Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"I'm interested in one of the scripts, but it may not be suitable for me..." The next day, Ronald called Eisner in the CAA office.

"You picked out the script so quickly? That's great." Eisner didn't wait for Ronald to finish, and immediately praised happily, "I knew you were a very efficient director. Which one did you choose?"

"The Evil Husband at Home is a comedy." Ronald replied.

"Very good, comedy is very good, your debut work "Fast Pace" has a good comedy element..."

"No, Mr. Eisner, do you believe me so much?" Ronald thought of last night's dream, and thought that in his subconscious, he didn't believe that he could make a good comedy.

I believe you, why not? You have made so many low-cost and medium-cost movies, which one do you have experience with before? No problem, as long as you are ready, I can let Katzenberg start the project negotiation at any time. "

"Why is Eisner so confident in me? "Ronald put down the phone and asked his agents Nicita and Richard who were sitting opposite him.

Ronald felt something was wrong. When did the conversation about the script become like this? It was so difficult to get a director for a movie, but now it seemed like Eisner was asking him instead.

"Why not? Just like he said, your several movies all involve different types and categories. There are youth exploitation movies, science fiction, musicals, action movies, and the newly filmed "Top Gun". I can't classify them either, air combat movies or sports movies?

In short, you are a director who is good at grasping the psychology of the audience and knows what they like to watch. So maybe comedy is also suitable for you? There is no reason to think that you can't make a comedy, although it has different requirements for performance from other types of movies..."

Nicita said a lot of good things. In short, you can do it, and Hollywood has confidence in you. You want to shoot Shakespeare? Good, the directors of the new era are brave enough to challenge themselves and shoot the classics of this generation. You want to shoot a gangster movie? Great, the gangster movie has finally waited for Coppola, the new generation of saviors.

"What do you think? "Ronald looked at Richard, who was still looking down at the script. He might be able to give him some inspiring advice.

"I have no opinion. You have proved your ability many times. You can handle movies of various types and budgets. I think after your new movie is released, there will be people lining up to send you scripts. I am just a lucky agent. I can't make any suggestions on choosing projects. Anyway, as long as it is your decision, I think it is good. "

"If you decide to shoot this next time, I still have some actors to choose from..." As Nicita said, she took out a stack of audition resumes from the drawer, "They are all clients of my people under CAA. You can choose whatever you want."

"Let's put it aside for now. I haven't made a complete decision yet."

"That's good. You already have the characteristics of a calm director. You will not take on a project just because you are touched by a script on impulse, but will consider the overall profitability of the project. In addition, the preview of Top Gun in Chicago was also very successful. The audiences in the three largest cities gave you an A+ rating. Ned Tanin began to prepare a marketing plan, and he would also like to invite you to participate in it. ”

It seems that the excellent reviews of the preview of "Top Gun" have also had a great impact on his agent.

Ronald figured it out. Everyone is for profit. Eisner, probably because of the pressure from the Screen Fund, wants to please him a little bit and get a movie project approved as soon as possible. And the agent wants to get more packaged projects, and they are a bit too much in line with his words.

"Don't be like this, Rick, Richard. I met you when I was still an unknown screenwriter. I know that comedy is not that easy."

"Generally speaking, comedy directors and comedians are a special category." Seeing that Ronald remained sober after getting the project guarantee from Touchstone Pictures, Nicita couldn't help but admire him a little.

Many directors and actors can be modest and cautious when they achieve professional success, but once they are given the power to produce, they often overestimate their abilities. Many famous directors and actors have lost a lot of money because of serving as producers and have been in a slump for many years.

Nicita told the truth, "Comedy has special requirements for performance. If you haven't studied comedy specifically, it's easy to make the audience feel unfunny. ”

“Indeed, directing acting is my biggest weakness as a director right now.” Ronald couldn’t help but think of the embarrassing scene in his dream. He was able to shoot a series of successful and hit movies, thanks to the finished film in his dream, which pointed out the actors to cast and the style of performance. Otherwise, he might not be able to shoot a series of hit movies.

“Can you find me an acting coach? The best one. I’m busy now, so it’s better not to have a fixed class time. Also, don’t look for a method-based one like Lee Strasberg.”

“Well, no problem,” Richard carefully wrote down Ronald’s request in his notebook, “The one that best meets your requirements is probably Mesner’s acting training camp, and they happen to be opening a class in North Hollywood this year. I’ll call you to ask.”

“Okay,” Ronald was not very familiar with acting coaches, so he took his agent’s recommendation as the standard, “In addition, I still want to find a script reading assistant.”

"What do you want?" Richard smiled. It seems that reading scripts is indeed a tough job. Otherwise, among the senior executives in Hollywood, Frank Price of Universal would not be the only one who insisted on reading scripts himself.

Ronald was still in shock about last night's dream. It might be because he read too many scripts and put too much pressure on himself. He had never been like this before. He counted on his fingers and listed his requirements for assistants one by one.

"It is best to have worked as a screenwriter in the industry and have experience in writing movie scripts. I don't require a fast speed or a KPI of how many books to read per week. I only require a sense of responsibility and a certain ability to distinguish."

Richard wrote them down one by one. "This requirement is a bit high. People who really have such experience will not be satisfied with being an assistant who reads scripts."

"If the script I write satisfies me, I can also consider recommending it to Touchstone, or if it is a small production, I will invest in my daydream myself." Ronald couldn't help but think of himself. Back then, he started reading scripts for Roger Corman in New World.

"Then there are many candidates. I will help you choose."

...

After leaving the office, he went to the karate dojo of Daryl Vidal, the double of Master Miyagi, to practice for a while. The two talked about the preparations for the sequel to The Karate Kid. The sequel is likely to tell the story of Master Miyagi returning to Ryukyu, and Vidal will have to shoot the fighting scenes at that time.

Every time Ronald edited the film and waited for it to be released, he always felt uncomfortable. Life in the movie is so colorful, while real life is very boring and dull. He always needs some time to adapt to this ordinary life syndrome.

Many Hollywood stars spend their days drinking and partying when they are not filming, and they may not be able to stand the boring and ordinary life.

Thinking of his fear of directing comedy and training actors' acting skills, Ronald couldn't help but ride a motorcycle to Cameron's house to talk to him. Only Cameron, who is also a young director, can talk about this kind of heart.

"They are sexist!" Gail was furious at Cameron. Seeing Ronald knocking on the door, she changed her face and said, "You are here, Ronnie, I will go and order a pizza takeout for you and some beer."

"What's wrong? Gail seems unhappy?"

"You are here?" Cameron was very happy to see his old friend coming. "Gail was targeted by the boss of Fox, who said that she could not play the role of a real producer, so she may only be a nominal producer in "Alien 2."

"Is it the one who discriminated against Shirley Lansing?" This has become a joke in the industry.

"Not only him, but also Barry Diller, the chairman of the board of directors of Paramount, did not believe that Gail could fight against me as a director on the set." Cameron pointed to his nose.

It turns out that the crux is here. The producer must dare to fight with the director on the set. Sometimes the director will shoot multiple times to get a good performance, and it is not surprising that the schedule is delayed. The producer must stand up and say no at this time.

Maybe Barry Diller thinks that Gail is Cameron's wife and will not get angry with her husband on the set.

"They really don't know Gail. If anyone can face you on the set, it must be Gail." Ronald has experienced Jim's "charm" on the set.

"Can you repeat this in front of the Fox executives?" Gail came in with a few cans of beer and just heard Ronald's last sentence.

"Of course, I'm willing to endorse you." Ronald knew what Gail meant, that is, to use his influence in the industry to prove in front of the Fox executives that Gail can be a qualified producer and control Cameron.

"Huh, you are still a good friend." Gail also opened a can of beer and clinked glasses with Ronald.

"By the way, you said you came..." Cameron asked.

"It's like this, I saw a very good script, I think it will have a good chance of being filmed, but it's a comedy, and I'm not sure about comedy at all." Ronald expressed his distress.

"Indeed, do you know why there are comedy directors and comedy actors, but no tragedy directors and tragedy actors?" Gail, who is well-informed, asked Ronald.

"I really don't know." Ronald thought about it and it was indeed the case.

"Because comedy requires a special rhythm and special acting skills. Anyway, their acting skills are different from those of ordinary actors. It turns out that in the New World, Roger never invests in pure comedy films."

"Do you remember Jerry Zack?" Cameron also asked.

"Yes", Ronald still remembered that when filming Rock High School, Zack was busy filming his own movie, which gave him the opportunity to be the second group director and join the union. "

"Roger was unwilling to invest in his script for this reason. Comedy is very difficult to predict the box office, so the studios like to follow successful comedy directors or comedians. If it is really funny, the cost of comedy is actually not high. It is just a dialogue between a few characters, and the box office is no worse than that of a blockbuster." Gail concluded.

"Why don't I ask Zack and his trio for advice?" Ronald thought.