Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 620 How long have you been without a boyfriend?

  The so-called high version and short version refer to the vocals of the two versions.

   One recording is a version of "TheMotels", whose frontman Martha Davis is tall.

  The other was sung by the Berlin band, and the lead singer Terri Nunn was very short.

  The interpretation of the two recordings is somewhat similar, both in the style of pop rock. Martha Davis leaned more towards the classical rock of the 1950s and 1960s, while Terri Nunn of the Berlin Band was more unrestrained.

   Ronald carefully distinguishes, it seems that the two sing songs are very similar, and it is difficult to tell who sings when compared with the episode in the dream.

   "Which version do you prefer?" Ronald had to ask the two producers for their opinion.

   "Martha Davis is already well-known now, and the Berlin Band is still working hard to hold a concert, and they lack a popular title song." Bruckheimer did not answer the question directly.

   "I prefer TheMotels' songs, but the soundtrack is up to you." Don Simpson didn't intervene. Ronald's editing style, pictures and episodes are highly bound, and the two agree not to interfere with his judgment.

   "Call George Moroder and ask him to come." Ronald had to ask the music producer who was in charge of the soundtrack for advice.

"What, my friend, is it hard for you to choose? Tell me, what is your first feeling? Or which girl do you like?" All the posters of the lead singer of the band have been brought.

  Music, sometimes it depends on the feeling. Whether it is the first feeling of hearing the sound or the first feeling of seeing the photo. As an artist, sometimes it depends on intuition.

   Ronald was wearing headphones and had listened to it over and over a dozen times. He took off his headphones, looked at the photos of the two lead singers, and looked at their faces carefully for a long time.

   Then he pointed to a photo of Terri Nunn, the frontman of the Berlin band, "Can you invite her over? I have a question for her."

  Terry Nunn's hair was dyed light blonde, but where the bangs were, it still kept the original brown, which was very individual. She is short, but she has a lot of energy when she sings.

   "Terry, we didn't write this song, why don't we sing it." John, the band's lead guitarist and main songwriter, persuaded her, and John insisted that the Berlin Band only sing his own original songs.

"But this song is really good, very romantic, and I want to sing it." Terri Nunn didn't want to quarrel with the core members of the band, but she also couldn't forget the hugely paid producer George Morrod. she said.

   "I've got a song here, Tom Cruise! Ronald Lee! It's going to be a summer break next summer! It's going to be a big sale!

  George Morrod not only worked as a producer for superstars like David Bowie, but also scored the hit movie "Flash Dance", which Terri Nunn must sing despite the split of the band.

"Terry, come, meet our great director, Ronald Lee. He's the master of MV shooting, Cindy Lauper, Madonna, MJ, all line up to ask him to shoot the MV. If you are attracted by him , shoot a MV for you, and you may take off."

  George Morrod, as an Italian, is very proud of his partner.

   "Terry Nunn is one of the most talented female singers I've ever met, she has a great range and energy, you've heard her sing, and you can ask for anything."

   Ronald took off his earphones and shook hands with the little lead singer. This female lead singer's temperament is very unrestrained, and she has a more contemptuous style than Diane's rock female singer.

   "I heard you want to see me? You see the real person, do you have any questions to ask me?" Terri Nunn's voice also had a metallic clang.

   Ronald stared at the other party for a while. From the voice of the other party, he could hear a hint of the biased recording just now. Ronald opened his mouth and asked:

   "How long have you been without a boyfriend?"

  …

   "Huh?" Producers Don Simpson, Bruckheimer, and music producer George Morod were all stunned. This method of picking up girls is really refreshing and refined.

   "You heard it? After our first album was released, I didn't have a normal...life." Terri Nunn didn't care.

   "So I can't empathize with the warmth between couples that 'take my breath away'. I sing it with a feeling of longing for love and longing for a man."

   "Very good, just you." Ronald set the lead singer.

  The Lone Ranger and Charlie in the movie are like this. For most of the plot, they are happy friends, and there is no clear explanation at the end, whether they are together.

   This feeling of longing for love is just right for the plot.

  Ronald immediately returned to the editing station and began to show the love scene of the hero and heroine driving a motorcycle together by the sea, with Terri Nunn's singing rhythm.

   "No...you called someone and left her like this?" As an Italian, George Morod really couldn't stand Ronald's style. Italian men should be very gentle and caring towards women, so that they will slowly melt in warmth like a piece of butter.

   "It's cool, it's good. This is the style of a great director." Terri Nunn, on the contrary, admired Ronald's artistry. It's not that she doesn't understand Hollywood. She has also participated in the audition for the "Star Wars" protagonist, Princess Leia.

   It's just that her actor's father died early because of alcoholism, and there was no mother, Debbie Reynolds, like Carrie Fisher, who called Lucas to ask for care.

   "That's it, then I'll go back. If Ronald is free, I'll ask him to direct a MV for our band." Terri Nunn walked away gracefully.

   "This..." The few people present couldn't understand it again, so they had to boil it down to the artist's sympathy.

  Three episodes with a very prominent style, plus the other five or six episodes that match the plot environment, are all in place.

   Editing day by day, just in the discussion between Ronald and the two editors. After Chris and Billy got acquainted with Ronald's method, they also made a lot of good comments. After spending more than ten hours in the editing room every day, Ronald and the others had to repeatedly discuss and revise the location of the editing points.

   ILM from the Stunt Models team also helped Ronald shoot the horizontal spiral shots. The special effects employee, who is good at throwing model airplanes, climbed up the high crane and dropped the model on it with a little spin.

  Although I missed the loss of two models, ILM prepared five models, and in the end I managed to capture a horizontal spiral shot that was realistic enough.

  The time passed, and two months later, the first cut of "Top Gun" was finally completed, and the soundtrack was basically mixed into the soundtrack on the film.

  Summer cicadas begin to blanket editing rooms outside Los Angeles.

Ronald edited the last work sample, put it in the iron box, and then sent it to the Paramount factory. According to the editing sequence of the work sample, he asked the film editor to edit the negative, and finally printed it out. Set of response samples for viewing by Paramount executives.

   "Is this really feasible?"

  Ned Tanin was the first Paramount executive to see Ronald's printed response sample.

   He likes Ronald's MV-style editing, and several episodes are also very nice. But there is no deep story and performance in the whole film, and the dialogue between the characters is slightly simple.

   The whole story, how to say it? A little taste of MV, more superficial. Can this kind of story, which is all in accordance with the fast editing rhythm of the MV and deeply coordinated with the music, be liked by the audience?

   "No problem, Ned. A couple of young editorial assistants, all liked it." Chris and Billy tried their best to convince the executives. Although they were not supposed to speak here, after watching the finished film, the excited reactions of several editing assistants in their twenties gave them a sense of achievement in this new editing method.

  Ned Tanin looked at the producer and director, "Since you are all confident, then come with me and show it to the CEO, Mr. Mancuso."

   "This is the final result of your editing?" The next day, Mancuso took time to watch the finished film of Top Gun at the appointed time.

   He was both happy and sad.

  Happily, Ronalds, as expected, really made the film into extremely fragmented appearances. When the audience goes to the cinema, they appreciate a good story. Such a movie may only have ratings if three good episodes are cut out and sent to MTV.

  The sad thing is that Paramount, once the most powerful in Hollywood, actually made such a garbage movie. And his control is not enough, he actually failed to prevent the shooting of this one hour and forty-five minute MV from the beginning. Fifteen million budget wasted in vain.

   Now, it's time for the truth. Although it was a waste of money, it is still worthwhile to bring Paramount's production department back to the right track of the golden age.

   "Yes, Mr. Mancuso, the staff in the editing and special effects department have seen it, and they have responded well." Ronald replied.

   "Staff?" Mancuso sneered in his heart. How can the reaction of the staff be compared with that of the audience. They're all people who are counting on you to write paychecks, and what bad comments can come to your ears.

   "When can we start the marketing campaign? Has the schedule been finalized?" Don Simpson asked directly about the release.

"I think your editing is not good enough, it's too fragmented. The audience will not accept it." Mancuso took the notebook directly and completely denied the editing of the film, "How about you edit another version and publish it? ? Use more long lenses this time, and the main lens.

   Oh roar? Or did you just not shoot the main shot? I can't give you more budget. "

  Mancuso, as an old river and lake, of course saw Ronald's intention not to shoot the main scene, preventing himself from finding someone to leave him editing. This guy is so funny, does he really think he's shooting masterpieces like "Guan Shan Fit", "Noon", "Sunset Boulevard"?

   Isn't Billy Wilder, a big director like John Ford, able to play this trick? Still messed up.

   "Frank, I think their editing is also an innovative approach. Although there is no classic Hollywood narrative method, the quality is still high. The young staff like it very much."

  Ned Tanin defends Top Gun.

   "That's not a real audience at all. A real audience has not read your script, and they will have difficulty understanding it."

  …

   Seeing that the two were in a dispute, Ronald gradually understood on the other side of the conference table. Mancuso really disliked his directing and editing from the bottom of his heart. His mind was still stuck in the 1950s, when the audience didn't have a TV to accompany them, and they still longed for a good story when they went to the cinema.

   And now the audience, MTV TV station has been watching it for several years. The imagination of young people is very rich, and they can imagine a complete story in a few minutes of MV. Why can't "Top Gun"?

  "Mr. Mancuso", Ronald said, "I suggest, let's find some test audiences and see what they think?"

   He recalled the past when he filmed a chewing gum commercial. Finally, in different places, let the audience vote to decide whether the film is good or not.

   "Looks like you're very confident", Mancuso laughed.

   "Then Ned, you can arrange one, no, three test screenings in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, and see how the audience reacts in the three most representative big cities."

   (end of this chapter)