Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 676 Chapter 3 You Can Become a Movie Master
On Friday, Ronald flew to New York.

Nisita had arranged everything for him. The famous New Yorker film critic, perhaps the most controversial, sharpest, and most out of the ordinary film critic alive in America, Pauline Kael, would meet with him at his home to discuss Her scathing critique of "Top Gun."

The old lady was born in 1919. In the 70s and [-]s, she began to write film reviews for "The New Yorker" and was an important promoter of the New Hollywood movement.

The beginning of the American New Wave movie "The Heroine" was strongly recommended by her and won the public's recognition in one fell swoop. It became a double winner at the box office and critics, and it is destined to occupy a place in the history of Hollywood movies.

Pauline was also invited by Warren Beatty, who starred in "The Heist" and served as a senior consultant for Paramount, but she resigned after a few months and went back to write film reviews.

Pauline's criticism of "Top Gun" was very fierce this time, and there were old people who knew her in Paramount. After coordination, she agreed to meet Ronald at home and talk face-to-face about why she criticized the film so harshly.

"Does Ms. Pauline Carr live here?" Ronald rang the doorbell, and it was a little boy who opened the door.

"Grandma, someone is looking for you, what's your name?" the little boy turned to ask Ronald.

"Ronald, Ronald Lee."

"William, ask him to come in." Pauline came out and took her grandson aside to watch TV.

"Hello, Pauline."

Ronald didn't know how to communicate with film critics for a while.

I was helped a lot by her in the initial stage, but this time the criticism was very merciless.

"Come on, Ronald, movie reviews don't have much influence these days, and the New Yorker won't influence many of your audience. They don't care what an old lady says."

"No, your movie review means a lot to me." Ronald felt relieved all of a sudden, walked to the living room, and chatted with Pauline Carr.

"Movie reviews do not have the same power as Broadway theater reviews to determine the box office of a movie. What's more, your film company has invented a movie review unblocking system. Now movie reviews can only appear in the media after the movie is released. Many viewers no longer use movie reviews as their reference for choosing movies.

What's more, I am writing for the New Yorker magazine, which is even less influential than the film reviews of newspapers like Albert and others. "

Pauline laughed, mocking herself for her influence.

Ronald knew that she was telling the truth. Compared with Broadway theater reviews, which could determine the life and death of a new play, movie reviews were more of a secondary marketing tool for film companies.Posters in movie theaters cost far more than PR critics.

However, he still expressed his disapproval, and told her that his debut film "Fast-paced Richmond High School" benefited from her film critics' praise, so he could increase copies and become a national distribution, and once again thanked her in person.

"I loved that movie, and your second movie 'Night of the Comet'. They reminded me of Robert Altman. You didn't prescribe what point of view and method the audience would use to see your movie, they went to the cinema, Getting sucked in by you and discovering plots and plots that exceed expectations, everything is so leeway, is an adventure.

And the big productions you shoot later tend to be stereotyped.In the first 5 minutes of the movie, I know what you want to do.Not a good experience for someone who doesn't like to rewatch the movies they're reviewing. "

Ronald also liked Pauline's frankness, "I understand what you mean, but I can't continue to stay in those small-budget exploitation films. Hollywood is a very realistic place, and there are still people who want to make movies that have been around for decades. Remember the movie, I have to prove that I can sell. And in order to sell, these Hollywood routines are indispensable."

Pauline's hair was already gray, and she was wearing a pair of reading glasses. She couldn't help smiling when she heard Ronald say that she wanted to make a movie that had been around for decades and still be remembered.

Ronald found that the old lady had a gentle smile, just like a neighbor's grandmother, which was very different from her sharp smile when she was not smiling.

"I read you right, you really want to make classic movies. To make movies that will be remembered firmly, you have to stay away from those popcorn movies and pay more attention to the big problems of reality.

All classic Hollywood movies focus on the major real issues of the time. "

"A major real problem?"

"Yes", the old lady stood up and refilled a cup of coffee for Ronald, then took a few books composed of film reviews written by herself from the shelf, flipped through the catalog and handed it to Ronald.

"Did you find out that since the 70s, Italian directors have occupied the mainstream position of Hollywood classic blockbusters. The original Jewish directors, Puritan directors, gradually withdrew from the stage of dramas and turned to comedies and popcorn movies. , they took over the directors and actors of almost all classic movies in the 30s and World War II."

Ronald glanced at the cover of the first book, Pauline Carr's first collection of film reviews, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang." Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," Francis Coppola's "The Godfather," Brian De Palma's "Kary," and Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter."

Compared with the golden age, the number of Jewish directors has decreased a lot. She only likes Spielberg.A traditional Puritan director, she admires Robert Altman.

"Indeed, why?" Ronald never thought about this question.Why did Italians become popular in Hollywood after the 70s?
It's definitely not a question of money. Italian gangsters invested in movies, and it was after the unexpected success of "The Godfather".

Nor is it the so-called nepotism, ethnic caring issues.In terms of caring for ethnic groups, Jewish people are the best among them, and their gangs are much more powerful than Italians, and they got involved in the film industry as early as the 20s.

Ronald scratched his head. He found the old lady's sharp question very interesting, but he couldn't think of an answer.

Seeing Ronald looking at her like a grandson, wanting to know the answer, Pauline Carr smiled, scolding him this time has a very good effect, she doesn't look like a master , slipped into the filming machine of the popcorn commercial.

"Because the Vietnam War changed the minds of Americans, dumbass."

"Huh? The Vietnam War?"

Ronald raised his head. He found that he couldn't keep up with the old lady's train of thought. He came from a family of veterans of the Vietnam War. Didn't he feel that there was any difference in thinking from other people?

Pauline Carr knew that Ronald hadn't thought about this deep artistic shift in the film market, and went on.

"It turns out that we Americans are from the New Babylon, where we feel that our destiny is clear and that God favors us. But the Vietnam War made us fall from the moral level. We sent poor children to Vietnam to bomb those innocent people, and failed. Let us know Knowing oneself is not morally flawless.

However, the products of Dongying people are of high quality and low price, which exacerbates this problem.In addition to morality, we have no sense of superiority in industry and technology. "

Ronald nodded and said yes, the Vietnam War did have a great psychological impact on American people. A very obvious change is that the baby boom is over, and the new generation of young people are unwilling to have children.

"The most serious consequence of the Vietnam War is that the understanding of guilt has changed dramatically. Americans have a new understanding of what guilt is, which is completely different from the past."

"Guilt?"

"We've lost that sense of moral superiority that the Puritans had among the immigrants on the Mayflower. We used to believe that we would get better and better, that we would triumph over all evil and demons.

And after the Vietnam War, we discovered that maybe evil is not so easy to defeat, we may fail, maybe we will have to coexist with them.We are morally, technically, not superior to other human beings as we think. "

Ronald doesn't quite understand, what does this so-called sense of guilt have to do with Italians dominating the New Hollywood movement?

"Italians, and many of the new generation of directors, are Catholics. Unlike the Puritanism of the founding of America, the education they received from an early age included a full sense of guilt. We are all guilty, every week Go to the pastor and confess.

It just so happens that this mentality is consistent with the general feelings of modern American people, so the movies they made also psychologically conform to the psychological state of the audience at that time.

In addition, visualization is the strong point of the Italians. Looking at those Renaissance paintings and architecture, they are naturally able to make movies like world-famous paintings. "

"Oh……"

Ronald was deep in thought, and Pauline Carr, as a top film critic, had a very different perspective from the director.He was sure, at least when Scorsese and Coppola made the film, there was absolutely no Catholic guilt in mind.

However, there may be some truth from different angles.These are all subconscious minds integrated into the bottom layer of the director's thinking.You may not be aware of their existence at ordinary times, but when you are making a movie, you will be affected all the time.

"Then what is my subconscious culture? The consumerism of the new generation of Hollywood? Or the teachings of Confucius from the Chinese in the previous life?" Ronald thought of himself. Praise people, but inspire thinking.

"Looks like you agree with me," Pauline Carr mistook Ronald for thinking about New Hollywood auteur style.

"I heard you were educated, and you watched a lot of Hollywood movies in the golden age. Back then, Puritan and Jewish directors dominated Hollywood. It was a completely different era.

Jews like to expose the dark side of society, and then correct him, so they fit well with the social reality of the 30s and World War II.Society has problems, someone exposes them, someone corrects them, and our society moves on.

The Puritans have more beliefs of Manifest Destiny, for example, we beat the Germans and Little Japan, and the whole world depends on the American people to save..."

Ronald understood what Pauline meant, that movies reflect social reality.If your cultural and educational background subconsciously matches the culture of the majority of American audiences, then your movie will not only sell well, but also gain a foothold in film history.

I wonder what is the cultural subconscious of the new generation of young people after the 80s?Maybe my own movies just fit their cultural subconscious?

"Right now, Jewish directors and actors don't make dramas much anymore. It's not that they don't want to make them, it's that they don't like the audience. Now Jewish people mainly go to make comedies, just like Jerry Zucker and others.

They no longer make films that reflect the mainstream values ​​of social reality, and even Spielberg no longer makes films that reflect social reality.Spielberg is great, his innocence, his details, a lot of it, but he's not the guy to deal with the big issues in society right now. "

"Directors with a Puritan background, such as George Lucas, are more willing to explore science fiction and film technology. Without someone to reflect social reality, the art of film will die."

After speaking, Pauline Carr looked at Ronald with burning eyes.

"Huh? Me?" Ronald discovered the subtext of the old lady, the future of the movie depends on you!
"I can't. I just make movies according to my intuition, hoping to entertain the audience. If I think of it decades later and can still be used as a talking point, then I will be satisfied."

Ronald quickly waved his hand, what a joke, as the successor of classic Hollywood directors, responding to major social reality issues, he is not that material.Moreover, the current Hollywood is no longer the Hollywood of the past. They cannot make money, and if they do something to reflect the serious dark side of reality, that is suicide.

"No, I've always felt that you have the potential to be a film master. You act on your instincts, regardless of the clichés. That's the typical trait of a master. Human intuition does not need to be quantified by theory, human intuition is human emotions and minds The sum of all of them, only second-rate directors need formulas, and first-rate directors just follow their instincts."

"You are overrated. There is very little room for directors in today's movies. If you don't know what the audience likes to watch, you may fail at the box office. If you do it three times in a row, I will have to say goodbye to Hollywood."

"Hey..." Pauline also knows that the current Hollywood market is shrinking. If movies can drag the audience from the TV to the cinema, the industry is very different from what she was familiar with back then.

The two put this topic down and continued to chat about other movies. Pauline Carr's comments on major directors were very sharp, and she was more independent.She especially likes some movies that are not favored by mainstream film critics, and she also hates some movies that are generally favored.

According to her, most of today's film critics are the sisters-in-law of producers who can't find a job, and it's just for them to earn some money by giving them a position.

"To reflect the big problems of society, left-wing novels and movies are the birthplace of masterpieces, because they dare to attack the big problems of society. You can pay more attention to left-wing art. Stop making those popcorn movies, if you want Words that will leave a name in history."

When Ronald finally left, Pauline Carr still asked him to read more left-wing literature and art.

"Left-wing novels?" Ronald didn't really believe in this kind of stuff. The economy developed well after the general took office. Now everyone is busy making money, and no one is interested in caring about the dark side of society anymore.If you have the time, you might as well invest in stocks, or work two jobs and mortgage to buy a house.

However, what Pauline said is very enlightening. If you want people to remember your films decades later, you must grasp the pulse of the times and consciously grasp the psychology of the current audience.

Just like the current "Top Gun", it fits the American people's psychology of wanting to defeat the Souvier Alliance.Ronald came to a theater in New York to check the box office situation again.

In the afternoon, the box office of "Top Gun" was still very good. Many young people, including fathers and children, came together.

"Huh? What's this?" Ronald found a booth under the "Top Gun" poster, and there were two people in navy uniforms, watching everyone from behind the booth.

"Is this a new marketing method of Paramount? Or is it selling some fighter jet models?" Ronald stepped forward to see what happened.

"Sir, do you want to join the Navy? Do you want to be a carrier fighter pilot like the Lone Ranger? Just fill out a form here."

"No, but thank you."

Is this movie so popular?The navy is here to recruit troops?

　Happy birthday to reader infinityykz, who is studying film at NYU, and wishes you success in your studies.

　
(End of this chapter)