Chapter 120: Who has the final say, Ronald or Herbert?
"Herbert Ross, this should be the best person we can find to direct 'Steel Magnolias', besides you of course."
CAA's search operation was very effective. Within two days, Niceta came up with the most suitable candidate, veteran director Herbert Ross. He recommended it to Ronald as director.
"Oh, him..." Ronald nodded. This person actually has something to do with Ronald. He replaced Ronald as the director in the musical film "Energetic" that was filmed earlier and won the award.
Box office success.
Helen Slater's previous film "The Secret of Success" with Michael J. Fox was also directed by the veteran director.
Why is he suitable for this "Steel Magnolias"? Of course there are two reasons. The first is that the two movies mentioned before are both related to southern towns. One is about Yankees going to live in a southern town, and the other is
It was Dixie Dixie who came to New York, and he had the right experience with the characters and narratives of Southern stories.
Second, it is because Herbert Ross was born on Broadway. He started out as a stage actor, then went to London's West End to perform in Shakespeare plays, and then turned into a director. After becoming successful, he entered Hollywood.
"Steel Magnolias" was originally a Broadway adaptation. Screenwriter Robert Harlin's script was very compact and conformed to the Trinity Law of stage plays.
The so-called three-in-one rule means that the time, place and characters of the story must be compact. The whole drama can only have one story clue, it cannot take place more than one day, that is, 24 hours, and it must take place in one location.
This was originally a rule set up for the convenience of stage sets and makeup, and does not conform to the artistic rules of movies. Imagine if "Gone with the Wind" was staged on a theater stage, then after the end of the first act, the background would have to change from
The rural manor in the South was transformed into the post-war metropolis Atlanta. The heroine Scarlett must also immediately change from a girl's dress to a dress made of curtains.
How can it be possible to get so much done with only a few minutes of rest between each act? Even if the actors rush to the scene like a war, many mistakes are inevitable.
As for the expressive ability of movies, through editing, different places, different times, and even the time and space of the protagonist more than ten years ago can be put together through a flashback, allowing the audience to enjoy greater artistic enjoyment.
It is precisely because of this that the story of "Steel Mulan" is also concentrated in the same small town, mainly taking place in the heroine's home and the hair salon next door.
This, in turn, makes it difficult for the director. The audience has developed an appetite for other types of movies and is constantly looking forward to the story opening up new locations and new characters. The original story of "Steel Mulan" is limited to adaptation and cannot be
The introduction of new scenes and characters will test the director's processing ability.
This type of movie often relies on the grasp of dramatic conflicts, character performances, and story trends to immerse the audience in it, forgetting that every scene takes place in the same place. In fact, this kind of movie does not follow the rules of film shooting.
, a bit thankless, just because Broadway is already well-known, so it has a big advantage in marketing.
Ronald also has concerns about this. He is not very good at this type of small-plot movies. With a director who is good at this type of film to direct the film, Ronald can only focus on investment and overall casting, which is also a good choice.
…
"Ronald, we haven't seen each other for a long time..."
Herbert Ross was a typical Jew, wearing large tortoise shell glasses and speaking with a Brooklyn flavor that couldn't be shaken off. As the proverb goes, you can take a boy out of Brooklyn, but you can't take a boy out of Brooklyn.
Brooklyn takes away from the boy.
This time Herbert Ross was able to condescend (at least he felt so) to participate in a young man-led project of Ronald, because CAA president Michael Ovitz personally visited. He said it very sincerely, Ronald
He gained the trust of screenwriter Robert Harlin, so he was able to obtain general production rights from producer Ray Stark. He refused to let go, and it was impossible for anyone to take away his director's position.
Herbert Ross himself also has a production company and has strong connections on Broadway. The reason why he did not have time to snatch this movie that was most suitable for him was due to personal reasons. At the end of last year, his wife of thirty years passed away unfortunately.
From now on, he is busy embarking on the second and true love journey in his life (he said it himself).
His new fiancée comes from a well-known family. She is the sister of former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who is called the "princess" Caroline Lee Radziwill. This princess is not just a nickname, but a
A formal title of nobility. Caroline received it from her second husband, Stanislaw Radziwill, a former prince of the Polish royal family.
Originally, Herbert Ross would not be so anxious to become a director, but this new fiancée is really too dazzling. The reason why Jacqueline Kennedy often made headlines in newspapers and magazines with her outfits was because of this person.
Sister Caroline is helping her sister choose and match costume jewelry.
In addition to being a fashion socialite, Caroline Lee Radziwill (soon to be Caroline Lee Roth) was also a patron of high art, and Ronald bought several paintings from David Geffen
Andy Warhol had a close relationship with her and received a lot of funding.
She is also very interested in music. After her divorce from Prince Radziwill, she accompanied the Rolling Stones on their new album's global tour. The band even stayed at her home when they were in America.
In addition, she is also a patron of many ballet companies, and the directors of the Paris Ballet, London Ballet, and American Ballet Company are all her guests.
It is conceivable that with such a fiancée who spends money like water, Herbert Ross is under considerable financial pressure. No matter what Ovitz tried to invite him to participate in the selection of the director of this film, what was his own plan behind it?
Ross needs this job very much.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Ovitz recommends you so, I am very happy that you can consider it." Ronald shook hands with Herbert Ross. Although this person is
A more suitable candidate, but Ronald saw with his own eyes that he had a bad temper on the set and often insulted the staff and even the actors. He always wanted to interview this old man to see if he could complete the job.
"Hahaha, you did a good job. I didn't expect you to do such a good job at the time. You can rest assured this time, as long as I take over this project, I will definitely let you see a good movie."
Ronald frowned. The old man seemed not to understand the situation yet. Who was interviewing whom?
"I will give you a salary that is in line with the market price. In terms of artistic creation, of course I believe in your consistent outstanding performance. However, this movie is a small melodrama from the South. In terms of casting..."
Ronald's idea is very simple. In this kind of movie adaptation, there is actually not much room for improvement in the shooting method. As long as he decides on an all-star cast and brings together many Oscar winners, he will naturally have a lot of marketing influence.
"Of course, the most important thing for this kind of movie is casting. You may not have much experience in this kind of movie. I have been filming Broadway adaptations of scripts since I debuted, so I have much more experience in casting. First of all, we have to start with supporting roles.
Let’s go ahead and decide on a few actors to play mothers, and then select two young actresses..."
"Hahaha..." Ronald laughed loudly. Is Herbert Ross confused? Who is the boss of this project? Whose advice should he listen to?
"I'll give you plenty of time. You can interview slowly, but I have already decided on several candidates who have won Oscars. You must interview them first." Ronald handed over a list of candidates.
passed.
"Sally Field, Jane Fonda, Olympia Dukakis, Shirley MacLean..." Herbert Ross was interrupted, feeling unhappy in his heart, and picked up the book that Ronald had prescribed for him.
Candidate, the anger in his heart has decreased slightly.
These actors are all really good at acting, and you won't have too many problems when directing them yourself.
"Two young heroines..." After reading it, Herbert Ross felt that this list was not bad. He could brag about it later. They all came to participate for their own sake. Three actors
It is still rare to see the combination of the two.
"You can choose slowly, but it is best for these two to occupy the same role." Ronald threw over the resumes of two more actresses. "The ones you are familiar with..."
Above are Diane Lane and Helen Slater. One of them has worked with him on "The Secret of Success", and the other was once Coppola's favorite and was supposed to play the secondary role of the two young characters.
It's not a problem. But in this case, doesn't he have no power at all?
"In addition, Michelle Pfeiffer has agreed to play the leading role. You can have an in-depth discussion with her when she comes back from Paris."
Ronald said, throwing away another resume.
"Hmm..." Herbert Ross almost cursed. Does he think of himself as one of those young directors who can only cook according to the recipes? However, the Jewish scheming prevented him from having an attack immediately, but instead considered where to start.
You can work it out and gain more say.
"Of course, I don't mean that you must choose these characters. It's just that from a marketing point of view, this movie needs these actors to join in order to have enough audiences to enter the cinema. Otherwise, a mother in a southern town had to give birth to a child due to diabetes.
Not many people will read the story of metanephric failure."
Ronald explained his intention, "These actors are indeed chosen at the moment." This means that they are very famous. Even if you choose the actors yourself, you may not be able to choose more suitable actors. Besides, there are several actors in the cast.
They all come here for their own sake.
"Of course, these are all very good actors, and I really like the prospect of working with them. But I still have to communicate with my agent about this..." After decades of ups and downs, Herbert Ross has long known that this
There is no time to express dissatisfaction in person.
"Then I look forward to our cooperation." Ronald was quite happy. With this kind of operation, a good movie would definitely come out. It seems that being a producer is not that difficult.
…
"I want to know, what do you think if my company also invests some money and then CAA leads the film? For all roles, priority will be given to actors contracted by CAA."
Looking back, Herbert Ross went to Ovitz and proposed that his company would invest, and then CAA would be responsible for the actual production and co-writer side, kicking Ronald out.
He thought well. He has experience and charisma, plus CAA's control ability, so he will not suffer in marketing and reviews. Ovitz got a director who is more promising to win the Oscar, and more of his own company
Performance opportunities for contracted actors.
"It's very tempting, but I'm afraid it won't work..." Ovitz thought for a moment and immediately rejected the other party's proposal.
Now is a critical moment for the most profitable business in his career (consulting Sony on its acquisition of Colombia), but he cannot make an extra step at this time and openly oppose Ronald, so as to arouse the dissatisfaction of the Japanese side.
As far as he knew, Japanese people were very particular about loyalty and long-term friendship. Since Ronald was able to give direct advice to President Dahe, their relationship was not something he could separate with just a word.
"What? But?" Herbert Ross didn't expect Ovitz to reject him. Could it be that in his eyes, that boy Ronald was more valuable than himself?
"There is nothing but, Herbert. Regarding the distribution of this film, the other party only recognizes Ronald. Do you understand?" Ovitz knew that Ronald was contacting Tristar Pictures, which has close ties with Columbia, for distribution.
Regarding the relationship with Sony, senior executives within Columbia who are aware of the merger and acquisition will definitely not be unhappy because of such a trivial matter.
"This...well...I hope we can forget this conversation..." Upon hearing this, Herbert Ross understood that there was an exchange that he didn't know about. However, the princess's wedding had to be paid for by herself, plus the wedding
After maintaining the life of a celebrity, I still need this director's job.
"Herbert, I didn't say you can't fight for it in other ways, right?" Ovitz smiled softly. Just because he doesn't follow Rose's idea of kicking Ronald out doesn't mean he can't take other measures.
ah?
This play was a hit on Broadway and was well received by critics. Ovitz did not want Ronald to take this opportunity to win the favor of the Oscar. In this way, he would not have enough leverage to control the other party.
But he also doesn't want the movie to fail commercially, so that actors under multiple banners won't be able to rise to the top.
Therefore, the best plan is to let Herbert Ross, a Jew with a bad temper, be the director and steal Ronald's limelight. If during filming, there are rumors that the producer and director are not at odds with each other.
The news is even better.
Ovitz's ability to master such delicate situations is one of his great advantages in being able to dominate Hollywood.
"But how to do it? That kid drove up and booked all the actors." Herbert Ross wanted to squeeze out Ronald. As long as Ovitz helped, he could find space by himself and use his rich experience to
Ronald squeezed out slowly.
Besides, this movie seems to be a promising one. If your own company invests in it, the financial space will be much greater. It is a common practice in Hollywood that as a producer, you can make a little profit, so it is not too much.
"That may not be the case, especially for the heroine, just wait and see." Ovitz did not reveal the details and asked Herbert Ross to go back and make other preparations.
Michelle Pfeiffer is the most popular female star of rival William Morris, while John Malkovich is just a bald and ugly actor. It pays to take this opportunity to embarrass his competitor.
Besides, Ovitz had already learned about Markovich's weaknesses from his agent.
"Hello...", he sent Herbert Ross away and dialed the number of his subordinate, John Malkovich's agent.
"How is John's mental state now?"
"It was not very stable. He would be depressed for a long time every morning, and sometimes he would shed tears. However, the director happened to think that this emotional state suited the current plot. Count Valmont finally realized the need to sacrifice everything for love, so the filming progressed
Soon. When he returns to Los Angeles after filming, I have already booked top-notch psychological counseling for him."
"Very good..." Ovitz put down the phone and called his secretary, "Who did I have a date with for golf this weekend? Well, let's add one more guest."
"The secretary wrote down the name of a senior reporter from The Hollywood Reporter, the gossip page."