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Chapter 61: Easier said than done

Dan Aykroyd is a very humorous person in life. Ronald and he had a great time eating and drinking at the party. He made the party very healthy, without the usual Hollywood beauties and illegal drugs, just like

Drinking beer and chatting with old friends.

Maybe it's because Dan Aykroyd is Canadian, or maybe his good friend John Belushi died of drug abuse, but anyway, this kind of party suits Ronald's taste.

Ronald got along very well with him, and the two of them made an appointment to have a party with John Candy, Michael J. Fox, Cameron and other Canadians who had entered Hollywood when they had time.

There are generally two types of comedians. One is like Bill Murray, who is very serious and boring in life, and being funny is just their job. They often need to copy other people's jokes, and then rack their brains to calculate the rhythm and the audience's

Reaction, so that the joke can have the best effect.

There is another kind, like Aykroyd, who is more humorous in life. They are also people with a good sense of humor in life. They will also laugh at themselves when there are unsatisfactory aspects in life. They are very interesting to get along with and perform well.

It's time to relax more.

After resting at home for a few days, "Night of the Comet" is still a staple in theaters. Several weeks have passed, and the box office of a single theater is still very high. Atlantic's distribution capabilities are unable to expand the number of screenings, but it can still hold on to three theaters.

It is shown in more than 100 theaters and the box office is increasing by more than one million every week.

On the other hand, "Superman III", which Warner Bros. had high hopes for, has seen a sharp decline in box office since its second week. The black comedy star Richard Pryor invested in the film and got himself the role of the villain Gus, replacing Gus.

The villainous role of Lex Luthor played by Ern Hackman.

However, his language style full of "color" and the vulgar gags of black talk shows are incompatible with the atmosphere of the Superman series of movies. The audience shouted that the movie was terrible, and the reviews and box office were falling at the speed of light.

The news reached London's Pinewood Studios, making Helen Slater, who was playing "Superwoman" there, nervous. Ronald made several transatlantic phone calls with her before she dispelled her worries. Intensive and high-intensity

The filming of the film made Helen a little nervous. She also became suspicious of the failure of the Superman series at the box office.

On this day, Ronald received a call from Weintraub. The actor he hoped to play Master Miyagi had already flown to Hollywood from Japan and asked Ronald if he wanted to meet him.

This is certainly not the business scope of a screenwriter and co-producer. However, the actors who came here are too famous. With the continuous recommendation of Spielberg, Coppola, and George Lucas, Hollywood is interested in Japanese directors.

Zeming admired him greatly.

The one Weintraub invited to audition was Akira Kurosawa's long-term leading actor, Toshiro Mifune, who is known as "the greatest samurai on the Japanese screen".

Toshiro Mifune and his translator arrived at Weintraub's mansion. In his huge living room, Mifune politely bowed slightly to Weintraub and Avelson, and sat on the leather sofa.

"Do you mind if I smoke a cigar?" Toshiro Mifune asked in Japanese, with a young Japanese beside him helping him translate into English. Weintraub diligently raised the match and lit a thin cigar.

Mifune started smoking a Japanese cigar.

"Kurosawa-kun, please introduce the masters." Mifune said to the translator, looking at young Ronald. He looked nothing like Weintraub and could not be his child.

"Please let me introduce to you, the producer of the film, Mr. Weintraub, whom you are already familiar with. This is the supervisor, Avelson, who used to be the supervisor of the boxing movie 'Rocky'."

"Ha Yi, Aiweiersensang." The three ships nodded and saluted.

"This is the screenwriter Ronald" translator Kurosawa-san introduced Ronald.

"Huh, such a young screenwriter? It's really surprising. He reminds me of your father, Kurosawa-kun."

"Mr. Mifune said you were very young, which surprised him."

"Thank you Mr. Mifune for the compliment. I like his 'Yongjimbo' very much. This is my favorite of his works." Ronald heard the translation and revealed that he was a fan of Toshiro Mifune.

"Kurosawa-kun, thank you for having you this time." After listening to the translator, Mifune asked the translator to convey his good impressions of Ronald.

This young translator was none other than Hisao Kurosawa, the eldest son of the great Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. He opened a small production company in America and monopolized all of his father Akira Kurosawa's business agencies in America.

It also helps Japanese studios such as Toho and Shochiku expand their business here.

Ronald looked at Mifune carefully and listened to him, Weintraub, and Avelson discussing "The Dragon King" through a translator.

Toshiro Mifune wore a light-colored suit. He had lost a lot of gray hair and was combed meticulously. But after all, he was old and after a long trip, he could no longer hide the deep bags under his eyes and several irregularities on his face.

Obvious age spots.

This Japanese star, who was born in Qingdao, Shandong Province in 1920, is over sixty years old. When Ronald watched him and Avelson discussing the plot, he already yawned a few times. It seemed that his energy was a little low.

Ronald got up and poured himself a cup of coffee. As he passed by Weintraub, he whispered his discovery in his ear.

Weintraub woke up from the joy of meeting his idol, stood up quickly, and asked Mifune and Kurosawa to go to the hotel to rest first and have in-depth exchanges later.

Mifune saw that it was Ronald who was helping to remind him, so he came over and smiled at him to show his good intentions.

"Kurosawa-kun, please express my gratitude to Ronald-san on my behalf."

"I'm a fan of your movies, Mifune-chan. I've seen all the movies I can find in America between you and Akira Kurosawa." Ronald actually likes those sword-and-halberd films made by Akira Kurosawa.

The cold temperament, crisp narrative, and first-class atmosphere creation.

"Oh, I wonder which one is your favorite?" Mifune was waiting for the car at the door of the living room, and chatted with Ronald through Hisao Kurosawa.

"My favorite is the duel scene between you and Tatsuya Nakadai in 'Tsubaki Sanjuro'. I've always wondered how you rehearsed that killer move. It seemed like you and Mr. Tatsuya Nakadai were actually dueling.

The same, the emotional outburst is very good."

After listening to Hisao Kurosawa's translation, Mifune nodded and replied, "Then I would also like to thank Supervisor Kurosawa. If he hadn't said that the filming was not good, he would have to fight with a real sword. Nakadai-kun and I wouldn't be so scared. Ichijo.

The photo is ready, hahaha.”

"So you haven't rehearsed that scene?" Ronald was surprised, but it could also explain why the two of them were so emotional. If they had rehearsed too much, the emotional reaction would have weakened a lot.

"This is also a coincidence. There was a mistake in the props that controlled the mechanism at that time. I turned the switch too large, causing the blood on Nakadai Tatsuya to surge too fast. Everyone thought I really cut Nakadai-kun."

They all screamed, and you can still hear it when you watch the film.

I was also a little worried, so you can see how nervous I was in that shot. I was focused on making sure I didn’t make any mistakes, otherwise I would have wasted Nakadai Tatsuya-kun’s kindness.”

"The car is here, Mifune-kun." Hisao Kurosawa reminded from the side.

Ronald helped open the car door and escorted Mifune to the car.

He now somewhat understands why Kubrick called him to ask about how to shoot some scenes.

The final duel scene in "Tsubaki Sanjuro" was very neat and tidy, but Ronald always had a question. Generally speaking, there are two ways to shoot fighting scenes. One is like the lightsaber duel in "Star Wars", and the other is like the lightsaber duel in "Star Wars".

Each actor swings the weapon in one place so that no one is in danger of being injured.

The second method is that of a Western movie. Both sides swing at each other's weapons. If the protagonist does not have a weapon, hit his torso, feed the move to the protagonist and let him block it with his hands. The advantage of this method is that it is not like

The first kind of moves are rigid and more realistic.

However, both methods have a disadvantage, that is, they have to feed their moves. If the camera focuses on both sides of the duel and takes a close-up, you will find that the actors themselves do not feel the danger of the real fight, so it is difficult to perform the kind of battle between victory and defeat.

The emotion of the moment.

In order to capture the moment of fear, rejoicing, and unwillingness to wait for the victory or defeat of a duel, Akira Kurosawa actually threatened the actors to use real swords if the filming failed. He was really desperate for the sake of making a movie. But the props were coincidental.

The matter of turning on the water pipes also happened to trigger real reactions from both parties.

If you want to have this kind of quality in the final duel scene of "Long Wei Boy", you must design it well and try to make the two protagonists succeed at once. If you shoot the second scene, it will not be as intense as the first time.

reacted naturally.

"But this shouldn't be something I should consider anymore." Ronald shook his head. His occupational disease recurred again. He was always thinking about how to design the scene. Avelson filmed the boxing scene in "Rocky", but it was quite popular.

If he gets good reviews, he must have his own method.

"Ronald, John, I think Mifune is a great choice to play Mr. Miyagi. The samurai in Master Akira Kurosawa's movies comes to teach Danny karate, and the American audience will be happy to death." Winter

Laub returned to the living room and took Ronald and Avelson to discuss.

Weintraub wanted Toshiro Mifune to play the role, but both Ronald and Avelson saw that Mifune was too old to act in action scenes. Miyagi had many scenes of teaching Danny, which made it difficult for a man in his sixties to play the role.

It would be too cruel for an old man to practice karate anymore.

"Of course Mifune is the spokesperson for the Japanese samurai image, but I'm afraid his action scenes won't produce satisfactory results." Avelson immediately objected, "Moreover, he speaks in a slow and dramatic tone, which is incompatible with movies after the New Wave.

The line requirements are out of touch."

"Huh?" Ronald glanced at Avelson and thought, "Didn't you educate me not to directly convince the producers of your opinions, but to let them think they are your own?"

"That's Toshiro Mifune. As long as he appears on the screen, the audience will be happy." Weintraub is obviously also a Japanese movie fan. He is very fond of the sword and sword films made by directors such as Akira Kurosawa.

"Not many Americans have actually seen the films directed by Akira Kurosawa. I think most viewers heard Akira Kurosawa's name through the mouths of Coppola, Lucas, and Spielberg.

"Avelson expressed his point of view again.

"What do you think? Ronald." Weintraub didn't disagree with Avelson's statement, but the temptation of Toshiro Mifune to appear in the first movie he produced was too great, and it was equivalent to his own dream.

come true.

"I'm thinking about a question, Mr. Weintraub. In our script, Mr. Miyagi's identity is arranged as a Japanese-American. He is usually an apartment repairman and likes potted plants. His shortcoming is English grammar.

It sucks.

But he usually has no problem communicating with others." Ronald raised the question from another angle.

"You're right, but what next?" Weintraub asked.

"So Miyagi is actually a person who cannot speak English with correct grammar. Isn't he a little different from a person who cannot speak English at all?"

"That's right." Weintraub thought for a while and felt it made sense. "In that case, you made me think of another question. Mr. Mifune doesn't speak English, so when he performs his lines, will he

Do people think he is a real Japanese, rather than a Japanese whose English grammar is completely wrong but can communicate with ordinary people?"

"What we need in our movie is a master who can explain moves and impart life experience to Danny. If such a person cannot speak English, he will not be able to convince the audience."

Weintraub seemed to have discovered a blind spot and turned to Ronald and Avelson.

"You know what? Mr. Weintraub, I think you are right. Master Miyagi should be more like Master Yoda in Star Wars. The inversion does not prevent him from imparting the wisdom of Skywalker." Rona

De echoed.

"Very good, John, we will still arrange an audition for Mr. Mifune tomorrow, but according to my opinion, he has little chance." Weintraub drank the remaining coffee with a little regret.


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