Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 317 Old friends are here
"The box office of ET Aliens broke through [-] million U.S. dollars, continuing to break the record for the fastest box office of a movie in the United States."

Ronald watched the Weekend Box Office Recap on TV.ET Aliens, which has been released for more than two months, has a weekly single-house box office of more than 700 US dollars, and the screening theaters have expanded to more than [-] theaters.

"Fast-paced Richmond High School" ranked second, but it was getting farther and farther away from ET.

Family portrait movies have much greater box office potential than teenager-focused movies.

"Ronnie, when are we going to watch the US Open? Did your friend break into the main draw? Who was he playing in the first round?" Helen Slater asked Ronald from the inside. Come over there, talking with cousin Donna.

"Yes, he entered the main draw at Wimbledon in June, and this time the US Open is a home game." Ronald replied.

Vincent Van Patten, the hero of "Rock High School", has been on the rise since he entered the professional tennis world, and is now a frequent visitor to the ATP Challenger Tournament.

He also defeated world No. [-] compatriot John McEnroe for the title at the Seiko Challenge in Tokyo.This time he and McEnroe are in the same half of the US Open.Ronald is going to cheer on old friends.

Those who are capable can do anything. This Vincent brother, besides being handsome and able to act as a leading actor in a movie, did not expect that tennis is also a real professional level.

"High School of Rock" heroine PJ Sauls has called and asked Ronald to go to the scene to cheer on Van Patten's third round against McEnroe again.

Ronald knew she was still looking for opportunities for her husband, Dennis Quaid, who had missed a few of the movies she starred in and was missing a leading role.

I am willing to help these old friends, but a role is a role after all.It is impossible for Ronald to send such a big opportunity for no reason.

"Ring, ring, ring..." Ronald answered the phone, and then called out to Donna, "Donna, the telescope you ordered has arrived. Little Douglas is calling."

"Really? Let's get it quickly. I heard that astronomers all over the world are looking for the trace of Halley's Comet. It is said that there are already unconfirmed sighting reports. It would be awesome if I could be the first to see it. "

Donna ran out happily.Her high school paid great attention to the cultivation of scientific knowledge. Donna became interested in astronomy and wanted to buy an astronomical telescope to look at the stars.

Ronald couldn't find it in several stores, and this kind of thing is relatively rare, and Macy's doesn't have it either.

When Douglas Hansen III, the landowner of Staten Island, a good friend of the high school wrestling club, came to visit, he learned about Donna's hobby and boasted that he must buy it for her.

"He said he would bring it to you."

"Doug, are you really in stock?" Donna took the phone and chatted with Doug.

After a while, Little Douglas delivered the astronomical telescope that Donna wanted to buy to her home as promised.

"Donna, you are getting better and better, and you still observe comets? I am most interested in comets."

"Of course, did you know that a comet that returned recently split up, and the original comet became two very close ones. According to the return cycle, Comet Halley will pass the perihelion in [-], and this year it will pass the perihelion. In two years, in the second half of the year, it should be visible by the telescopes of astronomers."

Ronald looked at Donna's serious look and found it interesting.Many of the key high schools in America are like this. They offer many elective courses for talented high school students. As long as you are interested, you will cultivate this knowledge.

Helen hugged Ronald who was sitting watching TV from behind, "Shall we find something to do?"

Ronald touched Helen's arm, knowing that she was feeling helpless recently.The agent introduced by her father often screened with Gerald first without her knowing it before recommending an audition opportunity.The agent introduced by my mother was a scout and didn't have many connections in the industry.

Helen has only acted in one TV series now, and has not tasted the taste of a movie actor.

Ronald felt that he might be able to help Helen fulfill this wish.

I should also start preparing for the next movie.Richard has amassed a slew of teen-exploitation invitations, but no particularly good synopsis.

Hollywood is unwilling to change the formula of success. Since the fast-paced explosion of popularity, Ronald has been getting books about sexual awkwardness, grown-ups, high school students, or valley girls.

This made him a little helpless.Fast-paced success is not necessarily due to these superficial elements.Can a successful film be replicated by taking apart the elements of a blockbuster and then pinching them together?
If I continue to make this kind of movie myself, I may not be able to meet the box office expectations given to me by the big studios. Why "fast-paced Richmond High" was such a hit, Ronald couldn't figure it out.

This has something to do with meeting a few good actors, having an interesting script, Brooke Shields' enthusiasm, and not meeting similar competitive films when it was released.

Ronald began to seriously consider whether to find Roger Corman to make another type of low-cost production first.Now he has just been proven to be able to make youth comedy genre films, I am afraid that the seven major studios will not give him the opportunity to practice other types of films.

Only a boss like Roger Coleman is willing to give the green light to Ronald's small production.This can just give Helen a role, and I don't want to ask her to shoot exposure scenes in exploitation films.

It's a pity that there haven't been any signs of dreaming about new movies recently.

"Let's practice meditation later." Helen thought of something to do.

Ronald and Helen often practice meditation recently, which is very popular among middle-class families in New York or in the circle of artists.

Since the last time he practiced Jane Fonda's aerobics and dreamed of the movie "Urchin", Ronald often practiced women's aerobics without being afraid of others' ridicule.But it didn't trigger any dreams after that.

After thinking about it carefully, he felt that maybe it was a dream caused by the last tidying exercise, cross-legged, and deep breathing.

So after seeing the meditation poses practiced by Helen, I felt that they were similar to the last poses and breathing rhythm of Jane Fonda's aerobics, so I started to practice them.

But other than numbness in the legs, it didn't do anything.

"No, I'm going to the screening club at NYU, and some old friends invited me to meet up."

"Then I'll go together." It happened that Helen and Ronald didn't really want to be separated recently.

"Okay, let's go together." Ronald replied, "Spike Lee and Catherine Bigelow, who filmed your commercial last time, are here. Their screening club organized a symposium tonight and invited me to chat."

"Then I'll go with you too. I'm most interested in movies." Hearing that Catherine Bigelow was also going back, Douglas Jr. immediately expressed that he would go and see them together.

The three of them drove to the projection club of New York University, where Spike, Bigelow, and the Chinese graduate student Li Ang were waiting for Ronald and others to come.

A year later, Ronald took the first step, and the movie was released in theaters.

After entering the club, there were many new students waiting for Ronald to talk to them.

"It can't be said that, Coppola is still the most capable director in America. His 'old love, new love' is something that the audience doesn't understand."

"I saw your movie, but I didn't like it. It's too Hollywood. Movies are not only a tool for making money, but also an art that leads the direction of social thought."

"Why do you make this kind of exploitation film?"

Ronald didn't expect that instead of congratulating his alumni's success, these NYU classmates began to accuse him of his Hollywood leanings.

"I also really want to make the kind of movie you mentioned, but the movie market is not doing well right now. Only by finding a movie director who can sell well can I continue in this industry.

If you don't believe what I said, you can ask Spike, Catherine and the others. "

"I don't think that Stacy scene should have been shot like this..."

"Why didn't you take a long shot at the beginning?"

Next came some technical questions, which Ronald also answered one by one.

In many cases, it's not that the director doesn't want to take good-looking shots, but because of budget and shooting deadline constraints, he can only shoot in a fast way.Long shots are the best way for directors to show off their skills, but they are very difficult to shoot, and a small mistake will require reshoots.

Actors who shoot long shots are also under a lot of pressure, for fear that one mistake will delay the overall progress.

For a small production of more than 300 million US dollars, the most important thing is to ensure that the number of shots is completed on time and on schedule.

This practical answer made the students of Tisch College of New York University not very satisfied.A director of blockbuster films, without too much artistic creation, is full of progress and budget, and is no different from a Hollywood producer who is full of money.

With a wry smile, Ronald finished answering the questions and sent off the students.

Only a few close friends, such as Spike Lee, Leon, and Catherine Bigelow, knew how difficult it was for Ronald to complete a theatrical movie.

They also gave Ronald some technical advice, but everyone has made movies and knows that shooting is constrained by many factors other than art, and in many cases the director has no room to play.

Therefore, the suggestions of these close friends are all from a feasible perspective.

Everyone exchanged skills and experience in directing actors' performances for a while, and gained a lot.

Film director may be one of the professions with relatively few people in the world. It is also a blessing for Ronald to be able to criticize each other's works with several directors in the circle.Many times, out of hats or jealousy, other directors will not speak directly to each other like a few young directors in New York.

And those students who have never made a film are full of art and can't offer any feasible suggestions for the craft of directing.

"I used to be like them. My mind was full of art. I knew it when I filmed my graduation feature film. Finding money, shooting, and then negotiating with distributors are the most time-consuming tasks for a director."

Spike Lee recently received a little money from a black charity fund. His graduation work has been filming on and off for more than two years, and has recently started shooting again. It is expected to finish filming by the end of the year.

Li Ang also began to work as an assistant director for him, while preparing his own works.He also seems to be able to apply for some official funding from the Communication Association and start writing plays.

Catherine Bigelow was the worst. She finally got her first feature film "The Loveless" invested in. After the filming, no one cared about it, and no distributor was willing to release it.

The negatives of the movie are in the warehouse, and I don't know when they will see the light of day again.

"Maybe we can only go to the film festival to try our luck." Ronald said.

"Maybe, I've been to two small film festivals, and no buyer is willing to try his luck." Bigelow can only shrug and leave everything to God.

"I'll keep an eye out for you." Douglas Jr. still hoped to help get Bigelow's movie out.

Ronald took out the tapes of the Burger King commercials he shot, put them in the VCR, and showed them to several friends.

"This is a recent advertisement I shot. If you have time, you can help me shoot some. My agent Eddie often has business in this area."

"Oh, you're still playing with these simple close-ups." Spike laughed when he saw another ad featuring a girl talking into a close-up.

Ronald still likes to play simple and direct.

"It's a good actor," Bigelow commented.

"I don't know how my acting skills are. I heard from the acting teacher that people's expressions will be magnified a lot on the big screen, which is a special test of acting skills. Many performances that cannot be seen on TV will appear on the big screen. question."

Ever since he was an acting teacher at the acting high school and played the role of the teacher in "Fame", he has a deeper understanding of the acting skills of movie actors, and Helen also chose his courses to learn acting skills.

Helen and Ronald finished the exchange and went home together.When she heard Catherine Bigelow praising Leigh Thompson's acting skills, she also felt a little bit of comparison in her heart. If she could be in this advertisement, she should be no worse than her.

"I watched the TV series you filmed for ABC TV, and there is no problem with your acting skills on the big screen." Ronald comforted.

(End of this chapter)