Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Timothy Hutton and Tom Cruise starred in the absurd comedy "Lights Out," starring cadets against real estate developers who demolished houses, has completed the editing of the entire film and has begun an internal preview.

Through the test screening feedback, 20th Century Fox is not too confident in the box office prospects, and does not want to compete with big productions such as "ET" and "Rocky 3" for next year's summer slot.

President Shirley Lansing decided to schedule the production with a budget of 14 million to the Christmas season at the end of the year, urging the director to make a second revision based on audience feedback.

The Disney-invested, Kinneman-produced "Texas" has completed filming in the rural Oklahoma town of Tulsa, the hometown of the novel's original author, SE Hinton.

Disney expects the film to earn a PG rating thanks to scenes of heroine Meg Tilly getting up in low-cut pyjamas, along with some violent language and the suspect using a gun after escaping prison.

This has a great conflict with Disney's principle of always being G-rated and attracting children to watch. Ron Miller, the president of Disney, spent a lot of energy to suppress the opposition of a group of old officials and insisted on releasing the film.

But he took charge of Disney as a door-to-door son-in-law and had to make some compromises with conservatives led by Roy Disney Jr., his wife's cousin. "Texas" does not use the Disney logo in the title, but uses the publisher's brand "BuenaVista".

Ron Miller decided to put this film with a production cost of 6 million in the later stage, as a test of the transformation direction of Disney's teen live-action film, and put it on the big screen in July at the end of next summer's season.

Paramount's teen film, the sequel to the hit musical "Grease 2," was a mess. Director Patricia Birch is inexperienced, and the following people are intrigued to cast their own people into this 12 million big production.

Those who have power compete for the protagonist and supporting roles, and those who have no power can also join a few singing and dancing groups. Every day, the casting conference is very lively.

In addition to the heroine Birch who set Michelle Pfeiffer early, the candidates for the actor have been killed. Birch almost lost control of the crew, and the two producers were still arguing over the male lead as the crew began to operate.

The script began to be further revised to accommodate different male lead candidates. If things go on like this, when the movie starts in November, the script may not be finalized. Director Birch's hair turned grey.

Universal's teen film "Fast-Paced Richmond High School" is a $3 million small production. In addition to the American burger pulled by the young director and the sponsorship of Vans canvas shoes, the production budget is exactly 3.1 million.

Assistant director Albert came to the production office to meet the young over-the-top director Ronald. The director picked him between him and the other two candidates, which left him with mixed feelings.

Albert, who had just entered the industry, was responsible for his work. He once served as the first assistant director in "Cowboy of the City". The movie was a big hit at the box office, and he got more job opportunities.

The job of the first assistant director is to help the director manage all the people and processes on the set, allowing the director to focus on directing the performance. Whether the box office is good or not has little to do with him.

However, the three films after Albert all failed at the box office. Albert did not have a long-term co-director, and others disliked him as bad luck and could not find a good job for a while.

It happened that Universal's small production was recruiting, and the director selected him. He has a job and can support his family. But he was afraid that the film's failure to release would have a worse negative impact on his resume, and his future work would become a problem.

"Hi, Al. The director is throwing a tantrum with the producer." He was called by the crew's director of photography, Matthew, whom they had known before.

"Go to the office and wait, Ronald is waiting for you." Matthew reminded him and walked out.

Al deepened his worries. This director was not only young, but it was his first time making a film, and if he got angry with the producer Lin Sen... He was recommended by Lin Sen.

Many studios will provide young people who are directors for the first time with an experienced first assistant director to assist them in their journey. But this Ronald Lee... how come there was a conflict with the producer before filming started?

He knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Al pushed open the door and heard Ronald talking loudly to producer Lin Sen.

"It's not fair, why do we put ads for Dolly Parton's films in the movie and she doesn't put ads for us?"

Lin Sen smiled, he was used to Ronald's fussing style.

"Comeon, Ronnie. Our 'Fast Tempo' is a period drama, and it's not normal to have a poster of them in front of the movie theater where the protagonist works. Dolly Parton's 'Best Chicken House in Texas' is a How do period dramas fit into our current story?"

"Fair, fair, Mr. Linson. They can't just tell us to do it for free just because Ms. Mona in Texas got a $30 million budget," Ronald replied.

Ms. Mona is Dolly Parton's character in the movie, running a chicken house with many beautiful women.

He had a relationship with Dolly Parton at the Oscars, but not her opinion.

"Okay, I'm going to talk to the old folks and get their theatrical line to add us some patch trailers. But you can't expect too much."

"I see, it's better than nothing." Ronald knew that he had a small production of 3.1 million, and there was no room for equal exchange with the other party.

"Cough..." First Assistant Director Al cleared his throat.

"Oh, Al, here you are. I just finished the script for you. You can start breaking down the script next Monday." Ronald handed over an all-white copy of the script. If he wants to revise the script in the future, he will Will change the white paper in the modified part to blue and other colors.

All these trivial matters are handled by Al, the first assistant director, and his assistant director team. Often this delicate work of documentation involves a woman as the second assistant director.

Al took over the script, with the title "Fast-paced Richmond High School" written in small print on the bottom right, the final draft.

He let out a long breath.

I don't know the talented person in front of me. Many new directors, even big directors, have made this mistake. The delay in finalizing the script made other departments of the crew, costumes, sets, lighting, photography, etc. unable to work, and it became a mess after the start.

Ronald is very organized. He finalized the script at the first meeting, and other people freed up work time. In fact, the finalized script can be revised later. He and the producer are not quarreling, but fighting for the benefits that the crew deserves.

What kind of novice director wants him to help? Isn't this a replica of the urban legend circulating within the world?

When Spielberg directed the tube for the first time, the novice director in his 20s was as experienced as an aging director as soon as he shot.

Ronald watched Al turning over the script, and added, "Next Monday is the four-week countdown to the start of the game, you first find the candidates for the assistant director team, and try to use the skilled hands you have worked with.

Then start breaking down the script, get the shot sheet, and I'll take you to the set office first, then the costumes, and the props. Lastly is my office, which is huge. You will work with me there. "

With that said, Ronald took Al out of the producer's office. The crew is taking shape day by day, and the original preparatory office is no longer sufficient and has become the accounting department. Now that the staff is increasing day by day, Universal has allocated a lot of new offices for the crew to use.

Al followed Ronald through sets, props, and costumes. Ronald and the person in charge are very familiar, especially the clothing department, and he also picked pictures of two sweaters for the protagonist Stacey and asked them to make them.

This made Al look at Ronald again. A lot of art directors, such as David Lynch, come up and mix with costumes all day long, constantly selecting and making beautiful costumes. Hollywood has circulated his new title, chief costumer.

Another type of director who focuses on performance has not met the costume department when the filming starts. When the filming starts, he is not satisfied with the costume and cannot change it immediately, which is very troublesome.

"This is Cameron Crowe, this is our first assistant director Al, and he's in place next Monday." Ronald eventually led Al to the writer and director's office.

Al looked at his desk, which was the largest. It seems that Ronald is not a director who only focuses on the hierarchy of the set, there is flexibility. The assistant director team has a lot of paperwork, and it is very convenient to have a large desk where the paper can be spread out and sorted slowly.

He left. It must be comfortable to work in such a crew. Although the budget is not high, but the boss knows what to do, all departments prepare early, and the shooting can be carried out in an orderly and fast manner.

However, this type of director may be less artistically creative, and Spielberg is a special case after all. But why do you think so much? Can you expect to win an award for an exploitative film with a budget of 3.1 million?

Ronald took Al out of the house, turned to Cameron Crowe and said, "The producers gave us a job to implant a new Dolly Parton movie in the movie theater scene at the beginning of the film. Advertisement. Think about it."

"It's that nerdy 'mouse' Mark, the movie theater that checks tickets? Let them come up with a poster, and we'll stick it next to Mark's ticket booth."

"Add some extras, we have to be serious, how about adding a line to Mark's friend, scalper Mike? That's it..." Ronald gave Crow an idea.

"Hahaha...you have a real sense of humor." Crow laughed, and started typing on the typewriter.

"I've always been a little curious, and the countdown will start right away, aren't you nervous?" Crow asked as he typed.

"I'm not nervous, I'm very excited, and I can finally realize my dream. Cameron, you will feel it when you become a director in the future."

Countdown to the fourth week...

The first assistant director Al finished the script decomposition, and initially took out the shooting schedule to discuss with Ronald.

"There are two nude scenes here, are the contracts all over?" Al reminded the director.

"Yes, the actors are all adults and signed the consent form. We told each other at the beginning of the audition, and the Screen Actors Guild checked it."

"There are two children's scenes in the first day of shooting. Do you need to move it back for two days? After all, children's scenes are difficult to direct."

Ronald took the shooting plan and looked at it, and Al's reminder was necessary. According to Hollywood legend, children, animals, and water are the three subjects that the director fears most. Their common feature is that they are not obedient.

It is often easy to waste time and delay the shooting process. This is easy to be caught by the associate producer Heklin.

But he flipped through the shooting schedule and shook his head, "I can't help it, the mall scene has to wait for the night scene to be filmed after the mall closes at nine o'clock in the evening. After that, the shooting schedule is very full, and there are labor union regulations for children. You can't shoot too late, it's illegal after 11 pm.

We only have a relatively empty schedule for the first day, allowing them enough time to make mistakes. "

After all, the budget is still too small, and it is impossible to set up the scene to shoot the interior of the mall.

Penultimate week...

The first assistant director Al and Ronald came to Sherman Oaks again. This week, according to the shooting progress, check the shooting scenes one by one, and work with the art director and the director of photography to ensure that each scene can be shot as expected.

"We will find a way to hide the lights here, in line with the lighting system inside the mall, so that it can illuminate the scene without looking like a real mall." Photography knows that Matthew took Ronald to see the lights arrangement.

“The first week of shooting will be in normal tones, on film as it would appear to the human eye. Then when you transition to other scenes, I’ll be watching from here, dressing the mall as a Christmas decoration. Let's do another week of Christmas scenes when you get back."

"Does the mall agree?"

"They are very happy that they can save themselves the cost of decorating the Christmas atmosphere. Anyway, we are almost done with Christmas."

"very good……"

Penultimate week...

Ronald is in separate meetings with the actors to discuss the performance of each character.

"How are you getting along with Robert Romanus, who plays Mike?" Ronald asked Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was trying on a sweater.

"He's a very nice guy and has done a lot of work for our family. My mom couldn't bear to leave him after filming." Jennifer laughed.

"How about this set? The neckline was specially modified to match her double ponytail hairstyle." The costume took a double ponytail wig from the hair stylist and put it on Jennifer.

"Very good, just order this one. You can find another one for her to match the shawl hair." Ronald ordered.

Jennifer has two passionate scenes, and Ronald specifically asked him about how he felt with the actor. However, Jennifer came from an acting family, so Ronald was not particularly worried.

He was more worried about Phoebe Cates. She was angry because the "Paradise" crew edited the revealing footage of her stand-in. Publicly accused "Paradise" in the newspaper of plagiarizing "Blue Coral Reef".

It made him a little concerned that Phoebe might be averse to "fast-paced" revealing scenes.

Among the other leading actors, Judge Reinhold's conversation with Ronald was not salty or bland, and it seemed that he was still biased towards Hecklen. Judge's acting skills are still qualified, and Ronald hopes to calm them down when the film is turned on, so that the shooting will go on the right track.

The only person scratching his head is Sean Penn, who has another stage show in Chicago and hasn't returned to Los Angeles yet. And I heard Tom Cruise say that Sean is a methodist, and when this kind of actor plays against a non-methodist, nothing should go wrong.

Countdown to the first week...

"All the shooting schedules have been confirmed, and this is a notice broken down to each actor." The first assistant director Al is very good, and the documents are well organized.

Ronald picked up the announcement and handed it to producer Lin Sen and associate producer Hecklin. On the countdown to the last weekend before the start, they met to check all preparations and prepare for the start next Monday.

"All the group performances have signed the consent form. The American Burger also agreed to open the back kitchen to us. This is the consent form..."

One item is checked and confirmed, just wait for the official start of the crew.

"Good luck to us." Ronald shook hands with everyone. When he held Hecklin, he also smiled when he saw her. The two smiled and said goodbye, just waiting for the good show to begin.