Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Oh my god, that's more exciting than landing in the cockpit of a Navy F-14 Tomcat."

The Boeing passenger plane flew over Kai Tak Airport, passed countless yachts in the harbour, large outdoor advertisements with the words San Miguel Beer, then passed the Mong Kok Stadium, passed the overpass at a low altitude, and finally entered the airport. One hundred and eighty-degree turn to the right.

Before landing on the airport runway, the direction of the nose of the aircraft actually had an included angle of 45 degrees with the runway. Before landing, it made a sharp left turn to correct the angle, and finally landed steadily.

Because of Ronald's experience in a propeller aircraft piloting course, he felt more deeply than Diane, who was sitting next to him. This is a bit like the Soviet Union's transport plane, in order to avoid the ground Stinger missiles on the battlefield, the famous "Afghanistan" landed.

We ordered roast goose in English at the restaurant. Ronald and his group ate a Cantonese meal before arriving at the Peninsula Hotel where they were staying. This is one of the most popular hotels for business people who come to Xiangjiang.

Once Ronald moved in, he called script assistant David Simkins. David told him on the phone that he had signed an option contract with playwright John Patrick Shanley for 10 percent.

Within a year, Ronald and Ying had priority to produce his screenplay. After the project is approved, the full payment will be made.

Satisfied Ronald plans to negotiate the distribution contract of this script with the major studios after returning home, and then raise financing. He dreamed of doing this kind of mid-budget filmmaking once in his daydream.

"There will be a premiere tomorrow. We will publish some news in English-language newspapers like the South China Morning Post. After all, Western films are still in the minority here." Nisita, who arrived on the same plane, got in touch with his wife Paula. Sri Lanka has also arrived, and the two sides will meet tomorrow.

Although there is a market for English-language films here, only some people who have received English education have a market, but in the film circle here, there are quite a few English-speaking people.

Many people in the film industry have received university education, and in Hong Kong's university education, speaking English well is a necessary condition for getting a job after graduation.

Paramount's staff here, at Ronald's special request, arranged for some directors and producers to come to the meeting after the premiere the next day. And these practitioners, who can speak fluent English, also want to have the opportunity to communicate with Hollywood commercial directors.

"I don't know what the new wave has had on the film. No one in Hollywood is talking about the new wave anymore. Those innovative techniques have become part of Hollywood's commercial filmmaking. It's as common as drinking water."

Not to speculate, the practitioners and film critics here are fluent in English, but their ideas are outdated. They are still trying to communicate with Ronald with the thoughts of the emerging filmmakers in the hair country in the 1960s.

Ronald asked them carefully about their occupations and works, and found that most of them were film critics, and the other half only made some experimental works, which were extremely poor at the box office.

Movies are an art that needs to be tested by the market. What is there to communicate with these clichés?

Ronald asked the less useful translator next to him how many of the homegrown films were made in English. The answer is almost none.

Ronald knew right away that he might be looking for the wrong person.

The local partners may be concerned about the language barrier and arrange for those with strong English skills, and most of these people write for English newspapers and magazines, or do film research in universities.

Those who are really shooting local films on the front line have almost never met.

I say almost, because there is also a director whose English is not so good, who is actually making a movie.

His name is TsuiHark, and he set up his own film studio with his girlfriend. Also made a lot of movies. Because of the experience of making movies, I had a pleasant chat with Ronald.

After the exchange was over, TsuiHark specially invited Ronald to dinner.

Ronald knew that this was a way of communication unique to the Chinese, so he readily agreed.

"One of the things I like most about Hollywood is the developed special effects there. I just like to make special effects films. Unfortunately, the market here is too small. The special effects films I shot a few years ago did not fare well at the box office, so the boss didn't want to make them. "

"It's true. Hollywood is also able to produce ET aliens and Star Wars movies because of the large North American market."

Ronald agreed, and was satisfied that he could find a director in Hong Kong who also likes special effects. The two chatted while eating.

"A few years ago, he also brought in a former Industrial Light \u0026 Magic employee from Hollywood to create "Visual Concept Engineering (VCE), and spent a lot of money to make a special effects film, "Shu: Warriors Down the Magic Mountain", but They are asking too much. "

TsuiHark's girlfriend, Miss Shi, is also a producer. She is also good at English. She chatted about the magic movie that made her boyfriend regret a few years ago.

"I've seen this movie, and when I was filming 'Monsters in Chinatown,' director John Carpenter even showed us this movie, so that we can learn about the Chinese culture and visual characteristics. "

Diane chimed in and said that she was struggling with chopsticks and trying all kinds of delicious meats.

"There are quite a few special effects companies like this in Hollywood, and in fact there are simple methods. My friend Cameron has been making special effects for two dollars and thirty-five cents since the beginning, and only recently got a big investment. You should immediately I can see the sequel to his Alien."

"Aliens? I've been wanting to see it for a long time." TsuiHark said he was following the development of Hollywood's latest special effects technology.

"But this kind of special effects is very expensive, and Hollywood studios don't dare to try it easily." Ronald took some barbecued meat for Diane with chopsticks, and then ordered the waiter to bring a pair of knives and forks to let her slow down. Eat slowly.

"The bosses are almost the same everywhere. My boyfriend supervised a movie, and the boss said that he would burn the copy and get the insurance money." Miss Shi also seemed to remember the stinginess of the boss of Xiangjiang Film, and pouted.

"Supervisor?" Ronald didn't quite understand the meaning of this position.

"This is a special production arrangement in Hong Kong. When the boss doesn't trust the director's ability, they often arrange for another director to go to the studio to ensure that the director will not overrun or overrun, and by the way, when needed It's time to take over directing," explained TsuiHark.

"Interesting, we have a director's union in Hollywood, but there is no such arrangement." Ronald used his chopsticks very well, and the green vegetables in this restaurant were cooked very well, and there was no residue after eating.

"But your boss is joking, how is it possible to burn the film to get that poor insurance money?"

"No, he is serious."

"Huh?" Ronald was very emotional when he heard that, there is still such a producer who doesn't respect film creation.

"This is stupid, even if you only think about business, it's stupid. I believe you... the quality of the films produced by the producer will not be too bad. Hollywood's video tape business is very good now, even if it can't be released in the market, go directly to the video tape market You can also make money.”

TsuiHark and Miss Shi laughed awkwardly, Ronald didn't know why.

"There are pirated copies here, and the video tapes are usually released before anyone is willing to make them and distribute them," Miss Shi explained in a low voice.

It turned out that in Hong Kong, video tape piracy was rampant, and the anti-theft technology of VHS video recorders was quickly cracked here. All kinds of video tapes are sold very cheaply, and unless it is a blockbuster movie, there is not much money in the video tape market.

The release also requires a distribution fee and a copy production fee. After all, it may be better to burn the negatives and get the insurance money.

"Hey, old Woo, come here, this is the great director from Hollywood, Ronald Lee."

TsuiHark saw an acquaintance come in and quickly called him over.

Upon introduction, Ronald found out that the person who was slightly bald was the director of the movie TsuiHark had just mentioned. JohnWoo.

"I'm a little depressed now," Old Woo poured a glass of wine and drank it, "This movie has accumulated my hard work, and it really feels bad that it can't be released.

"Don't be discouraged, before the release, no one knows whether the box office is good or bad, so don't underestimate yourself." Ronald comforted after listening to Miss Shi's translation.

"Would it be convenient for you to take a look at the copy? If you can give a positive review, maybe the boss will change his mind." TsuiHark suddenly lit up and said to Ronald.

"I don't know Cantonese, but it doesn't matter if you look at it." Ronald agreed anyway, "But you have to show me the set of Xiangjiang, I really want to see if John Carpenter can direct it. How the movies you enjoy are made.”

"With me, I can also show you a special type of work that Hollywood doesn't have, martial arts."

...

"Well, a very special image style." Ronald finished watching the film called "A Better Tomorrow (Abettertomorrow). He couldn't understand the Cantonese dialogue, but this slow-motion shootout was very well done. Have style.

In Hollywood, there aren't many shootouts. Often when the protagonist and the villain are in a decisive battle, they abandon the gun fight and use fist fights instead. Because gunfights are often boring, it's not a director with a deep foundation, and it's a shootout that doesn't make the audience feel good.

"The shootout is impressive and the actors have a unique style. I hope to see more of Mr Woo's films."

Ronald wrote his review on a piece of paper and handed it to TsuiHark, "Hopefully that helps. I'll be honest, your image style is very special, and I like it."

"What did the ghost say?" JohnWoo took the paper from Miss Shi's hand, wanting to see what Ronald wrote.

"Say your good words, there is hope now." Miss Shi is very happy. With the evaluation of a Hollywood director like Ronald, the boss will no longer have any doubts about the release.

"Hahaha," Old Woo, who read the review, laughed from ear to ear, "Thank you..."

Ronald smiled and shook hands with him. The works of these people all looked like B-grade exploitative films, which made Ronald feel very familiar and comfortable.

...

"This is the set of Golden Harvest, and they're about to start a movie, the third sequel to the previous blockbuster."

TsuiHark kept his promise and invited Ronald to the set to see how it was filmed here.

Ronald looked at them as if they were doing some kind of ceremony, a pig's head was placed in front of something covered with a red cloth, and a large group of people followed and worshiped the pig's head.

"What's this doing?" Ronald and Diane were amazed.

"This is a traditional ceremony in Xiangjiang. Every time the machine is turned on, it is necessary to worship God in front of the camera."

Miss Shi explained.

"Worship the camera? Why worship the camera?"

"If you ask them, they'll probably just tell you it's a custom. But I've studied the history of the tradition."

Miss Shi was also well educated and spoke very good English, and she began to tell the history of worshipping gods.

It turns out that in the earliest days, Xiangjiang was not the center of film production. Many of the cameras here are second-hand goods that have been eliminated by several companies in Xujiahui.

When the camera is old, there will be some irregular, seemingly random accidents. For example, scratching the film and causing a whole box of film to be scrapped, or accidental exposure of the camera, etc. At that time, people who were engaged in photography work were not very literate, and sometimes they did not know why, so they gradually merged with local worship and formed a custom of worshiping the camera before starting the camera.

"Isn't this a variant of cargo plane worship?"

Ronald remembers reading the book of Feynman, the Nobel Prize winner in physics and the master of physics, which mentioned a phenomenon of freighter worship.

During World War II, the American Navy used some of the islands with aboriginal peoples as logistics transit bases. In order to obtain the cooperation of the aborigines, they often take out part of the canned meat, beer and other food from the logistics and exchange them with the aborigines.

But these aboriginal people can't understand modern technology, they think it's white people's magic.

So after the war, they cut wood into radio antennas, put them on in the shape of earphones, and then kowtowed to the shape of the plane cut out of wood, and put on the clothes left by the Navy to make the costumes of the wizard sacrifice, and they also imitated the Navy and began to kowtow. Call to take off, and it developed into a religious ceremony.

This worship of the camera is also a ritual formed without understanding the inner principles.

"Hey, big brother, are you here too?"

After the worship ceremony was over, the camera pulled down the red cloth, and filming was about to begin.

TsuiHark spotted a stout actor with short hair and came up to say hello.

"Why are you here? I'm here today to make a cameo. He Sheng ordered it."

Ronald noticed that the actor had a big nose and was always smiling.

"How is your body?"

"It's okay, I've already taken care of it, you can see that this scar is almost healed." The actor tilted his head at TsuiHark and showed him a scar behind his right temple.

"Lonely Step into a Fairy"

"Don't try too hard."

"There's no way, everyone is working so hard, only harder. Who is this ghost guy? That foreign girl is so pretty."

"I'll introduce to you, this is the great director of Hollywood, Ronald, and this is his girlfriend, Diane Lane, who is also a famous actor."

"This is our top-grossing actor in Hong Kong right now, Ja"

"Leihao." Ronald greeted him in Cantonese he had just learned.

"The great director from Hollywood? Jin, let's go to dinner together? I invite, abalone and shark fins..."

Ja with the big nose patted his chest and asked La Ronald, a big Hollywood director, to go to dinner.

Ronald agreed with a smile, he just wanted to communicate with these so-called martial arts and what was going on in the filming.

"Big brother, what's the matter? Going to have dinner with the ghost guy? That foreign woman is so pretty."

A group of martial artists under Ja, who heard that they were going to eat abalone wings, all gathered around, and when they saw Di An again, they seemed a little afraid to go with them.

"I'm afraid, do you think a foreign woman is pretty? In the next film, I will find a foreign woman to play the heroine..." Ja, who was called the eldest brother, looked at the longing look of his subordinates, and felt that he would find a foreign girl as the protagonist. Might be a good idea.

Everyone got in the car, went to a famous "Fulinmen" restaurant, and ordered a table of good dishes. Ja asked all the martial artists to sit at the round table, and sat with Ronald, Diane, TsuiHark and others. Through Miss Shi's translation, he kept asking Ronald about the situation in Hollywood.

"This is roast suckling pig, do you want to eat it?" the elder brother asked Ronald.

"Hey..." Diane heard that it was a pig and couldn't eat it.

"Don't?" The elder brother turned the dish, "Are you going to eat it?" The martial masters asked one by one, grabbing a chopstick if you wanted to eat, and didn't force it if you didn't want to, but he asked everyone, and it was fair.

The round table turned back, and there was still some left, and Ja swept them all into his bowl, then made a loud framing sound and ate all the meat.

"This is seafood, abalone, do you eat it?"

Another dish came up, and Ja asked Ronald and Diane first.

Ronald felt that if he was more polite, he might have nothing to eat, so he immediately picked up chopsticks for himself and Diane.

"Are you eating? Do it yourself." The elder brother showed his demeanor, asked around, and finally ate the rest by himself.

"Xiangjiang's food is very good, I like it very much." Ronald asked Miss Shi to translate and thanked the elder brother for his hospitality.

Finally the waiter served a pot of tea, and Ronald poured Ja a thank you.

"You're welcome, you're welcome. The director of Hollywood is so helpful to old Woo, we should all show it."

"When you come to Hollywood in the future, you can come to me. I will take you to eat delicious and fun food there. If you want any help with the movie, I can also help you connect."

Ronald heard from Miss Shi that this eldest brother is the most attractive male star at the current box office in Heung Kong. He knows the power of Hollywood male stars, with multiple friends and multiple paths. Besides, Ronald also felt that he seemed kind and fair.

"Let's talk about it, we just can't buy a Hollywood camera right now, and there are often good performances, but the next day it was printed and the negatives were scratched, so we can only do it." Ja was not polite, and said that he wanted to buy two A Panavision camera commonly used in Hollywood.

"Panavision cameras are only rented, not sold, and it's the same in Hollywood. You can only borrow them from Panavision after shooting starts."

"Hey, I'm just saying it, just saying it."

"Huh?" Ronald thought for a while, "Actually, there is a workaround. I can go to Panavision to rent two cameras for a long time, and put them in Xiangjiang for those who want to use them, but I need one. Do things fairly and have responsible people to manage.”

"Then it's best for you to leave it to the big brother." Miss Shi also knows that the bosses here in Xiangjiang are reluctant to invest in hardware equipment, and some large investment in movies also use second-hand and third-hand old equipment. And some big investment movies, obviously with some good equipment, can greatly improve the image quality, but it doesn't make sense to those stingy bosses.

People in the circle have long wanted to do this, but they are suffering from no channels, and they help people who are well-known in Hollywood to come out for a long-term lease to Panavision.

"Really?" Ja is very happy. He actually pursues film art very much, but he also failed in Hollywood a few years ago. If he can make such a loyal friend, it will be much more convenient in the future.

"Of course, I'll ask my agent to call Panavision and they'll agree." Ronald owns a Daydream production company under his own name, and it's not a problem to rent a camera.

"I toast you a glass of wine, Director Ronald! From now on, you will be my eldest brother. Come on, let's call you eldest brother Li Sheng." Brother Ja called the group of martial arts brothers and asked them to come and see Ronald. Germany.

Ja was very happy and solved a big problem for employees in the entire film industry in Xiangjiang, and asked the waiter to open a bottle of XO.

"You can use tea instead of wine." Ronald hurriedly stopped, no need to open XO.

"I'm so happy today, it's rare for me to meet someone like Li Sheng who is loyal."

A bottle of wine was opened on the spot, Ronald and Ja drank a full glass, and the rest was drank by his martial arts brothers.

Ja, in high spirits, invites Ronald to his own small studio as a guest.

"Li Sheng trusts me so much, I will definitely take care of the use of the Panavision camera."

Ja patted his chest. His studio was small, and there was an editing machine in a corner with unedited film on it.

"People like you are inherently trustworthy. When I watch you eat, I know that he will take care of every brother." Ronald replied.

Ja laughed, this martial arts team's family class is his greatest pride. He went over and took a look at the editor, there was still film on it, he took it down, put tape on it with an editor, and connected it to the previous picture.

Obviously, Ja is familiar with the editing machine, and he must have done it himself, and quickly, three times five times two, put the tape on it.

"Although I come from a martial arts background, I understand every aspect of filmmaking, and I just like to make films."

Ronald had great respect for these passionate filmmakers, and he picked up the film and looked at it, as if it were a modern martial arts show.

"Are you still using this tape? Hollywood has a new kind of clipping tape, as long as it is one-sixteenth of the 3M tape, it can stick the clip very firmly, and the price of a roll of tape is only 20% more expensive, And you can use it for a long time.”

Ronald sees the needle and starts to market his new type of clipping tape.

"And this kind of good stuff?" Ja was also very interested.

Ronald found a phone, called the factory on Staten Island, woke the factory manager, and asked him to send some samples for Ja to use.

"Also, do you want to make a lightning scene? I also have a lightning machine in my place."

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Two chapters are posted today