The story takes place in the summer of 1963, when Ryder High School ushered in a new group of students. The leader of the girls' gang "Pink Girls" has become Stephanie, and the new transfer student Michael is serving in the army.
The father, an army officer, returned from South Vietnam and joined a boys' tough guy gang.
They were rivals at first and disliked each other. But as they witnessed the "I Have a Dream" speech by the black leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and were shocked by the assassination of President Kennedy, the two eventually discovered that they had a lot in common with each other.
point.
The couple overcame various difficulties and fell in love, but eventually parted ways because of their different futures after graduation.
Michael was eventually admitted to Cambridge University in Britain, and Stephanie became a stewardess for Pan Am Airlines. The two met on the plane to London...
Katzenberg, the head of production at Paramount, quickly read the synopsis provided by Ronald.
There are several deliberately reserved singing and dancing times marked inside.
When school starts, the pink girl's song and dance will inherit the style of the previous episode. The pink girl in gorgeous clothes should be very eye-catching.
Michael's experience in the military made him a natural fit in the tough guy gang, and he danced with the tough guy's standard motorcycle, which fit perfectly with the car dance in the previous episode.
Finally, on the plane, the song and dance where the male and female protagonists reunite is the highlight, leaving enough space for the choreographer. The airport, passengers, stewardess uniforms, and the scale of the group show can be compared to the graduation song and dance in the previous episode.
The structure of the script is very good, leaving space for the beginning, the end, and the three major song and dance scenes in the middle, which is convenient for those responsible for song and dance creation.
"It's rare for a young man to understand the writing structure of musicals..." Katzenberg put away the paper in his hand, and then began to ask Ronald, "Why do you want to arrange for the male protagonist to study abroad in college?"
"The Vietnam War is about to begin. If you don't go abroad, you may be drafted." Ronald replied.
"The reason for arranging the officer's family background?"
"Officers often have to be deployed to different places, so it is more convenient for the male protagonist to be a transfer student, and he is also involved in machinery and is a Harley enthusiast, which makes it easier to get involved in the motorcycle plot of the tough guy gang."
Katzenberg asked a few more questions, and Ronald answered them fluently, seeming to have thought deeply about the script as a whole.
"I just said, Ronald is the most suitable candidate." Robert Sternwood is also very happy. The sequel to "Grease", which has brought him huge money and reputation, is finally about to begin.
"Paramount hired Ronald in principle to write the script for the sequel to Grease, 'Son of Grease' (tentative title). The writing period is 2 months. Before the deadline, Ronald must provide the script content except for the singing and dancing parts...
…Ronald has the right to first refuse to modify the script. Only if Ronald refuses to modify the script, Paramount can choose other screenwriters to modify it…The fee for each modification is agreed to be…”
The legal lawyer began to discuss the contract details with Ronald's agent. Ronald signed his name after asking lawyer Lindsay Dole to confirm it.
The boss of RSO Records, the film producer Robert Sterwood, sent a bottle of champagne in advance. When both parties signed, he opened the champagne and poured it into a vertical champagne glass. Everyone raised a glass to congratulate the launch of the sequel.
Ronald received a $10,000 option on the script and the right to reject the first choice of revisions. From now on, whether it is Streetwood or Paramount, if he is dissatisfied with the script, he can only find someone else if he is unwilling to do so.
.
Walking out of Katzenberg's office, someone was carrying furniture in and out of an office across from Ronald. It seemed that there had been changes in senior management and the office needed to be rearranged.
Everything went smoothly this time in Los Angeles. Even the Israeli brothers of Cannon Pictures successfully signed a contract with MGM. From then on, the films they produced entered the distribution market of mainstream theaters in America.
After writing a commission check to CAA, Ronald flew back to New York.
The writing period was very tight for two months, and Ronald had to immediately devote himself to script writing when he returned home. In September, Ronald had to go to college to attend classes, forcing him to secretly think of ideas during class time, and he was busy at night
I was very busy writing and revising.
At New York University Tisch College, it’s time for the new school year to begin again. A group of Chinese graduate students came to the classic film appreciation class. Ronald knew that they were not local Chinese because their English was not very good, and they often avoided greeting their fellow students.
We also sit together during class.
Ronald still felt a sense of intimacy towards Chinese international students. After class, he went over to greet three international students, one male and two female, and said, "Hi, How are you doing?"
"Fine, thank you. And you?"
“I’m fioo.”
Huh? Ronald didn't know why he said this.
The other party stopped talking and seemed to be unable to engage in other conversations. Ronald felt a little embarrassed, so he made a haha and went home to write.
"Really Nirvana? It turns out that foreigners can really speak according to the dialogue taught in English textbooks."
"Stupid, you are a foreigner in New York."
"You are stupid. Aren't they foreigners compared to us?"
"Miss Zhu, Miss Wang, please stop arguing. We should go back early and review our books." A male classmate ended the argument and walked out of the classroom holding his notebook.
Many elective courses are available starting from the second year of college. New York University can take courses across departments, but there are also requirements. Most students choose acting courses. Ronald is busy with scripts and has no time to take acting courses. Find two on the course list
Enroll in all Chinese courses.
One was Chinese and the other was the study of ancient Chinese poetry. Ronald took two courses. They were both easy for him and he could meet the credit requirements, so he could have more time to write. He got the new textbooks.
Ronald went to the library to look for books on the reference reading list prescribed by his teacher.
"Three Hundred Tang Poems", "Enlightenment of Rhythm"...well, they are all in traditional Chinese.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Can you speak Chinese?" The Chinese male student in the appreciation class asked in Chinese when he saw Ronald holding a Tang poem.
"I can speak, but I can't write this..." Ronald pointed to the traditional Chinese characters.
"Chinese is more difficult to write. I think your pronunciation is very standard. Where did you learn it?"
"Uh... high school, high school. I remember you had a simpler way of writing it."
"Yes, that's the way it's written on the other side. We still use this traditional way of writing."
"Do you want to join the role of a foreign student?" When Ronald returned home, he remembered his encounter with the foreign students and began to think. In 1963, the situation in South Vietnam was turbulent, and some wealthy Vietnamese students began to immigrate to America.
The heroine Cindy in the original "Grease" is a foreign student. Here, a Vietnamese female student is also added to tell the story of what happened in Vietnam, creating conditions for the male and female protagonists to break the stereotypes and start to have a good impression of each other.
Ronald began filling in the skeleton of the script with plot details.
"The strike by the Screen Actors Guild caused the stars to dim at the 32nd Primetime Emmy Awards on September 7. Almost no actors went to accept the awards for the acting awards.
Only one Powers Booth came on stage to accept the award. In his acceptance speech, Booth said that this may be the bravest or stupidest move he has made in his career.
The Screen Actors Guild stated that it would not punish Booth for his actions in accepting the award. Accepting the award at the Emmy Awards does not fall within the scope of the Screen Actors Guild's strike."
Ronald was walking around the room, thinking about the details of the script, when he heard the NBC entertainment news report coming from the TV.
Strike? Should we also let the male and female protagonists go on strike? Let high school students go on strike to protest against the American army’s support of the unjust government in Vietnam.
Ronald sat down, crossed out the original plot on the draft, then loaded new paper on the typewriter and started typing.
"The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the Television Actors Guild (AFTRA) held a rally in support of the strike yesterday (September 16) at the Hollywood Bowl in Hollywood.
Many celebrities came to support, and thousands of spectators attended. This event called "Night of the Stars" raised US$300,000 for the strike funds of the two major labor unions, and the donations will be used to support those who are struggling to make a living on strike.
Lower-level actors pay basic living expenses.
ABC reporting from Los Angeles"
Parade and rally? Good! Add a scene where the male and female protagonists participate in a rally in support of the equal rights movement. This way, there will be many backgrounds and extras, and a rally dance can be designed. It seems that the news from ABC is also good and very inspiring.
Also have a character recite the famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Ronald got inspiration from entertainment news again and quickly used a typewriter to record these details before he forgot them.
"Thanks to the fundraising, the strike was able to continue. The Producers Guild announced the continuation of negotiations that day, and the two sides sat at the bargaining table for the first time since the strike began in July. Union negotiator Ed Asner said that both parties
Reach an agreement on the share of home entertainment media such as videotapes.
After the number of video tapes sold by actors in home entertainment media exceeds 100,000, they can begin to share a maximum sales share of no more than 4.5%.
However, the two sides did not reach an agreement on the union conditions for raising the minimum wage by 35%.
Ed Asner said the two sides will continue to negotiate. The union vows to defend the rights and interests of actors and will not give up until its goals are achieved."
When will this damn strike end? If it continues, all of his businesses will be affected. Ronald watched the news and cursed the greedy capitalists and the union negotiators who took the opportunity to seek personal gain for themselves.
"On September 21, the first televised debate of the general election will be held at the Baltimore Center in Baltimore, Maryland. The current President Jimmy refused to attend because of the participation of independent candidate Anderson. In the debate, the Elephant Party candidate, former California
The governor's performance was well received.
Independent candidate Anderson's polls dropped sharply after the debate. He told reporters that he would not participate in the second debate next month to give the current leader a rally to express his views. He also stated that he would not withdraw from the race."
Ronald is scratching his head as to how to write a scene in which the male and female protagonists begin to understand each other, break the original bad impression, and change the relationship from hostility to relaxation, and finally to mutual affection.
"Debate? How about arranging a debate competition for high schools? Should we support the Vietnam War?"
In this way, the debaters from both sides can speak one after another, which is convenient for composing music and lyrics to write male and female duet arias. The other debaters and the audience can act as harmonizers, and a mezzo-soprano can be played by the teacher.
Ronald feels that now only CBS current affairs news is the biggest source of inspiration for his writing.