Producer da Silva and director Parker got in the car and drove to the hotel.
"Why did you promise Ronald to sign the script? We are buying the script from Christopher Gore. The price of $5,000 includes his sole signature right."
"Otherwise, Gore would not have been able to sell it to us at this price. He was not a newcomer. You must know that MGM later purchased the script from me for US$40,000. Gore hoped that the film would hit the Oscars. He wanted to
I only agreed if I was nominated for Best Original Screenplay."
Da Silva, who was driving, asked.
"I have no choice, David." Alan Parker, sitting in the passenger seat, replied.
"This is a youth film. You, me, and Chris, we have all said goodbye to adolescence for 20 years. Today's children, what they like, what they recognize, their aesthetic preferences, their commonly used vocabulary, and we all have
The generation gap has broken.”
"I originally planned to go to the Academy of Performing Arts to go deep into life during this period, stay with those children, and observe everything about them up close. But now..."
"I'll find a script doctor to help with revisions. Just the one who revised the youth dance film 'Saturday Night Fever'." Producer Da Silva stepped on the accelerator, "But if Ronald really writes
What do you do when you have no available scripts?”
"In Hollywood, a verbal contract is worth less than a piece of paper. Who can say this?" Director Alan Parker asked with a smile.
"Sam Godwin said it." Da Silva also laughed, "Then why did you promise him to sign it? If you give him the price of a script doctor and can't sign it, won't he try his best?"
Alan Parker was silent for a while: "I think Ronald is a person who pays attention to the long term, not short-term interests. You gave him $6,000, and he didn't buy a stylish Pontiac, but a practical one."
And the fuel-efficient Japanese Honda.”
"This kid has lofty goals. For people like him, the signature of a script is far more important than the $20,000 earned by being a script doctor at this stage."
"Only if you give him hope for career advancement instead of money, will he try his best to write, and will he spit out his most sincere feelings on the typewriter like vomiting blood and turn them into words. What I want is not mediocrity, I want
What you want is excellence!”
"What are you going to do then?"
"Isn't the lawyer hired by the crew just to deal with these matters? Besides, he may not be able to write a satisfactory script. Let's talk about it later. The most important thing now is to deal with the issue of acting profession, David."
"I asked a friend to find out that the main power of the Academy of Performing Arts lies in the hands of the school director. The school director who targeted us is also a member of the New York Public Education Commission and is in charge of all public school funding..."
Ronald, who still knew nothing about it, returned to the artist's apartment.
Meg took the initiative to come to Ronald's apartment and helped decorate the room with a more bourgeois aesthetic. She hung several Indo-style posters on the walls of the living room, and also got
Several plastic flowers moved around.
Ronald watched happily as Meg helped him clean up the house. He took a cup of Coke from the refrigerator and drank it sweetly. While drinking, he watched Meg busy. This feeling was really comfortable.
"Ring ring ring ring..."
Ronald walked into the back room and picked up the phone.
"Ronnie, you haven't called Auntie for a long time." Aunt Karen opened her mouth and asked.
"Aunt, I was just about to call you. I have a good photography business in Manhattan, and I have also found a casting company to be their long-term photographer."
"That's right...it's a company that specializes in selecting actors for movie directors, so we often have to take photos."
"What? Is there an email for me? From some director's union? Oh no, that's the director's union. Yes... it's my membership card. Okay, I'll go back, aunt."
"Ronnie, come and see my results." Meg called him from outside.
"Ronnie, that's a girl's voice, right? Remember to take her back to Staten Island to see us." Aunt Karen said with a smile on the other end of the phone.
"Okay, aunt, I have to hang up. I will go home later tomorrow to get my membership card. Yes, I recently joined the crew to help with casting, and my time is tight. Love you, bye"
"Here I come, Meg." Ronald ran to the living room and picked up Meg. "You have the best taste."
Meg clung to Ronnie like an octopus and kissed him.
The sweet smell made Ronald take a few steps quickly and put Meg on the sofa. He was hugged by Meg's neck, and the two were entangled.
After a long time, Meg put on her jeans and T-shirt, took two steps at a time, and opened the door to the back room.
"Click, click", Meg opened two doors in a row and went to take a shower. The design of the train apartment was very bad. To go from the living room to the bathroom, you had to cross two rooms.
If it's a shared apartment, there's no privacy at all. So Meg prefers to go to Ronald's side.
Ronald picked up his shirt and pants and walked into the room. "Shall I take you to the Actors Studio to sign up tomorrow?" He talked to Meg in the distance.
"Morning? I'll come here to see you tomorrow morning." Meg opened the door and talked to him, showing her head and one arm, wiping her hair with a towel.
"Just in time, I'm going back to Staten Island in the afternoon, will you go with me?" Ronald said and opened the bathroom door, "I'm here."
"Ah, hahahaha... no"
"Aren't you going to Staten Island?"
"No...well..."
Meg still didn't agree to go to Staten Island together. Ronald thought that maybe the time was a little early. When they could live together, the time would be ripe.
Early the next morning, the two of them got in the car and went to the Actors Studio to sign up.
The studio is near Hell's Kitchen, in an inconspicuous brick building on the roadside on West 44th Street. If it weren't for a huge flag hanging above the white door, with the words "Actors Studio" written on the capital A shading
, Ronald almost missed this place.
After knocking on the door, the staff asked them their purpose and asked them to fill out the audition application form. This confused Ronald: "Isn't this the actor's studio? A place where acting skills are trained?"
The staff member was used to seeing stupid people like Ronald, so he pointed to the historical introduction on the wall.
It turns out that the Actors Studio was a club-like place created by Lee Strasberg, Elia Kazan and others to discuss acting skills.
To join the Actors Studio, you must go through auditions and selections. Those without film or theater performance experience will generally not pass.
"Is this? The Actors Studio is a club? How many rounds of auditions are needed to join?" Ronald was a little confused and asked the staff: "Then do you charge tuition?"
"There is no tuition fee. As long as you pass our audition, you will be a free member for life. The audition is also free. However, if you fail the audition, you must apply again after one year."
Ronald and Meg looked at each other, "Can we go away with two profiles?"
"sure."
The two left disappointed, and in the car Ronald said: "What should we do? Meg. Last time I heard Julia Taylor said that there was Stella Adler at New York University who also ran an actor training class.
."
"No, look here." Meg pointed to the founder on the profile, an old man with a white beard and said, "I remember my sister Jennifer said about him, Lee Strasberg, one of the founders of the Actors Studio.
1. He himself also runs acting training classes.
"Really? Then let's look for it."
Lee Strasberg's Drama Training Institute is on 15th Street, which is closer to the artist's apartment. The reception work here is much more satisfactory.
A staff member patiently explained the various lengths of courses and the fees. In the end, Meg chose the 12-week, 12-hour-per-week course starting next week. This way, she could complete most of her acting training before the final start of filming.
Ronald wrote a check for US$980 and paid all the training fees. Starting next week, Meg will spend 2 hours a day on acting training, and Lee Strasberg, who is nearly 80 years old, will personally give them
Take the first class.
Resisting Meg's temptation to join him for dinner, Ronald hurried back home to Staten Island.
Aunt Karen's mood is much better than last time, and the financial relief has greatly alleviated her mental pressure.
After dinner, Ronald played with Donna for a while, and Aunt Karen took out an extra-large letter.
I cut the envelope and found that a card from the Directors Guild had arrived.
The new president of the Directors Guild has reformed the card. The new version is no longer a cardboard card, but a plastic card the size of a credit card, which looks very modern.
After reading the various union benefits explained in detail in the enclosed letter, what struck Ronald the most was the director internship program provided by the Directors Guild every year.
Once you apply and are accepted, you can join the crew with famous directors and follow them step by step to see how they direct films.
Aunt Karen came over and said good night to him, "Ronnie, don't forget to come back and stay with me for two days on Memorial Day at the end of next month."
"I will, Aunt Karen." The last Monday in May is Memorial Day. At this time every year, Aunt Karen will gather with her late husband's former comrades and widows. This is her annual
Important gatherings to attend.
Lying in bed, Ronald began to think about changing the script. Ronald turned his thoughts over and over again.
For the eight protagonists, what kind of ending can you think of that can make the audience feel real and happy at the same time?
I have no clue at all. I didn't belong to that artistic circle in high school, and the wrestling team was a relatively rustic sport. Unlike the quarterback of the football team, who could casually date girls who learned musical instruments or dance.
I don’t understand their dreams and pain at all. To write a wonderful ending, you need to observe their daily lives more.
Ronald was quite self-taught here and had the same idea as director Parker.
So what kind of theatrical performances did you like to watch when you were in high school?
During his years at Toteville High School, Ronald was envious of the artistic talents of the orchestra, dance team, and cheerleaders every time he saw them.
In the eyes of a wrestling team rough guy like me, being able to dance ballet, play the violin, and do somersaults are all very powerful skills.
For people like me who don't understand the inner skills, seeing the harmonious melody from the violin and the ballerina spinning in the air is like seeing a magician's child.
In fact, showing these skilled skills to a layman’s eyes, isn’t it a wonderful thing to watch?
The several songs and dances in the dream were all the more exciting because I couldn't do them, right?
Ronald turned over, climbed up, grabbed the ballpoint pen, and while replaying the three plots in his mind, he started writing on the manuscript paper...