Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Exploiting Hollywood 1980 Main Text Volume Chapter 84 Editing is Like a Confession "I don't quite understand this part of the shot. Why did Harrison Ford suddenly stop here?" Walter Murch was in the editing room, pointing to the monitor. In a shot of Harrison Ford turning over in bed, he suddenly stopped.

"Oh, that's the request of his manager, no exposure." Ronald remembered, and during the filming, he took several photos of himself in order to turn over just right.

"I either cut to the front where he realizes he's about to reveal his point, or I cut to other close-ups and close-ups... Let's go close-ups, Harrison's reaction is too slow, and the audience will think it's weird if I cut here."

"you're right……"

Back in the editing room, Ronald and Murch began to compete with the film again and slowly grind it out. This time, Ronald's shooting included different shooting methods, and the characters in each shot also had ambiguity, which made Murch find it a bit challenging. Ronald is getting better and better at shooting now.

At noon, the two of them had a light meal and went out to bask in the sun for a while. Murch kept looking at Ronald from the side, making him feel a little embarrassed.

"What?" Ronald asked Murch.

"I'm thinking that maybe you should spend less time on the company and focus more on picking scripts, shooting, and editing. You know, you remind me of the director Howard from the golden age of Hollywood. Hawks.”

"The company has just started shooting, and I need to keep an eye on the first few movies." Ronald listened. It was Murch who was a little dissatisfied that he spent too much time and energy on those B-level movies, which affected his creation.

Howard Hawks, mentioned by Walter Murch, is a very magical director. He is not limited to any genre. He has made western films, romance films, gangster films... and even aerial combat films, and they have been touched by his great hand. In the future, genre films will undergo a paradigm innovation, adding innovative elements or structures.

Each genre can be filmed at the top level, and it will open up some new possibilities for newcomers and reinvigorate genre films. "Red River," the movie in which Diane had already gotten the role, was copied from "Red River," which was actually shot by Hawks.

After it was released, the great Western film director John Ford was so shocked that he dropped his pipe. He didn't expect that Western films could be made like this, and he didn't expect that his frequent co-star John Wayne had acting skills. Later, he asked Wayne to film it again. He made many new westerns, establishing Wayne as the number one star of westerns.

"Howard Hawks is the idol of many directors. I don't think I can make those works of his. This is not the era of big studios anymore."

"I just don't understand.

You have the qualifications to choose scripts, and there are many stars and actors who want to work with you. There is a cycle in a director's creation. If you don't hurry up and shoot during the prime time, you may regret it later. "

"Hey, Walter, you don't know how difficult it was for us to be directors for the first time, and how many hardships we had to overcome before we got the opportunity. It's many times more difficult for directors now than when we entered the industry seven or eight years ago."

Ronald knew that he chose the script entirely based on his dreams, and it was not because of his superior ability or vision. He told Walter a different reason, that he wanted to devote some time to daydreaming about low-budget movies.

"My assistant when I was filming Dirty Dancing, Emil Adolino, was actually very good. He could help me a lot on the set, arranging the dance scenes. Later, he also directed many commercials and music videos. But he was more Being shy, I never got the chance to direct a feature film.

I called him several times to vouch for his quality, but I couldn't convince the producers to hire him. When we enter the industry, if a big director recognizes us, we can usually get some opportunities. "

Both Ronald and Murch suffered from trust issues in their debut films, but once Spielberg and Lucas spoke, they were able to clear the way for them to complete the film. But now in Hollywood, affected by the rising salaries of stars and the high investment costs caused by the Wall Street stock market crash, more and more studios find it difficult to trust inexperienced directors. They only want to invest in directors who have a history of box office success.

And the low-cost movies headed by Roger Corman have gradually lost the drive-in theater market on which they depended for survival. More and more vacant land on the outskirts of the city has been turned into high-end communities or department stores and shopping malls by real estate developers.

If the video distribution business of Daydream can be stable, then it can gather a group of talented screenwriters, directors and other talents. The small department said that it can make money for its own company, and the big department said that it can bring fresh blood to Hollywood, and the future will be the same. Develop a network of people for yourself.

"That's a good idea..." Murch nodded in agreement. Hollywood is an industry that relies on human output. Giving people opportunities is always a good thing with good reputation. "Your video tape business has become a big business, so can I." I’ll give a lecture at your place.”

Ronald now felt as if he had really done something meaningful. Although the original intention was to make money on my own...the investment in Hollywood nowadays is too big and the risk is very high. Although small productions such as video tapes cannot make a lot of money, fortunately, the success is steady, which is equivalent to finding a small base for one's own business.

The early 1980s was a window of opportunity for talented young people to enter the industry and become film directors. At that time there were still many opportunities for small productions worth two to three million dollars. Ronald feels that he is really lucky.

The Chinese anglee I met in college never found a chance to enter the industry, and now I am still a director with no resume. After Ronald contacted him, the two had a long phone call and talked about their experiences after their separation.

After anglee graduated from New York University, he was spotted by William Morris Agency for his graduate work and signed a contract to become a director. At first, he filmed some commercials and music videos, and then revised some works as a screenwriter, but he never found a suitable movie script to direct himself.

He missed the window of opportunity and wasted six years. If it weren't for his wife, Dr. Lin, who was looking for a Ph.D. in college and worked a biology job to support the family, anglee would have had to bid farewell to his Hollywood dream.

Coupled with the birth of her eldest son, anglee devoted more time to her family. As a man, anglee once wanted to change his career to work in a computer company, but Dr. Lin asked him not to change his dream. She fell in love with anglee, a movie director, not anglee, a computer company salesman.

Fortunately, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. was very satisfied with his script work this time and took a fancy to an English script he had been promoting over the years. Anglee will soon be able to direct a real Hollywood production.

In fact, anglee didn't like writing scripts. In order to become a director, he had to write a few English scripts and find someone to polish them.

The script that Goldwyn took a liking to was called "Neon," which tells the story of an escaped prostitute.

This made Goldwyn Jr., whose father liked to make such dark stories very much, very fond of it. He also let Julia Roberts, the most temperamental of the three heroines in the last modern Cinderella, continue to star in the new film.

It is expected that after the strike is over, anglee will be able to realize his dream of directing.

Back in the editing room, Murch continued to grill Ronald about his thoughts on each shot while filming. The two communicated without words. They first took turns watching the film on the editing machine, and then each used a marker to mark where they thought the knife should be cut.

If the two people's marks coincide, then they can reach an agreement. If they are inconsistent, they will have to cut twice to let the other party understand their ideas.

But when this movie was made, Harrison Ford's performance space was much worse than that of the two heroines because of his restrictions on the role of Jack in the script. Many times Murch had to ask Ronald what was going on.

"Harrison may not be happy after seeing the sample. In this movie, he is just a male vase." Walter Murch watched a conversation between Catherine and Tess in Catherine's house, with their own ulterior motives. After the play, that’s what I said to Ronald. Harrison Ford's performance is really far behind.

"This is his rule. I have told him a long time ago." Ronald chuckled.

"You did it on purpose, right?" Murch pushed up his glasses. When Harrison was filming "Apocalypse Now", he was very willing to cooperate with Coppola. Now that his salary is getting higher and higher, his pursuit of acting skills is mediocre.

"Nothing... This is the prerequisite for his willingness to star, that is, his character cannot be adapted in any way, and it must conform to the image of a star from the beginning." Ronald denied quickly.

"Editors have editors' rules. Everything that happens in the editing room stays in the editing room." Murch saw that Ronald's words were insincere, and he was clearly taking advantage of Harrison Ford and his marketing skills. The role in the film can also be used to foil the role of the heroine in the movie. "Working Girl" is, after all, a play where women are at the center.

"Should I say two rosaries?" Ronald felt like he was a confessing Catholic in the editing room, with Walter Murch as his pastor. After doing something bad, if you confess to him, you will be forgiven by the God of Movies.

"Hi, Ronald, Walter..."

Emile Ardolino, who had worked with Murch before, came over from the editing room next door and showed Ronald the Brooke Shields commercial.

This unlucky man, similar to anglee, has never been given a chance. Ronald promised to give his director a chance, but because of the current writers' strike, it has become elusive.

Fortunately, Adolino's mentality was not bad, and he filmed many commercials for Ronald's Daydream, so income was not a problem.

Just as he and Murch finished cutting a large roll of film, Ronald inserted the videotape into the machine and relaxed by watching Brooke Shields' Sony Walkman commercial.

"Dang, dang..." Brooke was wearing an outfit that looked very similar to the one in the Columbia Studios title sequence, which is America's symbol, the Statue of Liberty.

The pure white skirt reveals one shoulder and charming long legs, dancing to the fierce drumbeats. Her hands were wearing gloves with America's stars and stripes pattern, and she kept opening and closing them.

The lights on the background dance behind her, cooperating with the dance, and coupled with the rapid jump cuts in close-up shots, the music and lights have become part of the dance, and they work together to convey Brooke's charming charm.

Ronald turned his head to look at Emil Adolino in surprise. Through training in commercials and music videos, he had a good control over the coordination of sound, images, lighting, etc.

Moreover, the makeup and stage design were carefully designed. Large earrings and hairstyle were used to modify Brooke's slightly wider chin. The lighting in the close-up also used the shadow of the hair to do magic to the face shape, as if Brooke was back again. Back to what he looked like when he was sixteen years old.

Ronald looked at Murch, and he also gave a two thumbs up, indicating that this paragraph was very good.

"Very good, just submit it to Sony." Ronald nodded to Emil. Because there was insufficient script reserve, there was no suitable one for him to make a movie for the time being. When the strike ends, I will give him a chance to debut.

"What, Fox gave me an editing guide today..." Walter Murch and Ronald continued editing the next day. At the beginning, Murch took a piece of paper and handed it to Ronald.

"Out of respect for the union, we require all directors to comply with the following regulations when it comes to editing..."

Ronald looked at it and saw that the fight between the Writers Guild and the Producers Union for other unions had spread to all the studios.

Labor and management are unwilling to give in to each other. The screenwriter would rather have no money to eat, but he must fight for his own power. Ronald and several celebrity friends were on the phone, and they were unwilling to offend the screenwriter at this time.

If you gain a bad reputation among screenwriters, others will deliberately create plots that do not fit your image when writing scripts in the future, which will have an impact on your star status.

Of course, they would not come out to stand up for the screenwriters for no reason. They just followed the crowd. Under the instigation of some caring people, they still donated money to the Screenwriters Guild so that they could get some minimum wages during the strike.

Another major battlefield is the various other labor unions that also belong to Hollywood. All the unions, including the artistic Screen Actors Guild, casting directors, and technical cinematographers, sets, and props, all joined forces to pressure the studios to allow adequate time and size for credits in prominent locations.

"All creative staff and department directors must not appear in the title sequence for less than 1.5 seconds, and the font size must not be smaller than xx..."

"Such a specific rule? How come the Producers Alliance compromises so much?" Ronald saw that there were such specific rules and began to scold the Producers Alliance for compromising.

"You won't agree. If you do it this way, your opening shot will be ruined..." Murch must have come first in art. When he was editing "Apocalypse Now", the title did not appear for a long time in the opening scene. Coppola didn't bow to these rules at that time.

Of course, Ronald knew that if the opening shot of himself desperately shooting aerial shots, accompanied by Carly Simon's wonderful Rhapsody on Wall Street, was inserted with rows of large-font subtitles, the carefully designed opening effect would be reduced by at least three points. of two.

However, Coppola made Apocalypse Now with his own money, while 20th Century Fox took the lead in working on Working Girl. I can't make my own decisions like him.

Ronald and Murch quickly found the film and projected it on the screen, watching the first two minutes of footage over and over again.

"Can we put the subtitles in a position that doesn't affect the overall layout of the picture? Everything else meets the requirements, but make them appear on the screen at the farthest point from the focus of the eye."

He remembered the attention magic that Murch taught him. Editing is to focus the audience's attention on the position you want them to look at, so that they will not pay attention to the places outside the focus.

Murch used this trick before so that no one could spot the gangster scenes in the movie.

"Hey, this is a solution, but it's best not to put subtitles." Murch said it was feasible. After the audience has seen it twice, they will ignore the subtitles, but they are completely in compliance with the regulations.

"Now is the critical moment of the strike. Being too tough may cause trouble. Let's cut two versions to cope with the inspection. Then when we make the copy, we can change it to the version without subtitles." Ronald thought for a while and said.

"Okay, you are the director, I will write down specific requirements and let the lab produce two copies." Murch wrote down Ronald's request.

The film will be released before the end of the year to meet the nomination requirements for next year's Oscars. The summer production period will have to pass. The strike should be over by then, right?