Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 287 Beautification Filter Failed

Francis Coppola's evaluation of Ronald was passed from Tanin to CAA's agent, and from the agent to Ronald's ears.

"What does he mean? What does it mean to get rid of the shackles as soon as possible?" Ronald was not calm, and thought that the "fast pace" was an excellent shot. Why did Coppola say that?It is suggested that Ronald should get rid of this commercial film shooting mode as soon as possible.

"I don't know either, it's just that Tanin said it casually." Nisita replied, "If you really mind his evaluation, I can help you find out."

"Okay, thank you. Hey, what, can you contact Coppola?" Ronald looked at Nisita.

"Coppola is looking for a distributor for his new movie, and all the agents in Hollywood are playing a game called 'Guess who finds Francis first?' Whoever gets him a distribution contract gets to sign it His financial covenant."

Ronald looked at the smile on the corner of Nisita's mouth, "You want to sign him? You helped him find Ned Tanin from Universal?"

"No, Simberg and Tanin both refused." Nisita did not disclose more information, "Francis and I are both Italian, and now I and WMA's Ed Limato are leading this game for the time being.

"Then I wish you success." Ronald felt that his agent was close to signing one of the most successful directors in America. If he succeeded, he would have more resources, but whether the allocation to himself would increase or not. It's hard to say.

"You and I will go to the premiere of Coppola's new film. He knows you and wants to thank you in person for giving his nephew Nicholas a chance." Nisita took out an invitation card for the premiere of "Old Love, New Love" and handed to Ronald.

"Okay, thank you. I will go." Ronald took the invitation, and he was about to ask Coppola what he meant by saying this in person.

The next afternoon, Ronald was in his hotel suit, when the news came on the television, "Lee Strasburg, famous actor, acting coach, and founder of Actors Studio, passed away of a heart attack last night. His third wife, Anna, and her two sons are by the bedside..."

Ronald glanced at the TV. This old man who was well-known among the public because he became Marilyn Monroe's acting teacher, but the people in the circle knew that he was of average level died.

He turned his head to look at himself in front of the full-length mirror again. He was a vigorous young man with a trimmed beard, adding a bit of maturity to his youthful face.

Ronald discovered that there was a reason directors liked to grow beards.On the one hand, it can appear mature and make actors more convinced of their own guidance.On the other hand, when working on the set, the director often has the least rest time, and the beard can be left alone for a long time.

"Francis, let me introduce you to Ronald." Nisita immediately introduced him to Coppola after seeing Ronald at the premiere.

Not many people came to the premiere of "Old Love, New Love", perhaps because Coppola had a falling out with the original distributor, Paramount, and rushed to find a relationship with Columbia. "

"Ronald, I watched your new movie, it's a good shot, thank you for giving Nick a chance."

"Thanks, Mr. Coppola. It's not the first time we've met. I was in Roger Corman's company a few years ago and went to see your test screening of 'Apocalypse Now.' I loved that Movie."

"Ah, that was years ago. Thanks for coming to the premiere."

Coppola was busy, Nisita gave him a wink, and Ronald hugged and shook hands with other guests who attended the premiere.

"Hello, Natasha." I saw Natasha Kinski dressed up again.Kinski's hair is much longer than it was at last year's Golden Globes.

"Hi, Ronald, I haven't seen you for a long time. I heard that your new film will be released?" Natasha Kinski stared at Ronald for a long time, and heard some words between him and Coppola .The box office of the new film is estimated to be poor, and its debut in Hollywood is not successful, so I have to find another opportunity.

"Yes, it's a teen comedy."

"I wish you success." Kinski heard that she had lost interest in youth comedies. She had always cooperated with big directors in "author's films", and she didn't want to participate in such fast food movies that didn't pay attention to acting skills.

The screening begins shortly after Coppola's brief speech.

"Old Love, New Love" tells the story of a pair of lovers in Las Vegas. They separated because of an hour's quarrel on the anniversary.

But at the last moment when the woman was about to leave his hometown, the two parties still felt that their old lovers were good, and they finally got together again.

Ronald had conflicted feelings about the movie.On the one hand, this film does have many innovative techniques, which are worthy of careful study by a professional director like Ronald, especially the use of color.

For example, for the first time in a movie, the accumulated water on the ground was used to reflect the neon lights of Las Vegas, making the ground also emit colorful lights.

Another example is to use color to suggest the mood of the protagonist.When you are in a bad mood, the entire screen is covered in blue, and when you are in a good mood, it is a cheerful orange. Even the faces of the actors are covered in color.

Ronald has never seen this method in other movies. As an insider, he understands what Coppola wants to express.Use colors to suggest the mood of the audience characters, and directly convey an emotion without using lines and expressions.

This technique is very powerful, but this is also where Ronald is contradictory.

An old-fashioned story about an old lover after watching it for a while was made into a kind of artistic musical.Will the general audience really like it?Some viewers may not have felt Coppola's deep meaning, but may feel that the lighting is wrong.

Ronald himself quite likes it, because Coppola has a kind of magical power to make the sound and the picture match, and he can feel the emotions of the actors, like a fountain, rushing toward him.

After watching the movie, Ronald waited for a while, and found Coppola with Nisita.

Coppola also seemed to understand that "Old Love, New Love" is not very popular with ordinary audiences. Most people who participated in it didn't feel much, and not many people even came to congratulate politely.

"Mr. Coppola, I like this movie very much. He made me feel the turbulent emotions, surging and erupting like an undercurrent."

"Ah, Ronald, thank you for liking my movie..." Coppola came over and put his arms around him, and said to Nisita, "Is this good guy also our Italians? No? Italians rarely have such tall, blond hair Yes, there are some in Sicily..."

Coppola opened a bottle of red wine brewed by his own estate in the lounge, and gave Ronald and Nisita two glasses.

"Rick told me your evaluation of my film, Mr. Coppola. Can I ask you for advice, do you mean that I want to get rid of the old mode of making movies as soon as possible?" Ronald held a glass of wine and asked Coppola Ask for advice.

"Have a chocolate to drink with it, my boy. It's our Italian product."

Ronald took a piece of chocolate from the table and drank it with red wine, which also had a special taste.

"I can see that you know what Roger Coleman does. I also worked as an assistant for him, washing cars, picking up children, editing films, doing soundtracks, and receiving various trainings... Only then did I become a director for the first time Opportunity." Coppola also brought a piece of chocolate, and said slowly to Ronald.

"The advantage of learning how to make a film in this way is that you can quickly become familiar with the knowledge of all aspects of the film. But this knowledge does not require long training. Commanding these technical experts from various departments to achieve the purpose you want to express can only It's the director's job."

Ronald knew the meaning of Coppola's words, but he didn't quite understand what he meant.

"Mr. Coppola, what do you mean?"

"After your movie was cut, how long have you not watched it yourself?"

"I haven't watched it for almost two weeks. The last time was a test screening with an audience."

"You watch it again tomorrow and pay attention to the performance and emotional intensity of the actors between each shot."

Ronald wanted to ask again, but Nisita shook his head slightly at him.

"Rick, is there any progress on my new film? You have also seen the situation today." Coppola began to chat with Nisita about the distribution contract of the new film.

"Universal got Steven's ET, Columbia is in turmoil, we are now most likely Warner Bros. Their president Robert Daly just went to Warner from CBS TV, just in time for a big production from a big director... "

Ronald went to the Globe the next day and asked to see "fast-paced Richmond High" again.

After two weeks of cooling down, the original perfect "trans-epochal masterpiece" became "full of loopholes" in Ronald's eyes.

The biggest problem with the film is that the performances of the actors depend on everyone's live performance.There was no problem when watching it live, but when it was edited together, there was a mismatch of emotional intensity.

For example, Jennifer Jason Lee was very full of emotions when he struck up a conversation with a handsome guy at the pizza shop, but the intensity was not enough during the date, and the level of happiness on the first date was not as strong as when he struck up a conversation.

When Phoebe Cates cries to her friends at her prom about being dumped by her "boyfriend," it should contain the panic of being caught lying, but Phoebe doesn't act as strongly as she does every time she brags to her friends.

Ronald covered his face from time to time, why didn't he find these problems when he was filming and editing?
Maybe there is indeed a kind of filter when viewing my own works, which tends to beautify my own creations.

And if there are any honest friends around to point it out, only after waiting for a period of time to cool down, can we get rid of the influence of the beautifying filter.

"Why didn't you tell me when you saw the test screening?" Ronald finally caught Nisita the next day and called to complain. Investing money in self-improvement."

"Relax, the audience may not notice these problems. This is just a youth comedy, the audience will not care about these performance problems, they like the whole story." Nisitari replied.

"I hope so. You're right, it's just an exploitation film. I kind of get what Coppola means. Exploitation films have short production cycles and don't have time to hone their actors' skills.

I'm now curious about how he handles acting, his 'Old Love, New Love' isn't very good looking, but his handling of acting and channeling the emotions of the audience is really top notch. "

"Hahaha...don't tell him that, old love and new love have a bad opening performance, Valentine's Day weekend only less than 40 at the box office, theaters are about to withdraw his movie."

"Okay, Rick. I remember you saying that Coppola's new film has a trainee director program, and I want to see how he makes it. Can you help me get it?"

"This is a project of the directors' union. Francis also has to compete for a decision according to the rules. He will interview several candidates. I will put your name in the final round of interviews."

"What's the story of his new movie?"

"S.E. Hinton's debut novel, based on her 17-year-old 'Urchin'".

(End of this chapter)