Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1473 New Hitchcock’s character is not good

A few days later, Ronald and Diane went to Spielberg's home for a dinner together.

Spielberg is an inheritor of old-school Hollywood traditions. He generally does not host banquets outside and prefers private and low-key social events.

This time he was determined to win the Oscar for Best Director and didn't want any problems. So he held a party almost every other day in his Palisade mansion, inviting three or five friends in the circle to canvass votes for his "Schindler's List".

Normally, not many people in Hollywood can enter Spielberg's house to attend banquets, so this is also a chance to deepen the relationship with the famous Hollywood director. Therefore, many people promised to vote for Spielberg in order to have a say in the future.

Ronald often goes to Spielberg's house, just like visiting friends. As long as they are free in their schedules, it's fine. This time, it's mainly to make use of their time, and by the way, Tom Cruise and his wife were also invited to the banquet.

When they arrived at the former Cary Grant residence, Ronald was interested in seeing some of Grant's personal belongings. But when Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, one of the most beautiful couples in Hollywood, arrived, Diane began to smile.

Seeing that Ronald was quite jealous, she smiled with a sense of accomplishment. To be able to make Ronald, such a high-quality asset, still jealous of her was something that a Hollywood actress would write about in her memoirs in the future.

After staring at Tom Cruise and smiling again, looking at the look Ronald was giving her, Diane immediately hugged Ronald and comforted him:

"Ronald, I'm very happy now. In this movie, the hero has to be very cute to women. The heroine's sister even thinks Jerry is too handsome and will definitely dump her sister once he succeeds. There's no need to fall into his trap.

Is there anyone who is more suitable for this role than Tom? Moreover, I was chosen as the heroine of this movie first, and whoever has chemistry with me can be the male lead. Can you imagine the reaction of Hollywood after knowing this? "

When Diane told him the reason for her happiness, Ronald could only roll his eyes. As an actress, being able to lead the production of this movie is considered very prestigious in Hollywood. If his wife is happy, he is happy too.

"What? Do you have any new collaboration?" Spielberg, as the host, also discovered this and asked about Diane and Tom Cruise.

"Yes, we will work together in the next movie... Cameron Crowe is the director, and Ronald also helped invite Billy Wilder to make a cameo appearance..."

"No Shxt!" Spielberg was also surprised that Ronald could invite Wilder. Billy Wilder's directing is not news, but his guest appearance is definitely big news in Hollywood. When he learned that Ronald invited him to come out in the name of inheriting classic Hollywood, he couldn't help but nod his head in approval.

"Today's young directors all learn about movies from... uh, the movies of my generation and Marty's. They don't watch black-and-white movies, nor silent movies. They haven't even seen Billy Wilder's movies. How can they make good movies? All I did was reinvent some of the techniques of my predecessors..."

Spielberg has always been dissatisfied with the current college film education and the atmosphere in the industry. He loudly calls on more college film students not to stop watching old movies just because of black-and-white and silent movies. At that time, the creative atmosphere was free, and capital had not yet invaded the distant Hollywood. It was a time when various techniques flourished. Even now, Spielberg still watches an old movie every other day to nourish his inspiration.

"I am also considering setting up a program at a university in New York to provide funding for student films for talented directors who have a desire to express themselves..." Ronald took a sip of red tea, which was specially prepared by Spielberg's wife Kate.

"I have the same idea, but I don't have the time and energy to take care of these things. Besides, I don't have a famous alma mater like yours..." Spielberg's academic performance was actually average, unlike other leaders of the New Hollywood movement who graduated from excellent universities.

"That's why you need to find a talent, give him a portion of the shares, and then delegate these business affairs, Steven." This is the second time Ronald talked about his business strategy, just like buying a company's stock, then hiring an excellent management team and giving reasonable compensation. This is also the business strategy he learned from Warren Buffett.

"As for the university, I haven't even graduated yet. I don't care. I'll donate money to them and they can give me an honorary degree when the time comes..."

“Hahahaha…” The two old guys without college diplomas laughed happily.

"What are you guys talking about so happily?" Tom Cruise came over and joined the conversation. Spielberg was a little embarrassed and changed the subject.

"Nothing. By the way, you said you and Diane would work together on the next movie. So is the next one confirmed?"

"Yes, it's adapted from a TV series from the 1960s. I haven't found a suitable director yet..." Tom Cruise told us about his plan. The trend of adapting TV series into movies has just started.

Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones' "The Fugitive" was nominated for multiple Oscars this year. It is also an adaptation of the ABC TV series of the same name with high ratings in 1963. This movie will also become the first batch of split-revenue movies to enter the mainland of China. After the box office statistics system is modified, it will become the first Hollywood movie to enter the mainland in the form of split-revenue after the 1950s.

"Oh yeah? What kind of director are you looking for?" Spielberg asked.

"Ronald said he wanted to find a modern-day Hitchcock..." Tom Cruise told Spielberg the conditions he had come up with after being "inspired" by Ronald. The great director had a wide network of contacts, so maybe he could recommend someone?

"Ha, modern Hitchcock, why don't you talk to my friend Brian De Palma? He was once called the American Hitchcock, and others are also senior fans of Hitchcock."

"Hey? Is he available? Can we find him? Could you please call him when the time comes?" Tom Cruise immediately became interested when he heard that it was Spielberg who recommended him.

Spielberg told him about Brian De Palma's past. He and De Palma were brothers who played together. Unlike several other directors in New Hollywood, such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Coppola, Brian De Palma is more outspoken.

By the 1970s, everyone had made their own masterpieces. Spielberg had established himself as a major commercial film director through Jaws, and Brian De Palma had also made a well-received masterpiece like Carrie.

Although everyone was still close at that time, after becoming famous, others would not be so outspoken when criticizing the works of other directors in this small circle.

Only Brian De Palma and George Lucas still maintained an attitude of speaking the truth. Lucas and Spielberg admired each other. After the filming of Star Wars was completed, Spielberg also completed Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In the small circle of New Hollywood directors, only Spielberg was optimistic about Star Wars and said it would be the best commercial film.

Brian De Palma spoke purely based on his intuition and interest. He was the most fierce critic of Star Wars in a small circle, and bluntly said that it was a boring movie made for children (he was right).

After that, Brian De Palma also had many good works, such as Scarface in 1983 and Dawn of the Dark Knight in 1993. But most of the time, he is a weird director abandoned by the mainstream Hollywood.

The biggest failure came from "The Bonfire of the Vanities" in 1990.

Adapted from Tom Wolfe's famous novel, this blockbuster starred Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith and Kim Cattrall. The film cost more than 40 million dollars, but it only earned less than 16 million dollars at the box office. After that, it became difficult for him to make the films he wanted to make. Only when he acted as a mercenary in Dawn of the Dark Knight did the box office and reputation improve slightly.

Tom Cruise was not very familiar with him, so he went to call his partner Paula Wagner. The two talked for a long time before he came back to find Spielberg. He glanced at Ronald before speaking.

"I heard that Hollywood doesn't have enough confidence in him now..." Tom Cruise said something ambiguous.

Paula Wagner had her doubts about De Palma. He was good at black films with gangster stories, and his successful works in the past ten years were all of this type. When he first debuted, those praises of being the new Hitchcock were no longer suitable for the current De Palma.

Moreover, Paula's biggest concern was that Brian De Palma had difficulty cooperating with celebrities. Except for Al Pacino, his cooperation with other big stars was not good enough.

For example, in "The Bonfire of the Vanities", which left Brian De Palma cold, Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith and Kim Cattrall, all four of them have worked with Ronald.

Moreover, the movies they collaborated on were all box office hits, and the critics also gave relatively high scores. However, the combination of four big stars made De Palma suffer a Waterloo, and the industry said that he did not know how to get along with stars.

This made Tom Cruise rather wary. It was said in the industry that De Palma liked to change the script, liked preparation and casting, but didn't like the filming process. When directing stars, he was a bully who only cared about the weak and the strong.

During the filming of "The Bonfire of the Vanities", he was bullied by Bruce Willis and openly challenged De Palma's direction, and De Palma had no choice but to give in. Melanie Griffith even openly had breast augmentation surgery when filming moved from New York to Los Angeles, making her personal image inconsistent before and after, and De Palma was unable to manage it.

On the contrary, Tom Hanks, who has a very good personality, and Kim Cattrall, who has the lowest star rating, were bullied enough by Brian De Palma.

De Palma deceived Tom Hanks into thinking that many of his reasonable requests were impossible to fulfill. Kim Cattrall was even ordered to lose more than ten pounds to play the role of Hanks's wife. Kim Cattrall, a plump and gorgeous blonde bombshell, was turned into a skinny and flat-chested girl from New York's upper class by De Palma.

Spielberg sensed Tom Cruise's distrust of his friend, and he couldn't be blamed for that. Hollywood's evaluation of directors is based entirely on box office. Brian De Palma ignored the producer's requirements in order to make his own "true movie", and now he has no movies to make, which is also his own fault to some extent.

However, they are old friends, and Spielberg would not refuse to lend a hand. He was still stroking his beard, wondering whether he should guarantee De Palma himself, or persuade Cruise in other ways? It would be good if Ronald was willing to say something good. After all, Tom Cruise can be said to be obedient to Ronald...

Seeing Spielberg looking at Ronald, Tom Cruise also turned his eyes. Both of them stared at Ronald, speechless for a moment, and Nicole Kidman and Diane behind them also felt this weird atmosphere and turned their eyes over.

"Ahem..." Ronald had to speak.

"To be honest, I don't like him, either as a director or as a person. So it's unfair for me to judge Mr. De Palma's directing ability. However, I don't agree with you, Tom, using this method to compare him and me.

The level of a director's performance is not only related to his relationship with the stars (but this is the most important factor), it also has a lot to do with the team, the screenwriter, the budget for filming, and the producer's trust in the director (which is not actually that important).

As for whether he still has the ability to be a new Hitchcock…”

Ronald looked at Spielberg. Spielberg was relieved by what he said just now. It's not that he doesn't understand this kind of business, but he is unwilling to put energy into it. Wouldn't it be better to spend this time thinking more about art?

"In fact, I don't like De Palma's Scarface and Dawn of the Dead. My favorite is his first collaboration with Melanie Griffith, The Double. That movie is the best tribute a hardcore Hitchcock fan can make. The suspense setting and plot reversal of the whole film can be said to be comparable to Mission: Impossible..."

Ronald stopped here. Although he also praised and criticized De Palma's personality and directing skills, no one could find fault with his words. If the project is successful, Hollywood will say that Ronald is very tolerant of truly talented people. Even though De Palma offended him so much, he still chose such a person to direct. As long as it is suitable in terms of business and art, personal grudges are not an obstacle for him.

In Hollywood, such people are as rare as honest Jews.

"Why don't you like De Palma?" Diane found an opportunity to ask Ronald.

"Hey, we don't get along. He's laughed at my movies before." Ronald had a bad feeling about De Palma, mainly because Michelle Pfeiffer broke up with him because of the filming of Scarface, which hurt Ronald a little.

"Is that why?" Diane was also a little confused. Was Ronald such a vindictive person? Or was there something else going on?
"Hey, I'll tell you the truth, but don't tell anyone else." Ronald thought about it and decided to use another thing to cover up his true feelings...

"You know I have a great relationship with Jim (Cameron), but his ex-wife Gale Ann Hurd is also a good friend of mine. After Gale and Jim divorced, she dated De Palma for a while. I was happy about that, and they got married a few years ago.

Who would have thought that this person would cheat on Gail during her breastfeeding period after she gave birth to her child? It made me feel really bad. "

"Ah? Is she okay?" Diane felt the same way. After giving birth, women all have psychological fluctuations and lack of self-confidence. Cheating at this time is fine, but taking the opportunity to file for divorce is really...

"Gail is fine. I went to see her. She really hates DePalma's new girlfriend. She hates her even more than Jim's cheating..."

Diane looked at him in confusion, "Is DePalma's new girlfriend prettier than Kathryn Bigelow, the girl Cameron cheated with?"

"On the contrary, his new girlfriend is not very pretty, but she is an actress in Roger Corman-style B-grade exploitation movies, and her greatest achievement in life is the TV version of Tarzan in Manhattan..."

Ronald laughed as he spoke. He still remembered Gail's expression when she said this to him. After all, Cameron's subsequent girlfriends were all successful beauties, either Bigelow or Linda Hamilton. Wasn't De Palma mocking his own vision by cheating on such an actress?

However, this was just a commercial film, and Ronald thought this person was the right choice. Anyway, Tom Cruise was more famous than Bruce Willis, and De Palma would definitely not be able to beat him, so he just had to direct the movie.

"I'm here to treat you to a movie. Ronald and I are both guest stars..." Spielberg still treated his guests to a movie as usual. Today, Ronald sent him a post-production version of "Mortal Kombat"...

"Hahaha..." Diane, Tom Cruise, Kidman and others laughed when they saw the scene where the producer played by Ronald and the director played by Spielberg begged the "big-name action star" Johnny Cage in vain.

It's very dramatic to see two of the most powerful and active directors in Hollywood being so humiliated in the movie.

"Look, Hollywood is a money-oriented place. If I make three movies and they don't make money, I will be abandoned."

(End of this chapter)