Exploiting Hollywood 1980

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During the rehearsal of the script, Ronald performed the stunt he had learned from Coppola, and had people use a video recorder to record the entire rehearsal dialogue of the actors. Later in the evening, Ronald watched the video with the director of photography all night, trying to figure out the problems that would be encountered during the actual shooting.

The problem with this movie is that the dialogue between the many actors must be tacit. Drama films grab the attention of the audience, mainly relying on the tension between the plots, making the audience unconsciously want to know what happened between the characters next until the end.

Ronald watched the video all night, and the biggest experience was that the more actors in a scene, the more difficult it would be to arrange the seats and guide the actors to make excellent performances.

In a play between two people, as long as the chemistry between the two is good and the emotions are in place, the audience will be moved. But in a play between three people, there are six times more problems that need to be dealt with. The chemical reactions between a and b, between b and c, and between c and a must be in place.

And when the camera moves between the three characters, it has to be connected accurately, Ronald thinks it is too big.

Stanley Shanley, when he wrote the screenplay, didn't think about how the film could present such a complex cast, after all, this was his first film.

Before Ronald, he had only dealt with complex scheduling caused by large props. Such as the f-14 Tomcat fighter jet. That kind of machine, as long as there is the assistance of the manufacturer's engineers, will always find a way to make the big toy move in the camera according to Ronald's ideas.

But the difficulty of the management work in the face of people is much higher than that in the face of huge machinery. How to deal with these multi-person scenes is a huge challenge to test the director's ability.

Another problem is the settings for shooting a few bits. This movie has a lot of interior scenes. When shooting indoors in a small space, when there are more than two people, the camera position can only be determined when the camera is on the scene.

For a few rival scenes between two or three people, Ronald quickly negotiated a suitable shooting position with the director of photography David Watkin based on the cooperation of the actors, and then filmed on the scene of the art director Philip Rosenberg. marked in the photo.

In the whole script, more than 90% of the scenes can be completed through simple design, and the remaining scenes are very difficult. Ronald, the director of photography and the art director all feel it is very difficult.

Among them, two group portraits are the most difficult.

In the first scene, after the fiancé Johnny successfully proposed to Loretta played by Cher, Loretta came to the bakery where the fiance's long-lost brother, Ronnie, worked.

Come and invite him to a scene at the wedding.

This scene is Ronnie played by Nicolas Cage, who is self-reported. Here, Nicolas Cage is required to have an explosion in his acting skills, so that the audience can quickly recognize the poor man who accidentally cut off half of his palm because he was distracted when talking to his brother. people.

That way the audience will understand his hatred for Ronnie and his sudden love for Loretta.

Not only should the audience fully like this young Italian with messy hair, but also to see that Loretta is very fond of his sudden burst of passion.

If the filming of this scene is not good, and the audience only thinks that Cage's Ronnie is annoying, then the later scene of Loretta and him under the influence of the super moon will not be convincing.

So Cage's almost crazy performance style is very in line with this scene,

But the difficulty of this play is that it is an open space play. In the bakery, first there is a saleswoman played by Diane, who leads Loretta, the audience's sight, into the bakery's baking room.

Then there were two elderly Italian couples who came to buy bread, and Ronald agreed to make a cameo role for Martin Scorsese's parents.

The relationship between the many characters must be clearly explained, and the roles of the two male and female protagonists must be continuous. Whether it is the movement of the mirror, the camera position, or the performance, they all put forward high requirements.

"My bakery on the corner of 502 Henry Street in Brooklyn, as long as a few edits are made, the viewer's visual continuity won't be an issue."

Even so, Ronald was still very worried about the connection and rhythm of the multiple actors. He went to the real bakery and watched it for a long time with the director's viewfinder.

Several were still blocked by several large bread baking ovens and bread fermentation equipment. But if you set the scene in the studio, you can't restore this real scene. Especially in this shot, there is also a shot where the heroine pushes the door from the outside to the inside, and the actual shooting saves countless troubles than setting up the scene in the studio.

To say that this bakery scene only worries Ronald. Another round table scene that ended up eating in the kitchen of Loretta's house made Ronald worried all the time, and he instinctively resisted and didn't want to deal with it.

This is 19 Clumber Street in Brooklyn Heights, a common Brooklyn house at the intersection of the Italian and Irish communities. The two-story building, the red exterior wall, and the railing outside the gate made of twisted iron make people instantly recognizable as Brooklyn.

If Ronald still had some ideas in the last scene, this scene had no ideas at all.

At first, only Loretta and her mother Rose had a conversation in the kitchen. Mother Rose saw that her daughter was in love and sighed on her back.

Then the father joined, and when he was talking with his daughter about her marriage, his lover was accidentally exposed.

Then Loretta's aunt and uncle came to see the cash she took yesterday, which was not deposited in the bank. The family began to join the extended family discussion, then watched the opera "Bohemian" with Loretta, and visited his girlfriend's family for the first time for his dumped Ronnie.

Finally, the old grandfather came down from the upstairs and solved the problem of his son's affair.

Finally, everyone happens to meet Loretta's fiancé, Johnny, returning from Italy. Because his dying mother was back in good health after seeing him, Johnny thought he was tainted by Loretta's bad luck and wanted to break up with her.

Many characters have to appear in the whole scene, and many clues develop here in multiple lines, and finally they are solved in a super powerful ending.

"How to arrange the seats?" Ronald looked at the director of photography, and the two looked at each other for a long time, puzzled.

This scene, all the play, was written by the screenwriter Shanley to the rhythm of a Broadway play. But the movie is not a drama, and it is impossible for everyone to see the end in one shot.

Ronald is bound to put multiple cameras to capture close-ups of each person, over-the-shoulder dialogue scenes, and some overall explanations.

But if the camera angle is slightly wrong, it is inevitable to see other cameras. The angle is strictly set according to the design, and the actor will come out of the shot with a little improvisation, or bring it to other cameras.

Ronald put up the videotape from the rehearsal at the scene. He stood on the left and stood on the right. He could not find a suitable route and could take care of everything.

Moreover, there are many characters in this group play, and it is impossible to follow the design step by step according to the individual's emotions.

If the actors are too concerned about the wrong position and angle, the interaction between the actors and the emotion that they find particularly smooth will be destroyed.

In short, for the sake of a good show, would you rather wear a gang? In order to ensure the quality, it is not the kind of performance that is improvised and the most credible. Ronald has to make a difficult decision.

Finally, David Watkin, the director of photography who filmed "Out of Africa" ​​and won the Oscar for Best Cinematography, spoke up.

"Ronald, I think when you're here, you still have to find the chemistry of the actors and the rhythm of the dialogue, and then we'll design the camera."

"Reason?" Ronald squatted on the ground with a bitter face, trying to find a camera angle parallel to the eyes of the actors sitting on the edge of the table from the long Italian dining table.

"Well, that's life. We always have to find something that we can hold in our hands first, and it's better to find one first rather than the best of both worlds.

Anyway, this ending scene of yours is mainly the effect brought out by the performances between the actors. "

"David, what you said makes a lot of sense." Ronald put down the viewfinder, he understood that what Watkin said was the right idea.

First through the on-site rehearsal, let everyone achieve the best performance state, and then design different camera positions according to their positions.

However, Ronald's method of shooting has always been a method of going back to the scene through the scene in the dream.

He always made the sub-shots of each scene at the beginning of the shooting.

In this way, there is no split shot first, and when he arrives at the shooting scene, he decides the details of shooting and editing on the spot according to the state of the actors. For him, there is always a sense of insecurity.

"Listen to me, Sidney Pollack did it all the time on set, Dustin Hoffman, and Jessica Lange; Meryl Streep, and Robert Redford, I have seen him countless times before filming for half an hour, and he has not yet decided on the camera and the position."

David Watkin is the director of Sidney Pollack's two box-office films, "My Fair Lady" and "Out of Africa."

Neither of these two films has a big concept, but with the plot and the wonderful performances of the actors, the audience is immersed in the scene, and finally won the Oscar.

"Just do it like this", Ronald has no choice. This is a scene beyond his director's experience. What did a wise ancient man say? "If you drive to the front of the mountain,

In the blink of an eye, it was the day the film started, and Ronald looked at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center on Columbia Avenue and 61st Avenue.

Ronald rented out a day and a half of filming on the exterior street here.

The beginning of the film is the appearance of Cher. She is an accountant who works part-time and pays taxes. In middle age, her husband was killed in a car accident. In Italian culture, widows are very unlucky, and men who have other options generally do not formally associate with widows.

This time, she came to a small company outside the Metropolitan Opera House to organize tax filings for the boss.

The opening shot is the facade of the opera house with the poster of the newly released opera "Bohemian". The Italian-controlled truckers union, trucks are unloading at the back door of the opera house.

Loretta, with grey hair and a weathered face, was like a single woman who had to work hard to support herself and didn't have time to dress herself up.

The part-time flower shop owner finally gave Loretta a bunch of unsold red roses.

Loretta, played by Cher, looked at the red rose. Although her mouth was unforgiving, she still showed the unique smile of a woman seeing a red rose. She picked up the flower and sniffed it first.

"cut!"

On the first day of filming, Ronald did not arrange particularly difficult shots, but just let the team and actors start with easy shots, find a feeling, and break in the team.

Between shoots, Cher asked her personal hair stylist to rearrange her gray hair.

Others may not bring it, but the hair stylist must bring it.

Cher is proud of her long black hair and enjoys a personal stylist anytime, anywhere.

The hair stylist that Ronald found could not get started. He could only inform the other party of the desired effect and let Cher's personal hair stylist arrange it. Only he could touch Cher's hair.

Next, there will be a transition to shoot Cher on the road outside the Opera House wall, walking like a withered old aunt.

This opera is "Bohemian", the famous opera of Pavarotti whom Ronald knew. This is the opera Loretta went to see with Johnny later.

Discover the way over the mountain. "

"David Watkin, Philip Rosenberg, set design.

Julia Taylor, live director.

...

Ronald Lee, Lightning Light Operator. "

In addition to the big title "Bohemian" on the poster, the staff of the crew also wrote their names on the poster of the opera in the movie.

Of course, this is an arrangement by Ronald, so that the staff who can't appear on the camera have a chance to point at the screen proudly and yell at their family, that is my name.

However, the work of these staff members in the crew has been turned into a particularly important position. Make their family happy.

In order to cooperate, Ronald also changed his position to the least noticeable "Lightning Lamp Operator".

While humoring myself, I also sell my fist products.

"I said, have you worked with Ronald before?"

Cher asked Olympia Dukakis, who played her mother, when she was taking a break between filming.

"No, what's the matter?" Dukakis was surprised that the director's authority on Broadway was even stronger, so he had never heard of the director's open discussion behind his back on the set.

"I always felt like I made a mistake. My last movie, The Witches of East Town, was with Jack Nicholson.

My next play has Liam Neeson and Dennis Quaid in the lead, both handsome guys. Well, look at Nick's chicken coop. "

"Hahaha..." Dukakis laughed, and Nicolas Cage really looked like a fool. He also wore dentures for the character, typical Italian-style rotten teeth.

The two acted as sisters in the crew, but in fact, the age gap was only a little over ten years old, but they were quite able to talk.

"I said, have you acted in Ronald's movies before? How do I feel that he doesn't guide our acting very much." Cher whispered to Dukakis, and this was the question she really wanted to discuss .

"No, but the director is the person who has the deepest knowledge of a script. We just need to cooperate with the director and play the role's response well." Olympia Dukakis is an old-school Broadway style, and the director is always right.

"I'm afraid we made a bad movie. My performance is not as well thought out as the last movie. Every shot has a special design. It seems that I acted casually here, and Ronald also called it."

Dukakis shrugged helplessly, which is also what she was a little dissatisfied with Ronald, there was no fine-tuning of every shot. It seems that just acting casually like this can meet his requirements.

"Very well, your method of directing is really natural. Cher hardly needs to act too much. Your casting is really good, and the effect of your original performance is very good."

On the other hand, photography knows that David Watkin praised Ronald and praised him as a Scorsese disciple. When making a movie, casting is a hundred times more important than acting.

That's Scorsese's creed, and he often prefers not to shoot if there isn't a synthetic candidate.

"Hahaha, I also think Julia Taylor has a high level."

"Hey, here's the marble wall, imported from Italy, let your people be careful", the manager of the Metropolitan Opera, when he saw Ronald's staff, began to tear the posters on the wall, began to act As a reminder, the tape they use to hold the posters seems to leave an unsightly mark on the marble.

"How could this be? Don't you know that different walls use different tapes so that they won't leave marks?" Ronald pulled the head in charge of the props over and asked him what was going on.

"The Metropolitan Opera is just making a fuss. That's what we've always done. Is there anything that needs cleaning, isn't it already included in the rent?"

"So, you're making a phone call." Ronald suddenly had an idea in his heart, and he asked the head of the props team to find the props specialist in Daydream.

In a hardware chain store, they discovered that different materials must be treated with different tapes. Anyway, this is a small market. As long as you purchase tapes with similar raw materials, and then produce specific tapes, you will stamp your company's brand. Hollywood film studios will definitely like to see different types of tapes.

In this kind of small market, its own production capacity can be supplied to everyone, and the price is slightly higher, and it can also make those high-purchasing managers happy.

Anyway, editing tape is also tape, and prop tape is also tape, and it may be possible to make a small monopoly business.

Soon, the staff of Daydream sent a cut-out sign and marked different tapes into different categories. After the props group used it, it was really easy to use. When dismantling the set, just tear it down.

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