1novels Chapter 71 Flipping the Table
Chapter 71 Flipping the Table
Compared to the open outdoor scenes, the indoor scenes in "Sweet Dreams" were filmed in a much more imaginative and imaginative way.
According to Zeke's script, the crew brought several docile cows directly from the location ranch and transported them all the way to the Casablanca conference room.
The walls, inlaid with wooden panels and adorned with gold records, the neatly arranged conference tables and chairs, and the large projection screen—what should have been a serious business office space—are now occupied by several cows slowly wagging their tails and sniffing the air.
The contrast between humans and animals in the same frame is absurd and eerie, perfectly capturing the dreamlike quality.
Director David Lynch couldn't help but find it novel: "Only Casablanca would dare to do something like this. Any other established studio would never let us bring livestock into their headquarters conference room, not even in our wildest dreams."
Amanda, dressed in a sharp black suit yet retaining a touch of artistic flair, stood quietly in front of the giant projection screen, wearing black leather gloves and holding a matte black short stick.
The cold white light shone on her face, making her brows and eyes look cold and her smile wicked, exuding a sense of oppressive power that kept strangers at bay, both calm and strong.
"You know what, Amanda's outfit and aura really do have the air of a New York Mafia boss—cold, decisive, and not to be trifled with."
In a corner, Larry stood with his arms crossed, watching from the sidelines. He then leaned close to Zeke and whispered a joke.
"Of course, she's seen the world in New York." Zeke grinned.
The previous adjustments were very effective. Amanda is definitely the core of this music video. With her in this state, the music video is already halfway to success.
Larry chuckled and patted Zeke on the shoulder: "Let's not talk about filming for now. Come to my office, I have something important to discuss with you."
Zike instinctively tensed up. Herbert had been auditing the company's accounts these past two days, thoroughly examining the transactions between Jacques's company and Casablanca. Could it be that he had offended someone and gotten himself into trouble?
He suppressed his unease, gave Tino a look, and the two of them immediately followed.
Larry returned to his desk and sat down, getting straight to the point: "The company just finalized the release date for 'Sweet Dreams' immediately, to go head-to-head with RSO Records and fight for a spot on the charts."
"So soon?" Zike was slightly taken aback, his expression showing surprise. His previously anxious heart relaxed a little. "But the Spider Band's album is still far from ready. We haven't accumulated enough tracks yet, it's not time to release an album at all."
Tino also frowned: "They don't have enough original works of their own. If everyone is distracted by promoting the single during this period, the progress of rehearsals, songwriting, and album production will definitely be disrupted. The pace is too rushed."
"There's no other way, you'll just have to bear with it a bit longer. We need to race against time right now." Larry took a brand-new Billboard magazine out of his drawer and pushed it in front of the two of them.
"You are also aware of the current market situation. RSO and we are both under PolyGram. Right now, the soundtrack of 'Saturday Night Fever' is extremely popular and selling like crazy. They are not only fiercely competing with us for the top spots on the charts, but they are also scrambling to take over the production capacity and marketing resources of our pressing plants."
He pointed to the magazine's ranking list and continued to explain, "Right now, a pressing plant has opened up a window of opportunity to squeeze in a slot. If we miss it, the next slot won't be until June, which is too long, and we can't afford to wait that long. Moreover, starting in May, the company will be releasing the soundtrack for the movie 'Friday Night Fever,' which is one of the most important projects this year, and resources will only become more scarce."
Zik looked down at the latest charts, secretly marveling at the terrifying dominance of the disco wave this year.
At the top of the charts, "Stayin' Alive" from the *Saturday Night Fever* soundtrack firmly holds the number one spot. His own track, "YMCA," remains strong at number four. Second place goes to disco queen Donna Summer's new single.
Of the top ten songs on the entire Billboard chart, seven were disco tracks, and almost all of them belonged to PolyGram.
PolyGram is the biggest winner behind this nationwide disco craze, practically monopolizing mainstream music traffic.
"PolyGram has a very high opinion of your new song, believing it has the potential to be a number one hit. Going forward, all of the company's promotional resources, channels, and traffic will be fully allocated to this song to push it to the top of the charts." Larry looked at Zeke.
After thinking it over, Zeke roughly figured out the pros and cons. Casablanca and RSO both belong to the PolyGram system, and their internal competition for resources, attention, and influence may seem like internal friction, but in reality, it's all beneficial to him.
The two films, "Saturday Night Fever" and "Friday Night Fever," share a highly similar theme and are both competing products under the disco trend. They will face fierce competition in terms of both soundtrack sales and box office performance.
The more intense the competition between the two sides, the more benefits, resources, and fame one can gain. And the one who suffers the most won't be oneself, but the Spider Band.
"I'm fine with everything on my end, I can fully cooperate."
"I will have all the members of the Spider Band put aside their current tasks and cooperate with the company's promotional schedule," Tino quickly added.
Larry breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but then his tone shifted, and his expression became subtle:
"That's good. But Zeke, the core of this song's lyrics is basically a satire and critique of human nature and false dreams. 'Dinoble' and Susan suggested a publicity strategy: use your creative background as a starting point for public opinion."
"We plan to use the whole story of how you rescued Judy from Evelyn and fought against tyranny and prejudiced matriarchy to give the song story depth and emotional intensity."
"Can you convince Judy to participate in this promotion as well? After all, we've been under a lot of pressure because of her."
"What? I'm fine with cooperating, but I don't want to drag Judy into this. This kind of thing isn't good for her reputation. Larry, you know Judy is a minor child star, right? Making this public will ruin her public image."
Zik shook his head decisively. He might have considered this before, but now that he had received Amanda's $15 advance check, and could use the money to make more money, he was already quite well-off. He didn't want to make a big fuss about his girlfriend's family's shameful affairs over a small amount of money, and lose face himself.
A 30% royalty split for singles may seem like a lot, but the price of single discs is also low. A regular 7-inch 45 RPM single disc sells for only around $1.59, while a 12-inch deluxe edition can sell for $3.98–$4.98, but sales are generally very limited.
The Spiders only receive 13% of the artist royalties from Casablanca, and after being divided among multiple layers, the artist royalties that end up in his hands are less than the producer's share.
"Of course I know." Larry took a piece of paper from the drawer and handed it to him, his tone somewhat heavy. "But now it's completely out of the question. Take a look for yourself."
Zik reached out and took it; it was a crudely printed public statement.
"Evelyn can't find Judy, and the media won't release any press releases for her, so this woman is going to flip the table," Larry said coldly. "She sent this statement to my office, threatening to go directly to the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) to post it publicly and file it."
Zik quickly scanned the text on the flyer, his pupils suddenly contracting, his face filled with disbelief.
In the flyer, Evelyn, as Judy's sole legal guardian, publicly declared that Judy is currently in an unstable mental state and is missing. She stated that until she finds Judy and confirms her safety, any film crew or production company that hires Judy without her consent is engaging in illegal employment, and she will pursue legal action at all costs.
"She's... trying to completely ruin Judy's acting career? Is she crazy?!" Tino, who was standing nearby, leaned over to read the contents and exclaimed in shock.
"That's right, Zeke, this is a very ruthless move, a total table-flipping, killer move." Larry nodded. "Once this statement is officially filed with SAG, Judy's name will immediately be added to the union's 'protected list'."
"This means that any production company in the United States that hires Jodie must go through an extremely complicated special approval process. What's worse, if Jodie has even the slightest accident on set, even just a minor scrape or a sprained ankle, the collaborating company will be held accountable by SAG, and in serious cases, their union membership will be revoked."
"No production company would dare take such a devastating risk to use her, Casablanca no exception. It's like Evelyn's statement directly blocked Judy's acting career."
Larry shrugged, unable to understand Evelyn's crazy ways either.
"Shit!"
Zeke clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. He recalled Judy's elation when she got the audition that night and her numb tears in front of the Holmby Hill villa. His anger surged uncontrollably.
If she's on that list by SAG, she won't be able to act, she won't even be able to work as an extra. And once that statement is publicly posted, the media might even take it out of context and say that Judy is a mentally unstable lunatic.
He had originally planned to find an opportunity to negotiate with Evelyn, to compromise on both sides, and to peacefully resolve this conflict between mother and daughter. Unexpectedly, she directly resorted to the extreme tactic of "if I can't have her, I'll destroy her completely."
Evelyn redefined his perception of the cold-heartedness of white elite families; blood ties were far less important to them than face, control, and selfishness.
"So you understand the situation?" Larry stroked his mustache. "The matter can no longer be covered up, and the negative risks are already hanging over our heads. Once this happens, the media will definitely pay attention. Rather than waiting to be smeared and slandered by Evelyn, we might as well take the initiative and seize the initiative in public opinion."
"We proactively uncovered the whole story, exposed Evelyn's disgusting behavior, and presented your story of saving Judy and fighting against injustice. This not only cleared up the controversy but also perfectly aligned with the theme of 'Sweet Dreams,' leveraging the momentum to completely ignite the single's popularity."
"Zek, this is good for you and Judy too. The public loves stories of young people pursuing love and daring to rebel against their jerk parents. Sweet Dreams will be a huge hit." Tino quickly chimed in, agreeing with this promotional logic.
Fuck! That makes a lot of sense. Zeke got even angrier. After a couple of seconds of silence, he leaned close to Tino's ear and whispered, "I'm not waiting anymore. Contact your friend in New York to come over. I'm going to teach this crazy woman a lesson."
Tino's expression hardened, and he nodded silently without saying anything more.
Remembering what Tommy and Stanley had done to that stevedore union foreman, Zeke added, "Don't hire anyone too impulsive or reckless, and definitely not an alcoholic or a drug addict. Just scare her a little; after all, she's Judy's mother."
Tino gave an OK sign, finished giving his personal instructions, and then Zeke cleared his throat: "Larry, I'm willing to cooperate. But can the SAG's blacklisting agency help stop it for now?"
Larry got up, walked to the partition door, and pushed it open.
"We need to talk to Neil about this, and he has to approve the whole publicity plan."