Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 768 Why Do Men Love Women?
The story of "Moonlight Sultry" takes place in Brooklyn, New York, where the law and order is much worse than in Manhattan.

The location was filmed here, and MGM filed a report application with the city hall. Two NYPDs came to the scene, wearing loose uniforms that had not been ironed at first glance.

Compared with the "Fame" filmed on the streets of Manhattan six or seven years ago, it is clear that the support of the city hall here is much weaker.

Of course, MGM will not only rely on the NYPD to ensure the safety and order of the crew. According to the regulations, they notified the Italian gang in Brooklyn. After watching a few scenes shot by the crew, their little leader saw that It's a romantic comedy, and the protagonist Cher's makeup is old-fashioned, and the costumes don't have any feminine charm.

Soon they lost interest in the crew, and only found a few young people to watch the scene.

This kind of movie has neither gang feud like the godfather nor good-looking young and beautiful girls, and the Italian gangsters are not interested at all.

In addition, now the five major families in New York have been hit hard by Rudy, the Attorney General of the Southern District of New York, and even the little people are listless.

"Why do you think a man loves a woman? Such a woman is still a widow, but there are still people who love her?" A gangster muttered in a low voice. He felt that the plot of this movie was very nonsense.

In Italian culture, a widow whose husband died unexpectedly is an unfortunate woman.Men play with such widows at most, and are unlikely to marry them.

"Hollywood, there are all kinds of messy movies. Who wants to watch stories about middle-aged women? I think the director is an idiot. It's better to make The Godfather, that's the best movie in the world."

"That's right, it would be great if I could get John Travolta to play a song and dance show with beautiful women. Now that I'm called by the boss to watch the scene, I have nothing to brag about when I go back to my girlfriend."

……

Just when they were commenting on Ronald, in a department store around the corner, the crew was filming a scene where Xueer went to buy wine to celebrate after her boyfriend Johnny proposed.

"Action!"

Xue'er, who was standing on the road outside the door, was wearing a gray coat and black boots. She was all over her body, only her gray hair was not in a gray tone.At first glance, it looks like a boring accountant, not a beautiful woman who makes people admire.

The camera is inside the department store, shooting towards the outside.

"Lingling..." Xue'er who opened the door rang the wind chime on the door, and the elderly husband and wife shopkeepers inside were still complaining to each other.The boss gets up and says hello to Cher's Loretta, "good evening".

"Don't try to talk nonsense. I saw that you looked at her in the wrong way. What were you thinking when you looked at her?" The proprietress was still relentlessly scolding the boss. The beautiful woman who bought the wine took a few extra glances and chatted with her, which touched the nerves of the proprietress.

"What do you want to buy?", the boss laughed a few times, and then continued to do business.

"Champagne." Loretta pulled out twenty dollars and handed it to the boss.

The boss turned around and went to the refrigerator behind him, took a bottle of cheap champagne, and was still joking with the proprietress, "Then what do you think I was thinking when I looked at her?"

"Like a...wolf!" The proprietress said viciously beside her.

At this time, the camera is focused on Cher who is on the other side of the counter, and the close-up is aimed at her face.

This is the second time the crew has shot this scene, and this time it is mainly shooting close-ups of several actors.

The proprietress who plays the supporting role for Cher is also a veteran supporting role on Broadway. Her jealous and complaining eyes are very well done.

These Broadway actors must be very satisfying to Ronald. Even if they were there during the filming, they stood behind the camera, cooperated with the protagonist, and finished their lines to be filmed in front of the camera. A reasonable response from the main character.

But even with such cooperative work, the supporting actor still meticulously performed the show.Her eyes and facial expressions clearly showed two levels. At the beginning, she was jealous of the woman who had caught her husband's attention.

Then there is resentment at the fact that the husband is ignoring his feelings.

Although her face is aging and her waist is already thick, the appearance of acting like a baby in front of her husband is still the appearance of a girl in her early 20s.

Cher, who played Loretta, looked into the eyes of the actor behind the camera, and she felt the emotions conveyed by the other person very well.

Under the gaze of the camera, when Xueer heard the phrase "You look like a wolf", she suddenly raised her head, and her eyes seemed to look at the proprietress indifferently.

Ronald caught the look behind the camera, and he was delighted.Xueer's performance is restrained and accurate, maybe she is talented in acting, maybe she and the heroine Loretta have common emotions in some places, or some mysterious reason, this scene Cher The performance is excellent.

This script has a difficult performance level in the first act, which is why Loretta has a passion with his brother Ronnie after accepting the engagement of her boyfriend Johnny.

This place needs a very subtle performance. If the performance is not good, the audience will wonder why such a middle-aged widow still behaves like this?They get caught up in the confusion and ask themselves this question, and they get detached from the story, which is very detrimental to the audience's attention span that a good movie requires for a long time to follow the plot.

Or even worse, the audience accepted the plot but lost sympathy for what happened to Loretta.If Loretta becomes a woman who is easygoing or not clear-headed in the eyes of the audience, then all the following stories will have no foothold.

If the protagonist cannot make the audience have the empathy to lament for her experience, then the entire building of the movie will collapse.

For this reason, Ronald specially arranged this scene.

It is a kind of nature that men love beautiful women, which is the true meaning of the proprietress' lines, "You are a... wolf".

Even though the two bosses are arguing now, when they were newly married, they must have been like glue, and when they looked at each other, they had an indelible possessive desire.You can definitely see this fiery passion in the eyes of the person you love.

And this is the missing key between Loretta and his fiancé Johnny.

At this glance, it was naked jealousy and envy for the proprietress.

Loretta wasn't someone Johnny could set up a scene to propose.But when they were eating together, Johnny said that his mother was seriously ill and that he was going to fly back to Italy to see her for the last time.

In the same restaurant, a university professor, Perry, is going to propose to his female student.

The waiters at the restaurant have prepared various scenes, including the wedding rings being served on a plate.

But Professor Perry had a big quarrel with the female student, and finally they broke up.The female student even poured a glass of water on the professor.

At this time, the waiters began to celebrate. If Professor Perry is not married, he will continue to eat in the restaurant.

At this time, Loretta felt something in her heart, and in a hurry, she asked her boyfriend Johnny to propose to her on the spur of the moment.

And Johnny didn't make any preparations, and Loretta was very dissatisfied with the casual proposal. She would not agree to a marriage proposal without a ring.

In the end, Johnny took off the ring on his little finger to make the proposal successful.

Such an experience did not contain any romantic elements at all. On the contrary, before the marriage proposal, the two became the mentality of living.

Seeing the owner of the grocery store, at the same age as the owner's wife, with strong jealousy and admiration, Loretta's heart surged with a desire for this kind of life.

"Like a...wolf, huh?" The boss picked up the champagne, put it in a paper bag, and handed it to Loretta.

This is a new change brought about by the underage (no) drinking bill pushed by the current president and first lady Nancy two years ago.

Acts passed by Congress do not automatically enforce the powers of the states.But it is only in front of the federal regulations that any state that does not allow minors (under the age of 21) to drink alcohol will not receive a series of federal education funding.

Soon, as a relatively "progressive" state, New York State passed state laws and began to strengthen restrictions on various alcohol consumption.One obvious difference is that after you buy alcohol, you can't openly take it in public, and you can't put it in the car.

It must be wrapped in a paper bag to indicate that you will not drink in public or while driving.so as not to have adverse effects on minors.

"What...wolf, you have never seen the eyes of a living wolf in your life." The boss began to tease the boss lady.There was a joke between the old couple.

"I have seen the eyes of wolves. I have seen this kind of eyes in every man's eyes, especially in your eyes just now."

Loretta took the change and put it in her wallet.There is a mysterious desire in her heart that she dare not tell others, and she also wants to see that kind of...wolf's eyes in Johnny's eyes.

"Oh, do you know what I saw in my eyes?" The boss continued to tease his wife.

"See what?" The proprietress was still a little sullen.

"I saw the girl I married when I was newly married."

"Oh...", the proprietress turned her anger into joy, she was very pleased with her husband's deliberate sweet words, and kissed him with a smile.

Seeing this, Loretta also laughed, said goodbye to them, and walked out of the store.

"Cut!"

Ronald watched Xueer's performance in the video tape split by the camera, and he was quite satisfied. With that smile, Xueer should be able to do better.

"You did very well, very well, now can we switch to a method..." Ronald and Cher chatted about her acting method.

Xueer is a star, so you can't talk to her in the usual way to deal with actors.Because the self-awareness of the stars is relatively large, Ronald has to go around a bit, first praise the other party's ability, and then propose another acting method that he thinks is more appropriate.

"Sorry, Ronald, today's time is up. You have extended the shooting time by half an hour. According to the regulations of the Screen Actors Union, you cannot continue shooting today."

"What? Miss Xue'er didn't raise any objections either. What are you talking about?"

Ronald was already about to persuade Cher to do it again, when the representatives of the Screen Actors Union who suddenly appeared, rudely quoted the rules and laws of the association, and demanded that today's filming end here.

"This is the stipulation of the union. If you are dissatisfied with my behavior, you can file a reconsideration with the New York Office of the Screen Actors Union. But now, I must say, it's time for a break. The Actors Union is for the well-being of all registered actors consider……

Even if the main actor agrees, you also have to take into account all these supporting characters who play with her, as well as cameramen, sound engineers, lighting engineers, etc. who also work under difficult conditions.If you don't stop filming, I'll be next time with a rep from their union. "

After hearing the threat from the trade union representative, many staff members of the photography team, recording team, and lighting team immediately started packing up their equipment.

"Moonlight Sultry" is a project of MGM, and it has been officially registered in all major trade unions.

New York is also the city with the most powerful unions in the film and television industry, and they can't afford to offend these professional union leaders.

They are not real actors, nor are they employees in the film and television industry, but off-duty professionals who specialize in trade union affairs. The major film crews in Hollywood dare not offend them.

Ronald felt very helpless. Originally, one or two more shots of this scene could achieve the best effect.But once this is interrupted, the filming will be re-shooted tomorrow or later, and the actor will have to find a new state. There is a certain possibility that the actors will never find a similar good state.

In addition, this scene is in the evening, and tomorrow's supplementary shoot will also have to be filmed in the evening. There are not many filming times before the off-duty time stipulated by the union, and there is not enough time.

It's not a nine-to-five office clerk job. This is film creation. Is it necessary to strictly adopt this nine-to-five eight-hour work system?

Ronald looked aggrieved at another wasted day.

"You have been in New York for a long time. When they shoot in-studio scenes, will the union staff also use the precise card time?" Ronald asked his director of photography, David Watkin.

"It's true. There are too many Broadway actors in New York. When many roles audition, there are often more than 100 actors to try for a vacancy. If it weren't for the strict protection of the union, they would suffer a lot. So New York has always been the strongest actor union. One of the two largest cities.

Your studio in Long Island cannot escape the keen sense of these union personnel. "

"That's not fucking okay," Ronald thought, his two long shots, especially the ending scene at the dinner table, obviously requiring long rehearsals and reshoots.

It takes a long time for the actors to try before the collision can overcome this movie's biggest challenging moment.

If the trade union staff called to stop when the actors just found their status, Ronald would be about to cry.

"I have to have a meeting with the top management of MGM. I have to move the later indoor scenes to a place where the union is not strong."

In the evening, Ronald found Weintraub's subordinate at MGM, an executive in charge of the production business, and put forward his request.

"There are only two suitable places. One is Virginia or New Jersey. The appearance of the buildings there and New York are both old-fashioned neoclassical style and will not be worn out. The trade unions in these two states are also relatively weak.

The other is Toronto, Canada, where the street scene is very similar to that of America, and the interior style of the house is also similar to that of New York.There are so many contemporary dramas that the seven major studios are filming in Toronto or Montreal, Canada.

Moreover, after the union learned that you were not filming in New York, they might not have thought that you would go to your northern neighbor for the first time. "

"You do this for me, okay?"

When Ronald heard it, since there is such a good place, why not go there quickly?Anyway, plus the shipping fee, hotel fee, and the cost of re-setting the scene in the studio, all the money is not as good as the cost saved by being able to work overtime at will.

After all, in the movie shooting industry, the most important thing is to follow the schedule and not shoot according to the plan. This is the biggest black hole of wasting budget.

MGM is still very supportive of this film, and quickly airlifted the set team and materials to Toronto, rented a large studio there, and began to build the big house of Loretta's family, her fiance's younger brother Ronnie's apartment on the second floor of the bakery, and some other interior scenes.

It is estimated that in three weeks, all the sets can be built and completed.In fact, they are still very happy. Now everyone in the industry knows that when shooting in-studio scenes in Toronto, they can basically save 20.00% to [-]% of their time because they can work overtime.

This time saving has brought about a substantial reduction in staff salaries and equipment rentals.In comparison, some freight charges and the increased cost of setting up new scenery can only be regarded as small money.

The time is just right, and when the scene is finished, Ronald can basically complete the location shooting in New York, and then move to Toronto with the rest of the crew after the Christmas holiday.

……

Prior to this, filming continued on various street scenes in New York.

It was a scene at Loretta's house that was filmed that day.

Loretta brought home champagne from the grocery store and wanted to share the good news with her family.

But at home, it turns out that everyone has personal troubles, and no one seems happy that she is getting married again.

The first thing I saw was the old man on the wooden stairs on the second floor.

Fyodor Chaliapin's old eyes, a little cloudy, just presented the image of a somewhat old and confused grandpa in the camera.

He saw Cher's Loretta come home, and instead of saying anything to her, he yelled at the dogs behind her.

After a while, they all rushed around Loretta, rushed up the stairs, and went to the room with the old man.

"Cut!"

Ronald has never interfered with Fedor Chaliapin's performances. He doesn't need to give any advice himself to know what the best way to perform a scene is.

If it weren't for his severe deafness, Ronald would actually like to discuss the acting of some difficult scenes with him.

But sometimes the old man had to be deaf several times before he understood Ronald's problem roughly, so Ronald gave up on this thought, as long as Fedor Chaliapin could play his role well, he would not Ask for nothing extra.

"It's really strange. How come he doesn't seem to be deaf at all when he plays with Cher or Olympia Dukaski. When he talks to me, it takes a lot of effort."

Ronald saw a real-time black and white video on the small display behind the camera.This is the one just now, the result of playback on the video recorder.

Ronald muttered in a low voice, which was still heard by the director of photography David Watkin.

"These actors are all magical. Once you call Action, they seem to have a sixth sense and can perceive every move of the actor in the opposite role." David Watkin has always filmed this kind of rival role that requires acting skills. The photographer, who gave Ronald an answer that wasn't an answer.

"Well, that's true," Ronald scratched his head, "but he must have some secret."

……

The camera shifted to the second floor, where Vincent Gardenia, who played the role of father Cosmo, was wearing vertical striped pajamas and thick glasses, sitting on a chaise longue in the corner, listening to old songs from the record .

"At this moment, the phone rang and I jumped up
when i grab the phone i pray

let it be him, oh dear god

it has to be him or i die

Otherwise I die"

"Dad, why did you sleep here? Where's Mom?"

Loretta came into the camera, she sat next to her father Cosmo, a question, woke up Cosmo who was listening to Vicky Carr's old song "It Must Be Him".

"I can't sleep, I'm probably dying, I can't even sleep."

"Dad, I have an announcement to make."

"Okay! Let's go to the kitchen." Cosmo looked shocked. The last time the daughter said there was news, it was because her ex-husband had a traffic accident. "

Loretta opened the champagne and poured two glasses.Cosmo put a sugar cube in each glass, waited for the bubbles to rise, and clinked glasses with his daughter.

"I'm getting married." Seeing that the atmosphere was right, Loretta announced the happy news.

"Again?" Cosmo seemed more frightened.

"Yes!"

"Didn't you get married before? It was unsuccessful."

"That's because my husband died."

"What killed him?"

"He was hit and killed by a bus." Loretta assumed her father would react like this, so she acted calmly.

"No! He wasn't killed by a car, it was because of his bad luck." Cosmo waved his hands excitedly, palms up, fingers together.

"Your mother and I have been married for 52 years, and no one has died. What about you? After two years of marriage, your husband died. You are not suitable for marriage. Don't get married."

"Who are you going to marry?" Cosmo found another reason seeing his daughter's insistence.

"Johnny, Johnny Cammareri" Loretta said the name of her fiancé.

"Johnny? Johnny!" Father Cosmo was excited, "He is still a child, by the way, why didn't he come to tell me about your matter?"

"Because his mother is dying, he will go to Sicily to see him." Loretta was also anxious, and his father Cosmo wanted to shirk again and not pay for the wedding.She speeded up her speech, raised her hands, and gestured with her five fingers together.

"Look...look...it's bad luck again, you are not suitable for marriage!"

"You have to organize a wedding for me and send me off. You didn't send me off last time. If you had, maybe I wouldn't be so unlucky. And Johnny knelt down to propose."

"He knelt down? Where's the ring?" Father Cosmo was still looking for something out of order, he didn't want his daughter to get married.Americans, especially Italians, are responsible for all the costs of a married daughter's wedding.

This is also a big expense for middle-class families.Not to mention Cosmo, who relies on his cleverness to do hardware business.

"Yes, look, this is the ring?"

"This is the engagement ring? This is the tail ring worn by Italian men. It's a toy!"

"It's temporary! He'll get a good one when he comes back!"

"Temporary, everything in the world is temporary, including marriage."

"Humph!"

"Hmph! Talk to your mother."

The father and daughter broke up unhappy.

"Cut!"

Ronald called a stop to the shooting. The two actors rehearsed the scene for a long time, and the lines were spoken quickly and urgently, full of emotion.

It's as if two fish are chasing each other's tail. After one person finishes a sentence, the other will immediately catch up and block the other's speech.

Despite Shanley's wonderfully written script, the two actors, Cher and Vincent Gardenia, did not rely entirely on rehearsal to connect this demanding rhythm.

The roles that the two have fully entered, relying on human instinct, are acting in this scene.

Of course, the basis of the rivalry is Vincent Gardenia, who has won the highest award in American drama. He can adjust Xueer's slightly inaccurate rhythm every time, relying on his own lines and movements, and then quickly Going back comfortably, it's easy for Xueer to pick it up.

……

After another two hours, the camera came to the bedroom.The lighting group has done a good job of simulating fluorescent lamps.

"Action!"

"Ross, Ross... Ross..."

Cosmo called his wife's name and entered the bedroom with his daughter.

"Who's dead?" Loretta's mother woke up from her sleep, and her first reaction was that someone died.

Olympia Dukakis turned on the desk lamp lying on the bedside. The light group rested on a component and paused for half a second, giving the audience a sense of the time difference between the switch and the light on.

Although there is no time difference between switches and lights in daily life, the audience is more accustomed to this routine when watching movies.

"Nobody's dead, Loretta's getting married."

"Again?" Rose was taken aback, and then she asked, "Johnny? Johnny Cammareri?"

Mothers do know their daughters better than fathers do.

"Do you love him?"

"do not love."

"Oh, that's good. If you love him, he'll keep torturing you, because he knows they can." Saying this, Olympia Dukakis, who played Ross, glanced at Cosmo's Played by Vincent Gardenia.

"Tsk..." Ronald looked straight behind the camera.

Olympia Dukakis has more rhythm than Vincent Gardenia.

She talks to her daughter on the bed, and even satirizes her husband Cosmo with a pun.This kind of three-person dialogue scene is many times more difficult to maintain the rhythm than the two-person scene.

Olympia Dukakis distributed the attention on her husband and daughter very well, and immediately focused the eyes of all the audience on herself.

This ability to steal the show unconsciously is still very good.Moreover, Xue Er, who plays the daughter, will not be unhappy because of such a scene stealing.

The better the reaction of Olympia Dukakis, the stronger the reaction of Waiting for Cher, which was naturally brought up by Dukakis.

"So do you like him?" Mother Rose asked Loretta a second question.

"I like him, he's a sweet guy."

Mother Rose smiled happily.It's really nice to have a son-in-law who likes his daughter more than his daughter likes each other.

"This time, I'm going to get married in a church, and I'm going to hold a formal wedding banquet." Loretta said her request in front of her mother.

"Ha, then who will pay for this money?" Olympia Dukakis raised his eyelids slightly, and his attention was immediately directed to his husband Cosmo in the background.

"This kind of performance that is as light as weight can mobilize the audience in the blink of an eye is really good." Ronald was more and more satisfied with Julia Taylor's casting.

If the casting is good, the acting guidance will be more convenient when the filming starts.

"Dad is going to pay for his daughter's wedding."

"I'm not going out, I have no money." Cosmo quit, left immediately, and slipped away from the scene.

"It's not that you don't have money, you're just stingy. You have more money than Commander Roosevelt, but you can't give up a word." Mother Rose also complained to her husband.

"This is the responsibility of the father. The wedding of the daughter is all paid by the father."

Cosmo's people had already fled to the stairs, "I have no money, I'm not going out."

"I told myself I did everything I had to do.
I tell myself don't be a fool

have fun on the field

It's easy when you're being cool"

The old song started playing again.

This is the recording crew playing recordings outside the walls.

"He's listening to that damn Vicky Carr song again, and he won't even touch me in bed."

Olympia Dukakis made a hand gesture on the bed, expressing dissatisfaction.

This is what Ross said just now. Ross loved Cosmo deeply, so Cosmo could be angry with her. If he had married someone he didn't love, he wouldn't have such trouble.

"Cut!"

It's very simple for Ronald to shoot these old Broadway dramas.They respect the director, respect the script, never modify the lines themselves, and have memorized all the lines before coming to the crew.

Ronald has seen their scripts, and the lines are full of context, accents, and rhythmic symbols before and after the lines.

With the support of these backbone actors, the shooting is getting better.

(End of this chapter)