Exploiting Hollywood 1980

It’s half past five on Saturday morning, and there’s still an hour before sunrise. The "Night of the Comet" crew is already waiting to film at Bunker Hill in Los Angeles.

A light came on to show the way for the staff. Everyone is doing their part and preparing for the morning magic hour shoot.

There are a few office buildings and commercial buildings in the Bunker Hill neighborhood that are already occupied by companies, and they usually go to work at nine in the morning. Today is the weekend, so there are even fewer people coming to work overtime early in the morning.

In order to capture the deserted city, Ronald specifically chose a Saturday morning to shoot this part of the scene. . They must take the key shots before the overtime workaholics arrive.

"Thank you for troubling you to block the road so early." Ronald shook hands with the two police officers and handed over the tip in his palm.

The older of the two police officers felt that the cash he had received was quite thick. He looked through the light and saw that it was several stacked Andrew Jackson cards. He quickly changed his smile and started chatting enthusiastically with the young director.

"Assisting the film crew in filming is also the LAPD's accusation. Besides, actually no one comes here on weekends. We just follow the regulations to take a look."

"What movie are you shooting? There seemed to be a gun battle yesterday?" The younger police officer was very interested in movie shooting.

"It's a science fiction film. A comet kills people or mutates them into zombies, and then two valley girls save Los Angeles."

"Oh, I like Dawn of the Dead very much. Do your movies also have zombies like that? Can I watch it? Those zombies are so sexy." The young police officer is also a fan of zombie movies. I heard that he is Zombie movies are great.

"Did you know? We have another scene today where the heroine dreams that two traffic policemen turned into zombies. If you are interested, you can also make a cameo."

"Oh yeah? Can we really do a movie? Seriously?"

"Make up your makeup and take two of you to try on the zombie's hood. If they can wear it, we'll sign a contract with them as extras."

Ronald was very happy because he saved two extras. They also had their own uniforms to wear, and they could also borrow their police car for some shots. I guess they wouldn't mind if the filming took a little longer.

"Ah...ah" Kelly Maroney yawned and got out of the RV parked on the roadside. She should have started putting on makeup.

Ronald was very good to actors. Although it was impossible to get good treatment in small productions, she and Catherine Mary Stuart shared a motor home, and Ronald often let them sleep more during their breaks. a while.

"Kelly, are you awake? I'm about to ask my assistant to call you. I'm almost ready to put on makeup." Ronald said to Kelly Maroney, "Where's Katherine?"

"Catherine is making coffee."

"Make-up, where are the people who put make-up on the two heroines?" Ronald started shouting again.

"The make-up artist is missing, and no one answered the call to her home. Yesterday someone heard that she seemed to say that the salary of a large crew was higher or something." The first assistant director came over and explained the situation clearly in a few words. In small film crews, people often find themselves halfway through their work, get better jobs, and then run away.

"Ask someone who knows how to put on makeup and help." Ronald covered his face. A low-budget production is like a guerrilla army. If something goes wrong, it's impossible to do something simple. It's impossible for a crew to stop and wait for the makeup artist.

"Director, I can do my own makeup, that's what we do on daytime soap operas." Catherine Mary Stuart heard about the makeup artist putting her own makeup on.

"Can you draw Kelly Maroney too?"

"Uh...of course." Catherine didn't expect Ronald to climb up the pole so quickly, and was stunned for a moment.

This scene is about two sisters who have a knot in their hearts. They heard the song was still playing on the radio, so they went to the radio station to find survivors, and accidentally met another survivor Hector who came along the radio station. The next day both sisters wanted to go on a date with him, so they got into a fight.

"A!"

The camera focuses on the two sisters on the balcony, pushing down the close shot. Sister Samantha is still wearing a cheerleading uniform, and her long legs and blond hair are very sexy. The clothing department prepared two identical outfits for Kelly Maroney and asked her to change them.

she asked her sister Regina.

"So, you had sex with him last night?"

"Who? What?" Regina answered.

"Who else, that handsome and humorous man."

"Jesus, is that why you ignored me this morning?"

"Cut! Cut! Cut!"

"Who the hell screamed Cut!" Ronald was angry. He finally found the magic light time in the morning to film this scene where the sisters opened their hearts and strengthened their relationship. Both heroines performed very well. Know which fool called it quits and ruined everything.

"It's me, Ronald."

Ronald looked back and saw that it was producer Wayne Crawford. He quickly swallowed the curse words he was about to blurt out, "Wayne, why did you say stop?"

I saw the producer anxiously pointing to the office building opposite Ronald and behind the two actresses, "There is a glass cleaner there."

Ronald looked up and saw a cleaner hanging from the window of the skyscraper opposite, cleaning the glass. Today is Saturday, the office building is closed, and it happens to be the time for them to clean the glass curtain wall.

Ronald hurried to the back of the camera and looked over. He saw that the cleaner just slid down one level at the top of the frame and entered the background.

"Oh, damn." Ronald cursed. How could there be workers cleaning glass exterior walls in the end of the world? This was a big mistake and had to be reshot.

He grabbed the electric horn and said, "Hey, hey, friend across the way, can you go up for a while? We are filming a movie and you are a mistake."

"Huh? Are you talking to me?"

"Yes, it's you. Can you go up for a while? We will finish this shot soon."

After a flurry of activity, the cleaner finally slid up a few levels to give the crew some time to shoot.

"A!"

"Okay, listen, I didn't 'do' with him last night. Why are you always so sad?" Regina looked at this sister who always wanted to ruin her romantic relationship with a helpless look on her face.

"Why sad? My sister always attracts the attention of every boy I know. Now, she has to attract the last man in Los Angeles!" Samantha rushed forward and pushed Regina.

Regina showed a look of astonishment, then took a step forward to look at her sister. The opposing emotions of the two were cleverly expressed in the picture.

The two girls faced each other, and neither of them gave in to Kevin Costner's role as the last man in Los Angeles.

On the balcony railing behind them, there was a can of Pepsi Cola and a MAC-10 submachine gun, two representative symbols of the capitalist world - consumerism to satisfy one's own desires, and high-tech weapons to protect one's own property.

"Hahahaha..." The two finally couldn't help laughing out loud.

"Cut!"

The camera was quickly moved downstairs and equipped with a dark red filter. Then an upward shot was taken. The two sisters still stood in the same place, facing each other in silence. Compared with the contradiction of liking the same boy, it is obviously more important to support each other to survive in this apocalypse.

In the distant shot, there are only skyscrapers and streets. It is empty, representing the last bit of persistence of the two valley girls in the empty city of Los Angeles in the apocalypse.

The following shots went smoothly. Ronald borrowed two LAPD police cars and asked Catherine Mary Stuart to ride a motorcycle next to the police car to check for survivors.

Under the dark red sky, the props team used a blower to raise the red powder produced by grinding the red bricks bought by the crew for construction. Regina rode a motorcycle and sat alone. There were only two sets of clothes in the police car, and the police officer had turned to ashes.

This represents the last line of order in the city, which has collapsed. Next, you need to fight for yourself.

"Lunch time! Take a half-hour break. The actors will eat first, and then the staff." After shooting all the shots in the morning, the first assistant director began to arrange lunch.

Ronald put on sunglasses. The red powder just now was Cameron's idea. Although it is very cheap, it will fall on people's heads and bodies when it is blown. Wearing sunglasses can prevent the powder from floating into the eyes.

He wiped his hands, walked to the front of the RV that provided lunch, and lined up to get the food. Everyone ate the same small production, hamburgers wrapped in tin foil and heated, and a cup of aerated Coke on the spot.

"Who are these people? They are not from our crew, right?"

One of the duties of the second assistant director is to count the number of people eating. Many actors in the entertainment industry have huge expenses, and they will go to the movies starring actors they know in groups to get free meals. Sometimes the crew doesn't care much and just gives them out.

However, "Night of the Comet" is a small production, and the number of people for lunch is very tight. Ronald and the producer don't want dozens or hundreds of people to eat every day.

"Aren't you giving out charity lunches here? The last time the church gave out free lunches in such an RV." An elderly man with a woolen hat and ragged clothes came out and asked Ronald and the others.

"Our lunch here is for the filming of the movie, not charity." The second assistant director stepped forward to stop the homeless people who came to collect from the party, "I'm sorry."

Ronald took a look and saw that they were all homeless people wearing very shabby clothes, weak bodies, and some were very thin from hunger. There were men, women, young and old, and people of all ethnicities. And they were not asking for money, but for a lunch, so they must be those who are really unfortunate.

Although the current economic momentum is good, the unemployment rate is still very high. Many poor people who are old and weak and have no exploitation value and no family to take care of them are abandoned by the capitalist machine after they lose their jobs. They have no social security and cannot even have a hot meal.

Ronald felt a little compassionate and asked the first assistant director who had dealt with all kinds of people, "Gordon, who usually takes care of them? What do they eat and where do they live?"

"Don't mind your own business, Ronald. These people are usually taken care of by churches and charities. They are either white or Latino, and they can't even get government relief.

Although some people are really pitiful because of divorce, unemployment and bankruptcy, many people also abuse illegal drugs or gamble. If you show a little sympathy, they will follow the crew all the time and make trouble if you don't give them money."

"At least give them a hot meal. I'll pay for the lunch money for these more than 20 people. Anyway, after we finish shooting this scene, the location will be almost done, and I won't be in charge of their affairs tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll go talk to the producer."

Afterwards, each homeless person got a lunch, opened the steaming foil package, and began to devour it. Some women even shed tears.

"Let's call the church?" Ronald said to his assistant, "Move these poor people away and out of the frame. We still have to continue filming."