"Hmm... um..." Meg Ryan and a handsome guy with a thick chin kissed passionately in the terminal of New York's JFK Airport.
The camera slowly retreated, made an arc on the track, and finally stopped at a close-up shot. Billy Crystal had already cut off his youthful bangs and turned them into a mature hairstyle. He walked past the
For a happy person, he suddenly recognized Sally, looked at the man kissing her, and continued to move forward.
Then, Harry turned around again, as if he knew the man too. So he walked back and looked at the two people who were still kissing.
“Cut!“
Ronald sat behind the camera and was satisfied with the three people's performances.
The actor who plays Sally's boyfriend five years after Harry and Sally carpooled to New York is called Steven Ford. He has a strong jaw like a crocodile, which is very suitable for playing this transitional role called Joe.
Qiao graduated from the law department. After getting his lawyer's license, he worked as an assistant prosecutor in the prosecutor's office. After accumulating several years of experience, he jumped to a law firm to start criminal defense business. This is a young man who comes from a powerful family.
Common career routes.
This Steven Ford is not very old, but he is very good at acting like a playboy. When Ronald saw his performance, he couldn't help but think of little George.
The young master who knows very little about ordinary people's lives did an excellent job.
"Hairstylist, hairstylist, fix Meg's hair..." Ronald saw that Meg Ryan's hair was a little messy after the kiss. The tone of this movie is close to life.
When Sally had just graduated from college in 1977 in Act 1, she had the wavy hairstyle of Farrah Fassett, the most popular female star at the time, in "Charlie's Angels".
In 1982, when Sally and Harry met for the second time, her hairstyle changed to that of Cherry Ladd, who replaced Farrah Fassett as the blonde girl in "Charlie's Angels".
Style. A straight, lighter platinum blonde hairstyle.
This approach of making the heroine's hairstyle close to the popular fashion of the time can easily arouse the feelings of viewers who have had similar experiences, and is also very close to the characteristics of Sally O'Brien's work as a reporter.
However, because the scene in 1982 only had a short scene at the airport, Meg Ryan used a wig and hair extensions, and the passionate kissing scene just now was a bit messed up.
"Director, are you still satisfied with my performance?" Steven Ford, who played Sally's boyfriend Joe, came over.
"What do you think?" Ronald glanced at him.
"I'm an actor, and I think the director is the one who evaluates my performance, isn't it?" Ford speaks like a boy from New York's Upper East Side, and ordinary conversations can be made very condescending by him.
Aggression.
"You don't know Ronald, Steven." Meg Ryan came over to smooth things over. "You will understand if you shoot a few more scenes with him. When filming under him, no news is good news. He is a rare actor's director.
"
"Sounds great!" Ford praised Ronald after hearing this.
Ronald just smiled and motioned with his eyes to the makeup artist to "touch up" his makeup too, telling him to shut up.
"Where did we find such a living treasure?" Ronald turned back and asked screenwriter Nora Ephron. She replaced Rob Reiner, who had returned to supervise the production of "Steel Magnolias", and came to the crew to provide timely script guidance.
Too many parts of this play rely on the improvisation of the male and female protagonists. Ronald has to rely on the screenwriter to judge whether the improvisation is suitable for the overall story. Is there anything inappropriate?
"Haha...he is the son of Commander Gerald"
Nora Ephron, casting director Jane Jenkins, and Janet Hershenson chatted for a while, and the three came over to answer Ronald.
Julia Taylor, who Ronald worked with the most, was busy with other projects. Ronald accepted the job temporarily and asked her to recommend casting directors suitable for romantic comedies. The names of these two were recommended to Ronald.
Sure enough, the two of them have a very good taste. They really found a real playboy to play the role of a blue-blooded playboy.
The youngest son of the former commander-in-chief originally studied ranch management. After his father unexpectedly took over the position of commander-in-chief, he became interested in Hollywood and switched careers to become an actor.
Hollywood gave him very good treatment, and he played the main supporting actor in "Grease" when he debuted. However, he suddenly quit the crew before filming started because of "stage fright." Of course, the actual reason was because of his uncontrolled behavior.
Alcohol and drug abuse.
However, because of his father's relationship, he can still play certain types of roles in Hollywood. For example, this Joe is very suitable for his true character.
"Qiao? I just thought it was you, I thought it was you..."
As the filming continued, Harry pretended that he had just recognized Joe, who he had lived with on the first floor, and repeated useless words. Sally tried her best to avoid this person who had driven more than ten hours to New York with her, lest the two of them recognize each other.
It's embarrassing to come out.
"Let me introduce to you, this is Sally, Sally O'Brien."
"Hello……"
"Hello..." The protagonists greeted each other pretending not to know each other.
"Cut!"
Ronald filmed a few more scenes. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan have great chemistry. When the two appear in the camera at the same time, they are always full of tension. It makes the audience want to watch more.
Which direction will the story go?
This feeling is hard to describe, but it is mostly attributed to Meg Ryan. Her various expressions and postures always make people involuntarily think of the girls around them. She seems to have combined the character of the American girl
Take out the most typical part of the characteristics and show them to everyone.
The Sally she plays has an open side and a traditional side, which makes people feel a little contradictory. These two qualities are shown in Meg Ryan, but they are convincing.
Around us, there are always some friends who are very traditional at heart and hope to meet the most special love. But they chase trends and are shaped by modern consumerism and mass media, making them seem open and modern.
The key point to achieve this contradiction and unity is an emotion that American girls, especially American actresses, seldom show in Meg Ryan - "shy!"
Although Sally can be wild enough to perform a fake Climax in public in a restaurant, she is so shy and coy when facing the person she loves, and is careful to test for fear of scaring the other person away, just like Jane Austen's classic novel
British women.
"We may have won the Powerball jackpot...", Ronald muttered to himself. Nora Ephron and the two casting directors knew what he meant. Such a heroine can make
The audience ignored the bland plot and worried about the two protagonists, eager to get them together.
The reason why Rob Reiner had doubts about the movie "When Harry Met Sally" was mainly because the plot did not have the many obstacles that a romantic comedy must have.
If this is an ordinary love drama, then there must be various people between Harry and Sally to prevent them from being together. Either the parents' opposition (Romeo and Juliet), or other people intervening (Gone with the Wind)
), or give up love because of a greater purpose (North Africa Spy).
In the end, the two protagonists break through various obstacles and come together, so that there can be drama and the audience will find it enjoyable.
But in "When Harry Met Sally", no one actually acted as such an obstacle. After the two met for the third time, Joe had broken up with Sally, and Harry had divorced his wife.
The blind dates they originally wanted to introduce to each other, Mary and Jess, did not fall in love with either Harry or Sally, but fell in love with each other.
Everyone in the story is creating opportunities for Harry and Sally to be together. What really stops them is their own confidence in their love for each other.
This kind of relationship happens to everyone, but to perform that kind of natural charm, you must have the right time, place, people, and just the right actors to succeed.
Maybe it happened that Meg Ryan was in a relationship with Dennis Quaid, and the two also had a lot of uncertain feelings about each other's future, so this feeling was moved into the filming, coupled with her own special features...
…
"Steven, I like your performance very much." After these few shots were taken, Ronald quickly said goodbye to Ford, sending the former commander-in-chief away with a still-unsatisfied look on his face.
The crew moved to the ground conveyor belt on the other side of the airport. Harry had long recognized Sally, but she was in love, so they didn't have that time to recognize her.
But after leaving Joe as his boyfriend, Harry began to flirt with Sally on the conveyor belt. Both of them forgot the name of the girlfriend who asked Harry and Sally to carpool. During the verbal exchange, it seemed that the two of them wanted to say
There are more words than they and their respective partners want to say.
…
"Today's shooting is completed. Let's go back and rest early." The shooting went extremely smoothly, and for the first time, Ronald enjoyed the luxury of going home and getting together with his family every day during the shooting.
This is because this movie does not have any technical difficulties, but the interaction between the characters is logically difficult. But because the two protagonists are in such bad shape, there are no scenes that cannot be shot repeatedly.
.
"Why do you have time to go home and rest every day now?" That day was the day when Donna came to visit her cousin and brought some Chinese takeout.
"Luckily, everyone cooperated very well, so it went smoothly." Ronald picked up the fried vegetables and started eating.
"Have your directing skills improved?" Tomorrow will be Donna's turn for a guest role, and she is also very curious about making movies.
"It's more about my excellent casting..." Ronald said about the excellent condition of the two leading actors, and then started to tell Donna about tomorrow's filming.
People who have never made a movie are always full of fantasy, but in fact, this is just a job.
"Dududu..."
The phone rang and Ronald answered it.
"It's me, George."
It turned out to be the son of another high-ranking official, and little George called.
"Why, what's going on now?" Ronald felt that little George was calling so anxiously because it must be about his father's election.
"You judged very accurately that the Boston Pier ad had a very small impact on Dukakis's approval rating, and at the same time, my father's approval rating also dropped.
Colombo (Little George's younger brother and sister), that Spanish-speaking advertisement had the opposite effect...hehehehehe..."
"Aren't you supposed to be worried and disappointed now?" Ronald replied half-jokingly. The behavior of these playboys is really different from ordinary people. If his father had not won the election, the strife between the brothers would still be there.
What's the meaning?
"I'm just being so straightforward with you, hahaha...", little George laughed a few words, "The wrong strategy can be corrected, and the correct strategy can be carried out. I am not gloating about others' misfortune, but the facts have determined that their method is useless.
.”
"What do you think of Barbara?" Ronald asked the key point. In this election, the most critical person is Barbara. Only if she decides to change strategies can she really change.
"My mother is still waiting and watching, but she doesn't have much time for Jeb. As long as this trend continues next week, our strategy will work. My mother will definitely call you by then. Do you know what to say?"
"Of course, I have to congratulate you...and Laura."
The reason why little George is so gloating about his misfortunes is also due to the competition between several daughters-in-law. The Mexican-born sister-in-law is short and has different customs. If Barbara hadn't favored her younger son, how would she have been able to take the photo for George Sr.
What about advertising?
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading!...
The next day, the crew went to a studio in Queens, where the cabin of a commercial airliner had been set up.
"Did we...hmm?" Harry got on the plane and sat right behind Sally. He leaned forward, made a gesture, and talked to Sally.
"No, no...", Sally felt uncomfortable.
"Do you want to sit together?"
The man sitting with Sally in front offered to change seats with Harry. The camera panned to the seat next to her, where Donna was sitting, sitting in her seat nervously and trying not to look at the camera lens.
"Cut!"
Ronald noticed his cousin's nervousness. It seemed that she had no talent. But fortunately, it was just a cameo, so the audience's attention would not be drawn there, so it didn't matter if she was a little nervous.
After the filming, Harry changed positions, and the photography team began to re-light.
Meg Ryan quickly went back to the trailer to rest, while Billy Crystal chatted with Ronald for a few words.
"If I want to be a director, what do you think is the most important thing?"
Billy Crystal already has a good reputation, and he wants to take it a step further. It is very difficult to improve as an actor, so he wants to follow the precedent and see if it is possible to switch to directing and acting.
"First of all, you need a qualified assistant director to help you manage the chores of the crew. Especially if you want to direct and act by yourself, there must be someone to perform your director's duties when you go on stage."
Ronald didn't hide his secrets and explained some of his practices.
"You know? It's easy for actors to become directors because they often watch how directors work. But if a director doesn't have acting talent, it's difficult for him to become actors. I really don't know how you work." Ronald
said laughingly.
"This is the privilege of being an actor..." Billy Crystal knew what Ronald meant. Actors' preparations are always introverted, and outsiders don't know how their inner preparations are carried out. Unlike directors, who have many
Work involves communicating with other people, and it is an extroverted job.
The break is over and Meg Ryan is back on set.
"Every department is ready, hair style, come here quickly, we need to tidy up here..."
"Action!"
"How long have you and Joe been together? Three weeks?" After Harry sat down, he began to chat with Sally about each other's situation.
"One month, how do you know?" Meg Ryan's expression was spot on. Harry told her about her love situation in such a way that Sally couldn't help but wonder, was Harry secretly inquiring?
"Because only people who have just started falling in love will go to the airport to see their lover off. But there are also disadvantages to doing this. If you have been in love for a long time and he doesn't come to see you off in the future, you will think, he did it before, so why not now?
Already? Is it...
So when I started to fall in love, I never sent him off to the airport to prevent this from happening."
"You look like an ordinary person, but in fact you are an angel of death..." Sally couldn't stand Harry's realistic analysis, which made all her romantic yearnings likely to be shattered.
"Are you getting married?" Harry continued.
"We've only known each other for a month, and it's not time to think about it yet..." Sally suspected that this was another ploy that Harry wanted to use to "calmly analyze himself" in love, so she explained the situation in strict terms.
"I'm getting married..." Harry turned around and said the news.
"You? A person like you wants to get married?"
"Why not? Is it weird? Helen Helson is her name and she wants to keep her maiden name."
"Hi, ha,... congratulations to you, a person like you... I'm glad to see you embracing life with such a positive attitude."
Ronald watched this long dialogue scene behind the camera. The two performed very well.
When she learned the news about Harry's marriage, Sally seemed obviously at a loss. It took her a while to regain her ability to think and speak normally.
Just like watching Sally and Joe kissing passionately, Harry stood there for a long time in confusion before deciding to step forward to say hello to Joe instead of Sally.
This subtle emotional expression is what makes this movie, which seems to have no strong dramatic conflict, really attractive.