Exploiting Hollywood 1980

In the evening, Ronald came to Weintraub's mansion in Beverly Hills. When he entered, Weintraub happened to be on the phone in the study upstairs, and Ronald chatted with his wife, the famous singer Jane Morgan.

"I heard that you borrowed Debbie's dance studio?" Jane Morgan already had many wrinkles on her face, but she was very amiable when she spoke.

"Ms. Debbie Reynolds? Yes, I borrowed her dance studio for rehearsals. I especially liked her couch dance in 'Singin' in the Rain'."

"Oh, that was Debbie's debut. She couldn't dance before."

"Then she is really talented. She danced so well for the first time in front of the camera. It's a pity that she doesn't act in many movies now."

"It's also because she had a great teacher, Gene Kelly. Since she divorced Eddie Fisher, her acting career has turned to the television screen."

Morgan was talking about a past incident of Debbie Reynolds, when she and Elizabeth Taylor were best friends. Taylor's husband died in a plane crash. Debbie sent her husband Eddie Fisher to comfort Taylor while she was busy handling Taylor's funeral.

Unexpectedly, Eddie Fisher put Elizabeth Taylor to bed. .

"A terrible betrayal, isn't it?" Jane Morgan seemed to read Ronald's thoughts, "If you ask me, Debbie should not file for divorce. Don't let anyone else take your husband away."

"Honey, what divorce?" Weintraub came down from upstairs.

"Let's talk about the old stories of your old friend Debbie Reynolds." Jane Morgan and Ronald nodded and went about their business.

"Mr. Weintraub..."

Ronald reported some progress to Weintraub. The training of the actors and the scenery went very smoothly.

"Very good, everything is progressing according to schedule. Is there anything else you need me to solve? You can talk to Susan at any time, or call me."

"I have a problem, and only you can help me," Ronald said, looking at Weintraub.

"what is the problem?"

"Who is my backup? When are you going to decide who will be the director?" Ronald asked straight to the point.

Weintraub opened his mouth, but he didn't expect the news to be leaked. He was also a big business man and quickly returned to normal.

Weintraub stood up and went to get two glasses, "Whisky?"

"No ice."

"Okay." Weintraub poured two glasses of wine and handed one to Ronald. The two took a sip in silence.

"I did find a director to consult on all aspects of the film's progress. He is just my consultant now, and I don't mean to let him replace you immediately. It's just that I have no experience in production before, so I have to do a lot of things. Find someone in the industry to ask.”

Weintraub was open and honest, admitting that he did find a director for "consulting" work.

"I understand your difficulties, but I also hope you can understand me. What I am doing now is the preparatory work for the movie. If you can't give me a guarantee, someone who may lose his job at any time cannot be 100% committed. .

Besides, this is my own screenwriter and the first medium-sized investment film I directed, so I handled ‘Longwei Boy’ with 120% investment.”

Ronald looked at Weintraub and took a sip of his drink.

"Even for this film project, if you change the director now or after filming starts, it will cause a lot of confusion. I don't want my script to be shot with lower quality due to such accidents. So now, it’s me or him, you choose. I don’t want to go into the shoot with this kind of doubt.”

Like a gambler, Ronald showed hand to Weintraub. It’s either Ronald or the spare tire, me without him, him without me. Not giving Weintraub space, jumping back and forth between the two, using the words of one to force the other.

"Of course it's you, Ronald." Weintraub pondered for a second and decisively chose Ronald.

In any case, Ronald wrote one of his ideas into a script from scratch, and recommended Noriyuki Morita, who was very suitable. He also did a decent job in karate training for the actors. He had no reason to pay for the spare part. words, and gave up on Ronald's achievements through hard work.

"Well, congratulations again on our agreement," Ronald and Weintraub shook hands.

He drank the rest of the whiskey in one gulp, "Jerry, tell the truth, why are you so worried about my directorial ability that you want to find another 'consultant'?" Ronald wanted to know some of Weintraub's thoughts.

"First of all, like I said, I'm not worried about you. You will always be my first choice. I just don't understand movies and I have to find an unbiased third-party opinion."

"What about other than that? Do you have any other concerns?" Ronald knew that the first reason given by others was probably false.

"I have no doubts about your directorial ability, but your first two movies were all based on action, plot, pictures, and popular songs. This movie doesn't have those R-rated hot scenes, it all relies on performances and actors. The interaction between them brought out real feelings and moved the audience.”

Ronald knew that this was another idea of ​​​​consulting senior advisors. Weintraub was beguiled by him and felt that he had no experience in handling such a film that relied on acting to win.

"Yes, this movie that's going to be rated PG is different from my previous two movies, but I have a way around it." Ronald stood up and added a little whiskey to himself and Weintraub.

"I plan to have a closed rehearsal two weeks before the shooting starts. Let all the main actors rehearse all the plots of the movie from beginning to end. And I can shoot them all with Sony's Betaca camera.

In this way, every night, we can know where there is room for improvement in the performance and make corrections during the official filming. "

Weintraub listened carefully.

"I have another way. If you are still worried about the actor's performance, we can shoot in sequence. In this way, all the shots will be shot according to the rough order of the script. The actors will be fully aware of the part they are about to perform, their emotions and the proportion of their performance. A better understanding will be much better than shooting out of sequence.

But in this way, it will take more time to set up the lighting and set up the scene, which is detrimental to the cost of shooting. I may not have experience in directing feature-based films, but I have been Coppola's assistant throughout the entire film, so I am fully prepared for the acting aspect. "

Ronald integrated his experience in shooting the first two movies with the experience learned on the Coppola crew and proposed a new plan.

Sure enough, Weintraub was convinced, "How much more would it cost to shoot sequentially?"

"This drama is mostly indoor scenes, and the scenes are concentrated in a limited five or six places, so sequential shooting will not increase the cost a lot. I expect an increase of up to 10 percent."

"Well, I still have a reserve of fifty to one million, just as you said."

Weintraub raised his glass and said, "Cheers!" and the two drank it down.

After receiving Weintraub's promise, Ronald still felt a little uneasy. Weintraub was not a man who was easily influenced by others, and every time he met with Gao Chen, he would come up with new ideas.

So, it goes without saying that the spare tire has either a relatively high reputation or a relatively deep qualification in the film industry.

Ronald was not a person who would not fix a loophole when he saw it. He also made several preparations to deal with this threat. First of all, let Daryl Vidal and Noriyuki Morita, those partners who are most closely tied to their own interests, continue to pay attention to the drama of the crew.

Then there's Weintraub's key voice on the set, Susan Akins. Ronald took her with him every time he did things, and he respected her very much. He asked her for advice on everything, and he also taught her a lot of knowledge in the industry.

He won Susan on his side, so that even if Weintraub made another move, he would have a good cushion.

Soon the weekend came again, and Ronald went home to rest after work.

"Ronnie, is that you? I'm at home." Donna was making sandwiches in the kitchen.

She had just completed a college tour and still preferred the East Coast schools to the free-spirited West Coast ones. Only California Institute of Technology is of interest to her here, but the school has too few students, so even if she applies, she may not be admitted.

"Ronnie, are you free tomorrow?"

Valley

"What?" Ronald said as he ate Donna's sandwich, which was exactly the same as Aunt Karen's. He loved it.

"Tomorrow Diane Lane is going to Johnny Carson's Tonight Talk Show. I promised her to be a live audience member. Can you go with me?"

"Why? Don't you know how to drive?"

"I have never been on TV, and I want to find someone who is an expert. Besides, you are so busy, you should find some time to relax. Oh... why don't you come with me?" Donna stood behind Ronald and squeezed his shoulders.

"Okay, I'll go, just in time to meet Diane and old friends."

That night, Ronald drove to the NBC studios in Burbank with Donna. Johnny Carson's talk show was in prime time at night, and his soundstage was one of the best.

Ronald accompanied Donna to find a seat and sat down, then sneaked out secretly. The Late Show with David Letterman was in a small shed nearby, and he was also preparing for it. This program will be broadcast after the Tonight Show, and the guests Letterman invites are obviously a lower level than Carson's.

"Hi, David." Ronald came up to greet Letterman.

"Hi, Ronnie." David Letterman was also very happy to see it was Ronald. The last time Brooke Shields and Sean Penn went on the show to promote it, they set a ratings record for The Late Show, which no guest has yet been able to break.

"When can you let me play a role in your movie?" Letterman chatted with Ronald and asked half-jokingly.

"You're welcome at any time, I'll always leave a role for you." Ronald knew that the late show had greatly boosted the box office of "Fast Times", and he wanted to get free publicity.

Letterman laughed at himself, "It's a pity that my agent won't let me do this, and I can't do that."

"Or can we change the format and let my crew put the movie on your talk show?"

"you mean?"

Ronald proposed that the protagonist of his movie come up and re-enact the scenes in the movie with Letterman in the studio, and let Letterman play the role opposite the actor.

"I think this is a good idea. I have to discuss it with my team." David Letterman thought about it seriously and said that he would think about it carefully and contact Ronald if he had an idea.

"Come on, it's about to start." Donna saw Ronald walk into Johnny Carson's studio again, and hurriedly pulled him to sit down. Carson's show is very difficult to get on, and a little girl like Diane Lane only has three minutes, and Donna is afraid that he will miss it.

The on-site director gestured for everyone to be quiet, and a theme music called "Johnny Carson" sounded.

Johnny Carson, who was sitting in the host's position, said, "Let's welcome the next guest... Diane Ladd"

"Ah?" Ronald glanced at Carson. Then he heard Donna whisper in his ear, "Did you call the wrong name?"

Diane Lane walked onto the stage from the side in a black off-shoulder dress.

Ronald looked at the girl's walking posture and thought, "It's bad."

Diane was called the wrong name by Johnny Carson, Ladd is not Lane.

Diane Ladd is the name of her good friend Laura Dern's mother, who is also a famous actress. Maybe Johnny Carson didn't do his homework, or maybe he accidentally called out the name of an actress who was old enough to be Diane Lane's mother.

Diane was obviously very nervous, and she looked like a completely different person from the free and easy appearance she had when performing on the set of "Raging Fire". She walked up to the stage woodenly, kissed an older guest on the other side of the seat, and then sat down on the sofa, across the table from Carson.

"Diane, why did you kiss him and not me?" Johnny Carson still used his usual funny opening. When female guests came to his talk show, they could not avoid being teased by him.

Diane burst into an extremely awkward laugh, nervously pulled the hem of her skirt, and then covered her mouth.

"It's bad," Donna also saw Diane's nervousness. She knew that her best friend would cover her mouth when she was nervous. After all, she was an 18-year-old girl who appeared on the talk show with the highest ratings in the United States, and was called the wrong name by Carson.

"Uh, there's no reason," Diane thought about the words on the spot, "Maybe... hehe..." She was nervous again.

Carson didn't respond, but looked at Diane, waiting for her answer.

"Maybe I find him more attractive." Diane finally thought of it.

"Ah, you must think he's older and more attractive like a grandfather. And between us, it's that kind of sexual attraction. Hmm?"

Johnny Carson didn't seem to react to the fact that he called the wrong name. He felt that Diane's words had made him lose face, and he immediately started to make up for it.

"Hehehe... maybe." Diane obviously didn't know how to deal with this old rogue. She burst into an awkward laugh again. She thought of the guest on the other side and felt that it was inappropriate to say so. She turned around and apologized to him, "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean that."

Ronald felt that Diane was about to collapse, and Carson was very unfriendly to her.

"I saw you were wearing a ring. Is it an engagement ring?"

"No, it's my high school graduation ring."

"I heard you got the graduation ring in the crew? Didn't you miss the graduation party? The male classmates will be disappointed."

"I am the leader in the crew. They know I am busy filming and I have completed the course by correspondence, so they sent it to me." Diane showed her ring.

"Your movie is called 'Fighting Fish'. Can you tell me what it is about..." Carson brought the topic to the upcoming movie.

"Oh,... it's a kind of fighting fish."

"Fighting fish, fighting fish. Very good explanation." Carson completely led the rhythm, and then talked about "Streets of Rage" and the next movie that Diane was about to work with Coppola... This was the agreed content in advance.

Soon the three minutes were over, and Diane left the stage from the other side.

Ronald and Donna immediately went up to comfort her.

"I... I... he said my name wrong, I was so nervous."

Diane buried her head in Ronald's chest, and Donna held her hand to comfort her.

Ronald touched Diane's hair, "It's okay, the TV station will probably re-record it."

"Can it be re-recorded?" Diane raised her head and looked at Ronald. This man always appears at the most critical moment.

"I don't know, but I have a friend who can help you ask." Ronald looked at Diane's face with makeup on, and her tears blurred her eyeliner a little. Now, in Ronald's eyes, Diane became the little sister who needed to be protected at the Oscars ceremony that year.

Carson disappeared after recording the show, so Ronald had to take Diane to the studio next door to find David Letterman to get information.

"I'm sorry, Diane, Ronald. Generally speaking, Carson will not re-record. He may re-record his own introduction to you, but he rarely re-records the following shows." David Letterman used to be Carson's writer and knew the character of his former boss very well.

"Okay, I was too nervous. I didn't know what to do on stage. My mind was blank. I only had one thought in my mind: let's end it quickly. Maybe I won't read the wrong name, so it will be better."

Diane was very sad. The talk show opportunity she got with great difficulty was wasted.

"Diane, are you free to be on my show? Although the ratings are not as high as Carson's, there are still many viewers."

"Huh? Can I?" Diane Lane's sad expression disappeared immediately, and she laughed happily.