Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 182 What does big family mean?



Chapter 182 What does big family mean?
One is a contract from Columbia to Ronald, and the other is an industry standard contract. Looking at the two copies of the contract in his hand, Rick Nisita was very angry. A key clause was removed from Ronald Lee’s contract. As the highest-ranking of his three agents, he was still kept in the dark.

One of the reasons why he switched from WMA to CAA was that there was someone like Ovitz as the president here, which suppressed internal competition and there were not so many internal intrigues.Different brokers can work together to recommend projects, so that all clients can share the benefits.

But someone took advantage of the contract with a screenwriter client.I originally thought that no one would dare to do anything about this kind of project promoted by Ovitz himself, so I didn't pay more attention to it, but let the new agent Richard be responsible for tracking and processing.

In the end, if it wasn't for Richard's cleverness, he almost signed this contract with traps and was taken advantage of by others.In the future, maybe it will be spread that he is incompetent, or CAA has a reputation for being a big bully.Ovitz will certainly not tolerate this happening.

The reason why Nisita didn't pay attention to Ronald's contract all the time was because his own big client had a problem and was busy dealing with it.

His biggest client, Sally Field (Sally Field), who was crowned the new best actress with "Norma Rae", was very sad because her boyfriend Burt Reynolds cheated, and almost made an accident to hurt herself.

The curse of the Oscar queen is not only related to her career.

Reynolds is a very big man actor who also owns his own NASCAR team "Mach-1".

After Sally was crowned actress, the scripts and remuneration she received obviously exceeded Reynolds's ability to hang out in TV dramas.This kind of thing is a big damage to Reynolds' big man image.Reynolds then cheated on Loni Anderson, a blond stunner he co-starred in on TV.

After finally getting Sally back to normal and getting back together with Reynolds, this kind of contract accident happened again.

"So who did the good thing? A project that Ovitz personally watched, dare to do such a small trick?" Nisita asked.

Paula Wagner sat next to Nisita, turning the contract over and over.

She is also very busy recently. Tom Cruise is very self-motivated, but his reading level is really bad, and he can't read many scripts.Just let someone else read it to him.

Unlike ordinary people, who can distinguish words at a glance, Tom has to read letters one by one.And when encountering irregularly pronounced words, they will not read them.

Paula is in the process of contacting a doctor to have him tested for dyslexia, and has heard that there are behavioral therapies that can help.

"Who is it?" Paula asked Richard Lovett, also looking up.

"It's Lapke" Richard sat stiffly, this contract issue may affect his career, and then added the reason, "He is currently pursuing Bridges, the director appointed by Jane Fonda. "

"This bastard." Nisita and Paula scolded at the same time.

The business of brokers is not a court, it doesn't talk about evidence, it only talks about who is the beneficiary.Because good people who speak morally, and stupid people who leave evidence, will be eliminated quickly.

"Jack Lapke, he has a reputation for not following the rules in the WMA." Nisita commented, "So what does Ronald think, does he want to take all 35 and leave, or take the right to modify the first choice?"

"He's a young man trying to gain experience," Richard said.

"Tsk, it's very difficult. Even if he gets the right to modify, Bridges is still the director. If he is not satisfied with the script, he can call back and torture him again and again, until the movie and Ronald are dragged into planning hell." Paula Wagner interjected.

Plotting hell is the lingo of the film industry.After the studio bought the script and confirmed the actors, but because of artistic differences, different understandings of the market, and even personal grievances, it was too late to pass the planning stage, and there were many things that gave up on shooting. People in the industry call it "planning hell." .

When scripts fall into planning hell, it's hard to climb out.

"Richard, you go ask Ronald to come in and let's talk, this is not the time to be vindictive, $35 is a lot of money for a man his age. Plotting hell is not for his experience growth any good."

"That's the way it is, Ronald. After Jane Fonda entered the project, she became the center of power. Now she doesn't have enough roles. Your script always has to be revised to highlight her performance..." Nisita explained to Ronald.

"But I'm ready." Ronald took out his big notebook, which contained various text records, various inspirations he wrote down during the rest time at different times and places, and prepared to review the script. The main line of the movie is undergoing a major operation, highlighting the status of Jane Fonda.

"At this point, when Bridges is the director, he will definitely change your script a lot, and with this festival, he will not let your revision pass easily. There are many movies that just fall into endless conflicts between stars and screenwriters. Modify in the loop until it is abandoned." Nisita persuaded.

"We can't bet on Jane Fonda choosing between Bridges and you, and you want your script to make a movie and your name to appear in the opening credits, right?" Paula Also carefully chime in.

Sighing, Ronald asked: "Who the hell changed the terms of my contract and removed the modification priority?"

"I will definitely investigate this matter and give you an explanation."

Seeing that Ronald's attitude had softened, Nisita and Paula quickly took Ronald to complain to Ovitz.

"My client's interests have been damaged, and the terms of the contract cannot be modified without the consent of the broker." Nisita put Ronald's contract and the standard contract on Ovitz's desk, and in the missing part Mark it with a marker.

"Jack Lapke, please come into my office," Ovitz said to the secretary who managed his call.

Jack Lapke has a typical Jewish big nose.His mother is a buyer of movie theaters, and was brought with him to buy movies from studios since he was a child, and he knew a lot about the movie industry by ear.

After being called into the president's office, Ovitz asked him if he knew how the two contracts had been swapped.

Lapke crooked his mouth, chewing gum, and said very aggressively, "I don't know, he's not my client. If I were my client, such low-level mistakes would definitely not happen."

"I fight for the best interests of my clients. But I really don't know. You should check other people. The contract may not be a problem with CAA." Lapke denied that he had done anything.

Ovitz stood up and raised his hand to prevent Lapke from continuing.

"Ronald, I will handle this matter personally. I will communicate with Frank Price with you tomorrow. Make sure that those who modify your contract without authorization are punished."

"As for the screenwriter, I will compensate you, CAA will not allow its clients to be treated unfairly.

For this matter, CAA will complete the promotion of you as a genius screenwriter according to the agreement.I personally guarantee that your name will be featured in the New York Times, but there is no way to guarantee the front page this time.

But in Hollywood, including The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety Daily, Variety Weekend, we will all promote that your debut script has sold for astronomical prices. "

Ovitz raised his hand and asked Ronald to walk out of the office with him.

"Is there no way for me to participate in the pre-production of the movie?" Ronald still didn't want to give up.

"I'm not going to lie to my client, Ronald. There's really no point in you continuing. If you're willing to just let it go, I owe you one and I'll make it up. You sign your director's contract too. At CAA, I will personally recommend your new script to major studios."

The two walked out of the office, and Ovitz closed the door behind him.

"Richard made a mistake. If you have other ideas, I can change you to a main agent."

"No, I hope the main agent can spend the main time on me, and Richard has not let me down." Ronald declined.

"Okay, Mary." Ovitz called his schedule secretary, "Please take Ronald to the lounge to rest for a while, I will discuss some work arrangements with them, and then let Richard accompany you back."

Ovitz and Ronald hugged goodbye, "Do you have any other requests?"

"I want to...forget it, she's not your client."

"Pfeiffer, is it? My relationship with Limato in the WMA is not that bad. When it doesn't involve celebrity clients, we usually talk to each other. I'll give him a call."

Ovitz comforted Ronald, and hurried back to the office.Close the door gently.

"Jack." Nisita was still arguing with Lapke, "CAA treats all clients equally, and we cannot win the heart of one client at the expense of another client."

"Besides, Bridges is not your client yet," Paula added.

"I quite agree with your values, but there is another one of CAA's values, which is to maximize the interests of customers." Lapke retorted.

Ovitz returned to his seat and glanced at both sides.

Both sides stopped blaming the other.

"What's wrong with you? Who told you to blame the studio in front of the client?" Ovitz said to Lapke.

"And you, why is Richard the only one who accompanied Ronald to Columbia to sign the contract? If you are not willing to represent him, please bring it up early, and I can personally take over your position. The screenwriter priority strategy is the foundation of CAA in the film industry Book."

"So at any time, we must be united externally. No one can be an exception, and all competition remains within the company. Externally, we are not Ovitz, nor Nisita, nor Lapke. We only have one name, CAA broker."

Pointing to both sides, Ovitz repeated the company's credo once again.

"So the big family means the Corleone family? Ovitz considers himself the old godfather Vito?" Nisita and Paula walked out of the president's office and returned to their own.Suddenly Nisita made a complaint.

"Then who are you? Sonny?" Paula Wagner glanced at the door to make sure it was closed, then sat in Nisita's arms and straightened his tie.

(End of this chapter)


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