Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 332 Don't Stop the Camera
Tulsa itself has no labs. Negatives for "The Urchin" had to be sent to the nearest Warner Bros. laboratory in Dallas, Texas for processing.

Every two days, the filmed negatives will be sent to the laboratory, developed into samples, and then sent back. The crew will rent a movie theater in the small town of Tulsa at night to play these samples.

Due to limited conditions, the routine of watching samples every day has also become once every two days.

What was showing on the screen that day was the emotional scene of the three brothers filmed at Ma Zai's house.

Patrick Switz, who plays the big brother, is actually thirty.Playing the 20-year-old big brother is quite convincing.Although he was old and his face was a little wrinkled, he was full of male hormones and explosive, and he still looked like a young man.

After being beaten up by the elder brother, Ma Zai, played by C. Thomas Hall, slept on the same bed with the second elder brother soda pop in the bedroom, and the two talked to each other.

This conversation was actually filmed over two days.On the first day we filmed a talking scene of Howle's Mazi, and on the second day we filmed a talking scene of Rob Lowe's second brother soda pop.

The unedited sample was drawn across the big screen. Ronald looked at the picture without synchronized dialogue, and could only use his imagination to understand the scene of the dialogue between the two after the final edit.

But sometimes, there is no dialogue, but the audience can focus on the facial expressions of the actors.

Ronald looked at the close-up pictures of the two actors on the screen. From the beginning to the development, the process of being stimulated by each other, reacting to each other, and stimulating each other in turn can be said to be very vivid.

Coppola didn't have much scheduling or interference on the scene, but the performances of the two were very consistent.

"How did he do it?" Ronald blurted out when he saw this.

"What?" Sitting next to Ronald was Diane Lane and his father Bert.

"I mean, how did Coppola make the emotional progression of their dialogue so well-timed? It was obviously filmed in two days?" Ronald remembered that Bert had been an acting coach before he drove a taxi, so he simply asked for advice.

"Didn't they rehearse for two weeks? On the last day, they rehearsed every scene in the two-hour script in sequence from beginning to end without stopping?"

Bert looked at Ronald, but wondered why the other party didn't understand this.

"Ronald, you haven't formally studied acting, have you?"

"No."

"The continuity of the performance depends on the rehearsal.

Especially for film performances, every scene is divided. You said a word, and the counterparts may have to wait for two weeks to shoot.Therefore, the main purpose of the rehearsal before shooting is to solve the problem of scale in the performance.

The non-stop rehearsal on the last day allowed each character to have a deep understanding of their own scenes and their role in the whole plot, so that they can mobilize their emotional memory during the rehearsal when they are officially filming, knowing that this scene should be Give how much emotion.

When the final edits were made together, the emotions of the actors matched naturally. "

"So that's the case." Ronald didn't expect the answer to be so simple.No wonder Coppola had to rehearse each scene in the order of the script during the previous rehearsal.

The official shooting is not in order, but the rehearsal is strictly in accordance with the order of each scene.

In this way, each actor can know the development trajectory of his character, the role of each scene in the plot of the whole movie, and the development of the characters, so that the actors can have a good idea when shooting.

How much force should this sentence use?How sad and resentful should this crying scene be?Does this scene need to explode suddenly, or will it happen naturally?All performance scales and proportions are resolved in rehearsals.

"How did you deal with this problem when you were a director?" Burt looked at Ronald.

"I don't know, just shoot hard."

Ronald didn't know how the "fast pace" was shot.There is no overall rehearsal plan, especially the non-stop rehearsal at the end, no wonder I am so embarrassed to see my own director's play on the big screen, making people cover their faces and want to reshoot.

"Hollywood..." Bert muttered, and fell silent.Roger Corman may be able to train directors who make money-making movies, but he can never train masters.

"I still have a question. Every time we rehearse and perform, the actors are actually consuming freshness. Why are they still full of emotions when they are actually filming?"

Ronald found the problem again.When I am directing, the first or second emotion is often the most natural and full.If you want to shoot the third, fifth, tenth... the actors will start to get tired.They can no longer show the fullness of emotion that they had at the beginning.

So sometimes even though the first one is flawed, it will still be used because of the wonderful performance.

"Actual shooting is still different from rehearsal." Burt replied, and then leaned closer to Ronald's ear, "Also, didn't you find that Coppola is letting actors accumulate energy every day, such as Diane and Dillon?"

Ronald glanced at Diane who was sitting next to Bert.Diane hasn't spoken to Matt Dillon these days.Dillon also seemed to look down on Diane, unwilling to talk to her.

This is to let actors take on roles in daily life.

Ronald finally understood the purpose of Coppola's series of techniques.For example, the actors of the two gangs competed to tease Diane, such as deliberately making Diane and Dillon hate each other...

In this way, when Dali played by Ti Lung flirts with Cherry played by Diane in the drive-in theater tomorrow, the emotional accumulation of the two will burst out...

"Some directors like to let actors improvise on the spot, which is also the reason." Burt became interested. He hadn't been a drama performance coach for a long time. It was rare that someone was willing to ask for advice, so he said a few more words to Ronald.

"You know Stanislavsky, why did you study acting methods?"

"Uh, I really don't know. I don't like method school very much." Ronald has always been biased against method school, thinking that their methods are too involved, invading the private space that actors should maintain, and then taking out their personal privacy. Come out and show your nakedness for others to see.

"No, that's Lee Strasberg's crap. Stanislavsky started out as a solution to the problem in theater where actors lose their ability to infect audiences over time."

Burt talked about the performance system he understood.

The interaction between people is very subtle. Based on their own life experience, the audience can quickly judge whether the actor is really emotional, or just pretending to laugh and cry.

Repetition is an actor's worst enemy. Playing the same play day in and day out in the theater will quickly lose the stereotype.The audience never again appreciates the subtleties of the play.

All performance systems are to solve the authenticity of this performance.

"There is a way, which is to improvise. If you say a different line from the script and do a different action, your opponent, another actor, will feel a new stimulus and give a real response. .

A good director will generally let the actors not stop when something unexpected happens, and continue to perform. Often this kind of performance is the most exciting. "

Burt was known for teaching improvisation during his time as an acting coach.

He and his partner once broke into Lee Strasburg's actor's studio, improvised for ten minutes, and then lied to each other that it was a rehearsal.In the end, the decryption was made up by himself, and he laughed at the other party severely.

It didn't take long for Ronald to see the added authenticity of the surprises on set, the thrills the actors gave.

What was filmed on this day was the scene that caused Diane and Dillon to not speak on the set, and Dali molested Cherry in the drive-in movie theater.

Matt Dillon's Dali, at first, lifts Diane's hair, then pretends to ask her if she has natural red hair or dyed it.

Ronald hid in a safe area behind the camera and watched Diane perform.

Sure enough, the feeling of displeasure on her face was very real. Not only did she feel disgusted with Dillon, but she was also very uncomfortable with Dillon's behavior of blowing on her neck. This expression probably has a lot of real elements.

However, because there is still an explosive scene in the future, Diane still restrained her emotional expression. Now she is in a state of being bullied, upset and afraid to attack a little girl, very charming.

Next, Dillon should put his feet on the back of the empty chair in front of him and continue to provoke Diane with his feet.

Then Diane couldn't bear it anymore, and turned around and scolded the little ruffian.

"Hey, hey..." Matt Dillon completely let go of his hands in order to show Dali's handsome and ruffian image, leaning on the seat with only his buttocks.With his feet raised, he accidentally lost his center of gravity and fell under the chair.

"Hahaha..." Diane and Hauer, who played the horse boy behind him, burst out laughing.

The youngest actor, Hauer, looked towards the camera, seeking the director's signal whether to stop shooting.

Ronald anxiously gestured to him to continue. It would be a pity if such a good improvisation opportunity was ruined by his movement of looking at the camera.

Diane was much more experienced, she just glanced at the director and the camera out of the corner of her eye, and seeing that there was no signal to stop, she immediately continued to act as a beautiful girl who was pissed off.

Fortunately, Hauer saw Ronald's gesture and the "continue" mouth shape, and quickly turned his head back, and continued to perform.

"Cut!"

After Coppola finished this one, he came over and patted Ronald on the shoulder.Luckily, Ronald was smart about this one, otherwise, if Hauer watched the camera for a long time, there would be no room for editing the whole scene, and he would have to discard it all.

"Good job, Diane." Ronald stepped forward to congratulate Diane. She has done the best in this scene and can be called the youngest veteran actor on the set.

"It's a small idea." Dai Jianan was mature for a while, but he still couldn't help giggling triumphantly.

"Bravo!"

At the sample viewing meeting a day later, Coppola took the lead in applauding this wonderful performance.All the teenage actors knew what to expect, and they all applauded knowing that this kind of coincidence was rare.

"I have an idea. Later, when filming the fight between the two gangs, I can wear the ugly dentures I used to have, so that when someone punches me, I can spit out the dentures when I turn my head. , which is more realistic.”

Tom Cruise was overwhelmed by the wonderful performances of Dillon and Diane, and wanted to emulate.He thought of a plot for his character, and then asked Ronald if it would make his play more exciting.

A little ruffian whose dentures fly out after being beaten not only feels real to the audience, but also becomes an impromptu performance, so that the actors in the opponent's play can react more realistically.

"Francis, Tom has a new idea for the big fight scene the day after tomorrow."

Ronald took him to Coppola and let him speak his mind.

"My front teeth are fake, and I still have the cheap crowns I bought in the supermarket that I used to put on in this scene and the close-ups. The crowns are very loose, and when I tilt my head hard, it will shake. come out……"

Tom Cruise sincerely wishes Coppola would allow him to improvise.

"So all your close-ups and close-ups will have to wear this ugly denture, aren't you worried about your image?"

"I'm not worried, what I'm worried about is that the characters aren't real enough..." young Tom Cruise said firmly.

"Well, let Ronald accompany you to talk to the makeup artist."

Coppola was also moved by his enthusiasm when he saw the handsome guy asking to get close to the character, and praised Tom Cruise for his dedication.

(End of this chapter)