"The beginning of this script is too bland. I had to find the opening theme song (from the dream), and then paired it with the helicopter aerial shot, looking at the center of New York, Manhattan Wall Street from the direction of Staten Island. A new novel that directly shocked the audience.
, and hold on tight..."
"The relationship between Tess and Mick Dugan, a chef who wants to open a restaurant, has been going on for a long time. Their breakup needs to be properly paved. The two are not spiritually compatible, and Dugan even angered by his excessive cheating.
Tess, so that the audience can rationalize the plot of Tess breaking up with him and refusing to get back together, and not anger this secretary who is working hard to climb up."
…
Ronald used a pencil to write down the various inspirations he derived from reading the script on a yellow post-it, and then posted it on the page that needed to be modified.
Kevin Wade's script is good at narrative and foreshadowing, but its shortcoming is that it does not break out of the structure of a stage play. The characters and plots are arranged in several concentrated scenes, making it easier for the scenery on the stage to switch between acts.
But after all, movies are different from dramas. You can use editing to break away from the limitations of the setting and fly to the limit of the audience's imagination. Therefore, some hidden plot lines can be laid out and then jumped away. When needed, a shot can be cut.
Cut to the past, and the audience will not feel confused.
Ronald didn't mind giving Wade a little help. Anyway, if he was the director, he wouldn't need to be credited as the screenwriter. He could just contribute without being credited.
"Ding dong..."
"Who is it?" Ronald asked unhappily as his thoughts were interrupted.
"Um...it's me, Helen."
"Oh, wait for me, I'll come." Ronald put down the pencil and got up to open the door to the apartment.
"Ronnie", Helen Slater specially took leave from the set of "Sticky Fingers" and wanted to meet her lover. As soon as she entered the door, she hugged Ronald and gave him a deep kiss.
"I thought you would come tomorrow. How was your rehearsal?" Ronald was very happy that Helen came back to see him. She is currently preparing for the movie directed by Kathryn Bigelow and has just started rehearsing before shooting.
.
"Katherine asked us to rehearse for two weeks. I have memorized the lines of the script by heart. This time you are here. I asked her for leave and said I would accompany you on the weekend. She couldn't refuse this excuse."
"What should we have for dinner?" Ronald happily went to get his coat. Donna had a handsome date, so she didn't want her old brother. Fortunately, Helen could come, and she finally had someone to accompany her to dinner at night.
"It doesn't matter, we can just find a place to eat in the building."
"Okay, I'll call Little Bud and tell him he won't need the car tonight." Ronald walked to the living room to make a phone call.
"Okay, I'll sit for a while." Helen sat on the chair next to the desk where Ronald was working just now. A wave of heat left by the man passed through the chair. Helen felt that it was ironed very properly, and she began to open the book.
Things on the table, "Hey, what is this?"
A thick script for "Working Girl" appeared in front of her. Helen saw a lot of post-it notes posted on the side of the script, and her curiosity led her to open the cover.
"Helen, Helen! Shall we go?" Ronald had already finished making the phone call and saw that Helen hadn't come out yet, so he came over to call her.
"Wait a minute, this script is very good, I have to finish it." Helen was fascinated by the story of "Working Girl" and her encounter with Tess, and she quickly flipped through the pages one by one.
"Um..." Ronald put down his coat, wondering why he forgot to put away the script.
Helen saw Tess's disappointment after discovering that she had been betrayed by her direct manager Catherine and taking the merger idea she came up with as her own. She was disappointed to find that among people with no family background and no education in first-class universities,
There is a very wide gap between them.
After discovering that Catherine had deceived her, Tess returned home in despair, and happened to see her chef boyfriend Mick Dugan having an affair with a dark-haired beauty in bed. She was hit hard by both her career and her relationship, and she suddenly lost her direction.
After spending a night at the beach, looking at Manhattan across from her home, Tess was unwilling to be a secretary forever, so she and her friend Xin came up with the crazy idea of pretending to be a colleague of her boss Catherine, and taking advantage of Catherine's absence to complete the project.
As a rich girl, Helen had never considered issues from the perspective of those who were born without many privileges. She was so moved by what happened to the protagonist Tess that her eyes became a little moist.
"I never thought that people who work as secretaries and assistants would encounter so many difficulties in reality." Helen heard Ronald's footsteps and looked at Ronald, "Have you ever been there before?
Are you often challenged by people with backgrounds like Catherine?"
"That's all over, it's nothing..." Ronald thought of all the difficulties he encountered when he entered the industry. This is considered a very normal thing in America. However, this country has one good thing, that is, it treats those who work hard.
For those who struggle, there is still a narrow upward channel left.
"Oh, poor Ronnie," Helen touched Ronald's face, "Ah, I'm sorry, I read your script without your consent. I was just curious about those post-it notes you wrote, and then
Once you see it, you can’t put it down.”
"It doesn't matter, I haven't finalized the director contract for this movie with 20th Century Fox yet. Don't tell anyone else yet," Rona replied.
"Then what happened to Tess? Did she defeat her evil-hearted boss Catherine, and did she and Jack Traynor get together?" Helen stood up and prepared to eat.
"Forget it, you can just read it here, I'll ask them to send it to the room." Ronald gestured to Helen to sit back and read the script, and then he went to make a phone call to order a meal.
"This is a really good script, just like those classic Broadway plays."
After nearly an hour, Ronald called for dinner to be delivered to the apartment. Helen also finished reading the script. She seemed very excited. The script was very suitable to her taste.
This chapter is not over, please click the next page to continue reading! "You seem to like this script very much?" Ronald did not expect Helen to like it so much. This is a very good indicator. A girl like Helen who grew up in the city is exactly
The audience this movie targets.
"Yes, I have never seen such a wonderful script since I was a child. You must make it more beautiful."
"Why?" Ronald wanted to know more about the audience's perspective.
"I grew up watching movies in which the women were gentle, beautiful, caring about their husbands and taking care of their children. This is the first movie I saw where women can be as good at work as men.
You can get ahead in a place like Wall Street, but it’s not necessarily a position that men can do.”
Helen came up and hugged Ronald, and said slowly, "You know, the movie I made with Michael (J. Fox) before; 'The Secret of Success', although she was also a working girl, she had very few scenes.
That character has even fewer scenes involved in professional work, and the key parts of the mergers and acquisitions in the movie were all thought up by Michael's character."
"I like Tess in this movie very much. This is the kind of professional woman I want to play. Unlike 'Secret of Success', she is actually a beautiful woman next to a man. She even became a manager because she had an affair with the boss.
Private affair."
"It's broken," Ronald thought to himself. Helen's feelings clearly indicated that she was attracted to this character.
But Helen Slater's acting skills are still not enough to handle such a complex role. Tess was just a female secretary who had no self-confidence at first, but hoped to escape from the bottom competition and strive for higher development through hard work.
Later, the fake thing became real, pretending to be an M&A manager, and he was able to work with ease in the workplace.
Tess before and after, both in terms of appearance and inner temperament, need to show the feeling of two completely different people.
This kind of acting skill that convinces the audience requires a particularly strong imagination, so that you can first believe it and become the character, and then impress the audience and make them believe it.
Helen, although her acting skills are also improving, she lacks life experience in the life of a low-level person in the workplace, a secretary who is irritated, and the temperament of a senior manager in the workplace. Ronald does not believe that she can act.
good.
Sometimes this kind of thing can't be learned by relying on an acting teacher.
"Do you want to play this role? It will take a lot of time to prepare for your new play?" Ronald felt that this matter had to be said straightforwardly.
"Hey, if I hadn't been scheduled for the film 'Sticky Fingers', I would have auditioned anyway." Helen bit her lower lip, "I know I might not be ready to play such a role, but
I always feel reluctant to see it. When I graduated from high school, my classmates all said in the guestbook that I looked more like a working girl on Wall Street than an actor."
"Have you noticed that the roles of professional women are slowly increasing now. Whether it is in movies or TV series. There will be opportunities in the future." Ronald patted Helen on the back to comfort him, "Besides, this is a female secretary who is almost thirty years old.
, if you do, you can’t play the role of a girl.”
"Ha..." Helen became happy again. Now she still looks like a girl. She can play a high school student or college student.
"You will be the final director, right? I really want to see you direct this movie." Helen sat in the living room, chatting with Ronald while eating.
She was very happy. The movie she produced was about to start shooting. Director Kathryn Bigelow was very good to the actresses and had many inspiring tips for them, giving Helen a lot of room to play.
But it is a movie about two girls. This "Working Girl" contains classic drama elements such as business war, love, betrayal, conspiracy, etc. Helen is a drama fan, and Ronald can direct such a classic.
Drama movies are particularly to her liking.
She also liked to watch Ronald's previous commercial films, but as a girl who had received drama education since childhood, she still hoped that Ronald could one day direct a drama film, be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, and leave a name in film history. Only then
He is the perfect boyfriend of his dreams.
"You know? When you say that, my desire to direct this movie becomes even stronger. I really want to direct this kind of urban fairy tale movie to give every female employee who works hard in the company a hope, even if it is in the movie
That hope."
"Great, you will win an Oscar." Helen looked at Ronald lovingly.
"I will find a way. The director Fox originally wanted was Mike Nichols. I will win the opportunity to direct."
"Who?" Helen was startled. "It's Mike Nichols, the director of 'The Graduate'?"
"You should have more faith in me." Ronald wiped away the food sauce stuck to the corner of Helen's mouth with his hand, put it in his mouth, and added a mouthful.
When Helen saw this scene, she couldn't help but put herself in Ronald's mouth.
…
After all, Helen Slater came here on leave. Everyone on the crew was waiting for her to go to rehearsals, and she returned to the crew the next morning.
Ronald also started to get busy and called his agent Niceta to name the director he wanted to compete for this script.
"What are the main conflicts between Twentieth Century Fox and Mike Nichols?" Ronald asked Niceta. Agents are always the first to know about these relatively secret conflicts.
"Nichols' main conflict with 20th Century Fox was that he didn't want a star in the movie. To him, a repeat of 'The Graduate' would be best. He liked a movie that he had complete control over.
Star, Dustin Hoffman was a fledgling kid on Broadway back then.
Several recent films he directed, such as Silkwood, used Meryl Streep and Cher. At that time, Cher didn't have much film experience, and neither did Streep.
star.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Last year, he directed "Heartfire", which used star Jack Nelson and his old partner Streep. The result was a failure at the box office and cost just over 20 million US dollars.
Not to mention the high production cost, after all, Nicholson alone would cost 6 million.
So for this year’s new film ‘The Genius’, he went back to find Matthew Brodick. He had just recovered from the fatal car accident in Northern Ireland. If anyone approached him to act, they would definitely listen to the director.”
Sure enough, Niceta knew a lot of inside information. Fox's Goldberg has made big plans this year. Apart from the few movies Ronald has participated in, he has great ambitions just after he took office and wants to make some achievements. By the end of this year and the beginning of next year, it is expected that
He will work on five to six major productions, and as long as one is successful, he will be able to gain a foothold within Fox.
It is indeed a characteristic of Twentieth Century Fox that they like to bet big. Ronald smiled, the business styles of the various production companies in the seven major ones are different. Paramount, which was previously helmed by Michael Eisner, was obviously more
Be steady and know how to make a movie that has the best chance of being a box office success.
He has now brought this style to Disney, but it is a bit unsatisfactory. Disney, which was originally the last among the top seven, actually needs a big gamble like Fox.
Twentieth Century Fox is currently in poor operating condition. What it actually needs is a steady strategy and a step-by-step approach. However, their tradition and the unfamiliarity of the immigrant Australian bosses with America have prevented Goldberg from acting in the best interests of the company.
, and made a few big bets for his own future.
"So, the key for us is to find the right stars to participate?" Ronald asked Niceta.
"That's right. In fact, in your previous successes, you have never worked with real big stars. They are very difficult to get along with. Sometimes on the set, you need to play several rounds of shoulder-bumping games to figure out who is the boss.
So the key is whether you can find a star who is willing to work with you, so that your resistance will be much smaller.
Goldberg's idea is very simple, he wants stars to participate, which can increase the box office insurance. You have to choose one of the current A-list stars... It's a pity that Tom Cruise is not suitable for Jack Trey in this movie
Well, maybe he can act in it ten years from now."
"So Goldberg needs an A-list male star to star?" Ronald asked.
"One A-level male star, or two A-level female stars. There can be room for discussion. Goldberg prefers male stars. After all, they have more box office guarantees for theater managers and can sell out."
"In Hollywood nowadays, are there any stars who are A-level? Send me a list and I will slowly select them."
…
"Squeak..." Ronald, who was in the business center of the building, waited beside the fax machine for a long time until all the long lists of people faxed from Los Angeles came out of the fax machine.
With a hiss, Ronald tore off the fax paper, folded it quickly, and returned to the apartment.
It seems that I will have to put a fax machine in the apartment in the future, otherwise I will always have to come to the business center to receive faxes, which will be troublesome if the secret is leaked.
CAA gives current Hollywood male and female stars an internal ranking based on their status in the minds of fans. In addition, Cinema Score also provides a similar sample survey.
However, the list sent to Ronald by the CAA agency was only divided into grades, and there was no ranking of individual stars. Because one-third of this list is CAA's clients, one cannot be biased against others.
Sean Connery?
The number one spot is always the former 007, Sean Connery. He was the first star signed by CAA, and he will always occupy the largest office in the office building besides the partners.
Ronald felt that Connery was not suitable for the role of a Wall Street banker. After all, he was a New Yorker, not a Scottish gentleman.
Pass.
Harrison Ford?
Ronald recalled that in order to force Bruce Willis to give up his privileges, he held a party for Harrison. Harrison Ford expressed the idea of collaborating with him once. There are many Jack Traynor roles.
Romantic love scene, maybe he will try it?
Maybe.
Warren Beatty?
Maybe you can’t play a banker?
Jack Nicholson?
A bit too evil.
Michael Douglas?
Well, he's pretty good, but he just played a Wall Street banker. I wonder if he'd like to do it again?
Ronald looked at the list one by one, carefully evaluating each one. There were fewer A-level male stars, but more A-level female stars.
Meryl Streep
Jane Fonda
…
Anyway, female stars can generally play roles that are more than ten years younger than their real age. These veteran female stars can also play roles like Tess and Catherine who have just reached their thirties.
Michelle Pfeiffer?
Well... the star status of female stars is actually much lower than that of male stars. Today's A-level female stars generally only have one-tenth to one-fifth of the salary of male stars of the same level.
Therefore, actors who have played heroines in two or three successful movies will also be classified as A-level female stars. Of course, the threshold for this A-level is a little higher than that of male stars.
I didn’t expect that Michelle Pfeiffer, whom I haven’t seen for a long time, would now be on the A-level list.
Names with beautiful faces and figures were passed under Ronald's fingers.
"Huh? Huh..."
Ronald suddenly discovered a familiar name. She is also an A-level star?