Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 463 Stud
In the evening, Ronald came to Weintraub's mansion in Beverly Hills.When we entered, Weintraub happened to be on the phone in the upstairs study, and Ronald chatted with his wife, the famous singer Jane Morgan.

"I heard you borrowed Debbie's dance studio?" Jane Morgan already had many wrinkles on her face, but she spoke very amiably.

"Ms. Debbie Reynolds? Yes, I borrowed her dance studio for rehearsals. I especially like her couch dance in 'Singin' in the Rain.'"

"Oh, that's Debbie's debut, and she couldn't dance before."

"Then she is really talented. She danced so well in front of the camera for the first time. It's a pity that she doesn't act in movies very much now."

"Also because she had a good teacher, Gene Kelly. Since she divorced Eddie Fisher, her acting career has turned to TV."

Morgan was talking about a time when Debbie Reynolds was best friends with Elizabeth Taylor.Taylor's husband died in a plane crash, and Debbie sent her husband Eddie Fisher to comfort Taylor while she was busy with Taylor's funeral.

Unexpectedly, after going back and forth, Eddie Fisher comforted Elizabeth Taylor into bed.

"Terrible betrayal, isn't it?" Jane Morgan seemed to see Ronald's thoughts, "If you want me to say that Debbie shouldn't have filed for divorce, don't let other people take your husband away."

"Honey, what divorce?" Weintraub came down the stairs.

"Let's talk about the old story of your old friend Debbie Reynolds." Jane Morgan and Ronald nodded and went about their business.

"Mr Weintraub..."

Ronald reported some progress to Weintraub.The training of the actors and the scenography went very smoothly.

"Very well, everything is progressing according to the schedule. Is there anything else you need to solve? You can talk to Susan at any time, or call me."

"I do have a problem, and only you can help me," Ronald said, looking at Weintraub.

"what is the problem?"

"Who is my spare tire? When are you going to decide who will be the director?" Ronald asked straightforwardly.

Weintraub opened his mouth wide, but he didn't expect the news to be leaked out.He's also a big business man, and quickly returned to normal.

Weintraub got up to get two glasses. "Whiskey?"

"Without ice."

"Okay," Weintraub poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Ronald.The two took a sip silently.

"I did find a director to consult with me about the progress of the film. He is just my staff now, and I don't mean to let him replace you immediately. It's just that I have no experience in film production before, so many things, I have to Find someone in the industry to ask."

Weintraub was open and honest, admitting that he did find a director for "consulting" work.

"I understand your difficulties, but I also hope you can understand me. What I am doing is the preparatory work of the film. If you can't give me a guarantee, it is impossible for people who will lose their jobs at any time to be [-]% devoted. .

Besides, this is my own screenwriting, and it is also the first medium-sized investment film I directed, and I dealt with 'Longwei Boy' with 120% investment."

Ronald looked at Weintraub, then took a sip of his wine.

"Even for this film project, if you change the director now or after the filming starts, it will cause a lot of confusion. I don't want my script to be filmed because of this kind of accident, which reduces the quality it should be. So right now, me or him, you pick one. I don’t want to go into the shoot with that doubt.”

Ronald studs (Show Hand) against Weintraub like a gambler.Either Ronald or the spare tire, with me without him, with him without me.Not giving Weintraub space, bouncing back and forth between the two, forcing the words of the one on the other.

"Of course it's you, Ronald." Weintraub pondered for a second before decisively choosing Ronald.

In any case, Ronald wrote one of his ideas into a script from scratch, and recommended Morita Noryuki, who was very suitable, and the karate training for the actors was also decent. Talk, and give up the achievements of Ronald's hard work.

"Okay, congratulations again on our agreement," Ronald and Weintraub shook hands.

He drank the rest of the whiskey in one gulp, "Jerry, to be honest, why are you worried about my directing ability and go to another 'consultation'?" Ronald wanted to know some of Weintraub's thoughts.

"First of all, as I said, I am not worried about you, you will always be my first choice. I just don't understand movies, so I must find a third-party opinion that is not biased."

"What about other than that? Do you have any other concerns?" Ronald knew that most of the first reasons given by others were false.

"I have no doubts about your directing ability, but your first two films were all successful with action, plot, picture, and pop songs. This film does not have those R-rated hot scenes, it is all about acting and actors The interaction between them brings out the true feelings and moves the audience.”

Ronald knew that this was the idea of ​​the so-called "consulting senior counselors" again.Weintraub was bewitched by him, thinking that he had no experience in controlling this kind of film that relies on acting skills to win.

"Yes, this PG-ready film is different from my previous two films, but I have a way to fix that." Ronald stood up and poured himself and Weintraub a shot of whiskey.

"I plan to rehearse in closed two weeks before shooting. Let all the main actors rehearse all the plots of the movie from beginning to end. And I can shoot them all with Sony's Betacam camera.

In this way, every night, we can know where there is room for improvement in the performance, and pay attention to correcting it during the official shooting. "

Weintraub listened carefully.

"I have another way. If you are still worried about the performance of the actors, we can shoot sequentially. In this way, all the shots are shot in the approximate order of the script, and the actors have full control over the parts to be performed, emotions and performances." It will be much better than shooting in random order.

Only in this way, it will increase the time for shooting lighting and setting up the scene, which is not good for the cost of shooting.I may not have the experience of directing a film that focuses on the plot, but I have been his assistant in Coppola's crew throughout the whole process, and I am fully prepared for acting. "

Ronald integrated his experience of filming the first two films with the experience he learned in Coppola's crew, and proposed a new plan.

Sure enough, Weintraub was persuaded, "How much more would it cost to shoot sequentially?"

"This film is mostly indoor scenes, and the scenes are concentrated in a limited number of five or six places, so sequential shooting will not increase the cost a lot. I expect a maximum increase of [-] percent."

"Well, I still have a reserve of fifty to one million yuan, just follow what you said."

Weintraub raised his glass, "Cheers!", and the two drank it down.

After receiving Weintraub's promise, Ronald still felt a little uneasy.Weintraub is not a very impressionable man, and every time he met with the high-ranking officer, he had new ideas.

So that spare tire, needless to say, either has a relatively high reputation or relatively deep qualifications in the film industry.

Ronald is not a person who sees a loophole and refuses to fix it. He has also made several preparations for this threat.The first is to let Daryl Vidal and Morita Noryu, the partners who are most closely tied to their own interests, continue to pay attention to the troubles of the crew.

And then there's Weintraub's key spokesperson on the set, Susan Eakins.Ronald takes her with him every time he does something, and respects her very much, asks for advice on everything, and teaches her a lot of knowledge in the industry.

I won Susan to stand on my side, so that even if Weintraub made another move, I would have a good cushion.

Soon it was the weekend again, and Ronald finished his work and went home to rest.

"Ronnie, is that you? I'm home." Donna was making sandwiches in the kitchen.

She just finished a college tour and still prefers East Coast schools to free-spirited West Coast ones.Only Caltech here has an appetite for her, but the school has too few students, and even if she applies, she may not be admitted.

"Ronnie, are you free tomorrow?"

"What?" Ronald was eating Donna's sandwich, which was inherited from Aunt Karen's craftsmanship, and he liked it very much.

"Diane Lane is going to Johnny Carson's Tonight Talk Show tomorrow. I promised her to be a live audience. Can you go with me?"

"Why? Don't you know how to drive?"

"I haven't been on TV before, I want to find someone who is an expert. Besides, you are so busy, you should find some time to relax. Oh... why don't you go with me?" Donna stood behind Ronald and squeezed his shoulders.

"Okay, I'll go, just in time to meet Diane and old friends."

That night, Ronald drove to the NBC studio in Burbank with Donna.Johnny Carson's stand-up show is prime-time in the evening, and his studio is one of the best.

Ronald accompanied Donna in and found a seat to sit down, then sneaked out by himself.David Letterman's Late Show, right next door in a shed, and he's working on it too.This program will be broadcast after the Tonight Show, and the guests that Letterman invited are obviously lower than Carson's.

"Hi, David." Ronald stepped forward to greet Letterman.

"Hi, Ronnie." David Letterman was also very happy to see that it was Ronald.The last time Brooke Shields and Sean Penn were on the show for publicity, they set a ratings record for the evening show, and no guest can break it yet.

"When will you let me play a role in your movie?" Letterman asked Ronald half-jokingly after chatting with Ronald.

"You are welcome anytime, I will always reserve a role for you." Ronald knew that the evening show would greatly boost the box office of "Fast-paced", and wanted to get a free publicity.

"It's a pity my agent won't let me do this, and I can't do that," Letterman said to himself.

"Or can I change the form and ask my crew to move the movie to your talk show?"

"what do you mean?"

Ronald proposed to let the protagonist of his own movie come up, and let Letterman re-act the scenes in the movie in the studio, let Letterman play the role in it, and act opposite the actor.

"I think this is a good idea. I have to discuss it with my team." David Letterman thought about it seriously, and said that he would think about it carefully, and contacted Ronald when he had an idea.

"Come on, it's about to start." Donna saw Ronald walking into Johnny Carson's studio again, and quickly pulled him to sit down.Carson's show is very difficult, and a little girl like Diane Lane only has 3 minutes, Donna is afraid that he will miss it.

The on-site director gestured for everyone to be quiet, and a burst of theme music called "Johnny Carson" sounded.

Johnny Carson, who was sitting above the host, said, "Let's welcome the next guest...Diane Ladd"

"Huh?" Ronald glanced at Carson.Then I heard Donna whispering in my ear, "Did I call you by the wrong name?"

Diane Lane, wearing a strapless little black dress, came onto the stage from the side.

Ronald saw the girl's walking posture and thought, "It's broken."

Diane was called by the wrong name by Johnny Carson, Ladd was not Lynn.

Diane Ladd is the name of the mother of her good friend Laura Dern, who is also a famous actress.Maybe Johnny Carson didn't do his homework, maybe he slipped and called out the name of an actor old enough to be Diane Lane's mother.

Diane is visibly nervous, exactly like the way she was at ease on the set of "Streets of Rage."She walked awkwardly up to the stage, kissed an older guest on the other side of the seat, and sat down on the sofa, across the table from Carson.

"Diane, why did you kiss him instead of me?" Johnny Carson still started with his usual jokes. When female guests came to his talk show, they would always be teased by him.

Diane burst into an embarrassing laugh, pulled the hem of her skirt nervously, and covered her mouth.

"It's broken." Donna also saw Diane's nervousness. She knew that her best friend would cover her mouth when she was nervous.After all, she was a little girl who appeared on the No. [-] talk show in the United States and was called by the wrong name by Carson.

"Uh, there's no reason," Diane thought of words on the spot, "Maybe...hehe..." She was nervous again.

Carson didn't respond, but looked at Diane, waiting for her answer.

"Maybe I find him more attractive." Diane finally thought.

"Ah, you must think he's old and grandfatherly attractive. And between us, it's that kind of sexual attraction. Huh?"

Johnny Carson still didn't seem to realize that he called the wrong name. He felt that Diane had lost face by saying that, and immediately started to make up for it.

"Hehehehe... Maybe it is." Diane obviously didn't know how to deal with this old hooligan, and she burst out into an awkward laugh. He apologizes, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean that."

Ronald felt that Diane was about to collapse, and Carson was very unfriendly to her.

"I see you have a ring on, is it an engagement ring?"

"No, it's my high school graduation ring."

"I heard that you received a graduation ring in the crew? Didn't you not attend the graduation party? The male students will be disappointed."

"I led the crew by myself. They knew that I was busy filming and I had completed the course by correspondence, so they sent it to me." Diane showed off his ring.

"Your movie is called 'Betta Fish', can you tell me what's going on..." Carson brought the topic to the upcoming movie.

"Oh... that's a fighting fish."

"Fighting fish, fighting fish. Good explanation." Carson completely led the rhythm, and then talked about "Streets of Rage" and Diane's next movie with Coppola soon... This is beforehand. The agreed content.

Soon the 3 minutes were over and Diane stepped off the stage from the other side.

Ronald and Donna immediately went up to comfort her.

"I...I...he mispronounced my name, I'm so nervous."

Diane buried her head in Ronald's chest, and Donna held her hand to comfort her.

Ronald touched Diane's hair, "It's okay, the TV station will probably re-record it."

"Can you re-record?" Diane raised his head and looked at Ronald.This man always appears at the most critical time.

"I don't know either, but I have friends who can help you ask." Ronald looked at Diane's face with makeup, and tears blurred her eyeliner.Now, in Ronald's eyes, Diane became the little sister who had to protect himself at the Oscar ceremony.

Carson disappeared after recording the show, so Ronald had to take Diane to the next studio to find David Letterman for information.

"I'm sorry, Diane, Ronald. Under normal circumstances, Carson doesn't re-record. He probably re-records one of his own introductions to you, but he rarely re-records the following programs." David Letterman, a former Carson contributor, knew the former boss's personality well.

"Okay, I was too nervous. I didn't know what to do on stage. My mind was blank, and I just had an idea in my heart. Let's end it quickly. Maybe I don't want to mispronounce the name, it will be better."

Diane was very sad. The chance to appear on the talk show that she finally got was wasted.

"Diane, are you free to be on my show? Although the ratings are not as high as Carson's, there are still quite a few viewers."

"Huh? Is it okay?" Diane Lane's sad expression disappeared immediately, and she laughed happily.

(End of this chapter)