Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 1010 The bet may be lost

  People like Jim Cameron are very rare in Hollywood. Many directors hide in their comfort zone and make genre films that they are already familiar with. Many film critics also criticized Hollywood's lack of progress in commercialization.

   There is a subtle comment that says a director, starting with his second work, is just repeating his debut.

   Cameron is a dream maker. He likes to reproduce his dreams on the big screen, so that more people can share their dreams and stories. When filming started, he didn't care whether the existing technology could meet the requirements. Anyway, whether it is a model stunt or the computer stunt he wants to use now, if it is not available in the market, then he will find a way to make it.

"This "Abyss" has a high investment. But Jim didn't count the money. Underwater shooting, the daily progress is very slow, and the number of NGs is far more than normal shooting. Especially the underwater camera, which is airtight from time to time If something goes wrong, you have to reshoot.”

   On the business plane back to Los Angeles, Gail complained to Ronald about Cameron's overspending on filming.

   Gail Hurd has been determined to divorce Cameron. Now it's just because when the "Abyss" project was established, she still obtained the production rights as Mrs. Cameron, so for the time being, the two will remain married until the filming of the film is completed. There is an explanation.

  Because of the serious overspend of the shooting, the progress was behind from the beginning, and Gail was also under a lot of pressure. If the two were divorced now, the support the film could get from 20th Century Fox could be seen by a large margin. After all, Cameron is a film director, and it is very rare for an artist who can objectively and calmly deal with a producer who wants to divorce him.

"The important part of this Abyss lies in the special effects. Too much money is spent on underwater shooting, and our early research on computer-generated special effects is seriously behind the schedule. Not to mention the manpower invested, even The configuration of the graphics workstation is also insufficient, I will go to Fox to be a beggar this time when I go back..."

   Gale is, after all, a producer first and foremost. Ronald respects her a lot, and it is very rare for a female producer to be able to give priority to film considerations when there is a big relationship problem.

   "Don't worry, I purchased some SGI workstations from Industrial Light & Magic, you can use them first."

  Without hesitation, Ronald agreed to give all the special effects workstations he bought from the "Pixar" studio to the computer special effects team of the "Abyss" crew in Los Angeles. For computer special effects, what is most needed is not equipment, but talents who dare to try.

  If Cameron breaks through some new technical routes in this movie, then I will count as an early investment.

  …

   "What do you think of these glasses?"

   Already cast as the lead actress in "When Harry Met Sally," Meg Ryan is out of Burbank's StarryEyes Sunglasses Store in Roshan to start picking out glasses for the show.

"Very good, I think it fits Sally's temperament very well." Ronald and art director Jane Muskie exchanged the color temperament of the whole movie, looked back at Meg Ryan's outfit, and praised .

   This supporting actress who I used in "Top Gun" seems to have grown suddenly after falling in love with Dennis Quaid. From an ordinary girl's temperament, she has transformed into a sweet girl with typical American femininity.

   "I don't think they are artistic enough. Sally is very picky and pays great attention to the details of the glasses." Meg Ryan continued to choose.

   "At least on this point, Meg is right," replied Jane Muskie. She was recommended by Ronald asking his old partner Polly Platt. Because Ronald hoped that this romantic drama would be a warm sketch, as close to life as possible. No need for more drama, but for the audience to be able to bring themselves into everyday life and think of Sally and Harry as their friends.

"Isn't it?" Ronald was very satisfied with Jane Muskie, who was originally the art director of Polly Platt's ex-husband Bogdanovich's film, and Bogdanovich was the last What he is good at is actually shooting contemporary romantic comedies. This style of color and design is exactly what Ronald's new film needs.

   Speaking of Polly Pratt, she's having a great time as a producer for Cameron Crowe. Crowe liked to ask the experienced Polly for advice. And Polly was also happy to relay to Crowe the various director experiences she had seen around her ex-husband.

  Polly is similar to Gail Hurd. They are the kind of female professional filmmakers who can endure problems with their husbands for their careers. Unlike Polly, Gale was born a generation later and had a lower tolerance for infidelity.

   "Yes, we need Sally to be a friend of the audience, like the kind of female classmate who is not the most beautiful in college, but no one successfully catches up." Jane Muskie made an analogy.

   "Well, you're right." Although Ronald hadn't been in college for a few days, he still understood what the other party meant. When we were students, there were always some female students who were naive and learned about love from romantic novels and movies.

  Sally has this kind of temperament. She always compares the men in her life with the heroines in romantic stories.

   "Is there a way to express the feeling that Jane said in terms of tone?" Ronald turned back and asked the director of photography Barry Sonnenfeld.

   "It's not difficult. Just rely a little bit on the TV series. The human eye has been trained enough by color TV in the past few decades. As long as the color tone is close, the audience can have the illusion that this is life."

This director of photography was found by Ronald from the movie "Growing Up" starring Diane. He really likes the tone restored in that movie. Similarly, subconsciously give the audience an illusion that this is what is happening around us.

   "What do you think of this pair?" Meg Ryan changed into a pair of red plastic glasses with a sense of design. It goes well with her red lips. This is the makeup designed by the makeup artist for Sally. It should be ordinary with a touch of sexiness, like a girl who reads fashion magazines every day to learn the latest fashion collocations.

   "Slightly too flamboyant, Sally is very beautiful, but she will not take the initiative to show such an aggressive dress." Art director Jane pointed out.

   "Yes...", Meg Ryan agreed after hearing the words, and put down the pair of glasses again.

   "Hmm..." Ronald looked at all this with a smile. The script for "When Harry Met Sally" has been written by Nora Ephron and Carrie Fisher, down to the scene. This kind of movie is technically simpler than "Top Gun" or "Working Girl." Find the right people, plus your own experience, and the shoot will be quick.

  The only thing Ronald is worried about is the performance ability of the two leading actors. This kind of movie does not have too strong dramatic conflicts, and the audience will only have fun watching it if they really like the two protagonists. That requires a lot of improvisation and chemistry between the characters.

  Now Ronald is very happy about the casting, and the dream gave him inspiration, and he chose the most suitable candidate at once. Meg Ryan is slowly becoming one with the character Sally. She is a gifted and good actress. She observed the character prototype, the screenwriter Nora Ephron several times, and she captured Sally's picky and innocent character traits very well.

   While discussing with the director of photography and the art director to finalize the overall style of the movie, Ronald was also giving ideas to Meg Ryan about choosing glasses from time to time.

   "How about this pair?" Meg Ryan changed into a pair of modernist-style, titanium alloy glasses. The minimalist style makes her look like a female professional manager.

   "It's too plain, Sally will pay more attention to some popular tastes", Ronald shook his head, Sally is not the kind of firm woman who is independent, has her own aesthetic point of view, and is not moved by fashion. In short, Sally is a woman with more traditional values, not Polly Platt, much less Gail Heard. After she got the news of her ex-boyfriend's marriage, she was the kind of woman who cried bitterly at home.

   It's hard to say which kind of woman is better. Ronald just thinks that women like Sally are more accepted by the public.

   "Do you have any more here?" Meg Ryan spent an afternoon trying out all the stocks of this optical shop with the most styles in Hollywood.

   Ronald has finished chatting with the director of photography and art director, but Meg Ryan still hasn't picked out the right glasses.

  Although it was Ronald's request to Meg Ryan to imitate the screenwriter Nora Ephron, it is inevitably exaggerated. He walked up to the boss, "Cheryl, can Meg try this on your face?"

   "Oh, of course." The owner, Cheryl Schuman, often cooperates with Hollywood, and many crews will come here to choose glasses. Not only does she have more than 600 pairs of glasses styles in her own store, but she also has a small warehouse in her home, which collects popular styles from various periods in history, which is like a Hollywood glasses museum.

   "Not bad?" Ronald stepped back a few steps, looked at the art director Jane, and asked.

   "Nice, metal frame, trimmed corners, just right for Sally, a woman reading in the library, and casually exuding a touch of fashion."

   "Just this one, we all like it." Ronald helped her decide.

   "This is the classic style of Robert LaRoche, and I only have this pair, Meg, it really fits you well."

  The store owner also nodded in agreement, and Meg Ryan finally smiled and admired herself in the small mirror on the wall.

   "Ronald!"

  Starting intensive work, Ronald was about to go home to rest, and threw all the documents to his assistant, when a man in a suit and leather shoes hurried over.

   "Doug, why are you here?"

   It was my friend Douglas Jr., who seldom took care of Ronald's film business, suddenly appeared on the scene. Ronald was a little suspicious of whether he was going to exercise his shareholder rights, and came to look at the company's accounts and inspect the crew.

   "I was entrusted by George Jr., and I came to discuss things with you." Doug Jr. and Meg Ryan nodded, and they no longer had the energy to pursue female stars, so they took Ronald aside and whispered.

   "What does this mean? How can I do any campaign ads for him now?"

   The two returned to the hotel, and Douglas Jr. made it clear. Little George wants to ask Ronald to go back and give his father another campaign ad, just like his previous biographical ad, which greatly increased the approval rate and helped George Sr. win the primary election .

  It turns out that in the past month, George Sr.'s approval rating has continued to decline, and the Donkey Party candidate has gradually opened up a gap of more than 10%. Various analysts in the political world began to predict the fiasco of George Sr.

   This number, Douglas Jr. also found a survey company, conducted an independent survey himself, and confirmed the authenticity. Old George's approval ratings across the country have declined rapidly, and he still maintains a considerable advantage in some hard-charging states in the south.

However, this advantage is of no use. The states with the largest number of people, such as California and New York, are also states with a large number of electoral votes. In these states, the number of votes for Old George is dangerously exceeded by Dukakis. The warning line of 6% , and if it continues to decline, the election situation may become clearer.

"How could there be such a difference?" Ronald was mentally prepared for Old George's backwardness, but as long as he wins in several states with large populations, plus the iron ticket states in the south, Old George still has a great chance of winning .

   "It's still an old problem. His personal charm is too bad. That's why little George spoke to his mother Barbara, hoping that you can save his image."

"Why…"

   Ronald let out a long sigh. Originally, the campaign advertisement I shot for Old George was a kind of image carefully created through his service in World War II, and later opened an oil company, then devoted himself to politics, and worked in China and the CIA.

  However, after being nominated for the primary election, George Sr. appeared too many times in the media. The people gradually discovered that this person had no personal charm, and his speech was artificial, and he did not understand the lives of the people.

   Voters who have been spoiled by the current Grand Commander, Old Ronald, cannot accept such a dull person as Grand Commander. It's not as good as Dukakis, at least he speaks in an orderly manner, and he doesn't feel good about himself for no reason.

  For example, recently, as a graduate of Yale University, George Sr. was still in a TV interview when he mocked Dukakis's "foreign policy views were born in a boutique at Harvard Yard."

  The political columnists of The New York Times and The Washington Post began to sneer sharply, "Old George seems to have forgotten that he graduated from Yale?"

  Although later, George Sr. still argued that, unlike Harvard, Yale's classmates came from "very scattered, without a single symbol." Compared with Harvard's cookie-cutter elites, there are students from all backgrounds in Yale. A Yale graduate does not mean that he is from any class.

   But where does the public know the nuances of an Ivy League school? To them, both schools were full of rich, fancy, pretentious, dangerous intellectuals who wouldn't sit down to dinner in their underwear no matter how hot it was.

  In short, ordinary voters feel that there is no essential difference between Dukakis who graduated from Harvard and George Sr. who graduated from Yale. In this case, we might as well choose one that looks pleasing to the eye.

   "What do you think? Is it possible that our investment will fail?" To be honest, Ronald began to worry. He and Doug Jr. had bet heavily on Old George.

   "It's too late to say this now", Douglas Jr. knows how to play this game better than Ronald. They are not those big companies that can bet on both sides. There is only one way to go to the dark.

"However, we can't contribute to the old George's campaign team. They are going to play some evil things now. I'm here to discuss with you first. It's best not to get involved. After all, we don't eat election meals, and, best, Pull little George over to our side..."

   I haven't fully recovered today, so that's all for now.

  (end of this chapter)