Chapter two hundred and thirty first leave one more hand
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Secretary, I am grateful." Ronald expressed his sincere thanks on the phone to Secretary of the Navy John Lyman.
This time, we were able to get the support of the Navy, thanks to little George in Texas, who asked his mother, Barbara, to call Secretary Lyman's mother, Constance, and tell a commonplace story about the lack of patriotism among today's young people.
Later, after Secretary Lyman received a concerned call from his mother, he once again inquired about Ronald's filming process for "Top Gun" and expressed satisfaction with Ronald's casting and filming progress.
"Hahaha, do your best, young man. In fact, I also have a deep relationship with Hollywood. Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco is my cousin. Well, we have been friends for years. When I went to California, you
You want to introduce me to some Hollywood female stars."
"Of course no problem", Ronald hung up the phone.
This time, a lot of connections were used to nip the problem in the bud. George Jr. also called Navy Liaison Officer Matthew directly through his father's secretary, asking him to make a strong statement.
Everyone in the navy expressed support for Ronald, and nipped the idea of replacing Mancuso in the bud.
Of course, doing all this is not without cost.
"Richard, how are the arrangements for entertaining Minister Lyman?"
"You'd better leave this matter alone. I'll arrange it. You won't know anything about it from beginning to end." Richard was very cautious and did not discuss any details with Ronald.
"Thank you," Ronald patted his agent on the shoulder. Among his agents, Richard was the most loyal.
"What did Mr. Eisner say?" Richard asked.
"He wanted me to be a director at Disney, and he said I could choose the script. But my cooperation with Paramount is quite pleasant now. Mr. Tanin and I have an old relationship, and I just recommended a ready-made movie to him."
When Ronald called Little George for help, he also heard a piece of news.
George Jr. complained that Eisner was slow to act. After the $200 million from the second phase of the Screen Fund was given to Eisner, he made no move. As a director of the fund, George Jr. was questioned by some investors.
Ronald took advantage of the two-pack preparation time for the crew's transition to call Eisner to deliver a message to little George. Eisner took it very seriously and made a special appointment with him to have a private chat in a high-end Japanese restaurant.
The chef served sushi and eel rice and exited the box, leaving the two of them to chat.
Eisner's power has been greatly reduced compared to when he was at Paramount. He respects potential directors very much and meets them in person when he has the opportunity. He doesn't know how to use chopsticks, so he simply rolls up a napkin, folds it in half, and inserts the chopsticks.
Make a big tweezer, pick up the eel and swallow it in one bite.
"Ronald, I know you are a screenwriter. If you have any new scripts, or if you have any good filmmakers who want to make a production with box office potential, be sure to come to me." Eisner's current attitude towards Ronald
Much more equal.
He explained that Disney currently does not have a good reputation in the field of live-action films. It has only made a few medium-invested youth films before. They are not approached for large projects, and Eisner is not sure about small projects.
"Mr. Eisner, actually, you have a very good movie in your hands." Ronald picked up a piece of eel with his chopsticks. The flavor of the sauce was very strong. He thought of Walter Murch.
"Walt, I know him," Eisner pondered for a moment, "I understand that you recommended the 'Return to Oz,' but that movie was established during the Ron Miller period. Do you understand what I mean?
?”
Of course Ronald understands. Walter Murch's movie "Return to Oz" was started by the former head of Disney, and he was almost fired. Now that Eisner is in charge, for him, this project is a success and
Failure was inappropriate, so it was left aside.
Now Murch's movie is in a strange situation where no one is paying attention. Funds for subsequent special effects production have not been secured, and early marketing work has not been carried out.
"Walt's movie still needs clay stop-motion animation, and if you're willing to support it, then this movie is in your hands to bring it back to life."
"Huh? Interesting idea." Eisner wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. In fact, he didn't care much about this movie that was approved by his former CEO.
"Walter Murch was a good friend of George Lucas. When he was fired by Ron Miller, I asked George for help. George personally flew to Britain to intervene and vouched for Murch, allowing him to stand up to Ron Miller.
Miller's pressure, the film was completed." Ronald told the story of the situation at the time, but Eisner did not know the inside story.
Ronald liked the taste of eel very much and ate a big piece of it.
"Cheers", Eisner clinked glasses with Ronald. He was very interested in the news revealed by Ronald. George Lucas was preparing for a big production. Legend has it that the special effects were further than Star Wars. The Seven Stars
The studios were all chasing him. With this news, Eisner felt a little more confident.
The next day, Walter Murch came over in person to thank him, and Eisner gave him a special amount of money for production and marketing.
Clay animation is to put dolls made of clay into certain poses, take frame-by-frame photography, and put twenty-four photos together into a one-second animation. With Eisner's personal intervention, the progress of "Return to Oz" will be greatly advanced.
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The marketing expenses have also been increased by 50%, and Murch's directorial debut will receive a normal mid-level treatment.
"It's nothing, I've been waiting to watch your movie for a long time." Ronald said it was nothing, picked up the drink and took a sip.
"Are you worried? I heard that the filming of your new movie went very well." Walter Murch always had a worried look on his face when he saw Ronald was worried.
There is nothing Ronald can't say to Murch, "Now the top management of Paramount has opinions about me. Although they have the support of the Navy during the filming stage, they can't trouble me, but I am worried that there will be unexpected things in the post-editing process."
Difficulties."
"Is that so..." Murch was silent for a moment, "Did you know that in the golden age of Hollywood, some directors didn't shoot the main shots? It was just to compete for their own power in editing."
"I know that if you don't shoot the main shots, they won't be able to randomly edit your movie and turn it into another story."
"In fact, in addition to this method, John Ford, who was highly artistic at the time, also invented some other tricks..." Murch mentioned some tricks that were privately circulated among senior Hollywood directors and editors to prevent producer interference.
I told Ronald everything.
"If you do this... don't say they can't change your story, even if you change someone to edit it, they may not be able to do it at all."
"This is the metaphor that you have repeatedly emphasized that editing is the audience's dream, right? When people dream, their minds jump. If others don't know the dream I had, they can only see a bunch of fragmented pictures..."
After discussing with Walter Murch, Ronald made up his mind to keep an extra hand. The Navy's support can only be guaranteed until he completes the shooting. Editing is the final creative step of the film. If he wants to maintain the initiative, he must have it in hand.
A few trump cards.
…
At the Los Angeles airport, Ronald, the main members of the film crew and several actors playing pilots were waiting for the flight to the Philippines.
The last cooperation unit provided by the Navy was the USS Enterprise nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. This USS Enterprise is a second-generation aircraft carrier with this name. It once circled the earth without replenishing fuel, demonstrating the superiority of nuclear power.
It has participated in all the military confrontations since its launch, such as the Cuban Crisis, the Vietnam War, the India-Pakistan War, etc. It is truly the darling of the American Navy.
The aircraft carrier is now deployed to cruise in the Indian Ocean. The Navy will first take the crew to the Subic Bay Air Force Base, then fly to Diego Garcia Base, and then transfer to a transport ship to join the fleet in the Indian Ocean.
Because the aircraft carrier's mission assignment is classified, the crew does not know the specific location of the Enterprise.
"Didi..."
Richard, who came to see him off, received a pager, "I'm going to answer the call."
"Richard, I have found the right candidate you asked me to find. The client is satisfied and her girls are the best in Los Angeles."
"It can't be Mrs. Alex? I don't want you to be as low-key as possible?"
"It's not her, it's a woman named Heidi Fleiss, an unknown person in the industry. She used to be Mrs. Alex's assistant. She is very young. There are no big consequences for her, unlike Mrs. Alex's famous name.
If your head is too noisy, you will easily be targeted by the police and tabloids."
"Listen, the people we have to serve are very..."
"I understand, I understand, don't ask, don't tell, cash transaction in advance, the customer doesn't need to worry about anything, and we have never made this call."
After Richard finished the phone call, he came back and gave Ronald a look of accomplishment.
"Okay, let's go..."
A group of people pushed heavy equipment and walked towards the boarding gate.
The American Navy came to Manila to pick up the crew on a transport plane. Everyone was sitting in the transport plane. The pilots of the navy were much more aggressive than those of the civil aviation. They took off and landed very violently.
After transiting at Subic Bay, the crew arrived at the Diego Garcia base after a long flight. They then transferred to a transport ship and after several hours of sailing, arrived at the mission location of the aircraft carrier formation.
On the vast sea, there is no reference, only the sunset, sea water, and a huge aircraft carrier.
The aircraft carrier was painted gray, and a helicopter took off from the transport ship and took the crew to the aircraft carrier. Ronald looked down from the helicopter and saw the numbers 65 painted in white paint on the deck of the aircraft carrier. This is Enterprise
The hull number of the ship.
After landing, a sergeant came to greet everyone, and the main crew members would have dinner with the captain and flight commander in the evening.
Ronald, Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, and several actors playing pilots got off the helicopter and saw the F-14A Tomcats parked on both sides of the aircraft carrier deck. On the deck, they all put their aircraft on
The wings are folded into a triangle to save deck space.
There are some soldiers wearing yellow, green, purple and other helmets and vests on the deck, busy, and the metal-colored deck, fighter jets, and sunset form a beautiful picture.
"It's so beautiful," Ronald couldn't help but exclaimed.
"I will take you to the assigned bedrooms first. This is set aside for you by the officers and non-commissioned officers."
"Thank you, maybe you can find a place for my photography equipment first."
"No problem, we have prepared several cabins for you to store equipment and photograph the flight control room."