Chapter 199 Who is the best at shooting jet fighters?(1/2)
"Garbage, it's all garbage."
Don Simpson took the scripts in the Paramount script circulation warehouse and threw them around, "Are these people still alive twenty years ago? Who wants to watch this kind of movie now?"
Jerry Bruckheimer put away his littered scripts and threw them into the cardboard box, "Not many people understand the secrets of high-concept movies. If they all understand, we won't be able to share this vision alone."
It’s valuable.”
"I heard that Eisner and Katzenberg are very cautious. They try their best to hide any scripts that have great sales potential to prevent them from flowing into Paramount's circulation library." Don Simpson changed from a furious state,
Return to normal.
"We want to find a script that gives the audience a punch. No explanation is needed. Just reading the title of the film will make them excited. Just watching the trailer will make them climax. It must be a movie that invites friends and goes to the cinema to have fun."
As he said that, Don Simpson walked to the magic boxing ball hanging from the roof and began to bang bang bang bang to vent his abnormally high energy caused by taking too many drugs.
"Can you get excited just by looking at the title? Here is an unfinished script synopsis, which seems to meet your requirements." When Bruckheimer was sorting out the script, he found a piece of paper sandwiched between the scripts, with only a few lines on it.
Plot summary.
"Tell me about it?" Simpson also became interested.
"Fighter pilots, navy jet fighters, aircraft carriers, sexy female officers, hot summers, sweat-soaked love."
"Oh, shxt!" Don Simpson was excited. He ran over and grabbed the synopsis, and cursed repeatedly as he read it, "What the hell is this movie called? Where's the fucking script? Where's the script?" He was anxious.
He started banging on the cardboard box that contained the remaining script.
"Here", Bruckheimer held up a piece of paper that seemed to be the cover of a script, "top gun!"
…
"We want Tom Cruise to star in this movie!" Don Simpson said to CAA's famous agent Rick Niceta.
Two producers found Niceta and wanted to talk to Paula Wagner about Cruise's film contract. However, Paula was accompanying Cruise in London to reshoot the movie "Legend", so they came to Paula's boyfriend to talk.
"I'll call her." Niceta knew that the two producers had recently been given higher authority by the new president of Paramount, so she didn't dare to neglect and dialed Paula's number.
"Paula, this is Don Simpson, and Jerry Bruckheimer, and they want to make a high-concept movie with Tom Cruise."
"What movie?" Paula's voice came through the speaker.
"Tentative title Top Gun" is a movie about a naval jet pilot. The script is still being perfected. We are very optimistic about this concept.
"Tom's recent thoughts are on the one directed by Scorsese and the sequel to Paul Newman's 'Hustlers'. I don't think he is necessarily interested in participating in a purely commercial film, let alone a fighter jet. You all know Hollywood
One of the taboos is that no one watches the aircraft fight."
"That's the past tense. Today's fighter jets are all jet-powered. Think about it, it's so hot in the summer that beads of sweat drip down your neck. The steam catapults on aircraft carriers distort the air on the ground.
Bam, a pilot kisses his officer girlfriend and then goes off to fight a Soviet Union MiG, what a scene, Tom is going to be a superstar." Don Simpson is very good at depicting scenes, which makes Paula on the phone
·Wagner also stayed for a moment, thinking it sounded good.
"I will talk to Tom, don't worry. But it's up to Tom to decide whether to take the job or not. His current idea is to cooperate with a big director like Scorsese, hone his acting skills, and then turn into acting and
A star with great appeal at the box office.
In addition, your script must be written before you come back. Tom has very high requirements for the script now and requires us to read it through for him before he makes a decision."
"There's no problem, we're looking for someone to improve it." Bruckheimer remembered that the two of them had been searching for a long time last night before they found a 30-40 page synopsis of the script in the office of the original president of Paramount. Many specific scenes were mentioned in one stroke, and
I need to find someone to rewrite it.
"By the way, which director are you going to find? Tom has requirements for directors." Paula continued to talk about the conditions for cooperation with the popular young actor Tom Cruise.
"We haven't decided yet, but it will definitely be a good match for Tom."
"Okay, I'll hang up. If Tom replies, I'll tell Rick."
Paula hung up the phone, "If they can find someone on the list of directors that Tom is willing to work with, it's not impossible to cooperate."
"By the way, who are you going to find to direct?" Niceta hung up the phone and asked the two producers the same question.
"What, do you want to recommend Ronald?" Bruckheimer asked with a smile. Nicita relied on Ronald as a client, but she signed many contracts with actors and received a lot of commissions. Other agents in the industry also
He joked that Niceta had picked out a treasure, but secretly he was envious of his luck.
"Of course, he is the most suitable. Didn't you realize that what he is best at is enhancing the atmosphere and shooting such high-concept movies, and then the details have the delicate temperament of a feature film?"
"Yeah, I know. I knew he was a future star since he came to the set of 'Flashdance.'" Don Simpson nodded, "But this movie is not suitable for him."
"Why?" Niceta asked strangely.
"Hollywood has not made aerial combat films worth mentioning since the early 1960s. However, European directors have made 'Eagle Over London' and 'Battle of Britain'. To make airplanes look beautiful, you need a good director.
With skills and experience, we estimate that we need to find an old guy this time to control the situation."
"But now we have jet fighters. Those old movies you are talking about were shot in the propeller period, right? The old guys may not know how to shoot jets anymore." Niceta raised an objection.
"Who says it's not? We are worried about this. Maybe no one in Hollywood has shot aerial combat films for a long time because of technical difficulties. We are asking people to find all movies related to aerial combat, and even commercials and music videos with aircraft scenes.
Let’s see if we can find talent.”
Bruckheimer agrees.
"Hehehe, then you can look for it." Niceta smiled happily, "You will come back."
One of the two producers, Niceta, said that they wanted to come back to find Tom Cruise, so they left.
…
The two producers were at Don Simpson's house again, holding a large pile of video tapes and browsing through them one by one. These were the Hollywood and TV commercials that the secretaries had painstakingly collected, including those with scenes of fighter jets, and they both split up.
Holding a TV and watching video tapes.
"Come and take a look at this commercial." Bruckheimer excitedly took a videotape and replaced the one on Simpson's side. "It's so damn exciting. I don't know who directed it."
An advertisement for Saab cars appeared on the TV. The pitot tube of the Saab Lightning fighter jet pierced the door of the hangar like a needle and passed out.
The air on the airport runway was heated by the engine's rear nozzle and distorted like a mirage. Finally, the plane rose from the ground, flew over the head of the Saab car, and plunged into the blue sky.
"Who the hell took this photo? No one on earth can take such beautiful photos of jet fighters like him. No one can come close to his level!"
Don Simpson jumped up and used the slogan "Nothing else on earth can come close."
"I'll look for it." Bruckheimer picked up the form compiled by his secretary and found a line corresponding to the Saab advertisement. The name of an acquaintance was clearly written on it.
"Director: Ronald V. Lee."
"Fuck, this was taken by fucking Ronald. This Saab ad was taken by fucking Ronald. Niceta is a liar, scoundrel, and thief. He deliberately wants to see us make a fool of ourselves."
Don Simpson jumps to his feet and scolds unscrupulous agent Niceta.
…
"Mr. Niceta, I'm sorry for what I said yesterday.
You should have told us earlier. I am embarrassed by what I said yesterday. We are also friends with Ronald. If we had seen the jet fighter he shot earlier, it was full of agility and power. He must be the director of this movie.
ah."
Don Simpson came to CAA again. This time he did not dare to speak rudely, but carefully said good things, hoping that Niceta would not interfere with it and pass on what he said about Ronald not being able to shoot fighter jets.
"Don't worry, I haven't had time to tell Ronald about your project. I knew you would come back." Niceta happily lit up a cigar and blew out a puff of smoke in triumph.
Then he picked up the phone and proudly dialed Ronald's home phone number.
"Ronald, Mr. Don Simpson is here with me and his partner Jerry Bruckheimer. They have a script and they must ask you to be the director."
"Don, Jerry," Ronald rushed to the CAA office and hugged the two producers.
"What project?" From Niceta's tone, he seemed to think it was a big investment that was very suitable for him.
"top gun, tells the story of a Navy fighter pilot."
"This is the script. You can read it first and then we will discuss it."
Ronald took the script and weighed it, "Why is it so small?"
The script is less than forty pages, and it contains descriptions of scenes. Even the dialogue and air combat plots are only briefly touched upon.
"This is a high-concept movie. After we find a suitable director, we will discuss with him how to fill in the content." Don Simpson flattered Ronald.
"Okay, let me go back and see first. Are you still filming for Paramount?" Ronald mentioned the past.
"Yes, Paramount has given us great permission. As long as you agree, Paramount can invest $15 million in this movie."
"And Tom Cruise," Niceta added next to him. This movie was obviously suitable for him to star in the movie.
"Did Tom agree?" Ronald asked.
"No, he said he wanted to see who the director is. It just so happens that he really wants to shoot a movie with you, so it shouldn't be a problem."
Ronald returned home with a third of the script (outline) and began to read it carefully.
An hour later, Ronald yawned.
Jodie Foster was still not chosen by Konchalovsky and returned to Yale disappointed. Ronald just sent her to the airport this morning. He was a little tired and his eyelids began to feel heavy, so he simply took a shower.
Take a shower and go to bed.
"Dang...dang...dang", accompanied by the rhythmic bells that sounded like coming from a distant church, against the dim background, the nose of a jet appeared on the screen.
The staff nearby looked like black silhouettes walking on the deck of the aircraft carrier under the weak light reflected through the sky before the sun had risen.
To be continued...