MTL - Exploiting Hollywood 1980-Chapter 852 Finalize the director and protagonist
Chapter 852 Finalize the director and protagonist
Sybill Shepard is going to rest at the end of the season of "Blue Moonlight" because of her pregnancy. The producer has a plan for this, and also arranged the corresponding plot, allowing Sybill to shoot some scenes in those two episodes , and then temporarily not in the detective agency in terms of plot.
But the production of the twins was under term, and the producer was suddenly attacked in terms of time.
The producer only knew that she was pregnant, not twins. In terms of time, I didn't make too much preparation for the sudden premature birth.
Therefore, after Shepard's public relations representative released the news in the media first, the producer had no choice but to follow up and released the public relations draft drafted by Shepard as the draft. .
This method of surprise attack allows the audience to come into contact with the hot topics of discussion from Shepard's side in the first place. News about her loving husband, a pair of healthy children, blessings from the producer and so on.
And Sybill Shepard didn't tell the producer the whole truth, the sudden production caused the crew to stop filming immediately,... and so on, all the discussions like this, were all changed in the one-sided blessing phone calls from the audience to the TV station. Out of season.
The producer had no choice but to dilute the previously filmed scenes with Sybil's appearance into each episode within three months, and then let other actors fill in the plot. Her playing time has also become very small, and there is basically no plot with Bruce Willis.
Bruce Willis had no choice but to do badly, while quickly filming the story of the next three months, while waiting for the call of Ronald and Silver, so that he could make a movie.
This is fatal to the ratings of the TV series. You don't know how many viewers will continue to watch this TV series that lacks the appearance of a heroine.
After all, it’s one thing to wish a female star well, but another thing to say that a TV series isn’t good. Even the ABC TV station where “Blue Moonlight” is located, there are hit dramas like “Growing Pains” to support the ratings.
"Blue Moonlight" executive producer, Glenn Gordon Cullen, is very annoyed by this. What he is facing is an old TV series whose ratings have begun to decline.
In the last episode of the third season of last year, Sybill Shepard's "Maddy" and Bruce Willis' "David" finally got together after three seasons of mutual attraction and mutual opposition. became a couple.
But the audience was not very satisfied with this plot. What they watched was the plot where McGrady and David bickered and cared about each other. If the two really want to be together, they will lack the biggest attraction of the TV series.
So Glenn Gordon Cullen has begun to direct the screenwriter's room, and began to slowly change the story line. It is planned that in the third of this season, McGrady and David will be separated again and resume the setting of being happy enemies.
But when Sybil asked for leave, he was bound to stick to the previous plot line, and could no longer change the plot based on audience feedback.
In such a TV series that relies entirely on the chemical reaction between the male and female protagonists to attract the audience, it is very fatal for the audience to watch unsatisfactory plots, and the heroine only appears for a few minutes in each episode.
Glenn Gordon Cullen was so angry that he handed in his resignation, asking the company to hire another Gao Ming, or to rewrite the role of Terry, the new character of this season. Let actress Brooke Adams, who plays the role of the single mother, write Willis' David's new lover.
ABC certainly has doubts about this adjustment. In their view, the success of "Blue Moonlight" is entirely due to the selection of the right two protagonists. Sybill Shepard is 37 years old, but she still looks like a young urban woman under 30 years old.
Coupled with Bruce Willis, who is just in his early thirties but looks old, it feels like a couple.
Glenn Gordon Cullen scoffed at this. The former producer of the detective drama "The Legend of Remington Steele" starring Pierce Brosnan bluntly said that his grasp of detective dramas is The reason why the ratings rank ninth in the country.
He gave ABC a choice, keep Sybill Shepard or keep him. One should be fired anyway.
…
Ronald learned of another round of tearing up in the TV series through Demi Moore's whistleblower. He came to Joel Silver to finalize the key members of the crew.
"Bruce Willis is finally willing to join, it's a god-given opportunity." Joel Silver trusted Ronald's vision with a little confusion. No matter who this person chooses as the protagonist, he can make them popular.
In the latest "Dirty Dancing", the leading actor Patrick Schwytz has become popular, and was recently invited into the White House to accept the first lady's award in person.
The heroine, Jennifer Gray, also has a lot of film appointments. If her boyfriend Matthew Brodick's car accident hadn't recovered from her neck injury, she would definitely be the object of competition for multiple projects.
Audiences all over the United States fell in love with Baby, a good Jewish girl who played the role. Even the typical Jewish big nose that disrupts the balance of facial features, the audience tolerated it. voted her in the top 10 of America's Favorite Teen Actresses.
"However, we can't let him feel that we can't do without him, Ronald." Joel Silver is a veteran producer, and he has rich experience in how to deal with an overconfident actor.
"What's your idea?" Ronald was well prepared for this kind of producer's difficulties and wrangling with stars, and now is just a good opportunity to learn from Silver.
"The philosopher of the East, Confucius once said," Silver leaned back, sat on the chair, then stretched out his right hand, and drew a half circle, "If you have the ability to do it, at this time you should show a It's like you can't do it; if you can't do it, you have to act as if you can definitely do it..."
"That's what Sun Tzu said," Ronald muttered in a low voice, but this strategy may be a good one under the current circumstances.
When Bruce Willis contacted him because of this, he asked him to take care of both TV dramas and movies. Naturally, Willis and his agent knew that Ronald and Silver needed him.
In addition to the 5 million salary proposed by the new president of Fox, he also proposed various superstar treatment. For example, a luxury RV, a place for girlfriend Demi Moore to rest, his designated assistant, hair stylist, and makeup artist, and a separate dressing room...Of course, all of these are paid for by the film crew.
And all of this is because Willis' agent feels that the producer has no other candidates besides him.
Now what Ronald and Silver have to do is to make all kinds of noises to make them feel that there is no second choice besides Willis.
"I sent an invitation to Harrison Ford to come to the party and talk about future cooperation." Ronald touched his chin. He brought back a lot of classic books in the East, and he quickly understood this kind of thing. . Anyway, Harrison Ford is unwilling to act in the original script, and what I talked to him may also be other cooperation opportunities.
"Bingo, I'm going to meet Leonard Goldberg, the new president of Twentieth Century Fox. He's an old man in the TV station. He understands this kind of thing." Joel Silver's reaction to Ronald was very satisfy.
"What are you planning to make public? I think the best candidate for this movie is Bruce Willis. Don't be self-defeating." Ronald was a little worried, "The key to this movie is to make the audience think that the hero John McClane is just like them, and there are many unsatisfactory things in life..."
"Understood, understood, so I won't let go of the suitability of the casting..." Silver already agreed with Ronald's reason for the casting, "I plan to start with his salary and cause some troubles in Hollywood." Discussion, or to warm up our movie..."
"Hahaha...you are really..." Ronald admired this trick very much, he got two fish for one, and while keeping the price down, he could also hype it for free.
And the point of this hype is just like Roger Ailes, the old George's campaign adviser, said, direct gossip topics are the favorite of the public...
"It's not bad," Silver showed a "learn" smile, and sat back on the sofa.
"I'll go to CinemaScore and do an audience awareness survey for Willis, so that we can go downhill when the time comes."
"Good idea!" Silver jumped up from the sofa when he heard Ronald's idea, "Shxt", he was so excited that he knocked down his thigh again, and praised while rubbing, "That's a good idea, It fits seamlessly with our plan to hype the gossip."
"Tomorrow we will meet with the candidate for the director. His last film was called by Roger Ebert to make the audience care about the protagonist from the beginning to the end, which just meets your requirements for the film." Joel Silver also decided It was time for the meeting between the director candidate and Ronald.
…
"Oh, he's a clown. Gave me a 1.5 and hypocritically said I'd be directing lead actor Pierce Brosnan. Criticism of my film's story content is the worst kind of film critic."
Director candidate, John McTiernan, in his thirties, heard that Ronald asked about film critics, and he didn't give Roger Ebert any face, and scolded him when he came up.
His first movie was called "Nomads," an action movie starring Pierce Brosnan. The box office was very poor, only 2.3 million US dollars.
But the second is Fox’s blockbuster action sci-fi film this summer, “The Predator”, which took in more than 50 million US dollars at the box office in one fell swoop.
So Silver has a lot of trust in such a director who has proven himself at the box office and can create a leading actor that the audience cares about. He is the second best candidate after Ronald, and the first to recommend to Ronald.
"Oh, I have a bit of history with him too... Don't talk about this boring guy, what do you think of the movie? Especially the male lead John, he is the key to this movie..."
“I like this script very much, he has a sense of humor, unlike Stallone’s action movies, the terrorists in the villains are all disgusting, nasty silly X”
John McTiernan said a lot about his views on the script, most of which are the same as Ronald's understanding, as well as in the dream.
"I'm going to find a lead actor like Cary Grant, who's suave on the outside and calm inside, so that when the terrorists take over the headquarters of the building, he can beat them... like the lead actor in my first movie, Pierce Brosnan like..."
"Ahem..." Joel Silver gestured beside him, expressing that he didn't know that John McTiernan still had so many ideas. As for casting, the de facto executive director doesn't have much say. It's decided by the two producers and the president of 20th Century Fox.
"Aha..." Ronald was about to retort, but he remembered the oriental wisdom that Silver said yesterday. John McTiernan actually has no power, but instead he has to behave as if he has this power. People always tend to approve it, as if they made their own decisions, not the boss's account.
"Actually, have you ever thought that we might be able to tell the story from another angle?" Ronald began to think of reasons while convincing the other party.
"What story line? I'm very interested..." John McTiernan didn't dare to neglect Ronald. This is a person with a very keen sense of smell for commercial films.
"We all agree that the key to this movie is that the audience recognizes that the protagonist is one of them and is an ordinary person." Ronald observed John McTiernan's eyes, seeing that he agreed with this point, he continued go down.
"A New York police detective came to the free and open Los Angeles. His wife's salary is much higher than his. She didn't use his surname yet, but used her maiden surname as her job name. Ordinary viewers must also often encounter troubles in the workplace. In the end, McClane used his experience and wisdom to defeat the terrorists and win back his wife's love..."
"You are right, it seems that we should find an actor who is like an ordinary person..." John McTiernan thought. This kind of producer who is a successful director will think about problems from the director's point of view.
“We can maybe find a guy who is plain looking, but has a sense of humor, the kind of guy in the company that you can hang out with for a beer after get off work.”
"It's important to have a sense of humor, and what's more important is that the appearance should not be that kind of smart gentleman, but should have a blue-collar temperament." Inspired by John McTiernan, he began to express his point of view, "So, this way actor, where can I find it?"
"Actually, I hope you can give us some inspiration..." Ronald shrugged sincerely, and then gave Silver a look.
"Yes, John, you have a very deep understanding of action movies. Who do you think is more suitable? In fact, the requirements for acting skills are not high. It is best to have played similar roles, or perform in true colors." Silver understood.
"I think about it, it seems that there is really no such actor in the film industry, but the young Frank Sinatra is quite suitable."
"We use this template to find, young Frank Sinatra", Ronald felt that the direction of this guide was right.
"I don't usually watch TV very much, is there any suitable TV actor recently?"
"Ha, I think of one. What do you think of the actor in Blue Moonlight, Bruce Willis? He is very kind when he smiles, and he also has the temperament of a low-level blue-collar."
"He..."
"What? What's wrong with him?" John McTiernan felt that he had finally found a suitable one, but there would be no problems.
"We've contacted him before, but he can't juggle TV and movies."
"Didn't you watch the news? The heroine of the TV series, Sybill Shepard, is producing, and it's not a good time to take a break." John McTiernan said immediately.
"Really? How about we..."
"I'll ask 20th Century Fox to contact him again." Silver answered.
…
"Ronald, I don't know who released this news. It is obviously aimed at Bruce. You need to help him."
Demi Moore, with her boyfriend Bruce Willis on her arm, entertained Ronald for dinner in the big house in Beverly Hills. As the hostess, she specially invited the Chinese chef.
"This chef is very authentic, the same as what I ate in Huaguo." Ronald took a bite of the stir-fried vegetables, which tasted very good.
Joel Silver pulls a trick, and it works quickly. The gossip media Hollywood Reporter released the news that Bruce Willis is expected to join the new film created by Ronald and Silver.
In particular, Bruce Willis, as a newcomer in the film industry, received a salary of 5 million that only veteran film stars Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Warren Beatty and others could get.
Such a star in the TV circle actually sits on an equal footing with other film stars. The Hollywood Reporter's article vaguely implies that Willis is not qualified. This has also caused a lot of controversy in the circle of movie actors.
Your TV dramas have poor acting skills and a high salary. When you first enter Hollywood, you have to grab the cast of a movie actor. Our salary is 1 million. It takes years of hard work. Why do you only shoot one movie with a mediocre box office? Filmmakers can reach the sky in one step.
With constant doubts in the industry and the media, Bruce Willis felt the pressure, fearing that he would lose his position as the protagonist. At this time, Demi Moore offered to invite Cameron Crowe, the screenwriter of the "St. Elmo's Fire" he played in the past, and Ronald's good friend, to invite him to a private reception at home to clear up the relationship.
"Ronald, my agent, may have said something to you that was not my intention. Before I made a TV series, I was always playing tricks, so the agent wanted to fight for me. As an actor, in fact, as long as I have a dedicated A makeup artist and hairstylist will do.”
Bruce Willis also defended. Under the stock market crisis, the number of film productions has shrunk significantly, and he has not heard of new projects. He is eager to get this role.
"You will get the treatment you should have. This is the rule of the film industry." Ronald shook his hand, indicating that this is not a problem. "Movies are different from TV dramas. The script is first written, and it is rarely enlarged during the shooting process." It is different from TV dramas that modify the big story line based on audience feedback."
"Of course, I respect the director of course, I saw John McTiernan's 'Predator,' it was fantastic."
Bruce Willis didn’t go to school much, but he saw a lot in the TV drama circle. He heard Ronald beating him, and immediately hinted that he would never play big names this time, asking to change the script for himself and other star vices.
"Bruce is an actor who respects the director very much. The producer of Blue Moonlight this time, Glenn Gordon Cullen, Bruce is on his side." Demi Moore also chimed in.
"Oh, what did they end up with?"
"ABC's executives still chose Sybil in the second choice. In the new episode, Sybil did not appear on the screen, and only a recording was made. The ratings dropped sharply, and ABC chose her instead of him."
Bruce Willis and Sybil Shepard actually have deep conflicts, but it is impossible for him to kick Sybil away for the sake of the producer. He also felt that this TV series would not work without either of them.
"Ronald, I love your movie, you watch this, I bought your Top Gun video, Demi and I watch it tonight."
Bruce Willis didn't know how to ask for help. He was very cowboy and started to praise Ronald, but he couldn't say anything good, so he had to flatter him embarrassingly.
"Ronnie..." Demi Moore watched anxiously from the side, and pinched Ronald's **** when Bruce turned to play the video.
"Ow..." Ronald almost cried out.
"What's wrong?" Willis asked back.
"Ahem, in fact, this matter is not without a turnaround." Ronald slowly pretended to akimbo, and then rubbed his butt.
"You know, the new president of Twentieth Century Fox, Leonard Goldberg, was transferred from the president of the TV station. His strategy is to use the same stars in the TV series and movies. Silver will meet He, presumably he will help you talk."
"Aha, let me just say, now TV drama actors are the ones who impress audiences the most. What do you think, Demi, am I the most famous action actor in America?" Bruce Willis did a bodybuilding move.
"During the audition, don't do this, it reminds me of Stallone."
"Hey, okay, I'm never going to do it." Bruce Willis lowered his arm, "I'll get you a cup of coffee, Demi bought it, she knows where to buy good things."
In order to flatter Ronald, Willis made coffee himself for the first time.
"Ronnie, can you let me play the leading role?" Demi Moore still didn't give up. "You can see that Sybill Shepard can play roles with different appearances. She is 37 and has three children. Mother, you can still play a woman in her 20s."
"It's not something I can decide, Demi." Ronald clearly could decide, but said he couldn't, "This movie needs chemical reactions, Bruce has a high probability of getting the role, it depends on whether he matches you on the screen. "
"Here you are, Ronald," Willis brought back the coffee and spilled some on the table.
Demi Moore frowned.
She turned her head and asked her boyfriend, "Bruce, do you think it's okay for me to play the heroine of this movie? I want to appear on the screen with you at the same time?"
"So what? That's a mother of two school-going kids and you're still a young girl. Honey, you want to be my woman, don't you?"
"Huh..." Demi slapped her boyfriend's ass.
"Hmm..." Then she was hugged by Bruce Willis and kissed her.
"Isn't Demi charming?"
"Get ready. Fox's president, Mr. Goldberg, me and Silver, and director John McTiernan may jointly interview you."
…
The joint interview was very successful, and Fox's president, Goldberg, was eager to adopt a new strategy to integrate Fox's television network and film department. The most important step is to prove to people that there is no big gap between TV actors and movie actors, and TV stars can seamlessly switch over to act in movies without affecting the movie box office because of their performance style.
Such a large company with TV and film can integrate resources and promote each other to form a reasonable. He didn't allow anyone to question his decision to give Bruce Willis $5 million to the movie's top actor.
At this time, Ronald took out the survey he had commissioned by CinemaScore. Although Bruce Willis's fame did not have a positive effect on whether to go to the movies, it did not have a negative effect on hindering him. With this investigation, it was enough for Goldberg to confess.
Director John McTiernan is also very satisfied with Bruce Willis. The role he thought of is very suitable for the script. As for whether he can make a movie, it doesn’t matter. He has been trained for two months, and he will not be able to.
"The next step is the supporting actor, the actor of Hans Gruber, the leader of the terrorists. This is also very important. How powerful the hero is, it must be contrasted by the villain. What we are looking for this time is not the kind The traditional goofy villain.
Instead, I want to find a high IQ, disguise the robbery as an act of releasing terrorists, and take away the real target, an unregistered large amount of bonds, without the police knowing. "
John McTiernan was eager to find a key role and began preparations.
"What do you think?" Ronald asked for advice first.
"He doesn't look like a terrorist, preferably a Shakespeare actor. The audience will think he is a good guy, like a college teacher, and even a little charming. Women don't know his background and will love him. Fuck him..." John McTiernan begins to sketch.
"Well... If you put it that way, I know a Broadway actor who plays the lead actor in 'Dangerous Liaisons', why don't you come with me to watch his performance live?
(end of this chapter)
