Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1471 You Might as Well Be Bold

"I love you. You complete me."

"Shut up, you had me at hello."

After Ronald read the last scene of the script where the hero and heroine confessed their love to each other, he glanced at Diane, and then handed him the script that Cameron Crowe had begun polishing after filming The Last Airbender.

After I watched it last time, I felt that the climax of the whole play needed one or two very powerful lines that could be passed down for a long time. Cameron Crowe lived up to expectations and wrote these two sweet confessions that almost attracted bees.

This script is indeed very powerful. It contains a lot of realities of life, one's own dreams and the contempt of people around him, and being hit by reality after insisting on his ideals.

They don't love each other that much but they stay together because of reality. The single mother who fell in love at first sight quit her job and started a business with him because she was moved by him. She hoped that he would succeed, but she was also afraid that he would leave after he succeeded. After the man succeeded, he found that he also fell in love with the woman because they were together day and night...

The various blows of reality can be said to be very empathetic to the audience watching this movie. They are worried about the failure of the male protagonist's career, and they are also worried that he will dump the female protagonist if he succeeds. After repeated friction, they finally waited for both parties to express their feelings. The audience, like the sister of the female protagonist in the movie, also put aside all doubts about the relationship between the two and felt sincerely happy for the female protagonist.

"It's so powerful, I want to act..." Diane read the script in one breath while lying on Ronald's lap. When she saw the happy ending scene at the end, tears almost came out. This script is not a commercial high-concept movie, but a screenwriter who spent several years constantly polishing it. All the scenes and details are properly arranged in the places where they need to appear, and every rhythm is perfect.

First, it has a very complete feeling. The outstanding lines and action scenes do not steal the show, but quietly hide where they should be and play their role. When you are about to forget them, they come out again to remind you how crucial they are to the character's growth.

Secondly, the overall character creation and plot arrangement are close to reality. It is not the kind of popcorn movie that is common in commercial films, which makes people excited when watching it in the cinema, but forget it when they look back, or find many unreasonable parts.

Overall, the emotions aroused in this movie are quite high, and it is also a challenge for the heroine's acting skills. If it is well made, it can also gain a large number of fans and critics, which will be a very good affirmation of the heroine's acting skills.

"Of course, this is for you. Cameron Crowe has taken a fancy to you, and Tom... um..."

Ronald saw that Diane liked the role and immediately agreed. The acting skills required for this role were just right for Diane, so he met Cameron Crowe the next day and confirmed the first protagonist of the movie.

……

"Cameron, come and watch my Forrest Gump first and give me some suggestions..." When Ronald saw Cameron Crowe coming to his house, he immediately invited him to come and watch Forrest Gump.

"Oh, I've never seen a movie like this. How do these great leaders speak? Have they really said something like this in history?"

Cameron Crowe watched the movie and appreciated it, but what interested him most were the very realistic special effects, especially the scene where Forrest Gump hits old President George in the crotch with a ping-pong ball. He laughed for a long time.

"No, their lips seemed to be speaking those lines. They were all produced frame by frame by my special effects team. So if you watch these shots repeatedly, they still look a little unnatural." Ronald hurriedly explained.

"Tom Hanks seems to look quite mature..." Cameron Crowe touched his chin, as if praising his acting skills.

"Yes, this kind of character with low IQ is not the simple idiot in 'Rain Man' and 'Gilbert Grape the Devourer'. Forrest Gump has a very normal side. This line requires genius acting skills..." Ronald has always admired Tom Hanks' acting skills.

"But don't you think that when he played Forrest Gump playing football in college, he was actually more like a man in his thirties?" Cameron Crowe still touched his chin.

"Well, of course, that's true. We've made some adjustments to the makeup and costumes, but I've mainly focused the audience's attention on how Forrest Gump, a fool, can run faster than all the other players, and how he doesn't know the rules of football and needs the cheerleaders to stop the production. You know, Cameron, the director's editing largely doesn't care about the mistakes. As long as the audience's attention is deceived once on the screen, it's enough..."

Ronald thought Cameron Crowe was a bit nitpicking. I did so many special effects to immerse the audience in the atmosphere of the 1960s and 1970s. No one would notice these little problems, right?

"No, I mean..." Cameron Crowe was a little embarrassed. He raised his hands to surrender. "I don't think Hanks did a bad job, or that there was something wrong with your directing and editing. I just..."

"What exactly do you want to say, Cameron..." Ronald had an idea in his heart. He took two cans of Coke himself and threw one to Cameron Crowe.

"OK, what I want to ask is, does Tom Hanks' current appearance make him a man who can make beautiful women fall in love with him at first sight the moment he says 'hello'?"

"Huh?" Ronald realized that Cameron Crowe was saying in disguise that Tom Hanks was too old and was not convincing enough to play the leading role in the movie "Jerry Maguire".

"Cameron, you can just tell me whatever you have to say in the future. There's no need to beat around the bush..." Ronald frowned. The price of being worth billions is that he has fewer true friends who tell him the truth.

"Of course, you must be very busy now. I understand the time arrangements of rich people. So I try my best..."

"No, Cameron..." Ronald clinked cans with Cameron and took a sip of Coke. "You can save my time by telling me the truth. I am only the chairman of the company in name only. I entrust the actual business to capable people and pay them accordingly.

You can treat me as a person who knows a thing or two about movies, but is also very rich. I have money in my pocket that I am willing to invest in movies... Cameron, how much can you come up with? "

"Hahaha..." Cameron Crowe finally relaxed. Even though they were only friends in poverty, being the chairman of a company with a market value of billions was still quite stressful.

"Do you have any candidates?" Ronald also felt that with Tom Hanks' current face, it would be impossible for anyone to fall completely in love with him just by saying hello.

"What about the guys from Richmond High School back then? Nic Cage, Eric Stoltz, Sean Penn..." Cameron Crowe was still looking for handsome guys from the movies he and Ronald had worked together in.

"You might as well be bolder..." Ronald said with a smile, "Anyone with the highest salary in Hollywood can do it, such as Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson..."

"Their schedules are all..."

"Patience is worth it, Cameron. I will send this film to Columbia and Paramount for negotiation. I expect I can help you secure an investment of more than 50 million..."

"Oh oh..." Cameron Crowe's previous films were all medium-budget films with a budget of eight million, and he preferred to be an independent film director. An investment of more than fifty million meant that it would follow the procedures of a Hollywood commercial blockbuster. Cameron Crowe seemed to be under some pressure.

"You have to take this step, Cameron. If you ask me, you should have come to me to make this movie a long time ago. It's better to get into mainstream production early than late. With me here, you don't have to worry about anything. You might as well be bolder in all the staffing and casting. I can help you find any candidate you can think of..."

"Really?" Cameron Crowe's eyes lit up. I really have someone here who needs your help in persuading...

Ronald smiled slightly, "Really..."

"I would like to invite Billy Wilder to play the role of the protagonist's spiritual mentor, as a senior who teaches the philosophy of life to the younger generation, and comes out to preach when the protagonist is confused..."

"Are you sure?" Ronald was surprised. He thought it was some candidate for the male lead. "How old is Mr. Wilder this year?"

"He's not even 90 yet, and he's in very good health. I tried to persuade him several times, but he always declined by saying that he hadn't acted in a modern film for a long time, instead of saying that he had health problems..."

"OK, let's see what he wants..."

"Thank you, Ronald. If he agrees, it will be a symbol for me personally and for those of us directors who stick to the classic Hollywood narrative..."

Ronald understood what Crowe meant. If Billy Wilder played a cameo role many years later, it would imply that the mantle of Hollywood's classic narrative was passed on to a new generation of directors represented by Ronald and Crowe.

"But I have a condition..." Ronald said immediately.

"What conditions?"

"You have to equip Diane with the best actors, including the male lead, his ex-fiancee, the female lead's sister, and the female lead's spirited son. I hope to see them audition with Diane and make a choice based on Diane's performance and their reactions..."

"Of course, you don't have to mention it. In fact, the heroine of this movie occupies the main axis of the narrative. Every emotional change and advancement of the hero and heroine is initiated by the heroine Dorothy. The hero is completely passive in the line of romantic love..."

"very good……"

……

"Mr. Wilder..." The next day, Ronald went to Beverly Hills with Cameron Crowe to visit Billy Wilder.

"Oh, Cameron, you're bothering me again. I haven't been bothered enough by you. Hahaha, Ronald, you're here too. Now we often see news about you in the media. In our time, directors all worked for big studios. Even Lubitsch was paid a salary. It was impossible for directors to become wealthy back then..."

"Ha, times have changed, Mr. Wilder. What do you think when you see a real billionaire?" Ronald smiled and joked with Wilder. These old people are quite lonely, and it is good to have someone to talk to.

Cameron Crowe became Billy Wilder's close friend by frequently chatting with Wilder about his past work as a director...

"You're not as handsome as John Hughes. Female stars like Katharine Hepburn lost their souls when they saw him..."

"I bet you wouldn't have talked to Hughes like that. How about this? Seeing a rich man like me, do you have any movie you want me to invest in? Tell me your story and see if you can convince me..."

Ronald joked with him, knowing that the 88-year-old man would not have the energy to direct a movie. In fact, his last directorial work dates back to 1981.

Although Wilder later considered directing Schindler's List, he did not mention it again after Spielberg decided to direct it himself, and instead spoke highly of Spielberg's version.

"Ha, so you were the one who persuaded me to act in Cameron's movie..." Billy Wilder had a heavy accent. He lit a cigar and found a little bit of the feeling of the famous Hollywood director back then.

"In fact, you don't need me to persuade you. You will convince yourself... I came here to ask you something else..."

"Really? What's the matter?" Billy Wilder pretended to be surprised, his glasses slipped down a little, revealing a pair of very intelligent eyes, as if he was also joking with Ronald.

"I'm here to canvass for votes. It's award season, Billy..."

"Hahahaha, you're so direct. Back then, the most we did was invite you to parties and dances, and chat with beautiful girls... But you guys, starting with The Silence of the Lambs, have been sending me all kinds of videotapes. This time, quite a few people came to the mountain to show copies of the movies to me and my neighbors..."

Billy Wilder laughed and complained about the current means of winning awards. The means used by the laymen in winning awards, such as Groundhog Day, were too direct. They also held screenings in the luxury residential area of ​​Beverly Hills, which was simply ridiculous. Back then, people went to the China Cinema in Los Angeles, where there was a sense of ceremony.

"No, no, I just came to give you some reminders. Not all the nominated films this year are worth watching. But the performance of the male lead in the Philadelphia Story produced by my company is very interesting. You may be able to see the temperament of some male actors in the golden age of Hollywood..."

"The Philadelphia Story, I remember it, is there any particularly good performance?"

"Restraint... This movie has a restraint that is rare in today's movies. Jonathan has a great ability to create classic Hollywood narratives, and he can make his films so that even ordinary film experts cannot recognize them as classic narratives..."

"Oh, that's quite a high compliment. At that time, I admired Lubitsch the most. He could hide the transitions between the three acts in such a way that people couldn't see them... I studied very hard when I was writing the script..."

Ronald accompanied Billy Wilder and talked about some classic Hollywood narrative techniques and examples. He was finally happy. Wilder patted his sofa and said, "Tell me, why do you think I want to play an old man in Cameron's movie?"

"Just like the mentor Dickie Foxx helped the protagonist Jerry, if you stop giving voice to movies today, our great Hollywood storytelling tradition will be lost."

"Okay, but I'm old, Cameron, you have to slow down..."

Billy Wilder thought that he was nearly 90 years old and still had a chance to be remembered by the world, so he finally nodded in agreement. Besides, Ronald also promised to negotiate with Paramount and Fox to restore the company to publish his classic films.