Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Giggle..." Diane smiled happily, then smoothed her hair and gave Ronald a wink. Her whole person was so charming that Ronald was stunned.

"Honey, how do I look?" Diane put down the script and resumed her role as a good wife and mother. She was preparing her lines and waiting for Gregory Peck to come to the set for a script reading.

Another accident happened to the crew. Because of his old age, Gregory Peck occasionally felt unwell and coughed violently. He went to the hospital to check that he had some lung problems and needed to recover. Therefore, all matters related to "other people's money" are postponed for two weeks.

The participation of older stars has both advantages and disadvantages. Ronald found a retired doctor who had worked as a studio resident at an old Hollywood studio and learned a lot about the precautions for making movies with elderly stars.

In order to minimize filming delays due to Gregory Peck's health, he remodeled the crew's trailer and lounge, added oxygen equipment for Pike, and a nurse and masseur to take care of the old man's body throughout the process. . He also modified the soundproofing of the trailer so that the actors could rest well at any time.

Therefore, Diane and Tom Hanks had some extra time to familiarize themselves with the script and figure out the psychology of the characters. From this perspective, it is more beneficial to their performance.

"Well, Kate Sullivan is actually a smart and hard-working woman who made it out of a small town on her own. Such a person has a good career in Manhattan and won't get dizzy immediately after seeing Garfield's pursuit. She may appreciate this The pursuit of a successful person, but I don’t want to lose my job immediately and go all out to catch this Jewish rich man..."

"Huh? That makes sense..." Diane thought for a moment and changed her expression. Now she looked like an elite like Catherine in "Working Girl". She seemed to have made a "How annoying, if not" to the phone. If you want to help Jorgensen solve the problem, I will not deal with you." Then his expression changed again, looking a little proud...as if to say, for such a billionaire to pursue me, it seems that my charm is quite good.

"Very good..." Ronald took a look and realized that this was the right style. An elite female lawyer on Wall Street must have that kind of style. You can be cute behind others, but you must be tight-lipped in front of others.

"Giggle..." Diane kept laughing again.

"What's wrong?"

"It's okay, it's okay, I just thought of Tom Hanks's expression eating the donuts you ordered..." Diane changed the subject. She suddenly thought that at that time, she only wanted to marry Brother Ronnie and didn't care about her career as an actor.

"I'll pack your suitcase for you..." Diane put down the script and went to drag out Ronald's suitcase. She does this kind of thing herself and never does it for others.

"Thank you, honey." Ronald kissed his wife on the face. The postponement came at the right time. Yesterday, he received a call from Mario Casal, the president of Carloco Pictures. There was another big problem with the budget of "Terminator 2". After Cameron's storyboard script came out, statistics The estimated cost of the special effects shots will break Hollywood records. So he convened a meeting of all parties to decide the amount and share of capital increase.

…

"Jim..."

After getting off the private plane, Ronald directly saw Cameron who came to pick him up.

"Ronald..." Cameron hugged him, "Mario Casal is at the hotel, let's go together... the investors are all here..."

"Why did it cost so much more?" Ronald asked Cameron after getting in the car. Sixty million is already a top investment in Hollywood. Last year's box office myth "Batman" only had that much.

"I made all the storyboards, and then calculated them based on the hours of work for the stunt shots, which was just about the same..."

Cameron handed Ronald a thick form, which listed a detailed analysis of more than 800 shots that involved special effects personnel or required post-processing, including the working hours of stuntmen, the production costs of special effects models, And the machine time cost of post-production computer special effects.

Ronald looked carefully at the light in the car and understood. The expensive special effects are all on the lens related to the T-1000 liquid metal robot.

For example, he can change into other people at will. Such a shot requires a lot of computer CPU time to render. And his hands can turn into metal weapons, or turn into liquid, pass through the gaps in the fence door, and then return to a human being.

The software required for these shots has been tested by Cameron using seawater human-shaped lenses in "The Abyss". Now he is sure that it can be made, and he can estimate how much it will cost more accurately.

And for some scenes, even Cameron wasn't sure how much time and money it would take to shoot them well. I had to estimate a number first, and then write it in parentheses. It might be increased at any time...

For example, the shot of the T-1000 liquid metal robot being frozen by liquid nitrogen leaking from a truck on the road and then shattered into pieces. What is needed here is a long shot composed of dynamic images of the human body turning into a liquid state, then turning into a solid state, and finally shattering.

The cost of the special effects here is hard to estimate because no one has done anything like this before.

Another example is that the T-1000 also transformed into Sarah Connor, played by the heroine Linda Hamilton, and her foster family members, John Connor Jr., there were many two people who looked exactly the same, appearing in one scene lens inside.

Whether it is like Ronald's "Ghost", using two shots of film to superimpose in post-production, or using special effects makeup to make two Sarah Connors for long-range shots, are still under experimentation.

…

"Mr. Casal, Arnold, Gale, ... hello ... hello ..."

When they arrived at the hotel suite, Mario Casal was already sitting inside with many investors. Ronald shook hands and hugged them one by one. Hollywood is so polite, even if everyone will talk about money later and hurt feelings.

Because it is a capital increase meeting, not only Ronald, who is the real investor, but also Gale Hurd, who uses copyright to offset the price, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who uses part of his salary to offset the investment, are present.

"Today we are mainly going to talk about the amount of capital increase and how to distribute it..." After everyone sat down, Mario Casal's opening remarks set the theme of today's meeting.

At one time, investors, especially

The more capital increase, the greater the risk,

and the copyright owner Gail Hurd, never

wanted to pay, but if he didn't pay, the special effects of the movie would be worrying, so if he paid more money, Mario Casar and Ronald would have to pay more.

"We are going to increase our investment by 10 million..." Mario Casar first said a number, and then looked at Ronald.

"I will also increase 5 million..." Ronald did not hesitate. Anyway, this movie will definitely be a hit. To be honest, he is also curious about what his good buddy Cameron can shoot if he lets go. Such directors should be supported by Hollywood and let them expand the boundaries of genre films. As for how much they earn, that is secondary.

But the other two parties did not speak. Their most ideal solution was that Ronald and Mario Casar, two big suckers, took the additional investment, and we just took a free ride.

"Then let's adjourn now..." Mario Casar still felt that it was not possible, so he stopped the meeting and consulted with Ronald and Cameron.

The budget has now increased to 75 million, but the cost on paper is more than 80 million. And according to Cameron's experience in filming "The Abyss", this money is not very safe. There must be a 10% to 20% reserve fund to be prepared for accidents at any time (accidents are almost certain to occur in this kind of pioneering special effects).

"What should we do now? Can the special effects be reduced?" Mario Casal asked Cameron.

Cameron shook his head slowly. The current special effects are the most economical. If the special effects of certain scenes are reduced, the audience's experience will be greatly reduced, which will have a great impact on the box office.

"Can we change the way?" Ronald talked about the way Kevin Costner put all his salary and director's salary into the budget for "Dances with Wolves".

Mario Casal shook his head slowly. Schwarzenegger is different from Costner. He is the most popular action movie star now. He is also the first two stars whose salary exceeded 10 million (the other is Stallone).

His agent would never let him make such a compromise. If he compromised on the salary of a commercial film, the salary of the next one would drop accordingly. Who told you to lower the price? Then can you also lower the price of our film?

And Schwarzenegger also said that I was the first to propose this sequel. If I hadn't been in the middle, how could I have found Cameron to be the director? How could I have found Ronald to mediate the conflict between Cameron and his ex-wife Gail and get the copyright?

Schwarzenegger deserved the salary of 12 million, plus a conditional bonus of 3 million. Anything less than this number would be disrespectful to the film itself.

For a while, the negotiations reached a deadlock. Ronald and Cameron simply left temporarily and went to the office to rest, so that these people could calm down.

"Arnold... Linda..." In the office, the main creators were all there. Ronald saw a lot of

"Why didn't I see the actor of John Connor?"

"I haven't found it yet..."

"Uh..." Ronald thought that Cameron's way of making movies was much more exciting than his own. I really don't have experience with such a large investment. On one hand, the money was not in place, and on the other hand, the special effects had not been developed. There was less than a month before the filming started, and even the second male lead actor had not been finalized.

However, this kind of big production that breaks through the existing boundaries may require such a radical method and such a bold director to make it.

"Linda, what are you doing?" Ronald, who was sighing, saw the heroine Linda Hamilton over there, using a pin to pry the lock of a pair of handcuffs.

"Snap..." Linda Hamilton pried the handcuffs open and threw them over.

"Oh my God, the line reading session of your crew is really special." Ronald looked at the handcuffs, which were indeed genuine stainless steel.

"I've been practicing for a few weeks..." Linda Hamilton came over, took the handcuffs back and handcuffed them, and then put the pins in to practice again.

"Hey..." Ronald was still convinced by Cameron. These big stars did whatever he asked them to do under his command. Schwarzenegger was practicing changing bullets for a shotgun with one hand. This move was very cool, but also very difficult to practice. He only did it twice before his fingers were pinched by the bolt and he almost cried out in pain.

"Such a crew is really rare..." Ronald was envious. He had never made such a large-scale special effects movie. Otherwise, he could just use the remaining money to make up for it. It would be a pity if such a movie with such dedicated actors and creators was not made.

This movie is likely to change something in Hollywood...

"Linda..."

While thinking about his own thoughts, Ronald heard a female voice coming from outside the door, calling the protagonist Linda Hamilton.

"Ah?" Ronald opened his mouth wide. It was an actress who looked exactly like Linda Hamilton. Has Cameron's makeup skills been so exquisite here?

"This is my twin sister, Leslie..." Linda Hamilton obviously knew that Ronald had misunderstood, and came to explain to him, "She is also an actor."

"Haha, I'm actually a nurse and live in New Jersey." Leslie explained that the so-called actor is just a sister's self-flattering. Cameron asked her to come for an audition to see if she could play the scene of T-1000's possession, which would save a lot of money.

"Perfect..." Cameron saw the shot of the two of them together. Although Leslie Hamilton is not an actor, she is very similar to Linda. Just one shot should not be a big deal.

"It's a pity that not all actors have an identical twin." Cameron shook his head. It can reduce the budget a little, but it cannot be extended to all actors who have been transformed by T-1000.

"You can find actors with twins to audition. If there are no twins, you can find twins to play."

"Huh?" Cameron glanced at Ronald. This method... well, why didn't he think of it?

"Do you remember that when you were a special effects engineer for Roger Corman, you could build the interior of the spaceship with McDonald's plates and trash cans? You won't forget how to make movies like guerrillas, right?" Ronald joked to Cameron.

There are many movies with sufficient budgets shot in large studios. Sometimes, you may forget the way you came.

"Let's do it this way... Let me think about it, the scene where the T-1000 is frozen by liquid nitrogen can also be handled in the same way..."

Cameron restored the street wisdom he had learned as a truck driver, making do with what he had and using whatever tricks were convenient for shooting. The shot where the T-1000 was frozen by liquid nitrogen and broke into pieces was made of small pieces of real metal, and then solved by editing.

"That's the shot where the T-1000 stands up from the pile of frozen metal fragments..." Cameron drew a storyboard on the drawing board with two strokes. It is difficult to make a shot of a person with a disabled limb standing up from the ground using traditional special effects methods.

"You find a disabled actor... Then use the Photoshop software in the computer to make a mask similar to the plastic scenery in the past..." Ronald took the pencil and drew a schematic diagram on the drawing board.

The shooting method of the airport scene in "Die Hard 2" can also be used here. The legs of Robert Patrick, the actor who plays the T-1000, can be used to wrap the green screen to get the medium shot. The close-up shot is shot with the legs of a disabled actor and then edited together.

Cameron looked at it and felt that as long as the effect on the computer could meet the standard, he could achieve the effect he was satisfied with, so he asked Ronald, "Can anyone do the method you mentioned?"

"Of course, I'll give you Van Vliet's phone number."

Determined, there are cheap ways to shoot (in fact, it's not cheap at all, the budget of this movie may break the Hollywood record). Cameron went back to the hotel with Ronald and others and told Mario Casal about his plan.

"Very good, everyone, I have good news to announce. The director has come up with a better way to save the budget for special effects. Now we only need to increase the capital by 25 million, no, 20 million will do... Now there is a gap of 5 million."

Those

Then they immediately rushed to speak up and said that they could invest in the remaining shares. Those who didn't get it were still very dissatisfied, and they demanded together that the 25 million capital increase share must be restored...

Great art is not cheap!