NOVEL WEB Exploiting Hollywood 1980.
Chapter 15 Going to College or Making Movies?
Chapter 15 Going to College or Making Movies?
"Two fish mignonettes, thank you".
Catholics have a tradition of not eating meat on Friday, so McDonald's, which mainly sells beef burgers, invented fried cod burgers.Ronald doesn't eat very often, and the coupons for Big Macs ran out today.
When I got home, I boiled a pot of water, took out a tea bag, and made a big cup of black tea.With black tea, I finished dinner in a hurry.Ronald sat at the table and stared blankly.
Ronald applied to two public universities in New York.One is the State University of New York at Albany, and the other is the newly established City University of New York Staten Island.The economy is sluggish and inflation is serious. Even if you get a diploma from an ordinary university, you may not be able to find a good job.
Ronald chose two cheap public universities.Aunt Karen is a resident of New York State, and she can enjoy a large reduction in tuition fees.The accounting major that I applied for is a job that all companies need.Even if the Great Depression comes again, I can still sort out invoices for the grocery store, keep accounts, etc., and I can always make a living.
New York is in the northeast of the United States. What people often hear are private Ivy League schools, Harvard, Yale, Columbia...etc.
The separation of classes in America begins with universities, and Ronald also wants to go to prestigious schools.With no money or scholarships, the tuition fees of prestigious private schools are several times higher than those of public schools. SAT scores and high school grades would qualify, but low-interest state-funded student loans would not qualify.
Hey, if I had to go to the Staten Island campus of the City University of New York, which has just been upgraded from a community college (upgraded to a junior college), I am afraid that I will look up to those famous students for the rest of my life.
……
I joined a film company and worked as a temporary director for a day. I just wanted to find a job in the industry so that I could earn more hard-earned money for taking pictures.
However, the conversation with Gail about his dream, and the feeling of making a decision with a crew of dozens of people at the end of the day, ignited a wildfire in Ronald's heart.
……
In the film industry, only those who are talented can make a lot of money. I must be talented, right?
Besides, there was that strange dream last night.If you can dream of more future movies, you can make a lot of money by making them in advance, right?
Not necessarily.
Movies are the most expensive art.
Unlike a novelist, who can write for a dollar in pencil and paper.If you want to be a painter, you only need to spend $100 to buy brushes, paints, and canvas, and you can start painting.
A minimum of $20 is required to make a feature film for theatrical release.
Even a 10-minute short film like the one Jim made that never had a chance to be released in theaters cost more than $2.
To make a movie with a normal budget, sorry...$300 million to start.
……
Or pick up the script and submit it to the studio?Then be appreciated by the producer, become a director, make a masterpiece, marry Bai Fumei, and reach the pinnacle of life?
I'm afraid it's not that easy.
Not to mention anything else, based on my own experience of reading scripts for several months in New World Production, many of the films to be shot this year actually had scripts written five years ago, and they are still in the warehouses of the eight major studios. It has been hidden for ten years.
As a young man with no successful works and no connections, the script I wrote may be sent to the eight major studios, and even a reviewer like myself will not be able to pass it.
……
Join the new world, slowly gain Roger Corman's appreciation, and then be like Alan and Joe?
This road is also very difficult.
This is no longer the era of the big studios. 20 years ago, as long as you worked in a big studio, you could get ahead if you were talented and worked hard.Write scripts for the stars of your own company, find your own director to shoot, and survive for five or six years, and you can also be promoted to be an assistant director, until you become a director and start shooting movies with your own budget of 300 million US dollars.
In today's Hollywood, everything is a free market. You find your own investment, find actors, and negotiate with distribution companies.
Before getting the ticket to enter this free market, you have to take the minimum wage of 200 US dollars per week stipulated by the union during filming, and cut your income by more than half when you are not filming.It took five or six years to start shooting a small low-cost production of $30.This is still under the command of Roger Coleman, a well-known kind man in the industry.
Not only that, in the past 10 years of the New Hollywood movement, the new generation of great directors that have emerged are all college graduates.George Lucas for Star Wars, Francis Coppola for The Godfather, Martin Scorsese for Taxi Driver...
After graduating from high school, can I compete with graduates from these prestigious schools?
……
But on the other hand, it is not easy for me to enter the film industry.
How many beautiful men and women want to enter this industry but can't find it.
I stumbled into New World Production by mistake, and also participated in filming. It can be said that luck is very important.At another time, I might not even pass the interview.
If you go to the City University of New York to study accounting for four years, there is a high probability that you will be an accountant yourself.The dream of a movie may become a youthful memory like Chris and Mara.
……
Holding the cup, Ronald took a sip of the black tea, and the feeling that was echoed on the set came back to his mind.
With a wry smile, he became very fond of recalling that moment.Anyone who has ever had this decisive creative experience would probably want to do it again.
After studying in college, you may find a stable job with a modest income, so just forget about making movies as a dream.
Working hard in Hollywood may make a lot of money, or you may remain poor forever, but no matter what, one thing is for sure, you will still be poor for several years.
How to choose between going to college and making a movie?If only there was a way to have the best of both worlds.
If you have the best of both worlds... maybe it's not impossible.
……
"Ring ring ring ring..."
The phone rang suddenly.
"Hello, this is Ronald."
"Uh, hello, I'm looking for Mr. Lee, he's a portrait photographer." A nice mezzo-soprano came.
"I am, please call me Ronald, may I ask who you are?"
"OK. Ronald, a friend of mine recommended you to me, and look, I've called you several times this week, but no one answered, so I'll give it one last try tonight."
"Sorry, I've been working on a film crew since the Thanksgiving holiday, so I'm not at home during this time."
"Then do you still help people take audition photos?"
"Yes, but I will be filming in the crew next week, until the 22nd."
"So you're busy until Christmas?"
"I should be free on the 23rd, and also in the morning of the 24th. Everyone is celebrating the holiday in the afternoon."
"Okay, I want you to take a set of audition photos for me, on the 23rd."
"What's your name, please?"
"My name is Demi Gaines"
"OK, do you want to update your audition photo, or is it your first time taking one?"
"the first time."
"Okay, do you want to shoot in black and white, or in color?" Ronald opened the drawer, took out a work notebook, and began to memorize.
"Um, I don't know, what do you think?"
"It depends on whether the film you want to audition is black and white or color. If you just shoot it and keep it with the casting director, then I recommend color."
"Okay, then color."
"Well, do you want to shoot outdoors or indoors? Oh, if it's the first time, you can consider indoors. Now there are still more films shot in studios. You can use indoors at the beginning, and add more later."
"Oh, I listen to you, you sound very professional."
"Thank you. You can come to my house to shoot, I live in Venice Beach..."
"Wait a minute, Ronald. I'm a graphic model with an agent, and I don't go to a photographer's house." The girl was wary.
"I totally understand. If you have a free studio, I can go to your place. If I rent a studio, I need to pay extra. Or if you have a larger room in your house, I can also bring lights and go to your place shoot."
"That's fine, my boyfriend's home in West Hollywood is huge."
"Generally speaking, for the first audition photo shoot, I recommend two versions, one for a drama and one for a romantic comedy. The total cost of photography for these two sets is $50, including five 5X6-inch photos per version, and negatives .”
"Okay, then it's settled."
"What is your phone number, Miss Gaines? I will contact you on Friday the 22nd, and we will set the time and location for the shoot."
"Oh, my phone number is 689-8425"
……
Surprisingly, another order was made.
A book group has been built, and those who are interested can join the group
rock high school
869791240
(End of this chapter)
"Two fish mignonettes, thank you".
Catholics have a tradition of not eating meat on Friday, so McDonald's, which mainly sells beef burgers, invented fried cod burgers.Ronald doesn't eat very often, and the coupons for Big Macs ran out today.
When I got home, I boiled a pot of water, took out a tea bag, and made a big cup of black tea.With black tea, I finished dinner in a hurry.Ronald sat at the table and stared blankly.
Ronald applied to two public universities in New York.One is the State University of New York at Albany, and the other is the newly established City University of New York Staten Island.The economy is sluggish and inflation is serious. Even if you get a diploma from an ordinary university, you may not be able to find a good job.
Ronald chose two cheap public universities.Aunt Karen is a resident of New York State, and she can enjoy a large reduction in tuition fees.The accounting major that I applied for is a job that all companies need.Even if the Great Depression comes again, I can still sort out invoices for the grocery store, keep accounts, etc., and I can always make a living.
New York is in the northeast of the United States. What people often hear are private Ivy League schools, Harvard, Yale, Columbia...etc.
The separation of classes in America begins with universities, and Ronald also wants to go to prestigious schools.With no money or scholarships, the tuition fees of prestigious private schools are several times higher than those of public schools. SAT scores and high school grades would qualify, but low-interest state-funded student loans would not qualify.
Hey, if I had to go to the Staten Island campus of the City University of New York, which has just been upgraded from a community college (upgraded to a junior college), I am afraid that I will look up to those famous students for the rest of my life.
……
I joined a film company and worked as a temporary director for a day. I just wanted to find a job in the industry so that I could earn more hard-earned money for taking pictures.
However, the conversation with Gail about his dream, and the feeling of making a decision with a crew of dozens of people at the end of the day, ignited a wildfire in Ronald's heart.
……
In the film industry, only those who are talented can make a lot of money. I must be talented, right?
Besides, there was that strange dream last night.If you can dream of more future movies, you can make a lot of money by making them in advance, right?
Not necessarily.
Movies are the most expensive art.
Unlike a novelist, who can write for a dollar in pencil and paper.If you want to be a painter, you only need to spend $100 to buy brushes, paints, and canvas, and you can start painting.
A minimum of $20 is required to make a feature film for theatrical release.
Even a 10-minute short film like the one Jim made that never had a chance to be released in theaters cost more than $2.
To make a movie with a normal budget, sorry...$300 million to start.
……
Or pick up the script and submit it to the studio?Then be appreciated by the producer, become a director, make a masterpiece, marry Bai Fumei, and reach the pinnacle of life?
I'm afraid it's not that easy.
Not to mention anything else, based on my own experience of reading scripts for several months in New World Production, many of the films to be shot this year actually had scripts written five years ago, and they are still in the warehouses of the eight major studios. It has been hidden for ten years.
As a young man with no successful works and no connections, the script I wrote may be sent to the eight major studios, and even a reviewer like myself will not be able to pass it.
……
Join the new world, slowly gain Roger Corman's appreciation, and then be like Alan and Joe?
This road is also very difficult.
This is no longer the era of the big studios. 20 years ago, as long as you worked in a big studio, you could get ahead if you were talented and worked hard.Write scripts for the stars of your own company, find your own director to shoot, and survive for five or six years, and you can also be promoted to be an assistant director, until you become a director and start shooting movies with your own budget of 300 million US dollars.
In today's Hollywood, everything is a free market. You find your own investment, find actors, and negotiate with distribution companies.
Before getting the ticket to enter this free market, you have to take the minimum wage of 200 US dollars per week stipulated by the union during filming, and cut your income by more than half when you are not filming.It took five or six years to start shooting a small low-cost production of $30.This is still under the command of Roger Coleman, a well-known kind man in the industry.
Not only that, in the past 10 years of the New Hollywood movement, the new generation of great directors that have emerged are all college graduates.George Lucas for Star Wars, Francis Coppola for The Godfather, Martin Scorsese for Taxi Driver...
After graduating from high school, can I compete with graduates from these prestigious schools?
……
But on the other hand, it is not easy for me to enter the film industry.
How many beautiful men and women want to enter this industry but can't find it.
I stumbled into New World Production by mistake, and also participated in filming. It can be said that luck is very important.At another time, I might not even pass the interview.
If you go to the City University of New York to study accounting for four years, there is a high probability that you will be an accountant yourself.The dream of a movie may become a youthful memory like Chris and Mara.
……
Holding the cup, Ronald took a sip of the black tea, and the feeling that was echoed on the set came back to his mind.
With a wry smile, he became very fond of recalling that moment.Anyone who has ever had this decisive creative experience would probably want to do it again.
After studying in college, you may find a stable job with a modest income, so just forget about making movies as a dream.
Working hard in Hollywood may make a lot of money, or you may remain poor forever, but no matter what, one thing is for sure, you will still be poor for several years.
How to choose between going to college and making a movie?If only there was a way to have the best of both worlds.
If you have the best of both worlds... maybe it's not impossible.
……
"Ring ring ring ring..."
The phone rang suddenly.
"Hello, this is Ronald."
"Uh, hello, I'm looking for Mr. Lee, he's a portrait photographer." A nice mezzo-soprano came.
"I am, please call me Ronald, may I ask who you are?"
"OK. Ronald, a friend of mine recommended you to me, and look, I've called you several times this week, but no one answered, so I'll give it one last try tonight."
"Sorry, I've been working on a film crew since the Thanksgiving holiday, so I'm not at home during this time."
"Then do you still help people take audition photos?"
"Yes, but I will be filming in the crew next week, until the 22nd."
"So you're busy until Christmas?"
"I should be free on the 23rd, and also in the morning of the 24th. Everyone is celebrating the holiday in the afternoon."
"Okay, I want you to take a set of audition photos for me, on the 23rd."
"What's your name, please?"
"My name is Demi Gaines"
"OK, do you want to update your audition photo, or is it your first time taking one?"
"the first time."
"Okay, do you want to shoot in black and white, or in color?" Ronald opened the drawer, took out a work notebook, and began to memorize.
"Um, I don't know, what do you think?"
"It depends on whether the film you want to audition is black and white or color. If you just shoot it and keep it with the casting director, then I recommend color."
"Okay, then color."
"Well, do you want to shoot outdoors or indoors? Oh, if it's the first time, you can consider indoors. Now there are still more films shot in studios. You can use indoors at the beginning, and add more later."
"Oh, I listen to you, you sound very professional."
"Thank you. You can come to my house to shoot, I live in Venice Beach..."
"Wait a minute, Ronald. I'm a graphic model with an agent, and I don't go to a photographer's house." The girl was wary.
"I totally understand. If you have a free studio, I can go to your place. If I rent a studio, I need to pay extra. Or if you have a larger room in your house, I can also bring lights and go to your place shoot."
"That's fine, my boyfriend's home in West Hollywood is huge."
"Generally speaking, for the first audition photo shoot, I recommend two versions, one for a drama and one for a romantic comedy. The total cost of photography for these two sets is $50, including five 5X6-inch photos per version, and negatives .”
"Okay, then it's settled."
"What is your phone number, Miss Gaines? I will contact you on Friday the 22nd, and we will set the time and location for the shoot."
"Oh, my phone number is 689-8425"
……
Surprisingly, another order was made.
A book group has been built, and those who are interested can join the group
rock high school
869791240
(End of this chapter)
Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters.