Exploiting Hollywood 1980 Chapter 912

  Chapter 912 Harrison Ford became a vase

   "Ronald, I have your call..." the crew assistant knocked on the door and shouted loudly outside the door.

   "Fuck... who is it?" Ronald, who was immersed in revising the script, was interrupted by various chores, "Didn't you say that there is no important thing to bother me?"

  All screenwriters in the United States, whether they write movies, TV dramas, talk show scripts, or Broadway plays, are all unacceptable. The various labor unions in Hollywood are powerful national labor unions with the power to forcibly picket. Even if you are writing an advertisement script, you cannot write a word after the union orders.

   Ronald, who was so angry with several British screenwriters, had to do it himself and modify the plot of Harrison Ford. But the inspectors of those labor unions are still wandering around. Every time Ronald picks up a pen to write on the script, they will come over in good faith and remind Ronald that as a member of the labor union, he needs to communicate with 9,600 people. Fellow members stand together.

  No choice, Ronald had no choice but to hide in the small room, lock the door, and let an assistant of the crew stand at the door to block the way.

However, there are too many things to do as a director. For a while, it is the art director to let Ronald decide the tone of the film, and for a while, it is the costume to show Ronald the clothes of the supporting role. Thank you so much, I just got a little inspiration , and is often interrupted, the efficiency is extremely low.

   "Who is it this time?" Ronald snatched the receiver of the phone that was specially connected to the long line.

   "It's your manager, Mr. Nisita."

   "It's me, Rick." Ronald waved his assistant to lock the door so that no one from the Screenwriters Union could see him, and chatted with Nisita.

"Now Britain, Australia and other English-speaking countries are being robbed of screenwriters. It's not just a question of money, but also a lot of conditions. If you have familiar friends, you should ask them for help. I have already inquired about their cooperation in Hollywood. mode, the screenwriter booked a room in a hotel not far away, and then contacted by phone.”

"Okay, let me ask if the screenwriters who have worked with me before are willing. How should I talk about this kind of thing so that I won't be caught?" Ronald thought to himself, not only did this kind of thing not sign, but I haven't been paid yet (if I pay, I will be discovered by the union), and there is no good way except to make up for it later with a trusted friend.

"Let Richard get in touch, you don't come forward. He'll take care of it. Just give me a few lists of screenwriters you can trust, plus me and Paula's direct clients, and try your luck, or you'll be the director It's messy enough."

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

   "Tu Tuk...Ronald, someone is looking for you." The assistant started knocking on the door again.

   "Who is it?" Ronald threw the pen angrily, and the inspiration he just thought of was interrupted again.

   "It's me, Walter..."

  It was Walter Murch, the film's editor, who answered the door and said, "Did I miss the time? Are you busy? How about I come back later?"

"Don't..." Ronald quickly waved his hand to tell him not to leave, "I'm waiting for you to come, let's go and take the opening scene, you told me to shoot those materials." The helicopter rented today , After the appointment time is not waiting.

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

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

   "Your opening shot is very ambitious. I haven't seen an example of such a shot. Have you rented your helicopter?" Walter Murch asked Ronald, looking at the sketch in his hand.

"Yes, rent it for half an hour today, and then rent it for half a day during the shooting, and the shooting time will be two hours. Let's go to the Statue of Liberty first." Ronald raised his wrist, not much time before the appointment time, he Turning his head to look around, Little Bud saw it, got in the car immediately, and was about to drive the Mercedes-Benz over.

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

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

   "It's you? Sandy. Audition well, I just give you a chance, if you are selected, you can enter the film actors union."

   Ronald shook hands with her, when the car had turned around and stopped, Ronald and Walter Murch got into the car.

  The actresses waiting over there looked at Sandra with envy, only she laughed without knowing it.

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

  The helicopter pilot is the aerial photography helicopter rented by Elizabeth Sue and "Cocktail" played by Tom Cruise. The pilot in the sunglasses also knew Ronald, the director of "Top Gun," and saluted him, motioning for Ronald and Walter to put on earmuffs.

   "It would be nice if we could take a Top Gun film for our helicopter pilots. Sit tight, we'll take off right away." There were earphones and microphones in the sound-proof 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.

   Reached high altitude, the helicopter went straight to the sea off Manhattan, and flew towards the Statue of Liberty. At a high altitude, the helicopter made no noise. The pilot pointed to the water below and said to Ronald:

   "I'll fly around the Statue of Liberty twice, then lower to follow the ferry."

  Ronald raised his thumb to indicate understanding, and 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 on the plane, gesticulating and talking about his thoughts.

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

"After the real plane takes off, I will remove the door. Then let the photographer fix it on the seat and shoot at the Statue of Liberty. Ronald and I will give instructions behind him, but it must be very windy when it falls, so it must be fixed well. Clothes and hair," DP Michael Ballhouse explained to Murch.

  At that time, the camera will be mechanically fixed to the floor of the helicopter. The risk of shooting with the door open is quite high, so he found a tall and powerful photographer to control the camera.

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

   It happened that a yellow ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan was running below, and the helicopter followed the track of the ferry, slowly descended and approached, and finally stayed 45 degrees behind, keeping a relatively static state with the ferry.

"There needs to be enough material here, at least one minute or more, twice." Walter Murch pointed to the ship ahead and said to Ronald, "The clip will cut into the interior of the cabin from here, the extent of the ship's sway, and the helicopter. The track, if I want to find a point that can be edited, I must give me enough time.”

  The three of them discussed in the process of circling, how far each shot should be taken is enough, where the shot should be cut, how much length should be shot, and how many times each shot should be taken before it is qualified. It's all recorded on the recording sheet.

   Then, the helicopter flew towards Lower Manhattan again, hovering above many skyscrapers.

   "The old way is to use a zoom lens and hover here for aerial photography. This lens is relatively simple, because the helicopter can fix the position..."

  Director of Photography Michael Ballhouse, and editor Walter Murch began to discuss again. When they're done, it's almost time for the helicopter rental.

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

"Be careful, the vertical propeller at the tail." This time the pilot learned his lesson and added a large yellow warning sign in front of the tail, and he himself jumped out of the cockpit, "I'm serious, Mr. Director, can you Give us a movie like Top Gun, now in the bars, the guys who fly the little planes are prettier than us."

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

The three of them got into the car of Little Bud who was waiting at the same place. The two technical masters discussed many details along the way. When they finally returned to the hotel, Ronald already had an extra copy of the shooting that the two of them had discussed. In the guide, all the shots are arranged, and the duration and scene are written. When it came to the actual shooting, Ronald asked the photographer to shoot as usual, and he only had to sit behind and control the picture.

   Finally, Fox was very generous when selecting technicians. This time, the ones who cooperated with Ronald were all big names in the industry. Working with competent people is what makes people comfortable. They will do their best within the scope of their abilities, so that the director can focus on more important places, such as:

  Directing the acting skills of the actors, and part-time editing the script...

   Ronald looked at the progress of the crew. Sandra Bullock was selected by the audition director Julia Taylor to play Tess' best friend, celebrating her birthday and other scenes. There is also a line "yeah...".

The rest of the progress was also going well. Melanie Griffiths came to bother him a few times. Under the words and deeds of that Wall Street investment banker, she became more like a professional woman who can really gain a foothold in Wall Street. up.

  The two are already very close. When they showed Ronald their learning results on the set, they held hands together. Ronald has no objection to the two making this intimate state public. Anyway, she has to film a lot of scenes in which she is passionately in love, and this state helps to enter the state when performing.

  All kinds of staff came to ask Ronald for ideas one after another, ranging from the matching of high heels and clothes worn by the supporting actor Joan Cusack to the weather forecast and the historical precipitation probability of the same period when he applied for the open sky aerial photography of the city hall.

  Finally, it was past seven o'clock in the evening, and the staff who had gathered at the hotel also got off work one after another. The overtime pay in the preparatory stage was a little overrun, and the production assistant on the scene brought the form to Ronald to sign.

   After signing the last word, Ronald stretched himself, and finally waited until everyone had left, so he could quietly change the script. Oh, by the way, there is also the material that Harrison Ford asked the manager to send today.

  Harrison Ford's manager sent a script he had finished reading, on which more than 20 red and blue post-its were densely pasted. The red ones are the scenes he is particularly satisfied with, and his thoughts are written inside, and there are a few places where he wants to add more scenes.

  The blue ones are scenes that Harrison Ford was not too happy with, and he politely asked Ronald to consider whether they could be cut down, or the entire scene deleted altogether.

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

   When it is quiet at night, it is really suitable to change the script. Writing a script is a very difficult thing, relatively speaking, changing the script is relatively simple. It is always more efficient for people to modify than to create.

  Ronald spends more time understanding the opinions sent by Harrison Ford several times, and what is his deep meaning behind it. Why would he want to make these modifications.

  After much deliberation, in fact, what Harrison Ford wants to do is to maintain his positive star image and skip most of the transformation scenes.

   As an example, in the script Jack Trainor and Tess go to a client's daughter's wedding together. The two of them didn't have invitations, and they went in completely as impostors, trying to have a chance to chat with the client and their thoughts on the client's M&A project.

  During the sales promotion process, Jack Trainor, played by Harrison Ford, was unwilling to go ahead with the wedding after discovering the truth.

  The risk of doing this is very high. If the customer is unhappy, he will lose the opportunity to communicate with the customer again forever. So here he is against Tess's brave ideas.

   But this line where Jack Trainor criticizes Tess, Harrison Ford doesn't miss it. A star is always on the right side, and it is impossible for a star to be afraid of such a very courageous adventure. Even the best idea, it was Trainor played by Ford who came up with it.

  Ronald was actually very disgusted in his heart. At that time, this role was going to be reserved for Alec Baldwin. As an actor with a background in Broadway plays, he would not be disgusted with this kind of in-depth play that reflects the growth of characters.

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

  And like Harrison Ford, everyone will still see another Han Solo, another Indiana Jones. Ford said that he wanted to make a transition, so he wanted to cooperate with Ronald in this romantic comedy. But what happens when you act like this?

  Ronald put down the pen, the result of such modification would create a ridiculous situation. Tess, Catherine, and even Tess' best friend, Shin, all play this complex angled role, and various scenes show their characteristics and character transformations.

  The character of Harrison Ford is the same from beginning to end, flat without any dimension.

   "Puchi..." Thinking of this, Ronald smiled. 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.

   "Tuk Tuk..." There was another knock on the door.

   "Wait a minute..." Ronald was taken aback. Isn't this another volunteer from the Screenwriters Union? I am also a member of the Screenwriters Union, and being entangled by them, it was a very speechless lecture on how the Screenwriters Union works hard to protect the rights and interests of its members.

   Quickly opened the drawer, dumped all the scripts inside, and locked it. Ronald let out a long breath, "Who is it? I'll come."

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

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

   "Hee hee, are you still hiding from them and fighting guerrillas? You have to listen to the trade union's orders..." Helen nodded Ronald's face with her hand.

  "There is no official strike yet, I am just afraid that they will come to reason with me, starting with the history of the screenwriters union and the history of fighting for the rights and interests of members..."

   "Do you want to continue? I will accompany you?" Helen Slater seemed to be very active today. A red scarf against her apple-like face was very attractive.

   "That's it, I'm tired. It's too troublesome to change the script on the spot, I have to hurry..."

"Hee hee, I won't report on you, Ronald. But you don't have to tell me." Helen came up and raised her head to kiss Ronald, "I'm here to ask you on behalf of Catherine Bigelow, she The samples of the film have all been shipped back to New York, do you want to see the version that has just been synchronized with audio and video? If you think there is no problem, then it will be finished."

   "Now? I believe in her ability." Ronald didn't expect Bigelow's hands and feet to be fast. He had already finished filming the part in Canada and returned to New York.

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

   "Then let's go and have a look."

   Ronald understood, it turned out that Helen Slater felt that her performance had improved a lot, and wanted to show Ronald the first time.

  Anyway, I have run out of inspiration today, and I can't think of any plots. Ronald put on his coat and asked Helen to lead him to the editing studio where Bigelow was.

   "How is it?" After watching the demo for a while, it was mainly about 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 draw back." Ronald looked at Helen, and Bigelow trained her to look like a movie actor.

   "She is just a play, she will act it out for me. There are many things I don't understand..."

   "Hehe..." Ronald gave a thank you gesture to Catherine Bigelow. This way of directing is really helpful for Helen to understand.

  She just has too many theories, and she doesn't know what the real performance in front of the movie camera is all about, so when she is touched by others and learns to imitate the other party, she will be enlightened.

  Ronald felt that Helen's body was getting weaker and weaker. He hugged her and motioned Bigelow to continue playing some samples. In this way, the scenes that should be watched are finished at one time, otherwise the progress of the movie will be affected.

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

  Now is the opening scene of the movie. Helen and another heroine, holding a violin box in their hands, are walking on the road at a synchronized frequency. The camera shoots the two of them at a fixed position in front of them.

  No matter how much you push, pull and pan, the camera moves back at a fixed speed, and the image and their walking speed remain relatively still. This opening gives a very refreshing feeling. It seems that the audience is right in front of the two beauties, and when walking with them, they keep turning their heads and peeking at them.

"What kind of camera was used to shoot this? I have never seen such a lens. It seems that the Steadicam is used upside down. It is not that the photographer is relatively stationary, but the subject of the lens is relatively stationary." Ronald was very sure, writing It's not that the photographer has good arm strength and endurance, but a lens device similar to a Steadicam.

   "Is that? It's a little invention of my director of photography." Catherine Bigelow replied, "It's a mechanical device he made himself, which can basically synchronize with the subject, and the image is also very stable."

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

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

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

   "Are you still working?" Helen Slater asked beside her.

   "Let's talk about it tomorrow, what should we eat?"

  (end of this chapter)

Chapter end