Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1487: Speed ​​​​of Life and Death Premiere

A large roof was erected at the entrance of the Hollywood Chinese Theater, with red carpet inside to keep the annoying drizzle out.

Los Angeles has entered a dry and hot summer, but in the mornings and evenings, there is sometimes a very annoying drizzle and fog, which is called Gloomy June. Today's weather forecast is also like this, so during the premiere of Speed, a pergola was built so that the stars who came would not be disturbed by the drizzle.

The investment in this movie was not large, and there was not much marketing in its distribution. The two male and female protagonists, Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, just stood there under the pergola, posing in various postures according to the calls of reporters, and taking pictures for the reporters on the scene.

The marketing budget was not much, and most of it was spent on this premiere. The cost of the Huaguo Theater was not something that ordinary movies could afford. There were also many celebrities invited, and it was almost not the scale of a premiere of a medium-budget movie.

This was a marketing strategy that Ronald specifically instructed for the film. Before the editing of the subway battle at the end of the new version was completed, director Jan de Bont used pencil drawings of storyboards and put them on the screen to replace the actual shots that had not yet been edited, which actually received unusually loud applause from the audience attending the preview.

After Ronald finished editing the film, he secretly went to the preview venue and watched it himself.

It is no exaggeration to say that the plot of this movie is tight, and there are endless actions and big scenes. Just when the audience thinks that a big action scene is about to rescue the passengers from the bus, there will be a bigger crisis... The emotions of the audience throughout the movie are like the latest designed roller coaster. After a circle, there is still another one waiting for the ignorant audience in front.

It can be said that if the two leading actors were not so unknown, this movie could have easily exploded in both box office and reputation like the big productions starring popular action stars. So Ronald didn't care about anything else, just to get the first audience and critics to praise it in the short time before the release, and to attract as many first weekend audiences as possible. The rest would be solved by word of mouth.

Sandra Bullock was very cooperative with the publicity. She was only a month away from turning 30, and she knew that this "Speed" was almost her last chance in Hollywood. If this movie was not popular, no one in the film industry would give a 30-year-old actress who had not yet become famous a chance. Therefore, every time the reporter asked her and Keanu Reeves to pose as a couple, Sandra Bullock hugged the tall Reeves tightly.

"Sandra!" Reporters like this kind of cooperative female star the most. They all think that this female star is not arrogant. Just like the character Annie in the movie, she is just an American girl next door.

She was wearing a long-sleeved top and a short skirt of the same color, and her long legs revealed her healthy beauty. After hearing the reporters' calls, she knew they wanted some eye-catching photos. So Sandra Bullock took the initiative, putting one hand on Keanu Reeves's belly and the other hand around his waist from behind.

She was very close to Keanu Reeves, but at the same time, she kept a safe distance between actors. Her long hair was very close to Keanu's face, and some of the hair had caused some reactions on his skin.

"Keanu!" The reporters were very happy and asked Keanu Reeves to be more affectionate. Keanu Reeves had good self-control and kept his head upright, neither getting close nor moving away, maintaining a distance that made people think they were a screen couple, but not too far away from each other.

The reporters were also very satisfied with this. The two knew how to do it, and they pressed the shutter as fast as they could. They were all formal media such as Hollywood Reporter and Variety, and they needed photos of this size. If they were any more intimate, they would not be published and could only be published in gossip tabloids, and then they would make up some stories about falling in love on the set...

Finally, they took enough photos and separated. Keanu Reeves' hair had grown a little longer, but he still kept it short, looking very handsome. Sandra Bullock looked at him and couldn't help blushing. She wanted to hug him back, but she was afraid that someone would notice, so she had to hold Keanu Reeves' arm.

"Sandra..."

At this time, a curly-haired man with slightly buck teeth came over and called Sandra Bullock's name.

"Tate, I'm working..."

This guy named Tate Donovan is also an actor, and he is Sandra Bullock's real boyfriend. Seeing this situation, he was of course dissatisfied, so he immediately hugged his girlfriend and took a few photos to set the record straight.

"Hey, hey..." Sandra Bullock felt a little uncomfortable after being hugged by him suddenly, and her body involuntarily moved away from him for a distance. Unfortunately, the photographers ran to take pictures of other people, and only one reporter took two pictures of them.

"I'm Tate Donovan, Sandra's boyfriend, and I'm also an actor..." The real boyfriend shouted to the reporters who were moving away, but unfortunately no one turned back, as they all went to take pictures of the newly arrived Oscar winner Tom Hanks.

It was also because of Ronald's face that Hanks posed with Gary Sinise and his wife, who played Lieutenant Dan... "I heard from Ronald that this movie has created a new paradigm of action movies that do not require muscles like Arnold. I am very interested. Maybe I can also make action movies..."

Tom Hanks was very polite and talked a lot of nonsense, saying that the movie received good reviews during the internal preview and that he couldn't wait to see the movie that everyone in the industry said was good.

"Oh, I'm really looking forward to it. Ronald has an amazing magic to combine ordinary things into classics. You will understand when you see the new film he directed released at the end of the month. He is a magician. The movies he touches are like blessings..."

Gary Sinise began to promote Speed ​​while also warming up for his own Forrest Gump.

"Ronald didn't come..."

When the two couples who starred in Forrest Gump entered the screening room, they saw Diane resting there alone.

"Oh, there was a thunderstorm and heavy rain in New York, and the plane was delayed..." Diane was a little worried. Ronald should have arrived two hours ago, and now she didn't know if he would be able to catch up.

"New York has this weird weather right now..."

Hanks' wife Rita Wilson understood the psychology of the wives of big stars very well, and immediately took Diane's hand and comforted her gently.

Under the pergola outside, another new director was being interviewed. This was Quentin Tarantino, who made his debut film "Reservoir Dogs" two years ago. He was not a professional, and when he was young, he worked in a video rental store. He drew nourishment from movies with his strong learning ability. This year, his other film "Pulp Fiction" will also be released in the fall. Now he is attending premieres and events everywhere to build up his network.

"I admire Ronald very much. I have seen all his movies, especially Top Gun and Other Money. His close-ups of women's legs are really unique. I have learned a lot from them."

Quentin Tarantino is still a little naive. At someone else's premiere, he talked about Ronald's directing techniques, but the reporters didn't quite understand him. They wanted to make up a headline like "Ronald is regarded as a fellow lover of beautiful legs by new director Tarantino", but it would definitely not be accepted by the editor-in-chief... It was really boring.

"Is Mr. Li here? I think he and I will have a lot in common... Hey?"

Quentin Tarantino was poked by the actress Julia Sweeney next to him, signaling him to stop talking nonsense. Tarantino's new film is now invested by Harvey Weinstein, who lost miserably to Ronald and Spielberg in the Oscar public relations war, and he couldn't even find the reason why he lost...

If Tarantino continues to show his admiration for Ronald, will Harvey Weinstein lose face? Will he still want to get investment and actor resources support from his Miramax in the future?
For example, Pulp Fiction uses many male actors, big names like John Travolta and Bruce Willis. If it weren't for Miramax's repeated wins at the Oscars in previous years, how could they appear in the second medium-budget film of a new director?

"Hey, Ronald and I are in tune with each other... This is an exchange between two professional directors..."

"Who has a telepathic connection with me?" A voice suddenly came.

"Ah, Ronald..." Many reporters pointed their cameras at him...

"Ronald, what do you think of the Knicks defeating the Pacers and advancing to the finals?"

"Henry, when did you change your career to become a sports reporter?" Ronald joked to the reporter. Recently, his and Dolan's comments on the Knicks' record occupied the sports front pages of many New York newspapers.

Pat Riley's team did not have any surprises. Facing the Indiana Pacers, another Eastern Conference finals opponent, they finally won 4:3. Especially in the fifth game, the opponent's key player Reggie Miller scored 25 points in the fourth quarter, turning the defeat into victory, and making the Knicks fall behind by one game...

The final decisive battle was evenly matched until the last quarter, and the team only managed to get through thanks to a key dunk by star player Ewing in the last 24 seconds.

Because of this, Ronald had to go to New York to watch the game live, otherwise the fans would complain about the new owner.

Fortunately, they won in the end. Fans said that Ronald was the Knicks' winning mascot. With him watching the key games live, they won every game.

"Aha, Ronald, this is Quentin..."

When Tarantino saw Ronald, he felt like he had found a soulmate and immediately came up to introduce himself.

"I know you. I've seen your Reservoir Dogs. Did you write the script? No wonder, the script structure and directing techniques are unique..."

Ronald smiled and showed his appreciation for Quentin, the genius.

"I'm a fan of yours. I've seen every one of your movies..." Quentin Tarantino is a director who started out as a fan. When it comes to talking about other people's works, he knows everything, including how to arrange the shots in different places, and how to shoot beautiful women's legs from a low camera position...

Ronald listened for a full half minute. This guy didn't look like a director, but more like a film researcher. He was similar to Peter Bogdanovich back then, who learned how to make movies by watching other people's movies.

However, his favorites are not entirely classic Hollywood movies. He has also watched many Hong Kong movies. He heard that Ronald and Jackie Chan have a good relationship, and he also wants to meet this Hong Kong film tycoon.

"You're an encyclopedic expert on movies... but we're here for the premiere of Speed..."

Ronald quickly grabbed the person who was going off topic and went into the cinema with him.

"What do you think of my movie? You've seen Reservoir Dogs, right?" Quentin Tarantino still cares about how Ronald judges his movie.

"You know enough about old movies, you should try to make a movie from real life..." Ronald said after thinking for a while.

"Huh?" Quentin Tarantino didn't expect Ronald to say that. He didn't understand what he meant. Isn't making a movie just about learning from the masters and using the good scenes they shot?
"The first person to make a movie must not have watched movies made by other people. In fact, I like early Hollywood movies the most..." Ronald looked at the other party who still didn't understand and smiled, "You will understand later..."

Ronald stopped talking and walked inside. When he reached the door of the Huaguo Theater, a woman dressed like a Catholic school student suddenly rushed over from the bottom of the stairs, trying to get close to him.

Ronald's bodyguard Daniel stepped forward and stopped the other person. The woman looked at Ronald furtively for a long time, as if she wanted to intercept him and ask for his autograph. She didn't look like someone from the entertainment industry, wearing white knee-high socks and a lace-collared top. She also carried a bag that looked like something a schoolgirl would carry.

"Ah... I have no ill intentions. I am an acquaintance of your boss... I have something to ask him..."

Ronald heard the voice behind him and realized the woman. He looked at her and she seemed a little familiar, but he couldn't remember where she was.

"I'm Jennifer, Jennifer Tilly, Meg's sister..."

The woman was anxious, she was afraid that Ronald would ignore her. She was just a B-movie heroine in the industry, she couldn't talk to a big shot like Ronald, she couldn't find his phone number, and she could only get close to him through occasions like today.

"Jennifer..." Ronald thought of her, and the past came to his mind. "I remember we never met, we only talked on the phone..."

The other party nodded, indicating that he would only delay him for one minute...

Ronald motioned for her to follow him into the theater and found an empty seat next to the foyer.

"My sister broke up with Colin Firth and went back to Britain to develop her career. Meg also wanted to return to Hollywood to continue being an actress, but her former agent said that you banned her in Hollywood. Please do me a favor. It was all my fault at the time. I shouldn't have encouraged Meg..."

"Ha..." Ronald thought to himself, who is framing me again? Do I have the time to take revenge on an ex-girlfriend?
"I'm afraid your sister's former agent doesn't want to represent her anymore. I won't do such a thing in Hollywood. Just let her come back to be an actress. If someone uses this ridiculous reason to make a fuss, you can ask that person to call my agent to clarify..."

Ronald resolved the matter, neither hindering the other party's return nor giving him leverage. They were even a little bit early...

"Thank you..." Jennifer Tilly might have thought of using this incident to further the sisters' careers, but Ronald's handling of the matter made her understand the other party's attitude.

"Who is that?" Diane appeared in front of Ronald at this time and asked casually.

"When I first entered the industry, a friend's sister..."

"She isn't?" Diane recognized her sister who was also a Hollywood actress...

"Yes, the Tilly sisters. Some people are using my name to make up stories. It would be troublesome for them if I don't clarify. It's better to clear up the misunderstanding."

"Oh..." Diane saw Ronald speak so frankly, and remembered that when she was down and out in the past, she couldn't get a role because of someone else's words. She immediately held Ronnie's arm tighter.

Speed ​​grossed 2 million in its first weekend, beating The Flintstones and the new film Urban Cowboy , and took the box office championship in one fell swoop.

The film reviews were also excellent. Roger Ebert even gave the film the first four-star rating of the year, saying that the director's editing filled people with fanatical excitement, and like that 60-mile-per-hour bus, their mood was running wild in the cinema.

Ronald was in a good mood after receiving the good news early Monday morning. Cinema Score gave the film an A rating. According to the empirical formula, it would be no problem for the film to make over 100 million yuan at the domestic box office.

The good mood lasted until the afternoon, when it was interrupted by a sudden piece of news.

"There was a homicide on Bondi Avenue last night, a young woman and a young man were killed in their home..."

"Shxt!" Ronald felt something was wrong. Bundy Boulevard was a luxury residential area, very close to Schwarzenegger's residence. How could a murder happen there?
"It is reported that the LAPD has preliminarily confirmed that the deceased is OJ Simpson's ex-wife and a waiter from a nearby restaurant..."