"Your performance is very natural and very good." Ronald said to Helen Slater.
"It's just a little too short. After two afternoons of filming, it was gone in 15 seconds."
Helen pressed the eject button of the video recorder and took out the videotape of her advertisement.
"There is another version here, the version in which you sing Carpenter's song. However, your father felt that it was inappropriate to purchase the copyright to cover the song for an advertisement, so in the end, the version in which you sang jazz was used."
Ronald handed over another videotape, "I'll give you this copy as a souvenir." Then he picked up a book on the table and continued reading.
Helen Slater called Ronald after Thanksgiving. Her mother also wanted to see a copy of the commercial in which her daughter acted, and made an appointment to pick it up at Ronald's house today.
She took Carpenter's version of the videotape and happily put it into the video recorder to enjoy it.
After showing her performance several times, Helen was very satisfied. Seeing Ronald looking down at a book instead of looking at his advertisement, he felt a little disappointed for no reason. The director didn't seem to care much about this piece of his film and television debut, but was more interested in the black-covered, soft-covered book in his hand.
His performance looks perfect. The young director must be editing every day, so no matter how good the performance is, he doesn't feel it after watching it too much. Or is his book too engaging?
"What are you reading?" Helen Slater opened her big blue glasses and looked at Ronald.
"Endless love, I gave it to my cousin Donna as a Thanksgiving gift, but she said Aunt Karen wouldn't let her see this kind of thing. She asked me not to tell her that I gave it to her. I'll leave it here for now until she goes to school next year. I went to Stuyvesant High School and took a look at it.”
Ronald lowered his head and read the book while answering Helen. There were some very explicit descriptions and deviant plots in Endless Love. No wonder Aunt Karen didn't like it. Ronald began to flip through the book in his hand quickly, skipping through it.
"Your cousin can get into Stuyvesant. She is really awesome."
"Yeah, that was a purely IQ test, and Donna was pretty good."
Ronald remembered the day after Thanksgiving when he and his Aunt Karen, Donna, visited Stuyvesant.
Donna's score has exceeded the previous admission limit of Stuyvesant High School by nearly 40 points, so she will definitely be admitted. The three of them then went to the high school to visit Donna's future school.
This is a high school that asks nothing but IQ tests (math, reading, logic). Jews have historically made up the majority of students, but they see many Chinese in school and heard that the enrollment ratio of Chinese has been rising rapidly recently. There are basically no Latinos or black people.
The school also offers more than 50 advanced placement courses, and you can get college credits in high school. In addition to increasing the probability of admission to an Ivy League university, it can also be used to deduct hours spent at the university, which can save a lot of tuition.
In addition to mathematics, science, and English, students also need to study three foreign languages, art, music, and other courses.
In addition to academic courses, there are also skill courses in gymnastics, fencing, equestrian, health management, speech and more. Basically, it is a public school that cultivates social elites according to the curriculum of private preparatory high schools, and residents of New York State can attend it for free.
All in all, Aunt Karen and Donna were very satisfied, and so was Ronald.
"Your performance is perfect. I actually like this version of Carpenter's song better." Ronald finally finished turning the page and looked at Helen who was rewinding the tape. "Has Gerald given you a new role?"
"No, Daddy said he would wait until I take more acting classes." Helen already had plans for her acting career. "No more, I'm going to go to my mother's place."
"I'll give it to you." Ronald stood up and picked up his coat.
After seeing Helen off, Ronald went to the casting studio for the usual Saturday photo session and returned the old script he received last time. Julia Taylor from the studio saw him reading old scripts last time and promised to take a copy home to read and return it next time.
"Ronnie, you're here. We're going to get busy soon. There's another youth film that requires a nationwide casting process. Be prepared, there will be a large number of young girls coming to take pictures." Julia Taylor saw him, Give him work immediately.
"Like last time on the Blue Coral?" Ronald asked.
"The casting range is wider than that time. This time it may need to be for ordinary people who have no acting experience." Julia Taylor said.
"What kind of movie has such a huge cast? Romeo and Juliet?" Ronald couldn't think of any movie that would require young people to audition across the country.
"Absolutely, it's an adapted love story." Julia Taylor replied, "Because the producer, Casablanca Records, is involved in film shooting for the first time, and this is also part of the film's marketing plan."
"So are you really going to find an ordinary person with no acting experience and outstanding appearance?" Ronald found it a bit incredible. He had already put a lot of effort into directing Helen Slater. Finding someone with no experience would be really difficult. .
"The possibility of this is very small, but it is not unheard of in the history of movies, and there are many girls who have made it to the top in one step."
"So which one is it? Jane Austen or Dickens?" Ronald became curious.
"No, it's the latest best-selling love, endless love." Julia Taylor answered.
"Is this the book?" Ronald waved the book in his hand, "This can't even be called love. What the author wrote is very controversial, more like worldly affairs."
In Endless Love, in addition to minors eating forbidden fruit, there are also very controversial plots such as arson, teenagers committing serious crimes and being sentenced to a mental hospital, a mother seducing her daughter's lover, etc. Ronald didn't believe that this could be adapted into a pure love movie.
"Sometimes adaptations are like this. Only the name and protagonist setting are borrowed, and the rest can be rewritten. But I can't say for sure. It depends on what the people at Casablanca Records decide." Julia Taylor has not seen the script yet , not sure either.
"Casablanca Records has prepared a budget of 8 million, and they have obtained a quota of 100 million US dollars from PolyGram for filming. So they are definitely going to make a big deal about this movie. I heard that they invited Martin Sco Seth's go-to screenwriter, Paul Schrader, will direct the film."
Julia Taylor told Ronald about the background of the producer, "If the casting of this movie can be successful, we will be indispensable for all subsequent movies invested in Casablanca."
"Don't worry, I will work hard. I have completed all four courses in the first semester well. Christmas is coming soon, so I can devote more time to this matter."
"Very good, this is another youth exploitation film, and there are expected to be a lot of nudity scenes. You are a well-known signed screenwriter. If you have time, please help us check out the audition candidates. The intuition of peers is the most accurate. "
Ronald was interested in Scorsese's screenwriter and was invited to direct the film, and he was ready to take this path. Paul Schrader is the screenwriter of Scorsese's critically acclaimed film "Taxi Driver" and the screenwriter of Scorsese's new film now in post-editing.
Ronald planned to ask Scorsese if he had the opportunity to truly become a film screenwriter and move from screenwriter to director.
…
"Mr. Paul Schrader, I am Keith Barish, the producer of Casablanca. Our invitation is very sincere. How to spend the budget of 8 million US dollars and how to decide on the national audition for the male and female protagonists are all up to you. Let’s decide.”
Keith Barish was the driving force behind Casablanca Records' entry into the film industry. I saw that the two musical films "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" invested by Robert Stigwood were huge hits, which also led to his RSO record company selling tens of millions of records.
In particular, the Bee Gees' Saturday Night Fever soundtrack album ranked number one for 28 consecutive weeks from January 1978 to July. Five singles from the album topped the singles chart. The entire album sold 16 platinum copies and sold 16 million copies.
The film also sparked a resurgence of disco popularity and made a large number of disco singers such as Donna Summer famous.
Casablanca, like other record companies, was very jealous, thinking they had found the code to wealth, and joined the film industry one after another. This is the real reason why Hollywood started investing in musicals again in 1979.
Even Gene Kelly, the Hollywood dance king of the 1940s and 1950s who had been away from acting for many years, was called back by the film company and recently announced that he would start filming his first musical in many years.
"Keith, can I call you Keith?" Paul Schrader, who has written several blockbuster films such as Bodyguard, is now so popular that studios are begging him to direct.
"You know, I just finished the post-production of my movie American Gigolo, which is waiting for release in February next year. I also have to participate in the promotion of the movie, so why don't we talk about your new movie then."
If it is a hit after its release, Paul Schrader's net worth will not be what it is now. Although producer Keith Barish is new to the film industry, he is well aware of these directors' calculations, and they are no different from negotiating contract renewals for singers.
"Mr. Schrader, this is our first Casablanca movie, and we will take it very seriously. This is also an important reason why I am here to ask you to cooperate. We believe in your artistic expression..."
Paul Schrader has actually watched "Endless Love" before. Although it is very controversial and critical of American society, in his opinion, it is not powerful enough. At least it's a lot worse than "American Gigolo," which he directed and will be released soon.
So no matter what Keith said, he wouldn't let go. We still need to wait for news from Universal. They have already contacted the bankrupt RKO film department to discuss buying the remake rights of the classic movie "Cat People".
He still knows how to choose between Global's 12 million investment and the fledgling Casablanca's 8 million investment.
"Well, Mr. Schrader, we will keep giving you the latest news and wait until the updated version of the script comes out and then visit again."
