Exploiting Hollywood 1980

  Chapter 996 Can you act?

  The next morning, Ronald came out of Diane's rented mansion, stretched himself, and walked to the large yard at the entrance to bask in the sun. The house is facing a small lake in the town, and there is a small pier trestle at the end of the yard. This kind of house design makes people feel very comfortable, and the landlord even went to live with relatives, leaving privacy and safety to several actresses who participated in the show.

  They are all famous movie stars, singers, and entertainment reporters. There are always those who are particularly persistent and will sneak into the town to take secret photos.

   Fortunately, with the help of the screenwriter Harlem, the few rented houses are the ancestral property of the rich man. The suitable yard and trees can block the sneak shots of the telephoto lens.

"Good morning…"

Saying hello to Ronald, it's Diane's neighbors, Shirley McLean and Dolly Parton, who also occupy the best house on the left and right, see Ronald from Diane's door Come out and say hello to him as usual.

   "Good morning, ladies. How is your stay? If you have any requests, please ask me directly." Ronald greeted the two. These two MILFs are in bikinis and sunbathing by the river.

"It's very good, it's very comfortable here, but paparazzi come here from time to time, but luckily your people chased them away. But we don't dare to go too far, after all, it's hard to find with the telephoto lens of today's cameras. "Dolly Parton is very grateful to Ronald for giving her the opportunity to act in a movie. She is a singer and can only play this kind of role similar to her own experience.

"I said, if we all take off the nude, will there be any problems, Ronald?" Shirley McLean is a very direct person. Last night, there was a vague moan, which was transmitted to her walking the dog. In her ears, it really made her curious, so she teased her.

   "No problem, just causing traffic jams on the lake..."

"Hahaha..." Dolly and Shirley both laughed wildly (especially Dolly Parton, who is famous for her figure), Ronald is nice to speak, tall and handsome, talk to him like this Words are very pleasant.

   "What are you laughing at?" Diane yawned and walked out.

   "Puchi, hahaha..." Shirley Maclean started laughing again, she just couldn't sleep well because of the noise last night. This smile amused everyone, Ronald picked up the coffee in the thermos and gave Diane a cup.

"Ah, it's so sweet. The two of them are as sweet as molasses, like two closely linked vines, and they can't bear to be separated." The two middle-aged actresses began to boo, causing Diane to pick up the coffee cup and drink it in embarrassment. After drinking it, although it is instant coffee, it tastes really good.

  …

   "If Nora was still around, she would definitely not come to the crew to visit the crew when I started the machine. This is the most important part of filming, and all actors need this day to be suitable for the director..."

  A brief opening ceremony was held in the morning, and the director, Herbert Ross, was still chattering about his fiancée's bad behavior. This old man is really hypocritical. After his wife passed away, he planned to marry a new socialite wife in less than a year, and at the same time compared the new fiancée with the first wife, and listed one, two, or three points that she was not as good as Nora.

   "Coffee...", Ronald waved his hand, and the assistant brought the good coffee from the crew's coffee machine. After coming to the crew, Ronald, Diane and several actors confirmed that the director Herbert Ross was under a lot of mental pressure and had a bad attitude towards the actors during rehearsal.

  In order to alleviate the hormonal imbalance of the old man who was about to get married, Ronald put the coffee machine used by his assistants on the crew, so that Herbert could drink his favorite freshly brewed coffee at any time.

A mug of Americano gagged Herbert, who directed the first scene to the actors, a scene with Julia Roberts as the lead Shelby, with Sally Field as his mother, and Olympia as his friend. Dukakis, in a hair salon where Dolly Parton plays the proprietress, and Diane as a hair assistant, do wedding hairstyles for three women in a scene.

   This is the first time Shelby appears, and it also leads to the background of Shelby who has just got married and has severe diabetes. The scene of several women is very tight, and everyone's rehearsals in the past two weeks, as well as the training of the southern accent, are about to see the real chapter.

  Herbert Ross was born on the theater stage, and his director's philosophy is to shoot difficult scenes from the very beginning. In this way, the actors will be convinced of the director's scheduling and guidance, and if there are any bad actors, there will be time to replace them. Although it is not very good at changing roles when making movies, this habit is still preserved.

   "I want the camera to be here, give them a medium shot, and then start to pan the camera while going back, get to this position, and finally give a main shot to explain the environment and characters."

  Herbert Roth has his own views on photography. He did not use the usual Hollywood method of starting with the main shot and pushing it to the middle shot and even close-ups. He did the opposite. Start by explaining the two main characters, and then gradually introduce other characters in the camera, slowly zoom out, and then let the audience see the complete scene of the whole scene.

  Ronald nodded. Actually, this kind of technique is not used too much in Hollywood. Herbert Ross obviously made full preparations, and every move was very rigorous. With such a director, I can rest assured.

  He left the set to pick up a Coca-Cola marketing director. It's not far from Atlanta, the headquarters of Coca-Cola. Ronald reached out to them and secured over a million dollars in sponsorship.

  In this movie, there are a lot of Coca-Cola in the wedding and after the airport party scene. However, the protagonist does not have any close-up shots of cola, and cola is not an important prop, so the price of placing advertisements is not too expensive. This is the result of their bidding with PepsiCo.

   "In today's scene, you will see glass bottles of Coke in the refrigerator and on the table. There will be more shots in the wedding scene later." Ronald explained to the visitors.

"We are very honored to be able to cooperate with you again, Director Li. In fact, we have selection criteria for this kind of advertising placement. As long as it is a work produced or directed by you, we will be happy to invest. Most importantly, don't let Pepsi Appeared in the movie."

  The executive of Coke said with a smile that now there is some consensus among the senior management of Coke. The decision to acquire Columbia did not bring any synergy to the group. Instead of spending a lot of money on Columbia Pictures every year, it is better to sell them and spend money on these directors who have box office guarantees. The effect of placing advertisements is good.

   "I don't know Ronald, do you usually drink Coca-Cola or Pepsi?"

"Ah, hahaha... I think Coca-Cola is a product that represents the spirit of America. So I am honored to be able to appear in the movie. As for normal times, I still mainly drink Coca-Cola, and only in KFC, I will drink Pepsi. "

   "Hahaha..." The executives understood the meaning. In America, McDonald's and Coca-Cola are partners, while KFC is Pepsi.

   "Actually, I am more optimistic about your business. I also invested in some Coca-Cola stocks."

Ronald smiled and took the other party to watch the shooting, "At that time, we will stand behind the camera and don't make any noise, so as not to affect the shooting... The director is the biggest on the set, and I can only stand behind and watch as the producer. No matter how big a star is, he still has to listen to the director on set..."

   "Action!"

   After more than half an hour, Herbert finally adjusted his position, and he began to officially shoot the first indoor shot of "Steel Magnolia".

   "What's the main color of your wedding?" Dolly Parton dressed as a hairdresser and blond Julia Roberts did her hair.

   "It's rose red and light red..." When Julia Roberts said this with a southern accent, her mouth was wide open, a kind of immediate joy for the bride-to-be, as if overflowing from the depths of her heart.

   "This chick's acting skills are average, but this affinity is really strange." Ronald rubbed his chin and evaluated there.

  Julia Roberts does not have enough training in acting. In many places, she does not have the sense of layering and rhythm that should be expressed. But that kind of heartfelt joy cannot be performed by many professional actors.

   This is talent, she acts naturally, and the audience will like to watch it. Who would care about the mood of her talking to her mother with a little girl who is about to be a bride?

   "It's pink, pink." Sally Field's acting skills are much more restrained. She was also a very talented actress when she was young, but when she got older, she became more and more proficient. He accurately grasped the mother's blaming on the surface, but she was actually showing off.

  Sally Field is also tied with a lot of plastic rolls on her head, waiting for a big wave in the back. The hair assistant who did her hair was played by Diane.

  Looking at Diane's skillful gestures, Ronald couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth. This is Sally Field's successor, with spirituality, acting skills, and hard work. She took the hairpin off Sally Field's head, and then put it on the clothes naturally, which was the most natural action of the hair stylist.

  This action is more professional than Michelle Pfeiffer's shampoo girl in "Married into a Gangster".

   "Cut! Cut!"

   Just when Ronald was admiring Diane's acting skills, Herbert Ross stopped the shooting dissatisfied.

"I've told you so many times in rehearsals. Shelby is an independent woman, but she wouldn't be so fierce with her mother. This is the South, the South, don't you Yankee Make a pie and bring it in."

"It doesn't seem so serious, does it?" Ronald thought. Maybe southern women are less straightforward, but Shelby is the daughter of a rich family. Sometimes she acts like a big city girl in the north. .

  Julia Roberts was almost in tears from his fierce tears, and tears welled up in her two big eyes.

   "Sorry, director, I'll do it again." She quickly collected her emotions and prepared to shoot again.

   "Director, she didn't mean it...don't be cruel to her..." Dolly Parton naturally likes everyone to be happy, and she can't see such things, so she came up to smooth things over.

   "And you, Dolly. You play the lady owner of a hair salon, not a country singer, this is a service industry, not a star. You are the one who pleases the customers, not the customers who please you..."

   My character had done Shelby's mother's hair for years, and they were more like best friends. "The singer Dolly Parton lost her temper, and directly "discussed" with Herbert Ross, "Hmph...how about you show me how to please customers?" "

"Sometimes, when encountering difficulties on the set, the actors will also have some 'professional discussions' with the director on acting." Ronald hurriedly talked to the executives of Coca-Cola, accompanied him out with his assistant, and took the car to the airport . Sponsors saw this kind of on-set brawl, and it wasn't very nice.

   "According to what I said, let's do it again. You must act according to the script, don't add your own scenes, don't change the lines in the script... don't change a single punctuation mark..."

   Ronald, who came back, happened to see that Herbert Ross had finished directing the actress and started the second filming.

   "Action!"

   Now Julia Roberts did exactly what the director asked. The strong appeal of that talent is gone.

   Ronald frowned, every word fits the line, is it that important? Besides, it is a very rare talent to be able to express such true feelings. If I were to shoot, I would definitely use the one Roberts just made.

   Forget it, forget it, I don’t direct. Besides, it can be made up in the editing room later.

  Ronald was about to watch, when suddenly Herbert Ross stopped again.

   "Cut!"

   "What's the matter with you? Why don't you put in a little emotion, I let you follow the lines, not make you a puppet, what is the difference between you and a tape recorder that repeats the lines of the script?"

   "I'm sorry, director." Julia Roberts was even more at a loss, she lowered her head, tears were about to come out.

  Sally Field, and Olympia Dukakis are both working with Herbert Ross for the first time, and they are very unimpressed by this rigid directing method. Diane also went to comfort Julia Roberts.

"Still crying? What's the point of crying, I'm crying... Ronald, I said Ronald", Herbert Ross turned to Ronald, "Can you give me Michelle Pfeiffer Get it back? I really can't keep filming. Such a vase has no acting skills, how can I play Shelby well?"

   "Wow..." Julia Roberts was said to be a vase with no acting skills by Herbert. She couldn't help it anymore and cried out loud.

"That's enough, Herbert, can you show some respect to us women? There is something you can talk about, and don't insult our personality." Dolly Parton couldn't bear it anymore, and walked up to Herbert Ross Putting his hands on his hips, he criticized his attitude.

"Do you think you are so good? You are also a vase with no acting skills. Can you act?" Herbert Ross was still dissatisfied with Dolly's acting method, and his anger had not subsided. She said again.

   "Of course I can't act...", Dolly Parton stared, "But you are the director, and it's your job to make me look like I can act!"

   "Get out, you Bi..." Herbert Ross uttered obscenities, pointed at Dolly Parton and cursed away. How can an actor now make irresponsible remarks to the director? The world has really changed. How could any actor dare to talk back to him when his wife Nora was still there?

   "You have to respect us, Herbert", Shirley McLean also came up to speak for the actress, such a director is too much.

"Herbert, you have to respect us. Actors and directors work together. We don't work for you. When you see Ronald directing my play, he never tells me what to do. He is very We respect our improvisation and the chemistry between the actors." Olympia Dukakis is not interested in such a director, how lucky he was to meet Ronald.

   "My God," Herbert Ross put the guide tube aside, "Ronald, can't you find me some women who can act?"

   "Herbert, let's talk..." Ronald began to think about how to deal with the aftermath when the few people quarreled just now.

  He couldn't directly refute Herbert Ross in the crew, because that would cause the loss of the director's authority. But this kind of bullying guidance method can't let Ross continue to use it.

   This movie relies on the chemistry between several actresses. If you let them play exactly according to Roth's idea, it doesn't mean that it will not work, but a great work may become mediocre.

  Ronald let Herbert Ross and himself go to the trailer outside the field. Once in the car, Ronald slammed the door shut.

"What the **** is wrong with you? Why are you insulting them in person? These actors are Oscar nominees and winners, and have a wealth of acting experience. Dolly Parton and that newcomer Roberts are also very talented in acting , you are dissatisfied, why are you scolding people?"

"You are the only one who is wrong? Why can actors contradict the director? If you make movies like this? Boy, let me teach you what a director should do. In a movie, no actress is irreplaceable. Can you Don't let them push you to the limit..."

"First! Except for Julia Roberts, everyone's salary is no lower than yours. In this project, their contribution to the box office is no lower than yours!" Ronald was furious, this Ross, why is he still a stubborn old man? ?

"Second, they either have Oscar statuettes or Golden Globe winners. In the crew, you are not the most authoritative one in art! You are right. In the movie, no one is unworthy Alternatives, including you, Herbert."

"But I'm all for the movie being good, Ronald. The script of this movie is very good, and I really want to make it my most satisfying work. He will be famous in the history of the film." Ross heard Ronald say so , his tone softened. I still have to wait for the salary to beg my wife, a large amount of expenses, if I am fired now, it will be troublesome.

   "I'm glad you think so, Herbert. Sometimes, for actors like Dolly and Julia who haven't received enough training, it's not necessarily a bad thing to let them improvise more."

   Ronald heaved a sigh of relief. Before signing the contract, the director was strong. After signing the contract, it depends on the producer. Get out if you don’t obey, you don’t have a penny, and you will be held accountable for the project losses you caused. If you are more ruthless, you will be put on Hollywood’s blacklist and you will not be able to shoot for several years.

   "You have to go back and apologize to Dolly...and Julia," Ronald said.

   "What? Don't be like this... Ronald, do you want me to make a fool of yourself?" Herbert Ross had already succumbed, but he was unhappy when he heard that he was going to apologize. He apologized to the actors. How will he gain a foothold in the crew in the future? What do the other actors think? Will you be dissatisfied with yourself?

   "Privately, I don't care what you say, let them feel that you have no personal grievances with them other than professional...OK?"

"All right…"

  Herbert Ross bowed his head helplessly.

   After chatting privately with the two actors for a while, Herbert Ross adjusted his attitude and continued filming.

  Several actors have returned to a good state. Without such face-to-face insults, they played more relaxedly, and relaxation will bring more inspiration.

   "Cut! This print, passed..."

  Herbert Ross gave the director of photography a pass gesture, and everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. In addition to being hot-tempered and swearing, in fact, the level of director Ross is still very good.

  Diane even winked at Ronald, meaning that you made Ross lose his temper, really amazing!

   Ronald gave her a look back. However, I can't stay in the crew for too long. To straighten out the relationship, let Di Andy prepare more. I don't want to get in the way of such a good opportunity to play with the actresses.

  …

   "Mr. President is waiting for you..."

  The marketing executive of Coca-Cola returned to the Atlanta headquarters and was called to a meeting by the president's secretary.

  In the conference room, President Donald Keogh was having a meeting with the chief financial officer and several vice presidents. He nodded when he came in.

   "How is it? Do you think that changing our investment methods in the film and television industry will affect Coca-Cola's exposure and penetration?" President Donald Keogh is a Midwesterner with Irish descent. Since becoming president in 1981, he has led Coca-Cola to overcome the challenge of PepsiCo, and now the business is booming.

"As long as we can continue to sponsor Ronald Lee, a blockbuster director like Spielberg, and push Pepsi out of Hollywood's mainstream screens, I don't think the influence will be inferior to the influence we have with Columbia. "

   "Got it", Donald Keogh nodded, the key is that Columbia loses money every year. Instead of this, it is better to use this part of the money as a sponsorship and sell the film company for a good price.

   "We were in a meeting, and our chief financial officer made an astonishing discovery." Donald Keogh motioned for the CFO to repeat the question.

  "After the stock market crash in 1987, our stock price is 25% lower than the price before the crash", and there has been no particularly large turnover rate. However, some people have been quietly buying in large quantities recently. What we have now has at least 500 million in equity. "

"Find out to me who is buying our stock. It has already touched the minimum disclosure limit stipulated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission. I want to find out who is going to take over our Coca-Cola hostilely." Donald Keogh viciously He said that in 1981, some people saw that Coca-Cola was overtaken by PepsiCo at that time and wanted to buy it at a low price because of its market share.

  (end of this chapter)