Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 317 Old friends are here

   "ET's box office exceeded 200 million US dollars, continuing to set the record for the fastest box office in the United States."

   Ronald watched the weekend movie box office recaps on TV. ET Alien, which has been in theaters for more than two months, has a weekly box office of more than 10,000 US dollars in a single hall, and the theater chain of the screening has expanded to more than 1,700.

   "Fast-paced Richmond High School" came in second, but it was getting further and further away from ET.

   Family portrait movies still have a lot more box office potential than teen-based movies.

"Ronnie, when are we going to the U.S. Open? Did your friend make it to the main match? Who did he play in the first round?" Helen Slater asked Ronald from the inside, who had just come from her mother. Come over there, talking with cousin Donna.

   "Yes, he entered the main match at Wimbledon in June, and this time the US Open is hometown." Ronald replied.

   "Rock High School" hero Vincent van Patten, after entering the professional tennis class, his grades have been rising, and he is now a frequent visitor to the ATP Challenger Tournament.

   In the previous Seiko Challenge held in Tokyo, he also defeated his compatriot John McEnroe, the world number one, to win the championship. This time, he and McEnroe ranked in the same half of the US Open. Ronald is going to cheer on old friends.

  Able is omnipotent. This Vincent brother, in addition to being a handsome actor who can play the leading role in a movie, did not expect tennis to be a real professional level.

   "High School of Rock" heroine PJ Sowers has called and asked Ronald to cheer on Van Patten's third round against McEnroe again.

  Ronald knew she still wanted to find a chance for her husband Dennis Quaid, who had run the gamut in several of her films and lacked a starring opportunity.

  I am willing to help these old friends, but a character is a character after all. Ronald couldn't have given such a big opportunity for nothing.

   "Ring bell ring bell..." Ronald answered the phone, then called to Donna, "Donna, the telescope you ordered has arrived, and little Douglas is calling."

"Really? Let's go get it. I heard that astronomy enthusiasts all over the world are looking for traces of Halley's Comet. It is said that there have been unconfirmed sighting reports. It would be great if I could see it first. "

   Donna ran out happily. Her high school focused on the cultivation of scientific knowledge. Donna became interested in astronomy and wanted to buy an astronomical telescope to see the stars.

   Ronald looked for a few but couldn't buy it. Few people buy this kind of thing, and Macy's doesn't have it either.

   is also a good friend of the high school wrestling club. When the landlord of Staten Island, Douglas Hansen Jr. visited, he learned about Donna's hobby and boasted that he must buy it for her.

   "He said to bring it to you."

   "Doug, are you really in stock?" Donna took the phone and chatted with Doug.

   After a while, little Douglas delivered the astronomical telescope that Donna wanted to buy to his home.

   "Donna, you are getting better and better, and you still observe comets? I am most interested in comets."

"Of course, did you know that a comet that returned recently split, and the original comet became two very close to each other. According to the return cycle, Halley's Comet will pass through perihelion in 1986, and this year is August In two years, the second half of the year should be able to be seen by the telescopes of astronomy enthusiasts."

   Ronald looked at Donna's serious look and found it interesting. Many of America's key middle schools are like this. They offer many elective courses for talented high school students. As long as you are interested, you will cultivate this knowledge.

  Helen hugged Ronald, who was sitting watching TV, from behind, "Let's find something to do too?"

   Ronald touched Helen's arm, knowing that she was helpless recently. Agents introduced by her father often screened out one round with Gerald without her knowledge before recommending audition opportunities. The agent introduced by my mother was from a star scout and did not have much industry connections.

  Helen has only acted in one TV series, and has not tasted the taste of a movie actor.

   Ronald felt that he might be able to help Helen fulfill this wish.

   I should also start the preparations for the next movie. Richard has amassed a ton of teenage exploits invites, but no particularly good synopsis.

  Hollywood is reluctant to change the formula of success. Since the fast-paced became popular, Ronald has all been sexually awkward, grown ups, high school students, or valley girls and other themed books.

   This made him a little helpless. Fast-paced success isn't necessarily because of these superficial elements. Can the elements of a blockbuster be taken apart and then pinched together to replicate a successful film?

   If you continue to make this kind of film yourself, you may not be able to meet the box office expectations given to you by the big studios. Why "Fast-Paced Richmond High School" can be so popular, Ronald can't tell.

   This has something to do with the fact that I happened to meet a few good actors, the script was interesting, the popularity of Brooke Xiaosi helped, and I didn't encounter any competitive similar movies when it was released.

  Ronald began to seriously consider whether to get Roger Coleman to make a different kind of low-budget production first. Now that he has just been proven to be able to make youth comedy films, I am afraid that the seven major studios will not give him the opportunity to practice other types of films.

   Only a boss like Roger Coleman would give the green light to Ronald's small production. In this way, Helen can be given a role and let her go to make exploitative films to expose the scene, but I don't want it.

  Unfortunately, there have been no signs of dreaming about a new film recently.

   "Let's practice meditation later." Helen thought about something to do.

  Ronald and Helen recently practice meditation frequently, which is very popular among middle-class families in New York, or in the circle of artists.

  Since the last time I practiced Jane Fonda's aerobics and dreamed of the movie "The Outer Boy", Ronald is often not afraid of being laughed at by others, and he has practiced women's aerobics by himself. But it didn't trigger any dreams after that.

   After thinking about it carefully, he felt that it might be the dream that was triggered by the last exercise, cross-legged and deep breathing.

   So after seeing Helen's meditation posture, I felt that it was similar to Jane Fonda's final posture and breathing rhythm, and I began to practice it.

   But other than the numbness of the legs, there is no effect.

   "No, I'm going to the screening club at NYU, and some old friends invited me to meet."

   "Then let me go together." Helen and Ronald just didn't want to part very much recently.

"Okay, let's go together," Ronald replied, "Spike Lee, who shot your commercial last time, and Catherine Bigelow are here, and their screening club organized a symposium tonight and invited me to come. chat."

   "Then let me go too. I am most interested in movies." Hearing that Catherine Bigelow was also going back, Little Douglas immediately expressed that he would go to see one or two together.

   The three drove to the screening club of New York University, where Spike, Bigelow, and the Chinese graduate student Li Ang were waiting for Ronald and others at the door.

   A year later, Ronald took the first step and the movie was released in theaters.

   In the club, there are many new students, waiting for Ronald to talk to them.

   "It can't be said that, Coppola is still America's first capable director. His 'old love and new love' is that the audience doesn't know how to appreciate it."

   "I saw your movie, but I don't like it. It's too Hollywood. Movies are not only a tool for making money, but also an art that leads the direction of social thought."

   "Why did you make such an exploitative film?"

   Ronald did not expect that these NYU classmates, instead of congratulating their alumni for their success, began to accuse him of his Hollywood tendencies.

   "I also really want to make the kind of film you mentioned, but the film market is not very good. Only by finding a film director who can sell well can I continue in this line of work.

   If you don't believe me, you can ask Spike, Catherine and the others. "

   "I don't think that Stacey's shot should have been shot like this..."

   "Why didn't you take a long shot at the beginning?"

   Then came some technical questions, which Ronald also answered one by one.

   In many cases, it’s not that the director doesn’t want to shoot good-looking shots, but that the budget and shooting time limit are limited, so they can only shoot in a fast way. The long shot is one of the director's best ways to show off his skills, but it is very difficult to shoot, and a small mistake has to be retaken.

  The actors who shoot long shots are also under a lot of pressure, for fear that one mistake will delay the overall progress.

   For a small production of more than three million dollars, the most important thing is to ensure that the shots are shot on time and on schedule.

   This answer based on reality made the students of NYU Di Shi Institute not satisfied. A blockbuster director who doesn't have a lot of artistic creation and is full of schedule and budget is nothing like a Hollywood producer.

   With a wry smile, Ronald finished answering the question and sent his classmates away.

   Only a few friends such as Spike Lee, Ang Lee, Catherine Bigelow, etc., understand the difficulty of Ronald being able to complete a theatrical film.

   They also gave Ronald some technical advice, but we are all people who have made movies and know that filming is constrained by many factors other than art, and in many cases the director has no room to play.

   So the suggestions of these confidants and friends are all from a feasible point of view.

   Everyone exchanged for a while the technique and the experience of directing the actors to perform, and they all gained something.

  The film director may be one of the few occupations in the world. It is also a blessing for Ronald to be able to criticize each other's works with several directors in the circle. A lot of times other directors, out of hat or jealousy, don't speak to each other like a few young directors in New York.

   And those students who have never made a film are full of art, and have no feasible suggestions for the art of directing.

   "I used to be like them, and my mind was full of art. I knew it when I shot a graduation feature film myself. Finding money, shooting, and negotiating with distributors is the most time-consuming job for a director."

  Spike Lee recently received some money from the Black Charity Fund. His graduation film has been filmed on and off for more than two years.

   Li Ang also began to work as an assistant director for him, while preparing his own works. He also seems to be able to apply for some official funding from the Exchange Society to start writing scripts.

  Catherine Bigelow was the worst, the first feature film "The Loveless" that finally got investment, no one cared about it after the filming, and no distributor was willing to release it.

  The negatives of the movie are in the warehouse, and I don’t know when they will see the light of day again.

   "Maybe I'll just have to try my luck at the film festival," Ronald said.

   "Maybe, I've been to two small film festivals and no buyers are willing to try their luck." Bigelow could only shrug and leave everything to God.

   "I'll help you take care." Little Douglas still hopes to help Bigelow's movie come out.

  Ronald took out the Burger King commercial tape he had shot, put it on the VCR, and showed it to a few friends.

   "This is a commercial I shot recently. You can help me shoot some if you have time. My agent Eddie often has this kind of business."

   "Oh, you're still playing with these simple closeups." Spike laughed when he saw another ad featuring a girl speaking to the closeup.

   Ronald still prefers to play simple and straightforward.

   "This actor is good." Bigelow commented.

"I don't know how my acting skills are. I heard from the teacher in the acting class that people's expressions will be magnified on the big screen, which is a special test of acting skills. Many performances that are not flawed on TV will appear on the big screen. question."

  Ever since he played the role of the teacher in "Famous in the World", the acting teacher of the acting high school, he has a deeper understanding of the acting skills of movie actors. Helen also chose his course to learn acting skills.

   Helen accompanied Ronald and went home together. She heard Katherine Bigelow praise Leigh Thompson's acting skills, and she also had some comparisons in her heart. If she could be in this advertisement, she should be no worse than her.

   "I watched the TV series you made for ABC, and there is no problem with acting on the big screen." Ronald comforted.

   (end of this chapter)