Chapter 149: Unprecedented flying all over the sky
"Do I have a chance to be a director?" Ronald returned to the car and detailed the meeting to his main agent Richard.
"I can't say, but judging from Robert Westwood's historical decisions, you have a certain chance. Several of the movies he directed, including Saturday Night Fever and Grease, all used rookie directors, or people with only one director's experience.
guide."
Richard had researched all the background information on Sterwood in advance, "Perhaps we can ask Mr. Niceta or Mr. Ovitz for their opinions and see if they can help you get a chance to be a director."
"I just listened to Mr. Ovitz's advice and didn't ask Mr. Sternwood face to face." Ronald said, "I'll ask him later if I have time."
"They already have their favorite candidate." Ovitz was a little idle and spent a few minutes making two phone calls and said to Ronald.
"Stewwood is the director of the new box office hit 'Airplane!' directed by the Zach brothers. They made this low-budget comedy for Paramount with a cost of only 3.5 million, and the box office has reached close to the cost.
20 times and still growing.”
"Brother Jerry Zucker," Ronald thought of Jerry Zucker and his two companions who wanted to run away from the New World to film at Paramount during the filming of "Rock and Roll High School". If he hadn't wanted to leave, he would have
It is impossible to sign a second group of directors and then obtain director's union qualifications to join the industry.
"How come you know each other? Paramount's Katzenberg now regrets that he only signed a one-movie contract with the Zack Brothers directing team. And now Paramount's priority is 'Unprecedented and Unparalleled'"
’s sequel, so you might still have a chance.”
"No, I've only worked on the same crew with Jerry Zucker, and I haven't had many interactions." Ronald shook his head and smiled, feeling envious of the Zucker brothers who became famous in one battle.
"You might as well go see this movie. It uses a parody technique. In the past, parody was just a technique for small-budget B-level movies. I didn't expect it to be a hit this time. Their comedy talent is very high.
Romantic dramas are usually paired with comedy elements. Since Stewart is the one who likes him, you should be able to get some inspiration?"
Ovitz almost said it, you might as well plagiarize it.
Ronald smiled and agreed.
"Tomorrow I have arranged for you to meet with Patricia Birch, the choreographer of Grease, to discuss it in detail. You have to note that you did not get the screenwriting job for this film. Oral promises from Hollywood are nothing. This meeting is what you have to face.
After a test, she has already got the choreography job for the sequel, so it can be regarded as a kind of interview."
Thanks to Ovitz for taking the time to inquire for himself, Ronald found Richard Lovett again.
"Richard, can you get me the Grease script? I want to take a look at it for reference. I have an interview tomorrow."
"I'm ready." Richard took out a script from the drawer, and the title of the hit work two years ago was written on the cover: "Grease".
"I'll take you back to the Marriott Hotel." Richard took the key.
"I still have to watch a movie. Mr. Richard Ovitz told me to watch 'All the Time', which was filmed by a director who the producer wanted."
"Let me go with you. There is a multiplex theater in the shopping mall near here. There are many movies and many shows. You must wait for up to 20 minutes to have a show." Richard Lovett saw Ronald's business, most of which were Austrian.
Whether Wiz personally pulled the strings or Niceta used his connections to get it done, I felt a sense of crisis.
He didn't want to lose this only customer, but now he didn't get business for him. He could only help Ronald with thoughtful service. He made full preparations in the past two days, studied Strewood's background in detail, and prepared in advance.
It seems that Ronald is still satisfied with the Grease script.
The two of them came to a multiplex cinema in a shopping mall. Such shopping malls have gradually become more common in America, replacing some of the traditional department stores.
After the Civil Rights Movement, black and Latino immigrants entered urban centers in large numbers, where security began to deteriorate rapidly, and the predominantly white middle class began to move to the suburbs.
Driving has become the main means of travel for the middle class. In the past, large movie theaters that could be reached by public transportation were far away from the middle-class families who could afford movie tickets. Going to the movies had to be done by car. In the late 1970s,
The norm in the early 1980s.
Driving to a movie theater, you end up not being able to see the movie you want to watch. This phenomenon is becoming more and more common in hall movie theaters that often cost hundreds or even thousands. Movie theaters in shopping malls are gradually transitioning to the multiplex theater model. When you drive to a shopping mall, you can eat
, shopping, different movies are shown in multiple small halls in turn, there is always something suitable to see.
"Two 1.40 bucks are flying all over the place." Ronald took the initiative to pay for two. Thinking that the main agent only has one client, he must not have a comfortable life.
There was still some time before leaving the venue, so Ronald took Richard to eat Pizza Hut pizza. The food quality of this chain brand is worse than that of Domino's, but the takeout is not as good as Domino's.
"Have you seen this movie? What's it like to watch a comedy that uses a lot of parody?" Ronald asked Richard what it was like to watch "All the Time".
"Have you ever seen Airport in 1970?" Richard put down his knife and fork and took a piece of pizza with his hands like Ronald. "This 'Airplane' is a reference to that one.
The deconstruction and irony of the movie. The whole movie is full of low-level puns on homophonic words, used to win laughter from the audience."
Homophone pun? Ronald thought of Brooke Shields' CK jeans advertisement, which was also based on this concept. "The people have voted with their feet. I heard that the box office has exceeded 50 million. If it's low-grade, then it's low-grade."
"That's right, for our agents, it's a very good sign that the box office of a client-participated movie is high. It shows that they can charge a high price for the next movie." Richard agreed.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "I am also trying to get you other script revision business. The current trend in Hollywood is changing. Warm family films are beginning to occupy the attention of major studios.
Pure musicals seem to be losing their charm with the box-office failure of 'Xanadu'. This is probably why Mr. Sternwood attaches great importance to the romantic comedy element of 'Grease'."
"Your opinion is very important, Richard, thank you." Ronald felt that this seemed to be the direction of the screenwriting that Sternwood liked, and the two of them walked into the screening room.
"Hahaha..." The audience started laughing at the beginning of the video.
Ronald also saw it. The beginning of the movie was a parody of Spielberg's "Jaws". The white clouds in the sky looked like the sea, the vertical tail of the plane looked like a shark fin, and finally the plane roared past the screen, just like Jaws.
The shark leaps out of the water.
The structure of the entire film imitates the "International Airport" ten years ago, where a crisis occurs on the plane, and then the danger is averted under the handling of the crew. Even the heroine finds a fake version of Jean Seberg.
But what about the whole movie? There is no coherent plot trend, but a large-scale multi-person stand-up comedy (Stand-up edy). The jokes are very dense, from beginning to end, but there is no connection between the jokes.
One joke comes out without thinking, and then after ten seconds it moves to another joke, and then another...
After watching the whole movie, Ronald felt like he laughed many times, but he couldn't remember the plot at all. Only when someone mentioned a certain dialogue did he remember what the punchline was.
Anyway, Ronald himself would never be able to write this kind of comedy.
Ronald told Brooke Shields a joke. This kind of joke requires not only a deep understanding of the audience's consensus and then exaggerating it. Just like the black joke told by Spike, if the audience is a white girl, Brooke Shields, they will not be able to understand the background of the joke.
It doesn't feel funny.
And there are many points of timing. If a sentence is said earlier or later, it will not be funny. Ronald’s grammar joke may be that the timing of the most ridiculous sentence (Punch Line) is wrong, and it is not funny.
Make her laugh.
Thinking about it now, Jerry Zucker's aggressive attitude towards himself when he was watching the samples at New World Productions may be because he was looking for the right time to punch line. Jerry Zucker is a person who lives his life like a talk show.
Refine your jokes all the time.
Ronald didn't understand why Sternwood would appreciate this style of comedy and wanted to hire Jerry Zucker to direct "Grease". Although the two movies were both called comedies, their styles were completely different.
If Sternwood wanted to make "Grease" a comedy of this style, Ronald would have had no choice but to tell him to find someone else.
Ronald came out of the theater and saw that there was another movie "Xanadu" on the film schedule. Ronald remembered that Sternwood didn't like this movie, and maybe he could read the negative teaching material to understand it better.
Producer's Thoughts.
The two bought tickets and entered the theater to watch "Xian Le Du".
This movie, directed by Gene Kelly, a star of ancient musicals and who once starred in the classic musical "Singin' in the Rain", is another extreme.
The pace of the whole film was relatively slow, and although there wasn't too much singing and dancing when there was a disagreement, it looked very boring. Ronald noticed that some viewers were dozing off.
In fact, there are many big choreography scenes in the whole movie, and the songs are also very good. Maybe the problem lies in Gene Kelly's outdated aesthetic.
He served as a choreographer and choreographed a large number of roller skating dances and group dances. This kind of dance may have been very worth watching for the audience thirty years ago.
The choreography was just right, and the dancers' connection couldn't be wrong for even half a second. Many of the shots looked like one-shot long shots. Ronald estimated that it would have taken several weeks of rehearsals to become so proficient.
But today's young people appreciate the dance of one or two people, and there are no strict requirements for technology, but for the precise expression of the characters' emotions through dance. In the movie, the duet dance between the male and female protagonists, and the solo dance by the heroine
Segments, it seems, are much more acceptable to modern audiences than tap dancing with dozens of people showing off their skills.
Maybe what Sternwood really means is that the rhythm of "Unprecedented Flying in the Sky" is faster than that of "Xian Ledu"?
Ronald was lying on the Marriott's big bed thinking that he should put more emphasis on rhythm when he meets choreographer Patricia Burch tomorrow.