MTL - Exploiting Hollywood 1980-Chapter 79 Law and Business

  Chapter 79 Law and Business

   "Okay, that's it. If they don't budge tomorrow, then I'll take legal action and send them a lawyer's letter first."

   discussed with attorney Lindsay Dole on the phone for more than an hour, and Alan Parker's conduct was legally impeccable. The regulations of trade unions are respected by the law, and less than one-third of the amendments can be made without signature.

   Of course, Ronald could argue that he wrote a more important story, but that would require the Writers Guild to intervene.

   This goes back to the old Catch 22 problem: if you are not a member of the Screenwriters Guild, you cannot apply for arbitration of signature disputes. To join the Screenwriters Guild, you also need to have a screenwriter's signature for a released film.

   The two decided, and the next step was to resort to the law. Attorney Lindsay Dole, explains the preparations, evidence and witnesses required for prosecution.

Miss    said that there is little hope of winning, and Ronald's most realistic goal is to force MGM to settle out of court.

   This kind of scandal of stealing the script will be hyped up by the gossip media when the movie is released. If the audience has a strong negative perception of it, it may force the studio to settle down.

  For example, Fat Boy director Michael Cimino quarreled with Deer Hunter screenwriter Derrick Washburn in the previous paragraph. Fat Boy said that screenwriter Dalek's first draft was so bad that he completely rewrote it himself. The screenwriter, Dalek, said that Fat Boy just modified a few dialogues, and he should take the script as his own.

   Controversy broke out when "The Deer Hunter" was released, and the distributor Universal quickly reached an understanding with the screenwriters' union, and handed over the screenwriter's signature to Dalek.

   Ronald and Miss Attorney also pinned their last hope on a similar situation.

   But the side effects of doing this are also great, and Ronald is a little hesitant. Completely offend the director, the producer does not say. MGM would also blacklist itself, and other major studios would know about their "deeds of glory."

   It is better to send a lawyer's letter first and see the reaction of the other party.

   If it can be resolved, it is better not to go to court.

   "Ring, ringing, ringing..." The phone rang.

   "Hello, I'm Ronald."

   "Ronnie? I'm Roger Coleman. Gale told me about you, how could this happen?"

   Ronald, who was thinking, received a call from Roger Coleman.

   told Roger Coleman the ins and outs of the whole thing, his generals against the producer, who almost succeeded in being counterattacked by the director, and the legal action he was going to take next.

   "Are you really going to take legal action?"

   "I'm still undecided. My lawyer and the opposing lawyer have told me that the chances of winning the case are slim. I want to hope that when the film is released, the studio will break out negative public opinion and make them make concessions."

"Then what? You take the script you signed and get kicked out of the film industry forever? Put the script in the bookcase at home and lock it up? When you are old, tell your grandson that grandpa used to have the opportunity to be a The director made the movie?"

   "I appreciate your commercial vision for discovering midnight movies in New York. But your plans to go to court have disappointed me a bit, Ronnie. I thought you could find a better way."

   "What should I do, Mr. Coleman?" Ronald asked immediately.

   "Let me tell you some common sense about lawyers, Ronnie."

   "Lawyers make money, not by winning or losing, but by litigating. As long as you go to court, they make money. So under the same circumstances, they always tend to let you solve the problem by legal means."

"And businessmen don't think like this, you know? In the ten years after World War II, I made films for the American International Film Distribution Company. I never signed a contract with them. The two sides just shook hands. ,Do you know why?"

   "Because the folk customs at that time were simple?"

   "Hahaha, of course not. Because at that time, all the bosses who negotiated contracts were self-made bosses, not like professional managers now."

"Commercial cooperation is based on the mutual benefit of both parties, and the role of lawyers is to fix this mutually beneficial cooperation in the form of law. As long as there is mutual benefit for both parties, why should the original commitment be changed? In that slow-paced era, there were There is no single contract, no big difference.”

   "You are a business-minded person. The idea of ​​Midnight Cinema is very good. When you encounter things in the future, don't just look at it from one angle."

   "I see, Mr. Coleman, thank you." Ronald felt that his perspective was indeed limited.

   "The wise man in the East, Confucius, once said that when looking at problems, we must grasp the main contradiction."

"Back then, in order to make Gone with the Wind, several opposing studios could even join forces to contribute their own movie stars and cooperate to complete this masterpiece. earn."

   "As long as there is an expectation of increasing profits, the two parties who have conflicts will also bridge their differences. As long as there are common interests, there is no fear that the two sides will not cooperate."

   "Of course legal means are also important, but they are mainly used to deal with dishonest scoundrels, or to reduce losses afterwards."

   hung up on Roger Coleman, and Ronald revisited the script's attribution.

  The reason why the producer and director are reluctant to change the contract and sign for themselves. Just two reasons:

  1 The value of your own script is not high enough to enhance the final box office and artistic achievement of the movie.

  2 I don’t have the support of a union, so dealing with my own troubles is smaller than dealing with the original screenwriter and union member Christopher Gore.

  The strategy of Miss Attorney Lindsay Dole has solved the second problem. The one who is mainly stuck now is director Alan Parker, as long as he feels that his script can solve the problem of his artistic achievement and help him make a classic masterpiece...

   Ronald took out the script again and read it carefully.

   The problem still lies with Doris' role. Director Alan Parker seems to be subconsciously feeling the contradictions of this character, so he urges himself to revise it from time to time.

   A shy singer who can't sing a song can't pass the entrance interview. It is only possible for an actor to be admitted because of his looks and shape.

Ronald loaded the typewriter with stationery and started to write again, changing a setting for Doris, no longer the singer Barbra Streisand, but the yet-to-be-acted actress Jane Fong. up.

  Doris was unable to perform the predetermined script during the admissions interview, but her shy, shy and anxious look was very real, and her appearance and voice were very good. The interview teacher gave her a pending decision, and finally she was lucky enough to enter the high school of performing arts.

When watching the midnight show of "Rocky Horror Show" with Latin boy Ralph Garcia, Doris was infected by the enthusiasm of the audience, rushed to the stage and joined the show, the shyness of the desire to perform finally broke through of obstacles, a true actor is born...

   Edited all of Doris' main scenes, interviews, romances, transformations, etc. Ronald realized that it was 4:00 in the morning. When I entered the state, I really couldn't remember the passage of time.

   Busy in the middle of the night, Ronald's revised overall scene is far more than one-third, close to half. This is mainly because Doris, like CoCo, is a tie-breaker that connects multiple main characters.

   The protagonists of the acting department are all driven by her plot. He is in a relationship with Ralph, a Latino boy, and is good friends with Shirley's student, Montgomery.

  Ralph made his stand-up stand-up comedy debut for the first time, and Doris called many students to join him. The role of Montgomery was also encouraged by Doris to come out publicly in acting class.

  Ronald poured himself another small glass of whiskey and honey to soothe his tired nerves.

  With this bomb, I am not afraid that director Allen will not appreciate it. Then he would turn to support himself, right?

   However, you cannot directly show the script to the director.

   Allen played a trick today, took out his script and rewrote two pages to replace it. If you show him the issue of signature without finalizing it, then he will definitely repeat the same trick, take his own ideas, and then change some details as his own creations.

  Ronald put down his glass and began to rub his forehead again. Excessive use of the brain for a long time made his head a little swollen.

   You can’t let him see it in advance, but let him recognize the value of his own creations, which can make his films go to a higher level in art. How to do it?

   Unless you find an intermediary whose director also recognizes the artistic vision, there is no immediate conflict of interest between the two parties.

  Ronald took out his address book and business card book and started flipping through them one by one.

   There are still too few people in the circle that I know.

  Roger Coleman is far away in Los Angeles, and Alan Parker doesn't necessarily recognize his exploitative mogul's artistic vision.

  Irene of the Stella Adler Center, she is just an acting coach, and her opinions have little authority.

   If only I knew an Oscar best director.

   Michael Cimino's fat face jumped out.

  Forget it, Ronald waved away the picture of this fat boy. Just ask Julia Taylor of Casting Studios tomorrow.

  She's not like Margaery, she's no longer working for the "Hot Lunch" crew. And she is much older than Margery, maybe the director will believe her vision.

   By the way, speaking of hot lunch, is that snapshot of the adult movie poster still there? Ronald found the snapshot Antonia had taken, which was also a weapon that could be used.

  This adult movie of the same name will definitely drag down the box office of the movie. If you tell the producer, he should change the name of the movie to increase the box office.

   is still the problem of the middleman. If you say it directly, the card will be invalid, but if you don’t say it, the producer will not believe it.

  Where to find a middleman that both parties can trust?

   Ronald fell asleep thinking.

   During the National Day, the monthly pass is double, please ask for the monthly pass, thank you.

   (end of this chapter)