Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"'The Godfather' is only two hours and fifty-five minutes long, and 'The Boy' is only one hour and fifty-five minutes long. I don't think there's any problem. If you cut further, the classic scenes in Hinton will inevitably be lost." was cut off.

Those viewers will be disappointed. How am I going to meet the middle school students who write to me? I promised to watch the premiere of the movie with them. "

Francis Coppola was very excited in Niceta's office at CAA, constantly using gestures to strengthen his expression.

Niceta sat nearby, nodding in agreement with Coppola's complaint. He saw Coppola drink up the espresso in the cup, take out a bottle of Italian grappa from the cabinet, and pour a cup into the empty coffee cup.

"Drink some real coffee, Francis." Niceta poured Coppola, who is also Italian, a glass of Italian-style liquor. . Adding grappa to the finished espresso cup is also an authentic Italian way of drinking.

"Rick", Ronald pushed the door in from the outside, "Oh, Mr. Coppola is here too, hello."

Ronald nodded to them, "I didn't know Francis was here with you, I'll come back later."

"No, Ronald, come on, come on."

Coppola called Ronald in and said, "Listen, today's producers have no courage. There is no longer a producer who can support artists like Albert Rudy of Paramount." People."

"What happened?" Ronald sat down and asked Niceta. He came to meet Niceta today. The first cut of Paramount's "Flashdance" was completed, and Don Simpson invited him and Niceta to go see it.

"Warner Bros. insisted on cutting 'The Kid' to ninety minutes," Niceta replied.

"But this is a feature film, right? If it is cut short, will the audience feel disconnected?" Ronald looked at Coppola and asked.

"That's the artist's instinct, Ronald, and you're spot on. I made this movie because a group of junior high school students in Fresno, California, voted who was the best person to adapt it, and I won. George won an overwhelming vote.

More than a hundred of their children signed a letter asking me to direct "The Kid", so I went to see Hinton's "The Kid", and that's how this movie came about.

Now that my movie is finished and Warner Bros. wants to cut it down to ninety minutes, how sad must those students be? Many of the classic scenes are not in the final version of the movie, but I obviously shot them..."

"This is low concept;

It's a drama without stars, Mr. Coppola, just like your "Godfather". The plot is the basis for the audience's satisfaction. Why should it be cut short? "

Ronald had no idea that Warner Bros. would edit Coppola's movie. Who gave them the confidence that someone would do a better job than Coppola?

"I feel like this movie is like a teenage version of The Godfather, with the protagonist being the youngest of three brothers. The eldest brother, Jacky, has a bad temper and is impulsive like Sonny in The Godfather, while Johnny is gentler, like Fredo Ponyboy and Johnny go into exile after killing members of a rival gang, not unlike Michael Corleone.

If any of the key plot points in the finished film are deleted, viewers who have never seen it may feel that the plot is separated and incomprehensible. "

Ronald was very upset for Coppola. One of America's greatest directors, coupled with the dedicated performances of many young actors, made this movie, and it was really uncomfortable to have it cut short at will.

"You have to be careful, Ronald. Those studio managers have become more and more cunning after 'Heaven's Gate' and have more and more control over the director's creation. You will gradually encounter these things in the future Yes. Be careful of their little moves.”

After another glass of grappa, Coppola stood up and left.

"Why, even a director like Coppola who made 'The Godfather' doesn't have final editing rights?" Ronald asked Niceta after Coppola left.

"The final editing rights are a very complicated contract. For this film, Mr. Coppola has the editing rights, but Warner Bros. has the right to decide the length of the final film. They set the total length of the film. Ninety minutes, so Francis also had to do major surgery on the plot.”

"Why? Isn't the length of the movie always determined in advance?"

"It's not the Supreme Court's decision yet. Now all studios are adopting a conservative strategy. With a length of ninety minutes, one more show can be scheduled during prime time after get off work, which can ensure the number of screenings of the movie. .

Moreover, the current economy is not booming yet, with the unemployment rate for the whole year exceeding 8%. Warner Bros. does not want to risk cutting a feature film and raising the minimum ticket price. "

"Is this verdict really such a big impact on Hollywood?" Ronald felt that people in the film industry he met recently were discussing this issue.

"Everyone is complaining, and they are all looking for congressmen they know well to try to ban this matter through legislative channels. At least the Japanese must install video recorders with technology to prevent piracy, otherwise we will all have to go back to filming TV series."

"By the way, Mr. Coppola is here to see you? Can your CAA help him restore the length of the film?"

"That's impossible. Warner Bros. has the right to decide the total length of time in the contract, and there's nothing we can do about it. He came here to take on new movies, you know, his 'Peep Show' company..."

Ronald nodded to express his understanding. Coppola's company's financial situation was still in trouble, and he was waiting for the two consecutive films "The Kid" and "Betta" to come to the rescue.

"Let's go to Paramount. Don Simpson invites you to go this time. He wants to upgrade your title of associate producer to the title of signed co-producer." Niceta said.

Don Simpson was very satisfied with Ronald's help in the filming in Pittsburgh. He took the initiative to invite them to see the samples this time and said that he would upgrade Ronald to the level of producer. This co-producer (co-producer) is generally awarded to those who have made a significant contribution to the filming.

"By the way, when will your Night of the Comet start shooting? If you need any help, except that your agent can't participate in film investment, I can help you."

"Thank you, Rick. Now we are waiting for the new CEO of New World to take office. I will discuss the production in two days. This movie of mine may be New World's first after Roger Corman sold the company. Producer."

"Hahaha, Roger is a lucky man. Now Hollywood calls him Lucky Roger. He sold the company at a good price before the verdict came out."

The two of them arrived at Paramount's viewing room. The edited samples were still working copies and had not been finalized. So what Ronald saw was the work copy used for editing. Each editing port was covered with tape, so that every shot would be stuck during the screening.

If you are not a professional director or editor, you will get upset when you see this kind of editing, so this preview is only open to insiders.

Only after the producer finally confirms the copy, will the film be edited in the order of editing, and then a version of the copy will be developed from the film, which is called a response copy. This copy has no tape to create an editing gap and can be shown to the audience for preview.

If the audience has any feedback, you can also disassemble the working copy and re-edit it, and then publish a response copy. Generally, test screenings and re-edits by major studios can be repeated for two or three rounds until just before release.

"Why is the lag at this editing port so short? I can't even notice it without paying attention."

Although the internal test screening of "Flashdance" used a working copy, the lag at the editing interface was very short. Ronald estimated that it was only about five or six frames, which is 36 frames longer than the normal working copy with tape attached. The speech was much shorter, and the fleeting pause was almost the same as the response copy.

Director Adrian Lane replied, "We used a new type of editing tape. This tape has a very small sticking range, but its effect is similar to the original 3m tape. It's just a bit expensive, a roll costs twenty dollars."

But now the working copy can be shown to the audience for preview, which is much cheaper than the cost of re-printing. So I purchased a batch after seeing it from a friend. "

"Oh, what's the brand of this tape?"

"N-vis-o, if you want it, I'll ask the assistant to give you the phone number. They are all handmade. You just need to call them in advance to order."

Paramount's opening credits ended, and the morning in Pittsburgh appeared on the screen. The busy urban scene was rendered very well. The theme song "What Does It Feel Like" written and sung by Erin Kara was very suitable for Alex riding his bike to work in the morning in Pittsburgh. journey of struggle.

Ronald stopped talking and concentrated on watching the movie.

The movie was two hours and thirty minutes long, and Ronald thoroughly enjoyed it. Alex, a female welding worker, is self-reliant and has experienced a tortuous love experience with her boss Nick and his ex-wife. And a good friend gave up on herself because her boyfriend left and her skating career failed. Finally, he was admitted to the ballet school in Pittsburgh, his dream came true, and he finally reconciled with his boyfriend Nick.

The best thing about Adrian Lyne is not the plot, but the seduction scenes. Jennifer Beals started watching TV at home, wearing a T-shirt with a cut-off neckline, her shoulders seemed to be exposed, and she was very sexy.

And in the restaurant, in front of her boyfriend Nick’s ex-wife, she took off her coat, wearing only a backless dress, used stockings to tease Nick along his legs, and said, “I’m going to take your brains out...” "The line made his ex-wife angry.

Ronald felt a memory being awakened, and he couldn't help but cross his legs to make his pants less uncomfortable.

Coupled with the seductive dance in the bar, Ronald felt that this movie did not need a plot and only retained these seductive scenes, which could also attract a lot of word-of-mouth from the audience.

The best part is Alex’s dance scene, where he wears leg warmers throughout, and there are several close-up shots. Isn’t this a free product placement?

Ronald felt happy.

"How's it going? Did you see your signature at the end? Co-producer." Producer Don Simpson, who was tall and thick and had a rough face, came over and put his arm around Ronald's shoulders.

"Don, why didn't I see Marlene Jahan's name?" Ronald was a little serious. He read all the subtitles, but didn't find Jahan, who worked as a dance stunt double for Jennifer Beals.

Even the breakdance master "Crazy Legs" who performed the floor dance for the protagonist Jennifer Beals is signed. On the contrary, Jahan, who danced most of the moves, did not.

"Did you find out? This was Mr. Eisner's request. He believed that Beers would become famous because of this movie. In order to prevent the audience's image of this pretty-faced actress with a successful dance career from collapsing, we decided not to sign her name. No publicity, no disclosure to the press, and Biles has a dance double.”

"This? Then you have to compensate Malin Jahan a little, right? Besides, this movie is not entirely about dancing and sexy scenes. It is about the love story between Alex and his boss Nick, as well as Alex's own struggle in his dance career, and the conflicts between the supporting characters. The love story is also very touching. I don’t think the audience will think Jennifer Beals’ performance is bad.”

"Come this way," Don Simpson pulled Ronald aside. "What Mr. Eisner means is to cut the movie down to ninety minutes. All those plot points are cut out, leaving only the simplest plot skeleton. It does not affect the audience’s understanding. Those sexy dances must be retained.”

"Oh, poor Adrian. Are you going to edit the movie into a high concept? A sexy beauty who works as a welder by day and dances at night, right?"

"Hahaha, you are very smart. Mr. Eisner is going to summon Adrian Lane soon. You know, the Supreme Court's decision is coming out soon, and we are very disadvantaged. In everything we do, we must put capital preservation first."

"Oh no..." screamed director Adrian Lyne, who got the bad news from Jerry Bruckheimer that Eisner insisted on cutting the film short.

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