Exploiting Hollywood 1980

A few days later, on New Year's Day of 1987, the crew of "Moonlight" officially started filming the second segment in the Toronto studio.

All indoor scenes are shot in studio here. After a day of adjustments, Ronald began to regain his rhythm without being disturbed by union representatives.

The most troublesome thing about union representatives is that some representatives really follow the regulations and strictly enforce them.

For example, the stipulated shooting time has come and it’s time to have lunch, but the crew still has one shot to finish and needs to work overtime before eating. This is a very normal requirement.

The actor's condition was also gradually adjusted in each shooting step. If there is a difficult scene, it is normal for the actors to take more than a dozen shots. If at this time, the performance is interrupted by lunch, after an hour of eating and resting, the actor’s state will be unknown.

The union also has a way to deal with this kind of thing. It is not as rigid as its British counterparts. As soon as tea time comes, they put down their equipment and leave without staying for a second. Even if you are George Lucas, Same treatment.

The two actors' unions in the United States stipulate that when they have to work overtime to film a scene, the director can request to work overtime for fifteen minutes. This is a hard and fast rule, and the crew and actors must obey it unconditionally.

The problem is that fifteen minutes is only enough time to take one and a half photos. If the protagonist needs to touch up his makeup or re-grow his emotions, there may not even be enough time for one scene.

If you don’t finish filming the first fifteen minutes of overtime, then I’m sorry, but the second fifteen minutes will require the consent of the union representative and the main actors before you can continue.

Moreover, double overtime wages must be paid to continue shooting.

If the second fifteen minutes are not finished, there will be a third and final extension period. This extension will require three times the salary of all staff working on that day.

Once the three extension periods are up, no matter whether your actor happens to be favored by the movie god, he will soon shoot a film and television clip to leave his name. Sorry, that's it for today, and you can't continue filming.

Filmmaking is a highly uncertain artistic creation process. Many wonderful shots were made when actors and staff collided, discussed, or even cursed each other, and they found solutions in a flash of inspiration.

Enforcing a creative time as rigid as an office secretarial job would be like dictating that Michelangelo could only paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes at a set time each day. Maybe you can get an example of support for union work,

But all the brilliance in the movie has been almost wiped out by this rigid rule.

So, when we arrived in Toronto, there were no annoying union representatives to interrupt at any time, and the crew's creative inspiration began to flow again.

Historically, Toronto has not been a traditional filming location. So the MGM set team found a vacant warehouse on Lesley Street in Toronto and built it to look like the home where Loretta Castorini lived with her parents.

The ground floor is a living room with half of the wall removed, and a kitchen and dining area. The staircase on the second floor was also restored with wood, and the carpets and wallpapers common in Brooklyn, New York, were made. There are two rooms above, which were copied according to the photos of the old house in Brooklyn.

Ronald placed a lot of Italian and Greek-style snacks, as well as traditional Canadian barbecue slices, out of sight of the camera. Serve with some low-alcohol and carbonated drinks.

Try to allow the actors to eat their favorite snacks and, if necessary, drink to relax between filming.

This arrangement, similar to a Broadway rehearsal space, made all the actors much more relaxed than the five-week filming in New York.

The effect of relaxation is a better grasp of the character and the occasional flash of inspiration on the spot to improvise lines.

Ronald is particularly satisfied with Fyodor Chaliapin, who plays Loretta's grandfather. Although he is deaf, he never loses his rhythm when filming scenes with his rivals.

This day we captured footage of Loretta coming home for dinner. The old man doesn't do anything every day, he just likes to go out and walk his dog. Several large dogs are not pure breeds, they look like stray dogs that the old man picked up from the street.

But the old man was very kind to them. Not only did he take them out to play twice in the morning and evening every day, but he also gave them the best meat to eat.

His daughter-in-law, Rose, was responsible for the family's meals. That night Rose's brother and sister-in-law came to the house for dinner, and she made delicious minced beef for everyone.

The old man saw the beef on the plate in front of him. When his daughter-in-law was not paying attention, he stood up, walked to the dog cage next to the fireplace, and stuffed the plate under the cage. The big dogs began to eat happily.

The old man pretended that nothing was wrong and returned to the dining table.

His son Cosmo told his wife, Rose, "I think my dad needs a new plate."

At this time, Rose glanced over, and Fedor Chaliapin quickly lowered his head to avoid his daughter-in-law's eyes.

Ross scolded the old man for giving his own delicacies to the dog, but he still took a new plate from the corner of the long dining table and handed it to his sister-in-law Rita.

Rita was very surprised by what the old man did, but when she saw that Ross didn't complain, she had no choice but to add some more beef and vegetables to the old man and handed them over.

"Cut"

Ronald was very happy with the tacit performances of several main actors in this piece. The closeness and distance between members of a large family, and the plot of feeding dogs, were performed by several Broadway actors with outstanding acting skills. , as natural as a real family.

After calling a break, the actors went to rest. Ronald specifically asked his assistant to help the 81-year-old Fedor Chaliapin to sit down on a sofa specially set up for him.

When Fedor Chaliapin passed Ronald, he smiled proudly at him. Ronald responded with two thumbs up, and the old man was very happy.

Looking back, Ronald said to director of photography David Watkin:

"Do you know how he acted? I feel that he is very deaf. Sometimes he doesn't respond when I call A. But in this scene, Olympia Dukakis, who plays Ross, looked over and he immediately responded. He can catch it. The rhythm and intensity are right. What’s his secret?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" David Watkin smiled and joked with Ronald, "Maybe he will teach you his acting secrets when he is happy."

"It's really difficult to communicate with him." Ronald also smiled. Fedor Chaliabin was really deaf. Sometimes if you want to talk to him, you have to speak very loudly.

"You will know when you pay attention to his eyes in the next shot. This is the benefit of many years of acting experience to him." David Watkin did not say it directly, but asked Ronald to observe it himself. I found a recliner and fell asleep.

After the camera was repositioned and the lighting was good, Ronald asked his assistant to wake up David Watkin and continue shooting.

Rose's brother Raymond, also played by Broadway actor Louis Goose. They are character actors.

This is an ancient title used to describe actors who play supporting roles with different personalities. There are stars with similar personalities in opposite roles. The supporting characters often have different personalities and have little screen time. The audience has to feel the different personalities of the supporting characters in a limited time.

"First Evolution"

Louis Gus did a great job, and Rose's brother Raymond was very happy to hear that Loretta had gone out and not come back from dinner to prepare for the wedding. He was very worried about this niece, who had no home since her husband died unexpectedly.

When the interest arose, Raymond told a story from the past.

When Cosmo was still in love with his sister Rose, Raymond was woken up by something in the middle of the night. He looked out the window and saw that it was Cosmo standing in the moonlight, wanting to date his sister.

The moonlight that day was very big and bright. It seemed that the moon was bigger than the house, as if it was going to crush Raymond's house.

Under the moonlight, standing was Cosmo.

Rose enjoyed this story very much. She was very happy to watch her brother recall the past of his love. Then he glanced at her husband Cosmo from time to time. They hadn't slept together for a long time. She didn't know if today's romantic memories could make her happy. The husband becomes romantic again.

But Cosmo didn't appreciate it. He didn't want to talk about his admiration for Rose when he was young. He himself found a lover outside. He was a little ashamed of this past incident and a little dissatisfied with his shy self in the past.

So he told his wife's brother Raymond that there must be no such thing. Raymond must have dreamed about it while dreaming.

"No, it's not a dream, I'm very awake. When I was young, no one told me. I was so impressed. You stood under the white moonlight that night. I was deeply impressed. I was still a little angry at that time and felt It was you who brought the big, round moon to my house. The moonlight was so bright that it shone into the window and woke me up."

"You must be dreaming, you feel like a dead pig when you sleep." Cosmo knew that as the conversation continued, Rose would definitely think of the past when he was young, so he asked his sister-in-law Rita to get the glass of red wine and pour it for herself. I ordered a large glass and took a big sip.

"It's not a dream, you are clearly in the moonlight under the window." Raymond, like all older people, is particularly stubborn about the memories of his youth.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore." Cosmo took another sip of red wine.

"Then what do you want to talk about?" Ross was a little dissatisfied with Cosmo's rude attitude toward his brother, and even more dissatisfied with Cosmo's pretense. Cosmo seemed afraid to mention the sweet and romantic memories of the two when they were young.

I drank so hard to cover it up that when it was time to go to bed, I could use the excuse of being drunk and fall asleep. I had no interest at all...

"Why did you drink so much?" Rose was upset when she saw that Cosmo went to get red wine and poured it into her glass again, which was far more than the amount of wine she should drink for dinner.

At this time, Ronald turned his head behind the camera and stared at Fyodor Chaliabin, who played the old man, without taking his eyes away.

David Watkin reminded him to watch the old man's eyes.

Fedor Chaliapin saw that Olympia Dukakis, who played Rose, pointed at her husband and asked him not to drink too much, and knew that it was his turn.

He stood up immediately, took the second pot of beef, and secretly stood up to feed the dog.

"Old man, if you are feeding the dog the beef I cooked for you, I will kick you to death!"

Fedor Chaliapin walked to the kennel and counted the time and felt that Dukakis had almost finished speaking her lines. He turned back and paid attention to distinguish Dukakis's lips and waited until her lips stopped moving. , immediately began to return to the table with plates.

Fedor Chaliapin looked aggrieved and did not dare to look at his daughter-in-law's face. He kept his mouth shut and slowly ate the beef with a spoon.

Ross had a very embarrassed expression on his face. Her brother and sister-in-law looked at her. It was very rude to say such things to the old man, but she did not dare to express her complaints about her husband in her heart. She just found a punching bag.

"Cut!" Ronald laughed out loud. It turned out that Fedor Chaliapin relied on looking at the lips of his opponent's actors. Decades of experience in stage performances allowed him to listen to other people's lines even if he couldn't hear them. From the reaction of his lips and body, he can find the position of sentence breaks. His experience has made his rhythm never go wrong, but very precise.

"Bravo!" Ronald took the lead in applauding. This scene was a dining scene involving multiple people. The scheduling was complex and required taking into account the expressions and reactions of multiple people. Although it was not as complicated as the last scene, it still cost a lot of money for myself and David. ·Watkin’s countless brain cells.

Fortunately, I gave these Broadway character actors enough time to rehearse and allowed them to express themselves to their heart's content without limiting their performance methods.

They improvised very well today. This kind of subtle emotions among many people, layer by layer, really allowed these veteran actors to perfectly display their lifelong skills.

"Oh..." Several actors were also very excited. They have all worked in supporting roles on Broadway for decades. Today, Ronald gave them the treatment that only leading actors can get. It was also the most enjoyable scene they have filmed in many years.

Olympia Dukakis, Vincent Gardenia who plays Cosmo, Luis Gus who plays the brother, and Julie Boisso who plays the sister-in-law and accent coach, came up one after another to join Ronald. Tight hug.

They were all surprised that this script was written by an Irish playwright in his thirties, and the director was an unusually young Ronald. How could he understand such delicate and restrained emotions that only middle-aged people have? Transparent.

Moreover, Ronald did not have the domineering attitude of Hollywood directors, who treated actors like animals like Hitchcock. On the contrary, he had great respect for his Broadway supporting actors. During the intense shooting process, he gave several people enough time to rehearse and allowed himself room to improvise.

As long as it does not violate the original intention of the script, Ronald does not require that he follow the script rigidly without making any mistakes. Instead, he respects the improvisational elements of each performance. That is the most touching moment in a dramatic performance.

"I have to say, it's been a real pleasure filming with you, and I hope there are directors on Broadway who respect actors as much as you do."

Dukakis was very excited. She originally came to the set to pay for her children's college tuition. Unexpectedly, I gained the most satisfying shooting experience in recent years.

"Oh yeah? I heard Hollywood directors aren't welcome on Broadway," Ronald joked.

"No, you can. You think you are a very good director. You are the kind of director that us actors are most satisfied with. Everyone knows the legend, but few people are lucky enough to come across it. The so-called 'actor's director'. "

Vincent Gardenia, who plays Cosmo, is very sure. He has won a Tony Award on Broadway and has worked with many Broadway directors and screenwriters. Ronald understands the actor's ability and can trust him. A director who can also make their performances shine is every actor's dream.

"Okay, that's enough bragging, let's continue filming the sex scene."

Ronald asked the camera crew to start moving to the other two rooms in the studio where two sex scenes would be shot.

One is a sex scene between Cosmo and Ross.

Olympia Dukakis walked in from the bedroom door wearing white pajamas.

She looked at her husband Cosmo who was already asleep on the bed, walked to the bedside, and called him several times.

Maybe he drank too much, maybe he did it on purpose, but Cosmo didn't react at all.

"Hey, you drank too much. You don't sleep when you should sleep, and when you shouldn't sleep..."

Rose felt a little regretful and turned around to go around to the other side of the bed to sleep. When I turned around, I was attracted by the moonlight shining through the window.

The moonlight tonight seems to be as big, round and bright as my brother Raymond said. The translucent white curtains illuminate the room brightly.

Rose walked slowly towards the window, every step so gentle, as if she was afraid that the moonlight would find her and run away.

But the moonlight was not stingy with her, it just shone so gently on Rose's body, and her white pajamas and long dress had a hint of sanctity.

This light arrangement is the unique skill of director of photography David Watkin. He placed a Wendy lamp of his own invention behind the window. The advantage of the Wendy lamp is that it is parallel light similar to sunlight and moonlight, so the light on a person's face is not as easy to change as an electric light source.

Rose, played by Dukakis, stares blankly at the moonlight. She slightly opens the curtains with her fingers. The white moonlight shines on her face, and the close-up is focused on her from the side.

A feeling of grievance and sadness welled up in my heart. Husband Cosmo definitely has someone outside, and the Italian woman's intuition is absolutely unmistakable.

But the moonlight still soothed her so dullly, and the tears that were about to burst out of her eyes were smoothed away by the moonlight.

Life is like this, so what if your family doesn’t have some emotional problems? That's how Italians are. As long as it's for the sake of the harmony of the extended family, some things can be treated as invisible.

"Cut!"

Ronald was amazed. The veteran actors mastered these transitions and rhythm changes very well. Their familiarity with the script is amazing. Every action and the rhythm of the lines are just right. There is no need to bother with guidance at all.

Dukakis had not yet completely recovered from her emotions. She came over to hug Ronald and whispered her thanks in the director's ear, "Thank you, thank you. I felt so good playing Rose."

"Hold on, we still have a restaurant scene, and I have to rely on your normal performance." Ronald asked the actors to rest, and walked to a nearby house. There was also a bed scene here, and it was Ross's brother Ray. Mond and sister-in-law Rita.

"Rita, Rita" Louis Guth, who plays Raymond, keeps patting his wife Rita's body on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Rita was sleeping in a daze, and actress Julie Boisso looked like she was about to sleep but was woken up by someone.

"Get up and look at this moon. It's the moon I said Cosmo brought to my house."

Raymond lifted up the quilt and walked to the window. The same Wendy lamp was placed outside the window of this room this time.

"Is he downstairs?" Louis Gus made a look as if he was looking downstairs.

"Sleep under there?" Rita lost her sleepiness and asked Raymond as she lifted the quilt.

"Cosmo."

"What is he here for?"

"I have no idea."

"Hehe..." Rita suddenly smiled happily, "Raymond, do you know? The expression you had in front of the window just now seemed to be that you were only 25 years old."

When Raymond heard his wife's words, he turned around and slowly smiled as he recalled the past.

He smiled sweetly and slowly, step by step, walked towards the bed.

"Hehe, hehehe..." Wife Rita knew that Raymond was remembering the past when he was young, "What do you want to do? What do you want to do?"

Rita rolled up the quilt and turned her head.

Raymond was reluctant and wanted to win his wife over.

"No, no, hahaha, get out..."

"Cut!"

Another perfect performance, these veteran actors have profound skills. Character actors can play different roles, so how to master the role and how to use the least actions and lines to present a character that the audience can remember is their years of experience.

"For a moment, I thought you two were a couple." Ronald hugged the two veteran actors and congratulated them, "Those details are great, how did you perform it."

"Hahaha, Ronald, you will know when you get married. There are many details that only married couples understand." Julie Boisso said to Ronald with a smile.

Immediately afterwards, the crew moved to another room where the scenery was set up.

This is the bedroom on the second floor of Ronnie's bakery, where he and Loretta first met on the same night in the script.

"Hi Cher, is everything okay?"

Cher is a big star. She came to Toronto the latest, had the most luggage, and the most people accompanying her. Ronald found many assistants to help him get settled.

"It's not bad. There are no good hairstylists here. I have to bring my own. You have to reimburse his food, accommodation and air tickets."

"Of course, I've arranged everything." Ronald knew that the celebrity was very impressive and had already arranged everything.

This is a moonlight play. In order to persuade Ronnie to attend her and Johnny's wedding, Loretta fried a steak for him. Ronnie ate to her heart's content and thought she was a perfect woman.

The two drank some whiskey, and Loretta talked about her unfortunate past, but Ronnie was still obsessed with losing his hand and his fiancée.

Loretta wants to tell Johnny that everyone has his or her own misfortune and advise him not to be too persistent.

Two frustrated people, under the big, round moonlight, had impulses and emotions.

Ronnie was jealous of his brother for being able to get such a considerate, beautiful, and temperamental woman. Such a woman is still chattering to herself that she should not give up on herself.

Ronnie was upset at being taught by Loretta and overturned the table. Loretta trembled all over and was shocked. Loretta actually has no love for Johnny. The wolf-like male charm she longs for is found in this younger brother.

The two looked at each other and suddenly hugged each other and kissed.

Nicolas Cage picked up Cher, went into the inner room, and put her on the bed.

"I don't care, I don't care anymore, come on." Xueer still put her fingers together and made gestures. She had longed for this kind of pure desire for a long time, and she had never felt it with Johnny. Besides, the moonlight was so beautiful.

"What about Johnny?" Ronnie was still asking as he kissed Loretta.

"Don't you hate him? Just take revenge on him on me. Get my heart so that Johnny can only get my body."

"My heart was dead before I met you." Ronnie said looking at Loretta in his arms.

"Me too……"

"Cut!"

Ronald led the crowd in applause.

Cage also bowed to everyone.

"Bravo, Bravo!" Ronald praised loudly.

Then he turned to director of photography David Watkin and whispered, "It's still a long way from those Broadway character actors."

"Ronald, the audience can watch Mengnan and Xueer kissing. What else do you want?"

"Yeah yeah……"

After shooting three sex scenes, we still have to deal with the bright moon seen in all three scenes, which will be edited together.

David Watkin had already made preparations. He used paper materials to create a large moon, and used small yellow lights behind it to create a parallel light effect.

In a dark room, different background versions of the props have been prepared, with background panels of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

This old-fashioned shooting method was mostly seen in Hollywood before the 1950s, but is now rare.

But the script says that this moon is the kind of moonlight that is occasionally seen and is bigger than a building. Ronald asked the second team to shoot several real scenes but they were not satisfied, so he had to use props to shoot the big moon.

Although it seems fake at first glance, the audience does not find it out of place in such a romantic scene.

"A!", Ronald asked the prop to let off smoke, simulating the fast-moving clouds next to the moon.

The background is also dimly lit. Looking from behind the camera, it feels like the bright moon is shining on a beautiful woman under the Manhattan seaside skyline.

"Cut! Change the background of the Brooklyn Bridge"

Ronald looked at the busy props and was changing the background. The big moon still gave off a pale yellow light, shining on Ronald's face.

In this movie, moonlight implies the love and passion between men and women, and is the catalyst for the male and female protagonists to come together. This moon can put people into that romantic state of mind, so that the audience will not feel that the combination of Loretta and Ronnie is too abrupt.

So whether moonlight is romantic or not is very important.

Ronald looked at the prop moon and was still very satisfied with Watkin's level.

"It's really a big, round, and romantic moon."

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