Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 160 Workers Pickets

"The Screen Actors Union Announces Strike, Three Films Filming In New York Stopped Because The Stars Didn't Show Up."

Ronald looked at the cover title of "Backstage" magazine on the newsstand, bought it too, rolled it with "Variety Show" and "The Hollywood Reporter", and took it back to the apartment.

Instead of being resolved at the last minute, as Shields' mother Terry had hoped, the strike broke out.Each TV station began to report the news that happened in their own homes, and their language was relatively restrained.

Newspapers and magazines are less discreet, with gossip and interviews all over the place.Perhaps because of the distance from Hollywood, the studio's control over the media was not in place, and three major productions in New York were suspended, and they were picked out.

Worst of all was "Rich and Famous," a film starring Jacqueline Bissett and Candice Bergen, which turned on the day before the strike, and the second The two beauties did not appear on the set directly.Angry director Robert Mulligan resigned on the spot.

I heard that Jacqueline Bisset invested in the film and was willing to lose her own money in order to strike.

Fortunately, because I didn't want to be an actor, I didn't join the actors' union.Ronald secretly thanked himself, watching Good Morning America while eating a sandwich and scrambled eggs he bought from McDonald's.

Dining with him was agent Eddie Cohen.The two were going to meet Calvin Klein first, contact Brooke Shields, and discuss the shooting of commercials.

"These people are really crazy. In order to strike, they are willing to lose money?"

"That's not it, Ronald." Eddie put down his knife and fork, took a sip of water, "The strike is temporary, and Jacqueline's so-called investment only accounted for a very small proportion, and the big loss was still in the manufacturing industry." studio."

"But isn't this irresponsible for the filming? How much money will the production crew stop for a day? Besides, the strike is still far away. I don't know when it will end."

"Anyway, it's not my own money. If you don't abide by the union's regulations, you'll end up quitting the union or being fired from the union. Even a star can't bear such consequences. The actors' insurance, calculation and acquisition of follow-up remuneration are all done by the union. I'm helping out.

Actors who are not members of the union will be greatly restricted in the employment of the crew. For a movie, it will increase the trouble in the future artistic career. There may only be one person in Hollywood who can do this. "

"Who is it?" Ronald wondered, wanting to get to know this great man.

"Who else? George Lucas. He was dissatisfied with the rules of the directors' union. He had to put the credits at the beginning of the film, and insisted that the opening credits of Star Wars have no credits, so he quit the directors' union. But that's because he With the copyright of Star Wars, there is nothing to worry about."

Tsk, powerful people can do whatever they want in Hollywood.Ronald thought, and drove to Calvin Klein's studio with Eddie.

……

"I'm afraid Brooke Shields' mother is not so easy to give in. I asked friends in the industry. Terry is famous for being greedy and protecting her daughter like a hen." Calvin Klein sat on a chair, facing Ronald Talk to Eddie.

Calvin's studio maintains his consistent style, focusing on simplicity.Large floor-to-ceiling glass windows, interior decoration and furniture made of steel rods and wood panels, look very modern and Bauhaus.

The only problem is that it's not comfortable to sit on.Ronald adjusted his sitting posture, and it really didn't feel as good as his own sofa.

"That's right, but I got inside information that the strike will last at least a month, so Terry has to face the reality, she will panic. It will cut the price of her daughter's film salary, which gives us a chance to take advantage of this vacancy Later, persuade her to shoot some commercials for her daughter.

I'm afraid that this is the only chance for Brooke Shields' advertising remuneration to be reduced to what you expected.After filming Endless Love, her worth may go up all the way. "

Calvin pondered for a moment, "What you said is right, Ronald. In the beginning, a large number of actors will accept commercials at reduced prices, but after a long time, the advertising companies will realize that the real appeal is still the original one. Those who are suitable for filming commercials. At that time, Brooke Shields' worth will recover, or even rise."

"We're all going to meet her and her mother later, and Terry cares a lot about being respected," Eddie added.

"Good morning, Ms. Shields. Good morning, Brooke." Ronald stood at the door, welcoming Brooke Shields and her mother.

"Hello, we meet again." Terry recognized Ronald, "Are you still going to direct the commercial?" It seemed that Ronald didn't have enough coffee.

"Yes, I'm Ronald. If you agree with Brooke to shoot the Kelvin jeans commercial, I will be the director of the commercial." In case Terry forgot his name, Ronald quickly introduced himself to him again, " I also directed the Hershey Chewels commercial."

"Hello Terry." Calvin Klein came over to greet Terry and Brooke, and they performed the fashion industry kiss.

Ronald looked at his hands, do you want to change your handshake habit in the future?

An hour later, the two parties had no objection on the creative idea of ​​the ad and the shooting schedule, but Terry refused to lower the price, and she and Calvin were still talking about Brooke Shields' worth in the room alone.

Ronald and Brooke wait outside.Brooke Shields picked up various fashion magazines on the table, flipped through them and put them down again, as if this girl had grown taller recently.According to the mother's instruction, the two long legs sat with their knees together like a lady.

Calvin's chairs are not very suitable for tall people. Brooke can't find a comfortable posture. After changing it a few times, she still returns to the old posture.She is wearing a white silk shirt today, beige trousers mixed with linen, and flat sandals, which are very tasteful.

Ronald couldn't help thinking of Diane Lane watching TV with his legs hooked on the arm of the sofa at his aunt's house.It is also a single-parent family with a performing arts girl, and the two are about the same age. The father and mother have different ways of disciplining their daughters.

Burt gave Diane a lot of freedom, while Terry dominated all the details of Brooke's life.

Perhaps Ronald's smile misunderstood Brooke, and the girl said, "Do you have any thoughts on my jeans commercial? I heard that you are the director."

When her mother was away, Brooke's voice was different, a little shrill, maybe Terry also had demands on her daughter.

Ronald looked at Brooke Shields who was trying to put on an adult look, and replied with a smile, "My job is equivalent to an executor, mainly to realize Calvin's ideas in the camera, and he is leading the entire advertisement."

"Of course, how to express your characteristics is also the focus of my work." Ronald added after seeing Brooke listening carefully to his speech.

"If you were shooting, what would your creativity be?" Brooke Shields obviously didn't want to let Ronald go, and began to seriously discuss the advertisement with him.

Ronald glanced at the meeting room, the door was still closed, "Purely a hypothetical discussion, if it were me, I would shoot some scenes of you playing various sports, showing that CK jeans are close-fitting and embellishing women's curves, Also suitable for everyday wear.”

"I like your creativity. I'll buy a pair of jeans ads when I see them." Brooke Shields chatted about her favorite topic, broke her skills in an instant, gave up her ladylike posture, and sat over to Ronald. Point, also raised a leg.

"Let me tell you, those commercials are very uncomfortable to shoot. Some of the clothes are specially made, and they are not the same as what they sell in the store. I have to maintain a posture for a long time. Fortunately, I was trained by my mother since I was a child. Those photographers They all love taking pictures of me."

The door opened with a click, and Calvin and Terry came out. Ronald turned his head and saw that the two of them had no expressions on their faces. For a moment, he didn't know whether the negotiation was completed or not.

"Swipe", when Brooke Shields saw her mother, she instantly returned to her ladylike state, with her waist straight, her legs and knees together, and her feet leaning to one side.

"Ms. Shields, I will contact Brooke's agent, and I hope we can set a shooting schedule as soon as possible." Calvin Klein and Terry hugged again, this time saying goodbye.

"Ronald, it's nice to see you again." Terry stretched out his hand, breaking Ronald's idea of ​​changing it into a hug etiquette.

"It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Shields." Politely shook hands with Terry to say goodbye, and they watched the mother and daughter leave.

"How?" Eddie was more anxious than Ronald.

"She agreed, and I will find her agent to sign. But the shooting schedule has not yet been set, and Terry still has hope for endless love..."

It seems that with such a star mother, it will not be too pleasant to deal with.Ronald felt that Calvin's face was a bit ugly, and it seemed that the price was not low.

……

New York University's final exam has been completed, and Ronald feels that there is no problem. The summer school also offers a lot of courses, and those who want to get credits can choose not to take classes during the holiday.The course selection for summer courses is relatively easy, and you can take elective courses from other colleges.

But Ronald was not interested. He had already agreed with Walter Murch of the San Francisco Diorama Company that he would take a real editing course there after a while and work as his assistant.

On this day, Martin Scorsese called Ronald and asked him to talk about the final assignment.

"I didn't expect you to write a film review like this, Ronnie. You amaze me that Hollywood generally celebrates the groundbreaking of Hitchcock's 'Psycho' and you think he copied Orson Welles' 'Touch of Evil' piece."

"Actually, I prefer to use the word plagiarism. The heroine is Janet Leigh. Wells' use of her obviously gave Hitchcock a lot of inspiration. And his use of black and white film light and shadow is also Inspired many important passages of Hitchcock."

"I'm not trying to argue with you, Ronald. I gave you an A+ for this final paper."

"Thank you, Professor."

"You have some original ideas. In this industry, most people follow what others say, and only a few people have their own ideas. You must stick to it." Scorsese encouraged Ronald.

"How's your new film going, Professor."

"Hey, the work was suspended, and it was affected by the strike."

"What? Isn't your film already undergoing post-editing? Is there a shot that needs to be re-shot."

"No, I was followed by workers' pickets."

It turned out that in addition to the two major actors' unions, the head of the strike, Ed Asner, also mobilized the American Musicians Association to participate in the strike.An important part of the film and television post-production is the soundtrack.The strike of the Musicians Association has forced many film and television dramas that have been filmed and transferred to later stages to stop work.

They also organized more than 500 musicians and "music staff" to form a worker picket team to inspect the soundtrack studios of major studios. When they saw someone doing the soundtrack, they stepped forward to stop them. Put the work abroad and let real musicians go abroad to make music.

Scorsese did not get United Artists' budget, and workers' pickets found his home to stop the soundtrack and sound editing, so the work had to be temporarily suspended.

"This is to force the management to submit." Ronald said.

"That's right, the finished film can't be post-production. Asner and the others want all theaters to have no new films to show in a month, forcing the Producers Association to make concessions."

"This guy is really a fighter..."

"Yeah, maybe my movie will have to be postponed for another year, and it won't be able to keep up with the Oscars in 80."

But in this case, isn't "Blue Coral Reef" going to make a lot of money?Ronald thought that there were no new films, and the theaters had to extend the time for showing the films now to save the day.

It's a pity that Fame has already been screened, so I didn't get this wave of bonuses.

(End of this chapter)