Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 220 Meeting with old friends

   "Are you in favor of the Screen Actors Guild's negotiated proposal to increase the daily minimum wage from $225 to $315 and the weekly minimum wage from $785 to $1,100?

agree. "

  Diane Lane fills out union ballots on the sofa on whether to end the strike.

   "Is the Screen Actors Guild strike over?" Ronald wore his new jacket and had a routine weekend dinner at his aunt's house.

  The time has come to the new year, Ronald plans to go to Los Angeles early, before the Golden Globe Awards, to have a good chat with Universal about the script of the movie.

  Cameron Crowe's new book is selling well, hitting the New York Times teen bestseller list. Universal's interest in the "fast-paced Richmond High School" has grown.

   "Yes, I heard that the incoming commander-in-chief is someone who has a tough attitude towards the union. This time, the Producers Union has agreed to a one-time increase of 40% in the minimum wage. Most actors will accept it as soon as they want."

   "But I heard that the president-elect was the chairman of the Screen Actors Guild. Will he object to the union's strike?"

"Who knows? I also heard what others said, and it's none of my business anyway." Although Diane Lane is not yet 16 years old, she has already earned a single salary of one hundred thousand dollars. , these minimum wages have little to do with her.

   The half-year-long strike is finally coming to an end. This time, the minimum wage is generally raised, and the bottom-level members who occupy the largest number of actors in the Actors Guild are very satisfied. In addition, the candidate leader with unknown attitude is about to take office. It is not entangled in the specific terms of pay TV and video tape revenue, and is ready to compromise with the management.

   And hard-line union chief negotiator Ed Asner, who also made a name for himself as a hero leading the workers' struggle, is now vying to be the next Screen Actors Guild president.

   On January 20, Ronald came to Los Angeles. Agent Richard Lovett came to visit as usual, and talked about some of the problems Ronald needed to deal with.

   "Universal's production department is very satisfied with the sales of Crow's new book, and is stepping up contact with David Lynch. They hope you can join the talks, discuss your script with director Lynch, and increase the sincerity of some invitations...

  'Famous' producer David Da Silva invited you to meet and said that he wanted you to chat with him about the script of the famous TV series. He's taking Erin Cara around on TV and singing that 'Fame' every time...

  Fame's composer, Michael Gore, also invited you, saying that there are many episodes of film and television dramas that have been invited to him, and I hope to find you to cooperate...

  The last is Jane Fonda, she also invited you to meet at home..."

   "Looks like I'm quite popular?" Ronald laughed.

"Ronald, I wanted to talk to you about this. After all, the center of the movie is still in Hollywood, and your script will start this year. Are you considering moving to Los Angeles?" Richard raised this question solemnly .

   "I know you still have studies to complete at NYU, but there are a lot of people who can't find a job after graduating from college in film and television. You have a good foundation now, why don't you just move to Los Angeles?

   A lot of news is that there are the most opportunities in Hollywood, and the confirmation of various projects also requires interviews. If you're in Hollywood, those people can find you anytime, instead of accumulating with me, waiting for you to come and focus on it. "

"I know, Richard. If you could make me a director, I'd consider moving. I'm still in college, and I'm still two years away from graduating, and that's what my aunt expects of me. "

   But on the first day in Los Angeles, Ronald didn't see any of the people Richard arranged, but ran to chat with old friends James Cameron and Gail Hurd.

  Cameron just returned from the Santa Monica and Venice scene, and Roger Coleman's new film "Out of the Galaxy" asked him to do special effects production design. This position is a step further than the previous special effects engineer of "The Great Escape from New York". Not only is he responsible for managing the production of special effects models and special effects makeup, but also designing the background, props, etc. of the studio, so that he can integrate with the style of the special effects models.

  Gail Hurd will also serve as a production assistant for "Out of the Galaxy", working with an assistant producer (associateproducer) who oversees the daily production on set, reporting Roger Coleman's daily progress.

   "Don't know when we can become directors?" Ronald and Cameron raised their beer glasses and drank it.

   "Who will direct your new script?" Cameron asked.

   "Universal wants David Lynch."

   "His 'Elephant Man' is a hit at this Oscar, will he still direct this kind of youth exploitation film?" Gale asked, flipping through the novel Ronald gave him.

"That's not something I think about," Ronald shrugged. "My agent has asked Universal that they will consider giving me an assistant producer title, study on set, and report daily progress to Producer.

   But the producer Art Linson also wants to be a director, maybe he will go to the crew to watch and learn the directing skills, just like I want to do. "

   "David Lynch is indeed a good player. His Elephant Man, special effects makeup is very good, and it looks very realistic in black and white. But if he uses color negatives, his makeup still has a lot of flaws..."

  Cameron brought the topic to special effects again.

   "What about this one after it's out of the galaxy? Which set will you go to next?" Ronald asked.

   "Roger is considering a sequel to 'Piranha', but the original director of the piranha film, Joe Dante, is working on a werewolf movie 'The Howling', so maybe it will be another sci-fi horror movie 'The Sea Monster'."

   "Maybe you are making a movie or two, and Mr. Coleman will give you the opportunity to direct independently, just like Joe Dante did." Ronald comforted his old friend.

He was a little emotional, if he didn't go to college at that time, but continued to work in the production of New World, he might be in the position of assistant director, editor, etc., waiting for Coleman to give a chance to a low-cost movie, if he can make money , there will be a second and a third.

"Actually, I'm not in a hurry, the special effects production skills are very deep. When I was helping Roger do 'Battle of the Stars', I needed more realistic special effects synthesis than the old movies, and I also studied Kubrick's 2001 Space Roam's front projection method," Cameron said.

  In the golden age of Hollywood, the often seen special effects shots are front and background composites. The protagonists sit in cars or motorcycles, blowing on a large electric fan, making their hair fly.

On the screen behind   , the background picture of the pre-shot racing scene was projected, and the scenery on both sides was rapidly receding. Shooting together with the camera in this way, the audience will feel as if the protagonist is racing.

  This method not only allows ordinary actors to shoot drag racing scenes, but more importantly, it speeds up the shooting efficiency. The protagonist does not need to make difficult scenes, as long as the second group takes the stunt team members to shoot some usable background pictures.

   The method of shooting the background image behind the actor is called the rear projection method. The disadvantage is that the perspective ratio of the background image projected on the screen is wrong, and the audience can easily tell that it is another shot, and the protagonist is not really driving or charging on horseback.

   Kubrick's "2001 A Space Odyssey" opens with some great apes fighting with bones, with a wilderness in the background. These actors wearing leather covers and doing hair special effects makeup can only shoot in indoor studios and need to touch up makeup at any time.

   After Kubrick cast the wilderness background on the screen with a back-end projection method, the effect is very fake. So he came up with a new way to use a projector to project onto the screen behind the actor on the same side of the shoot.

   This perspective ratio is correct, and the picture that the audience sees is much more realistic. But since the projector is on the shooting side, there is a lot of interference, and the camera will take the projected light in together.

   Kubrick solved this problem by using a very complicated one-sided mirror, turning the projector ninety degrees and projecting it from the side.

   But after the release of "2001 A Space Odyssey", there were no other sci-fi projects. Many of Kubrick's inventions, including the front-end projection equipment, were demolished by the Pinewood Studios in Britain for the next film.

   In order to reproduce this realistic shooting effect, Cameron restored this technology through the principle of magazine reports collected at the time in the library. He is also one of the few special effects designers in America who know how to use front projection.

"I don't think I'm short of jobs, but Ronald, if you become a screenwriter, you may turn into a director sooner. I've worked in several crews, and I've become more and more aware of the importance of screenwriters to film directors. Screenwriters are not just directors. , the only person who knows what the film wants to achieve before shooting. This kind of imagination that has an overview of the whole situation is a necessary step for advanced directors."

  Cameron, in turn, envied Ronald's screenwriting choices.

   "Let's encourage each other, and wish us an early dream come true and become a film director."

   "And you, Gail, wish you an early life as a producer."

  Ronald asked Gale about the assistant producer's job again.

   "The job of this position is actually based on the game between the producer and the director. If Cimino has the power to kill the crew, then the assistant producer is just an assistant to the crew, filling out forms every day.

  If the producer attaches great importance to the crew and watches the progress every day, then the assistant producer will become the producer's personal assistant, helping to make coffee and prepare lunch.

Only the kind of production crew where the producer lets go and the director does not get the power, the assistant producer can keep an eye on the production progress every day, veto the director's unreasonable reshoots and reshoots, as well as a considerable degree of involvement in casting, shooting, etc. Waiting for work, as he is the only source of information on the crew reporting the filming progress to the studio.

   You've seen the way Roger works on the set, if he trusted the director, he wouldn't come to the set every day to inspect. But if the assistant producer informs him that the progress has been delayed, he will kill the crew and tear up the script that is too late..."

   "Hahaha..." Ronald was reminded of working in the New World. It seems that what he can learn from this position depends on his abilities and opportunities.

   Back at the hotel, Ronald turned on the TV, and NBC was still replaying the inauguration of the great commander that day. His speech is very rich, and the pronunciation is appropriate, so that people can easily understand the content of his speech. Unlike the former commander-in-chief who had just left office, televised speeches always use big words, and their speech is not charming.

  I don't know what the chance was, let a B-movie actor become the commander.

  Ronald's opportunity soon came, and Universal took Ronald and novelist Cameron Crowe the next day, and arranged for them to participate in a meeting between President Tom Mount and David Lynch.

   (end of this chapter)