Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Exploitation Hollywood 1980 Chapter 8 Secret Test

"Kevin, hello." The next morning, Kevin Wade, the screenwriter of "Working Girl", who was notified by Goldberg, came to visit Ronald in the apartment on Fifth Avenue.

He had also discussed the script in depth with another director Mike Nichols before. It is the dream of every screenwriter to have the opportunity to put his play on the screen. However, Nichols' negotiations with Fox are now deadlocked. Reality is wearing away his enthusiasm bit by bit.

Now that another famous director is also interested in the script, Kevin Wade feels full of energy again.

"Hello, Ronald, um, I mean Mr. Lee. I like your film work very much." Ronald is younger than Kevin Wade imagined. He is a little worried. This director is not as good as Mike Nichols. He is known for shooting high-concept commercial films, while his script is a sophisticated drama.

"Call me Ronald. I guess, Kevin, do you have any experience in Broadway?" Ronald smiled and asked the other party to sit down, then picked up the breakfast menu in the building, "I haven't had breakfast yet. If you don't mind, come and have some with me? The fried eggs and bacon here are very good."

"Coffee is good. Yes, I did write a stage play script, which was released on Off-Broadway in 1981, and then adapted into a script in 1985. Of course, the box office can't be compared with your movie.

In addition, I worked as a screenwriter for Mark Rappaport, an independent film producer in New York, and wrote two movie scripts for him."

Kevin Wade is over 40 years old, but he is still a little nervous in front of Ronald. This time his script will definitely become a big production. What a screenwriter needs most in the industry is a movie that is well-known to the audience.

"No wonder your script always reminds me of Broadway, and the plot is compact. How did you come up with this story? I always feel that this story is written with profound insights into the female secretaries working on Wall Street." Ronald still admires screenwriter Wade.

"You may not know that I lived on Staten Island before I went to Hollywood. I took a boat to Manhattan every week, and on the boat I saw many female secretaries who worked in Manhattan and rented houses on Staten Island. They really felt sorry for expensive high heels, just like you wrote, so they wore sneakers to work and changed them when they got to the office."

"Aha, that's it." Kyle Wade suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Ronald was interested in his script. He recalled the scene at that time, and then slowly told the source of his inspiration:

"At that time, I had just written a successful script, and finally I didn't have to evade subway tickets. At that time, I spent a lot of time riding a bicycle around New York... I was a bartender at the time, and there was an abandoned road behind the bar. I would get on the bus in the village and then go down to Battery Park.

There I would see the Staten Island Ferry coming, and those working girls wearing sneakers got off the boat, and then stopped to change into high heels... I wanted to write a story about a working girl at the bottom who kept struggling on Wall Street..."

It turned out that Kevin Wade's inspiration also came from the details of the secretary changing shoes. He immediately thought that the protagonist of the new script should be a young working girl who works in New York but is not familiar with the social customs here - because of her mother's illness, she did not go to college, and she was not born in an upper city family. She relied on the money she saved as a secretary to go to night school to complete business courses.

Wade finished writing the script and submitted it to several places, but the producers all felt that it should be carried by a TV series, not a movie.

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Until this year, his script was recommended to Mike Nichols by 20th Century Fox.

After Nichols talked with Wade, he was ready to make a major operation on the script, and then used it to ask for more casting rights and co-production conditions for his company. For this reason, he and 20th Century Fox put the script on hold again, and now it is finally in Ronald's hands.

"Honestly, how far do you think this script is from being able to be filmed into a movie?" Kevin Wade actually didn't have many other requirements. His core demands were two points:

First, start filming as soon as possible so that he can become famous. Second, he can guarantee that he will be the only screenwriter to sign the script.

"I think some details need to be improved more."

"Oh, I don't know which aspects." Kevin Wade was a little disappointed. These directors used the excuse that the script needed to be improved to let themselves or their friends sign the script. He wanted to hear Ronald's thoughts.

"First of all, I think the story of the merger is a bit too simplified. We are shooting a real business war film, which requires this merger story and the final reversal, so that people who really work on Wall Street can't find obvious flaws."

"Well, this is indeed my weakness. Before I became a screenwriter, I was a bartender in a bar... I read the Wall Street Journal for a long time. The story of Sony's acquisition of Columbia Records in Japan last year gave me inspiration. I wondered if the American-owned Columbia wanted to resist the acquisition, what could it do? At that time, there was a report in the Wall Street Journal saying that legislation should be enacted to protect American media companies from being acquired by Japanese capital, which gave me inspiration..."

Wade had to admit that he really couldn't read those companies' annual reports. He relied on reading newspaper reports to use his imagination.

"It doesn't matter. I know many investment managers on Wall Street. I can find a consultant for you. If you have any professional questions, just ask him. Of course, it is up to you to grasp the specific plot."

"Huh? I thought you would find a screenwriter who can write about business wars to rewrite it..." Kevin Wade didn't expect that Ronald didn't use the common excuses in Hollywood to change his script, but a rare one. Hire a consultant and let yourself complete the short version. It's rare to see such a director.

Ronald smiled and shook his head, "This is very difficult. I am also a screenwriter myself. Your script is very tight. If you change it to another person, you will lose the rhythm of the script."

"Is there anything else that needs improvement?" Kevin Wade took out a pen and paper and started recording. This is a director who really understands the script, and I am very lucky to have met him. The balance in his heart has shifted slightly from Nichols.

Although Mike Nichols is an Oscar winner for Best Director, and Ronald is just a commercial film director, respect is something that a screenwriter can hardly get from a director.

"Also, I think Tess's direct boss, the manager of the investment company, could be replaced by a woman?" Ronald put forward another opinion of his own.

"Dingdong...Sir, your breakfast has arrived."

"I'll open the door." Ronald stood up first to open the door and asked the waiter to push the dining cart in. He also handed a $20 tip to the waiter, and then said to Wade, "Come on, try it. Don’t you really need some coffee here?”

"Thank you." Kevin Wade took the slice of bread from Ronald, put two slices of bacon on the plate, picked up the knife and fork and started eating.

Wade frowned, but he decided to tell his true thoughts and chatted with Ronald. It felt like talking about creation with other screenwriters in a cafe. Although deep down, Wade knew that he and the other party were not equal, but this equal and casual attitude made him very useful.

"I set up a male boss because of some female power considerations..." Wade finished his breakfast in a hurry, took a sip of coffee, and organized his words.

"What you said is very interesting, please continue..." Ronald made a gesture.

“In America, women are always assigned the role of raising children at home. Although their abilities and talents are not necessarily inferior to their male colleagues.

And Tess is a girl from a lower-middle-class background. Her family cannot afford college tuition, so she has to work part-time to attend night school.

…”

"So, you want Tess to be a spokesperson for class and gender? Focus the dramatic conflict on how she breaks through herself and finds her dreams in America?"

"Yes, that's what I think. The audience will like such a motivated and good girl."

"That's why I think it might be a better idea to change her boss to a woman."

Ronald stopped for coffee and chatted with Kevin Wade.

"You see, in addition to female secretaries like Tess, there are actually some women who have reached high-level positions in Wall Street companies. They come from good families, are well-educated, are likely to study abroad, and their spouses are all Those rich kids who graduated from Ivy League schools.

But what they are not as good as Tess is their talent and their continuous efforts to strive upward! "

Ronald talked about his thoughts. Although it is a film that reflects the struggle of women in the workplace, perhaps the best way is to set up a opposite of Tess and make another woman who has a family background and a love life that Tess dreams of. , to be her secretary’s boss. In this way, the audience can immediately feel what Tess will look like after her inner dream is realized. Then the plot of her desperate attempt to pretend to be a manager to contact Jack Traynor will be more reasonable and have more dramatic conflicts.

"What you said makes sense, but is this the whole reason?" Kevin Wade thought for a while, and what Ronald said was reasonable. Maybe there were some things. Movies and stage plays had different requirements for scripts. Having a female character who is a mirror image of Tess might have been the best choice for the movie.

"I'll be honest with you, because it's convenient to set up a plot of two women competing for a husband. Tess and his boss, let's call her Catherine for now, are both in love with Jack Traynor. Catherine also wants to catch him Traynor, a blue-chip stock, allows him to propose to himself, which is beneficial in the commercial film market. The target audience of our film is urban people, and they will want to see a plot like this in the film."

"You're right." Kevin Wade covered his head and thought for a long time. He felt that Ronald was right. After all, the movie is not about a scheming middle-aged male boss, which is indeed not as good as two beautiful female stars who are jealous of each other and compete with each other for career development.

"Then we'll call him Catherine. What do you think of Tess's name? Do you need to change it?" Kevin Wade suddenly asked a question.

"Huh?" Ronald was suspicious, as this sentence seemed to have a deeper meaning. "Tess...Tess."

Ronald picked up the coffee and took another sip as a cover-up. My mind was spinning rapidly. Why did Kevin Wade give the heroine the role of Tess? He must have some deep meaning, otherwise he wouldn't give himself a small test at the most critical moment.

Now I am at the stage where I need Kevin Wade to vote for me, rather than hoping to bring back Mike Nichols. If you could tell him what he was thinking, it would undoubtedly greatly increase the weight on the scale in favor of you.

Tess, this name is still very familiar. When Ronald was working as a portrait photographer in Los Angeles, he took portraits of German actress Natasha Kinski. Natasha Kinski became a star because she starred in the film adaptation of the famous novel "Tess" directed by Polanski.

The name Teresa is usually nicknamed Terri, or Tracy, and less often abbreviated as Tess. Kevin Wade named it this way, undoubtedly wanting to borrow some background from the film "Tess of the D'Urbervilles".

Thinking of this, Ronald smiled and said, "You can't change it. If you change it, then he won't be Tess in the Promised Land. In nineteenth-century Britain, no matter how hard Tess worked or had talent, she couldn't rise to the next level. In twentieth-century New York, everyone can achieve their dreams through hard work..."

"Hahaha..." Kevin Wade laughed. Ronald was indeed not the kind of director who only made exploitation films. He was quite familiar with the essence of these classical literature and classical dramas, and saw through the fact that he named the protagonist Moss. The deep meaning of silk.

"Did I pass the test?" Ronald laughed.

"One hundred percent", Wade did not deny the trick he had played, "Then did I pass your test? You just asked me how I came up with the inspiration for writing such a script..."

It turned out that Ronald also hid a small hook in his previous question. He felt that the script of "Working Girl" was really good. In fact, he had already investigated Kevin Wade's background information through his agent.

How does such a person, who makes money as a bartender and persists in his dream, know anything about Wall Street mergers and acquisitions? Ronald was a little suspicious that Wade plagiarized a script that detailed Wall Street mergers and acquisitions, then added some romantic elements and rewrote it into what it is now.

If this is really the case, although there is no problem with copyright registration now, after the filming is released, someone will definitely jump out and say that their movie is plagiarized. The inevitable legal prosecution and subsequent reputational damage are troublesome.

"Of course you pass it 100%," Ronald said. "In fact, this plot can be used in Tess's final twist. She, not her boss Catherine, came up with the idea to prevent mergers and acquisitions, and clarified it to the big boss of the multinational company. The answer. In the end, we relied on this to turn Tess around and defeat Catherine who stole her idea."

"Damn, that's a great idea, I'm jealous you came up with it." Kevin Wade quickly jotted in his notebook, "You're not going to have Jack Traynor end up siding with Tess instead of Is that too tacky if you want Jack and Tess to get married like that?"

Kevin Wade thought that if this was reversed, then Jack Traynor, the handsome boy between the two women, could actually stand firmly on Tess's side and have a happy ending.

"Audiences love happy endings, Kevin, and of course you have the say over the script."

"Well... let's do what you want." Kevin Wade nodded, and with such respect, he was satisfied. After all, Ronald is a commercial film director, and it is normal to pursue box office.

"Then let's do this for now. My new movie 'Moonlight' will premiere this weekend. You will come, right?" Ronald stood up and said goodbye to Kevin Wade, and invited him to attend the premiere by the way, "Then The film’s screenwriter, John Stanley Shanley, was also a Broadway screenwriter.”

"I will definitely be there." Kevin Wade accepted the invitation from Ronald. He became interested when he heard it and wanted to see if Ronald's ability to adapt Broadway plays into movies would satisfy him. satisfy.

"Hi, Theresa, long time no see." After seeing Wade off, Ronald waited for his partner in the leg warmer business, Theresa Kate. She has gained a lot of weight now and feels very happy. Her husband David loves her very much, and their son is already in kindergarten.

"Ronald, I'm so glad to see you." Since Teresa's leg warmer company was sold to Jane Fonda, she only visited retail stores in Manhattan and lived a very leisurely life.

"Why did you specially invite me here? I was planning to visit you at your aunt's house when you go to Staten Island." The two of them exchanged greetings, and Teresa even showed Ronald a photo of her son to admire. Finally, he asked Ronald about the reason for inviting him here.

"I'm going to make a movie based on your time as a secretary in Manhattan, and I'm asking you to be a consultant on the movie."

"Oh?...What do you want me to do?" Teresa was very happy that she actually had the opportunity to participate in the movie. It’s still a movie based on myself.

Ronald briefly introduced the plot of the movie, "I'm worried that those Hollywood actors won't be able to play Wall Street secretaries. You are very smart and capable. So I want you to serve as a consultant to help the actress. It is best to lead They know all aspects of being a Wall Street secretary. I will find an opportunity for the actress who plays Tess to go to a Wall Street financial company for an internship, and you can help introduce them to some of the rules and regulations on Wall Street."

After speaking, Ronald looked at Teresa. He hoped to have an insider to increase the credibility of the film. There was no more suitable candidate than Teresa.

"So, Tess finally defeated her boss and became a manager, right?" Theresa did not agree immediately, but asked about Tess's ending.

"Yes, she finally got that unscrupulous female boss fired, became a manager herself, and even stole her boyfriend..."

"Okay, I promise you!" Theresa Kate was very happy that her unfulfilled dream back then might be realized in the movie.

Afterwards, Ronald called Steve Bannon, his partner who made money in Japan, and asked for help.

Bannon heard that he would send Catherine and Tess, and the actor who played Jack Traynor, to Wall Street for internships to learn how financial elites speak and behave, and he agreed immediately.

"So, you will make our image more positive, right?" Bannon finally complained on the phone, "In the recently released 'Wall Street', Michael Douglas plays the banker Gekko, who is so evil but can get away with it, while the upright young man Charlie Sheen plays Bud, who exposes the violation, is prosecuted and sentenced.

Even if we are really so bad, Oliver Stone doesn't have to film it like this, right? Besides, the current New York Attorney General Rudy is ruthless. He is preparing to hunt down Milken, and I don't think it will be so easy to escape."

"Don't worry, I always get rid of the bad bankers in my movies, and finally let the good bankers win." Ronald laughed. Hollywood is not afraid of writing people in any industry as evil. As long as the good people stand up and defeat the bad people, doesn't it still reflect the positive image of the industry?

But Milken, isn't he the bond king who helped Minahan Golan raise 400 million? Why is he now being investigated by Rudy, the prosecutor who helped him deal with the New York Mafia?

"Okay, then I'm relieved. By the way, can I play a role in the movie?" Bannon said again.

"How about playing a minor role, the boss of Tess's original company?" Ronald thought it would be nice to have a real banker play a small role.

"Okay, it's settled. I'll find the best banker in the industry as a crew consultant for you." Bannon, who got the promise, hung up the phone excitedly. His initial involvement in Hollywood was also related to his love for movies.

The busy morning passed quickly, and it was time for lunch. The last person to accompany Ronald was his cousin Donna.

"You want to make a movie about Wall Street?" Donna tilted her head and looked at Ronald.

"Yes, I want to shoot it. Do you remember Theresa from the leg warmers? The script I want to shoot is based on a secretary like her."

"Oh, really? I didn't expect it." Donna looked at Ronald, "So there are many female roles?"

"Yes, but the protagonist is not suitable for Diane. Tess will be an ordinary-looking female secretary who has not made a breakthrough at the age of 30. If she is five years older, she may be suitable." Ronald also wants to promote Diane, but the difference in age and appearance may not be made up by makeup.

Ronald finds it difficult to imagine Diane Lane or Helen Slater looking ugly. They lack the experience of being hit hard by life and having no future.

"It's okay to play a supporting role, right?" Donna was not satisfied, "You don't mind me telling her... um... right?"

"Of course not, I also wanted to find Paula... her new agent, and let her audition. If I can finally direct this movie."

"That's about right..." Donna smiled and raised her glass to clink with Ronald.

"Will you have dinner with me tonight? I don't have many friends to eat with in New York." Ronald called the waiter to settle the bill. Helen had already started working on her movie, and there was no one to meet in New York.

Donna stood up and wrinkled her nose. "I have a date tonight, you can find someone yourself."

"Oh, okay... your poor brother can only find someone himself."

Ronald thought, Donna is an elite office worker after all. She is so beautiful and has a good job, so many young bankers must pursue her. I wonder what kind of person her future husband will be.