The apartment Ronald rented was recommended by Universal. It has two bedrooms and one living room, and is fully equipped with modern appliances. The landlord is a collaborator of Universal. For film workers like Ronald, the rent can be half cheaper, and the price is good.
inexpensive.
Ronald installed the computer given by his cousin and Diane and connected it to the monitor. After that, he applied for a printer from the crew, and then he could start working for Spielberg. But there was no rush, he could do it by himself at night.
The top priority now is to prepare for his own movie.
The next day, Ronald had a new look, with a neither long nor short haircut, and classic Ray-Ban aviator sunglasses. He was very handsome. His unshaved beard made his age appear to be at least 5 years older in the eyes of others.
age.
This is a method specially designed by Ronald to make himself more authoritative as a director. People who don't know him will always judge a person's experience and professionalism based on his age. A beard will make him look more mature.
When he arrived at the office, he saw the bronze nameplate "Fast-paced Richmond High School" hanging on the door. Ronald wiped it with his hand, feeling satisfied.
Open the office with the key, sit down at your own wooden desk, and wait for the arrival of producer Art Linson and associate producer Amy Heckerling.
Lin Sen and Heikelin arrived at the office almost at the same time. They didn't expect that Ronald was already working at his desk in advance. He also made a large cup of black tea and placed it on the table, steaming at all.
"Good morning, Art, Amy." Ronald looked up and I did a time breakdown. Our main task now is to determine the director of photography, art director, and casting director.
Ronald pointed to the whiteboard on the wall behind him, on which magnets were used to hold three cards, each of which wrote the positions of three important candidates.
Heikelin, who was preempted, looked at the whiteboard and quickly reacted, "There is also music selection. The earlier we start, the more time we can have for copyright negotiations."
"Very good. I saw the playlist you left on the table. This will be your responsibility, Amy. We will take your playlist and have a meeting with Mr. Azoff to determine the difficulty of purchasing the copyright, and then authorize one person
Go negotiate."
Ronald immediately praised Heckerling's work, then wrote a card about music copyright negotiations and stuck it on the wall with a magnet.
Ronald is not familiar with rock and pop, etc. He has been listening to the music of veterans' radio stations for several years, and he has the same taste as Vietnam War veterans. They are all songs from the 1960s. Recently, he was given a selection of tapes by his cousin Donna, which improved his taste.
Got a taste.
"Director of photography and art director, Warner has drawn up a list of candidates. Mr. Lin Sen and I will interview them together to select the right candidates as soon as possible. Do you have any suggestions? Amy?"
Ronald assumed a businesslike attitude and asked Heckerling for her opinion. She was an associate producer. According to the principle, unlike the director, she had the power to participate in interviews and decisions on these matters. Since she chose the soundtrack
Show yourself, then you need to give up other aspects.
Heikelin thought about it and still felt that these choices were not important. "I have no objection. After all, you are the director."
"Casting director?" Ronald proposed the most important person arrangement in the early stage.
"I have some candidates here, all from the American Film Institute (AFI)." Heckerling said.
The American Film School is where Heckerling studied and worked after graduating from New York University. Her connections in Los Angeles all came from this.
"Their standards are very good. They hire actors for the small productions of the film academy. We can't afford too high casting costs for our movies, so we can let them try."
Heckerling is obviously nervous about the power of casting. During filming, the director's main job is to guide and inspire the actors' performances. If she can have certain casting power and let her own people be the protagonists, then there is no doubt that her power base will be
The crew will rise.
"Mr. Linson, are there any suitable candidates here at Universal?" Ronald asked producer Art Linson without comment.
Hearing this, Lin Sen smiled, "Of course, my old partner on the set of 'Melvin and Howard', Don Phillips, he has been working for Universal.
"Let the three of us make an appointment with him?" Ronald asked the two of them for their opinions, and then wrote on the whiteboard hanging on the wall.
Then he wrote Don Phillips' name on the casting director's card.
Amy Heckerling looked at Lin Sen and said no more.
Seeing that the two of them had no objections, Ronald stood up and said, "Since there are no other opinions, let's proceed as follows. I will go to see the candidates for the director of photography and art director. Mr. Linsen will contact the casting director Mr. Phillips. Amy
Discuss music rights negotiations with Mr. Azoff, see you tomorrow morning."
After saying that, Ronald put on his baseball cap, said hello, and went out.
Ronald inquired with Julia Taylor, his old employer in New York, who turned out that Phillips also worked and studied with the founder Marion Doloty at a casting studio in New York. Julia called him and Tang would be there.
Cooperate with him when casting, at least you won't deliberately favor Heikelin.
Soon, the choice of casting director was determined to be Don Phillips.
After the casting directors were selected, casting notices immediately began to be sent to major agencies in Hollywood and New York through Universal Company. There was such a large demand for young actors. After "Famous", few movies can reach this level.
kind of scale.
And what's even better than "Famous" is that this "fast-paced" film has no requirements for actors to sing or perform ballet. Suddenly, all the agents were looking for Ronald and Don Phillips.
The first one to call was, of course, Niceta from CAA.
He asked Ronald to give CAA enough places, and it would be best for CAA to hire all the main actors.
"I can't do this. Rick Heckerling is still working against me on the set. I at least need to ensure that the actor matches the temperament of the character and is a suitable candidate. If you have any clients here, you can forward the information, except
Lapke's client, let him go to Heikelin to submit the information.
Under the same circumstances, I would of course give priority to CAA's clients.
Would Tom Cruise be willing to play? Of course I welcome it."
After a while, Paula Wagner called and said, "Ronald, I'm very grateful for your invitation to Tom. He has taken over Embassy Pictures' 'Loss of Virginity', a medium-sized production with an investment of 7 million. He will star in it."
Protagonist."
"Did you and Tom convey my message?"
"Ronald, fast pace is a group show..."
"Youth Comedy"
"It's a youth comedy. There are three male leads and one supporting role. Which one do you want Tom to play?"
"As long as he comes, you can choose first." Ronald really hopes that Tom Cruise will participate. Handsome guys can always attract a lot of box office.
"He is the leading actor in Lost Virginity. He plays a role in every scene."
"Okay, tell him that I have contacted him and let him make his own decision, or else I will talk to him myself." Ronald felt that he still wanted to fight for it.
"Well, Ronald, you're a tough guy."
Tom Cruise called Ronald in the evening and personally apologized to Ronald for rejecting the play. He read the script of Lost Virginity and felt that it was very suitable for his play style, and he had already agreed to it.
"The actor who played the sergeant with me in 'Lights Out' is very suitable for a teen comedy. Do you want to try it? He is also a client of CAA." Tom also recommended a candidate on the phone.
"who?"
"Sean Penn."
Ronald knew about him, and he almost chose him as the leading actor in "Endless Love" at that time, but he was rejected because his height did not match Brooke Shields.
After checking the route with Niceta, Sean Penn was not one of Lapke's clients, so he asked Niceta to send the information and invited him to come for an interview.
A potential ally.
The second person to learn the news was WMA's Italian agent Ed Limato.
"Hi, Ronald, congratulations. You're a theatrical film director who just turned 21."
"Thank you, would you like to recommend actors to me too?"
"Yes, but I mainly want to thank you on behalf of Pfeiffer. She has passed the second round of interviews. Director Patricia Burch admires her very much. Every time she is in the back row or in the corner, it is Burch who takes care of her.
She picked it out."
"Why?" Ronald became curious. It was said that Birch would give her a good audition position for the candidate he recommended, and even interview her alone.
"Pfeiffer knew you were a screenwriter, and she guessed that you were recommending her. She felt both grateful and embarrassed, so she hid in the corner of the back row."
Maybe it was this quality of being able to maintain beauty despite embarrassment that caught the eye of director Birch. Ronald laughed, "I didn't call Birch, everything was her decision. Don't fan the flames anymore,
Ed.”
"Okay, I understand, you don't want others to use your name. I'm here to recommend a strong foreign aid to you."
"What do you mean?"
"It's spread that Tom Mount's girlfriend wants to take back the director's position."
"Uh, okay." Ronald didn't expect that this kind of news would spread so quickly because these agents were so talkative.
"Who do you have in mind?"
"I know you need to establish your own authority on the set. How about I find a way to find Francis Coppola and go to the set to give you a platform? He happens to be in Los Angeles."
Huh? Ronald was surprised when he was told the central issue. It seems that I am not the only one who can do this.
"As far as I know, you don't have Coppola's agency contract," Ronald replied. Limato's statement was a bit of a boast.
"I'm not bragging. Although Francis' contract is not with me, it might be soon," Limato said. "I signed his eldest brother's son, Nicholas. We Italians all value family. As long as you
If I can give him an important role, I can bring Francis here."
"Send his information to the casting director, and I will give him a chance under the same conditions."
"What, isn't Coppola enough to impress you?"
"First of all, I have to make sure that the character is compatible with the actor, Ed, and I will take care of the rest." Ronald hung up the phone.
"This guy, it seems that someone else is helping him." Limato took out the audition photo marked "Nicholas Coppola" and put it in an envelope and handed it to his assistant, "Please send it to Director Ronald Lee.
One serving.
There are two potential supporters.
Ronald adjusted his beard in the mirror. The beard grew too fast and often needed to be trimmed.
The next person I went out to meet was the most important supporter, the original author of the novel, Cameron Crowe. As an author, if he could get him to attend the casting meeting and be there when he needed to support his decision, that would be 2
:1, Even if Art Linson supports Heckerling, he still has room for maneuver.
Cameron Crowe lives with his girlfriend Nancy Wilson, the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band "Heart". Crowe met while working as a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine
Nancy, the two soon fell in love.
Ronald proposed to Cameron Crowe that he needed his support in casting. Moreover, the other party was also interested in filming the movie and could learn from the whole process on the set.
"I can support you, but I don't want the character in my novel to be chosen by an unsuitable candidate because of a power struggle, Ronald." Cameron Crowe hesitated again and again, but still put forward his own conditions.
"Of course, this is also my idea. The fit between the character and the actor's temperament is the most important guarantee for the success of the movie. I have worked in a New York casting studio and I know these things very well. Only when the conditions of all parties are balanced, you can
support me."
Cameron Crowe and his girlfriend looked at each other and were about to speak.
Ronald saw their stares at each other and couldn't help but take a look at Nancy Wilson. She was a blond sweetheart with very photogenic big eyes and neat white teeth.
"Nancy, I think you look very good. Can you come and play a guest role on the set?"
"Me? I can't act in movies." Nancy was a little interested.
"You don't have to act, just be yourself. Cameron will tell you the role, a role that is very similar to you."
"Which character?" Cameron also became interested.
"When Brad put on a pirate costume to deliver food, the beautiful woman in the sports car next to him laughed at him."
"That looks a lot like you, Nancy." Cameron said with a smile.
In the script, this character is a beautiful woman who drives a convertible sports car. When she saw Brad's strange pirate costume, he parked parallel to his food delivery truck and looked up and down. At first, Brad thought it was the beautiful woman admiring him, but he almost didn't.
It will be wrong.
Such a role was not too difficult for a girlfriend to play. Cameron Crowe was a little moved when he saw Nancy, so he happily agreed.
The third ally is a very solid choice.
At the same time, Amy Heckerling was not idle either.
"I see that Ronald has been very busy these past two days and has not caused any trouble to me. He seems very confident that he can make a good film."
"Have you communicated with Azov about the music? This is a worthy achievement."
"I have found someone to negotiate the rights, but I also need to have my own people for casting."
"Which role do you like? Which actor? Honey."
"The heroine Stacey and her best friend Linda, these two characters, after I read through the script, are the axis of the entire film. All people and things emanate from her."
"Give me the person you think is suitable, preferably the child of a well-known actor, so that I can arrange it easily."