Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 889 Hairspray Finished
Corey Yuen was determined to be the director of "The World of Fighters", and he stayed in Los Angeles to intensively audition actors.

Ronald only attended the audition for the male lead. The male lead was set to be an officer of the Chinese Overseas Legion. After hearing that his master's beloved son participated in the martial arts tournament and was killed on the spot by the villain played by Yang Si, he joined the legion. Run away and go to Xiangjiang to participate in the new martial arts conference to avenge the master.

"Who do you think is more suitable?" Ronald still respected the director's opinion on this kind of matter.

"From the point of view of movement, Jean-Claude is more suitable. His karate is more about light legwork. Few people can do as beautifully as he does the movement of turning around and kicking in the air.

There are many Bruce Lee-style martial arts philosophies in the script. The male protagonist has to cover his eyes to learn the kung fu of listening to the wind and fighting the weapon, and then strike according to the opponent's punching style.The kick in this standing position is also better for Jean-Claude.

Lundgren's karate tends to be actual combat, and it is not as chic as Jean-Claude in terms of movements. "

Ronald nodded, Corey Yuen had just come to Hollywood, he wasn't sure he wanted that actor on the job.Therefore, the answer is only analyzed from a technical point of view, so that even Ronald Lundgren has room for modification.

But Ronald agrees with him.Not only is the action good or not, but also the acting skills.Neither of these two are really trained actors, and they have problems expressing emotions, which can only be made do by close-up shots of facial expressions.

Judging from the results of the audition, Lundgren couldn't do a good job even if he made simple expressions of joy, anger, sorrow and joy in front of the camera.His facial muscles are relatively stiff, and he nervously makes bad expressions when facing the camera.

Jean-Claude van Daan's expression is also very dull, but at least it is relaxed enough that the audience will not fail to understand whether he is crying or laughing.

Corey Yuen confirmed the male lead, and talked with Ronald a lot about the background temperament in his mind.He hand-painted many movie scenes, all of which are traditional Chinese-style wooden structures. This kind of pure Chinese style with cornices and brackets is rarely seen in China.

Ronald liked this sketch very much when he saw it, and the audience felt a sense of mystery of an ancient oriental country when they saw it. This is a prelude to shaping Yang Si, a master of Chinese martial arts, and makes people feel that he is practicing in this kind of place. It must be a peerless master.

"Is there a studio in Xiangjiang with ready-made buildings?" Ronald tapped the table with his fingers. He also came from the bottom of the crew. Wood is very expensive, and wooden buildings are even more expensive. If anyone wants to tamper with the accounts, just do it Let the truck pull the wood a few more times and you'll be fine.

"No, Shaw Brothers in Xiangjiang, this kind of scene is also a temporary setting for shooting this kind of scene, but you don't have to worry, I have already found a good location for the actual scene."

Corey Yuen took a map and showed Ronald the real photos he took before he came, "Look, this place is between Kowloon Bay and Xin'an County on the opposite side, there are many vacant houses here, and the interior and exterior are very suitable for filming .”

"Kowloon Walled City?" Ronald looked at the traditional characters on the map and tried to read them out.

It turned out that the real scene he was looking for was the former Qingyuan Kowloon inspection department's residence.This is the most densely populated place in the world, more than nine times that of Mong Kok, where Ronald has been.Because it is a two-way zone, as long as we make an agreement with the local residents' assembly, the cost of shooting is very cheap.

"After the reunification was confirmed, the two parties negotiated to gradually demolish the Walled City. The first batch of residents who agreed to demolish this year have already received special subsidies to live in new houses with running water in Kwun Tong, so we can find many places.

Brother Long has friendship with the leaders of the local residents' assembly, and they promised to go to the ancient buildings left over from the Qing Dynasty, the Longjin Free School, and the Kowloon Inspection Office to take pictures. "Corey Yuen pointed to two antique buildings and said to Ronald.

"It seems that you have already prepared, and I am very satisfied." Ronald looked at the photos that Corey Yuen had taken before he came, and felt that he had found the right person.Longjin Yixue is the tribute courtyard of the imperial examination in the former Qing Dynasty. The bluestone floor and wooden pillar structure are suitable for the interior scene of the Martial Arts Conference.The inspector's yamen is suitable for shooting exterior scenes. "

……

"Tuk Tuk..."

After chatting a lot about film preparations, there was a knock on the office door.

"Come in," Ronald replied, and it was Rachel Talalay, the production director of "Hairspray", who opened the door.She followed the whole process of shooting hairspray.Ronald was very satisfied with her, so he promoted her to be the producer of "Boxing World".

"This is Rachel. She will go to Xiangjiang as a producer with Secretary Chen of the company." Ronald introduced Rachel Talalay to Corey Yuen.The two got to know each other for a while, and then began to arrange the schedule for shooting.

Secretary Chen is taking notes beside her. She can speak Mandarin and Cantonese. This time, she will be serving as a translator and daily clerical work.

"Hey, why are you still here?"

After the meeting, Ronald pushed the door out and found that Jean-Claude van Daan was still in the company. "We'll inform your agent about the results of the audition. You're useless here, too."

Ronald knew he wanted the role very much.Unlike Lundgren, Jean-Claude has not yet acted in a serious movie main role. After he auditioned, he squatted in a daydream, waiting for hours, hoping to know the result as soon as possible.

"You can practice your volley..." Corey Yuen didn't understand the rules of Hollywood, and when he came out of the office and saw Jean-Claude, he missed it.

"In Hollywood, the results of the audition are notified through the agent." Rachel Talalay immediately gave Corey Yuen a make-up lesson.

"Okay, you go back and wait for the official notice, there is nothing going on here." Ronald grinned, this is the cultural difference between the film practitioners in the two places.Hollywood has to follow rules for everything, and Xiangjiang can make a decision as long as the eldest brother says a word.

"I'm still your bodyguard now. I'll be your driver later. Where are you going?" Jean-Claude knew that the more this was the case, the more he had to show that he was closer to the boss. He hadn't officially received the contract yet. anything could happen.

"Okay, I have a driver, so you don't need to drive. You drive for director Corey Yuen, and we can chat more on the way."

Ronald greeted Rachel Talalay into his car, and the two cars drove to the editing room rented by Daydream. The editing of "Hairspray" has been completed, and today he is going to see the final look.

The car soon arrived at the editing room of Warner Bros. When Ronald got out of the car, he saw that Jean-Claude and Corey Yuen were chatting happily.

"Ronald, I gave Jean-Claude a Chinese name, it's convenient to go there for filming. It's called Jean-Claude."

"Yes, this name is very poetic." Ronald smiled. In addition to being released in America, the film is expected to be sold to distributors in Asia and Europe. There will be a version with Chinese subtitles at that time. Give him a Chinese name A nice little publicity trick.Foreign actors in Xiangjiang usually do this.

Several people came to the small internal screening hall, and Ronald met the director of "Hairspray", John Waters.He is still so energetic, a cigarette never leaves his hand.

"John, I'm looking forward to seeing your finished film."

"Ronald, I promise it will be great." John Waters hugged Ronald, before running to the back himself to let the projectionist begin.

"Hahahahaha..." Ronald watched with gusto, John Waters is really good.

This movie can basically be seen as a copycat version of "Dirty Dancing".The story itself and the progress of the plot are nothing like "Dirty Dancing".But the rhythm and tone of the whole story are almost the same as "Dirty Dancing".

But the audience generally can't see the imitation in it, because the heroine of this "Hairspray" is not a beautiful girl, but a fat girl with a very ordinary appearance.

The tone of the story is not a romantic drama (although there is a love storyline in it), but an old comedy.

In addition to the good performance of several protagonists, several supporting roles are also very brilliant.Including Cher's ex-husband Sonny Bono as a hilariously shrunken parent.And Drag Queen actor Divine, who plays the heroine's mother who runs a laundry.

The most interesting thing is that Divine and Ricky Lake, who plays the heroine Tracy, are both fat, with similar faces, and the rhythm of walking and talking, they look like a family, and I don’t know John Water How did director Si teach.

"Hey? What is this?" Ronald saw the middle, and suddenly discovered a very disgusting plot.At school, Tracy was teased by a classmate who took a cockroach and put it in her hair, which ended up making a mess.

"Ugh..." Secretary Chen, who was watching together, almost vomited.

Ronald glanced at John Waters, who was enjoying himself.

Ronald remembered that the director had previously made ultra-budget films.It may be because the budget is too low, and many times it can only shoot some disgusting plots, so that the audience can see some things that cannot be seen in normal movies, which can also attract some novelty hunters.

After another ten minutes, there was another very disgusting scene in the movie.That Drag Queen actor, Divine, vomited a lot on the ground.John Waters also gave the disgusting close-ups.

"Ugh..." Secretary Chen couldn't help it now, and hurried outside to vomit.

But after vomiting, Secretary Chen ran in quickly again. She thought the plot was quite interesting, and she wanted to see if Tracy won the TV station's dance competition in the end.

……

"How about it? Ronald, can it be shown like this?" John Waters asked triumphantly after the movie was over.He also noticed Secretary Chen's reaction. He was eager to come back after going to the bathroom. This was a good sign that the movie was recognized by the audience.

"Not bad, better than expected," Ronald recognized the quality of the movie.A film of this quality can be made with a budget of more than 200 million. The director's level is very good, and he must not be greedy for money.

But... "I said what's the matter with you, John? Why do you put these disgusting scenes in the movie, we are making a song and dance romance movie, not a horror movie."

"Isn't this a great response?" John Waters still didn't understand. From his past experience, he felt that this way of making the audience spit could also become a kind of word-of-mouth publicity for novelty hunting.

"I said, get over it. Did you make too many 10,000+ movies? This is a theatrical movie, and it will be shown in hundreds of theaters across the country. Cut it out, what cockroaches, what vomiting, cut it all for me .”

Ronald was dumbfounded by the director. The movie Daydream has been booked to be released in the off-season of the box office in February next year, and a marketing budget has also been prepared.This isn't one of those wretched John Waters old movies that only show up in some old midnight theaters in New York and Los Angeles, this is a regular release that makes it to the box office.

It would be a big joke if there was news about the audience throwing up at a romantic musical.

"Well, I didn't have any problems before?" John Waters used to have scenes of vomiting in every movie, as well as scenes of disgusting animals such as cockroaches and mice. He really didn't think this kind of cost-effective word-of-mouth publicity, there what is the problem.

"I'm really convinced of you, cut all these shots for me." Ronald made a gesture of cutting the film with scissors. "You cut it today, send it to Paramount's laboratory after finishing it, and find an audience to test it around Christmas."

"Okay, okay...I'll just listen to you." John Waters was a little upset when he heard that these "beloved" shots were being cut.

Ronald patted Waters on the shoulder in the past, "Don't be upset, your movie is skillful, and I expect this movie will make money. You can modify it according to my opinion. After the movie is released, you don't have to worry about it." I have a part-time job, and some people come to invest in you, so you can shoot as disgustingly as you want."

"Hahaha..." Everyone laughed.

"Okay, okay... I will change it according to your opinion. Anyway, your movie has a high box office... No one is better than you in understanding what the audience wants to see." John Waters also wanted to understand after laughing. Which Hollywood producer People won't propose revisions on the finished film?

Ronald, who only cuts two shots like this, is already very kind.Besides, he has a good intuition for movies, so it's better to listen to him for this modification.

"I'll go to the editing room to revise it right away, and it's expected to be sent to the laboratory tomorrow." Waters took out a new Marlboro, lit it with an old cigarette butt, took a few puffs, and immediately entered The editing room is out of action again.

Ronald smiled and got up and left with everyone. The movie looked like a promising hit.

"Hey, you
"Hey, why don't you go?" Ronald looked at Jean-Claude Van Damme dawdly, and just now he was going to be a bodyguard and driver for himself, and now his eyes are on John Waters.

"Hey, I want to learn about editing with Director Waters, so that if a shot is cut in the middle, how to connect the original front and rear films."

"Oh? How did you become addicted to studying editing?" Ronald glanced at Jean-Claude Van Damme unexpectedly.Seeing his sincerity, he talked about his understanding of the two shots, as if he had learned well from Walter Murch and had a good grasp of the basic principles of editing.

"I like editing very much. I originally thought that the actor's performance was the most important. After studying with Mr. Murch for a period of time, I realized that the performance on the screen is actually created by editing."

"Okay, you can learn from Mr. Waters." Ronald greeted Corey Yuen to get into his car, and asked Little Bard to take him back to the hotel first.

Ronald entered the editing room by himself, watched Jean-Claude Van Damme skillfully go through the editing log, and helped find the shot number.He took out the edited film, opened it skillfully, hung up the editing machine, and then pressed the button to move to the part that Ronald specified to be cut.

"Here's about a 20-second shot, what if the front cuts out and the back shot of Tracy screaming at the cockroach?"

Jean-Claude Van Damme is in the mood, much like an editing assistant, doing all the tedious work, and then waiting for John Waters to make a decision.

"This part of the shot is coherent. If you cut it, you have to cut it all out, but the shot after Tracy's home is switched, and the mother puts down the iron to comfort her. I think about what to do. There is no extra material here... "John Waters also scratched his head. How to let the audience pick up the original coherent plot after it was cut, he had to use his brains.

"Let's make a jump cut. Find this frame. Tracy's big head is in the same position as the film. She was bullied directly from school and transferred home to be comforted by her mother." Ronald pointed out.

"You heard it, just cut it like this. It's a master's stroke..." John Waters knew it would work when he heard it.

"Okay..." Jean-Claude Van Damme cut off the unnecessary parts, then took out the patented editing tape made by Daydream, stuck it on and tapped it twice on the editing machine, and the front and back were firmly glued. superior.

"Huh...it seems to be better than the original effect." Jean-Claude Van Damme put the film on the machine again, looked at one side through the monitor, and then looked at Ronald. His editing level is also so high?
(End of this chapter)