"Don't say you can't name the director, not even Joe Dante." Roger Corman used Joe as an example.
"Because the Directors Guild (DGA) stipulates that, except under very special circumstances, a film can only be signed by one director. This is to prevent the studio from exploiting the director by letting him finish most of the shots first, and then
If you fire him, you can add your own name and be the director alongside him."
Roger continued to explain: "Not only that, if you want to name the director of a movie, it must be reviewed by the Directors Guild. At least two-thirds of the original shots were shot by this director."
"As long as you are a registered member of the Hollywood Directors Guild, your interests are quite protected. The producer may not give you the final editing rights, but he cannot deny your signature. What you shoot is what you shoot."
"Because of this, the Directors Guild is very strict about signing signatures. They do not accept applications and only proactively invite new directors to join the union. If I put a new person on the director list of 'Rock High School', the union will soon invite him to join the union.
And this opportunity is what I leave to Alan Aikush."
"Oh, Mr. Coleman, you misunderstood. I have no intention of signing my name as the director. I just want to appear in the subtitles at the end of the film. I know that the production assistant usually does not have the opportunity to appear in the subtitles."
"I can add your name in the assistant column at the end of the film, but why do you need to put subtitles?" Roger Corman was a little strange. Ronald also had the naive idea of leaving a name, "Generally
The audience doesn't know how to read subtitles, and a person's name only appears for a few seconds, so you can't see it if you don't pay attention. In Hollywood movies, the names of important members are released at the beginning."
"It's like this, Mr. Coleman." Ronald explained, "My current income mainly comes from taking audition photos of actors, which cost $30 a set.
If my name is in a movie that will be released in theaters, then I can increase my offer to at least $50, and then I can earn money to pay for college while working as a photographer."
"Does it have such a big impact if your name appears in the subtitles?" Roger Corman was a little curious.
"Yes, Mr. Coleman. Almost all the actors who come to me to take audition photos have never made a movie. They want to appear in movies, but they often have a lot of random ideas about how to take audition photos.
If I have participated in a movie, then my words have greater authority. Not only can I ask for a higher price, but I can also save a lot of trouble during filming."
"Oh, that's a good idea. You have to keep it up, it's good business thinking. Many good directors don't understand business. But great directors always find a balance between business and art."
"Mr. Coleman, don't you know you need a still photographer? I can take stills for 'Rock and Roll High School' for free. All you need is the money for film and printing." Ronald took the opportunity to sell his services.
"Do you have any samples?"
"Yes, here, look." Ronald took out a prepared stack of photos from the folder and handed them to Roger Coleman. They were all portraits taken in New York.
"Very good. You can go to the filming location next week to take some photos. Remember to keep the receipt."
"Thank you, Mr. Coleman, I'll go out first."
"Let Jim come in by the way."
Ronald closed the door and slowly walked to where Gale was. He had an intuition that Roger Corman did not want to give him a directing title. What he said about the Directors Guild may not be the whole truth.
First of all, members of the Directors Guild cannot all be directors. What about assistant directors? What about the second group of directors? Their rights and interests also need to be protected by the union. If you are not signed as the director of a film, is it impossible to be a member of the Directors Guild?
Roger said that Alan Arkush had to rely on Rock High School to obtain Directors Guild qualifications. The qualification here probably refers to the level of a signed director of a movie.
Second, Roger Coleman only pays very little money to his employees. Forget about college graduates like Gale, whose family conditions are reasonable. Why are Joe, Allen, and Jim, who are the breadwinners, willing to pay so much?
What about the low wages? This shows that Roger exploited their skills and allowed these talented professionals to work for him for almost free. After completing a movie, he could join the union. Once he became famous, he would go to the eight major studios to make movies.
Then Roger Corman recruited a new batch.
Before watching the dailies, Ronald heard Roger Corman say to Jerry Zucker, "If you make this movie, you'll never have to work for me again."
This calculation is very clear.
In turn, they, professionals, are also exploiting Roger Corman. The Hollywood union is very harsh on newcomers like Ronald or Jim. If you are a union member, you can enjoy very good treatment, and union-registered movies
Priority will be given to you. If you are not a union member, you must work for a certain number of days in a film registered with the union before you can apply for membership (the exception is the Directors Guild, which is an invitation system). The problem is that in Hollywood, non-union members have almost no opportunities.
Filming a film registered with the trade union.
This is like the novel "Catch-22" that Ronald read in high school. Priority is given to hiring union members when making movies. To join a union, you need to have made a movie. This is a logical knot. Newcomers can't join the union no matter what. The only solution is
The method is that bosses like Roger are willing to hire non-union newcomers like Ronald in union projects.
Ronald raised his hand to say hello to Gail. He asked Jim, who was already waiting outside, to go in. Jim was very relaxed and was flirting with Gail just now.
Seeing that Gale was not very busy, Ronald asked tentatively: "I brought a camera today and wanted to take some photos with Jim. If you are willing, I will also take some portrait photos for you."
He took out the samples again and spread them out on the table for her to see.
"Wow, your photo is very good. If I wear something like this today, will it look good in the photo?" Gale immediately started to look at the matching of his clothes and shoes.
After Gale finished reading the photos, Ronald also pulled up a chair and sat down, "Gale, you have seen a lot in the film industry. Do you know what the Directors Guild is about?"
Gale raised his head and glanced at him, took out a piece of paper from the table, picked up a pen and wrote while saying: "The Directors Guild is an invitation-only system. If you want to join, you don't need to apply. As long as you can leave your name in the project, the Directors Guild will
We will get the list and send you an invitation letter."
"Members of the Directors Guild are divided into three levels: film director, assistant director, and assistant director/second group director. Each level should have different membership fees. You can go to the library to check specific information."
As he spoke, he folded the paper in half, wrote down the director's union level information, and handed it to Ronald.
“Is Alan Aykoush also a member of the Directors Guild?”
"Of course, he's a second-level assistant director. Joe Dante directed "Piranha" last year and was promoted to the highest level of director."
Ronald took the paper written by Gale and put it in his pocket. He thought: It seems that his judgment was good. The reason why Roger Corman was able to produce ultra-low-cost films was because of his keen eye for identifying talents and utilizing them.
Trade union membership qualification card holder.
Similarly, for the two paths Roger Corman chose for himself, he would have to be exploited for several years before he could have the opportunity to independently direct a low-cost film. If he went to college, Roger would not lose anything, but if
I am obsessed with the dream of making movies and want to direct my own movies, so it is difficult to refuse the visible path given by Roger.
No wonder Roger's first question when he saw him was to ask about his dream. With this sales technique, as long as he has a movie dream and is from a lower-class background and lacks opportunities, who can stop him?
Ronald shook his head. Even if he went to college, if he had not forgotten his dream, he would most likely have to come back to find Roger. It was too difficult to get into the film industry.
At this moment, three people suddenly came up the stairs and rushed towards Roger Coleman's office.
One of the visitors was Jerry Zucker, and of the other two men, one had similar facial features to Jerry and the other was slightly taller. The three wanted to go directly into Roger's office.
Gale stood up quickly and stopped them, "I'm sorry, Mr. Zach, Mr...., Mr. Coleman is waiting for guests. Please wait outside."
"No, please don't stop me, Gale. This is between me and Roger." Jerry Zack pushed Gale's hand away and wanted to continue walking inside.
Seeing the three people getting excited, Ronald quickly stepped forward to help Gale stabilize them.
Jim also opened the door and came out to check. It seemed that Roger Coleman also heard the noise outside.