Exploiting Hollywood 1980

On Friday, Ronald flew to New York.

Niceta arranged everything for him. The famous film critic of "The New Yorker" magazine, perhaps the most controversial, sharpest, and most different from mainstream film critics alive in America, Pauline Kael, would meet with him at his home to discuss Her fierce criticism of "Top Gun."

The old lady was born in 1919. She began writing film reviews for The New Yorker in the 1960s and 1970s, and was an important promoter of the New Hollywood movement.

The beginning of America's new wave of films, "The Good and the Bad", was strongly recommended by her and gained public recognition in one fell swoop. It became a double winner at the box office and critical reviews, and is destined to occupy a place in the history of Hollywood movies.

Pauline was also invited by Warren Beatty, the star of "The Big Bad", to serve as a senior consultant for Paramount, but she resigned after a few months and went back to writing film reviews.

This time Pauline's criticism of "Top Gun" was very fierce. There were old people who knew her at Paramount. After coordination, she agreed to meet Ronald at home and talk face to face about why she criticized the movie so harshly.

"Does Ms. Pauline Carr live here?" Ronald rang the doorbell, and a little boy opened the door.

"Grandma, there's someone looking for you. What's your name?" the little boy turned to ask Ronald.

"Ronald, Ronald Lee."

"William, please come in." Pauline came out and took her grandson aside and asked him to watch TV.

"Hello, Pauline."

Ronald didn't know how to communicate with the film critic.

I was helped a lot by her in the initial stage, but this time the criticism was very merciless.

"Come on, Ronald, film criticism has no influence these days. The New Yorker isn't going to influence many of your viewers. They don't care what an old lady says."

"No, your film review is of great importance to me." Ronald felt relaxed all of a sudden, walked to the living room, and started chatting with Pauline Carr.

"Movie reviews do not have the same power as Broadway theater reviews to determine the box office of a movie. What's more, your film company has also invented a film review unblocking system. Nowadays, film reviews can only appear in the media after the movie is released. First, Many audiences no longer use film reviews as a reference for their choice of movies.

What's more, I'm writing for The New Yorker magazine,

Compared to film reviews in newspapers like Ebert's, they have even less influence. "

Pauline laughed, mocking herself for her own influence.

Ronald knew she was telling the truth. Compared with Broadway theater reviews, which can determine the life or death of a new play, movie reviews are often a secondary marketing tool for film companies. Posters in movie theaters cost a lot more than PR film critics.

However, he still expressed his disagreement and told her about the past that his debut film "Fast-paced Richmond High" was able to increase the number of copies and become a national distribution thanks to her critical praise, and once again thanked her in person.

"I loved that movie, and your second movie, 'Night of the Comet.' They reminded me of Robert Altman. You don't dictate the point of view and the way the audience sees your movie, they get to the theater, You are attracted into it, and then you discover plots and plots that exceed your expectations. Everything is so full of scope, and it is a kind of adventure.

The large-scale productions you shot later tended to be more formulaic. Within the first five minutes of the movie, I knew what you were going for. Not a great experience for someone who doesn't like to watch movies over and over again that I'm writing a review for. "

Ronald also liked Pauline's frankness, "I understand what you mean, but I can't continue to stay in those small-budget exploitation films. Hollywood is a very realistic place, and there are still people who want to make films that have been around for decades." For the movies I remember, I had to prove that I could sell them first. And in order to be a hit, these Hollywood routines are essential."

Pauline's hair was already gray and she was wearing a pair of reading glasses. She couldn't help but smile when she heard Ronald say that he wanted to make a movie that would be remembered for decades.

Ronald found that the old lady smiled very gently, like a neighbor's grandmother, which was very different from her sharp look when she didn't smile.

"I read you right. You really want to make classic movies. If you want to make movies that are remembered by people, you must stay away from those popcorn movies and pay more attention to the major real issues.

All classic Hollywood movies focused on the major real issues of the time. "

"A real problem?"

"Yes." The old lady stood up and refilled Ronald's cup of coffee. Then she took down several books that she had written on film reviews from the bookshelf, turned to the catalog and handed them to Ronald.

"Have you noticed that since the 1970s, Italian directors have occupied the mainstream position in Hollywood classic blockbusters. And the original Jewish directors, Puritan directors, gradually withdrew from the stage of dramas and turned to comedies and popcorn films. Well, during the 1930s and World War II, they took over the directors and actors of almost all classic movies."

Ronald looked at the cover of the first book, which was Pauline Carr's first film review collection "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang." He flipped through the table of contents of several books, and there was a review of Martin in it. Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," Francis Coppola's "The Godfather," Brian De Palma's "Carrie," and Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter."

Compared with the golden age, the number of Jewish directors has decreased a lot, and she only likes Spielberg. A traditional Puritan director, she admired Robert Altman.

"Indeed, why?" Ronald had never thought about this question. Why did Italians become so popular in Hollywood after the 1970s?

It's definitely not a matter of money. The Italian gangsters only invested in movies after the unexpected success of "The Godfather".

It is not the so-called nepotism or ethnic care issue. When it comes to taking care of ethnic groups, Jews are the leaders, and their gangs are much more powerful than Italians. They got involved in the film industry as early as the 1920s.

Ronald scratched his head. He found the old lady's sharp question very interesting, but he couldn't think of an answer.

Seeing Ronald looking at her like a grandchild, wanting to know the answer, Pauline Carr smiled. This scolding him had a very good effect. She didn't look like a master. , slipping onto the popcorn commercial filmmaking machine.

"Because the Vietnam War changed the minds of Americans, stupid."

"Hmm? Vietnam War?"

Ronald raised his head and found that he couldn't keep up with the old lady's thinking. He was from a family of Vietnam War veterans. He didn't think there was any difference in thinking from others?

Pauline Carr knew that Ronald had not thought about this profound change in artistic style in the film market, so she continued.

"It turns out that we Americans are New Babylonians who feel that our destiny is clear and God is favoring us. But the Vietnam War made us fall from the moral level. We sent poor children to Vietnam to bomb those innocent people and failed. Let us know He is not morally flawless.

The Japanese products are of high quality and low price, which further exacerbates this problem. In addition to being moral, we no longer have any sense of superiority in industry and technology. "

Ronald nodded in agreement. The Vietnam War had indeed had a great psychological impact on Americans. A very obvious change was that the baby boom was over and the new generation of young people were no longer willing to have children.

"The most serious consequence of the Vietnam War is that the understanding of guilt has changed dramatically. Americans have a completely new understanding of what guilt is, which is completely different from the past."

"Guilt?"

“We have lost the sense of moral superiority that the Puritans had on the Mayflower. We once believed that we would get better and better and that we would defeat all evil and demons.

After the Vietnam War, we discovered that maybe evil is not so easy to defeat. We may fail, and maybe we will have to coexist with them. We are not as morally or technically superior to other human beings as we imagine. "

Ronald didn't quite understand, what does this so-called sense of guilt have to do with the Italian-Americans dominating the New Hollywood movement?

"Italians, and many of the new generation of directors, are Catholics. Unlike the Puritanism of America, the education they received from an early age included a full sense of guilt. We are all guilty, and we are guilty every week. Go to the priest to confess.

It just so happens that this mentality is consistent with the common feelings of modern Americans, so the movies they made are also psychologically in line with the psychological state of the audience at that time.

In addition, visualization is the strength of the Italians. Look at those Renaissance paintings and architecture. They are naturally capable of making movies look like world-famous paintings. "

"oh……"

Ronald fell into deep thought. As a top film critic, Pauline Carr looked at issues from a very different perspective than the director. He was certain that, at least when Scorsese and Coppola made the movie, they would never consider Catholic guilt.

But there may be some truth in a different perspective. These are all subconscious thoughts integrated into the bottom of the director's thinking. You may not be aware of their existence at ordinary times, but when you are making a movie, you are affected all the time.

"Then what kind of culture is my subconscious base? The new generation of consumerism in Hollywood? Or the teachings of Confucius of Chinese Americans in previous lives?" Ronald thought about himself. The great thing about the old lady was not that she cursed people or that she Not to praise, but to inspire thinking.

"Looks like you agree with me," Pauline Carr said, mistakenly thinking that Ronald was thinking of the New Hollywood directorial style.

"I heard that you had a professional education. You have watched a lot of Hollywood movies from the golden age. At that time, Puritan and Jewish directors dominated Hollywood. It was a completely different era.

Jews like to expose the dark side of society and then correct it, so they are in tune with the social reality of the 1930s and World War II. Society has problems, someone exposes them, then someone corrects them, and our society moves on.

The Puritans have more beliefs about destiny, such as when we fight against the Germans and little Japan, the whole world must be saved by the Americans..."

Ronald understood what Pauline meant. Movies reflect social reality. If your cultural and educational background is subconsciously in tune with the culture of most American audiences, then your movie will not only be a hit, but it will also gain a foothold in film history.

I wonder what the cultural subconscious of the new generation of young people after the 1980s is? Maybe your movie just fits their cultural subconscious?

"Nowadays, Jewish directors and actors rarely make serious dramas. It's not that they don't want to make them, but they won't be liked by the audience. Now Jewish people mainly make comedies, like Jerry Zucker and others.

They no longer make films that reflect the mainstream values ​​of social reality. Even Spielberg no longer makes films that reflect social reality. Spielberg is great, his innocence, details, a lot of them are great, but he is not the person to reflect the major issues in society today. "

"Directors with Puritan backgrounds, such as George Lucas, are more willing to explore science fiction and film technology. Without anyone to reflect social reality, the art of film will die."

After saying that, Pauline Carr looked at Ronald with burning eyes.

"Huh? Me?" Ronald discovered the old lady's subtext. The future of the movie depends on you!

"I can't. I just make movies based on my instincts and hope to entertain the audience. If it can still be used as a conversation piece when I think about it decades later, then I will be satisfied."

Ronald waved his hand quickly. Are you kidding? He is not the material to be the successor of a classic Hollywood director and reflect major social reality issues. Moreover, today’s Hollywood is no longer what it used to be. If you can’t make money, doing anything that reflects the dark side of reality is suicide.

"No, I have always felt that you have the potential to be a film master. You act on your instincts, regardless of clichés. This is the typical trait of a master. Human intuition does not need to be quantified by theory. Human intuition is the human emotion and mind The sum total of everything, only second-rate directors need formulas, first-rate directors just follow their instincts.”

"You have over-praised it. There is very little room for directors in current movies. If you don't find out what the audience likes to watch, it is likely to fail at the box office. If it happens three times in a row, I will have no choice but to say goodbye to Hollywood."

"Hey..." Pauline also knew that the current Hollywood market was shrinking. Movies had to be able to drag audiences from the TV to the cinema. The industry was very different from what she was familiar with back then.

The two dropped the topic and continued to talk about other movies. Pauline Carr's comments on major directors were very sharp, and she was more unique. She especially likes some movies that are not favored by mainstream film critics, and also dislikes some movies that are generally favored.

According to her, most of today's film critics are the producers' sisters-in-law who can't find a job. They are just given a position to make some money.

"Reflecting major social issues, left-wing movies are where masterpieces are produced, because they dare to attack major social issues. You can pay more attention to left-wing art. Stop making popcorn movies, if you want to make history If you leave your name."

When Ronald finally left, Pauline Carr asked him to read more left-wing literature and art.

"Left wing?" Ronald didn't really believe this. The economy has developed well since the general took office. Now everyone is busy making money, and no one is interested in caring about the dark side of society anymore. If you have the time, you might as well invest in stocks, or work two jobs to buy a house with a mortgage.

However, what Pauline said is very enlightening. If you want people to remember your movies decades later, you must grasp the pulse of the times and consciously grasp the psychology of the current audience.

Just like the current "Top Gun", it fits the mentality of the American people who want to defeat the Soviet Union. Ronald went to a theater in New York to observe the box office.

In the afternoon, the box office of "Top Gun" was still very good. Many young people, including fathers and their children, came together.

"Huh? What is this?" Ronald discovered that there was a booth under the "Top Gun" poster. There were two people in navy uniforms looking at everyone behind the booth.

"Is this Paramount's new marketing method? Or is it selling some fighter model?" Ronald stepped forward to take a look.

"Sir, do you want to join the Navy? Do you want to be an aircraft carrier fighter pilot like the Lone Ranger? Just fill out the form here."

"No, but thank you."

Is this movie so popular? The navy is here to recruit troops?

－－－－－－Digression－－－－－

I wish reader infinityykz, who is studying film at New York University, a happy birthday and success in your studies.

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