Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"We're Daydream Pictures, calling you from New York, we want to chat with you, the latest Ronald Lee movie...yes, the director of 'Top Gun',...wait a minute, We're not liars. Not..."

"Ah... ah ah" Donna started her summer job at Ronald's Daydream Films. She was often accused of being a liar.

"Don't do this, Donna. It's normal to be rejected in this line of work. You have to throw away those bad emotions and continue to make another phone call." A female employee who seemed to have some experience came over to comfort Donna, who was regarded as a liar.

"Thank you, Dolly." Donna recovered and went to make a cup of coffee to sort out her emotions.

Dolly Bellingstein, who was in charge of the distribution, was a familiar recruit from Colombia by Cannold. Said to be a skilled person, in fact, she does not have much experience, but she is better than others to understand the industry, and she is willing to work hard.

"Hello, is this Mr. Thomas Stephenson from the Hollywood chain in New Jersey? I'm Donna Parker from Daydream Pictures and I'm on the phone to talk to you about Ronald Lee's next movie. The release of the work." Donna sorted her mind and continued to make phone calls from the directory.

"Hey, it's me. I saw Ronald at the Las Vegas show. Why isn't his next movie coming out of the Big Seven?"

"Ah, thank you for believing in me." Donna finally met a theater owner who didn't have a liar she was a liar, "Ronald's next film is a small production, about a Jewish man from a wealthy family in 1963. A love story between a girl of American descent and a poor Irish dancer boy. For various reasons, Ronald decided to release the film himself."

"I'm very interested. You have my fax, right? You can send me the brief introduction of the project."

"Yes!" Donna shouted happily after finally talking about a visionary theater owner.

...

"Yes, yes, yes yes, these are the songs, yes."

At this time, Ronald, in the office next door, found Eleanor, the screenwriter of "Dancing Hot", and began to ask her what she thought of each scene in the script.

With this semi-autobiographical script, no one knows better than Eleanor what the film she wants to make is like.

The two chatted scene by scene, confirming the appearance of each place, background, utensils, and even the music used at the dance.

Eleanor posted a note to every scene in the script with the soundtrack, noting the soundtrack she wanted. They are all old songs from the 1950s and 1960s, and in addition, there are a few new songs.

She also found a list of all the episodes she thought should be used, ripped it from the record onto a blank tape, wrote "Eleanor's hot dance episode" on it, and gave it to Ronald.

Ronald took out the tape recorder and listened to it, which matched the episode in the dream, and immediately cried out happily.

"Fine, that's what it tastes like." Ronald was delighted, putting together the tapes and the list of songs.

"There are more than twenty songs in total." Ronald counted.

"Why, do you think you use too many old songs?" Eleanor was very happy when she saw that her film had been approved. She felt Ronald's respect for her original screenwriter. In addition to the transfer fee of the production rights, there is also a small part of the profit, which makes her feel good and tries her best to help Ronald's production process.

"No, were these old songs popular in the past?" Ronald asked.

"Well, of course, these were all the charts when I was younger. Otherwise I wouldn't be writing and playing these songs."

"The transfer fee from the record company is not cheap." Ronald tutted.

In total, I only prepared a production budget of 4.5 million for the project, and a reserve of 1.5 million. If the record company raises the price of these songs, it is likely to cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars per song.

"Well, I don't know. If it doesn't work, let's change to other cheap songs." Eleanor said in frustration. The budget of 4.5 million is limited everywhere, and it has to be used sparingly. It is unlikely to spend so much on the episode.

"I'll ask someone first." Ronald also felt that it was a pity to give up those songs that fit very well. These are the songs that Eleanor had in mind when she was writing the script.

"Let's find someone else to collect episodes." Ronald looked at the money in the budget table and knew that it was too expensive to find those old friends to customize an episode, so he still tried to find a cheap composer.

"What's next? Are we looking for a studio to set up a set?" Eleanor's understanding of film shooting was still ten years ago.

"Ah, we don't have that much money. Let's find the real scene." Ronald laughed.

Setting up a scene in a studio, imitating the actual scene, is the patent of the big production. Just like Diane's "Street of Fire" and Helen's "Supergirl", with a budget of tens of millions, you can spend millions of dollars to build a real scene for one or two important big scenes.

For my poor millions, I can only find real scenes in reality and shoot them with natural light. Although the effect is a little worse than artificial lighting, it is cheaper, and the taste of the audience is gradually turning to live shooting.

"Well, when I wrote this script, it was based on Catskill who was a kid in New York on a Jewish vacation, and it would be great if it could be filmed there."

Saying goodbye to screenwriter Eleanor, Ronald realized that the most urgent thing now is to find an art director, determine the location of the live-action shooting, and find the corresponding place in the Catskills one by one.

Ronald's old connections were in Hollywood and the Catskills, a Jewish-only resort in Greene County, New York, had to find an art director familiar with the New York surroundings.

"Why don't you ask Jonathan Demme? His 'Shotshot Lulu' (Something

Wild)' was filmed in New York and New Jersey. "

Nisita got a call from Ronald, who didn't know the art director was familiar with New York, and called Jonathan Demme.

"Hello, Ronald. My art director, Stephen Laneweaver, is very familiar with New York and around, you just describe the scene you need and he'll be able to find the right spot."

As soon as Jonathan Demmy heard that he was in need of someone, he quickly recommended the acquaintances he had worked with.

Stephen Laneweaver was a bearded man and he was tall, and after he met Ronald, the two got along very well. After Ronald gave him a standard contract, the two set off for the Catskills Resort.

"It's very interesting here. The Catskill Village is a small town with a tourism and vacation industry. Every winter and summer, countless wealthy Jewish businessmen, lawyers, doctors, and families from New York and New Jersey come here for vacation."

Ryan Weaver put on his sunglasses when he arrived at the resort and introduced him to Ronald.

"Why only give Jews a vacation? Don't other people accept them?" Ronald also wore sunglasses. He was not Jewish, so would the other party not be willing to rent it to him?

"In the beginning, after the Second World War, many Jews from Eastern Europe immigrated to the East Coast. At that time, the mainstream people did not like Jews. So some business-minded people among them set up such a special reception for Jews. resort.

Because they are here, they don't have to worry about being discriminated against. Jews generally attach importance to education and can afford it soon, so the development here is very fast.

Later, Jews mainly liked to be with people of the same ethnicity, so that everyone was the same in customs. "

Ronald and Ryan Weaver walked to the resort, which is close to the mountains. In summer, the temperature is cooler than other parts of New York. There are many mountain breezes and shady places. There is no need to turn on the air conditioner to live here.

"There are a lot of tourists here, and they are rich." Ronald saw a lot of expensive cars parked outside the resort.

"Yes, the conditions here are the best, the best of all Jewish resorts within a two-hour drive around New York."

"Hello, welcome to my place to shoot, Director Ronald."

The owner of the Catskill resort is, of course, Jewish. He heard that director Ronald Lee was interested in renting his place to shoot a movie, and the fat on his face was shaking with joy.

"How much time do you need to shoot? How can we match your shoot?"

"The shooting plan I made will take about four weeks. For two of them, the main attractions of the resort need to be used by the film crew, and for the other two weeks, only the venues that need to be shot can be closed."

"Oh, although this will have some impact on our business, I'm happy to cooperate with you." The boss took out a piece of paper and began to calculate, "We will not receive tourists for two weeks, and we will close some places for the other two weeks. , for you to use for filming."

"Yes, that's about it." Ronald felt that the boss also wanted to make a big advertisement for his resort, so he was more cooperative.

"The total cost is about this figure." The boss handed Ronald a cost breakdown sheet with various expenses written on it.

"Cough cough..." Ronald coughed when he saw the total price that was finally added up.

It is impossible for this price to account for more than one-third of his production cost.

"Could it be cheaper? Our movie will be a big advertisement for your resort."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Li." The boss took the paper back with a puzzled expression. Ronald Lee is the director of "Top Gun" and must be produced by a major studio. How can he not afford the venue fee?

"We have a good day-to-day business, and we have a lot of clients in New York and New Jersey, so we don't really need a lot of advertising. That's the best price we've given, and it's still if you're shooting a Jewish movie. superior."

"Hey, alright, don't you mind if we look around and decide?"

"Please."

Ronald and art director Ryan Weaver bid farewell to their bosses and wandered around the resort.

"This is the hall where the dance party is held in the script, and this is the big house by the lake, where the dancers teach the guests to dance. The trees here are very good, and they are all decades old. It is very suitable for the summer in the script. Like a vacation."

Lane Weaver kept complimenting the resort's exterior.

"Yeah, this is where screenwriter Eleanor had the script in mind. So it must be a similar scene.

"No wonder," Lane Weaver held up the director's viewfinder and looked around.

“Will it be much cheaper if we wait for the peak season of summer to pass and shoot in the fall? I know the price of resorts in the off-season is only one-third to one-fifth of the peak season. That way we have enough money to rent. Off to the location."

Ryan Weaver suddenly had an idea. Filming is cost-conscious, and in order to save money, shooting summer scenes in the fall is not a problem.

"Good idea, let's go back and discuss it with the boss." Ronald applauded with high fives, attracting many tourists. The two turned around and wanted to go back to the hotel.

"Ha, are you going to shoot a summer movie? It's better to shoot before August. The trees here will turn yellow and fall in autumn, so there is no summer vacation atmosphere at all."

A fat girl said to Ronald.

"What? Will the leaves here change color in autumn?" Ronald was stunned. Having lived in Los Angeles for a long time, he forgot that the East Coast was dominated by deciduous trees.

"Yeah, I was born and raised here, I know best."

"Okay, thank you...you know how to make movies, too."

"I've made movies too, and I recognize you, Director Ronald."

"Oh, sorry, I forgot my manners", Ronald stretched out his hand to shake the fat girl, "Thank you, you are...".

"Connery, Jennifer Connelly. I acted in Once Upon a Time in America when the heroine was a child, because my nose is very similar to that of the heroine Elizabeth McGovern," said the fat girl, pointing to her nose. Ronald looked at the smiling face, the fleshy nose was cutely squeezed out, and the surroundings were wrinkled.

"Ah... I'm sorry again, I've been too busy with projects recently, no wonder I look familiar to you."

Ronald quickly apologized for not recognizing the actors, which was a great offense to them.

However, it's not my fault, why are you so much fatter than "Once Upon a Time in America"? The face is round and the figure is good.

"Ronald, can I call you Ronald? Don't know what movie you're making? Can I have a chance?"

"Uh..." Ronald was at a loss for words, "How old are you this year?"

"I'll be sixteen at the end of the year," Connery answered honestly.

"We're a tight-scheduled film about a grown-up girl's romance, so we need actors who can shoot for a long time."

"Oh..." Jennifer Connelly nodded. At her age, when filming a movie in New York, the Screen Actors Guild will definitely be watching closely. Is it overtime? Are there arrangements for teachers to remediate high school courses? Do you work overtime after eleven o'clock in the evening?

Generally, directors will not find underage actresses unless they have to, and would rather find older actors who are already adults to play the role.

"There will be some supporting roles with few roles. If you are interested, you can ask the agent to call me." Ronald took out a business card and handed it to the other party, if she hadn't reminded the environment of the great changes caused by the discolored trees and fallen leaves , maybe the filming is going to be a bad thing.