Chapter 12: Team Lunch
Roger Corman quickly left the set. He had to go to the hospital to see Allen and then took his lawyer to the police station to bail out Joe Dante. The life of a billionaire is always busy. However, Gale, the president's assistant, stayed behind.
It was a sunny day, with the sun high in the sky. The cinematographer said they could only shoot some close-ups and use reflectors to fill in the light. Otherwise, the direct sunlight would cast harsh shadows on the actors' faces, making the film look like a Kirk thriller.
Ronald and Jim carefully selected a few suitable shots, and after the cinematographer approved them, the shooting continued.
These scenes focused on the new principal, Evelyn Toga (played by Mary Woronov), who overhears rock music playing on the radio and catches the culprit.
She used giant scissors to cut the audio cable of Liv Randall's record player and demanded to know who the leader was. If the leader came forward, the rest would go unpunished.
Kate Lambeau, a good girl, stood up and confessed, although Liv Randall wasn't far behind. Both were punished when Principal Evelyn Toga announced their suspension from school.
Ronald noticed that if the actors rehearsed well and the crew worked smoothly, the filming became very rhythmic—actor positioning, lighting, rehearsals, actual shooting, prop changes, set rearrangement, camera setups, and so on, in a continuous loop.
Maybe it was because Ronald had low standards (he didn't have a dream vision and wasn't sure if the shoot was good), or maybe it was because he respected the crew's opinions (whether they were deceiving him, he didn't know). But, surprisingly, today's shooting was going three times faster than when Allen and Joe were directing.
By 10:50 a.m., they had finished most shots. Only a few long takes and panoramic shots remained, which needed to be done during the golden hour around sunset.
"The morning shoot is over. It's lunchtime! Everyone take a one-hour break," Ronald announced through a loudspeaker.
Daylight Saving Time had just ended, so Pacific Time was still a bit odd. The sun now rose around 6 a.m., set around 4 p.m., and lunch was at 11 a.m.
The extras rushed back into the school building to eat. The principal of Van Nuys High School welcomed the crew, as the school, located in West Hollywood, had many students interested in the arts. Having grown up exposed to film, many had joined the theater club in elementary school, dreaming of working in the industry one day.
The school even treated the crew to pizza and Coca-Cola today, delighting them, as the budget for food was usually tight, with only cheap hot dogs and instant coffee on the menu.
Ronald sat with Jim and Gale, eating Domino's pizza. This pizza chain had recently become popular for its fast delivery, and the food was still hot when it arrived. Ronald ate several slices, drank a Coke, and patted his belly in satisfaction.
Gale initially ate with plastic utensils, but under Jim's encouragement, she soon joined them in eating with her hands, covering her mouth as she chewed.
Jim told a joke that made Gale laugh uncontrollably.
Ronald put on sunglasses from his fanny pack. As a high-ranking crew member, he sat in a better seat—one with a backrest—and leaned back comfortably. Since they didn't have much left to shoot in the afternoon, he asked the actors to rehearse while waiting for sunset.
The advantage of wearing sunglasses was that others couldn't tell what he was looking at. Ronald closed his eyes, breathed deeply, and rested his mind. Unlike most Americans, he liked taking midday naps. However, in a culture that values physical fitness, napping could easily be mistaken for laziness or poor health. So, Ronald used sunglasses to hide it.
But being interim director meant there was no time to rest. Soon, Jim came over to ask about the tips Roger Corman had shared that morning. Ronald removed his sunglasses, pulled out a small notebook, and explained everything point by point.
"I wish I knew this when I was making short films," Jim said.
"You've made short films?" Ronald asked, surprised.
"Yes," Gale chimed in. "Jim brought his short film to Mr. Corman, who admired his talent and invited him to learn filmmaking at the company."
"Oh? What was it about? Do you still have it? I'd love to see it!" Ronald said eagerly.
"It's a sci-fi film, 12 minutes and 7 seconds long. I transferred it to VHS; I'll show it to you sometime."
"I don't have a VCR at home, but I could watch it at the office. How did you fund the film? It must've been expensive."
"I convinced 12 dentists to chip in $24,000 for the project."
"A sci-fi film? That must've required expensive props and special effects. How did you manage it with just $24,000?"
"The biggest expense was two model machines where characters would sit and fight. They were costly, and the actors couldn't fit inside, so we shot them separately—filming the actors in chairs pretending to drive the robots and then shooting the models fighting, editing the footage to make it look seamless."
Jim started enthusiastically discussing his favorite sci-fi films. Ronald suspected that if "Rock High School" weren't a teen movie filled with music and dance, Jim would've tried to take over as interim director.
"New World seems to have made a lot of sci-fi films," Ronald said to Gale.
"Yes, but George Lucas's 'Star Wars' raised the bar for sci-fi films. Mr. Corman's old-style sci-fi films, with their pew-pew lasers, became harder to sell," she said, miming a laser gun.
"Ronald, can we join you?" a voice called out.
Ronald turned to see two lively young dancers, Chris Sommer and Marla Rosenfeld, approaching.
They had changed out of their costumes and wore T-shirts and jeans, but their youthful energy still shone through. One had blonde hair, the other brown, and both looked eagerly at the young interim director.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Ronald slipped on his sunglasses. "Hey, Chrissy, Marla. My duties as interim director end today. The only scenes left are with Mary Woronov as the principal. I can't sneak in an extra dance performance."
"Oh, we wish you were the real director!"
"Yeah, your shots are better than Allen's!"
The two girls showered him with compliments.
"Don't say that. You two are incredibly photogenic (true) and the best dancers (exaggerated). There'll be dance scenes later in the film, and I'm sure Siana will recommend you."
Ronald deftly redirected the conversation, sending the dancers to seek Siana's approval.
"You're quite diplomatic," Gale said, laughing.
"I'm just telling the truth," Ronald replied.
"The truth? You only told them part of it," Gale teased. "For a low-budget film, the director still holds a lot of power."
"There's nothing wrong with that. Mr. Corman told me the audience isn't here for the story—they come to see young beauties dancing to disco music. They know how to meet expectations."
"You understand them well," Gale said, wrinkling her nose playfully.
"Yes, I do. Movies are magical—millions of people can see them. For a public school kid like me, even getting some screen time feels like a dream come true."
Ronald stood and packed up the empty pizza boxes and Coke cans. "Since the school treated us today, we don't have to eat hot dogs. And I don't have to count heads to stop outsiders from sneaking in."
Jim laughed with him, and even Gale joined in.
End of chapter