Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 792 Supported by the president of the Actors Guild

   "You have a letter from the Screen Actors Guild, Ronald."

   Daydream's colleague called and told him that there was an official letter from the Actors Guild sent to him. Not the white address in an envelope with print, typical marketing material. Instead, they used standard No. 10 envelopes, and the addresses were typewriters, which looked a lot like a legal official letter.

   "Take it apart for me and read it to me." Ronald was sitting leisurely on the floor of a high-end yoga club, meditating.

The number of times I dreamed of movies gradually increased. Every time I dreamed, Ronald always had the same feeling, as if there was a door between his body and the real world, and he could perceive each other in a world where he and the world could perceive each other, but But not together.

   It is as if your consciousness is watching a movie in the living room while the body is sleeping on the bed in the bedroom.

  Ronald used the method of repeating various things he had done before dreaming to increase the probability of dreaming, but it was not successful.

This time, he changed his mind and began to try various methods of sitting still and relaxing his body and mind. He heard that meditation can also achieve this kind of effect on the mind and body. state of isolation.

  Perhaps this can inspire more dreams?

   After trying the guild hall in Chinatown and the Zen tea room of the Eastern Ying people, Ronald finally chose yoga.

   The coach here speaks easier to understand, without having to think hard about the deep meaning behind it. The coach's speech was also very direct, only correcting Ronald's posture and breathing, without the metaphor and deep meaning behind the zigzag Zen.

   Ronald really likes this game of adjusting his breathing, at least the quality of his sleep is improving. Wake up in the morning without an alarm clock and wake up naturally full of energy.

   It was Eddie who opened the envelope and read to Ronald:

   "To... Ronald Lee, Director.

  Because you violated the rules of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) during the filming of "Moonlight" in Toronto, Canada, you did not strictly follow the lunch break and lunch time, and instructed the actors to shoot under the condition of physical damage.

  The Screen Actors Guild will investigate you and impose corresponding penalties..."

   "Hey? What the hell? What physical damage... What investigation, what punishment?"

   Ronald stood up from the cushion of the high-grade rush, "You let them dream."

   "Ah, I'm sorry, I have something else to deal with, let's stop here today." Ronald nodded and apologized to the coach, a middle-aged blond beauty of Nordic descent, and ended today's class early.

   "Inexplicable!"

   When he arrived at Daydream Pictures, Ronald read the letter in its entirety.

  The letter said that after the filming of the movie "Moonlight" in Toronto, an actor complained to Ronald that during the filming of the final table scene, in order to catch up with work, the actor was not allowed to eat lunch, which caused the actor's health risk. There are also actors who suffer from diabetes, who are at risk of passing out and even other more serious complications because of delayed non-stop filming for hours, symptoms of hypoglycemia.

   Therefore, after the investigation, the Actors Guild officially set up a project to come and investigate Ronald in person. If the complaint is true, Ronald will face a hefty fine and will later be placed on the Screen Actors Guild's warning list. All union members were warned that Ronald's filming did not respect the basic needs of the actors.

   "Huh? It seems to be the case, but did anyone pass out at the time?"

   Ronald recalled the shooting situation at the time. In order to capture everyone's accurate and natural emotions, he did let them rehearse all the time without resting.

   Perhaps due to irritability caused by low blood sugar brought on by skipping meals, heroine Cher and supporting actress Olympia Dukakis clashed, accidentally bringing about chemistry between the actors. All the actors get in quickly.

   In order not to let the opportunity slip away, Ronald decided on the spot to shoot while everyone was in the mood.

   "However, I...I provided snacks to the actors. In the end, it seems that I was the only one who didn't eat. In the end, I fainted due to low blood sugar."

"Then you are really wronged. The person who reported you must have put your affairs on the actors. You have greatly postponed the lunch break and lunch. It is a fact. This is indeed a serious violation of the rules of the Actors Union ."

"I..." Ronald was very angry, "I went to Toronto to shoot just to avoid this group of vampire representatives from the union. These people don't do anything, just stop me from filming on the set, and they will strike at every turn. to threaten me.

  I am good enough to them. They are all looking for union members to do group performances. The minimum wage is more than ten times higher than that of non-union actors. Don't they know that it is a common thing to take a few more pictures when creating? We are not an office, so we can go to and from get off work on time. "

   "Oh, Ronald, calm down. When the trade union representatives investigate this matter, don't tell them that." Eddie hurriedly sat Ronald down and poured him a glass of whiskey.

"Our hot dance is also a project registered by the union. If you fall out with them, it will be troublesome for them to pick faults in this movie. You know, a crew has the largest number of actors, and it is difficult to guarantee that there will be no one. If you are not satisfied with your salary, it will be troublesome to report it at that time.”

   "Fuck", Ronald slammed the whisky down on the table, and the whisky spilled out of the glass and threw his hand.

  Ronald shook his hand, but he wiped the tissue that Eddie handed over, "Thank you, I'll bear with it."

   The actors' union is very powerful. Not only can they deliberately disrupt and apply eye drops during filming, causing economic losses due to delays in filming. And among the judges of the Oscars, the largest number of them are actors, and they are all members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

   "Because you violated SAG's decision regarding the actors' lunch break and the crew providing lunch on time during filming in Toronto, SAG has decided to issue a ticket to you.

   A fine of $20,000. And this ruling will be published in the punishment section of the Screen Actors Guild Newsletter next quarter. "

   In the afternoon, a representative of the Screen Actors Guild, a very well-dressed man, came to Ronald's daydream. After pretentiously asking Ronald about the situation, the SAG's preliminary penalty decision was announced.

   "This..., in fact, the scene was not like this. I served all kinds of snacks, and there was no abuse of the actors. This is determined by the nature of the scene, and I had to extend the filming time..."

   Ronald explained, hoping that the trade union representatives could understand the situation at that time. But it doesn't seem to work.

The representative of the Actors Guild smiled and grinned at Ronald, "We received an anonymous report, and we got in touch with the whistleblower, and got her testimony, proving that you delayed filming on the day, no The actors were allowed to rest and eat, with serious consequences, and some people fainted from hypotension..."

   "I told you repeatedly that it was me who fainted from low blood sugar that day, it was me! Not a member of your Actors Guild. They all have snacks that I provided on the scene, and those with low blood sugar will not be hungry."

  Ronald felt that the union representative seemed to be targeting himself. He had made it very clear about the situation that day, and the actor was not abused. And he also submitted several testimonials, such as DP David Watkin, or any of the actors who were on the set.

"This is the result of our investigation, Director Ronald. Of course, this penalty has to be approved by the SAG committee. If you have any objection, you can appeal." The trade union representative did not listen to Ronald's defense. Just repeating that this is their decision after detailed investigation and careful review.

   Ronald accepted the penalty notice with a blank face. Under the table, Nisita, the agent who came here specially, grabbed Ronald's hand desperately, so that he would not turn his face with the trade union representative on the spot.

  "I see", Ronald didn't go to receive the punishment notice, motioned him to put it on the table with his eyes, and didn't stand up to send him.

  The daydream Eddie replaced Ronald and led the union representative out.

"Don't worry, our CAA has a good relationship with the Screen Actors Guild, myself and their current president, Patty Duke, used to be a client-agent relationship. I helped her a little when his ex-husband divorced her. .

  You pay the fine, and Patty Duke will accommodate the public report in that newsletter. "

  Nisita was relieved to see that Ronald was able to take care of the overall situation. This kind of disgusting thing is not uncommon among major directors.

Representatives of many trade unions seem to be specifically trying to show that they are not afraid of power, and they specially grab big-name stars or directors to show their toughness. Accumulate chips on behalf of the election.

  Not only Ronald, but top directors like Spielberg and George Lucas are often fined for not following union rules.

   "What kind of person is the president of the Screen Actors Guild? Do I want to meet her?" Ronald felt very good about Nisita and this network. If he could talk to her, it might clear up the misunderstanding.

   Generally speaking, these trade union organizations, those at the top, are quite reasonable.

   The last president of the Screen Actors Guild was Ed Asner, who launched the largest strike in Hollywood in more than a decade. He led the actor's strike, got Ronald's first script, and because the strike was delayed, Jane Fonda went to other films, and it ended up dead.

   Such a radical trade union president was quickly elected.

  Although he himself gained a lot of exposure in the political arena of the Donkey Party, the actors did not benefit from it. The long-term strike caused heavy losses to the bottom actors. Although the minimum wage has been raised, many people have never played a role since then—Hollywood has gone out of town to film.

  The former president of the union, Ed Asner, was too ambitious and ended up getting nothing. After being selected, no one asked him to appear in any film and television drama, and finally he was reduced to dubbing the TV station's junior animation.

   Patty Duke, who was elected president this time, is an actress who is not so aggressive.

   "Then I'll go talk to her first." Nisita smiled and picked up the copy of the punishment document.

   "Who do you say is reporting on me behind my back? I noticed that the union representative used the word "Actress"."

  Ronald asked Nisita, who stood up and was about to go to work first.

   "It's hard to say, these union parasites are very good at provoking conflicts, or it may be a man, he said it on purpose. It may not be an actor, but a staff member."

   "Hmm..." Ronald was very angry. Those who could take care of the union would be taken care of according to the proportion of his own film projects. These people are greedy enough, get paid, appear in the mirror, and maybe make progress in their careers, and they will bite themselves in turn. "

   "Fuck, I won't use you guys in the union if I get a chance in the future."

  …

   "Hello, Ronald," SAG President, Patty Duke, met Ronald specifically at the union headquarters.

   "Hello, Ms. Duke, I'm your fan."

   Before coming to see her, Ronald asked Nisita about the president's past history.

   She is really a famous actress.

  Since being a child star, because of his appearance, he has always played an important supporting role instead of the protagonist. At the 1963 Oscars, Patty Duke won the Best Supporting Actress award at the age of seventeen. He is the youngest actor ever to win an Oscar.

  She has been playing supporting roles, and later she entered TV series and played a few heroines. She also won the Primetime Emmy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress a few years ago.

   Having been in the industry for a long time, knowing a lot of people, and playing a supporting role is popular, so she was able to replace her unpopular predecessor two years ago and was voted to be the president of the Screen Actors Guild.

   "Your business, Rick has already told me. I will directly intervene and will not let your name appear in the punishment column of the newsletter.

   On the contrary, I will introduce some situations of your filming, so that the members of the trade union can understand, sometimes for the sake of art, some compromises must be made. "

   Patty Duke came up and talked about his decision.

   This is not criticism, but praise for change.

   "Thank you then, Ms. Duke." Ronald was also relieved to hear that he didn't have to publicly accuse the actors of not letting the actors eat lunch.

   "However, you still have to pay the fine."

   "Okay, I've brought the checkbook."

   The Screen Actors Guild, like the Directors Guild, suffered a pension crisis, and Patti Duke heard a $20,000 fine, which was still unpaid.

   "I see you've also made cameos in many movies, why don't you join the Screen Actors Guild?" Patty Duke looked at Ronald, wouldn't it be good for such a director to join the Screen Actors Guild? At least he has to pay a large remaining dividend to the union's pension fund.

   "I'm still a member of the Producers Union, so it's not convenient, so I won't participate. Besides, I'm just a cameo." Ronald declined.

"Well, if there is anything about the union in the future, you can call my assistant directly. You know that I am not busy with the union full-time. Some people want to use the power of the union to achieve some of their own goals. You don't have to They're polite. Come and tell me."

   Ronald's heart moved, this was Patti Duke implying to himself that someone was behind this matter.

  Things are done, Ronald went back to find the instructor to practice yoga moves.

   Taking some time every day to practice breathing methods, Ronald felt that when he was sleeping, he was getting closer and closer to that state, and it seemed that he could find a shortcut to dreaming of movies.

   He happened to be sitting on the floor of the bedroom contacting his breath that day, and Bannon's phone call came home.

   "Ronald, those shameless SAG bugs, now they've got Arizona and they're going to fight us."

   Bannon speaks directly, full of Wall Street efficiency style. The shooting cost was reduced by one million. In order to supervise the use, he tried to save money as much as possible, and flew directly to the location of Arizona to take care of things on the spot.

   This film was not registered with the Screen Actors Guild, and it was looking for non-union group performances and supporting roles. In the local public high school in Tucson, Arizona, students from the drama club were also found for group performances. This saves a lot of money compared to local Hollywood.

   Those students of the drama club, well-trained to play a few background roles, are not much different from those union actors who mess around in Hollywood.

   "Fuck, 'Boys Rent Girls' isn't a union program, you **** scared shit." Ronald scolded directly on the phone.

   "No, I heard that the Screen Actors Guild can decide to strike. They have a congressional law that can temporarily announce the group performance of the crew and become a temporary member of the Screen Actors Guild, so that they can organize a temporary member strike on the crew.

   We are a small production, and the loss of one day is a lot. "

Bannon felt that making a movie was no easier than buying those factories on Wall Street. It also had to go through a game of capital and labor unions. Moreover, these actors' unions had a much higher self-esteem than the factory workers, and they also valued their rights more. The protests are often more severe, and the demands are more troublesome than the workers.

"Fuck, who is going to strike and protest? We went to Cincinnati to save money, to give them a chance to appear on the screen, in fact, to give them a great chance. Dare to strike? Do you really think of yourself as a Hollywood actor? Not being used as a gunman by union representatives.”

   "You come here? I can't handle these students."

   "Okay, I'll show you a demonstration." Ronald went to the airport with Bud immediately, bought a ticket on the spot at a high price, and flew to Tucson, Arizona.

   "Which one? Inciting those high school drama club idiots to strike here?"

   arrived at Tussen Public High School, where Ronald found Bannon who was on the scene and asked.

   "It's the guy in the suit and the bow tie."

   "Huh..." Ronald looked at him, wasn't that the guy who gave him 20,000 fines?

   "Ronald, are you the producer of this film? I represent the Screen Actors Guild..."

  The representative of the trade union saw Ronald coming, with a smirk on his face again, and came over to talk to Ronald again about what a trade union is.

   "Security, this person is not qualified to be here in the crew, let him out."

   Ronald just ignores this bastard, this is Arizona, this project is a non-union project, don't look at this bastard's face.

   "I'm a trade union representative, how dare you..."

"This is a non-union project. The filming site we rented belongs to Tucson High School and is now used by the crew. Anyone without consent is not allowed to enter." Ronald turned his head to the high school dramas who were bewitched and made trouble. said the cast members.

   "You may be deceived by some people, thinking that we are some kind of rich crew and want to use this project to get a union card and live a happy life as a union actor.

   Let me tell you, our crew is an independent production and very poor. There is no money to hire union members to act as group performers. All those who want to be union actors, please stand here and ask you to look for opportunities in other projects.

  All those who are willing to participate in non-union roles, stand over there, our crew will register your names, and everything that has scenes and lines will be signed. Those who do not have lines and act as cameras will also receive our recommendation letters and daily salary. "

   "Boom..."

  The high school students were actually very simple. When they heard that the crew would not use union actors, they immediately pushed to the side that was willing to participate in non-union actors.

  What a joke, Tucson, Arizona, a small city whose biggest employer is the aircraft cemetery of the Navy and Air Force, has not had a film crew come to the locals for a group performance in a few years.

   Those students of the drama club, except for a few who were bewitched and stiff-headed, all joined Ronald's side with a bang.

   "Very good, those of you who insist on union status, then I'm sorry, please go out."

   "Children, don't be deceived by him, as long as we unite, we can..."

"go out!"

   Ronald didn't take a good look at the trade union representative and scolded him loudly.

   Originally, his behavior violated the rules of the Actors Guild. The members of the temporary union of actors who promised to participate must be items registered by the union before he has this power.

   "I will complain in person to Ms. Duke, the president of the Actors Guild, for your unprofessionalism and your deliberate misleading about the temporary status of extras. This is private territory now, get out!"

  Bannon brought two male actors over, stood in front of the union representatives, and kept pressing him to get out of the way.

   "What he said wouldn't be true, would it? You promised us that as long as the classmates in the high school drama club went on strike, we would get the official union status."

   "Coax..." Several diehards spoke out the private promise of the trade union representatives, causing boos from other students.

   In everyone's contempt, he walked out of the shooting venue in a daze.

   "The demonstration was very good, I learned it." Bannon came over and shook hands with Ronald, "I'll introduce to you, this is our hero Patrick Dempsey, and the handsome guy plays the hero Ronald Miller.

   This is Seth Green playing his good friend and supporting role. They both act well. "

  Bannon introduced Ronald to two actors who ended up driving away union representatives, who were also acting in a movie for the first time.

"Don't worry, it will be easy for you to apply for union qualifications in the future. Although this project is a non-union project, but as the protagonist, as long as you receive a job as an extra for more than three days, you can apply for the Film Actors Union. Qualified."

  Ronald looked at the two handsome guys, afraid that they would be burdened, and explained.

   "Thanks, Ronald. We all love your Top Gun."

   "Amanda, look who's coming."

  Bannon greeted the heroine Amanda Peterson, who was watching the fun in the back.

"Hi, Amanda." Ronald beckoned to her, and it was Amanda Peterson who played the heroine Cindy's friend with her, and it was Amanda Peterson who failed to audition for the "Annie" protagonist Annie and played Annie's orphanage. Friends of two girls.

   They were also very envious of Amanda getting to know the great director Ronald. The two of them awkwardly gathered around Amanda Peterson and greeted Ronald.

   "Stay here for one night? By the way, guide the filming." Bannon said to Ronald.

   "Alright, but I won't interfere with the director's work. This is the most important thing in a producer's professional ethics." Ronald agreed to stay after seeing that it was getting late.

  Amanda Peterson was set off by the two actors in the middle position. She didn't seem to be affected by the events of the previous day. Her eyes still looked full of hope, and there was a kind of light shining brightly. Ronald is relieved that this ray of hope has not been destroyed by villains like Tom Mount.

  Amanda Peterson has the air of an elite cheerleader among high school girls.

  Patrick Dempsey, is a handsome guy with curly hair. Wearing old-fashioned black-framed eyes and deliberately pretending to be a nerd, but I can see that I am a dashing person. When the plot requires it, I will be a good match for Amanda after turning into a fashionable handsome guy.

  Ronald is very satisfied with the casting, Bannon's aesthetic is similar to that of most boys and girls in small American towns, which is the guarantee that the film will be a hit.

   (end of this chapter)