Chapter 214 The script is the foundation of everything
This morning, samples of the film taken on the first day have been developed. Ronald, Matthew, Heckerling and other core members of the crew will meet with producers Lin Sen, Azoff, and Tom Mount in Universal's screening room.
representatives, watch the samples together.
With the stuck film magazine, Ronald and the director of photography Matthew went to Universal Pictures. Before viewing the dailies, they went to the producer to complain.
"I have long said that this pile of garbage is not good, and now it has seriously affected the shooting." Ronald put the large film box on the producer's desk.
"Fortunately, Matthew was careful and we were able to complete most of the shooting, but in the end it got stuck again. It destroyed a box of film and some of our shooting results."
"What's going on?" Producers Lin Sen and Azoff, who were planning to watch the samples, asked.
"Just like your secretary's printer often jams, the film is jammed in this ultrajam machine. It has happened twice. What if it is also jammed when important shots are taken? I don't know
Dare to think.”
Lin Sen's face looked a little ugly. This is a big problem. Camera failure should not appear in a movie produced by Universal. If the crew is shut down due to camera failure, then he, the producer, is also responsible because he agreed to use this ultracam.
brand of machine.
Another producer Azov, who knew very little about technical equipment, came up with a solution, "Can't we ask the manufacturer to repair it?"
"Of course, but the manufacturer of the ultracam... hmm." Lin Sen thought of the rumors he heard in the technical department. This camera is actually handmade. The producer has some connections in the studio and wants to open up the market first and then improve the quality of the product.
Therefore, the quality of ultracam cameras varies greatly between individuals, and some parts cannot be used interchangeably. Their crew was unlucky and got a camera with quality issues.
"Let's take it to the experts in the photography department. Maybe they can find a way." Lin Sen asked a photography assistant to take the machine to see if there was any way to repair it.
"Shall we find a spare camera and let Ronald and his crew use it first?" Azoff came up with another idea.
"It's not too appropriate. Different cameras have different lens optical path designs, and there will be subtle differences in perspective distortion. The audience will see different styles in the shots shot by different cameras at the front and rear," said the director of photography, Matthew.
"Let's take a look at the samples first. Once we're done here, we'll almost have the results on the camera side."
Today is the first day to watch the samples. Several producers and senior representatives sat down one by one. Ronald also sat with the core members of the crew, next to Cameron Crowe, and Heikelin sat
On the other hand, she still felt that she was unique in directing actors and wanted to see the sample effects.
A white light lit up, and a silent image lit up on the screen.
The two processing methods of the same scene shot by Heckerling and Ronald, and the scene of the child bargaining with scalper Mike that Ronald shot in a hurry, were all restored on the screen.
After placing the samples, the light came on.
The two producers had no objections, and the high-level representatives didn't say a word, just taking notes. It seemed that overall they were satisfied with the first day of shooting, and Ronald proved that he could at least make a qualified film.
A low-budget teen exploitation film that's quite average.
Ronald looked at the blank screen, lost in thought, his brows furrowed, as if he had found something wrong. He said to Cameron Crowe, and producers Lin Sen and Azoff beside him, "You can see
Is it done? It seems like the screen is a little foggy?”
"Foggy?" Azov didn't see any difference.
"There is a point. About 20% of the films have serious problems."
"Yes, this one is obviously different from the previous one." Lin Sen is more familiar with film shooting than Azoff, and he can also see it.
Heikelin came over and joined the discussion, "Ronald, Mr. Linsen, have you also discovered the problem?"
"Huh?" Ronald was awakened from his reverie, "There are some problems. We have to go to the photography technical department later..."
Technical department?" Heikelin lowered her voice and said in Ronald's ear, "
I'm referring to the scene where Linda teaches Stacey her experience. There's something wrong with the performance you filmed. Linda said that from the perspective of recalling her own experience, but you filmed it as telling a story. I have no challenge in saying that.
Your authoritative point is, I just hope that this movie will be better."
Ever since Sheinberg and Spielberg stood up for Ronald, Heckerling knew that he had little hope of replacing him. Mount also had no plans to take further action, but said he would talk about it later.
She spent the past two days on the set observing Ronald's every word and action in preparation for directing films independently in the future.
But after all, Judge Reinhold and Jennifer Jason Leigh were both actors introduced by her relationship, and she did not want their acting careers to be delayed by the "fast pace." Especially Jennifer, who refused to accept her father's advice.
Morrow's arrangement, rejecting the role of "officer and gentleman", if Ronald had been misled...
So she came anyway and pointed out to Ronald in private what she felt was inappropriate.
Ronald reached out and asked Crowe for a script, on which some pages were pasted with post-it notes. Without saying a word, Ronald handed it to Heikelin. This was originally something he had prepared to use to counter Heikelin at the sample viewing meeting.
Yes, now that she is asking questions privately, it shows that she has admitted defeat and there is no need to fight back publicly.
"What's this?"
"See for yourself, I asked Crowe to highlight all the relevant lines spoken by Phoebe Cates' character."
Heckerling opened the script in confusion and looked at the dialogue passages marked by Crowe with colored markers. They were all conversations between Linda and Stacey describing her relationship with her boyfriend Doug.
“If I hadn’t had a perfect boyfriend in Chicago who worked at the university…
Doug works for Chicago Airlines...
Doug averages 20-30 minutes...
Doug can do 30-40 minutes at a time…
…
"
"What? Every time she talks about Doug, the details are different? Is this boyfriend Doug a figment of Linda's imagination?" Heckerling shouted.
"Yes, look at Linda's performance in the swimming pool." Ronald pointed to the script.
Heckerling flipped to the pool scene.
Stacey, Mark and Mike were playing in the swimming pool together. Linda was wearing a red bikini and sitting by the swimming pool with her head bowed...
"you mean……"
"Yeah, Linda has never had any experience with men and women, so she has a psychological barrier to playing water fights with boys in the swimming pool. That's when she entered the room and saw Brad..."
Cameron Crowe explains Heckerling in detail.
"Linda did this because...?" Heikelin suddenly had a new understanding of this character.
"Yes, that's what teen sex is like. Everybody talks about it, but few actually do it."
"Why? How did you see it?" Heikelin was not prepared for the devil hidden in the details.
"I adapted the script. Linda's actions and words before and after are inconsistent, which is very obvious." Ronald replied.
"Oh, thank you for telling me this." Heikelin closed the script and handed it back to Crowe.
"It seems that to be a good director, you have to write your own script." Heikelin understood clearly, "At least you have to communicate with the screenwriter in detail about the details of each character."
"But I like how you handled Jennifer's call to ask for a handsome customer. What's the reason for this slight fear?" Ronald turned around and asked Heikelin. After seeing the sample, he felt that Heikelin's handling was more important than his own.
More real.
"Oh, you don't understand girls' psychology, Ronald. Before going out with a man for the first time, we are always worried. You don't know what kind of person you are facing. What is his personality and temper?
Okay, isn't that barbaric, you know men are always stronger than women."
Heckerling replied, "Especially because Stacey has no experience with men yet, so she can't predict it."
"That makes sense, thank you." Ronald thanked Heckerling and put on his sunglasses, "I'm going to the photography technical department. There are some issues with these samples. Will you go with me?"
"Is there a problem? Why didn't I notice it?" Heikelin said to herself, "Wait for me and come together."
Several people came to the photography technical department, and the crew's photography assistant was anxiously waiting for their arrival.
"Matthew, Ronald. They haven't found out what the problem is yet. They simply checked the film winding motor and tried it several times. It doesn't seem like a motor failure."
"It doesn't look like it?" Ronald was angry and spoke a little harshly. Most of the time when shooting on location, there was no problem with film jamming, but the shooting in one night had already happened twice. He had to find someone willing.
"Uh... well, what I mean is that the technicians have not ruled out motor problems, but they did not find any signs of problems after testing the machine." The photography assistant was frightened by Ronald's tone.
"Ronald." Director of Photography Matthew called Ronald, "Don't blame him, let's go talk to the technical experts."
"Okay, this camera is really in big trouble, and I'm a little anxious," Ronald said to his assistant.
"Hi, Matthew, are you here?" The technical expert saw Matthew coming and greeted him.
"This is Ronald Lee, our director..." Matthew introduced everyone to him.
"What's the problem?" Ronald asked urgently.
"It may be that the motor and film magazine casings do not match, there may be a problem with the transmission, or it may be a rare case of intermittent overheating of the motor."
"So you're not sure?"
"I can't help it. This manufacturer's after-sales service is extremely poor. I was opposed to buying their products at the beginning. What the film industry needs is stable quality assurance, not one or two technical highlights."
Seeing that Ronald looked unhappy and was about to have an attack, the photography director Matthew quickly interrupted the other person's self-complaint.
"Do you have any solutions? There are still 20% films that have fogging problems. How to deal with them?"
"We have no choice but to wait for the manufacturer to explain."
"You!" Ronald was very angry at the attitude of the so-called technical experts and took a step forward to spray.
"We are going to find Alonso, he may be able to solve your problem." The technical expert was startled by his actions and quickly said a person's name.
"Who is Alonso?"
"John Alonso is a photographer. He often goes to various production crews to put out fires and solve problems that other photographers can't solve. Many times, he solves problems that ordinary people can't solve.
He is a descendant of Mexican immigrants from Texas, and many people say he knows Mayan witchcraft." Photography director Matthew explained beside him.
"Okay, let's wait. If it doesn't work, we'll take a break and have to shoot at night. If the manufacturer can't fix it, we'll replace it with Alai. At worst, we'll have to reshoot the previous two days of scenes."