Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 597 The Unspoken Rules of Stars
In the Miramar base, where there was no public bathroom, the crew quickly built a public bathroom dressing room scene with wood.There are two halls, big and small, connected by a false door in the middle.

The large one is the lounge scene at the door of the bathroom, where the pilots change their clothes and organize their grooming in front of the full-length mirror.

The small room is narrower and longer, with metal lockers on both sides and a long wooden stool in the middle.

One side of the two halls is arranged to look like the real thing, while the other side is open with nothing for the camera crew to set up huge lenses and lighting equipment.The base staff who visited behind the cordon were all wondering why there were only half of the bathrooms.

Today's first scene is the first verbal confrontation between the two top pilots, the Lone Ranger and the Iceman.

The instructor "Joker" has rich experience in dogfighting, and the fight ended in 5 minutes, humiliating "Hollywood" and his radar officer "Werewolf" on the radio.

But Joker also suffered two defeats today.Iceman defeated the instructor "Joker" according to the tactics in the flight manual.

The "Lone Ranger" used a dangerous but effective strategy. When being followed by the clown, he suddenly pulled up, slowed down and landed behind the clown's plane, and locked the clown with missiles.

Hollywood and Werewolf are lying on the bench in the middle laughing at themselves, and here Iceman and Radar Officer Slider casually reveal that they beat the instructor clown.

The werewolf pointed to the Lone Ranger and Goose on the other side, "They also won."

"No, that's not the news we got. They made a foul and ran below the prescribed height." Facing the Lone Ranger, the Iceman contemptuously denied his achievement.

"The height is set, it's like farting." The Lone Ranger said a foul word, "Win is winning, we locked the clown."

"Cut!"

"Kimer, you didn't go to the specified point and you went out of the camera." Ronald called out to Fang Kimmer. This was the third time he made a mistake today.

"My question, sorry, I'm not used to entering the camera from this side."

Val Kilmer chewed his gum, still raised his chin, and explained something to Ronald.

"We rest for a quarter of an hour."

Ronald watched the scene and everyone was a little tired. Val Kilmer's "mistake" was not an unintentional mistake. He had to pause first and then think of a solution.

"Director, Kimmer's better half of his face is on the left side, and he is used to playing on the right side. You let him enter the camera from the left side of the frame, which is not very conducive to his performance..."

Seeing that everyone was going to rest, Val Kilmer's manager quickly walked up to Ronald and said what Kilmer was inconvenient to say.

"You don't need to say more, I know it well."

The thing is very simple, this is the unspoken rule of star filming.

Val Kilmer wanted more close-ups to take care of the more handsome half of his face.But Tom Cruise, who has a higher salary and a higher coffee position than him, has the better-looking half of his face on the same side.

Of course, Ronald took care of Tom's interests first. Knowing that he was not good-looking in the camera, Val Kilmer played tricks and made various small situations, just not wanting to capture the uglier half of his face.

"Kimer is tired. The beer party with everyone ended late last night. I will cheer him up. As long as you give me some convenience..." The manager gave Ronald a hint, as long as he can take care of him According to Fang Kimmer's needs, at least the duration of the two's appearances is equal to that of the lens, and Kimmer can fully cooperate.

"Ronald, I don't need to say anything more. Tom has always been very cooperative with your work. Not to mention your personal relationship, he is still the head of the crew. His name appears on the subtitles after the title of the film. I want His shots are better looking, which is very reasonable."

Paula Wagner also came over and talked about their personal relationship.

"I have it in my mind."

It's hard to say who is right and who is wrong in this kind of thing. The key to Ronald's problem now is to allow the two stars to cooperate and continue filming.

Fang Kilmer is very slippery, so it is impossible for the producers to do anything to him by using various accidents as excuses to slow down the work.His wish was not fulfilled, and after seeing today, there was no way he could make any progress.

As for Tom Cruise, he has always been dedicated to his work, and it is impossible for Ronald to let him give up the leading role and give a supporting role better treatment.Besides, even if he made such a request, with Cruise's current status, I'm afraid it will be his turn to "make a mistake".

"At times like this, I miss Don so much," Bruckheimer said beside Don Simpson, who was fiery and outspoken.With him on the set at a time like this, he must have scolded Val Kilmer head-on and face-to-face.

"Yeah." Ronald knew that Bruckheimer wanted to play the role of "good policeman", and it was not appropriate for him to come forward. After all, the position of the director still needs to cooperate with the actors.

At this time, there is one less "bad cop".

"Why don't I try it?" Bruckheimer scratched his scalp, ready to do it himself.

"I have another way, try again." Ronald stopped him, pretending not to be good, but it didn't work.

……

"You set up the camera here." Ronald took out the storyboard he had drawn, and crossed out the position of the camera that was originally arranged on the side of the stool.Then, on the opposite side of the Iceman's locker, a cross was drawn again.

"That way, you shoot his face in close-up and let him turn his head from facing the locker box, and your lens can just capture the better half of his face."

"Then we do the same with the Lone Ranger?" Kimball took the pencil and began to revise it on the next frame of the storyboard.

"Yes, to express dialogue, it is not necessary to take the main shot to explain the spatial relationship between the two."

Ronald deleted the original Hollywood standard construction method "one main shot and two over-the-shoulder shots" on the screen, and then drew several consecutive close-up pictures.

"As long as we ensure that the axis of their eyes is not messed up in the close-up shots of the two of them, the audience should have no difficulty in feeling the logical relationship between the two of them."

"It's really yours. How did you come up with it? I only heard about this method from a very old photographer. It was used in Hollywood in the golden age."

"This is not to shoot the main shot to prevent the boss of the studio from randomly editing the story. The anti-interference shooting method invented by the directors back then was taught by Walter Murch."

Ronald smiled. In the golden age of Hollywood, studios pursued speed rather than artistic standards. They often used irrelevant people to edit the director's negatives, and it was not uncommon for the finished film to be completely different from the original intention.

Some directors at that time invented this method of not shooting the main shot and only shooting close-ups for the dialogue.Without the main shot, the audience cannot see the logical relationship between the characters in the dialogue, and the editing must strictly follow the director's design. There is no room for secondary creation to change the tragic ending into a happy one.

"That was because live recording was not used at the time, and it was only necessary to change the lines during dubbing later." Kimball is knowledgeable, "I didn't expect that you could use it to prevent stars from stealing the scene. Your method may become popular in the future. Maybe."

"Action!"

With the new footage ready, Ronald called the start.

"You two are really cowboys!"

Val Kilmer's Iceman, after hearing the profanity from the Lone Ranger, turns around and berates the pair.

Ronald looked from behind the camera, Fang Kimmer's better face looked handsome to the camera, while the other half looked a little vicious, like a villain.

No wonder he cared so much about the mirror on his face.

"Cut!"

"Print this one," Ronald told Val Kilmer to go on to the next one.

"What's wrong with you, Kazansky?" Tom Cruise says off-camera to Kilmer.

"That's because you are everyone's problem, Lone Ranger, and you make everyone else feel insecure." Val Kilmer faced the camera alone, with his jaw raised, chewing gum as he spoke, very domineering, and then his teeth broke The air snapped together and made a clicking sound, like a big cat about to eat people.

"Cut!"

This line is full of gunpowder, and Fang Kilmer has a bit of a pun. It is not only Iceman's complaint to the Lone Ranger, but also Fang Kilmer's complaint to Tom Cruise.

The good thing about using close-ups to express the dialogue in this way is that the annoying face of this Iceman will definitely resonate with the audience. As long as the Lone Ranger can fight back, the audience will definitely applaud.

The bad part, the Iceman was great, he looked at Tom Cruise, it was a bit of a challenge for Tom.

Tom stared at Val Kilmer and frowned slightly, like a falcon, staring at its prey.

"Won't there be a big conflict?" Ronald felt a little bad in his heart.

Actors are very sensitive to the camera. Val Kilmer's performance was impressive just now, and Tom Cruise will not fail to feel it.He must have a plan to overwhelm Val Kilmer.

"Ronald, I want an over-the-shoulder shot, you can make me look less..." Cruise swipe at Ronald's chin-height as he rests and waits for the lighting to be re-set.

"Are you sure?" Ronald knew it was a close-up, and if the over-the-shoulder shot was used, Cruise's face and the back of Val Kilmer's shoulders would all be in the shot, and his height gap would be revealed .

"I need him to stand in the camera." Tom Cruise's eyes are firm.

"You see?" Ronald asked Kimball, the director of photography.

"It doesn't matter, I can take some overhead shots. There is no reference in the close-up shots, and the audience will feel that their heights are very small." Kimball's various tricks emerge in endlessly.

"Thanks, Kimball," Cruise thanked the DP, giving Paula a look.

"You're ready to tell me," Ronald nodded to Tom Cruise.

"Action!"

The camera passes behind Val Kilmer's shoulder and frames Tom Cruise's good-looking half of his face.

Shooting slightly downward, the two seem to be only an inch or so apart in height.

"What's wrong with you? Kazansky?" Tom Cruise gritted his teeth.

"I don't like you, you make everyone feel insecure," Val Kilmer repeated the conversation.

"That's right," Tom Cruise improvised, patted Fang Kilmer on the shoulder, as if helping him flick the ashes, and let out a wicked smile, "I...very...dangerous! "It was as if another big cat was teasing its prey.

"Cut!"

Tom Cruise's lines also have puns. If you want to steal the scene, you have to be prepared to compete. Then it's not just a competition in acting. I'm very "dangerous".

Ronald was very satisfied with this rivalry scene. The two were at war, like two high school students robbing a beautiful woman in the camera, and like two little roosters patrolling their own hens.

"Okay, okay", after Ronald separated and called a stop, he was still kicking the two stars of each other, and we will clear the scene to shoot the shirtless scene later, you go to rest first.

"Hmph!" Val Kilmer turned and entered the dressing room.

"In the evening, I invite everyone to go to the bar for a drink. I shipped craft beer from Los Angeles." Tom Cruise extended an invitation to everyone.

"Yeah!" All the supporting characters cheered.

"Clear the scene now, please leave the shooting site for irrelevant personnel."

In the large hall where the scene was set up, the assistant director yelled three times in a row. Many female technicians in the production crew, female officers and soldiers who came to see the lively Miramar base after hearing the news, the waitresses in the bar, etc., all looked back at each step. , Reluctantly and slowly left the locker room venue.

"Isn't it said that there is a bathing scene of Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer? Why hasn't it come out yet?"

"Director, clear it up."

"Well," Ronald stood up slowly, "The camera crew is ready."

The follower is also a woman. She happily picked up the tape measure, walked to the edge of the bench in the dressing room, taped a cross mark, and waited happily for the protagonists to come out of the dressing room.

"Action!"

In addition to photography, recording, and lighting, there were only Ronald and the heroine McGillis who watched the men's "group bathing" performance.

"Lone Ranger, you fly very well today, until you are shot down by me, never, never leave your wingman." The actor who played the clown came in and lectured Tom Cruise.

The lone ranger played by Tom Cruise was very angry with himself. In order to shoot down the instructor "Viper", he left the wingman pilot "Hollywood" and the radar officer "Werewolf" without permission, and was finally shot down by the ambush instructor "Joker".

The camera was pushed out on a fixed track, drew an arc, and took a panoramic view.

After the camera reached the end, Ronald silently pointed to the door leading to the bathroom, from which Val Kilmer came out with only a towel around his waist.

Fang Kimmer's strong upper body was bare, with explosive muscles, and a dog tag with the pilot's name on his chest was dangling on his chest muscles.

"Lone Ranger, it's not your flying skills, it's your attitude. The enemy is dangerous. Your attitude makes you a wingman, which is more dangerous than the enemy."

The camera continued to turn to capture the figure of the Lone Ranger.

Tom Cruise stroked his hair, and a few drops of sweat dripped from it. He was also shirtless, with one foot on the stool, and the white towel tied around his waist was stretched to the limit.

"Cut!"

Ronald looked at McGillis beside him.Female audiences should like this kind of lens very much.

McGillis took an ice cream and licked it, "Is this what you learned in that men's magazine?" He gave him a look at his best friend, as if to say, so you are such Ronald, no wonder the last time Not in a hurry.

"Hi, hi..." Ronald quickly announced to continue filming. This woman really can talk with her eyes.

After the shooting was completed that day, the costume assistant began to use the laundry box to collect the bath towels of the actors one by one.

"Are you going to the bar with us? Today is a good beer that I specially shipped." Tom Cruise walked in front of McGillis to invite.

This woman is the only female actress in the crew. The actors all have a male instinct, and they all want to ask McGillis.

"Okay, let me try it." McGillis glanced at Ronald and accepted the invitation.

"Let's Go," Val Kilmer won the scene, but lost out to Tom Cruise on the pick-up, and he walked out the door with his manager.

"Did you notice that either Kimmer drank beer with the guys, or Cruise drank beer with the guys, but they never drank beer together." Director of photography Kimball came to report to Ronald.

Immediately after packing up the equipment, he also went to the bar with the photography team.

"It's good to maintain a moderate level of competition," Ronald was very satisfied with the shots taken today, "as long as you master it well and don't go out of the way."

(End of this chapter)