After the premiere, Helen and Ronald got together for a day and then returned to New York. She wanted to work with several like-minded actresses to create the movie she wanted to make, all female movies with actresses as the protagonists.

On the second Monday of the second week, Ronald also obtained the premiere box office data of "Secret of Success". More than 1,300 theaters grossed nearly 7.8 million box office.

Especially in Ronald's hometown of New York, this movie set off a movie-going craze. Manhattan white-collar workers lined up to go to the cinema to watch this movie after get off work. Even the New York Times published a special review.

"Bentley, played by Fox, lived a double life as a mailroom boy and a senior manager. He pretended to be other people's names in the company and did two jobs that best understood the business conditions. This inspired Bentley's true nature.

of ingenuity.

Of course, the movie is full of homages to the ’61 Broadway musical How to Succeed in Business with Effortless Effort.”

"Huh?" The more Ronald read, the more wrong he became. Why did it sound like he was accusing Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., the screenwriters of "The Secret of Success", of plagiarism? These two people even rewritten it.

There was a version of the script for "Top Gun". Although not much of the plot they wrote was adopted in the end, it was signed after all.

Ronald called his script assistant at Daydream Pictures and an expert on the history of Hollywood and Broadway theater, David Simkins.

"Didn't you say that this movie was adapted from Spielberg's experience? Why did the New York Times film secretly accuse him of plagiarizing a 1961 musical?"

"Because it is indeed very similar. The musical also tells the ironic story of a young man from a small town who comes from the countryside and takes shortcuts to reach a high position by dating his boss's lover. However, when this movie came out, I saw a lot of viewers.

Look at it with an appreciative eye.”

Simkins completed the filming of "Adventures in Babysitting" with him from Toronto, and is now back in the Los Angeles office, continuing to collect and select scripts for Ronald. He has been working in the writers' room, comparing these old scripts over the years.

Ronald is much more familiar.

"Is this screenwriter cheating?" Ronald has been in the industry for a long time, and he also knows that many screenwriters deliberately choose some old movies and dramas, reshape them and pretend to have written them themselves.

It's just that this time it's too close to the original work, which was only 25 years old. There are still many film critics who saw the drama at the time. They remember that this time it was revealed that they were old, and they didn't know how Universal would handle it.

The ridiculous screenwriter also swore that it was adapted from a true incident when Spielberg pretended to be a staff member and occupied an office at Universal when he was young.

"You can judge for yourself. I have the original script and the 1951 novel of the same name. I'll have them delivered to you."

Ronald read the original script sent by the errand boy.

Okay, maybe Spielberg once did this thing of occupying a spare office, and it was adapted by the script. But the main story of the script, and the two main jobs of the protagonist, the mailroom and the senior manager, are very similar to the original version, and

The plot of the general manager's lover's affair is exactly the same, and it is undoubtedly plagiarism.

"Something is going to happen." Ronald asked for the phone number of Vincent Canby, a veteran film critic of the New York Times, and called him personally to confirm.

"Ronald, I have said a lot of good things about your movie. Pauline Kael is very optimistic about your future. She thinks you are the person who can revolutionize Hollywood. How about when your new movie will be released? I can

Want to have a sneak peek.”

The New York film critic circle all respects New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael. Vincent Canby, who is more senior than her, is no exception. Both of them are directors of the New York Film Critics Association. I heard it was Rona.

De called and quickly became familiar with him.

Ronald talked about the release time of his new film, and also invited the other party to watch the film critics' special session. He also talked about his interpretation of his evaluation of the "secret of success". Does it imply plagiarism?

"But this movie has nothing to do with you, does it? You and Herbert are friends?" Vincent Canby said, referring to Herbert Ross, the director of The Secret of Success.

"No, no, the heroine Helen Slater is my recommendation. I have read the script of the old musical you mentioned and want to confirm it with you."

"So Helen is yours. I can tell you clearly that this is not the first time those two screenwriters have done this. Your Top Gun is also filled with many scenes from classic western movies."

Well, Ronald was really not familiar with it. He checked with Vincent Canby, and it was true that many of the passages written by these two people that had been preserved were plagiarized.

This was not something he could completely stay out of, so Ronald picked up the phone and called his agent Niceta.

"I have news..."

…

"Nisita said you have important news?" Tom Pollack, the president of Universal, with a slightly squinting eye, specifically asked his secretary to change his schedule to receive Ronald, the youngest blockbuster director in Hollywood.

·plum.

Who asked his agent to talk about the seriousness of the matter on the phone?

"This is a film review written by Vincent Canby." Ronald turned to the page and secretly highlighted the plagiarism, marking it with a marker.

"This is the original script and novel," followed by two thick books, "I confirmed it with Vincent Canby. He didn't mention it directly out of caution."

Tom Pollack looked at it and covered his face with one hand, "Shxt, this musical was adapted into a movie in 1967, produced by United Artists. I remember watching the top ten box office hits over the years, and I have an impression of this name. The review department

Those people are all dog eaters..."

"Hey, let the person in charge of script review come to my office later." Pollack picked up the phone and briefly explained to his secretary.

"Thank you, Ronald. I owe you a favor. What do you want?" Pollack's squinting eyes looked three meters away from Ronald, and his good eye looked directly at him.

Ronald felt a little embarrassed, but he couldn't express his ridicule for other people's physical disabilities.

"I just think this matter is very serious, so I came to have a special interview with you. I have nothing to exchange with you, I just hope that Helen will not be affected, and my friend Michael (J. Fox)"

"I will remember it. Don't worry, Universal's public relations department is quite powerful. I will keep the film critics in a tacit understanding. I will add these two little bastards to the blacklist and then notify all other studios.

By the way, you are also a member of the Producers Alliance now, right? I went to the last meeting to meet your general manager Eddie Cohen, and it’s time to share these blacklists with you. I asked someone to bring a copy.

Please keep it confidential."

"Thank you then."

Ronald stood up to leave. Tom Pollack always worked like a clock and was punctual. Don't waste more of his time.

On the way back, Ronald flipped through the blacklist shared in the industry. He really felt that this exchange was very rich, and his good intentions were indeed rewarded.

In the past ten years in Hollywood, many screenwriters, directors, and artists with bad records have been named on this list. Of course, the names of all the big-name stars have not been seen, and there must be another version with a higher level of confidentiality.

But these ordinary dishonest, plagiarized, and arrogant names can be regarded as a very important tool for small companies to avoid losses.

"These producers won't give it to me unless I ask them for it." General Manager Eddie had vaguely heard of such a blacklist, but when he attended the Producers Alliance several times, no one took the initiative.

prompt him.

"Keep it well and make a copy. Don't read it unless you are a senior manager." After Ronald ordered, he directly placed a copy in the safe of his apartment.

"Secret of Success" officially topped the box office list on Monday night after all movie box office statistics were released.

"Blind Date", which was released both before and after him, was relegated to a distant second place and only took in $4 million at the box office.

This romantic comedy stars the most popular comedy star in the TV series, Bruce Willis, and the sexy porn star Kim Basinger, who is famous for her "Love You for Nine and a Half Weeks". It is also close to "The Secret of Success"

Very far distance.

Ronald went to see it and felt that his acting skills were exaggerated and had a strong TV drama style. Kim Basinger was not able to boost the movie's box office. After all, she did not take off her clothes in this movie.

Next, there is "Lethal Weapon" which has been released for more than a month. The leading actor is also another Australian male star who has a relationship with Ronald, Mel Gibson.

This kind of movie that combines action with comedy elements is now very popular. Especially Danny Glover, who plays Mel Gibson's partner in the film, has the style of a comedy master from the silent film era, and can use body language to make people laugh.

After that, there is "Raising Arizona", which Nicolas Cage previously filmed. This is a very strange movie that also did well at the box office.

Finally, "Platoon", which has been in theaters for 5 months, is still strong at the box office. It has the potential to replicate last year's "Top Gun" and become a box office hit.

In short, in the first half of the year, the entire North American box office relied on these blockbuster movies to support the scene.

Tom Pollack's measures were effective. Over the next few days, Ronald noticed that there was no longer any hint of plagiarism in "The Secret of Success" in the film reviews.

The movie lived up to expectations and achieved an average of US$5,700 per theater. It continued to make great progress in the middle of the week and is about to retain the box office championship.

Two well-known film critics from the Chicago Film Critics Circle also reviewed this movie on a TV show:

"The secret of success seems to be trapped in some kind of time machine, as if the script has been in the drawer of Universal executives since the 1950s and no one has bothered to update it. Starring Michael J. Fox, and Helen Hunt, are the only

Two highlights.

This strange movie is difficult to classify. From sitcom to farce, from sex farce to business war plot, only the performances of the two leading actors can calmly lead the audience through the inherent flaws of the script and through countless quicksand traps.

Reaching the climax at the end.”

"Scoff..." Ronald turned off the remote control. Roger Ebert was a very shrewd man and did not dare to treat the daughter of PBS general manager Gerald Slater, the syndicated station that broadcasts his own TV film review program.

Even if you show a little bit of dissatisfaction, you have to be careful to say nice things.

"Ronald, Mr. Bannon is here." Little Bud knocked on the door and came in to inform Ronald.

"Ask him to wait a moment, I'll be out right away."

Ronald put on a simple coat and went out to see Bannon and a luxury car parked at the door.

"MJ's manager Dario called and he is free to see us tonight." Ronald thanked Bannon who opened the door for him and got into the right seat of the back seat.

Bannon turned from the back to the left side of the car and got in. "I put the copy in the back and let's set off."

Ronald skillfully took out a bottle of Coke from the freezer, handed it to Bannon, and the two started drinking.

It was also Bannon's first time to use a limousine to transport a rough copy of the new film "Can't Buy Me Love." As a Wall Street banker, he has always paid attention to this kind of pomp.

"As for your cousin Donna, I have already written a letter of recommendation. If you are looking for a screen fund, just write one from the person involved. I will send it to the president of the company in Long Island together with her resume.

That guy is a mathematician, different from us, he is a very technical person. But I can still talk to him and have dealt with him. I will give him the phone number."

This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Thank you then." Ronald saw that Bannon was so concerned about his affairs, and he knew that most of Donna's wish could come true.

"Do you think MJ will like our sample? What price will he give us?" Bannon turned around and began to test Rona whether MJ would agree to grant the copyright to the Beatles' songs and the naming rights to the movie.

The influence of virtue before him.

"It's hard to say. Artists' ideas are complicated. But I saw the sample and the ending is very good. Artists are also a group of people who are easily moved. They might be able to get a good price, such as a heavy discount.
To be continued...