Chapter 13 What is your dream?
"Ronald, you said that the dream of those girls is to be on the big screen for the last time, so what is your dream?" Gail asked after they finished cleaning up the garbage.
"My dream? I don't think I have found my dream yet. I just want to be able to leave my name in the credits of 'Rock and Roll High School' so that I can offer higher prices for my portrait photography business and take audition photos for Hollywood handsome men and beautiful women."
"Why? You are obviously very talented in this industry." Gail was a little confused about Ronald's "dream" being so realistic and not very related to the film industry.
"To be honest, I don't know if I have talent in this industry, but I know that people without talent in this industry can't make money. Only those at the top of the pyramid can make a lot of money, and most practitioners don't have much money. And I need money, I have to make some money and pay off college loan."
"Huh? How old are you this year, Ronald?" Gail looked Ronald up and down, a little unconvinced.
"Yeah, it's hard to believe, this guy just graduated from college this year. He is one to two years younger than us." Jim added with a smile, "I was also surprised when I first knew about it."
"Can you really do portrait photography?" Gail looked at Ronald.
"Yes, in New York I helped people take audition photos, wedding photos, family photos and the like. But I don't know anyone in Hollywood or Broadway circles, and clients don't trust me, so they can't offer me a price. I can only charge $70-90 for each set of audition photos.
So I took advantage of my gap year after college year off from college and wanted to try my luck in Los Angeles. It happened that New World Productions was recruiting screenwriters, so I applied. Unexpectedly, I was accepted. Later, I became an assistant on the crew of "Rock High School." " "
Then why don't you take some photos of the crew and use them in future marketing? I will talk to Mr. Coleman. At the end of today, you will no longer be a temporary director, and you can make more money this way." "
I would be very happy if I could take photos for the crew, and I could also take photos with the stars and hang them in my photography studio. Thank you, Gail." Ronald thanked Gail with a smile.
"That's nothing," Gail shook his head. "What's your dream, Jim?"
"Me? I hope to make a science fiction film like Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' one day," Jim said. "When I was in community college . I saw a re-screening of this movie and was fascinated. I watched it several times and said to myself, 'Jim, you must make a movie like this.'
Then I went to Los Angeles and copied all the books I could find on film shooting in the library of UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) to teach myself. You all know the next thing. I found 12 dentists and raised funds to make this short film. Unfortunately, they invested in my short film just to get a tax refund. After watching the sample film, they rejected the plan to make further feature films."
"What about you, Gail? What's your dream?
" "Me? I like movies, so after graduating from Stanford, I didn't go to a financial institution like my classmates, but came to the New World to be an assistant to Mr. Coleman. During this time, I learned a lot about his work. I prefer being a producer to being a director. I prefer the financing, negotiation, and marketing parts because my father is an investor, and I hope to be a big movie producer in the future. "Gail's dream came true because she graduated from a prestigious university, had a family background in film, and loved movies.
"Then I wish all of our dreams come true!"
"Yeah, dreams come true."
...
The one-hour lunch time passed quickly, and the crew and extras gathered again. Ronald was going to rehearse the remaining two scenes first and shoot them at the magic time of sunset in the evening.
Ronald invited Mary Voronov, who played the role of Principal Toga, "Ms. Voronov, we designed the shot like this. You and two security guards are walking from a distance. Students along the way are still dancing disco, and rock music is playing on the speakers. You are in a state where you want to..."
"Cut the wires and put the students in solitary confinement." Mary Voronov acted very arrogantly and waved her hand fiercely downwards.
"The state is very good, that's it, you are such a good actor. "Ronald praised repeatedly, and then pointed to the grass on the other side of the playground," When the time comes, you and the security guards will walk over from the grass, from the panoramic shot to the medium shot, and I will arrange a few female students to dance on both sides, so that when you see them, you can play eye contact, and finally walk to the close-up. "
"This shot is well designed." Mary nodded.
"This scene is your entrance shot, and we will take a close-up later, which is the final appearance. The long shot of approaching from a distance, we will shoot it at sunset after 4 o'clock, so..."
"No problem, I will cooperate with the rehearsal first. "
Unlike the old-fashioned Principal Toga, the actress Mary Voronov is a very "progressive" person. In fact, she is the one who likes rock music the most among the actors, but her acting is very good. She plays a female principal who hates rebellious rock music and is determined to clean up the campus.
Especially her facial expressions, which are well controlled. Just now, she showed a mixture of contempt, hatred, and an eagerness to ban rock music. Ronald doesn't know how to act, but he knows that she plays well.
She may be The legendary acting talent, right?
Next, they rehearse the last scene of the day: the protagonist, rock hottie Liv Randall, and the good girl and top student Kate Lanbao, are punished by Principal Toga to stay in school. It is the first time for the good girl to be punished, and she is unhappy. Liv comes to comfort her, "It's no big deal to stay in school, I stay in school all the time."
The two slowly walk towards the teaching building. Liv holds a portable tape recorder, playing the Ramones' music, and jokes around Kate to cheer her up. In the end, the scene freezes on the backs of the two good sisters in the sunset.
I have to He said that this part of the script and the director's lens design were of high quality and did not look like a shoddy low-cost exploitation film. Roger Corman always finds truly talented people to work for him and only pays him the minimum wage.
After rehearsing the two shots several times, the director of photography Dean felt that it was okay, and Ronald announced that the crew would temporarily stop waiting.
This is a common thing in other crews. Some big-name directors can wait for a day for a certain light. However, in Roger Corman's crew, waiting for light is very rare.
The actors hid in the dressing room, and the extras also went into the teaching building and did not come out. Only a few staff members were left on the scene. Ronald did not sit on the chair marked with the name of Director Allen. Although as a temporary director, no one would say anything if he really sat down.
Thinking that he would become a crew assistant next week, Ronald was very satisfied with his current status. He directed a crew and everyone waited for him to make a decision. This feeling was very addictive. There were only a few shots left, and Ronald wanted to store the feeling at the moment and take it out to savor it at any time in the future.
The winter sun was very kind, and Ale 35 The BL camera sat quietly on the gimbal. The clapperboard lay on the table next to it, the long recording rod, the furry microphone... Ronald couldn't tell for a moment whether these equipment or the people who operated them were the protagonists of the film.
What is my dream? Will I have the chance to become a real film director? The profession of director is too difficult to enter. Allen and Joe spent more than 5 years...
Maybe I can try to be an actor or a photographer? After having tasted the feeling of making movies, I really want to do it again. It is difficult for other professions to provide this kind of heroism.
In peacetime, command a team, spend a huge amount of money, and then wait for the day when the movie is released. The box office, film reviews, victory or defeat are just a matter of a moment. Maybe this is the profession closest to commanding a general in battle. "
No wonder everyone wants to be a general or a director. This is really a job that men love by nature.
(End of this chapter)