"Two McFish burgers, thank you."
Catholics have a tradition of not eating meat on Fridays, so McDonald's, which mainly sells beef burgers, also invented fried cod burgers. Ronald doesn't eat often, and today he ran out of coupons for Big Macs.
When I got home, I boiled a pot of water, took out a tea bag, and brewed a large cup of black tea. Just drink black tea and finish dinner in a hurry. Ronald sat in front of the table and stared blankly.
Ronald applied to two New York public universities. One is the State University of New York at Albany, and the other is the newly established City University of New York at Staten Island. The economy is in recession and inflation is serious. Even if you get a diploma from an ordinary university, you may not be able to find a good job.
Ronald chose two affordable public universities. Aunt Karen is a New York State resident and can enjoy a large tuition reduction. The accounting major I applied for is a type of work that is needed by all companies. Even if the Great Depression hits again, I can still make a living by sorting out invoices and keeping accounts for the grocery store.
In New York, in the northeastern United States, people often hear about the Ivy League private schools, such as Harvard, Yale, Columbia, etc.
The starting point of class separation in America is college, and Ronald also wanted to go to a prestigious school. There is no money and no scholarships, and the tuition fees at prestigious private schools are several times higher than those at public schools. SAT scores and high school scores are enough to qualify, but low-interest state-sponsored student loans are not available.
Hey, if I had no choice but to go to the Staten Island campus of the City University of New York, which had just been upgraded from a community college (a junior college to a bachelor's degree), I would probably have to look up to those students from prestigious schools for the rest of my life.
…
I joined a film company and worked as a temporary director for a day. I originally just wanted to find a job in the industry so that I could earn more hard-earned money from taking pictures.
However, the conversation with Gale about dreams, and the feeling of having a final decision in a crew of dozens of people at the end of the day, ignited a wildfire in Ronald's heart.
…
In the film industry, only those with talent can make big money. You must have talent, right?
Besides, there was that strange dream last night. If you can dream about more future movies, you can shoot them in advance and make a lot of money, right?
Not necessarily.
Film is the most expensive art.
Unlike a novelist who can write for just one dollar on pencil and paper. If you want to be a painter, you only need to spend $100 to buy brushes, paints, and canvas, and you can start painting.
If you want to make a feature film that will be released in theaters, the minimum requirement is $200,000.
Even a 10-minute short film like the one Jim made, which has no chance of being shown in cinemas, costs more than 20,000 US dollars.
To make a movie with a normal budget, sorry... $3 million starts.
…
Or else scrape out the script and submit it to the studio? Then be appreciated by the producer, become a director, make a masterpiece, marry Bai Fumei, and reach the pinnacle of life?
I'm afraid it's not that easy.
Not to mention other things, judging from my experience of reading scripts for several months at New World Productions, many of the movies to be shot this year actually had their scripts written five years ago, and they are still in the warehouses of the eight major studios. It has been hidden for more than ten years.
As a young man with no successful works and no connections, I am afraid that if the script he writes is sent to the eight major studios, it will not even pass the test of a reviewer like himself.
…
Join New Age, slowly gain the appreciation of Roger Corman, and then be like Alan and Joe?
This road is also difficult.
This is no longer the era of big studios. Twenty years ago, as long as you worked in a big studio and had talent and hard work, you could get ahead. Write scripts for the stars of your own company, find directors of your own company to shoot, and stay there for five or six years. You can be promoted to assistant director until you become a director and start shooting your own movie with a budget of 3 million US dollars.
In today's Hollywood, everything is a free market. You find your own investment, your own actors, and your own negotiations with distribution companies.
Before getting a ticket to enter the free market, like Ellen and Joe, they have to earn the minimum wage of $200 per week stipulated by the union during filming, and their income will be reduced by more than half when not filming. It took five or six years to start shooting a small, low-cost production worth $300,000. This is still under the hands of Roger Coleman, a well-known kind man in the industry.
Not only that, in the New Hollywood movement of the past 10 years, the new generation of great directors who have emerged are all college graduates. George Lucas who made "Star Wars", Francis Coppola who made "The Godfather", Martin Scorsese who made "Taxi Driver"...
After graduating from high school, can I compete with graduates from these famous schools?
…
But thinking about it on the other hand, it is not easy for me to enter the film industry.
How many handsome men and beautiful women want to enter this industry but cannot find the door.
I accidentally stumbled into New Century Production and participated in film shooting. It can be said that there is a lot of luck. At another time, I might not even be able to pass the interview.
If you go to the City University of New York to study accounting for four years, you will most likely become an accountant yourself. What was once a movie dream may become a youthful memory like Chris and Marla did.
…
Ronald held the cup and took a sip of the black tea. The feeling of responding to everything on set came to mind again.
Smiling bitterly, I began to enjoy remembering that moment. Anyone who has had this decisive creative experience would probably want to do it again.
After going to college, you may find a stable job with an average income, and then forget about making movies as a dream.
You may make a lot of money working hard in Hollywood, or you may remain poor, but no matter what, one thing is certain, you will still be poor for several years.
How to choose between going to college and making movies? If only there was a way to get the best of both worlds.
If you get the best of both worlds... maybe it's not impossible.
…
"Ring ring ring ring..."
The phone rang suddenly.
"Hello, this is Ronald."
"Um, hello, I'm looking for Mr. Lee, he's a portrait photographer." came a nice mezzo-soprano.
"I am, please call me Ronald, who are you?"
"OK. Ronald, my friend recommended you to me, and you see, I called you several times this week, but no one answered, so I gave it one last try tonight."
"Sorry, I've been working on a film crew since the Thanksgiving holiday, so I haven't been home during this time."
"Then you still help people take audition photos?"
"Yes, but I will be filming on the set next week until the 22nd."
"So you're busy until Christmas?"
"I should be free on the 23rd, and the morning of the 24th is fine. Everyone is celebrating the holidays in the afternoon."
"Okay, I would like to ask you to take a set of audition photos for me. Let's take the 23rd."
"What's your name, please?"
"My name is Demi Gaines"
"OK, do you want to update your audition photos, or is this your first time?"
"first."
"Okay, do you want to shoot in black and white or in color?" Ronald opened the drawer, took out a work notebook, and started to take notes.
"Um, I don't know, what do you think?"
"It depends on whether the movie you want to audition for is black and white or color. If you're just filming it and keeping it with the casting director, then I recommend color."
"Okay, then color."
"Well, do you want to shoot outdoors or indoors? Oh, if this is your first time, you can consider indoors. Nowadays, more movies are shot in studios. If you just start, you can use indoors and add more later if necessary."
"Oh, I listen to you, you sound professional."
"Thank you. You can come to my house to shoot. I live in Venice Beach..."
"Wait a minute, Ronald. I'm a graphic model with an agent. I don't go to the photographer's house." The girl was very wary.
"I completely understand. If you have a free photo studio, I can rent it to your place. If I rent a photo studio, I need to spend additional money. Or if you have a larger room at home, I can also bring lights and go to your place. shoot."
"That's great, my boyfriend's home in West Hollywood is huge."
"Generally speaking, when taking audition photos for the first time, I recommend taking two versions, one suitable for a drama and one for a romantic comedy. The total cost of the two sets of photography is $50, including five 6X8-inch photos per version, and negatives .”
"Okay, it's settled."
"What's your phone number, Miss Gaines? I'll contact you on Friday the 22nd and we'll set up a shooting time and location."
"Oh, my phone number is 689-8425"
…
To my surprise, I got another order.