Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 916 Gorilla and Little Hare

  The next day, the crew started filming in the rented office in the twin towers of the World Trade Center. This place used to be the office of a small stock brokerage company. After the stock market crash, the bankrupt company ran away, leaving behind a lot of desks, chairs, stationery, and a row of electronic marquees on the wall - which can continuously display the real-time market prices of Wall Street stocks.

   Tess's station is facing the camera side, and separated from her by a partition is a little fat actor, Oliver Pratt, facing the camera. Such a clown-like character was discovered by Ronald after watching Jonathan Demme's "Married into a Gangster".

  Looks like the kind of villain who hangs out with the football players in middle school and bullies the girls.

   "Every department is in place, camera?" Ronald hid at the side of the desk, away from an aisle, where there was a long guide rail, waiting to follow Tess into the company.

   "Camera full speed!"

   "Recording?"

   "The recording is ready"

   "Action!"

  The coat, makeup, and hairstyle Melanie Griffiths wore were all restored exactly as they were photographed yesterday. Only the leather windbreaker, which was obviously too big, would be left in the place where the clothes were hung by the door according to common sense, and was not worn.

  Tess was wearing a black turtleneck sweater with a beige coat on the outside. The collar was so exaggerated that it invaded the other half of the territory. The shoulder pads were obviously two inches high, and a mark was drawn by the cheap backpack.

   This set of outfits is the women's power dress (Power Dressing) that is often seen in the Wall Street workplace. If you only look at the upper body, it is very similar to a male suit with large shoulder pads. The turtleneck sweater particularly dilutes the femininity, so that when she sits down and talks with you, you will not feel the difference in personality. It is the same as a male peacock. Dress in plus size to intimidate your competitors.

  But the lower body is a short skirt three inches above the knee, paired with black patterned stockings. This combination allows her to stand up and show off her femininity when welcoming customers.

  The camera followed her brisk walk on the guide rail, and followed her on the side. In the foreground and background there are many TV sets, computer monitors, and office equipment with documents. In a few seconds, Tess's company is quickly outlined, a very dynamic and busy company.

"Morning, morning..." Melanie Griffiths greeted everyone along the way, and finally passed the character played by Oliver Pratt, the fat man, behind the manager Lutz, and sat in the one at the far end of the large office area. Location.

   This place is the secretary's position, the director of Tess's service department, and Lutz, as a manager, sits with her, which fully shows that this is a small company and the office space is tight.

   These are all information that can be understood immediately by the audience who work in the American city. The set of the crew is very good, and what Ronald wants to express is very complete and accurate. At the beginning of the scene, Ronald had to explain the background of the story and the character of the characters, so that one shot can fully express it, which is unique to large-scale production crews and the result of the cooperation of professional departments.

  The camera continued to move, bypassed the office area, and stopped at a fixed point behind the side, just in time to capture Tess changing her shoes.

She picked up the phone, "This is Mr. Turko's call, who is it?" Melanie Griffiths held the phone between her hands, asked who it was, took off her long cotton socks, and took out Put on the high heels under the table.

  The little chubby Oliver Pratt on the opposite side started to make an exaggerated expression, pinched his nose with his hand, and then started to fan the wind, indicating that changing shoes stinks.

Tess ignored this kind of bullying in the office, "Please wait a moment, don't hang up, I will go to Mr. Teko." Then she got up and went to find her constipated boss who had to go to the pit every morning, Teko gentlemen.

   "Cut!

   Ronald looked at the director of photography, who nodded to indicate that the camera is okay.

   "Very well, this print."

  Following Ronald's order, all the group performers and technicians on the scene began to applaud. This play is a big production, so all the extras were selected by Julia Taylor and her assistants, and they are all actors who can act.

  The most fearful thing about this kind of big production is that the main character plays very well, but something goes wrong with the extras. When the camera is on the protagonists, it's great drama, but then the one-second shot of a few extras in a turn will make people play.

  The difference between a big production and a B-movie is here. These group performers have never seen the camera during the process, and they all have the basic skills of acting. With such a long shot, they are all busy doing their own things, just like a real securities brokerage company.

   Ronald praised everyone's performance, and to be on the safe side, he took another one after a few minutes. Walter Murch, next to him, told him that the editing material was enough.

  Ronald turned around and called the scene recorder, and the little girl said loudly, "Working Girl, Act Three, Scene Four."

  This movie is a commercial production, and Harrison Ford's schedule is very tight, so it is impossible to follow the script. In order to save time and cost, Ronald skipped the next scene.

   "Action!"

   After Tess went to the bathroom to talk to her boss, she ran back to the office and bumped into an extra performer on the way, her reaction was very natural. When she got back to her work station, she said to the client on the phone, "Your promissory note in Shanti Teco is $18, and he (Tess's boss) will call you when he comes back."

   "Cut!"

  The filming went smoothly. People who have bought stocks in this plot will be more familiar with it. Tess's boss persuaded the client to buy the stock of Shanti Teco, saying that it would go up, but the stock fell instead, and the client called every day to ask about the situation.

  This price is also the reason why Tess's very charming boss has been constipated every day recently, and she is squatting at work.

  The company Tess works for is, to put it bluntly, a broker. They call all kinds of rich people, sell the company's "exclusive inside information", and persuade them to buy the original stocks they recommend that have not yet been listed. Even more radical directors, such as Tess's boss, will persuade customers to use leverage. Excessive price to buy.

  In the real Wall Street, these activists liquidated a large number of positions after the stock market crash last year. Many director-level brokers went bankrupt, and the office rented by the filming location was exactly the same as the previous company.

   A few more shots were taken, and it was the last shot before noon.

   "Dan Titke closed at 17.8, and fell again, and it is estimated that it will go sideways next Monday." Tess looked at the closing stock price and said to the little fat man Lutz sitting opposite.

   "How much does your boss tell the client to raise?" Lutz answered casually. He and a colleague next to him treated secretaries like Tess as if they were brainless blondes (Bimbo).

"He said it would go up after launch, and the launch price was $23, but the company only had one product, a plaque-removing mouthwash. You know, the kind that take a bite and spit it out. No one is going to use that product all the time. ..."

  Griffith shrugged his shoulders, implying that this product is not like toothpaste or shaving gel, which must be used all the time. After using the freckle-removing mouthwash for a period of time, no matter whether it is effective or not, consumers will not buy it again.

  This dialogue shows that although Tess is a secretary, her business level is undoubtedly qualified as a manager. For the product represented by the stock, the biggest weakness can be seen at once.

   "Maybe..." Oliver Pratt, the actor of Little Fatty Lutz, stood up with his companions, put on their suits, and started the action of the male managers of the company happily hunting each other's secretary.

   "Before we go to dinner, I have to tell you a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. The bad news is that the promotion rotation plan you applied for was rejected."

   "Why?" Tess was suddenly discouraged, her shoulders sank. She has applied for this project many times. Both secretaries and fresh university graduates can participate. If they are selected, they can enter the fast lane of the company. After a one-year internship in the position, they can be promoted to become a real manager.

   "We have tried our best, but Tess, you are competing with Harvard's undergraduate, Wharton's MBA, and you only have a night school diploma..."

   This is the biggest and most invisible gap in the American workplace. What people do is related to their class of origin. Rich children can go to good private universities, and they can enter the fast lane when they come out.

Children from poor families like Tess can only go to public high schools and cannot apply for good universities. How can you compete with those who graduated from Harvard Wharton in their twenties?

   "What about the good news?" Melanie Griffiths is indeed a talented actress, and she has a good grasp of emotions at this time. This news was a big blow to Tess. This kind of promotion and rotation plan has an upper age limit, and people who are over 30 are generally not eligible to participate.

  But Tess is a never-say-die person. Although she was so disappointed that her body trembled a little, she still did not give up hope. Didn’t little fat Lutz say there is still good news? "

   "I know a friend who is in the arbitrage department. He is very **** and is looking for someone who is even hornier than him. He needs an assistant right now. He wants to meet you and have a drink first."

   "Isn't this another trap?" Tess had obviously been fooled before, and the so-called job opportunities were all fake, fabricated for the manager's sake.

   "Do I look like a pimp to you?" Lutz asked his colleagues.

  The actor nods.

   "Hahaha..." The two burst out laughing.

   "Bob said to find someone who is hungry, and I thought of you. You can decide the rest." Melanie Griffiths eyes flashed a light, this is the last chance.

   "Bob from the Arbitrage Department?" Tess decided to try.

   "Bob Speck, from the Arbitrage Department, this is extension." The two male managers stood up.

   "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you."

  A group of female secretaries came with several balloons and sang happy birthday to Tess.

  In the enterprise, blue-collars will always play with blue-collars. They take care of each other, share any difficulties, and share gossip. Tess looked at them, although she wanted to get out of this circle, but these secretaries were still in the company, they were ordinary people with good intentions.

   "Cut!"

Ronald is very satisfied with today's progress. Melanie Griffiths did not take the script to the shooting scene. She fully understood Tess's role and memorized the lines very well. When she needed to improvise, she also Can cope well.

  A good actor does not only show off by himself, but always uses his own reactions to bring other actors into a good situation.

   A few more reaction shots were taken, and the shooting of this scene is completed today.

   The actors go to dinner, and Ronald nibbles on two chicken sandwiches and finishes off with a cup of coffee. He also had to wait for his old friend Roger Coleman, who came to guest in the afternoon.

   "Ronald, I'm so glad you called me, what role is this time?"

  Roger Corman and Ronald's "Ecstasy" has been filmed and is in post-production and test screenings. He now regards the cameo in the acquaintance movie as the greatest pleasure.

   "He's a director of a Wall Street investment company." Ronald smiled and took him to the shooting location.

   "Oh oh oh, what's going on, Ronald, what scene are you going to do?"

   Coleman saw that the shooting location turned out to be the bathroom in the company, and immediately protested. I was a naval officer last time, so why does it look like a B-level horror movie I shot this time?

   "Why don't you play that passerby, and there is a scene showing your face without lines." Ronald handed him the script.

   This is a scene where Tess goes into the bathroom and finds her constipated boss. In this scene, his boss was in the partition of the bathroom all the time, only the voice was heard, and only a side face was revealed at the end. Roger Corman is good at this kind of comic role, so Ronald asked him to comeo.

   "I'll just act as a passerby. There's a frontal shot."

   "Okay, do we have any suitable extras?" Ronald asked the assistant around him, if there is any suitable person to play the character who is constipated in the partition.

"No, we didn't find a handsome guy. Tess's boss is a broker. He has to be handsome in order to get the client to pay. Melanie's new boyfriend is just fine." The casting assistant is Julia ·Taylor's apprentice is right.

   "Then what should I do? This scene cannot be postponed, and another scene of this scene will be filmed tomorrow. I don't have time to find someone else."

  Roger Coleman was very moved when he heard that he was going to be handsome and unrestrained, but when he saw the script, the content in it was too abrupt and did not match the appearance of his university teacher. He must have performed poorly, so he kept silent.

   "How about, why don't you do it yourself?" The casting assistant thought that Ronald was good enough.

   "Yes, Ronald, your image can definitely be a sales manager on Wall Street." Roger Coleman also chimed in, "I can call Action for you."

   "Okay, that's it, makeup artist?"

   After half an hour, Ronald had already put on his suit, combed a fashionable hairstyle, and squatted in the toilet room of the partition.

  Melanie Griffiths laughed when she came back from the meal and saw that it was Ronald and her playing the opposite scene.

   "Mr. Coleman will call Action." Ronald explained to everyone that he only heard his voice in this scene, but he didn't see the person. It was an alternative performance.

   "Boom..." Griffiths knocked on the door of the men's bathroom, and walked in while leaning on the wall. She was very shy and scared, and she didn't dare to look inside, so she had to call out loudly, "Mr. Turko, Mr. Turko?"

   "Well..." Ronald gave a deep answer.

  Roger Coleman plays a senior director who urinates on the other side, and when he pokes his head out, he shows a sanctimonious face.

  When Melanie Griffiths saw someone looking at her, she quickly turned her face away and crossed her arms to block other people's sight.

   "The customer is very anxious, he bought the promissory note of the original stock..."

   "Can't you keep him waiting for a minute?" Ronald's voice came from the partition, reverberating.

   "He's in a hurry. He bought a promissory note. Such a client doesn't want to talk to a secretary." Melanie Griffiths covered her face with her arms, shy. Roger Corman's character, washed his hands in front of her, dried himself off and walked out.

  Although it is a very busy company, the employees are very hard-working, but it is still very hard to catch up to the bathroom to talk about work.

   "Can you answer his phone?" Tess asked Turko, the boss inside, outside.

   "I have no paper..."

   "What?" Tess couldn't understand.

   "There's no **** paper here," Ronald's manager, Turkle, peeks out from above the partition and yells at Tess, "Bring me some!"

   Melanie Griffiths played Tess, who was even more embarrassed, and she handled it well, and froze for a second at the rude request. After thinking about it, I went to get a bucket of roll paper under the sink, ran to the front of the partition, and stretched it to the gap under the door.

  Ronald's hand stretched out from below and grabbed it.

  Melanie Griffiths put on a relieved expression and ran away quickly.

   "Thank you for your help! You are so kind..." Ronald was still thanking.

   "Cut!"

   Roger Coleman called a stop outside, and everyone came in from outside the bathroom and started applauding. Melanie Griffith's performance fits the role very well, a tough corporate working girl with a soft feminine edge.

   "Bravo!" Sigourney Weaver also came at noon. Although her role in the scene has not yet come, she has been thinking about the meaning of Ronald giving her a gorilla doll these days. Simply come to the crew to watch the play and find inspiration.

  Many great directors have the habit of not explaining themselves and letting the actors understand. Sigourney Weaver thought Ronald was such a director.

  Ronald watched the black-and-white images recorded by the monitor. Griffiths acted very well, expressing Tess' temperament to the fullest. It's better not to reshoot this kind of scene, because he feels embarrassed.

   After declaring this to be over, Ronald was very satisfied with Melanie Griffith's performance and decided to give her a little reward. He walked over to the props, took a little hare doll to be used later, and handed it to Griffiths.

   "Here's a prize for you, great performance."

   "Thank you, thank you." Like many actresses, Melanie Griffith couldn't walk when she saw this cute little doll.

  In the play, Tess also put a rabbit doll on the table.

   "I see..." Sigourney Weaver on the side saw this scene and finally figured out Ronald's intentions.

  Tess is a blue-collar worker. Her heart is like a little rabbit, sensitive and easily frustrated and frightened. The rabbit doll is also very small, which just shows Tess' status in the company and is bullied by everyone.

   And the gorilla doll that Ronald gave himself was as big as a person. And it was made according to the image in the movie "King Kong". In the movie King Kong, the gorilla holds the girl.

  In the script, Catherine got off the plane and played with the King Kong doll in her hand. This is a metaphor, showing that Catherine is like a smart woman who plays with gorillas at heart.

  Gorilla is the image of male executives in the enterprise. They're all so big and stupid.

   "Thank you for your gorilla doll, which made me understand Catherine's inner world." Sigourney Weaver suddenly said without thinking.

   "Ah... that, as long as you like it." Ronald thought that Weaver had just returned from shooting a gorilla movie in Kenya, and he gave her a doll to make her happy, and it seemed to work well.

  The next filming went smoothly, and work was over at 6:00 pm. Ronald was greeting the volunteer picket team of the Screenwriters Guild when Ricky Lake, the heroine of the "Hairspray" crew, suddenly ran in, hugging Ronald and crying loudly.

   "Who is this? She doesn't have a pass for your crew, is she the screenwriter?..." Those pickets came over and asked.

   "No, this is an actor, the heroine of my production company's new film, haven't you seen it?" Ronald replied angrily.

   "Divine, Divine he's dead."

   "What? What did you say?" Ronald was shocked, did he hear it wrong? Divine, who just had dinner with him, that DragQueen actually died?

  (end of this chapter)