Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Francis Coppola's evaluation of Ronald was passed from Tanin to CAA's agent, and from the agent to Ronald's ears.

"What does he mean? What does it mean to get rid of the shackles as soon as possible?" Ronald was not calm anymore. He thought that "fast pace" was the best for shooting. Why did Coppola say that? It is recommended that Ronald get rid of this commercial film shooting mode as soon as possible.

"I don't know either, it's just what Tanin said casually." Niceta replied, "If you care about his evaluation, I can help you find out."

"Okay, thank you. Hey, why, can you contact Coppola?" Ronald looked at Niceta.

"Coppola is looking for a distributor for his new film, and all the agents in Hollywood are playing a game called 'Guess who can help Francis find it first?' Whoever can help him sign a distribution contract will get it." His financial covenant.”

Ronald looked at the smile on Niceta's lips, "You want to sign him? Did you help him find Ned Tanin from Universal?"

"No, both Sheinberg and Tanin declined." Nisita did not reveal any more information, "Francis and I are both of Italian origin, and now Ed Limato of WMA and I are leading the game for the time being.

"Then I wish you success." Ronald felt that his agent was close to signing one of America's most successful directors. If successful, he would have more resources, but the amount allocated to him would be increased or not. It’s hard to say how much it will decrease.

"You come with me to the premiere of Coppola's new film. He knows you and wants to thank you in person for giving his nephew Nicholas the opportunity." Niceta took out an invitation to the premiere of "Old Love, New Love" and handed it to To Ronald.

"Okay, thank you. I'll be there." Ronald accepted the invitation and was about to ask Coppola what he meant by this.

The next afternoon, Ronald was wearing formal clothes in the hotel when the news came from the TV, "Yesterday evening, the famous actor, acting coach, and founder of the Actors Studio, Lee Strasberg, died of a heart attack. His third wife, Anna, and their two sons were by his bedside..."

Ronald glanced at the TV. This old man who was famous among the public because he was Marilyn Monroe's acting teacher, but people in the industry knew that his skills were average, was dead.

He turned back to look at himself in front of the full-length mirror. He was a high-spirited young man with trimmed beard, which added some maturity to his young face.

Ronald discovered that the director had a reason for growing a beard. On the one hand, it can appear mature and make the actors more convinced of their guidance. On the other hand, when working on a set, directors often have the least time to rest;

Beards can be left unkempt for long periods of time.

"Francis, let me introduce you to Ronald." Niceta immediately introduced him to Coppola after seeing Ronald at the premiere.

Not many people came to the premiere of "A New Love", perhaps because Coppola had a falling out with the original distributor Paramount and hastily found a relationship with Columbia. "

"Ronald, I saw your new movie, it was good. Thank you for giving Nick a chance."

"Thank you, Mr. Coppola. This is not the first time we have met. I went to see a preview of your 'Apocalypse Now' at Roger Corman's company a few years ago. I loved that movie. Movie."

"Ah, that was years ago. Thanks for coming to the premiere."

Coppola was busy, Niceta gave him a wink, and Ronald hugged and shook hands with other guests at the premiere.

"Hello, Natasha." I saw Natasha Kinski dressed up again. Kinski's hair is much longer than it was at last year's Golden Globes.

"Hi, Ronald, I haven't seen you for a long time. I heard that the new film directed by you is about to be released?" Natasha Kinski stared at Ronald for a long time and heard some words between him and Coppola. . It is estimated that the new film will not do well at the box office and its debut in Hollywood will not be successful, so I will have to find another opportunity.

"Yes, it's a teen comedy."

"I wish you success." Kinski lost interest when she heard that it was a youth comedy. She had always worked with big directors on "auteur films" and did not want to participate in such fast-food movies that did not pay attention to acting skills.

The screening began shortly after Coppola's brief remarks.

"Old Love, New Love" tells the story of a pair of lovers in Las Vegas who separated due to an hour-long quarrel on their anniversary. The two met a new man and woman and prepared to start a new life.

But at the last moment when the woman was about to leave her hometown, both parties still felt good about being old lovers, and finally came together again.

Ronald had conflicting feelings about the movie. On the one hand, this film does have many innovative techniques, which are worthy of repeated and careful study by professional directors like Ronald, especially the use of color.

For example, for the first time in a movie, stagnant water on the ground was used to reflect the neon lights of Las Vegas, making the ground glow colorfully.

Another example is using color to hint at the mood of the protagonist. When you are in a bad mood, the entire screen is covered in blue, and when you are in a good mood, it is a cheerful orange. Even the actors' faces are covered in color.

Ronald had never seen this method on other movies. As an insider, he understood what Coppola wanted to express. Use color to hint to the audience the mood of the character, and convey an emotion directly without using lines or expressions.

This technique is very powerful, but this is also where Ronald is conflicted.

An old-fashioned story about an old lover who is still good after looking around was made into a kind of art musical. Will the general audience really like it? Some viewers may not feel Coppola's deep meaning, but may think that the lighting is wrong.

Ronald himself quite likes it, because Coppola has a kind of magic that makes the sound and the picture match, and he can feel the actor's emotions, like a fountain, rushing towards him.

After watching the movie, Ronald waited for a while and found Coppola with Niceta.

Coppola also seemed to understand that "Old Love, New Love" was not very popular with the general audience. Most people who participated had no feeling at all, and not many people even offered polite congratulations.

"Mr. Coppola, I like this movie very much. He made me feel the turbulent emotions, surging and erupting like an undercurrent."

"Ah, Ronald, thank you for liking my movie..." Coppola came over and hugged him and said to Niceta, "Is this good young man also of our Italian origin? No? There are very few Italians who are tall and blond like this. Yes, there are some in Sicily..."

Coppola opened a bottle of red wine produced by his own estate in the lounge and gave Ronald and Niceta two glasses.

"Rick told me your evaluation of my movie, Mr. Coppola. Can I ask you, do you mean that I should get rid of the old mode and make movies as soon as possible?" Ronald held the wine glass and asked Coppola Ask for advice.

"Take a chocolate to go with it, my boy. This is our Italian product."

Ronald took a piece of chocolate from the table and drank it with red wine, which gave him a special taste.

"I can see that you are like Roger Corman. I also worked for him as an assistant, washing cars, picking up children, editing films, doing soundtracks, and received various trainings... before I became a first-time director. Opportunity." Coppola also came with a piece of chocolate and said slowly to Ronald.

"The advantage of learning to make movies in this way is that you can quickly become familiar with all aspects of filmmaking. But this knowledge does not require long-term training. Only by directing these technical experts from various departments to achieve the purpose you want to express can It’s the director’s job.”

Ronald knew what Coppola meant by what he said, but he didn't quite understand what he meant.

"Mr. Coppola, you mean?"

"After you finished editing your movie, how long did it take for you to watch it?"

"I haven't watched it in almost two weeks. The last time was a test screening with an audience."

"Watch it again tomorrow and pay attention to the actors' performances and emotional intensity between each shot."

Ronald wanted to ask again, but Niceta shook her head slightly at him.

"Rick, is there any progress on my new film? You also saw the situation today." Coppola began to chat with Niceta about the distribution contract of the new film.

"Universal has got Steven's ET, Columbia is in turmoil, and the most likely option we have now is Warner Bros. Their president Robert Daley just went to Warner from CBS. It is the time when a big director is needed for a big production... "

Ronald went to Universal the next day and asked to see "fast-paced Richmond High" again.

After two weeks of cooling down, what was originally a perfect "cross-era masterpiece" became "full of loopholes" in Ronald's eyes.

The biggest problem with the film is that the actors' performances depend on everyone's on-the-spot performance. There was no problem when watching it live, but when it was edited together, there was a mismatch in emotional intensity.

For example, Jennifer Jason Leigh was very emotional when she chatted up a handsome guy at a pizza shop, but the intensity was not strong enough during the date. She was not as happy on the first date as when she was chatting up.

When Phoebe Cates cried to her friends at the prom that she had been abandoned by her "boyfriend," it should have contained the fear of being exposed, but Phoebe's performance was not as strong as the emotions she used to brag to her friends every time.

Ronald covered his face from time to time. How come these problems were not discovered during filming and editing?

Maybe I do have a filter when viewing my own works, tending to beautify my creations.

And are there any honest friends around who would point out that only by waiting for it to cool down for a while and then looking at it again can we get rid of the influence of the beautification filter.

"Why didn't you tell me when you saw the test screening?" Ronald finally caught Niceta the next day and called to complain, "It's too late to reshoot or re-edit now, and Universal won't do it again. Investing money in improving yourself.”

"Relax, the audience may not notice these problems. This is just a youth comedy, the audience will not care about these performance problems, they like the whole story." Nisitali replied.

"I hope so. You are right, this is just an exploitation film. I finally understand what Coppola means. The shooting cycle of exploitation films is short and there is no time to polish the actors' acting skills.

I am now very curious about his method of handling performances. Although his "Old Love, New Love" is not very good to watch, it is really first-class in handling acting skills and guiding the audience's emotions. "

"Hahaha... don't tell him that. Old Love and New Love did very poorly at the opening. It only had less than 400,000 yuan at the box office during the Valentine's Day weekend. The theaters are about to remove his movie from the shelves."

"Okay, Rick. I remember you said that Coppola's new film has a program for apprentice directors, and I want to see how he shoots it. Can you help me get it?"

"This is a project of the Directors Guild. Francis will also make a competitive decision based on the rules. He will interview several candidates. I will put your name in the final round of interviews."

“What’s the story of his new movie?”

"Se·Hinton's debut, adapted from "The Naughty Boy" she wrote when she was seventeen."

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