Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"one two three……"

Ronald took the script of "Grease" and, under the illumination of the bedside lamp, marked the right margins of some passages that were obviously libretto.

"Grease" was adapted from a Broadway musical, and the script copied large portions of the musical's singing sequences. The lines in these parts are two lines of lyrics and one paragraph, and then another character will have another two lines of lyrics.

This amounts to artificially stretching the length of the script, making the rule of thumb for a finished film of about one minute per page no longer accurate.

Then there are some dance sections without any description, only the word "dancing" is written. The specific how to dance and how long to dance are generally based on the original version of the Broadway musical.

Such a dance scene contains a lot of missing information. The word "dance" can be a dance of a few seconds or a dance of a few minutes. This again equates to shortening the length of the script.

The two offset each other, and the script was 121 pages long, and the final length of the film was 110 minutes. In other words, singing accounts for a very high percentage of the entire script. Ronald counted and singing can account for 40% of the lines in the entire film.

Well, except for some changes in the lyrics due to the change of the heroine's nationality, and the addition of a few minor supporting roles that were not in the original musical, the original screenwriter Bronte Woodard actually only made some settings for the musical , changed to a real movie scene. And the work of changing the performance method of the musical into audio-visual language.

This conclusion was quite unexpected by Ronald.

"Grease" is like writing a musical script from scratch, and Ronald can't compose music or lyrics...

Well, Ronald copied the words to two interludes from the movie in his dream. However, among the 110 minutes of the musical, there is no inspiration in the dream during the singing session of about 45 minutes. It is necessary to work closely with the songwriters to write the script.

Ronald had no experience at all, so he should write the lyrics and music first and then coordinate with the plot. Or should we write the plot first and leave some empty space for the songwriters to fill in?

Ronald didn't sleep well after thinking about it all night. When Richard came to pick him up the next day, he also found that Ronald was in low spirits.

"What's wrong with you? Did you not sleep well at night? Do you need to change rooms?"

"No, I read the Grease script you gave me in the middle of the night and found a big problem." Ronald told Richard what he found. "The original work is very difficult to adapt, and the sequel is definitely not mine. It can be written by one person, and I kind of regret agreeing to producer Sternwood.

"

Richard lowered his head and thought for a while, "We should go as planned to meet the choreographer of the original work, Ms. Patricia Birch, to understand the situation first. Then we will discuss it with Mr. Niceta. I think since Mr. Sternwood succeeded Having made so many movies, he will definitely consider it."

"Sternwood doesn't think so much. He just wants to make his signed singer Andy Gibb famous and make his album a big hit through the movie." Choreographer Patricia Birch said to the visiting people Ronald said.

"The same was true for the original movie back then. Let me tell you, Grease was originally a Chicago story. In order to promote the heroine Olivia Newton-John, Streetwood strongly intervened in the script creation, and finally had to change the background of the heroine. , and became an exchange student from Britain."

Patricia Burch, a lean woman approaching fifty, was the choreographer for the original Broadway musical "Grease," to which she has a deep affection. The changes made for the film version seemed to her to be heresy.

It turned out that she was not very friendly with Ronald, and felt that it was a completely irresponsible choice for a movie screenwriter to write "Grease" from scratch. But after learning that Ronald was the lyricist of the two "Famous" interludes, his attitude obviously changed.

"I entered the industry in the late 1950s, and I knew some behind-the-scenes stories of classic musicals and dance films from my seniors. Before the 1950s, Hollywood was a big studio system.

Whether they are screenwriters, choreographers, or composers or composers, they are all employed by major studios and receive salary and bonuses. In this way, everyone can work together every day to write the script of the musical.

In Hollywood today, all types of work are freelancers. Everyone is a group of professionals for each movie, joining the team at different times during the filming of the movie.

The screenwriter, lyricist, choreographer and composer simply do not have a tacit understanding of long-term cooperation, and it is impossible for them to work together for several months to complete the singing and dancing aspects of the musical.

Therefore, after the disintegration of the Hollywood studio system, musicals, which require the highest degree of cooperation from behind-the-scenes creative staff, were one of the first genres to die out. "

Taking the black tea from Patricia Birch, Ronald thanked him and took a sip, "Then how did the grease become so perfect in the first place? Ms. Birch, you even won the Broadway Tony Award for Best Choreography. dance."

"Because we are a stage play," Patricia Birch showed a nostalgic look, "You haven't participated in the production of a stage play, have you, Ronald?"

"No."

"Stage plays and movies are two completely different arts, and 'Grease' was not performed on Broadway at the beginning. We performed many performances in Chicago, and each performance could be adjusted based on the audience's response. The structure of the play was inappropriate, the lyrics were inappropriate, and Imperfections, flaws, etc.”

"Then Off-Off-Broadway in New York, continued to improve. Then it went to Off-Broadway, and finally the audience and critical reception, boom! We're on Broadway."

"But the movie only has one chance. It cannot be adjusted based on the audience's feedback during filming. After editing and the test screening, if the audience's response is not good, there is no chance to make major changes. At most, we can only make some small reshoots and Modify." Ronald continued.

Patricia Burch glanced at Ronald with admiration, "Yes. That's why I prefer working on Broadway. It's an art form without immediate feedback. It's too difficult."

Ronald heard this and understood. The creation method of musicals is very different from other types of movies. Unless "Grease" can be made into a musical first and polished on Broadway for a year or two, otherwise, if you want to make a movie comparable to the original work, it will be difficult. Almost impossible.

"When you were filming 'Grease,' did you just copy the Broadway song and dance sequences?" Ronald asked.

"It's basically a copy, with some subtle differences," Patricia Birch said.

"For example, in the selection of actors, John Travolta participated in the Broadway version of 'Grease', but he could only play a supporting role because his dancing was not good enough. The leading role in the Broadway version could not play the leading role in the movie version. Because he is not handsome enough. After all, the grammar of movie shots is different from that of stage plays."

Ronald nodded, understanding the difference in casting priorities. On the Broadway stage, what the audience sees is the actor's body and dance. And movies can use close-ups to explain the appearance of actors.

"When we were filming the original movie, we were looking for dancing elites, and many of the supporting actors could dance better than the two protagonists. I still remember a girl from New York who lied about her age before participating in the group dance in the background.

I saw that she danced really well, so I convinced the director to give her a lot of shots. But later she did not continue to work hard in Hollywood, but went back to continue her ballet studies. Otherwise, with her quality...hey, there won't be any more musicals in Hollywood for her to perform. "

Ronald's recording hand paused. He had heard this story once before.

"You mean Antonia Franceschi?"

"Yes, how do you know her? Is she okay now?"

"She later participated in the filming of 'Famous' and played one of the leading roles. However, she still did not enter Hollywood and now goes to the New York City Ballet."

"You?" Patricia Birch saw the tenderness in Ronald's eyes.

"Yes, once..."

"That's what ballet girls are like. If you want to start a family, you have to give up your career like me." Patricia Birch patted Ronald's hand to comfort him.

"Tell me, Ms. Birch. If I want to start writing a script from scratch, what aspects should I pay attention to? Should I write the plot first and leave a few holes for the singing and dancing sequences, or should I wait until you have mature singing and dancing sequences? , and then write the plot around these paragraphs?"

Ronald put the past back into the depths of his memory.

Although the "Sons of Grease" face unexpected difficulties, they still have to work hard to do what they have promised. Ronald asked Patricia Birch for advice on writing scripts for musicals.

"Mature musicals have their own rhythm and structure. Generally speaking, there will be a song and dance at the beginning of the plot to set the tone of the film, and then when the plot enters the second act, the character development needs a song and dance to help him complete it. , and the reversal in the third act, the final climax..."

Patricia Birch was quite satisfied with Ronald's humility in asking for advice, and handed over several large fixed sections of the musical to Ronald, "These places need to be reserved in the script in advance, and other small sections of songs and dances, It’s mainly an emotional boost, and you can wait until the script is generally completed before adding more.”

Ronald was jotting down the choreographer's suggestions quickly, frowning every now and then. Starting from the creation of scripts, musicals are different from other film types and become a genre of their own.

No wonder that after the disbandment of the big studio system, several successful musicals and movies, such as "West Side Story," "Grease," and "My Fair Lady," were all adaptations of successful Broadway plays.

And those big-budget musicals that have hit the streets, such as Ronald Martin Scorsese's "New York, New York", are all original stories that the director admired the ancient musical form and went his own way.

This self-contained working method, which is slowly honed in interaction with the audience, is very similar to comedy. Comedians and comedy directors need to prepare for several years to accumulate enough jokes that have been polished in live performances, and then they can film a successful film.

And unlike ordinary movies that can use classic scenes, comedy jokes and song and dance scenes in musicals are disposable. After using it this time, it cannot be repeated in the next movie.

No wonder producer Stewart wanted to find comedy director Jerry Zucker. It seems that the two do have similarities.

"It seems like I'm going to have to use my brain this time." Ronald couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Patricia Birch looked at Ronald who was a little troubled and couldn't help but said, "Actually, there are ways to get around it. As long as you can do either of these two things, it won't be a big problem for 'Son of Grease' to maintain a qualified sequel. If you can do both, it will definitely be popular.”

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