Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"So this is the secret of the stone ball? Use a mechanism installed on the track to stop the stone ball from rolling at any time?" Ronald listened to Spielberg's introduction and knew how to make the stone ball safe.

"Yes, although the fiberglass is very light and hollow, I doubled the size of the stone ball. If it rolls, it is still dangerous. Adding brakes will make it much better."

"Good luck to the project, thank you for your advice."

"Good luck to you, Ronald." Spielberg smiled and said goodbye to him.

After asking Spielberg for some shooting tips, Ronald and Niceta left the screening room.

"Why, you don't want to go to the parking lot with me? I'll take you back to the hotel." Niceta got a ride with Sinberg as she wished. When she was about to pick up the car, she saw Ronald standing at the door of the ticket booth and felt strange. She came up to ask him.

"I wonder why Spielberg is so confident. "Ronald stared at the door of the ticket booth and didn't move. "ET's script is clearly aimed at young children. Columbia's marketing department is right. And teenagers will like to watch movies made for young children, right?"

"Didn't you say that? He has the ability to realize his imagination. Sheinberg also trusts him. Let's go. Now is not the time to think about these things. You should fully prepare for the next interview.

Amy Heckerling is not an outsider. We have learned that she is your alumnus of the Tisch School of New York University, a few years older than you. She has worked as an editor in Los Angeles for a period of time. She is capable of directing. "

"Okay, I'll come." Ronald took two steps and looked back at the line of people outside the ticket booth. Today, many parents brought their children to watch the preview of the PG-rated "The Lost Ark of the Covenant". Parents accompanied their children, and there were several people in the whole family."

Ronald returned to the hotel and waited for the joint interview to decide who would be the director.

Everything that should be thought of has been thought of, and everything that should be done has been done. The dice has been cast, waiting for the judgment of the facts.

Ronald suddenly relaxed. He took notes on the script every day to see if there was any new inspiration. He would watch TV series when he was free. There were many Hollywood-produced TV series on California TV stations. He watched the blonde girl on TV speaking boring dialogues in a valley accent, which was just a way to relieve boredom.

He even found an opportunity to watch a few movies, including the recently premiered "Endless Love". While the heat of Brooke Shields' congressional hearing had not yet passed, PolyGram put up large posters with Brooke Shields' head in theaters everywhere, which attracted a lot of people.

"Oh, Jade's boyfriend loves her so much and is willing to do anything for her."

"Yeah, when we go to high school, we will have a boyfriend like David."

"Is it really that good between men and women?"

"I don't know. My sister is in the 12th grade. She said I would know when I entered high school."

Ronald, sitting in the cinema, listened to several little girls who looked like they were in the seventh or eighth grade behind him discussing this movie, and couldn't help laughing.

In fact, Brooke Shields's ecstatic expression was the result of trying to control the pain and itching caused by pinching her toes.

As if to blame Ronald for his inappropriate laughter, the little girls around him glared at him.

Ronald sat down quickly. There were only two or three teenage couples among the dozens of spectators in the hall, and most of them kissed each other without paying attention to others.

A week later, the day of the interview with Sheinberg and Mount finally arrived.

Ronald finally met his invisible opponent, Amy Heckerling.

She was a beautiful woman, wearing a pair of sunglasses, with short curly hair draped on both sides, a black shirt on the upper body, jeans and sneakers on the lower body, and she was very free and easy.

She reminded Ronald of Kathryn Bigelow. Women who want to be film directors all have some tough and capable temperament.

Amy Heckerling came over to say hello, "Hi, Ronald, I'm Amy. I heard that you are also from New York? A student of Tisch? New Yorkers are very familiar with the rules of competition. This is a professional behavior, not a personal grudge."

"It doesn't involve personal grudges." Ronald shook hands with her.

Then Amy Heckerling was called into the interview room first to be interviewed by Tom Mount and Sidney Sheinberg.

"Americans like to say this a lot." Ronald said to Niceta and Richard who came with him.

"Because Americans like to compete, and they can cooperate after the victory or defeat. This is the key quality for us to lead the free world." Niceta replied.

"Nonsense." Ronald thought to himself. How can there be no personal grudges? There are only a few opportunities. If you give it to me, you can't give it to me. For anyone, getting the opportunity to be a director means getting a chance to roll the dice. If the box office is a big hit, you can continue to direct new movies.

And the person who didn't get the opportunity can only go back to a technical career, such as editing, assistant director, casting director, etc.

Or continue to bury his head in writing scripts, waiting for an opportunity to be noticed by the producer, and then compete with other younger players.

There is nothing here that is not related to individuals.

"Amy, can I call you Amy?" In the interview room, Tom Mount greeted Heckerling at the beginning.

"Of course, Mr. Mount, Mr. Sheenberg."

"Please start by telling us what you want this movie to be like?" Sheenberg began to ask.

"I wanted to make 'Up' into an ensemble song about teenagers growing up. High school students in California are very diverse, so that when viewers see it, they'll be reminded of who they were in high school, and who they were in high school." Like a friend and a teacher..."

Amy Heckerling added some of her own understanding to the character portrait of Ronald given by Mount.

She was interviewed first, arranged by Tom Mount, so that she could gain a lot of advantages over Sheinberg.

After asking a few questions, the interview with Heikelin ended immediately. Tom Mount was whispering something to Sheinberg, and Heckerling was also preparing to leave.

"Miss Heckerling, last question, who are you making the movie for?" Sheinberg interrupted Mount's whisper and asked.

"Who should I take the photo for?" Heikelin didn't expect there would be another question and was a little surprised. But she quickly realized, "I want to make a comedy for the audience."

"It will be somewhere between a screwball comedy and a romantic comedy, with some farce elements. I hope to make the audience feel that the characters in this comedy are living around us.

Let's put it this way...if a viewer wakes up and finds himself in the world of a comedy movie. Then the audience who falls into "Unprecedented and Unprecedented" will feel hopeless, and all the characters are crazy.

Viewers will find it scary to be dropped into '9 to 5', where supporting characters are even tied up and hung from the ceiling for laughs.

I hope viewers who fall into the fast-paced world of Richmond High will find it relaxing. Because they're once again in the world of high school, where no one's trying to kill them and there's no squeamish dialogue, but instead a light, knowing humor.

Just like when I watched George Luca's debut film "American Gracious Painting", the laughter was full of hope and sweetness. "

"Thank you, Miss Heckerling."

Amy Heckerling came out of the room and happened to see Ronald. She stretched out her hand and shook hands with Ronald again, "Don't be discouraged if you lose, why not become my assistant director. With the experience of this film, you will soon be able to direct independently."

This is the second time someone has said similar things to Ronald recently, but this time Ronald and her are competitors and they don’t want to show weakness.

"Same to you, Miss Heckerling."

"Hello, Ronald, tell me what you want this movie to be like." Tom Mount sat upright and started asking Ronald questions in an official tone.

"As I said last time, I hope young people in America can see their own lives on the screen..." Ronald said his last thought again.

"Are you going to make this into a drama? Like your last screenplay, 'Famous'?"

"No, I want to make a realistic light comedy about the love lives of men and women in public schools in the California valley. Most of the programs for the three major public television stations are produced in Hollywood, and the valley accent here is also spread to All over America.

As the TV series’s teen audience grows, Southern California’s valley accent has become a symbol of a superior life. Teenagers across the country are targeting California high school students, so I hope to capture the characteristics of valley girls and attract people across the country. audience. "

Tom Mount asked some more questions, then began whispering to Sheinberg, shaking his head as he spoke.

"Who do you want to make this movie for?" Shenberg interrupted Mount's whisper and asked this question as usual.

"Show it to high school students across America." Ronald answered without hesitation.

"The content of this movie will probably be rated R. In this way, our main audience will need to be accompanied by adults.

Of course, American movie theaters will not strictly abide by this rule, and our audience will not ask their parents to watch this kind of movie together. Parents will be frightened by the openness of the movie.

Therefore, the company they are looking for to watch the movie will not be like the parents of "The Lost Ark", but the whole family will go out to watch the movie. They are probably looking for brothers, seniors, or even older heterosexual lovers.

The viewing tastes of these teenagers are different from those of the younger audiences that ET dramas are facing, and there cannot be any violence or explicit scenes that cause discomfort.

It's not like the recently released "Endless Love", where most of them are junior high school girls, a group of young girls who have no experience in love. If you want love to make them feel great, it doesn't matter no matter how ridiculous the content is.

What young audiences need is a certain degree of reality that makes them feel that the characters on the screen are believable. It also includes some things they wanted to do in life but failed to do.

For example, winning a football game, successfully deceiving your parents after getting into an accident, or finding your beloved boyfriend and girlfriend to spend the first time in your life..."

Shenberg felt satisfied after hearing Ronald's answer.

"Mr. Li, thank you, you can go out."

After the door was closed by Ronald, Tom Mount changed direction and faced Sheinberg and said, "Heckerling has more experience. She edited documentaries for the film school in Hollywood for half a year."

"But I heard that she was fired in the end because she couldn't find where the edited footage was."

"I watched Heikelin's graduation short film. It was very clever. Her portrayal of the characters in the script was also very accurate."

"Don't talk like an idiot, Tom. That's the question you asked Ronald during his first interview." Sheinberg bluntly revealed Mount's answer to the question.

"And watch your crotch, Tom. Don't hang around with these women with vested interests. The company's lawyers have handled several cases for you."

"You!" Tom Mount was speechless for a moment, but after thinking about it, he said, "Sidney, you still want to get ET back from Columbia, right?"

"The film projects I decide on do not require your approval, Tom."

"But you don't want anyone to bother you on the board, right?"

"What do you want?"

"Hakelin likes this script very much..."

"That's impossible. Ronald is obviously a more suitable candidate. He is the script writer and was trained by Roger Corman. He knows how to operate low-cost movies.

More importantly, Spielberg admires him very much and wants to invite him to his amusement park. I don't want to make trouble for ET."

"Then what I promised Hekelin..."

"That's your own business. You can find her another job. I will approve it."

"Okay, Sidney, you win this time." Tom Mount raised his hands to surrender.