After intense auditions and the hard work of the director and producers, the lead and supporting roles were finally found. In addition, there are 57 permanent dancers and more than 500 extras. There are only a few teachers left in the cast who have not yet been confirmed.
The choreographer has long reminded the director that the more time spent on casting, the less time will be left for dance and drama rehearsals.
The casting process, which started four months ago, has been delayed for a long time, and the director decided to start dance rehearsals immediately.
All contracted dance residents receive a weekly salary of US$785 starting from rehearsals. . Rehearsal 5 days a week, with two days off on weekends. Including Meg Tilley.
Producer David da Silva has been extremely busy during this time. The New York Academy of Performing Arts rejected the revised script submitted by the crew. It is said that Ronald distributed advertisements on campus and seduced almost all graduating students to audition, which once again angered the school.
Therefore, the crew's idea of renting the campus of the Performing Arts College for filming also fell through. Da Silva had to scour New York looking for available exteriors and interiors.
After leveraging his Latino connections on the city's Board of Education, he finally obtained permission to film at Harlan High School, an abandoned high school in midtown Manhattan.
Not only is the architectural appearance of Harlan High School very similar to that of the Academy of Performing Arts, but the two schools are very close to each other, just across the road.
MGM invested $200,000 to renovate the interior and exterior of the campus. The original practice room of the high school was given priority to be re-paved with professional ballet carpets, practice facilities were updated, and it was first opened to the dance rehearsal team as a practice room.
This is the second time Ronald has filmed in an abandoned high school since he joined the film industry. Many public high schools have been closed in recent years, and the reasons are related to the Vietnam War and the hippie movement.
America's baby boomers began to emerge after World War II. A huge population boom occurred, and states opened a large number of new elementary and middle schools to accommodate this baby boom.
However, this baby boom came to an abrupt end in 1965, when the United States became deeply involved in the Vietnam War.
Hippies no longer get married and have children. Economic stagnation and the liberation of women from the family to join the workforce have also significantly reduced the average number of children in a family.
In addition to several ethnic groups that believe in Catholicism, because abortion is against the doctrine, they still maintain a high birth rate. Fertility rates for other white Europeans have fallen sharply.
Babies born in 1966, the first year of the baby boom, are now entering high school. The decrease in enrollment has caused a large number of schools to close because they cannot recruit students and cannot make ends meet.
Ronald walked into Harlan High School, which had reopened for the film after being closed for a year. When he entered, he saw an MGM carpentry room. Every day, carpenters were working on it, creating some one-off sets that looked useless.
At the beginning, Ronald found that two trucks would park outside the wood shop every morning without unloading the wood, and then take it away at night.
After informing the producer, da Silva told him not to make a fuss, which was a necessary waste.
The director of photography selected by the director also flew from the UK the next day. The first thing he did after getting off the jet lag in New York was to ask Ronald to drive and purchase two of the latest cameras and rent them to MGM. to film this film.
Thinking about how you bought a car, the fixed expenses such as equipment, vehicles, transportation, etc. in the crew are indeed a good place for powerful people to divide their territories and get their hands dirty.
The casting process is basically over. Theoretically, Ronald no longer has a permanent job on the crew and can only help the director revise the script at home. But the producer asked him to watch the dance rehearsals.
Meg saw him coming in and turned around without saying a word. Dancers are already used to it. The two of them didn't argue or communicate.
Ronald first went to the production office next door to chat with the producers.
"Mr. da Silva, the practice room is very hot today. Summer is here. The temperature is already 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius). It can only be higher in the practice room. If cooling measures are not installed, I'm afraid someone will suffer from heat stroke in the next two days. .”
"I know, Ronald. I'll let them buy air conditioners. The safety of the actors is a big deal." Since Madonna's dramatic failure in the audition, da Silva has become more and more satisfied with Ronald. I would chat with him every day to keep track of the progress of rehearsals and the movements of the actors.
60 boys and girls were inseparable in a practice room, rehearsing and resting for 8 hours a day. You can imagine what happened. Ronald's daily reports allowed him to grasp the trends and quietly add protective measures. He did not want Hillary's story to appear in reality.
"No, my director of photography Michael Seresin just surveyed the site yesterday and installed air conditioning. The air-conditioning sprayed out will cause poor lighting effects during shooting." Director Parker quickly denied.
"Then let's bring in four big fans, the kind used on the set. During breaks between filming, we'll blow them at the actors." The producer thought of a compromise.
In the afternoon, a truck drove into Harlan High School, removed four large floor-standing fans, and sent them to the practice room.
The dancers cheered loudly, but they were soon disappointed.
The buzzing noise is very disruptive to rehearsals. If you turn on the fan for a while while taking a break, the hot air blown by the fan will not cool you much.
The dancers who were originally full of hope are now full of disappointment and sighing, and the quality of rehearsals has also declined. The choreographer was so angry that he grabbed Ronald and said, "You have to find a way to cool me down, otherwise the actors will lose their energy."
Ronald reported to the producer again, dragged two large refrigerators, froze two boxes of ice cubes, and placed them in front of the fans. Now the dancers finally started cheering.
"And Coke." Ronald opened the cap of the glass bottle and handed one to the choreographer. "The refrigerator can provide each dancer with a bottle of iced Coke every day."
Even the choreographer was happy now, "You are such good news, Mr."
Meg also received a bottle of Coke. She looked at Ronald who was surrounded by everyone to thank him, and finally couldn't help but walked over.
The dancers were young people and knew the two had something to say. Antonia Francesca gestured to everyone, and everyone separated to give the two of them a private space.
But everyone pricked up their ears, waiting to hear this rare live gossip.
"Ronald, I'm very angry. The role that said my lines went to someone else... But the past is in the past, and I will pay you back the money for the acting training."
"You made it very clear, as long as you feel OK."
"Okay, after I finish filming this movie, I will go to Los Angeles to find my sister. I will develop in Hollywood in the future, and you will go to school in New York."
"Then... I wish your dream in Hollywood will come true." Ronald stretched out his hand.
Ronald took his Coke, walked to a corner of the practice room, and drank it quietly. Sure enough, roles and close-ups are the Achilles heel of all actresses, even newcomers like Meg who only entered the industry because of her own recommendation.
Everyone didn't enjoy the show and left in a hurry.
Gene Anthony Ray, the star who played Leroy, came over to complain: "Ronnie, don't be sad for that bitch. I'll introduce you to Lucy, a girl from Harlem. We black girls are very good."
Antonia Franceschi also came over and interrupted Jean's nonsense, "You know what girl. Ronald, don't care.
Ronald smiled. The two of them were recommended to join the crew by himself. In a sense, they were "Ronald's people".
"You seem to get to know someone very quickly."
"I have been able to tell who is pretending and who is real since I was a child." Antonia became serious. "For example, I can tell at a glance that Jean has no feelings for..." She made a "girl" mouth shape.
"Hey sister, who said that, I'm in the movie with you..." Gene smiled and made an obscene gesture.
Ronald was a little surprised. Gene had a complicated background. He was a man from the streets of Harlem. He had muscles and could throw his ballet partner high and flying. He would not lose in a fight. He was very kind to Antonia.
And Antonia really has a keen eye, and she saw through Jean's orientation in a short time.
"Hey, Ronnie, look at me." Gene patted his chest, "Which black girl do you want to date? It's Erin Kara. I can also let her sneak out and date you behind the agent's back."
Ronald smiled and was about to refuse, but suddenly something happened in his heart. He just took the opportunity to win over the crew.
"Stop dating, let's go find a place to eat something delicious and have some fun together?"
"Then I'll call Lucy and Antonia, and we'll have a two-on-two date."
Today happened to be Friday, so a few people got into Ronald's Honda Accord, discussed it, and decided to go to Little Italy to eat pizza first, and then watch a late-night movie.
"Wow, Man, is this a BMW?" Gene was envious of Ronald's car.
"No, Japanese Hondas are not as expensive as BMWs." Ronald replied, "If you become popular, you will have one in the future."
"I recommend the Margherita pizza, which has cheese and fresh basil leaves. It tastes very good. Some Wall Street traders will come here to eat it," Antonia said.
They are all children from poor families, and none of them are gourmets. They all agreed to listen to the Italian-born Antonia.
Italian pizza tastes really good. Compared with it, Domino's pizza is just baked dough. Unfortunately, this Margherita does not deliver, so you can't come here often to eat it.
Gene moved his shoulders to the music in the restaurant, a new disco number by Donna Summer called "Hot Stuff," which was hitting restaurants and nightclubs all over New York.
"Let's all say Cheese." Gene took out his new toy Polaroid camera, and everyone leaned together and took some photos.
"Our black girls are the best, aren't we, Lucy." Gene began to promote Lucy, who was also an extra from Harlem. Lucy straightened her chest when she heard this, looking like he was right.
"You are great, but Ronald may not like your style." Antonia smiled.
"What do you know, the darker the blackberry, the sweeter the juice..." Lucy argued unconvinced.
"That's a good line. I have to write him into the lines." Ronald took out his small notebook and a ballpoint pen, then stopped to ask for Lucy's opinion, "Would you mind, Lucy? If you don't want others to Read your lines and forget about it.”
"Do I have a chance to read it?" Lucy asked with bright eyes.
"I don't want to lie to you, no." Ronald stopped writing.
"It doesn't matter, just write it, it's not a big deal." Lucy knew her position as an extra.
"That's right, Lucy. Ronald is my big brother. He takes care of me so I can take care of you." Gene was very satisfied with Lucy's knowledge.
