Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 620 How long has it been since you had a boyfriend?
The so-called high version and short version refer to the two versions of the lead singer.

One recording was a version by "The Motels," whose lead singer, Martha Davis, was tall.

The other was sung by a Berlin band whose lead singer, Terri Nunn, was very short.

The interpretation of the two recordings is somewhat similar, both in a pop-rock style.Martha Davis is more inclined to the classic rock of the 60s, while Terri Nunn of the Berlin band is more unrestrained.

Ronald distinguished carefully, and it seemed that the two sang in very similar timbres. After careful comparison with the episode in the dream, it was difficult to tell who sang it.

"Which version do you prefer?" Ronald had to ask the opinions of the two producers.

"Martha Davis already has a certain reputation, and the Berlin band is still working hard to hold a concert. They lack a popular title song." Bruckheimer did not answer the question directly.

"I prefer The Motels' songs, but the soundtrack is up to you." Don Simpson also didn't intervene.Ronald's editing style, pictures and episodes are highly bound, and the two have reached an agreement that cannot interfere with his judgment.

"Call George Morold and ask him to come." Ronald had no choice but to find the music producer responsible for the soundtrack for advice.

"Why, my friend, is it difficult for you to choose? Tell me, what is your first feeling? Or which girl do you like?" George Morold came to the recording studio and heard that Ronald could not make up his mind. All the posters of the lead singer of the band were brought.

When it comes to music, sometimes it depends on the feeling.Whether it's the first feeling when you hear the sound or the first feeling when you see the photo.As an artist, sometimes you have to rely on your intuition.

Ronald wore headphones and had listened to it a dozen times.He took off his earphones, looked at the photos of the two lead singers, and looked at their faces carefully for a long time.

He then pointed to a photo of Terri Nunn, frontman of the band Berlin. "Can you ask her to come over? I have a question for her."

Terri Nunn's hair was dyed light blonde, but in the bangs, it still kept the original brown, very individual.She is short in stature, but she has great energy when she sings.

"Terry, we didn't create this song ourselves, or we shouldn't sing it." John, the lead guitarist and main songwriter of the band, advised her. John has always insisted that the Berlin band only sing their own original songs.

"But this song is really great, very romantic, and I want to sing it." Terri Nunn didn't want to quarrel with the core members of the band, but she couldn't forget that George Morold, the producer hired by a lot of money, was very supportive. she said.

"I've got a song here, Tom Cruise! Ronald Lee! Next summer summer! It's going to be a hit! A hit! A hit! Would you like to sing?"

George Morold not only worked as a producer for superstars like David Bowie, but also provided the soundtrack for the hit movie "Lightning Dance". Terri Nunn must sing this song despite the split of the band.

"Terri, come on, meet our great director, Ronald Lee. He is a master at filming music videos. Cindy Lauper, Madonna, MJ are all lining up to ask him to shoot music videos. If you are caught by him , shoot a MV for you, maybe you two will take off."

Giorgio Moroder, as an Italian, is very good at bragging about his partners.

"Terri Nunn is one of the most gifted female singers I've ever seen. Her range and energy are amazing. You've heard her sing. Ask for anything."

Ronald took off his earphones and shook hands with the little lead singer.This female lead singer has a very chic temperament, even more arrogant than Diane's female rock star.

"I heard you want to see me? I saw the real person, do you have any questions to ask me?" Terri Nunn's voice also had a hint of metallic clang.

Ronald stared at the other party for a while, and from the voice of the other party, he heard a hint of the feeling in the biased recording just now, and Ronald asked:
"How long has it been since you had a boyfriend?"

……

"Huh?" Producer Don Simpson, Bruckheimer, and music producer George Morold were stunned. This method of picking up girls is really fresh and refined.

"Did you hear it? After our first album was released, I didn't have a normal... life." Terri Nunn didn't care.

"So I can't empathize with the warmth between couples in 'Take My Breath' away. I just sang it with an emotion of longing for love and longing for a man."

"Very good, it's just you." Ronald set the lead singer.

The Lone Ranger in the movie, and Charlie, are like this. They are happy friends for most of the plot, and there is no clear explanation at the end whether they are together or not.

This feeling of longing for love is just right for the plot.

Ronald immediately returned to the editing table and began to match the scene of the hero and heroine driving a motorcycle together by the beach with the rhythm of Terri Nunn's singing.

"It's not... You called someone here and just left her like this?" George Morold, as an Italian, really couldn't stand Ronald's style.Italian men must be gentle and caring towards women, so that they will melt slowly in warmth like a piece of butter.

"It's cool, it's very good. This is the style of a great director." Terri Nunn actually admired Ronald's artist feeling.She is not ignorant of Hollywood. She once participated in the audition for the protagonist of "Star Wars", Princess Leia.

It's just that her actor's father died early due to alcoholism, and there is no mother like Carrie Fisher. Debbie Reynolds called Lucas to ask for care.

"That's it, then I'll go back. If Ronald is free then, please also ask him to direct a MV for our band." Terri Nunn walked away chicly.

"This..." The few people present couldn't understand it again, so they had to attribute it to the artist's sympathy for each other.

Three episodes with a very prominent style, plus five or six other episodes that match the plot environment, are all in place.

The day-to-day editing passed in the discussion between Ronald and the two editors.After Chris and Billy became familiar with Ronald's method, they also put forward many good suggestions.Soaking in the editing room for more than ten hours every day, Ronald and they have to discuss repeatedly and modify the position of the editing point.

Industrial Light and Magic of the special effects model group also helped Ronald shoot the horizontal spiral shot.The special effects employee who was good at throwing model airplanes climbed up the high crane and threw the model down on it with a little rotation.

Although it was possible to lose two models, Industrial Light and Magic prepared five models, and finally captured a horizontal spiral shot that was realistic enough.

Time passed day by day, and two months later, the first cut of "Top Gun" was finally completed, and the soundtrack was basically mixed into the sound track on the film.

The cicadas of summer began to fill the editing room outside Los Angeles.

Ronald edited the last working sample and put it in an iron box, and then it will be sent to Paramount's factory. According to the editing sequence of the working sample, a negative film editor will be invited to edit the negative, and finally develop and print a copy of the film. A set of response samples for viewing by Paramount executives.

"Is this really feasible?"

Ned Tannen was the first Paramount executive to see Ronald's prints of the responses.

He likes Ronald's MV-style editing process very much, and several episodes are also very nice.But there is no deep story and performance in the whole movie, and the dialogue between the characters seems a little simple.

The whole story, how should I say it?It's a bit MV-like, relatively superficial.Will this kind of story, which is all in accordance with the fast editing rhythm of the MV and deeply coordinated with the music, be liked by the audience?

"No problem, Ned. A couple of young editing assistants, all very fond of it." Chris and Billy tried to convince the higher-ups.Although they shouldn't be the ones to talk here, after watching the finished film, the excited reactions of several 20-year-old editing assistants gave them a sense of accomplishment in this new editing method.

Ned Tanin looked at the producer and director, "Since you are all confident, come with me and show it to CEO Mr. Mancuso."

"Is this the final result of your editing?" On the second day, at the appointed time, Mancuso took the time to watch the finished film of Top Gun.

He was both happy and sad.

Happily, the Ronalds did what they expected, and they made the film into fragments. The audience went to the cinema to appreciate a good story.Such a movie may only have three good episodes cut out and sent to MTV to have ratings.

It's sad that Paramount, once the most powerful Hollywood, actually made this kind of rubbish movie.And my own control is not enough, I actually failed to prevent this one-hour and 45-minute MV from being filmed in the first place.A budget of 500 million was wasted.

Now, it's time for the truth. Although the money wasted, it was worth all the sacrifices to bring Paramount's production department back to the right track of the golden age.

"Yes, Mr. Mancuso, the editorial and special effects staff have seen it, and they've responded very well," Ronald replied.

"Staff?" Mancuso sneered in his heart.How can the reaction of the staff compare with that of the audience.They are all people who are counting on you to write paychecks, and what bad comments can get to your ears.

"When can we start the marketing campaign? Has the schedule been finalized?" Don Simpson asked directly about the release.

"I think your editing is not good enough, it's too fragmented. The audience won't be able to accept it." Mancuso took the notebook directly and completely denied the editing of the movie, "Why don't you edit it again ?This time, use more long shots and main shots.

Oh hoo?Or did you not take the main shot?I can't add more budget to you guys. "

Mancuso, as a veteran of Jianghu, of course saw Ronald's intention of not taking the main shot, so as to prevent himself from finding someone to abandon him for editing.This guy is so funny, he really thought he was filming masterpieces like "Off Mountain Fit", "High Noon", "Sunset Boulevard"?

Isn't Billy Wilder, a big director like John Ford, able to play this trick?Sure enough, it still messed up.

"Frank, I think their editing is also an innovative method. Although it does not have the classic Hollywood narrative method, it is still of good quality. The young staff like it very much."

Ned Tannin defends 'Top Gun.'

"That's not the real audience at all. The real audience has never read your script, and they will have difficulty understanding it."

……

Seeing that the two were in a dispute, Ronald gradually understood on the other side of the conference table.Mancuso is really not optimistic about his own directing and editing from the bottom of his heart.His mind is still stuck in the 50s. At that time, the audience was not accompanied by TV, and what they longed for in the cinema was still a good story.

And the current audience, MTV, has watched it for several years.The imagination of young people is very rich. They can imagine a complete story in a few minutes of MV. Why can't "Top Gun" not work?
"Mr. Mancuso," Ronald said, "I suggest, why don't we find some test audiences and see what they think?"

He remembered the past when he filmed a chewing gum commercial.In the end, in different places, the audience is allowed to vote to decide whether the filming is good or not.

"It seems you are very confident," Mancuso smiled.

"Ned, you just arrange one, no, three test screenings, in Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, to see how the audience reacts in the three most representative big cities."

(End of this chapter)