Chapter 807 Polarized Film Criticism

   "Dirty Dancing is smart and funny, touching and unabashed. It's a breath of fresh air on a hot summer day. Worth seeing if it's just for the dancing...and Patrick Schwyz's body."

  Sheila Benson—Los Angeles Times, female film critic.

"On top of that, you have Jennifer Gray as Baby, a rich girl summering in the Catskills, who falls in love with Johnny, a working-class dance instructor played by Patrick Swayze. The chemistry between the leads is White-hot... worth a watch.

   At the very least, the two of them are really **** when they dance! "

  F.X. Feeney, Los Angeles Weekly, film critic.

   "Dirty Dancing is a 'lightning dance' in which the main character has an IQ of over 100 points..."

  Jay Scott, Globe and Mail, film critic.

"The dance itself in Dirty Dancing, especially the mamba choreographed by Kenny Ortega, looks very modern, or at least as modern as 'Saturday Night Fever.' There's a wild drive and a bursting pulse that gives the film a real... thrill.

  Vincent Canby, New York Times, film critic

   "Heart-warming images, wild dancing, Dirty Dancing reminds me of a Roger Corman-esque B-movie vibe, very nostalgic.

  You need a fire extinguisher when Patrick Schwytz and Jennifer Gray are dancing together…”

  Julie Solomon, Wall Street Journal, Women Film Critic.

"Hot, Hot (with hot and **** puns)...Hot... (film critic wrote eight Hots in a row), 'Dirty Dancing' is 'Saturday Night Fever' with Caribbean dance music, borscht lounge (Jewish vacation spot in a ring around New York state), 'Lightning Dance', is a romantic glitz set against a sultry '60s oldie.

  In the 1960s, my God, the generals at that time were so sexy. …

   Absolutely romantic movie, played by Jewish girl Jennifer Gray, Baby Francis, represents women in that era of liberation and freedom. This is a typical Ronald Lee-style Sleeping Beauty-style low-cost movie, and the box office will definitely be surprisingly good. I heard that the premiere will be postponed to mid-August, so I look forward to it.

   I recommend that all young girls, no, women should see it. This is our Rocky, and in the end Baby is just like Rocky, giving a technical knockout to the woman she's competing for Patrick Schwyz's Johnny Castle in a dance. "

  Rita Kempley—Washington Post, female film critic.

  …

   Pauline Carr has a huge influence in the circle of female film critics in New York and even in the country. She came forward and invited some film critics to participate in the second film critic test screening organized by Ronald in various places.

   works really well. Pauline specifically recommends this film from the perspective of women's liberation. Many female film critics are writing more than 80 or 90 positive film reviews.

  Hollywood's unspoken rules for film critics, as a producer, Ronald can give benefits to film critics in private. However, it is not allowed to interfere with film critics' film reviews or ask for an increase in ratings.

   Well-known film critics from major media will also submit their film review articles after the film critics' special session a few weeks before the film is released.

   Regardless of whether it is good or bad, the producers are given a certain amount of time to make corresponding adjustments to the marketing plan based on whether the film reviews are good or bad.

  This time, Pauline Carr saved face and helped Ronald call those film critics to attend the second screening. Those who came were mainly female film critics, but also included many non-Jewish male film critics.

  They usually would not attend the film critics' special sessions for such small productions. At most, after the film was released, they would be admitted for free with their membership cards of the New York Film Critics Association. Write a review later.

  But Pauline has a very high status among Hollywood film critics, and "Bonnie and Clyde", the pioneering work of the New Hollywood movement, was praised by her film critics. This time, Pauline Carr praised Ronald very highly, saying that he has the opportunity to revolutionize Hollywood again, and once again bring mainstream movies back to major real issues.

  Those female film critics have more or less benefited from the favor of Pauline Carr in order to find a position as a film critic in a major newspaper or magazine in male-dominated Hollywood. They were also curious about Ronald's new film telling the story of the 1960s, and they came to see it, and it really lived up to its reputation.

  10 years before the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, "Dirty Dancing" touched on the issue of women's abortion rights.

  Penny Johnson, played by Cynthia Rhodes, is the key fulcrum for the establishment of the whole film. Unmarried Penny was tricked into being pregnant by the waiter, so Baby had the opportunity to practice dancing with Johnny.

  At that time, Penny had no money, so she had to find a quack doctor for surgery, which led Baby to ask her father to lend money to Penny, and then brought her father to treat Penny again to avoid accidents. This can lead to the plot where Baby's father, Dr. Hausman, turns against his favorite daughter and opposes her relationship with Johnny.

   Such a plot is very difficult to ignore. As long as it is not those boys and girls who have not experienced the incident, they can understand and restore the original appearance of the matter from Ronald's restrained director and editing.

  These film critics all came from the turbulent women's liberation cause in the 1960s. It is clear how rare a good doctor like Housman was before the Supreme Court ruled Roe v. Wade.

  It also made him finally agree with his daughter to associate with Johnny, and to send Baby abroad to participate in the Peace Corps movement advocated by Kennedy to aid third world countries, how unusual it is.

   This is simply every girl's dream. These middle-aged women, watching the movie, miss the past when they were young. Finally, in the scene where Baby and Johnny hugged each other again, they were almost moved to tears.

The most exaggerated is Rita Kempley of the Washington Post. She works for the largest newspaper in the political center of DC. She knows better than others that the two protagonists can overcome the huge gaps in race, class, wealth, and education. The difficulty of coming together in the end.

  Rita took Ronald and pressed him about the later plot:

   "Come on, Ronald, did Baby and Johnny get married together later? Huh? Did Johnny get cast in a Broadway musical? Baby married him right after he got back from the Peace Corps in Africa? Huh?"

"I can't say that, it should be decided by the audience." In order for the film to avoid being addressed by the Jewish gang, Ronald kept all the details secret, such as the hero and heroine just danced together in the end, There are no details that hint at their future endings.

   "If you don't tell me, I'll write you a bad review!" Rita insisted.

"Yes, Ronald, you bastard, almost made me cry. If you dare to separate Baby and Johnny, I will scold you in the movie review, little bastard." Julie Solomon of the Wall Street Journal also came up to make a He threatened Ronald with a vicious look.

   "I have something to say, I surrender." Ronald pretended that they succeeded in threatening, and said his difficulties. Why was he threatened by Jewish forces in Hollywood just because the heroine was a Jewish girl?

  According to an agreement with the Jews, Baby’s ethnicity will not be disclosed in the movie, and the **** scenes between Baby and Johnny, as well as the scenes of the two looking forward to the future and overcoming all difficulties together are all deleted.

   As a result, this kind of concession still aroused opposition from Jewish film critics, so Pauline Carr had to be asked to make up for it.

"Actually, I have been very reserved in this movie. Unless you grew up Jewish in the 1960s, it would be difficult for you to see that Catskills is a resort hotel that only caters to Jews in the borsch belt. You may not know that Baby is Jewish girl. This story will not change because of the ethnicity of the two protagonists."

   "Yes, we support you. The center of this movie is actually the story of Baby's self-growth." Several female film critics began to go crazy. How could someone give such a good movie a low score? It's a crime!

   And the actor Patrick Schwyz is so handsome, if only he could dance with him.

  …

   A few days later, after receiving the manuscripts sent by these female and non-Jewish male film critics, Ronald was very happy and celebrated with Michelle Cannold and others in the office.

   "Look, I still have some contacts in Hollywood."

   "That's for sure, Ronald. Since you became a director, almost all the films have done well at the box office. These film critics also have to follow in the footsteps of successful people." Cannold was very happy, and he praised the boss in disguise.

   "The main reason is that this movie of mine has a plot of women's liberation, and the screenwriter Eleanor has a high level." Ronald was modest.

   "That's because of your network. If it weren't for Pauline Carr's help, we wouldn't have been able to find so many film critics from famous media."

"There, there, our Daydream Company has invested so many resources, we must be heard." Ronald nodded to the little Douglas who was giggling over there. movie, he is happy.

This time, for the extra marketing expenses, and the additional budget for the title song "The Time of My Life" of the original soundtrack album played by DJs on major radio stations, the marketing expenses for saving Daydream as a backup have been spent. Unexpectedly, there is really no money. Fortunately, Douglas Jr. received living expenses from the family fund in 1987. If he wanted money, he could invest another one or two million.

"No, no, your director level is still high. Look at those middle-aged female film critics, who are fascinated by your film. They are also going to the premiere in New York, waiting to dance with Patrick Schwyz. Body dancing." Douglas Jr. laughed when talking about the situation at that time.

Two film critics from the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal held on to Ronald, insisting that he sign and confirm that the premiere would let the male lead dance with them before agreeing to give Dirty Dancing the best evaluation .

   But at the expense of Schwyz, the movie reviews I got today really praised Ronald's movies so much that they are rare in heaven.

"I didn't expect these middle-aged women to like this movie so much. It would be great if female audiences in their thirties were as obsessed with this movie as they are. The absolute number of teenage female audiences is still small." Douglas Jr. lamented .

"Stop daydreaming, they are professional film critics, real middle-aged audiences, how can they be obsessed with this kind of old-fashioned romantic comedy? I just ask them to watch more." Ronald Shaking his head, this is a bit delusional.

"I also know...Hey, isn't this just a dream? We daydream about how many resources and energy we put into releasing this movie. The Cannold distribution team worked very hard. It feels like Our small team is almost as good as the distribution team of a big company like MGM.

  The media interview packages we provide to the major media are also outstanding in Hollywood. Those reporters who don’t say good things are sorry for us. "

   Ronald looked at Douglas Jr. with a smile and praised the distribution team. They were very cheered up when they heard this. They are all inexperienced young people who work with enthusiasm. Sometimes you don't tell them the difficulty of the work, but they complete the work very well.

"I can't promise anything, but if the movie is a hit, we will definitely give everyone bonuses. And if...not, once Dirty Dancing is successful at the box office, we will increase the size of the distribution department. The development will be very good.”

   Ronald drew a big pizza out of thin air for his team members. Sure enough, those employees who just graduated from college were very excited and raised their hands high-five each other.

   "The ones that come first are the ones that are affordable. I found the resort hotel where we were filming and bought a weekend vacation package. All the colleagues in the distribution department will go to have a rest. You can bring a family, and the expenses will be fully covered by the company."

   The reward that Ronald asked his assistant to bring was that the lakeside resort hotel put their names on the subtitle line after the credits for the movie, and gave Ronald a benefit, just to let the team who had been busy for half a year rest and relax.

   "Yeah, Ronald...Ronald..."

  The young men began to cheer Ronald's name.

   "You have so much resources to put into Dirty Dancing, why don't you give us some of 'Love Is Not For Sale'?"

   Walking into the office and questioning Ronald was Rush, the director of "Love Is Not For Sale".

   He had complaints about Ronald meddling in the final cut in order to get the movie through with a PG13 rating, selling more box office than respecting artistic integrity.

   Just now I saw that "Dirty Dancing" on the table got so many good reviews, I was even more angry.

   Unlike the rave reviews here, "Love Is Not For Sale" gets extremely bad reviews.

   Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, for example, gave "Love Is Not For Sale" half a star.

   "If Love Is Not For Sale is meant to satirize American values—if cynicism is its goal—we might find something here.

   But no, based on this evidence, the people who made this movie are so materialistic that they think it's a "teen comedy". Don't they see the rotten core of the script?

  Americans, how can they do such a nasty thing of using money to buy a girlfriend's affection. "

  Ebert scolded "love is not for sale" in the film review.

   It’s not that they didn’t say good things. The New York Times Film Critic, which Ronald worked hard on, gave a positive evaluation:

  “…director Steve Rush squanders an opportunity to make this a deeper, more interesting film. .. There is an identity crisis, a mirror image of protagonist Ronald himself.

  He thinks he wants popularity at any cost, he is actually a sincere person and ends up with Cindy's love. This movie could have been as sincere as Ronald, but what it really wanted was box office, so like other PG13 'kids movies', it cut out its originality. "

  This positive comment just spoke to Rush's heart, and the artistry was cut for the box office. It's not as good as a bad review!

"Comeon, Steve, calm down. Our distribution team spent no less time and energy on your film (actually a lot less, Love Is Not For Sale was sold as a tie-in to Dirty Dancing )." Michelle Cannodra explained to director Rush.

   "It's okay", Ronald signaled Cannold to let him go.

   "Come with me, I'll show you something." Ronald took Steve Rush to the office next door.

   "This is the bad review I received for the movie Dirty Dancing, not much better than yours." Ronald took out the various bad reviews he had received before from the drawer and showed Rush.

   "Proportionally, the scores of our two films are actually similar."

   "Okay, I'm sorry, Ronald", Rush suppressed his anger, and it seemed that his movie review might not be so bad. Roger Ebert didn't like Ronald's movies either.

"I have made a lot of efforts, but our Daydream is a small company, I hope you can understand. My movie will be rescheduled, and some of the original resources are now used for love is not for sale. I have arranged a premiere for you, Two chances to be interviewed on a TV show..."

"Thank you, you're a good producer and boss." Seeing that Ronald had diverted his resources to love is not for sale, Rush was a little ashamed of his anger just now, "You are different from those capitalist vampires, you It’s still on the artist’s side.”

   "You just need to understand, it's not easy for me." Ronald put on a look that the company is too small to give you more support.

   "Rush, you are here...don't be like this, Ronald has already given you good resources." Steve Bannon knocked on the door and came in.

   "I know, I know, hey, if it weren't for him, we wouldn't have made such a good movie at such a low cost." Rush left moved.

   "Are you satisfied?" Ronald looked at Bannon, knew what he wanted, turned around and took out a media promotion plan and handed it to Bannon.

   "Very satisfied, Ronald. You are a natural filmmaker." Bannon saw those promotional plans, as well as the arrangements for the protagonists to participate in TV interviews on CBS and NBC, and he was determined. This low-budget movie was shot with less than one million dollars, and the Beatles song was bought from MJ at a floor price as the theme song. As long as it can be exposed in the media, the profit is almost certain. It is a question of earning more and earning less.

  As long as he can earn more than 10 million yuan, he can feel proud on Wall Street. Earning 15 million box office, those old colleagues will take the initiative to call to discuss investing in their own film funds. If you earn 20 million yuan, hehe...you will be obediently outside your office, vying for the limited investment quota.

   "How much do you expect to earn?" Bannon asked Ronald for advice in a low voice.

   "The films originally scheduled for Dirty Dancing were given to Love Not For Sale. In July, Disney will release "The Adventures of The Nanny".

  Conservatively estimate, staying in the theater for four weeks, between 20 million and 25 million is not a big problem.

  However, there will be 007, Jaws 4, RoboCop, Superman 4, and Unicron and other big-budget films after that. It is estimated that your movie will not last long. Don't expect too much. "

"Hahaha, 25 million, no problem. My foundation has raised enough money. When the time comes for our cooperation, you must reserve enough investment shares for me." Bannon was overjoyed, Ronald The estimate actually exceeded his most optimistic box office forecast. This kind of return on investment, financing is not a problem, and then investing in a visionary producer like Ronald, I am afraid that it will not grow as fast as a snowball, and then you can issue a larger private equity fund, or even issue junk bond financing, or Going further to operate the company's listing and reach the pinnacle of life...

  It seems that I retreated from Wall Street and joined Hollywood is the right choice.

   Ronald looked at Bannon with an ugly smile, took out a pair of glasses, opened the brandy, poured two glasses of wine, "I wish us success!"

  (end of this chapter)