Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Cynthia Rhodes is an old acquaintance of Ronald. She played a bar dance girl in "Lightning Dance" and then got the heroine in "Dance of the Flying Phoenix", but was almost fired for rejecting the courtship of Stallone's brother, Frank Stallone.

Ronald rescued her then. This time Ronald found her agent to meet and chat, and made it clear that he wanted Cynthia to help.

"This is a small production, I want you to play Penny, the second female lead. I don't want to hide from you, this role is not very dazzling. It is the foil of the heroine baby, and there are some controversial plots. But there will be a lot of dance scenes. , and a lot of playing time."

Ronald briefly explained the plot of Penny in the script. She was Johnny's dance partner since he was a child, and later was with the waiter in the resort. After an unexpected pregnancy, she was abandoned and had no money to ask a secret doctor to have an abortion.

Thus, the heroine baby borrowed money from her father to help her, and later replaced Penny and Johnny with dance partners and learned to dance.

After Cynthia Rhodes left the "Dragon Flying Phoenix" crew, there were some rumors in the circle that she would not cooperate well. There is no doubt that it was released by the Stallone brothers.

After that, she couldn't get any good roles, and she only made one movie, a few episodes of TV series, and some music videos in a few years.

Based on the role in the dream, Ronald found the actress who was very outstanding in Latin dance and invited her to play in person.

In the movie "Dancing Hot", Ronald invested almost the entire net worth. He didn't want to take risks and tried his best to restore all the leading actors.

Cynthia Rhodes is certainly happy to have the opportunity to be in a theatrical film, even if it's a small production. During the filming of "Lightning Dance", Ronald was very considerate to them in the crew and was a good director, and he was simply overjoyed.

"Why did you choose me?" Cynthia, who participated in the routine audition and was finally selected to play the second female lead, asked Ronald a question.

"You dance the best, and you have the childish temperament of a poor girl, as if a man treats you well, and any other shortcomings can be forgiven." Ronald moved the screenwriter Eleanor's evaluation of Cynthia.

"Oh..." Cynthia Rhodes covered her face. I do have this problem, and I always feel as if I can't have a successful career as an actor. It is also a little scary to deal with the inappropriate words and deeds of male actors. Maybe I really don't fit in Hollywood, or go back to Nashville to be a dance teacher, which will be more suitable for my personality.

"I found a good choreographer, Ortega, and he and his assistant Miranda will choreograph you, you and Patrick Schwytz,

Will train intensively together for a few weeks. "

The schedule is very tight, and the main shooting work needs to be completed before the leaves fall on the autumn location.

After getting the main cast of characters at light speed, Ronald began to interview the director to see if there was a director who could replace him besides Adrian Lane.

"What do you think the movie will be like after it's made?" Ronald and screenwriter Eleanor asked a candidate recruited by caa.

long silence...

Ronald couldn't hear the answer, so he couldn't help but raised his head reading the script and looked at the other party. Why didn't he speak?

A middle-aged man with a moustache, his face was flushed, and he couldn't say a word.

"Emil, don't be nervous, I just want to ask, your understanding of the script. You can talk about any ideas you have."

Ronald saw the other side's ears were red and his blue veins were exposed, and he didn't know that the other side was too nervous, and he was so sluggish that he couldn't speak.

This director, Emile Adolino, was recommended by caa. Nisita said on the phone that the other party had won an Oscar for Best Documentary for a documentary about teaching children to dance.

With a budget of 4.5 million, Ronald has given up on hiring a famous director. This Emil has experience in dancing, and his ability has been confirmed by Oscar, and it is cheap enough. The only weakness is that there is no feature film in theatrical production.

But being famous is worse than meeting him. Ronald showed his prototype in an interview, and he had no confidence at all.

"Then can you chat, what do you think of the characters?" The screenwriter Eleanor is also a good person. Seeing that the other party is so nervous, she also wants to relieve him.

"I..." The shy director choked out a word, and then became too nervous to speak.

"Hey..." Ronald sighed softly, no matter how strong this person was, he couldn't use it. It's so easy to get nervous, how can you direct the actors on the set? Seems to be on his own. The hard work is a little harder, and the work of the other crews depends on the phone to understand the situation.

"Ronald, can you give me a chance, I... I'm usually not that nervous."

Seeing Ronald closed the notebook and wanted to leave. Emil suddenly opened his muscles and spoke.

Ronald opened the notebook again, "Please speak."

"Because I've disclosed...my...a certain orientation, I don't get a job in Hollywood...other than filming a live TV show of the NYC Ballet.... This is what I've been getting for three years. The first job offer for a theatrical film..."

Emil stammered out about his situation.

Ronald brought back many memories when he heard the name of the New York City Symphony Orchestra.

He looked at Emil and said, "I know you dance circles are more tolerant of these things, but you'd better not reveal your orientation publicly or cause trouble in the crew. If you want a job, Just be my assistant director. If you can accept it, let the agent find me to sign the contract."

"I can, I can sign it now." Emil, who had been short of work for a long time, heard that Ronald was willing to hire himself, regardless of whether the position was not a director but an assistant director, and agreed immediately. It's a chance to get back to Hollywood after all.

"I was taken aback by you just now. I thought you were going to hire him as a director. I don't want to hand over my script to this guy who is nervous about interviewing." After Emile left, screenwriter Eleanor told Luo Nader patted his chest, expressing a kind of fear.

"I didn't expect him to be so nervous, he's the one who won the best documentary at the Oscar. I don't want to joke about my investment. But my agent said that he made a good ballet TV film, and he was good at shooting dance scenes. So I want him to help me."

"Oh, that's fine."

The last major crew member was the director of photography. Ronald, through caa, hired a photographer, Jeff Zu, who has shot many low-budget movies and TV series.

He had seen film clips of Jeff Zu, a man specializing in dark photography. It can be seen that learning from Francis Coppola's shooting methods, many of the images have Coppola's characteristics.

Ronald felt a bit like he was back in the position he was in when he was shooting his first movie, looking for professionals with good quality and low prices. The only difference is that this time, it's real money from your own pocket.

"Very well, you can go to Virginia right now and work with the art director and start designing the shots. He'll tell you the tone and vibe that the film needs."

Ronald signed Jeff Zue, sent him to the location, and issued another check prepaid for his travel expenses.

The money was being spent faster than expected, and Ronald went to Philadelphia to make up for it.

"Brilliant" was about to start, and he went to fulfill his obligations as a producer.

"cheese!"

During the brief opening ceremony, Ronald was on the ground floor of the Wanamaker Department Store in Philadelphia, with all the crew members, for a photo shoot as they began filming the first scene in the department store.

Director Michael Gottlieb started getting the gaffer to start lighting.

Ronald happened to be chatting with Kim Cattrall for a while.

Cattrol has spent the past few weeks modelling with Day Young and working out with a fitness trainer.

Her fat has disappeared a lot, and her whole person has a model-like temperament. Regular exercise seems to have made her skin much better.

"A model made of six woods, all poses." Kim Cattrall winked at Ronald.

"That's right," Ronald pretended not to understand Catroll's suggestion, still reassured by the professionalism of the crew.

The Wanamaker Mall in Philadelphia was contacted by Philadelphia's first black mayor, Wilson Good. As the first black mayor to win a major city election in 1984, he had big ambitions.

Goode wants to use this movie to pull more Hollywood crews to make movies in Philadelphia, to make up for the large number of closures and unemployment of workers caused by the impact of the traditional manufacturing industry by the East.

And this Wanamaker department store is one of the oldest department stores in America. The architectural style is very similar to those old houses in New York. The ceilings are high, and the preaching is narrow. It is integrated with the new shopping and entertainment today. Compared with shopping malls, the concept has fallen behind. For example, there is no movie theater in the mall.

Two hours passed and the lighting for the first shot was ready. Ronald looked at director Michael Gottlieb's every- thing perfectly, and felt a little relieved in his heart.

Although the management of 20th Century Fox is chaotic, it is not easy to explain if it is made a joke.

"!" The director called to switch on.

Today's shoot is the guy played by Andrew McCarthy who can't do anything, and finally found a job in a department store to decorate street windows.

He found the model in the window, a wooden model that he carefully crafted, and was very happy to spend the night shift with this model he loved.

The ancient Egyptian beauty played by Kim Carotel was possessed by a model and turned into a real person at night, talking to the handsome guy.

The director of photography for the crew gave Ronald a new toy. This is a device designed and manufactured by Alai Company, which can split a part of the light from behind the lens of the camera, pass through the lens group, and connect it to another monitor.

In this way, the director can see a little blurred black and white picture, and does not have to rely entirely on the judgment of the director of photography to decide whether a reshoot is necessary.

The monitor is next to the camera, and Ronald puts on his baseball cap and puts his eyes in the frame. All he saw was a very flickering picture, and the face of the person was either white or black.

This monitor can only turn a small part of the light, so the tolerance is very poor. Ronald couldn't see Catrol's facial expressions at all. He could only roughly see the effect through their physical movements.

For example, whether the actors are in place, whether the performances are all completed inside the frame, and whether the composition conforms to the pre-design, it is only a general idea.

"Um?"

Ronald watched for a while, although he could only see the movements of his body, he already felt something was wrong. He let go of the monitor and looked directly at the two protagonists of the show with his naked eyes.

The more he looked at it, the more wrong it became, and he almost helped the director to stop it.

What is this director doing?

I don't know what Michael Gottlieb said to the actors, the whole performance was very exaggerated, like some kind of Shakespeare play rehearsed by high school students. At first glance, it is acting, not the way that ordinary movies require actors to be as close to life as possible.

"Cut!" Michael Gottlieb also stopped, it seems that he also found something wrong...

Ronald nodded, this director is still reliable.

"You are not exaggerating enough. You have to exaggerate a little bit more. Don't be afraid of overdoing it. You are afraid that you are not enough."

"no……"

Ronald frowned, what kind of thing would he shoot like this?

He opened his mouth, but held it back, not letting the questioning voice slip out of his throat. The authority of the director cannot be denied on the set, otherwise he will not be able to make the actors cooperate in the crew in the future.

Knowing that the filming was bad and the new one was over, Ronald had to pretend to be good and applaud with everyone.

"Very good, I want this exaggerated effect, Kim, the next one will be a little more exaggerated."

Kim Cattrall agreed, and silently rolled his eyes at Ronald as he turned his back.

"How did you think about it? Why pursue such an exaggerated performance?" Ronald took a break and chatted with Michael Gottlieb in the trailer.

The other party was older than him, so Ronald tried his best to use a negotiating tone and not hurt the other party's self-esteem.

"You must think I'm fooling around?" Michael Gottlieb explained with a smile.

"This script was originally a weird story. Even a teenager would still believe like a child that a wooden model turns into a real person at night?

There needs to be a way to do this, that is, acting like comics, like the "Wizard of Oz". When young audiences accept this exaggerated acting, they will not feel that the plot sucks and start to really immerse in the plot. "

"It seems that you have your own considerations." Ronald nodded, as long as the other party is not blind, he just doesn't know if the effect will be as he thought.

Looking at the on-site shooting, he always had the feeling of watching Minahan Golan filming "Sahara", and making a live-action movie into a comic style is not always acceptable to the audience.

"However, if you are a director like this, the film critics will scold you." Ronald didn't know how the audience would react. The film critics would definitely speak badly. This kind of acting was suitable for cartoons rather than live-action films.

"I can't control so much, as long as there is a box office." Michael Gottlieb is very sober, getting the box office first is the first.

"The director has his own ideas, you should cooperate with his guidance." Ronald couldn't help but explained to Kim Cattrall in the hotel room, so that she should not be taken by herself because of the unconventional shooting. Acting without effort.

After training, Catrol has gotten better and better. With a thirty-year-old body, there is no interesting fat on his waist and abdomen.

"I'll cherish the opportunity." Kim Cattrall made up his mind, no matter what, to grab all the front-facing features first.

"Do you think he's really sure, or is he just messing around?" Ronald asked.

"I don't know, but Michael Gottlieb says it the same every time." Catroll, in a yoga pose, wrapped himself around Ronald and kissed Ronald.

"Okay..." Ronald stroked Catroll's playful blonde hair again, motioning her to turn his back.

"Nisita will stay here for a few more days instead of me. If you have any problems, just tell him that he is experienced and knows how to deal with it. Director Michael Gottlieb is not my person, even if you have any problems, you will Don't confront him head-on.

"Michael Gottlieb has his own ideas, but it's not the same way as your average teen rom-com, do you want to go to Philly and see for yourself." Ronald returned to Los Angeles to meet with Fox's executive producer Joseph Farrow, who had a conversation with him about his inspection of the Philadelphia crew.

As the nominal producer of the film, I have the responsibility to ensure that the film will not exceed the budget on time. Ronald kept Nisita, the most powerful man by his side, there for a while, plus what he saw with his own eyes.

Gottlieb has done a great job in this regard. He is also a director who does not care about artistic details. He has a good balance of schedule, performance, budget, and so on.

The overall grasp of art, Ronald is not a real producer like Spielberg after all, and has the ultimate responsibility for the art and the box office, plus Gottlieb is Joseph Farrow's person, he can only do remind.

In fact, Joseph Farrow didn't want to be responsible either. For him, this project is more like a tool for power and profit sharing.

"Relax, did he shoot professionally? Did he meet the schedule? Is the cost overrun? If the three answers are all good, then there is no need for us to intervene. Now in the movie market, not every film is as super as Top Gun. Selling.

Come and have a drink. Has Top Gun's box office exceeded 100 million? ' Joseph Farrow poured Ronald a glass of whiskey, and the two drank it.

"It's actually close to 120 million, and the thirteenth week isn't over yet."

"It looks like this will be put into next year."

"I hope so." Ronald also wanted his movie to be like Spielberg's "et Aliens", which was released from 1986 to 1987 and still hangs at the box office.

"Have another drink, don't worry, Gottlieb has his thoughts."

"Maybe I'm overthinking it, cheers."

Ronald drank the twelve-year-old wine. "Being high-spirited" means that no one is responsible for the quality of the film, which requires good luck at the box office.

"I've researched all your movies, and I've found one thing in common is that they all have a chart-topping song. Two of your movies this year, the episodes have both topped the charts. So I'm going to learn that too, This time I found a band and made a tailor-made theme song."

Joseph Farrow took out a picture of the band and handed it to Ronald.

"Isn't that?" Ronald had seen the band.

"Yes, starship, their lead singer Grace Slick, this forty-seven-year-old woman, is clamoring to leave, and the price is cheap."

"Uh, is this really good?" Ronald thought.

A youth romantic film, let a female singer who is nearly half a hundred years old to sing?

Fox this mess, it seems that no one takes this project seriously.

Ronald felt that he had done his best. If the executives of the studio were all taking advantage of the mentality, what else could he do?

So be it? Take a check that is paid after the project begins, to subsidize the drying up of the living expenses checking account due to the lack of dividends from selling stocks.

Just keep busy with your own projects.

－－－－－－off topic－－－－－

Today is two in one, there is no second chapter.

7017k