Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 866 Die Hard
"Do you Britons say Die Hard?" Ronald asked Alan Rickman.

Although the United Kingdom and the United States both speak the same language, there are actually many differences in daily expressions.

"Well, this phrase was coined by the British Red Shirts during the Napoleonic Peninsular War. A shotgun lieutenant colonel refused to leave the battlefield, encouraging his men to die hard (Die Hard )”

"Hahaha..." Ronald couldn't help laughing. Alan Rickman spoke in a uniquely slow manner, and his jokes were very good.

"Actually, this phrase is used more often in the political circles in the UK. It refers to those right-wing MPs who have firm beliefs and are not shaken by changes in the situation, such as the right-wing Conservative Party represented by Churchill during World War II."

Alan Rickman goes on to explain how Die Hard is used in British politics.

"How do you know this? I remember you are a graduate of the Drama Department of the Royal Academy of Art?" Ronald was very surprised.He himself has heard someone use Die Hard to describe the political stance of the current commander-in-chief, and some people say the same about Roger Ailes, George Sr.'s campaign adviser.

The political use of this phrase by the people of the two countries is quite similar, both of which describe people who have firm beliefs and will not waver.But how did Rickman, a theater actor, be so familiar with political allusions?
"Hahaha, my girlfriend Lima Horton has just been elected to the Chelsea council in London, where she is also the Labor whip. My brother is a Conservative MP for the Leicester council.

Lima nicknamed me Little Die Hard Thatcherite. "

"Hahaha..." Ronald shook his head. When Rickman said this, his expression was very sweet. It seems that he and his girlfriend have a very good relationship. With such opposing political ideas, they can still live together with sweet feelings. It is indeed true love. look.

"Ronald, we have to talk, you seem to be very happy..." Joel Silver came over panting, he had just been informed of the danger just now by the stunt staff at the scene, looked at Ronald and smiled happy, puzzled.

"I still have something to do with Joel..." Ronald said goodbye to Rickman, he glanced at the director John McTiernan in the distance, helped Silver, and the two walked to the office area of ​​the Fox Building .I found a meeting room with good sound insulation, which was used as the high-level lounge of the crew, and started a private discussion.

"I want to fire the bastard McTiernan, what do you think? Anyway, today is the first day, and he doesn't need to reshoot the explosions and jumping off the building." After closing the door, Joel Silver broke out angrily Yes, I picked up a decorative crystal ball and slapped it on the table vigorously.

"Why, you can't understand him making his own decision to let Bruce go into battle?" Ronald asked indifferently.

"Don't tell me you don't want to fire him on the spot! This guy's gone too far, and if something happens, we'll all be relegated to Hollywood. What do you think?"

"We really have to make him pay the price, this matter can't be left alone, but it's hard to find a director to take over now" Ronald put the crystal ball back in place, he doesn't want to take over the job, he has to be busy" It's not fun to take over other people's work halfway through the promotion of "Moonlight Sultry".

"I need you to find someone who can restrain McTiernan in the crew. Willis will not be allowed to play in person in future special effects shots." Ronald turned his back and said slowly, this is his Set boundaries for future shoots with Silver.

"I'll keep an eye on it myself..." Silver nodded, but Ronald didn't answer. In short, this self-proclaimed bastard McTiernan will continue to finish the movie.

"Record today's accident and report it to the stunt workers' union, the directors' union, and the film actors' union after sorting it out in detail. Do you agree?" Ronald proposed his own solution. This kind of thing cannot let him Disappearing without a trace made the director cheaper.But it's not good to make a big fuss and let the media know, at least not during filming.

"This needs to be cleared up for the trade unions so that they ignore the reporting time according to the process." Joel Silver thought for a while.It needs to be reported, but don't report it now, quietly without attracting the attention of the media, and solve it among insiders.

"I will say hello to the Directors' Union and the Screen Actors' Union, and the Stunt Workers' Union?"

"I'll get in touch. I'm familiar with their president." Silver continued.

"After the filming is over, I will put John McTiernan on the blacklist of daytime producers, and then tell the major studios, you..."

"I'll do it with you."

Ronald nodded, got up and made a cup of instant coffee for his partner Silver himself.Joel Silver was a professional man who knew the weight of the stakes.Both of them have a consensus on how to deal with it, not only to prevent future dangerous situations from happening again, but also not to hinder the interests of both of them.

"This bastard, I didn't expect him to be such a gambler." Silver took the coffee and took a sip.The accident had frightened him enough, and he hadn't expected it when he agreed to McTiernan's request to let Willis go into battle himself.

"You know what annoys me the most about John McTiernan?" Ronald also took a sip of his coffee.

"What is it?"

"This is a Die Hard gambler. He deliberately put this dangerous scene in the first scene..." Ronald narrowed his eyes, and McTiernan's heart was quite vicious and ruthless.

"Shxt! He's really a die-hard guy." Joel Silver, who had recovered from the shock, was brought up again by Ronald's words.So the bastard thought so.

The success is all due to him, and the two producers have to bear the main responsibility for the failure.Originally, Silver was just echoing Ronald's mentality, but now he added weight to McTiernan in his heart, and wanted to give him some ruthlessness after the filming was over.

"By the way, what do you think of this Die Hard phrase? I always feel that the title of the novel 'Nothing lasts forever' will mislead the audience that this is a romantic tragedy."

"Ah... well, it's not bad." Joel Silver was a little uncomfortable with Ronald's ability to quickly change the subject. This young man is very rational and a bit scary.When I was my age, I didn't know much about it.

"I think Die Hard can not only describe the texture of the movie at once, but also give the audience a little suspense and stimulate their curiosity..." Ronald said his reasons.Alan Rickman gave him an inspiration just now. This name has a bit of natural magic, and it will catch the audience at once. What kind of diehards are they?

It may also be a terrorist, or it may be the character of the NYPD who insists on being in charge of the protagonist McLean.

"However, let me see... I have a project that is actually considering using this name, but what you said, it seems to be more suitable for this movie."

Joel Silver took out his portable notebook, "Well, my screenwriter originally planned to use this name for this movie, so let's use it here first. The original name of the movie is 'The Last Boy Scout'. .”

The two talked about their caliber and returned to the scene together.

"John, let's talk," Joel Silver pulled director McTiernan aside to tell him about the two producers' decision.In the future, there will be a producer with decision-making power present on the set, who has the right to stop shooting if he finds that special effects shooting or other scenes are more dangerous than expected.

McTiernan will be responsible for the damage caused.

In the future, all action scenes with a certain degree of danger, regardless of whether the actor himself can do it or not, will be done by doubles for the sake of filming progress.The actor himself only shoots the close-up scenes of the face after the dangerous action is over.

Ronald went to talk to Bruce Willis.

"It's totally unnecessary, Ronald. I can handle those shots."

Bruce Willis put his arms around Demi Moore, and because of the jump just now, the adrenaline has not receded, and he is not afraid at all but a little excited.

"The director deliberately put this dangerous scene in the first scene to shoot. It is very dangerous. This is not a personal grudge, Bruce. As a producer, I must ensure that the filming is completed on time and with high quality. Even if you can do it, I will It's impossible for you to do it. If you twisted your foot during the stunt, the crew would have to stop.

Don't worry, I will leave all the close-up shots and the less dangerous close-up shots to you, but the panoramic stunts must be left to the stand-in Mr. Ken Bates, which is also a union rule. "

"Well, for the filming, I agree." Bruce Willis agreed as soon as he heard that his glorious image would not be compromised.

"That's all for today's shooting. You go back and take good care of Bruce, Demi. He will feel pain when the adrenaline wears off."

Ronald said hello to Demi Moore, then walked to an apple box in the middle of the set, picked up the microphone, and announced to everyone that the shooting tonight was very exciting, but because the roof needs to be restored to its original state by fire, In order not to go too far, the rest of the night's shooting was canceled and will continue tomorrow night.

Joel Silver over there also finished chatting with McTiernan. It can be seen that although John McTiernan is a little upset that he will have an emperor watching him in the crew in the future, he used a little wrist to put the best After finishing the shot, he smiled triumphantly.

"To celebrate the successful completion of the first day of booting, I ordered pizza and beer for everyone."

"Oh!" The staff applauded happily.

"John..." After Ronald finished speaking, he jumped out of the apple box amidst the applause of everyone, and smiled at director McTiernan.

After calling each other fools in their hearts, the two turned their backs and walked towards their own directions.

……

"Oh, this is a surprising director."

At the same time, Goldberg, the president of [-]th Century Fox, watched the last small-scale screening of "Moonlight" at the Twin Theater in Los Angeles tonight.

The performance of the actors under Ronald's training is surprisingly smooth and natural, without any trace of deliberation.Except that Cher as a non-professional actor is a bit different from other supporting roles.

But it doesn't matter, Xue'er is the heroine, and she already has the focus of the audience.And the acting skills of Nicolas Cage, who played with her, tend to be exaggerated.The two complement each other perfectly.

Two scenes in particular struck Goldberg with empathy.

One is that round of beautiful moon, which made people feel agitated, thinking of my first love, ready to move, but also a little ignorant.

The second is the table scene at the end, with so many characters and such complicated scheduling, the long shot is so natural.

The "God of Movies" must have favored him at this moment... Otherwise, how could a young man who is not yet married make such a warm family scene?
"Ronald, I'm Leonard, Leonard Goldberg"

"Mr. Goldberg..."

After Ronald returned to the apartment, he had already gone to bed, and suddenly received a call from Goldberg. He was a little surprised that Mr. President was looking for him so late.

"I watched your new movie 'Moonlight' tonight and I was very moved. It's an epic about immigration to the New World of America. I've rarely seen a movie that portrays family life so well, especially you. The young director..."

"Aha, glad you like it." Ronald replied with a smile.

Goldberg praised Ronald's work in all aspects. He really likes this kind of drama without action scenes, just ordinary people's life.This kind of film is actually more difficult to shoot than a purely high-concept commercial film. It is rare that Ronald can handle it so that the audience will not be distracted throughout the process.

"Well, I have a script here, which is also about New York, your hometown, but this time it takes place in Manhattan..."

"Looks like a good script," Ronald said with a smile while lying on the bed, holding the phone in one hand.The president personally called to invite, of course it is a good project.

"Originally this was a project directed by Michael Nichols, you know him... yes, he is the director of a graduate. However, there have been some changes in his personal life recently. I will ask my assistant to send it to you at the airport tomorrow, you Remember to call me back when you get to New York if you're interested."

"Is there a project looking for you? Is there a role for me?"

Diane raised her head from the bed, she heard a few words, and now she was very lacking in roles, she immediately opened her eyes and asked Ronald.

"Didn't Paula (Wagner) arrange a career development plan for you and contact some mini-series role auditions? I haven't read this script yet, so I don't know if there is any suitable for you." Ronald touched Diane's dark brown hair, to be honest.

"Ah... um... um..." Diane rolled around on the bed for a while.

"Okay, okay, I know, Paula told me that my problem in the past was that the character didn't have continuity, and I didn't use a series of movies to establish a similar image."

Diane knew that Ronald was unwilling to compromise on casting, and Paula said that Ronald was the heir to the comprehensive casting genre of Marion Doherty's New York casting studio.

This school has filmed many classics of New York movies, such as "The Godfather", "The Graduate", "Mean Streets", and a series of business cards for "The Legend of Xili". representative work.

They pay attention to the temperament and cooperation of the actors. If there is no suitable candidate, they are the kind of people who are willing not to shoot.

"However, if there is a suitable role for me, you..."

"Of course, why not? The same condition is of course you..." Ronald held Diane in his arms.

"Same conditions," Diane touched Ronald's slightly stubborn chin and kissed it.

……

"Well, isn't your man very brave?" At the same time, Bruce Willis was bragging to Demi Moore.

"I jumped from a height of 25 feet (7 meters 6) and there was a 60-foot wall of explosive fire behind me. Even Ken Bates, the most die-hard stunt double on the crew, said that this is not a move that every double would dare to try... ...Ah...you take it easy..."

"Huh...?" Demi, who was applying painkiller ointment to Bruce, raised her brows, "You know it hurts now? What Ronald said is really good..."

"He's just a director. If you want to say a tough guy, it depends on your man..." Bruce Willis even did a bodybuilding move to prove his qualifications as a tough guy.

"Director John McTiernan admired me very much. He said that I might become the second Stallone, and this movie would be the 'first blood' in the building," Bruce Willis continued to boast.

"Are you an idiot?" Demi Moore was so angry that she spread the ointment on Willis' back vigorously.

"Aw... how could I be an idiot? That's the character of the character"

"Didn't you hear what Ronald said to you when he went to the air mattress?" Demi Moore couldn't help this blue-collar cowboy personality.

"What?"

"He said that the director specially put this dangerous scene in the first scene to shoot..."

"Then what's the matter? This kind of heroic scene should be filmed in the first scene..."

"You idiot..." Demi got angry and turned her back to wipe the corners of her eyes.She thought of the scene where Ronald held his hand to comfort him when he turned pale with fright on the set. He was such a gentle person, much better than this idiot to women.

After a long time, Demi turned back to Bruce's question of why his girlfriend was so angry, "Don't you understand? If something happens to you, the director can change another actor, which will not affect the subsequent shooting. If it is filmed later... ..."

"Put it in the back, because there is my image in the front, so they can't easily replace me..." Bruce Willis is not an idiot, he just has a more cowboy temper.

"McTiernan, bastard!" Willis, who had figured it out, also began to curse, and punched the table down.

"The director doesn't care if you are in danger of being injured, that's why Ronald said those words, so that your dangerous moves will be done by a substitute..."

"It's okay, it's okay, Demi, I know you're worried about me..." Bruce Willis hugged Demi and comforted his girlfriend in turn.

"Well..." Demi thought that cowboys have their benefits, "Hold me, Bruce"

"Ah..., I can't move my back..." Bruce held his arms for a long time and didn't move. It turned out that after the adrenaline subsided from the pain in his back, his back started to really hurt after punching just now.

"You carry me back to my room, Demi, I can't move."

"Quit, go by yourself," Demi's emotion just now was interrupted again.

"I have here..." Bruce Willis took out a stack of 20 dollar bills, "There are 200 dollars, please help me in."

"You..." Demi Moore smiled angrily... "Come on," she grabbed the money and wrapped Willis' arm around her shoulders.

"Ouch, take it easy..."

(End of this chapter)