Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 730 Independent production is troublesome

   "Oh, Ronald, you're such a gentleman." Kim Cattrall's long, strong legs were now on the bed tiredly.

   "Why do you say that?" Ronald was a little confused. Could it be that his rounds of attacks on this stunner on this big bed made her feel that her beauty was respected? That's why you say that?

  Catroll giggled, feeling that she was thirty years old before she really felt the benefits of being a woman. It is to dress well and show your charm to men. This is what a female star should do.

   "Do your homework." Ronald was not disgusted with such self-motivated actresses, and told her to not forget to read the script and figure out the characters when she was exercising and modeling.

  Catroll lived up to the opportunity Ronald gave, she put in a lot of effort and worked out every day. With enough energy, he wanted to get closer to the puppet in appearance. To be able to do such a real "heroine" with a lot of roles.

  …

  Ronald asked Bud Jr. to pick up "Dancing Hot" art director Ryan Weaver and location designer David Chapman at the airport.

  This movie does not have the participation of the seven major studios, and the distribution has to be done by itself, which is equivalent to being "independent" from the Hollywood system. All kinds of things have to be aggregated to Ronald and let him make the decision. Without his own team to deal with, Ronald had no choice but to decide these trivial and troublesome details himself.

"The Mountain Lake Villa in Virginia is a few hours' drive south of the Catskills. You see, these locations, are they very similar to the Catskill resorts? They are all decorated in the style of Jewish resorts in the 1950s and 1960s. "

   Ronald looked at the photos of the location they brought, and the photos of the two places looked similar.

"Mountain Lake Villa is too far from New York, so it started to open very late as a holiday destination for Jews. Since the 1970s, it has been popular to go abroad for vacation, and they have not received many tourists, which has been greatly affected, so we can use cheaper rented for the price.”

   "So that's the case, can't we negotiate the price again?" Ronald looked at the price quoted by the other party, but it was still too high.

   "We've figured it out for you. You can take one day off a week, there is no Screen Actors Guild supervisor in Virginia. Then we can find another location for other indoor scenes."

  Ryan Weaver took out another stack of photos.

   "This is a place we found in North Carolina when we were choosing the scene. Look, these cabins, are they houses for poor boys who fit in with dancers?"

   Ronald looked at the pictures, the house was small and shabby. It's a bit like his old house on Staten Island, with two transparent rooms at the front and back, with a sweeping view.

   "Yes, it really looks like a poor man's house, how could you find such a similar place."

   "It's all thanks to David Chapman who found a Boy Scout camp."

   "Huh?" Ronald looked at Chapman on the exterior.

   "This is an abandoned Boy Scout camp that could host hundreds of Boy Scouts during a time when Boy Scout summer camps were popular.

   But in recent years, the Boy Scouts summer camp has declined, and there are not many people here. The facilities are beginning to be dilapidated, just so we can rent it for free and repair it, and the appearance also matches the description of the dilapidated house where the dancers live in the script. "

   Ronald looked at the photo and it was ideal indeed. The level of this location designer is good, he can translate the feeling in the text into the appearance of the location, and the ability to find a place is also strong.

   "However, there are a lot of scenes in the script that connect the resort and the place where the dancers live. You have to do a good job in the scene, otherwise shooting in two places will cause a lot of cross-dressing."

  Looking at the details of the photos, the types of plants, and the style of the buildings are still slightly different.

   "No problem, I'll do this next time to make sure it fits properly." David Chapman is a very experienced old man in the industry. This kind of thing is seen a lot.

  Ronald can give himself enough time in advance, and he can definitely make it invisible to the audience.

   "That's what a poor crew with no money is like. If I had enough budget, I would definitely finish all the scenes at Mountain Lake Villa." Ronald began to joke.

   "You can't say that, director. I've seen a lot of crews, but not many directors like you spend all your money on the final effects of film." David Chapman took it seriously, and immediately began to retort.

   Compared to those crews that let truck drivers drive and move logs, it is more interesting to work for such crews.

   Obviously the director wanted to make the movie a masterpiece. And his value is to let the director's limited budget show the best effect.

   "Yes, let's work together. I don't have any more budget now. After the release, if the box office is satisfactory, I will give you a bonus."

  Ronald is having trouble with his production budget right now. The copyright purchase of music is much more than I expected.

   Originally, all studios were responsible for negotiating with record companies. And people like Weintraub are already in the music industry, and they don't need to spend a little energy on this part.

   But now it’s different, you have to ask yourself everything. Danny Goldberg, the music director that Ronald looked for, took the tapes given by the screenwriter Eleanor, and went to check the current copyright owner one song after another.

   These are old songs from the 1950s. The record company has gone through a lot of mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, reorganization, and the copyright situation is more complicated.

   Some are in the hands of the creators, some have passed away, and some have negotiated with the children of all the people.

   Ronald felt that it was not worthwhile to use these trifles to sell face to Weintraub and others, so he asked Goldberg to come forward and be responsible for the entire copyright negotiation.

  Danny Goldberg said it would take a month or two to complete the negotiations, and the rights to the songs would not be cheap, because Eleanor picked all the hits on the charts at the time.

   There are money holes everywhere, and Ronald feels that half of his budget has disappeared before he has finalized the cast.

   Now David Chapman saved himself a third of the venue rent, and he had to rely on his reputation to give them a bad check.

   I hope they can believe in themselves and do their best for the sake of being a blockbuster director.

  …

   "I hope you can find some better candidates. If this movie can sell well after it is released, I will give them bonuses..."

   "Stop kidding, Ronald. Dancers, as your script says, are poor. They're on your paycheck and try to pay their bills at the end of the month."

   It was Kenny Ortega, a cheap choreographer that Ronald had found.

   This is Madonna's choreography when she filmed the "Material Girl" MV. He is also a choreographer in John Hughes films such as "Beautiful Pink" and "Spring Is Not a Day for Reading".

   The main reason for finding him is because he is cheap. A person who is a choreographer in a youth film is definitely not the top choreographer in the industry. Being attracted to choreography by Madonna also shows that his level is not bad.

However, Kenny Ortega came from a poor family, his mother was a restaurant waiter, and his father was a factory worker. He had seen all kinds of liars since he was a child. When he heard the rhetoric of giving bonuses, he was born with disbelief. .

   "But these dancers are too..."

   Ronald looked at the pictures of the dancers that Ortega had brought, and really didn't want to use them. One by one looks crooked and cracked, either the man is thin like a skeleton, or the woman is fat and chubby.

   In the scene of the dream, there are not too many close-ups, is it this woman? Ronald looked at the photo carefully, who would remember what a fat girl who danced well in the movie looked like? Maybe you have to watch them dance to recognize them.

   "It's the first time I've seen such a fat female dancer. I've dated a lot of girls who dance..."

   Ronald also distrusted Ortega a little, so he came up and asked about the situation first.

   "With your budget, you can invite them..."

   "But this is too frustrating..."

   The two of them rushed to talk, and their voices gradually became louder, a little like they were about to quarrel.

   "Can I say a few words?"

  Assistant choreographer Miranda Garrison was such a charming woman that she spoke out against two men.

   "Of course, please say it." Ronald looked up and down, and if a dancer with such beauty and stature as Miranda, he would not say anything.

   "First of all, the budget for this movie is really small, but if you insist on finding those beautiful dancers, it's still possible."

   "Miranda..." Alter was in a hurry. Those beautiful men and women who can accept this price all want to get involved in the entertainment industry, and their dancing skills are actually a mess.

   "When I finish speaking..." Miranda stopped Ortega.

"However, if I heard that the dance in this movie is very important, I think it is the best choice to find them. These people are flawed in appearance, but they are all dances that everyone in the industry has heard of and dance very well. talent.

  You want to look good and dance like normal. Or is it outstanding in dancing and ordinary in appearance? Besides, these are supporting roles, don't they just bring out the beauty of the protagonist? "

Ronald smiled, "You're right. I said yes. But if I'm really good at dancing, you train them well, and I just want the results to look like the dance partners we've danced with since childhood. You After reading the script, you should understand."

   "Like a dance partner from childhood? That's not easy." Kenny Ortega began to scratch his head.

   "Why, you can't do it?"

   "I think about it, there may be a way. It's to separate the dance moves. It's not as good as these two skinny guys, their waist movements are good, so I let them only practice waist movements. This fat girl's expression and shoulder movements are good..."

   "Just follow your method, and I'll see the results when the time comes."

   "No problem", Ortega is quite sure about training only one movement.

   "When will the hero Johnny and his dance partner be in place? They are the two best dancers in the show. We have to train them and spend more time."

   "Ha, these two roles are not for you to decide. The Screen Actors Guild is going to have a formal casting. All I can say is as soon as possible."

   "Ronald, have you chosen the director of "Dancing Hot"?" Screenwriter Eleanor asked him again.

   "Talking to Adrian Lane. He hasn't made a final decision yet."

   "He's not bad, what about the hero and heroine? Especially the hero Johnny, you promised me to watch it."

   "I'll call you when it's time to audition."

   (end of this chapter)