Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1483 Whoopi Goldberg can also be the head coach of the Knicks
"Ronald, welcome back to the New York Knicks... This is our team. You haven't been here for a long time..."

In a box above the Madison Square Garden crowd, Charles Dolan, owner of 49 percent of the New York Knicks, welcomed Ronald with open arms.

"I'm just a fan. I often watch Knicks games on TV. Besides, it's better to let professionals run the team. For example, Doug does a great job..."

Ronald replied with a smile, indirectly reminding the other party that I am the owner of the major shares. If you want to show off your seniority, then I will not be polite.

"Hahaha……"

Dolan laughed and said nothing. He pulled a middle-aged man over and said, "This is my son James. I just appointed him as the person in charge of CableVision's broadcasts for two professional teams. He's also a basketball fan. He was very excited to hear that you were coming..."

"Ronald, hello, I'm James..."

James Dolan looked unhealthy with puffy eyes and dark circles. He wanted to hug Ronald, but seeing that Ronald was unmoved, he shook hands instead.

"I am very optimistic about this year's Knicks team. Under Pat Riley's operation, our defense is solid, and we have Ewing, Ron Harper, and Starks on offense..."

"Very good, you have great talent as a commentator, would you like to come to my TV network and try to commentate on a few games?" Ronald hit him with a cold shoulder. For the recent playoff broadcast, Ronald's TV network has reached a simulcast agreement with TBS TV station, and will broadcast the playoffs on local TV stations in New York, which is a benefit given to fans by the new owner.

CableVision, controlled by the Dolan family, was stingy and did not contribute any money. Instead, it complained that Doug Jr. was wasting money. Those fans would have gone to watch the pay-per-view limited television broadcasts on other channels.

"My son is great. He is also very interested in Hollywood. I believe he can succeed in any industry, but he chose to come back to help me. What do you think, if you meet him in Hollywood, Ronald, would you give him any advice?"

Charles Dolan said this as an admission of defeat, treating him as Ronald's junior, even though James is about five or six years older than Ronald.

"That's interesting..." Ronald smiled and said nothing. He had seen many people like James Dolan in Hollywood.

For example, Don Simpson, one of the producers of "Top Gun", has been addicted to drug abuse. He accepted interviews with the New York Times and CBS, claiming that he has given up bad habits and the only thing he is addicted to now is all kinds of food.

But in the private circles of Hollywood, everyone knows what he is like. With his personality, he has no friends or family who really care about him, and he keeps using them.

But his production skills, script selection and casting skills are indeed very high, and many of his films can accurately grasp the pulse of the audience. He and Jerry Bruckheimer signed four distribution contracts with Disney...

So Disney's COO Katzenberg had to intervene personally and asked him to stay in a rehabilitation center for a while.

But Don Simpson refused to admit that he had any bad behavior. He seemed to have second-degree depression and refused to admit reality. For this reason, Katzenberg called Ronald and asked him if he had any good ideas.

There is no other way for Ronald. The best way is to have someone who truly loves him, stay by his side, supervise him and take care of him with love, and maybe he can get rid of it.

Don Simpson has no steady girlfriend, only the notorious big parties in Beverly Hills... He lives alone and doesn't even have a close friend. Even his partner Jerry Bruckheimer is just a professional partner with him...

James Dolan is a man who talks a lot when he meets someone and has a huge ego, which is very similar to Don Simpson. However, he has a father who loves him and five brothers and sisters who can help him...

"You're interested, aren't you, Ronald? I told you that you and I are definitely the same type of people. I felt it the moment I saw you. If I were in Hollywood, what role would you assign to me?
Do I do a romantic comedy like Tom Hanks and date Meg Ryan, or do an action movie like Harrison Ford and date Kelly McGillis? Ah, it's a very difficult choice..."

James Dolan is a big mouth, and like the usual rich kids, he has no self-awareness. He really took Ronald's words "very interesting" as true. Ronald made a "this is even funnier" expression to his father Charles next to him, and began to enjoy Charles's uncomfortable face next to him...

Charles Dolan originally wanted to fight with Ronald for the ownership of Madison Square Garden and two professional teams, so he brought James, the most capable of the six people in the next generation... Who knew that this guy would actually talk about Hollywood...

"Ronald, James is interested in Hollywood like all young people..." Finally, after enduring James Dolan's chatter for a minute, Charles came in reluctantly to change the subject. With such a fat face, don't expect to be a star.

"Seriously, Ronald, if you met James in Hollywood, what position would you give him? Producer, or agent for the stars?"

Seeing that Dolan was still trying to restore James' "very capable" image and James was still reluctant, Ronald smiled and said, "First of all, there is no need to limit James's backstage work. Anyone can try to play a role... If I met James in Hollywood, I would do the same thing I did to Melanie Griffith when I was filming Working Girl..."

"Huh?" James Dolan thought Ronald was saying something nice about him. Working Girl had a good reputation among the people in Manhattan, and some people still remember it. Would he value me as much as the heroine Melanie Griffith?

"What does this mean?" Old Dolan didn't understand, but he could tell from Ronald's expression that it was not a good thing.

"I will make James sign a contract. If he hinders the filming progress due to drug abuse, I will deduct money from his salary, hahahaha..."

"Hahaha..." Unexpectedly, despite such teasing, old Dolan did not seem angry. Perhaps his son's unhealthy habits made him very helpless. Ronald actually had such means to deal with Hollywood stars with the same problem. He suddenly thought of a way to persuade his son.

"My friends are here, give them two seats..."

Ronald ignored the slightly angry Dolan and spoke directly to the bodyguard. His two black friends in New York, Spike Lee and Whoopi Goldberg, were also invited to the box to watch the game.

Spike is a die-hard fan of the New York Knicks, and this year Ronald gave him a season ticket with courtside seats. Whoopi Goldberg was criticized by the media for a joke she made at the Oscars, so Ronald invited her to have some fun and to chat about the possibility of working with these two outstanding black people in Hollywood in the future.

"This place can see the overall situation more clearly than the sidelines, but it's not as passionate as the sidelines, Yeah, Patrick (Ewing)!"

In the last minute of the first quarter, Ewing made a gorilla dunk, giving the Knicks a 19-13 lead over the visiting New Jersey Nets.

Spike Lee was so happy that he shouted.

"I feel like their play was much uglier than the Los Angeles Lakers'. There weren't many good shots..."

Whoopi Goldberg didn't know much about basketball, she just went there to watch the fun, and when she was in Los Angeles, she went to the Great Western Bank Arena a few times for appearances.

"Yes, the Lakers played better. When Magic was there, their Showtime style was the best in the league. But their head coach at that time has now come to the Knicks..." Spike Lee was actually very happy that Ronald invited him to the box. He came to watch the game to show that he was a successful black man.

The news that he was sitting in Ronald's box would definitely be reported in the New York Daily News tomorrow, which was a powerful boost to his social status, which he cared about very much.

So, he was very patient in explaining to the fan Whoopi Goldberg who was watching the fun.

"Then why is the Knicks' basketball so ugly? Ewing only had one dunk in the first quarter. Normally he would jump to the side like a rabbit and shoot..." Whoopi Goldberg's words are typical of fans who only watch the playoffs or the finals.

What tactics, the coach's deployment of troops, I don't understand. Can't you make some exciting passes, dunks, or blocks?

"It's like this. Coach Pat Riley is actually very good at arranging tactics based on the characteristics of the players. The Lakers used to have Magic Johnson, so they played a flashy attack. The Knicks now have the inside genius Ewing, so we just..."

"When it comes to basketball, your friends don't understand. There's a saying in the NBA that offense wins a game, and defense wins a championship..."

Little Dolan was like a child who was denied by the leader of the children. He wanted to show his ability in front of Ronald. He came over to interrupt and said that under the command of Pat Riley, the Knicks had a chance to win the championship this year. After all, the Bulls' Jordan had gone to play baseball, and the current Bulls were no match for the Knicks in the second round.

Whoopi Goldberg rolled his eyes and said, "Even if we win the championship, no one will watch such a boring game." The Knicks' tactics are really ugly. In simple terms, they rely on muscle collisions to prevent the opponent from scoring, and then their own offense depends on the scoring ability of two or three stars.

Ronald and Dolan's camps were silent. Dolan's words were actually offensive. Everyone was there to watch the game. Whether it was good or not, everyone just laughed it off. Except for veteran fans like Spike Lee, most people who came to the box were there to watch the fun. It was actually not the right time for Dolan to show off his erudition.

"Yeah, defense wins championships..." Ronald repeated.

Now little Dolan became happy again and started chattering about his admiration for Riley.

Ronald remained silent, and the Knicks' bench lineup lost another four points in the second quarter, and tied in the third quarter. Fortunately, in the fourth quarter, the overall lineup of the Nets was not good enough, and finally "won" by eleven points.

After the victory, Ronald paid for all the spectators, giving each person a slice of pizza and a glass of beer. He also went to the stadium with Spike Lee and Whoopi Goldberg to wave and greet everyone. Finally, he thanked everyone for coming to see the "excellent performance" of the team led by Riley.

"This fight is really ugly..."

Afterwards, Ronald, Doug Jr., Donna, and Helen hosted a banquet for the two guests. In a nearby Mr. Chow Chinese restaurant, Ronald complained directly to Spike Lee that the team played too badly.

"Let me tell you, Ronald, it seems like you and I share the same opinion. It's meaningless even if we win the championship with this kind of basketball..." Whoopi Goldberg found an ally and immediately agreed loudly.

"Well, actually, the fans will definitely be happy if we win the championship..." This is all Spike Lee could say. The last time the New York Knicks won the championship in history was in the 1970s when Phil Jackson, the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, played for the Knicks.

"But it's also true that the fans are not as happy as the Lakers..." Spike Lee knows a lot about basketball. When the Lakers play away games, that's often when tickets sell the best.

"Indeed, the basketball market is not as good as Los Angeles and Boston, and it is not commensurate with the city of New York. Now there are obviously more football and baseball fans in New York." Ronald made an analogy, the fans of several other professional teams in New York are more popular than the Knicks, and the fans on the scene are also more crazy.

"Aren't you the boss? Can you change that coach? He's really annoying, and the games are extremely boring..." Ubbe was expressing the opinions of an amateur again.

"This will require some cooperation. I can't fully control the team right now... Besides, Coach Riley's record is not bad..." Ronald smiled. If there were any media hot spots at this time, accusing the Knicks of playing poorly, it would be convenient for him to take action.

Although the Knicks played poorly, their results were not bad. Their regular season results were second only to the Atlanta Hawks in the East...

"What's so difficult about this? I'm not bragging. With such a high salary, I can be a coach..." Whoopi Goldberg was still a little upset. Pat Riley followed the old-school coaching rules and did not allow outsiders to enter the locker room. Even Ronald, a half-owner, was not allowed to enter. Especially since Whoopi Goldberg was a woman, entering the locker room would be considered bad for the team according to tradition.

"Hahaha..." Spike Lee, Little Bud and the others all laughed. This was really a relief. Pat Riley's fighting style was boring to watch. Donna and Helen both regretted coming.

"Don't say that to reporters, you'll get into trouble..." Spike Lee pointed at Whoopi and said with a smile.

"You can come too?" Ronald suddenly remembered something and said to Whoopi Goldberg.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that? I can appoint Spike Lee as my deputy..."

"Ronald, you wouldn't really..." Spike Lee was a little surprised. Ronald wouldn't do such a thing, right?

"I mean, what if it was a movie? In the movie, Whoopi was a fan, but he became the head coach and led the team to win the championship?"

"Yeah, of course I'd like to play such a role, hahahaha..." Whoopi Goldberg heard the idea, and it was obviously a female professional comedy that fits her personality. It has something in common with her previous popular works Sister Act and Ghost, in that she plays a professional woman, but her job is a bit weird...

"Ronald... I..." Spike Lee was also a little tempted. As a die-hard fan of the Knicks, he thought it would be very interesting whether he was directing or making a cameo appearance.

"I'll give you a chance, whether you want to direct or play a role..." Ronald understood Spike Lee's thoughts. It would be too painful to have a movie about the Knicks without him.

Little Doug didn't quite understand, so he pulled Ronald aside and asked him quietly, what good would such a movie do for them?

"This is a kind of propaganda war..." Ronald also laughed. Although the Knicks have done well, it is also a fact that the fans are generally dissatisfied. If it succeeds, it will incite a general trend of thought, which will put huge pressure on the Dolan family. If it fails... If it fails, isn't it a bit boring to target a Hollywood comedy movie?

There is no need to hesitate about this project which is sure to make money.