Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1500: If you lose money on a movie, should you sue the leading actor to get your money back?

Various derivative products of Forrest Gump continue to be launched, and their sales have set records for original movies in recent years except for Jurassic Park.

Ronald felt very comfortable at home. Several projects of his company had made good profits. In addition to the box office share of Forrest Gump, the director and the leading actor Tom Hanks, Daydream also received a small share of the box office as an investor.

In addition, the cinema chains under DDH Media also achieved very good results during this period. Adding up the results of various parties, Wall Street analysts expressed great satisfaction with the company's first second quarter results, which had a very positive effect on the stock price of the listed company.

The 180-day lock-up period had passed, so Ronald followed the market and sold some shares in exchange for a lot of cash.

As the stock price was on the rise, the market generally believed that this share reduction action was Ronald's way of earning some money for personal enjoyment.

Therefore, all kinds of yacht sales representatives were determined to sell the most luxurious, expensive and most depreciating yacht to Ronald.

However, living in a mansion inside Hollywood Park and with a large number of trees outside, these people really have no chance to send in their promotional materials.

On Wall Street, various funds mainly hold shares on behalf of shareholders. They would consider it as a very sensible practice for founders to reduce their holdings, especially when prices are rising.

When a listed company has outstanding performance, many investors hope to share in the dividends of the company's development. Therefore, reducing holdings is to give more investors opportunities. These professional investors not only do not object, but also welcome it. Some large institutions have even revised their investment recommendations for DDH Media and changed it to holding.

This in turn inspired more retail investors to chase after this stock, making DDH Media a standout among media stocks, with its share price continuing to hit new highs.

This is the opposite of the unfortunate Viacom, which had a lot of hidden debts after the acquisition of Paramount. For a time, Redstone faced a very difficult problem, and the stock price was gradually falling. Many people made negative comments on his gamble to acquire Paramount at this age.

……

The next week, another special effects-rich movie, "The Mask," was released, stealing the limelight from Forrest Gump and replacing it at the top of the box office chart.

This is a movie based on a classic comic book character from Dark Horse Comics. Starring Jim Carrey. Ronald screened the movie at home and had also seen it on TV. Before the movie was released, the main creators were interviewed.

Jim Carrey is still funny as always. He has a very special feature, which is his facial expressions, which can be transformed in a way that other actors cannot do.

Ronald felt that this was not entirely determined by talent, but by the training of a dedicated comedian day after day and year after year. Because Jim Carrey was so comfortable with his various weird faces. When promoting The Mask, he could make all kinds of different expressions to match the reporters.

The other heroine was a bit beyond Ronald's expectations. He had hired this blonde before when he was working on a project to hire a famous director to shoot a Coca-Cola commercial.

Her name is Cameron Diaz. When she was interviewed, she still looked like a silly blonde. When she answered questions, she sometimes couldn't understand some of the reporter's professional terms.

But what's interesting is that she plays an anti-type role in this movie. The heroine she plays is not defined as a villain like the blondes in other movies who betray the hero.

In the end, it was the sexy blonde who remained honest and fell in love with the male protagonist. The black-haired girl, who is generally considered to be smart, loyal and dedicated in Hollywood movies, became the villain in this movie and betrayed the male protagonist in the end, almost causing the villain to steal the magic mask.

However, in real life, Cameron Diaz's speech is very consistent with the stereotype of a blonde. I don't know if it's because the movie hasn't been released yet and she doesn't know whether it will top the box office, but she seems to have not received any special public relations courses. When she was interviewed by reporters, she said whatever she wanted, very straightforward and even bold.

For example, he confessed that he had been in the actor circle for a long time without any success, and almost went to the San Fernando Valley to shoot an erotic movie. Fortunately, he got the role of a Coca-Cola advertising girl, passed the audition, and earned some fame for it. Then a more professional agent signed him, and then he successfully started his film career in Hollywood.

"I am very lucky. I tell you, I have always been treated well by some kind people. For example, I got that role because of Ronald Lee's favor... No, no, no, don't get the wrong idea. Ronald is a rare gentleman in Hollywood. I have never seen such a professional and kind producer as him. He always respects actresses.

I can say that if there is still a true fairy-tale gentleman in Hollywood, it is Ronald. I heard that he loves his wife very much. It is my luck to meet such a gentleman. I wish them all the best... You know, I am a very lucky person. Every time when I hit the bottom, there will always be a very lucky thing to find me. "

"Ronnie..."

When Ronald was taking a shower at night, he suddenly saw a long white leg looming at the door of the bathroom. Ronald turned off the shower and stuck his head out to see that it was Diane, imitating the scenes in those classic movies, wearing a bath towel and a bathrobe and walking in leisurely.

"What's wrong with you today? I feel like you were just like when we first got together, full of passion and temptation..." Half an hour later, Ronald was lying on the bed, asking a little curiously.

"I just feel that I love you very much..." Diane is still savoring the aftertaste...

"Hmm..." Ronald changed his position and hugged Diane to sleep with satisfaction. It must be the interview of Cameron Diaz that Diane saw accidentally.

The movie "The Mask" was produced by an unknown small company and distributed by New Line Cinema, which is not one of the major distribution giants.

New Line has a long history and has produced blockbuster small-budget movies such as Nightmare on Elm Street and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The release of "The Mask" is another proof of their good vision.

Earlier this year, New Line was acquired by Turner Broadcasting, owned by Jane Fonda's new husband Ted Turner. It can be said that from the beginning to the end, the movie The Mask had nothing to do with Ronald.

Such honest praise from an unrelated third party is definitely the most credible. Diane felt particularly happy when she heard the compliments for her husband and the sincere blessings for her family, especially when it came from a sexy bombshell with blond hair and blue eyes.

You know, such a beauty is the darling and muse of Hollywood directors. According to the general trend, it is very common to make some exchanges in order to play such a role. In addition, Cameron Diaz has a first-class figure, and her eyes staring at you are also very addictive.

With such a beauty certification, it shows that Ronald is a completely gentleman...

Well, maybe he still likes women with dark hair? Diane thought, it seems that I should be Jackie, not Marilyn...

Both of them slept very soundly that night. Early the next morning, Ronald, feeling refreshed, got up and opened the curtains. It was already past nine in the morning.

I called the maid to prepare breakfast and brought it to the room for Ronald and Diane to have a long-lost breakfast in bed. Sometimes, it is very good for couples to enjoy their own world away from the trivial matters of work and the responsibilities of taking care of children at home.

Now when Diane saw Ronald, she smiled with a look of attachment on her face.

"The witness situation in the OJ Simpson case continues to develop. It is reported that OJ's driver refused the media's offer of up to $50,000 for his story. He said he would testify in court for OJ and prove his innocence.

The policy previously stated by prosecutor Martha Clark that people who appear in the media will not appear on the prosecution's witness list has greatly affected the channels for ordinary audiences to understand the truth of the case..."

The TV was replaying last night's news and reporting the details of the OJ Simpson case. Now, ordinary American viewers no longer follow the TV series on major TV stations every night, but watch the latest reports on the OJ case by the news media.

In fact, the OJ Simpson case may be the first court trial in American history to be fully covered by television.

What do the victim's family say? What do OJ's lawyers say? What does OJ's ex-wife say? His former teammate is now in the limelight and is being hailed as the second OJ football player. What does he think?
What strategy will the prosecution adopt? What experts will the defense invite to join the team? What methods will they use to defend against the police's firepower?
For a time, OJ's news commentary program, which was updated every night, was said to have a higher viewership than NBC's TV series "Law & Order," which reflected various strange cases of the police and prosecutors.

After all, TV shows like Law & Order are all “fake,” but the content of the O.J. Simpson case is all “real” and is constantly being updated in real time.

To be honest, Ronald was getting a little bored. The reports on the major TV stations were often repetitive, and the daily news commentary programs would rehash yesterday's news and add a little update from today. After watching it too much, it seemed like he was watching a rerun of the same episode every night.

But those who watch TV every night are very interested in this kind of broadcast. The maids, gardeners and other staff members in the house would sit in front of the TV every night and would not go to bed until they had watched the daily update of the Simpson case.

Even the most mature and prudent Chinese woman, Wang Ma, asked Ronald mysteriously when she came in to clean up after Ronald finished his breakfast, "Mr. Luo, do you think that O.J. Simpson killed his wife?"

"Oh, I don't know that. Have you ever taken an American civics class? Under the American system, anyone is innocent until proven guilty by a court." Ronald was also asked this question and was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Did Aunt Wang think he was a master who knew everything?
"Hey, I'm just asking, even if he didn't kill her, he's not a good person to treat his wife so cruelly. This man became very bad after he got rich. Oh, I'm not..."

Wang Ma felt that she had said something wrong and scolded her boss Ronald as well.

"You don't know, Aunt Wang. After Simpson became rich, he divorced his original black wife and married his current white wife who was murdered..." Diane defended Ronald very much. OJ Simpson was the representative of moral corruption... How could they be the same?

"Oh my, no wonder, no wonder, this is Chen Shimei... He divorced his wife and even killed her, he is so evil, this time the court will not send a judge like Bao Daren to sentence him to death by guillotine?"

"What dog?" Diane was confused.

"Hey, it's like Chief Justice Marshall and Chief Justice Earlen, a very fair and just judge in ancient China..." Ronald almost laughed to death.

Finally, today's news about the OJ Simpson case is over, and the TV continues to broadcast news about the entertainment industry.

"It is reported that the famous Hollywood actress, Kim Basinger, has declared bankruptcy... Her dispute with the production company of 'Helena in a Box' resulted in her being ordered to pay $850 million in damages, and coupled with her bad investment in the ranch, she had to enter bankruptcy proceedings.

It is reported that her marriage with Alec Baldwin was not registered in California, so the property of both parties would not be automatically transferred to common property. Baldwin escaped and would not declare bankruptcy with Kim Basinger... He was very angry about his wife's experience and said that the bad behavior of David Lynch and his daughter, the director of this film, Jennifer Lynch, was the culprit for the failure of the film..."

"Oh my god...how could this happen?"

Diane suddenly became interested. This was too much. A movie could bankrupt an actress? The producer could sue the actress? If this continued, which actress would dare to act in a movie?
Ronald was urged by Diane to call Richard, and only then did he learn some of the situation.

It turns out that this movie is the debut feature film directed by David Lynch's daughter, Jennifer. She has only shot some music videos and commercials before. It is very irresponsible to hand over such an erotic suspense blockbuster to her.

The original heroine of this movie was Madonna, but after a long delay in 91, Madonna announced her withdrawal. It was reported that she was unhappy with Jennifer Lynch.

After Kim Basinger took over, she hoped to rewrite the heroine Helena to be less used to satirizing others and more suitable for her star image. As a result, she and Jennifer Lynch had a long fight, and Kim Basinger finally had to withdraw.

In the end, it was David Lynch who found his ex-girlfriend Isabella Rossellini, who had starred in his own film of a similar theme, "Blue Velvet", and took over the role, and it was eventually made into a movie.

However, the movie's box office was very poor. After being delayed for so long, the production cost overspent to more than 10 million, but in the end it only earned 1.7 million at the box office.

Jennifer Lynch, who was furious, sued Kim Basinger to get her money back. In the end, no one knew what kind of lawyer she hired or what kind of judge she met, but she actually won the case. The court ordered Kim Basinger to pay more than 8 million dollars in compensation, which directly led to the latter filing for bankruptcy.

Richard asked Ronald if he wanted to help Kim Basinger, who was now in a strained relationship with her husband because Baldwin was unwilling or unable to help her in this matter.

"But you have to be careful. David Lynch is definitely behind this. Not only did the project lose money, but his daughter's career as a Hollywood director has been completely cut off. Do you really want to offend him? He still has many supporters in the art film and cult film circles..."

Richard is talking about David Lynch. The themes of the movies he has made over the years are all very disgusting and challenge the values ​​of ordinary people. The last movie, Blue Velvet, was about a gangster who kept a singing girl. This time, "Helena in a Box" is even more disgusting. When it was rated, it was rated NC-17 by the MPAA.

For the sake of box office, Jennifer Lynch had no choice but to reshoot an ending, changing the story to make Helena's various inhumane behaviors become the hero's daydreams.

"I never liked him (David Lynch)." Ronald's debut work was almost snatched away by Lynch. Besides, the TV series Twin Peaks, which he directed and produced, also ended badly in the second season. The only story that conformed to mainstream values ​​was not well filmed.

"Well, do you want me to recommend some strong lawyers to Kim Basinger?" Richard understood that Ronald still wanted to help. What he didn't know was to what extent Ronald wanted to help.

"Yes, this verdict is too absurd. We have to help Basinger correct it in the appeal. Otherwise, everyone in Hollywood will be in danger. Will they be sued for compensation if they disagree with the director when making a movie? This precedent cannot be set..."

In addition, Ronald also hates people like David Lynch. It is one thing to shoot some taboo themes, have some erotic elements, and explore the boundaries of art, but it is another thing to present the values ​​of those perverted villains in the movie as normal.

If you like making these experimental films so much, why not go to Europe where they are more popular? The Hollywood ecosystem really doesn't need such a rule-breaker.