Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Fake script?" Jenny asked with a smile.

"Yes, ask the principal for free borrowed venues and group performances. You can't expose the plot of the movie."

This is the consistent style of New World Producers: stingy!

Van Nuys High School agreed to lend the school's playground for free filming, organize students to perform in groups for free, and provide a free breakfast and lunch. This is all in the face of the fake script presented by the producer.

"High School of Rock" is a typical low-budget movie, filled with all kinds of rock, rebellion, love and other elements that teenagers love. The plot is simple:

The cheerleader of "Vince Lombard High School" is a rebellious rock girl. Together with her good friend, a good girl, she invites the popular rock band "Rammons" to come to the school for a concert. Toppled the roof of the high school teachers' office building and renamed the school "Rock High School".

Such a plot, of course, the location - the school of Van Nuys Public High School would not agree. The director asked Ronald to make up a fake script "High School Life" to fool the school.

Ronald wrote the story: The new headmistress of the high school rectified the school spirit and made students who were addicted to rock music realize that life is more than rock and roll. Some of the students were admitted to universities, some became cashiers in supermarkets, and some worked in factories. Everyone has a bright future.

"Okay, I get it." Jenny began to erase the title of the film on the board with the eraser, and re-write "High School Life" with a water pen.

"You inform the relevant personnel, don't reveal the truth, we will shoot in this school for one day."

"No problem." Jenny laughed and joked, "Ronnie, you're talking more and more like a director."

Ronald smiled and waved his hand, "I'm just here to mix up the credits."

At this time, a group of people on the other side of the camera broke out a burst of rapid voices, and the voices became more and more sharp, as if they were about to quarrel.

"I'll go and see what's going on, see you, Jenny."

"See you."

Walking quickly into the crowd, it was Jim who was surrounded by three leading actresses, as if 1500 ducks were crowing.

"Can we start rehearsal?"

"Where's Mr. Director? Am I wearing a red coat or a black coat today?"

"Where's Joe? He agreed last week to feature me."

...

Ronald smiled and shook his head. Jim was like a poor chicken, dizzy by the quick questions of the three leading actresses. Before answering the previous question, he was immediately interrupted by the next one.

So he asked the director of photography: "The group performance has already passed the stage, and it has been rehearsed twice, and then it is time to join the stage with the actors. Mr. Candy, what happened? Can't we start yet?"

The director of photography was lying behind the camera to see the framing situation. Hearing this, he stuck his head out from behind the camera and looked at him: "What they want is a result, and what Jim gave them is a lot of explanations, so..."

Ronald also understood, and there were countless clues on the set. The script only wrote that the protagonist wore white shoes. The director had to choose the most suitable pair from the several pairs of shoes prepared for the costume.

The director has to make dozens of such decisions every day. From what kind of shoes the actors are wearing, to 50 groups of dancers, how to choreograph each person's dance moves. The actors didn't trust Jim's choice, and Jim was eager to explain why he chose this instead of that.

"Jim, where's the director? Where's Joe? Am I wearing a red coat or black today? This unfortunate low-budget movie costs only $100 for costumes, and there's no way to get the right clothes, so I'll take all the pay. Bought clothing.

You know, that day at the Fred Segal clothing store on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and behind me was Lord Stewart, I got this red one minute before him, or he would have bought it now,

Cost me $300. And this black one is..." The first heroine, PJ Soles, said of the two dresses, familiarly.

"Miss Sauls!" Ronald shouted, "You should wear the red one for today's play."

"Call me PJ. Red? But black is fine too."

Because you wore red on the tape, Ronald thought, but he had to make up a reason.

"Miss PJ Sauls, we shot today's scene at sunrise, and the light before and after sunrise is bluish, which will make the black against the color wrong.

And your red coat is very suitable, light blue, just the complementary color of red, it must be very outstanding. And your role is a rock girl, red is more appropriate. "

"Really? Then I'll choose the red one."

"Ms. Mary Voronoff, the director agreed to add a feature of you last week, and it's on the schedule today, I promise. You walked up to the camera from a distance and appeared in the headmistress's uniform."

Ronald took the shooting sheet in Jim's hand, turned to a page, glued a piece of paper of a different color on it, and pointed it to Mary, who was playing the headmistress: "Look, this is the shot."

"Ms. Dey Young, you played a good girl and a school tyrant. You are the protagonist of the first scene. Let's start walking, measure the focus, and wait for 20 minutes, no, exactly 18 and a half minutes later. , the group performance is in place, and we can start rehearsing."

The problem was solved neatly and the DP gave him a thumbs up.

Mary Voronoff, who plays the headmistress, has acted in several New World Productions films, and Day Yang, who plays the good girl Xueba, is a newcomer.

PJ Sowers, who played the leading role of the rebellious rock girl cheerleader, was the biggest actor on the set and earned the highest salary. She has played the main role in the horror film "The Witch Karrie", which was a big hit the year before last, and "Moonlight, Panic", which is currently being released, so she has a stand in.

Before the actual shooting, the lighting crew had to look at the effect of the light on the face, while the camera crew had to pull a tape measure to measure the distance from the actor's eyes to the camera. Movie cameras don’t have autofocus, so you need to measure the focal length with a tape measure and focus manually to get those eyes that sparkle on the screen.

Some actors don't want to waste time, and have a stand-in similar to her height and weight to do this for her. PJ Sowers is the only actor on the crew who gets this treatment. When the stand-in took her place, PJ went to the temporary dressing room in the teaching building to change clothes and touch up makeup.

The first camera assistant, who is also the follower, and the chief coolie's red-haired camera assistant, quickly took the tape and found the initial position of the actors in the storyboard on the ground. After finding it, stick a T-shaped indicator on the ground with tape, which is the position of the actor.

Then take a tape measure, hang one end from the camera, pull the other end in front of the actor's eyes, and take the readings. Then go back and figure out the corresponding focus, and make a mark on the focus ring next to the camera body. When it comes to the actual shooting, the follower will screw the corresponding mark to the position of the shot to ensure that the focus is on the actor's eyes.

After repeating this several times, the shooting of the first shot was completed. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Ronald picked up the electric horn: "What about makeup? Gigi, you touch up the heroine's makeup."

The time had come to 05:55, and Ronald began to get restless again. The director hasn't arrived yet. At this time, PJ Sowers had already changed his clothes and made up his makeup, and walked out of the temporary dressing room in the teaching building.

She was still a little hesitant, wearing a red jacket and holding a black jacket in one hand, she kept comparing her to her body, "Where's the director? I still have to ask the director."

Everyone looked at Ronald, Ronald suddenly broke out in white sweat, why are they looking at me? I don't know where the director is. But in the end, the dress must have been red. He still pretended to be confident: "Director, director..."

"Here comes the director!" shouted Jim, who was standing opposite.

A tall, thin man approached the school gate, about 6 feet 6 inches (about 2 meters) tall. With explosive curly hair and vaguely Middle Eastern facial features, it is Alan Akush, the director of the "Rock High School" crew.