Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Ah? Already fired? Why didn't I receive a call from Walter before?"

Through his agent's relationship, Ronald contacted George Lucas who was on a business trip in Tokyo.

After Lucas heard the news reported by Ronald, his first reaction was why his old friend Merzy didn't call him for help earlier when the situation was bad.

"Walter drank a little too much and has fallen asleep now. It's already midnight here on Thursday. If it's after Friday and I have two days off on the weekend, I'm worried that things will develop to an irreversible point." Ronald said to himself I talked about my worries.

He also sighed inwardly.

George Lucas has become famous and has become the most profitable director and producer in America. There is already a class gap between his former friend Walter Mersey and him.

Even if Lucas still regards him as an old friend, various practical obstacles make Merzy not necessarily willing to ask for help from his old friend and use the promise he made back then.

Even for a director like Ronald who has achieved quite a lot and has the support of CAA, it is very troublesome to find Lucas.

"I understand. Just look at him and I'll call Ron from Disney right away. Just stay by the phone and I'll call you as soon as I have the results." Lucas was silent for a while, seeming to hear After hearing Ronald's implication, he was still a nostalgic person and immediately agreed to negotiate with Disney executives.

"I will." Ronald put down the phone and breathed a sigh of relief. If Lucas, with such level of influence, intervenes, he should be able to solve Walter Mersey's problem, right?

"Porky", Ronald looked back and saw that the girl was no longer in the hall. It turns out that Ronald made too long a phone call to find Lucas, and Brooke was not very interested in these things. She had already gone back to her room to sleep.

Ronald was still waiting for news from Lucas. The night outside London was very quiet. While waiting, he thought wildly and gradually fell asleep on the sofa.

"Ring, ring, ring..." Ronald woke up from the sofa. It was already the next morning. He rubbed his eyes and picked up the phone, "I'm Ronald."

"Ronald," Lucas's voice came from the phone, "I found Steven (Spielberg) and Francis (Coppola) to put pressure on Disney. But the situation there is very Unusually, Ron Miller is unwilling to step in, and there is only one way to save Walt's career as a director."

"any solution?"

"Then I'll fly to London,

Negotiate face to face with Gary, who is in charge of the project. Please note my flight number and pick me up at the airport. "

"Poor Ji, let's go out and play together. Where do you want to go?" Ronald said looking at Po Ji who came out in pajamas to take a bath.

"I want to go to some places with cultural history. Are you done with your work?" Poji said with a yawn.

"Not yet, but I'm free during the day today. Why don't we go to Canterbury to see the cathedral." Ronald suggested.

After leaving a message for Walter Mersey at the front desk, Ronald went out with Brooke.

Bringing their own Nikon cameras, the two drove to Canterbury, saw the cat mummy and the cathedral, tasted Scotch egg salad and French fries, and then took countless photos of Brooke. She had just recovered from Ronald's death yesterday. Accompany yourself to recover from your depression.

"Is the work of a director so stressful? I think you are very busy every day." Poji posed professionally on the ancient streets.

It was cloudy, but now the clouds dispersed and the sun came out again, illuminating Brooke's whole body. Ronald didn't bring a grayscale board, so he had to reach out and measure the light on the back of his hand, and then reduced it by one stop to calculate the exposure number. He had been in the editing room recently, and his skin had become a little whiter.

"Not necessarily. If you get approval from the studio and shoot a big production, the director can be very relaxed. There are many professional talents working for you, and you can trust them. If you are shooting a small production, or you want to be a first-timer like Walter, If you are in the department, you will face a lot of things that you have to do by yourself." Ronald pressed the shutter one after another on Brooke.

"But you seem to know everything." Poky changed her position and asked Ronald to take the photo. It was obvious that Ronald's photography was also professional, and his skills could be used to take photos for fashion magazines.

“It’s good if the director knows a little bit about everything.”

"Hehe", Poji hugged his arm, and the two of them walked back to the parking place, ready to go back.

"By the way, I'm attending the Oscars this year and I have a quota for a female companion. Do you want to attend with me?" Ronald remembered what his agent said to him,

"Hmm... I happened to have a midterm exam at that time, so I'm afraid it won't work." Bo Ji thought for a moment and declined Ronald's invitation, "Just ask your agent to find one for you."

"Why? Even if you go to college, you still need exposure opportunities, right?" Ronald asked curiously. The Oscars are not the Golden Globes. People like me who have not been nominated for movies and who are invited to attend are all obtained by the agency. Arrived.

"My mother said that after filming 'Sahara,' I won't have to worry about money anymore, and my most important goal is to graduate from college." Brooke is full of expectations for Princeton's golden brand.

"Doesn't one have to work after graduating from college...What kind of job do you plan to do in the future?" Ronald saw that Bo Ji wanted to be a college student, and suddenly realized that she was a model and actress. Brooke has gained fame and money. Perhaps what she wants most now is a diploma from a prestigious school to prove that she is not just a pretty face.

"I didn't think it through. I thought that being able to get into Princeton and get a diploma would be the greatest success in my life."

Ronald was silent. He felt that Brooke Shields was oversimplifying the future. Just a few years ago, Jodie Foster also gave up her acting career and went to Yale to attend college. Now the media has treated her as if she doesn't exist.

When she first experienced the Tatung assassination case, there were undercover media agents at Yale every day asking her what she thought of the murderer, but now? Jodie Foster took the initiative to appear in Hollywood, and no reporters stepped forward to report it. Americans are so forgetful.

Ronald didn't think of how to persuade Brooke. At least she was still the most beautiful girl in America. She was suspected of being nosy if she talked too much.

After playing for a day, Ronald went to Heathrow Airport to wait for Lucas in the evening.

"Ronald, I'm here." Ronald turned around and saw George Lucas rushing over from the business jet.

"Hello, George. Walter is a little frustrated. Shall we go to the hotel now?"

Lucas nodded while wearing sunglasses, and the two went straight to the hotel on the Pinewood set.

"Walter."

"George."

The two old friends hugged tightly and went to discuss things.

Ronald was waiting for the outcome of their discussion in his room. He sorted out the films taken during the day and called the front desk to help develop them.

"Ring ring ring ring..." The phone rang.

"It's me, George. Come here." Lucas called Ronald over.

"I talked with Gary, Disney's executive producer, and he expressed that he was not confident in Walt's filming schedule. I have assured him that even if there is a problem with Walt's filming schedule, I will come and take over as producer. Then we can finish the movie while ensuring quality."

"That's great." Ronald didn't expect Lucas to be so generous, which was equivalent to endorsing Walter.

"Thank you, George." Walter Mersey sounded excited and frustrated as he spoke.

Lucas patted his old friend's hand, "What I don't understand now is why they don't have confidence in Walt, so I proposed to review all the dailies tomorrow. You come too, Ronald. Let's find out why Disney To make things difficult for Walter, I'm afraid there is some misunderstanding here. Walter is a genius, there is no way he can't make the movie he wants, even for the first time."

Early the next morning, Lucas, Mersey, and Ronald came to the screening room together, and together with Disney representative Gary, they watched all the dailies that Walt had shot in the past five weeks.

After watching it, Ronald felt that there was actually no big problem with the quality of the shooting. As for whether the progress was too slow, it was hard to say. Because many characters in the movie needed to be re-synthesized with post-production special effects, he had no idea about the shooting method of this kind of movie.

Ronald looked at Lucas. This was the man in Hollywood who knew best how to shoot live-action and special-effects movies.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with Walter." Lucas supported his old friend.

"But this is a sequel adapted from children's literature. The last one was decades ago, and we can't afford to waste time. If Walter continues at this rate, we will have no choice but to withdraw funding."

“Don’t talk nonsense, I have promised you that Walter will improve the shooting speed.”

After several verbal exchanges, Gary finally agreed to reinstate Walter Mersey as director, starting next Tuesday.

After he left, George Lucas said to Walter Mersey, "Walt, I do see a problem. You're making a movie without a master lens."

The main shot is the first panoramic shot every day, explaining the relationship between all the characters and their positions in the scene.

Although there are directors who reshoot the main shots, such as the famous Stanley Kubrick, Hollywood's standard production methods must be filmed.

"But it's useless for me to take the main shot," Walter Mersey said about his considerations. "Return to Oz" is a movie that combines real people and mechanical special effects. The robots, hens, and monsters in it are all simulated with mechanical devices.

"Just like this robot, it must be operated by six people. When shooting the main shot, it is unavoidable to include these operators. And the King of Rocks, I plan to use stop-motion animation to post-shoot and synthesize them. When you’re performing, what’s right is just a picture on the wall.”

"I know, I know..." Lucas said that he fully understood the problem. "I had the same problem when I was shooting the robot R2D2 in Star Wars. Most of the main lenses of the panoramic shots were useless. , only a small part can be used.

But this can give the actors a clear feeling every day about what they are filming today, which helps them understand the plot and develop emotions.

The staff also knows what the first shot is every morning, what he will do next, which shots he needs to appear in, and which shots he can be busy with other things. "

"You're right." Walter Mersey was a little frustrated. This was indeed a problem he hadn't thought about. Perhaps because he is an editor, the starting point for thinking about the problem is how to edit the shot into the final film, while ignoring the cultivation of the actor's condition and the efficiency of the staff.

"What do you think, Ronald? Do you think there are any problems here with Walter?" George Lucas seemed to have returned to his college days. He was evaluating his classmates' homework and asked Ronald to give his opinions.

"I have no objection, but I have a way to speed up Walter's filming without affecting his artistic expression."

"Oh?" Mersey and Lucas both looked at Ronald.

"I noticed that all the scenes in the dailies, especially the scene full of mirrors, seemed to be lit with multiple light sources every time." Ronald said about his findings.

"Yes, there are too many mirrors. If you change the angle at any time, the reflection of light will mess up the lighting. You have to spend time rearranging it. Do you have any good ideas?" Walter Mersey asked Ronald about his biggest headache. One of the questions he asked quickly.

"I can't help it, but I know someone who can. As you know, I shot a Saab commercial, in which I hired a director of photography, David Watkin, who had a patented invention that could use a The lamp illuminates the night scene, and he told me that he could do with one lamp what others could not do with a dozen lamps.”

"The same Watkin who invented the Wendy lamp?" George Lucas had heard of his name.

"Yes, he usually lives in London, maybe..."

"I'll find a way to find him." Lucas took over everything.

After the weekend, Walter Mersey took over as director. David Watkin served as the newcomer's director of photography. He pulled Mersey and said, "I won't accompany you here to shoot. I will use a lamp to set the light. You can move the camera however you want. Anyway, these mirrors , will send light where you need it.

Then I will go to the nearby studio to set up the lighting and wait for you to come over. If you have an emergency that my assistant can't solve, just call me over there. I usually take a nap in the corner..."

"Our first shot today, the main shot, all departments are ready!"

Seeing that Walter Mersey had regained his energy and confidence, Ronald and George Lucas turned and left.

"I also want to thank you, Mr. Lucas." Ronald and Brooke packed their bags and went to Heathrow Airport with Lucas.

Niceta from CAA called Ronald last night. Someone saw him and Brooke playing together and was selling this gossip clue to the British tabloids. Fortunately, CAA's colleagues in London knew this and took the initiative to warn Ronald.

Brooke didn't want the news media to report that the two were together without her mother Terry knowing about it while she was in college, so she proposed to return to New York first.

Ronald was a little uncomfortable seeing that Pooji didn't want their relationship to be exposed. But if Bo Ji goes back alone, I'm afraid it may not be able to calm the discussion in the gossip media. So he insisted on calling his agent to discuss public relations strategies.

Brooke felt that Ronald was unnecessary. She and her mother had always had no problem handling media relations. Not only can you gain exposure, but you won't really get involved in any scandals.

Ronald still insisted on seeking professional consultation, but this time there was really a scandal. And why doesn't Brooke find a real agent so she can plan her future career?

While the two were discussing, George Lucas came to say goodbye.

When he entered the house and saw Ronald and Brooke Shields together, he immediately understood the relationship between Ronald and Brooke Shields, and even teased Ronald about his sexual fortune.

Just as Lucas' vacation in Japan was over, he offered to let the two of them fly back to New York with him to avoid media speculation.

If someone was interviewing someone at the airport, it could be said that Ronald and Lucas were discussing the new film together and invited Brooke Shields in London to discuss the possibility of her participating.

Ronald thought this was the best way to handle it. Both Brooke and her mother liked a certain amount of exposure. After a phone call with Niceta from CAA, they also prepared some operations to satisfy both Brooke and Ronald.

"Thank you, Mr. Lucas." Ronald thanked Lucas again for the arrangement at the boarding gate.

"It doesn't matter. You called me this time and helped Walter. I'm very grateful. He is a rare close friend of mine. If it weren't for you, I might have lost him. I owe you once. What will happen in the future? , you can call me at Skywalker Ranch." Lucas handed Ronald a business card with a personal phone number printed on it.

The three people passed through the special boarding gate and arrived in front of a beautiful plane. This is a British Airways Concorde. Its huge nose droops like the beak of a raptor looking for food. The graceful delta wing is at the back, full of powerful beauty.

Concorde can travel across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound, taking less than three hours one way between London and New York.

When they got on the plane, Lucas's seat was in the front cabin. Ronald and Brooke made temporary reservations and only bought the back cabin. They found the seats in the back cabin and found that the distance between the seats was narrower than the economy class of ordinary airliners.

The tall two people sat down and couldn't straighten their legs.

But the passengers next to me were all wearing decent handmade suits or custom-made dresses. After a while, the plane moved to the take-off runway, and the roar of the huge engine made Ronald feel a little uncomfortable. Although the speed is fast and the passengers are either rich or expensive, the ride experience is average.

"This is my first time sitting in the Concorde!" Brooke said next to him.

"What did you say?" Ronald couldn't hear it.

"I said it was my first time..."

"boom……"

The Concorde took off and flew to New York.

7017k

Please remember the first domain name of this book: . :