Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1409: The Great Dinosaur's Lobbying Premiere

The summer season arrived in the blink of an eye, and Ronald boarded a private plane early in the morning and flew to DC with Spielberg and Sidney Sheinberg. Ronald took his own private plane and also brought along Jack Valenti, the president of the MPAA.

Unlike other commercial films that usually premiere in Los Angeles or New York, the premiere of "Jurassic Park" was held in DC.

The content of this movie has nothing to do with DC, unlike the previous story of The Reborn, which takes place here. The most important reason why Jurassic Park was set here and so many famous people in the industry were invited to attend was to lobby on Capitol Hill.

At the same time, many trade agreements are being debated and voted on in the Capitol. As one of the very competitive export commodities unique to America, the Hollywood movie "Jurassic Park" is also expected to create a big momentum in the capital, so that the congressmen can experience closely how much benefit these trade agreements will bring to the export of America's strong products.

One of the leading actors, Laura Dern, was also on Ronald's plane. She kept complaining that Diane didn't come on the same plane. Ronald had to tell her that because his part-time movie "Sleepless in Seattle" and his directorial work "The Trap" would also be released at the end of the month and the beginning of next month, Diane was unwilling to travel long distances with her children.

This sentence made Laura Dern speechless instantly. In fact, her mentality was easy to understand. She wanted everyone to know that she was the heroine in Spielberg's movie. But Ronald understood that in this movie, the actors were not very important. The real protagonists were those big dinosaurs.

After sending away the actress who wanted to show her superiority in front of her best friend, Ronald sat down next to Jack Valenti with a cup of tea.

“What will be the effect of our lobbying this time?”

"Don't worry, Shinberg is an expert, he has already brought out the weapons of mass destruction."

Jack Valenti, Spielberg, Ronald and other big names in the industry all agree that it is time for Hollywood to once again conquer the world and attack markets in other countries.

Hollywood movies invaded many European markets after the end of World War II, but with the rise of television, this trend did not continue well. The victory of the Cold War also gave America a good image in the eyes of other people in the world.

Hollywood's mainstream narrative and ideology, with the support of the Cold War and the subsequent Gulf War, are bringing a sense of shock to people in other parts of the world. Hollywood movies are also subtly promoting this culture.

Not to mention those markets with strong consumption power, even in China, when Ronald went there, Xiao Yan also went to investigate the movies shown in the underground pirated video halls on the market. Not surprisingly, Cameron's "Terminator 2" was the most popular video there.

In all the circles of knowledgeable people in Hollywood, everyone knows that there are delicious cakes in the market all over the world, waiting for Hollywood's big productions to take advantage of them. But what stands between them and those cakes are the ignorant members of Congress who give up huge interests for a little bit of petty profits.

The premiere in Washington DC is intended to give them a little shock.

Arriving in Washington, they checked into the Four Seasons Hotel. After Ronald and Jack Valenti settled in, they were chatting in the bar when Valenti suddenly nudged him with his elbow.

"do you know it?"

Ronald looked back and saw a tall, thin, white-haired Jewish man chatting with Simberg.

"do not know."

"Ha, you are too young. This is Levi Wasserman, the former king of Hollywood, the last movie mogul."

Jack Valenti told him a few words. Wasserman had participated in the creation of the earliest film actor agency MCA, and later became the owner of MCA. When Universal Studios and Decca Records were affected by television and had difficulties in operation, he took the opportunity to acquire them at a low price and became the owner of Universal Pictures and Universal Records.

He was also the most famous campaign broker in California, as the actors he signed included Bette Davis, former President Ronald Sr., and James Stewart. Getting his approval was equivalent to securing half of Hollywood's votes.

In the past decade, his most famous move in the industry was that he almost took over Disney in 1984. The price and terms were negotiated, but in the end it failed because the Disney family opposed Sidney Sheinberg becoming the CEO after the merger.

After Universal was acquired by Panasonic, he was still a member of the board of directors and gradually began to semi-retire. However, he still worked and facilitated many deals.

"He was a good friend of Al Capone, and it was he who helped old Ronald get the all-important position of Chairman of the Screen Actors Guild. Tycoon is not just an adjective."

After Jack Valenti finished speaking, he stood up and greeted his old friend, and introduced Ronald to the legendary figure.

"Our weapons of mass destruction are deployed, Levi"

"Don't be so modest. Your campaign endorsement is no less powerful than mine."

Levi Wasserman smiled and patted his old friend's arm. The two of them were basically Hollywood's spokespersons in Washington, DC, responsible for communication between the political circles and Hollywood.

For example, before World War II, the President was ready to use antitrust laws to dismantle Hollywood's cinema chains and production trusts. But after World War II, movies became a propaganda tool, and it was people like Wasserman who persuaded the White House to postpone the dismantling action, allowing the big studio system to continue to survive for more than a decade.

They also served as mouthpieces for many subsequent events, such as the McCarthy blacklist, the right-wing backlash after the rise of New Hollywood anti-war films, and so on.

This time, in order to get that big piece of cake, this veteran broker was invited out again.

"I've heard of you, young man. Simberg has spoken highly of you." Among these bigwigs, Levi Wasserman is also a bigwig among bigwigs. He has rich experience and real influence. Several people present here are his juniors. Ronald can almost be considered his grandson or great-grandson.

"Ah...ah, thank you Mr. Wasserman for the compliment."

Ronald seemed to have just woken up from a dream and was busy raising his cocktail glass to greet him.

Now even Valenti looked at Ronald in surprise, wondering why this young man lost his composure when he saw Wasserman.

"I understand. I understand. You artists are like this. The Muse favors you at any time of the year. If you have any good inspiration, you might as well tell us about it."

Wasserman didn't mind Ronald's disrespect at all, and instead talked to him with interest. He started out as an agent and knew how to deal with artists.

"Sorry, I just had a strange idea. This is Washington DC. There is no plane that can fly over important places except Air Force One. I was thinking, what if the President of America is also an action hero? For example, if Air Force One is hijacked, he can fight terrorist villains on Air Force One. You know, Die Hard in Air Force One..."

Several people were stunned. This idea was beyond imagination. Is there any way to shoot it this way? Make the President into a hero in a western movie?

"Oh, that's a great idea, but the White House won't like it." Wasserman smiled and nodded to Ronald, and he didn't mention it again.

Ronald knew what to do and said nothing, but his mind was still working rapidly.

Wasserman's resume: he started out as the boss of an agency, then took advantage of the film companies' downturn to buy them at bargain prices, and finally took control of a major Hollywood studio. This path seems very familiar. Are there some people in Hollywood who want to imitate it now?
……

On the second day of the premiere, the guests gathered at the entrance of the cinema. This premiere was different from the traditional premiere with many stars. The guests were all big names in the industry. The media and the audience did not feel much, but the people in the industry felt that something big was going to happen.

Especially for the two gray-haired old men, Wasserman and Valenti, what kind of movie would require them to attend the premiere? Could it be a remake of a movie like "Cleopatra" from decades ago?

All the heavyweights from Universal were present, as well as some other Hollywood investors and producers. Apart from the stars in the movie and a few minor actors, the entire premiere almost became a gathering of the Producers Union.

In addition to people from Hollywood, it only takes a few minutes to get over to Capitol Hill, and there were also some congressmen who brought their families and children to watch the premiere.

It's a rare premiere held in Washington DC, so these people seized the opportunity to show a family smile in front of the media and strive for some TV appearance time.

"Oh, nice to meet you...Mr. Ali."

Ronald looked at the door for a long time before he saw a famous person, the former heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali.

“Hello, take one of my leaflets and show some interest in what’s happening in Somalia.”

Ronald didn't expect that the former boxing champion's popularity had dropped so much that at the premiere of Jurassic Park, he actually distributed his own political leaflets.

Seeing the former boxing champion's hands shaking slightly and speaking incoherently, Ronald still took one.

"Thank you..." Boxing Champion Ali thanked politely, but not many people paid attention to him.

He had just visited Somalia and hoped that the White House would not support the continued presence of UN troops there, and let the Somalis decide their own future. He called for a reduction in violence and discrimination against...

However, the leaflet said that the Mogadishu warlord Aidid had opened fire on the peacekeeping force and killed more than 20 soldiers because the UN peacekeeping force had shut down his radio station (Aidid had made speeches against the United Nations on the radio).

It seems that Ali's pacifism is no longer popular in today's world. Perhaps the current theme is that America should be the world's policeman...

……

"Wow……"

It was the first time that Ronald saw the complete film in a cinema. The children who attended the premiere also opened their mouths wide and exclaimed in amazement at the sudden appearance of the dinosaurs.

Spielberg is worthy of being the best director who makes movies for children. He has a perfect sense of scale and the rhythm is accurate to the second. These little troublemakers, when watching other movies in the mall, often scream "I want a dinosaur" in the cinema regardless of the plot.

But Spielberg can make them temporarily forget the idea of ​​buying a dinosaur toy and immerse themselves in the plot on the screen with endless fun.

"Ah..."

Later in the story, the shots of the terrifying Tyrannosaurus Rex with its mouth wide open also made the young audience scream in fear.

If this movie was not directed by Spielberg, and if it was not produced by Universal's Shinberg himself, it would probably be difficult to get a PG-13 rating. The scary horror scenes in it, coupled with the first-class soundtrack, were so exciting that even a professional director like Ronald gave up analyzing the movie and watched it with relish like an ordinary audience.

"A masterpiece, it's like a combination of a great white shark and ET."

After the movie was finished, Ronald found an opportunity to go over and congratulate Spielberg. This movie has both horror villains like the great white shark and child actors like ET participating in the main storyline, making the child audience feel more involved.

"Haha, thank you. Do you like it?" Spielberg attached great importance to Ronald's ideas.

"I like it very much. To be honest, I watched this show with the mentality of an ordinary audience. It was really great. I will go back and watch it again with Diane. When my child is old enough, I will watch it again with him."

"Hey, why don't you come with us to London? You were the one who helped arrange the royal premiere there."

Sheenberg really wants to ask Ronald to participate in the marketing of the film. What Ronald said just now is a very high evaluation. If he can repeat it in front of the media and then tell it again in London to the media there, it may have a significant effect on increasing the box office.

“It’s hard for me to pinpoint a formation, and I’ve also got two movies coming out recently.”

"Our London premiere is on the 15th of next month. You must go if you are free..." Spielberg also wanted to communicate more with Ronald. Sometimes, when he was in this position, there were not many people who could sit down with him and discuss the art of film on an equal footing.

"Let me check the schedule..." Ronald wasn't sure. Movie premieres didn't really matter to him as a director. But Helen's due date was approaching next month, and it would be a problem for him to manage his time and make enough time to be with her.

"Here are the toys for your little Roger." Spielberg took a bag of toys from his assistant and handed it to Ronald. When he heard Ronald said he wanted to watch the movie with his son, he was so happy that he gave him a set of dinosaur toys that had not yet been fully launched on the market.

"Well, can you give me another one?" Ronald asked the assistant secretly, and took another one under the assistant's disdainful eyes. I will have two children in the future, so I have to treat them equally.

……

"Oh, you are so thoughtful, Ronald. Hey, hey, see, the toys your father gave you..." That night, Helen was waiting for Ronald at her home in New York. She took out a few stuffed dinosaurs and talked to her belly.

Ronald deliberately did not try to tell whether the child was a boy or a girl. He looked at the stuffed toy and thought that it didn't matter if it was a girl, she should be able to play with it too.

He also stroked Helen's belly, and the two sat there affectionately for a while. Helen took the initiative to turn on the TV and let him watch the evening news.

"Capitol Hill went dinosaur territory tonight as lawmakers turned up the heat on multiple trade deals..."