Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Cut!"

On the set of Pretty Woman, director Garry Marshall helplessly shouted to stop, Julia Roberts failed again. This was a common occurrence on the set every day.

"Sorry, sorry, I promise I won't do it next time..." The heroine Julia Roberts was so anxious that she almost burst into tears. She apologized to the hero Richard Gere and the staff again and again, and finally came over pitifully. He asked Garry Marshall, who was old enough to be his father, to intercede.

"Relax, Julia, you work best when you're relaxed..." Garry Marshall shouted to the crew, "Let's take a thirty-minute break..."

"Ronald, why are you here?" When he turned around, Garry Marshall saw Ronald standing quietly ten feet behind, as if he had been observing for a while.

"Let's talk somewhere else..." Ronald nodded to him, and the two of them walked to the lounge.

"I'm done, I'm done, Ronald is here, he must change roles..." Julia Roberts became nervous and incoherent. The actor next to her, Richard Gere, hugged her shoulders and whispered softly. Comfort: "Don't be nervous, you're doing very well, it's not easy to change roles in a movie..."

"Mr. Katzenberg said that the progress of the crew is a bit slow. Is it because the heroine is not good at acting?" In the lounge on the other side, Ronald closed the door and discussed business with director Garry Marshall.

"You saw the sample, and her performance is very good. I rarely see an actress who is so attractive in such close-ups..."

"I trust your judgment. Julia is too nervous. Is he under any pressure? From the male protagonist?" Ronald clearly felt that when Julia Roberts was performing, her whole body seemed to be on the verge of disconnection and she could control it at any time. If I can't hold it back, I feel like I'm going to faint from nervousness.

When she was filming "Steel Magnolias", director Herbert Ross often scolded her for not being able to act, which triggered a boycott from other female cast members. It seems that Herbert Ross just has a bad temper and a bad talk, but there is nothing wrong with his judgment of actresses.

"There is no such thing as the chemistry between the two of them is top-notch. I think there is a tendency to pretend to be real..."

"Hey, but she is so nervous, how can she film a movie? I think her scenes in Steel Magnolias are sincere and emotional, but Vivian is not the rich southern girl in Steel Magnolias. She is a completely different character..." Ronald also felt that filming could continue like this. ,have some problem.

"But the character Vivian, doesn't she have this kind of emotion? She was accidentally invited by Lewis to get into the car on the street to ask for directions. As a result, she got a US$3,000 escort fee. She must have been extremely nervous, fearing that she would inadvertently turn this into a good thing. The business was lost..."

"Do you really like Julia (Roberts)?" Ronald stared at Garry Marshall for a few seconds, feeling that this was a director's appreciation of the actor.

"I have directed the most screen-ready actresses..."

"Okay, I trust your judgment. But you have to find a way to make Julia relax. I saw her speaking her lines, and even her Southern Dixie accent came out." Ronald watched Julia Roberts' performance and felt that she was taking the filming seriously. The routine of Steel Mulan was brought here. This person's acting skills are really very stiff.

"Then add some lines to her and explain that she is a southern girl, so it's okay to have an accent..."

"You really like her...but this is a good idea..." Ronald felt that this idea was actually very practical. Since Julia Roberts has no acting skills and has difficulty playing a role, in a short period of time, the reasonable choice is to modify some unimportant backgrounds and try to make the character just like her.

Before arriving, he watched the demos Garry Marshall had shot in the screening room. I have to say that Julia Roberts and Richard Gere do have a very well-matched chemistry in close-up on the screen.

Richard Gere doesn't have much expressive ability, and he wears a stereotyped smile most of the time. Julia Roberts, on the other hand, seems to just smile with her mouth wide open and her eyes shining brightly.

But the close-up editing does give people a very comfortable aesthetic feeling. It seems that a woman's silly smile has become the kind of innocence that stands out among women on the street; and a man's stiff smile can easily be interpreted as a powerful businessman who has everything under control, regaining the innocence of the past.

Garry Marshall's preference for Julia Roberts, and even a kind of pampering between elders and younger ones, may be due to his lack of success in film and television dramas for many years, and his joy in suddenly finding the best actress to take photos.

…

"Everyone, everyone knows Ronald. He is welcome to the set..." After the break, Garry Marshall dragged Ronald to the set to say a few words to everyone to increase their confidence.

"Gary asked me to come and watch the on-set shooting and said that he had never filmed such an excellent romantic drama. To be honest, I didn't believe it. I have also filmed love themes, but when I got to the set, I found that it was true. Julia, Richard , you are all the best partners, I want to apply for bonuses to the casting director and Gary...

Your lighting, photography, sound recording...each team is the most outstanding crew I have ever seen...

Okay, don’t say much, otherwise Gary will protest that I took away his microphone for too long..."

Ronald's compliments really made the staff happy. Such praise from a great director can be included in your resume in the future... and the various delicacies Ronald sent today, he is really the best producer in the eyes of the staff.

Julia Roberts looked at Ronald with tears in her eyes. Her agent told herself that Disney might have criticized her for delaying her filming schedule, but she didn't expect that Ronald came to support her this time. …

"Aw...", she was so moved that she almost cried, and quickly covered her mouth with her hands. Last time on the set of "Steel Magnolias", it was Ronald who stood up for himself in front of the annoying director Herbert Ross...

In order to repay Ronald's appreciation, Julia Roberts worked harder on the set. As you can imagine, the result is that for an actress who is so close to her true nature, the harder she works, the further away from relaxation she becomes. On the contrary, she cannot perform well at all.

"Cut!" Garry Marshall stepped forward to explain, "Relax, relax, this is a very simple scene. Although Vivian is a street girl, she still has the innocence of a normal girl in her heart, so seeing the old-fashioned Comedy TV series, but also laughs like a little girl..."

"Okay, I will definitely work hard..."

"Don't work hard, just be yourself..."

"Well, I will definitely not work hard..."

"Hey, feel it..."

"!" Garry Marshall feels that directing the two male and female protagonists is an art of waiting. When the two of them are called off enough times, they will naturally forget the key points of acting and return to their normal nature. , then it will be a performance that can be used, and it will be excellent. Originally, two handsome guys and beautiful women, talking naturally on the screen, is also very eye-catching, but I am afraid that they will try too hard to perform...

"Cut!"

"Director...I..." Julia Roberts became nervous again.

But this time it's not her problem.

"Richard, you don't need to perform too much, just respond to Julia's movements and behavior normally..."

"But I think that at this time, when Lewis saw Vivian laughing innocently at the 'old-fashioned comedy', he would think of his previous girlfriends. They all graduated from prestigious schools and had high IQs, but they lacked this kind of letting go. His ability to relax..."

Don't be afraid that bad actors won't be able to act, just be afraid that they will start acting seriously.

Ronald looked on and almost laughed out loud, so he had to lower his head and turn around to get the thermos cup to cover up.

In fact, Richard Gere's role in "Pretty Woman" is very similar to Harrison Ford in "Working Girl". Their role is to give the heroine, the center of the drama, a love interest.

In other words, this kind of movie can be seen as being shot from the psychological perspective of the heroine. The audience's hearts rise and fall for the heroine, worry about their fate, and look forward to the ending of their relationship with the hero...

As for the male protagonist, he is actually positioned similar to the heroine in traditional Hollywood romantic dramas...a tall and delicate vase.

Sure enough, Garry Marshall pulled Richard Gere aside and wanted to tell him the truth. This famous handsome guy with mediocre acting skills has much better results if he doesn't work hard than if he works hard.

However, he seemed to have not figured out his situation and was still arguing with Garry Marshall about the method of performing. Garry Marshall had to look back at Ronald and ask him to go over and help...

"Ahem... Richard, you did a good job, but what Gary said is on another level. I am an outsider, and maybe I have seen some situations from an outsider's perspective..."

"Please say..." Richard Gere felt that it might be better to have someone communicate with him from another angle, so he made a gesture to Ronald to say please.

"Ahem... Let's put it this way. There are two protagonists in this movie. One is proactive when faced with choices, and the other is passive. Which one do you think you are playing?"

This is the most interesting part of this beautiful woman. The male protagonist Lewis is a Wall Street tycoon, while the female protagonist Vivian is just a low-level street girl. But every time we encounter a problem, Lewis is often the one who is conservative, silent, and waits for his opponent to play his cards, while Vivian is the one who is brave, takes the initiative, and uses her enthusiasm to improve the situation...

The psychological dynamics of their two characters, and their social status, are actually exactly the opposite...

"Daxmn it, no one can explain it more thoroughly than you..." Richard Gere woke up from a dream, and he understood the dramatic tension designed by screenwriter Lawton.

"I understand, please let me add another one. I have already thought about how to act..." People like Richard Gere rely on intuition. They analyze and analyze, but a simple question makes them understand. .

Garry Marshall secretly gave Ronald a thumbs up, or do you know how to teach actors...

Ronald smiled, Garry Marshall still worked less with stars and lacked experience. In fact, this is still an old Hollywood stereotype. The bottom class is passionate and righteous, while the top class is corrupt and degenerate. Often after the top class saves the bottom class on the material level, it needs the bottom class to save them on the psychological level.

However, for creatures like celebrities, they need to use simple terms that they can understand to let them figure it out.

Soon, the filming of this section went smoothly. Richard Gere concentrated on playing the role of a handsome man who takes everything slow, showing a charming but meaningless smile from time to time. Julia Roberts liked this feeling very much, and her personal charm naturally exuded. The chemical reaction made the atmosphere of the scene seem to have a sour smell.

Just when everyone felt that Ronald had brought a new rapport to the crew, one of Richard Gere's hairstylists sneaked out of the studio, quickly ran to a phone booth, and dialed a phone number.

"Hey, Cindy? The situation is not good. A handsome guy named Ronald came to the crew today. As soon as he came, it seemed that your Richard became very competitive and had to work hard. The shots taken today, Julia smiled ambiguously and opened her mouth wide..."

"This Bichi..., I'll be there right away..." An American girl roared from the other end of the phone...

When the hairstylist returned to the studio, he found that the last shot had already passed. Next, shots from Julia Roberts' perspective began. Wearing a blonde wig and sexy clothes, she sat on the carpet and watched reruns of the old comedy "I Love Lucy" on the TV.

This "I Love Lucy" is a sitcom starring Hollywood's first sexy bombshell Lucille Ball, who moved to TV series in the 1950s. It is a memory for a generation.

The plot of this paragraph is that Vivian comes from a small place and has not watched this comedy much. She laughed out loud at the childish and old-fashioned plot in it. It was time to serve Lewis, but she still lingered in front of the TV...

"Hahaha……"

"Cut!" Garry Marshall called out, his laughter not loud enough. Vivian is the kind of girl who has never seen the world, so much so that when facing the sponsor, she still wanted to finish the comedy.

After Garry Marshall finished explaining it, we reshot it several times, but it was still not ideal. Although Julia Roberts is a Southern girl, it is impossible for this old-fashioned comedy from the 1950s to make her laugh hysterically.

"Cut!"

After a few attempts, Garry Marshall's head almost swelled. This was a live recording, and there was no way to replace the comedy scenes on the TV. At this time, some acting skills were needed, and there was no way to just rely on the true character... He cast a look at Ronald for help again.

"Hey, this girl is so stupid." Ronald remembered a past incident... There was also a stupid girl who couldn't act out the feeling during the filming of the sex scene. In the end, he pinched her toes so that she was still a virgin. She performed a very good passionate scene.

"Huh?" Ronald suddenly noticed that the surroundings were very quiet. When he came back to his senses, he found that the entire crew was looking at him, and over there was Garry Marshall's look for help.

"Hey...I have an idea..."

After such an explanation, Garry Marshall looked at Ronald looking up and down for a while, this trick was really interesting.

He went over and asked Julia Roberts to sit down again, this time sticking one foot out of the frame.

"!" The director lying at her feet gave the order to start filming. When the "I Love Lucy" scenes started to appear on the TV again, he started to tickle the soles of Julia Roberts' feet...

"Kekeke...hahahaha..."

This time, Vivian's smile finally met the requirements.

Ronald suddenly felt a little uninterested. Looking at this scene, what he saw was that when he was filming "Endless Love", director Franco Zeffirelli asked him to pinch Brooke Shields' feet. Picture of fingers.

Brooke's face is so beautiful, and her expression is so similar to the expression after passion. It gradually overlaps with the scene of the two of them at Princeton University...

Ronald didn't want to stay on the set anymore, so he walked out alone without saying hello to anyone. A gust of autumn wind blew outside, and the air on the West Coast was full of temperature. It was still different from Princeton back then...

He gradually woke up from his memories, and Ronald shook his head. Next spring, his and Diane's child would be born.

Suddenly, another tall girl flashed across the street. He was also wearing very high-quality clothes and had long flowing hair, and was walking towards him quickly. The way she walks is also like that of a stage model...

Ronald suddenly had a hallucination, thinking that it was Brooke who came to the set...

But when I looked closer, I saw that this girl had blond hair...

"Cindy, what are you doing here?"

The person who came was unexpectedly Cindy Crawford...

"Ah, Ronald..." Cindy Crawford was also startled, and then she toughened up and pushed out her chest, "Didn't you promise me that I can come to visit the crew at any time?"

There was a bug in the previous chapter and it has been corrected.