Exploiting Hollywood 1980

“Thank you, Jonathan, thank you for letting the heroine take an afternoon to audition with me.” Ronald called Jonathan Demme, his senior at Roger Corman Film Academy, to thank him for letting Michelle Pfeiffer, the heroine of his movie “Married to the Mob”, take a few hours out of the shooting schedule to audition for Ronald’s “Working Girl”.

“It’s nothing, just a little mutual help between directors.” Director Demme’s style is different from Ronald’s, but they both like each other’s craftsmanship. “Married to the Mob” is being filmed in New York, and Ronald can only stay in New York for a short time to participate in the New York Film Critics Association Awards. For the convenience of everyone, he readily agreed.

"Thank you very much. My schedule is too tight recently, so I can only ask you for help. But don't worry, the audition won't take too long. I will ask someone to arrange the venue and transportation, and let the heroine go back after the audition."

"By the way, you are very busy now running around for film critics and industry union awards." Jonathan Demme entered the industry more than ten years earlier than Ronald, and of course he knew what Ronald was busy with now.

"Well, to be honest, my chances are very small. I mainly fight for supporting actress and supporting actor. Their performances are really great. It would be a pity if they don't get nominated. Besides, with their nominations or lucky wins, my box office will be much better."

"Ha, where did you find so many good actors? I watched "Moonlight" and I think those supporting roles are very good. Many supporting roles have very original performances." Jonathan Demme is more interested in the quality of Ronald's films.

"Hahaha, I found them on Broadway. They all want to enter Hollywood. Their acting skills are very good."

"I heard that you give them a lot of opportunities..."

Ronald's schedule is gradually becoming more and more tight. He has to attend all the small awards in person, so that the judges with voting rights will feel that you value them, and they will have more chances to vote for you in the Oscar nomination vote.

In this way, the audition of Tess, the most important heroine of "Working Girl", was also fragmented.

Of course, in addition to Ronald's reasons, there is another reason, that is, famous female stars have appeared in many more movies than male stars. Because most female characters have far fewer roles than male characters.

So the female stars they are looking at who can play Tess are either filming a movie or preparing to join the crew.

In addition to Michelle Pfeiffer, who is currently filming a Jonathan Demme movie, another acting talent who Julia Taylor thinks is suitable, Mel Streep, is filming a classic movie in Australia. Even if the audition is suitable, it may not be able to catch up with the start of filming.

This made Ronald and Julia Taylor a little discouraged, and Goldberg often called to inquire about the news.

Ronald is now a famous director and has a certain degree of control over the schedule. Moreover, these things are related to the award-winning and will not be interfered with by the Hollywood industry. Ronald has not been under too much pressure for the time being.

However, courtesy visits are still necessary. Ronald, with his agent Richard, and casting director Julia Taylor, came to the Fox Building where "Die Hard" was being filmed.

President Goldberg was waiting for him in the office.

"Hi, Ronald, I didn't expect to see you here. Goldberg's secretary said he has a VIP guest, it can't be you."

Female director Penny Marshall, who had just met at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, was also sitting in the lounge outside the president's office.

"Penny, you go first, we are all directors, there is no VIP, you came before us..." Ronald had seen the tough side of this female director, and scared her ex-husband Bob Reiner so much that he dared not meet her and denounced him as Mr. Ballless. Ronald was also afraid that she would go out and spread that he did not respect other directors, so he quickly greeted Goldberg's female secretary and asked Penny to come in first.

"Hahaha, I'm kidding. I don't have anything important to do this time. The casting has been confirmed, but I heard that you haven't chosen the heroine yet?" Fortunately, Penny had a good impression of Ronald and liked his feminist movies.

"Okay, then I'll take the lead, thank you."

The door was opened by the secretary, and Goldberg stood up to usher in Ronald and his group. After learning about his arrangements for the heroine audition, Goldberg responded positively, "Very good, just go for the award, anyway, after the nominations come out, you will have more time to spend on the project."

After chatting for nearly twenty minutes, Ronald saw Goldberg holding up the cold coffee, so he took the opportunity to say goodbye, and Penny Marshall was coming later.

After leaving the office, Ronald ran to the "Die Hard" crew upstairs to see if director John McTiernan had made any messy decisions recently.

After learning his lesson, Joel Silver kept a close eye on the crew. Except for McTiernan who often changed the script on the spot, the shooting schedule was not delayed much, although he paid an extra triple overtime salary in exchange for the time he spent changing the script.

Problems that can be solved with money within the budget are not big problems. Ronald patted his partner on the shoulder and asked him to keep an eye on the director who was about to make trouble when no one was watching.

In order not to alarm anyone in the crew, Ronald, Richard, and Julia Taylor took the stairs down and changed the elevator at the president's office floor.

"Oh, Shxt! Why do I encounter so many ghosts when I make a movie?"

As soon as he reached the elevator lobby, Ronald found Penny Marshall lighting a cigarette and smoking hard against the ventilation window.

"What's wrong, Penny? Is everything okay?"

Ronald went over to say hello.

"Oh, Ronald, it seems that I have to take back the boast I just made to you. I have encountered a big problem this time. Robert, a coward, actually quit a week before rehearsals. He didn't even have the courage to directly Tell me face to face, this one has no balls."

"Robert De Niro?" Julia Taylor went over and took Penny Marshall's arm.

Everyone in the casting director circle knows that Robert De Niro is such an actor. He often regrets repeatedly before agreeing to act. He is an actor who is very afraid that he will not perform well.

Sometimes this tension helps the performance, and other times it makes the performance worse. What's even more troublesome is that De Niro himself can't tell the difference between the two.

Ronald decided to stay and chat with Penny Marshall. Richard next to him had already told Ronald about the specific background of this woman. Not only was she a TV drama actor, but she was also a screenwriter and a director. , and what’s even more interesting is that several brothers and sisters in her family are all working in the film industry.

"What are you going to do, Penny?" Ronald saw that Penny was just irritable and not too alarmed, so he asked directly.

"I probably got some extension time, and I have to reorganize the casting. The male lead has been changed, and the female lead has to re-audition to see the chemical reaction. Damn it, in order to cooperate with this damn Italian, don't mind, I am Italy I hired a dozen actresses to accompany him.

After all, it's hard to find an actress who can play a grown man who falls in love with a 13-year-old kid inside. "

"No, that's really embarrassing." Ronald also scratched his head. Less than a month before the filming started, he suddenly couldn't play the leading role. Isn't this a joke? He secretly made a mental note to add De Niro to his blacklist.

"I don't even know where to choose the right one. This movie is a story about a child suddenly growing up. Adult actors need to be able to play the innocence of children... Maybe I should go to London and try."

Ronald looked into Julia Taylor's eyes and knew what she was thinking, and then said, "Why don't you ask Ms. Julia Taylor for her opinion? She is the best casting director I have ever worked with, but you can't talk to me." Grab it...hahaha.”

"Really? Do you have a suitable candidate? I won't compete with you for her, Ronald. I just want her to recommend some male protagonists, and she will be the casting director for my new film."

Julia Taylor's style is to only recommend one actor, and then if the director is not satisfied, he will recommend a second one. When she saw this, she immediately named someone...

"Do you still remember the movie 'Mermaid' a few years ago? Tom Hanks, who played the leading role, was very suitable. Although he played a New York pier kid, between him and the mermaid, it seemed that he He’s the one who believes in fairy tales more.”

"Ha..." Of course Ronald remembered that Diane Lane didn't get a role in the movie because of her father's interference. Diane gave up the role that catapulted Daryl Hannah to fame and chose Streets of Rage, which was a mediocre box-office hit.

"Ha, I should have thought of him. The worst I can do is change the age at which the male protagonist becomes older..."

Penny Marshall also remembers watching Tom Hanks perform.

"What do you think, Ronald?"

"I think he's very good. In fact, I invited him to audition for my first movie. If it wasn't for schedule issues, I think I would have chosen him." Ronald told the truth.

"Ahem..." Ronald suddenly felt Richard gently kicking his leg.

He covered it up with a cough and leaned back, only to hear Richard whisper two words behind him, "The heroine, Diane."

"I just don't know if it's presumptuous to say that I may have an actress, who may be suitable for what you said, the feeling of falling in love with a man who is as pure as a child at heart."

"who?"

"Diane Lane."

"Ha, it's her," Julia Taylor echoed with a smile beside her. "I heard that the mermaid originally wanted to hire her. She had just finished filming The Naughty Girl at that time. She is indeed more suitable for such a woman with a rich heart. role. Maybe she is more suitable to work with Tom Hanks."

"You know what? When I'm done, I have to thank you very much. Now I have to ask my assistant to contact the actors quickly. I will have the assistant call you to sign the contract, Julia."

…

"Thank you, Richard." After Ronald returned to the CAA office, he specially thanked his agent Richard. If he hadn't been familiar with the situation in Hollywood and then fully aware of his own situation, Diane might have missed another opportunity today.

Although Richard was not Diane's agent, Ronald decided to reward this loyal agent himself. According to the share that Diane's agent deserves if she successfully gets the role, Ronald will ask Daydream to write him a check for consulting work.

"Who funded him in that action movie?" Ronald turned around and asked Niceta about the details of Steve Seagel's new movie that offended him at the premiere of "Empire of the Sun."

"It was invested and distributed by Warner Bros., but..." Niceta hesitated.

"But what? I'm not trying to mess with him. I just wonder why someone would invest in a B-level action movie at this point in time. Is this kind of low-cost action movie becoming popular with the audience again?"

"Okay," Niceta moved closer, as if afraid of being heard, "In fact, this project is run by Michael Ovitz himself. Except that he is not listed in the name, he is the actual producer of the project, and he can get the biggest share of the box office in the end."

"I remember there is a law that stipulates that your agent cannot directly serve as a producer, right?"

"That's why I said in essence, he is certainly not a producer in name."

Okay, Ronald leaned back. The ability of Jews to find loopholes in the law is really second to none. If it is a project arranged by Ovitz himself, then he really can't mess it up. Ronald is certainly not the kind of person who doesn't care at all after being offended for no reason.

"Is this movie really worth investing in? Or is it a hobby work of Ovitz to repay his Aikido coach?" Ronald couldn't understand why Ovitz would invest in such a movie. Nowadays, the budgets of action movies are getting bigger and bigger. Can such a small production make money?

"If you are interested, you can go to the crew to have a look. They are about to start filming. Ovitz will definitely be happy that you can go."

"You can go and have a look if you have a chance." Ronald touched his chin. Facing Steve Siegel, who was once the bodyguard of two big men, Sylvester Stallone and Ovitz, he had to get a bodyguard who looked powerful to support the scene.

"What about movies about children? I think there seem to be more and more movies about children. Is it my illusion?" Ronald asked about children's movies again.

"No, your intuition has always been great. I did some research and found that now all major studios are looking for movie scripts with children or even babies as the theme."

Nicita handed a document to Ronald, "You see, movies with children as the protagonists have always been the box office winners. They have the power of family fun. A young audience must be accompanied by at least one of their parents. But because this kind of movie is difficult to shoot, Hollywood has always thought it is Spielberg's patent."

Ronald nodded. The power of "ET the Alien" is still unmatched.

"However, after this movie came out, this stereotype was overturned. Spielberg is no longer the patent monopoly of being able to make blockbuster children's movies..."

"What movie is it?" Ronald took a movie poster, on which there were three men, surrounding a naked baby boy, who was peeing on the clothes of the man in the middle.

"Three dads and one baby", Ronald saw the title, and recognized that the middle-aged actor who was peed on was the famous TV actor Tom Selleck.

"Leonard Nimoy", Ronald's eyes moved up to the director's name, "This is the one I know..."

"Yes, it's the alien Spock in Interstellar..." Nicita laughed, everyone who just saw the name of this movie director had this reaction.

Although Leonard Nimoy has directed several "Interstellar" movies, it is the first time that he has directed a movie of a different theme, and it is still a recognized very difficult children's movie.

"This movie has just been released for two weeks and has already broken the box office of 25 million." Nicita said softly again.

"Wow..." Ronald frowned, "With the Christmas season coming up, this movie will easily break 100 million. It's still easier to make money with family movies..."

"Hasn't Leonard Nimoy ever made a children's film before?" Ronald knocked on the table.

"It has nothing to do with him. The reason why people don't think Leonard Nimoy is the second genius of children's films to be a big hit at the box office is a very simple reason. This movie bought the copyright of a Chinese movie of the same name a few years ago and remade it.

That movie also achieved a box office success in China."

"Hmm..." Ronald understood. This means that two movies, with different languages, different actors, and different directors, have achieved box office success. Excluding all factors, it's because the script is well written.

Sure enough, in this industry, no one knows what (element) is reliable.

"And if you have seen this movie, you will find that it is not an orthodox children's film. The difficulty of shooting is not as difficult as those of Spielberg." Nicita took out a Chinese original videotape from the drawer of the desk and handed it over.

"I don't understand French, so let's go watch the English remake first." Ronald picked up the videotape and put it in his bag.

So that's it...

After coming out of the cinema, Ronald finally understood what Niceta meant.

Baby movies and children's movies are indeed different. The expressions of babies are very simple. As long as they are edited, these expressions can be expanded to completely different meanings through upper and lower shots. In fact, it is much easier to shoot baby actors than ten-year-old children.

And the main plot of Penny Marshall's new film "Big" is to let adult actors play the mentality of children. The child actors only have dozens of shots before and after.

Her ex-husband Bob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" has a similar structure. In the framework of a grandfather telling a child a story, it actually performs the core of an anti-traditional story of a princess and a prince.

These are all so-called children's films that are opportunistic and attract children to watch, but they do not rely on the performances of child actors.

The Hollywood business machine has found various ways to circumvent the monopoly of children's film geniuses like Spielberg.

Ronald figured it out, so he called his daydreaming assistant and asked him to collect as many movie scripts as possible from two directions, movies that tell stories from a child's perspective, or movies about babies.