Ronald yawned, put on his sunglasses to cover his red eyes from revising the script under the reading light on the plane for a long time, and got off the plane.
"Ronald, here", Richard came to the boarding gate to pick up Ronald early in the morning.
"Minahan has gone to the Debbie Reynolds dance studio to prepare for the audition and meet the filming team, which is all held there. Here is the coffee for you."
"Okay." Ronald, a little tired, took the double espresso from Richard and drank it all in one gulp.
The two got into Niceta's BMW, and Richard drove Ronald to the dance class.
"Here we are, Ronald", Richard woke up Ronald who was napping in the passenger seat.
After taking a nap, Ronald regained his energy. As soon as he entered the dance studio, he found that Minahan was already waiting for him there. There were many "Soul Train" dancers waiting for auditions outside.
"Quack, you're here, Ronald. This is the director of photography I found for you, Hanania Bell. He is a veteran and my fellow Israeli."
"Hello, Ronald." Hanania Bell is a veteran photographer who was born in Israel. She was originally filming the "After School Special" series of TV movies on ABC TV.
"Hello, Hanania", Ronald has worked with this kind of photography director who has a background in shooting TV movies. He knows that they are skilled and especially good at fast shooting, because the shooting progress of TV movies is faster.
I have some deficiencies in my grasp of cinematography. Because I was shooting an exploitation film, the impact was not outstanding. In short, speed is the most important thing.
Moreover, he is a fellow Israeli recruited by Minahan, so he should be reliable.
"This is Ivo Cristante, the art director I'm looking for."
"Hello, Ronald. I haven't seen the complete script yet. What important scenes do you have and what color style are you going to use?"
Ivo Cristante also knew that time was tight and skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the important issues he wanted to solve as artistic director.
"Here are some of the changes I made on the plane." Ronald handed over part of the script he had just finished. "I only have one request. When I was filming, you must supervise the sets of the next few scenes. In order to grab the
Time, we just have rolling shots.”
"No problem, let me take a look..." Ivo Cristante saw several scenes that needed to be designed, "an open-air banquet, an apartment for dance practice, a basement for dancing, and a solo dance in front of a convenience store...
"
Ronald and he quickly agreed on the style of the scene. Ivo Cristante made a list of the order of shooting first and then shooting. Basically, he could shoot at Ronald one or two days in advance.
Before, modify the scenery.
"This is Pamela Basque," Minahan finally introduced as a woman, "our casting director."
"Hello, Ronald. I know time is very tight. What is your casting principle? We try to compress two auditions into one."
"Is Lucinda Dickey here?" Ronald didn't answer the question, but turned to ask Minahan, who was the first major role confirmed in the film, playing the heroine.
"Here, Lucinda," Minahan called back to Lucinda Dickey.
Lucinda is a good-looking beauty with a good figure and smooth muscle lines. From the first glance, she has a background in jazz dance with both strength and skills.
"You will participate in the casting with us, and then... where is the hairstylist? You can help her change her hairstyle later. I want it to be youthful and uplifting."
"By the way, Pamela, I'm sorry, my casting principles..." After Ronald ordered the hairstylist, he went back to discuss with the casting director Pamela.
Pamela smiled. She originally heard that it would take two weeks to complete the filming of an exploitation film, and she was reluctant to do so. Now she sees that the young director acts like he is the only one and everyone has to obey my orders. Relax.
Directors are monarchs on the set, and those who are very democratic cannot be good directors.
"...There is only one principle: I would rather dance well than act well."
This was a painful lesson that Ronald learned during the filming of "Flashdance". If "Breakdance" was like that, if the heroine was asked to act in one scene, four or five stand-ins would have to wait for her for two weeks. It’s absolutely impossible to finish shooting.
"In addition, I try to find actors with outstanding personalities, which are easier to use in fast shooting. Even if it is different from the script, I can rewrite the story conflicts and character personalities on the spot."
"Understand, you want them to act as they are, with distinctive characters, rather than good acting skills." The casting director Pamela was even more confident. This is not only a qualified director, but also a qualified exploitation film that will be in high demand.
Seeing Ronald's calm and composed assignment, Minahan felt a little relieved, but he still secretly asked the casting director Pamela, "What do you think of Ronald?"
"If you want to make an exploitation film in a hurry, there is nothing more reassuring than a director who knows how to adapt to changes."
Pamela smiled and started to go out to sort the actors waiting for auditions. The two rounds of auditions were condensed into one round. She and Ronald discussed that they would interview three actors at once, and then pick out the good ones, and meet with Lucinda. Audition with Dicky to see the chemistry of the supporting roles.
"Please introduce yourself." Pamela began to insert the dancers from "Soul Train" one after another.
Three at a time, she and Ronald soon saw more than a dozen actors.
Two of them, Ronald and Pamela, were quite satisfied.
A man named Bruno Falcon was a Latino, and Ronald recognized him as the villain who competed with the protagonist during the three-person group dance dance in the dream.
The other one is Timothy Solomon, a black man. He happens to play the role of Bruno's partner and form a team.
"Please take a rest nearby. There will be another round of auditions later." Pamela called the next wave in.
All the dancers wear their own clothes for the audition. The clothes are full of bright colors like blacks and Latinos, and the men also wear a lot of earrings and jewelry.
Ronald could see from the degree of fading of their clothes that none of them were very wealthy. Apart from selecting a few of the best to play the main roles, others who were willing to participate were all cast as extras and received the minimum wage.
"Please introduce yourself"
"My name is Jeff Parker."
"My name is boogaloo shrimp"
"My name is shabba doo"
"Please dance your best dance steps."
As soon as the three of them started dancing, Ronald recognized them immediately. The two guys with strange names were the two male protagonists in the dream, "Tornado" and "Motor".
"These two are good," casting director Pamela said quietly to Ronald, "Shabado's robot dance is very powerful, and his eyes are full of anger, which is exactly what you want to stand out."
Gu Ha
That Boogaloo prawn dances like Mikhail Baryshnikov in break dancing. This kind of person must integrate his own personality into the dance.”
Ronald looked at Pamela, but he didn't expect her to have such a high opinion of Da Xia. Baryshnikov was a defected ballet star and was once the idol of his ex-girlfriend Antonia. This put Da Xia into the top tier. level.
"Ahem," Ronald said to the two people who stopped dancing, "What are your real names?"
"My real name is Sabado, and my friend is Boogaloo Prawn. We earned our own names in hip-hop."
Ronald nodded secretly in his mind. These two people have nicknames in the industry. They are actually almost the same as the crazy legs in New York. However, these two are so thorny that they need to know who has the final say in the crew.
"Boogaloo prawns, and Sabado? Then the paycheck I give you will also say the same...?"
The two of them were very excited, saying that they were selected, but the bank did not recognize this fancy name.
"My name is Adolfo Quinones." As the leader of the two, the Latino Sabado knew when to give in. He quickly announced his real name and then poked the Boogaloo prawn.
"My name is Michael Chambers." Daxia showed his white teeth unique to black people. He was young and relatively naive. When Sabado said this, he quickly followed.
"Prawn, Sabado, you and Lucinda, break dance together and see the chemical reaction." Ronald said to the two of them.
Lucinda Dickey finished her hair, returned to the dance studio where she auditioned, put on her practice clothes, and started dancing with two break dancing masters.
Daxia and Shabadoo found that Lucinda was not very good at this kind of street dance, and they began to show contempt for Lucinda, especially Shabadoo, who seemed to be very angry that Lucinda could not keep up with their rhythm.
"You two show Lucinda how to move and find a slower-paced action combination." Ronald also felt that Lucinda was a bit out of tune with them, as if the three of them cooperated much better in the dream.
The two of them looked embarrassed, but decided on a slow pace for the sake of their roles.
Lucinda Dickey just arrived from Arizona. She can dance jazz dance very professionally, but she has never practiced break dancing. She can't keep up with this slow-paced dance.
Ronald saw the problem. Jazz dance and break dance have different ways of exerting force. For the same jump and landing, jazz dance pays attention to softness and overall exertion. The sense of strength is expressed in the overall movement of the body.
The take-off and landing of break dance are very hard, which requires high local force exertion of muscles. When other parts of the body are relaxed, the arms or legs where the dance movements are located can generate powerful force.
"Lucinda, you can also dance a jazz dance that you are good at." When Ronald saw the prawn, he also began to show contempt, and quickly asked Lucinda Dickey to also show her skills.
Da Xia and Sabado's critical eyes finally softened. However, they still didn't like this kind of professional jazz dance. They highly praised their free break dancing and believed that this was the embodiment of free spirit.
This is indeed a problem. Break dancing is danced by poor kids on the street who can't even afford clothes. Jazz dance practice usually costs money, and the dancers can't at least be said to be destitute.
Ronald thought for a moment and asked Falcon, who was about to dance the villain dance, and Solomon to come and try dancing with Lucinda Dickey.
"These three seem to be more harmonious." Minahan whispered from the side.
"Strange", the three of them were more harmonious, but Ronald could not see any chemical reaction between the three of them. It was as if... it was as if the break dancing teacher was leading the students.
He can't think clearly. Ronald wants to put aside the casting for the time being. He is not sure whether it would be better to follow the combination in the dream or to change it? Falcon and Solomon look more photogenic, like the thin monkey.
Sabado and prawns are more popular with female viewers.
"Ronald, your friend the Handyman is here." The assistant opened the door, and in walked the Handyman on crutches, Eddie Rodriguez.
"Hi Eddie" Ronald stood up to greet him and gave him a hug.
"Are all your students here? Are you ready to appear in the movie?"
"Yes, I asked them all to wait outside."
The hand man still looked shy and talked softly to Ronald.
Sabado and Boogaloo Prawn were dissatisfied again. They spoke as if this disabled person with crutches still has to play a role in a movie. What does that mean?
Ronald heard Sabado mutter, "Show your skills to them, they are all professionals."
The hand man smiled shyly, threw away his crutches, and then did a full Thomas spin on the floor, then a back spin, and finally a head spin. His feet were weak, but the speed of the spin was very fast, and soon it was like
Normal people use inertia to drive their legs to start making various movements.
"Oh, shxt!"
The four hip-hop masters were very shocked. They stepped forward to hold the hand man and asked him questions. These moves were very technical and they couldn't do them.
Several masters began to communicate. While chatting, they began to demonstrate their movements. Break dance dancers have no reservations. They always communicate with each other when they meet masters and respect them very much.
Watching them warmly welcome the hand man, Ronald was very happy because he wanted to give the disabled dancer a chance. His enthusiasm and selflessness were touching.
After watching for a while, Ronald frowned again. He seemed to have figured out the problem with the cooperation between Sabado and Lucinda Dickey.
Jazz dance represents the orthodox middle-class white kids, and break dance represents the poor Latino or black kids on the streets. No wonder Sabado looks like he wants to eat Lucinda alive.
He wants to show off in front of her, and belittling the other person is the best way. Just like in school, some bad boys always like to pull the hair of pretty girls and bully them to attract girls' attention.
The Boogaloo Shrimp is like Ralph Marzio who played the role of Longwei Kid. He has not yet developed. He does not deliberately provoke Lucinda. It is purely his dislike of Lucinda's poor skills.
Which pair should I choose to match Lucinda?
"Do you feel that there is a strong confrontational pressure between Sabado and Lucinda, as if the swords are on the verge of breaking out?" Ronald asked the casting director Pamela quietly.
"This is sexual antagonism. Only with this kind of antagonism and attraction between men and women can they go to bed. The Boogaloo prawns haven't developed yet, so you can't see it. As for Falken and Solomon, they are already attracted to each other.
The default Lucinda is fearful and does not have the challenge and conquest of Sabado, the bad boy."
Ronald looked at the casting director in surprise. This insight was very wise and he benefited a lot.
Pamela smiled, "This is what the screenwriter Neil Israel said to me when I was just casting for a movie called 'Police Academy'. He insisted that a girl would be more suitable and convinced the director. My impression of this theory is
Very profound.”
"Who is that girl? Did the actor who starred with her also bully her in this way?"
"It's not exactly the same. The actor's name is Kim Cattrall. She looks a bit like Monroe. She is the kind of gorgeous actress who exudes infinite beauty and attracts men to open their tails in front of her. At that time, we all felt that she was a little different. Only Nick
I said it most clearly, it’s the kind of sexual antagonism that the audience will immediately be immersed in.”
"Okay, then let's choose Sabado and Da Xia to team up with Lucinda Dickey." Ronald made up his mind.