Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Hey hey hey..." Anthony Hopkins burst into laughter during the first script reading meeting for The Silence of the Lambs.

"Ah..." Jodie Foster, the Best Actress winner who had just come to Manhattan to participate in rehearsals, was really frightened. She felt goosebumps all over her body, and a kind of terror rose from the inside out. rise.

In fact, Jodie Foster has encountered many perverted characters, whether in real life or in various movies and TV dramas she has appeared in since childhood. But Anthony Hopkins still scared her.

Because this British actor, who is famous for his role in Shakespeare's plays, speaks softly and elegantly, and his British accent has an elegant aristocratic tone. From the beginning, Jodie Foster was delighted to be working with such a gentleman.

But Hopkins used such a gentlemanly accent to deliver creepy lines, and director Jonathan Demme quite liked this performance and had no intention of letting him adjust.

Moreover, Anthony Hopkins is full of the "virtue" of a British theater actor, and he also started to pick on Jodie Foster's freckles, clothes, hairstyle, etc., and his words walked the middle between discrimination and rehearsal, which made Jodie Foster Very angry.

Jodie Foster felt disgusted from the inside out at the thought of spending months acting alongside such a polite pervert. The last movie, "The Pear Blossom" won her an Oscar. Although the character she played was treated badly in various ways, she clearly understood that it was acting. And this time the male protagonist really gave her a scary and irritating feeling...

After becoming the actress, Jodie Foster's agent's status in the industry rose sharply, and it wasn't long before she found Ronald through Richard at a small airport in New Jersey.

This is an airport very close to Manhattan, mainly used for business jets and private jets to take off and land. Many bankers like to take off and land here to avoid the crowds of JFK and enjoy the helicopter commute to Wall Street in Manhattan.

Ronald chose this place because it is where Sony's latest Gulfstream aircraft docks. People from Sony's CEO office personally sent him here and booked him the best business suite in the Hilton Hotel near the airport for him to take a rest.

"Honey, I can get on the plane in an hour. It's very convenient here." Ronald called Diane in the room to report the trip, and the doorbell rang. "Ding dong..."

"Richard came to see me. There's something else going on with the crew. I'll hang up now. I love you..."

As soon as the door opened, Jodie Foster strode in...

"Ronald, can we talk to you privately?" Jodie Foster saw that Ronald lived in the best executive suite. The people here were either presidents of large companies, bankers on Wall Street, or giants in New York. Rich people are separated from ordinary people and rarely appear in public airports.

"Oh, okay...I still have some time..." Ronald motioned to Richard, who nodded and closed the door and left.

Jodie Foster looked at Ronald and tried her best to put on the sexiest smile she thought she had. Her little face was very photogenic and she usually looked very cute. The freckles she deliberately didn't cover with makeup today added to the beauty. Some charming.

Oscar-winning actress is a good honorary title, but it does not do much to increase Jodie Foster's wealth.

Ronald, on the other hand, has seriously surpassed the level of ordinary Hollywood successful people and has reached another level. When I met Ronald at Yale, he was still driving. In just a few years, things have turned upside down.

"As a winner of the Oscar for Best Actress, I didn't get the respect I deserved from the crew..." Jodie Foster got straight to the point.

"What request do you have? It's good that you come to me directly like this. We have known each other for a long time. If you are not satisfied with anything, it is best to ask me directly. I will satisfy your request if it can be met..."

Ronald first used his words to stabilize the other party, often saying that a movie queen would decline in three years. After many female stars become actresses, they need various treatment upgrades. The crew thinks the cost is high and sometimes they don't like to use them.

"My performance has been approved, and you appreciate my acting skills, so you recommend me to act, right?" Jodie Foster breathed a sigh of relief. Ronald's attitude was obviously good. Remembering your previous relationship with him will make communication much easier.

"Of course, I always thought you were the best choice for this movie..."

"So, I need the respect of the director and the leading actor. I am not one of those beauty pageant champions who just became an actor. I made my first movie when I was three years old, and I was nominated for an Oscar when I was 14 years old... There is no need to mobilize me in and out of the movie like this. I can perform well with emotions..."

Jodie Foster chirped and said that during the rehearsal, Anthony Hopkins used a relatively frivolous attitude and suspected of teasing, which made her uncomfortable, and she blamed it on Ronald.

"Hmm..." Ronald thought that Judy had some requirements for treatment, but he didn't expect that it was because he didn't respect her enough in performance.

"Tell me Judy, what do you think of Jonathan Demme's ability as a director? Especially his flamboyant look?"

"Very good, I like it very much..."

"Which do you think is better, Melanie Griffiths in My Working Girl or in Scattered Lulu?"

"From the perspective of a commercial film, Tess in Working Girl is more in line with the needs of a star..." Jodie Foster is a top student at Yale. It is very simple to analyze her acting skills.

"Yes, I also think her performance in Scattered Lulu is more explosive and impressive. This is what Demi brought to her, and it also gave me a lot of inspiration from director Melanie. I think You don’t have to believe Anthony, but you have to believe Jonathan.

You can communicate with him about anything, but give him your final trust. He is one of those rare directors who knows what the final film will look like before shooting, like..."

"Like Hitchcock? I understand, I will talk to him..." Jodie Foster interfaced, "But if there is still such a thing, can I ask for your help?"

"Of course, you can call my agent at any time and I will call back as soon as possible..." Ronald agreed. After all, the main job of the producer is to sort out the moods of these artists and mediate conflicts...

"Ronald, we haven't seen each other for a long time..." Jodie Foster achieved her goal on this trip, at least confirming Ronald's attitude towards her, so she touched Ronald's top with both hands. , rubbing it up and down.

"Hi..." Ronald shook his right ring finger.

"Who here would know?" Jodie Foster took the initiative to kiss her, and her unique temperament of a girl who was a top student made Ronald lose his mind and kissed him back.

"Sorry, I really have to catch a flight..." Ronald struggled for a while, saw the suitcase on the bed, and remembered that Diane had packed the luggage for him. After hesitating for a few seconds, he decided to be a good person and found an excuse to push Judy away.

"Okay, I will make time next time you come..." Jodie Foster felt the heat on her lips and thought to herself that it seems that her charm is still a little bit... Now Kelly McGillis and If you break up with yourself, why don’t you go with Yale alumna Jennifer Beals next time?

"Believe Jonathan..." Ronald made a gesture to call me and hurriedly sent her out of the room.

After flying back to Los Angeles, Ronald ran home. Diane asked Wang Ma to cook a table of dishes. The warmth of the family made Ronald feel that he had made the right decision.

I resumed my daily routine of going to the editing room from 9 to 5. One week passed, and soon Ghost's editing work reached a bottleneck. Walter Murch was really overqualified for this movie. There was nothing difficult about it. Except for the special effects shots, everything was edited.

Paramount's Lindsay Dolan requested an in-house preview of a rough cut without special effects. Ronald was a little unhappy, but agreed.

This is actually a bit distrustful for a director in Ronald's position. But Lindsay Dolan of Paramount speaks very well. In her words, this was for the people in Paramount's production department to learn how the combination of special effects movies and romantic movies is different from science fiction movies where special effects are common.

After watching it, although there is a lack of special effects, the whole movie still has a smooth narrative and sincere emotions. Whoopi Goldberg's comedic elements are also hilarious.

"That's great. As expected, your shots are really good-looking. I like your love movies the most...well, it's actually my and my secretary's favorite movie. Every time they say you are the director who best understands female psychology. Marry I will definitely be very happy to give it to you... Hahaha..." Lindsay... Dolan still sounded very nice.

"So, you Paramount still have different opinions?"

"Paramount's top management has begun to shuffle again, and romantic dramas are still facing challenges." Lindsay Dolan is now like Ronald's best friend at Paramount, knowing everything about him.

Frank Mancuso, the Paramount CEO who succeeded Michael Eisner, is making another move. Only in this way can a CEO who is incompetent in production keep his position while his subordinates continue to produce blockbuster movies.

The romance film directed by Lindsay Dolan has been criticized a lot. This time, special effects were added, which caused a lot of pressure in high-level meetings. The main competitor, the movie that blamed Lindsay, had unstable box office performance and received little success at the awards ceremony, so there was no gain.

Ronald always saves film when shooting. What he and Jonathan Demme have in common is that they know what they want to shoot before they start shooting. Compared to other film directors at Fox Films, Ronald's film ratio is relatively low.

It can be said that Ronald's ambition for the Oscar for Best Director is well known to everyone. Now his movies are not shot in the direction of an ambitious director, and he does not shoot many scenes repeatedly and then edit them slowly, so Some took advantage of the accusation that Ronald's film could not help Paramount win critical and awards favor.

In the past works that won the Oscar for Best Director, many of them overused the actors, and the scenes could always be picked out by taking more shots... But Ronald's natural and smooth shooting method is like knowing what will appear before the shooting starts. Generally speaking, it is difficult for a director to win the Best Director Award for what kind of effects he has on the screen.

For example, Hitchcock, who is the most famous in this field, has an interesting anecdote that many of his shots were taken in one pass. The actress was greedy and wanted to take more shots, but Hitchcock made her go through the scene again without turning on the camera.

"What's the problem with this? I've also saved costs?" Ronald didn't expect that people at Paramount had such strange ideas. I made this movie mainly for commercial purposes, and then I shot it experimentally with special effects. Besides, who can be as successful in business as in awards?

However, this was an intentional favoritism on the part of Frank Mancuso. In fact, he didn't question Ronald. He probably let it slip intentionally or unintentionally, so that his subordinates could use it to attack Lindsay Dolan. This female producer has been in the limelight in recent years. A bit too big.

Ronald didn't care about this, but when the actors heard the news, they felt a little stressed. Especially Demi Moore, she is very concerned about what Paramount executives think of her.

Ronald's status is solid, and his natural and smooth shooting style is unique. Even if Ghost fails at the box office, there will be no doubt about his directorial ability. Spielberg also made a failure like 1941 back then.

But the same cannot be said for Demi Moore. She has never proven her ability to be a heroine to ensure box office. If this movie fails, I am afraid she will be positioned as Bruce Willis's wife instead of Demi. And the Bruces.

Demi Moore was so anxious that she often made excuses to call Ronald. In order to prevent Ronald from thinking that she had no confidence in him, she also pretended to care about Diane and took the initiative to come to the house and exchange a lot of experiences.

Ronald cleared things up and told Demi Moore straight up that it had nothing to do with her performance. Anyway, Demi has no determination to become a movie queen. The so-called ability to direct performances does not delay her desire to become a star.

"Look at Hitchcock, who is not a star in his movies?" In the end, this sentence convinced Demi Moore. She was so happy that she continued to run to Ronald and Diane's house.

"Don't use the same trick you used to lie to Demi to deal with me, Ronald, tell the truth, will there be any problems with this movie..."

Whoopi Goldberg also heard about this rumor and nervously contacted Ronald through his agent. She is black, ugly, and a capable actor who has made a name for herself entirely by relying on her comedy skills.

I don’t believe this statement at all. Was Hitchcock a famous star? It was a movie where only stars were cast to play him.

"What are you worried about? Walter Murch, who edited your film, and your heroic appearance on the film are all in the hands of the most professional people in Hollywood..."

To deal with this kind of people, you need to have different strategies. Whoopi Goldberg was relieved when she heard this. If the editing master Murch can't cut her scene, then he should give up the idea of ​​becoming famous with this movie as soon as possible.

This little commotion quickly subsided. Ronald also knew that someone was behind the incident, but it was difficult to find out who it was. Anyway, I have a target in mind. Since I can't find out, I will assume that he did it by default.

This matter is only widely discussed in the actor circle. What is more widely circulated is the news that Ronald visited the sets of two films he and Orion jointly invested in Arrival. Soon word spread among Hollywood producers...

On this day, Ronald received a call from Disney’s Katzenberg.

"Ronald, you can't favor one thing over another, can you? Would you like to check out our beautiful women project?"

"Isn't this project going well?" Ronald thought to himself, and didn't even hear what Garry Marshall said?

"The heroine is not just a problem with acting guidance. Gary is an experienced director and wants to solve the problem himself. However, after listening to the on-site production director's report, I still hope you can go and have a look..."

It seems that Ronald's reputation for solving problems neatly gave him a good reputation in the producer circle, and Katzenberg also came to ask for help, hoping that he could solve the problems of the crew.

"Let's go and have a look. We're filming in Los Angeles anyway, so we don't have to fly around..." Diane was still very interested in the script she almost acted in, and urged Ronald to go and have a look.