Chapter 614 Las Vegas Expo

  The Western Film Expo in Las Vegas is held once a year at the Bellagio Hotel. Called West, it's actually America's largest domestic movie order fair.

  The fountain in front of the hotel gate is very famous, and many tourists made a special trip here to take photos.

  The promotion meeting of "Top Gun" was held on the second night of the opening. At the on-site promotion meeting, Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, and Kelly McGillis, the three biggest stars, all appeared on the rostrum.

  However, what they are facing is not enthusiastic movie fans, but hundreds of movie theater buyers across the country who come to order.

  Although Ronald is already well-known in the industry, actors are more attractive to these movie buyers.

   This is not only because the audience likes to watch stars star in movies, but also they can take this opportunity to take photos with the stars for autographs. It is a very good gift for children to take home.

"You're also on the Paramount crew? How about this movie? I heard it's about fighter jets. I've seen Clint Eastwood's 'Firefox' the year before last. Air combat is always boring. "

  A very young-looking buyer, chewing gum, chattered to Ronald who was sitting in the auditorium.

   "I'll tell you a secret. This movie looks like an air battle, but it's actually a passionate sports movie. It's very good."

"Oh yeah? How did you know?" The young buyer looked at him in amazement. Generally, the actual content of this kind of movie is not in line with the publicity. Could it be someone from Paramount who knows the truth? Relatives in charge?

   "Thomas, Thomas Stephenson", the buyer reached out and shook his hand.

"My name is Ronald. Do you want to be a theater buyer at such a young age?" Looking at the audience who started in their 30s and 40s, there are also employees in their 50s. Ronald looked at this twenty-something Young people in their early years are also curious.

   "My dad owns a movie theater. I grew up selling tickets at the box office and cleaning the movie theater. Hey man, that's the most annoying job."

   No wonder, it turned out to be a family business. Ronald got it.

   Stephenson is an acquaintance, and soon chatted happily with Ronald.

He confided all his situation to Ronald. He is now the buyer of Papa's theater chain. In New Jersey, the father and son own less than ten movie theaters, and they also come to Las Vegas on behalf of other movie theater owners. Watching the film at the Vegas exhibition, he is considered a moderate buyer.

   "Next, I invite Ronald Lee, the director of this film, to answer questions."

   "I have to go up."

   After greeting Ronald and Stephenson, he got on stage and began to answer questions from buyers. For example, how many air combat shots are there, how long is the movie expected to be, and whether there is a love scene between the male and female protagonists.

"Ah... I remembered." Stephenson looked at Ronald and suddenly exclaimed, isn't this the first two movies that have been shown for seven or eight months in the latest multiplex theater he owns at home? Long Wei Kid", and the director of "Breakdancing"?

  When he came here, his father Thomas Sr. told his son specifically that such a director must keep an eye on him to see what films he will make this year. Many directors will have a period of time when they are doing well. During that time, no matter what they shoot, they will sell well, and the audience just loves to watch their works.

   I just didn't expect to be so young, it seems to be about the same age as myself.

"Hey Ronald, I didn't expect you to be directing a Paramount masterpiece at such a young age. I didn't recognize you just now because I didn't know you were so young and promising. Can I buy you a beer and chat ?”

  Little Stephenson took the initiative and wanted to know more about the inside story of the movie.

   "No problem, wait until my side is over, we have time to chat together in the evening." Ronald also wanted to chat with these grassroots practitioners, they are a group of practitioners within the film industry closest to the audience.

   "How is your business? Now that the movie box office has recovered, it should be profitable, right?"

  At night, Ronald came out to meet with Stephenson Jr. The two found the bar, drank beer and chatted.

  Although Paramount spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to build marketing materials for the exhibition, specially edited the trailer, and invited three stars to join in the show, most of the actual release signings were settled in private chats in bars and cafes.

   "Actually, our profit margin is very low. The gross profit will not exceed 10% based on the ticket revenue from screenings alone."

   "Indeed, before the popularization of movies and TV, there are basically two markets." Ronald believes in this figure, which is consistent with the data he had previously settled with Atlantic Corporation. Many movie theaters will be in arrears with one year's box office revenue. First, they will take up one year's funds to renovate the movie theater, and they will grab even a little bit of interest.

"You are so right. You are the only one who understands our business among so many studios, directors and actors I have come into contact with. They always think that we have made a lot of money and deducted their profits. Actually We rely on the box office, and if we buy one or two unpopular films by mistake in a year, it’s easy to lose money.”

   "Then do you have other ways to make money?" Ronald thought to himself, no one would do it for nothing just to love movies.

"I like your movies very much. My father said that as long as it is directed by you, we will sign a distribution contract unconditionally. The six old theaters in our family and the latest multiplex theater will buy a total of eight copies. , plus colleagues in the surrounding towns, this time I can buy fifteen copies here."

   "Thank you then." Ronald shook hands with him. Under the current distribution model, the whole country is divided into more than a thousand "regions", and each region has a population ranging from thousands to hundreds of thousands. In one region, a studio has an exclusive distribution agreement with only one theater.

   This can drastically reduce the number of film copies required. Looking at the whole country, a general movie only needs about 1,000 copies, which can meet the needs of national distribution. Even for the most popular sequel blockbuster, it only needs less than 1,500 copies to satisfy the national audience.

   Expensive copies of movies are also a big expense for distributors. Naturally, the less the better, so this mode of exclusive theater releases has been retained to this day.

   "In addition, I have a sequel to Longwei Boy, and a press conference will be held tomorrow. You can also take a look."

   "Are you directing the sequel? If it's you, then I will definitely buy it." Little Stephenson was straightforward, and I'm here for your name.

   "I haven't agreed yet, but it is very likely that I will participate. Even if I am not the director, the story will develop according to my ideas." Ronald replied.

"Very good, I will go to the platform to order." Little Stephenson high-fived him again, "Last time Breakdance 2 was not directed by you, and it was almost a bad thing when I bought it. Fortunately, the trend of breakdancing has not passed yet. No loss."

"There won't be any problem with the sequel of Dragon Might Boy. Mr. Weintraub and I will bring the story to Ryukyu this time. It must be good. You can still buy more than a dozen copies, and you won't lose money." Ronald Just to promote his work, he also wanted to see the other party's reaction.

   "I will definitely buy it if I buy it, but it is impossible to have the same quantity. My family probably only needs five or six copies of Longwei Boy. For the rest, I have to make long-distance calls to see what the old men think."

   "Oh, why? Don't you like the sequel to my Dragon Might boy?" Ronald was a little surprised. This buyer obviously had more confidence in Top Gun than the sequel to Dragon Might Boy.

   "That's not the case, this is actually our business secret. Hi... But you are the director, you know what I'm talking about, it doesn't matter if I talk to you."

Little Stephenson took a big sip of beer, "At first I didn't have that much confidence in Top Gun, but on the one hand, it was directed by you... On the other hand, I read your brochures and edited clips, and I found this It's a movie, very suitable for fathers to take their children to watch."

   "Father took the child to see?" Ronald repeated. This short sentence contains a lot of business wisdom.

"Yeah, we always like this kind of movie that can be played by the whole family. Last time Spielberg's ET, we saw it and bought an excessive copy. In addition to the box office being sold out, we can also rent it to our peers to earn more money. a sum.

  This time your movie is suitable for fathers to take their children to watch. They are much more generous than mothers in buying Coke and popcorn. "

   "There is knowledge everywhere. It seems that this kind of movie with the theme of action, sports, and competition really attracts the audience."

  …

  The next day, Ronald came to the booth of "Longwei Kid 2" again, giving Weintraub a platform.

"You know, Ronald, this hotel used to have Frank Sinatra's shares, and he made a lot of money. Then the FBI came after him and said he was involved in..., so he withdrew his shares. Or After the general came to power, he completely escaped from the investigation."

   "The forgiveness of the Grand Commander?" Ronald was talking about a privilege of the Grand Commander. He can forgive the crimes of anyone who commits a crime while in office.

   "It's not that far. Sinatra was originally a star in Hollywood and the music industry. It's not that easy for the FBI to move him. The commander awarded him a medal, and they automatically canceled the investigation."

  Because "Longwei Boy 2" has not yet determined the heroine candidate, and the actor Ralph Mazio is still filming, so this time only Morita Noriyuki and Ronald, who were nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, came to the platform together.

   "Why do we need this imported hair country mineral water? Just use our own Wrigley."

  Weintraub was busy, and personally arranged the press conference, which seemed to save a lot of money.

   "You are such a big boss, can you tell your subordinates to do these things?" Ronald looked at him puzzled. Weintraub is not like Roger Coleman's business philosophy, he also likes to shoot big productions.

   "Probably because I'm a Jew, I saw this kind of small place, which can obviously save money, but I really don't know why I want to talk about it." Weintraub himself laughed.

   "I may not be doing any of these things anytime soon, though."

   "What?" Ronald felt that there was something in his words.

"Let me tell you quietly, don't tell others. The owner of MGM Pictures and the owner of MGM Hotel Group in Las Vegas, Kerkorian, has been looking for me these two days to talk about restoring 'United Artists' ' sign, leave it to me to take care of."

"Oh? Do you want to restore the configuration of the eight major studios?" Ronald raised his eyebrows. This is a big deal. After United Artists was acquired by MGM, the distribution channel was merged into MGM. The old employees are still there. More importantly, United Artists is also a member of the MPAA, which is in charge of ratings, and a member of the Producers Association, which negotiates with major labor unions.

  These two institutions are old institutions with great power. Outsiders, outsiders like Minahan Golan, struggled a long time to get in. In particular, the MPAA is still dominated by the old eight, and their films tend to receive more relaxed rating standards. "

  “Kerkorian hopes that United Artists will restore the tradition of artists being the masters of filmmaking. Ronald, no one is worried about a director like you who spends all his money on the screen.

   After you finish making these two films, you can sign a long-term film contract with United Artists. When the time comes, you can shoot whatever themes you want, and you can shoot whatever you want. If you want the actor to come, I will find it for you. How about it? "

"Very good terms, Mr. Weintraub. But I have to discuss this kind of important matter with my agent first." Ronald remembered that Eisner from Paramount had said this to himself, but unfortunately he now I went to Disney and haven't sorted out the relationship yet. The so-called shooting whatever you want has become empty talk.

   "Of course, when the dust settles on this matter, our Longwei Boy 2 will basically be finished filming, and we can talk slowly at that time."

   Ronald felt that this was a big deal, so he returned to his room and called his agent immediately.

  Nisita and Richard also heard rumors that United Artists was going to make a comeback, but they didn't expect that Kerkorian, a gambling tycoon, would choose Weintraub to trade.

  The three of them decided on the phone that they should wait until they returned to Los Angeles to discuss the impact of this matter on the industry and whether to accept Weintraub's film contract.

  In the evening, Ronald went downstairs again and began to wander around the Bellagio Hotel. Many movies that will be released in the second half of this year and next year are taking the opportunity to promote them.

  Paramount's "Star Trek Part Four", Fox's "Alien 2", and Weintraub's "Dragon Boy 2" and other film posters are hung on both sides of the entrance avenue.

  Many movies have not yet identified the main creator, so they are just conceptual posters. For example, in "Longwei Boy 2", there is only a big face of Mr. Miyagi played by Morita Noriyuki on the top, and the title of the film is just below it.

  However, those buyers, with this information, can make a close judgment about the movie's box office prospects, so they can sign an intentional contract first.

   "What movie is this?" Ronald saw a poster of a medium-sized filmmaker "Orion", on which there was only a soldier in military uniform with his back to the audience, and a helmet occupied the center of the screen.

  "Platoon", Ronald stood on their platform for a while, and picked up the brochure to read.

   "It turned out to be the work of Oliver Stone", Ronald knew that the director who once wrote Conan the Barbarian had begun to direct and act on his own.

   "There haven't been many Vietnam War movies in the past two years," Ronald muttered in a low voice. However, Oliver Stone has never followed suit, and he may make a good work. He didn't miss much.

   "Cannon, cannon, ninja, break dance, karate."

  Two young dancers dressed as bunny girls dance and distribute Cannon Pictures introductions to passers-by.

  "Minahan", Ronald went up to call his old friend.

  This Israeli still likes this kind of vulgar but effective publicity tactic, making it look very loud.

   "Ronald!" Minahan rushed over and hugged him fiercely.

   "How about the filming of the runaway train?"

"Hey, Konchalovsky is so slow, it would be great if he could be as fast as you." Minahan waved his hand and said regretfully, "It won't be released until the end of the year, and we can only catch up with the film festival next year." gone."

   "But we also have a lot of new films", Minahan stuffed several posters into his hands,

   “It’s American Ninja, it’s Invasion of USA, The Adventures of Hercules, it’s Vanguard, remember? Starring Chuck Norris.”

   "It's the imitation..." Ronald chuckled. Isn't this the copycat version of Stallone's "First Blood 2" filmed by Minahan.

   "That's him, quack quack. We might be out before his movie."

   The video conference was delayed today, and there is another chapter to be added tomorrow.

  

  (end of this chapter)