There was a light winter rain in Los Angeles that day. Ronald was hiding in his apartment to revise the script. The raindrops were hitting the windows densely. Ronald turned a blind eye and only focused on revising the script. He wanted to do the special effects of the comet hitting the earth.
Delete it all from the script.
Cousin Donna once said that the tails of some comets can sweep across the earth without humans feeling anything. So Ronald added this concept to the equation. A comet that visited the earth tens of millions of years ago has a tail that sweeps across the earth.
When the earth is destroyed, it will cause biological extinction.
All creatures that see the red light of the comet's tail will turn into dust. Only creatures hiding in caves and not exposed to the radiation of the comet's tail will survive. This is how the dinosaurs became extinct, and the ancestors of humans were cave dwellers.
, escaped the disaster and gained an advantage in evolution.
Now that the comet is back, only those hiding in basements or behind thick walls have survived. What's worse is that some people who didn't reach the lethal dose of radiation turned into zombies and attacked in the city
Surviving people.
It was already mid-January, and Ronald modified many special effects scenes according to Cameron's plan. He diverted the limited funds into several special effects scenes that could convince the audience.
This is the secret of low-cost production passed down by Roger Corman. The budget of the movie should be concentrated on a few important scenes, and a few scenes that seem to cost several times the money to be shot. This way the audience will remember these.
scenes, and ignore those rough scenes that are underfunded.
The time is approaching what the Chinese call the coldest of the twenty-four solar terms, the Great Cold. Contrary to the heavy snowfall in New York, the temperature in Los Angeles is relatively comfortable. It is close to the West Coast and the climate is much more suitable for human habitation.
"Ring, ring, ring..." Ronald, who was twirling his fingers in front of the keyboard, was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the phone.
"Hello!" He answered the phone angrily.
"Ronald, I'm Phoebe."
"Oh, hello, Phoebe. Long time no see. How are you doing? Are there any new movies?" Ronald recognized Phoebe Cates, who plays the bikini beauty in "Fast Times". Since the movie
After the marketing trip ended, he had no further contact with these actors.
"Ronald, Jennifer is here with me, and we want to invite you to the party. Yes, the party is..."
"Sorry, Phoebe, Jennifer," Ronald heard Jennifer Jason Leigh was also on the phone, "I'm busy preparing for my next movie right now, I'm afraid I don't have time to go to the party."
"Ronald, I heard from your agent that you are looking for a leading actor. Why don't you come and have a look. We went to a party where a movie preview was successfully screened. There were many handsome actors in it." Jennifer Jason Leigh grabbed it.
Microphone, persuade Ronald to come out.
"Yeah? Okay, where are you? I'll go there."
Hearing that there was an actor, Ronald archived the script file he was writing, then turned off the computer, got in the car and drove towards the address reported by Jennifer.
"Hi, Jennifer, it's me, Ronald." Ronald unexpectedly discovered that the apartment Jennifer lived in was very high-end, and the doorman's dress and phone system were better than the one he lived in.
"Ronald", Jennifer warmly greeted the director who made her famous at the door of the apartment, and welcomed Ronald into the apartment. Inside the apartment was a very large living room, with her best friend Phoebe Cates sitting on the sofa.
After the two actresses met on "Fast Times", they became good friends and talked about everything. When Phoebe came to Los Angeles to audition, she stayed at Jennifer's house.
"Phoebe," Ronald waved to Phoebe, and he found a man sitting on the sofa with Phoebe.
"Ronald", Phoebe jumped up, "Let me introduce to you, this is my friend, Kevin. Kevin, this is Ronald."
"Hi, hello, Ronald, I often hear Phoebe talking about you, and I want to work with you if I have a chance."
"Hello, Kevin, I really enjoyed your scene opposite Mel Streep." Ronald and Phoebe hugged her boyfriend.
He didn’t expect that Phoebe’s friend was actually Kevin Kline, the male protagonist of the recently released movie “Sophie’s Choice”. He seemed to be pursuing her.
Is Phoebe going to recommend Kevin Kline to herself as the protagonist?
"Kevin invited us to go to the preview party for the movie he just finished. Jennifer remembered that you were also in Los Angeles. We were missing a male companion and hadn't seen you for a long time, so she asked you out." Phoebe explained.
"My pleasure, I wonder what movie party it is?"
"The Big Chill, like Fast Pace, is an ensemble drama with four male leads and four female leads. Maybe you can find the male lead in your next movie." Phoebe said.
Then he told the answer.
"My next movie will be a small production, and I may not even be able to afford your salary." Ronald smiled. Maybe Phoebe meant well, or she wanted to find a reliable man to accompany her to the party.
However, in a movie starring an actor of Kevin Kline's caliber, I probably can't afford the salary of the other leading actors in the movie. Just relax.
"Let's go, the party is right next to Beverly Hills."
Ronald asked Jennifer to get into his car, followed Kevin and Phoebe, and drove to the party venue.
"Your house is very nice." Ronald and Jennifer chatted on the road.
"My father's civil lawsuit was settled out of court, and they paid me a large sum of compensation. My sister and I each received half of it."
Ronald raised his eyebrows. Spielberg and John Landis, several victims of helicopter beheading accidents, sued separately. Only Jennifer was the first to settle.
The amount of the settlement has not been announced, but judging from Jennifer's residence, it seems to be a large amount of money. Now she will not be filming for the rest of her life, and she can spend her life without worries about food and clothing.
"Whose house party are we going to?" Ronald knew that Beverly Hills was usually surrounded by mansions, and usually such parties were held at the home of an actor, director, or producer.
"The heroine's family heard that her husband is a producer."
Soon the car drove to the party venue, a large three-story house. Ronald walked in with Phoebe, Jennifer, and Kevin.
"This is Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, and Tom Berenger." Kevin Kline introduced the three "Big Chill" to Ronald.
Male lead.
Ronald hugged them and said hello. Several of them were accomplished male movie stars. They had also heard Ronald's name and greeted each other.
"Kevin, why don't you introduce your little friend to us?"
The speaker is one of the heroines of "The Big Chill", Glenn Close. She and the other two heroines play the roles of college classmates, wives, lovers, etc. of the three male protagonists.
Several college classmates reunited for the first time after graduating from college to attend the funeral of their old classmate Alex Marshall after he committed suicide.
This is a story dominated by dramatic conflicts, slowly unfolding from flashbacks many years later, showing the life experiences, past regrets, and future expectations of six college friends, and also slowly uncovering the mystery of Alex Marshall's suicide.
.
Ronald knew that this kind of movie relied heavily on the acting skills of actors, and the actors were all outstanding young and middle-aged actors, so he cheered up and got to know them.
Jeff Goldblum wears a pair of glasses. He is relatively unknown among the four leading actors, so he and Ronald chatted more congenially. The two of them drank cocktails and talked in a corner.
"You know? Kevin seems to be moved. He dumped Sally Field for Phoebe."
"Oh yeah?" Ronald didn't expect Jeff Goldblum to be so gossipy, so he started gossiping about Kevin Kline.
He looked at Kevin and Phoebe standing together and looked over. He knew in his heart that maybe Goldblum was here to listen and leak information.
"I know Jennifer and Phoebe are great friends."
"Glenn is introducing her to meet people." Goldblum indicated that actress Glenn Close was chatting with Jennifer.
"You seem to have a good relationship?" Ronald smiled.
"Big Cold is a rare ensemble drama, and we really enjoyed the performance. Lawrence Kasdan's director's skill is extraordinary."
"Hmm..." Ronald knew this screenwriter-turned-director. He was the chief writer of two summer blockbuster movies, "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Lost Ark of the Covenant."
He also wrote and directed an erotic thriller "Body Heat" the year before last, which made the heroine Kathleen Turner famous.
"So this is Director Kasdan's home?" Ronald asked.
"No, this is the home of one of the heroines. Her husband is also a famous producer, so we can borrow her house."
"Oh, who is it?" Ronald looked at the three leading ladies at the party. The female star found a big-name producer to get married, which means that she will play the leading role in a series of movies.
"It's not them, they played the role of Chloe, the little girlfriend of Alex Marshall who died in the movie. Interestingly, Phoebe actually came to audition for the role of Chloe at that time. Although she lost to the hostess in the end,
Kevin often says that he was lucky enough to meet Phoebe who auditioned."
"So that's it." Ronald nodded. In the movie, the age gap between these people and Phoebe is not small. In real life, there is also a big age gap between Kevin Kline and Phoebe. It seems that Kevin really takes it seriously.
Phoebe, invite all her friends to the party.
"The hostess is down." Jeff Goldblum nudged Ronald, a young actress, as she walked down the second floor.
"Kevin, Glenn..." The hostess was very young and had black hair. She seemed a bit immature as a hostess, but she still fulfilled her duties as a hostess and welcomed the guests.
"Thank you for coming to this screening party. Director Kasdan said the screening was very good..."
Ronald squinted his eyes. It was like meeting him everywhere in his life. This hostess was clearly his ex-girlfriend Meg Tilly, so this mansion belonged to her husband Zinnemann?
"Oh, Ronald, why are you here?" Meg Tilly blurted out when she saw Ronald among the guests.
For a moment, everyone's eyes were focused on him.
"I came here with Kevin..." Ronald replied with a smile.
"Oh, okay, who is this?" Meg Tilly continued to greet the guests, but she became a little nervous and her walking posture was a little stiff.
"You two met before?" Glenn Close came up and asked Ronald. She is the most sensitive of the actresses.
"Yes, it's Alan Parker's 'Famous'. I was working as a handyman on the set, and I chose another girl to play the lead role instead of Meg. It was also an ensemble show. Hello, Glenn." Ronald and her
Say hello, and then ask her about the "Big Cold" situation.
Meg Tilly walked around, greeted everyone, and ordered the waiter to start serving snacks and more champagne.
Seeing that Ronald didn't make any move, she put aside half of her worries and started talking and laughing loudly with the guests.
"Isn't this a movie about college friends getting together? Why is there an actress who is obviously many years younger playing the role of the deceased's girlfriend in it?" Ronald asked Jeff Goldblum and Glenn Close who were standing next to him.
.
"This is the setting of the script. Alexis is different from all these classmates. He faces his heart more truly, so he has a naive girlfriend who is many years younger."
Ronald figured out the plot. It turned out that the plot involved multiple experienced actors paired with a young actress.
No wonder there are so many people vying for this position. In the plot, Chloe is just a childish girlfriend, so that the actor's own acting flaws will not be magnified. But she can also perform on the same stage with seven or eight good actors. It is indeed good to become famous.
Chance.
It seems that Zinnemann has more energy and has inserted Meg Tilly into the crew.
"Kevin, you're here." Another actor arrived belatedly, and the hostess Meg Tilly greeted him.
The actor, also named Kevin, came very late and looked not very good. After greeting Meg, he smiled and started chatting with the actors present.
"He played the role of Alex Marshall who committed suicide. Unfortunately, all the final scenes were deleted by director Kasdan, and not a single one was left."
Ronald looked at Goldblum in surprise, so miserable?
Meg was still talking to the new Kevin, "You are really miserable, Kevin. I heard that Director Kasdan will give you a promise? You will appear in the next movie."
Kevin smiled helplessly and took a sip of wine. He didn't want to mention his tragedy anymore.
Several actors refused to let him go and began to joke about his misfortune, "Really there is not a single shot? I didn't look carefully. Maybe there is a long shot?"
"No, there is not a single shot showing my face. I searched for a long time, and there was only a shot of me lying in the coffin, with one foot exposed. It seems that Kasdan doesn't like my face." Kevin joked to himself.
"Kevin, you shouldn't say that. Director Kasdan must have his own intentions in handling this." Meg was still talking stupidly.
"Maybe Kasdan thinks your feet are good at acting, hahaha."
One of the male leads, Tom Berenger, drank too much and made inappropriate jokes.
"Tom," Glenn Gross tugged at him to stop.
"I have a gift here from the director, one for each person." Meg Tilly also began to smooth things over. She took out a large box with many cashmere scarves in it and gave one to each actor.
"Oh, Kevin, it just happened to be gone, sorry." Meg was assigned to the new Kevin, but the scarf happened to be gone.
"Tsk," Ronald pouted. Meg Tilly is still so childish even after getting married. There is obviously a better way to deal with Kevin's dissatisfaction in this situation.
Humiliating others in front of others like this will create a lot of hatred for a young actor. Who knows whether he will become a superstar in the future and block your way?
The new Kevin was very embarrassed, but he quickly adjusted, drank down the champagne, and smiled, "Hey, you bastards, you know? I will definitely do better than you all in the future."
He spoke in a very good tone, half joking and half serious, and everyone burst into laughter, which made the awkward situation go away.
Then Kevin stayed for a while, and while everyone's attention was distracted, he put away his smile, turned around and walked out of the party.
"Jennifer, tell Phoebe, I have something to do and I need to leave first." Ronald had been paying attention to him, and when he saw that he was about to leave, he quickly stepped forward and grabbed Jennifer Jason Leigh, said something and then chased him out.
.
"Interesting." Jeff Goldblum saw all Ronald's actions and said to himself.
"Dear, have you helped me greet these distinguished guests? Hmm?"
With a sharp and somewhat offensive voice, the owner of the mansion, Meg Tilly's husband Tim Zinnemann, came down the stairs.
"Of course, Tim, of course." Meg Tilly suddenly became cautious, pressed the hem of her dress, tried to act like a hostess, and held Zinnemann's hand.
"When you are a hostess, you still have a lot to learn. Don't let anyone feel left out," Tim Zinneman began to greet the guests. "And, more importantly, don't spend time with single male guests.
From very secret."
"I know, Tim. I'm working hard." Meg Tilly echoed in a low voice. She almost staggered when she heard the last sentence.
"Kevin, Kevin." Ronald hurried out of the party and shouted to the actors in front of him.
"Ronald?" The lonely actor turned back in the drizzle in front, "I mean, hello, Director Li."
"Kevin Costner. I have a small production here. Would you like to play the leading role?"
Ronald finally caught up with the other party and pointed to his car, "If you are interested, get in the car and let's talk slowly."