Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 730 Independent production is troublesome

"Oh, Ronald, you're such a gentleman." Kim Cattrall's two powerful long legs were now resting on the bed wearily.

"Why do you say that?" Ronald was a little puzzled. Could it be that the rounds of attacks he launched against this stunner on this big bed made her feel that her beauty was respected?That's why you say that?
Cattrall chuckled. She felt that she was 30 years old before she really felt the benefits of being a woman.It is to dress well and show her charm to men. This is what a female star should do.

"Do your homework well." Ronald is not disgusted with this kind of self-motivated actress, and told her not to forget to read the script and figure out the characters when she is working out and modeling.

Cattrall lived up to the opportunities given by Ronald. She put in a lot of effort and worked out every day.I tried my best to get close to the puppet in appearance.Being able to be a real "heroine" with a lot of roles in such a play.

……

Ronald asked Bard Jr. to go to the airport to pick up "Dirty Dancing" art director Ryan Weaver, and exterior designer David Chapman.

This film does not have the participation of the seven major studios, and the distribution has to be done by itself, which is tantamount to being "independent" from the Hollywood system. All kinds of things have to be brought together to Ronald and let him make decisions.Without his own team to deal with, Ronald had no choice but to decide these trivial and troublesome details by himself.

"The mountain and lake villas in Virginia are several hours' drive south of Catskill. Look, are these locations very similar to the resorts in Catskill? They are all decorated in the style of Jewish resorts in the 60s and [-]s."

Ronald looked at the exterior photos they had brought, and the photos of the two locations looked similar.

"Mountain Lake Villa is too far away from New York, and it was opened very late as a holiday resort for Jews. Since the 70s, it has been popular to go abroad for vacation, and their passenger flow is not much, which is greatly affected, so we can use cheaper ones. Price to rent."

"So that's the case, can't we bargain again?" Ronald looked at the price quoted by the other party, and it was still too high.

"We'll figure it out for you. You can take one day off a week, and Virginia doesn't have a Screen Actors Guild overseer. Then we can find another location for other interior scenes."

Ryan Weaver produced another stack of photographs.

"This is a place we found through North Carolina when we were scouting the scene. Look, these cabins are the houses where the poor boys who are suitable for supporting dancers live?"

Ronald looked at the photos. The house was small and dilapidated.It's a bit like my old house on Staten Island, with two transparent rooms at the front and back, with a panoramic view.

"That's right. It really looks like a poor man's house. How did you find such a similar place?"

"It's all thanks to David Chapman, who found a Boy Scout camp."

"Oh?" Ronald looked at Chapman, the exterior designer.

“This is an abandoned Boy Scout camp that could host hundreds of Boy Scout camps in the days when Boy Scout camps were in vogue.

But in recent years Boy Scout camps have declined, and not many people come here.The facilities were beginning to be dilapidated, and we could just rent them out for free and renovate them, and the appearance also matched the description of the dilapidated house where the backup dancers lived in the script. "

Ronald looked at the photo, it was indeed ideal.The level of the location designer is good, he can translate the feeling in the text into the appearance of the location, and he has a strong ability to find places.

"However, there are many scenes in the script that connect the resort and the place where the backup dancers live. You have to do a good job of recording the scene, otherwise the shooting will be divided into two places, which will cause a lot of confusion."

Looking at the details of the photos, the types of plants, and the style of the building are still slightly different.

"No problem, I will specialize in this matter next time, and make sure it will be properly posted." David Chapman is a very experienced industry veteran.This kind of thing happens a lot.

Ronald can give himself enough time to arrange in advance, and it will definitely make it impossible for the audience to see it.

"That's what a poor crew with no money is like. If there is enough budget, I will definitely finish all the scenes in Mountain Lake Villa." Ronald began to joke.

"You can't say that, director. I've seen many film crews, and there are not many directors like you who spend all their money on the final effect of the film." David Chapman took it seriously and immediately began to refute.

It's more interesting to work for a crew like this than for a crew that has truck drivers driving logs to keep accounts.

It's clear that the director wanted the movie to be a masterpiece.And his value is to let the director show the best effect with a limited budget.

"That's right, let's work together. I don't have any more budget right now. After it's released, if the box office is satisfactory, I'll give you bonuses."

Ronald is having some trouble with his production budget right now.The copyright purchase of music is much more than I expected.

It turns out that there are studios responsible for negotiating with record companies.And people like Weintraub are already in the music circle, so they don't need to spend a little energy on this part.

But it's different now, you have to ask yourself everything.The music director Danny Goldberg approached by Ronald, took the tape given by the screenwriter Eleanor, and went to check the current copyright owner song by song.

These are old songs from the 50s. Record companies have gone through a lot of mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, reorganization, and the copyright situation is more complicated.

Others are in the hands of the creators, and some have passed away and are negotiating with the children of all the owners.

Ronald felt that it was not worthwhile to use these trivial matters to find Weintraub and others to sell face, so he asked Goldberg to take charge of the entire copyright negotiation.

Danny Goldberg said that it will take one or two months to complete the negotiations, and the copyright of the songs will not be cheap, because Eleanor picked all the hit songs on the charts at that time.

There are money holes everywhere, and Ronald feels that half of the budget has disappeared before he has finalized the cast.

Now David Chapman saved himself one-third of the venue rent, and he had no choice but to rely on his reputation to write empty checks to them.

I hope they can believe in themselves and do things with all their heart for the sake of being a blockbuster director.

……

"I hope you can find some better candidates. If this movie can sell well after it is released, I will give them a bonus..."

"Stop kidding, Ronald. The dancers, like in your script, are poor. They just live off your wages and try to pay the bills at the end of the month."

The speaker was Kenny Ortega, a cheap choreographer Ronald had hired.

This is Madonna's choreography when she filmed the "Material Girl" MV.He also worked as a choreographer in John Hughes' films such as "Pretty in Pink" and "Spring Is Not a School Day".

The main reason to find him is because he asked for a cheap price.A choreographer in a youth film is definitely not a top choreographer in the industry.Being chosen by Madonna to choreograph, it also shows that his level is not bad.

However, Kenny Ortega was born in a poor family, his mother was a restaurant waiter, and his father was a factory worker. He had seen all kinds of liars since he was a child, and when he heard this kind of talk about giving bonuses later, he was born to disbelieve .

"But these backup dancers are too..."

Ronald looked at the photos of the dancers that Ortega brought, and really didn't want to use them.All of them looked crooked, either the men were as thin as skeletons, or the women were fat and round.

In the dream scene, there are not too many close-ups. Is it this woman?Ronald looked at the photos carefully. Who would remember what a fat girl who danced well looked like in a movie?Maybe you have to see them dance to recognize them.

"It's the first time I've seen a female dancer so fat. I've dated a lot of girls who danced..."

Ronald also has a little distrust of Ortega, so he came up to ask about the situation first.

"With your budget, can't you hire them..."

"But this is too frustrating..."

The two chatted quickly, and their voices gradually became louder, a little bit like they were about to quarrel.

"Can I say a few words?"

Assistant choreographer Miranda Garrison is a very attractive woman, she stopped the two men.

"Of course, please tell me." Ronald looked up and down, if it was a dancer with Miranda's appearance and figure, he would not say anything.

"First of all, the budget for this film is really small, but if you stick to those good-looking dancers, it is still possible."

"Miranda..." Orte became anxious. Those beautiful men and women who can accept this price are all trying to get into the entertainment circle, and their dancing skills are actually a mess.

"Wait until I finish..." Miranda stopped Ortega.

"However, if I heard that the dancing in this movie is very important, I think it's the best choice to find them. These people have flaws in appearance, but they are dances that everyone in the industry has heard are very good. talent.

You want to look good, dance in general.Or is it an outstanding dancer with a mediocre appearance?Besides, these are supporting roles, don't they just bring out the beauty of the protagonist? "

Ronald smiled, "What you said makes sense. I agree. But if I want to be really good dancers, you train them well. As long as I get results, I want to look like my dance partners who have been dancing together since childhood. You You should understand after reading the script."

"Like a dance partner you've worked with since childhood? That's not easy." Kenny Ortega began to scratch his head.

"Why, you can't do it?"

"I think about it, there may be a way. It is to separate the dance movements. How about these two skinny guys, their waist movements are good, so I let them only practice the waist movements. This fat girl's expression and shoulder movements are good..."

"Just follow your method, and I'll see the result when the time comes."

"No problem," Ortega is sure about only training one movement.

"When will the lead actor Johnny and his dance partner be available? They are the two best dancers in the show. We need to spend more time training them."

"Ha, these two roles are not up to you to decide. The Screen Actors Union has to conduct a formal casting. I can only say as soon as possible."

"Ronald, have you chosen the director of 'Dirty Dancing'?" the screenwriter Eleanor came to ask him again.

"Talking to Adrian Ryan. He hasn't made a final decision yet."

"He's good, what about the male and female protagonists? Especially the male protagonist Johnny, you promised me to watch it."

"I'll call you when it's time for the audition."

(End of this chapter)