Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1077 Sequential shooting?

"Excuse me, did you know about this prenuptial agreement before Spielberg got married?" Amy Irwin's lawyer has a big nose, and her face and exposed skin parts, such as her hands and neck, are all orange that has been exposed to the sun. Talk aggressively.

Ronald met the best makeup artists on the set, and the lawyer's skin color was not natural, maybe it was not a natural tan, but a fake color.

Ronald looked at the lawyer Lindsay next to him, and saw that she nodded to indicate that she could speak, so he simply replied: "I heard Mr. Spielberg talk about it."

"Did Spielberg ever tell you that getting married in New Mexico is to reduce the potential share of my client, Ms. Amy Irwin, in the event of a divorce?"

"Objection, induce witnesses..." Spielberg's lawyer raised an objection, and the staff appointed by the court also said that the question violated the rules, and the words already typed by the stenographer were invalidated.

"Then let me put it another way. May I ask, do you think Mr. Spielberg's prenuptial agreement is fair to my client?"

"No, Mr. Li is a famous director and producer, he is not a divorce lawyer..."

The evidence collection process was so boring and lengthy. Ronald was questioned by the lawyers of both parties for more than an hour, and finally came to the conclusion that Spielberg's prenuptial agreement written on a napkin, Ronald did not Hear him say anything against the rules.

He also did not find out that Amy Irwin was forced to accept an unequal agreement because she was a woman.Simply put, Ronald's testimony did not provide any valuable information.

But Ronald's testimony was not useless.On the contrary, his testimony corroborates Spielberg's version that the two fell in love and married without any reluctance or coercion, and nothing was hidden from Amy Irving.

Spielberg is very grateful to Ronald, this is the most powerful witness on his side.Amy Owen did not find any flaws in the terms of the agreement, and the marriage law of New Mexico does not support the woman, so she can only form a legal opinion based on opportunity cost.

That said, Amy Irving hasn't been getting the role opportunities she deserves because she's married to Spielberg and took care of the family for a few years.Originally a female star in Hollywood commercial productions, she only dubbed the cartoon characters of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" after marriage. These are all sacrifices due to marriage and need to be compensated by Spielberg.

According to the average salary level before her marriage and the frequency of one play per year, in the end Spielberg only needs to compensate Amy Irving for several million to tens of millions of career losses at one time.Although the other party's lawyer still has reasons to argue, it's not too bad.

……

The construction of Ronald's house in Los Angeles has already started, and Lao Wang from the Southeast Landscape Bureau brought workers to build the lotus pond and the arch bridge.Coupled with a new house similar to the neoclassical style of the east coast, it has a unique temperament of combining Chinese and Western.

In addition, a small screening room was built, equipped with the latest Balco projectors, and a basement film library with refrigeration equipment, all of which were learned from Spielberg's family screening room.

After watching the construction progress, Ronald looked forward to the life he would live in after the construction was completed. Ronald went back to daydreaming. Jonathan Demy encountered difficulties in casting and was waiting to discuss with him.

"Has Michelle Pfeiffer still not agreed?" Ronald looked at Demi who was a little frustrated.

"I persuaded her twice, but she didn't agree. When we talked face to face, I thought she was very optimistic about joining, but she called again the next day to decline.

Jonathan Demme's directing style is very meticulous, and Pfeiffer, who has worked with him, is mainly because he needs the actors to understand their own meaning and perform it out.This requires suitable actors and timing. Just like many Bergmans or Antonionis who can fascinate the public audience in small-plot movies, fixed actors are an indispensable part of their movies.

But this is Hollywood, and the approach favored by such European filmmakers doesn't work here.Ronald guessed the area of ​​the problem and called Limato, Michelle Pfeiffer's agent, in the office.

"Ronald, it's been a long time. Do you have a new movie? Are you looking for my client Nick to play the leading role?" Limato is also Nicolas Cage's agent, and he is old and cunning. "Silence of the Lambs" casting, first recommend a wave of Cage.

"If there is a suitable script, I will consider it, Ed, you know the purpose of my call. If you want Michelle (Pfeiffer), participate, what conditions do you want?"

"It's not about the money, Ronald. You know, Michelle's star image has finally recovered from the scandal of an extramarital affair after a half-year break. What she needs is a positive, positive, and lovable beauty." , just like Demi's last film 'Married into a Gangster'."

"This lamb is also very good. There is a lot of room for acting skills. The female FBI agent is brave enough to catch a serial killer. The audience will fall in love with her, Ed."

"I admit that Starling's character is lovable, but the relationship between her and Hannibal is really difficult for ordinary audiences to accept." Limato has also read novels, in which Starling and Hannibal obviously surpassed the general audience. Love between men and women.

"Ed, don't be like this, there is no such thing in the movie..." Ronald argued with him, but Limato was very opposed to the movie, even if the audience didn't hate Michelle Pfeiffer because of it, but And for a movie that expresses some positive qualities about a murderer, it's best not to have anything to do with the lady-like Pfeiffer.

"Ed, we've known each other for a long time. Tell me a condition, and I will meet it if I can..." Ronald wanted to try to see if Limato had any requirements, he lowered his voice, "I won't Killing Michelle...you know."

"Unless you can guarantee that she will win the Oscar for Best Actress..." Limato felt that the only person who could make Pfeiffer sacrifice her star image was the statuette.

"Who can guarantee this, Ed, you have nothing to talk about?"

"I'm sorry... I can't do anything harmful to the value of Michelle's image." Limato hung up the phone
"You saw Jonathan. Not every actress in Hollywood thinks that acting is the most important thing. This is a business decision, not money." Ronald shrugged at Jonathan Demme, saying that he had done his best.

"You'd better try to contact Jodie Foster. I heard that she doesn't raise her salary significantly like those actresses who won the best actress."

"But film is art after all, and it can't be considered completely in accordance with commercial requirements..." Demi was a little sad. Like Roger Coleman, Ronald's tolerance for artists was also within the budget.

"Actually, Judy has some advantages in playing this role. For example, she is more innocent and shorter than Pfeiffer. This kind of figure can arouse the audience's desire for protection..." Ronald still strongly recommends the match in his dream.

Seeing that Demi was still hesitant, Ronald thought of someone, "Well, I'll ask my lawyer, Lindsay, to make an appointment with a real female detective from the FBI. You and I will go to New York to meet her and see the real FBI. What is the temperament of FBI female employees. I believe you will change."

What Ronald was talking about was when Michelle Pfeiffer was coerced by vegetarian groups, the female deputy detective of the FBI New York branch who mistakenly detained Ronald.She is also an expert in serial murder, a true hero who has brought several serial killers to justice.Later, she also helped find Diane, who was kidnapped by her mother.

"OK, I happen to have some details that I want to chat with them..." Demi agreed.Ronald was very happy and asked the lawyer to make arrangements. Back then, she was the female detective who treated him the best and helped him get out of the handcuffs. He hadn't seen her since he became famous.

"When are we going?" Demi couldn't wait to hear Ronald's story about the female detective.

"When I go to South Dakota first, there's something wrong there."

The business jet rented by Ronald first flew to Badlands National Park in South Dakota.The crew of Dances with Wolves has arrived here and started filming the exterior scenes.

David Simkins, the script expert, was sent by Ronald to act as the on-site executive producer, responsible for the budget and the progress of the shooting.

But in terms of script selection, Simkins, who performed very well, is still not familiar with the role of producer.In other words, in front of Kevin Costner, his weight could not be suppressed, there was a long delay in shooting, and he could not control the crew.

The entire shooting team listened to Costner, not Simkins.For some reason, those people were very appreciative of Costner's artistic choices and sided with him.

Seeing the seriously backward shooting progress and the seriously overrun shooting cost on the report, Ronald had no choice but to go to solve the problem even if he suppressed Costner or frustrated Simkins' confidence.

After all, Orion Pictures can no longer spend any investment to add this "Dances with Wolves".And Ronald has now rolled out a number of projects, and his personal funds have also been invested in rebuilding the house, acquiring Capcom shares, and buying Microsoft shares.He didn't want to buy Coca-Cola for additional investment, after all, Buffett told him to hold it for a long time.

"Action!"

Kevin Costner wore the uniform of the Northern Army during the Civil War, glued his mustache, signaled to the camera, and then quickly entered the role, walking towards a group of topless actors dressed as Indians go.

"Cut!" We're going to do it again.Although it was Costner's first time as a director, his demeanor was still very much like a director, and the technicians of the entire crew admired him.The screenwriters, actors, and photographers of the creative team are all on his side.

David Simkins has been reduced to an on-set manager, helping with chores and having no say in filming.

"Kevin..." Ronald clearly saw the problem. In this desolate national park, everyone would naturally admire the kind of strong man in life. This is not a Hollywood studio, and the title does not bring much power.

"Aha, Ronald, I'm so glad you're here. I still have some director questions to ask you." Kevin Costner was very happy. The team Ronald arranged for himself was very cooperative. The technology is also very good, and my artistic ideas can be fully displayed.

"I'm here to talk to you about technical matters first," Ronald made a movement of twisting money with his hand.

"Everyone rest, let's rest for an hour for this scene." Costner understands that this is Ronald's assertion of his authority in front of the crew, and he is grateful.But what should come will come, and someone will always take care of the things that waste money and time, but I didn't expect to alarm the daydreaming boss himself.

"Ronald, I have to tell you, this movie will be a masterpiece, don't let the small cost hinder our smooth creation." Costner got into the RV and took two bottles from the refrigerator A bottle of light beer was thrown to Ronald, and the first one started to complain.

"I don't know the situation, but any producer who sees that the cost of shooting in the first few weeks is 100% over budget and half behind schedule, their first reaction is to fire the director..." Ronald also laughed, So eloquent and with such a trustworthy face, it's no wonder that Simkins, who was originally a screenwriter, couldn't hold him down.

"Hey, you can't..." Costner was in a hurry. He had been shooting for a few weeks and was about to get better...

"Hi, hahaha, I was tricked by you, you must be joking." Costner looked at Ronald there calmly with half a smile, knowing that he was taken aback by him.His hole cards have been seen through, and the next thing he can do is to persuade him with good words.

Costner talked a lot about his creative ideas, how to find the buffalo herd, how to let the second group of directors first shoot the bison material for his own research, how to organize the training class of the Sioux language, how to let the heroine Mary McDonnell Nake is shy...

"You are also the director, Ronald, you understand, we all entered a space in this film, everyone entered the state every morning when they arrived on the set,..." Costner also said a few words in the Sioux language, Prove how hard they work.

"I haven't said anything yet..." Ronald laughed, "Well, you can show me the samples you shot first, and then we can talk about it."

……

"That's all?" Ronald, Costner, and Simkins drove to the nearest small town. They rented out a movie theater and started playing the daily filming samples of the previous two weeks.

The number of samples is normal, but the shots are surprisingly small.Many shots were shot many times, and there are many shots that were wasted because the director was unfamiliar.

"That's it... I don't want to defend myself, but wouldn't these shots shock the audience?"

Ronald said to himself, that's not too bragging.Audiences haven't seen a big Western in years.Western films in recent years have also gradually become low-budget films. Many good and evil characters confront each other, drawing guns and shooting. There are few Western films before the 50s that show the magnificent scenes of human beings and nature fighting between heaven and earth. .

"I agree, but why did you shoot in sequence?" Ronald's dissatisfaction with Costner mainly focused on this aspect.

The plot of Dances with Wolves is complicated. Lieutenant Dunbar first fought on the North-South battlefield, and later settled in a border town. He became acquainted with the Indian Sioux tribe, and met a white woman who was adopted by the Sioux tribe since she was a child. The scenes switch back and forth in various natural environments.

The normal blockbuster filming method should be classified according to the scene. Focusing on certain grassland scenes first can save a lot of budget.

Costner didn't know whether it was because of a rookie director or because he had his own artistic considerations. He actually classified the movies according to the scenes in the script and shot them one by one.

For example, there were several wars between the Sioux and the Comanche (a very aggressive Indian race). If these group performances, horses, and cameras were filmed in sequence, they would have to be rented and hired again every time. Once again, the money wasted will be more.

"But don't you think that the shooting in this way is very contagious?" Of course Costner knows the normal shooting method, he deliberately shot in this order to get the best chemical reaction.

"First, I will withdraw Simkins and send you a more experienced on-site producer. She will be responsible for the cost." Ronald thought for a while before making a decision.The dailies came out pretty well, so Costner wasn't wasting his money by not releasing the film.

Therefore, we must affirm his shooting method, but also have an experienced producer to control him, otherwise too much money will be wasted.

"Second..." Ronald took the script and shooting plan, and turned to the scenes of galloping bison and the war with the Sioux and Comanche...

"Hiss..." Ronald tore off these pages with all his strength, "These scenes are not allowed to be shot sequentially. They must be shot together, and I don't care about the rest."

"That...well" Costner couldn't refute. These scenes are too expensive, and those who can't deliver on time can't argue with investors in this kind of place.

"I'll be back in a few weeks to check again, and if costs and schedule aren't under control, I'll propose to Orion Films that the shoot be put on hold until we find someone to invest more... Do you understand?"

"Okay, okay, but this time you have to send me a producer who respects the director. You can't just control the budget. Making a movie is not about producing Coke."

"Don't worry, take a good shot. I sent you Polly Pratt. She is a ruthless person who divorced her husband Bogdanovich and still works as an art director for her ex-husband. She definitely has artistic judgment... you are good." Dry……"

Ronald patted the stunned Costner.Now I'll send you the most powerful female producer, so you won't be so easy to fool.

"By the way, I also brought you a few portable toilets and mobile freezers. You have worked hard on filming, so it is very important to ensure that the ice cream is purchased from the air force base next to us, so we must ensure sufficient quantity."

"I..." Costner was shocked by Polly Pratt's reputation, and it seemed that he could no longer shoot whatever he wanted in the future.

"Thank you, Ronald." Costner held on to the portable toilet parked behind the trailer, dumbfounded.

(End of this chapter)