Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"How did Mel Streep respond?"

Ronald held another casting meeting with casting director Julia Taylor. Most of the other protagonists have been identified, leaving only the protagonist Tess’s boss Catherine, who comes from a wealthy family, went to an Ivy League university, and is a common working woman on Wall Street.

For such a character to perform with depth, he must appear to be in line with the requirements of upper class society in appearance. Pretentious want to give Tess a channel, teach by words and deeds. A woman who actually despises secretarial work in her heart, but wants to appropriate the brilliant ideas of her subordinate Tess.

On the surface she is a career woman, but in her heart she is a fake feminist who wants to marry golden bachelor Jack Traynor.

This role places high demands on the actors, who must not only perform the superficial temperament of a professional woman, but also express the inner emptiness, which in Chinese is called a hollow glutinous rice ball.

The first person Julia Taylor recommended was Meryl Streep, the actor who first performed in a play on Broadway with Diane Lane. After moving to Hollywood in 1978, she was nominated twice in less than ten years. Winner of the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, she was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress four times, and won Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress for "The Kramers" and "Sophie's Choice" respectively.

Nowadays, whenever there is a role in Hollywood that requires acting skills, her name is often the first thing that casting directors think of.

"The filming of Dark Angel in Australia was very unsatisfactory. I contacted her agent and told her that this movie will be difficult to shoot. It may not be packaged until January next year."

Julia Taylor Sadly, "Dark Angel" is a movie that's in the market for awards. This is a story adapted from a true event in Australia.

In 1980, Michael and Lindy Chamberlain went camping at the famous Ayers Rock with their nine-week-old daughter Azaria. While they were having a barbecue with their friends, they heard their daughter crying in the tent. When Lindy went back to check, she saw a wild dog carrying Azaria away.

A police investigation confirmed Lindy's story, but the couple's religious beliefs were not accepted by the mainstream. The media soon began circulating unsubstantiated claims that the name Azaria meant "sacrifice in the wilderness."

The public soon began to oppose the Chamberlains, believing that they had killed their daughter. Lindy is a very strong woman. During interviews and court trials, she refused to listen to the lawyer's advice and insisted not to shed tears or show her weak side.

This made her husband Michael also start to waver and have doubts about his wife. His stammering testimony in court was also regarded as a sign of lying. In the end, the court sentenced Lindy to life imprisonment and hard labor.

Three years later, a foreign tourist fell at Ayers Rock. People involved in the search found the coat that Lindy said her daughter was wearing when she was snatched away by a wild dog far away from where the incident occurred. Lindy was immediately released from prison and was found not guilty at a retrial.

This is the script that Meryl Streep liked, and it is also the most expensive large-scale production in Australian history. It cost $15 million and included 350 actors and 4,000 extras.

"So it just doesn't work?" Ronald frowned. The movies he directed were always known to be successful at the box office, which also made actors who pursued acting skills always view his movies as commercial films.

"Even if she can finish the filming as planned, she probably won't be able to catch up with your working girl." Julia replied. The heroine's tangle is also very difficult to act, and Streep spent a lot of energy in her performance. Julia Taylor estimates that it will take at least a month or two for the actor to recover after playing such a role.

"How about we go find Jane again?" The second person on Julia Taylor's recommendation list was Ronald's old acquaintance, two-time actress Jane Fonda.

"She has already rejected me once, let's try again." Ronald picked up the phone and made another appointment with Jane Fonda's agent.

"Hi, Ronald, welcome to my place. How long have we not seen each other?" Jane Fonda wore a bright green top. At this age, she can still control this fresh color, and only a few stars can do it. arrive. Jane Fonda has been doing aerobics and yoga for a long time, and her body looks like she is in her twenties.

"It's been a long time. My movie 'My Brother's Keeper' was aborted in the end. I regret not working with you once." Ronald took Julia Taylor to Jane Fonda's house and tried to persuade her again. once.

"Hahaha..." Jane Fonda laughed. Of course she knew Ronald's purpose, but she really didn't want to accept this movie.

Jane Fonda signed a distribution agreement with Columbia very early, and films shot by her own Fonda Pictures can be distributed through Columbia. So she tries her best to buy good scripts and let her own film company make them.

If other studios invite her to participate, then she will have to choose the role carefully. A villain like Catherine doesn't have many memorable scenes, so she doesn't want to play one.

The leg warmer business Ronald sold to himself, along with the aerobics videos that were updated every year, brought a lot of wealth to Jane Fonda. Now acting is more of a hobby for her, and only she is interested. Only the roles you want to play will be accepted.

"Actually, this movie has something to do with Theresa Kate from the Leg Warmer Company. Tess's life experience is very similar to hers." Ronald continued to work hard, hoping to play the emotional card.

"I want to spend more time with Tom now. He is now promoting a community college funding bill in California. I want to participate in many activities with him."

Jane Fonda gave another reason that Ronald could not refute. Her husband, Tom Hayden, is a left-wing activist and current California congressman. In recent years, he has been promoting more state-level funding for children from minority and poor families so that they can go to community college.

This kind of legislative work is very busy, and it takes a lot of time and energy to communicate with other legislators and participate in various social activities to appeal for public support.

Jane Fonda and Hayden are rarely together because of this work. She has begun to significantly reduce her performances in film and television dramas to accompany her husband more.

"Well... I'll look for other suitable actors." Julia Taylor sighed. Ronald, as a director, is not as famous as Woody Allen, who she worked with before, in the award and comment circles. Those famous stars are actually more willing to work with this kind of director.

If Ronald is very attractive to unknown actresses, then directors like Woody Allen are almost as attractive to famous female stars.

"Anyway, we have Demi Moore, you can go back to Broadway and see if there is a suitable one." Ronald knew that the key to the problem was that he did not have a heavyweight award in his hands.

After parting with Julia Taylor, Ronald went back to the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where Kathryn Bigelow was waiting to confirm the filming of "Sticky Fingers" with him.

Kathryn Bigelow has already made preliminary preparations for the script "Sticky Fingers" that Helen Slater liked, and the actors' rehearsals are almost over. This time she flew to Los Angeles to get Ronald's approval, and the filming will start after Christmas.

Ronald's script assistant David Simkins will go to the crew as a producer. Because the budget is only 4 million, in order to save costs, it was decided to shoot in Toronto.

"David, Kathryn," Ronald arrived in the room and saw Simkins and Kathryn Bigelow discussing the storyboard script on the big dining table.

"Ronald, you're here." Bigelow was wearing a black windbreaker with brown trousers underneath, her long golden-red hair fluttering, and her smile was a bit serious, which made her look like a professional woman.

Ronald thought she seemed very suitable to play Catherine in "Working Girl".

"What's wrong with you? Are you staring at me?" Catherine Bigelow looked at Ronald with a strange look in her eyes.

"Nothing, nothing..." Ronald sighed in his heart. He was about to become a director, and the timing was not right. And he didn't know how Bigelow's acting was.

"Come here and take a look at my preparations." Bigelow took Ronald's arm and pulled him to see what he had prepared for the movie.

"A lot of slow-motion shots..." Ronald looked at it for a long time and was amazed.

This is a very simple comedy, and it is not too difficult to direct. In Catherine Bigelow's preparations, she had the idea of ​​making it into an author's film, and many places were integrated with the director's personal taste.

How should I put it? Some directors can shoot all kinds of genres and themes, and their level is also very high, but you can't see what the similarities are between them. If you enter the scene after the opening credits, you can't tell who is the author for a while.

Some directors are completely different. They are only good at limited genres and themes, but their personal style is strong. You can tell who is the author after one or two shots.

Kathryn Bigelow belongs to the latter. Many of her shots are added with slow motion. However, unlike those exploitation films that add slow motion to certain shots in a stylized way, Bigelow's slow motion does not make people feel abused.

"I'm afraid I can't shoot this kind of movie," Ronald smiled and signed the shooting plan, agreeing to the schedule for the project to start shooting.

"Hahaha... This is a movie from a female perspective. If you shoot it, it may be a different style." Bigelow was very happy. After shooting the last movie, it was put on ice for a year or two before it was released. This second movie will be invested and distributed by Ronald's company, which will be much better.

"Let's have something good to celebrate." After the exchange, Ronald suggested that everyone go out for dinner together. David Simkins seemed to have a misunderstanding and said he wanted to spend more time with his family before going to Toronto.

Ronald went to dinner with Kathryn Bigelow. He chose an Italian restaurant and ordered a lot of food and wine. The two chatted while eating.

"Hahaha, you've watched a lot of old movies, and you've watched a lot of silent movies." Kathryn Bigelow finished the red wine in her glass and listened carefully to Ronald's ideas about movies.

"Since I got a video recorder, I've recorded a lot of old TV movies. It was Marty (Scorsese) who showed me where to borrow silent movies.

Ronald also finished his wine. Bigelow is a beautiful woman, but unlike a female star, she is Ronald's colleague. The content of their chat also revolved around the various techniques of filming this movie. Compared with dating other beautiful women, it was a completely different feeling.

"There are still very few opportunities for women in Hollywood now. If you hadn't given me this opportunity, I don't know when I can make my second movie."

"That's not necessarily true. There are more and more professional women in various industries now. My next movie is the story of working girls on Wall Street."

"Hollywood is actually a very conservative place. If you are not a woman, don't you know what we suffer in the industry?" Kathryn Bigelow talked about the various kinds of discrimination she suffered in Hollywood. Many people didn't stand a chance once they heard she was a woman.

“Female directors really don’t have a chance in this industry,” Bigelow concluded. “Do you know Lillian Gish, the first female star in the silent film era?”

"Oh, she is very beautiful..." Ronald knew this big silent film star. She was the heroine of Hollywood's first great director D. W. Griffith, and she was very charming on the screen.

"Hahaha, your first reaction is whether she is beautiful or not. In fact, Gish once directed a movie and was the first female director in American history.

But after she completed all the shooting and editing, she said that in Hollywood, directing is not a job for women. "

"However, the situation is changing now. Penny Marshall will soon start filming her "Growing Up". I also know a Chinese director Huang, who has already made several theatrical feature films." Ronald casually mentioned the situation of several female directors. He himself had no opinion on female directors and only judged them based on their works.

"You may not know that Penny is so famous, but she has to wait for such a long time before she is qualified for the second movie. It turns out that 'Peggy Sue is Getting Married' was directed by her as a screenwriter. Later, because of her gender, she was The first film was due to editing problems. Her first directorial work ended up falling out with the producer due to editing problems, and it was not signed.

As for China, it is a country where men and women are equal, and there are many more opportunities for female directors there than in America. "

Ronald couldn't refute at once, so he had to say, "The situation is still improving. Now there are more and more female directors and even producers in Hollywood. In addition to Shirley Lansing, there is also my friend Gale Herr De.”

Kathryn Bigelow's eyes lit up, "Are you the producer of Terminator and Alien 2? I like the directors of these two works very much, and their styles are impressive. Especially the last shot of Terminator, when the heroine starts to As the jeep speeds along the highway, the storm is taking shape in the distance, foreshadowing the future Skynet disaster, which is very poetic.”

"Hahaha, I actually took that shot." Ronald saw that Bigelow liked Cameron's works so much. "I know Jim very well. Do you want to meet him?"

"Of course, I still have time in Los Angeles."

"Hello, Jim? This is Ronald, are you free now? I have a fan of yours here who wants to meet you." Ronald called Cameron using the hotel phone.

"Come on, I'm drawing a picture of the 'Abyss'. Come and show it to you."

…

"Oh, what is this? It's very beautiful."

When they arrived at Cameron's house, Gale was not there either, so Ronald introduced Bigelow and Cameron to each other. Bigelow saw the concept drawings drawn by Cameron on the table and liked it very much.

"This is what a very large tsunami looks like. The intelligent life in the deep sea is showing its power to humans." Cameron explained.

Ronald took a look and saw that it was a very tall wall of waves, slowly pressing toward the coast from the sea.

"How did you take this shot?" Ronald frowned. This kind of shot is easy to draw, but how do you shoot it?

"I don't know. I will go to the Bahamas to see what the real scene looks like. If real shooting is not possible, then I will find a place to set up the scene and build several large water tanks to simulate it."

"You don't know how to shoot, so you decide to shoot this kind of scene?" Bigelow was a little interested in Cameron's words.

"I don't know yet, but this is a scene in my dream. I must shoot it. The problem I have to deal with now is how to get there from here." Cameron stroked his beard, which was very important to him. For a special effects expert, it is indeed not impossible to achieve.

None of the films that Cameron directed before or for which he served as special effects director was something he knew right from the beginning when he took over the job. Many things were done while he was filming and experimenting, and in the end he was always able to achieve satisfactory results.

"Haha, every time you shoot, you can push the limits of the film industry." Ronald was very clear about his old friend's abilities.

Over there, Kathryn Bigelow listened very seriously, her eyes shining brightly, and she looked at Cameron with great interest. Even the voice she always liked to refute the other party in conversations was gone.

Ronald was not used to the silence of this beautiful director for a while.

"How are you doing with Gale?" After chatting for a long time, Bigelow went to find something to drink. Ronald asked about Cameron when they were alone.

"Hey...I'm in pain..." Cameron lamented, holding his head.

Gale Hurd has officially separated from Cameron, moving out of the small apartment they bought with their "Terminator" salary. The two of them are still partners in their careers. They are both a producer and a director. They are both very professional people. There is no problem in their career cooperation.

The conflict between the two is mainly conceptual. Cameron doesn't like to repeat himself and likes to challenge the limits; while Hurd likes to use successful formulas to repeat past successes. The conflict between the two is essentially a conflict between artists and businessmen.

In addition, there are inconsistencies at work every day, and the daily arguments and quarrels gradually wear away the accumulated emotions between the two. Finally, after the "Abyss" project was established, the critical point was exceeded.

"I can't imagine how you can work together like this?" Ronald couldn't imagine their relationship.

"What do you mean by imagination?" Bigelow took three cans of beer and threw one to Ronald. Then he opened a can and handed it to Cameron.

"I can't imagine that you abandoned me so quickly. It seems that Jim's movie is more attractive to you."

"Hahaha..." Bigelow smiled and hugged Cameron's arm.

"Uh... Cameron is even more charming than me?" Ronald had to touch his chin and drink a sip of wine.

"You don't understand. Although your movie is wonderful, it is still within the scope of my imagination. And Jim's movie," Bigelow looked at Cameron with a beard, "is always beyond people's imagination."