Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Ronald, there's a call for you..." The crew's assistant knocked on the door and shouted outside.

"Who the hell is that?" Ronald, who was busy revising the script, was interrupted by all kinds of chores again, "Didn't you say not to bother me unless it's important?"

All screenwriters in the United States, whether they write movies, TV series, talk show scripts, or Broadway plays, have stopped taking jobs. Hollywood's various unions are powerful national unions with the power of compulsory picketing. Even if you write advertising scripts, you can't write a word after the union orders you.

Ronald, who was annoyed by several British screenwriters, had to take the lead and revise Harrison Ford's plot. But the inspectors of those unions were still wandering around. Every time Ronald picked up a pen to write on the script, they would come over in good faith to remind Ronald that as a union member, he needed to stand with 9,600 members.

There was no way, Ronald had to hide in a small room, lock the door, and let an assistant of the crew stand at the door to block him.

But the director has too many things to do. Sometimes the art director comes to ask Ronald to decide the tone of the film, and sometimes the costume designer takes the supporting role's clothes to Ronald to see which one is good. He stops and thanks. He just got a little inspiration, but it is often interrupted. His efficiency is extremely low.

"Who is it this time?" Ronald took the long-line telephone receiver.

"It's your agent, Mr. Niceta."

"It's me, Rick." Ronald waved his assistant to hold the door so that the people from the Writers Guild would not see him, and started chatting with Niceta.

"Now screenwriters in Britain, Australia and other English-speaking countries are being snapped up. It's not just about money, there are many conditions. If you have a familiar friend, you should ask your friend for help. I have already found out their cooperation model in Hollywood. The screenwriter booked a room in a hotel not far away, and then contacted by phone."

"Okay, I'll ask the screenwriters I worked with before if they are willing. How should I explain this matter so that I won't be caught?" Ronald thought to himself. This kind of thing is not only unsigned, but also unpaid (if you pay, the union will find out). There is no good way except to compensate trusted friends later.

"Let Richard contact, you don't show up. He will handle it. You just need to give a few lists of screenwriters you can trust, plus my and Paula's direct clients, and try your luck. Otherwise, you are already in a mess as a director."

"That makes sense, please." Ronald put down the phone, went back to the small room, wrote a list of screenwriters he had worked with before, faxed it to Niceta's office, and then set fire to the paper.

"Knock knock... Ronald, someone wants you." The assistant started knocking on the door again.

"Who is it?" Ronald threw his pen in a bad mood, and the inspiration he just thought of was interrupted again.

"It's me, Walter..."

It was the film editor Walter Murch, who opened the door and came in, "Did I find the wrong time? Are you busy? How about I come back later?"

"No, no..." Ronald waved his hand quickly to let him stay, "I'm waiting for you to come, let's go through the opening scene, you told me to shoot those materials." The helicopter rented today will not be waiting after the appointment time.

Ronald put on his coat and walked out the door with Walter Murch. When he passed by the assistant, he gestured to him to keep an eye on the door.

Then the two met up with the director of photography Michael Ballhaus who was waiting for them, and the three walked out together.

"Your opening shot is very ambitious. I have never seen an example of shooting like this. Have you rented a helicopter?" Walter Murch looked at the storyboard drawing in his hand and asked Ronald.

"Yes, we rent it for half an hour today, and then for half a day during the filming, and the filming time is two hours. Let's go to the Statue of Liberty first." Ronald raised his wrist. There was not much time left before the appointment time. He turned his head and looked around. Little Bud saw it and got in the car immediately to drive the Mercedes-Benz over.

"Ronald, Ronald, is that you? Thank you, thank you... I called last night, and they let me audition today."

Suddenly, among a large group of actors queuing up to audition for supporting roles, the waiter Sandra saw Ronald and came over to greet him immediately.

"Is it you? Sandy. Audition well, I just give you a chance. If you are selected, you can join the Screen Actors Guild."

Ronald shook hands with her. At this time, the car had turned around and stopped. Ronald and Walter Murch got in the car.

The actresses waiting over there looked at Sandra with a little jealousy, and only she was laughing without knowing it.

Under the rumbling helicopter, Ronald, Walter Murch, and Michael Ballhaus could not hear anything. Ronald made a gesture, checked the list with the pilot, signed it, and got into the back seat of the helicopter.

The helicopter pilot was Elizabeth Sue, the helicopter rented for the aerial photography of "Cocktail" starring Tom Cruise. The pilot wearing sunglasses also knew Ronald and knew that he was the director of "Top Gun". He saluted him and signaled Ronald and Walter to put on earmuffs.

"It would be great if you could give our helicopter pilot some time to film Top Gun. Sit tight, we'll take off right away." There were headphones and microphones in the soundproof earmuffs. Ronald heard the pilot's teasing and fastened his seat belt. A strong force came from the seat, and the helicopter rose from the ground.

At high altitude, the helicopter flew directly toward the Statue of Liberty off Manhattan. At high altitude, the helicopter made no noise. The pilot pointed

“I would fly around the Statue of Liberty twice and then lower my altitude to follow the ferry.”

Ronald raised his thumb to indicate understanding. After a burst of acceleration, the helicopter flew near the Statue of Liberty, which was about the same height as the torch she was holding.

"I plan to let him fly a spiral, and then use the camera to capture one of the most iconic buildings in New York." Ronald stuck his head out of the plane, pointed and expressed his thoughts.

"You have to use a zoom lens, right? There's not much space in the helicopter, and how do you plan to shoot? The door of this helicopter will block the camera's view." Walter Murch held the split lens and looked at the scene outside the cabin.

"After the actual flight, I will remove this door. Then I will have the photographer fixed on the seat and aim at the Statue of Liberty to take pictures. Ronald and I will give instructions behind him, but the wind will be very strong when flying, so it must be fixed Clothes and hair,” director of photography Michael Ballhaus explained to Murch.

The camera will then be mechanically fixed to the floor of the helicopter. This kind of open-door shooting was quite risky, so he found a tall and powerful photographer to control the camera.

Seeing that the two of them had seen each other, Ronald patted the pilot's back with his hand, and then made a gesture of descending altitude and moving forward.

A yellow ferry bound for Manhattan from Staten Island happened to be sailing below. The helicopter followed the ferry's path, slowly lowered its altitude and approached, and finally it was 45 degrees above the rear, maintaining a relatively stationary state with the ferry.

"We need to shoot enough material here, at least for more than one minute, twice." Walter Murch pointed to the ship in front of him and said to Ronald. "The editing will cut from here to the interior of the cabin, the extent of the ship's sway, and the helicopter. On the track, I have to find the point where I can edit, and I have to give me enough time.”

While circling, the three people discussed how far each shot should be taken to be considered adequate, where the shot should be cut, how long the shot should be, and how many times each shot should be taken before it is qualified. It's all recorded on the shot sheet.

Then, the helicopter flew towards Lower Manhattan and hovered above many skyscrapers.

"The old method is to use a zoom lens and hover here to take aerial shots. This lens is relatively simple because the helicopter can fix the position..."

Director of photography Michael Ballhaus and editor Walter Murch began discussing again. By the time they were done, it was almost time to rent the helicopter.

The pilot pushed the control stick, and the plane flew back to the airport in the lower city, and then the propeller slowly stopped.

"Be careful, the vertical propeller at the tail." This time the pilot learned his lesson and added a large yellow warning in front of the tail. He himself jumped out of the cab. "I'm serious, Mr. Director, can you?" Make a movie like Top Gun for us. Now in the bar, those flying small planes are more impressive than us."

"Hahaha, I will do it if I have the chance..." Ronald liked the pilot very much and shook hands with him to say goodbye.

The three of them got into Little Bud's car, which was waiting at the spot. The two technical masters discussed many details along the way. When they finally returned to the hotel, Ronald already had an additional copy of the shooting that the two of them had discussed. In the guide, all the shots are arranged, the duration and scene separation are written. When it came time to actually shoot, Ronald asked the photographer to just shoot as usual, and he only had to sit back and control the scene.

After all, Fox was very generous in selecting technical personnel, and the people who worked with Ronald this time were all industry giants. It makes people feel comfortable to work with capable people. They will do their best within their abilities, allowing the director to focus his energy on more important things, such as:

Coaching actors on their acting skills, and also working part-time to revise scripts...

Ronald looked at the progress of the crew. Sandra Bullock was selected by audition director Julia Taylor. She will play Tess's best friend and will appear in scenes such as celebrating her birthday. There is also a line "Yeah...".

Other progress was also going smoothly. Melanie Griffiths came to bother him several times. Under the guidance of the Wall Street investment banker, she became more like a professional woman who could truly gain a foothold on Wall Street. .

The two have become very close, and they both held hands when showing Ronald the results of their studies on the set. Ronald didn't have any objection to the two of them disclosing this intimate state. Anyway, they had to film a lot of scenes in which she was passionately in love. This state would help her get into the mood when performing.

Various staff members came to Ronald for advice one after another, ranging from the matching of high heels and clothes worn by the supporting character Joan Cusack, to the weather forecast and historical precipitation probability for the same period in the day when the City Hall opened the sky for aerial photography.

Finally, it was around seven o'clock in the evening, and the staff who had gathered in the hotel were all getting off work one after another. The overtime pay during the preparation stage was already a bit overrun, and the production assistant on site came with a form for Ronald to sign.

After signing the last word, Ronald stretched himself and waited until everyone left so that he could revise the script quietly. Oh, yes, there are also materials that Harrison Ford asked his manager to send today.

Harrison Ford's manager sent a script that he had read, with more than 20 red and blue sticky notes densely pasted on it. The red ones were scenes that he was particularly satisfied with, and his feelings were written in them. There were a few places where he wanted to add more scenes.

The blue ones were scenes that Harrison Ford was not very satisfied with. He politely asked Ronald to consider whether he could reduce them or simply delete the entire scene.

With a long sigh, Ronald made a cup of instant coffee and drank it in a few sips. After a short rest, he began to revise the script.

The quiet evening is indeed suitable for revising the script. Writing a script is a very difficult thing, and revising a script is relatively simple. People are always more efficient in making revisions than creating.

Ronald spent more time understanding the opinions that Harrison Ford sent several times, and what his deep meaning was behind them. Why did he want to make these revisions.

After thinking about it, what Harrison Ford actually wanted to do was to maintain his positive star image and skip most of the scenes of transformation.

For example, in the script, Jack Traynor and Tess went to attend the wedding of the client's daughter together. The two of them did not have an invitation, and they went in completely under false names, trying to have a chance to talk to the client about their ideas on the client's merger and acquisition project.

In the process of this sales pitch, Jack Traynor, played by Harrison Ford, was unwilling to continue to break into the wedding after discovering the truth.

There is a great risk in doing so. If the client is unhappy, he will lose the opportunity to communicate with the client again forever. So he is against Tess's brave idea here.

But Harrison Ford didn't miss this line where Jack Traynor criticized Tess. Stars always have to stand on the right side, and stars can't be afraid of such a courageous adventure. Even better, this idea was thought up by Traynor, played by Ford.

Ronald was actually very disgusted, and the role was intended to be left to Alec Baldwin at the time. As an actor who came from Broadway drama, he would not be disgusted by such a deep play that reflects the growth of the character.

This change from opposition to approval and his deeper understanding of Tess are good performance opportunities that may win awards.

With Harrison Ford's performance, everyone will still see another Han Solo and another Indiana Jones. Ford said he wanted to transform and wanted to work with Ronald on this romantic comedy. But what has changed by acting like this?

Ronald put down his pen. The result of such a modification would create a ridiculous situation. Tess, Catherine, and even Tess's best friend Xin, all play roles with complex angles, and various scenes show their characteristics and character transformation.

And Harrison Ford's role is the same from beginning to end, flat and without any dimension.

"Puchi..." Ronald laughed when he thought of this. Isn't this a common vase in Hollywood movies? It's just that this time it's reversed, the actress plays the leading role, and Harrison Ford becomes a big vase.

"Knock knock..." There was another knock at the door.

"Wait..." Ronald was shocked. Isn't this another volunteer from the Writers Guild? He is also a member of the Writers Guild. Being entangled by them, he was speechless again about how the Writers Guild strives to protect the rights of its members.

He quickly opened the drawer, dumped all the scripts inside, and locked it. Ronald let out a long breath, "Who is it? I'm coming."

"It's me, Helen. Isn't it the right time for me to come now?" Helen Slater's voice came from outside the door.

"Oh, you scared me to death. I thought it was the Writers Guild." Ronald opened the door and let her in.

"Hehe, are you still hiding from them and fighting guerrilla warfare? You must listen to the orders of the union..." Helen tapped Ronald's face with her hand.

"There is no official strike yet. I'm just afraid that they will come to reason with me. They should talk about the history of the Writers Guild and the history of fighting for the rights of members..."

"Do you want to continue? I'll accompany you?" Helen Slater seemed to be particularly proactive today. A red scarf set off her apple-like face, which was very tempting.

"That's it. I'm tired. It's too troublesome to change the script on the spot. I have to do it as soon as possible..."

"Hehe, I won't tell you, Ronald. But you don't have to tell me." Helen came up and kissed Ronald, "I'm here to ask you on behalf of Kathryn Bigelow. Her samples have been shipped back to New York. Do you want to see the version that has just been synchronized with the sound and picture? If you think it's okay, then it's done."

"Now? I believe in her ability." Ronald didn't expect Bigelow to be so quick. She had already finished the part in Canada and returned to New York.

"She said that my performance was good and wanted to hear your opinion. If it's okay, there's no need to reshoot the New York part." Helen said while stroking Ronald's arm.

"Then let's go and see it."

Ronald understood that it turned out that Helen Slater felt that her performance had improved a lot and wanted to let Ronald see it as soon as possible.

Anyway, he had run out of inspiration today and couldn't think of a plot. Ronald put on his coat and let Helen take him to the editing studio where Bigelow was.

"How is it?" After watching the sample film for a while, mainly Helen's performance. Helen Slater couldn't wait to ask Ronald's opinion.

"You seem to understand how to act in front of the camera, and you can gather it." Ronald looked at Helen. Bigelow had trained her to be a bit like a movie actor.

"She would perform every play for me. I didn't understand many things at first..."

"Hehe..." Ronald made a thank you gesture to Kathryn Bigelow. This kind of director really helped Helen understand.

She just had too many theories and didn't know how to really perform in front of the camera. When she was taught by someone and learned to imitate the other person, she got the hang of it.

Ronald felt that Helen's body was getting softer and softer. He hugged her and motioned Bigelow to continue playing some sample films. In this way, he could finish watching the scenes that should be watched at one time, otherwise the progress of the movie would be affected.

He gave Helen a kiss to make her quieter, and Ronald continued to watch.

Now it was a scene at the beginning of the movie. Helen and another heroine, both holding violin cases in their hands, walked on the road at a synchronized frequency. The camera was fixed in front of them, filming the two of them.

No matter how it was pushed, pulled, panned, or moved, the camera would retreat at a fixed speed, and the image would remain relatively still with their walking speed. This opening gave people a very refreshing feeling. It was as if the audience was in front of the two beauties, walking with them, and constantly looking back to peek at them.

"What camera was used to shoot this? I've never seen such a shot. It's like the Steadicam is used upside down. It's not that the photographer is relatively still, but that the object being filmed is relatively still." Ronald was very sure that this was not a photographer with good arm strength or strong endurance, but a lens device similar to the Steadicam.

"That? That's a little invention of my director of photography." Kathryn Bigelow replied, "It's a mechanical device he made himself, which can be basically synchronized with the subject being filmed, and the image is also very stable."

"Let him call me, I also want to use this device. It just so happens that my new film has an aerial lens, and this kind of image quality is what I want. I wonder if his little invention can be used in aerial photography."

"Call him yourself." Kathryn Bigelow took out a business card and handed it to Ronald.

"Gary Tilches," Ronald wrote down the name and phone number.

"Are you still going to work?" Helen Slater asked beside him.

"Tomorrow, shall we go get something to eat?"