"Don't run away, Ronald, you have to do me this favor." Spike said hurriedly when he saw Ronald tidying up the room at home.
After helping Ronald complete the shooting of two chewing gum commercials, Spike Lee came to ask for debt, hoping that Ronald would help him improve his script.
"Thanksgiving is coming soon. The original origin of this holiday is to know how to be grateful, Ronald. I know you are signed as a screenwriter in the MGM movie. You have to help me. I have to apply for various African-American
This film can only be completed with funding from equal rights organizations. They need to evaluate the script."
"Spike, I'd love to help you, but I have to go back to Staten Island for Thanksgiving. My cousin Donna was admitted to Stuyvesant High School, and she got a 620 out of a possible 700, which shows that she has the highest score among all high schools in New York State.
She ranks in the top 12% of eighth-grade students in terms of IQ. I have to congratulate her, and I also have to prepare for transferring schools and moving, so I really don’t have time.”
"Hey, Man, when Dickinson and I went to shoot a commercial for you, we didn't shirk it. When we worked hard to please that white executive for you, don't forget it." Spike Lee yelled angrily.
Ronald.
"Didn't that give you twice the average salary?" Ronald thought to himself, but he just complained in his heart.
"Okay, I surrender, take it." Ronald reached out and took Spike Lee's movie script."
"Qiao's Courtyard?" Ronald read out the name of the script. It seemed wrong, "Qiao's Big Bed?" Why did you change the name of the script again? What does it mean?
"No, it's Joe's barber shop in a compound in the Big Bed neighborhood. Ronald, you don't understand our black slang and abbreviations. This is a ghetto in Brooklyn. The official name is Bedford-Smith."
Vincent. We all call him Big Bed.
My story is about various stories that happened in a barber shop named Joe in this neighborhood. It reflects how black people maintain their traditions under a mixed culture, and how they interact with Italian gangsters, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other crazy people.
The history of the underground Mark Six Lottery and other organizations’ struggles.”
"Is this subtitle what I understand it to mean? Let's cut off our heads?" Ronald looked at the cover, which was really exciting.
"Have you changed this draft into a gangster vendetta movie? The barber picks up a machete and fights with Italian gangsters. The gimmick is very good. I think you can even go to the producers of low-budget exploitation films. They will like it.
of."
Ronald felt that Spike Lee had finally figured it out. Reflecting black culture on the screen was a noble goal. If he mixed this goal into the gun battles, vendettas, religion and gangster plots that the public loved to watch, he would probably not be applauded at the same time.
Popular.
"Wardey, you have such a sense of humor, Ronald." Spike laughed loudly, "Look clearly, this is us shaving our heads, not our hair cutting. It's about a barber's partner who was suddenly shot dead.
In order to keep his barber shop, he fought with all kinds of people, but in the end he failed shamefully."
"Okay." Ronald immediately downgraded the movie in his mind. It turned out to be a reasonable movie.
After quickly reading the script for ten minutes, Ronald had an idea in his mind and said to Spike, "I counted the number of scenes, and it's not enough for 90 minutes. How long do you plan to make the film?"
"Let the film last as long as I can. I still have a lot of plots that I haven't written yet, but I don't have enough money anymore. I'm going to apply for funding this time. I hope it can support me until the end of the filming."
Ronald picked up the yellow pencil and roughly wrote out the scenes in the script on the paper. Then he counted them and found that almost all were indoor dialogue scenes, with only a few outdoor and action scenes. Spike tried to simplify the shooting as much as possible.
, design the script in the direction of reducing costs.
"I don't have anything to suggest about the script. There are some plots that I don't quite understand. Maybe the living conditions in that neighborhood are really bad, so much so that barbershops have to compete with each other in a cut-throat manner.
I didn’t quite understand the expressions of many black people in it, and I didn’t fully understand the subtext of the characters in the dialogue.
But from a producer's point of view, your script is a typical low-budget movie, and it should be possible to make it with the budget you got last time.
I don’t quite understand why you still need to raise money.”
"How did you shoot? We have compressed the budget to the minimum. The actors are free, and the staff are all helped by classmates. By the way, you have made low-cost exploitation films in Hollywood, please help me
Let’s see if there are any ways to save money.”
"Where's your budget execution table? Let me take a look."
Spike took out a piece of paper and handed it to Ronald.
Taking a look at it, Ronald only saw a simple expenditure statistics, in which the most money was for film and equipment rental.
Ronald estimated that the barber shop where Spike shot the actual scene was also sponsored by fellow villagers, and he did not apply for police permission for street shooting. It was a completely guerrilla-style shooting method. It should be very cheap.
"Why does film cost so much? Spike, your early film expenses can be used to shoot a 60-minute feature film."
"How is this possible? I have been very frugal and just bought 5 cheap expired films, which are just enough to cut out 10 minutes of feature length." Spike shouted that he was wronged and searched for a long time in his notebook to buy the film.
Develop a print, and show it to Ronald with photographer Dickinson's shooting records.
"It's really strange, why are expired films so expensive?" Ronald looked at the number and looked a little unusual, "Wait for me to make a call."
"Hello, is this Gail?...I'm Ronald, I'm very good in New York, how are you, are you still so busy?...Are you free now?...I just want to ask you some questions,...
...Well, why is the price of film so expensive? ...Roger has special channels?...Okay, okay, what about the cost of developing and printing?...I understand, thank you."
This chapter is not over, please click the next page to continue reading! "Here's the thing, Spike. I asked my old boss, Roger Corman's executive secretary at New World Productions, and indeed their film prices are very
It's so low that you can make a movie like Rock'n'Roll High School with $300,000."
It turns out Roger Coleman had his own money-saving secret that no one else could copy.
First of all, what Coleman bought was not new film, nor was it the expired film that Spike bought that had been stored for a year and although it could still be shot, its performance had declined. What he shot was a kind of leftover film.
Each film has two sizes: 4 minutes and 11 minutes. However, when shooting a movie, it is impossible to use exactly 11 minutes every time. If the following lens is used, the length of the film in the box is not enough. The photographer
Will get a new one.
After each film is shot and sent to the laboratory, there will be more or less unexposed film. The laboratory will connect these films, put them in sealed jars, and sell them to amateurs.
Roger Corman has a good relationship with Warner and Fox, the two major studios, and can buy the remaining films at a discount of 10 to 20% off the original price. Because he shoots a lot every year, many studios
The factories were willing to sell surplus film to him in large quantities.
Secondly, there is the cost of developing and printing. Roger Coleman has a large printing volume and does not have high requirements for quality. The laboratory makes money mainly by developing and printing as much film as possible without stopping the machine, not changing the chemicals.
However, large studios have very high requirements. Each film must comply with quality control requirements, and the chemicals must be changed when the film is developed to a certain extent. Moreover, the daily business volume fluctuates, and many times the chemicals can still be used to develop and print because of the
Without film, it can only be discarded in vain. Machines and humans are also dozing there.
The advantage of Roger Corman is that he does not require quality, and the color of each film does not have to be uniform. There is no rush in terms of time. Therefore, the laboratory often arranges blanks for his films. Whenever there is leftover potion, time is required.
If you have money, insert a Coleman's film to develop it. Anyway, after three to five days, it will be finished.
In this way, the laboratory saves costs and can also give Roger a very good discount.
Adding the two together, among Roger Corman's shooting costs, the largest expenditures on film and printing were almost only one-fifth of others.
In order to get this kind of discount, low quality requirements, good relationships with major studios, and a huge production volume are all indispensable. Only Roger Corman can achieve this in Hollywood.
"So, Spike, it's not that I don't want to help you. It's just that this is an advantage that Coleman only has. Even if I order film from him, he will definitely increase the price to about the same as what you bought in New York."
"I understand you, Ronald. The Jews are always so shrewd. But if it weren't for you, I wouldn't know why he had such a low cost. I thought there was something wrong with my directing skills and I couldn't make such a low-cost film.
Than, there were too many retakes.”
Spike Lee continued, "I would like to ask you to be the producer of my graduation film. I need your help with many cost-saving things during shooting."
"Okay, no problem, but again, you have to wait until I finish Thanksgiving."
"That `s a deal."
After sending Spike Lee away, Ronald continued to tidy up the room. He would let his cousin Donna live in the back bedroom of this apartment. Aunt Karen would often come to Manhattan to take care of her daughter and look after the leg warmer business. The outside room
Ronald transformed the photography studio into a living room, and the bedroom in the middle was his own.
The photography business gradually shifted to the casting studio. Ronald no longer took the business of private photography in the apartment. His accountant Lawrence told him that he would be easily reported to the IRS for tax evasion.
In this way, this apartment is mainly for living, similar to the shotgun room on Staten Island.
Fortunately, the Stuyvesant High School that Donna was admitted to is in the East Village, so it is very convenient for Donna to attend classes.
Teresa and David had some success selling leg warmers at the Art High School in Manhattan and needed space to store some goods. In this way, Ronald's apartment completely changed its use, from a photography studio to a home and small business.
storehouse.
Taking the dismantled photography, lighting and other equipment, Ronald drove to the casting studio. He agreed with the person in charge, Julia Taylor, to put the photography equipment in the studio for audition photos.
After wishing each other a happy Thanksgiving, Julia reminded him, "Did you bring any Thanksgiving gifts to your family?"
"I brought some food to my aunt, but I forgot to buy it for my cousin." Ronald scratched his ears, "What do you think girls in eighth grade like? Julia."
"Oh, I'm also worried about what to buy for my daughter. You can see for yourself."
"Donna is a bully in elementary school. Why don't you buy her a novel to relieve her boredom?" Ronald came to a Random House and read the best-selling novel.
"Endless Love?"
Ronald looked at the introduction sign next to him that read: New York Times bestseller selection, shortlisted for the National Book Award.
After flipping through it, it seemed like it was about teenage love. Little girls should like romance novels, right?