Chapter two hundred and twenty sixth stealing the show
The movie theater at the Miramar base was rented by the crew and used to watch sample films every night.
Ronald's habit is that he doesn't like that everyone on the crew comes to watch the demos. In front of the demos without audio and video synchronization and no post-editing, many people don't know the director's plan. He will give some opinions and opinions, but not only is it not helpful, but it is
It will disrupt the director's thinking and the next day's shooting.
In addition to Ronald, Bruckheimer, director of photography Kimball, and Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Kelly McGillis and others who have the right to see dailies according to their contracts, the only consultant is Pete Petty
Gru is looking at the samples taken yesterday.
"Ronald, why does the top gun school still have a trophy? We are a flight school, not the Olympics, and we do not encourage this kind of personal heroism. Air combat mainly depends on the cooperation of wingmen."
Pete Pettigrew saw the samples taken yesterday and came to Ronald to protest.
"Jerry," Ronald asked Bruckheimer to explain to Pete, while he concentrated on talking to Val Kilmer's agent about his client's opinions on his client's screen time.
"Pete, imagine there's a couple in Oklahoma who own a mom-and-pop department store. They have three kids. To them, there has to be a winner. Flight school is like a competition. Since planning
If you have points, you will be first, and if you are first, you must have a trophy..."
Bruckheimer tried his best to use metaphors that the other party could understand and explain it to the other party simply.
"Kilmer's appearance scenes, both in time and seconds, are significantly less than those of Tom Cruise. Paramount's senior producers praised Kilmer's performance, but I think if you continue to favor Kilmer like this,
Ruth, I will have to speak to the CEO, Mr. Frank Mancuso."
Ronald knew that the other party was largely bluffing him. Agents were very concerned about their clients' performance, and reporting anything to Mancuso was pure bragging. If Val Kilmer could go straight to Mancuso, he wouldn't
To act in this movie that he originally didn't want to act in.
"I think you misunderstood. Yesterday's scenes were mainly about the Lone Ranger. Tomorrow there will be a lot of scenes with your client playing Iceman, as well as scenes between him and the Lone Ranger."
"I'll keep an eye on you." Val Kilmer's agent is very stubborn. Paramount forced Kilmer to star in this movie through a contract. But there are pros and cons, and there are many guarantees from Val Kilmer in the contract.
According to the terms and conditions, it is a drawback that agents have certain rights to interfere with the crew.
"It's up to you... I treat all actors equally and shoot according to their needs for appearance. Besides, Tom is the leading actor after all, and his salary is higher than Kilmer."
“Higher salary means higher responsibility.”
Val Kilmer did not participate in the discussion. After the manager's argument, he walked out of the cinema with him and returned to his hotel.
The remaining actors in the cinema are McGillis and Cruise.
Tom Cruise heard all the quarrel. He sat quietly in his seat and said nothing. Paula was beside him, whispering something with him.
"Aren't you going to the bar with them?" McGillis asked Cruise as she prepared to leave to join the rest of the cast for a beer break.
"I'm not going..." Tom Cruise didn't want to be with other actors. He heard clearly that Ronald and Val Kilmer had disputes over show time and footage, and there were also comments from Paramount executives.
pressure.
He knew that Ronald bore a lot of pressure on whether the film would be a hit or not, and he was in the same boat as him.
Paramount spent a total budget of 15 million, excluding what the Navy took and the preliminary preparation expenses. He himself took the highest salary of 1 million, which is close to 10% of the total investment, or in other words
An actor's total salary is more than one-third.
Other supporting actors, including McGillis, can be filmed with a game mentality. Only Tom Cruise has the highest salary and the greatest responsibility in the crew. The success or failure of the box office is closely related to his stardom.
connect together.
After getting one million, he has to take on the responsibility of selling the movie. He still has a lot of preparations to make, and is ready to appear on the set in the best condition every day.
"Today you should memorize tomorrow's lines, but having fun with the supporting actors on the weekend is also a good gesture of goodwill. I can help you book a bar and invite everyone to drink." Paula was like a big sister.
Same, taking care of everything about his younger brother Cruise.
McGillis smiled. This kind of "little boy" mentality is still very naive. The crew is full of little boys. I thought the director would be different...
"Kelly, wait a minute, I'll see you if I have something to do later." Ronald came over and stopped McGillis as he was about to go out.
"Oh, okay, I'll wait for you at the door."
Ronald went back to continue the discussion with Pete Pettigrew.
"I don't understand why the class has to be moved to the Navy's runway? The class is not in the classroom, so why does it have to be on the runway?
And for this scene, there are no public bathrooms or locker rooms at the base, and this is not a professional football team. After getting off the plane, the pilots always go back to their dormitories to take a shower." Pete was again expressing his dissatisfaction with tomorrow's camera.
"Think of the moms and dads in Oklahoma," Bruckheimer said, still trying to convince consultant Pete who had seen Tomorrow's script and storyboards.
"Pete," Ronald raised his hand for Pete Pettigrew to look over.
"We paid Tom Cruise a million dollars in salary, and Val Kilmer was not much different. I also endured my agent dictating my shooting, and had to watch the dailies with them every day. All this was not for
They wear pilot suits and go home to take a shower."
"But……"
"Fuck, one million dollars, do you understand? Just like the F-14 Tomcat is not used for flight demonstrations like Cessna, but is going to the battlefield. We have to let them show some strong muscles."
Looking at Pete Pettigrew's shocked look, Ronald continued, "This is actually a sports movie, not a war movie. The audience is watching a sport, but this sport is called fighter dog fighting.
"
"Since it is a sport, there is naturally a locker room and conflicts between teammates. This is a metaphor that can guide the audience's subconscious. This is a game."
Peter thought for a while and accepted Ronald's explanation, "But don't make him more artistic. I don't want my old colleagues in the base to say that I'm helping you make a musical or kung fu movie."
"Hahaha..." Ronald was also amused by him. Peter had obviously seen his first two movies, "No, I promise."
Ronald asked McGillis, "I'll buy you a drink."
McGillis and he went to the hotel's lobby bar.
Ronald apologized for his rudeness that day. He was the director and had to control various things of the entire crew. Time was tight that day.
"I understand," McGillis smiled.
"Then let's..." Ronald also smiled, he wanted to continue what he had not finished.
"We are gone", McGillis waved his hand.
She doesn't feel anything anymore.
McGillis is an actor, so she can act with a professional attitude, follow Ronald's request, and let her cooperate to highlight Cruise, it doesn't matter.
But as a woman, putting her down to talk about work midway is an offense to her charm. Moreover, it becomes very boring and not romantic at all for a man who thinks about the work of the crew every day.
"Okay, let's chat here. Are you a Julia graduate? I see that your first two movies were both hits. If we are lucky this time, you will have a triple hit."
"Hahaha, actually I don't have high expectations for this movie. I'm just an actor interested in drama. I'm not acting in music videos."
Ronald understood. McGillis was implying that his movie didn't have much drama and had too many MV-style superficial plots.
"You are a very good actor, who did you learn from?"
"You may not believe it, but I developed my acting skills while working as a waiter in a restaurant..." McGillis finished his cocktail, stood up to pay the bill, and parted with Ronald to go to the base bar to have fun with the boys.
Already.
Early the next morning, the props team set up the classroom at the airport before sunrise. Several rows of tables and chairs were arranged neatly, and an F-14A fighter jet and an F-5 fighter jet were parked on the runway behind them.
"Joker" began to formally introduce instructor Charlie.
"She is a civilian, so you don't have to salute her. But she can grade your theory and flying lessons, so you'd better show some respect to her."
"Da da da……"
At the most beautiful moment of sunrise, Kelly McGillis put on the outfit in Ronald's dream.
With her beautiful legs wrapped in a pair of high-heeled black stockings, Charlie walked step by step from behind the seated student to the blackboard in front of the F-14a.
The camera directed by Kimball was at a low position on the track. Several coolies on the camera crew slowly pushed the camera equipped with a huge anamorphic wide screen, closely following McGillis's legs and the middle of the stockings.
That black vertical line slowly advanced forward.
"Oh..." The Lone Ranger played by Tom Cruise saw Charlie and recognized the beauty he had chatted with at the bar yesterday. Unexpectedly, the outfit he wore today was even sexier and more glamorous than yesterday.
Afraid of being exposed, both Lone Ranger and Goose put on gold-rimmed Ray-Ban sunglasses, with the huge lenses covering most of their faces.
"cut!"
Ronald used the electric horn to shout to everyone, "Very good, let's change the angle and do another group."
McGillis looked over with his wonderful eyes and said, "Whenever he is conducting, he looks like a charming man."
Kimball directed the camera crew and quickly changed the angle to shoot from a high position in front of the classroom.
The sun has just risen in the sky, and the colors are so charming.
"Action!" After catching the magic light, Ronald immediately ordered to continue.
"Huh?" Ronald took a step back and looked at the audience. At a glance, he saw Barry Tubb, who played the radar officer "Werewolf". He got a light yellow cowboy straw hat from somewhere and put it on his head.
.
Ronald was not disgusted by this level of stealing the show. Everyone was wearing Navy pilot uniforms and Ray-Ban sunglasses, and the camera looked at them all. Barry Tubb's cowboy straw hat, under the sunshine,
On the contrary, it gives the audience some visual stimulation.
This is a great thing for commercial films to keep the audience's attention.
Ronald didn't make a sound to stop, and there was only the slight sound of the camera's motor.
"Captain, do you think what I said is wrong?" Charlie, played by McGillis, said that the aerodynamic feature of the MiG-28 is that it cannot dive at high G. He looked at the Lone Ranger below and said something to the silly goose with a playful smile.
I couldn't help but ask out loud.
"I have seen the MiG-28 dive with an acceleration of minus 4g, so your data is wrong." Tom Cruise wore sunglasses and showed his signature smirk.
"Can you tell me where you saw it?" Charlie was unyielding. It is absolutely intolerable for professionals to have their professionalism doubted."
"I can't tell you, it's confidential. After I tell you, I can only kill you."
"I have the highest authority in the Navy, you can say that." Charlie said that I have seen too many pilot boys like you who make shocking remarks.
"Well, I was on top of him. I saw it with my own eyes."
"Are you on top of him? How far away are you from him?" Charlie, played by McGillis, chuckled in a way that catches your loophole.
Ronald praised McGillis's acting skills, which are very natural. This chuckle has a bit of the intellectual beauty of a professional woman, and a bit of naughty flavor. Strong red lips, light golden hair, and slanted hair on the temples
Eyebrows, a kind of sexy American girl comes across.
"I'm about two meters away from him, right?" The Lone Ranger and the radar officer confirmed.
"One and a half meters, I even took a photo." The silly goose pretended to remember.
"Haha, you are in the cockpit of the F-14, only two meters away from the MiG-28 below. How did you see it through the cockpit and the wings?" Charlie caught the flaw in the Lone Ranger's bragging and poked it gently.
Damn. This kind of little boy really has nothing to say. He wants to brag as soon as he sees himself.
"Because I fly upside down." The Lone Ranger played by Tom Cruise was waiting for this moment and proudly revealed the answer. Before coming to top gun flight school, he used this trick to fly upside down and perform an upside-down kick.
above the head of the MiG-28 pilot, scaring the opponent away.
So far, everything is going well.
Ronald looked at Val Kilmer. The next line should be his. Iceman is a calm technical person. He will question the Lone Ranger's statement, flying upside down like this, and following an enemy aircraft with 4g acceleration.
, it is also difficult for an ace fighter pilot to maintain a stable posture, let alone take a Polaroid snapshot of the opposing pilot.
“Bullshit!(bullshit)”
Ronald's heart skipped a beat. Val Kilmer stole the show.
This actor also stole the scene very professionally, not randomly. Val Kilmer did not say the lines in the script, but he said a curse word that had the same questioning effect as the lines in the script.
No, it’s better than the lines in the script!
The supporting actors playing pilots sitting here couldn't hold back their laughter.
Ronald didn't stop. From an acting point of view, this improvised line was very effective. He didn't want to ruin it. Instead, he raised his hand to ask the director of photography, Kimball, not to stop and let the camera motor continue to run.
"He really did it, I saw it from the back seat." Anthony Edwards, who played the silly goose, reacted quickly, came to the rescue and improvised his lines.
"So, you flew upside down and caught up with the enemy aircraft maneuvering at minus 4g?"
Charlie, played by McGillis, showed a confused expression and asked the camera. She came from a major and kept up with the rhythm of being led into chaos by Val Kilmer.
"Yes, that's right." Tom Cruise suppressed his displeasure and accepted the call.
"cut!"
Ronald called it a day and did not comment on Kilmer's performance.
"Yeah, I'm good at improvising, right?" Val Kilmer raised his chin and showed off to the supporting characters around him.
"It's really good..." Everyone replied one after another, which was a sincere compliment.
"I'll treat you to the bar tonight." Val Kilmer took the opportunity to win over the supporting cast.
"Let's continue with this printing process." Ronald, wearing sunglasses and a calm expression, ordered calmly.
As a director, he cannot be too biased towards Tom Cruise. A good performance is a wonderful thing, and it is a professional thing. Favoritism will cause problems in the atmosphere of the crew. Now everyone is at least working hard for the performance.
After the day's shooting, everyone followed Val Kilmer to the bar for a drink, except Tom Cruise.
"Ronald, I have something to tell you."
Tom Cruise found director alone.
"Tom, Kilmer played well. I believe you can accept his challenge. In the play, you are the opponents competing for the top gun trophy. I believe you can beat Kilmer."
"I'm not doing it for this. I'm not worried about the few times he did it. He performed well today, but after all, I'm still the one with the most important role. I just need to steal the limelight back tomorrow."
"Good attitude, then what do you want from me?" Ronald patted Cruise on the shoulder.
"I...I don't know how to ride a motorcycle...can you teach me?"
"You don't know how to ride a motorcycle?" Ronald was stunned, "Okay, then you come with me, your prop car has just arrived."
A sturdy motorcycle stopped on the runway. Ronald took the key handed to him by the prop and started the motorcycle.
"The Kawasaki Ninja 900 is the fastest motorcycle in the world. Like my GTO288, it is also the fastest. It is very suitable for the role of a lone ranger."
Ronald taught Cruise a few key points, and then asked him to get in the car and actually operate it. After half an hour, Ronald saw that he had good savvy in maintaining balance and operating machinery, so he asked him to get in the car and try it out by himself.
.
"Woo..."
Cruise drove around the track and everything went smoothly.
"Very good, in the future scenes of the chase and race with the F-14A Tomcat, you can ride like this." Ronald saw Cruise stop the car, flip up his helmet, and warned, "But you have to remember,
You can't drive on the road yet, I'll find a coach to teach you systematically in the future."
"It's a piece of cake." Tom Cruise liked the look of the motorcycle very much and ran on the track a few times. "I will buy one and drive it in the future."