Tom Mount is the president of Universal Pictures. He is very tall and wears a dark handmade suit with a white shirt and a blue tie. He exudes the aura of a Hollywood elite and is not as completely businesslike as Wall Street.
She has a cool style and a bit of an artist's temperament.
From Ronald's perspective, Mr. President's deep-set eye sockets, high forehead, and neatly combed hair look a bit like the old Corleone played by Marlon Brando in The Godfather.
But the words that came out of his mouth were not like a godfather at all, more like a salesperson who came to sell vacuum cleaners to housewives. He wanted to sell the vacuum cleaner to the housewife, but he was afraid that he would scare the housewife away by going too far.
"I saw your first feature film, 'Eraserhead,' and it was a crazy movie, but I loved it."
The conversation partner Tom Mount faced was a quiet young man. His hair was combed upward from the root, which gave him a strange rebellious temperament on his chubby face like a college student.
"Oh, yes. That movie was very difficult to make. It took me several years, making and stopping, and then it was shown at the New York Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival, but it was rejected. I pushed a
I took the cart from the supermarket with all my copies in it, and I begged the person in charge there, but to no avail.
If it hadn't been for the opportunity given to me by the Los Angeles Film Festival, I wouldn't have had the chance to continue my career as a director."
The speaker was none other than David Lynch, who was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Picture (Drama) and Best Director for "The Elephant Man."
His two big eyes were wide open, constantly looking at the two young men sitting on the right side of Tom Mount. The one with long hair reaching his shoulders is the novelist Cameron Crowe, and the one with shorter hair is
Ronald Lee, adapted screenwriter.
Ronald was also looking at David Lynch. The first impression this man gave people was that he was quiet. When President Mount spoke, he listened very carefully and was not the kind of person who just expressed himself.
"Hi, yes Mr. Lynch. Now Hollywood has learned about your talent through The Elephant Man. I think your film will never be rejected by any film festival. On the contrary, those film festivals will probably come to ask for you."
Go to a film festival.”
"I'm afraid so, Mr. Mount."
Tom Mount was choked. Hollywood stars are used to talking and praising each other. They refused to say that the orthodox statement of the other party was, this is really a very good movie, but I still have to look at my schedule.
He was not used to Lynch's direct dialogue style. He had heard of Lynch's reputation for a long time, and Tom Mount even brought two screenwriters to discuss it.
He loosened his tie, leaned back slightly, his body language began to relax, and the words coming out of his mouth lost the aura of a CEO.
"These two are the original author of the novel 'Fast Richmond High', Cameron Crowe, and the screenwriter, Ronald Lee. I think you have read the script. If you have any questions, you can
Communicate directly with them.”
"Oh, this is a very interesting novel and a very interesting script." Lynch started to ask questions to the two authors.
"How do you write in the valley speak like that of a Southern California high school? I still don't quite understand what they mean by inserting a like between the subject and the predicate when they speak."
"I was in the twelfth grade of a high school, and I worked undercover for a year, and finally attended the graduation prom. So the way of speaking in the novel has real prototypes to look for..."
The so-called Valley accent is a way of speaking among girls from various upper-middle-class families in public high schools in Fernando Valley, a suburb of Los Angeles.
The girls there are more vain and like to buy brand-name clothes and bags. They go to the beach to surf, play tennis and other upper-class lifestyles. They also don’t learn English grammar well. They use like as a modal particle when speaking very distinctively.
.
For example, "Nancy, like, she is a bitch. That day she went to the beach, like, and she actually wanted to seduce my boyfriend Jack. I like, went up and grabbed her hair, and gave her face like, come
one time."
Ronald retained a lot of the valley accent dialogue written by Cameron Crowe in the script. Not only that, the Italian character Spicoli is a master surfer, which is also the favorite type of high school girls there.
sports.
"And you, Ronald, I know you. You are famous for being nominated for Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) at the Golden Globe Awards. You are one of the screenwriters.
I have read "fast-paced" scripts, which are very skillful and have good rhythm and length control. I also tried to write a script "Rooney's Rockets". But I adjusted it for a month and still couldn't adjust the plot. You
How is it done?”
When David Lynch saw the two authors, they had a lively conversation. This was the purpose of CEO Tom Mount inviting them here. This new favorite director in Hollywood has some quirks and is more willing to communicate with artists.
"This is an adapted composition, Mr. Lynch. It also took me a long time to adjust the proportions of the group portraits. I used sorting cards and rehearsed the combinations repeatedly on the wall..."
Ronald also talked about his writing method.
David Lynch said that he needs to read the script in depth before he can learn Ronald's method. Now he is busy with public relations for "The Elephant Man" and competing for awards. He needs to wait until after the Oscars to have a lot of time.
"Do you have anything to ask me?" David Lynch said.
"Of course, how did you become the director of the first feature film 'The Elephant Man'?" Ronald said. Eraserhead is more like a student project, while "The Elephant Man" is a commercial production.
"Transcendental meditation gave me inspiration," Lynch said with an unexpected answer. "I have been promoting 'Looney's Rockets,' but no producer was willing to invest in me.
One day while I was meditating in my house, a voice suddenly told me, why not try directing someone else's script? As a result, the first producer I asked gave me the opportunity to direct 'The Elephant Man'.
"
"This guy is not joking, right?" Ronald thought to himself, you might as well say you are lucky. Everyone ended the meeting.
"This sob, he must have been invited by other directors. As soon as the 'fast-paced' filming started, he avoided the topic." Tom Mount scolded his subordinates in the office, "Go and find out who wants to invite the director."
David Lynch."
The subordinate came back soon and whispered a name in Tom Mount's ear.
"This lucky guy continued to follow up, and this invitation increased his worth. George is not that easy to work with. If he can choose the 'fast-paced Richmond High School', we can even get an investment of 6 million.
"
Ronald didn't know that David Lynch was now being sought after by Hollywood, so he went to Jane Fonda's house for an appointment in the evening.
"Ronald, it's nice to meet you." After the veneer ceremony, Jane Fonda took out the leg warmers given by Aunt Karen, "Is this produced by your company? My lawyer checked the records
From now on, tell me that the patent belongs to you."
"Yes, but these two pairs were knitted by my Aunt Karen herself."
"I like this little accessory very much. It not only keeps my legs warm, but also modifies my legs. The seller of the video tape is willing to let me wear it while doing aerobics during the video. I want to make this an optional purchase."
, and the video tapes are available for mail order, would you like to supply them to me?"
"Of course, Jane. You can ask your lawyer to call my Aunt Karen. Our leg warmers have been sold to big cities on the West Coast such as Los Angeles and San Francisco."
The two of them finalized the cooperation in a few words. Ronald was very happy. This kind of mail order business might be able to sell tens of thousands of leg warmers. With a fixed shipping channel, the leg warmer business can go to a higher level and order knitted leg warmers.
Machine-made small factory production.
"I heard from my agent that you have completed another script?" Jane Fonda has finalized the cooperation and can chat with Ronald about the trends in the industry.
"Yes, a young adult novel. Universal hopes to hire David Lynch to direct it."
"Oh, it's him. Then your competition is not small. George Lucas also hopes that David Lynch will direct the sixth part of his Star Wars, which is tentatively called Revenge of the Jedi."
"Don't George direct it himself?" Ronald was surprised.
"The fifth film was not directed by him. Originally, he wanted to ask his old friend Steven Spielberg to direct the sixth film. However, the Directors Guild fell out with George because Star Wars did not put the main credits in the title list and banned it.
Steven to direct Star Wars Episode VI."
"Now George just wants to enjoy life with his wife Martha. He hired a famous architect to build his manor in the suburbs of San Francisco. David Lynch is indeed a good choice..."
Ronald took the news to heart and went to CAA the next day to mention it to his agent Niceta, "If David Lynch directs Star Wars, will I have the chance to be a 'fast-paced' director?"
"I've heard this rumor, Star Wars. If David Lynch goes to direct Star Wars, then 'fast-paced Richmond High' loses his biggest selling factor, one that's about to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar
It’s a young director. The budget is probably going to be pretty low.”
"All I ask for is an opportunity to direct independently, and since I'm a student of Roger Corman, any low budget from Universal is very generous in my opinion."
"Yeah, I forgot that you graduated from Roger Corman University." Niceta smiled, "If David Lynch rejects Universal, I will do my best to get this director opportunity for you. I
ensure.
In addition, I have some scripts that Spielberg likes. He wants to find someone to independently evaluate them and give some suggestions and directions for revision. The pay is not high.
But I think it is an opportunity. Spielberg has close cooperation with Universal. He has also recently considered getting involved in the production business. In short, he is currently evaluating a large number of various scripts, including many youth-themed ones."
"Of course I do." Ronald nodded quickly. Being familiar with Spielberg is definitely not a bad thing.