"Click, click... click"
In Universal's small screening room, the newly edited dailies are being screened. From time to time, a black screen delay caused by the transparent tape on the film editing port appears on the screen, and at the same time, a small popping sound made by the transparent tape on the audio tape is heard from the speaker.
But this did not affect the two producers, Lin Sen and Azoff's full concentration on the film. It also didn't affect the middle-aged man with a beard sitting next to them.
Ronald was also in the seat, as a working copy of "fast-paced Richmond High" was shown on screen for the first time.
In the last scene of the movie, Mr. Hand is correcting students' homework, and he covers his head dejectedly. Among the new students, there are many students like Spicoli who smoke and get high all day long and scribble their homework.
With a "pop" sound, the screen turned black, and several handwritten white numbers appeared and disappeared. They were small marks made by the editing assistant. This working copy has not yet been attached with the Universal Pictures logo at the beginning and the end credits. After two seconds, the black screen ended and the lights came on in the small screening room. "
Producer Art Linson turned his head and asked the bearded middle-aged man sitting next to him:
"Great movie, isn't it?"
Because there are some nonsense rumors about the movie within Universal Pictures, such as the director turning the comedy into a tragedy, the director not shooting enough material, the editing not being able to produce a finished film, etc. Universal executive Ned Tanin asked the famous director to see what was going on and whether it was really impossible to edit the film.
The middle-aged man who was entrusted by Universal executives to watch the samples is the recently famous comedy director John Landis.
In the past two years, Landis has been the darling of capital after Spielberg. The two recent comedies he directed, "An American Werewolf in London" grossed 60 million, and "The Blues Brothers" grossed 120 million.
In addition to the previous "National Lampoon's Animal House" released in 1978, the box office was 140 million.
Having hit three home runs in a row, he is already America's best comedy and horror film director. In particular, "The Blues Brothers", which he collaborated with comedian John Belushi, received an investment of US$30 million.
In this era of declining film investment, this investment is only less than Spielberg's 35 million budget "1941". The studio has full confidence in him.
Moreover, the box office hit of "The Blues Brothers" quadrupled its cost, while "1941" ended in heavy losses. Before Spielberg turned around with Lucasfilm's "The Lost Ark of the Covenant," Landis was actually more sought after by studios than Spielberg.
"What do you think?" Azoff, another producer, also asked Landis's opinion. They urgently need this middle-aged man to report the real situation to the world and dispel the rumors.
John Landis pushed up his glasses. He didn't really appreciate the movie. The laughter in it is relatively obscure and loose. The best-selling comedy movies in the past two years pursue dense and shallow laughter, just like the several films he directed and the "Unprecedented and Unparalleled" that took off at the box office last year.
Although it doesn't suit my taste, the claims that the director can't shoot or edit are all nonsense. It seems like someone did it on purpose.
In fact, on the contrary, the young director Ronald not only knows how to shoot, but it is his first time to shoot a movie, and the movie has an unexpectedly high degree of completion. In addition to the actors' performances, there is also the common problem of emotional intensity mismatch among novice directors.
But even experienced directors cannot completely solve this problem. Unless they are working with a team for a long time, or return to the big studio model of the golden age of Hollywood and let actors form fixed partners, there is no way.
"As a newcomer's work, it is already very good." Landis replied.
The two producers breathed a sigh of relief. It is hoped that Landis can bring the true situation of the movie to Universal's senior management, match the corresponding publicity resources before the premiere, and match the number of theaters after the release.
"I would like to ask, what were your considerations in letting the actors speak in a Southern California valley accent?" Landis turned back and asked the young director.
"The California lifestyle is favored by young people in most other places, and I wanted to use a valley accent to represent that," Ronald replied.
"That's a good idea." Landis turned back, a little disapproving. The use of dialect accents in comedy movies is generally used to create some jokes. This large-scale use of dialect accents without corresponding jokes limits the movie-watching experience for non-Southern California audiences.
John Landis didn't say much. He stood up and left. This movie is not worth spending more time on. It would be better to chat with his old partner, John Belushi, about new movie ideas. I haven't seen him for a long time.
"Ronald, it seems that Director Landis has a good impression of you. Your movie will be released in many theaters." Editor Eric said quietly to Ronald.
"Oh, yeah? I don't know, I hope so." Ronald didn't say a few words to Landis. Seeing as he didn't say anything about the shortcomings of the movie, it shouldn't be that Universal rejected this version of the edit. "
"Good editing, Ronald." Producers Lin Sen and Azoff came over to congratulate him. The two of them actually breathed a sigh of relief today. Ronald's editing progress suddenly accelerated and he hurriedly made a copy before Landis came to see it, so as not to show the broken clips to the special envoys of Universal executives.
Ronald stood up from the sofa and said to the two producers:
"With the soundtrack tracks selected by Heckerling, the story and mood can be even better. Now it's just Motown music. The copyright has not been negotiated with Led Zeppelin, and the sound engineer has already started mixing work. "
Another producer, Azoff, vice president of MCA Records, replied, "Motown Records has agreed to let us use the copyrights of their singers, and you will soon be able to use Donna Summer's songs."
"There are some copyright issues with the songs on Led Zeppelin IV's album. Can we use songs from their other albums instead?" Azoff asked rhetorically.
Ronald turned to ask Cameron Crowe, who had worked as a special correspondent for "Rolling Stone" magazine and was very familiar with the rock circle.
"No problem, the audience won't notice that Mark, the nerd, didn't use the album recommended by scalper Mike when he dated Stacey. Led Zeppelin's music will sound the same to the average audience."
"I want to talk to you about reshooting some scenes. Sean Penn's performance was surprisingly good. I discussed it with Cameron Crowe and hoped to make up two scenes for him. Please invite talk show stars respectively. Johnny Carson, and popular actress Brooke Shields guest star."
The two producers were stunned when they heard this, and then felt very interested. If we can really invite two celebrities to guest star, it will be very helpful for the promotion and marketing of the movie. It will be a topic that can make media headlines for free.
"Do you have a way to invite them? Ronald." Lin Sen was more cautious.
"Johnny Carson's agent and my agent are in the same company, and I have asked my agent to inquire about his wishes. As for Brooke Shields..."
"I remembered, you directed the commercial for her CK jeans, right?"
"Yes, she and I are old acquaintances. I sent someone to ask her agent first. Her mother is in charge of her acting career. I want to contact her through formal channels first." Ronald replied, especially Rui is not an easy person to talk to, so she first asked her agent to understand her thoughts.
"A very good idea, Ronald. After reading this working copy, I also think that the surfer played by Sean Penn is very outstanding and very popular with the audience."
"If you have access to Johnny Carson, please give it a try. I hear he charges a lot for a cameo."
Lin Sen nodded. Johnny Carson was not only a talk show host, but also had his own men's clothing brand. He also invested in a car company and was preparing to build a sports car of pure American origin. This is beyond the capabilities of most people in the entertainment industry. Building a car is not a simple matter.
"I will ask for you, but you have to be prepared for failure."
"My agent made a list for me. If he doesn't agree, we'll find other hosts. There's no harm in trying the most famous one first. What if he agrees?"
"Hahaha, that's it, keep this mentality."
By nightfall, John Landis was back in Universal Pictures vice president Ned Tanen's office, giving his thoughts on "fast-paced Richmond High."
"The director's technique is quite proficient and he is experienced."
"Are there no shortcomings?" Tanin asked.
"There are no technical problems, but the pace of the film is not in line with recent blockbuster comedies. What he shot seems to be a slow-paced screwball comedy from old Hollywood, plus some explicit scenes from X-rated movies in the 1970s." Landis commented.
"You mean, the box office won't be very high?"
"It's hard to judge, but he did not adopt the comedy mode that audiences have liked in recent years. The rhythm is slower than the recent popular comedies. If you look at the editing rhythm of 'Unprecedented and Unprecedented', it is faster than him."
"Including some of your best-selling movies, right?"
Landis smiled and acquiesced to Tanin's words.
"Thank you, John. How are the preparations for your new film going?"
"It looks like my new film will be postponed. I may accept Steven's invitation to co-direct a movie adaptation of a TV series with him."
"Which Warner Bros. movie, eh? When are you going to make another comedy for us? With your old costar John Belushi?"
"John Belushi's situation is very bad. I think he is deeply involved in illegal drugs."
Landis sighed. His old partner now seemed like a different person. He would borrow money when he saw him. He didn't want him to continue to sink and refused the request to borrow money.
He also called Belushi's agent. The agent was also very frustrated. He said that he had called several of Belushi's good friends, including Robert De Niro, Robin Williams and others, and asked them to persuade Belushi to go to a rehabilitation center.
"God, he's a guaranteed hit for comedy. Too many Hollywood actors have been ruined by illegal drugs recently."
Ned Tanning said as he sent Landis away and took out an annual movie marketing plan on his desk. Use a red pencil to draw a line over the name "Fast Tempo".
"In that case, just arrange some resources and sell it to Universal TV stations for broadcast."
A few days later, Ronald came to the producer's office to discuss reshoots with Lin Sen and Azoff.
"Johnny Carson has officially declined the invitation to make a cameo. He said that he will not go to work on Tuesday and does not want to give up time with his wife for a small movie." Lin Sen said. He asked Johnny Carson directly about his time through a personal connection.
"Then let's go with what's on the list. Carson seems to have a land, and David Letterman also hosts the morning show on NBC."
"Okay, let's ask one by one. How is Brooke Shields doing? Is she willing to make a guest appearance?"
"She was willing, but her mother offered a price of 500,000 per month. I was very angry and asked her to talk. I hope she can lower the price." Ronald said, "Whether she can come depends on you. How much additional budget can we get for reshoots?”
"We try our best to fight for it. Brooke Shields' charm is very high. Many viewers who went to see Endless Love came to see her. We will make a request to Universal's senior management. If you can convince Brooke Shields, I think they will agree. "
Ronald nodded, it seemed that he had to take action to deal with Brooke Shields first.
"In addition, there is good news. After a meeting, Universal's top executives came up with a new idea, allowing you to edit a version that meets the G-level standards of the TV station. They will sell the 'fast-paced' version to MCA-owned TV stations. It seems that they are interested in the release. The box office is very confident," Lin Sen said.
Generally speaking, TV stations will offer to acquire movies only if they have excellent box office performance after release. Now that the TV version has been edited, it seems that the top management has given Landis's opinion and is confident about the prospect of release...
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