In the small screening room of Universal Company, the newly edited samples are being shown. From time to time, a black screen delay caused by the transparent tape on the film editing port appears on the screen, and at the same time, a small popping sound from the transparent tape on the audio tape is heard from the speaker.
But this did not affect the two producers, Lin Sen and Azoff, who were fully focused on the movie. It also did not affect the middle-aged man with a beard sitting next to them.
Ronald was also in the seat as a working copy of "Fast-paced Richmond High" was shown on screen for the first time.
In the last scene of the movie, Mr. Hand was correcting the students' homework. He covered his head dejectedly. Among the new students, there are many more people like Spicoli who smoke and stay high all day long.
, students who scribble on homework.
With a "pop" sound, the screen turned black, and several handwritten white numbers appeared and disappeared, which were small marks made by the editing assistant. This working copy has not yet been connected with the Universal Pictures logo at the beginning and the end subtitles.
After two seconds, the black screen ended and the lights came on in the small screening room."
Producer Art Linson turned his head and asked the bearded middle-aged man sitting next to him:
"Great movie, isn't it?"
Because there are some nonsense rumors about the movie within Universal Pictures, such as the director made the comedy into a tragedy, the director did not shoot enough material, the editing was not finished, etc. Universal executive Ned Tanin asked this
A famous director came to see the real situation and whether it was really impossible to edit the finished film.
The middle-aged man who was entrusted by Universal executives to watch the samples is the recently famous comedy director John Landis.
In the past two years, Landis has been the darling of capital after Spielberg. The two recent comedies he directed, "An American Werewolf in London" had a box office of 60 million, and "The Blues Brothers" had a box office of 120 million.
million box office.
In addition to the previous "National Lampoon's Animal House" released in 1978, the box office was 140 million.
Having hit three home runs in a row, he is already America's best comedy and horror film director. In particular, "The Blues Brothers", which he collaborated with comedy star John Belushi, received an investment of US$30 million.
In this era of declining film investment, this investment is only less than Spielberg's 35 million budget "1941". The studio has full confidence in him.
Moreover, the box office hit of "The Blues Brothers" quadrupled its cost, but "1941" ended in miserably. Before Spielberg turned around with Lucasfilm's "The Lost Ark of the Covenant," Landis actually
More sought after by studios than Spielberg.
"What do you think?" Azoff, another producer, also asked Landis for his opinion. They urgently needed the middle-aged man to report the true situation he saw to Global and dispel the rumors.
John Landis pushed up his glasses. He didn't really appreciate the movie. The laughter in it was relatively obscure and loose. The best-selling comedy movies in the past two years pursued dense and shallow laughter.
For example, he has directed several movies, and last year's "Unprecedented and Unparalleled" box office takeoff.
Although it doesn't suit my taste, the claims that the director can't shoot or edit are all nonsense. It seems like someone did it on purpose.
In fact, on the contrary, the young director Ronald not only knew how to shoot, but it was his first time filming a movie. The film was surprisingly completed with a high degree of completion. In addition to the actors' performances, there was a common problem of mismatching emotional intensity among novice directors.
But even experienced directors cannot completely solve this problem. Unless they are working with a long-term team, or return to the big studio model of the golden age of Hollywood and let actors form fixed partners, there is no way.
"As a newcomer's work, it is already very good." Landis replied.
The two producers breathed a sigh of relief. They hoped that Landis could bring the true situation of the movie to Universal's executives, match the corresponding publicity resources before the premiere, and match the number of theaters after the release.
"I would like to ask, what were your considerations in letting the actors speak in a Southern California valley accent?" Landis turned back and asked the young director.
"The California lifestyle is favored by young people in most other places, and I wanted to use a valley accent to express that." Ronald replied.
"That's a very good idea." Landis turned around, a little disapproving of it. The use of dialect accents in comedy movies is usually to create some jokes. Such a large-scale use of dialect accents, and there are no corresponding jokes, but instead
Limiting the viewing experience for non-Southern California audiences.
John Landis didn't say much. He stood up and left. This movie was not worthy of his time and attention. It would be better to chat with his old partner, John Belushi, about the idea of a new movie. It had been a long time since he had seen it.
Saw him.
"Ronald, it seems that Director Landis has a good impression of you. Your movie will be released in many theaters." Editor Eric said quietly to Ronald.
"Oh, yeah? I don't know, I hope so." Ronald didn't say a few words to Landis. Seeing as he didn't say anything about the shortcomings of the movie, it shouldn't be that Universal rejected this version of the edit."
"Good editing, Ronald." Producers Lin Sen and Azoff came over to congratulate him. They were actually relieved today. Ronald's editing progress suddenly accelerated and they hurriedly finished the work before Landis came to see him.
With one copy, I would not have to show the broken fragments to the envoys of Universal executives.
Ronald stood up from the sofa and said to the two producers:
"With the addition of the soundtrack tracks selected by Heckerling, the story and mood can be even better. Now the only thing left is Motown music. The copyright has not yet been negotiated with Led Zeppelin, and the sound engineer has already started mixing work.
"
Another producer, Vice President of MCA Records, Azoff, replied, "Motown Records has agreed that we can use the copyrights of their singers, and you will soon be able to use Donna Summer's songs."
"There are some copyright issues with the songs on Led Zeppelin IV's album. Can we use songs from their other albums instead?" Azoff asked rhetorically.
Ronald turned to ask Cameron Crowe, who had worked as a special correspondent for "Rolling Stone" magazine and was very familiar with the rock circle.
"No problem, the audience won't notice that Mark the nerd didn't use the album recommended by scalper Mike when he dated Stacey. Led Zeppelin's music will sound the same to the average audience."
"I want to talk to you about reshooting some scenes. Sean Penn's performance was unexpectedly good. I discussed it with Cameron Crowe and hoped to make up two scenes for him. Please invite talk show stars respectively.
Johnny Carson and popular actress Brooke Shields guest star."
The two producers were stunned when they heard this, and then they felt very interested. If they could really invite the two stars to guest star, it would be very helpful for the promotion and marketing of the film, and it would be a topic that could make media headlines for free.
"Do you have a way to invite them? Ronald." Lin Sen was more cautious.
"Johnny Carson's agent and my agent are in the same company. I have asked my agent to inquire about his wishes. As for Brooke Shields..."
"I remembered, you directed the commercial for her CK jeans, right?"
"Yes, she and I are old acquaintances. I asked someone to go to her agent first and ask her. Her mother is in charge of her acting career. I want to contact her through formal channels first," Ronald replied, especially
Rui is not an easy person to talk to, so she first asked her agent to understand her thoughts.
"A very good idea, Ronald. After reading this working copy, I also think that the surfer played by Sean Penn is very outstanding and very popular with the audience."
"If you have a way to contact Johnny Carson, please give it a try. I heard he charges a very high price for a cameo."
Lin Sen nodded. Johnny Carson is not only a talk show host, but also has his own men's clothing brand. He has also invested in a car company and is preparing to build a sports car with pure American origin. This is beyond the reach of most people in the entertainment industry.
With the scope of capabilities, building a car is no simple matter.
"I will ask for you, but you must also be prepared for failure."
"My agent made a list for me. If he doesn't agree, we'll find other hosts. There's no harm in trying the most famous one first. What if he agrees?"
"Hahaha, that's it, keep this mentality."
Later in the evening, John Landis returned to Universal Pictures Vice President Ned Tanen's office to share his thoughts on "fast-paced Richmond High."
"The director's technique is quite proficient and he is experienced."
"Are there no shortcomings?" Tanin asked.
"There are no technical problems, but the pace of the film is not in line with recent blockbuster comedies. What he shot seems to be a slow-paced screwball comedy from old Hollywood, plus some explicit scenes from X-rated movies in the 1970s." Landis
commented.
"You mean, the box office won't be very high?"
"It's hard to judge, but he did not adopt the comedy mode that audiences have liked in recent years. The rhythm is slower than the recent popular comedies. If you look at the editing rhythm of 'Unprecedented and Unparalleled', it is faster than him."
"Including some of your best-selling movies, right?"
Landis smiled and acquiesced to Tanin's words.
"Thank you, John. How are the preparations for your new film going?"
"It seems that my new film will be postponed. I may accept Steven's invitation to co-direct a movie adapted from a TV series with him."
"Which Warner Bros. movie, eh? When are you going to make another comedy for us? With your old costar John Belushi?"
"John Belushi's situation is very bad. I think he is deeply involved in illegal drugs."
Landis sighed. His old partner seemed like a different person now. He would ask to borrow money when he saw him. He didn't want him to continue to sink, so he refused the request to borrow money.
He also called Belushi's agent. The agent was also very frustrated. He said that he had called several of Belushi's good friends, Robert De Niro, Robin Williams and others, and asked them to
Come and persuade Belushi to go to a rehabilitation center.
"God, he is a guarantee of blockbuster comedy. Too many Hollywood actors have been ruined by illegal drugs recently."
Ned Tanin said as he sent Landis away and took out an annual movie marketing plan from his desk. He scratched the name "Fast Pace" with a red pencil.
"In this case, just arrange some resources and sell it to Universal TV stations for broadcast."
A few days later, Ronald came to the producer's office to discuss reshoots with Lin Sen and Azoff.
"Johnny Carson has officially declined the invitation to make a cameo. He said that he will not go to work on Tuesday and does not want to give up time with his wife for a small movie." Lin Sen said. He directly asked Johnny Carson through personal relations.
Carson time.
"Then let's go with what's on the list. Carson seems to have a land, and David Letterman also hosts the morning show on NBC."
"Okay, let's ask one by one. How is Brooke Shields doing? Is she willing to make a guest appearance?"
"She was willing, but her mother offered a monthly price of 500,000 yuan. I was very angry and asked her to talk. I hope she can lower the price." Ronald said, "Whether she can come depends on your ability.
How much additional budget can we get for reshoots?”
"We try our best to fight for it. Brooke Shields has a very high charm, and many viewers who went to see Endless Love came to see her. We will make a request to Universal executives. If you can convince Brooke Shields, I think they will agree.
"
Ronald nodded, it seemed that he had to take action to deal with Brooke Shields first.
"In addition, there is good news. After a meeting, Universal's top executives came up with a new idea, allowing you to edit a version that meets the TV station's G-level standards. They will sell the 'fast-paced' version to MCA-owned TV stations. It seems that they are interested in the release.
We are very confident about the box office," Lin Sen said.
Generally speaking, TV stations will only bid for movies that have a good box office after release. Now that the TV station version has been prepared, it seems that the top management has stopped Landis's opinion and is confident about the release prospects...