Exploiting Hollywood 1980

This name is familiar to Ronald. It was he and CAA's Ovitz who went to Disney to promote the script. After being rejected by the president, they came out and sent their two vice presidents away. I remember that Wilhite was mainly responsible for live-action movies at Disney.

Walter Mersey talked for a long time on the phone.

Ronald walked out of the editing room, added some hot water to the thermos, and drank it silently. It seems that the Oscar curse is not always so effective. As long as you don't drift off and do things in a down-to-earth manner, there will still be people in the industry who will recognize you.

"Come on, let's go have something to eat together. I still have something to talk to you about." After a long time, Walter Mersey finished the call and patted Ronald on the shoulder who was sitting drinking tea.

"Disney will invite me to direct a movie. I will consider writing a new script and then invest in the production of the film. I can't teach you more about editing at Peep Show." Peep Show Cafe outside the Sentinel Building At the hotel, Walter Mersey explained to Ronald the content of the phone call from Disney just now.

"I'm sorry. You came this time to learn the editing process. I also made preparations for you to take advantage of the opportunity of organizing the film to learn the editing process of Apocalypse Now from beginning to end. But directing movies is something I have not experienced for many years. It’s a rare wish, but a rare opportunity.”

"This should be something worth celebrating, Walter, I am already very grateful." Ronald quickly adjusted his mentality and congratulated Walter Mersey.

"I'm going back later to tell Angie about my decision to resign from Peep Show and devote all my time to Disney movies. I will come to Peep Show Company tomorrow, and you will come too. I will teach you the most important principles of editing, and the rest You can slowly understand it through practice.”

"Huh? What? The blinking timing you told me today isn't the most important secret to editing?"

"No, this is just a trick or technique at best. There is no secret in editing. Anyone can edit with a pair of scissors and a piece of tape. What matters is which part to cut out and which part to leave."

Walter Mersey took a sip of Italian coffee as if reminiscing.

"When Angie and I got married, we lived in her hometown in the British countryside for a while. At that time, many of her relatives and friends heard that I was in the film industry, and they all thought that Angie was lucky and would live a good life in the future. .”

"But they don't understand what editing means. In American industry terms, editing is called editing, which means editing, but in Britain they are used to saying cutting, which means cutting the film."

"So they asked me if it was like an 8mm home camera,

Just cut out the bad ones and keep the good ones. I was young and energetic at the time, and I was very disgusted with the idea of ​​simplifying my work, so I told them that editing is actually a very advanced type of work that requires a lot of experience and skills. "

"But I always remember this conversation, and the longer it goes by, the more I feel that what Angie's relatives said is right. To be simple, editing is actually to cut out the bad parts and pick up the good ones. And we want to What I need to understand is what is considered a bad shot, what is a good shot, and how to connect the good parts."

Ronald chewed over the words "There are no secrets in editing" and felt that it made sense. In many industries, the core principles that really work are just one or two hands. The key is personal understanding and application.

So I look forward to tomorrow’s teaching even more. However, Walter said that teaching should be combined with film, but it is unclear now.

"What movie did Disney invite you to make, Walt? If it's convenient to reveal it." Ronald asked during the coffee break after the meal.

"It doesn't matter, because the movie hasn't been decided yet, it's just based on the script I wrote. I have long wanted to make a sequel to a masterpiece that was made decades ago, and see if they are willing to film the script I wrote."

"A masterpiece in film history? Disney? Do you want to make a cartoon?" Ronald was surprised?

"No. It's a movie that combines real people with model stunts." Walter smiled, "But you're not far off from guessing. It's indeed an adaptation of a fairy tale."

"Is it Snow White? Cinderella? Sleeping Beauty?" Ronald guessed several classic Disney animations in succession, the kind that are easier to adapt into live-action movies, not to mention those like Dumbo that cannot be made in live-action.

"It's the Wizard of Oz"

"Isn't that an MGM movie?"

"Yes, but the rights to adapt the sequel to The Wizard of Oz lie with Disney."

…

In the Disney president's office, the last time Ronald came to sell the script for "My Brother's Keeper", president Ron Miller, who had not been seen, was discussing with his deputy Wilhite.

Ron Miller, the current president of Disney, was scornfully called by Walt Disney's nephew, Roy Disney Jr., "Disney's door-to-door son-in-law, a former football star, a clueless layman, and a failed movie actor." , drinking whiskey comfortably.

"So Walter Mersey's idea is good. Although he is relatively low on our list, John Milius only wants to make his dark war film. It is impossible for us at Disney to invest in such a naturally R-rated film. At most Put it in pg.”

"The Wizard of Oz series has a large number of readers, and the 1939 MGM movie is still missed by many viewers. It is time for a sequel." Vice President Wilhite echoed.

"Since the death of Diane's uncle Roy Sr., we haven't made cartoons for many years, and now we have finally come to terms with it. We also have to keep up with the times. Star Wars and The Dark Knight, these two live-action movies were box office hits. No matter how you look at the movie, it should be produced by Disney.”

After Ron Miller came to power, he began to integrate Disney's power, hoping to lead this established Hollywood manufacturer back to glory.

But among the old courtiers left behind by Walt and his brother Roy Sr., many of them only took orders from the Disney bloodline, Roy Jr., his wife Diane's cousin. In order to take full control of the company, Ron Miller's focus is to shoot live-action movies.

The live-action movie he directed in the early stage has done well at the box office, and the offensive against the best-selling author has also produced preliminary results. The author, who is very well-known among young readers, has agreed to sell the rights to adapt the next unpublished film to Disney.

I heard that Warner Bros. is also lobbying for the same author, but after all, Disney has always been targeting the youth market. Compared with Warner Bros.'s background in making gangster movies, it has to attract the interest of the author more so that Disney can get there first.

"So our "genius list" has reached the last few?" President Ron Miller woke up from the complacency of success, drank the whiskey in one gulp, and asked his vice president.

"Yes, Walter Mersey is the third to last one on the list. The ones in front are either not interested in cooperating with us, or the movie themes proposed are not suitable for Disney."

"Those who are unwilling to cooperate with us will be blacklisted and will not be allowed to come to Disney for investment in the future." The former Los Angeles Rams tight end likes to manage film companies with a professional football attitude.

As soon as he took office as the president of Disney, he and his deputy Wilhite proposed their own "potential director list plan." After the success of 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars" and Peep Show's "Dark Horse", Ron Miller has always believed that this kind of movie should have been shot by Disney.

Fairy tales and wonderful imaginations for children and young people. He carefully studied the resumes of the two film's directors, Lucas and Carol Ballard. The two of them have one thing in common, that is, they were both novices and not taken seriously by the industry before filming these two blockbuster works.

So Ron Miller and Wilhite secretly drew up a list, collected potential seeds that had made achievements in other types of work in Hollywood, and hoped to turn into directors, and then called and contacted them one by one in order. . If both parties are interested in cooperating, and if the subject matter that the other party is interested in matches Disney's audience market, they will enter the cooperation process.

"As long as his script passes the test, we will invest some money to test the waters." Ron Miller was immersed in his vision of bringing Disney back to a great company. "Do you have any candidates who can be added to the potential list?"

“There’s Lawrence Kasdan, the screenwriter of The Empire Strikes Back, Joe Dante, who started out making low-budget exploitation films, and the recent comedic genius John Landis.”

"We'll all get in touch. As long as it's in line with Disney's audience and values, and the story can be rated pg or above, we can give it a try."

"There is another..." Wilhite hesitated, "There is a very young screenwriter who was recently appreciated by Frank Price of Columbia. His debut script sold 350,000 yuan."

"What is your name?"

"Ronald Lee, his script has also been submitted to Disney, but that day, Mr. President, you happened to be discussing the best-selling movie adaptation with the producer Zinnemann. In addition, the movie is about the Vietnam War, and it is likely to be criticized. It was R-rated and not suitable for Disney, so we did not participate in the bidding."

"Ronald Lee, I remember this name. Zinnemann told me that he was just a villain seeking fame. I heard that he used audition topics on the set to deliberately let Zinnemann's little girlfriend lose the lead role. .

And what profound Vietnam War script could a young man in his early 20s write? Frank Price is really out of his mind. Ignore him. "

…

"So you know Jenny Rosenberg, the screenwriter of 'Dark Horse'?" Walter Mersey said to Ronald. "The director of that film, Carol Ballard, is Coppola's senior brother. In fact, Disney is most interested in working with him. He has already submitted a script about wolves in the wild."

"Yes, I was working as a juggler on Roger Corman's low-budget production of 'Rock and Roll,' and Jenny was the scriptwriter on that film. She said she was going to be involved in adapting the script for 'The Dark Knight.'"

“Her last name was Rosenberg, and she was related to some powerful Jewish people,” Walter Mersey said. “She came in after the script was written and changed some dialogue and details about horse racing, which she had been familiar with since she was a child. "

"So that's it?" Ronald no longer envied Jenny's connections. After "The Dark Horse", Jenny's screenwriting talents were not generally recognized by the industry and she received new projects. It's better to move forward step by step like this.

"So, see you tomorrow?" Walter was anxious to go back and discuss changing careers with his wife.

"See you tomorrow. Thank you, Walter."

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