Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"If there is anything about you that makes you like the directors of the Golden Age of Hollywood, it is that you already have the final image in your mind when you shoot." In the editing room, Walter Murch joked to Ronald, and then added, "This also makes the editing work seem less challenging."

Ronald smiled and understood what he meant. In the early years of Hollywood, movies were a time-consuming business, and quality was not the most important thing. So many big studio bosses would let the editor recreate on the film shot by the director.

Often when the director got off work and went home on Friday night, the movie had been edited into a completely different look on Monday morning and was released immediately.

This also made many directors with artistic pursuits develop a skill. That is, to make edits in advance when shooting, without a foot of extra film.

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Many times, they did not shoot the panoramic main shot to explain the relationship between the background and the characters, nor were they willing to shoot half a second of unnecessary shots. When it came time to change the editing, they would call a halt, and would not shoot a few seconds more for safety. In this way, the studio could not "recreate" and could only edit the film according to their original intention.

After the collapse of the big studio system, the new generation of Hollywood directors generally have the power to make a complete edit of the film. At least before the first edited version is screened, the producer will not cut the film.

Therefore, most directors of the new era do not have a preview of what the film will look like before shooting. They prefer to regard shooting as a part of creation, and then assemble the story in the editing room.

The creativity of this editing work is much greater than that of "old-fashioned" directors like Ronald. It is no wonder that Murch prefers the challenging shooting method. For such a movie, the editor's contribution to the creation is actually no less than that of the director.

"Well... I came from a small-budget background, so I like to make plans in advance and then shoot according to the plan." Ronald laughed and squeaked, passing on the matter of relying on dreams.

"The next step is fine-tuning and the detailed work of the soundtrack. You still want to work with me here, if you have confidence in me and have other work..." Walter Murch has already felt Ronald's busy schedule and took the initiative to complete the most time-consuming and detailed adjustment link by himself.

"I just happen to have something to do. You taught me how to edit... If there's anything you want me to confirm, let's call each other."

Ronald was talking about going to Palm Springs.

Through Paula, Tom Cruise asked for help. His new film "Rain Man" has already started filming, but it encountered great difficulties two weeks after filming. Tom intended to change the director and let Ronald take over.

This "Rain Man" also had a bad fate. The investors were two independent producers Ronald knew, Gubel and Peterson. The distribution contract was taken over by MGM, which did not have much distribution business. The production company was United Artists, which had been acquired by MGM and now only had a brand left.

As you can imagine, these entities did not have the ambition to promote a big project starring an Oscar winner and a popular star. The real promoter behind this project was actually Michael Ovitz, the president of CAA.

Ovitz's wishful thinking was very good. Dustin Hoffman was a client of CAA and the market price was 6 million yuan for the film, but this price was now extremely precarious.

This is because, last year, in order to repay the female director Ein Laine May (ee ay) who brought him to the stage, Dustin Hoffman and another Hollywood actor, big star Warren Beatty, raised 50 million investment to help Ein Laine May return to Hollywood to direct.

The two actors not only played the leading male role, but also found the Korean actress Insabella Adjani to play the leading female role. The film was shot in Morocco, and Ein Laine May wrote and directed a film about two lyricists who strayed into the Cold War spy war, called "Ishtar".

Unfortunately, like those newly-awarded actors, the excessive ambition made the film unbearable. The new film released last year only received more than 10 million box office, losing all the investment, and also made Ein Laine May, who the two wanted to help, completely lose the opportunity to shoot a big production in Hollywood.

So this requires another movie to restore Dustin Hoffman's vitality, and Rain Man is a great project.

On the other hand, Tom Cruise's appeal in commercial films is getting stronger and stronger, but he himself does not want to be a star, but an actor. In order to satisfy his preferences, Ovitz also stuffed him into the "Rain Man" project as one of the leading actors.

Finally, the two leading actors with both acting skills and fame, and the autism story that no one has ever filmed, are also a weapon to attract famous directors.

Ovitz has successively found many directors to promote this project, and he has found all the top directors in Hollywood. If they are interested, they can just feel CAA's meticulous service spirit and strong operational capabilities, and maybe they can sign with CAA.

Famous directors are the most scarce resources in Hollywood. The first person who was spotted by Ovitz and took over the project was Barry Levinson. But the big star Dustin Hoffman wanted to spend some time with autistic people to learn their behaviors.

The filming was postponed for a year. Levinson withdrew from the project and went to shoot "Good Morning, Vietnam".

The second director to take over was Spielberg. Ovitz had been coveting to sign the first director in Hollywood for a long time, and this time he spent a lot of money to hire him. Spielberg even did a lot of preparation and drew some storyboards.

But after a long time, he found that Hoffman was difficult to work with, and George Lucas called him back to shoot the new Raiders of the Lost Ark, so he withdrew and recommended his good friend Sydney Pollack.

Sydney Pollack has directed Oscar-winning movies such as "Tootsie" and "Out of Africa", and is one of the top three directors in Hollywood in recent years.

After taking over for a while, he also felt that the filming of the film was too difficult, Hoffman's requirements were too many, and the production company he opened was busy, so he gave up the director a few weeks before the Writers Guild strike.

Seeing that the strike was about to happen, if there was no director to take over, the script would not be submitted and it would affect the filming. In an emergency, Ovitz began to find Barry Levinson, who took over the earliest, to take over.

But what's interesting is that during the several times when the director changed hands, Ovitz didn't look for Ronald, who was originally a client of CAA.

It was just Tom Cruise who recommended it several times. But after Ronald proposed to change the leading actor and let Cruise play the mentally retarded brother, Ovitz stopped talking about it.

Man proposes, God disposes. After a few weeks of filming, it was deadlocked again. Dustin Hoffman felt that his performance was like a horseshxt, and refused to continue filming before finding the feeling. The whole crew stopped, and director Barry Levinson was embarrassed and resigned.

At this time, Tom Cruise thought of Ronald again and strongly recommended him to come and direct himself. Ovitz had no choice but to invite Ronald to Palm Springs to have a chat through Niceta in the name of inviting Ronald to take a vacation.

...

"Hi, Ronald, it's great that you're here," Tom Cruise, wearing Ray-Ban sunglasses, personally picked up Ronald in the parking lot. As soon as he saw the car stopped, he came up and opened the door, showing a charming smile, and hugged Ronald tightly.

"I brought my aunt's cookies for you to try. They don't have butter or sugar, but some vegetables. They are specially baked for you." Ronald handed over a handful of cookies. This was Aunt Karen's return gift for the cakes Cruise sent her every Christmas and Thanksgiving.

"Ha, Aunt Karen remembered that I need to exercise and not eat too much sweets. She is so kind to me." Cruise happily accepted it and handed it to Paula beside him. The group changed two large cars and drove towards the booked hot spring hotel.

"Rain Man" is a big production. Barry Levinson decided to shoot the scenes in chronological order according to the order of the plot. This is a road movie with a simple plot. It depends entirely on the true feelings between the actors to impress the audience. In addition, the budget is sufficient, so the director decided to use this shooting method that can best guarantee the performance effect.

The plot at the beginning was shot in a sanatorium in Palm Springs. Tom Cruise plays Charlie Babbitt, a rich boy, who meets his autistic brother Raymond for the first time.

But for these simple scenes, Dustin Hoffman spent two weeks without a single usable shot, which is equivalent to a strike-style stop.

"So, what happened? Why can't Dustin continue shooting?" Ronald saw that there were no outsiders in the room, only Cruise, Paula, and Niceta, who were deeply bound by interests, so he asked directly about the problem.

"Dustin thinks he doesn't act like an autistic person. Every time he finishes shooting, he feels very painful when watching the sample the next day. If it doesn't meet his requirements, he won't continue..." Paula answered. She is very dedicated. She left her young children at home with a nanny and continued to accompany Cruise.

"So how does he adjust? It's impossible that he can't find the feeling after two weeks of shooting?" Ronald was also puzzled. How could he not produce a satisfactory shot in two weeks?

"He spent a long time with autistic patients to learn in advance, but his performance in the sample film is still not very similar to that of real patients. Dustin is considering suspending filming. He will go back and live with more autistic patients for a few more months.

"Puff... cough cough..." Ronald choked on his tea when he heard this. How can you play like this? If the filming plan is suspended like this, the loss will be huge. The loss of money is not a big deal, but where can a popular star like Tom Cruise adjust his schedule?

"Yes, Tom has already agreed with Oliver Stone to go to the Philippines in the second half of the year to shoot a new film about the Vietnam War." Paula was also anxious. She wanted Ronald to take over the most. It would be best if Dustin Hoffman could be controlled. He had a good way to deal with Harrison Ford before. It was spread in the Hollywood agent circle that he could subdue Han Solo with food.

"What do you think?" Ronald asked Tom Cruise.

"Dustin is a very dedicated director. He said that as long as he finds a shot that he can barely be satisfied with, he can continue shooting, but so far there has been no one. I think we need to give him more patience..."

"Hmph...if you can't act like him, go back and live and learn with autistic people..." Ronald was really not interested in acting like him. If he wanted to play a murderer, how could he...after all, he just couldn't act.

"What do you think? Ovitz wants to have a private chat with you tonight..." Nicita asked beside him, what kind of rules does Ronald have.

Tom Cruise is, after all, a young actor who has no experience of being on the other side of the camera. Ronald had been filming all the way and had long been suspicious of the acting skills of certain actors who were legendary in the industry.

The Oscars prefer certain types of roles. Dustin Hoffman's imagination is actually very average, and he can only play roles for which he has experience.

"I still say that Tom should play the retarded one of the brothers, if you want to win an award." Ronald said with a smile.

"Dustin and I often read lines in the trailer while switching roles. In fact, I think the role of Raymond is not as difficult as expected..." Tom Cruise replied.

It seemed that he was a little moved and regretted not listening to himself. To compete for awards, you have to use all the advantages. Acting as a fool can actually gain more recognition from peers and audiences than acting as an ordinary person.

Actors recognized as top performers in Hollywood, such as Jimmy Stewart, James Cagney, and Henry Fonda, are all capable of playing very ordinary roles. Actors like John Wayne, who can only play fixed special roles, are generally considered to have second-rate acting skills.

Everyone was silent and began to seriously consider this possibility for the first time. Replacing the trouble was also a solution to the trouble.

…

In the evening, Michael Ovitz flew to Palm Springs and specially invited Ronald to a dinner. He also needed to have a chat and feel out the director who was not his first choice for the Rain Man project.

"I just came back from New York, and the crew is really not easy to worry about. But this also shows that Dustin is dedicated and has high standards for himself. The movie will definitely be a masterpiece. It's just that it encountered temporary difficulties."

This style of speech is not quite right. Ronald listened and understood that Ovitz still wanted to keep Dustin Hoffman's starring role. As for whether to change the director, it depends on whether Barry Levinson can control the male lead.

"I am a good friend of Tom. This time I came to visit and also met the new mayor Sonny Bono. I have some small-scale films that I hope can be screened at his first Palm Springs Film Festival next year."

Since Ovitz did not invite Ronald politely, some airs were still needed.

"We need Dustin very much. His acting skills are very profound. We hope to find a way to get him back to feeling..."

Ovitz heard that the topic of conversation was wrong, so he changed his tone again. After all, Dustin Hoffman is one of our own, and we have to take care of his needs first.

"I am an outsider, and my interest in this movie is just to see it successfully released on the screen. So I can ask a hypothetical question, can we do some technical discussions?" Ronald met Ovi Ci didn't speak clearly, so he raised a question that no one wanted to talk about.

"Please tell me..." Ovitz looked at Ronald. This young screenwriter who he brought to see Jane Fonda was now a big director who could not speak directly and had to worry about the other person's emotions.

"If in the golden age of Hollywood, there was such a big production, and a leading actor was still unable to get into the state, and there was no one available after a week of shooting, then the studio bosses at the time, such as Samuel Goldwyn, would , what would be the reasonable action?”

Ronald's meaning is very simple. Since Dustin Hoffman can't play the role, then replace him. There are too many actors in Hollywood who can play roles, and it would be over if he were cast.

"It's a historical question, right?" Ovitz laughed.

"Of course...a discussion of the old Hollywood system." Ronald knew that Ovitz was not comfortable speaking ill of his clients.

"If it were back then, in the era of big studios, then the film would have either been stopped or replaced... But in Hollywood now, as you know, Ronald, our financing and distribution are, to a large extent, Depend on the stars.

If it weren't for such a big star with a salary of 6 million as a guarantee, there would be questions about whether the entire project would be established. "

Ronald frowned slightly. Isn't it enough to have Tom Cruise in this movie? Cruise, a beautiful blond boy, plays a retarded man. What a gimmick. Female fans across the United States are still crying and shouting to see their lovely Tom?

"I understand, looking at it this way, it's up to Dustin to figure it out on his own." Ronald said that he was just giving an opinion, and you can do whatever you want. Unless Cruise becomes the protagonist, he won't wade into this troubled waters. This script looks very difficult to film at first glance, as it doesn’t have the structure of a three-act play. It all depends on the strength of the director and the leading actors to keep the audience interested in watching.

"I want to see the sample footage tomorrow. Can you come with me? I know you are now an expert in coaching the acting skills of big stars. Fox and Harrison himself are full of praise for you."

There was no result from the conversation, but he just agreed to watch the samples the next day. Ronald returned to the hotel and took a bath in the hot springs as a vacation.

"Ronald...are you there?" Tom Cruise called, hoping to chat with Ronald again.

"Come on..." Ronald got dressed, and Cruise had no idea.

"I still hope you can come. Barry's level is good, but he has trouble dealing with Dustin. His temperament cannot suppress Dustin. Sometimes, I think what the crew needs is a confident person like you. , to make Dustin listen.”

Ronald looked at Tom Cruise for a long time without saying anything. Cruise's idea was still a bit naive. Can you win the Oscar for Best Actor just by acting? Can you improve your acting skills by filming with the best actor and famous director? Can you finally get the award and evaluation you want by following their plan step by step?

"How much did you get paid for this movie?" Ronald suddenly asked.

"Three million, what's wrong? Paula doesn't want to tell you? In fact, she doesn't need to keep it secret from you..." Tom Cruise smiled with white teeth. Ronald is his benefactor and the director, so there is no need to keep it secret from him.

"Do you know how much Dustin's salary is?" Ronald made a six gesture, and then continued quickly, making Tom Cruise unable to react, "Ovitz said that this movie needs to rely on Dustin's best actor reputation to get investment and distribution... Do you believe it? I think he is bullshxt..."

"Why did they do that?" Tom Cruise was very disappointed. The value of Americans is measured by the bid. I didn't expect that my salary was only half of Dustin's. Ronald didn't need to lie to him, it was Ovitz who said it again. This number is most likely true.

He had heard about his previous salary, but Dustin's previous movie was a big failure and he lost a lot of money. This time, he would definitely reduce it, right? He always felt that this time he brought himself into the crew with his fame, so even if it was lower than Dustin's, it shouldn't be much lower.

If it was because the script was good and he was expected to win an award, he would reduce his salary to act. Then Hoffman should also reduce it, or keep it at the previous six million. What's this?

"I'll tell you why..." Ronald took a piece of letter paper on the table, tore off a piece, put it on the table, and wrote down several names in pencil.

Michael Ovitz, Barry Levinson, Sidney Pollack, Dustin Hoffman, Gubel, etc.

"No way?" Tom Cruise thought of a possibility.

"That's it, I and you are both in the second tier in terms of CAA's priority."

Ronald crumpled the letter paper into a ball and went to the bathroom to flush it.

"I'll go talk to Paula. This isn't right..." Tom Cruise walked out with an unmoved expression. He went to talk to Paula. His enthusiasm was rewarded with second-class treatment? This was unfair and very un-American.