Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Ronald, I'm glad to have a communication expert like you to help me at this time..."

George Jr. called later to discuss with Ronald about his father's lagging behind in the election. The campaign team was divided into the communication faction led by campaign consultant Roger Ailes and the smear faction led by another campaign consultant, Lee Ewart.

Roger Ailes believed that the reason for the lagging behind was that George Sr. had poor communication in the previous period. We should learn from the strategy of the current president's victory eight years ago, strengthen the appeal to potential voters who voted for him, and focus on the issues they care about, such as tax cuts, dealing with illegal immigrants, focusing on the economy, etc.

And the young and over-the-top Lee Ewart believed that the current lagging behind was because the attack on the Donkey Party candidate Dukakis was not enough. We should increase our efforts, dig deep into the other party's black materials, and distort, take out of context, and set targets. Voters are more interested in these gossips than serious issues. As long as the attack is effective, the dirt on Dukakis will become real and can never be shaken off...

George's mother Barbara is the de facto campaign manager. She requires all her children to contribute to their father's current unfavorable situation and continue to attend various fundraising events in various places to obtain funds for advertising.

Now it is a critical moment. George and his brother Jeb are also facing the problem of standing on their own sides. American politics is very realistic. Although you are the former vice president, the election situation is worrying. Except for those action committees with ideas first, general campaign sponsors have lowered their donation amounts or suspended donations to George's campaign.

With a limited campaign budget, you can only focus on one direction, either attacking your opponent Dukakis or strengthening communication with middle-class voters. In front of Barbara, who has always rewarded according to merit, which son makes the right judgment, the family's resources will undoubtedly lean towards that direction in the future.

George himself couldn't think of the answer to such a complicated question, so he thought of Ronald. When my father was in the party primary election, he had a great advantage with Ronald's advertisement. Now, isn't it enough to just ask him?

"George, you really think too highly of me. Elections are obviously a very complicated business. I can only do some creative work. And now your father is the candidate of the Elephant Party, and there is no shortage of creative advertising talents."

Ronald looked at Douglas Jr. beside him. This was the countermeasure they had discussed. If you want money, you can give it. If you want advice or a team, you can't talk.

"Ronald, this is very important to me... my father. I hope to get your help. My mother is a very fair person. As long as I... you can help the campaign, you will be one of the most popular guests in the White House in the future."

"It's not that I don't want to help you, but I really don't understand the situation. If I give the wrong advice, won't it help Dukakis instead?" Ronald continued to shirk.

"No, although I don't understand elections, I have good taste. I know what is good. Your last advertisement, Laura and I both saw it was good at a glance... I know it will definitely be liked by voters and win their support..."

Little George said this very sincerely. He is not a particularly smart person, but as an ordinary person, he is more able to empathize with voters who are also ordinary people. "Ronald, I know you are not a member of our team and cannot give advice. Let me ask you this, if it were you, after seeing the ads attacking Dukaki and communicating directly with voters, which one would you vote for my father for?"

"Besides the fact that I respect your father's governing philosophy and love your mother's people-friendly demeanor, and more importantly, the fact that we are buddies who drink beer and eat barbecue together, is there any reason other than that?" Ronald saw that he could not avoid it, so he made a joke to relax George's mood.

"Yeah, that's what I mean, buddy." George was also amused by Ronald.

"To be honest, I am not interested in Dukaki at all (because Dukaki strongly hinted that he would increase taxes and strengthen supervision of industries such as Hollywood and Wall Street), and your father promised to continue the current economic policies and tax incentives, so that more entrepreneurs can be cultivated. With more entrepreneurs, there will be more jobs and stable families."

"Damn, you are so right... Ronald, I really like you." George on the other end of the phone expressed strong agreement. Every day, I was in the campaign team and was confused by the voter numbers, analysis reports, and various negative information about Dukakis that Lee Evert put up. Discrediting an opponent can only make voters who originally tend to the other party not vote, but cannot increase the potential votes on your side. And it is obvious that George Sr.'s dilemma now is the rapid reduction of his own vote bank.

"I have to come and have a talk with you. What you said makes so much sense. I think what you said is more useful than Lee Evert's 100 survey reports." George Sr. still feels that this concept is easier to understand.

"No, I'm going to Chicago to film soon. I won't be there even if you come." Ronald felt that he was not suitable to give any more advice. What if people really believed it and adopted it, and George Sr. still didn't improve, wouldn't it be bad?

"It doesn't matter, then I'll go to Chicago. It just so happens that Jeb and I have to go to various fundraising meetings, so I'll go to Chicago with Laura."

...

"Attention, all departments, cameras? Recording? A!"

A few days later, on Chicago's South Side, on the University of Chicago campus near Hyde Park, a film crew was filming beautiful autumn scenes.

"I love you……"

"I love you……"

Harry, played by Billy Crystal, is kissing a brown-haired beauty sweetly and passionately. Director of photography Barry Sonnenfeld directed the camera to quickly circle around the two people, giving the audience a full 360-degree view of the ice cream.

The close-up shot focuses on the kiss between the two of them. The two actors are very dedicated in their acting, and the audience's attention is focused here.

Ronald raised his hand to indicate that a yellow SUV from behind quietly drove into the camera. The large trunk of the SUV was still empty, but there was a box firmly placed above it.

This was a very common carpooling arrangement in America in the late 1970s. When two college graduates go to other cities to look for opportunities, they often carpool and take turns driving to their destination.

"Um...ahem..." The camera's focus shifted to the car's cab glass. Sitting there is none other than Sally, played by Meg Ryan. She waited for a long time, but Harry and his girlfriend still hadn't finished kissing. Sally couldn't bear it and could only remind her.

"Cut!"

Ronald stopped with satisfaction. The filming went smoothly beyond expectations. Billy Crystal played such a young man very smoothly. Harry, who has just graduated from college and is arrogant and moaning for no reason, was played very well by him.

It's just that he is a little older and his hair is not thick enough. The makeup artist gave him a messy hairstyle that he didn't pay much attention to. Coupled with a pullover, he has the image of a graduate who has just entered society, which completes his image.

Meg Ryan is a credit to the casting. She is such a simple, sensitive, and even naive female college student who believes in various social "norms" and is well protected by her family (before becoming an actress) , Meg Ryan is just months away from graduating college).

"Very good, this reservation, let's do it again...".

Ronald called again. In this kind of love and romance drama, the most important thing is that the male and female protagonists have a chemical reaction. Shooting a few more scenes will help to try a variety of methods during post-editing, which is better than other movies shot by Ronald. There are obviously more movies.

"What flavor do you want this time? Banana? OK, here you go..."

Billy Crystal was a gentleman. Before filming the kissing scene, he offered chewing gum to the actress and took one himself. He is a comedian, writes his own scripts, and speaks very skillfully. He does not ask the other person if he wants it, but what kind of taste he wants.

Many celebrities don't have very good personal hygiene. It would be a relief for both parties to be prepared with some chewing gum, especially in a kiss scene that lasts for tens of seconds. If one of them has bad breath, it will be sour.

After the kiss scene was filmed, Harry's girlfriend introduced both parties. One is Harry Burns and the other is Sally Albright. They are all graduates of the University of Chicago and are going to New York to start a new chapter in their lives.

This is what makes this romantic comedy unique. The male and female protagonists do not shy away from suspecting that they have other lovers. This is a fairy tale about the real world, about two men and women looking for true love in the city. So it is normal to have other objects.

"A!"

The crew then set up the camera inside the Gothic architectural style gate of the University of Chicago.

The camera filmed the yellow SUV slowly driving out of the University of Chicago gate, and then the lifting device gradually raised, giving a meaningful cinematic shot.

Such a shot is given at the beginning of the movie. In addition to giving the audience some visual enjoyment, it also implies a metaphor that leaves an imprint on the audience's subconscious. This implies that the two embarked on a journey of life.

The two drove out from the gate of the university, from the ivory tower of the university campus, into the real arena of life.

"Cut!"

A few more scenes were filmed, and Ronald felt that it went very smoothly. He had good actors in his hands, and the scenes were familiar. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan felt as if they had performed hundreds of Shakespeare plays. Like a Broadway actor, there is nothing dull about it.

I looked at my watch and saw that the shooting ended more than an hour early. Ronald took out a light meter and measured it against the sky a few times. Today's cloudy weather was very nice, and under the same lighting conditions, he could take a few shots inside the car.

"Bring the big monster over here..."

Ronald waved his hand and saw that the yellow SUV that En drove looked very similar.

In addition to the front and sides of the car, extended steel shelves were installed to facilitate the camera crew squatting on them to shoot interior shots. Because it looked like the kind of monster trucks that competed in racing tracks and could crush each other, Ronald gave it the name Big Monster.

"A!"

This time the filming crew moved outside the University of Chicago. The camera team squatted on the steel frame in front of the big monster and started shooting towards the cab.

Because for this kind of in-car shot, you have to vaguely see the spire of the University of Chicago behind through the rear window of the SUV, so the scene had to be shot at the entrance to Hyde Park on Chicago's South Side.

Ronald's crew applied to Chicago City Hall for filming in advance. However, the area where Hyde Park is located is the South City, the most chaotic area in Chicago. Chicago specifically reminds you not to stray too far from the University of Chicago campus, otherwise it will be dangerous.

Sure enough, after leaving the school gate, this short road of several hundred meters, as soon as you cross a crossroad, you will reach a dangerous area where blacks live. There are many blacks wearing various old clothes donated by charities, watching the excitement across the road.

A tall black man wearing a US military M65 jacket and several short and strong black men were whistling over there, looking at the beauties in the crew.

"Shh..." Ronald made a gesture to them not to make any sound.

As a result, these people whistled more unscrupulously.

Ronald wanted to go over and give them some benefits so that they would not interfere with the crew's synchronous sound recording, but was grabbed by Little Bud who was holding Ronald's thermos cup next to him and said to Ronald, "Look at the telephone pole over there..."

Ronald looked up and saw a pair of sneakers hanging on the wire.

"This is a signal from the black gang, indicating that someone died in the fight. This place is like Harlem in New York, not a good place."

"Okay, at worst, we can do the dubbing later," Ronald no longer insisted and asked the assistant director to negotiate with the police officer who came to maintain order.

The other party said that as long as the shooting does not exceed the crossroad, there will be no danger. The gangs here are very particular about the division of power. They know that the University of Chicago belongs to the most respectable area in the South City. If they cross the line and harass the crew and become a national scandal, they may be purged by the mayor Daley family.

Ronald told the driver of the "Big Monster" to slow down. The car started slowly.

Meg Ryan pretended to stretch her hand forward, as if she was driving the vehicle, but it was actually a performance. The real driver was a professional driver, who was in the driving seat installed in front.

When the actors are performing, they must concentrate and receive signals from the actors in the opposite role at any time. If they are distracted by driving, it will affect the performance and even cause safety problems.

"A!"

Ronald called for the start of the camera, and Meg Ryan pretended to hold the steering wheel, shaking herself while talking to Billy Crystal.

"We have to drive for 18 hours. I have made a plan to change six shifts, each driving three hours. Or we can also change shifts according to equivalent mileage... eh?"

Sally, played by Meg Ryan, was explaining the carpooling. Harry, played by Billy Crystal, stood up and turned 180 degrees, and squeezed his big butt next to Sally.

Meg Ryan's disgusted look was very real, and Billy's performance seemed very real.

"Want some grapes?" It turned out that Harry turned back to the back seat to get the fruit he prepared.

"No, I don't like to eat between meals," Meg Ryan raised her chin when she spoke, and the self-confident, well-educated, and well-lived female posture was fully expressed. It seems that Sally's not eating snacks is an attitude that is more responsible for her life than Harry.

"Hmm..." Harry, played by Billy Crystal, has an expression of "not eating at your own loss".

"Puff..." Harry did more than that. He spit out the remaining grape seeds and they fell on the car window.

This vulgar and careless behavior stunned Sally at once. She didn't expect that there was such a vulgar man in the world.

Meg Ryan's performance was very layered. She looked away at first, as if avoiding the glass window that was spit on. Then her eyes moved left and right, and she didn't know what to say. Good upbringing made the character Sally speechless at this time, and she didn't know how to condemn this behavior.

"I'll roll down the car window..." Harry rolled down the car window nonchalantly.

"Puff..." Another mouthful, he spit the grape seeds out of the car window.

"Cut!"

Sitting on a chair on the steel frame outside the "Big Monster", Ronald watched the whole performance. He was very satisfied with this scene. The performance of the two was natural and layered. The script first suppressed the sloppy spirit of the fledgling Harry, a college graduate, and the delicate attitude of Sally, a college girl, were all very well performed.

"Let's change sides and take another shot from the angle outside Harry's window." Ronald directed everyone to change the steel frame on one side and continue shooting.

"Director, how is my performance? Why don't you tell me about the play?" Billy Crystal was quite surprised. Since the filming started today, Ronald had not spoken to him or discussed any performance issues.

"Why do you have to talk about the play?" Ronald replied with a smile.

"You know, the director always has to talk to the actors about how they performed, where you expect me to be more powerful, where I am less powerful, what problems I have... blah blah..."

Billy Crystal had never worked with Ronald before, so why didn't Ronald do these things?

"You are an actor, this is your job. My job is to remind you when there is a deviation in the performance. Now you have no deviation, let's continue..."

Ronald is a director who likes to shoot the first take. He believes that the first take is when everyone is most curious about the performance and is most unfamiliar with the play. The performance at this time is closest to the reaction of normal people.

Especially for this kind of love drama, the chemical reaction in the first take is always the best.

"Is there really no room for improvement in my performance?" It was the first time that Billy Crystal saw a director who trusted him so much, and he was a little unconvinced.

"Of course, I'll let you know if I need it...", Ronald took off his baseball cap and scratched his head. It seemed that Billy Crystal was still doubting whether his last line was so good.

"There is room for improvement..."

"Hmm?", Billy Crystal looked like he was listening attentively.

"Later, we will go to the bracket on your side, Big Monster, and shoot the over-the-shoulder shot on the other side. When you spit the grape skin seeds, remember to move forward a little, don't spit on me..."

"Puff...hahahaha..."

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan were both amused by Ronald. This kind of shooting scene is close-up, and the two people's originally nervous mood was relieved a lot.

"You know? I like you, Ronald." Billy Crystal smiled and high-fived Ronald.

...

"Ronald..." In the evening, George Jr. and his wife Laura came from the upscale residential area in the north, Highland Park, to ask Ronald in person. It is adjacent to Lake Michigan. It is a very wealthy satellite city and the territory of the Elephant Party supporters.

"George, Laura..." Ronald welcomed them in, "I was busy with filming and didn't pick you up."

"Don't mention that, we are brothers," George waved his hand to indicate that the two of them should not use these red tapes, "I just came here to ask you, how to communicate with voters to get good results?"

"I don't know..." Ronald shook his head, he didn't want to get too involved in the election.

"I just think that the current president always makes us happy to listen to him. It seems that he is a wise elder of ours. With him, we don't have to worry about anything."

"What do you mean?" George heard some subtext.

"It's good to be like you. I think we trust you very much when you run for a public office. Being with you feels like a good friend or a relative at home. We can drink beer and barbecue together. I think I will feel that you are trustworthy when I am with you."

Deputy President George is very lacking in personal charm, and likes to use some literary rhetoric. What a thousand glimmers of light, the real possibility of voting for him is that some small town white people don't understand these at all.

In those big cities, the rich, military, and other interest groups who might vote for him would not vote for him because of his literary talent.

To be honest, it is not as straightforward as his words "Watch my mouth, no tax increase". Ronald voted for him because of this sentence.

"I like you, Ronald." George smiled happily and took Laura's hand. "Ronald is like this. He can always explain very complicated things to me in very simple words. Whether it is Roger Ailes or Lee Evert, what they say always makes me confused, but as soon as Ronald says it, I understand what he means."

"Look at what you said, George. Ronald is a great director. His talent is to make people understand what he expresses in the movie. I always enjoy watching his movies. I won't think about what the director wants to express here. We all like "Dirty Dancing", "Laura blamed her husband for speaking like this.

"It doesn't matter, we are good buddies..." George said and laughed. Laura was right. Ronald did not answer him directly, but explained it clearly with an example. He had already got the answer he wanted.