Exploiting Hollywood 1980

After winning this short-term project, Ronald asked his agent Richard to search for v-video tapes that he could find since the launch of the TV channel, and watched them at home for one day and two nights.

He watched all kinds of music videos at once.

Although it is a new thing, music video is developing rapidly and now has various shooting genres and editing styles. Ronald had a plan in mind and began to draw the V storyboard at the end of "The Amazing Dirt Band".

"The editing rhythm of V is different from that of ordinary movies. The movie has a plot first, and then the soundtrack. V matches the pictures according to the rhythm of the song. It does not need a complete story. The audience will imagine the missing parts on their own. part."

Ronald picked up the storyboards he had drawn and showed the original director Lou Adler the ending shot he imagined.

Lou Adler looked at the storyboards carefully and said, "Your ideas are very original. They are not exactly the same as those music videos shown on TV."

"Yeah, the Vs shown on TV stations now are either live clips of singers singing, or a splicing of various symbolic pictures. If there is 'victory' in the lyrics, there will be fireworks, and if there is 'love' in the lyrics, there will be a kissing scene. , after all, we are still filming a movie.”

Ronald divided the storyboard on the table into three pieces and said to Adler:

"Here is the band 'The Magic Stains' singing live, here is the happy life they lead, and finally here is their record sales, awards, etc. Although it is relatively loose, the audience can still combine these shots through their imagination. A complete story."

Lou Adler was quite satisfied. This fresh method of filming music videos looked very interesting. TV stations should also be satisfied with this innovative approach and broadcast it on a rolling basis.

Before it is released, this v can also be used as an advertisement and trailer for the movie to be rotated on TV channels. The audience there is mainly teenagers, which happens to be the main audience of the movie.

So he confirmed Ronald's idea and started calling to gather the filming team and the three leading actors who played the band members. Shooting started the day after tomorrow.

"I'm very satisfied. I will add your name to the director team." Lou Adler found the team, gave Ronald a glass of whiskey, and said with satisfaction.

"Huh?" Ronald was actually unwilling. He didn't want to leave his name on such a bad movie. He just wanted to get money and the director's gratitude.

"Actually, I don't really care about my name appearing in the subtitles, Mr. Adler. To be honest, the price you offered is very generous, and I am very satisfied.

Moreover, I have already directed one film independently, and it is not an improvement for me to appear in other directing team positions. "

"I understand what you mean, that's all."

Lou Adler was also very satisfied with Ronald's professionalism in taking money to do things. Why didn't he encounter such dedicated practitioners when he was filming? They were all salary thieves who did not work hard.

On the day of filming, Ronald came to the location in advance, which was Lou Adler's mansion, a large villa in the middle of the mountain.

"This roof can be used as a stage for band performances, and the satellite antenna there can be used as a decoration to express a modern element." Lou Adler showed Ronald various performance locations.

"Uh, okay." Ronald felt that this shooting method was also a way of thinking. At least there was no need to find a large performance venue again and waste money on another day of work.

"This is my room of honor, with all kinds of record awards."

Ronald looked at it and picked up a gold record certificate and looked at it. It said "Theaas and Papas, 'All Theleaves Are Brown' - 1967."

"This is good, let Diane hold it when the time comes."

"This is my practice room with all kinds of audio equipment."

Ronald felt that Adler could open a small record label and a recording studio at home.

By the time the dressing room and costume designers finished dressing up the three protagonists, even though Ronald had already seen the samples, he was still surprised by Diane Lane's makeup.

“That’s a girl punk rock band, ha!”

During the period, Diane Lane wore a one-piece miniskirt with Indianism and Van Gogh-style patterns.

"Hey, Ronald, why are you here?" Diane Lane wore a long dark red wig, pushed aside her bangs that were blown by the wind, and was shocked when she saw Ronald's figure.

"Didn't the director tell you? I'll take the reshoots today."

"No, Bert and I have been busy auditioning these days. There is a big-budget movie that has summoned actresses from all over the country to Los Angeles." Diane answered.

"Is it really you?" Laura Dern also came over with her makeup on. After she conveyed Ronald's suggestion to Paramount through her mother, she didn't expect to be called upon to reshoot the ending scene so quickly.

After the Golden Globe Awards ceremony, she also gained some popularity as "Miss Golden Globe Award". If the film can be released... she should have the opportunity to play the heroine next time.

Ronald looked at Laura. She was wearing a purple vest and pink skirt, similar to Diane's dress, except that the stockings were white.

"You two stand side by side, let me take a look." Ronald discovered that Laura Dern was already taller than Diane. When filming in 1980, Laura was obviously shorter.

"You will stand on the right, the one who plays Diane's sister will stand on the left, and Diane will stand a little forward." Ronald took out the director's viewfinder, stepped back and observed the three people's positions in the camera, and asked Diane to stand a little forward, so that the height difference between her and Laura was not obvious in the camera.

"A little more forward. OK, let's rehearse once and play music."

Lou Adler asked the staff to drag a pair of top-level high-fidelity speakers out of the room and put them on the roof to play the pre-recorded song, "thefabulostas", which was Diane's recording.

"." Diane Lane opened her mouth to her own voice and lip-synced.

"Oh my God, Diane really can't sing." Ronald thought to himself, this out-of-tune voice is really terrible.

"Clothes, costumes?" Ronald called the costume designer, "Give Diane a dark coat, otherwise the bright red stockings and light blue top can't hold it down."

"What kind of top?"

"Just this one of mine", Ronald took off his dark blue uniform with metal buttons, called Diane over, and put it on her to try the effect.

"That's it, dark navy blue on top and bright red on the bottom, black is also OK."

"What kind of makeshift team is this? They don't even know how to match clothes." Ronald shook his head and thought to himself as he watched the costume designer looking for clothes.

"You should rehearse in it first," Ronald walked behind the camera and looked at Diane through the viewfinder. His coat was too big on her. The shoulder pads supported her shoulders, but the sleeves were still a little long, which was a bit ridiculous.

"Very good, that's it."

Ronald went to check the recording equipment again. There was wind on the roof, and the recording rod was relatively long. Ronald saw that the recording engineer had good arm strength, so he was relieved and prepared to start shooting. The level of this work team is average, and I have to check it once before I can do it.

Diane carried an electric guitar on her back, made a few playing gestures with her right hand, and pinched a chord with her left hand, secretly watching

After he finished speaking, he looked at him again. Diane immediately retracted her gaze and began to pretend to play.

"Record, camera, a!"

After shooting this performance, Ronald re-shot some shots of Diane celebrating with a gold record, playing with her two sisters in the swimming pool, and shots of Diane's head on various fake magazines.

"Let's just shoot here. After I finish editing, the director should arrange for it to be released."

"Okay, Ronald." Several actors went to remove their makeup.

Ronald looked at the end of the original film on the editing machine at the director's home, thinking about how to connect the re-shot shots today.

The original ending shot was fixed on Diane's close-up. The protagonist she played was kicked out of the tour, but she heard her single being played on the radio. It was a look of crying and laughing. If it ended like this, the audience would really be dissatisfied.

"Let's add a narration of Diane here. She said that she would not give up. She used to be a little girl that no one noticed, but now she is the lead singer of a punk band that has made it into the charts. I won't give up, and you shouldn't give up either."

Ronald pointed to Diane's skunk makeup on the monitor and said to director Lou Adler.

"I think it's okay. I'll ask Diane to come and record."

"I used to be like you, nothing. But I didn't give up, and you shouldn't give up either. It's you who made me who I am now." Diane, who had taken off her makeup, finished her narration in front of the cue board opposite her in the recording studio.

"Very good, that's it." Director Lou Adler operated the recorder himself.

Ronald was still outside the glass of the recording studio, holding up a whiteboard with his newly written narration lines on it.

Diane is now back to her daily look, with her long brown hair tied into a braid behind her head. Her face shape is very suitable for filming, and she looks beautiful from both sides.

"This is the general idea of ​​editing..." Ronald put down the whiteboard and talked about editing with director Lou Adler again.

Diane came out of the recording studio and stood by to watch Ronald for a while, watching him and the director discuss how to edit, until Laura Dern came to her.

"What are you laughing at, Diane? What do you think of this movie? Can it be released?"

"Ah? I don't know. I think it would be better to add an ending. You should have confidence in Ronald. I think he knows more about movies than the original director."

The two walked out of the room while talking.

"This is my idea. What do you think, Mr. Adler?"

"Very good, I have no opinion. Let's do it this way. I have an editing machine here. I can finish it here after it is developed."

"Okay, then I'll go back first." Ronald said goodbye to the director and prepared to go home.

"Hey, where is Diane?" Ronald looked up and found that Diane was gone. Looking out the window, it was already dark. "Let's go first? I forgot to ask her what movie she auditioned for. It shouldn't be Coppola's "The Untamed". That one hasn't signed a distribution contract yet, the loan hasn't been in place, and Coppola has no money to pay salaries."

A few days later, Ronald finished editing "The Magic Stains". Lou Adler had some new ideas and added a lot of shots of his early bands in the ending v to pay tribute to tradition.

Ronald disagreed. The whimsical editing might be fine for a pure music video, but it was obviously inappropriate to have such a jumpy ending to the movie.

However, his mission had been completed, so he took the money and left. There was no need to say more.

Lou Adler was very excited and wrote a check on the spot, saying that he would work with him again in the future to shoot videos for his singers.

"You can contact my agent Eddie in New York who is responsible for things other than movies."

A few days later, Ronald received a call from his agent Niceta.

"Hello, has Coppola got the loan and is ready to form a crew?" Ronald was eager to learn Coppola's secret.

"Don't worry, he has signed a contract in Europe and will be back soon.

I'm looking for you for another reason. It seems that someone has plagiarized your idea and followed suit to shoot a movie with a plot that is very similar to "Fast-paced Richmond High School". I asked Richard to pick you up..."