Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 944 Editing is like a confession

"I don't quite understand this part of the shot, why did Harrison Ford suddenly stop here?" Walter Murch in the editing room, pointing to a shot on the monitor, Harrison Ford turned over on the bed body, suddenly stopped.

   "Oh, that's his manager's request, no revealing." Ronald remembered that he took several shots himself in order to turn around just right during the filming.

   “Either I cut to a little bit in front of where he realizes he’s about to reveal it, or I cut to other close-ups and close-ups. . . or close-ups, Harrison’s reactions are so slow, it would be weird for me to cut the audience here.”

"you're right…"

  Back in the editing room, Ronald and Murch began to compete with the film and slowly grind it out. This time Ronald’s shooting has more different shooting methods for each shot, and the characters in each shot are also ambiguous, which makes Murch feel a bit challenging. Ronald is getting better at shooting now.

   At noon, the two had a light meal and went out to bask in the sun for a while. Murch kept looking at Ronald from the side, making him a little hairy.

   "What?" Ronald asked Murch.

"I was thinking, maybe you should reduce the time you spend with the company and focus more on picking scripts, shooting, editing. You know what, you remind me of Howard Hawk, a director from the golden age of Hollywood. S."

   "The company has just started shooting, and I need to keep an eye on the first few films." Ronald listened, and it was Murch who was a little dissatisfied that he spent too much time and energy on those B-level films, which affected the creation.

Howard Hawks, mentioned by Walter Murch, is a very amazing director, he is not limited to any genre, western, romance, gangster...even air combat films, and after being touched by his great hand , Genre films will have a paradigm innovation, adding innovative elements or structures.

  Each genre can be shot at the top level, and it will open up some new possibilities for latecomers, bringing genre films back to life. Diane has already got the role in the "Lonely Pigeon Town", and the plagiarized "Red River" was actually filmed by Hawks.

After it was released, John Ford, the great western film director, dropped his pipe in surprise. He didn't expect that western films could be made like this, and he didn't expect his frequent co-star John Wayne to have acting skills. Later, he asked Wayne to shoot Many new westerns were produced, which made Wayne the number one star in western films.

   "Howard Hawks is the idol of many directors. I don't think I can make those works of him. This is not the era of big studios."

   "I just don't understand. You have the qualifications to choose the script, and there are many stars and actors who want to cooperate with you. The director's creation has a cycle. If you don't hurry up and shoot in prime time, you may regret it later."

   "Hey, Walter, you don't know, our first experience as a director was very difficult, and we overcame many hardships to get the opportunity. Today's directors are many times more difficult than our entry into the industry seven or eight years ago."

  Ronald knew that he chose scripts based on his dreams, but it was not because of his superior strength and vision. He told Walter another reason, that he was going to spend some time on the daydream low-budget movie.

"My assistant Emile Adolino when I was filming Dirty Dancing, he is actually very good. He can help me a lot on the set and arrange the dance scenes. Later, he also directed many commercials and MVs. But he is more Shy, never got the chance to direct a feature film.

  I called him several times, vouched for his quality, but couldn't convince the studio to hire him. When we entered the industry, we were recognized by big directors, and we usually got a little chance. "

  Ronald and Murch both encountered trust issues in their debut novels, but as soon as Spielberg and Lucas spoke, they were able to remove obstacles and let them finish the film. However, in today's Hollywood, affected by rising star remuneration and high investment costs caused by the Wall Street stock market crash, more and more studios find it difficult to trust inexperienced directors. They only want to invest in directors who have a track record of box office success.

  The low-cost movies led by Roger Coleman have gradually lost the drive-in theater market on which they depended. More and more open spaces in the suburbs have been built by real estate developers into high-end communities, or department stores and shopping centers.

If Daydream's videotape distribution business can be stabilized, then a group of talented screenwriters, directors and other talents can be gathered. The small one can make money for his company, the big one can bring fresh blood to Hollywood, and the future is also for himself Cultivate contacts.

"This is a good idea..." Murch nodded in agreement. Hollywood is an industry that relies on people. It is always a good thing to have a good reputation. "Your video business has grown, and I can go to your place too." Give a lecture."

   Ronald felt that he really seemed to be doing something very meaningful. Although the original intention was to make money for myself...the investment in Hollywood is too big now, and the risk is very high. Although small productions like video tapes can't make a lot of money, but fortunately, the water flows steadily, which is equivalent to finding a small base for my business.

  In the early 1980s, there was a window of opportunity for talented young people to enter the industry and become film directors. At that time, there were still many small production opportunities of two or three million dollars. Ronald felt that he was really lucky.

  The Chinese Ang Lee I met in college did not find a chance to enter the industry, and now I am still a director with a blank resume. After Ronald got in touch with him, the two had a long phone call and talked about their experiences after parting.

  After graduating from New York University, Ang Lee was picked up by William Morris' agency because of his student graduation work, and signed a contract to become a director. At the beginning, he shot some commercials and MVs, and then modified some works as a screenwriter, but he has never found a suitable movie script to direct himself.

   Missed the window of opportunity, and he wasted six years. If it weren't for his wife, Dr. Lin, who was looking for a doctorate at the university and working as a biology job to support the family, AngLee probably had to say goodbye to the Hollywood dream.

   Coupled with the birth of the eldest son, AngLee spent more time on the family. As a man, AngLee once wanted to switch careers to work in a computer company, but Dr. Lin told him not to change his dream. She fell in love with AngLee, a film director, not AngLee, a salesman in a computer company.

   Fortunately, this time Samuel Godwin Jr. was very satisfied with his script work, and he took a fancy to an English script he had been promoting for these years. AngLee will soon be able to direct a real Hollywood production.

  Ang Lee actually doesn’t like writing scripts. In order to become a director, he has to work out a few English scripts with a gritted teeth and find someone to polish them.

  The script that Godwin took a fancy to is called "Neon", which tells the story of a runaway prostitute.

This made Jr. Godwin, whose father liked to shoot this kind of black story, very fond of it. He also let Julia Roberts (Julia Roberts), who was the most temperamental among the three heroines in the last modern Cinderella (Mystic Pizza), continue to be a new film starring.

   It is expected that after the strike is over, AngLee will be able to realize his dream of being a director.

  Back to the editing room, Murch continued to torture Ronald for his thoughts on each shot while shooting. The two used a kind of non-verbal communication. First, they took turns watching the film on the editing machine, and then they each marked with a marker pen where they thought the knife should be cut.

  If the marks of the two people coincide, then they can reach a consensus. If they are not consistent, they need to cut twice to let the other party understand their ideas.

  But when this movie was filmed, Harrison Ford had a lot less performance space than the two heroines because of his restrictions on the role of Jack in the script. Many times, Murch had to ask Ronald what was going on.

"Harrison may not be happy after seeing the sample. He is a male vase in this movie." Walter Murch watched a conversation between Catherine and Tess in Catherine's house. After the play, just tell Ronald that. Harrison Ford's performance is really far behind.

   "This is what he stipulated. I told him a long time ago." Ronald smiled.

   "Did you do it on purpose?" Murch pushed his glasses. When Harrison was filming "Apocalypse Now", he was very willing to cooperate with Coppola. Now his salary is getting higher and higher, but his pursuit of acting skills is flat.

   "There is nothing... This is the premise of his willingness to act, that is, his role cannot be adapted in any way, and it must conform to the image of a star from the beginning to the end." Ronald quickly denied.

"Editors have the rules of editors, and everything that happens in the editing room stays in the editing room." Murch saw Ronald's insincere words, obviously using Harrison Ford, using him in the marketing The role in the film can also pray to set off the role of the heroine in the movie. "Working Girl" is, after all, a female-centric drama.

   "Shall I say two rosaries?" Ronald felt in the editing room as if he were a confessed Catholic, with Walter Murch as his priest. After doing bad things, confess to him, and you will be forgiven by the movie god.

   "Hi, Ronald, Walter..."

  Emile Adorino and Murch had worked together before, and he came over from the editing room next door to show Ronald the Brooke Shields commercial.

  This unlucky person, similar to AngLee, has never been given a chance. Ronald promised to give him a directing opportunity, but because of the current screenwriter's strike, it has become nowhere in sight.

   Fortunately, Adolino's mentality is not bad, and he has shot a lot of commercials for Ronald's Daydream, and his income is not a problem.

   Just in time to finish cutting a large roll of film with Murch, Ronald stuffed the videotape into the machine and watched Brooke Shields' Sony Walkman ad to relax.

   "Dang, Dangdang..." Brooke was wearing a costume that looked like the title of Columbia Studios, which is the symbol of America, the Statue of Liberty.

  The pure white skirt, the fragrant shoulder showing one side, and the charming long legs, danced to the fierce drumbeat. Her hands wore gloves with the American Stars and Stripes pattern, and kept opening and closing them.

  The lights on the background, flying behind her, cooperate with the dance, coupled with the continuous and rapid jumping and cutting in close-up close-ups, the music and lights have become part of the dance, and they cooperate to convey the charming charm of Brooke.

   Ronald turned his head to look at Emile Adolino in surprise. Through the exercise of commercials and MVs, he has a good control of the coordination of sound, picture, lighting, etc.

In addition, the makeup and stage art have been carefully designed, using large earrings and hairstyles to modify Brooke's somewhat wide chin, and the lighting in the close-up also borrowed the shadow of the hair to do magic to the face shape, as if Brooke was on the way again. Back to the appearance when he was sixteen years old.

   Ronald looked at Murch, and he also gave two thumbs up, indicating that this paragraph is very good.

   "Very good, let's submit it to Sony." Ronald nodded to Emil, because there is not enough script reserves, and there is no suitable movie for him for the time being. When the strike is over, I want to give him a chance to debut.

   "Then what, Fox gave me an editing guide today..." Walter Murch and Ronald continued editing the next day. At the beginning, Murch took a piece of paper and handed it to Ronald.

   "Out of respect for the union, we require all directors to comply with the following regulations on editing..."

   Ronald looked at it, and it seemed that the screenwriters union and the producer union were fighting for other unions, and it spread to all studios.

  Both labor and capital are not giving in to each other. The screenwriter would rather have no money to eat, but also must fight for his own rights. Ronald and several celebrity friends talked on the phone, and they were unwilling to offend the screenwriter at this time.

  If the reputation in the screenwriting group is bad, in the future when others deliberately write the script, they will make some plots that do not conform to their own image, which will affect the celebrity status.

  Of course, they will not come out to support the screenwriters for no reason. They all follow the trend. Under the instigation of some caring people, they donated money to the screenwriters union so that they can get some minimum wage during the strike.

  Another major battleground is the various other unions that belong to Hollywood. All the unions, the artistic Actors Guild, the casting directors, and the technical cinematographers, sets, props, all unions put pressure on the studios to put enough credit time and size in prominent places.

   "All the main creative personnel, and the director of the department, shall not appear in the opening title for less than 1.5 seconds, and the font shall not be smaller than XX..."

   "Such specific regulations? How did the Producers Union compromise so much?" Ronald saw that there were such specific regulations, and began to scold the Producers Union for compromising.

"You won't agree, right? If you do this, your opening scene will be ruined..." Murch thinks that art is the first. When editing "Apocalypse Now", the opening scene did not appear for a long time. It's time for Coppola not to bow to these rules.

Of course Ronald knew that if the opening shot of his desperate aerial photography was accompanied by Carly Simon's wonderful Wall Street Rhapsody, if lines of large font subtitles were inserted, the effect of the well-designed opening would be reduced by at least three points of two.

  However, Coppola made Apocalypse Now with his own money, and this working girl was made by 20th Century Fox. I still can't make my own decisions like him.

  Ronald and Murch quickly found the film and projected it on the screen, watching the first two-minute long shot repeatedly.

   "Can we place the subtitles in a position that does not affect the overall layout of the screen? Others meet the requirements, but let them appear on the screen at the position farthest from the focus of the eye."

  He remembered the attention magic that Murch taught him. Editing is to let the audience focus on the position you want them to look at, so that they will not pay attention to the exposed stuff outside the focus.

   Murch used this trick before, so that no one could see the goofy shots in the movie.

   "Hey, this is a solution, but it's better not to put subtitles." Murch said it was feasible. The audience will ignore those subtitles after watching it twice, but it is in full compliance with the regulations.

   "Now is the critical moment for the strike. If it is too tough, it may cause trouble. We will cut two versions to deal with the inspection, and then when making a copy, we can replace it with the version without subtitles." Ronald thought for a while and said.

   "Okay, you are the director, I will write down the specific requirements and ask the laboratory to produce two copies." Murch wrote down Ronald's request.

  The film will be released before the end of the year, in order to meet the nomination requirements for next year’s Oscars, and the production of the copy will be in the summer, so the strike should be over by then, right?

  (end of this chapter)