Ronald returned to the house that Master Miyagi built for him on the set of the first Dragon Boat Festival movie. A year and a half later, no one lived here and it was dilapidated. The set spent a lot of money to restore it.
He renovated it.
Tomorrow, Ronald will be in Los Angeles to start filming the American scenes of "The Dragon King Part 2".
"Ah ha ha ha ha..."
Noriyuki Morita, who plays Miyagi, is holding a bottle of wine in one hand and a white beauty in the other, and is drunkenly visiting the filming location.
"Morita, you should drink less tonight. In the past few days, we mainly shot you catching flies with chopsticks. Your hands are shaking because you drank too much, so I will give you less shots for close-ups." Ronald and Oscar Best
The supporting actor nominee cracked the joke.
"No problem, it's all on me, hahahaha...onboard!" Morita didn't hear much of the dissatisfaction in Ronald's words. He walked to his bedroom in the movie, sat down cross-legged, and started chatting with the beauty.
An anecdote from the filming of the first film came up.
Ronald looked up to producer Weintraub and wanted him to remind Morita. The local box office of 100 million US dollars has made the three leading actors of Longwei Boy become celebrities. Elizabeth Sue has become a celebrity among thousands of people.
The high school student's dream lover, Ralph Marzio, has become a potential star among young actors who is more responsible and has better acting skills than the Brats.
Noriyuki Morita's life has changed the most. From an actor who acted in TV series and commercials and earned the minimum wage, he suddenly became a star with both critical and commercial success. He used the image of Mr. Miyagi in one go.
He worked in many commercials and even appeared on Johnny Carson's talk show to tell jokes.
For this sequel, I heard that Weintraub gave him a salary of more than one million U.S. dollars, which is on the same level as Ronald, the screenwriter and director of the first film.
Of course, the bigger change was in his personal life. He started a cold war with his second wife, the mother of his two daughters, and became close to many young beauties who wanted to be in Hollywood. He drank to excess every day.
When filming started, these blonde beauties had to be driven away, Ronald made up his mind.
"No, my client must receive these treatments. This is a rising star in Hollywood. It is a breakthrough for him to receive these treatments."
Ronald finally found Weintraub, who was struggling with the agent of co-star Ralph Marzio.
This time Ralph Mazzio broke through the previous film and received a salary of nearly 1.5 million US dollars. His agent also made a lot of requests, such as using his own makeup artist, hairstylist, and costume designer
, rather than sharing it with the crew. Of course, these costs are still borne by the crew.
In addition, Ralph Mazio asked the crew to bear the responsibility of a latest trailer, as well as his personal driver, personal assistant, and the most outrageous thing is that his mother and girlfriend also had to serve as an assistant producer on the crew
Their titles, of course, are limited to taking care of Ralph's life.
All of this is the main culprit that caused the budget of the sequel to double directly to over 15 million.
"Oh, God, Ronald, it's great that you're here." Weintraub was very busy. His assistant Susan Akins had no experience in handling these matters, so he had to do it himself.
Dizzy.
"Why would Ralph Mazio want such a bunch of useless and shabby treatment? Are these things really useful? Can they help him perform better during filming?" Ronald actually didn't quite understand, he
As a director, I didn't make any requirements, I just brought an assistant, Little Bud, with me.
"Sometimes, Ronald," Weintraub said, squinting, "they do it because they can."
"Ralph Mazio asked for more treatment, but he didn't know what it was for. His agent told him that Tom Cruise had not received all these benefits. This is
This is an unprecedented special treatment given to a young actor, and he must get it for the sake of being number one."
"Hey, I hope their acting skills won't be as inflated as their self-esteem." Ronald made a little joke.
"Is your lightning lamp ready?" After Weintraub saw the demonstration of the lightning lamp, he decisively asked Ronald to rent one and prepare to pack it up and send it to the Hawaii location in advance.
"Yes, it will be shipped from the warehouse in Los Angeles when the time comes, and we will pack it up and send it out when the engineers come over." Ronald grinned. George Lucas also booked one for his new movie. This is already the third time he has rented one.
Business is over.
"I don't understand why you put production on the East Coast and now when leasing equipment, you have to transfer people from New York."
"Jerry, among your movies that started shooting in Colombia this year, how many of them were still shot in Hollywood studios?" Ronald did not answer, but asked Weintraub.
"When you say that, it's really..."
Weintraub counted in his mind that many of the movies that started shooting this year have already been shot on location in various parts of the United States, or even in Canada. Only one or two have actually started shooting in Hollywood.
There are constant strikes and compromises are being reached to raise the minimum wage. The minimum wages of unions in various industries are rising rapidly. Producers have begun to vote with their feet. Anyway, today's audiences are more accustomed to on-site shooting and can resist the power of unions.
Why not save costs in weak areas?
In addition, New Jersey, Georgia, and other states have also introduced preferential conditions for film shooting. Toronto, Canada, even offers large tax rebates. Hollywood studios are starting to go idle.
"Besides, my business is only for rent and not for sale. Anyway, business trips and expenses are inevitable."
"Hello Tomita, how are you preparing for the role?" While chatting, Ronald saw the young actor Tomita Tan Ling who was confirmed as the heroine in the previous section.
"Ronald, hello, I have made preparations. During the rehearsal, there were no problems with the lines." There is no problem with Tomita's English, with a slight Japanese accent, which was requested by Ronald.
"Well, very good, you will come with me tomorrow. Even though there will be no scenes, you can quickly familiarize yourself with film shooting."
Now Ronald only has this young actor who can be educated as a newbie. She happens to be from Ryukyu, and she immigrated to America after she was born, so she was chosen to play the role, and it was her true nature.
"a!"
Early the next morning, Ronald began filming the scene where Daniel and Ally were having trouble.
Ali's family wants to send her to a preparatory school early so that her promotion to the Ivy League will be guaranteed.
Danny thought that Ali disliked his family background, so there were some minor contradictions in their words, and they spoke a bit harshly.
"Daniel, why are you like this? I went to the preparatory school to broaden my horizons. They have many projects suitable for personal development. I didn't say I had to go."
"Okay! Then go to your prep school and don't stay with a poor boy like me."
"Okay, go ahead. I thought you would be more mature after winning the championship."
"cut!"
After Ralph Mazzio heard Ronald calling a halt, he immediately went to the trailer to rest. Elizabeth Sue, on the other hand, came over and asked Ronald how he was doing.
"Very good. Your performance is very natural. Have you taken an acting class?"
"Hey, yes, but I have auditioned for many movies now, but I have failed."
"You have been away from Hollywood for a long time, and there will be an adjustment period." Ronald comforted him. Now that all the resources in his hands have been released, besides, Su is not as close to him as Diane and Helen.
Let’s talk about it later when we have a chance.
Su was a little disappointed, but she still gave him a nice smile and went to the trailer to prepare for the next shot.
Ronald looked at Ralph Macchio. Ever since he was included in the more progressive group of boys, this kid has learned to act like a star. The passion during the performance was not as good as in the first film.
There is so much time and it feels like a step-by-step approach.
Fortunately, his body, more than a year later, is still as thin as that of a child without development. At least there is no problem with his persuasiveness when he plays a teen movie like this.
"Nisita, why do these actors act like this as soon as they become famous? Their dedication to acting is not as good as before." After a few days of filming, Ronald felt a little angry. He dragged his agent Nisita and complained for a long time.
"Ronald, this is an American disease." Niceta explained to him.
"The market in America is big enough, and our audiences are not like audiences in Britain who want to see actors playing different types of roles.
In contrast, what we want to see more is that the actor, as a star, keeps repeating the same role.
For example, Clint Eastwood has entered the top ten list of the audience's favorite celebrities again, breaking Burt Lancaster's record of fifteen times on the list.
But our audience only likes to see him play a western cowboy, or a hot-tempered police detective, shooting two bad guys first and so on.
The same goes for Ralph Mazio. The audience wants to see him play the counterattacking Daniel LaRusso. He has played this role many times, and it is normal for him to lack passion.
Let me tell you, I have seen many actors. In fact, they feel uncomfortable if they keep repeating themselves. But if they change to a different type of role, the audience will not buy it, and the box office is not good. They have to come back to play the role that made them become
The equivalent of a star.”
"Hey, it's okay for him. I'll think of ways to mobilize his enthusiasm. Morita Noriyuki is even worse. He hangs out with his lover every day and drinks a lot. Today, he performed the scene of catching a fly with chopsticks several times. I
I had no choice but to shoot a few short close-ups and solve them in post-production."
"You have to understand that as an actor in his fifties who just got an Oscar nomination and made a name for himself, he must have accumulated a lot of dissatisfaction before. Now he is at the stage of life where he is satisfied with everything. It is understandable that many people who have just become famous
Celebrities all have this."
"Hey, I really didn't expect that everyone would be uninterested in making a sequel."
"Did you know? I heard Mr. Michael Ovitz tell a joke today. There are three types of Hollywood movies that can be released for more than two weeks. The first type is those that are shot with sincerity and are successful at the box office. The second type are those that are shot with great sincerity and are successful at the box office.
The film was shot with sincerity, but the box office performance was average. The third type was the film was shot without sincerity, but the box office performance was very good.
Sequel movies fall into the third category. They have a fixed audience and a predictable story. As long as you can complete the movie above the standard, it is not difficult to break the 100 million mark again."
Ronald heard a hint of fatigue in Niceta's voice, but felt helpless to continue chatting with him, so he suddenly stopped talking.
"Are you still here, Ronald?" Niceta asked on the phone.
"I'm here, Rick? Didn't I get any good news when I chatted with you? I just noticed that every time I come to you, there's always something wrong. Are you bothered by answering my phone?"
"Where did you go? This is my job. Richard and I will get a commission for every work you make. If you have any questions, you should talk to me."
"Okay, I understand. I'm paying for psychological consultation, but the fee is a bit expensive." Ronald made a joke, and then burst into laughter first.
"That's it, Niceta, I understand. No matter what, I will try my best to make this movie the best. I hope it will be good news for me next time I come to you."