Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Do I have a chance to be a director?" Ronald returned to the car and detailed the meeting to his main agent Richard.

"I can't tell. Judging from Robert Westwood's historical decisions, you have a certain chance. Several of the movies he directed, including Saturday Night Fever and Grease, all used rookie directors, or people with only one director's experience. guide."

Richard researched all the background information of Sterwood in advance, "Perhaps we can ask Mr. Niceta or Mr. Ovitz for their opinions and see if they can help you get a director opportunity."

"I just listened to Mr. Ovitz's advice and didn't ask Mr. Sternwood face to face." Ronald said, "I'll ask him later if I have time."

"They already have their favorite candidate." Ovitz was a little idle and spent a few minutes making two phone calls and said to Ronald.

"Sterwood is meant to be the director of the new box-office blockbuster 'All the Time (!)' directed by the Zack Brothers. They made this low-budget comedy for Paramount with a cost of only 3.5 million, and the box office has already reached nearly 20% of the cost. times and still growing.”

"Brother Jerry Zucker," Ronald thought of Jerry Zucker and his two companions who wanted to run away from the New World to film at Paramount during the filming of "Rock and Roll High School." If he hadn't wanted to leave, he wouldn't have been able to sign as a second-team director and obtain the director's union qualification to join the industry.

"How do you know each other? Paramount's Katzenberg now regrets that he only signed a one-film contract with the Zack Brothers director duo. And now Paramount's priority is 'Unprecedented and Unparalleled'" ’s sequel, so you might still have a chance.”

"No, I've only worked on the same crew with Jerry Zucker, and I haven't had many interactions." Ronald shook his head and smiled, feeling envious of the Zucker brothers who became famous in one battle.

"You might as well go see this movie. It uses a parody technique. In the past, parody was just a technique for small-budget B-level movies. I didn't expect it to be a hit this time. Their comedy talent is very high.

Romantic scenes are usually paired with comedy elements. Since Sternwood is the one who likes him, you should be able to get some inspiration? "

Ovitz almost said you might as well plagiarize it.

Ronald smiled and agreed.

"Tomorrow I have arranged for you to meet with Patricia Birch, the choreographer of Grease, to discuss it in detail. You have to note that you did not get the screenwriting job for this film, and verbal promises from Hollywood are nothing. This meeting is what you have to face. After a test, she has already got the choreography job for the sequel, so it’s a kind of interview.”

Thanks to Ovitz for taking the time to inquire for himself,

Ronald found Richard Lovett again.

"Richard, can you get me the script for Grease? I want to take a look at it for some reference. I have an interview tomorrow."

"I'm ready." Richard took out a script from the drawer. The title of the hit work two years ago was written on the cover: "Grease."

"I'll take you back to the Marriott Hotel." Richard took the key.

"I still have to see a movie, Richard. Mr. Ovitz told me to watch 'All the Time', which was made by a director that the producer wanted."

"I'll go with you. There is a multiplex theater in the shopping mall near here. There are many movies scheduled and many shows. You will definitely have to wait for 20 minutes at most." Richard Lovett saw Ronald's business, most of which were Austrian films. Whether Wiz personally pulled the strings or Niceta used his connections to get it done, I felt a sense of crisis.

He didn't want to lose this only customer, but now he couldn't get any business for him. He could only help Ronald with attentive service. I have made full preparations in the past two days, studied Sternwood's background in detail, and prepared the Grease script in advance. It seems that Ronald is still satisfied with him.

The two came to the multiplex cinema in a shopping mall. This kind of shopping mall has gradually begun to increase in America, replacing some traditional department stores.

After the Civil Rights Movement, black and Latino immigrants entered urban centers in large numbers, where security began to deteriorate rapidly, and the predominantly white middle class began to move to the suburbs.

Driving has become the main means of travel for the middle class. It turns out that large movie theaters that can be reached by public transportation are far away from the middle-class families who can afford movie tickets. Having to drive to go to the movies became the norm in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

I went to the movie theater to see the car, but I couldn’t see the movie I wanted to watch. This phenomenon is becoming more and more common in hall cinemas with hundreds or even thousands of tickets. Cinemas in shopping malls are gradually transitioning to the multiplex cinema model. When you drive to the shopping mall, you can eat and shop. Different movies are shown in multiple small halls in turn, so there is always something suitable to watch.

"Two 1.40's are flying all over the place." Ronald took the initiative to pay for two. Thinking that the prime broker only has one client, he must not have a comfortable life.

With some time left before leaving the field, Ronald LaRichard went to get a Pizza Hut pizza. The food quality of this chain brand is worse than that of Domino's, but the takeout is not as good as Domino's.

"Have you seen this movie? What's it like to watch a comedy that uses a lot of parody?" Ronald asked Richard what it was like to watch "All the Time".

"Have you ever seen Airport in 1970?" Richard put down his knife and fork and took a piece of pizza with his hands like Ronald. "This movie 'The Unprecedented' is a reference to that movie. Deconstruction and irony. The whole movie is full of cheap puns on homophonic words, used to win laughter from the audience.”

Homophone pun? Ronald remembered Brooke Shields's CK jeans advertisement, which was also based on this concept. "The people have voted with their feet. I heard that the box office has exceeded 50 million. If it's low-grade, then it's low-grade."

"That's right. For our agents, it's a very good sign that the box office of a client-participated movie is high. It shows that they can charge a high price for the next movie." Richard agreed.

"I am also trying to get you other script revision business. The current trend in Hollywood is changing. Warm family films are beginning to occupy the attention of major studios.

Pure musicals seem to be losing their charm with the failure of ‘Xanadu’ at the box office. This is probably why Mr. Sternwood attaches great importance to the romantic comedy element of "Grease". "

"Your opinion is very important, Richard, thank you." Ronald felt that this seemed to be the direction of screenwriting that Sternwood liked, and the two walked into the screening room.

"Hahaha..." The audience started laughing at the beginning of the video.

Ronald sees it, too, as the film opens with a parody of Spielberg's "Jaws." The white clouds in the sky are like the sea, the vertical tail of the plane is like a shark fin, and finally the plane roars across the screen like a great white shark jumping out of the water.

The structure of the whole film imitates the "International Airport" ten years ago. There was a crisis on the plane, and then the danger was saved under the handling of the crew. Even the heroine found a fake version of Jean Seberg.

But what about the entire movie? There is no coherent plot trend, but a large-scale multi-person stand-up comedy (stand-up orgedy). The jokes are very dense, from beginning to end, but there is no connection between the jokes.

One joke comes out without thinking, and then after ten seconds it moves to another joke, and then another...

After watching the whole movie, Ronald felt like he laughed many times, but he couldn't remember the plot at all. He only remembered what the laugh was when someone mentioned a certain dialogue.

Anyway, Ronald himself would never be able to write this kind of comedy.

Ronald told Brooke Shields a joke that not only requires a deep understanding of what the audience agrees with, but then plays with it. Just like the black joke told by Spike, if the audience is a white girl, Brooke Shields, she will not be able to understand the background of the joke and will not find it funny.

And there is a lot of certainty about the timing. If a sentence is said earlier or later, it will not be funny. Ronald's grammar joke may have been the timing of the punch line that was the most ridiculous, but it didn't make her laugh.

Thinking about it now, Jerry Zucker's aggressive attitude towards himself when he was watching the samples at New World Productions might be because he was looking for the right time to punch line. Jerry Zucker is a man who lives his life as a stand-up show, polishing his jokes all the time.

Ronald didn't understand why Sternwood would appreciate this style of comedy and wanted to hire Jerry Zucker to direct "Grease". Although the two movies were both called comedies, their styles were completely different.

If Sternwood wanted to make "Grease" a comedy of this style, Ronald would have had no choice but to tell him to find someone else.

Ronald came out of the theater and saw "Xanadu" on the film schedule. Ronald remembered that Sternwood didn't like the movie, and maybe he could better understand the producer's ideas by reading negative teaching materials.

The two bought tickets and entered the theater to watch "Xian Le Du".

This movie, directed by Gene Kelly, star of ancient musicals and who once starred in the classic musical "Singin' in the Rain," is another extreme.

The pace of the whole film is relatively slow. Although there is not much singing and dancing when there is a disagreement, it still looks very boring. Ronald noticed that people in the audience were dozing off.

In fact, there are many big choreography scenes in the whole movie, and the songs are also very good. Maybe the problem lies in Gene Kelly's outdated aesthetic.

He served as the choreographer and choreographed a large number of roller skating dances and group dances. This kind of dance may have been very worth watching for the audience thirty years ago.

The choreography was just right, and the dancers' connection couldn't be wrong for even half a second. Many of the shots looked like one-shot long shots. Ronald estimated that it would have taken several weeks of rehearsals to become so proficient.

But today's young people appreciate the dance of one or two people, and they do not have strict technical requirements, but they appreciate the precise expression of the characters' emotions through dance. In the movie, the duet dance between the male and female protagonists and the solo dance by the heroine are obviously much more acceptable to modern audiences than the tap dance in which dozens of people show off their skills.

Maybe what Sternwood really means is that "Unprecedented Flying" is faster than "Xian Ledu"?

As Ronald lay on the Marriott's big bed, he thought about how much emphasis he should put on rhythm when meeting with choreographer Patricia Burch tomorrow.

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