NOVEL WEB Exploiting Hollywood 1980.
Chapter 1 "Rock High School"
Chapter 1 "Rock High School"
"Cut!"
The director shook his head helplessly, "NG! (No Good, meaning unqualified)"
The staff sighed neatly, "Oh!"
This is the Whiskey-GoGo bar, rented by New World Productions for the filming of "High School Rock."For the last shot of the crew on Friday afternoon, 4 shots have been shot, and the 5th shot is still NG.
Everyone can't get off work early, and they can't have a seizure.With resentment in his eyes, he looked at the rock band "Ramones" who participated in the movie.
Director Alan Aikush got up and went to the band's manager, trying to replace bassist Diddy Raymond, who was always making mistakes.
Co-director Joe Dante sat there trying to figure out exactly what went wrong.It was obviously a very simple scene, the content was that the guitarist, bass player, and drummer took a few boxes of pizza and walked into the backstage lounge of the concert.Bassist Dee Dee Raymond says a line "Pizza, here comes the pizza, eat it!"
Why did it not work after taking 5 shots?This Didi, either said the wrong lines, or dropped the pizza on the floor, or knocked over the small table...
Crew assistant Ronald Lee, watched the whole process from behind the camera.It's a bit strange, the bass player Didi played very hard, he really wanted to perform well, he tried his best to shout out that line every time.
But every time after shouting, when the three of them unpacked the pizza box, Didi would make some low-level mistakes, as if... yes, it seemed to be intentional.
The three sat on the chairs to rest, and anyone who was NG5 by the director would feel a little downcast.
Seeing that the band members were losing energy, Ronald quickly walked to the table in the corner behind the camera, took three paper cups, filled them with "delicious" Nescafe instant coffee, and served them.
Didi, the most attractive of the four band members, took the coffee lazily without saying thank you.He glanced across the room with only the corners of his eyes, and a sneer of contempt appeared on the corners of his mouth.
Ronald followed his gaze, and it turned out to be the fourth member of the band—lead singer Joey
Joey's shot was done first, and he's chatting with a fan now.
Ronald looked back at this side again, and Didi was sipping coffee with his back to the other two band members.
A guess suddenly appeared in Ronald's mind.
Walking quickly to the director's chair, Ronald greeted Joe Dante, approached him and said softly, "Mr. Dante, I find that Didi is a little bit unconvinced by the lead singer Joey..."
Joe Dante listened for a while, his eyes suddenly brightened, and he asked, "Are you sure?"
"Not entirely sure, but worth a try."
It just so happened that director Allen failed to negotiate and came back, "No, the band manager said to ensure that the four members have equal playing time, and refused to change someone to say this line from Didi Raymond."
equal time...
Ronald and Joe Dante looked at each other, feeling more confident.
Joe Dan pulled over the director's chair, let the very tall Allen sit down to rest first, and whispered in his ear: "Ronald just found out...how about we try a different shooting method?"
"Oh, my God, you may be right." Allen jumped out of his chair immediately after hearing this, and went to coordinate with the band manager.
Joe Dante also got up to explain the new shooting method to Didi Raymond, and at the same time asked the makeup artist to come up and touch up his makeup.
Ronald saw behind the camera, and the director of photography looked at him curiously, and grinned: "The director will change the shooting method."
Soon, the crew was ready to start over.
Director Allen shouted: "Start! (Action)"
Dee Dee Ramon rushed into the camera first, holding a large stack of pizza by himself.He put the pizza on the small table and shouted: "Pizza, the pizza is here, let's eat!"
The other two members of the band, the drummer and the guitarist, just ran into the frame, one left and one right, and the three opened a box of pizza, each took a piece and bit into it.
"Cut! This one is very good, pass it!"
Everyone shouted "Yeah" and clapped their hands. Today's filming is finally over.
……
Ronald took the form and asked the actors to sign to confirm the working hours one by one.Then hand over the signed form to Jim, who is also a crew assistant.
Jim was also a young man, with long hair parted in the middle, a beard, and a Beatle look.Both of them are "miscellaneous" crew assistants. They usually have the most contact with work, and they are the best friends.
Jim put away the form, saw that the Ramones had gone away, and asked quietly, "What did you tell the director just now, so that Diddy can pass once?"
Ronald smiled slightly: "When I delivered coffee to Didi, I found that he was dissatisfied with the lead singer Joey. The previous shot gave Joey a close-up shot alone, and this shot shows the three of them together. So I asked the director to try and give him a solo shot."
The two smiled knowingly, not only the actors of the same crew, but also the rock stars of the same band, were also very concerned about their status.
Ronald looked at his watch and got up to leave.
"Why are you leaving instead of going to the party?" Jim was a little surprised.The crew is in place tonight, the "Whiskey-Go Go" bar, for a weekend party.
"No, I still have to call my aunt in New York."
"Don't forget to shoot tomorrow. While the students are on vacation, let's go to Van Nuys High School to shoot the morning scene and meet at 05:30." Jim handed over a notice with a map on it.
Taking the notice, Ronald walked out of the bar, got into his car, and drove out of the parking lot.
When passing by the crew's van, the camera crew was loading equipment into the van.Ronald honked the horn twice to signal to the camera director who was standing there, and then turned left onto the main road.
In Los Angeles on December 1978, 12, daylight saving time had ended, the clock was turned back an hour, it was just after 15 pm, but it was already dark.
My aunt must be waiting for the call. The time difference between Los Angeles and New York is 3 hours, and it is already 9 pm there. It will be too late to call when I get home.Ronald stopped at a telephone booth not far ahead.
Taking out a handful of coins and stuffing a few into the slot, Ronald dialed: 1-718-317 7157.After dialing the phone, he was picked up with almost one ring.
"Hello, Aunt Karen, I'm Ronald."
"Oh, Ronnie, are you okay? (Ronnie is Ronald's nickname)"
"I'm fine. I've been working on the set for the past two weeks. This time I've met a lot of people in the industry. After the filming is over next week, more people will come to me to take photos for auditions.
There are many people in Los Angeles who want to enter the film and television industry, and the market here is huge.I calculated that it was more than I could earn at home. For a set of audition photos for $50, I could earn enough tuition, books, and accommodation for the first year of college in three months. "
"That's great, I'm so proud of you, Ronnie. You're a good boy, and your mother and father will be proud of you in heaven too.
I married Steve right out of high school, and after he died in Vietnam, all I could do was waitress jobs, not make enough money to put you through college.But you must go to college. This is what I promised your mother, and you must do it. "
Aunt Karen was a little excited, and mentioned her deceased husband and Ronald's parents who died in a car accident, which made Ronald sigh.
"Don't worry, Aunt Karen. I'm sure I can make enough money this year. If I go to a public university in New York State, the tuition fee will be reduced, but the burden is not heavy."
"I'm just a waitress, I can't save much money..." Aunt Karen blamed herself again.
"Don't say that, Aunt Karen, you raised your daughter Donna by yourself, you also took me in, and you spent a lot of money on my aphasia."
After 6 p.m. on weekends, long-distance calls are half-price, 1 cents for the first minute, 29 cents per minute thereafter, and 19 cents for city calls per minute.The two were chatting on the phone, Ronald kept inserting coins to renew, and the coins lost more than half after a while.
"Not enough coins, let's stop here. I love you, Aunt Karen."
"I love you too, my little Ronnie."
Ronald hung up the phone, pressed the coin refund button a few times, put the coins away and put them in his pocket.Get in the car and make a U-turn, heading towards the rented apartment.
As he drove the car, Ronald was full of thoughts. Aunt Karen and cousin Donna were his only relatives in "this world".
Three years ago, Ronald Lee was still a native of China. When he closed his eyes while sleeping, he traveled to a hospital in the United States.When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Aunt Karen.
Parents in this life were killed in a car accident, only Ronald who was sitting in the back seat survived by chance.
Aunt Karen lost her husband in the Vietnam War and lives with her daughter Donna.After learning that her sister's family had a car accident, Ronald, who had become an orphan, was taken from the hospital to his home in Staten Island, New York, to take care of him until he recovered.
After that, Ronald was transferred to Tottville High School in Staten Island.
Thinking about his thoughts, Ronald stepped on the accelerator and drove towards his home in the direction of Venice Beach.
(End of this chapter)
"Cut!"
The director shook his head helplessly, "NG! (No Good, meaning unqualified)"
The staff sighed neatly, "Oh!"
This is the Whiskey-GoGo bar, rented by New World Productions for the filming of "High School Rock."For the last shot of the crew on Friday afternoon, 4 shots have been shot, and the 5th shot is still NG.
Everyone can't get off work early, and they can't have a seizure.With resentment in his eyes, he looked at the rock band "Ramones" who participated in the movie.
Director Alan Aikush got up and went to the band's manager, trying to replace bassist Diddy Raymond, who was always making mistakes.
Co-director Joe Dante sat there trying to figure out exactly what went wrong.It was obviously a very simple scene, the content was that the guitarist, bass player, and drummer took a few boxes of pizza and walked into the backstage lounge of the concert.Bassist Dee Dee Raymond says a line "Pizza, here comes the pizza, eat it!"
Why did it not work after taking 5 shots?This Didi, either said the wrong lines, or dropped the pizza on the floor, or knocked over the small table...
Crew assistant Ronald Lee, watched the whole process from behind the camera.It's a bit strange, the bass player Didi played very hard, he really wanted to perform well, he tried his best to shout out that line every time.
But every time after shouting, when the three of them unpacked the pizza box, Didi would make some low-level mistakes, as if... yes, it seemed to be intentional.
The three sat on the chairs to rest, and anyone who was NG5 by the director would feel a little downcast.
Seeing that the band members were losing energy, Ronald quickly walked to the table in the corner behind the camera, took three paper cups, filled them with "delicious" Nescafe instant coffee, and served them.
Didi, the most attractive of the four band members, took the coffee lazily without saying thank you.He glanced across the room with only the corners of his eyes, and a sneer of contempt appeared on the corners of his mouth.
Ronald followed his gaze, and it turned out to be the fourth member of the band—lead singer Joey
Joey's shot was done first, and he's chatting with a fan now.
Ronald looked back at this side again, and Didi was sipping coffee with his back to the other two band members.
A guess suddenly appeared in Ronald's mind.
Walking quickly to the director's chair, Ronald greeted Joe Dante, approached him and said softly, "Mr. Dante, I find that Didi is a little bit unconvinced by the lead singer Joey..."
Joe Dante listened for a while, his eyes suddenly brightened, and he asked, "Are you sure?"
"Not entirely sure, but worth a try."
It just so happened that director Allen failed to negotiate and came back, "No, the band manager said to ensure that the four members have equal playing time, and refused to change someone to say this line from Didi Raymond."
equal time...
Ronald and Joe Dante looked at each other, feeling more confident.
Joe Dan pulled over the director's chair, let the very tall Allen sit down to rest first, and whispered in his ear: "Ronald just found out...how about we try a different shooting method?"
"Oh, my God, you may be right." Allen jumped out of his chair immediately after hearing this, and went to coordinate with the band manager.
Joe Dante also got up to explain the new shooting method to Didi Raymond, and at the same time asked the makeup artist to come up and touch up his makeup.
Ronald saw behind the camera, and the director of photography looked at him curiously, and grinned: "The director will change the shooting method."
Soon, the crew was ready to start over.
Director Allen shouted: "Start! (Action)"
Dee Dee Ramon rushed into the camera first, holding a large stack of pizza by himself.He put the pizza on the small table and shouted: "Pizza, the pizza is here, let's eat!"
The other two members of the band, the drummer and the guitarist, just ran into the frame, one left and one right, and the three opened a box of pizza, each took a piece and bit into it.
"Cut! This one is very good, pass it!"
Everyone shouted "Yeah" and clapped their hands. Today's filming is finally over.
……
Ronald took the form and asked the actors to sign to confirm the working hours one by one.Then hand over the signed form to Jim, who is also a crew assistant.
Jim was also a young man, with long hair parted in the middle, a beard, and a Beatle look.Both of them are "miscellaneous" crew assistants. They usually have the most contact with work, and they are the best friends.
Jim put away the form, saw that the Ramones had gone away, and asked quietly, "What did you tell the director just now, so that Diddy can pass once?"
Ronald smiled slightly: "When I delivered coffee to Didi, I found that he was dissatisfied with the lead singer Joey. The previous shot gave Joey a close-up shot alone, and this shot shows the three of them together. So I asked the director to try and give him a solo shot."
The two smiled knowingly, not only the actors of the same crew, but also the rock stars of the same band, were also very concerned about their status.
Ronald looked at his watch and got up to leave.
"Why are you leaving instead of going to the party?" Jim was a little surprised.The crew is in place tonight, the "Whiskey-Go Go" bar, for a weekend party.
"No, I still have to call my aunt in New York."
"Don't forget to shoot tomorrow. While the students are on vacation, let's go to Van Nuys High School to shoot the morning scene and meet at 05:30." Jim handed over a notice with a map on it.
Taking the notice, Ronald walked out of the bar, got into his car, and drove out of the parking lot.
When passing by the crew's van, the camera crew was loading equipment into the van.Ronald honked the horn twice to signal to the camera director who was standing there, and then turned left onto the main road.
In Los Angeles on December 1978, 12, daylight saving time had ended, the clock was turned back an hour, it was just after 15 pm, but it was already dark.
My aunt must be waiting for the call. The time difference between Los Angeles and New York is 3 hours, and it is already 9 pm there. It will be too late to call when I get home.Ronald stopped at a telephone booth not far ahead.
Taking out a handful of coins and stuffing a few into the slot, Ronald dialed: 1-718-317 7157.After dialing the phone, he was picked up with almost one ring.
"Hello, Aunt Karen, I'm Ronald."
"Oh, Ronnie, are you okay? (Ronnie is Ronald's nickname)"
"I'm fine. I've been working on the set for the past two weeks. This time I've met a lot of people in the industry. After the filming is over next week, more people will come to me to take photos for auditions.
There are many people in Los Angeles who want to enter the film and television industry, and the market here is huge.I calculated that it was more than I could earn at home. For a set of audition photos for $50, I could earn enough tuition, books, and accommodation for the first year of college in three months. "
"That's great, I'm so proud of you, Ronnie. You're a good boy, and your mother and father will be proud of you in heaven too.
I married Steve right out of high school, and after he died in Vietnam, all I could do was waitress jobs, not make enough money to put you through college.But you must go to college. This is what I promised your mother, and you must do it. "
Aunt Karen was a little excited, and mentioned her deceased husband and Ronald's parents who died in a car accident, which made Ronald sigh.
"Don't worry, Aunt Karen. I'm sure I can make enough money this year. If I go to a public university in New York State, the tuition fee will be reduced, but the burden is not heavy."
"I'm just a waitress, I can't save much money..." Aunt Karen blamed herself again.
"Don't say that, Aunt Karen, you raised your daughter Donna by yourself, you also took me in, and you spent a lot of money on my aphasia."
After 6 p.m. on weekends, long-distance calls are half-price, 1 cents for the first minute, 29 cents per minute thereafter, and 19 cents for city calls per minute.The two were chatting on the phone, Ronald kept inserting coins to renew, and the coins lost more than half after a while.
"Not enough coins, let's stop here. I love you, Aunt Karen."
"I love you too, my little Ronnie."
Ronald hung up the phone, pressed the coin refund button a few times, put the coins away and put them in his pocket.Get in the car and make a U-turn, heading towards the rented apartment.
As he drove the car, Ronald was full of thoughts. Aunt Karen and cousin Donna were his only relatives in "this world".
Three years ago, Ronald Lee was still a native of China. When he closed his eyes while sleeping, he traveled to a hospital in the United States.When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Aunt Karen.
Parents in this life were killed in a car accident, only Ronald who was sitting in the back seat survived by chance.
Aunt Karen lost her husband in the Vietnam War and lives with her daughter Donna.After learning that her sister's family had a car accident, Ronald, who had become an orphan, was taken from the hospital to his home in Staten Island, New York, to take care of him until he recovered.
After that, Ronald was transferred to Tottville High School in Staten Island.
Thinking about his thoughts, Ronald stepped on the accelerator and drove towards his home in the direction of Venice Beach.
(End of this chapter)
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