"I don't have any experience, all I have are lessons..."
In the editing room in Los Angeles, Cameron Crowe shook his head and smiled bitterly when Ronald asked him about asking for advice on TV screenwriters.
Although he cooperated with CBS in 1986 to turn Ronald's directorial debut "Fast-paced Richmond High" into a TV series, it was canceled after only seven episodes were aired.
"Ha, is there anything I can know about?"
Ronald still knows this old partner very well. Crowe's first movie has just been filmed, and he still has a lot to learn about post-production editing and sound design. Now Crowe is in the process of making the movie.
In the process of being filled with awe. He will have to wait until his first movie is completed and released before he can get used to the requirements for directors in this industry——
Even if you don't have confidence, act confident.
"Well, the biggest lesson is to put the most exciting content in the pilot episode. My two pilot episodes were too focused on the whole and did not show enough content to attract fans."
Crowe paused the music on the editing table and came over to chat with Ronald about his failed TV series experience.
TV dramas are different from movies. They are usually filmed and broadcast at the same time. Such a progress of one episode per week cannot be achieved at the production speed of a movie. Therefore, usually the directors of each episode are different and staggered to each other, so that there is enough preparation time for filming and filming.
Clip.
The writers and directors of each episode are different, and the actors receive training from different scripts and directors. In order to produce a consistent style, someone must oversee the style of all episodes, so as to ensure the quality and consistency of the TV series.
Cameron Crowe played such a role in the TV series version of the fast-paced project. However, he was inexperienced and did not have much experience as a director, so he made many mistakes. So much so that the ratings dropped from the high point of the launch.
It continued to decline, and was cut in half after the seventh episode.
According to Crowe, the biggest mistake he made was not filling the first two pilot episodes with the most interesting content.
Because of the movie version directed by Ronald, the audiences who came in droves found that the core of the characters had changed and were very disappointed. Except for the surfer Spicoli played by Sean Penn in the original version, none of the other characters had as distinctive characteristics as in the movie version.
, I gave up on the show after watching a few episodes.
TV series viewers who have never watched the movie can still watch it. The TV series is more or less a gossip romance drama about high school students, with many interesting plots. But gradually after the fifth episode, the plot lacks many famous and explosive scenes in the movie version. Ratings
The rate dropped all the way and never picked up again.
"It was only after I finished filming 'Love' that I realized that those actors were not bad at acting. For example, our actor who played Linda was Claudia Wei, Marty's girlfriend Jennifer Parker in 'Back to the Future'
Erns... But several screenwriters and directors had conflicts over the design of her role, and the final performance was fragmented..." After Crowe became a film director, looking back at his early work, he suddenly became much enlightened.
In short, when filming a TV series, it is better to be mediocre than to polish certain moments like a movie. On the contrary, TV series should try to avoid arranging more difficult single scenes, because this will cause the actors to lose their acting skills due to troubles.
The performance was poor, thus affecting the already tense shooting schedule.
It seems that the production process of TV series and movies determines that the filming of the two is not the same thing at all. Ronald feels that it is better to find professionals to do this.
"Ronald, let me show you something..."
After talking about the TV series, Cameron Crowe took a tape from the drawer, then rewinded a scene on the editing table and showed it to Ronald.
A particularly beautiful picture appeared on the monitor. The male protagonist played by John Cusack held up a Toshiba dual-card dual-speaker cassette recorder with both hands, playing it in the yard in front of the heroine played by Helen Slater.
Singing songs, trying to win her heart back.
"This is very good. Did you take it at the magic light moment before sunset? It's very good." Ronald praised. Crowe has good taste in art and knows when it is the decisive moment and should increase investment.
Capture the hearts of your audience.
"Ronald..."
Just when Ronald and Crowe were discussing, Helen Slater's head flashed in from the door, "I heard Richard said you were here, is it convenient for me to come?"
Ronald looked at Cameron Crowe. The editing room is the director's restricted area. Whether the protagonist can come in to watch his own scene mainly depends on the director's decision. Ronald will definitely not allow it, but every director has his own
The ideas cannot be generalized.
"Helen, come in, I'm about to show Ronald one of your most exciting performances..."
It seems that Crowe doesn't mind this. He is still in the learning stage and does not find it offensive for people like Ronald and Helen to give him any opinions after watching the clips. On the contrary, it may still be very useful feedback.
"Hee..." Helen walked quickly to Ronald's side and sat down close to him. A woman's nature awakened, and Helen began to use her own advantages to compete.
"I was telling Cameron just now that this shot of holding a tape recorder under the sunset was very beautiful..." Ronald put his arm around Helen's waist and pointed at the monitor and told her.
Then, Ronald seemed to remember something. He took a piece of paper from the table, tore it in half, and folded it into two sitting paper figures, one tall and one short.
Put it down on the table some distance away.
This is a method taught to him by Walter Murch. By stacking two paper figures representing the audience in proportion, he can better identify problems with the picture based on the appropriate proportions of the screen.
"What is this? It's very interesting how these two people folded." Helen picked it up and looked at it. Ronald folded the paper figures very lightly and looked like a man and a woman. Ronald learned this from Xujiahui Studio.
Here’s how to fold paper.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Can you give it to me?" Helen smiled and collected the two paper figures and put them into her bag.
Cameron Crowe was watching from behind the paper man and wondering if there was any problem with his editing. He also felt that this method was very intuitive. The monitor was too small and he often forgot the screen size ratio when editing.
"Of course, I'll stack two myself..." Crowe didn't mind, "By the way, Ronald, what do you think of this soundtrack?"
"I think it's very good. The lyrics match the plot quite well." Ronald listened to this rock song and looked at the name on the editing record book. He was from the band The Smithereens. "Someone like you
girl".
"I just think it's too much of a match, it might be a spoiler, and the scene and the song are not penetrating." Crowe said, taking out the tape just now, putting it into the tape recorder on the post-production stage, and then
After adjusting the time, another piece of music was played.
"I love, sometimes I get lost
As the days pass, this emptiness fills my heart
When I want to escape, I drive away
But no matter where I go
I always come back to where you are.”
"This one is indeed better, what's its name?" Ronald asked Crowe.
"Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes", Crowe's wife is a rock singer, so he must have chosen these soundtracks well.
"Let's use this one." Rona stood up, hugged Helen and was about to leave.
"Wait a minute, Ronald, this is what I'm talking to you about..." Crowe hesitated and said the purpose, "Peter Gabriel is very concerned about the use of his songs in movies. He mentioned
The price is too high, my budget for the soundtrack and interludes has been exhausted, and the song is over budget, but I really feel that this song will bring the movie to a higher level..."
"How much more do you need?" Ronald understood that he was running out of money and asked him to increase the budget. Crowe was a little more naive and found someone to write a specially written soundtrack in advance. The lyrics spoiled the plot and wanted to be a famous song by a famous singer.
I was doing interludes, but I had no money again.
"One million dollars..."
"Hey..." Ronald almost laughed. For his own sake, 20th Century Fox matched the investment in the film and became the distributor. It was Crowe's first time to direct a large commercial production and he got it
With a budget that only a director with several film experience can afford, it's 15 million US dollars.
In the end, I didn’t spend a penny, and I even had to create a million-dollar song for the soundtrack. How can you spend more money than me?
"Cameron, you may regard the movie as a work of art, but the movie itself is still a commodity. We also need to pay attention to the return on investment. It is not a good idea to invest more than 20% of the money in music for a movie."
Ronald tried his best to be tactful, but the star Crowe was still shocked. He regretfully took out the tape and locked it in the drawer. It was because of his inexperience. If he had not wasted so much time during the filming, he would have money now.
The best song ever.
"I understand, I will find a cheap and good episode..." Crowe still sent Ronald out the door.
…
"Ronald, why are you talking to Crowe like that..." Helen reached the Ferrari sports car and objected dissatisfiedly to Ronald. "He is your friend, not your employee, Ronald."
"Why did I speak?" Ronald didn't understand.
"The way you spoke to him seemed like a senior was lecturing a junior. But a few years ago, you were both newcomers to the industry, and you were filming together. I heard him say that you were fighting side by side against a guy from Universal.
Vice President, I thought you were good friends."
"We are good friends, but business has its own laws..."
"Ronald!" Helen suddenly raised her voice in protest, "But the way you speak is not your attitude towards a friend. You could have said this in the tone of a friend, and it would not have hurt Crowe.
It will be much smaller.”
"Gah..." Ronald stepped on the brakes and parked the Ferrari that had been driven out to charge the battery on the side of the road. "Am I really treating him badly?" He had successfully gotten used to it during this period, and he might have done it subconsciously.
With an attitude that teaches Crowe.
"Movies are a commodity...not a good idea..." Helen Slater repeated what Ronald had just said.
"OK, thank you..." Ronald himself is also a director. When dealing with artists, respect is the most important, but it is also the scarcest. He unintentionally adopted a businessman's tone and unknowingly stabbed the old man.
friend.
"What do you think of that piece of music?" Ronald restarted the car. He re-examined the expressiveness of this episode. Does it match the camera well?
"Of course, this part is about the heroine being angry with the hero and lying at home unwilling to communicate with him anymore. The hero doesn't know what to do, so he has to use all the methods he can think of to attract the other person's attention. What a romantic paragraph...
"
"Yeah..." Ronald was reminded by Helen, and he felt that this paragraph was the ultimate romance in the eyes of high school students.
There is a kind of unpolished innocence in Cameron Crowe's movies, but it is this innocence that gives people strength.
This is a typical feeling for a talented director's debut. Although Crowe's grasp of the business aspect is not very smooth, and some areas may require more experience, it failed to reach the ideal state.
However, Ronald is already very satisfied with this performance. This is more spiritual than Emile Adolino in The Reborn Beauty and John Waters in Hairspray. His talent is simply amazing.
Overflowing all over the floor.
"Thank you, Helen..." Ronald stepped on the accelerator. His money was getting more and more, and his status in the industry was getting higher and higher. It was rare to have a friend who could communicate with him as frankly as before.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Moreover, Helen often has high vision but low ability, but her own vision is not bad.
"Hehe, that's what I love about you, Ronald. You must not become a businessman like Mr. Goldberg, who only considers return on investment."
Ronald found the company's music director Jimmy Lehner and told him his idea. Lehner immediately went to the singer Peter Gabriel to discuss it.
I heard that Ronald asked for it and gave him the money readily. The singer, who was traveling in Europe, agreed to Ronald's request and officially authorized the song to be used by the crew. However, he also wanted the director to give him the plot.
Say it again and make sure there is nothing inconsistent with his songs.
"Cameron, I came back and thought about it again. You may be right. The addition of this song to this scene and even this movie is immeasurable. You should call Gabriel immediately.
Call me, and if his quotation is suitable, I will top up the budget."
"Great, Ronald, I'll contact you right away..." Crowe hung up the phone excitedly. He was really lucky to have such a good friend investing.
"Rick (Nisita), where are we talking?" Ronald put down the phone and said to Nisita and public relations consultant Michael Gray who came over to talk about the Golden Globe Awards.
"How do you bribe the judges of the Golden Autumn Awards..." Niceta grinned.
The judges of the Golden Globe Awards are all nominally members of the Foreign Media Correspondents Association in Hollywood. Except for a few, less than ten, who are real professional journalists, most of the others have occupied a quota and come to do a job to enhance their resumes.
People who work easily are mostly women.
These people may not necessarily need money, but they especially need respect. One of the privileges of the Golden Globe judges is to have close contact with the stars. This is why the Golden Globe Awards are generally awarded to stars who agree to attend the awards ceremony.
"That's it, then you can help me contact the working girl celebrities and see which one of them is willing to go over and chat with these reporters."
As a result, Harrison Ford has shifted his focus to the latest "Raiders of the Lost Ark" movie, but Sigourney Weaver, Melanie Griffiths, and Joan Cusack (Sing)
Even the sister of John Cusack (who held up the tape recorder) agreed to come over to participate in public relations.
After arranging the work of "Working Girl" to compete for the Golden Globe Awards and sending everyone away, Ronald had the opportunity to spend some time with Helen.
Helen, who has blond hair, is talking to two small paper figures in the bedroom, "This is Ronald, this is Helen...ah, Ronnie, are you here?"
Ronald took a quick step, threw himself on the bed, hugged Helen tightly and kissed her. He was very grateful to Helen. If there was any special advantage about Helen, it was that this woman was very innocent and adhered to principles in her views on things.
I won't just go along with what I say just because of Ronald.
"Beep beep..." The hotel phone rang again.
"Hey...who is it?" Ronald said angrily.
"It's me. Crowe Gabriel has already agreed. He said that he thought it was another movie and they wanted to use this episode, but after hearing about the plot of my movie, he no longer hesitated.
He gave us this song and got a 10% discount..."
"Congratulations... I'm waiting to see your finished film..." Ronald simply unplugged the phone line...
"Here I come..." Ronald lay down on the bed again. The two little paper figures were bounced up by Simmons, and then fell on the bed again, falling together.