Chapter 21 Silence is Golden
The man continued, "Directing the second unit is not some profound artistic creation, it's just shooting some shots.
Why must Joe be in charge? Jerry said that this assistant still had some minor problems with his shots, but which movie produced by New World Productions doesn't have problems? These are just some shots from the second unit. I don't understand why it won't work."
He may not know that this assistant is Ronald who is present.
Everyone was silent for a while. This is certainly a feasible way to solve the problem, but... Roger Corman is not a philanthropist. Jerry Zucker obviously fooled him. He couldn't let him go with a few words.
Ronald didn't expect that it would be his turn to get a big cake so soon. He was ecstatic in his heart: "Yes, that's right, I'm good enough, let me be the second unit director, then I can join the Directors Guild. Even the lowest-level assistant director can use the membership card to fool people and take audition photos."
But his expression was serious, his lips were tightly closed, and he didn't say a word.
Roger Corman coughed, "The essence of this matter is a question of integrity. Jerry signed the contract and must fulfill it. Did you sign a $3.5 million contract with Paramount? If Warner gives you a budget of $7 million tomorrow, will you give up Paramount and go to Warner?"
Jerry Zucker responded, "This is not a question of how much money you have, but industry rules. We spent five years on this film and slowly polished it to what it is now. Your request actually destroyed our only chance in five years, which is not in line with industry rules. This is the dream of the three of us, don't stand in the way, Roger."
He took a sip of coffee and said, "We are not unreasonable. In addition to returning the advance salary you gave me, I can also be responsible for the salary of the second group of directors for the remaining days."
Roger Corman pondered for a moment, "But you have already filmed two-thirds of the workload, and I can't find anyone to replace you." After saying that, he glanced at Ronald vaguely.
Roger Corman deliberately emphasized the number of two-thirds, which was a subtle reminder to Ronald not to jump out and do bad things. Even if Ronald took over the filming now, the Directors Guild would not send him an invitation to join the Guild, because the number of shots shot was not enough, and the director of the second group still had to sign Jerry Zucker.
Ronald understood the hint, so he sat upright, lowered his head slightly, looked serious, and said nothing. His heart was like a roller coaster: "No way, there must be a way to get around this rule."
"No one stipulates that there can only be one second group in a crew, right?" Sure enough, Jerry Zucker jumped out. He needed to add fuel to the fire and let Ronald take over so that he could get out of it. "As long as the remaining 5 days of shooting are regarded as a separate second group shooting task, then the person who takes over will be considered to have completed all the shooting."
Jerry Zucker also hinted to Ronald that as long as two second groups were set up, there would be two second group directors, and he would have the opportunity to join the Directors Guild. It would be best if Ronald could recommend himself. Everyone looked at Ronald again.
Ronald remained silent. He couldn't recommend himself for such a thing... Besides, his boss Roger Corman wasn't the only one who had the choice...
Silence had a powerful force, like a huge black hole. Everyone wanted to say something to fill it and free themselves from the gravity of the black hole.
Roger Corman also drank a sip of coffee. He knew that he didn't have any cards in his hand to stop Jerry Zucker from running away. He also didn't have any cards to force Joe Dante to give up helping his good friend Allen direct on the scene and go to the second unit. But he didn't want to give up so quickly.
He decided to struggle one last time:
"Normally, people who have been credited directors won't go back to be second unit directors, but considering the current situation of the crew, we need someone who is familiar with the crew and has experience..."
This time, everyone looked at co-director Joe Dante.
A long, awkward silence...
Ronald's heart beat so fast that he could hear the thumping sound in his chest. His throat began to dry, then itchy, and he couldn't help coughing, but he still tried his best to suppress it and maintain this expressionless silence.
Because he knew that whether he could get the membership card of the Directors Guild depended on these few minutes. He had to use his core competitiveness of having suffered from "aphasia" - pretending to be dumb.
After a long time, no one responded to Roger Corman's words. Everyone seemed to be afraid to speak, afraid to change their sitting positions, for fear that people would mistakenly think that they had something to say, and even their muscles began to stiffen.
Finally, Joe Dante, who was under the pressure of everyone's gaze, broke the silence and said:
"I think Alan's body is still very weak. It is risky for me to leave him at this time, and it is not in line with the obligations between friends. The sample film shot yesterday has fully demonstrated Ronald's directing ability and artistic talent. I think setting up a new second group of filming crews, with him in charge, can completely complete the second group of filming..."
Bingo!
Before Joe Dante finished speaking, Jerry Zucker stood up and tried to shake Ronald's hand, "This way we'll all be OK."
Ronald still politely waited for Joe Dante, shook hands with him first to express his gratitude, then shook hands with his boss Roger Corman, and finally shook hands with Jerry Zucker.
Jerry was already in ecstasy, took out his checkbook, wrote $600 on it, signed it and handed it to Roger Corman. The trio left happily.
The Cormans walked up to Ronald, and Roger stretched out his hand to shake his hand, "You ask Gail to get the contact information of the second group of photographers, and I'll have Gail put your information on the director's employment form for 'Rock High School' and send it to the Directors Guild."
"Okay, Mr. Coleman, thank you very much."
Roger waved his hand and prepared to leave.
The boss's wife, Julie Coleman, did not leave immediately. She also shook hands with Ronald and started chatting: "Will you restart your college , Ronald?"
"I don't know properly not ." Ronald liked the demeanor of this professional woman very much. The proprietress Julie smiled. She had heard Gail talk about Ronald's situation and knew that the boy in front of her did not come from a wealthy family.He need to earn money for himself.
"But don't worry, with your artistic talent, it's not difficult to find a lucrative job in New York. New York is the world's largest advertising center. There are dozens of advertisements to be filmed on Madison Street every day. If you get the Directors Guild card, you can try to shoot advertisements for them."
Ronald was grateful in his heart and thanked the boss Julie for her guidance.
"If you need a letter of recommendation go restart your college, you can come to Roger or find me."
After saying that, she put her arm around her husband Roger's arm and the two walked out.
The boss Julie knew her husband Roger's habits and was unhappy when the cost of filming a movie rose. What's more, today is a combination of two things. Jerry Zucker, a cheap laborer, was lost, and Ronald Lee, a future cheap laborer with great potential, was lost. But she also knew that, apart from being a bit stingy, her husband Roger was a rare kind-hearted man in the film industry, and he did not embarrass Ronald because of this, but gave him a chance.
And she was optimistic about Ronald Smith's future, so she came over and gave Ronald a lot of very valuable advice. "This kid will achieve something in the future." Julie whispered to Roger.
Ronald stood alone outside Roger Corman's office, and suddenly wanted to laugh out loud. This kind of junior membership may not be a big deal in the eyes of people in the industry, but if he uses it to show clients who take audition photos, the fee can be greatly increased.
(End of this chapter)