Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"This is a boat owned by the Hudson River Yacht Charter Company. We asked the captain to sail it out and we could talk slowly on the sea without being disturbed."

In order to avoid the ever-present supervision of the Writers Guild, Ronald found a medium-sized yacht, brought some food on board, and drove out of the World Trade Center Pier first.

After leaving the supervising screenwriter on the pier, he diverted the ship to Brookfield Plaza Pier and picked up Cameron Crowe who was waiting there. The ship sailed past the island where the Statue of Liberty is located, and on the sea Wandering on.

"Why is the Writers Guild now starting to intensify its strike again? I was in my apartment on Fifth Avenue and saw that the door to the NBC building was blocked by writers again." Cameron Crowe picked up Ronald's bag The takeaway from the Swedish restaurant Aquavit is full of unspectacular but delicious food.

"A few days ago, the Producers Union invited the federal government's official mediator to participate in negotiations. The few lawyer clowns in charge of negotiations from the Writers Guild started their show again, trying to increase pressure on us on television."

Ronald shook his head. Negotiations between the two parties have been deadlocked for several weeks. According to federal law, the threshold for any party to apply for a federal special mediator has been reached. With an official mediator, the employer and employee must sit down and negotiate under his auspices and must not leave without reason.

Ronald took out rye bread, tuna and salmon salad, hash browns, ham, and candied butter from the box, set a table, opened two bottles of light beer, and chatted with his old friend Gram Luo started to eat.

"Now the three major TV stations have exhausted their TV drama scripts, and all evening TV dramas have been changed to reruns..." Crowe also felt it was a bit outrageous. He was just thinking about returning to Hollywood, but he didn't expect to encounter such a thing.

"The film industry is almost in a bad situation. The revision and creation of scripts are prohibited. I think if this continues, there will be a large number of imported films next year."

After eating and having a brunch, the two began to discuss the ending of the movie.

"Billy Wilder-style multiple climaxes must have a false ending to make the audience mistakenly think that this is the ending they are expecting, and then turn over again and have a warm ending, just when they think the movie should end here. "

Cameron Crowe drew a wavy line on the cardboard, combined it with some of Billy Wilder's most famous movies, and told Ronald the method he came up with.

"What you mean is to change the original ending. Tess proved that she was the original idea of ​​acquiring the radio station. She defeated Catherine and restored her innocence. She was hired by Mr. Teske on the spot and got a job in Teske. An entry-level job in the company as a false ending?" Ronald asked as he took a bite of hash brown.

"Yes, this is the natural ending of the storyline. The audience will not be defensive. They will not know that it is a false ending when they watch it." Crowe said the key to a false ending is to make the audience invested. If they see that this is not the real ending plot, then their investment will be much less, and the fake ending will have no effect.

This is also the reason why everyone can see Billy Wilder's tricks on the screen, but few can imitate them very closely.

"Tess, this false ending is the ending of the workplace story, but Tess also has an emotional story. Whether she and Jack Traynor can become a couple, we have to make Tess and Jack fall in love as the false aftertaste after the false ending. ”

Ronald felt that what Cameron Crowe said made sense. In this script, Tess actually had two main story lines. One was the career line, which was ended in the fake ending, and the other love line was added with a fake ending. After all, the key is how to satisfy the audience.

"What do you think women of Tess's level are most afraid of?" Ronald asked Crowe after taking a sip of light beer.

"I think I'm afraid of meeting an unreliable man." Crowe clinked beers with him, "So in this place, we want to make the audience feel at ease. Jack is Tess's most suitable partner. They really love each other." of."

"Married women, what is the most romantic thing in their minds?" Ronald asked the married Cameron Crowe. In this case, then this plot cannot end with Tess and Jack kissing according to the original arrangement, but needs to be a romance that makes female viewers with stable relationships feel real.

"I probably prepared her breakfast and helped her pack the clothes and snacks she needed for the tour..." Cameron Crowe's wife is a rock singer, and his face is quite sweet when he talks about it.

"Tess went to work in the new company on her first day. We asked Jack to prepare everything for her..." Ronald looked at Crowe. This guy is not the most handsome guy. He can pick up Nancy. She is still married to him. This kind of small romantic tenderness must be very important in the eyes of women who need stability.

…

Cameron Crowe quickly wrote a revised version of the ending. Ronald and he took a rest on the deck looking at the scenery, and then went back to continue revising.

"We tried many methods for the true ending, but I always felt it was still not impactful enough. What kind of plot after Tess goes to work do you think can make the audience feel unfinished and meaningful?"

The so-called Billy Wilder-style ending has this charm. It is not long, but it allows the audience to completely release the emotions accumulated in the false ending and aftertaste through the true ending.

Watching the end of Billy Wilder's play always makes you want to watch the sequel immediately.

"What do you think is the most uncomfortable and aggrieved episode for a woman working as a secretary after reading the previous episodes?" Crowe asked Ronald in turn what he thought.

"Hmph... you asked the right person. I found Theresa, a former Wall Street secretary, to teach Melanie Griffiths how to behave as a secretary. Instead of us guessing here, why don't we Just come to her and ask her."

The yacht headed to Chelsea Piers, where sailing and water skiing are available for tourists and enthusiasts. It was here that Theresa played with her son, and Ronald found Theresa through her husband.

When the yacht arrived, Theresa and her family were already waiting at the dock.

Teresa's son was very cute and was not afraid at all when he got on the boat. He ran back and forth and quickly got his hair wet.

"What a healthy boy!" Ronald grabbed him, touched the back of his head, and quickly calmed down.

"Thank you, Ronald. He likes boats very much. David and I are considering letting him take sailing as a hobby." Theresa Kate now lives a happy life, and the distress of her former secretary is no longer visible on her face. "I think he likes you very much. You will definitely be a good father when you have children in the future."

"In addition to catching up with you, I also want to hear your opinion on one thing." Ronald told her why he came to her. "Can you help me think about it, which of Tess's plots made you most frustrated? "

"Ha... no need to think about it, Tess is the epitome of us secretaries. What we hate most is managers who don't treat us as equals.

They always think that our secretaries have no knowledge and are inferior to others. Everything is divided into different levels. Secretaries can only call them Mr. and Madam, but they can call us by our first names.

As for asking us to do trivial tasks that are not part of the scope of work, such as making coffee, picking up the children, and lining up for them to buy popular products, it seems to be a matter of course. "

Ronald's eyes lit up and it was a "haha" moment for him.

Tess, who was originally a "working girl", is a typical working woman who strives for herself. If she relied on her unremitting efforts and her adventurous spirit to seize the opportunity, she was favored by God once and was promoted to the position of manager, and then she immediately faded into Without people like Catherine, what’s the point of this story?

What the audience wants to see is not just that Tess replaced Catherine and successfully rose to the managerial level. It also depends on her traditional American hardworking, adventurous, and good-natured character, rather than the selfish and annoying workplace persona.

…

The filming of the movie has entered the last week, and Sigourney Weaver and Harrison Ford have completed their roles.

Tess was fired by Catherine. Xin told all the secretaries in the office about the injustice Tess had suffered. They donated some money to Tess so that she could eat something good to adjust her mood and tide over the difficulties before finding a job. .

Tess is ready to change cities and continue her life. Finding a new place, learning her lessons, not taking everything too seriously, and having a sense of humor, Tess is convinced that she is on the right path and doesn't need a man to save her.

Holding a cardboard box, she packed her belongings, and finally put the stuffed rabbit in. Tess got off the elevator. At this moment, Mr. Teske, Catherine, who took over Tess's job, and Jack Teske Together with Reina, they happened to walk into the gate of the World Trade Center, and they wanted to complete the finishing work of the entire acquisition transaction.

Tess was hit by someone and her things were scattered on the floor. Jack came over to help him tidy up and blamed Tess for not answering the phone. He wanted to find her and figure out the whole thing.

Tess talked about her own difficulties. As a secretary, she was discriminated against everywhere. If she came to Jack to discuss the merger and acquisition plan as a secretary, she would not be treated seriously.

At this time, Catherine came over to laugh at Tess again, and insinuated that she didn't know if she had stolen someone else's things in the cardboard box again.

Tess, who was very angry, made a final struggle to fight back, for herself, and for the merger case.

After Teske entered the elevator, she pointed out a key flaw in the merger and acquisition case. If not handled properly, the merger and acquisition case would not achieve the expected results.

Teske was not prejudiced against Tess and jumped out of the elevator regardless of Catherine's nonsense. He and Jack, who stood by Tess's side, went into another movie and carefully asked where the flaws were.

It turns out that Metro Radio mainly relies on a comedy host, and he recently got married. If the contract is not settled properly, Metro Radio will definitely not be able to spend more than 60 million US dollars.

Mr. Teske, who believed Tess's statement, also asked what happened between her and Catherine. He did not believe that Tess, who knew more about the merger and acquisition case than Catherine, was the one who plagiarized.

With Jack's encouragement, Tess finally took out the newspaper clipping she had collected with a photo of Olympia Dukakis, and told Mr. Teske what inspired her to think of merging radio instead of a television network.

It turns out that the personal page above contains the engagement announcement of Teske's daughter and reports on her charity activities. Above the entertainment section is the report by the funny radio host.

"I was thinking, Teske, radio station, radio station, Teske, and it struck me that it would be a good deal if they got together. And then I found Jack, and Jack found Metro Radio, and then we found you."

After exiting the elevator, Teske found Catherine and asked her to tell him what the inspiration for the merger was. Not many people would have thought of asking Teske to acquire a radio station instead of a TV station.

Catherine hesitated and couldn't say anything. She was also rejected when she sought Jack's help. Everyone saw through her and found that she was the one who plagiarized the idea. Teske fired her on the spot and asked Tess to consider whether she could accept a junior position to work for him.

The two main actors were packed up for filming, and Ronald asked them to go to the "Lutes" French restaurant, which is the most acclaimed French restaurant in the Upper East Side. Everyone enjoyed an expensive dinner of $200 per person, and Harrison Ford expressed his gratitude for the filming process with Ronald. Compared with going to high-end restaurants every now and then, he was very satisfied.

"I am looking forward to the final ending," Melanie Griffith said to Ronald when she came out to have one last scene. Melanie and the Wall Street banker were breaking up, and she tried her best to control herself and no longer indulge in alcohol and drugs.

"Here's the script, get ready."

Melanie Griffith took the two pages of the script, read them quickly, and then opened her mouth in surprise.

...

"This is Amy Aquino, she's going to play your opponent in the last scene." Ronald introduced Griffith to the actor who played her opponent in the last real ending scene.

"Hello, Melanie." Amy Aquino is a Broadway drama actress, who was temporarily hired to play Tess's new colleague.

After everyone had been shooting for several weeks and had achieved a rare tacit understanding, it was very difficult for any actor to be asked to play the last scene. So Ronald found a veteran on the stage.

"I brought some salad from Lutes Restaurant, we can eat together during the break." Melanie Griffith was very good to her opponent.

"Thank you, I've never made a movie before, this is my first time." Amy Aquino was average looking, with long curly black hair, and looked quite confident.

"Get ready, we'll start in half an hour," Ronald asked someone to come and inform them to get ready.

"A!"

Tess came in from outside, and the receptionist at the door told her that, as before, her position was at the innermost corner.

Amy Aquino sat on a chair in the office, with her feet on the windowsill, and her back to the camera, talking on the phone, "You know, those terrorists don't look like humans, they look like half-human creatures..."

"Cut!"

Ronald stopped the filming, and Amy Aquino stood up, looking very nervous. She knew that she had messed up the first shot.

"Your performance was great. But now there is one thing you should know: we have a microphone, a small microphone above your head, so you don't have to worry about us hearing you. Speak as if you were on the phone."

Aquino looked confused. She had no experience in film acting. She thought the microphone was at the camera outside the door, so she spoke very loudly, afraid that we wouldn't hear it.

"You know what? You don't have to worry about it. There's a guy hanging a microphone on a boom here. Just make a phone call like you would in real life. Isn't our filming better than drama?"

The employee adjusting the recording rod also smiled. Ronald treated these young actors very gently, which made Aquino quickly understand how he should perform.

"A!"

Tess saw a woman making a phone call inside. She found the position of the secretary outside the door and made a phone call. She already had experience working for women.

Alice, played by Aquino, noticed the movement, came out to greet Tess, and said, "I was just making a phone call inside, I didn't hear you come in."

"It's okay." Tess thought the new boss was not bad.

"Want some coffee?" Alice said to Tess.

"Tell me where to get it," Tess immediately followed up. It seems that the new job still cannot escape making coffee for people.

"I'll get it. What kind do you want?" Alice, played by Aquino, seemed to be particularly easy to talk to.

"Uh... sugar, milk, please... thank you." Tess felt that the new boss Alice at least made a gesture, which was much better than Catherine. She put down her coat, took out the stuffed rabbit from her bag, and sat down to tidy up her desk.

Aquino walked back with a cup of coffee with sugar and milk and saw Tess sitting in the secretary's seat outside the office. She asked in confusion, "Ms. McGill, that's where you are." She pointed to the separate office room, "Inside."

"I don't think so..." Tess looked confused.

"Yes, your office is inside, and this is my seat."

"This is the secretary's seat... The secretary sits outside the office," Tess replied.

"Yes, I am the secretary... If possible, I prefer to be called an assistant." Aquino said to Tess, who was used to filming movies and performed very well.

The two walked into the office, and the camera and recording rod followed them in.

Assistant Alice told Tess about her schedule for today, then pointed to the computer in the corner and said, "Your schedule is all in the computer, press Shift+S to see it."

"When I first came, I saw you tapping your feet and talking on the phone inside, and I thought this was your office." Tess felt that today was an adventure. She had a big misunderstanding of the "junior" position mentioned by Mr. Teske.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, Miss McGill, it won't happen again." Alice, played by Aquino, is obviously a more experienced secretary. She thought Tess would use this to give her power and establish rules. .

"Maybe now is a good time to tell me what you expect from me." Alice took the initiative to ask Tess to tell her her rules.

"It doesn't matter." Tess didn't mind her borrowing her phone. She remembered the rules Catherine had set for her when she saw her for the first time. The purpose was to suppress her self-confidence and prepare for the future exploitation of her labor and brain power. Prepare.

Now she is a manager and faces her own secretary...

"Well, cough..." Melanie Griffith added her lips and cleared her throat. It was her first time as a leader, "I expect you to call me Tess, and I don't expect you to make me coffee unless You also want to have a drink, um, let’s get along with the rest... OK?”

"OK", Alice has been working as a secretary for longer than Tess. This is the first time she has met a boss who treats her as an equal. In terms of their work, I am in a supportive position, but in terms of personality, they are truly equal.

She showed a sincere smile for the first time, and Alice could tell that Tess was not pretending to talk about equality, but showing equality through actions, such as addressing her and making coffee.

"I'm right outside. If anything happens, just call me..." She closed the door and went out.

Melanie Griffith saw that her secretary had left and she was left alone in the office. She picked up the phone and called her good sisters...

"Xin, guess where I am now? Haha..."

"Cut!"

Ronald was particularly satisfied with Melanie’s smile as she achieved her goal after she answered the phone.

After calling a stop, it also means that all the shots of the film crew have been completed.

"Thank you, thank you everyone. The party is in the evening and I found the best club..."

…

Everyone applauded and cheered as the "Working Girl" was packed for filming...

Ronald found Melanie Griffiths alone, "You go to the trailer and wait for me. Ask your manager to go too. I have something to tell you."