Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1606 Additional Investment in Disaster Films

"Ronald, thank you so much. How did you get the permission to shoot? We were desperate and were planning to shoot on a set and then use the keying method to synthesize it..."

Tom Cruise made a transatlantic call to Ronald. It was extremely difficult to apply for filming permits for the exterior scenes of Mission: Impossible in London and Liverpool, but with the help of Ronald, Scotland Yard, the London City Government, and the Transport Department all gave the green light.

"Can we shoot the scenes on the Tower Bridge? Great, I have already contacted Pinewood 007 Studios and they will fully cooperate."

Ronald smiled and wrote a letter to the Queen's office to complain about the difficulties he had to face when he needed to use the exterior scenes of a landmark building in London for filming a movie.

The complaint letter was sent to Buckingham Palace along with a copy of the new 007 movie, GoldenEye. After watching it, several members of the royal family expressed their satisfaction, saying that the new 007 was handsome and would be a good promotion for the international image of the British Empire.

As a result, Prince Charles personally called Prime Minister Major, who had a good relationship with him, and all the locations for Cruise's new film in Britain were given the green light. Not only the Tower Bridge in London, but also the Liverpool Street Railway Station in London, a section of the maintenance railway on the important west coast railway line - Glasgow-Dumfries-Carlisle Line was opened for the crew to shoot some aerial shots of trains that were inconvenient to shoot on the British TGV line.

Of course, Ronald did not reveal his relationship to Cruise. Sometimes it helps to maintain a certain level of mystery in front of a partner.

"Of course, Pinewood 007 Studios also agreed to build a set for us to shoot the final tunnel scene, which is really great. How can I thank you?"

"After you finish filming, work hard on the next new film with Diane. She asks me every day when you can finish this one..."

"You don't need to tell me. When I was filming my first movie as the leading actor, my good friend was crazy and wanted to invite Diane to be the leading actress. If you count, I have been waiting for her for more than ten years..."

"Hahaha, did you hear that, Ronald? I'm also very popular in Hollywood." Diane, who "happened to pass by", was very happy to hear Cruise's flattery on the speakerphone.

"Uh..." Ronald didn't know what to say for a moment.

……

Time has quickly entered the end of the summer season. Several highly anticipated movies in this summer season have not achieved the expected box office results.

Batman Forever, despite inviting countless popular stars and doubling the production cost to over $3 million, has been hovering around $ million at the box office for a long time, only $ million more than the second film, Batman Returns. It is far behind the first film’s $ million.

Of course, this is the result of the upgrading of the viewing tastes of American audiences. After watching too many films like Terminator 2 and Forrest Gump, which seamlessly blend special effects and live-action performances, films like Batman, which has a strong stage play flavor, have gradually lost their popularity. Movie fans are craving a more realistic Batman, rather than a stylized performance like Val Kilmer's, and special effects at the level of TV cartoons.

Warner Bros. also felt that it was very inappropriate, but the popularity of the overseas release did not decline much compared to the previous two films. The audiences in the international market, because the number and density of watching movies are not as high as those in the domestic market, are still very receptive to blockbusters led by such stars (who are actually out of fashion in America).

It is said that after Warner Bros. had secured box office success in the domestic market, they were satisfied with the ability of director Schumacher, who was able to get so many stars to work together harmoniously. Although many of them cursed at each other on the set, they were able to finish the film without fighting, which was beyond Warner Bros.' expectations.

Therefore, the blame for the box office failure can only be put on the male lead Val Kilmer. After all, the Batman IP is the only comic book adaptation movie that has been popular since Superman. It is better to find a new male star who is more in line with the expectations of movie fans to play Batman, which will definitely save this series of movies.

Another film that Universal had high hopes for, "Waterworld," was a veritable box office failure. Several of the films he starred in were criticized as "Kevin's Gate," and Kevin Costner finally fell into the ending that everyone expected, because he was too eccentric and ended up failing at the box office.

Five weeks after its opening, and after the big Veterans Day weekend, Waterworld had exhausted its box office potential and was pulled from mainstream theaters.

The box office revenue of over 80 million did not even reach the figure promised by former CEO Sheinberg. Ron Mayer, now the second-in-command of Universal, also attributed it all to Sheinberg's old age and stupidity, and Costner's failure to listen to the opinions of industry experts based on "industry practice", which ultimately led to the film's doomed failure.

The box office was weak throughout the summer, with only one movie, "Apollo 13" starring Tom Hanks, which was adapted from a failed launch in the Apollo moon landing program and achieved decent box office results.

This movie was directed by Ron Howard, an old acquaintance of Ronald, who was filming movies in Roger Corman's New World. The whole movie mainly relies on the performances of Tom Hanks and several male actors, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, and Gary Sinise, his old partner in Forrest Gump.

The so-called special effects also serve the main theme of the film. The disaster in the closed space depends on the joint efforts of astronauts and ground experts to ensure the safety of the astronauts returning home.

But even if this film, also distributed by Universal, sells beyond expectations, the total domestic box office will not exceed 180 million. Such a moderate success is not enough to break even for Universal, which invested in and produced Waterworld.

Ron Mayer was under a lot of pressure. When he heard that Paramount, Columbia, and 20th Century Fox were all looking to form joint ventures with New United Artists, he hurried to find Ronald.

He took over the second-in-command position at New Globe and was extremely busy, dealing with the Bronfman family, father and son, and a board of directors composed of an uncle. Fortunately, as the second-in-command, he was able to adjust much faster than Ovitz.

Mayer quickly grasped the point. In the future, Universal would still be managed by Bronfman Jr. This was an arrangement by Bronfman Sr. to continue the family capital. Therefore, the focus of the second-in-command's work was to attribute the credit to Bronfman Jr. Even if there were inappropriate choices, he had to be brave enough to take the blame and let Bronfman Jr. be the one with a long-term vision.

As long as he can maintain this attitude, he will not fall out of favor with the Bronfman family. Putting aside the young Bronfman who does not understand business and the uncle who wants to make trouble to embarrass his nephew, old Edgar Bronfman is still an old man who can see the truth, and he still affirms Ron Meyer's knowledge.

However, this period of time required Mayer to focus all his time and energy on condemning his predecessor and highlighting Bronfman Jr., and he actually allowed high-quality resources such as Ronald from New United Artists to be preempted by several other major studios.

When he learned that he had fallen behind in the joint venture competition with New United Arts, he was very dissatisfied with Universal's lack of information. He knew that he had to build a network of people within Universal who were loyal to him rather than the company.

The best way to build such a network of contacts is, of course, to cultivate a direct team through blockbuster movies.

Now, things are back to working with Ronald.

Ron Meyer also had some secret contacts in CAA. Through this relationship, he quickly contacted Ronald and visited him directly.

"Ron, we are old friends. If you have any problem, just give me a call." Ronald felt that among the executives of these big studios, Mayer was the most humble.

"I don't think so. I have been an agent at CAA for many years and I know that the most important thing to promote a great film project is to find the right key people. Without a director, there will be no hit movies."

"Hahaha, you're so polite." Ronald laughed.

It's not that Meyer can't change this old habit that he has been immersed in as a broker for more than 20 years, but Ron Meyer's behavior makes him feel very comfortable.

People all like to be respected by others, especially when such respect comes from someone of a higher class, which always gives you the illusion that you are more important than them.

When Mayer told him the purpose of his visit, Ronald nodded quickly, then shook his head...

"Why, you don't want to work with Universal? I'm disappointed. Ronald, you've worked with 20th Century Fox, Columbia, and even Disney, so why not with me? I remember not long ago, we were very close partners (only Ovitz was sold). Did I do something to displease you?

I'm still the same Ron, hi, even though I wear handmade wool suits now, but at heart I'm still the same guy who likes to wear Hawaiian shirts and be the agent of the best friends of the stars.

If there is such a thing, you can tell me frankly, believe old Ron...whatever you want, it's fine."

Ron Meyer was anxious. Did Ronald already have enough partners and he was not able to catch up? That was not acceptable. With a quality partner like Ronald, everything had to be negotiated.

For the sake of performance and his own stock options, Ronald would do anything he wanted. Whether he wanted to date a new female star or go to Europe to see the exotic scenery, he could arrange it...

He had just become a senior executive at Universal, but he hadn’t forgotten all his skills as an agent yet.

"You may not be able to give me what I want...", Ronald replied with a smile.

"Try it. If you don't tell me, how do you know I can't give it to you?"

"Can you give me a share of the investment in the sequel to Jurassic Park, or Jim Carrey's new movie?" Ronald reminded with a smile that Universal is not 20th Century Fox, and you, Ron Mayer, are not Mark Canton who is facing being fired from Columbia.

Universal has a big project tied to Spielberg, the sequel to Big Dinosaur, and a new film contract with the popular comedy star Jim Carrey. Even if the performance is not good this year, it will turn around next year.

"Uh..." Ron Mayer immediately looked embarrassed. These two movies were led by big names. If Universal made such a request, they would probably have to change distributors.

"I'm kidding..." Ronald saw that Mayer didn't say anything and knew that he couldn't get the investment quota for a movie that was sure to be a hit. But he couldn't ruin his relationship with Mayer, so he explained it with a joke.

"This is the confidence of Universal. With such a series of movies and big star contracts, you don't have to worry."

"That's true, but those are all left by the predecessor..." Ron Meyer was bitter. His main goal was to make Bronfman Jr. the one who could see the gems. In a movie like this, Bronfman Jr. couldn't show his ability in front of his father.

In Hollywood, who doesn’t know that movies directed by Spielberg and starring Jim Carrey are box office hits?
"Really?" Ronald frowned and looked at Ron Meyer.

You've only been at Universal for a few days? How come you've forgotten how to communicate with stars and make them feel that their new projects are entirely the work of their agents?
Or maybe Mayer is too stupid, and has been at Universal for many weeks, but still hasn't learned how to take credit and pass on blame? Then your future at Universal is not very promising.

"Let me be frank, this is very important to me. I have to get a project with you." Ron Mayer would not tell Bronfman Jr. about his core work goal. His reason was that if other big companies cooperated with Ronald and he did not, then there would be no way to gain respect in a company like Universal.

After all, Ronald's record of rarely failing was known not only to Hollywood insiders, but also to all the bankers on Wall Street. Even old people like Bronfman, who were not in the circle, had heard of it.

"Okay, what projects do you have? We can work together..." Ronald was fine with this. After all, the main goal of New United Artists was to regain its seat in the MPAA and get a ticket to a major studio.

We can talk about the future later. Only by having a large film studio that integrates production, distribution, and ratings can we lay the foundation for becoming a large media group in the future.

"I brought you some candidates..."

Ronald took it and looked at it. It was a typical Hollywood document for investors. It contained a brief introduction to the movie, an introduction to the stars, and the recent box office results of similar films.

There are two movies that Ron Meyer mainly wanted to collaborate with Ronald on. One is called "McHale's Navy", which, like Mission: Impossible, is also a movie adapted from a TV series with very good ratings in the 1960s.

The TV series back then was based on a military background and a comedy routine. The male lead was played by Tom Arnold, the first male supporting actor in True Lies. He became famous through True Lies and is now a middleweight comedy star.

It's a remake of an old TV series with celebrity stars, inheriting the core of the old TV series but refurbishing the plot and jokes, and it seems to be following a similar route to The Impossible Man.

Ronald thought the movie was good and the total investment of $4000 million was more suitable for New United Artists.

Just as he was about to agree, Ronald suddenly saw the name of the production company - Bubble Factory.

"This is..." Ronald looked up suddenly.

"Yes, this is Simberg's company."

"No, I can't compete with him..." Ronald put the information of the project back on the table. Sheenberg has a high reputation in Hollywood. If he tried to take the investment quota for the first production of his production company after retirement, and this movie was obviously going to make money, wouldn't that be bullying the old man?

Plus, Sheinberg is now the vice chairman of the MPAA, although it is an honorary position, but if he gets angry and opposes me...

"Okay, what about this?" Ron Meyer did have some ideas, but he quickly adjusted himself and took another project over.

"You must be kidding." Ronald took a look and saw that it was also a remake of an old movie. This time it was the black movie star Eddie Murphy, remaking an old movie by the comedy star Jerry Lewis.

I want to invest in Eddie Murphy's project myself. If this gets out, won't it cause trouble for me?

"He really needs investment now. He is no longer the Eddie Murphy of the past," Meyer explained. Eddie Murphy has not made any particularly popular movies since the 1990s, and some of his old series of movies have stopped making sequels. In general, Hollywood thinks he is out of date.

"No, I can't do that... This is to respect the stars..." Ronald still refused. Black projects are very troublesome. If you invest money and the box office is good, they will say you are here to take advantage. If you invest money and the box office is not good, they will say you are hindering free play.

Especially for film projects about black people, there are often some implicit conditions, such as all the main actors being black… Black people are often asked to play the role of senior executives in a company where most people are white in reality, while the stupid subordinates are flipped and played by white people.

Ronald had no idea how such a movie would perform at the box office, so he simply refused out of respect for the star.

After watching several projects in a row, Ronald was not satisfied with them for various reasons. Finally, he didn't want to watch them anymore. "How about this, why don't we invest in the movie you have already made and contribute to its distribution and marketing, and then we can consider this as a good cooperation..."

When Mayer heard this, he also said that he could totally accept it. After all, he wanted a name. He had several movies that were already shot and were in post-production, and he could release them before the other three movies he had worked on with Ronald.

"There just so happens to be a disaster-themed movie that requires special effects post-production. I'm considering whether to make additional investments... It's called Tornado..."

Ronald took it and saw that the director was Jan de Bont of Speed, and the heroine was Helen Slater's best friend, Helen Hunt...

"Okay, then let me see the rough cut without the special effects shots first..." Ronald admired De Bont's skills and agreed immediately.