"This is Rick Schmidlin, an expert on the history of Hollywood's silent film period and a producer of short films and documentaries. This person needs no introduction..."
"Hello, Mr. Rick Schmidlin, I'm Ronald."
Robert Stein was so motivated that he hired a top researcher of old movies to serve as a consultant for Voyager in restoring early Hollywood classics. Ronald himself was also a fan of old Hollywood movies, so he invited him to his home.
Narrative.
"In your opinion, what is the main obstacle to the restoration and distribution of old Hollywood films?"
"You may not believe it, but the main obstacle is the chaotic management of the eight major studios and the old stubborns who are still alive..."
Rick Schmidlin gave a very unexpected answer. He has been engaged in the research of old movies for a long time and has a part-time teaching position at Long Beach University in California. However, he has not produced any significant results for so many years.
, the biggest problem was that the studio was unwilling to give him the original negative and the rights to re-edit it.
Until the 1970s, those old Hollywood directors and artists who could make good movies had a very strange habit. That was to shoot as few main shots as possible, no panoramic shots, and try to shoot close-ups or close-ups.
The reason was that the producer at that time, who controlled the editing room, often secretly finished the director's unfinished edits on weekends and then released them on Tuesday.
This kind of fast editing, which extremely distorts or even reverses the director's creative intention, is more suitable for fast-food movies made to satisfy the audience, but not for the kind of carefully crafted commercial film creation.
In the end, many films were edited that the director himself was very dissatisfied with, even angry about, and there were many examples of the director himself giving up his signature.
If a restoration and research expert wants to re-edit and create according to the director's original editing intention, then the audience will definitely ask why the version they saw back then was like that?
Many old producers don't like their decisions to be overturned, and no one wants to become a villain again decades later.
As long as this is broken through, the remaining negatives, re-production, re-adjustment, etc., will not be a big problem.
Ronald likes this person's idea very much. He can give these studios an expectation of making money. Money-related matters are not a problem. The problem with this kind of person is the key. There must be a Hollywood-produced movie that can be re-released.
It has achieved very good results and no one is going to settle old scores, so that everyone can feel at ease and leave the restoration work of the old films to Ronald's newly acquired Voyager.
"Hey, I actually have a film here that is likely to change the studio's opinion. I also have a manuscript from the original director explaining in detail how the original editing should be done. Unfortunately, the original negative copy of the film has been lost, and it is impossible to re-edit it.
"
Ronald thought of the manuscript that Orson Welles had given him, which contained the changes he proposed after watching the film "Touch of Evil" that Universal's producers privately edited.
Opinion.
This film genius has an extraordinary memory. He only watched the edited movie once and remembered all the content. He could also write out what should be modified based on his memory, and also talked about his creative ideas.
"What, that manuscript is actually real and still exists?" As an expert in film history, Rick Schmidlin was extremely excited. He asked Ronald to show him the manuscript of Orson Welles.
.
"Of course." Ronald found the manuscript and let Rick Schmidlin take a look.
"My God, the legend is actually true. Orson actually read it once and wrote so many revisions..."
"Yeah, it's a pity that these opinions need to be revised..." Ronald explained. For example, at the beginning, the audience saw a time bomb placed in the trunk of the car, so that the audience always had it in their mind.
The suspense of when a bomb will explode.
But Universal's editing will only follow the rules and add regular subtitles and opening music. In this way, when the subtitles are finished and the music ends, the audience can expect that the bomb is about to explode. This will create all the suspense
All have been eliminated.
"We don't yet have the technology to remove subtitles and separate the theme song from the sound. Because Universal only retains the final copy of the film after editing, these in-process audio tracks and original copies are gone."
Ronald said regretfully that he got the manuscript and went to practice around the world, but unfortunately he only got a lost result.
"Who said the original copy was lost? I know for sure that it is in Universal's warehouse."
"Huh?" Ronald was immediately interested. This was not only a way to kill two birds with one stone, it would give him a good start after acquiring the "Standard Collection", and he could also complete Orson Welles's entrustment to him.
…
"You said why I didn't tell you that there is still an original copy, so why bother? The producer at that time, Albert Zugsmith, is not dead yet..."
A few days later, at an Oscar canvassing party held by Universal for Al Pacino, the actor of "Scent of a Woman", Ronald happened to find Charlton, the actor of "The Last Day".
·Heston was chatting. The other party said he was still very angry with the producer.
Charlton Heston played a key role in Orson Welles's first directorial work back in Hollywood. He had just finished filming Moses in "The Ten Commandments" and was about to star in his own film.
Oscar-winning "Ben-Hur", at this time he had great negotiating leverage with the studio. He himself guaranteed to Universal for Welles that as long as Orson was the director, he would star in the leading role.
But the producer, Albert Zugsmith, secretly edited the film after the filming was over, then turned it over and kicked Orson Welles away. The edit he made was terrible.
It didn't do well when it was released, and it was subsequently fired by Universal.
As a result, Charlton Heston had to reshoot the film before he could barely edit it into a releaseable version.
But at this time, in order to prevent his scandal from being publicized and prevent himself from continuing his career as an executive producer at MGM, Albert Zugsmith spoke ill of Orson Welles everywhere, making Welles
The dream of returning to Hollywood was ruined, and no one dared to hire a director who messed up his first movie.
However, Welles has a high prestige among the actors, including the leading actor Charlton Heston, the leading actress Janet Leigh, and Marlene Dietrich, who plays a supporting role, all support Orson.
·Wells.
It's just that the stars at that time did not have such great box office influence and could forcefully force the studio to bow. In the end, the film did not do well at the box office, which was a tragedy for everyone.
"No, how old is he? If Albert Zugsmith were alive today, he would already be over eighty..."
Overhearing the discussion, the person who came to interrupt was none other than the heroine of this film, Janet Leigh. Her more familiar role was in Hitchcock's "Psycho" filmed a year after "Lady".
The heroine in.
"It's absolutely true, he's still alive..." Charlton Heston hugged his old partner and shrugged, indicating that good people don't live long...
Ronald stepped forward to say hello to Janet Lee and her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis, who came with her next to her. The two had talked about the film "The Last Day" before, and this time they heard Ronald
Nader said it would be a great pleasure to be able to find the original copy and re-edit it according to Orson Welles's ideas.
"You must first find Albert Zugsmith and obtain his consent..." Ronald said this was a necessary step.
"What? I don't believe it." Janet Lee was getting older and her temper was getting tougher. She took Ronald and wanted to go find Tom Pollack, the president of Universal, to explain the matter clearly.
Poor Tom Pollack was still canvassing for votes for his movie and currying favor with these old stars who were eligible to vote for the Oscars. When Janet Leigh made a scene, he was surrounded by the voices of old men and women denounced him.
They immediately empathized with themselves from this incident. It was these same producers back then who cut their own movies into a mess, at least ruining at least two of their Academy Award-level performances, right?
"Tom, Albert Zugsmith is over eighty years old, and he is probably too old and confused..." Ronald reminded Tom Pollack gently in his ear. In fact, there is no need to worry about the face of these old people now.
, and at such an old age, I might have forgotten the past things a long time ago.
"Are you sure the re-editing will deliver a good performance?" Tom Pollack couldn't afford to offend so many judges and couldn't deny their appeals publicly, so he also asked Ronald quietly.
"I have the revised manuscript of Orson Welles, and Walter Murch said he was interested in it before. There won't be any problem, just follow the revisions. Besides, isn't this an opportunity to reissue it?
?As for whether Orson Welles's editing is really better than the original, let the film critics evaluate it..."
"Cunning boy, I will do as you say, but the modifications must be strictly in accordance with Orson Welles's opinions..." Tom Pollack was also convinced. Anyway, it has nothing to do with him, good or bad, and he can still make a fortune.
Money, and most importantly, keeping these voting judges happy.
"Bravo..." These old stars clapped happily, and Janet Lee was even more happy. She hugged Ronald and kissed him several times.
"Ronald..." Seeing that everyone was happy and the atmosphere was good, Janet Lee's daughter Jamie Lee Curtis quietly pulled him and wanted to say a word.
"Haha, isn't it Ronald?"
Ronald, who was about to speak to Jamie Lee Curtis, was suddenly interrupted by a burst of rude and loud laughter.
When I looked up, I saw that it was Harvey Weinstein, the boss of Miramax Pictures, whom I met at Cannes.
The proportion of this man's neck and face is out of proportion, and his neck looks thicker than that of the original Cannon boss Minahan Golan.
This time, his two films received nine nominations (It's a Wonderful Thing) and six nominations (The Crying Game) respectively. For Harvey, this is a huge success.
What he likes to do most recently is to suddenly crash into other people's canvassing parties with a few main creators, and then enjoy the compliments paid to him by celebrities from all walks of life.
Of course, because the special screenings held in various resorts and nursing homes cost too much, Harvey now has to reduce the budget for canvassing parties. Going to other people's parties rashly is also a cost consideration.
.
"Harvey..." Ronald smiled and shook hands with him.
"Ronald..." Harvey ignored his outstretched hand and hugged Ronald, and the two had an intimate hug. Harvey Weinstein wanted to create this kind of image that many big names in the industry like me
They all looked familiar.
"Tom..." Harvey followed the same pattern and hugged the president of Universal Pictures, and Tom Pollack had no choice but to give him a shallow hug in a pretentious manner.
"This is the year that the Oscars return to artistry..." Harvey began to boast, saying that the reason for his numerous nominations this year was because of his relatively high artistry.
"Hmph..." Tom Pollack was very dissatisfied with the appearance of such an upstart, and left with a slight snort. Before leaving, he did not forget to raise a glass to Ronald.
"We independent producers should also unite. We are not necessarily worse than them, don't you think?"
Upon seeing this, Harvey Weinstein also came over and wanted to form an offensive and defensive alliance with Ronald.
"Congratulations on your nomination, but the Oscars are still voted for in the end." Ronald wanted to talk to Janet Leigh and the others about "The Last Day", so he had to stab Harvey in a mild way.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Hahaha, I have fifteen nominations this year, how many do you have? How many at Universal? Who is your father? Hahaha... I am also learning from your tricks.
…”
Harvey came over domineeringly and put his arm around Ronald's shoulders, making sure to give everyone present the impression that Ronald and I were on the same team.
"Haha, be careful. This year everyone has learned how to send videotapes. Next year, I don't know how many people will go to resorts and nursing homes to show it?" Ronald dodged and took two steps away from Harvey. This is to express his stance to everyone, I
I'm not the same person as this thick-necked man.
"What?" Harvey's face changed drastically. He didn't expect that the trick he thought he could keep secret would be known to others so quickly. He didn't know what to do for a while, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
"Ronald, Ronald?" It took a while for Harvey to react. He wanted to know whether Ronald was the only one who knew this secret, or whether it was known to all the major studios.
But when I looked around, I saw that Ronald had already walked away, and he and Janet Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, mother and daughter, were slowly walking towards the exit, as if they were leaving the party.
"Ronald, Jamie, would you like to chat again? I'm looking for a heroine for my next project?"
Hearing this, Janet Lee and Jamie Lee Curtis both looked back. Ronald was lending his arm to Mrs. Janet Lee to help her walk. Hearing this, he also looked at Jamie Lee.
·Curtis……
"I can't hear..." Jamie Lee Curtis smiled when he heard this and hugged his mother's other arm. She turned back to Ronald and said, "This is a pervert... he has a bad reputation..."
"Ronald, I heard that Cameron is looking for a female lead in his next movie? Do you think so?"
Janet Lee got in the car, and Jamie Lee Curtis took the opportunity to ask Ronald again what she had not had the chance to ask just now.
"Are you interested? There is a nudity scene in that scene, and you have to dance with a pole..."
Ronald was a little surprised. He didn't expect Jamie Lee Curtis to be interested in this movie. This role is actually the ice cream in the entire movie. Showing off sex appeal is something that many famous stars are unwilling to do.
"Who told us that we are all making movies? It's not like I haven't made movies before..."
"Uh, okay, I'll mention it to James..." Ronald looked at the other person and understood in his heart that Jamie Lee Curtis's stardom has gradually dimmed since the Halloween series, although in the past few
In 2010, A Fish Called Wanda was well received, but it did not win any awards or nominations.
This is a thirty-five-year-old female star’s last gamble to make it to the top.
…
"Albert Zugsmith has become old and confused, but he still maintains his hatred of Orson Welles and his anger towards the beautiful woman. This is the beginning of his decline in Hollywood."
The next day, Rick Schmidlin, who went to Albert Zugsmith to obtain the re-editing rights, came back and replied to Ronald. Although the producer was already old, he heard that Orson Welles
He still scolded me, saying that he and the actors were colluding to rebel against him, and he didn't believe that the movie "Lady of Tribulation" was a masterpiece and that it would never be successful no matter how much he edited it.
However, under Rick Schmidlin's provocation, he finally agreed to re-edit and told exactly where the original copy was in the Universal warehouse.