Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 775 Chapter 4 Thor
A glass of bubbly with two sugar cubes was served to Ronald. It was Olympia Dukakis who played his mother Rose.

Ronald drank it all in one gulp. The sparkling wine helped blood circulation, and the sugar quickly provided energy for the body. After a while, Ronald returned to normal.

"Are you okay?" Dukakis looked at the director and asked with concern.The shooting just now was very enjoyable. Did the director spend too much energy on the shooting?The dining table scene has always been a difficult action that the director tries to avoid, and stars like Xue Er have different ideas.

"Probably because I didn't eat, it's already 02:30, you guys should go eat something too, there will be a packed dinner tonight."

Ronald waved his hand, indicating that he was fine.

In Toronto, the crew is not familiar with the most local entertainment facilities, and most of the actors are middle-aged, without the enthusiasm of young people to indulge in parties.So after the filming and packing, instead of having a carnival party, it was replaced by a dinner party.

David Watkin was very happy listening to the indoor classical music played in the high-end restaurant, "This is the most interesting packing event I have ever participated in."

"Hahaha, pass me the salad." Ronald asked Nicolas Cage on the other side of the table to pass the plate that he couldn't get.

The staff and actors, like the big Italian family in the movie, gathered around several large dining tables, chatting while eating.Everyone is talking about the filming experience of this film, and predicting what the film critics will say after it is released.

Broadway actors still made a bunch, and they often collaborate on Broadway, but movies are a kind of mass entertainment after all, and they have more longings for the release.No matter how famous Broadway is, these actors are still not well-known, but the movie is different.

"Olympia, how did you come up with that improvisation, flushing the future down the toilet...hahaha, very similar to what the Italians would say."

Vincent Gardenia, who played his father Cosmo, asked Dukakis about the details of the scene at noon. Broadway actors usually communicate with each other about the performance of the day after the performance. Film shooting can be repeated in this way. Disk, to rare.

"Hahaha, that's what my mother said to me. She's Greek, but older people speak the same way."

Dukakis has been on Broadway for decades, both as actors and actresses.But she only gained acting skills, and she didn't play any leading role or win any awards.She has participated in several films, and no film critics have noticed her.

When people reach middle age and their children are about to go to college, they seize this opportunity to earn tuition fees.Her mother was furious and said something unpleasant to her daughter.

Greeks, like Italians, have a tradition of extended families.So when the children grow up, they will be complained by their parents.Ronald picked up the wine glass, "At a certain age, everyone becomes Italian. For the family! Cheers."

After the dinner, all the actors and crew went their separate ways the next day.

Ronald and DP David Watkin were left alone, waiting for film in Toronto.

Toronto is one of the production centers of film and television dramas in Canada. There is a company named "Medallion Film Lab", which is responsible for the printing of the film filmed here for "Moonlight Sultry".

"Moonlight" is MGM's first major feature film after another year of chaotic mergers and acquisitions.The project was set when Weintraub was still in charge, so all technical preparations are the best.

Therefore, this time, we also used the Techyi colorful printing process with the highest color quality in the industry.

This color film is the oldest color printing process in Hollywood.It was used in blockbusters like "Gone with the Wind" very early on.

In the [-]s, Technicolor had new technological developments, and the degree of color reproduction was the most capable of reproducing real-world colors among all color printing processes.

Many of Marilyn Monroe's films were shot with Technicolor, so American audiences can appreciate the true style of this sex symbol decades later.

However, the disadvantage of this process is that it is very expensive.He will use the three primary colors to print separately, and then use colored dyes to paint.Although it can be stored for a long time without causing the fading problem of ordinary color film, it is generally unaffordable for large-scale productions.

One of the most famous blockbuster films recently, which uses the colorful technology of Technicolor, is Coppola's "Apocalypse Now".

On the second day, Walter Murch, who was invited by Ronald to be his film editor again, came to Toronto, and together with David Watkin and Ronald, went to the Medallion Laboratory to see the positive film developed Effect.

"It's just right for you. The samples during the shooting were all quickly printed out with a simple printing process. Like you, I have never seen the positive effect of the real special art colorful process."

Ronald sat in the projection room, talking to Walter Murch.

"Let me check the effect. I just came from New York. The exterior scenes you shot in New York were developed in Technicolor's New York factory. Although the effects on both sides use the same process parameters, the equipment is new and old, and the potions and dyes are different. Batches, as well as the carefulness of the workers, may cause subtle differences, which need to be adjusted during post-grading."

"MGM has spent a lot of money. They must make the first movie they re-make popular. They have special people watching at the lab."

"I only believe in my own eyes when there are people involved in the process."

……

The samples of the movie were played on the screen one by one, and Walter Murch was very satisfied with the technical level of the Toronto factory.

"Actually, the level of craftsmanship and the experience of the workers here are even better than those of the Technicolor factory in New York.

You know, my father is Canadian, and I didn't expect their skills to be as good as America's. "

“The people we hire here are really good. Another movie I worked on, Disney’s Nanny, almost had an accident because the cleaners in Toronto were so dedicated.”

Ronald told Murch jokes about Chris Columbus playing the litter that was picked up by Toronto cleaners in the morning.

"Our new generation of Americans has really lost this serious spirit, if it weren't for the small population in Canada." Walter Murch shook his head.

Ronald couldn't help laughing, one of the signs of a person getting older is that he can't get used to the next generation.

The samples were put into the table scene shot on the last day.The ten-minute film, which was shot by several cameras at the same time, was shown on the screen.

"This scene has the demeanor of a master."

Walter Murch was lavish in his praise for Ronald's filming.

"It's all arranged by Mr. David Watkin. If it wasn't for him, I might not be able to seize the opportunity for this actor to enter the state."

"Yeah, very lucky boy." David Watkin was also very satisfied with his shooting, "I felt that the god of movies watched you at that time. How did you feel at that time?"

"Me? I don't know," Ronald looked at Murch and Watkin with interest.Both of them have been rolling in the film industry for decades, and they know that this state is rare.

Ronald went on to recall the state at that time, "I felt as if I had entered an area, a state. It seemed that the movie should have such a section, as if I just shot it out."

"Maybe, it's really someone who got on you?" David Watkin was a mystic.

"He just focused on it and entered a state of autopilot. The human subconscious mind is very powerful. Sometimes your conscious mind has not figured it out, but the subconscious mind has already figured it out clearly and will take over at the right time. Creation, many artists have a similar experience. My father is a painter, and I just watched him live like this.

Francis Coppola had moments like this too.When he was filming The Godfather, some scenes were like divine help. "

Walter Murch came from the age of the hippies, and he knew this chicken soup for the soul at his fingertips.

The praise of the two senior experts made Ronald very happy.

Walter Murch returned to Los Angeles with the developed film.In his editing room there, he will first start the work of audio and video synchronization and first cut.

Ronald is on vacation. He has a good impression of Toronto. There are still many Chinese immigrants here. Some Cantonese restaurants are doing very well, which is more in line with the taste than those in New York and Los Angeles.In particular, morning tea in the morning was completely preserved, eating some Chinese snacks and making a pot of black tea every day, which made Ronald linger for a while.

The good times are always short-lived. A few days later, Ronald received a call for help from Chris Columbus, the director of "Nanny Adventures".

After seeing some of his schedules on the first day of filming, Ronald knew that Columbus's director level could be assured. In order to reassure him, he said that he would call himself if he had something to do, and he would help solve it.Unexpectedly, Columbus really had something that Disney couldn't solve, so he called for help.

"What happened?" When he got to the crew, Ronald found Chris Columbus and asked what problems he encountered that could not be solved and he needed to come forward.

"I have two things that I can't solve. Now that time is running out, I have no choice but to ask you for help."

Columbus pushed his glasses. He is not a person who asks for help when he is in trouble.In fact, these two things are beyond his ability, and there is a time limit, so he can't take it slowly.

"Tell me, one by one."

It turned out that in the script of "Adventures of the Nanny", there were two interesting scenes, and they encountered problems that could not be bypassed during filming.

The first problem is that the heroine Chris Parker, after escaping from the gang of car thieves, knows that her car has been sent to the repair shop.

The youngest girl under the care of the nanny Parker is named Sarah. She has always been a loyal fan of the comic "Thor".

Dawson looked at the little girl and thought she was very imaginative, and let them drive the car home for the money to fix the tire.But Chris Parker couldn't afford $50 to fix the car, only $45.

Sarah gave Dawson the Thor Nordic helmet she was wearing. Dawson was amused by the little girl thinking that she was Thor in the comics, and liked her innocence and kindness, and finally returned the car to them.

This Mr. Dawson, originally the crew invited a Canadian bodybuilding champion and rock singer Jon Mikel Saul to play.

The actor's own name is Saul, which is the same as Thor's real name in the comics, which is a double joke.

But when the filming was approaching, Jon Mikel Saul showed his true colors when he entered the group, harassing actresses and female staff everywhere, and director Chris Columbus had to fire him.

In this way, this scene lacks a suitable actor to play Saul.

If the script is revised and replaced with a character who is not Thor in the comics, then the foreshadowing of the little girl Sarah, who was wearing Thor's helmet and holding Thor's hammer, will be empty.

"It's easy to solve, just change another actor." Ronald asked.

"Jon Mikel Saul is a very famous man, he is a double bodybuilder in Canada and America, and he is also the lead singer of the famous rock band 'Rock Warrior Thor'. If you change any actor at random, there is no The effect of the audience's knowing smile is lost. It also loses the convenience of marketing."

As soon as Chris Columbus talked about the difficulties, this scene was about to be filmed, and he had to find an actor who could be a bit of a gimmick to replace him.

"Ah... Who are you looking for?" Ronald understood. It was because Columbus had few contacts in the industry and couldn't find a suitable candidate for a while. He still wanted to continue his work as a director. As a producer, he really should help solve such problems.

Columbus didn't speak, just stared at Ronald.

"I?"

Ronald didn't expect Chris Columbus to take a fancy to his cameo role as Thor.

"You are tall and photogenic. And the audience will be a good talking point when they see your cameo. I don't have time to find new actors now. You are the best candidate to put out the fire."

Chris Columbus gave his reasons.

"Okay, but I have very little acting experience, so don't expect too much."

"It's okay, there's only one appearance shot, and some middle shots."

When Columbus saw that Ronald agreed to be a cameo, he immediately asked his assistant to finalize the shooting time, and then asked Ronald to try on the costume.

The stylist put Ronald on a blonde wig with a draped cape, and he looked chic for his six-foot-two height.

Another costumer came over and put Ronald on blue-collar jeans, a blue vest, and black leather boots, just like a handsome repairman in a garage.

"Oh, you are really suitable to play the blue-collar role." The makeup artist applied makeup to Ronald, and couldn't help admiring Ronald's chest and abdomen muscles.

"One more thing?" Ronald waved the makeup artist out of the way and chatted with Columbus about another problem.

Columbus looked at Ronald's makeup and took a few Polaroid shots, very satisfied.

"One more thing, it's the Playboy cover photo of the heroine Elizabeth Sue."

"Hey?"

Ronald thought he hadn't heard that Su went to shoot Playboy.

It turns out that this is also a design of the plot of the movie.

Nanny Chris Parker strays into the lair of car thieves.

On their desk, there is a "Playboy" magazine with a cover girl who looks very much like Nanny Parker.

Brad, the eldest son of the neighbor who had a crush on Chris Parker, secretly carried the magazine on his body. Later, because of this magazine, he almost revealed his secret.

This cover photo was originally intended for Elizabeth Su to take a fake one.But for the Playboy name to appear, Hugh Hefner, Playboy's costumer, had to agree.

I don't know what went wrong. Originally, Hefner agreed to transfer the title and copyright of the magazine to the film for a symbolic price, but the Temporary Playboy went back on his word.Disney's high-level executives couldn't find Hefner's people for a while.

Columbus knew that Ronald's reputation in the industry was more than he thought, so he asked Ronald to try it. If it didn't work, he had to remove the Playboy name from the magazine cover.

"Little Case, I'll ask someone to ask." Ronald felt that with his position in the industry, if he did it himself, such trivial matters would be fine.

……

"Oh, you really look like Thor."

The little actor who played Thor fan Sarah was named Maya Bruton, and she had an intersection with Ronald.In the '[-] hit "Back to the Future," she happened to play the younger sister of Michael J. Fox's character Marty.

Maya Bruton read a lot of "Thor" comics for the role. The appearance of Ronald is really similar to the incarnation of Thor in the comics, Dr. Donald Black.

"Really? Maya." Young actors are generally very cute, outgoing and good at communicating.

Ronald liked Maya Bruton's innocence.

"You can call me Sarah. I feel that I can maintain my role on the set, and I can play better." Maya Bruton tilted her head and looked at Ronald, looking sternly like a real actor.

"Okay, Sarah", Ronald had no choice but to follow the wishes of the young actors, if they were in a bad mood and couldn't perform, it would be bad.

"Ronald..." Elizabeth Sue was wearing a yellow camel hair coat, which was exactly her outfit in the movie, and said hello to Ronald with a smile.

"Hi Elizabeth."

Ronald went up and hugged her, "When do we start? I'm still a bit cold in this."

In Toronto in January, wearing a vest is still a bit chilly.

"It'll be fine right away. You, Sue, and the children will walk through later." Chris Columbus came up to talk to Ronald.

"Dawson is a blue-collar worker, and he only pays for his money. He doesn't want to give the car to Chris without the money. But Sara is naive and thinks that Dawson is the real Thor. Although Dawson denies it, Sara thinks It's the superheroes who don't want to reveal their identities..."

"Hmm...um..." Ronald nodded frequently, and Chris Columbus liked to tell the actors the background and psychological state of the characters before rehearsal.

The working methods of each director are different. Ronald has to respect the director's arrangement when he is here.

"So he is a mechanic who has not received much education, but is straightforward, willing to accompany children, and has a caring face and a warm heart."

"Okay, it's just a little silly, but kind-hearted." Ronald summed it up in his heart.

"Okay, Action!" Columbus announced that the filming of this Thor scene would start.

"Chi..." A puff of white steam spewed out from the bottom of Ronald's feet.Thor's appearance scene really looks like an appearance in a superhero comic.Slowly descending from a platform, there is still steam underneath to enhance the atmosphere.

"Ahem..." Ronald choked and coughed.

"Cut!" Columbus was not very satisfied with Ronald's mistake, "Ronald, you have to bear with it. We don't have more time or budget to make special props."

"Okay, I didn't pay attention just now, not this time."

Ronald apologized again and again. He held a car repairing tool hammer tightly with one hand and held it in front of his chest. He made a holy expression, and then stood on the platform with his body slightly backward to avoid the steam.

"laugh……"

Another puff of steam rose, and Ronald tried his best to hold back, maintaining a serious appearance.

The nanny, played by Elizabeth Sue, hands over a handful of cash.

Ronald smiled at Su, and ordered some money, "It's only 45 yuan here. I believe that you pay for it and deliver it. If you don't have 50 dollars, you won't be able to drive this car tonight."

"I'm sorry, a lot happened tonight, and that's all I have." Su's helpless nanny, who escapes from a den of thieves, attends a blues competition, and finds their car with difficulty.

"Then I'm sorry too." Ronald dropped the hammer and took it in another hand.

"Are you fighting against the forces of darkness?" Sara, wearing Thor's toy helmet and holding a plastic Thor's hammer, suddenly stepped forward and asked Ronald's Thor.

"What are you talking about?" Ronald held the tool hammer in his hand and made a confused expression.

"Uh, Mr. Dawson, she recognized you as someone else." The nanny played by Elizabeth Su hurried up to take Sarah away, she was a little scared of Dawson.

"No, I'm not mistaken, he is Thor, Thor, Thor. This is his protection status."

Sarah was in the nanny's arms, still struggling. This revealed Dawson's true identity (as she thought).

"Stop messing around, let's go." Sarah's brother Brad came up to pull his sister, and it would be bad if Dawson was pissed off.

"Don't listen to her nonsense, he also said you are a Homo."

"Listen, kid, are you kidding me?" Ronald grabbed Keith Coogan, the actor who played Brad, by the collar and lifted him up with one hand.

"No, no, sir, I haven't." Brad quickly denied, pulling his sister back.

There was a smile on Sarah's face. She felt that Thor should be so powerful, "But, Mr. Thor, shouldn't you protect the weak? We really have no money."

"Protect the weak?" Ronald looked at the Thor helmet Sarah was wearing. This little girl really believed in this. It would be bad for her to be disappointed in superheroes at this age.

"Hi," Ronald took out the car keys from his jeans and threw them at Elizabeth.

"Thank you, Thor!" Sara was overjoyed.

Snap, Elizabeth took the key, "Sir, may I know your address? I'll send a check for $5..."

"Don't talk nonsense, let's go," Ronald raised the hammer and signaled them to leave quickly.

"Cut!" Chris Columbus called off, looking happy and pleased with Ronald's performance.

"The acting is very good, very good, now, let's change the acting, Ronald, try to be more ruthless..."

"Eh...", I didn't expect this kind of director's trick to be used on me.

(End of this chapter)