between stars and ordinary actors is that no matter which movie they are in, they always play a star named "Harrison Ford", so the preliminary preparation is not important to them, anyway, they will not act according to the script in the end. .

  But another common feature of stars is that they are not seen by awards and critics. Although Harrison Ford has two blockbuster series, he is always criticized by the critics and ignored by the awards. Given the chance to reverse an award, stars tend to make certain compromises.

  Polly has a good relationship with Harrison Ford's wife, Melissa Matheson, because she has been in Hollywood long enough.

  Different from ordinary male stars looking for beauties in the circle to marry, Harrison Ford's second wife, Melissa Matheson, is a talented woman. She started out as a set assistant on Coppola's "The Godfather Part II" and later became a screenwriter, writing "ET" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark".

  If anyone can make Harrison Ford change his mind and get serious about working on "Working Girl," it's Melissa.

  In fact, he wants to switch to acting in some romantic comedies and dramas to expand his acting career, which was also recommended by Melissa Matheson. After all, always playing the script of a tough guy leader, Harrison will only get narrower and narrower. There are fewer and fewer scripts from Harrison Ford that can be hired now. If the market proves that he can act in romantic comedies and dramas, then he will have a lot more choices.

  Hearing Polly mentioned his wife, Harrison Ford showed a kind of love on his face. Their son Malcolm had just been born.

   "You may be right, I will go to New York a little earlier after the year, how should I say? A week earlier?"

   "Eh..." Ronald felt the super narcissistic confidence of a big star for the first time. I came a few weeks later than other actors, and I am very confident that I can keep up with the performance. There are too few Hollywood stars like Paul Newman who, after becoming famous, give the opposite words to the rival actors who have just debuted.

   Polly gave Ronald a wink, the star can compromise, it is a big concession. First agree to come down, and then take your time to get better.

   "We are expected to launch at the end of January, what is your schedule?" Ronald understood what Polly meant, so he changed his words and began to fix the schedule.

Manager Patricia and Harrison Ford exchanged glances, "It needs to be postponed until late February, and Harrison needs to spend more time with the children. He now has to spare enough time to spend time with Mei Li after every filming. Sarah and the child."

   "Ahem..." Ronald was choked and coughed. He has heard too much about celebrities playing big names, and Ronald, who is used to making decisions with one word on the set, still can't stand it.

"This schedule conflicts with 20th Century Fox's arrangement. This movie will be released at the end of the year and will hit next year's Oscars. We also need to allow enough time for editing, trial screenings, and then adjustments. If it is postponed for a month... "

   Ronald began to think of ways, trying to make Harrison Ford change his mind.

   "Hahaha..." Harrison Ford started laughing.

   Ronald was a little puzzled. He looked at Polly, who was also smiling.

  The manager Patricia spoke up, "Harrison is a star, maybe at this moment, he is the 'that' star in Hollywood. When there is a conflict between his schedule and the studio, of course the star will prevail."

   Ronald touched his lips with his tongue, which is big enough. I don't know if it's true, or another star's temptation.

   "Harrison is the target of all studios, not a star like Stallone..."

   "Eh..." Ronald touched his chin, and this was even more outrageous. Although I also feel that Stallone is going to die soon, but after all, he still has two blockbuster series "First Blood" and "Rocky".

Although Stallone was a little embarrassed because he divorced his wife, but the word "passed" spit out from the mouth of Harrison Ford's manager. The firm tone made Ronald feel the competition between stars. I'm afraid it's more intense than the average actor.

"I like you, Ronald," Harrison Ford began in his flattering, magnetic voice, "Steven and I are talking about a new Dr. Indiana Jones movie, and I'm done shooting you." For this one, I have to rest for at least three months and spend more time with Melissa, this is Hollywood, Ronald."

   Had to change the shooting cycle, Ronald was a little angry. He and the star collaborated for the first time, and many things were taken for granted.

As Polly Pratt said to Ronald when she got in the car, sometimes stars make people very angry. They don't have any special reason for what they do. They have to do it, but to show , they can do it!

  Ronald asked Bard Jr. to drive the car directly to the CAA office. He wanted to verify in person whether Spielberg was the director and he had to accommodate Harrison Ford's schedule.

   "I don't know the specific details, but what he said is likely to be true." After listening to Ronald's thoughts in the office, Nisita poured him a glass of Italian brandy to calm him down. Then he spoke his true thoughts.

   "Really? A big-name director like Spielberg can't let a star change his schedule?"

"You've got to think about it, Ronald. You and Spielberg appear on Fifth Avenue in New York. How many people know you and ask you for autographs? How about Harrison Ford? Hollywood has always been an influence." game of power."

   "Hmm..." Ronald fell silent. He lived in a high-rise apartment next to Fifth Avenue. Except for a few interested screenwriters who recognized him and asked to read their scripts, ordinary New Yorkers really didn't know themselves.

   "But directors and producers also have their advantages. In the editing room, stars have no right to speak."

   "Haha, too..." Ronald was a little happier, and Nisita got up to send him out. When the two walked to the hall, it happened that the partner Michael Ovitz came in from the outside.

   "Aha, Ronald, we haven't seen each other for a long time. Working girl? Harrison Ford, huh?" Ovitz hugged Ronald happily. In less than ten years, this genius who was signed as a screenwriter back then is now able to guide Hollywood's first-line stars.

  Ronald is one of the directors represented by CAA who has the most stable output of blockbuster movies. This steady progress has brought great benefits to the actors under CAA. In addition, he signed the contract early. In CAA, which pays attention to qualifications, Ovitz still loves Ronald very much.

  Nisita hurriedly gestured beside him, this one was having trouble with Harrison Ford.

Ovitz immediately understood why Ronald's expression was not very happy, "Ronald, this is Hollywood, I like you very much, you are a Winner. There will be challenges in cooperating with stars. If you have any questions, you can directly call Call me."

  It seems that Ovitz doesn't dare to offend a star of Harrison Ford's level, Ronald thought. I don't know if he will talk like this when he faces Spielberg, George Lucas, this kind of director who has a much higher box office than himself and has multiple Oscar nominations?

   "Mr. Ovitz, I just want to ask you a question." Ronald walked with him to the largest partner's office in the corner.

After closing the door, Ronald asked Ovitz, "I heard that Harrison Ford is going to make a third Indiana Jones movie, and he's going to take a three-month break from my film. That's a schedule, Spielberg. Does the director follow his schedule too?"

"Hehe", Ovitz laughed when he heard that this was the problem, asked Ronald to sit down, and chatted slowly, "The director has the power of the director, and the producer has the power of the producer. If you don't like your The male lead, you can change him, so that you can shoot according to your schedule."

   Ovitz spoke very well, and after chatting with Ronald for a while, it was considered a relief for Ronald.

  Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford has acted in two films, and audiences across the country recognize him as this role, so he has great bargaining power for this kind of movie.

   And Ronald's "Working Girl" also needs Harrison Ford to convince the distribution channel. In this case, it is best to start a few weeks late, if Ronald can bear it.

  Hollywood is like this, today is unknown, tomorrow may be a big star. Today's big stars may soon pass away. Even George Lucas, a director in Spielberg's position, had to compromise when encountering such a situation.

   "Satisfied?" Ronald was no longer unhappy with three or two clicks. Ovitz looked at him with a smile.

   Ronald shrugged, satisfaction is impossible to be very satisfied, but Ovitz's persuasive ability is very strong, and it is no longer so unbearable to say this matter. Ovitz smiled and put his arm around Ronald's shoulders and sent him out himself.

   "Rick (Nisita), come to my office." After seeing off Ronald, Ovitz asked Nisita to come to the office to talk about things.

   "Boss?" Nisita asked Ovitz what was the matter.

   "Sit down first", Ovitz praised Nisita greatly. This partner has secured such a good client as Ronald for the company.

   "Your client, Ronald, has a high probability of not being nominated for this year's Directors' Guild Award." Ovitz threw a copy of the directors' union's vote statistics to Nisita.

   "I have tried my best, but among our clients, there are not many directors' unions. The number of votes affected is limited."

  Nisita looked at the list. It was not a formal nomination, but the votes obtained by CAA through various channels. Unlike the Oscars, the Directors Guild Award is notarized by PricewaterhouseCoopers, and many people can get the nomination list in advance.

   Ranked first is the Italian director Bertolucci who filmed "The Last Emperor", and Adrian Ryan from "Fatal Attraction", and the last one is Spielberg from "Empire of the Sun".

"However, for the Golden Globes and the Oscars, the company will do its best to help your clients get nominated. You can tell Ronald about it and ask him to increase his public relations efforts. This year's possibility is very high. Many, if he can get nominated, he can almost break the record and become the youngest nominee for best director. After all, Oscar nomination votes, and many film critics also have voting rights, so we can work with all our strength."

   "But, Spielberg?" Nisita was a little puzzled. He knows that Ovitz has been working hard to sign Spielberg's agent contract. Even if it is not a client agency relationship, he will support Spielberg every year when the awards are presented, because many actor clients want to join Spielberg. Wen's crew.

"Steven doesn't want our 001 client, Sean Connery, in his new Raiders of the Lost Ark. Now many high-level Jews in production companies don't like Steven very much. This year happens to be a Opportunity, let him reassess the strength of our CAA." Ovitz shook his head, and when Spielberg was interviewed by the media, he openly said that he did not go to synagogues very much, and his eldest son was not going to use Jewish traditions. to bring up, which displeased the Jewish high-ranking entrenched in Hollywood and the media industry.

   "If we can let Ronald, a young man, be nominated for an Oscar for Best Director, while he is at the same time..." Nisita immediately understood Ovitz's thoughts. Ronald's "Moonlight" was nominated, but Spielberg's "Empire of the Sun" which he placed great hopes on was not able to win, so who can help him win the Oscar, don't you understand?

   "I'll make arrangements," Nisita walked out of the office and hummed happily. This kind of opportunity is once in a lifetime, and I have to clarify the benefits and benefits with Ronald, and mobilize all his resources to fight for the prize. There is a high probability that it is impossible to win a nomination for the first time, but for an award such as the Director Award, getting a nomination also represents the recognition of him by the Hollywood circle.

  In the future, if he cooperates with a celebrity again, the other party will have to respect Ronald more.

   "What's the good news?" Ronald didn't leave at all, and was waiting for Nisita in the elevator lobby.

"Ovitz has spoken, and I want to fully support you to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Director." Nisita waited until he and Ronald got off the elevator to the parking lot, and then revealed Ovitz's plan to Ronald when they got in the car. , "This time your priority is number one. Spielberg CAA doesn't plan to take care of it anymore. All of myself give priority to supporting you."

  The two rushed to Ronald's house and began to plan how to cooperate to win the prize. New York, Chicago, the Film Critics Awards still need to continue public relations. The Golden Globe Awards actually have little to do with the Oscars. As long as Ronald agrees to attend, they should give a nomination.

  Anything that helps get nominated, interviews, Ronald takes time to participate. In addition, there is Cher, who is expected to be nominated for Best Actress, and Olympia Dukakis, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Ronald also needs to provide convenience for them to appear more in the media. Build momentum for the nomination.

After all, many members of the directors' union who have the right to vote may not have watched many movies from last year. When they repeatedly appeared on TV and mentioned the name of "Moonlight Sultry", they might write Ronald's name on the ballot. .

   The two also chatted about the West Berlin International Film Festival to be held in February next year. This award is relatively weak among the three major European film festivals, and the time is right. Hollywood commercial films are generally less proactive. If it can be shortlisted for the main competition, or even win an award, it will also be a good promotion for Oscar.

   Ronald looked at the time of the film festival, and couldn't help thinking that Harrison Ford's idea of ​​spending more time with his family was very appropriate. If it had started in January as originally planned, there would be no time to go to West Berlin.

   "Ring ring ring ring..."

  The two were discussing how they could get more people to vote for their nominations, when they remembered the phone call.

   "Hi, this is Ronald."

   "Ronald, this is Bannon, are you in Los Angeles?"

   "Yes, what's the matter?" Ronald stood up, walked a few steps and talked to Bannon.

   "Our Dongying friend Johnny Kitagawa came to America and said that he has a good friend who wants to introduce you to him. They want to meet you in private and ask him about some things about America's entertainment industry."

   "Who? Can they come to LA? I'm busy right now."

   "It's Mr. Norio Ohga, the president of Sony, which you own shares in."

  (end of this chapter)

Chapter end