NOVEL NEXT Exploiting Hollywood 1980.
Chapter 59 The Actors Studio
Chapter 59 The Actors Studio
Producer da Silva and director Parker got into the car and drove to the hotel.
"Why did you promise Ronald to sign the script? We are buying the script contract from Christopher Gore. The price of $5000 includes his sole authorship."
"Otherwise, Gore would not have sold it to us at this price. He is not a newcomer. You must know that MGM bought the script from me for $4. Gore hopes that this movie will hit the Oscars. He wants to Nominated for Best Original Screenplay to agree."
Da Silva, who was driving, asked.
"I don't have a choice, David," replied Alan Parker, who was sitting in the co-pilot.
"This is a youth film, you, me, and Chris, we have all bid farewell to puberty for 20 years. Today's children, what do they like, what do they recognize, their aesthetic preferences, their commonly used vocabulary, and we all already have generation gap."
"I originally planned to go to the Performing Arts College to deepen my life during this time, stay with those children, and observe everything about them closely. But now..."
"I'm going to get the script doctor to help revise. I'll find the one who revised the youth dance movie 'Saturday Night Fever'." Producer Da Silva stepped on the gas pedal, "But if Ronald really writes What do you do if you don't have a usable script?"
"In Hollywood, verbal contracts are worth less than a piece of paper. Who said that?" Director Alan Parker asked with a smile.
"Sam Godwin said it." Da Silva also laughed, "Then why did you promise him to sign it? Give him the price of the script doctor, and he can't sign it. Wouldn't he try his best?"
Alan Parker was silent for a while: "I think Ronald is a person who pays attention to the long-term, not short-term interests. You gave him $6000, and he didn't buy a cool Pontiac, but a practical one." And the fuel-efficient Dongying Honda.”
"This kid has lofty goals. For someone like him, signing a script at this stage is far more important than the $2 that he gets as a script doctor."
"Only by giving him the hope of career advancement instead of money, he will try his best to write, and will he spray his most sincere feelings on the typewriter like vomiting blood and turn them into words. What I want is not mediocrity, I Excellence is what it takes!"
"Then what are you going to do then?"
"Isn't the lawyer hired by the production team just to deal with these matters? Besides, he may not be able to write a satisfactory script. Let's talk about it at that time. The most important thing now is to deal with the issue of acting skills, David."
"I found a friend to find out that the main power of the performing arts college is in the hands of the school director. The school director who targeted us also serves as a member of the New York Public Education Commission and manages the funding of all public schools..."
Ronald, who still didn't know anything about it, returned to the artist's apartment.
Meg took the initiative to come to Ronald's apartment and helped to decorate the room, which has a little bourgeois aesthetic atmosphere.On the wall of the living room, she hung a few posters of Indianism, and brought a few plastic flowers, moving them from side to side.
Ronald was very happy to watch Meg help him clean up the house, took a cup of Coke from the refrigerator, drank it sweetly, and watched Meg busy while drinking, this feeling was really comfortable.
"Ring ring ring ring..."
Ronald walked into the room and picked up the phone.
"Ronnie, you haven't called your aunt for a long time." Aunt Karen opened her mouth and asked.
"Auntie, I'm about to call you. I have a good photography business in Manhattan, and I found a casting company to be their long-term photographer."
"That's right...it's a company that specializes in selecting actors for film directors, so they often have to take pictures."
"What? Is there an email from me? It's from the director union? Oh no, it's the director union. Yes... it's my membership card. Okay, I'll go back, auntie."
"Ronnie, come and see my work," Meg called to him from outside.
"Ronnie, that's a girl's voice, right? Remember to take her back to Staten Island to see us." Aunt Karen said with a smile on the other end of the phone.
"Okay, Auntie, I have to hang up. I will go home later tomorrow to get my membership card. Yes, I recently joined the crew to help cast roles, and time is tight. Love you, Bye"
"Here I am, Meg." Ronald ran to the living room and hugged Meg, "Your taste is the best."
Meg clung to Ronnie like an octopus and kissed him.
The sweet smell made Ronald take a few quick steps and put Meg on the sofa.He was hugged by Meg's neck, and the two were entangled.
After a long time, Meg took the jeans and T-shirt, and opened the door leading to the inner room in two steps in three steps.
"Crack, click," Meg opened two doors in succession, and went to take a bath.The design of the train apartment is terrible, to go from the living room to the bathroom, you have to cross two rooms.
If it is shared, there is no privacy at all.So Meg prefers to run towards Ronald.
Ronald picked up his shirt and pants and walked into the room. "Shall I take you to the actor's studio to sign up tomorrow?" He talked to Meg through the air.
"Morning? I'll come here to see you tomorrow morning." Meg opened the door to talk to him, showing her head and one arm, and was drying her hair with a towel.
"Exactly, I'm going back to Staten Island in the afternoon, will you come with me?" Ronald said as he opened the bathroom door, "Here I am."
"Ah, hahahaha...no"
"Not going to Staten Island?"
"No... um..."
Meg still didn't agree to go to Staten Island together, and Ronald felt that it might be a little earlier, and when they could live together, the time should be ripe.
Early the next morning, the two got into the car and went to the actor's studio to sign up.
The studio is near Hell's Kitchen, in an unassuming brick curb on West 44th Street.If it weren't for the huge white flag hanging above the white gate, with the words "Actors Studio" written in a large A-shape, Ronald would almost have missed this place.
Knocking on the door, the staff asked them why they were here, and asked them to fill out the application form for the audition.This confused Ronald: "Isn't this the actor's studio? A place to train acting skills?"
The staff thought they were used to seeing stunned young men like Ronald, and pointed to the historical introduction on the wall.
It turns out that the Actors Studio is a club-style place created by Lee Strasberg, Elia Kazan and others to learn about acting skills.
To join the actor's studio, you must go through audition selection, and those who have no experience in film or theater performances generally cannot pass.
"This? The Actor's Studio is a club? How many rounds of auditions do you need to join?" Ronald was a little confused, and he asked the staff: "Then do you charge tuition?"
"There is no tuition fee. As long as you pass our audition, you will be a free member for life. The audition is also free. However, if you fail the audition, you must apply again after one year."
Ronald and Meg looked at each other, "Can we take two profiles and go?"
"of course can."
The two left in disappointment, and Ronald said in the car: "Then what should we do? Meg. I heard Julia Taylor say that Stella Adler from New York University also held an actor training class." .”
"No, look here." Meg pointed to the founder on the introduction, an old man with a white beard and said, "I remember my sister Jennifer said about him, Lee Strasburg, one of the founders of the Actors Studio [-]. He himself also opened acting training classes.
"Really? Then let's look for it."
Lee Strasburg's theater training academy is on 15th Street, but closer to the artist's apartment.The reception here is much more satisfying.
A staff member patiently explained various long and short courses and fees.In the end Meg chose the 12-week, 12-hour course starting next week.This is just in time to complete most of the acting training before the final boot.
Ronald wrote a check for $980, paying the entire training fee.Starting next week, Meg will spend 2 hours a day on acting training, and Lee Strasberg, who is nearly 80 years old, will personally give them the first class.
Resisting Meg's temptation to have dinner together, Ronald hurried back home to Staten Island.
Aunt Karen's expression was much better than last time, and her financial relief greatly relieved her mental pressure.
After dinner, Ronald played with Donna for a while, and Aunt Karen took out an oversized letter.
After cutting the envelope, it turned out that a card from the Directors' Union had arrived.
The new president of the directors' union has reformed the card. The new version is no longer a cardboard card, but a plastic card the size of a credit card, which looks very modern.
After reading the various union benefits explained in detail in the accompanying letter, what impressed Ronald the most was the director apprenticeship program provided by the Directors Union every year.
Once the application is accepted, you can follow the famous directors into the film crew, and watch how they direct the film step by step.
Aunt Karen came over to say good night to him, "Ronnie, don't forget to come back to spend two days with me on Memorial Day at the end of next month."
"I will, Aunt Karen." The last Monday in May is Memorial Day.Every year around this time, Aunt Karen gathers with her deceased husband's former comrades-in-arms and widows.This is an important party she attends every year.
Lying on the bed, I began to think about changing the script.Ronald sorted out his thoughts over and over again.
For the eight protagonists, what kind of ending do you want to make the audience feel both real and gratified?
Totally clueless.When I was in high school, I didn't belong to that literary circle. The wrestling team is also a relatively simple sport. Unlike the quarterback of the football team, I can casually date girls who learn musical instruments and dance.
I don't understand their dreams and pain at all.To write a wonderful ending, we need to observe their daily life more.
Ronald is self-taught here, and he had the same idea as director Parker.
When I was studying in high school, what kind of cultural performances did I like to watch?
In the years of Tottville High School, every time he saw the orchestra, the dance team, and the cheerleading team, Ronald was very envious of their artistic talents.
In the eyes of a rough wrestling team like myself, being able to dance ballet, play the violin, and do somersaults are all very powerful skills.
For people like myself who don't know the inner skills, seeing the harmonious melody of the violin and the ballerina spinning in the air, it feels almost like seeing a magician's child.
In fact, showing these skilled skills to the eyes of laymen, isn't it a wonderful thing to watch?
The few songs and dances in the dream are also because I can't do it, so it looks more exciting, right?
Ronald turned over, got up, grabbed the ballpoint pen, and started writing on the manuscript paper while replaying the three plots in his mind...
(End of this chapter)
Producer da Silva and director Parker got into the car and drove to the hotel.
"Why did you promise Ronald to sign the script? We are buying the script contract from Christopher Gore. The price of $5000 includes his sole authorship."
"Otherwise, Gore would not have sold it to us at this price. He is not a newcomer. You must know that MGM bought the script from me for $4. Gore hopes that this movie will hit the Oscars. He wants to Nominated for Best Original Screenplay to agree."
Da Silva, who was driving, asked.
"I don't have a choice, David," replied Alan Parker, who was sitting in the co-pilot.
"This is a youth film, you, me, and Chris, we have all bid farewell to puberty for 20 years. Today's children, what do they like, what do they recognize, their aesthetic preferences, their commonly used vocabulary, and we all already have generation gap."
"I originally planned to go to the Performing Arts College to deepen my life during this time, stay with those children, and observe everything about them closely. But now..."
"I'm going to get the script doctor to help revise. I'll find the one who revised the youth dance movie 'Saturday Night Fever'." Producer Da Silva stepped on the gas pedal, "But if Ronald really writes What do you do if you don't have a usable script?"
"In Hollywood, verbal contracts are worth less than a piece of paper. Who said that?" Director Alan Parker asked with a smile.
"Sam Godwin said it." Da Silva also laughed, "Then why did you promise him to sign it? Give him the price of the script doctor, and he can't sign it. Wouldn't he try his best?"
Alan Parker was silent for a while: "I think Ronald is a person who pays attention to the long-term, not short-term interests. You gave him $6000, and he didn't buy a cool Pontiac, but a practical one." And the fuel-efficient Dongying Honda.”
"This kid has lofty goals. For someone like him, signing a script at this stage is far more important than the $2 that he gets as a script doctor."
"Only by giving him the hope of career advancement instead of money, he will try his best to write, and will he spray his most sincere feelings on the typewriter like vomiting blood and turn them into words. What I want is not mediocrity, I Excellence is what it takes!"
"Then what are you going to do then?"
"Isn't the lawyer hired by the production team just to deal with these matters? Besides, he may not be able to write a satisfactory script. Let's talk about it at that time. The most important thing now is to deal with the issue of acting skills, David."
"I found a friend to find out that the main power of the performing arts college is in the hands of the school director. The school director who targeted us also serves as a member of the New York Public Education Commission and manages the funding of all public schools..."
Ronald, who still didn't know anything about it, returned to the artist's apartment.
Meg took the initiative to come to Ronald's apartment and helped to decorate the room, which has a little bourgeois aesthetic atmosphere.On the wall of the living room, she hung a few posters of Indianism, and brought a few plastic flowers, moving them from side to side.
Ronald was very happy to watch Meg help him clean up the house, took a cup of Coke from the refrigerator, drank it sweetly, and watched Meg busy while drinking, this feeling was really comfortable.
"Ring ring ring ring..."
Ronald walked into the room and picked up the phone.
"Ronnie, you haven't called your aunt for a long time." Aunt Karen opened her mouth and asked.
"Auntie, I'm about to call you. I have a good photography business in Manhattan, and I found a casting company to be their long-term photographer."
"That's right...it's a company that specializes in selecting actors for film directors, so they often have to take pictures."
"What? Is there an email from me? It's from the director union? Oh no, it's the director union. Yes... it's my membership card. Okay, I'll go back, auntie."
"Ronnie, come and see my work," Meg called to him from outside.
"Ronnie, that's a girl's voice, right? Remember to take her back to Staten Island to see us." Aunt Karen said with a smile on the other end of the phone.
"Okay, Auntie, I have to hang up. I will go home later tomorrow to get my membership card. Yes, I recently joined the crew to help cast roles, and time is tight. Love you, Bye"
"Here I am, Meg." Ronald ran to the living room and hugged Meg, "Your taste is the best."
Meg clung to Ronnie like an octopus and kissed him.
The sweet smell made Ronald take a few quick steps and put Meg on the sofa.He was hugged by Meg's neck, and the two were entangled.
After a long time, Meg took the jeans and T-shirt, and opened the door leading to the inner room in two steps in three steps.
"Crack, click," Meg opened two doors in succession, and went to take a bath.The design of the train apartment is terrible, to go from the living room to the bathroom, you have to cross two rooms.
If it is shared, there is no privacy at all.So Meg prefers to run towards Ronald.
Ronald picked up his shirt and pants and walked into the room. "Shall I take you to the actor's studio to sign up tomorrow?" He talked to Meg through the air.
"Morning? I'll come here to see you tomorrow morning." Meg opened the door to talk to him, showing her head and one arm, and was drying her hair with a towel.
"Exactly, I'm going back to Staten Island in the afternoon, will you come with me?" Ronald said as he opened the bathroom door, "Here I am."
"Ah, hahahaha...no"
"Not going to Staten Island?"
"No... um..."
Meg still didn't agree to go to Staten Island together, and Ronald felt that it might be a little earlier, and when they could live together, the time should be ripe.
Early the next morning, the two got into the car and went to the actor's studio to sign up.
The studio is near Hell's Kitchen, in an unassuming brick curb on West 44th Street.If it weren't for the huge white flag hanging above the white gate, with the words "Actors Studio" written in a large A-shape, Ronald would almost have missed this place.
Knocking on the door, the staff asked them why they were here, and asked them to fill out the application form for the audition.This confused Ronald: "Isn't this the actor's studio? A place to train acting skills?"
The staff thought they were used to seeing stunned young men like Ronald, and pointed to the historical introduction on the wall.
It turns out that the Actors Studio is a club-style place created by Lee Strasberg, Elia Kazan and others to learn about acting skills.
To join the actor's studio, you must go through audition selection, and those who have no experience in film or theater performances generally cannot pass.
"This? The Actor's Studio is a club? How many rounds of auditions do you need to join?" Ronald was a little confused, and he asked the staff: "Then do you charge tuition?"
"There is no tuition fee. As long as you pass our audition, you will be a free member for life. The audition is also free. However, if you fail the audition, you must apply again after one year."
Ronald and Meg looked at each other, "Can we take two profiles and go?"
"of course can."
The two left in disappointment, and Ronald said in the car: "Then what should we do? Meg. I heard Julia Taylor say that Stella Adler from New York University also held an actor training class." .”
"No, look here." Meg pointed to the founder on the introduction, an old man with a white beard and said, "I remember my sister Jennifer said about him, Lee Strasburg, one of the founders of the Actors Studio [-]. He himself also opened acting training classes.
"Really? Then let's look for it."
Lee Strasburg's theater training academy is on 15th Street, but closer to the artist's apartment.The reception here is much more satisfying.
A staff member patiently explained various long and short courses and fees.In the end Meg chose the 12-week, 12-hour course starting next week.This is just in time to complete most of the acting training before the final boot.
Ronald wrote a check for $980, paying the entire training fee.Starting next week, Meg will spend 2 hours a day on acting training, and Lee Strasberg, who is nearly 80 years old, will personally give them the first class.
Resisting Meg's temptation to have dinner together, Ronald hurried back home to Staten Island.
Aunt Karen's expression was much better than last time, and her financial relief greatly relieved her mental pressure.
After dinner, Ronald played with Donna for a while, and Aunt Karen took out an oversized letter.
After cutting the envelope, it turned out that a card from the Directors' Union had arrived.
The new president of the directors' union has reformed the card. The new version is no longer a cardboard card, but a plastic card the size of a credit card, which looks very modern.
After reading the various union benefits explained in detail in the accompanying letter, what impressed Ronald the most was the director apprenticeship program provided by the Directors Union every year.
Once the application is accepted, you can follow the famous directors into the film crew, and watch how they direct the film step by step.
Aunt Karen came over to say good night to him, "Ronnie, don't forget to come back to spend two days with me on Memorial Day at the end of next month."
"I will, Aunt Karen." The last Monday in May is Memorial Day.Every year around this time, Aunt Karen gathers with her deceased husband's former comrades-in-arms and widows.This is an important party she attends every year.
Lying on the bed, I began to think about changing the script.Ronald sorted out his thoughts over and over again.
For the eight protagonists, what kind of ending do you want to make the audience feel both real and gratified?
Totally clueless.When I was in high school, I didn't belong to that literary circle. The wrestling team is also a relatively simple sport. Unlike the quarterback of the football team, I can casually date girls who learn musical instruments and dance.
I don't understand their dreams and pain at all.To write a wonderful ending, we need to observe their daily life more.
Ronald is self-taught here, and he had the same idea as director Parker.
When I was studying in high school, what kind of cultural performances did I like to watch?
In the years of Tottville High School, every time he saw the orchestra, the dance team, and the cheerleading team, Ronald was very envious of their artistic talents.
In the eyes of a rough wrestling team like myself, being able to dance ballet, play the violin, and do somersaults are all very powerful skills.
For people like myself who don't know the inner skills, seeing the harmonious melody of the violin and the ballerina spinning in the air, it feels almost like seeing a magician's child.
In fact, showing these skilled skills to the eyes of laymen, isn't it a wonderful thing to watch?
The few songs and dances in the dream are also because I can't do it, so it looks more exciting, right?
Ronald turned over, got up, grabbed the ballpoint pen, and started writing on the manuscript paper while replaying the three plots in his mind...
(End of this chapter)
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