Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Chapter 226 Stealing the Show

The movie theater at the Miramar base was rented by the crew to watch sample films every night.

Ronald's habit is that he doesn't like everyone on the crew to watch the demos. In front of the demos without audio and video synchronization and no post-editing, many people don't know the director's plan. He would put forward some opinions and opinions, which not only were not helpful, but would disrupt the director's thinking and the next day's shooting.

In addition to Ronald, Bruckheimer, director of photography Kimball, and Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Kelly McGillis and others who have the right to see dailies in their contracts, the only consultant is Pete Petty Gru is looking at the samples taken yesterday.

"Ronald, why does the top gun school still have a trophy? We are a flight school, not the Olympics, and we do not encourage this kind of personal heroism. Air combat mainly depends on the cooperation of wingmen."

Pete Pettigrew saw the dailies taken yesterday and came to Ronald to protest.

"Jerry," Ronald asked Bruckheimer to explain to Pete, while he concentrated on talking to Val Kilmer's agent about the other party's opinions on his client's screen time.

"Pete, imagine there's a couple in Oklahoma who own a mom-and-pop department store. They have three kids. To them, there has to be a winner. Flight school is like a competition. Since planning Points mean first place, and first place means a trophy..."

Bruckheimer tried his best to explain to the other party simply using metaphors that the other party could understand.

"Kilmer's appearance scenes, both in time and seconds, are significantly less than those of Tom Cruise. Paramount's senior producers praised Kilmer's performance. I think if you continue to favor Kilmer like this, Ruth, I will have to report this to Mr. Frank Mancuso, the CEO."

Ronald knew that the other party was largely bluffing him. Agents are very concerned about their clients' performance, and reporting it to Mancuso is pure bragging. If Val Kilmer had a direct line to Mancuso, he wouldn't have acted in this movie that he originally didn't want to act in.

"I think you misunderstood. Yesterday's scenes were mainly about the Lone Ranger. Tomorrow there will be a lot of scenes with Iceman played by your client, as well as scenes between him and the Lone Ranger."

"I'll keep an eye on you." Val Kilmer's agent was very stubborn. Kilmer was forced to star in this movie by Paramount through a contract. But there are advantages and disadvantages. There are also many guarantee clauses from Kilmer in the contract. The agent has certain rights to interfere with the crew, which is a disadvantage.

"It's up to you... I treat actors equally and shoot according to their needs. Besides, Tom is the leading actor after all, and his salary is higher than Kilmer."

"Higher salary means higher responsibility."

Val Kilmer did not participate in the discussion. After the manager finished arguing, he walked out of the cinema with him and returned to his hotel.

The remaining actors in the cinema are McGillis and Cruise.

Tom Cruise heard all the quarrel and sat quietly in his seat. Paula was beside him, whispering something with him.

"Aren't you going to the bar with them?" McGillis asked Cruise as she prepared to leave to join the rest of the cast for a beer break.

"I'm not going..." Tom Cruise didn't want to be with other actors. He heard clearly that Ronald and Val Kilmer had disputes over show time and footage, as well as from Paramount executives. pressure.

He knew that Ronald bore a lot of pressure whether the film would be a hit or not, and he was in the same boat as him.

Paramount spent a total budget of 15 million, excluding what the Navy took away and preparatory expenses. He himself received the highest salary of one million, which is close to 10% of the total investment, or more than one-third of the total remuneration of the actors.

Other supporting actors, including McGillis, can all shoot with a game mentality. Only Tom Cruise has the highest salary and the greatest responsibility in the crew. Box office success or failure is closely linked to his stardom.

After getting one million, he has to take on the responsibility of selling the movie. He still has a lot of preparations to make, and he is ready to appear on the set in the best condition every day.

"Today you should memorize tomorrow's lines, but having fun with the supporting actors on the weekend is also a good gesture of goodwill. I can help you book a bar and treat everyone to drinks." Paula is like a big sister Same, taking care of everything about his little brother Cruise.

McGillis smiled, this "little boy" mentality is still childish. There were all little boys in the crew, so I thought the director would be different...

"Kelly, wait a minute, I'll see you if I need something later." Ronald came over and stopped McGillis who was about to go out.

"Oh, okay, I'll wait for you at the door."

Ronald went back to continue the discussion with Pete Pettigrew.

"I don't understand why the class has to be moved to the Navy's airstrip? The class is not in the classroom, so why does it have to be on the runway?

There is also this scene. There are no public bathrooms and locker rooms on the base. This is not a professional football team. After getting off the plane, pilots always go back to their dormitories to take a shower. "Pete was again dissatisfied with tomorrow's scenes.

"Think of the moms and dads in Oklahoma," Bruckheimer said, still trying to convince consultant Pete, who had seen Tomorrow's script and storyboards.

"Pete," Ronald raised his hand for Pete Pettigrew to look over.

"We paid Tom Cruise a million dollars in salary, and Val Kilmer was not much different. I also endured my agents dictating my shooting, and had to watch dailies with them every day. All this was not for They dress up in pilot outfits and go home and shower."

"But……"

"Fuck, one million dollars, do you understand? Just like the F-14 Tomcat is not used for flight demonstrations like Cessna, but is going to the battlefield. We have to let them show some muscle."

Looking at Pete Pettigrew's shocked look, Ronald continued, "This is actually a sports movie, not a war movie. The audience is watching a sport, but this sport is called fighter dog fighting. "

"Since it is a sport, there is naturally a locker room and conflicts between teammates. This is a metaphor that can guide the audience's subconscious. This is a game."

Peter thought for a while and accepted Ronald's explanation, "But don't make him more artistic. I don't want my old colleagues in the base to say that I'm helping you make a musical or kung fu movie."

"Hahaha..." Ronald was also amused by him. Peter had obviously seen his first two movies, "No, I promise."

Ronald asked McGillis, "I'll buy you a drink."

McGillis and he went to the hotel's lobby bar.

Ronald apologized for his rudeness that day. He is the director and must control various things of the entire crew. Time was tight that day.

"I understand," McGillis smiled.

"Then let's..." Ronald also smiled, he wanted to continue what he had not finished.

"There are no more of us," McGillis waved his hand.

She doesn't feel anything anymore.

McGillis is an actor, so she can act with a professional attitude, follow Ronald's request, and let her cooperate to highlight Cruise, it doesn't matter.

But as a woman, putting her down to talk about work midway is an offense to her charm. Moreover, it becomes very boring and not romantic at all for a man who thinks about the crew's work every day.

"Okay, let's chat here. Are you a Julia graduate? I see that your first two movies were all hits. If we are lucky this time, you will have hit three in a row."

"Hahaha, actually I don't have high expectations for this movie. I'm just an actor interested in drama. I'm not acting in music videos."

Ronald understood. McGillis was implying that his movie didn't have much drama and had too many MV-style superficial plots.

"You are a very good actor, who did you learn from?"

"You may not believe it, but I developed my acting skills while working as a waiter in a restaurant..." McGillis finished his cocktail, stood up to pay the bill, and said goodbye to Ronald to go to the base bar to have fun with the boys. .

Early the next morning, the props team set up the classroom at the airport before sunrise. Several rows of tables and chairs were arranged neatly, and an F-14A fighter jet and an F-5 fighter jet were parked on the runway behind them.

"Joker" began to formally introduce instructor Charlie.

"She's a civilian, so you don't have to salute her. But she can grade your theory and flying lessons, so you'd better treat her with some respect."

"Da da da……"

At the most beautiful moment of sunrise, Kelly McGillis put on the outfit of Ronald's dream.

With her beautiful legs wrapped in a pair of black stockings with high heels, Charlie walked step by step from behind the seated student to the blackboard in front of the F-14a.

The camera directed by Kimball was at a low position on the track. Several coolies on the camera crew slowly pushed the camera equipped with a huge anamorphic wide screen, closely following McGillis' legs and stockings. That black vertical line slowly advanced forward.

"Oh..." The Lone Ranger played by Tom Cruise saw Charlie and recognized the beauty he had chatted with at the bar yesterday. Unexpectedly, the outfit I wore today was even more sexy and beautiful than yesterday.

Afraid of being exposed, both Lone Ranger and Goose put on gold-rimmed Ray-Ban sunglasses, with the huge lenses covering most of their faces.

"cut!"

Ronald shouted to everyone on the electric horn, "Very good, let's change the angle and do another group."

McGillis looked over with his wonderful eyes and said, "Whenever he is conducting, he looks like a charming man."

Kimball directed the camera crew and quickly changed the angle to shoot from a high camera position in front of the classroom.

The sun has just risen in the sky and the colors are so charming.

"!" Seizing the moment of the magic light, Ronald immediately ordered to continue.

"Huh?" Ronald took a step back and looked at the audience. At a glance, he saw Barry Tubb, who played the radar officer "Werewolf". He got a light yellow cowboy straw hat from somewhere and put it on his head. .

Ronald was not disgusted by this level of scene-stealing. Everyone was wearing navy pilot uniforms and Ray-Ban sunglasses, and the camera looked almost the same. Barry Tubb's cowboy hat, illuminated by the morning sun, actually gave the audience some visual stimulation.

This is a great thing for commercial films to keep the audience's attention.

Ronald didn't say anything to stop, and there was only the slight sound of the camera's motor.

"Captain, do you think what I said is wrong?" Charlie, played by McGillis, said that the aerodynamic feature of the MiG-28 is that it cannot dive at high G. He looked at the Lone Ranger below and said something to the silly goose with a playful smile. Couldn't help but ask.

"I have seen the MiG-28 dive with an acceleration of minus 4g, so your data is wrong." Tom Cruise wore sunglasses and showed his signature smirk.

"Can you tell me where you saw it?" Charlie was reluctant. It is absolutely intolerable for professionals to be doubted about their professionalism. "

"I can't tell you, it's a secret. After I tell you, I can only kill you."

"I have the highest authority in the Navy, you can say that." Charlie said that I have seen too many pilot boys like you who make shocking remarks.

"Well, I was on top of him. Saw it with my own eyes."

"Are you on top of him? How far away are you from him?" Charlie, played by McGillis, chuckles in a way that catches your loophole.

Ronald praised McGillis's acting skills, which are very natural. This chuckle has the intellectual beauty of a professional woman and a bit of mischief. Strong red lips, light golden hair, and eyebrows that fly into the sideburns, a kind of sexy American girl blows over her face.

"Am I about two meters away from him?" the Lone Ranger and the radar officer confirmed.

"One and a half meters, I even took a photo." The silly goose pretended to remember.

"Haha, you are in the cockpit of the F-14, only two meters away from the MiG-28 below. How did you see it through the cockpit and the wings?" Charlie caught the flaw in the Lone Ranger's bragging and poked it gently. break. This kind of little boy really has nothing to say, he wants to brag as soon as he sees him.

"Because I'm flying upside down," the Lone Ranger played by Tom Cruise was waiting for this moment and proudly revealed the answer. Before coming to Top Gun Flight School, he used this trick to fly upside down and land on top of the MiG-28 pilot's head, scaring him away.

So far, so good.

Ronald looked at Val Kilmer. His lines should come next. Iceman is a calm technical person. He will question the Lone Ranger's statement. Flying upside down like this, and following an enemy aircraft with 4g acceleration, it is difficult for an ace fighter pilot to maintain a stable attitude, let alone the opponent's pilot. Take a Polaroid snapshot.

"Bullshit!"

Ronald's heart skipped a beat, Val Kilmer stole the show.

This actor. The scene-stealing was done very professionally, not randomly. Val Kilmer didn't say the lines in the script, but he said a curse word that had the same questioning effect as the lines in the script.

No, it’s better than the lines in the script!

The supporting actors who were sitting here playing pilots couldn't hold back their laughter.

Ronald didn't stop. From an acting point of view, this improvised line was very effective. He didn't want to ruin it. Instead, he raised his hand to ask the director of photography, Kimball, not to stop and let the camera motor continue to run.

"He really did it. I saw it from the back seat." Anthony Edwards, who played the silly goose, reacted quickly, came to the rescue and improvised his lines.

"So, you flew upside down and caught up with the enemy aircraft maneuvering at minus 4g?"

Charlie, played by McGillis, asked the camera with a confused look on his face. She came from a major and kept up with the rhythm that was led by Fang Kilmer.

"Yes, that's right." Tom Cruise suppressed his displeasure and accepted the call.

"cut!"

Ronald called it a day without commenting on Kilmer's performance.

"Yeah, am I good at improvising?" Val Kilmer raised his chin and showed off to the supporting characters around him.

"It's really good..." Everyone replied one after another, which was a sincere compliment.

"I'll treat you to the bar tonight." Val Kilmer took the opportunity to win over the supporting cast.

"Let's continue with this printing process." Ronald ordered with a calm expression on his face while wearing sunglasses.

As a director, he cannot be too biased towards Tom Cruise. A wonderful performance is a wonderful thing. It is a professional thing. Favoritism will cause problems in the atmosphere of the crew. Now everyone is at least working hard for the performance.

After the day's filming, everyone followed Val Kilmer to the bar for a drink, except Tom Cruise.

"Ronald, I have something to tell you."

Tom Cruise found director alone.

"Tom, Kilmer played well. I believe you can accept his challenge. In the play, you are the opponents competing for the top gun trophy. I believe you can beat Kilmer."

"I'm not doing it for this. I'm not worried about his few moments. He performed well today, but after all, I'm still the one with the most important role. I just need to steal the limelight back tomorrow."

"Good attitude, then what do you want from me?" Ronald patted Cruise on the shoulder.

"I...I don't know how to ride a motorcycle...can you teach me?"

"You don't know how to ride a motorcycle?" Ronald was stunned, "Okay, then you come with me, your prop car has just arrived."

A sturdy motorcycle stopped on the runway. Ronald took the key handed over by the prop and started the motorcycle.

"The Kawasaki Ninja 900 is the fastest motorcycle in the world. Like my GTO288, it is also the fastest. It is very suitable for the role of a lone ranger."

Ronald taught Cruise a few points and then got him in the car to actually do it. Half an hour later, Ronald saw that he was very good at maintaining balance and operating machinery, so he asked him to get in the car and try it out by himself.

"Woo..."

Cruise drove around the track and all went well.

"Very good, in the future scenes of the chase and race with the F-14A Tomcat, you will ride like this." Ronald saw Cruise stop the car, flip up his helmet, and warned, "But you have to remember, You can't drive on the road yet, I will find a coach to teach you systematically in the future."

"It's a piece of cake." Tom Cruise liked the look of the motorcycle and ran on the track a few more times. "I will buy one and drive it in the future."

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