Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1486 Jackie Chan Enters Hollywood

"Ah, it's fun here. There are actually Americans watching Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest's kung fu movies."

Jackie Chan and Ronald went to New York together and visited Ronald's hometown, Staten Island, which is like a time-forgotten corner behind Manhattan, the center of the universe. Many hip-hop artists admire Jackie Chan and some even have videotapes of his earliest movies.

Many black people come to the island to play hip-hop music. They don't talk about creation or art, but claim to be practicing on Staten Island. They are pure fans of martial arts movies. The northern part of the island is where the famous group "Wudang Clan" was founded, and it can be regarded as a small holy place for black music.

When those people saw Jackie Chan appear in front of them, they all screamed and yelled. In addition to being excited, they also said that they wanted to take photos with their idol. They dressed up as the villains in Jackie Chan's movies and took photos with their idol one by one, pretending to be beaten by Jackie Chan in various ways, screaming and being punched and kicked to the ground, and happily showing off to other friends.

Jackie Chan has a very high personal charm. He can only speak a few simple words in English, but he gets along very well with those black hip-hop artists. After taking photos with them, several young black people could not suppress their excitement and they shouted loudly when they called their family and friends to tell them that they had met an international superstar today.

Afterwards, Ronald and Jackie Chan went to Harlem in northern Manhattan and the Bronx across the river to investigate. The neighborhoods here are very run-down, and many low-rent and public housing buildings are hotbeds of crime. Even the walls of the better neighborhoods are covered in all kinds of graffiti, which makes people feel uneasy.

"If you had come here to shoot last year, I wouldn't have suggested you shoot here. At that time, I didn't even dare to enter these neighborhoods. Not to mention here, I was attacked once in Central Park and almost got into trouble..."

Ronald was still frightened when he recalled the attack. Helen, who came with him, also held his hand. The few of them were now in Co-op City, the safest place in the Bronx. From a high-rise building, they could see sirens and what sounded like gunshots in the distance.

"Oh, why?" Jackie Chan was not surprised that Ronald had a girlfriend. He himself did not seem to be very careful in this regard... "I thought it would be safer in New York. I only encountered robberies in broad daylight when I went to Southeast Asia to film..."

"There are some things I can't say. The current mayor is of Italian descent and is very tough on crime. Not only are these small hooligans afraid of him, but the big hooligans on Wall Street are also afraid of him. He has sent several people who violated the law and engaged in insider trading to jail... Now, as long as we have a good relationship with the 45th Precinct of the NYPD here, they will be willing to provide some convenience for filming. This is also an endorsement of the mayor's achievements in making New York safe."

"It seems that there is no peace anywhere..." Jackie Chan replied with a smile, "When I was filming in Tokyo, many people came back to cause trouble, but the distributors in Japan can find a way to deal with it. We are afraid of such things when we make movies. It doesn't matter if we pay a little money..."

"Yes, but I still advise you to develop in Hollywood. The market in Japan is too small to accommodate a big Buddha like you..."

Jackie Chan made a big decision to go overseas again this time. His funny kung fu films cannot always stay in Hong Kong, which makes the audience feel that they lack freshness.

But he was still unsure about where to go. He didn't know whether to choose Japan, which was recognized by the market, or America, which had the largest professional capabilities and market size in the world.

Therefore, Jackie Chan decided to shoot a movie in both places to see the effect. The one shot in Japan was a movie about a racing driver, called "Thunderbolt", and the one shot in New York was the movie tentatively named "Rumble in the Bronx", and the English name was the movie "Rumble in the Bronx".

"I don't know, but now that I've come to see it, America is still very professional, and there are warm-hearted people like Luo to help..." Jackie Chan saw his appeal in the black, Latino and Asian markets, and his mind began to lean towards developing in Hollywood. After all, with the biggest film market as a backing, anything in production can be invested more, and the best professional team in the world can help.

"Hahaha, I don't just care about brotherhood. The biggest reason I invested in your work, Jackie, is that your movie will be popular with the audience here... We Americans like to keep things separate. We are good brothers, but doing business together means we have to make money..."

"I understand, I understand..." Ronald also took Jackie Chan to a Blockbuster video rental store in Manhattan to watch it. Indeed, all of her old movie tapes were found there, and they were placed in a popular position next to the B-movies of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ronald said that he was also very influential among white audiences, and it was true.

"This is little Linda. Jackie, can you help me see if this little girl has the talent to be an action star?"

Ronald hosted a banquet at his home in New York to entertain Jackie Chan and his group. This time, not all the martial artists from the Cheng family came to investigate the situation. Only Stanley Tong, a director who looked a bit like Jackie Chan, came with him.

After Ronald treated them to a meal of authentic Hong Kong Cantonese cuisine, he did not shy away from bringing out his daughter Linda to let action star Jackie Chan and his brother take a look at her.

When his own son was born, Jackie went to check the little guy's bones. After seeing that he also had double bones, he left with satisfaction. It is said that this Hong Kong physiognomy is very effective and is a unique skill that combines martial arts and physiognomy.

Ronald didn't expect little Linda to be a fighting girl in the future, but he heard that children with double bones grow up to be very healthy, so he asked Jackie Chan to take a look at little Roger.

My son Roger's talent is above average. He doesn't have double bones like Jackie Chan, but he is also quite healthy. This time my daughter also asked him to take a look...

"Your daughter's talent is better than my son's. If my master saw this, he would definitely praise her as a natural talent for singing a swordsman..."

"Ah, hahahaha..." Ronald had no idea what the martial arts actress was, but when Jackie Chan said that his master would also say it was good, it meant that the little guy was really good, and he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.

When Helen brought little Linda in, Jackie Chan quietly pulled Ronald's sleeve and said, "Sir, Mr. Luo, are you so confident in having a daughter with someone else?"

"What do you mean by rest assured?" Ronald said that he didn't understand.

Jackie Chan didn't know how to express it. As a martial artist, many people take their money home to their wives, but when they get injured and are discharged from the hospital, they find that their wives have run away with their money. So in his opinion, it's okay to have a one-night stand with a female star, but having children is something that should be taken very seriously.

"Hahaha, you don't understand, Jackie. We American rich men have already figured out a way to solve this problem. If you are interested, I can introduce my lawyer to you..."

"Oh, forget it, we don't have such protection where we are..."

The two then discussed the filming of "Rumble in the Bronx". Ronald was prepared to invest 5 million to 7 million US dollars to shoot the film and have the final cut rights for the Hollywood version. Jackie Chan also invested a similar amount of money and had the final cut rights for the Asian version.

The version that was finally released in America was re-dubbed by Daydream Pictures. The distribution rights were handled by TriStar Pictures, who received the copies and paid for them. After getting the distribution contract, Daydream went to make insurance for the film and then raised funds through financial institutions.

Jackie Chan also obtained the Asian distribution rights through banks in Europe and Japan. Although the investment amount written in the contract by the two was much higher than the investment in any movie Jackie Chan had shot before, neither of them personally paid much money.

Jackie Chan was originally in Hong Kong, working with Golden Harvest, and the investment for a movie was only about 30 million Hong Kong dollars. They said that the scenes were shot all over the world, but they could only go to cheap Eastern European countries like Yugoslavia...

This time, the money was abundant, and they went to New York, Los Angeles, and everywhere to make a big splash. Jackie Chan had never tried to shoot such a big-budget movie. What was it like? Could she just shoot it freely?

Ronald didn't care. For Hollywood, this amount of money was just a medium-sized production. Besides, Jackie Chan's martial arts team didn't have as many troubles as Hollywood's stuntmen. In fact, they could produce amazing effects with very little money.

Anyway, Jackie Chan will shoot it for two hours, and Ronald will cut it to one and a half hours according to the requirements of the American market. Those Hong Kong martial artists who are not members of the Hollywood union can participate in the filming as the Asian version of the crew, and the union will not be able to cause trouble to them.

By then, the well-shot scenes can just be blended together, and who can still tell who shot it?
After discussing business matters, Ronald and Jackie Chan went to Madison Square Garden to watch the last playoff game between the Knicks and the Bulls.

In the last game, the Bulls, led by Pippen, defeated the Knicks 93:79 in the last game held in the old sports center in Chicago. Pippen also dunked Ewing in front of him. Ewing, a center in the top five of the league, was dunked by a small forward Pippen and sat on the ground. Then Pippen's feet collapsed over his head, giving Ewing a humiliation and making Ewing lose face.

This dunk was even called the most disrespectful dunk in NBA history by the commentator of TNT TV. In the last game at the Plaza Garden, it was Pippen's controversial foul at the last moment that caused the Bulls to lose to the Knicks by one point. This time, he got his revenge very happily.

Afterwards, Pippen pointed his finger at Spike Lee, who was watching the game away from home, and yelled at him to sit down. Although he received a technical foul, the audience at the scene felt relieved.

As the seventh game was approaching, the Knicks might lose to the Bulls without Jordan at home, so Ronald had to go to the scene to watch the game.

Nearly 20,000 spectators poured into the venue, and Spike Lee won the audience's applause for his fearless reaction to Pippen. When the host introduced Ronald and Jackie Chan, the applause was louder than any other celebrity.

Of course, a large part of this is due to Ronald treating the home crowd to pizza and beer every time he wins, and a small part is cheering for Jackie Chan.

In the last game, Pippen pointed his finger at Spike Lee and asked him to sit down, which made New York fans very distressed. This loyal fan went to Chicago to watch the game at his own expense and sat in the front row.

Compared with Pippen, Spike Lee is only as tall as his waist, like a dwarf. This time, with a kung fu master like Jackie Chan sitting next to Spike, there is no need to worry about him being beaten to death by a Bulls player...

Old Dolan, who was sitting in the upper box, didn't understand what was going on. He stood up in surprise and looked down from the box. Ronald and Jackie Chan were waving their arms to greet the audience, and the audience responded with thunderous cheers.

"Why doesn't Ronald come to watch the game often? The audience likes him so much?" Dolan felt a sense of danger. Do people in Hollywood know how to please the audience? He took out a handkerchief and began to wipe the sweat off his forehead.

The first two quarters were very tense, with the Knicks fighting on defense and relying on their center and guards to fight alone on offense. The audience was so bored by the boring tactics that there was no exciting offense to make them stand up and cheer at the end of the half.

During the halftime, Ronald invited a lion dance team from Chinatown to entertain the audience, and an acrobatic troupe from the mainland visited the United States and performed a stunt of riding a unicycle while balancing a bowl for the audience.

The audience had never seen such acrobatic performances, a girl kicked several bowls on her head at once, and then caught them steadily on her head. The applause for them was even louder than the applause for the Knicks.

The third quarter was still a close one, with the two teams not evenly separated. Spike Lee was jumping up and down, complaining about the coach and the players. Even Jackie Chan knew the battle was still intense, so she kept silent.

In the final fourth quarter, the Bulls lost by six points due to insufficient rotation and lack of physical strength, allowing the Knicks to advance in a thrilling seventh game.

The audience started cheering again for the free pizza and beer, and the NBC broadcast team jumped at the opportunity to interview Ronald.

"Ronald, you are here with Jackie Chan today, do you have any cooperation?"

"Haha, are you an entertainment reporter or a sports reporter? I'm here to watch the game with my friends..."

"So what do you think of this promotion game? Are you satisfied with the players' performance?"

"Oh, they played very well. I usually watch their games on TV. I'm glad to have the opportunity to watch them live... It's really exciting to watch the game with the fans..."

"So what do you think of the big score of 4 to 3?" The NBC reporter was also a little dissatisfied with the dullness of the game. In the seven big games, the winners of two games did not score more than 90 points.

"Oh, I'm glad to advance. But I thought it might be easier to deal with the Bulls without Jordan. It seems I was a little stupid. Ah, hahaha..."

"Shxt..." Dolan, who was in the box, was so angry when he saw this that he threw his cup. Isn't this a humorous way of expressing dissatisfaction with his work and that of the general manager and head coach? When Jordan was around, you couldn't beat him, but now that Jordan has retired to play baseball, you almost can't beat him...

After Ronald made his statement, he didn't care about the follow-up. He went back to Los Angeles with Jackie Chan. Anyway, I am an amateur boss and a humorous fan. If you ask me, I just don't know much about basketball, so my idea is a bit stupid... Although most Knicks fans have this idea.

After returning to Los Angeles, Ronald began to prepare for the release of "Speed" which he had invested in. The Flintstones won the box office championship for two weeks. Released together with Speed ​​was the sequel to Billy Crystal's "City Cowboy"...

In order to get more publicity for this action movie with few stars, Ronald also plans to attend the premiere, invite more stars to participate, and get more news coverage.