Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1603 I Can Also Make the Commander a Hero

Paramount's script library is huge, but as CEO, Shirley Lansing has a short version, and for every potential script, someone gives her a synopsis of no more than two hundred words.

This kind of introduction is used by the senior executives of the studio to discuss projects. It is interesting that although any director with industry experience can see the potential of these scripts, whether they can get investment and become green-light projects depends largely on the few minutes of discussion in the meeting between people like Shirley Lansing.

Many of them have never read the entire script, and only rely on a synopsis of a few hundred words, or a longer plot introduction, to analyze the box office potential and ultimately decide the life or death of a script.

It is actually difficult to tell whether the script is worth filming from this kind of introduction. A few hundred words of introduction is nothing more than finding the hot spots in the market and summarizing them in the direction of these hot spots. The parts of the script that really play a key role in the box office are the exquisite structure, the proper arrangement of the plot, and whether the star used as a substitute when writing the script is really interested in the movie.

It is impossible to judge all of these by reading the introduction, and one may often go in the wrong direction, discarding a good script as if it were of poor quality, or launching a work that simply follows the trend and piles up elements as a potential masterpiece.

Ronald watched it over and over for a long time, but he couldn't see any clues of the movie clips he had dreamed of. Some scripts are easier to distinguish, such as a script called "Speed ​​on a Transatlantic Flight", which is obviously a movie of the Speed ​​type, but the means of transportation has been changed.

"Alas, I still don't have Mr. Frank Price's lasting curiosity about the industry." Ronald sighed.

When he had just signed with CAA, his first script was sent to Columbia as a bargaining chip to sign Jane Fonda. The reason why this script was sold for a sky-high price of $250,000, which was unimaginable for a young screenwriter, was thanks to Frank Price, the head of Columbia at the time and a famous Hollywood executive.

Frank Price was not Jewish and was not too close to the Jewish circle. The only reason he was able to serve as an executive at Columbia and Universal was that he insisted on reading the hundreds of scripts sent to him.

As the head of a film studio, he still insists on reading a lot of scripts. There is no other explanation except his natural curiosity about film making.

Ronald tried for a while and then got impatient. Managing a large company, if you really want to do it yourself like Frank Price, it is harder to miss a good script, but understanding market changes and internal power struggles in the company are more important than choosing a script when running a film company.

"I don't know. If you have any ideas, call me again. I really can't be Frank Price." Ronald gave up the idea of ​​going on. He decided that in addition to David Simkins, who was currently in charge of the script, he would also hire some talents from outside the company, let them read more scripts for him, and then submit good script reports every week.

In this way, the possibility of missing out on good scripts due to subjective aesthetic preferences or their own selfish interests is greatly reduced. Several people recommend scripts to themselves separately, and they cross-check each other's recommendations. The scripts that appear on several recommendation lists must be good scripts.

Ronald couldn't help but think that this was a really good idea, so he started looking for headhunters to hire people in the market who were capable of selecting good scripts.

……

"Ronald, Mark Canton from Columbia Pictures is looking for you. He also wants to collaborate with New York Film Studios on a big production, just like Paramount." Richard came to Ronald's house to chat as usual.

Unexpectedly, after meeting with the top executives of Paramount and 20th Century Fox, word spread that Ronald was open to working with all the major studios. The third company to approach him was Columbia Pictures.

After Peter Guber and Jon Peters made a lot of money and then left Sony after a hit-and-run, Sony still has lingering concerns about the ethics of Hollywood executives. Now it just lets Mark Canton look after the operations of Columbia Pictures. As for whether to make him a full-time employee or find another suitable candidate to take over, there is no sign yet.

Sony is a multinational corporation, so they can take their time to choose, so as to avoid finding another liar like Guber. But Mark Canton can't wait to officially take over.

"Who does Sony want to replace him?" Ronald asked Richard.

Ronald was very clear about Sony's working style. If Mark Canton was not promoted, it meant that he had little hope of succeeding Guber. The Japanese were very particular about doing things. If you were not allowed to take charge now, you would not have the chance in the future. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing for everyone if you took office.

But Mark Canton didn't understand the Japanese way of doing things, and he was still fantasizing that he could win Sony's favor with one or two profitable big projects. Maybe the project would be completed, and Sony would find someone to replace him, which would be a bargain for the successor.

"There are quite a few candidates. I heard Sony is currently conducting a comprehensive screening."

After Ovitz left, Richard did not serve as the first co-CEO, but instead focused more on uniting the remaining partners of CAA. Without Ovitz, many major studios began to regret the projects they had promised.

Without the help of Richard, who has big stars and directors like Ronald and Tom Cruise, CAA might lose control of many projects at once.

However, the Young Turks were not, as Ovitz thought, useless people who hitched a ride under his and Ron Mayer's wings. They also played tough roles in the extremely competitive Hollywood, making stars feel comfortable and obedient in filming big projects while threatening and bribing big studios to invest money in stars.

After adjusting its methods, CAA stabilized its position. Its style of doing things was slightly more conservative than that of Ovitz, but it took more into account the interests of the studios and was not so coercive on the stars. For a time, it even showed signs of regaining the lost ground from WMA in the industry.

Richard knew that Ronald and Tom Cruise were his two biggest cards. So no matter how busy he was at work, he would visit Ronald every day to see if he had any needs. This was a regular schedule.

Regardless of whether Mark Canton will be fired in the end or when he leaves Columbia, the cooperation is real. New United Artists can invest in some movies in the form of joint ventures, and the new CEO will get some benefits for free, and will not make it too difficult to restore New United Artists' seat at the MPAA meeting.

"Then meet him, I hope he can come up with some good scripts."

……

"Ronald, haha, really, I'm so happy to see you. Are we the only New York boys left in Hollywood?" Mark Canton is a flamboyant man. He was born into a Jewish family in Queens, New York, and initially worked at Warner Bros. for many years.

He has also participated in the production of some blockbuster works, such as National Holiday, Batman, and Lethal Weapon, two of Hollywood's most popular film series.

However, these so-called participations in the production are very questionable. It is doubtful to what extent he participated in the production and how much he contributed to the final box office success. To a large extent, the negative impact of the executive producer title on the film is greater than the positive impact.

Two things also heightened Sony's doubts about his abilities.

One was that he directly produced a failed Warner Bros. big production, "The Bonfire of the Vanities," an art film directed by now Mission: Impossible director Brian De Palma, which not only made stars like Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, Melanie Griffith, Kim Cattrall taste failure, but also nearly ended De Palma's career.

The producer of this film was named as director De Palma, but later in the filming, Mark Canton directly intervened in the production of the film. He may want to attribute the success of the film to himself, so he was very high-profile at the premiere and told the media that this "Bonfire of the Vanities" might be the best movie he had ever seen.

Such a big mouth was, of course, widely reported by the media. After the film was a double failure at the box office and in the critical community, this sentence was constantly brought up and used as a laughing stock for Mark Canton, being ridiculed again and again in the media.

Ronald also learned about this part before meeting Mark Canton because Richard found his personal information and summarized it for him to refer to.

Now that I think about it, Richard also made a comment at the time. He said that there is a proverb among the Middle Eastern people that we should not show our real abilities at every turn, otherwise the enemy will know that our real abilities are not that good.

This failure also made Warner Bros. see through Mark Canton's true level, and studio head Bob Daly terminated his contract fifteen months early.

However, Sony Columbia was in a stage of seeking talents at the time, so they gave him a senior executive position. But during Guber's tenure as CEO, he did not have the courage to confront him and always behaved in a non-outrageous manner.

But Mark Canton, who likes to wear Italian handmade suits, handmade leather shoes, and Italian-style boasting, will not accept the lesson.

He soon repeated the Bonfire of the Vanities. At Columbia Pictures, he directed another star-studded project. It was a very special action movie starring Schwarzenegger, "Last Action Hero".

This movie not only stars Schwarzenegger, but also gathers action movie characters from various studios. Columbia paid a lot of copyright royalties to allow big-name characters such as Katherine (Sharon Stone) in "Basic Instinct" and "T-2" in Terminator 1000 to make cameos.

Moreover, Schwarzenegger sacrificed his most famous role and let Stallone play the role of T-800 in the parallel world and put it on the poster. Although Stallone did not make a cameo appearance, only a cardboard figure in the video rental store appeared, the film company still had to pay Stallone.

The reasons for the box office failure of this film may be complicated and related to the general trend of aesthetic change after the Cold War. However, Mark Canton said at the premiere that "this is the best action film he has ever seen."

The ridicule he attracted this time was not as easy to dissipate as last time. Some film critics even joked with him, asking him to watch more action movies to improve his taste.

Two such public and humiliating failures really made Sony lose all confidence in him.

However, the fact that such a person was able to obtain the position of vice president of global production at Warner Bros. and the position of chairman of Columbia temporarily taking over Guber's position also shows that he is indeed unique.

This man spoke very quickly, constantly observing the other person's expression while he spoke. He was very complimentary of young rich men like Ronald and legendary director and producer, always comparing Ronald to those young talents of Hollywood's golden age.

I have to say that Ronald is quite happy with this kind of technical flattery. It is really pleasant to talk to such a person every day... As long as he doesn't work in his company.

"I noticed that the movie you collaborated on with Fox contains a lot of content that promotes American ideology. We have been discussing this matter recently." Mark Canton continued to flatter.

"Actually, I don't have any feelings. I'm willing to invest in this movie mainly because the story is simple enough and it fits the current trend of special effects production... What you said are just the daily routine of big-budget, high-concept movies." Ronald didn't like such comments, he just wanted to make money, and these things were just embellishments in the movie.

"Of course, what I mean is that the themes of recent movies are increasingly deviating from the public's aesthetic taste. It takes a successful producer with vision like you to set an example for Hollywood on how to deal with these issues..."

Mark Canton felt that he had flattered the wrong person, so he immediately changed his mind and flattered Ronald in a different direction. Sure enough, this statement seemed to work, and young people always like to be industry idols.

"That's true, hahaha. I just think the quality of the movie itself is good. These things are like embellishments on desserts. They can't be absent, but they can't be too much, otherwise it will be boring." Ronald was quite complacent.

"I actually like the scene where the President flies the plane himself. Most of our movies portray the President as a leader, but the leader can also lead by example. My son is still very naive. He always thinks that the President is the most powerful, a little more powerful than the Secretary of State. I think what such a child can understand is probably what the general public can understand the most..."

Mark Canton was immediately excited when he heard what Ronald said. "What I want to say is that we in Colombia also have scripts like this. Our movies can also promote patriotism, and in our scripts the President can fly a plane. Not only that, he can also personally kill our enemy terrorists..."

"Huh? Fighting terrorists?" Ronald thought Mark Canton was promoting another film about fighting aliens. Such themes of collisions are not uncommon in Hollywood. However, when he heard that the President was not fighting aliens but terrorists, he suddenly remembered a dream he had once had.

"Yes, yes. In previous movies, terrorists always kidnapped the president, and then our hero went to rescue him. But why can't it be the other way around, where our president is also a hero and personally killed the terrorists and saved his family?"

"What do you mean?" Ronald sounded more and more familiar.

"That's what you mean. We have a script here. You can think of it as Die Hard on Air Force One..."

"That's worth considering. Tell me more about it..." Ronald became interested when he heard the other party classify this as a Die Hard movie in which he participated.
"I'm not saying this, this is the best anti-terrorism movie script I've ever seen..."

"Uh..." Ronald hesitated again when he heard this. This guy's prediction was too bad.