Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 897 All-Star Lineup

Send newcomer screenwriter Kevin Wade back, modify the ending according to Harrison Ford's opinion, and some lines of Jack Trainor in the script to make it more in line with Harrison's own habits (such as the bad Smiled and said Na...).

Ronald also began to want to recruit.Such a happy ending, compared with the original open ending, is more pleasing on the surface, but the audience is a bit lacking in surprises. In fact, it is suspected of weakening their emotional outburst.

"Working Girl" is actually a modern remake of the classic novel "Tess".Ronald first asked Richard to help find a screenwriter who could write this type of script, and reorganize the story flow of the movie.

……

At the end of the year, the directors' union held a general meeting in Los Angeles and began to elect a new chairman.Ronald went to the conference to vote, and wanted to talk to some big directors about how to deal with the relationship with the stars.

"Hey, Ronald," Martin Scorsese also came from New York, he came to Los Angeles for the release of "The Last Temptation of Christ" and attended the union meeting by the way.

"Marty, just right, I have something to ask you, I don't know..." Ronald was very happy to find a teacher who could ask questions.This kind of thing about how to deal with big stars, you have to find this kind of experienced big director who has a good personal relationship with you to talk about.

The two sat down at the back and chatted in a low voice.

"My new film has Harrison Ford as the lead actor. I don't know how to deal with such a big star. Do you have anything to teach me?" Ronald said his worries.

Stars usually use various methods to achieve their goals on the set. Ronald was worried that his fame would not be enough to overwhelm the biggest star at the moment.

"Ha, I think the most important thing is to have an open mind on set." Scorsese speaks quickly, giving Ronald a quick lesson in a few minutes.

In fact, stars are not bad at acting, but they play a role all the time in their daily life and on the set-a "star" named Harrison Ford.

Unlike ordinary character actors, celebrities generally have fixed personalities, and they try their best to take on roles with similar personalities.The closer you are to your character, the better.The part of the character who is not close to his own image will use various privileges to influence the director, hoping to achieve his own goals.Often they can succeed.

And Scorsese told Ronald that the most important thing about working with stars is that stars generally know more about the self they play all the time than anyone else.Sometimes, it is not necessarily best to shoot the characters according to the script, and the star's intuition often has extraordinary effects.

At this time, instead of being obsessed with having to follow the script, you can also let the star perform one according to his own method, and then perform one according to the director's thinking.In this way, you have one, and I have one. In the editing room, no matter how big the star is, he can only express his opinion on the length of his appearance, and cannot interfere with the editing work of the director and producer.

"You have to be prepared, celebrities will always have all kinds of eccentricities, not because they like to play big names, but because celebrities are very shy by nature."

"Shy?" Ronald knew that some actresses felt shy when filming scenes where they had to show their private side.Do big-name male stars also have such problems?
"Hey, yes. I discovered this when I was mentoring Paul Newman in The Color of Money. They are very sensitive." Scorsese nodded. This very counterintuitive fact was confirmed by him and many friends in the circle. have to.

"Why?" Ronald still didn't understand.

"Let me tell you a real thing. When I was filming The True Colors of Money, Tom Cruise's Top Gun hadn't been released yet. It happened that he finished filming one and went to rest. I sat in a corner of the studio in a daze. A temporary The hired security came over and he didn't know who I was, but he recognized Tom Cruise.

He said to me, is that Tom Cruise?I bet my wife would do that with him. "

Ronald rubbed his head, Tom Cruise had just made a blockbuster "Crazy Boys" at that time, right?Was there such a crazy movie fan back then?
Martin Scorsese continued, "The security guard went on to say, I bet my wife would crawl on the floor if Tom would agree to have her..."

"Uh..." Ronald thought of the frenzy of dancing with Patrick Schwitz, whether it was the first lady or the housewives in a small southern town.There is also experience with this kind of star treatment.

"But a few years ago, he played a small supporting role in Francis (Coppola)'s crew. If it were you, what do you think the star is most afraid of?"

"Lose it all?"

"Yeah, you gotta take advantage of that. I can't go on and on..hehehe"

"Well, thank you. Very enlightening." Ronald thanked Scorsese for explaining himself like he was in college.

"By the way, there is another point. You'd better find a better art director and photography director. Stars are very concerned about their own image. If there is a well-known expert in the industry who stands by your side, then the star will listen to you a bit more."

Ronald mused that he now has only one master editor, Walter Murch.This is not enough, I also need a master art director, a master photography director, and preferably a makeup master. If they can find well-known candidates in the industry to form an all-star lineup, then they can think of themselves and Harrison Ford. When left, use these allies to put pressure on the opponent.

So many masters of the all-star lineup have said yes, is it possible that you are wrong?

Ronald began to think, who is suitable for the photography director, art director, and makeup director of this film that expresses the texture of Wall Street in New York?
"You seem a little puzzled?"

"Ah, I'm wondering what well-known experts in Hollywood are suitable for making this urban modern movie."

Martin Scorsese was amused by the way Ronald frowned.This former student is very good at grasping the tastes of the market, and he can also make films like "Top Gun" that use a lot of backlighting and sunset light. He is a director with his own image characteristics.

However, he hadn't filmed a drama with sufficient tension before, like a script adapted from a Broadway play.The make-up and image tone of this kind of movie have a great influence on the final film, and it is related to whether the audience can recognize that your story happened on Wall Street in Manhattan.

Ronald can shoot any type of film, and he can produce blockbuster works right away, but he doesn't have the habit of focusing on one type of film, so he doesn't have a technical team for long-term cooperation.

Helping people to the end, Scorsese simply asked, "If you don't have a candidate for a photography director, you might as well try my photography director of "The Last Temptation of Christ" Michael Ballhaus. Germans are also the color of money Director of Photography, he also shot the new version of 'Death of a Salesman', he has experience in commercial environment photography."

"Thank you, I will look for his past video data, and then contact him." Ronald wrote down this person's name and the movies he had made.

"Is there a suitable candidate for the art director?" Ronald simply caught a master and asked. Scorsese has been in Hollywood for many years. Practical.

"Hey, did you forget that Peter (Bogdanovich) you met at our party in New York last time?" Scorsese said with a smile, such a big master art director, also Will you turn a blind eye?

"Is Peter also an art director? Isn't he making new films now?" Ronald was puzzled.

That's right, when Peter was calling the shots in Hollywood, Ronald hadn't entered the industry yet.Scorsese leaned closer to Ronald's ear and whispered a name: "Polly"

"Wow wow wow..."

At this moment, the old chairman Gilbert Cates on the stage shook hands with the new chairman Franklin Schaffner, officially transferring the power of the chairman of the directors union.

Katz, a Jew, has worked in the directors' union for four years, and the members have criticized him quite a bit.So this year the membership vote went to Schaffner, the son of a devout Christian missionary.Everyone is quite dissatisfied with the Jewish Katz's style of handling things. Maybe it would be better to change to a Puritan.

"Thank you for your trust in me..." Schaffner began to give a speech. He has been acting as an agent for a long time. Now that he has officially taken over, his signature will be on the new union membership card from next year—the chairman of the union will be the last A place with presence.

……

"Ms. Pratt, hello."

A day later, Ronald welcomed Bogdanovich's ex-wife, Polly Pratt, one of Hollywood's most famous female art directors, into his office.

"Call me Polly. Ronald, I'm surprised that you came to see me. We haven't worked together before, right?" Polly Pradd, with short hair reaching the ears, looks capable and speaks quickly.

She was Peter Bogdanovich's partner in early films. Many people believe that in Bogdanovich's directorial achievements, Polly's design of the environment, props, and especially the color tone of the image helped her a lot. busy.Without Polly, Bogdanovich would not have been able to achieve artistic success.

Whether this statement is true, Ronald does not know, but since Bogdanovich abandoned Polly and the child for Sybill Shepard, he has not made a box office or reviewed a positive response. .

"A lot of people have actually recommended you to me, Polly. I'm currently working on a film about working women on Wall Street in Manhattan, and no one has recreated Wall Street better than you. Marty Scorsese and I Chatting with Peter in New York, I was able to learn about your name and your great contribution to the film."

After Ronald was recommended by Scorsese, he found all the Polly Pratt movies.In addition to Bogdanovich's "The Last Movie", "Paper Moon", she also served as the producer of Brooke Shields' famous film "Embarrassing Baby", and the Oscar winner "Mother and Daughter Love".It restores movies of various eras and types very well.

Ronald is full of confidence in her, and with Polly joining, the movie will definitely be even more powerful.

However, Polly Pratt has just participated in the "Growing Up" project of her good friend and female director Penny Marshall as an art director.She had just finished working on various designs for that movie and wanted to take some time off to spend time with the kids.

Polly and Bogdanovich had two children, which she raised after their divorce.Besides Hollywood's top art director, her most important identity is a single mother of two children.

So Polly originally declined Ronald's invitation.But Ronald did not give up and found many people to intercede.Finally found Roger Coleman.

Coleman is Polly's aristocrat. After Bogdanovich abandoned his wife and children, Polly was in great financial difficulty and did not find a new job.Roger Corman was the only mutual friend of the couple who called for comfort.He's also given Polly two jobs that don't pay very well, but help her through, as an art director on one of his low-budget exploitation films.

It was hard for Polly Pratt to refuse this offer.In addition, Ronald offered her a price that was double the market price to recruit her, so she came to talk to Ronald about the new film.

"No, actually not. When I went to work with Roger (Coleman), you were already an associate producer on "Embarrassing Girls." Brooke also recently starred in a small production for my company. The protagonist, went to Xiangjiang to shoot.

Polly's eyes softened a little, and Ronald was able to give the down-and-out Brooke Shields a job, just like Coleman pulled himself back then.

"This is a script. It tells the story of a female secretary on Wall Street. Through her own efforts and adventures, she finally crossed the glass ceiling, became the manager of an investment company, and finally gained love." Ronald pushed the script over and gave Polly looked.

"A script with a female protagonist is rare, isn't it?" Polly Platt hurriedly finished reading it. This script is completely different from the typical Hollywood commercial war dramas. The female protagonist is the center of the drama, and the man is more like a vase and foil.The key to Tess's success in it is all taken by herself.

"I like to shoot female-themed scripts, which is also a trend in America. In the 80s, the management of many companies was occupied by women, and their performance and management methods were no worse than men. I hope to reflect the trend of reality in the film .”

"Okay, I agree." Polly readily agreed.Her working ability, in fact, many directors and producers who have worked with her in the industry know well, and many people think that she should transform into a director or producer.However, the common gender issues in Hollywood have prevented her from finding a suitable opportunity.

The plot of Ronald's movie is very suitable for Polly's taste.Coupled with the favor of her benefactor Roger Coleman, the good words of her friend Penny Marshall, and more importantly, the double salary, she agreed.It happened to be filming in New York, and I was able to find time to go home with my children.

"I'm so happy that you can join, the art director, and the photography director, the two most important team members are here."

Ronald happily jumped up from the sofa.Previously interviewed Michael Ballhouse, a photographer recommended by Scorsese.His photographs of workplace themes are all in line with Ronald's wishes, and there is a feeling of New York that makes people understand when they look at the pictures.

With two heavyweight artists joining, Ronald feels good.It feels good to be surrounded and supported by masters who are more capable than me.

"The most important thing in a workplace scene is to make people feel immersive. In addition to color management, the most important thing is props, framing, and costumes and distribution. Do you have a good costume designer? Tess changed from a secretary to a manager, two You need to have different clothes to match your identity. You also need to find a good hair stylist.”

"Do you have any recommendations? I want the best." Ronald asked quickly.

"Ann Rose is the best. She worked as a costume designer for Meryl Streep and Jane Fonda. They won the Oscar-winning movies, and they were the costumes that Ann found."

"Very good, I'll invite you right away." Ronald wrote down the name.

"There is also a hair stylist... Forget it, let me recommend it." Polly Platt saw Ronald's appearance, but she didn't have a fixed team.

"Ellen D'Angelio, Italian, and J. Roy Holland, two of the best hairbrush men in Hollywood. Streep, Michelle Pfeiffer, were assigned to do hairstyle."

"Alan... Roy..." Ronald hurriedly wrote down the name of the hair stylist.It is good to have such an old mage, who knows who is good and who is not, and Polly recommends the best.

"Where's the accent coach?" Polly's abilities are comprehensive. Looking at the script, she knows that actors need to learn the smooth white-collar accent of Wall Street and the exaggerated blue-collar accent of the secretary.

"I've worked with this one" Ronald filmed "Moonlight" and found supporting actress Julie Boissau to teach Cher to speak Brooklyn's Italian accent.

"You can't do that. We need Wall Street. How can you do it with a Brooklyn accent. Let me find out. There are many pronunciation coaches on Broadway."

"You're so capable, I don't know what I would do without you." Ronald had just appointed Polly Pratt as an art director, a woman who could actually be a producer, and put a lot of work into production. It's all done.

"Very well, you give the contract to my agent. After we have decided on the candidates, you arrange for me to meet Harrison Ford and other leading actors, and we will try to set the makeup."

(End of this chapter)