"Your performance is very natural and very good." Ronald said to Helen Slater.
"It's just a little too short. After two afternoons of shooting, it was gone in 15 seconds."
Helen pressed the eject button of the video recorder and took out the videotape of her advertisement.
"There is another version here, which is the version where you sing Carpenter's song. However, your father felt that it was inappropriate to buy the copyright to cover the song for an advertisement, so in the end, the version where you sang jazz was used."
Ronald handed over another videotape, "I'll give you this copy as a souvenir." Then he picked up a book on the table and continued reading.
Helen Slater called Ronald after Thanksgiving. Her mother also wanted to see a copy of the commercial her daughter acted in, and made an appointment to pick it up at Ronald's house today.
She took the Carpenter version of the videotape and happily put it into the video recorder to enjoy it.
After showing her performances several times, Helen was very satisfied. Seeing Ronald looking down at a book instead of his advertisement, she felt a little disappointed. The director didn't seem to care much about his film and television debut, and was more interested in what he was doing.
The book with black cover and soft cover.
His performance looks perfect. The young director must be editing every day, so no matter how good the performance is, he doesn’t feel it after watching it too many times. Or is his book too attractive?
"What are you reading?" Helen Slater looked at Ronald with her big blue eyes.
"Endless love, I gave it to my cousin Donna as a Thanksgiving gift, but she said Aunt Karen wouldn't let her read this kind of novel. She asked me not to tell my aunt that I gave it to her. I'll leave it here for now, waiting for her next year.
I’ll take a look at it after I go to Stuyvesant High School.”
Ronald lowered his head and read the book while answering Helen. There were some very explicit descriptions and deviant plots in Endless Love. No wonder Aunt Karen didn't like it. Ronald began to flip through the novel in his hand quickly, skipping through it.
"Your cousin can get into Stuyvesant. She is really awesome."
"Yeah, that was a purely IQ test, and Donna was pretty good."
Ronald remembered the day after Thanksgiving when he, Aunt Karen, and Donna visited Stuyvesant.
Donna's scores were nearly 40 points higher than the previous admission limit for Stuyvesant High School, so she was sure to be admitted. The three of them went to the high school to visit Donna's future school.
This is a high school that does not ask anything except IQ tests (mathematics, reading, logic). Jews have historically made up the majority of students, but they see many Chinese in the school and heard that the enrollment ratio of Chinese is increasing rapidly recently.
Rising. There are basically no Latinos or black people.
The school also offers more than 50 pre-college courses, and you can get college credits in high school. In addition to increasing your chances of admission to an Ivy League university, you can also deduct hours spent in college, which can save you a lot of tuition.
In addition to mathematics, science, and English, students also need to study three foreign languages, art, music, and other courses.
In addition to academic courses, there are also skill courses such as gymnastics, fencing, equestrian, health management, speech, etc. It is basically a public school that cultivates social elites according to the curriculum of private preparatory high schools, and residents of New York State can attend it for free.
All in all, Aunt Karen and Donna were very satisfied, and Ronald was also very happy.
"Your performance is perfect. I actually prefer this version of Carpenter's song." Ronald finally finished flipping through the novel and looked at Helen who was rewinding the tape. "Is there any new role for you in Gerald's book?"
"
"No, Daddy said he would wait until I take more acting classes." Helen already had plans for her acting career, "No more, I'm going to go to my mother's place."
"I'll give it to you." Ronald stood up and picked up his coat.
After seeing Helen off, Ronald went to the casting studio for his regular Saturday photo session, and returned the old script he borrowed last time. Julia Taylor from the studio saw him reading the old script last time, so she
Promise that you can take a copy home to read every time and return it next time.
"Ronnie, you're here. We're going to get busy soon. There's another youth film that requires a nationwide casting process. Be prepared, there will be a large number of young girls coming to take pictures." Julia Taylor saw him and said
Give him work immediately.
"Like last time at Blue Coral?" Ronald asked.
"The casting range is even wider than that time. This time we may need to target ordinary people who have no acting experience." Julia Taylor said.
"What kind of movie has such a huge cast? Romeo and Juliet?" Ronald couldn't think of any movie that would require young people to audition across the country.
"More or less, it's an adaptation of a love novel." Julia Taylor replied, "Because the producer, Casablanca Records, is involved in film shooting for the first time, and this is also part of the film's marketing plan."
"So are you really going to find an ordinary person with no acting experience and outstanding appearance?" Ronald found it a bit incredible. He had already put a lot of effort into directing Helen Slater. Finding someone with no experience would be really difficult.
.
"The possibility of this is very small, but it has not happened before in the history of movies, and there are many girls who have made it to the top in one step."
"So which novel is it? Jane Austen or Dickens?" Ronald became curious.
"No, it's the latest best-selling romance novel, Endless Love." Julia Taylor answered.
"Is this a novel?" Ronald waved the book in his hand, "This can't even be called a love novel. The author wrote something very controversial, more like a novel about worldly affairs."
In Endless Love, in addition to minors eating forbidden fruit, there are also very controversial plots such as arson, teenagers committing serious crimes and being sent to a mental hospital, a mother seducing her daughter's lover, etc. This novel can be adapted into a pure novel.
It’s a romantic movie, but Ronald doesn’t believe it anyway.
"Sometimes adaptations are like this. Only the name and protagonist setting of the novel are borrowed, and the rest can be rewritten. But I can't say for sure. It depends on what the people at Casablanca Records decide." Julia Taylor hasn't seen it yet.
I'm not sure about the script either.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Casablanca Records prepared a budget of 8 million, and they obtained a quota of 100 million US dollars from PolyGram for filming. So for this movie they
It’s definitely going to be a big one, and I heard they’ve invited Martin Scorsese’s favorite screenwriter, Paul Schrader, to direct the movie.”
Julia Taylor told Ronald about the background of the producer, "If the casting of this movie can be successful, we will be indispensable in all subsequent movies invested in Casablanca."
"Don't worry, I will work hard. I have completed all four courses in the first semester well. Christmas is coming soon, so I can devote more time to this matter."
"Very good. This is another youth exploitation film. It is expected that there will be many nudity scenes. You are a well-known and signed screenwriter. If you have time, please help us check out the audition candidates. The intuition of people of your age is the most accurate.
"
Ronald was interested in Scorsese's screenwriter and was invited to direct the film, and he was ready to take this path. Paul Schrader is the director of Scorsese's critically acclaimed film "Taxi Driver"
The screenwriter is also the screenwriter of Scorsese's new film who is currently doing post-editing.
Ronald planned to ask Scorsese if he had the opportunity to truly become a film screenwriter and switch from screenwriter to director.
…
"Mr. Paul Schrader, I am Keith Barish, the producer of Casablanca. Our invitation is very sincere. How to spend the budget of 8 million U.S. dollars and how to choose the leading actor and actress in the national audition? It's all up to you.
Let’s decide.”
Keith Barish was the main promoter of Casablanca Records' entry into the film industry. He saw the two musicals "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" invested by Robert Stigwood become huge hits, which also led to his RSO
Record companies sold tens of millions of records.
In particular, the Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack album ranked number one for 28 consecutive weeks from January to July 1978. Five of the singles in the album topped the singles chart. The entire album was only in North America.
It sold 16 platinum copies and sold 16 million copies.
The film also brought about the re-popularity of disco and made a large number of disco singers such as Donna Summer famous.
Casablanca, like other record companies, was very jealous, thinking they had found the code to wealth, and joined the film industry one after another. This is the real reason why Hollywood started investing in musicals again in 1979.
Even Gene Kelly, the Hollywood dance king of the 1940s and 1950s who had been away from acting for many years, was called back by the film company and recently announced that he would start filming his first musical in many years.
"Keith, can I call you Keith?" Paul Schrader has many hit screenwriters and movies, and now he is so popular that film companies are begging him to direct.
"You know, I have just completed the post-production of my movie American Gigolo, which is waiting for release in February next year. I also need to participate in the promotion of the movie, so why don't we talk about your new movie then."
If it is a hit after it is released, Paul Schrader's net worth will not be what it is now. Although producer Keith Barish is a newcomer in the film industry, he knows very well the calculations of these directors. They are no different from the contract renewal negotiations of singers.
.
"Mr. Schrader, this is our first Casablanca movie, and we will take it very seriously. This is also an important reason why I come here to ask you to cooperate. We believe in your artistic expression..."
Paul Schrader has actually read the novel "Endless Love" before. Although it is very controversial and critical of American society, in his opinion, it is not powerful enough. At least compared to his own director, it is immediately
The upcoming "American Gigolo" is a lot worse.
So no matter what Keith said, he wouldn't let go. He still had to wait for news from Universal. They had already contacted the bankrupt RKO film department to discuss buying the classic movie "Cat People"
of remake rights.
Between Global's investment of 12 million and the fledgling Casablanca's investment of 8 million, he still knows how to choose.
"Well, Mr. Schrader, we will keep giving you the latest news and wait until the updated version of the script comes out before we visit again."