Ronald crouched inside the hangar below the deck, behind the elevator that lifted the fighter jet. The live radio microphone was stretched in front of the elevator's motor.
The exit of the hangar shines with the unique yellow light of the sunset over the Indian Ocean. Under the backlight, only a black silhouette of the staff on the deck is reflected.
"Woo...", the elevator slowly rose up, gradually blocking the sunlight, and the silhouette of the F-14A fighter jet on the elevator platform also slowly disappeared from the lens, leaving a darkness.
"Qiang!", the elevator closed tightly.
"cut!"
Ronald and everyone hurriedly climbed onto the elevator that descended again and reached the deck.
The sunset was very beautiful, and the crew wasted no time in taking photos.
Ronald once again used a large area of backlight framing under the sunset, and a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen lens, leaving a lot of space for the huge fighter jets.
On the deck, the Tomcat's figure slowly slid across the viewfinder from left to right. It took ten seconds for the entire fighter jet to be included in the frame, and only half of it was occupied.
The sky was getting dark, and on the deck, which was almost unclear, the metallic color of the fighter jets, shrouded in the white steam emitted by the steam catapult, took on a mysterious tone.
"cut"
Ronald was very satisfied with the results of today's shooting. The dim, beautiful, smoky tones in the dream were indeed the most suitable for photographing the mechanical monster in front of him.
"Tomorrow the carrier-based air wing has agreed to shoot footage of the aircraft ejecting and taking off. We hope the weather will cooperate by then."
Director of Photography Kimball said to Ronald.
"The weather in the Indian Ocean changes very quickly. We have to be prepared. The shooting time is limited. The USS Enterprise aircraft carrier group also has patrol missions. We'd better complete the shooting within the scheduled time. I don't want to go to the Secretary of the Navy to intercede."
Kimball smiled and patted the young director on the shoulder. Thanks to him, he became the first director of photography to shoot on-site on an aircraft carrier in decades.
"Tom Cruise, can you sign an autograph for me?" A carrier-based aircraft pilot came over and asked Tom for his autograph embarrassedly.
Tom was stunned, then smiled and signed his name in his notebook.
"Hey, you want an autograph too?" the ground crew teased the pilot with a smile.
"I'm doing it for appreciation. Maybe in a few years, this signature will be worth a lot of money."
The profession in the world that is greater than the ego of a celebrity is probably that of a fighter pilot. The profession that is greater than that of a fighter pilot is that of a carrier-based fighter pilot.
Their one-in-a-million qualities, master's and doctorate degrees, make it difficult for them to look down on these unlearned and unskilled actors who play them.
Tom Cruise was the only exception. Relying on his affinity and popularity from previous movies, pilots recognized his role as the Lone Ranger, a carrier-based aircraft pilot.
"shxt!"
Fang Kilmer and Rick Rosovich next to him cursed disdainfully, and they were regarded as fools by the pilot.
Yesterday, a pilot looked at them as if they were idiots and explained to these two low-IQ actors that nuclear power means reactor and is not as dangerous as a nuclear bomb. Sleeping in their original bunk was actually very quiet.
It is, indeed, the best bunk that a non-commissioned officer can sleep in.
"I want to give some compensation to the officers and soldiers who will cooperate with the filming tomorrow..." Ronald showed a little kindness during dinner with the captain and flight commander, trying to make up for the quarrel between the crew and the aircraft carrier officers and soldiers caused by Fang Kilmer's violation of discipline yesterday.
of cracks.
"Don't forget, taxpayers are the ones who pay their wages." The captain felt Ronald's goodwill, but reminded him not to give too much, so as not to cause conflicts between the officers and soldiers who participated in the filming and those who did not.
"How about ten dollars per person?" Ronald thought for a while. At least it would be enough to buy people iced Coca-Cola. Tomorrow, nearly a thousand officers and soldiers would be extras to fill the deck and bridge.
"Haha, yes, inform the kitchen to make enough ice cream to sell to the boys tomorrow."
The next day, the sky was clear.
The assistant director is assigning tasks to the neat platoon of sailors.
A large group of officers and soldiers wearing authentic navy uniforms formed a large circle on the deck. Ronald and the others wanted to take a shot of the Lone Ranger shooting down three enemy planes alone and returning safely to the aircraft carrier with Iceman, and being celebrated by everyone.
.
This is the final climax of the film.
"Everyone, listen to me. When the time comes, the Lone Ranger fighter will turn around and drive here." Ronald picked up the electric horn and told the "extra actors" present.
Soldiers in these disciplined forces are much easier to manage than ordinary group performers.
"Then the Lone Ranger came down from the boarding stairs. You surrounded Hollywood and the Werewolf who were rescued after being shot down. When they hugged each other warmly, you gathered around and cheered. Now we
Let’s try it once.”
"Start cheering!"
"Ouch..."
"action!"
After the rehearsal, the official shooting took place. An F-14A Tomcat fighter jet slowly made a half-circle with its nose and cut into the picture from the right side of the viewfinder. A group of sailors gathered around and everyone started shouting the call sign of the Lone Ranger.
When Tom Cruise got off the boarding stairs, he was surrounded by people, cheering and celebrating his achievement of shooting down three MiG-28s alone.
"The 2.35 anamorphic widescreen lens is great. With such a wide frame, there is no need to pan the camera to tell the story, and nearly one-third of the frame can be left blank." Ronald was looking at the director's viewfinder behind the camera.
Scene, this format is really suitable for shooting big scenes.
The two actors who played "Hollywood" and "Werewolf" came over and hugged Tom Cruise fiercely. As soon as they engaged in battle, they were shot down by MiG missiles, ejected and fell into the sea. If they hadn't been alone,
The Xia later drove away the enemy plane, and the search and rescue helicopter would not easily rescue them from the sea.
Hundreds of people surrounded the three pilots and walked towards the other deck, where Iceman and Slider were returning early. The two ace pilots finally had to face each other to resolve their grievances.
Ronald stood behind the camera and smiled. He saw Barry Tubb, who played the "wolfman", the smart guy who wore a straw hat to steal the scene in the airport scene. This time he thought of something else.
Method.
Everyone else had their backs to the camera, surrounding the Lone Ranger as he walked toward the Iceman crew.
He was alone, facing the camera, talking to the Lone Ranger and his temporary radar officer, the Wizard, walking backwards as he spoke.
This scene-stealing method is very unique. It does not affect the protagonist, nor the composition and narrative. It is just a clever little trick that makes your face appear on the screen for a few more seconds.
"cut!"
Ronald looked at Barry Tubb and nodded to him, indicating that he did a good job. He did not hold him accountable for stealing the scene in private.
Tabu is very happy. As a supporting actor with few roles, appearing more in a big production like this will definitely leave a deep impression on the audience. It seems that the director is quite sure about his improvisation. He is definitely rescued by the Lone Ranger.
If you want to talk to him more, it is common sense to walk backwards.
"Very good, let's hurry up and finish shooting the following shots. Next, we have to shoot the shots of fighter jets taking off and landing, so hurry up." Ronald arranged to the assistant director and began to nervously re-set up the camera.
"action!"
Soon, Val Kilmer and Tom Cruise were pushed into a circle surrounded by hundreds of extras. Before taking off, Iceman was still questioning the Lone Ranger's fighting style regardless of his wingmen. But if the Lone Ranger hadn't sacrificed his life to save him,
, the Iceman will be surrounded by five MiG-28s and will probably be shot down.
The camera captured Val Kilmer walking to the fixed position posted by the tape on the deck and saying, "You are still in danger, but you have passed the test!"
"cut!"
Ronald reluctantly stopped the filming, picked up the speaker and said to Fang Kilmer:
"Kilmer, you misremembered the lines. Read them according to the script."
This is the climactic scene of reconciliation between the two ace pilots. Iceman will say, "You are still dangerous, but you can be my wingman at any time."
This means that Iceman recognizes the Lone Ranger's fighting style. The Lone Ranger has also learned from the accident of Dumb Goose and no longer abandons his wingman to stand out alone. At this point, the Lone Ranger has completed the transformation of his role and grown into a better fighter.
pilot.
"action!"
"You are still so dangerous..."
Val Kilmer seemed to have forgotten his words again. He got stuck here, and then he looked at the camera. He spread his hands and shrugged, indicating that he had forgotten his words.
"cut!"
Ronald started to get angry, "Would you like me to make you a prompt board?"
"Director, I can't say this line."
Fang Kilmer walked closer to Ronald, with his hands on his hips. He tilted his head, and his square chin was pointed at Ronald like a shovel, as if he was provoking him. He looked very much like an ancient ape-man.
"You can't say it? What do you mean?"
"I just can't say it. I can't bow to Tom's character..."
"You fucking..."
Ronald's blood surged.
Val Kilmer was doing it for his own status, and he didn't want his role to bow to Cruise's. He also wanted Iceman to preach to the Lone Ranger again at the end, so that Iceman could be highlighted.
He also wanted to compete with Cruise for the role.
The Iceman and the Lone Ranger have always been two levels of confrontation. One relies on reason and angers the opponent with textbook flying. The other relies on intuition, not thinking in battle and acting on intuition.
In the final dogfight between the two of them and a hostile fighter jet, the Lone Ranger saves Iceman, and the styles represented by the two are reconciled here. This is the reasonable plot climax that a commercial film should have.
"Go for it f*cking honestly and finish that line." Regardless of the remaining dignity, Ronald pointed at Val Kilmer's nose and asked him to go back to filming.
"I can't promise I can tell."
"Then keep talking until you can say it."
"Humph", Val Kilmer put away his unruly eyes and walked into the middle of hundreds of extras unconvinced.
Ronald stared at Val Kilmer's back. This man was not very smart.
Just now, Barry Tubb just stole the scene that fit the character, and he wouldn't say anything. Such a scene-stealing that completely overturned the development of the character and the story is really stupid.
Would you let him change the priorities of the two male protagonists on the spot?
"cut!"
"cut!"
…
We filmed it more than ten times in a row, and every time when the Iceman spoke, Val Kilmer either didn't say the sentence "You can be my wingman" or changed the words without authorization.
Ronald put away his superficial anger, but his heart was actually like boiling hot water.
This Val Kilmer dared to openly challenge the director's authority on the set because his Paramount CEO Frank Mancuso said a few nice things about him in a high-level meeting.
Now the two sides have reached an impasse. Either he overpowers himself as the director and changes the lines, or he overpowers him and forces him to say the lines.
"action!"
Ronald's face is as dark as water. If you don't say anything, then I will continue to shoot until you say so. I don't mind doing this shot thirty or fifty times...
"Change the film," Kimball shouted loudly. A large roll of film was wasted, and Val Kilmer still looked disdainful, and he just didn't say anything.
The staff all saw what Kilmer meant and were careful not to say anything nearby, for fear of being caught between the two people who were at war with each other and being used as a scapegoat.
"Ronald", producer Bruckheimer came over, and Tom Cruise also came over, "This is not an option, should we find his agent..."
"Let's continue until we get the effect I need."
Ronald ignored the two of them. There was no direct dial phone on the aircraft carrier, and it was a waste of time to send telegrams back and forth. This kind of thing was actually a contest of wills between the two sides.
"Hey", Tom Cruise punched his left palm hard with his right fist and returned to his standing position.
"Guys, the ice cream is here...hey?"
A large bucket of ice cream was brought to the aircraft carrier's kitchen to relieve the heat of the officers and soldiers participating in the filming. When they arrived, they saw a stalemate among everyone.
"Put the ice cream bucket down, and we'll eat again when Mr. Kilmer remembers his lines."
Ronald picked up the electric horn and announced to everyone present.
"Boom...", the officers and soldiers had been staying on the hot and humid deck for a long time. Seeing that they couldn't eat the ice cream in front of them, thousands of people complained together and made a loud sound.
"action!"
Val Kilmer had a bad expression on his face, and the extras around him looked at him like a clown. Thousands of pairs of eyes looked at him, threatening to knock him down to the ground and beat him up as long as he continued to play tricks.
"You are still very dangerous, Lone Ranger..." Fang Kilmer's face muscles were deformed in embarrassment, "but you can be my wingman at any time."
As everyone said, Val Kilmer had never enjoyed this kind of treatment. His legs were weak and his tongue was stiff, and he couldn't help but speak the lines prescribed in the script.
Opposite him, Tom Cruise showed an evil smile. He finally won the male lead's charm competition.
"Nonsense, you can be my wingman." After Cruise finished speaking, he stepped forward and hugged Val Kilmer, patting him hard on the back several times.
"cut!"
Ronald saw Kimball's OK gesture.
"This print is ready for ice cream."
"Ouch..." The sailors rushed forward happily, lined up consciously, each had a cone of ice cream, and started licking it happily.
"Woo..."
A strong wind blew over.
The weather in the Indian Ocean is very changeable. The clouds will soon become dense and the sky will get dark quickly.
"Mr. Director, the Wing Commander asked me to ask you if it's going to rain heavily soon. Do you still want to take off?" Liaison Officer Sergeant James came over to find Ronald.
"Please tell the commander of the aircraft to thank him for his kindness. Even if we can take off in bad weather, we will not be able to capture satisfactory footage."
Ronald looked at the heavy rain that was about to fall and felt very bad. Fang Kilmer wasted too much time just now, and he might not be able to catch up with the good weather before sunset today. There is only one day left tomorrow, and he can only pray for God's blessing.
, able to take a satisfactory picture.
He looked at Val Kilmer, who was walking towards the cabin, and Rick Rosovich, who played his partner, these two black sheep.
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－
Looking at the data today, I discovered that anakincai also became the leader of this book last month.
I didn't notice it at the time, so I'm adding thanks now.
Thanks for your support!
anakincai often helps me correct typos, thank you again.