Exploiting Hollywood 1980

There was a light winter rain in Los Angeles that day. Ronald was hiding in his apartment revising the script, while raindrops hit the windows densely. Ronald turned a blind eye and only focused on revising the script. He wanted to delete all the special effects parts of the comet hitting the earth from the script. . .

Cousin Donna once said that the tails of some comets can sweep across the earth without humans feeling anything. So Ronald added this concept. A comet that visited the earth tens of millions of years ago would cause biological extinction when the comet tail swept across the earth.

All creatures that see the red light of the comet's tail will turn to dust. Only creatures hiding in caves and not exposed to the radiation from the comet's tail will survive. This is how the dinosaurs became extinct, while our ancestors escaped by being cave dwellers and gained an advantage in evolution.

Now that the comet is back, only those hiding in basements or behind thick walls have survived. To make matters worse, some people did not reach the lethal dose of radiation and turned into zombies, attacking the surviving living people in the city.

It was already mid-January, and Ronald modified many special effects scenes according to Cameron's plan. Allocate limited funds to a few special effects scenes that can convince the audience.

This is the secret of low-cost production passed down by Roger Corman, which is to concentrate the film's budget on a few important scenes and shoot a few scenes that seem to have cost several times the amount of money to shoot. This way the audience will remember these scenes and ignore the rough scenes that were under-financed.

The time is approaching what the Chinese call the coldest of the twenty-four solar terms, the Great Cold. Contrary to the snowy scene in New York, the temperature in Los Angeles is relatively comfortable. It is close to the West Coast and the climate is much more suitable for human habitation.

"Ring, ring, ring..." Ronald, whose fingers were flying in front of the keyboard, was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the phone.

"Hello!" He answered the phone angrily.

"Ronald, I'm Phoebe."

"Oh, hello, Phoebe. Long time no see. How are you doing? Any new movies?" Ronald recognized Phoebe Cates, who played the bikini beauty in "Fast Times". Since the film's marketing tour ended, he has had no further contact with these actors.

"Ronald, Jennifer is here with me, and we want to invite you to the party. Yes, the party is..."

"Sorry, Phoebe, Jennifer," Ronald heard Jennifer Jason Leigh was also on the phone, "I'm busy preparing for my next movie right now and I'm afraid I don't have time to go to the party."

"Ronald, I heard from your agent that you are looking for a leading actor. Why don't you come and have a look? We went to a party where a movie had a successful test screening.

There are many handsome actors in it. "Jennifer Jason Leigh grabbed the microphone and urged Ronald to come out.

"Yeah? Okay, where are you? I'll go there."

Hearing that there was an actor, Ronald archived the script file he was writing, then turned off the computer, got in the car and drove towards the address reported by Jennifer.

"Hi, Jennifer, it's me, Ronald." Ronald unexpectedly discovered that the apartment Jennifer lived in was very high-end, and the doorman's dress and call system were better than the one he lived in.

"Ronald", Jennifer warmly greeted the director who made her famous at the door of the apartment, and welcomed Ronald into the apartment. Inside the apartment was a very large living room, with her best friend Phoebe Cates sitting on the sofa.

After the two actresses met on "Fast Times", they became good friends and talked about everything. When Phoebe came to Los Angeles to audition, she stayed at Jennifer's house.

"Phoebe", Ronald waved to Phoebe, and he found a man sitting on the sofa with Phoebe.

"Ronald," Phoebe jumped up, "Let me introduce you, this is my friend, Kevin. Kevin, this is Ronald."

"Hi, Ronald, I often hear Phoebe talking about you, and I want to work with you if I have a chance."

"Hi Kevin, I loved your scene opposite Mel Streep." Ronald and Phoebe all hugged her boyfriend.

He didn’t expect that Phoebe’s friend was actually Kevin Kline, the male protagonist of the recently released movie “Sophie’s Choice”. He seemed to be pursuing her.

Is Phoebe going to recommend Kevin Kline to herself as the protagonist?

"Kevin invited us to go to the preview party for the movie he just finished. Jennifer remembered that you were also in Los Angeles. We were missing a male companion. It happened that we hadn't seen you for a long time, so we asked you out." Phoebe explained.

"It's my pleasure. I wonder what kind of movie party it is?"

"The Big Chill, like Fast Pace, is an ensemble drama with four male leads and four female leads. Maybe you can find the male lead in your next movie." Phoebe snapped. Then he told the answer.

"My next movie will be a small production, and I may not even be able to afford your salary." Ronald smiled. Maybe Phoebe meant well, or she wanted to find a reliable man to accompany her to the party.

However, in a movie starring an actor of Kevin Kline's caliber, I probably couldn't afford the salary of the other leading actors in it. Just go and relax.

"Let's go, the party is right next to Beverly Hills."

Ronald asked Jennifer to get into his car, followed by Kevin and Phoebe, and drove to the party venue.

"Your house is nice." Ronald and Jennifer chatted on the road.

"My father's civil lawsuit was settled out of court, and they paid me a large sum of compensation, half of which was divided between my sister and me."

Ronald raised his eyebrows. Spielberg and John Landis were sued by several victims of helicopter beheading accidents. Only Jennifer was the first to settle.

The amount of the settlement was not released, but judging from where Jennifer lives, it appears to be a significant amount of money. Now she won't be filming for the rest of her life, and can spend her life without worrying about food and clothing.

"Whose house party are we going to?" Ronald knew that Beverly Hills was usually surrounded by mansions, and usually such parties were held at the home of an actor, director, or producer.

"The heroine's family heard that her husband is a producer."

Soon the car drove to the party venue, a large three-story house. Ronald walked in with Phoebe, Jennifer, and Kevin.

"This is Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Tom Berenger." Kevin Kline introduced the three "Big Chill" to Ronald Male lead.

Ronald hugged them and said hello. Several of them were accomplished male movie stars. They had also heard Ronald's name and greeted each other.

"Kevin, why don't you introduce your little friend to us?"

The speaker is one of the heroines of "The Big Chill", Glenn Close. She and the other two heroines play the roles of college classmates, wives, lovers and other roles of the three male protagonists.

Several college classmates reunited for the first time after graduating from college to attend the funeral of their old classmate Alex Marshall after he committed suicide.

This is a story dominated by dramatic conflicts, slowly unfolding from flashbacks many years later, showing the life experiences, past regrets, and future expectations of six college friends, and also slowly uncovering the mystery of Alex Marshall's suicide. .

Ronald knew that this kind of movie relied heavily on the acting skills of the actors, and the actors were all outstanding young and middle-aged actors, so he cheered up and got to know them.

Jeff Goldblum wears a pair of glasses. He is relatively unknown among the four male protagonists, so chatting with Ronald is more interesting. The two were drinking cocktails and talking in a corner.

"You know what? Kevin seemed to be moved. He dumped Sally Field for Phoebe."

"Oh yeah?" Ronald didn't expect Jeff Goldblum to be so gossipy, so he started gossiping about Kevin Klein.

He looked at Kevin and Phoebe standing together, looking over here. I knew in my heart that maybe Goldblum was here to listen and leak information.

"I know Jennifer and Phoebe are great friends."

"Glenn is introducing her to meet people." Goldblum indicated that actress Glenn Close was chatting with Jennifer.

"You seem to have a good relationship?" Ronald smiled.

"The Big Chill is a rare ensemble drama, and we really enjoyed the performance. Lawrence Kasdan's director's skill is extraordinary."

"Well..." Ronald knew this screenwriter-turned-director. He was the chief writer of two summer blockbuster movies, "Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark - The Lost Ark of the Covenant."

He also wrote and directed an erotic thriller "Body Heat" the year before last, which made the heroine Kathleen Turner famous.

"So this is director Kasdan's home?" Ronald asked.

"No, this is the home of one of the heroines. Her husband is also a famous producer, so we can borrow her house."

"Oh, who is it?" Ronald looked at the three heroines in the party. When a female star finds a big-name producer to marry, it means that she will play the leading role in a series of movies.

"It wasn't them. She played the role of Chloe, the little girlfriend of Alex Marshall who died in the movie. Interestingly, Phoebe actually came to audition for the role of Chloe at that time. Although she lost to the hostess in the end, Kevin always said that he was lucky to meet Phoebe who auditioned."

"So that's it." Ronald nodded. There was a big age gap between these guys and Phoebe in the movie, and there was also a big age gap between Kevin Kline and Phoebe in real life. It seems that Kevin really values ​​Phoebe and invites all her friends to the party.

"The hostess is down." Jeff Goldblum nudged Ronald, a young actress, as she walked down from the second floor.

"Kevin, Glenn..." The hostess was very young and had black hair. She seemed a bit immature as a hostess, but she still fulfilled her duties as a hostess and welcomed the guests.

"Thank you for coming to this screening party. Director Kasdan said the screening was very good..."

Ronald narrowed his eyes, he really didn't meet him anywhere in his life. This hostess is obviously her ex-girlfriend Meg Tilly, so does this mansion belong to her husband Zinnemann?

"Oh, Ronald, why are you here?" Meg Tilly blurted out when she saw Ronald among the guests.

For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on him.

"I came here with Kevin..." Ronald replied with a smile.

"Oh, okay, who is this?" Meg Tilly continued to greet the guests, but she became a little nervous and her walking posture was a little stiff.

"You two met before?" Glenn Close came up and asked Ronald. She is the most sensitive of the actresses.

"Yes, Alan Parker's 'Famous.' I was working as a handyman on the set. I chose another girl to play the lead role instead of Meg. It was also an ensemble show. Hello, Glenn." Ronald and her Say hello, and then ask her about the "Big Cold" situation.

Meg Tilly walked around, greeted everyone, and then ordered the waiter to start serving snacks and more champagne.

Seeing that Ronald didn't make any move, she put aside half of her worries and started talking and laughing loudly with the guests.

"Isn't this a movie about a reunion of college classmates? Why is there an actress who is obviously many years younger playing the role of the deceased's girlfriend in it?" Ronald asked Jeff Goldblum and Glenn Close who were standing next to him. .

"This is the setting of the script. Alexis is different from all these classmates. He faces his heart more truly, so he has a naive girlfriend who is many years younger."

Ronald figured out the plot. It turns out that the plot involves multiple experienced and good actors paired with a young actress.

No wonder there are so many people vying for this position. In the plot, Chloe is a childish girlfriend, so that the actor's own acting flaws will not be magnified. But she can also perform on the same stage with seven or eight good actors, which is indeed a good opportunity to become famous.

It seems that Zinnemann has more energy and inserted Meg Tilly into the crew.

"Kevin, you're here." Another actor arrived belatedly, and the hostess Meg Tilly greeted him.

The actor, also named Kevin, came very late and looked not very good. After greeting Meg, he smiled and started chatting with the actors present.

"He played the role of Alex Marshall who committed suicide. Unfortunately, all the final scenes were deleted by director Kasdan, and not a single one was left."

Ronald looked at Goldblum in surprise, so miserable?

Meg was still talking to the new Kevin, "You are really miserable, Kevin. I heard that Director Kasdan will give you a promise? You will appear in the next movie."

Kevin smiled helplessly and took a sip of wine. He didn't want to mention his tragedy anymore.

Several actors refused to let him go and began to joke about his misfortune, "Really there is not a single shot? I didn't look carefully. Maybe there is a long shot?"

"No, there's not a single shot showing my face. I searched for a long time, and there was only one shot of me lying in the coffin, with one foot exposed. It seems Kasdan doesn't like my face." Kevin joked to himself.

"Kevin, you shouldn't say that. Director Kasdan must have his own intentions in handling this." Meg was still talking stupidly.

"Maybe Kasdan thinks your feet are good at acting, hahaha."

One of the male leads, Tom Berenger, drank too much and made inappropriate jokes.

"Tom," Glenn Gross tugged at him to stop.

"I have a gift here from the director, one for each person." Meg Tilly also began to smooth things over. She took out a large box with many cashmere scarves in it and gave one to each actor.

"Oh, Kevin, it just happened to be gone, sorry." Meg was assigned to the new Kevin, but the scarf happened to be gone.

"Tsk," Ronald curled his lips. Meg Tilly was still so childish even after getting married. There was obviously a better way to deal with Kevin's dissatisfaction in this situation.

Humiliating others in front of others like this creates a lot of hatred for young actors. Who knows if he will become a superstar in the future and block your way?

The newcomer Kevin was very embarrassed, but he quickly adjusted, drank the champagne in one gulp, and smiled, "Hey, you bastards, you know? I will definitely do better than you all in the future."

He spoke in a very good tone, half joking and half serious, and everyone burst into laughter, which made the awkward situation go away.

Then Kevin stayed for a while, and when everyone's attention was distracted, he put away his smile, turned around and walked out of the party.

"Jennifer, tell Phoebe, I have something to do and I need to leave first." Ronald had been paying attention to him. Seeing that he was about to leave, he quickly stepped forward to grab Jennifer Jason Leigh, said something and then chased him out. .

"Interesting." Jeff Goldblum saw all Ronald's actions and said to himself.

"Dear, did you help me greet these distinguished guests? Huh?"

With a sharp and somewhat offensive voice, the owner of the mansion, Meg Tilley's husband, Tim Zinnemann, came down the stairs.

"Of course, Tim, of course." Meg Tilly suddenly became cautious, pressed the hem of her dress, tried to act like a hostess, and took Zinnemann's hand.

"When you are a hostess, you still have a lot to learn. Don't let anyone feel left out," Tim Zinneman began to greet the guests. "And, more importantly, don't spend time with single male guests. From very close."

"I know, Tim. I'm trying." Meg Tilly echoed in a low voice, almost staggering when she heard the last sentence.

"Kevin, Kevin." Ronald hurried out of the party and shouted to the actors in front of him.

"Ronald?" The lonely actor turned back in the drizzle in front, "I mean, hello, Director Li."

"Kevin Costner. I have a small production here. Would you like to play the leading role?"

Ronald finally caught up with the other party and pointed to his car, "If you are interested, get in the car and let's talk slowly."

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