Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 569 Who is the best at shooting jet fighters?

   "Trash, it's all trash."

  Don Simpson threw the script in the Paramount script circulation warehouse, "Are these people still alive twenty years ago? Who wants to watch this kind of movie now?"

Jerry Bruckheimer collected his littered scripts and threw them into the cardboard box, "Not many people understand the secrets of high-concept movies, and if they all understand, we won't be able to enjoy this vision alone. worth it."

"I heard that Eisner and Katzenberg are very cautious. They will try their best to hide any scripts that have big sales potential, so as not to let them flow into Paramount's circulation library." Don Simpson went from a state of rage again, Back to normal.

   "We are looking for a script that will give the audience a big punch, no need to explain, they will be excited just by looking at the title, and they will be able to climax just by watching the trailer. We must invite friends to the cinema to enjoy the movie."

   Having said that, Don Simpson walked to the boxing magic ball hanging from the roof, and began to vent his abnormally high energy due to the use of too many drugs.

"You can get excited just by looking at the title? Here's an unfinished script outline, which seems to meet your requirements." When Bruckheimer was sorting out the script, he found a piece of paper sandwiched between the scripts, with only a few lines on it. Plot synopsis.

   "Come and listen?" Simpson was also interested.

   "Fighter pilots, navy jet fighters, aircraft carriers, **** female officers, hot summer, sweat-soaked fiery love."

"Oh, Shxt!" Don Simpson was excited, he ran over to grab the synopsis and scolded repeatedly, "What the **** is this movie called? What the **** is the script? Where's the script?" He started banging the cardboard box with the rest of the script.

   "Here", Bruckheimer held up a piece of paper that seemed to be the cover of the script, "TopGun!"

  …

   "We want Tom Cruise to star in this movie!" Don Simpson told CAA's famous agent Rick Nisita.

  The two producers found Nisita and wanted to talk to Paula Wagner about Cruise's film contract, but Paula was accompanying Cruise in the remake of the movie "Legend" in London, so they came to Paula's boyfriend and said.

   "I'll call her", Nisita knew that the two producers had recently been given higher authority by Paramount's new president, so she didn't dare to neglect and called Paula.

   "Paula, this is Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and they're looking for Tom Cruise to make a high-concept movie."

   "What movie?" Paula's voice came through the speaker.

   "Tentatively titled TopGun" is a movie about a Navy jet pilot. The script is still being developed. We are very optimistic about this concept.

"Tom's latest idea is still on Scorsese's sequel to Paul Newman's 'The Prodigal Son', I don't think he's necessarily interested in a purely commercial film, let alone a fighter, you all know Hollywood One of the taboos is that no one is watching the battle of the planes."

   "That's the past tense. Today's fighter jets are all jets. Think about it, sweat drips down your neck in the summer heat, and the steam catapults on the aircraft carrier distort the air on the ground.

  Boom, a pilot kisses his officer girlfriend and then goes out to hit the MiGs of the Souville League, what a stylish scene, Tom will be a superstar. "Don Simpson was so good at painting the scene, which made Paula Wagner on the phone, too, as if it sounded good.

"I'll tell Tom, don't worry. But it's up to Tom to decide whether to accept it or not. His current idea is to work with a big director like Scorsese to hone his acting skills, and then turn them into acting and Box-office superstars.

   In addition, your script has to be written before it is finished. Tom has very high requirements for the script, and he needs us to read it through for him before he makes a decision. "

"There's no problem with this, we're looking for someone to improve it." Bruckheimer recalled that the two of them spent a long time looking for a script outline of thirty or forty pages in the former Paramount president's office last night. Gotta get someone to rewrite it.

   "By the way, which director are you looking for? Tom has requirements for the director." Paula continued to talk about the conditions for working with the popular boy Tom Cruise.

   "We're not sure yet, we're sure to be worthy of Tom."

   "Okay, I'm hanging up, Tom has a reply, I'll tell Rick."

   Paula hung up the phone, "If they can find someone on the list of directors Tom is willing to work with, it's not that they can't work together."

   "By the way, who are you going to call to direct?" Nisita hung up the phone and asked the same question to the two producers.

   "What, do you want to recommend Ronald?" Bruckheimer asked with a smile. Nisita relied on Ronald as a client, but he signed a lot of actor contracts and got a lot of money. Other agents in the industry joke that Nisita picked up a baby, but privately they are envious of his luck. .

   "Of course, he is the most suitable. Didn't you realize that what he is best at is to set off the atmosphere, to shoot such high-concept movies, and then to have the delicate temperament of a drama in the details?"

   "Yeah, I know, I know he's a future star since he came to the 'Lightning Dance' crew." Don Simpson nodded, "However, this movie is not for him."

   "Why?" Nisita asked curiously.

"Hollywood hasn't made an air combat film worth mentioning since the early 1960s. European directors have made 'The Eagle Over London' and 'The Battle of Britain'. To make the plane look beautiful, you need a good Skills and experience, we estimate that this time we have to find an old guy to control the scene."

   "But now it's a jet fighter. Those old movies you're talking about were made in the propeller period, right? The old guys don't necessarily know how to shoot jets." Nisita raised an objection.

"Who said no, we're worrying about it. Maybe Hollywood hasn't made air combat movies for a long time because of technical difficulties. We're asking people to find all air combat-related movies, even commercials and music TVs with aircraft footage, See if you can find talent.”

   Bruckheimer agrees.

   "Hehe, then you can find it." Nisita smiled happily, "You will come back."

  The two producers thought Nisita was saying they were coming back for Tom Cruise, so they left.

  …

  The two producers were at Don Simpson's house again, browsing through a pile of videotapes. This is the Hollywood and TV commercials that the secretaries have painstakingly collected. There are fighter jets, and one is counted as one. Both of them are holding a TV and watching the video.

   "Come and see this commercial", Bruckheimer excitedly took a videotape and replaced the one from Simpson's here, "It's so **** exciting, I don't know who directed it."

   An advertisement for Saab appeared on the TV, and the airspeed tube of the Saab Lightning fighter pierced the door of the hangar like a needle and pierced it out.

  The air on the airport runway was heated by the rear nozzle of the engine, twisting like a mirage, and finally the plane took off from the ground, flew over the Saab car, and plunged straight into the blue sky.

   "Fuck, who the **** filmed this? No one on earth can photograph jet fighters as well as him, and no one can come close to his level!"

  Don Simpson jumped up and used the ad slogan "Nothing else on earth comes close."

  "I'm looking for it", Bruckheimer picked up the form organized by the secretary and found the line corresponding to Saab's advertisement, which contained the name of an acquaintance.

   "Director: Ronald V. Lee."

   "Fuck, this is **** Ronald, this Saab ad, is **** Ronald. Nisita is a liar, rascal, thief, he wants to make a fool of us."

  Don Simpson jumped up and scolded the unscrupulous agent Nisita.

  …

   "Mr. Nisita, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday.

You should have told us earlier, I am embarrassed by what I said yesterday, we are also friends of Ronald, if I had seen his jet fighter earlier, so full of agility and strength, the director of this film must be him what. "

  Don Simpson, came to CAA again, this time he didn't dare to speak rudely again, but said kind words carefully, hoping that Nisita would not interfere with it and pass on what he said that Ronald couldn't shoot fighter jets.

   "Don't worry, I haven't had time to tell Ronald about your project, I knew you would come back." Nisita happily lit a cigar and puffed out a triumphant puff.

   Then he picked up the phone and triumphantly called Ronald's house.

   "Ronald, Mr. Don Simpson is here with me, and his partner Jerry Bruckheimer, they have a script and they must ask you to be the director."

   "Don, Jerry", Ronald, who came to the CAA office, hugged the two producers.

   "What project?" He listened to Nisita's tone, as if it was a big investment suitable for him.

   "TopGun, the story of a Navy fighter pilot."

   "This is the script, you can read it first, and then we'll discuss it."

  Ronald took over the script and weighed it, "Why is that so?"

  The script is less than forty pages, and it is full of descriptions of some scenes. Even the dialogue and air battle plots are only a brushstroke.

   "This is a high-concept movie. After we find a suitable director, we will discuss with him how to fill in the content." Don Simpson patted Ronald's ass.

   "Okay, I'll go back and see, are you still shooting for Paramount?" Ronald mentioned the past.

   "Yes, Paramount gave us a very good permission, as long as you promise, Paramount can invest fifteen million dollars into this movie."

  "And Tom Cruise", Nisita added next to it, this movie is obviously only suitable for him to star.

   "Did Tom agree?" Ronald asked.

   "No, he said to see who the director is. It just so happens that he really wants to make a movie with you, so it shouldn't be a problem."

   Ronald came home with a third of the script (outline) and began to look closely.

   After an hour, Ronald yawned.

  Jodie Foster was still not favored by Konchalovsky, and returned to Yale disappointed. Ronald just dropped her off at the airport this morning. A little tired, he began to feel heavy eyelids, so he simply took a shower and went to bed.

  "When...when...when", along with the rhythmic bells that seemed to come from a church in the distance, in the dark background, the nose of a jet plane was displayed on the screen.

The staff next to    looked like black silhouettes walking on the deck of the aircraft carrier under the weak light reflected from the sky before the sun had risen.

   A burst of white steam rose from the catapult of the aircraft carrier, Ronald actually saw a holy meaning.

  The nose of a very beautiful jet plane entered from the left side of the screen. The rising sun began to slowly climb the surface, and the first morning light appeared on the nose.

  The throttle valve of the jet engine gradually opened, and the sound gradually became louder. This mechanical monster seemed to wake up the sun at once.

   A golden light began to shine on the staff's helmets.

  The plane slowly slid into the ejection position, the folded landing gear was opened, and the hydraulic mechanism popped open with a bang. The sound of the engine became louder and louder, and on the deck behind the engine, a baffle was raised to prevent the deck from being ablated by the flames ejected by the afterburner during takeoff.

   A staff member squatted down on one leg and forwarded one hand, making a gesture of flying.

  The sun suddenly jumped out of the sea, and a golden light shone on the entire deck of the aircraft carrier.

   "Crack!" A loud noise.

  The obstacle holding the front wheel tightly was released, the landing gear of the plane shook violently a few times, and two orange flames spewed from the rear of the jet engine.

   The rhythm of the music suddenly accelerated, and the plane swept across the screen from left to right, one of them raised their heads violently, and flew into the sky.

   "It looks like an advertisement I made." Ronald liked this kind of screen scheduling very much in his dream. The atmosphere was warm, the action was simple, and the rhythm of the soundtrack matched the rhythm of the soundtrack, and the protagonist became a fighter on this aircraft carrier.

   seems to have been played hazy for a long time, Ronald doesn't remember the middle plot, and the screen turns to an airport runway.

   An officer is giving a lecture on the screen, and the background is an aircraft of the type that was on the aircraft carrier just now.

   The audience below are all dressed as pilots, and in the center of the picture is Tom Cruise wearing a flight suit and acting cool there.

   "Sure enough, it's Tom, he's really suitable for this kind of movie." Ronald felt amused, a little childish, and a little nervous, but Cruise, who is so handsome in the sky, is really good at playing this kind of pilot role.

   "Your lecturer is called Charlie, she's a doctor, an aerodynamics expert..." The officer followed the lecturer who introduced the situation after the introduction.

  The camera turns to the rear of the student.

   A pair of beautiful legs came in from the oblique rear of the camera.

  An A-line hip skirt, which is slightly narrowed at the knees, modifies the beauty's waist and hips very well. The skirt limited the space for movement, so she could only walk forward in small steps, but such small steps were full of charm.

  The camera moved down to catch up with the beauty. The stockings under her skirt are of a retro style. In the middle of the back of the calf, there is also a black silk thread that extends up from the heel and disappears into the skirt, which makes people daydream.

  's swaying gait made Ronald feel hot in his lower body, "Isn't this shot by me? Hollywood knows that I am good at shooting beautiful legs."

  The camera continued to fast-forward, and Ronald didn't see the front of the actress, which was a pity.

  The picture came to an outdoor beach volleyball court.

  Tom Cruise, shirtless, is playing beach volleyball with his opponent.

   In the sun, with a shiny body, Cruise wore aviator sunglasses and scored a spike.

   "Oh, if a girl sees this, she won't be crazy."

  Ronald was about to continue to look down, if there was any aerial combat footage, so that he could learn from the director's scheduling skills in his previous life.

   "Ring, ringing, ringing..." Ronald was woken up by the ringing of the phone.

"Fuck, don't you know I'm dreaming about a critical moment?" Ronald scolded and stretched out his hand from the quilt, took off the receiver, "Who is it? It's... four in the morning." He looked at the electronic watch. Ronald scolded.

  It was Nisita who called. "It's me, Ronald. I'm sorry to wake you up. White House Chief of Staff James Baker is calling. First Lady Nancy has something to call you."

   (end of this chapter)