Exploiting Hollywood 1980

The theory of all-around actors means that a star must be suitable for all kinds of types of films.

Hollywood has already stepped out of the big studio system. At that time, stars were positioned in a certain type of role.

For example, Jimmy Stewart is always an upright, knowledgeable and ethical small town youth, and John Wayne is always the rough, uneducated link. Grace Kelly is always a rich girl, and Bette Davis is always the ugly one.

This situation was so serious in the later period of the big studio that when Ingrid Bergman was filming "Casablanca", she joked that the male protagonist Humphrey Bogart's trench coat had never changed in all the movies.

This was very meaningful in the era of big studios at that time. At that time, the movie-watching market in America was huge, and new films were released almost every week in big studios. People often chose which movie to watch when they arrived at the cinema.

Stars are positioned in a certain type of role, which helps the audience understand what type of movie he is. And the shooting process at that time was very fast, and there was not much room for fine-tuning.

Many times, the script was changed on the set, or there was no dialogue in the script, so it was common for the actors to play their own roles. It is very beneficial for the actors to perform a role for many years. As the boss of the studio said at that time, I don’t want a boutique, I want to release it next Wednesday...

In this case, it is a very wise way to reduce costs to divide the stars in the market. At that time, only the Hollywood market was large enough to do so. The British film industry could not support this division of labor. A star must be able to play both good and bad people, otherwise he would not be able to gain a foothold.

But after the rise of television in the 1950s, movies became a niche market. Gradually, if you only play one role as an actor, you will not have enough movies to start.

But the tradition left over from the big studio era is still in effect. Actors, especially male stars, are always divided into different types, such as comedians, action actors, romantic drama stars, etc. Hollywood producers generally refer to this division to find suitable stars to play roles.

The old theory is outdated, but it still guides Hollywood movie shooting. Many times, male stars have a new self-positioning-acting star. I am a star with acting skills (which means that no matter what type of movie, you can ask me to act).

Previously, Tom Cruise liked to work with big-name directors, and Harrison Ford took the initiative to transform himself into a romantic love movie, which are all manifestations of this idea.

However, the theory proposed by director Paul Moritz limits this all-round positioning to the scope of male stars. He pointed out that in the past 20 years, Hollywood female stars have still stuck to a few types of fixed roles.

Especially the love roles, those love rivals of all-round male stars, are the most important roles for the increase in the value of female stars. Every female star who gets a million dollars in salary, without exception, has risen to the top through this type of role.

The only exception seems to be Sigourney Weaver, but her two well-known roles, the warrior in "Alien" and the bitch in "Working Girl", independently completed the move to a high-paid position without relying on men.

Although Paul Moritz's directing ability is not very good, his theoretical ability is really good. Originally, some producers and directors had begun to follow the path of female stars that Ronald and Cameron had pioneered, which was different from the traditional image. However, as soon as this article came out, the female stars themselves began to discover the truth of the matter.

Rather than pursuing that slim chance, it is better to get a good script first, play a good role with a male star, and raise the salary first, and then talk about it later.

Therefore, when the news came out that Nora Ephron began to write a romantic love script produced by Ronald, all the female stars knew that this was a big opportunity.

…

"Will you tell me first?"

Ronald ran to the minor league stadium of the New York Giants to watch the filming of "A League of Pink". This is a typical movie with a female lead without love scenes. Tom Hanks plays an alcoholic coach in it. He not only dislikes women playing baseball, but is also disliked by female players.

Diane wore a baseball uniform and made a pitching action. She couldn't throw a ball too fast with the standard pitching posture. She could only use a horizontal arm-leading action to pitch the ball, so that there was an effect of a high-speed ball in front of the camera.

Diane seemed very happy that Ronald asked her if she would consider auditioning for the romantic film. Just when Ronald was a little worried that she really wanted to act, Diane kissed Ronald and shook her head.

"I've been away from Roger for too long. I have to accompany him after the filming this time, otherwise I won't feel comfortable..."

"Ah, this..." Ronald thought Diane was still a very traditional woman in her heart, "This role is quite popular..."

"Nora Efron, I don't know her yet, I will definitely look for Meg Ryan first, I don't want to be a substitute behind him, and besides, this kind of role has nothing but love, and it will restrict my acting path..." Diane thought clearly in her heart, this kind of role is good, and it can also be popular, but once you play a popular one, you will be asked to play similar roles in the future.

Julia Roberts, the same, what role can you play now? If you continue like this, is there still hope for the queen of the screen?

Ronald didn't know that Diane had so many psychological activities, but he arranged for her to see her son during her break. The family of three took a vacation and rest on the weekend.

"Cut!"

Penny Marshall had high requirements for actresses. They were covered in dust and sweat mixed with their faces, and they had to capture the moments of female baseball players with close-up shots.

Of course, Demi Moore, Diane, and even Brooke Shields are professional actors. They have good athletic ability, so it's easy for them to deal with such shots. They know how to show it in front of the camera.

Only Madonna, although she can do more than a dozen squats in a row at the concert, still lacks experience in how to show her athletic ability in front of the camera. She is often NG, and she is the one with the most dirt on her baseball uniform.

"Take a break..." Penny Marshall shouted to the crew. After shooting this set of sports shots, they had to find lenses and light again.

"Aha, come on, have some ice cola, there is a special car over there, and you can take a hot bath in the hotel..."

Seeing this, Ronald came out from behind the cordon again and played the role of savior. He knew that what these female stars hated most was getting covered in dirt during filming. Their hair and skin became sticky because of sweat and dust. They couldn't find a place to take a bath, and could only take a nice bath when they finished work every day.

Ronald specially rented several suites in the hotel next door and arranged a special car to avoid the media and fans and pick them up.

"Oh, Ronnie, you are really a savior..." Diane was the first to come over and hug Ronald and kiss him, and happily walked towards the special car of Little Bud.

"Ronald, you really understand women..." Demi Moore ran over and kissed him second, hugged Ronald tightly, and pressed him hard twice. "I want to play that Annie, you can ask me to do anything..."

"Go take a rest, I have already talked to the director..." Ronald answered loudly.

"Well..." Brooke Shields came over and looked at Ronald. She didn't have the married status of Demi Moore, so she was a little reserved. After thinking for a while, she also hugged Ronald, but only kissed him twice on the cheek.

"Ah, hahaha..." When they were kissing, they were blocked by the baseball cap. Brooke turned the brim of the hat back, then she let go and kissed him. Anyway, everyone is kissing, so it won't be unusual for me to kiss him...

"It's my turn..." Madonna was the most bold, rushing up, her small body suddenly jumped onto Ronald, hanging on him like a koala, and kissed him with a big "ah...".

"It's my turn..." The actress who played a supporting role in a comedy was a fat actress named Rosie O'Donnell, who also came up to hug Ronald.

"Hey..." Ronald didn't want to be partial to one over the other, so he let him go after being touched by the fat girl.

"It's my turn..." Tom Hanks also imitated Madonna's voice, came up shyly, and pretended to come over to kiss Ronald with a stubble on his face.

"Get lost..." This touching was too disgusting.

"Hahaha..." Hanks, who was born as a comedy star, was not annoyed. He winked at Ronald and ran to take a shower.

It turns out that female stars can really do anything for a role.

Diane was still taking a bath in the bathroom when several female stars took turns to call and ask Ronald if he was free.

Don't say Ronald didn't have any intentions. Even if he did, this kind of thing was too risky. But for a heroine who might compete with Julia Roberts' "Pretty Woman" for popularity, they would make a little sacrifice.

"Are you still answering the phone?" Diane came out with a big headscarf and a bath towel wrapped around her body. Seeing that Ronald was still answering the phone, she didn't show any displeasure. She came over and sat on his lap and rubbed him twice.

"Ah, yes..." Ronald hugged Diane's waist, "I don't care about casting. It depends on Nora's ideas. The important thing is to see the chemical reaction. We'll see when the time comes..."

Ronald hung up the phone, "Tom Hanks also wants to play the male lead in that movie..."

"Huh?" Diane was leaning against Ronald and rubbing his itch with her hair. She was shocked when she heard the words. Did she blame Ronnie wrongly? It turned out that the actor asked him for the role.

"Tom is facing the hurdle of removing the label of a comedian and proving his acting skills. It's normal for him to want this role."

Ronald replied with a smile. Tom Hanks also called him to express his desire to try this role. Ronald thought this was a good choice, because Nora Ephron would definitely change the script so that the male protagonist is not too aggressive and has the characteristics of hidden tenderness that women like.

Such a role, if given to actors like Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson, would be a bit too sharp and the male hormones would be too surging. Hanks's honest appearance would be more convincing. And his comedy background can make him better adapt to romantic love dramas.

"Hey, I shouldn't doubt Brother Ronnie. He is here with me. What bad thoughts can he have?" Diane hugged Ronald and didn't move. It was only when Ronald kissed her that she smiled shyly.

"What's the matter? Does Tom want to play the role? Are you interested in working with him?" Ronald thought Diane wanted to play the role again. He and Hanks had good screen chemistry. They had been screen lovers in two consecutive movies, and both critics and audiences were very accepting of this couple.

"No, I'd rather accompany you and Roger..." Diane showed her gentle side.

"There's also a role of a deceased wife in Sleepless in Seattle, do you want it?" Ronald remembered that there was a supporting role that rarely appeared.

"No, it's not a good omen..." Diane was already confused by Ronald's gentleness and quickly refused.

...

It turned out that Diane's judgment of Nora Ephron was still very accurate. When she sent the second draft of the script she rewrote to Ronald, she began to imagine her casting for the hero and heroine.

"Of course it's Meg Ryan. My movie is to change the American view of love. Only Meg Ryan, who plays Sally in When Harry Met Sally, can do it!

Ronald, I want to be the director. As soon as I close my eyes now, the scene I wrote appears in front of me. I have already thought about how to direct this movie..."

After Ronald said that many female stars wanted to star in her script, Nora Ephron raised her voice and wanted Meg Ryan.

In her mind, the director who can best turn her script into a movie is Ronald, and the actor who can best embody the beautiful qualities of the heroine in his script (in fact, many of them are projections of her own love views) is Meg Ryan.

When Harry Met Sally, it changed some of the love and marriage views of American urban men and women. She also wanted to make such a movie that would stay in people's hearts, so she couldn't use anyone else except Meg Ryan.

"Who are you going to use as the male lead?" Ronald asked.

"Of course it's Cary Grant in The Legend of Mir 2."

"Don't make a fuss..." Ronald said while reading the script. There are some scenes in it where the male hormones are a little too low and too gentle, and they need to be modified.

Cary Grant died of a stroke in 1986. Of course, Nora Efron meant to find an actor like the male lead in The Legend of Mir 2. This Sleepless in Seattle also has many echoes with the Legend of Mir 2.

"What do you think of John Travolta?" Nora Efron didn't understand. She felt that Travolta's appearance was a bit similar to Cary Grant, especially the sideburns of the two and the chin with a small pit.

"John won't play this kind of role..." Ronald rejected him immediately, "What do you think of Tom Hanks?"

"Him? He's good..." Nora Efron tilted her head and thought about it. The honest look was quite consistent with the image of a loving widower in her imagination.

...

"I have an idea. Can my husband act with me?"

When Nora Efron got Ronald's permission and went to Meg Ryan to discuss it, Meg Ryan, who had just given birth to her son Jack, expressed her idea. She has always wanted to work with her husband Dennis Quaid on a movie...